Ok, so I added a few pics here that Linda took.Here is us in front of Andrea's apartment in Duluth.
Auntie TiTi with her little girls.
Pretty Lillian in her Easter dress
Mommy's purse is heavy
Climbing on the bed..naki!!
Linda caught us digging into the bar pan. Oops..
All of us at FIESTA!
On the dance floor..
Andrea and Linda
All the members of the Chicano/Latino Group
The Azteca Dancers - the little girl in the purple is only 12!
Alexa coloring at the dinner table.
Lillian and I at Fiesta!!
Linda and Andrea
The Mariachi Band (Pedro, Laura and Donna)
Auntie TiTi with her little girls.
Pretty Lillian in her Easter dress
Mommy's purse is heavy
Climbing on the bed..naki!!
Linda caught us digging into the bar pan. Oops..
All of us at FIESTA!
Quien es Quien in Minnesota - 21st Annual Fiesta
On the dance floor..
Andrea and Linda
All the members of the Chicano/Latino Group
The Azteca Dancers - the little girl in the purple is only 12!Alexa coloring at the dinner table.
Lillian and I at Fiesta!!Linda and AndreaThe Mariachi Band (Pedro, Laura and Donna)
Since there are just way too many pictures to post individually, I've made a slideshow which is posted at the bottom of my blog.
I think you can see by the photos that we had such an amazing time. I will give you a real quick recap.
Grandma Linda came to our house Thursday night so we could leave early Friday morning for our trip up to Duluth. We got a little behind schedule, but made it there in the early afternoon.
We went straight to the canal to see if any boats were coming in. The girls were in awe of the bridge, the lighthouses and all the rocks and water. After we spent some time along the shore, we checked into The Edgewater Hotel and Water park where Adam's sister Andrea works as a lifeguard. She stopped by for a quick visit before having to go decorate the ballroom for the big Fiesta. We took a shuttle to the water park across the street and enjoyed swimming and sliding. Lillian was a little overwhelmed of all the people at first, but quickly warmed up and even went down a few slides herself. Alexa's favorite was the rope walk (as you'll see in the slideshow). She impressed us by getting across all by herself several times. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired out afterwards. So after ordering some pizzas and watching a little TV in our room, we went right to sleep.
We woke up Saturday morning and enjoyed a nice breakfast in the lounge. The girls wanted to try a little of everything, so we helped ourselves to waffles, cereal, bagels, doughnuts, muffins, yogurt, eggs and toast. It gave us just the energy we needed for an amazing trip up to Gooseberry Falls. We managed to get Adam to stop at Pamida and a garage sale on the way. We had such a great time touring the falls and taking pictures. The girls were so cooperative and smiled the whole time. They loved looking at the waterfalls and climbing around. Alexa even crawled across some rocks to make it to the middle of the falls without getting wet. Lillian loved the little cave.
We stopped at Betty's Pie's and had a delicious lunch before heading back to the hotel. We stopped to throw some more rocks along the shore of Lake Superior. Lillian could have sat there all day if we let her.
Adam, the girls and I took a nap when we got back to the hotel. I knew that we'd be up late partying at the Fiesta and I wanted the girls to be awake and in good moods. It was so refreshing. We all woke up with smiles on our faces. We quickly got ready and then off to the ballroom on the UMD campus. Andrea greeted us and showed us around the Multicultural Center where she works on campus. She was wearing a beautiful green dress and we were so proud of her. She and her Chicana/Latina group put together the 21st Annual FIESTA for over 300 guests. We were ushered to our table and waited for the ballroom to fill up. The decorations were absolutely gorgeous. When the Fiesta began we were welcomed and then were dismissed by tables to fill up our trays at the wonderful buffet they prepared. The menu included chips and salsa for the appetizers, Tropical Fruit Salad (Latin America), Salad Green with Lime Dressing (Caribbean), Bean Salad (Brazil), White Rice (Latin America), Rice with Shrimp (Cuba), Tamales (Mexico), Argentine Steak w/ Parsley Sauce (Argentina), Roasted Pork (Puerto Rico). And for dessert Dulce de Comote (Mexico) and Pastel de crema de Coco (Cuba). It was so delicious. Lillian LOVED the black bean salsa. She ate three bowls all by herself. Alexa was very polite and sat well at the table.
We were entertained all through dinner by the Mariachi Flor y Canto which Juan's cousin Donna, her husband Pedro and daughter Laura performed. After we ate we watched performances by Los Alegros Bailadores, Kalpulli Ketzal Coatlicue, Capoeira Luta Cima and Harp Music and Dance from Paraguay. It was amazing. The girls sat wide eyed at all the pretty colored dresses and costumes. The big surprise of the night was that Linda was one of the honorees of the event for all the many years of diversity work she has done. The Fiesta's theme was Quien es Quien en Minnesota (Who is Who in Minnesota) It was a total surprise for her, even though the rest of us knew. Andrea was the one who spoke about her and all her accomplishments. It was very touching and emotional.
After the performances were over, all the children were asked to help break open the piñata. Alexa was the first one to take a swing at it and she did very well. She may be tiny, but she is strong. She was a little disappointed that she wasn't the one who actually broke it open, but I had to remind her that she was the very first one and other kids needed a chance, too. Once it broke, though, all the kids scrambled for all the candy. Alexa was hoarding in her dress and Lillian was putting it in her sweater.
Then, out on the dance floor we went. We danced the night away to the salsa, marangay (sp?), and many more. Alexa was the hit of the dance floor. Everyone made a big circle around her and she danced her little heart out right in the middle. Lillian was getting into it, too. She loved to spin and twirl.
Some more swimming on Sunday and then went to one of Andrea's friends' house for Easter lunch. It was so nice of Chris to open his house to all the families of the students on the diversity council who came for the Fiesta. We had such a great time. It was like one big happy family.
We visited Andrea's apartment and drove by the house she'll be living in next year before we made the trip back to Farmington. A little car trouble on the way home, but we made it safe and sound. (Linda and I were cursed for sitting on a cursed bed at Andrea's apartment)
It was a GREAT little mini vacation away from home. But, as always it's great to be back. We're already looking forward to another trip up there very soon.
Don't forget to scroll down and take a look at some of our photos from the trip.
I think you can see by the photos that we had such an amazing time. I will give you a real quick recap.
Grandma Linda came to our house Thursday night so we could leave early Friday morning for our trip up to Duluth. We got a little behind schedule, but made it there in the early afternoon.
We went straight to the canal to see if any boats were coming in. The girls were in awe of the bridge, the lighthouses and all the rocks and water. After we spent some time along the shore, we checked into The Edgewater Hotel and Water park where Adam's sister Andrea works as a lifeguard. She stopped by for a quick visit before having to go decorate the ballroom for the big Fiesta. We took a shuttle to the water park across the street and enjoyed swimming and sliding. Lillian was a little overwhelmed of all the people at first, but quickly warmed up and even went down a few slides herself. Alexa's favorite was the rope walk (as you'll see in the slideshow). She impressed us by getting across all by herself several times. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired out afterwards. So after ordering some pizzas and watching a little TV in our room, we went right to sleep.
We woke up Saturday morning and enjoyed a nice breakfast in the lounge. The girls wanted to try a little of everything, so we helped ourselves to waffles, cereal, bagels, doughnuts, muffins, yogurt, eggs and toast. It gave us just the energy we needed for an amazing trip up to Gooseberry Falls. We managed to get Adam to stop at Pamida and a garage sale on the way. We had such a great time touring the falls and taking pictures. The girls were so cooperative and smiled the whole time. They loved looking at the waterfalls and climbing around. Alexa even crawled across some rocks to make it to the middle of the falls without getting wet. Lillian loved the little cave.
We stopped at Betty's Pie's and had a delicious lunch before heading back to the hotel. We stopped to throw some more rocks along the shore of Lake Superior. Lillian could have sat there all day if we let her.
Adam, the girls and I took a nap when we got back to the hotel. I knew that we'd be up late partying at the Fiesta and I wanted the girls to be awake and in good moods. It was so refreshing. We all woke up with smiles on our faces. We quickly got ready and then off to the ballroom on the UMD campus. Andrea greeted us and showed us around the Multicultural Center where she works on campus. She was wearing a beautiful green dress and we were so proud of her. She and her Chicana/Latina group put together the 21st Annual FIESTA for over 300 guests. We were ushered to our table and waited for the ballroom to fill up. The decorations were absolutely gorgeous. When the Fiesta began we were welcomed and then were dismissed by tables to fill up our trays at the wonderful buffet they prepared. The menu included chips and salsa for the appetizers, Tropical Fruit Salad (Latin America), Salad Green with Lime Dressing (Caribbean), Bean Salad (Brazil), White Rice (Latin America), Rice with Shrimp (Cuba), Tamales (Mexico), Argentine Steak w/ Parsley Sauce (Argentina), Roasted Pork (Puerto Rico). And for dessert Dulce de Comote (Mexico) and Pastel de crema de Coco (Cuba). It was so delicious. Lillian LOVED the black bean salsa. She ate three bowls all by herself. Alexa was very polite and sat well at the table.
We were entertained all through dinner by the Mariachi Flor y Canto which Juan's cousin Donna, her husband Pedro and daughter Laura performed. After we ate we watched performances by Los Alegros Bailadores, Kalpulli Ketzal Coatlicue, Capoeira Luta Cima and Harp Music and Dance from Paraguay. It was amazing. The girls sat wide eyed at all the pretty colored dresses and costumes. The big surprise of the night was that Linda was one of the honorees of the event for all the many years of diversity work she has done. The Fiesta's theme was Quien es Quien en Minnesota (Who is Who in Minnesota) It was a total surprise for her, even though the rest of us knew. Andrea was the one who spoke about her and all her accomplishments. It was very touching and emotional.
After the performances were over, all the children were asked to help break open the piñata. Alexa was the first one to take a swing at it and she did very well. She may be tiny, but she is strong. She was a little disappointed that she wasn't the one who actually broke it open, but I had to remind her that she was the very first one and other kids needed a chance, too. Once it broke, though, all the kids scrambled for all the candy. Alexa was hoarding in her dress and Lillian was putting it in her sweater.
Then, out on the dance floor we went. We danced the night away to the salsa, marangay (sp?), and many more. Alexa was the hit of the dance floor. Everyone made a big circle around her and she danced her little heart out right in the middle. Lillian was getting into it, too. She loved to spin and twirl.
Some more swimming on Sunday and then went to one of Andrea's friends' house for Easter lunch. It was so nice of Chris to open his house to all the families of the students on the diversity council who came for the Fiesta. We had such a great time. It was like one big happy family.
We visited Andrea's apartment and drove by the house she'll be living in next year before we made the trip back to Farmington. A little car trouble on the way home, but we made it safe and sound. (Linda and I were cursed for sitting on a cursed bed at Andrea's apartment)
It was a GREAT little mini vacation away from home. But, as always it's great to be back. We're already looking forward to another trip up there very soon.
Don't forget to scroll down and take a look at some of our photos from the trip.
