Miami Marlins

This is the first season the Miami Marlins are playing in their new Ballpark. I must admit I'm not a huge baseball fan, okay fine I'm not a baseball fan at all. I don't dislike the sport, but it is much too slow to sit and watch. Now playing it is a different story. Anyway, I got a call from Krysta asking if Oscar and I wanted to go a Marlins game, Devin had gotten some free tickets at work and they were going. Obviously we could not say no, plus Oscar and I both really wanted to go see the new stadium. We really enjoyed our time there, although I didn't pay much attention to the game. Towards the end of the game we started to walk around inside the stadium to see all it had, I was highly impressed on what a great job they did with the new Marlins Park. It is even enjoyable for those of us that are not big baseball fans.

Minute To Win It

Once again we had another fun game night with the Russ (Annalee & Blake) and the Belliston (Krysta & Devin). We decided to have Minute to Win It challenges, if you have never seen the show Google it! We had a lot of fun, tons of laughs and discovered hidden talents. Game nights with the Russ & Belliston are always very fun. Here are some of the pictures & video from the night.  I look forward to a Minute to Win It round 2!

Our Mexican get away

This past week Oscar and I took a much needed vacation to Mexico. A few months ago we saw a great deal on Living Social for a 7 night stay in Mexico, we loved the Idea and went ahead and bought it. At first we were a little skeptical of how purchasing a vacation through Living Social would work, it turns out everything was just fine. The vacation we purchased was to stay at The Grand Mayan Resort. It’s located about 30 min from Cancun’s hotel area and about 20 min from Playa del Carmen or PC as we called it (which was our favorite spot).  We decided to rent a car so that we would be able to move about freely, if you plan to do some traveling taxis are not that cheap.  We drove 25 min out to our hotel, which by the way was beautiful, and the service was excellent. Every corner of the hotel is always clean, people are friendly, and the resort is big and stunning. There are 3 different hotels in the resort and ours alone had 13 buildings, needless to say how big it was. The resort had multiple restaurants, the best pools I’ve ever been to (not crowded which was my favorite part), golf course, tennis, entertainment etc…  I suppose if you wanted you could stay inside the resort the whole week.

They gave us a 2 bedroom suite, yes, for only 2 people. This suite was big enough for 10 people to sleep in, it also had a full kitchen and a whirlpool in the balcony, what else can a girl asks for!

On the day we arrived we went out to Playa del Carmen to walk around a bit and also go to Wal-Mart to stock up on some food and water. We also went back to PC a few more times during the week, it’s a great small town, good places to eat and to be entertained.

During the week we also went to a great park called Xplor, if you like activities and adventure this is a great place. Zip lines, caves, cenotes. We had tons of fun here.

We also found ourselves taking a party ferry to Isla Mujeres. The water here its absolutely amazing. We did some snorkeling and driving around town in a golf cart.

We couldn’t leave Mexico without visiting some ruins, so we drove to the nearest ones out in Tulum.  The ruins overlook a beautiful beach; obviously, we couldn’t pass the opportunity to get in the water.

This vacation was a lot of fun, we spent tons of time in the pool, the beach, and having fun together.

Where shall we go?

For a long time now, Oscar and I have known that we needed to start looking into others state to live in. It wasn’t until this past week when Oscar received an email that had been selected to take the ATSAT that the thought that we will probably not live in Miami any more really started to dawn on us. So here is how this all works, in the air traffic control field.  Oscar has been going to school majoring in Aviation Administration.  At the end of his second to last semester he is allowed to take the ATSAT, 8 hour long test he will be taking on the 26^th. Then depending on his score the process moves onto a physical exam, interview, background check, 3 months in Oklahoma for training (This could take up to a year before happening)… but before all this Oscar has to fill out a form in which he writes down the 2 top states he would like to live in. A job offer will be extended to a city in one of these two states chosen.   The obvious #1 is Florida. Even if we don’t end up in the Miami area (and odds are we won’t) at least we would be in the same state as our family and friends. However, the chances of getting a city in Florida are greatly reduced since it’s a very popular state amongst Air Traffic Controllers.  So what other state shall we choose, keeping in mind we don’t get to choose the city? I can honestly say I have never been faced with such a difficult question. We have to really consider the possibilities and understand that this could be the place where we spend at least 5 years. We have considered a few locations, but have yet to make up our mind. There are many things to consider; the climate and how family oriented a place is, are our top two priorities.   I’m uncertain of what the future has in store for our family, but I look forward to all the adventures that are to come.

Suggestions on any states?

Sun-N-Fun

This past Friday Oscar and I drove to Orlando to go to the Sun-N-Fun Air show. Saturday Morning, along with Jonathan and Kimberly Hoffmann, we drove about an hour to Lakeland Linder Airport where the air show was taking place. I had been to an air show in Miami, but this one was much larger. The air show was a lot of fun, and as with any outing the food was great.

The company was great too; it’s always enjoyable when we can spend time with Jonathan and Kim.  They are always so caring and great friends!

Oscar had so much fun, no matter how many times he sees an airplane he is always excited. I love it when we can do something together that he is so passionate about.  It’s great to see him in awe.

I love the air show not only for how spectacular the pilots can maneuver the aircrafts but for how patriotic the event is and makes me feel.  The loud sound the airplane leaves behind as it passes by, the sound that is so strong you can actually feel it in your body, that sound and feeling translates to the effort and sacrifice our troops give overseas. I’m so thankful and blessed that I live in this great nation, even with all the things that could be better, I still love this country.

Sun-N-Fun air show was a great experience; I can’t wait to go to another air show again. 

Hello Again

It’s been months since my last post, disappointed? Yes! Surprised? No. I always have a hard time sticking to what I start, and I was easily discouraged once I saw so much time was passing by and I was not writing any post. Since the main purpose of starting this blog was to keep an account our life, I decided to sum up some of the main events since my last post in one. Although many events were worthy of their own post, I will sum them all up in one, and start fresh and consistent with my post from now on (cross my fingers).

Anniversary

August 7 marked Oscar and my second wedding anniversary. I was a little under the weather so we stayed home and celebrated together.

NY trip

Oscar and I went to NY for Labor Day/ My Birthday; there we met with the Hoffmann’s and the Huicis. We toured the city, ate, and saw many of the great things NYC has to offer. It was a great trip, but at the end of the day I was glad to go back home to Miami.

Halloween

Oscar had to work on Halloween so we didn’t really do much. We did however get a costume for Millie. She was the cutest Turtle/dog I have ever seen. Judge for yourself.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving we headed over to my in laws house. We spent a great day with them, ate delicious food, and we also got to see Oscars' sister Amy that was visiting from Washington.

Brothers’ Graduation

During December it was my Big Bros' Graduation. We celebrated after the ceremony with a small family and friends gathering. I’m very happy and proud of my brother for his achievement and look forward to what is in store for him.

Christmas

Christmas 2011 was an exciting one; we had all the family together. My mom came from Colombia and we were able to spend Christmas with her. We all got together at my sisters place and had good time with each other company. I almost forgot, and eating a lot of yummy food!

New Years

New years we spent some time with Oscar’s family. We went over their house had a nice dinner, some fireworks, and counted down to 2012.

Oscar's Flying Lesson

Oscar has always been into aviation and one of the things he would really like to do is be a pilot. He got the opportunity to take a lesson, and I was lucky to be in the back seat as he learned, some might not think that's so lucky. the instructor walked Oscar through a take off, I must admit it was a bit scary but so worth it. It was so much fun to be on the plane and the view was absolutely beautiful. 

The past months since my previous post have been a good, and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.

XOXO,

  Val

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Oscar and I purchased our first SLR camera, Nikon D3000.  Over the past few months we have attempted to learn how to use it properly, with little success. Our goal is to become masters of photography, okay I might be exaggerating.

We ordered a few cool gadgets for the camera that hopefully can help us, and make photography more fun, I don’t know how much more fun since I already love to take pictures of everything.

we've attempted to learn how to combine shutter speed along with aperture to achieve the picture we want. I'm always looking for opportunities to take pictures. I Love how a picture can freeze time, and anything that happened at that moment is captured in one frame.

Items Bought:  

Fish Eye Lens (did not like it as much as I thought I would)

Filter Kit - UV filter, CPL Filter, FL-D Filter

Close-Up Macro Lens Kit ( These are great for close-ups)

                     ^xo, Val