Washington

We are in Washington, D.C.! We had researched flights at the beginning of December but we never made any reservations. On Dec. 25th we decided to check the flights again and since they were very inexpensive and we found a good hotel too, we decided to come the next day. I didn't have much time to pack but we did ok. I did forget to put my medicine in the bag and I had to call Janie and ask for her help. As always, she was incredible nice and called the pharmacy for my prescription.

We arrived on the 26th and we have been having a lot of fun. We love this city and the weather has been nice. It is cold but not too bad. Carlos and Titi keep praying for snow but it is not that cold. The weather is similar to the time when we came in early spring. It is supposed to rain on Monday but we plan to spend the day inside museums so it is not a big deal. They loved the Museum of Natural History. They also went ice skating for the first time and they were sooo excited. Don had to hold both because I was not brave enough to try to do it but after a while they were able to skate a little on their own. They keep asking Don to bring them again. They have two places by the Mall, one next to the
White House and one at the sculpture garden by the National Gallery.

Today we went to the Holocaust Museum. The kids and I went to the kid's areas and then walked through the museum fast. Don stayed there until 3:30 p.m. Carlos and Titi had a lot of questions and at the same time they didn't get the whole story but it is ok. They are too young for that kind of museum. I took them to the Air and Space Museum and we saw some exhibits. Like always, it was busy.

When Don joined us we walked to the Botanical Garden and saw a beautiful exhibit of reproductions of all the famous buildings and monuments in DC. It was so nice, we loved the holiday decorations, the trains, the plants.

We were right by the Capitol and we saw people lining up to view President's Ford casket. We thought about getting on line but they told us it was going to be a long wait because the body was not there yet. We decided to leave but then saw on a tv that they body had just arrived at the Air Force airport and it was starting to make its way to the Capitol. We saw people waiting on a side street and decided to wait. We were able to walk to the side of the Capitol and we saw the hoarse and the motorcade arrive some 20 minutes later. It was pretty exciting. There were lots of TV cameras and so many police cars everywhere. They also gave us some hotchocolate to keep us warm. We decided to leave and then walked right to the place where the military was going to do the 21 gun salute. We were so lucky, we kept walking to the right places and had the front row view. It was pretty impressive, with the Capitol on the background.

Holidays!!

Like every year, the holidays went by really fast. I always say I am going to get better organized but at the end I have to run around trying to get things ready.

Once again we made some Christmas bundles for an orphanage in Guatemala but it was too much work buying the things, packing them and sending them to Rod Martin from Orphan Resources in Pennsylvania. For next year I am going to try to have them ready by the end of July and then bring them with us to the Guatemala Adoptive Family Event in New Jersey. I hope he will be there. I already have lots of things to bring so I might not have space.

I was busy helping with the school parties too. I am the room mom in Titi's class so I had to do most of the work. Well, the teacher works much harder but it is mainly just her and me organizing and buying things. Carlos and Titi had lots of fun so it was worth it.


We celebrated Hanukkah at Steven and Janie's. Delicious food and company. The kids decorated gingerbread houses and they loved it.



We celebrated Christmas Eve at Larry and Keri's famous party. Keri made a delicious paella, one of my favorite foods. It is always a fun party and we love seeing Mema, Grandpa, uncle Izzy, aunt Mary and the rest of the family.


Christmas Day

Carlos and Titi got up early and were happy to see the presents that Santa had left for them. Don and I didn't even have to time to brush our teeth, we had to run to the living room to take some pictures of them while they opened presents. In minutes the house was a mess with wrapping paper and things everywhere. They got in line skates and Don and I had to put on shoes and change to take Carlos and Titi outside to try to use them. It was hard work since they had never used them. I was very tired, dying to have a cup of coffee or something but the kids had fun.

Around 2:00 p.m. to went to Luke and Mimi's for their traditional Christmas party. My brother and his family went there too. His in laws and my father are visiting from Mexico so there were a lot of Mexicans :-)

December

I can't believe I haven't written for almost a month. We have been busy. Right after Thanksgiving we went to Orlando, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. It was in September but I wanted to see the Christmas decorations at Disney and we waited. We stayed at the BoardWalk and it was very nice. The lobby had beautiful decorations and a huge gingerbread house. I loved being so close to Epcot and one morning I went there by myself to have breakfast. It was almost empty and I had a wonderful time walking around and shopping.

We saw the Osborne lights at MGM, the candlelight processional at Epcot and some of the parades. I love Disney in December!