While we were watching general conference today, I was thinking about Chris's Grandpa Whitney. He wasn't a member of our church and didn't understand the importance of us being here in Guatemala building a temple. He passed away a few months back and I wonder if he has changed his outlook on the temple. He was always so worried about us being in Guatemala, but I wonder if he now knows what a blessing this experience has been for our family.
Monday, October 4, 2010
SLOW DOWN LITTLE BUDDY! Cole is so excited to finish this school year that he is halfway through the week's lessons already. I can't keep up with him!
The kids and I took advantage of the country club today. We didn't know if we'd be able to get the basketball so we took a few other items to keep us entertained in case. Fortunately, we were able to get the basketball so Cole and I played a game of Horse, followed by pig, and then sheep. Cole wanted to do the whole farm! Morgan joined us for a game of Around the World. Cole was not too happy when Morgan beat both of us! While we played basketball, the little girls were playing on the jungle gyms, jump roping, and playing with bouncy balls. When we were tired of basketball, we headed down to the soccer field to throw the frisbee around. We ended up trying to "practice" for ultimate frisbee. I was shocked at how into it Morgan was getting. She's always been very reserved when it came to playing any sports!
The kids and I took advantage of the country club today. We didn't know if we'd be able to get the basketball so we took a few other items to keep us entertained in case. Fortunately, we were able to get the basketball so Cole and I played a game of Horse, followed by pig, and then sheep. Cole wanted to do the whole farm! Morgan joined us for a game of Around the World. Cole was not too happy when Morgan beat both of us! While we played basketball, the little girls were playing on the jungle gyms, jump roping, and playing with bouncy balls. When we were tired of basketball, we headed down to the soccer field to throw the frisbee around. We ended up trying to "practice" for ultimate frisbee. I was shocked at how into it Morgan was getting. She's always been very reserved when it came to playing any sports!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Laina woke up cranky and didn't want to go to school, so I took Alysa and left Laina with Morgan and Cole. Lily was still in Guatemala City, so Alysa and I went grocery shopping instead. When we returned, we found out that Laina had cut her hair while I was gone. Apparently she wanted to have bangs. I did my best to fix it and in my opinion, it didn't turn out too bad!
Morgan is catching the bug to finish the school year and she is trying to catch up to Cole. Those two crack me up with how excited and competitive they are!
With extra encouragement from Morgan, I agreed to go play frisbee again today. WOW! I didn't realize how sore and out of shape I am!!
With extra encouragement from Morgan, I agreed to go play frisbee again today. WOW! I didn't realize how sore and out of shape I am!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Cole is determined to finish all of his school work and tests today!! Why today? Does he not realize that I have a ton of other stuff to do? Every 5 minutes he was begging me to let him take another test! How do you tell your kids to quit studying and doing homework?
The quilting class was great. I am learning new words, building more confidence, and making more friends. We even had two investigators come today. There were a TON of kids also today. Luckily it was nice outside so Morgan and Cole took them all down to the park to play. I don't know who had more fun, the moms or the kids! Morgan loves taking care of babies now. One of my friends has a little boy that is almost 6 months old. She is so happy when she gets to watch him. The kids also love serving the refreshments. I made two extra long loaves of banana bread. I had one loaf cut for the class. Afterwards I found out that they had used both loaves! I didn't get a single piece! I had to beg a bite from Laina!
Lilian came for her piano lesson today with her mom, Emiliana, and her brother, Alex. I felt bad for Alex having to sit there while his sister had a piano lesson, so I gave him a tennis racket and told him he could go play with my kids. He went down to the park and was playing tennis with Cole. I was so proud of Cole for going out of his comfort zone and playing with a kid that he isn't very comfortable with!
Lilian came for her piano lesson today with her mom, Emiliana, and her brother, Alex. I felt bad for Alex having to sit there while his sister had a piano lesson, so I gave him a tennis racket and told him he could go play with my kids. He went down to the park and was playing tennis with Cole. I was so proud of Cole for going out of his comfort zone and playing with a kid that he isn't very comfortable with!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
What an amazingly fun day we had today! We took Alysa to school (Laina was throwing fits and wouldn't go again) and then the rest of us headed off in search of a book store that Lily told us about. It is down in Central Park (remember, I don't drive down there without crying!) so we parked in the Democracia area and walked. It is such a different place when you are walking and can see in the little shops. It was really fun to just walk around. The funniest thing happened when a group of Guatemalans stopped us to ask for directions. Are you serious? Why in the world are you asking the gringos for directions? The coolest part though was that I understood the questions and I could answer them! And then Morgan said my Spanish was good.....not just less embarrassing, but good!!
We found the bookstore without any problems. It is a used English book store. They buy used books, sell used books, and if you return a book after you've read it, you get 1/2 credit back! Well, Cole has been waiting to get the last two Harry Potter books, so I asked the girl if they had any. She showed me the section where the Harry Potter books were, but unfortunately they only had books 1 and 3. Most of the books are from tourists that have come and wanted to exchange their books, so there isn't a ton of kids books. I did find a few good ones for Alysa since she is really getting into reading. Laina of course wanted to get half of the store, but I limited her to three books. While I was trying to stop Laina from getting more books, Cole yelled at me to help him. I looked over and he was up on a ladder. He had miraculously found two lone Harry Potter books up on one of the top shelves, but he couldn't reach them. They were the last two books that he was searching for! What are the chances of that?? - had the two books we needed....what are the chances?
It was getting warm so we stopped for ice cream before heading to the fabric store. I found some fabric for the backing on a quilt. It actually matches but it isn't the type of fabric that I wanted. Oh, well, at least we were able to find the right color finally!
We then continued to lug our books, and fabric and walked to the market. We wondered around a bit, got some produce and then decided it was time to head back to the car and go get Alysa. We got stopped by some crazy noise that got the kids attention. There was a guy with two big bins of little chicks that he was selling. The crazy part was that they were all painted different colors. They were selling them for Q1. ($.12). The kids were so excited and were begging to get them. I am not sure what came over me but I finally agreed to let them each get a chick. I did say that they would probably die and that they would be responsible for taking care of them. So, we left the market with little bags of cheeping chicks!
We found the bookstore without any problems. It is a used English book store. They buy used books, sell used books, and if you return a book after you've read it, you get 1/2 credit back! Well, Cole has been waiting to get the last two Harry Potter books, so I asked the girl if they had any. She showed me the section where the Harry Potter books were, but unfortunately they only had books 1 and 3. Most of the books are from tourists that have come and wanted to exchange their books, so there isn't a ton of kids books. I did find a few good ones for Alysa since she is really getting into reading. Laina of course wanted to get half of the store, but I limited her to three books. While I was trying to stop Laina from getting more books, Cole yelled at me to help him. I looked over and he was up on a ladder. He had miraculously found two lone Harry Potter books up on one of the top shelves, but he couldn't reach them. They were the last two books that he was searching for! What are the chances of that?? - had the two books we needed....what are the chances?
It was getting warm so we stopped for ice cream before heading to the fabric store. I found some fabric for the backing on a quilt. It actually matches but it isn't the type of fabric that I wanted. Oh, well, at least we were able to find the right color finally!
We then continued to lug our books, and fabric and walked to the market. We wondered around a bit, got some produce and then decided it was time to head back to the car and go get Alysa. We got stopped by some crazy noise that got the kids attention. There was a guy with two big bins of little chicks that he was selling. The crazy part was that they were all painted different colors. They were selling them for Q1. ($.12). The kids were so excited and were begging to get them. I am not sure what came over me but I finally agreed to let them each get a chick. I did say that they would probably die and that they would be responsible for taking care of them. So, we left the market with little bags of cheeping chicks!
The chicks were a big hit at the school when I picked up Alysa! All of the kids were playing with them. Lily told us where to get food so we went to the store afterwards. Wow, I am becoming a little bit more independent again!!
Cole named his blue chick, Percy after The Lightning Thief. In the book, Percy's mom always made him blue food.
Morgan named her green one, Palm like a palm tree.
Alysa named her orange one Annabeth who is friends with Percy.
Laina named her pink one Flower because she likes pink flowers.
 |
| Flower, Palm, and Percy playing in the backyard. |
So, not a single kids said they were bored for the whole day. They didn't ask to watch t.v. or play video games. They played at the park together, played with the chicks, and stayed entertained all day!
Morgan finished all of her tests today and the kids are officially finished with 3rd and 5th grade. The next step is to clean out the school room, put away all of their old work, and get their stuff ready for the next "year"! 4th and 6th grade should be interesting. I am so dreading Morgan's HUGE grammar book. I can't stand grammar!
In addition to fluorescent chicks, we bought some jalapenos at the market today. Cole found a recipe and helped make jalapeno poppers for the first time. They were delicious!!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Yeah, all the chicks are still alive. I was shocked to get up this morning and see all 4 still wandering around in their little box. I wonder how long they'll last!
So, last April, there was a Relief Society activity on gardening. We bought little starts in a cup. There were four different plants all in one small cup which I was supposed to replant when I got home. Well after sitting on my window seal forever, I finally told Cole and his friend to plant them for me just to give them something to do. When they replanted them, they took all of the plants and stuck them all together in the same spot rather than taking them apart! I didn't really care since I had no hopes of growing anything. (I don't seem to have the greenest thumb!) We left them and went up to Alaska. When we came back, we had a little lettuce plant, broccoli, and tomato. They were all growing out of the same spot. I was shocked! Well, a couple more months later, there is actually broccoli growing and there are two tomatoes on the tomato plant! I still laugh everyday when I see them out my window. If those plants have survived with the lack of attention, just think what could have grown if they had been cared for!!
So, last April, there was a Relief Society activity on gardening. We bought little starts in a cup. There were four different plants all in one small cup which I was supposed to replant when I got home. Well after sitting on my window seal forever, I finally told Cole and his friend to plant them for me just to give them something to do. When they replanted them, they took all of the plants and stuck them all together in the same spot rather than taking them apart! I didn't really care since I had no hopes of growing anything. (I don't seem to have the greenest thumb!) We left them and went up to Alaska. When we came back, we had a little lettuce plant, broccoli, and tomato. They were all growing out of the same spot. I was shocked! Well, a couple more months later, there is actually broccoli growing and there are two tomatoes on the tomato plant! I still laugh everyday when I see them out my window. If those plants have survived with the lack of attention, just think what could have grown if they had been cared for!!
To celebrate the end of the school year, we took the kids to their new favorite Italian restaurant. Cole was really wanting to try octopus. If Cole is wanting to try anything new, we are all for it! We ordered the same dish that Chris and I had had before but it didn't have any octopus. Cole was disappointed but recovered quickly when he tried calamari and some other food. Everybody was in pretty goods moods even though it was very late by the time we got home.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
We woke up to chirping chicks again today. Unfortunately there were two that were dead. Morgan and Cole's both passed during the night. Alysa's was looking pretty bad when we left the house. By the time we got home, it had passed as well. Lily had told us that the chicks usually don't make it through the night without their mom to keep them warm. Poor little chicks. Poor little kids! The only remaining one is the pink one that Laina keeps dropping!!
The family went to the temple site so that Morgan and I could work on painting the entrance sign. It was going pretty well except that we were right where the big huge crane was being disassembled. We were right under the equipment and for safety reasons we were asked to leave. I am very impressed with the company being concerned about safety.... usually safety isn't the biggest concern here in Guatemala!!
It was really hot also, so we're going to wait until next week and try to finish it.
 |
| Break time! |
Last night when we were heading to dinner, we passed a new restaurant that looked fun. So, for lunch we went to the new taco place. We weren't sure what to ordered so we just got a bunch of stuff and shared it. It was pretty good. They had the best flour tortillas that I have found in Guatemala. It made me really excited for our trip to Mexico soon!!
We are all looking forward to some new friends coming next week. Paul's wife and kids will be arriving this week. We wish them a safe trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment