The shorties

I was initially going to write a blog about how Manuel's oldest child just turned THIRTEEN, but then I decided that I should just write a blog about all the kids.

If you've never been in a situation where you're dating someone that has children, I'll tell you right now that it can potentially be a really horrifying experience.
Before I met Manny's kids, I was really scared. What if they didn't like me? What if I didn't like them? What if their mothers try to kill me?
All legitimate thoughts.

I met his girls first, we went to Olive Garden. Things seemed to be going pretty well, and then Alex (the oldest) said "Dad, are we being good?" and he gave her a sideways look and said "Yes, you are" at which point she started giggling.
I must have looked confused because then she said " Dad told us to be good and not act like retards!"

It was then that I knew me and these girls would get along great.
They have wonderful senses of humor, they're loving and accepting.
Brayden was pretty hesitant at first, but I can honestly say that I think the little guy likes me.

Anyway, as I said, dating someone with children has the potential
to be horrifying, but in this case, I think it's really great.
Not only do I love Manny, but I also get 3 'shorties' to love, and that love me back.

Alexandria
(Alex, Alley Cat)

Alex just turned 13. Holy crap, a teenager! She loves horses and drawing and reading. She read the Twilight series faster than I did! She has a sense of humor that is close to mine, which is awesome! She plays the baritone in band and likes to ride my longboard. Hopefully she keeps her teenage sassiness to a minimum.





Taylor
(Tator Tot)

Taylor is 11 going on 17. She already has the teenage sassiness, and is our little drama queen. She is very affectionate and can often be found attached to the side of my hip. Wherever we go, you can be sure to hear "I get to sit by ernl!" out of her mouth. She loves Spaghetti O's: a girl after my own heart.






Brayden
(Bud)

Bud is going to be 7 in a couple weeks. He just graduated first grade, and is one of the best readers in his class. He excels at pretty much every sport. He made the majority of the points on his Jr. Jazz basketball team singlehandedly, and throws the ball so well in T-Ball they finally had to tell him to start rolling it because he had so much power the other kids didn't know what to do with themselves!