Ok, so last Friday, Papi came home to tell me they asked for more information about our insurance for the car. I was about to sink into a tirade about how they are total crooks etc. when he told me that it was parked in the garage down stairs. I didn't know what to say... except to be so relieved that I didn't have to take a cab to pick Marlo up from her friend's house that evening. What liberation... parent-teacher conferences are this week and I can just drive there... wonderful. And then go to the grocery store afterward if I like... and... and...
We went to the park today... Parke Chico with the merry go rounds. Had a great time. Teac took off his shoes and put his feet in one of the many little fountains they have on the grounds. His wet feet turned into wet legs which turned into wet pants... and then into the sand. And pants off to get into the car. He was surprisingly a little disturbed and embarrassed by that. Go figure.

 
He just loved this little bike.... but it was hard to get a picture because they kept pushing him back and forth. He is to the point now where he doesn't like to sit down... and if you try and put him on the ground he gets stiff like he refuses to sit down and would much rather walk.

 
Two weekends ago we went with some friends out of the city about an hour... we took a little hike, ate some good food and then went back to there house for a birthday party for their 4 year old son Jacob. Wouldn't it be cool if they sold fireworks to put on cakes in the US?
I also have to say how greatful we were to our friends who lent us their car for the weekend. I couldn't believe how great it was to be able to get to church etc without having to get rides everywhere. Although traffic is bad here... it is practically civilized compared to Chengdu.

 
Marlo's class

 
Marlo's school picture :)

 
Zoe's class... she is sitting next to her good buddy Alicia.

 
Zoe's school picture

 
I forgot to post this before... Zoe home from school sick for two days with stomach issues and a fever... thank goodness it only lasted two days. You know they are really sick when at 11 am they ask you to shut the door so they can go to sleep. Luckily no one else got it at our house because there were plenty of other people who came down with it.

 

This is Mr. Aubin Marlo's teacher decked out in his safari gear. This is not a very good picture of him but now you will have a face to go with the stories.

 

This is what the classroom looked like before the presentation.... trees, vines, mud...

 

Today Marlo's class gave a performance/presentation on different animals in the African Savanah. They had different groups and the performance rotated around the room so that we could watch each animal in their "natural habitat" while they gave the information they had researched. We love Marlo's teacher this year. He has so much energy and sees the talents in individual students and seems to be able to push them to excell in their own areas. Teac and I went to the school to see the performance and Zoe was able to come up from her class to come watch. They did a great job. Marlo was obviously an elephant. :)

 

Marlo has been asking for and saving up for a light saber for about a year now. Papi finally broke down and found one where the shipping didn't cost more than the toy. Marlo was thrilled.... and it is purple :) Teac is also glad to have someone to sword fight with.... not that they didn't do it before.

 

This was Marlo's outfit for the day before Pi day because Pi day was on Sat this year...

 

This is one of the pictures Nathan took while I was in the kitchen.... so much personality.

 
So I look over at church on Sunday and I see this tall, good-looking guy sitting on the back row... no ring... hey, maybe I should introduce him to my sister.... well, it was her old friend Nathan who just happened to be visiting Bogota for the week and came to church.... our ward. Turns out he was staying in a hotel about 4 blocks from our apartment for the past week. We had him over for some quick spaghetti and some good talk about life here and other places overseas. He was a great sport about entertaining the kids while I made food. The world is very small... especially in the church. I love it.

Church has been interesting. We attend an interesting ward in that it is attempting to blend about 10 foreign families, most of whom don't speak Spanish very well, into an economically diverse ward that is struggling in its own right. Primary is one of the most difficult situations because while adults can usually adapt if they don't understand, children react in many different ways. Teac refused to go to nursery for a few weeks- like they had to bar him in the room- we figured out it was because he didn't understand one of the sisters who was in there.
We have from 24 to 6 primary students on any given Sunday and we never know how many of each language speakers will come. So amazingly I am not stressed about it. I was for the first couple of weeks, but now for some reason I am just really calm. I love the kids and even though I sit in Sacrament meeting alone with my kids so I don't get to hear very much, I figure it would be about the same no matter what language they were speaking from the pulpit.
I hope that we see some progress.

So I went to the interview for teaching English. Everything seemed great... flexible hours, they will work with your schedule, they provide the materials, you teach professionals at their work, and oh, they only pay you almost $8 an hour. That doesn't include travel time. I think I am going to look for something else.

 

I can crawl, push myself up to sitting, pulll up on things, stand holding on with only one hand, and sometimes I will even crawl after people if I think I can catch them before they move again.

 

Like my drool?

 

He is a very happy and social guy. He doesn't cry much unless he bumps his head or we leave him in the room by himself.

 

Ethan was so happy after his breakfast this morning that I decided to do a little photo shoot....here are some of the better ones inspite of my lack of skills with the camera.

 

K, this is a really strange picture... papi just came in the kitchen while I was making linner (lunch + dinner- you know what you eat on Sunday afternoons) and cookies and started taking random pictures of me. This one was particularly unique. Today my nanny/houskeeper called and said she couldn't come (I know all of you that regularly do your own dishes are crying buckets of sympathy for me) but I had left a kitchen full from yesterday for her because we ran off after linner to stake choir practice. I also had an orthodontist appointment... yes, it looks like I am going to get braces on my bottom teeth to correct what babies + a broken retainer messed up.... so I moved the appt... and started in on the laundry.
The boys have been great... it is amazing how well a day can go when you shift your expectations way below what is possible. I was going to go running, go to the ortho, take teac to the park, make dinner do some studying and prep my resumee for an interview I have tomorrow.... I am going to see about maybe teaching English for a couple hours a couple of mornings a week. But... instead I showered, changed Teac's sheets, bathedd us both, cleaned the kitchen, washed the clothes- in progress- and blogged.

 
My sister posted that none of her siblings got red hair.... I think I have crossed over. My entire life I have considered myself a blonde... now, after living in gloomy cities out of the sun for so many years, and after having 4 babies, I think my hair is definately more red than blonde.