"Joeito" which is Carmen Ana's nickname for him, is a long time friend of hers for over 20 years. He has become a close friend to Joel in the past three years and mentored him on his way back to the education system. He has worked for over 6 years as Student Information Assistance, which entails very complicated functions, confidentiality tasks and responsibilities that you couldn't tell by the position title. He is our partner in "crime" for concerts, the theater, outings or any new restaurant around town.

We became friends in middle school when Hilaida was in my brother's class. She was one of the few people that had a car in school, so any outing to the beach for the "surfers" was in her Bronco. Since the group was mostly guys, she would ask me to tag along, whenever my brother went with them. After a while, I was just hanging out with her, trying out hair/skin products and shopping. We've travelled and partied more than I could mention. She has a heart of gold working as a Medical Administrative Assistant for decades and always helping anyone in need. After all these years we are not only friends, but family.

Paul is Joel's eldest and only boy. He's a former Marine that recently finished Barber School, so now he's armed with clippers. His lovely wife Emily currently works in SeaWorld and is looking forward to completing her degree as an Elementary School Teacher. They love going to Disney World and invited us to join them a few years back. They know the whole park... it was hard to keep up! They are both funny, enjoy dancing, trying new foods and family gatherings.

Angie is Joel's baby girl, whom is the apple of his eye. She is a mom to Samuel John that works full time as a Branch Office Manager... I still don't know how she does it while being fabulous. She enjoys boating, crafts, reading and baking (she makes some seriously yummy friendship cake). She got married this past October to Kyle. He is literally a Rocket Scientist with amazing craftsmanship skills and a big heart. We look forward to spending more time with them in the future.

Anabel and Carmen Ana hit it off as friends 10 years ago when Anabel began to work at the same Agency as Carmen Ana. Shortly after meeting they were planning their lunches together that ended up with them celebrating Christmas or New Years as a family. They once ventured making pasteles that were huge and needed like 2 hours to cook... lol! Before you knew, Anabel got married to Robert and had two girls that became our nieces. They now work in the same department, but not in the same State. This has not impede them from celebrating this past Christmas together as family.