Busy week

We had a very busy week. On top of all the regular activities, on Tuesday we went to eat and the movies with Titi's teacher and classmates. We saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua and we liked it a lot. It was very entertaining. Mimi came too and Carlos and Titi were happy to see her.

On Thursday we went to break the fast at the Matt's in laws and it was wonderful, like always. Lots of food and desserts. We were also celebrating the birth of Sandi and Matt's baby girl. I did not see her but Mema took Titi upstairs to meet her. I have seen pictures and she is beautiful.

On Friday I volunteered at Carlos' class and then took him to Don's office because I was going to drive some of the girls in Titi's Brownie troop to the mall. We left after school. They had a great time at Build-a-Bear! The girls then had dinner at the food court and got to touch and pet a police dog. They had a lot of fun. We got home at 7:30 and I was exhausted.

On Saturday, Carlos and I sold popcorn at another store. Don and Titi came to help too. I got so tired from standing so long. In the afternoon we went to Luke and Mimi's to celebrate Mimi's birthday. Tere and Mario cooked posole for her and I was so happy about that. I had been craving Mexican food and that was so perfect. Luke also ordered pizzas and we had some yummy shrimp that Mimi cooked.

On Sunday I worked in the garden for some hours and then we went to celebrate Laura's 17th birthday. The food was excellent like always, Keri is such a good cook. We also had Mema's chocolate cake, a real treat for sure.

Kooky Pens are for babies

Remember when Carlos would only talk about Kooky Pens? If you ask him now about them he will tell you "they are for babies". He is now crazy about Bakugan, as are most boys in the area. The stores have been selling them as soon as they get them. They had announced they were going to receive a new shipment this morning and when we got to the store there was a big line of people waiting and the store employees were only allowing kids to buy one per child. We were not able to wait to see if Carlos could get one because we had to go and sell popcorn for the Cub Scouts. Carlos was not happy but he did a good job selling popcorn and collecting donations.

Don and Titi went to Target and Wal Mart and they could not find them either. I am sure we will spend the weekend looking for Bakugans.....

September

I have been bad and I have not updated the blog. Life always gets busy around this time of year.

Carlos and Titi are enjoying their school and extra curricular activities. Titi is doing Tae Kwon Do at a studio right across from our development and she is enjoying it a lot. The teacher says she is good at it and she is really strong. Some of our neighbors go there too and she likes taking the class with them. Carlos did not want to do it but I am sure he will want to try it when he sees her with a new belt. Titi is also taking a soccer class at the school and Brownies Girl Scouts on Wednesdays.


Carlos is doing flag football at the school, a literature club and Cub Scouts. I am the leader of his den and I have been busy with that. There are lots of meeting and planning to do. Don thinks it is really funny that I have to wear a uniform and he takes pictures of me when I am wearing it. (I don't like it!) We meet once a week and I have to plan and entertain the kids at the meetings. Last week they cut carrots and celery in one of the activities and they loved it. I need to keep them busy or they start to run around. Titi is of course an honorary member of the den and she loves it.

Don has been busy with work, computer and his outdoor space. He loves it and is always trying to improve it. He sits there and listens to music, reads and watches a little of tv or surfs the net. I am sure it will be very nice when the weather gets colder.


I have been wanting to work in the garden but everytime I go out I can only do a little and it does not really show. I have not started any vegetable seeds but I need to do it this week. Our subscription to the vegetable farm is going to start again in a couple of weeks and I am happy about it. I really miss it during the summer. We have been trying to eat more vegetables and it would be great if we could grow some so we can eat even more.

This week we are going to eat a lot of bananas. The whole stalk is going to be ready at once. Last time I froze some to use them in smoothies but we didn't like the taste of the frozen bananas much. The are ok when used in pancakes or bread so I might freeze some if we cannot eat them all. Titi has gotten into making smoothies and she loves trying different combinations.

Janie and Steven had a wonderful dinner last night to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. The food was so good....it always is. It was so nice seeing everybody there. Allie is still wearing a cast in her foot but hopefully they will take it off soon.

Twelve Years!!!

Don and I are celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary today! Carlos and Titi wanted us to have a big celebration but we did not do anything really big. Don got me flowers and a delicious cake and the kids drew beautiful cards for me. I could not ask for anything else.

The garden

Some people have been asking me about my garden. I haven't really paid much attention to it lately but I hope to go back to gardening soon. It is a jungle out there. Everything has survived and there are lots of weeds everywhere! Sometimes I hope some plants will die so I don't have to take care of them but other times I am so afraid a hurricane will come and will destroy everything. I have so many plants given to me by friends and it gives me so much pleasure to walk around and think of them.

Aunt Blanche's Birthday Party

We had a wonderful time at Aunt Blanche's party to celebrate her 80th birthday. She looks way younger than 80! She was wearing a beautiful outfit and we had fun talking to her. Uncle Dave looked great too!

The brunch was at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach. Very fancy!!! Titi wore her suit for the occasion and loved being there. She is not shy at all and she loved walking around all the food stations and talking to people.





After the bruch we all went to Mema and Grandpa's condo. Carlos, Titi and Andie love to go swimming at their pool. It is so nice there!

A date at the Dolphins Game

Yesterday night we went to the Dolphins game. Carlos and Titi slept at Luke and Mimi's so we did not have to worry about coming back early to pick them up. It felt kind of strange to have so much freedom but it was good to remember the old times . We have been sitting at the same seats for years and years and it felt great to go back there and remember how it was before we had kids. We saw some people that we had not seen in years. We all are getting old! One of the last times I remember being at the stadium is when Carlos was only 1 and Don was carring him on his shoulders. I know I have been there a couple of other times since then but not much.

Don and I don't go out much by ourselves. We try to only ask Mimi and Luke to watch C&T when it is something that we have been invited to and cannot miss to attend. We know they never say no, but it is not fair to them to use their weekend taking care of two very active kids.

Lately we have had the opportunity to go out more by ourselves and it has felt a little strange but good. Last week Carlos and Titi insisted on going to a gym that has a parent's night out and we suddenly found ourselves with time to go out for dinner. Don was tired and was looking forward to spending some relaxing time at home but we went to a restaurant and had a good time. Then on Sunday Mimi took Carlos and Titi to the movies and again we had some hours to ourselves. We decided to use the time to go to Home Depot and Costco since I never want to go with the kids. What a luxury to be able to talk to Don without interruptions!

Get well Allie!

Allie got a terrible injury at her soccer game on Saturday. Don and Carlos went to see her play but when they arrived at the field people told them Allie had been taken by ambulance to the hospital. Mema and Grandpa were with her. Don and Carlos went to the hospital and stayed with them until Allie was discharged from the emergency room. She got a cast on her leg and she is not feeling well.

We are sending her lots of hugs and kisses and we hope she will feel fine soon.

First Day of School!!!

August 2007

August 2008. They are both wearing glasses!

Today was Carlos and Titi's first day of school (but there will be no school tomorrow due to tropical storm Fay). They were very happy to go back and Don and I were happy too :-) They both seem to have gotten great teachers and we hope they will have a wonderful year at school.

We are going to miss the summer. It was great not having to get up early, no rush to get out of the door, no homework!!, not having to pack lunch for very picky eaters.....

Carlos is wearing glasses now! I took Titi to the optometrist to see if her eyeglasses prescription had changed and I had Carlos tested as well. He needed glasses too. I thought he needed glasses to see close since he plays at the computer and his DS very close to his eyes but the doctor said no, that he only needs them to see far away. Fortunately he is excited about them and could not wait to wear them. I think he looks very cute.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARLOS!!!

Our Carlos is 9 years old! He is such a wonderful child and we are very proud of him.

On Saturday we celebrated his birthday with the McGregor-Morales family since Mario Ariel turned 3 last week. We had a nice time, with a delicious cake and presents.

We did not have another party for him but he wanted lots and lots of presents and as much as we tried to tell him that he didn't need anything, he kept telling us he could not wait to see the kitchen table decorated and full of presents. He put a lot of pressure on us! We got him some things that he wanted like Kooky pens and some other things that we hope he will like, mainly board games. He was very happy to receive Mema and Grandpa's card with a check!! Thank you!

Zip Line

Today, before leaving Panajachel, Don and Carlos went to the Natural Reserve to do the zip line. I was not sure if Carlos was going to do it but he did and he loved it. The view from the line is amazing. The guides filmed them a little.


Titi and I went shopping for a very short time and then we visited another family and had a meeting on the street with Patti from Mayan Families. I wanted to accomplish much more but it was not possible, time went flying. We did leave a radio for an old couple that have no entertainment at all in their room. I would love to buy them a TV in the future.

The ride back to the city was fine. I love looking at the fields and we passed by some interesting towns. I am so thankful that Carlos and Titi do not get car sick since the road is so rough and winding. They travel so well.

We are back in Guatemala city. We miss Pana. We stayed at a beautiful hotel, Posada de Don Rodrigo, and our room had lake and volcano view. We loved looking at the scenery and are sad to have left it. We leave tomorrow morning.

Panajachel

Titi helping at Mayan Families

Domingo having fun.

We are in Guatemala

Hi,

We arrived safe and sound yesterday. Our plane was on time and when we arrived at the airport we found the hotel van waiting for us. Very convenient! There are always lots and lots of people waiting for relatives and it gets very confusing. We were so happy to have somebody waiting for us.

The hotel is very nice! We got a suite through Expedia and it is wonderful, very luxurious. There is an executive lounge with beverages and food all day. Don has taken many trips there. Today we saw Carlos and Titi's birthfamilies and we went to the zoo again. We had a good time.

Tomorrow we will go to Panajachel and I will try to post more from there.

Leaving for Guatemala

Tomorrow we leave for Guatemala. We are going to be there for 10 days. I have been packing for weeks and I have packed and repacked, trying to fit more things in the suitcases. We are only bringing a small portion of the donations we have. We can bring 8 big suitcases but they have to weight 50 Lbs. or less.

We are going to stay at the Gran Tikal Futura hotel in the city to visit with Carlos and Titi's birthfamilies and then a van will pick us up on Monday to bring us to Panajachel. I am hoping to do some research for future projects. We want to start an after-school project, a community garden and some kind of feeding program for children and older people.

We will try to be in touch via email or here.

Northwest Florida

We went on vacation at the beginning of the month to northwest Florida. It was a good trip and we got to see some more of the state.

We first drove to Busch Gardens in Tampa. We arrived on July 4th at night and we were able to see the fireworks from the employee's parking lot. It was perfect, we saw them very close! The next day we went to the park and Carlos and Titi were happy to see they were tall enough to go on most rides.

Carlos was tall enough to ride all the rollercoasters by himself and he did it, sometimes 3 or 4 times in a row. They do not bother him at all. It makes me nervous to see him go but he loves it so much I have to let him go. Don went with him on a couple of ones but for the most part he just waited for Carlos. Titi and I just walked around and of course Titi had to get wet 2 or 3 times. It rained in the afternoon but it was not too bad.

We went to the park 2 1/2 days and then left for Homossassa Springs. It is a very nice park and we saw manatees, alligators, fish and all kinds of birds. We could not believe how clear the water was! The next day we visited Wakulla Springs near Tallahasse. Carlos and Titi wanted to swim in the springs but when they got in and felt the cold water they got out quickly. The water temperature is 65-68 degrees year round. Now we can say we have been to Tallahasse. It is a nice, small city.

We then drove to the Panhandle. We loved Destin and stayed there a couple of days. There was so much to do! We went to a nice waterpark and the marina and had a nice time. Carlos and Titi were able to feed fish and crabs and they were very happy.

On the way back we stopped in Orlando and went to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. We got home tired and happy.