Ashlyn's New Development...

Ashlyn has learned to stand. Once in a while she lets go and stands on her own. She's getting it. I also see an outlet that needs to be covered. Oops. Nice of us to post proof!!!

It's "A NEW CAR!!!"

OK, so the gas price was starting to take a toll. With work and school, I put a lot of miles on the road. I finally started to run numbers and track mileage about a month and a half ago. What I found was a bit shocking. Our truck was getting 15 miles per gallon. The Jeep is getting 18 miles per gallon. In the truck, I am on target to hit around 26,000 miles for the year. When I ran the numbers, gas was $3.75 per gallon. That brings us to $6,500 in gas for the truck alone. When I included the Jeep, we were just under $11,000 for the year. To top it off, the truck is at 60,000 miles and the tires were so bald that they were starting to blister. One of the benefits to having a truck with an upgraded wheel package is the ability to buy tires at a price of $2,000 a set!!!

After spreadsheeting out gas prices and mileage, I found that I would save quite a bit of money by trading in the truck even if I had to make payments on a new car. To make a long story shorter, we traded in the truck for a 2008 Honda Civic at 30 MPG.

I tried to find a photo of the truck in our files, but this was the best I could do. I think you get the point. It was big!!!

Kayla's New Pool

Kayla was very excited to pick out her new pool. This is the only thing better than bath time to her.

Ashlyn wanted NOTHING to do with the new pool. It doesn't appear that she is quite as big a fan of the water as Kayla is. She much prefers sitting in the shade and playing.

50 Years!!!

Elisa's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Tuesday!!! It was a great day. It started with a surprise midnight serenade. Her Dad has been in Mexico with family for the past couple weeks. He flew back to Orlando unannounced and waited at Silvia's house until midnight when he drove over and entered to the sounds of the Wedding Waltz.

The whole family met for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Timpano (the mussels are fabulous). We then headed to a sitting for family portraits. Everybody then came to our house for a surprise party for both of them.

I had to share this picture from that night. These are two of the closest sisters you will ever see!

Congratulations Brian and Stephanie!

We had the pleasure of attending two big religious occasions in the past

few weeks. Brian has been working hard over the past several months

leading up to his Confirmation. Here he is with the Bishop.

Stephanie also hit a big milestone. She received First Communion just a week

after Brian's Confirmation. She looked beautiful!

Grades are in...

My first semester back in school has drawn to a close and the results are in....

Statistics "A"
American Government "A"
Computing for Business "A"

I start my summer courses on May 13th. I will be taking two classes; Accounting: Cost Management, and International Business. After the summer, I will have a total of 9 courses left for the requirements of a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting.

Ashlyn's Starring Role.....

I know... Two posts in the same month... It just didn't seem right to post a video of Kayla and not one of Ashlyn. Here is a great flick of Ashlyn's unique style of crawling. She is getting faster and faster, but she never gets away from the "Ashlyn Scoot!!!"

Rate this video by leaving a comment on this post. If there is an overwhelming response, we may be forced to keep up with the posts and give you more photos and videos!!!!

Pictures just can't get you quite a close as a video can.

Here's Kayla on picture day...

A BUSY Weekend!!!!!

OK... Again we will be doing a massive post all in one day. As always, sorry for the infrequent postings. We have been extremely busy over the past few months. To add to it, we have also misplaced the charger for our camera. Therefore, we also have had very limited pictures over the past few months. Here is a look at this past weekend....

Our first stop was Picture Day at Kayla's Ballet School. Here she is with her friend Christina. Their annual recital will be the first weekend in June. We will be sure to post video clips after the event. Make sure you check back....

Ashlyn really gets into "Everything Kayla." If her big sister likes it, Ashlyn loves it. She is well liked at Kayla's school. Everybody "Coos" over her.

We spent a day in Celebration, FL for the annual Speed Show and Pie Festival. Yes, that covers a very diverse span. If you can believe it, Kayla entered a Pie Eating Competition. She did great!!! Even more importantly, the pictures are great!!!

There were over 300 cars being shown in the downtown area. The show focuses on Performance Cars. The majority of the cars are Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pantera, etc... There were also a few celebrity cars. Here is a picture of the Delorean from Back to the Future. The cars from the original Night Rider and Gone in 60 Seconds (Deloris) were also there.

We ended the day in Winter Park. Brian spent the day at a Catholic Retreat and we joined up with the family for Mass after the completion. As I'm sure you can tell, it was another beautiful day in Central Florida.

Here is an update on the girls...

I know it's been a while since we've giving news about the girls. Kayla is beautiful as always. She is still taking ballet lessons twice a week. She's also started taking swiming lessons on the weekends. Ashlyn has started to crawl and has two very sharp teeth. Ashlyn and Kayla get along so well. They can spend hours playing with each other and having fun.

Brian's First Communion

The first Sunday of April, Brian received first communion. The following Sunday he went on a retreat and the Sunday after that he will confirmed. Stephanie will follow with her first communion. We had a great day with the Family. Here is a picture of Brian with Father Gregory, the priest of our parish.

A morning funny....

I thought this was pretty funny, so I had to share it......

Estate Planning

Don was a single guy living at home with his father and working

in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit

a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife

with which to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most

beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his

breath away. 'I may look like just an ordinary man,' he said to her,

'but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit

20 million dollars.'

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three

days later, she became his stepmother.

Another long pause....

I know... The last posting was quite a while ago.....

Here is a somewhat recent picture of the family. Well, even that is over a month old now. A lot has happened in the last month. As you all know, we had a great holiday trip home to Rochester. We had a great time. It is ALWAYS good to be home. No, we will not be moving back any time soon. Sorry....

As many of you know, I have returned to school. I am attending the University of Central Florida in a quest for a second Bachelors Degree. I am taking classes to get a degree in Accounting. It's still early, but so far adding classes to an already busy schedule has been successful.

Sorry for the short post and the huge span between posts. I'm sure it will be a while before I post again. Don't give up on us. Keep checking the blog periodically. I promise we will continue even though it will be infrequently!!!!!!!!!!!

Check Out Her Ears!!!!!

Ashlyn got her ears pierced today. Check out her new Bling!!!!

I know you have been waiting for this.....

Here are a couple recent shots of the girls. Can you tell the sisters get along pretty well? Kayla is still the best big sister a girl could ask for (and her parents)!!!!

Check out the new purse and earrings from Uncle Ryan and Tia Makik (I'm sure you can tell how much she loves them). Kayla has always been a bit of a girly-girl!!!!!

OK, both Ashlyn and Elisa will question my judgement by putting this video up. She's a bit drenched by drool. She has pretty well soaked through her bib, but you deserve to see how are little girl is growing up!!! Here she is testing her vocal cords. She has become quite the talker.

A Day at SeaWorld Orlando!!!!

Kayla is at the perfect age to be going to all of the Parks that make Orlando famous. Ashlyn is a few years to young, but she gets to hang out anyway. Last Monday, we spent the day checking out the shows and riding the rides....

Kayla, how big is Shamu???

Check out Kayla's big girl bracelet. This is the first time Kayla was tall enough to get on the roller coasters. I was a bit apprehensive not knowing how she would react on the ride. To my surprise, she loves the rides as much as her Daddy!!!! She did great!!!

I'm sure the shoulder harness is more effective than it may look.... I hope.....

I'm still a Seminole and proud of it!!!!!!!!!!!

I made my annual pilgrimage back to Tallahassee to see Florida State play against Maryland. Fortunately, it is one of the games that we played very well in this year. We've had a few disappointing years recently. We end this season way down again. It wouldn't be so bad if FSU wasn't SO good for so long in the 90's. Now I compare every season to that!!!!!

Elisa and I went up for the weekend and met up with our good friends from Atlanta; Jose, Alexandra and the kids. We had a GREAT weekend. It was great to be back. This was the first time Elisa had been to Tallahassee. Last year, Jose and I went to the game on our own.

We were also able to stay at the Governors' Inn. This was the hotel I worked in for a few years while I was going to school.

Happy Birthday Kayla!!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday, Kayla had a birthday party at our house. We had a busy house!!!!!!!

The Birthday Gang...

(Cousin Elaine, best friend Christie, the Birthday Girl, Ducky, Roger, Cousin Stephanie, Paola, and Goose) Ducky, Roger, and Goose lovingly nicknamed by Uncle Aaron!!!

La Princessa Kayla.

Sunday was Brian's Birthday, so we celebrated both his and Kayla's.

He looks good as King Brian!!!

Ashlyn joins the fun. Kayla always has time for her baby sister!!!

She's always smiling. What a happy baby!!!!!!

Go Colts!!!!!!

Congratulations to our niece Elaine and the Colts. They came in second place in a Miami Cheeleading Competition. You have to admit that this is a great looking pyramid for 7 year olds!!! Great job Elaine!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Brian!!!!!!!!

Today is our nephew Brian's 15th birthday!!!!!!!! He is now old enough to get his driver's learners permit. Yes, in Florida they start driving at the age of 15. No, he did not have a pink birthday party. This was the most recent picture I could find. That was Elisa's Baby Shower.