HURRAH HUNTER!

Hey!  Hunter Alan Hernandez turns 5 years old today.  5 is such a great age.  You get to start kindergarten.  You learn to ride a bike.  You can play at a friend's house for hours.  You don't take naps anymore.
Here are a few things I love about Hunter:
1.  He has so much enthusiasm!!  Enthusiasm for just about everything and everyone

2.  He is so friendly.  Take him to the park and he has a new friend within minutes.

3.  Hunter loves to swim.  He is really a fish in the water, I think.

Hunter, 1, gets a dip in the pool.

Hunter with his mom, Cathy.

3.  Hunter is very coordinated.  He learned to walk very young and to run before most kids could walk.  He is naturally very athletic and physically capable.

4.  Hunter has very advanced soccer skills. Does that surprise anyone?  But to be able to kick the ball with your laces and score goals against older kids when you are 3 and 4 is amazing.

5.  Hunter learns what the rules are and tries very hard to follow them and sees that everyone else does, too.

6.  Hunter adores his little sister, Isabella.  His only problem is that he wants to love and kiss her more than she wants.

7.  Hunter has always had a special relationship with Papa.  Since he was very little he definitely preferred Papa.  Maybe that is because his dad, Mao, has such a special relationship with Papa.

8.  Hunter is a very smart boy and learns quickly.  He loves to have a notebook with him to do his work in.

9.  Hunter loves his family and wants to do what they tell him.

10.  Hunter already can speak and understand some Spanish. What an advantage to be bilingual.

We love having Hunter visit us and keep us entertained.  Hope we get to see him soon.

Happy Birthday, Hunter!  We love you.

Company For the Holidays

What a great holiday season we had!  The Harris family came for almost three weeks.  We had to share them a little with Todd's family, but we had them the most.  Sunny and Steve were scheduled to also come and stay at the beach house, when we were surprised by the Toblers arriving also for a week.  They had arranged with friends who had a wonderful beach house in Laguna so they stayed in luxury.  Now all we were missing were Sam and Lindsay's family in NC since Ruby had just been born and Mao and Cathy's little group because Mao was in Colombia.  What that meant for us was:

Cousins performing on the stairs as Sunday dinner winds down.

Many moments to cuddle on the couch.

Games with Aunt Ashley in the living room.

Musclemen performing on the table.

Lunch at Ruby's Laguna to celebrate Jessie's birthday

Cousins posing for the camera--or not (broken camera can't focus)

Group excursions to the beach and tidepools.

Fabulous talent show acts:

It might be Dec/Jan but there is always swimming with this group!

Snack time, cousin time.  Kayla and Kate

One Adults Night Out

Early morning balloon rides

Evening at the beach

A little football

Babies at the beach

Bonfires and birthdays

Best friends and sunsets

Then baths, jamas, and a story

Then crash on the couch before bedtime.

We love the chaos, the fun, the togetherness.  We hated the good-byes.  We never know when so many will be all together again.  I hope it is soon.  Family is what it is all about.