Cancun

We had another beautiful Cancun vacation. The weather was "perfect" in the sense that there wasn't one drop of rain and barely a cloud in the sky the entire week...but it was HOT!!! Not so sure I want to go back in May again...

We chose May so all the kids could go. They were at three different colleges this year with three different spring breaks so May made the most sense. 

The girls got some fantastic pictures flying into Cancun...

Gianna even spotted our resort from the plane!

We had an ocean front room again this year...

I got up to see the sunrise a couple of mornings from our balcany...so peaceful...

The Royal Sands is the best...

We saw the most beautiful sunsets leaving our room every night. That is literally right out our door...

Our first family dinner was on Tuesday night at Sisal...

Nicholas' girlfriend, Haley, joined us this year...

Dinner at Sisal never disappoints. Such a beautiful restaurant with great food and fabulous entertainment...

Voces de la tierra...they are so incredibly talented. We see them every year. And the lead singer is the sweetest!! She actually remembers us every year! We are some of her biggest fans : ) 

Queen and Queen...they are so funny...

Wednesday night we took one of the crazy crowded city buses to Limoncello... 

Dinner is all outside and it was so humid with barely a breeze but we had a really nice night there. I cooled off in the bathroom! We got to see a crocodile again this year! He was big!!

The restaurant had a photographer and he took our picture...

There was a beautiful full moon this week which just added to the beauty of the nights...

On Thursday, we went back to Sisal for a second time because it is so good...

We enjoyed a Michael Jackson show on our last night. I loved it so much that I was the only one in the audience who gave them a standing ovation! Haha!! Sadly Gianna didn't join us as she was feeling a little under the weather. I think the heat got to her. The buffet was delicious too! Such a fun night!! 

Flying home Julia snapped this amazing picture...

A beautiful relaxing week! Until next time...

Mama's Day

There will never be a day you don’t miss her.

Never a day, where you don’t wish you could hear her voice or ask for her advice just one more time.

There will never be a moment that you don’t regret all the times you screened her call, or missed a visit, simply because life was just too busy.

And now you realize busy is fake, it isn’t real.

She was real and she is gone.

And you are alone.

And the feeling of abandonment and loneliness is huge. Mind-blowing, no matter how loved or surrounded by family you may be.

None of it is her.

When the woman who brought you into this world is no longer here, it is a lonely place.

And you are now she.

You are now the one expected to guide, to discipline, to love, to handle everything, for everyone. And that is a shock.

But you got this.

Because she taught you well.

She made you right and she made you strong and she filled you with enough love to share around, even after she was gone.

So go on.

And make her proud.

And remember, look out for the little girl who still lives inside you somewhere, she misses her Mama very much.

~ Donna Ashworth

Finding out

I love these candid shots of the girls finding out they made the dance team...

It's going to be a great year! I can't wait!! : ) 

Hello Dance Team

She did it!!! She worked her butt off for the past 3 weeks and made the ECDT!!! Yay!!!  This will be life changing for her!  OK hold on. Backing up for a second...she applied to Endicott and was accepted a few weeks ago! Her new chapter can now begin...

Four girls were picked from the in-person auditions and three girls were picked from the virtual auditions...

I love what Julia posted on her Instagram story...

This is Julia's last year and she is team captain to boot but most importantly...they are teammates again!! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for them! We're all so excited!! 

You can hear Julia crying...I was sobbing in the car watching this all the while dying to see Gianna so I could give her a big hug!!

Goodbye SHU

So long SHU and good riddance!! It wasn't the first year college experience we were all hoping for. To say Gianna's freshman year at SHU (or Sacred Shart as she affectionately calls it) was a disappointment would be a tremendous understatement. It was in fact a literal disaster. I should have seen the impending doom when the night before Parent's Weekend last September there was a devastating car crash right on campus. Thankfully no one was killed but it was horrific. We all need to put her freshman year behind us and chalk it up to a learning experience. Gianna will be starting fresh this fall at Endicott with her sister! New and exciting times are ahead of her!!