Tuesday, January 25, 2011
It felt good to start choir again. I didn't realize how much I missed the interaction with people outside of the house!! We don't have specific songs to practice from the stake so we're picking our own songs. The music coordinator and I picked the songs that people have gotten into wrong habits of singing. It is fun trying to break old habits!
Chris came home after a very long, frustrating, depressing, irritating, hurtful day. He spent some time describing to me what had happened. My protective nature automatically came out. I really do not like when people are not nice to my family! My natural instinct was to go chew somebody out. I guess I should try to control myself and let Chris take care of it without me causing more problems!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
We finished up another set of tests today. Now the fun work of trying to correct Morgan's tests without an answer key! I don't know how they expect kids to remember all of the stuff that they do! Maybe my brain just has overload from studying four different grades at the same time. 6th grade is definitely tougher than 5th grade!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
I have been trying to do a better job this year of having music lessons, scouts, p.e., etc for the kids. By the time we get the regular school work done, I am just so burnt out that I don't want to do anything else. Today I forced myself to do a music class for Alysa and Laina. Laina loves to attempt to play the recorder. Her little tiny fingers never cover the holes so it never works but she loves it anyway. Alysa is really enjoying playing the piano. We haven't made much progress due to my negligence but I will try better! Now I just need to find the time to do Morgan's conducting and recorder lessons. Maybe I can trick Cole into playing the piano again also.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Today was definitely a club day. Cole and I somehow managed to get ourselves out of bed this morning. We were so tired so we didn't get much exercising done!
In the afternoon, the Bottemas came over and we went to the club again. The boys and little girls all ran around and did what they wanted. Polly and I did the treadmill for while. After I finished, I went to watch Morgan and Laina in the pool while I tried to get some of their schoolwork ready for next week. (No, I still have not finished grading tests!!)
After we finished at the club, we went back to the house where we met up with Chris and Paul. We left all the kids to watch Harry Potter and eat pizza while the adults went back to the club for dinner. It was delicious!
I am so thankful that the Bottemas are here in Xela. It has been wonderful to have other people that understand what we're going through. I am pleased that the kids all get along well also. It will be so sad when they go back to Utah!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
We had a very lazy start to the day. It was sunny and the kids slept in. I got up and sat in the sun reading until Morgan made me leave to go to a water aerobics class. The class was quite interesting. Morgan and I were the only ones that showed up for this first time class. The swimming instructor was doing the class and I'm not sure how much experience he's had with water aerobics. We did a decent job of understanding and were able to survive the class. It was hilarious when Morgan got the hiccups. They echoed in the pool and made me crack up every time!
After the water aerobics class, there was a introductory pilates class also. It'll be interesting to see if they get the classes up and running!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
I am starting the next piano class this week. The class has been full since December but for some reason they announced the class over the pulpit today. I've had so many people trying to get into the class. I feel so bad telling them that I don't have any more space.
For our family "primary", Morgan is really enjoying being in charge of singing time.....maybe too much? It is wonderful to sit as a family and discuss gospel topics. I also love hearing the kids singing the new songs that they learned throughout the week.
Monday, January 31, 2011
1/16/11-1/24/11
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The end of the project is slowly drawing closer. Each week it seems that there are new people coming down from the states to do some of the finishing work. This week, Dale, Sarge, and Mike arrived from Utah. Dale and Sarge make sure that the mechanical systems are working properly and Mike is the painter. Since they are in a strange country, we offered to have them come to church with us and then come over for lunch. It is always nice to have visitors come to our house. It is so strange how you can be anywhere in the world and there is an automatic bond between members of the church.
After lunch, I had to go back to the church for a music meeting. I wasn't sure what the meeting was for but it turned out to be a planning meeting for all of the people in charge of music. We planned the hymns for the next three months, music classes, etc. There were only 4 of us there and I was amazed at how much I was understanding and able to participate. I was able to ask questions, answer questions, give ideas, etc. I felt pretty proud of myself!
Monday, January 17, 2011
We are trying to figure out if we'll be able to finish the homeschooling before we move or not. If we keep going strong, we might be able to finish by the end of June. I don't want to push it too hard and have everybody get burned out!
I was very excited that I got to email with my older sister today! She is always so busy and (Yes, I hope you are reading this, Brittany!) hardly ever replies to emails!! She got a new calling and we were able to talk about it. It really made me even more excited to move back to the states.
As a surprise, Chris came home with a 100# bag of wheat! I only had enough wheat left for one batch of bread. He ordered the wheat from Guatemala City and arranged from one of the guys from the general contractor to pick it up and bring it to Xela. The last time we bought wheat, they came in 50# bags. Apparently they come in 100# bags now. We'll definitely have enough wheat to last for the rest of our time here! I am so excited!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cole is still insisting that he wants a pinata for his birthday. I think he just wants the candy but if we're in Guatemala, we'll do a pinata. Cole went with me to the store to buy the pinata. Of course they only had little kids stuff but he finally settled on a Mario Brothers one. Alysa wanted to buy Cole a present with her own money so Morgan took her into another store while Cole was looking at pinatas. She has got to be the most thoughtful kid!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
We did Cole's party today since he might not be here tomorrow. Everybody met at our house then walked to the country club to do the pinata and play soccer. There were the 2 Bottema boys, 3 Orellana boys and 1 girl, Cole and our 3 girls, and the neighbor Sebastian. I can't believe how many boys there were that Cole is friends with!
After a couple of hours of playing, we had popcorn balls and opened presents. Cole was very excited to receive candy, soda, money, and a new jacket. He was one happy and exhausted kid. When everybody was leaving, Sebastian said that he had to do some homework and that he'd come back later. After the door was shut, Cole said, "I'm too tired to play anymore."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Cole's birthday was actually today but we didn't really do anything to celebrate it. Instead, we did homework and made a ton of bread. We made a couple of loaves to give to the guy who picked up and brought us the wheat. We also made a couple of loaves to take into the office to share along with some homemade strawberry jam.
Cole went with me to the job site to drop off the bread. I couldn't believe how many gringos were there.
Dave came down along with a bunch of other guys in addition to the trades that are now here. The presiding bishop for the church was also scheduled to arrive later in the day. It was definitely a busy day for Chris so we just dropped off all the bread and then tried to leave. I say tried because I could not get out of the parking lot! It was so packed with cars that there was nowhere for me to turn around. I tried several times and just kept getting stuck. I was so embarrassed because there were people just watching me! Finally one of the workers came over to help followed by another guy from the office. I can't remember the last time I felt like such an idiot "woman driver"! Probably back in college when my dad and his friend asked me to drop them off at the top of the river, drive to the bottom and park their truck with the boat trailer!
After a very humiliating exit from the job site, Cole and I ventured to the bookstore to sell more books and get some books for Alysa for her birthday in 1 1/2 months. She is really picking up the reading and loves to be a big kid and have her reading time. My favorite is when she reads books to Laina at night. It makes me so happy to listen to them together!
Friday, January 21, 2011
At 6:00 this morning, Chris and Cole took off to Antigua. The lawyer that is supposed to be working on Chris's temporary residence here has her office there. It is about a 3 hour drive there! She had Chris's passport and he had to get it to go to Mexico to renew our visas. Chris had to drive 3 hours, pick up the passport, drive 3 hours back, pick up the girls then drive another 3-4 hours to get to Mexico! What a day!
While the boys were gone, the girls finished up some homework, cleaned the house, and got everything ready for our trip.
We ended up leaving just after 2:00 for Mexico. It was an uneventful drive. We're finally getting the hang of this. The kids did amazing on the drive.
Cole decided to celebrate his birthday in Mexico. So, he picked a chicken wings restaurant for dinner, followed by cupcakes and presents in the hotel room. He got 6 new books which will probably last him a month if we're lucky!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
We had a very laid back day today. We ventured to Walmart, then ate lunch while watching a movie (Tron....not in English!). Afterwards, the kids went swimming while Chris and I read by the pool.
I don't know why but the kids love to eat dinner in the hotel room rather than in the restaurant! They got their wish again tonight!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Today was even more laid back than yesterday. The entire day consisted of breakfast, swimming, lunch, vegging around the hotel room, dinner, and bed.
We went to a yummy Italian place for dinner. The food on this trip has been much more enjoyable than our last road trip around Guatemala!
We have decided that traveling with kids has gotten so much easier. We've got it down to a science. We know what to pack, what we need for the drive, what we need for the hotels, etc. It sure makes traveling a lot less stressful!
Monday, January 24, 2011
I never thought we'd get so excited about shopping at Walmart! We stopped there on our way out of town to stock up on some chips, sodas, and other misc. food items.
We also had to make a last stop at the Spyrals ice cream stand. It is a little kiosk that serves the best soft serve ice cream. It tastes just like the homemade ice cream that we make at my parents cabin! It was so good that we stopped there 4 times in less than 3 days!
The drive home was great. The kids all got along and some even took naps!
The end of the project is slowly drawing closer. Each week it seems that there are new people coming down from the states to do some of the finishing work. This week, Dale, Sarge, and Mike arrived from Utah. Dale and Sarge make sure that the mechanical systems are working properly and Mike is the painter. Since they are in a strange country, we offered to have them come to church with us and then come over for lunch. It is always nice to have visitors come to our house. It is so strange how you can be anywhere in the world and there is an automatic bond between members of the church.
After lunch, I had to go back to the church for a music meeting. I wasn't sure what the meeting was for but it turned out to be a planning meeting for all of the people in charge of music. We planned the hymns for the next three months, music classes, etc. There were only 4 of us there and I was amazed at how much I was understanding and able to participate. I was able to ask questions, answer questions, give ideas, etc. I felt pretty proud of myself!
Monday, January 17, 2011
We are trying to figure out if we'll be able to finish the homeschooling before we move or not. If we keep going strong, we might be able to finish by the end of June. I don't want to push it too hard and have everybody get burned out!
I was very excited that I got to email with my older sister today! She is always so busy and (Yes, I hope you are reading this, Brittany!) hardly ever replies to emails!! She got a new calling and we were able to talk about it. It really made me even more excited to move back to the states.
As a surprise, Chris came home with a 100# bag of wheat! I only had enough wheat left for one batch of bread. He ordered the wheat from Guatemala City and arranged from one of the guys from the general contractor to pick it up and bring it to Xela. The last time we bought wheat, they came in 50# bags. Apparently they come in 100# bags now. We'll definitely have enough wheat to last for the rest of our time here! I am so excited!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cole is still insisting that he wants a pinata for his birthday. I think he just wants the candy but if we're in Guatemala, we'll do a pinata. Cole went with me to the store to buy the pinata. Of course they only had little kids stuff but he finally settled on a Mario Brothers one. Alysa wanted to buy Cole a present with her own money so Morgan took her into another store while Cole was looking at pinatas. She has got to be the most thoughtful kid!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
We did Cole's party today since he might not be here tomorrow. Everybody met at our house then walked to the country club to do the pinata and play soccer. There were the 2 Bottema boys, 3 Orellana boys and 1 girl, Cole and our 3 girls, and the neighbor Sebastian. I can't believe how many boys there were that Cole is friends with!
After a couple of hours of playing, we had popcorn balls and opened presents. Cole was very excited to receive candy, soda, money, and a new jacket. He was one happy and exhausted kid. When everybody was leaving, Sebastian said that he had to do some homework and that he'd come back later. After the door was shut, Cole said, "I'm too tired to play anymore."
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Cole's birthday was actually today but we didn't really do anything to celebrate it. Instead, we did homework and made a ton of bread. We made a couple of loaves to give to the guy who picked up and brought us the wheat. We also made a couple of loaves to take into the office to share along with some homemade strawberry jam.
Cole went with me to the job site to drop off the bread. I couldn't believe how many gringos were there.
Dave came down along with a bunch of other guys in addition to the trades that are now here. The presiding bishop for the church was also scheduled to arrive later in the day. It was definitely a busy day for Chris so we just dropped off all the bread and then tried to leave. I say tried because I could not get out of the parking lot! It was so packed with cars that there was nowhere for me to turn around. I tried several times and just kept getting stuck. I was so embarrassed because there were people just watching me! Finally one of the workers came over to help followed by another guy from the office. I can't remember the last time I felt like such an idiot "woman driver"! Probably back in college when my dad and his friend asked me to drop them off at the top of the river, drive to the bottom and park their truck with the boat trailer!
After a very humiliating exit from the job site, Cole and I ventured to the bookstore to sell more books and get some books for Alysa for her birthday in 1 1/2 months. She is really picking up the reading and loves to be a big kid and have her reading time. My favorite is when she reads books to Laina at night. It makes me so happy to listen to them together!
Friday, January 21, 2011
At 6:00 this morning, Chris and Cole took off to Antigua. The lawyer that is supposed to be working on Chris's temporary residence here has her office there. It is about a 3 hour drive there! She had Chris's passport and he had to get it to go to Mexico to renew our visas. Chris had to drive 3 hours, pick up the passport, drive 3 hours back, pick up the girls then drive another 3-4 hours to get to Mexico! What a day!
While the boys were gone, the girls finished up some homework, cleaned the house, and got everything ready for our trip.
We ended up leaving just after 2:00 for Mexico. It was an uneventful drive. We're finally getting the hang of this. The kids did amazing on the drive.
Cole decided to celebrate his birthday in Mexico. So, he picked a chicken wings restaurant for dinner, followed by cupcakes and presents in the hotel room. He got 6 new books which will probably last him a month if we're lucky!
 |
| A nice hug after receiving a gift that Alysa went and bought him with her own money! |
Saturday, January 22, 2011
We had a very laid back day today. We ventured to Walmart, then ate lunch while watching a movie (Tron....not in English!). Afterwards, the kids went swimming while Chris and I read by the pool.
I don't know why but the kids love to eat dinner in the hotel room rather than in the restaurant! They got their wish again tonight!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Today was even more laid back than yesterday. The entire day consisted of breakfast, swimming, lunch, vegging around the hotel room, dinner, and bed.
We went to a yummy Italian place for dinner. The food on this trip has been much more enjoyable than our last road trip around Guatemala!
We have decided that traveling with kids has gotten so much easier. We've got it down to a science. We know what to pack, what we need for the drive, what we need for the hotels, etc. It sure makes traveling a lot less stressful!
Monday, January 24, 2011
I never thought we'd get so excited about shopping at Walmart! We stopped there on our way out of town to stock up on some chips, sodas, and other misc. food items.
We also had to make a last stop at the Spyrals ice cream stand. It is a little kiosk that serves the best soft serve ice cream. It tastes just like the homemade ice cream that we make at my parents cabin! It was so good that we stopped there 4 times in less than 3 days!
The drive home was great. The kids all got along and some even took naps!
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| Crazy yellow trees in the middle of all green. |
It is always nice to get home and feel somewhat productive. Hopefully the rest of the week will go well!
Monday, January 17, 2011
1/10/11-1/15/11
Monday, January 10, 2011
Just another day.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A while ago, Dave brought us some root beer extract so that we could make homemade root beer since they don't sell it here. I didn't make any because I didn't know where to buy dry ice. While cleaning out the cupboard last week, I found the extract and realized that the recipe on the box doesn't call for dry ice!! Woo Hoo!! Today we got the necessary ingredients and we made homemade root beer. It tasted like medicine to start out with but after a while it actually started to taste good. The kids were in heaven!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
It has been so overcast and windy this week. Without the sun to warm things up during the day, it has been extra cold also! UGH!! I am so ready to be done with the cold!
Even though it was pretty windy, the kids decided to go out side and start making a club house. They are using one of the unfinished houses in the community. They stopped working on it before we moved here almost two years ago! It consists of cement blocks for the main frame of the house. The inside has become completely overgrown with plants. The kids set to work to clear out the plants. It was great! The four of them played together from lunch until dinner! I was able to enjoy some quiet time and get a few things taken care of.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The kids continued to work on their club house today. Cole came home asking for some gardening gloves because he was getting blisters!
While they were gone, I finished the 7th Harry Potter book. Morgan has been giving me a hard time because she finished the 6th and has been wanting the 7th. I am finally free from Harry Potter and I can read whatever book I want now. Hum, which book will be next?
We used up the remaining ice cream and root beer to make root beer floats for dinner. Yum!! The kids and I decided that our first meal back in the states is going to be pizza and root beer!
Yesterday, I noticed that my tooth was hurting when I ate. I was wondering if a filling was missing. My suspicions were confirmed when I replaced the filling with a new carrot stick filling! OWWWWW!! The carrot when straight into my nerve and I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad. The kids were a little worried because they didn't know what had happened.
Friday, January 14, 2011
The first question that crossed my mind this morning was: "Do you seriously think I can move?" My body is so sore! Not to mention that I am not motivated to do anything! Well, I sucked it up and we got the day going. We finished the week's schoolwork and other odds and ends. The kids didn't want to go outside to their club house because they were hurting so much also!
Date night consisted of a fun trip to the dentist. I am so thankful for a patient husband that made an appointment for me and went to translate!! After an hour of drilling, it was decided that I need a root canal. I was sent home with a temporary filling and instructions not to eat or drink for 2 hours. I knew I should have eaten dinner before I went!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Chris was supposed to go to Antigua to pick up his passport from the lawyer that is STILL trying to get his temporary residency. Well, of course it will not be ready....AGAIN!! Guess Chris is going to have to make a trip (3 hours each way!) to get it during the week before we go to Mexico on Friday! UGH!!
Instead, we had a relaxing morning then took the kids to see the temple. It has changed so much since the last time we went. It is coming together slowly but surely.
Afterwards, we gave in and took the kids to the new Subway that opened by the temple. WOW! It was nice. It was huge, had tons of tables, had self-serve fountain drinks, etc. It was like we were back in the states. We all loved it.
Just another day.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
A while ago, Dave brought us some root beer extract so that we could make homemade root beer since they don't sell it here. I didn't make any because I didn't know where to buy dry ice. While cleaning out the cupboard last week, I found the extract and realized that the recipe on the box doesn't call for dry ice!! Woo Hoo!! Today we got the necessary ingredients and we made homemade root beer. It tasted like medicine to start out with but after a while it actually started to taste good. The kids were in heaven!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
It has been so overcast and windy this week. Without the sun to warm things up during the day, it has been extra cold also! UGH!! I am so ready to be done with the cold!
Even though it was pretty windy, the kids decided to go out side and start making a club house. They are using one of the unfinished houses in the community. They stopped working on it before we moved here almost two years ago! It consists of cement blocks for the main frame of the house. The inside has become completely overgrown with plants. The kids set to work to clear out the plants. It was great! The four of them played together from lunch until dinner! I was able to enjoy some quiet time and get a few things taken care of.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The kids continued to work on their club house today. Cole came home asking for some gardening gloves because he was getting blisters!
While they were gone, I finished the 7th Harry Potter book. Morgan has been giving me a hard time because she finished the 6th and has been wanting the 7th. I am finally free from Harry Potter and I can read whatever book I want now. Hum, which book will be next?
We used up the remaining ice cream and root beer to make root beer floats for dinner. Yum!! The kids and I decided that our first meal back in the states is going to be pizza and root beer!
Yesterday, I noticed that my tooth was hurting when I ate. I was wondering if a filling was missing. My suspicions were confirmed when I replaced the filling with a new carrot stick filling! OWWWWW!! The carrot when straight into my nerve and I thought I was going to cry it hurt so bad. The kids were a little worried because they didn't know what had happened.
Friday, January 14, 2011
The first question that crossed my mind this morning was: "Do you seriously think I can move?" My body is so sore! Not to mention that I am not motivated to do anything! Well, I sucked it up and we got the day going. We finished the week's schoolwork and other odds and ends. The kids didn't want to go outside to their club house because they were hurting so much also!
Date night consisted of a fun trip to the dentist. I am so thankful for a patient husband that made an appointment for me and went to translate!! After an hour of drilling, it was decided that I need a root canal. I was sent home with a temporary filling and instructions not to eat or drink for 2 hours. I knew I should have eaten dinner before I went!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Chris was supposed to go to Antigua to pick up his passport from the lawyer that is STILL trying to get his temporary residency. Well, of course it will not be ready....AGAIN!! Guess Chris is going to have to make a trip (3 hours each way!) to get it during the week before we go to Mexico on Friday! UGH!!
Instead, we had a relaxing morning then took the kids to see the temple. It has changed so much since the last time we went. It is coming together slowly but surely.
Afterwards, we gave in and took the kids to the new Subway that opened by the temple. WOW! It was nice. It was huge, had tons of tables, had self-serve fountain drinks, etc. It was like we were back in the states. We all loved it.
1/3/11-1/9/11
After our exciting week last week, this week seems very boring and will be a short post!!
Monday, January 3, 2011
I decided that I better head back to the gym after all of the Christmas goodies and eating out on our trip. I knew it was bad when Cole complained that his pants felt tight after the trip!! Morgan joined us as well. We also dove right back into schoolwork. We are trying to figure out if we will be able to finish the school year before we move!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Cole's new friend, Sebastian came to play. He has been a lifesaver! Cole does his work so fast and then gets really bored. It has been nice to have somebody to keep him busy in the afternoon. I am not looking forward to Sebastian going back to school in a few more weeks!
Now that Christmas is over and our trip is over, I am once again hitting that trunky stage. Since Dave told us that we could start sending bags back with him, I am really beginning to realize how much closer we are to the end of the job and our time here in Quetzaltenango! It is going to be a bitter sweet move!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
So we had two days without frost and I tricked myself into thinking that it might start to warm up a little. HA! It frosted again and the little heater in the bathroom broke! UGH!! I am so ready for some warmer weather.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
After school today, the Bottemas joined us for an afternoon at the club. The boys played and the little girls tried to exercise but finally went to join the boys. Morgan read, and Polly and I worked out. (Somewhat for me!!) It is always nice to get out of the house. It is especially nice when all the kids have finished their work and I have finished checking everything and all their work is set out for the next day. This week has been going very nicely as far as schoolwork!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Laina got her staples taken out. We had fun walking around central park trying to find the doctors office! We finally found it and left Chris, Laina, and Alysa there while Morgan, Cole and I headed down to the bookstore. Cole found a couple more books and Alysa picked out some when she got done at the doctors with Laina. The owner of the bookstore came in and I got to talk to him briefly. He said that most of the kids books are not in the store and that he would look for some that Alysa wanted. Hopefully he'll find a few good ones before Alysa's birthday!
After our outting, we headed to dinner at Giuseppies. We were joined by the Bottemas. It was their first time there and Cole and I could not hide our excitement to get our Mexicana pizza! Nobody else shared in our joy but it didn't bother me and Cole!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Chris and Laina went to Guatemala City to pick up some workers coming in from Utah. Chris has taken each of the kids individually when he has had to go on a trip. Laina was so happy that she finally got her turn! Chris said that she talked nonstop the entire way! She was especially excited that she still had some of her Christmas money and Chris took her shopping. I can just imagine Chris at the dress store with Laina! What a patient dad! She also found her much anticipated My Little Pony. (Like mother, like daughter!) They also got to see a movie and go out to eat before the end of the day.
Morgan, Cole, Alysa and I stayed home and worked on cleaning out stuff that we don't need. We also packed a suitcase to send back with Dave.
In the afternoon, the Bottemas came over so that I could help Taylor with his math. It has been forever since I have done slopes and y-intercept but it came back after a few minutes of reading through the book.
Alysa made dinner for us all by herself. She made some beef enchiladas and they were delicious!
Sunday, January 9, 2010
Church went amazingly well today. The kids did fine while I was on the stand. I was able to read through an entire lesson during Sunday School. I was able to understand more of the Relief Society lesson than any other lesson that I have sat through! I had several positive comments after church about the improvements in my Spanish. And, Alysa had a new primary teacher that she loved!
I sat on the stand during Sacrament meeting and contemplated how little I have learned from peoples talks in the last two years. It has been the examples of people that I have learned from rather than their words. I thought that that is how most people learn (even when they do understand the words). It reinforced to me that I need to teach my kids more by example.
Last weeks spontaneous lesson in the car at the hospital made me realize how much that kids are missing out on in primary. So, I decided that we are going to do our own little family primary. (We'll see how long it lasts!) After church, we went home, had lunch, then started our own meeting. Cole did a lesson, Alysa did the scripture and Article of Faith, and Morgan did singing. We weren't very organized so it didn't go quite as smoothly as we had hoped but next week should be better. Morgan wants to have conducting lessons this week so that she can lead the music better next week. I was very pleased that the kids learned the first verse of the song for this years theme. It is also great to hear the kids discuss gospel principles and to see what they know!!! They are great examples to me in so many ways!
Chris and Laina had to pick up the guys at the airport at 6:15. Laina commented that it was still dark outside when they left the hotel! According to the internet, the plane was on time. Unfortunately, it didn't end up arriving until about 10:00! While they waited for the plane to arrive, there was a big group of people dressed in traditional clothing that had obviously never seen a little white child with red hair. They stared at Laina and watched her every move for more than an hour, when one of the built up the courage to go sit by here. All of the sudden, the whole group surrounded her and began touching her hair, touching here face, and asking if they could take a picture with her. Laina didn't want anything to do with the situation. Chris ended up holding her while trying to get her to talk/smile at the people, but she completely ignored everything that was going on. We wonder if she will ever get used to the attention!
Once the guys finally arrived, Laina immediately took to one of them by the name of "Sarge". The guys hadn't eaten and were on the plane for more than 9 hours, so they decided to stop to get some breakfast before starting the drive back to Xela. When Chris went to park the van, he suggested that everyone get out before he parked since the spot wasn't very big. The two guys got out and Laina proceeded to follow them. She grabbed Sarge's hand and walked them into McDonald's. She could have cared less that Chris wasn't around. All through breakfast and for the entire three and a half hour drive home, Laina talked poor Sarge's ear off about her new dress and My Little Pony she got to buy with her Christmas money, the movie she went to with Chris the day before, and anything and everything about princesses and the colors pink and purple. Fortunately, Sarge was a good sport and played along when he wasn't dozing off.
Monday, January 3, 2011
I decided that I better head back to the gym after all of the Christmas goodies and eating out on our trip. I knew it was bad when Cole complained that his pants felt tight after the trip!! Morgan joined us as well. We also dove right back into schoolwork. We are trying to figure out if we will be able to finish the school year before we move!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Cole's new friend, Sebastian came to play. He has been a lifesaver! Cole does his work so fast and then gets really bored. It has been nice to have somebody to keep him busy in the afternoon. I am not looking forward to Sebastian going back to school in a few more weeks!
Now that Christmas is over and our trip is over, I am once again hitting that trunky stage. Since Dave told us that we could start sending bags back with him, I am really beginning to realize how much closer we are to the end of the job and our time here in Quetzaltenango! It is going to be a bitter sweet move!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
So we had two days without frost and I tricked myself into thinking that it might start to warm up a little. HA! It frosted again and the little heater in the bathroom broke! UGH!! I am so ready for some warmer weather.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
After school today, the Bottemas joined us for an afternoon at the club. The boys played and the little girls tried to exercise but finally went to join the boys. Morgan read, and Polly and I worked out. (Somewhat for me!!) It is always nice to get out of the house. It is especially nice when all the kids have finished their work and I have finished checking everything and all their work is set out for the next day. This week has been going very nicely as far as schoolwork!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Laina got her staples taken out. We had fun walking around central park trying to find the doctors office! We finally found it and left Chris, Laina, and Alysa there while Morgan, Cole and I headed down to the bookstore. Cole found a couple more books and Alysa picked out some when she got done at the doctors with Laina. The owner of the bookstore came in and I got to talk to him briefly. He said that most of the kids books are not in the store and that he would look for some that Alysa wanted. Hopefully he'll find a few good ones before Alysa's birthday!
After our outting, we headed to dinner at Giuseppies. We were joined by the Bottemas. It was their first time there and Cole and I could not hide our excitement to get our Mexicana pizza! Nobody else shared in our joy but it didn't bother me and Cole!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Chris and Laina went to Guatemala City to pick up some workers coming in from Utah. Chris has taken each of the kids individually when he has had to go on a trip. Laina was so happy that she finally got her turn! Chris said that she talked nonstop the entire way! She was especially excited that she still had some of her Christmas money and Chris took her shopping. I can just imagine Chris at the dress store with Laina! What a patient dad! She also found her much anticipated My Little Pony. (Like mother, like daughter!) They also got to see a movie and go out to eat before the end of the day.
Morgan, Cole, Alysa and I stayed home and worked on cleaning out stuff that we don't need. We also packed a suitcase to send back with Dave.
In the afternoon, the Bottemas came over so that I could help Taylor with his math. It has been forever since I have done slopes and y-intercept but it came back after a few minutes of reading through the book.
Alysa made dinner for us all by herself. She made some beef enchiladas and they were delicious!
Sunday, January 9, 2010
Church went amazingly well today. The kids did fine while I was on the stand. I was able to read through an entire lesson during Sunday School. I was able to understand more of the Relief Society lesson than any other lesson that I have sat through! I had several positive comments after church about the improvements in my Spanish. And, Alysa had a new primary teacher that she loved!
I sat on the stand during Sacrament meeting and contemplated how little I have learned from peoples talks in the last two years. It has been the examples of people that I have learned from rather than their words. I thought that that is how most people learn (even when they do understand the words). It reinforced to me that I need to teach my kids more by example.
Last weeks spontaneous lesson in the car at the hospital made me realize how much that kids are missing out on in primary. So, I decided that we are going to do our own little family primary. (We'll see how long it lasts!) After church, we went home, had lunch, then started our own meeting. Cole did a lesson, Alysa did the scripture and Article of Faith, and Morgan did singing. We weren't very organized so it didn't go quite as smoothly as we had hoped but next week should be better. Morgan wants to have conducting lessons this week so that she can lead the music better next week. I was very pleased that the kids learned the first verse of the song for this years theme. It is also great to hear the kids discuss gospel principles and to see what they know!!! They are great examples to me in so many ways!
Chris and Laina had to pick up the guys at the airport at 6:15. Laina commented that it was still dark outside when they left the hotel! According to the internet, the plane was on time. Unfortunately, it didn't end up arriving until about 10:00! While they waited for the plane to arrive, there was a big group of people dressed in traditional clothing that had obviously never seen a little white child with red hair. They stared at Laina and watched her every move for more than an hour, when one of the built up the courage to go sit by here. All of the sudden, the whole group surrounded her and began touching her hair, touching here face, and asking if they could take a picture with her. Laina didn't want anything to do with the situation. Chris ended up holding her while trying to get her to talk/smile at the people, but she completely ignored everything that was going on. We wonder if she will ever get used to the attention!
Once the guys finally arrived, Laina immediately took to one of them by the name of "Sarge". The guys hadn't eaten and were on the plane for more than 9 hours, so they decided to stop to get some breakfast before starting the drive back to Xela. When Chris went to park the van, he suggested that everyone get out before he parked since the spot wasn't very big. The two guys got out and Laina proceeded to follow them. She grabbed Sarge's hand and walked them into McDonald's. She could have cared less that Chris wasn't around. All through breakfast and for the entire three and a half hour drive home, Laina talked poor Sarge's ear off about her new dress and My Little Pony she got to buy with her Christmas money, the movie she went to with Chris the day before, and anything and everything about princesses and the colors pink and purple. Fortunately, Sarge was a good sport and played along when he wasn't dozing off.
Monday, January 3, 2011
12/26/10-1/2/11
Sunday, December 26, 2010
After a few hours in Livingston, we returned to the boat for our return trip to our hotel. It was definitely a warmer trip since the sun was out. Very nice.
I know that I shouldn't be saying this but, parts of the boat ride were actually prettier than Alaska!!
After a busy day, we spent some time relaxing before heading into town to enjoy a wonderful pizza! We ate at a restaurant right on the water in the main part of town. It was so strange to see all of the boat taxis taking people back and forth. There was even a dock area at the town grocery store!
By the time we got back to the parking lot, it was pitch black. There were no lights anywhere but a bazillion stars. The sky was amazing. We luckily had a couple of flashlights in the van so that we could find our way to and over the suspension bridges. It wasn't the funnest thing to do after reading Harry Potter, since our imaginations were getting the better of us!
Everybody was tired, sunburned, and ready for bed. The girls and I went to our cabin to go to bed but Morgan, Cole, and Chris stayed up for a while in the hotels restaurant/sitting area using the internet and reading.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
As we prepared for the next part of our trip, the kids had a blast running back and forth over the bridge to take all the bags back to the van. Here are a couple of pictures along the side of the bridge.
The kids also wanted to take a bunch of pictures to remember their trip by.
After Cole finished the sticks, we got all the bags in went to eat dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food definitely has not been the highlight of the trip! We did have an interesting moment when I ordered hot chocolate and they brought me an empty cup. Chris asked where the drink was and they said they were making it. A while later, they brought me the cutest little teapot with my hot chocolate. We got a few good laughs out of it and everybody sang, "I'm a Little Teapot".
We returned to the room to start our fire, and then we got to roast our heart shaped marshmallows. The hotel even provided us with a pile of wood and matches! Morgan said that if there was a kitchen, she could live there!
After the marshmallow roasting was completed, Alysa and Laina went to bed while the rest of us sat up in front of the fire and read. It was a very nice and relaxing almost end to our trip.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
Everybody was excited to be going home today. We knew it was going to be a long day of driving, so we all got up early and ready to go by 7:30 even though we'd been up with the fireworks. Too bad the office didn't open until 8:00, so we couldn't check out!! UGH!!
After the 5 hour day on dirt roads the other day, we opted to go a little further out of our way so we could go on paved roads.
There are certain songs or types of music that make Chris and I think of our parents and road trips. Well, when our kids are grown they are going to think that Metallica is road trip music. I have no idea why but Cole, Alysa and Laina love Metallica. Poor Morgan doesn't, but she got to listen to country as well.
So, we're driving along the road when all of a sudden a guy comes running down the hill of a side street waving a red flag with a big herd of cattle running after him. Chris stopped and turned around so that we could watch all of the cattle run onto the main road. If we had been about 15 seconds slower we would have been blocked by all the cows! At the end of the line were a bunch of other cowboys, as well as a bunch of little boys that looked like cowboys in training.
Since we opted for the longer road, we had to drive through Guatemala City. We got there by about 10:00 so we told the kids we would stop and see a movie. We got to see Tangled......yes, in Spanish!! The kids really enjoyed it though. I was surprised at how dead everything was. There was only one store open in the mall! We made it home in record time with the lack of traffic anywhere! It was amazing how empty the roads were.
Sunday, January 2, 2010
After sacrament meeting, while I was playing the postlude, Chris comes up to me and apologizes for interrupting but we had a problem. At the end of the meeting, Chris was playing with Laina's hair and found a tick stuck in her head! YUCK!! YUCK!! YUCK!!
After church, we prepared to go on our trip. We weren't really sure what we wanted to do, or where we wanted to go but we knew that Chris had a week vacation and it will probably be the last time that we could go do something here that takes more than a day.
Monday, December 27, 2010
We left this morning for the Caribbean coast of Guatemala. We drove towards Guatemala City. On the way, there were kids everywhere waving at the cars. When the kids aren't in school, they hang out on the side of the highway for entertainment. It was shocking how little some of the kids were that were unsupervised next to all of the cars. I would be freaking out if my kids were out there!
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One group of kids. |
We grabbed some lunch in Guatemala City and then continued for a couple more hours to a town called Zacapa. We found a hotel with a room with three beds that we could all fit in. They also had a pool and some waterslides. Too bad it was so cold that the kids couldn't fully enjoy it.
I ordered a bean soup for dinner at the restaurant and was shocked at how good it was. All of the kids liked it also and kept eating my food!
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The hotel also had a couple of playgrounds, and some turtles. |
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The second day of our cross country road trip began with Laina running out of the bathroom yelling, "Everything is ruining my life! EVERYTHING!" I still don't know what brought that on but I was glad that we wouldn't be in the car for as long today! The other kids were doing great together. To try to stay quiet and not wake Laina, Chris, and I up, they all went in the bathroom and played "go fish". They continued to play it in the car. Yes, we can survive a roadtrip without a DVD player!!
We didn't drive for very long before our first stop at some ruins in Quirigua. I have to admit that everybody seemed more interested in the trees than the statues!!
The archeological site was right next to a big banana plantation. As we walked around in the forest, we came to one edge of the plantation. The girls wanted their picture taken with the bananas but you can't really see the bananas in the picture!
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The view from the entrance to the ruins. |
After we got our fill of climbing on trees, we got back in the car and continued on to Rio Dulce. Our friends, the Thomas's, lived in Rio Dulce before they moved to Xela and raved about it so we thought we'd give it a shot.
Our first impression was a little restaurant that had a monkey on a leash. The kids had a blast watching the monkey. We still need to find some in the wild for Alysa, Cole, and Laina to see. Chris and Cole shared a seafood dish. It had a big huge bowl of soup with an entire crab in it! Cole is really getting into trying seafood and I worry that it might cause a problem when he tries to eat my shrimp!!
We found the turn off to go to our hotel and followed a one lane dirt road forever until we came to a parking area. From there, we had to get our backpacks and go across a really long suspension bridge through the jungle. It was crazy. I am so glad that we got there when it was still light!
There weren't any cabins available that were large enough for our entire family so Cole, Morgan, and Chris stayed in the Garza cabin while Alysa, Laina, and I stayed in the Flamenco cabin.
The cabins consisted of a little bathroom and a room with a twin bed and a larger bed. All came complete with bug nets. Alysa and Laina thought they were princess beds!
Once again the kids couldn't resist a swimming pool even though it was freezing!
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The Princess Bed |
After wandering around a little, eating dinner, and reading, everybody was ready for bed.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
This morning we left on a boat tour down the Rio Dulce to the Caribbean Sea. We got to see lots of cool birds, and wonderful scenery.
We went under the Rio Dulce bridge and headed up to Lake Izabal where we got to see an old fort where they fought the pirates trying to come up the river.
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The pirate fighting fort |
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There is a bird on the right but if you look on top of the branch on the left, you can see a big iguana. We saw a couple of them on a little island in the middle of the river. |
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I don't know that I have ever seen real lily pads before. They were really cool to see up close. |
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These birds were all over the place. |
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There were locals out fishing in their tiny boats. How did this thing not sink?? |
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At one part of the river, we got swarmed by a bunch of little kids in their boats trying to sell seashells and starfish. I couldn't believe how little these kids were out on the river by themselves. It was worse than the kids waving by the side of the highway!! |
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As we neared the Caribbean Sea, there were a bunch of pelicans. You can see a couple between Morgan and Alysa. |
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The Caribbean Sea |
There is a town on the coast called Livingston. It is populated with descendants of a slave ship that crashed there. It felt like we were in Jamaica or something. They even had Bob Marley music playing. As soon as we got off of the boat, we had a couple of ladies trying to get us to pay them to braid our hair. It was so weird seeing all of the really dark people speaking Spanish.
The beaches were pretty gross but it was nice to see a different place. We were surprised by how hot it was especially since it is the cold season!
At the restaurant that we went to for lunch, a group of boys came to play music. It was cool to see them playing a turtle shell like a drum!
After a few hours in Livingston, we returned to the boat for our return trip to our hotel. It was definitely a warmer trip since the sun was out. Very nice.
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| The rocks look like they've been painted white but it is limestone!! |
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| Back to the hotel! This is the main entrance since most people come in by boat taxi. |
By the time we got back to the parking lot, it was pitch black. There were no lights anywhere but a bazillion stars. The sky was amazing. We luckily had a couple of flashlights in the van so that we could find our way to and over the suspension bridges. It wasn't the funnest thing to do after reading Harry Potter, since our imaginations were getting the better of us!
Everybody was tired, sunburned, and ready for bed. The girls and I went to our cabin to go to bed but Morgan, Cole, and Chris stayed up for a while in the hotels restaurant/sitting area using the internet and reading.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
As we prepared for the next part of our trip, the kids had a blast running back and forth over the bridge to take all the bags back to the van. Here are a couple of pictures along the side of the bridge.
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| Alysa and Cole liked the roots from this tree in front of our cabin. |
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| Cole took this picture to show the crazy roots on this tree. |
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| Alysa chose the sailboats. |
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| Alysa and Laina on the Rio Dulce bridge. |
We left Hacienda Tijax in Rio Dulce this morning. The kids were all sad to go. I don't know if it was because they were leaving Tijax or because they had to get back in the car for another long day!!
We had about a 5 hour drive over a dirt road. We were so far away from the modern world!
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| Along the drive, we saw several churches that were in another language than Spanish! |
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| We had to drive over this bridge. It had two pieces of wood down the middle that you were supposed to keep the tires on! Scary!! |
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| So, who said a Honda Odyssey isn't an off road vehicle? |
After a very bumpy, jiggly, long, dusty day, we arrived in Coban. It is a town with some German influence. It was so different from the rest of Guatemala. It was actually somewhat clean and the architecture was a lot different.
We found an information place that recommended a hotel to us. We drove for a while before we found the hotel which was out of town and up in a mountain. It was very secluded and overlooked the entire town. They wanted to charge us $50 for a stone cabin that had two levels, 5 queen beds, 2 twin beds, and two bathrooms!! Unfortunately, Chris feared that we'd spend more money to get rid of bugs than it was worth! So, we headed back into town and found a much nicer hotel. Once again after driving all day, everybody just wanted to sit down, eat dinner, and watch t.v. (Oh, did I mention that there was no t.v. at the last place!!)
Friday, December 31, 2010
The kids are ready to just be regular Americans again rather than tourists, and since we were in a town that actually has a McDonalds, we let them go there for breakfast. After breakfast, we looked around briefly and then headed for the Quetzal Forest. The quetzal is the national bird and supposedly they live in this area.
Our first goal was to find a hotel to stay at. The first hotel didn't have a room big enough for everybody, and nobody was overly excited about it. It didn't help that the guy helping us acted like he didn't want to have anything to do with us. So, we headed down the road and found a second hotel. The staff was definitely more friendly, but we (the kids and I) were won over when we saw the "room". It was actually it's own building, with a big living room complete with a wood burning stove and two bedrooms with three beds each. The kids were excited to not have to share a bed!! We were all excited about having a fireplace. Then we saw the foosball and ping pong tables, the playground, and the pools and it was a done deal. Granted the hotel wasn't the nicest or cleanest but it was probably one of the most fun and they only charged us $70!
The room wasn't quite ready for us so we headed to a couple of little villages in search of a place for lunch and for marshmallows to roast in the fireplace. We finally found a stand that had heart shaped marshmallows. I think we made the ladies day when we bought a ton of them. We also found a nice little restaurant that had pretty good food. We have learned over the past week that we only need to order about 4 meals and we'll have plenty of food. We also bought some typical sweets to try later.
We returned to the hotel with enough time to go on a little hike before it got too dark. From the hotel, it was a 1/2 hour hike to a waterfall. The kids were ecstatic to be out of the car and climbing around in the forest again! Alysa has definitely proved to be our little hiker! She and Cole were loving life!
The kids are ready to just be regular Americans again rather than tourists, and since we were in a town that actually has a McDonalds, we let them go there for breakfast. After breakfast, we looked around briefly and then headed for the Quetzal Forest. The quetzal is the national bird and supposedly they live in this area.
Our first goal was to find a hotel to stay at. The first hotel didn't have a room big enough for everybody, and nobody was overly excited about it. It didn't help that the guy helping us acted like he didn't want to have anything to do with us. So, we headed down the road and found a second hotel. The staff was definitely more friendly, but we (the kids and I) were won over when we saw the "room". It was actually it's own building, with a big living room complete with a wood burning stove and two bedrooms with three beds each. The kids were excited to not have to share a bed!! We were all excited about having a fireplace. Then we saw the foosball and ping pong tables, the playground, and the pools and it was a done deal. Granted the hotel wasn't the nicest or cleanest but it was probably one of the most fun and they only charged us $70!
The room wasn't quite ready for us so we headed to a couple of little villages in search of a place for lunch and for marshmallows to roast in the fireplace. We finally found a stand that had heart shaped marshmallows. I think we made the ladies day when we bought a ton of them. We also found a nice little restaurant that had pretty good food. We have learned over the past week that we only need to order about 4 meals and we'll have plenty of food. We also bought some typical sweets to try later.
We returned to the hotel with enough time to go on a little hike before it got too dark. From the hotel, it was a 1/2 hour hike to a waterfall. The kids were ecstatic to be out of the car and climbing around in the forest again! Alysa has definitely proved to be our little hiker! She and Cole were loving life!
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| Crossing the little stream. |
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| The waterfall |
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| Morgan is getting way too big! |
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| The hikers! |
During the hike, the kids collected sticks that they thought would be good for roasting marshmallows. I don't know that the kids have ever used wood roasting sticks! Cole got a pocket knife for Christmas, so he got to whittle sticks for everybody. This was probably the closest to scout camp that he's gotten!!
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| The crazy playground had everything made out of wood! |
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| Yep, some logs and sticks for this teeter totter! |
We returned to the room to start our fire, and then we got to roast our heart shaped marshmallows. The hotel even provided us with a pile of wood and matches! Morgan said that if there was a kitchen, she could live there!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
Everybody was excited to be going home today. We knew it was going to be a long day of driving, so we all got up early and ready to go by 7:30 even though we'd been up with the fireworks. Too bad the office didn't open until 8:00, so we couldn't check out!! UGH!!
After the 5 hour day on dirt roads the other day, we opted to go a little further out of our way so we could go on paved roads.
There are certain songs or types of music that make Chris and I think of our parents and road trips. Well, when our kids are grown they are going to think that Metallica is road trip music. I have no idea why but Cole, Alysa and Laina love Metallica. Poor Morgan doesn't, but she got to listen to country as well.
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| We drove through the Cloud Forest |
Sunday, January 2, 2010
After sacrament meeting, while I was playing the postlude, Chris comes up to me and apologizes for interrupting but we had a problem. At the end of the meeting, Chris was playing with Laina's hair and found a tick stuck in her head! YUCK!! YUCK!! YUCK!!
We aren't too experienced in ticks and Chris read about all sorts of problems that could happen, so we opted to go to the hospital to have it removed.
Chris took Laina in while Morgan, Cole, and Alysa and I sat in the car and had our own primary lesson. It was really disheartening when they all complained that they never have singing time in primary and learn songs. I am tempted to just show up in sharing time and take over! Just kidding!!
After sitting in the car (Didn't we just do a week long road trip in the car!?!) for over an hour, I went in to see what was going on. I recognized one of the nurses as one that had helped me when I have pneumonia. Such an unpleasant memory!
I finally was able to follow everyones directions and found Chris and a very traumatized Laina. She was refusing to take her medicine. Chris left me with her (all the other kids had to wait in the waiting room) while he went to pay. She was being extremely stubborn and absolutely refused to take the medicine. We finally found out that it was pain medication and that we could just give her tylenol at home.
Chris told me that when he got into the hospital, the doctor wasn't there so the nurse called him and he told her to pull it out with some plier things. Chris had been researching on his iphone and read that you don't pull it out because it breaks off and the head of the tick is stuck in the body. He told the nurse that he wanted an experienced doctor to take care of it and that he could do what she was doing at home himself. She kept saying that that was what the doctor wanted. Well, after a failed attempt and a broken in half tick, Chris insisted that the doctor come in immediately. The doctor finally showed up and ended up having to cut her head open and dig around until he found all the rest of the bug (hopefully he got it all!). He then stapled her head back together. When he cut her open, she started bleeding pretty good and ended up with some blood in her hair. Her response was, "That's o.k. if there's blood because my hair is already red."
The rest of the day was spent searching for ticks in everybody else's hair!
Day 1: Quetzaltenango - Chimaltenango - Guatemala City - Zacapa
Day 2: Zacapa - Morales - Rio Dulce (The place where the lake turns into a river)
Day 3: boat trip to the Caribean Sea and back to Rio Dulce
Day 4: Rio Dule -El Estor (the road isn't on the map) - Coban
Day 5: Coban - just short of Salama
Day 6: Quetzal Forest - El Progresso - Guatemala City - Chimaltenango - Quetzaltenango (The other route would have been to go from Coban to Huehuetenango and down to Quetzaltenango but it isn't paved!)
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