Kiera totally stoked to be going back to ice skating lessons after a little break.
A boy and his beloved hummus:)
Heading to the Wizard of Oz at Marshall school. Kiera liked Dorothy and Sully liked Toto and the TinMan.
16
Jan
What do we do all day?
We homeschool, or unschool, or free learn, or whatever you want to call it. Think we sit home all day? Not exactly. Here is a summation of the last few days.
Sully “doing” gym class. Tossing balls and bean bags into the bucket.
Kiera spending a few minutes on a workbook she got for Christmas. Not my favorite activity for her to do, but that morning she was having a great time perusing pages and picking a few to do.
Helping make (and consume) Mama’s kombucha.
Homeschool rollerskating!
Sully “playing” the arcade games.
The Depot- On the Wedge Snowplow.
The Children’s Museum
Taking down the Christmas tree
Date time with Mama. He chose to stay home in his jammies and eat “ipe beam”, watch his “bobot” movie, and play trains.
It was a super sweet day!
Kiera had a date with Papa. Zinema for Kung Fu Panda and brunch at Zeitgeist
The zoo— digging watching the lemurs.
Dress up time with friends.
Other things we missed taking pictures off- Unity storytelling, grocery shopping, Kiera’s yoga class, Unitarian religious education, lunch with Grandpa, books about Martin Luther King, Jr., and home art time… Sure, we “just stay home”. This graphic (from Facebook page Free Your Kids) made me giggle. People always say, “We can’t homeschool because my kids need more socialization”. I usually just smirk:)
11
Jan
Teeeera!
Big new drawers + active little minds = “Teeera, hide me!”
I am savoring bedtimes with both of the kids. Kiera was busy working in a workbook that she got for Christmas. She was so proud of her work- the smirk on her face was priceless. Her little mind is soaking up so much theses days.
I asked Sully type of story he wanted to hear from me tonight. The first story he wanted to heat about an egg cracking (I named him Victor the Egg), the second a fire breathing bear, and third of a fish (I named him Dillywog) crossing the road. He fell asleep with his dumptruck on one side and dinosaur on the other with his head on his ladybug pillow. Sweet dreams amazing kiddos. Homeschool roller skating tomorrow!
There are times (quite frequently I would imagine) when pictures don’t capture the energy of a moment, the beauty of a spark, or the intensity of life. While the fullness of energy, beauty, and intensity aren’t entirely captured, I hope along with a few stories and imagination, one can get a glimpse into this Mexican wedding extravaganza! I once read a book called The Art of Traveling— after this trip, I would definitely agree that, indeed, traveling is an art. It isn’t something that happens, but something that is created, over time.
After making the flight from MSP to PV, we finagled a van to take the group (12 or so) of us to the first stop, Villa del Palmar. Here is a view from one of the rooms. It is funny to me the shock on local’s faces when I converse with them in Spanish. After all, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Mexico = Spanish, not English to me!
A true traveling experience typically leads to new friendships. This trip was rich with the beauty of new (and renewed) friendships!
Adventure! A day long sail/motoring adventure on the high seas.
Pictures don’t do it justice. We swam under this cave with the waves bringing up close to the top of the cave. We came out into the beauty of a hidden cove.
Cheese in the super amazing hidden cove! THIS is living!
This was back at Villa del Palmar.
The red girls out for the grooms dinner on New Years. I was beat so came back with Jenny and Jenna while Martin enjoyed a crazy night out on the town. Jenny went to bed to prepare for the next day (her wedding!) and Jenna and I hung out and had a mini dance party. Welcome 2012, it is going to be a great year!
Who is that lady? The bride to be. Jenny the morning of her wedding!
Dolphin sightings on the way to Yalapa for the wedding.
The magical views continued…
All brides are beautiful, but not all brides glow and radiant like Jenny did.
One of the views from Yalapa
Heading to the waterfall…
Still heading to the waterfall…
I think we are close to the waterfall…
River crossing number 3. Pause to put shoes back on, trudge on…
Eventually we conceded that we weren’t going to the waterfall we initially thought we were going to. We hadn’t eaten breakfast, we didn’t have water or food, and we were exhausted. Choice one, turn back. Choice two, carry on. What did we do? CARRY ON! We ran into some people from London with a map, massive pack with food and water, and experience. We posed in our classy hiking gear for a picture.
After thinking we were going to turn back to thinking we find it to really finding it, we did indeed find the waterfall. The journey was magical and worth every drop of sweat!
The palapa in Yalapa. The waves crash so hard against the sand at night- what a soothing sound.
Our bunk mates and me with my 8th papaya of the trip. It was also passion fruit season— I think I consumed like 25 of them. To.Die.For!
On a trek for lunch- too bad the place wasn’t open yet. It was still a great walk and got my hunger revved up for a chicken burrito back on the beach.
Yo.
Big shift in space- Yalapa to Garza. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
Martin working hard
Enjoying the beach (a lot)
Enjoying the hot tub, food, and beer (a lot)
Enjoying the view (a lot)
Enjoying the pool (a lot)
Cuteness overload. Love you J and J!
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Erickson.
Passion fruit margaritas and guacamole with some beautiful ladies– a winning combination!
There were so many types of Christmas trees in all the hotels and restaurants we stayed at. Here is one example.
An example of the nativity scene as well.
Somewhere along the way we changed hotels again and people started going back to real life. Tear. What an amazing connection with such deeply inspiring people. Even between the Borat interpretations and horrible song references, it was a trip of a lifetime.
View from Grand Miramar.
After a wild taxi ride we came upon the local approved seafood restaurant inaptly named La Longosta Feliz (The Happy Lobster). The food ceviche, lobster, shrimp, and craw fish were amazing. We savored some Coralejo and said cheers for everything under the sun.
The new couple being serenaded to while eating flan.
Mojitos and live Cuban music. Yes!
Fireworks— and lots of them.
Delicious street food. Mixing of meets and toppings.
This cart had pork and pineapple. I didn’t brush my teeth that night to keep the flavor in my mouth just a little longer.
Simple and fresh- a great combination.
Martin and I remained one extra night. We hung around the Malecon and eat more pineapple and papaya and hung out with Joanna and James. It was a sweet night as we started to come down from our travel high. Martin and I caught a taxi to head to the airport. We only had 113 pesos left with a cab ride costing 120. Meh, close enough, right? Sunday morning church in session.
One goal of the trip was to take lots of pictures of Martin and I. Did I succeed?
We had a great weekend filled with family, laughter, hugs, and long naps. As things look thus far, we will indeed have a brown Christmas. Today it was 41. 41 on December 18?!?!
Before heading off to Zannie’s house, Kiera and Sully had their last ice skating lesson.
Kiera pausing for testing. She passed “Snow Plow Sam, level 2″.
A “bamboni” made an appearance shortly after the end of practice. Kiera, Sully, Ella, and Jack
We were able to visit our Bloomer friends. Here are Kiera and Liona before heading outside to play.
Sully and Beau Beau snuggling up!
Kiera proud of the birthday cake she decorated for Papa. “I’m the cake boss!” She was introduced to the Home Alone series. She thought all the booby traps scenes were hilarious. We watched Home Alone 3 on Thursday night. Friday night Tom came home and was so excited to show Kiera that she would now have all three of them to watch. New Christmas tradition? I think so!
Z and T giving a little smooch!
Tickle tickle— Ney, Mark and Sully
Cheese! Wendi, Colie, and Sully. We had a brie, apple potato soup along with stroganoff and roasted veggies for dinner
“Ney ney paint my “no (toe) nails”. Another classic Sully quote of the weekend. “I’ve got a bunch in mine butt!” (A two year olds version of wedgie)
Post gift opening high
We left late Saturday to make it back for the UUCD church in the morning. Here are Kiera and her friend Anna after singing Moonlight for the UUCD Winter Solstice service
