Trip to Miami

Overall, this was fun trip. Sunday morning, we got up fairly early and headed to Miami. My cousin Dean and Tia Dina joined us on this trip. Dean really wanted to see Miami and I wanted to visit some family from my mother's side, whom I haven't seen in years, and I wanted to eat authentic Nicaraguan food. Yes, I'm Nicaraguan, but no, I don't know how to cook food from there. Yes, my parents could have cooked me some Nica food, but the ingredients are just not the same in Bradenton, so going to Miami is the closest I get to eating authentic Nica food.

Miami is about a four hour drive from Bradenton and the kids were so well behaved. Towards the end of our drive, Mayita was getting impatient, so we fed her a bunch of snacks, as you can see, she was satisfied.

After we arrived to Miami, we ate at one of our favorite Nicaraguan restaurants called El Madrono. It has really yummy food. After lunch, my kids were getting antsy, so we all went to the park. Mind you, Miami is hotter and more humid than Bradenton. However, my family were just wonderful and sacrificed themselves for the kids and off we went to the playground, to sweat to death. This trip was definitely different for my family...they're not used to going to parks/playgrounds anymore, since all of us "kids" are all grown.

This is what you look like after playing at the park.

Later, we went to my Tia Mayra's house. She's my mom's and Tia Dina's oldest half sister. They grew up together, and we don't differentiate relations, she's our Tia. This isn't a very flattering photo of her, but it was the only one I took, sorry Tia.

Anyways, we were so tired, everyone took naps, and after we were refreshed, my second cousins (yep, you know it, in latin families we're all cousins!) came over for a visit. Arden became instant friends with Anthony. They played well together and had a lot of fun.

My other cousin (Carlos) also came over and had their baby boy named Neville. My mom and Tia Dina with baby Neville.

Neville is only 6 months old, but he sure was a chunky baby, cute, and bigger than Maya.

Of course, I took a bunch of pictures of the family. I guess it's like for genealogy reasons, if later in life I'm asked about my extended family, hey, I have proof they exist.

This is Mayita with my cousin Nevil, whom baby Neville was named after. My cousin Nevil is really nice.

And here are the grandparents: Chale (Tia Mayra's husband) and my mom with the babies

After dinner and hanging out with family, we headed out to Bayside. It was late and Mayita was tired, so we left her at my Tia Mayra's house; and took Natalie and Anthony, who are brother and sister, but they're only 11 months apart. Yikes! They're almost like twins. Really sharp kids.

Anyways, enough genealogical info. We went to Bayside and took the kids on several rides, including the train and the carousel.

Then, the kids ventured into doing the Euro Bungy. I knew Arden was an adventurous little boy, but he surpassed my expectations.

All three kids liked going on the Euro Bungy.

I thought they might get scared, but they were awesome.


After Arden finished riding it, he asked me if he could go on it again! What a thrill seeker!

After the Euro Bungy, we went to a concert. However, the kids weren't interested and we went for a walk. Later, we headed home. All that jumping wore Arden out. This is only the second time EVER that Arden has fallen asleep while still on an outing.
He was so tired he fell asleep while Lito carried him. Thanks Lito.

As we were driving back to Tia Mayra's house (it was around 11PM), we saw someone get off a bus at a bus stop. Immediately after that, almost in the middle of the street a fight broke out. We thought, "Oh, it's just some gang fight, or somthingl like that, whatever." However as we drove closer to the scene and were already passing them, we noticed that it wasn't just a fight. Unfortunately, it was an elderly couple who had been robbed/attacked by some thief. It saddened me. It also made an impression in me. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about getting old. It totally made me think about how fragile and vulnerable we will become once we get very old. I don't know if I want to get that old.

On the following day, Arden woke up refreshed and ready for more adventure.

Next stop: The Miami Metro Zoo. Yes, it was hot and humid, but we had a great time. If you ever go to the Miami Metro Zoo, one tip: Rent the bicycle cars. We didn't do it, and it was a mistake. If we ever go again, I'm not wasting my money on the monorail, I'm going for the bicycle car thingy. It costs a bit more, but it's worth every penny.

Somehow, the cousins ended up coming with us. Long, funny story, too long to post. Arden was thrilled to be with them. They made the trip fun and interesting.

Although, as we were getting ready to leave the zoo, they told/asked, "So, tomorrow we're going to the beach?"

"Sorry, we're going back home tonight."

My cousin Dean also had a good time.

While at the zoo, we were so busy, we didn't eat any lunch, we just munched on snacks. So by the time we left the zoo, we were starving. Looking back, it was really funny, because we were all so irritable from the hunger. My mom kept telling my dad, "I'm hungry, when are we going to get there? (the restaurant)"

No one smiled, everything was annoying, nothing was funny...well, expect for Mayita, who was still so pleasant, since she slept the entire time we were at the zoo. My dad carried her most of the time. She was the only happy pleasant person in the car.












Finally we arrived to the Nica restaurant. I think it's called El Pinol. We ordered our dinners. Stared to eat in silence. As our bellies were getting full, we started to joke around, smile and laugh, and become a lot more pleasant. Has this ever happened to anyone else, or just my family?

After a long day, we headed home. Everyone took a nap, with the exception of the driver. Maya and Arden slept all the way home. Once we got home (around 11:30PM), Maya was no longer tired and stayed up until about 1:30AM. I was so tired I wanted to cry, but I survived.