Alex is 15 today!

The Hernandez family spent the night at our house. It was lots of fun. My sister, Josie, convinced my brother-in-law to stay as well; originally it was to be a type of "girl's night". Even our cat, Caty, is female. It took a little persuading on my sister's behalf, but eventually Jabier agreed to stay so they could be here in the A.M. with Alex. Alex's 2 friends stayed the night as well. They came for the pizza party last night and stayed until noon-time today. Ally left first then Danielle. They are both a couple of nice young ladies. Very smart and witty and fun to have around. I am glad that my niece, Alex, has such good friends. We all still missed Marissa. It was also nice to have had my other sister, Eva, my other dear niece, Felicia, and my brother-in-law, Wero all come to the party last night. Today we all awoke with laughter and good humor on our side. The grown ups had coffee and I had water. Funny how I never did acquire a taste for coffee. Maybe lattes or the occasional cold coffee drink (frappuccino/Starbucks). We munched out during the morning and early afternoon. The girls stayed up late as teenagers often will do. They went to bed a little before the adults woke up, but were up in record time having had just a few hours of sleep. Alex received a nice digital camera from Sara. She used the video mode to record a short movie of her friend's Danielle and Ally. It was hilarious; if I can get a copy uploaded onto my notebook, I will post it here. We were saying we were putting on YouTube...it was that funny. The two girls were chasing one another around like a scene out of the movie Scream. They did 3 laps around our great room and during the 4th time, Danielle accidentally falls to the floor. We were in stitches. The kind of thing that you either had to see in person or view the video to fully appreciate. Alex was the producer/director/photographer. I am going to convince her to get her own blog so she can keep track of those grand events which will be starting "fast & furious". By the way, her friends are taking her to see the movie Fast & Furious tonight. Alex just loves those movies. Anyway, that is what happened today. Sara and I were invited to go with the wedding party (Erica's wedding this June 13th) later today to pick out flowers for Erica's bouquet, but we were just too tired. I would have liked to go, but my body kept insisting I stay home and rest. After a week of house repairs and updates (painting, installing tile, putting up molding), we were ready for a break. Alex's party was a motivating factor in us completing the tasks we had for the house. We were happy to host the 2 day event. Anything for our nieces and nephews for certain. It is quiet in the house right now. After a couple hours of nap-time, we are getting ready to prep dinner. I am in the mood for some Spanish paprika fried chicken so that is what I am cooking as soon as I log off. We are really missing my family, our family. Which reminds me that we could not travel out-of-town today to see Sara's uncle Rain or even to see my Mom. If we had gone to Lubbock to see Rain while he is here visiting from San Antonio, we were going to go to the bi-annual Texas Tech garage sale. It started Friday and runs through tomorrow. An event that would have been awesome to take Alex and her friends to had we planned things, but what was done to celebrate her glorious birth was pretty fantastic in itself so we are all pleased. I am glad everyone had a good time and was thrilled to see Alex enjoy herself as she did. She is a great person. I am so proud of the person she has become...intelligent, witty, mindful of other's feelings, respectful, and ambitious in not just her school-work but with extra-curricular activities. She recceived a beautiful electric guitar for Christmas and is learning to play it. She is also in an advanced choir in her high school (Midland Lee). One of the top notch high school choirs in the state. Her UIL competition for May is fast approaching; we cannot wait for that as it will be in Dallas. Looking forward to it.