a date with peter pan

Your dad leaves for Bahrain this Friday, so we decided to have one big last night out. Peter Pan 360 is in town for a few weeks, so we made it a night out. We took you to your first "fancy" dinner to one of our favorite places, Churrascos. The manager even came over to our table to compliment your dad and me on how well-mannered you were.

We spent all morning at your school for a Parent Workshop. Your teachers and administrators have nothing but praises about how smart and well-behaved you are. Needless to say, it felt very good to hear these things from the people that you spent a big portion of your days with. I'll never get tired of saying just how proud we are of you.

So after dinner, we headed to the theater. This was one of those traveling productions, so we weren't quite sure what to expect since it was in a tarp. All of our expectations were more than exceeded. The show was GREAT, and you had a BLAST!

The stage was in the middle of the actual tent, so no matter where you were, the view was good. The screen was above us, so we felt like we were in the story. 

The next few months are not gonna be easy. We're all gonna have our bad days, but we want you to know that we'll get through it. My hope is that by the time you read this, you won't remember any of the hard days, but that you never forget the good ones. I will try my best to make sure that there are MANY good ones for you to remember. 

This past weekend was your Abuela Maria's 65th birthday party. Bella, we couldn't keep you still long enough to take a pic. Ellie, you were attached at the hip with your dad. He couldn't go more than 20 feet away from you before you were raising your arms to have him hold you again. This is the last weekend before your dad leaves, so we will try to make the most out of it. These months will fly by and he'll be back before we know it. 

This video cracks me up; this is you two in a nutshell. You guys will get along one second, and be completely over each other the next. This is what we've been doing for the past few days, listening to music and dancing. It's really the highlight of my day.

 "A people without the knowledge of their past, origin, and culture 

is like a tree with no roots."

Yes, you are American. It's a great thing to be and ALWAYS be proud of that. We are luckily much much more than that. You also have the priviledge of being Mexican. Always be just as proud of that. Please don't forget that there is so much more to you. You are the sum of two cultures, and we walk a fine line as such. Our history is rich and colorful and something to hold our heads up high about. I try my best to keep as many Mexican traditions as I do the American ones because I feel that it is important that you embrace both of them equally. I hope that this is something that you pass on to your children someday, the love for your country (in this case, countries).

Today is Mexican Independence Day. I hope that years from now you will see today as not just a day when you get to wear a pretty dress, but a reminder of the pride that us Mexicans feel when we see our flag fly. I feel the same butterflies when I see my American flag fly during 4th of July than I do today when I see you wearing traditional clothing.

Long after the walls are up, we'll probably forget this was even there. But, I wanted to take the time to remind you just how BLESSED we are. I want you to always remember that we have SO MUCH to be thankful for. We pray that we are guiding you in the correct path, that we are teaching you the value of hard work, and that you know that we believe that you two are capable of great things.

The verse on the left is in your room, Bella. If you ever wanna find it (and I hope you never have to rip open the walls), it's on the far left wall.

 "Every good and perfect gift is from above."

-James 1:17

The verse on the right is in your room, Ellie. Again, please don't rip down the walls! Yours you will find to the right of left-side window. 

 "I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted me what I asked of him."

-1 Samuel 1:27-28

If and when we no longer live here, we also hope that the people who do get to experience at least a fraction of the happiness that you two have brought into our lives. Nothing short of a miracle can explain how lucky your dad and I are to have two amazing daughters like you. 

slugger

You've been playing baseball at school and were really anxious to come home and show your dad that you've learned to bat. Y'all played all evening. I'm sure you're majorly scratching because of all the mosquito bites this morning, but I'm also pretty sure it was worth it.

You kept screaming "OHMYGOD, OHMYGOD"