I won’t lie this weekend was pretty exhausting. But, when is having family in town not exhausting? I actually had a really good time. We broke the Mexican stereotype and we had three cars to get around in. The rest of the weekend was spent going to restaurants, a waterpark, and lots of shopping. So here are my favorite moments:

1. My sister in law came to meet up with us at dinner. She knows a lil’ bit of Spanish, so she was all about trying it out with the fam, and she can actually hold her own pretty well. But, she did make me laugh a few times. Mostly because she is really into the rolling of the “r”, and would use it on words that don’t need the “r” to be rolled. She was describing a dog she had found, and told my grandma that the purse was black. In Spanish it’s “negro”. But she was saying “negrrrrrrrro”. She would also say “grrrrrrrracias” instead of just “gracias”. Both words have really soft “r” pronunciation, but she went for it… and I respect it!

2. Watching bio grandma and grandpa interact with Cason.jsiWhatever happened in the past stays there. They were not able to enjoy watching me grow up, and I can tell by the way they talk to me, that they feel bad about not being there. But she does remember what I looked like… and Cason looks identical to me when I was a baby. It’s like I am watching them get to know me as a baby. So those moments that they missed out on with me, are happening with Cason. I wouldn’t remember those moments because I don’t remember anything from my time as a baby… heck, I barely remember last week. But seeing this with my own eyes, and picturing me as Cason makes it a really cool experience.

And just talking to everyone is eye opening. My aunt, her husband (who grew up on my mom’s street too, and remembers me as a baby), bio dad, my grandparents, and cousins. I learn something new everyday, and so do they. My mom did a pretty dang good job at making sure I had everything I needed, even though we didn’t have much money.

3. I don’t know if it’s considered a favorite moment, but its pretty funny. I have two younger brothers that came along on the trip. One is 4 (Max) and the other one (Enrique) is two months younger than Cason. The younger one kept hitting Cason because he would get jealous when bio dad would hold Cason. What was super funny was when the 4 year old would get in between the two to “protect” Cason. Cason doesn’t really know how to handle getting hit, since he is not around it, but my lil’ bro has his 4 year old brother… that makes him a pro with rough housing. I asked Max what he was doing once because he looked like he was getting ready to pounce on Enrique. He looked up at me and said, “I am Cason’s uncle. My job is to protect him.” So I said, “from your brother?!” He got a really serious look, straightened up and with serious tone said, “from anyone who messes with him… even you!” What a stud, right?! I looked at him and said, “Don’t worry, I am his dad… I wont mess with him.” Once again, with his serious look, Max said, “It would be best if you don’t mess with him… makes my job easier.”

Good times!

Video: Watch J-Si talk about Cason’s first fight