A Saturday with My Nephew

Hi friends,

Last Saturday, my sister and brother-in-law had a commitment to attend during the day, and I offered to watch both of my nephews. I love those two little boys so much and enjoy spending time with them! They decided to leave Andrew with us and took their younger son with them.

I was excited to spend the day with my nephew! During the week my hubby and I started to look for options of fun places to take him. My hubby has been wanting to take the boys to Boomers, to play mini-golf, ride the go-carts, and play in the arcade. We had also recently discovered an in-door jungle gym close to our home. So, we decided we’d ask Andrew which he preferred. I had also purchased some juice and snacks, in preparation for his visit.

The day before, I went on a walk to Coronado with Lola and we stopped by The Blue Octopus, a children’s educational toy store at the Hotel Del, because I wanted to buy something for the boys. I bought them some coloring and activity books.

I woke up early on Saturday and started doing things around the house. When they dropped off Andrew, all of my attention was on him! We sat in the family room and colored in his books, and he made a drawing for us. When I offered him food, he told me he had already had breakfast, but asked if we could go to IHOP. To  which I chuckled and said yes, of course! I asked my husband if we could go and knew he would say yes because he likes their breakfast, even though we rarely eat there. Andrew and I watched the movie Up, on the Disney Channel. We drew, colored, and  he played on the IPad. Later, my hubby came downstairs to spend time with Andrew and I went upstairs to shower and get ready.

On our way to IHOP, my sister called to tell me they were going to be done in about two hours and would pick up Andrew. We realized that wasn’t going to be enough time to go to Boomer’s. Instead,  we took Andrew to the San Diego Air Show (formerly Wings Over Gillespie). I knew the event was going on because I had included it on the Community Calendar segments which I host and produce for Azteca at work.

Andrew enjoyed looking at the planes and I enjoyed spending time with him and my hubby! I wasn’t planning on going to the Air Show, so I didn’t have a hat or my parasol. I had sunblock on because I apply it daily on my face and neck, and use a moisturizer with sunblock on my arms. Luckily, my hubby had a hat in the car, which I ended up wearing to try to get some protection from the sun. It was a warm and beautiful day, and we had fun!

After the Air Show, we met my sister at the house and they stayed to visit for a little while. They stayed enough for me to share some of the snacks with them and heat some soft pretzels for the boys.

I am not a mother yet, but the day I do become a mother, I hope my son or daughter are as good of a child as Andrew is! He is a normal boy, playful, smart, and curious, but he is also well behaved and sweet! I may seem biased because he is my nephew, but others who have had an opportunity to interact with him have said that he is a sweet boy, who has a special welcoming, kind, and warm spirit!

Do you have any favorite places to go on weekends with your children or nephews? Do you have a favorite breakfast restaurant? Have you been to the Wings Over Gillespie Air Show?

Hugs,

Paola

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Here’s Andrew’s play section in our television room, with a small fold-out table, coloring books, drawing paper, colors, I-Pad, and Disney Channel.

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These are the coloring and activity books I bought for Andrew. I gave my younger nephew his coloring book when they dropped off Andrew in the morning.

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Andrew brought his Build-A-Bear penguin, Pancho, to brunch with us. My hubby asked why he was a penguin and not a bear? My hubby has never been to  Build-A-Bear store, I have. Andrew explained to his uncle how he selected and made Pancho 🙂

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This was next to the flight line displays.

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This is the area with the static displays.

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Another person observing this small plane started to explain to us how it works. There was a brochure holder with information sheets next to the plane and Andrew got some info.

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Andrew is such a sweetheart, you see the papers in his hands? He got two, one for his mom and one for my hubby, so he could explain how the small plane worked and give each one of the the sheet! Too cute!

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That’s my husband’s cap I am wearing! At least it kind of matched with my outfit, haha!

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After viewing all the planes, we decided this one was our favorite. Impressive!

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We got to see this plane start up, drive right in front of us, and take-off! Pretty cool for an impromptu Saturday outing!

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Making Friends As An Adult

Hi friends,

As we become adults many things change in our lives. One of them, is how we make friends. I am fortunate to have a few close friends. These are the friends that I speak to often, we both make an effort to spend time together, and to stay involved in each other’s lives! I also have some friends I don’t stay in touch with that often, but still consider “friends.” The rest of the people are more of acquaintances or “professional friends.”

Last Sunday, I took my nephew, Andrew, to a children’s birthday party, a “piñata” and noticed how easily he made a new friend. We were one of the first guests to arrive and there were few children his age. When he was in the bounce house, I noticed another little boy and introduced them, suggesting they play together. Before he memorized his new little friends name, he was calling him “amigo,” which means friend in Spanish. The little boy’s name is Santiago. They played together at the party and had fun! My friend Lizeth, the host of the party, told me Santiago was talking about Andrew on the drive home, saying how excited he was to have met a new friend and how much fun they had together! So cute!

When I saw them playing on the slide, it made me think of how easily children make new friends and how as adults, we sometimes have a harder time making new friends. It is for multiple reasons, as adults we have so many commitments that sometimes, at least for me, it is hard enough to make time to see my current friends. Also, when we are younger, we meet friends in school and at our extra  curricular activities, such as team sports.  As adults, we have less free time, between work, family, a spouse,  and a household to run, we barely have time for ourselves, let alone to see our friends.

So, I did  some research and found a good and enlightening article in Experience Life Magazine about Making Friends As An Adult. If you have moved to a new city or want to make a new friend, the article has some good tips! Hope you like it!

Here are some pictures of my nephew playing with Santiago, the new friend he made at the birthday party! They are so cute!!

Who was the last friend you met? Do you find it harder to meet friends as an adult? Do you have any suggestions on how to make new friends as an adult?

Hugs,

Paola
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Santiago is younger than Andrew and asked if Andrew would hold his hand when they went down the slide. How adorable is this? Cuties!

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They kept running back to slide down again and again! After a few times down the slide, Santiago was more comfortable and no longer asked Andrew to hold his hand.

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They stood in line together during the games and cheered each other on!

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They stood next to each other during the group picture with the birthday boy, Mauricio, next to the cake!

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This was during the breaking of the piñata, it seems Andrew is explaining to the boys how they should hold the stick as they hit the piñata (in the white t-shirt is his younger brother, Josh).

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They stood next to each other during the group picture next to one of the piñatas.