Fourth of July Fun

It's been a while since I've made a post, and I think it's because nothing has gone on! The past month has been pretty low key for us, which is always nice, but this past weekend we actually went away for the 4th of July! We haven't actually gone anywhere for the 4th in quite a few years, so we decided this would be the year. Packed up all the boys and headed to Huntington Beach. Met up with some friends at the beach and when the sun went down, had a nice bonfire set up. Being that we were coming from 112 degree weather, we didn't think that maybe we should pack a sweater or two...needless to say, it was pretty darn cold. But we made it out and had a really good time. Even met some new friends who decided to sneak up and share our fire. Good times!

Graduation Day!

So the day of JC's graduation finally came. It was last Saturday (I know, I'm slacking), and it was so nice. He looked so handsome in his cap and gown and we were all so proud! Now I must admit, we all thought it was going to take FOREVER, with there being almost 1,000 graduates in the engineering program, but it really didn't, so that was a plus for all of us, JC included. The weather was nice, we had decent seats, and we screamed our heads off when his name was called. The makings of a great night. Congratulations big brother!

Sneak Peek

JC's graduation day is upon us! Here is a sneak peek of the pictures we took of him in his cap and gown. I am so proud and I hope to see you all at his celebration in a few weeks!

Cadet Perezchica

As many of you may or may not know, Adrian has officially decided that he wants to be a police officer. Some of you may remember him as a dark, chubby child whose dream was to be a cop, but who knew that would really happen? With a little bit of back and forth, he entered the program, which is a 3 step process. He just completed his first section, or "module" as it is called, so we attended the graduation ceremony last night. The night started off a bit rough...when we got there, not many seats were left because everyone was saving them for their family members, and it was HOT. As you can imagine, it's not much fun to be all dressed up and sweating. So we spent the first quarter of the ceremony standing (luckily we found one seat open for the petite ol' grandma, although I thought she'd be in tears because she really did not want to sit next to strangers), then my mom and I were able to find seats for ourselves--the men were on their own. Miraculously, right before the certificates were handed out, the seats all around us became available enough for our entire family to sit together. Good because I wanted our cheering section to be united as one! So Adrian got his certificate, we all cheered, then it was off to take pictures, which is always a mystery...who will be into it and who won't? Unfortunately for us, our little cadet wasn't so into it, so we only got a few shots, but they came out pretty decent for it being so dark outside! A big congrats to Cadet Perezchica!

Cannon Ball!

Last Friday was a busy day for us. Melinda was working so I picked Hailey up from school so we could watch her until Melinda was off. We started the night off with some dinner at Mario's Italian food (Hailey had "raviolis" as she kept saying), then headed over to mom's for some impromptu swimming. None of us had suits because we hadn't planned to swim, so we basically all swam in regular clothes, which didn't seem to matter to the sweaty 8 year old--the kid just wanted to swim. The first half hour or so was somewhat of a teaching lesson for both Anthony and his niece. Anthony taught her the Jack Knife and the Karate Kick, Hailey taught him the Pencil and the Cheerleader I believe she called it. Still with me? Good. So swimming was fun, got some pictures of them doing their sweet moves in the pool, and no there are no pictures of me as it is not near close to being swimsuit season yet. After swimming it was back to our house for a good dose of Disney channel and to wrap the gift she got her momma for Mother's Day, then the 2 of us had a nice nap before her mom picked her up. Fun!

Speed Racer

Since I just joined the wonderful world of blogging, there's a bunch of events that I would like to share that happened BB--before blog. One of these events happened a few weeks back, and it was one of Andy's races. For those of you who don't know (shame on you) that Andy is still an active track runner, he had a race in Mt. SAC that my mom, grandma, JC, and I went to. It's always fun watching Andy race, but blink and it's over! He runs the 800, and on a good day for him it's over in about a minute and 52 seconds. This particular race was an awesome one for him. It started off a bit scary because as soon as the gun went off, about 100 meters in I'd say, a few people stumbled on each other and one of the guys fell...hard. Because they were still within the first 200 meters of the race (thanks for the info JC), they had to start the race over. The officials gave them a minute to catch their breath and let another heat go before them, so it was a high anxiety moment--for me. I get really anxious when the boys are participating in sports, especially when it's every man for himself. Mind you, Andy's cool as a cucumber getting ready to do what he's been doing for the past 10 years of his life. Me? Another story. Anywho, the guys head back to the starting line for take 2, and Andy starts off in the middle of the pack. Throughout the race he's kind of stuck in this pack of guys, until the very last 200 meters. Here he comes blazing through everyone like a thoroughbred at the Kentucky Derby. End result? He finishes in 2nd place! It was so exciting to watch and he was pretty happy with his performance, which is basically all you can ask for. All in all, a good day.

Some Good Ol Volleyball

Got together at our house for some volleyball last night, which is becoming one of my favorite things to do. The game started a bit late because as Anthony went over to tighten the net on a cement pillar in the backyard, a piece of stucco fell into his eye! So he spent a good half hour trying to scrap it out himself--with the help of some loyal boys--but unfortunately he was unsuccessful. He was a trouper (which I think looks like it's spelled wrong but I looked it up), and played a few games anyway. But needless to say it was a sleepless, painful night for him. I made an appointment first thing this morning for him to get it scraped out, and I am happy to report that his eye is currently stucco-free. So back to the volleyball...we played a few games and when Anthony stepped in to take my place I took a few pictures. I've discovered that I am happiest when all my boys are together.

Girls Weekend!

So this past weekend was our first annual Hernandez Girls weekend in Anaheim. It started off with a night in the hotel playing a few games and staying up way too late for girl talk. Then we hit the beach on Saturday which was only for a few hours because it was so cold, but it was still a nice way to relax together ey ladies? Had a little picnic with our ice chest fully stocked (thanks moms), and even got to see dolphins jumping around in the water. After the beach we got cleaned up for dinner (in record time for 7 women I might add), and headed to The Block. Dinner was nice, they brought out some flan for the birthday girls and we took some fun pictures outside. Went back to the hotel for cake then time for karaoke! We found this bowling alley that had a pretty serious karaoke set up, making me wish I was in the privacy of my own home if I was gonna get up there and sing! The night turned out to be so much fun and we headed back to the hotel for another night of games, mixed in with a few drinks of course. The rest of the details from that night will remain in the hotel room! Sunday morning was a nice relaxing end to the weekend with breakfast and mini spa treatments before we all parted ways. All in all the weekend was a huge success and tons of fun, and I really can't wait for all of us to be together again. I had such an awesome time and I am definitely looking forward to the next Hernandez Girls weekend!

Cake Business?

I'm pretty excited to announce that I was offered money for a cake for the first time this week! One of Melinda's co-workers saw the cake I made for her birthday last week (we attempted a Louis Vuitton purse-shaped cake) and wanted one for her sister. I was really nervous because I don't want someone to give me money for something they end up not liking, but it turned out great and she loved it, or so I hear. I'm hoping this will mean that more people will be interested because aside from being something I love to do, wouldn't it be nice to make a little money? The woman wanted the same exact purse we made Melinda, just with cherries added to it, so I tried my best (with the help of my AMAZING husband), and this is what was produced.

Skateboarding with Uncle Anthony

For Christmas we got Anthony's (and now my) niece, Hailey, a skateboard because she would always see Anthony's and want her own and we've been told that we spoil her so why not? The only rule from Mom was that she have all the protective gear imaginable and can only ride with either myself or Anthony, which we agreed with. Every once in a while they go out for rides, and the other day they were riding together and I couldn't help but take pictures because they just looked so cute--Anthony and his girly but tomboyish niece, riding off into the sunset. By the way, she's getting pretty good on that thing!