A String of Birthdays

We celebrated 5 family birthdays in the month of February! Two of them were Esa and Jacob, so that was kind of a package deal. :)

Ashley was the first birthday, February 15th I believe. She turned 8. I had brought her and Moises a couple of gifts in my suitcase which I saved for the birthday. They were ever so grateful! Ashley didn't want to take the Barbie out of the box right away; she just sat and held it and looked at it for a few minutes. When the time came, it was opened ever so carefully and played with ever so delicately. Before she went home she put it back in the box (even twisty-tied it I think) so it would be like new again!

Next came Rocio's birthday. She's also Esau's cousin, and she turned 20... just a bit older than me!


Ashley hugging her "papa." Ashley and Moises's dad has been in the U.S. working for a long time and rarely sees them, so Uncle Jose has a very special place in their hearts.

Felicidades Rocio!

Esa's dad and Grandma Pola

Jerson is the gruff, silent type around adults, but when he's with kids he really comes to life!

Even though it was Rocio's birthday (and cake), Ashley got to have a little bit of left-over glory because she hadn't had a cake at her birthday.

Rocio

Candle lighting

We got two rounds of "Happy Birthday" out of this cake... Round 1 was Ashley,

And round 2 Rocio.

Ah, the dreaded cake face smash. Luckily it didn't go further than the tip of the nose and chin.

Dad Jose, Rocio, Mom Blanca (Esa's dad's sister)

Jerson- initiator, participant, and victim of a very controlled frosting fight.

Neftali harassing the parrot.

"Lola" la lorra

Playing internet Pacman.

The last birthday to be covered in "A String of Birthdays" is Neftali. He had already had a cookout, but that was just the preliminaries. He also invited everyone over to his house for caldo de mariscos (seafood soup). It has every type of seafood you can imagen: fish, ocotpus, crab, shrimp, and various shells with slimy things inside. I probably make it sound unappetizing, but if you're a seafood lover (I am) it's wonderful.

Here's Neftali with his son Steven and wife Chita (Esa's dad's sister). He also has a daughter, Jasmine, who never appeared for the picture.

The cake deserves some attention as well, because it was scrumptious... Layers of wafers with a caramel-like substance in between, topped with frosting and almonds, and drizzled with chocolate. (All of my favorite sweet substances rolled into one masterpiece!)