A Quick Visit to the Sunshine State.

My dear cousin, Coco, is the only close family on my father's side that lives in the United States.  We talk all the time and we have kept in touch all of these years.  He's a good, thoughtful cousin, the kind that always remembers my birthday! 

He lives in Boca Raton, and recently got engaged.  We are so excited for him.  He asked my brother to take his engagement pictures, but Kem just started an internship and couldn't take days off.  The flights to Florida were super cheap, so Kem bought Scott and I tickets and sent us off to spend a few days there and take his engagement pictures.

We were so THRILLED and grateful to Kem and Tasnim for being willing to take care of Brielle and Braden while Scott and I went off to have a good time.

Brooke went on her first flight and did okay.  She was a little grouchy on the way there...it's a good thing it was only a 2 hour flight.  

We only had 2 full days there.  

We had to make sure to plan every second, there was so much I wanted to show Scott.  

As most of you know, I moved to Miami when I was 12 years old, from Perú.  

I lived there during very important years of my life.  

12-18 are crucial years.  

I loved living in Miami.  It's a lively place.  

Driving down on I-95 brought back so many memories. 

I almost missed the 'Welcome to Miami Beach' sign. 

This was a trip full of nostalgia for me.  Miami means a place of change for me and my family, a place where we were getting used to a new life.  I have to say that Miami was good to us.  We felt like we belonged.  We never felt like foreigners.  People wouldn't ask us 50 zillion times a day, 'where is your accent from?' Everyone has accents there!:) 

It meant a lot to me to be able to show this place to Scott. 

That was the Youth Center we would go to all the time.  There is an ice rink in there and a bowling alley.  

Such good memories in that place. 

This is my high school, a.k.a Beach High.  It didn't look like this when I went there.  They built a brand new one a few years ago.  Beach High was a good high school, we made good friend there.  

There's a large population of Jewish in Miami.  We'd go walk around this Holocaust Memorial all the time.  

We'd call it, the 'Jewish Hand'. 

It's too bad it was under renovation when we were there. 

So many memories of walking down Washington Avenue. 

We lived on Washington Avenue, in this brown building, up on the third floor.  The Lighthouse Church is new, our Church (LDS Church) had the whole second floor back in the day.  For a while, we used to walk down a flight of stairs to go to Church on Sundays.  It was very convenient. 

Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road.  That tower is part of where we lived. We used to climb up that tower and look at the view.  There is an AMAZING view of the ocean from up there.  

No wonder I love the city! I lived in the middle of the city for 4 years! 

My senior year of high school, I was an intern reporter for the Miami Herald.  

Back then, my dream was to be a journalist.  

(I was actually accepted to Ricks College with a Journalism Department scholarship...wow I had forgotten about that!)

I wrote for the Miami Herald for a whole year! It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  

I was 17 years old, going out to interview these amazing people.  I met so many interesting people.   

My editor was Jon O'Neill.  He encouraged me and told me, time and time again that I was a star! 

I believed him.  

I believed that this little immigrant girl could be anything she wanted to be.    

He made such a difference in my life. 

Lincoln Road has changed so much.  This Ghiradelli used to be the Miami City Ballet.  I took classes at the Miami City Ballet for 3 years.  That was another one of my dreams, to become a ballerina! ha ha!:) 

I LOVED ballet.  Not too brag, but I was good at it too...I didn't have long legs but I was graceful!:) 

What fond memories I have in this place.  When I danced I felt like I could do and be anything! 

I loved that feeling.  

I stopped dancing because we couldn't afford my lessons...so sad...:(

I loved being able to tell about all of this to Scott, and not only tell him but SHOW him, this is where it was, this is where it happened...This place is such an important part of me, of who I am.  

Britto art is so Miami.  It's so bright and colorful. 

Next, we headed to North Beach.  

North Beach is where we very first lived when we moved from Perú.  

This was my very first taste of the United States of America.  

This was our very first apartment.  

We had the most amazing view. 

This is when I got emotional.  

So many memories came rushing back. 

Nostalgia.  

How can you beat that view?

We used to pay $500 a month for that one bedroom apartment.  

I don't know how my mom did it, with 3 little kids in a foreign country. 

She cleaned 5 houses a week.  $50 a house. 

$250/week

$1000/month

10% to tithing.

...and that was our budget. 

We were very much aware that we didn't have money.  We very seldom got our wants but we always had for our needs.  

Like Scott says, "it builds character." 

It's true.  

This is where my aunt Ruth (my mom's sister) and my uncle Howard used to live.  Just a block away from where we lived.  We lived here a month, before we moved to our own place. 

My aunt and uncle were managers of this building.  They had to make sure everything was clean.  

They used to pay Kem and I $5 to pick up all the leaves around the buildings. 

  

What a beautiful view. 

This was our little neighborhood. 

I took Scott and Brooke to the beach that we used to walk to.  

We literally lived 3 blocks away from the beach. 

The guy that took this picture was so kind and friendly.  He kept telling us that we had won, 'the best looking baby award' ha ha!:)

Poor Brooke was having some technical difficulties.  That runny nose...man! 

NASTY! 

After North Beach, we headed back to South Beach.  I wanted to drive down Collins Avenue.  It hasn't changed.

We drove down Ocean Drive.  Ocean Drive is a crazy place.  You see crazy people there. 

The art deco buildings are beautiful. 

Brooke had her first 'beach experience'. 

She didn't mind the sand. 

My sweet Scottie.  

He let me reminisce and was so interested in everything I was telling him.  

What a good man. 

My two cuties. 

We enjoyed the sand for a while.  The breeze, the smell of the ocean.

Then, we tried going in the water.  It was cold.  

Brooke was NOT happy. 

"I'm much better out of the water!" 

Look at that face!!! 

Scottina. 

That's what I call her sometimes. 

She looks so much like her father.

A beautiful day in South Beach. 

It was almost 80 degrees!

This one is for Kemchu, he worked at this little shop forever in high school. 

We took one of my cousin's towels and when we realized the print on it we couldn't stop laughing! I'm only showing the back, there's a front side too, but this is a PG blog.

We said goodbye to Miami Beach, and headed back to Boca.

The next day we went to this cool Nature Center called Gumbo Limbo in Boca. 

It was a beautiful place. 

We went up to the tower to enjoy the amazing view.

Then headed to the beach to enjoy the rest of last day in Florida. 

It went by all too quickly! 

It was warmer that day and Brooke enjoyed the water a lot more than the day before.

She wasn't particularly thrilled with the feel of it but at least she sat there and played for a little while.

She was exhausted. 

We later met up with my cousin and his cute fiance for a photo session.  

It's always a little stressful for me, taking photos of other people. 

But I think we got some really good ones. 

After another long day, we headed to have some yummy dinner.  

It was fun to spend time with Coco and Mel.  They are a cute couple. 

It was THE perfect little trip. 

So glad I was able to share it with the man of my dreams. 

There are no words to express how blessed I feel.