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MY MOST RECENT WRITINGS:
Check the notes on our Bolivian trip from the menu bar!
October, 2012
We did the Everglades Speedway bike ride again this year
on October 21. . Mom and I did the 45 miles and Sean and Dad did the 25. Again I used dad’s Trek which he does not want to concede is now mine. It was a gorgeous day and the event was beautiful.
We did fine and had a blast. It has become an annual thing for the four
of us. It did not start very well and Sean explains it in his part of the site.
We saw a lot, a lot of dogs on the trail. There was one that was identical to Chuck, even in his posture and how he looked at just about every cyclist
that went by.
One of the rest areas is a place called “Roberts is
Here”. They have some signs in their parking lot that say: “Do not
leave valuables in your car. Roberts is Here” which is very funny since it almost means that because Roberts is there,
valuables will be stolen.
We had fun and the event ended up with a great luncheon
and barbque.
May, 2012
I was named one of the three Altar Servers of the year for
St. Brendan. This was announced on Easter Sunday and dad managed to get most
of the family to attend the Mass when it was announced. Weeks later we went to a special ceremonial mass at St John Vianny seminary. Some of dad’s nun students were there, as was one of our old priests and they were very proud of
me. It was a beautiful ceremony and Father Garza, the director of the seminary,
spoke beautifully to us as children and how we should be acting with our parents.
It was strange because in the chapel we could see the storm
outside but we felt were warm and secure in the chapel. After the ceremony we
were invited to a luncheon and the food was great. The burgers they gave us were excellent and we managed to take two home,
despite the rain.
February-April, 2012
Alberto and Marisa came back and did buy the apartment at
the beach as they had said they would. We were very happy for them and it was
an exciting event. The apartment building has multiple keys and is extremely secure.
They had left dad with a set of the keys and an assignment to move some of the pieces of furniture and install a TV
set that we had gotten for them. Alex and Dustin had come to visit and we had
a lot of fun with them. Then dad decided to take them to the apartment for them
to see the great view and the building and have Dustin help him with the furninture
an the tv install.
We drove all the way to the beach, entered the garage with
a special key card and when dad turned off the engine of the car, he realized that he had not brought any of the other sets
of keys to get into the building r or elevator. We walked away from him thinking
he was going to explode but neither Alex, nor Dustin nor I had ever seen him so cool calm and collected. He simply went back to the car, drove away and we went back home as if nothing had happened.
Any time Alberto and Marisa visit, we go to a lot of restaurants:
Chili’s, Tony Roma’s, Manolo’s, Casa Paco and other places he loves and we love to go with them to eat.
On one occasion dad surprised them by ordering a paella and bringing it home. They
are so great that they go with us to Mass at 6:00 every Sunday they are here. They
even established a conversation with Father Dennison and he blessed a crucifix that dad had bought them for the apartment.
My Confirmation Ceremony happened this month. It was a wonderful event because I happen to have the last year of studies as dad’s student. It was great and something neither of us thought would happen since he teaches adults
at Miami Dade generally and in the CCD group, they do not assign children to their parents but they made an exception because
he is so good at what he does.
Our closest friends were invited to attend and we had a
great luncheon after the ceremony at a restaurant called Il Forno on an outdoor patio and it was a very great reunion.
A few weeks later, our friend Rudy has his son’s party
in two empty lots that he owns close to our house. He converted the lots into
dinosaur land and had all kinds of events, including wall climbing, four wheel drive excursions, and motion activated dinosaurs
and non-stop food. He normally does these kinds of crazy parties. Two Christmases ago he even had a skating rink in the yard and it was a lot of fun.
January 2012
Four rabbits suddenly appeared around the corner area by
15th street. Two were very, very white and two were dirty brown. They
seemed like an apparition because they only came out in the mornings and late at night and they were running lose. At first Chuck approached them in his stealth mode, jumped at them
and they would jump away. Then he stopped it knowing it was useless.
Right after Easter, the rabbits were not as visible anymore
and we wondered if they were an Easter apparition.
December 2011
Ducks created a nest right at our front door. Papa duck kept watch and people away while mama duck kept the nest warm.
Christmas was relatively calm and nothing spectacular. We did OK with presents but nothing spectacular.
We went to midnight Mass on the 24th and it was moving. Sean
and I were invited to be altar servers for the Mass but we both refused making dad a little concerned since he is the coordinator
of the Altar Servers for the parish and here we are, without altar servers and his sons will not cooperate. Thank goodness we were in church!
Mama has joined a folkloric dance group called Bolivia Magica. First she was on her own but then all the uncles joined and the family basically
is the entire group. They have danced in many venues. They did the Candy Cane parade in Hollywood Beach and it was great.
They danced for threre entire miles on the boardwald and it was simply fantasitic.
Our friends from Argentina, Alberto and Marisa visited and
it was a lot of fun. They are always very thoughtful with us and they really enjoy going to Chili’s and Tony Romas with
us. They said they were going to rerutn very soon since they want to buy an apartment at the beach.
November, 2011
We got terrible news over the Thanksgiving weekend. Chuck was diagnosed with cancer on his nose.
The veterinarian suggested many options, one was to surgically remove the nose button but mom and dad would have nothing
to do with that process. The vet then suggested aggressive chemo therapy in
a special cancer clinic for pets to remove the malignant growth and mom and dad agreed to this. The treatment started soon and they were weekly. There were
supposed to be many side effects that would happen but Chuck was not paying attention and had none of them. He was not evern
the least bit taken aback by the treatments. He did not even lose any hair. He is a true champion. We prayed often
for him and mom took him to every one of the weekly sessions. Finally on May
1st the vet told us that his cancer had receded and even the nose itself was physically as it always had been. We could not be any happier for Chuck.
October 23rd, 2011
Today Sean and I did something we had not done before. We participated in long bike rides. The Everglades Bike
Club had a speedway ride. We started at the speedway and went straight up the bank.
That was scary. You ride at an angle from the track and it is truly scary. Then
Sean did 25 miles on the tandem with dad. That was very cool. I did 41 miles with mom on dad’s former Trek bicycle. I say former because he re-sized it for me and I ride it now. The 41 miles were a lot. I had never gone more than 12 miles at one time and I thought I was ready. I
was not. My butt hurt for the longest. So did my legs and shoulders and back.
But I am almost ready for the next.
My birthday – September 29,
2011
The day before my birthday I could not stop coughing. It
was hard to breathe and I had a terrible headache that would not stop. On my
birthday, there was a teachers’ planning day so there was no school and I thought it was in honor of my birthday. I woke up that morning so bad, that my aerosol was not doing anything for me. Mom and dad decided it was time to go to the emergency room.
Dad took me and we went into the area and a nurse saw me and did not even wait for papers to be filled.
She took me inside to the “David Memorial Room” – another David, and they did many things to me there. The thing I hate the most in hospitals
is the IV injection thing. It is just too painful. They game me one in the emergency room and another later in the ICU (I
see you) area. That one was painfull. Very. I was in the room next to where I was a few months ago with my head injury.
I spent my birthday in the hospital and was not allowed to go home until 4 days later. What a birthday.
Luckly, everyone came by to say hello and dad brought the laptop so I was able to keep up with things and play some. I am much better now.. I turned
13 in the hospital. How exciting.
June to September
A lot of things happened these months.
We said goodbye to a lot of friends:
June 10: Bob Knapp passed away. He was a good guy with us and came every year and spent a long
time with dad and taxes. Because of his size he appeared mean but dad always said he was a teddy bear.
June 15 Alex's Shelley left us. i was so glad we had decided to go visit with her when we did. It must
be very difficult for Alex.
July 7th: Abuelo Edgar died while in Bolivia. He had been there for a very long time and it is
hard to understand this but I do. And I explain it to Sean. Now we have no more grandfathers and only one grandmother left.
it is sad, but, as mom and dad continue to tell us, this is how life is.
June
5/28 – 5/31/2011
We took off to Gainesville to visit Alex for a couple of days.
We wanted to stay the long weekend but Mom was supposed to travel on Monday to a training in Atlanta and we had to
return Sunday night.
The GPS went crazy as soon as dad got on the expressway telling him to get off. Every exit it told him
to get off. Finally mom found out that my uncle Jessie had changed the setting to “Avoid highways” and of course
it was avoiding highways which is what we had to take.
We had a hearty breakfast Saturday morning, visited with Shelly, Alex and Dustin’s cocker spaniel
who is very, very ill. Dad took Benadryl Claritin and every other allergy medication
and tolerated the cats. We even have pictures of him with the cats around him., A first! We then went to Paynes Prairie, a
3 mile trail where we saw gators, wild horses and turtles. One of the horses appeared to be stuck in the mud but then got
up and joined the others. We saw some bison way at a distance but then did not come close.
Later that day we went to the bat house to see the event of the bats leaving for dinner. To this day,
dad has not seen one. I guess he is really one of them. We then gathered around Shelly and dad led a liturgy and prayers for
her and for the family to understand what was happening with her. It was sad.
On Sunday, after another hearty breakfast, we went to Dustin’s NCIS type lab and greenhouses to
see all he does. It was very interesting and his explanations sounded more like my science classes than my science classes. We then visited Alex’s school which was very cozy and comfortable and we played
a one second basketball game there.
We went to the museum to a new music exhibit and had a lot of fun. Danny appeared here. Then we went to Sams club, bought stuff for the grill and dad fired it up and we had a great time. We
then took off for Miami and hours later we were home.
On Monday, we took mom to the airport for her trip to Atlanta. We missed her as soon as we dropped her
off.
6/21/2011
Our good friend and dad’s lifetime friend, Bill had heart surgery and we went to visit him at the
hospital. He was recovering and was doing well. His
room was extremely hot because the sun was very, very bright in the room facing the bay and the sun reflected from the water.
It was about 5:50 in the afternoon and the day when a preacher had said the world would end by 6:00.
All of us were joking about this and that the end was near and we should repent. At
about that time, the room went dark, but the lights were on in the room. Sean, mom, Bill, his son and dad were surprised and
a little alarmed. With heart surgery just completed, Bill was truly scared. Dad’s eyes had never opened so large. The
eclipse continued for a few long seconds and we thought the preacher might have been right after all. Suddenly dad ran to
the window to see the tail end of a blimp passing past the hospital. The blimp
had passed between the sun and the hospital at that time which was appropriate for what was supposed to happen. What a scare!
March 6, 2011: Hospital day-1
I have a very huge bump on the back of my head. It all happened on Friday, 4th of March.
I was playing basketball. I turned around to get the ball, I lost my balance, then I fell and I blacked out for a few seconds,
then when I woke up, I had a big bump on my head, I had scratches on my back, my right elbow, a big, ugly scar on my left
elbow, it was painful. Then at the doctors, they gave me a cat scan, then they said they would call my parents to tell them
about anything else, (and at the doctors I saw the pastor from our church and thought he was there for me!.) Then a few
hours later, they called and told my parentsm that I had a little brain fracture and I had to go to the hospital. When I was
there, they gave me IV shots and it hurt, a lot - let me repeat that- a lot!. They first gave it to me in my right, then on
my left. But they missed 2 times on my left because I got nervous and my veins disappeared. So they gave me a shot on the
elbow. Well, not really the elbow where the biggest vein is. And the most visible. I stayed up until 3 in the morning, my
aunt and my parents were there, then they put cables on me to check my heart rate, all that. And when I tried to fall asleep
the nurses would always wake me up to ask me the same questions over and over. What’s your name? What day is it? When
is your birthday? What year is it? Where are you? One time I said “Baptist church” and I was really sleepy, so
that's why. I asked dad, "Why don't they write this down so they don't have to ask
me again?" Half kidding, half serious.
When they gave me the CAT scan at 6:30 in the morning, I was
asleep the whole way. Then they said I couldn’t eat. Oh noes!
August 24, 2010
We are back in school. I started at Ponce Middle School which has a Baccalaureate
program. I was one of only 100 students accepted. I am very thrilled and happy,
or maybe not. It is a lot of hard work and even though mom and dad will help, it is still up to me. The bad part is Sean and
I now go to different schools i miss going to school with him and getting back home together. Now it is very, very different.
A year ago I was part of the big kids in school and this year i am part of the smallest.
We are also taking Judo classes two days a week. it is a long, long day
but worth it. My abdomen still hurts from all the exercises.
Sean and I are now altar servers at St. Brendan. The first
two times it was difficult with the many things we have to do but we had help.The third week we were alone and had to do everything
- cross, bell, you name it. We did and everyone was proud of us. Father asked the congregation to give us a hand and
they did. Sean always ends up at the offering bringing the challice and four or five other things which makes mom and dad
a little nervous but he is a champion and manages.
We are proud that dad is the lector at mass although he does
not bow enough when he comes to the altar. I guess if he does no one will be able to straighten him back up.
May 1, 2010
This was our First Communion. We were very excited but I think mom and
dad were more. We had to be at church very, very early with all of our stuff
for the pictures and we managed.
Then we had the ceremony where there were so many people few could sit.
Then we all went home and had a party to celebrate
April 3, 2010
The four of us went to the Paul McCartney concert. It was awesome. It was
incredible. He sang forever and most of our favorites, I’m Looking Through You, Let it Be, Day Tripper, Helter Skelter.
We had a blast. He pretended to leave, but came back again and again and sang
more.
March 20, 2010
I have decided, with a lot of study and pushing by mom and dad to go to
Ponce.
I really, really wanted to go to Everglades because all my friends are going
there, but mom and dad have a point and this will be better for me. Another group of friends was going to Ruben Dario and
that was my second choice but Ponce, here I come!
March 15, 2010
I have been accepted to:
1. Ponce Middle’s
Magnet International Baccalaureate Program
2. Ruben Dario Middle’s
Magnet Aviation/Aerospace Program
3. Riviera Middle’s
Magnet Multimedia Industry program
4. South Miami Middle’s
Magnet Music Program – on waiting list. Audition was good but I cannot read music and readers were selected first.
1/27/10
We had two great weekends, one after the
other. First, dad’s friends from Argentina came to visit. They have been
his friends forever and they come and visit every two years or so. They also
remember Alex when she was young like us because she visited them in Buenos Aires many, many years ago. The week they visited it was freezing here. We went to a place called Lincoln Road and it was freezing,
but we had a great time. We walked up and down the walkway and saw many, many
dogs with their winter clothing. It was a lot of fun. We were looking for the
Yoko Ono display but it was not that week.
WE ended up at home and played the Beatles
Rock Band for a long time and had a blast.
The following week, Alex and Dustin came
to visit with Shelley and Marley. We even went to see one of Dad’s games and it was a lot of fun with the crazy people
at the stands. The next day we went to tia Elisa’s house and had a lot of fun there but we came back home to play the
Beatles Band and it was a lot of fun with everyone playing. Dustin played drums and had us fail, but we recovered. Alex ended
up playing base, Sean guitar and mom and dad and I did vocals. We are ow ranked in the upper 200's in some songs. We are rocking!!
10/15/09
Super
Mario, one of dad's friends, and ours too, appeared with a wonderful birthday present for both Sean and me. He got us the
Beatles Rock Band! We had a couple of problems we had to solve but quickly did. We needed to buy the Wii Console since we
did not have it. Our TV in the family room had broken down and dad did not want to fix it. We did both things and we are having
a great time. We need to fight dad for the microphone and some songs, but we manage. Even Mama is involved in the game and
we are great. We are ranked from 156 to 3,120 globally in some songs.
Fifth
grade is really hard. it is really testing me. I will manage, but I have to pray more often then ever.
09/09
School's
in! I am in fifth grade, the last one in this school. I am also the newscaster for the morning TV program at school and that
is fun.
I
finish my homework quickly so that i can have the afternoon off. Dad is right. Get it over with and do it right and we are
home free.
08/09
We
had a wonderful time this summer. We went on a cruise with tio padrino and tia Elisa, other tias from Bolivia came to visit,
Alex visited us a couple of times, we spent forever at the pool and we spent two weeks in Jensen.
Jensen
was great. Alex came with Shirley and Marley. We biked over the tall bridge and into the hilly town almost every day when
Alex the boy and Liz visited. We fed some manatees right at the beach and that was truly awesome. Dad found a floating dock
to where we biked evryday. I biked 60 miles in the entire time we were there. I used mom's Trek bike and she now lost it because
it is mine to keep.
Too
bad that school starts soon and summer is over but we cannot complain because it was so great.
06/09
We
have not written in a long, long while. It has been a difficult school year. I had a tough time keeping my grades up but I
did. Dad told me once that if I kept it up, Sean would catch up with me. Finally, school ended, I got good grades and
passed to fifth.
During
the year, many interesting things happened: Alex visited several times and took us once to Everglades park. We had a lot of
fun there with the animals and the entire park. it was truly a lot of fun.
We
are having tons of fun too at the pool although I cannot go in as much as i want to because of my alergies but I manage.
Mom
and Dad went to their annual MS Bike Ride and it was another blast. They did great because they had super bikes. They broke
the sound barrier as fast as they were moving.
Dad
participated in the parent presentation at school and it was great. He had several shirts on and had prizes for the kids that
knew some of the questions he asked.
I
went with him to his office on take your kid to work day and get $100 for doing so. We had a great time and it was a swell
day.
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