Aaron, Elisa, Kayla & Ashlyn

Monday, May 26, 2014

Sunday, January 10, 2010

After a long 12 hour shift, I came home around 7pm. I opened the front door and... WOW!!!!!! What is that wonderful smell?. It was a great mix of white wine, great spices and sweet smells. I was greeted by my girls, Alex and Aaron. Alex, Aaron and the girls had been cooking for hours to try out two new recipes. One of recipes came from a magazine that Grandma Auble gave us while we were at NY for Christmas. The other came from one of our recipe books. Dinner was unbelievably delicious. My two chefs did not allow me to help at all. The entire dinner was a surprise as new dishes showed up in front of me. Alex, then said...we need a couple of candles to make this dinner special. So, I searched for dinner candles and found the only two...very special ones...do you recognize them? It is the two candles that Aaron and I used during our wedding ceremony 7 years ago. How special...and a great reminder that I need to buy some. I often wonder..... What have I done to have such a great life. For now, I will just enjoy the many blessing that I have.

This is the appetizer: Pear and Brie Latke (left), Spinach and Red Bell Latke (right)

*A Latke is similar to a potato pancake*

The entree was Chicken and Green Olives with a white wine cream sauce served over a bed of Fettuccine.

Finishing off, desert was a chocolate creme brulee.

This morning was so cold (not up north cold), but Florida cold. We woke up to frozen water pipes. Aaron came to the rescue by going outside with the hairdryer and warming up the exposed pipe. We stayed home for the morning and made waffles (from scratch) with whipped cream and strawberry topping.

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Bad Bloggers.... Catching up

Our New Year's resolution is to blog more often and take more pictures to share with the family (ha ha ha). Here are some pictures, in no particular order, of the 2009 events in the Hoefen Family (Orlando Chapter)

Ashlyn's self portrait. She has learned how to use the camera and take pictures of everyone including herself.

Alex's (our nephew) 19th Birthday

2009 Christmas Tree

Kayla's 6th Birthday. We had a great time miniature golfing.

Before her 6th Birthday, Kayla learned how to ride her new bike with no training wheels. It took her and Daddy 3 days to master.

Maybe not the Seminole's best year, but for Aaron and I, this was the most exciting and eventfull season. Altogether, we attended all but two home games plus one in Gainsville. We got a parking pass that allowed us to tailgate. Dad, Ryan and Bret joined Aaron on one of the games and we are on our way at becoming pre-game proffesionals. GO NOLES!!!

WE WILL MISS YOU BOBBY!!!

We made a last minute trip to Rochester to celebrate Grandma Auble's Birthday. We had a chance to meet new family and catch up with everybody. The girls had a great time with their cousins.

OH, there is nothing better than our Sunday routines. Getting up, cooking breakfast with the girls and family day.

In 2009 Aaron and I celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary. Our family surprised us with a cookie cake and lunch.

Our little girls!!!

Ashlyn's 2nd Birthday. Picture with Mamita Esperanza and Papi Diomo. Her most devoted fans. The cake was a creation of Tia Silvia.

My Honey's 33rd Birthday. Like a great scotch, my husband keeps on getting better with time.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Kayla's First Day of School...

Today was Kayla's first day of school. This moring Aaron, Ashlyn, Mamita Esperaza, Papi Diomo, Stephanie and I took her to school. She was so exited to go to school, meet new friends and learn new things (Definetly a Hoefen trait). Our little princess keeps on inpressing us every day. When she was picked up, she couln't stop talking (a Melgarejo trait) about her day. She had a note from the teacher saying that she was amazing and a great listener on her first day. Other events that have taken place, is that Kayla and Ashlyn (with Daddy) will be taking gymnastics classes on Saturdays. The class was only meant for Kayla, but when Aaron took Ashlyn along she begged Daddy to let her play. Daddy has a soft side for the girls, so now we have two little ones signed up. More to come on the gymnastics. We are both looking forward to an exciting school year.

Sunday, August 09, 2009

California Trip

A couple of months ago we wen to visit my sister Carmen, Amanda and Linda in California. They live in Irivine. We had such a great time there. We visited different places and enjoyed the cool California weather. There is so much more to see that we were not able to....definitely an excuse to go back !!! Here are some of the trip pictures.

The Crystal Cathedral is the home base for the International Crystal Cathedral Ministries, including a congregation of over 10,000 members and the internationally televised "Hour of Power."

We headed to different places, and some took a couple of hours to get there. The car trips were fun and long. The girls were really good.

We visited one of the many wineries in the area. "Blackjack" is located in Solvang. Since we had the girls, we were not all able to go inside. Aaron was able to go and do a little tasting. He got a bottle that we later enjoyed on our 7th wedding anniversary. Perfect !!!

Solvang dates back to 1911 when Danish-Americans traversed the plains from Iowa to establish a settlement in California. They purchased 9,000 acres of the former Rancho San Carlos de Jonata and situated their new community adjacent to the historic Old Mission Santa Inés. To preserve and promote Danish culture, the founders constructed a Danish folk school and church; then built Atterdag College, which opened in 1914 and educated through 1970.

We spent a day at the beach. The water was cold, but that did not stop us from going in and having a good time.

We visited one of Carmen's friend's avocado farm. They are also growing lemons and grapefruit. We were able to go around and pick avocados. It was a first for us. We brought back enough avocados to last us weeks. The view from the top of the groves is breathtaking.