Sunday, June 15, 2008
More Darcy pictures
1. Splash Mountain fun
2. Caleb, Joshua and Ethan on Dumbo.
3. Amy, Caleb and George upside down on California Screamin'.
4. No more napping alone.
My turn
We're home and I'm randomly adding some of my favorite pictures. Here's some from the beach... I'll add more in another post.
1. Jordan hiding from all of his insane relatives at the beach.
2. George and Amy... aren't they cute?
3. Emma. Too bad she's not a sunny child.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
HOOOOOWEEE
Today we topped off our fabulous family week with Jake's utterly crazy and chaotic birthday party for 22 kids (including a dad and 2 kids who were complete strangers to everyone, but swore they were invited to the party) followed by a Father's Day dinner for Mark's family.
It was funny, when we came in exhausted and harried from Jake's party and I told Gigi we had to leave again immediately for a Father's Day celebration with Mark's family, she actually just started laughing hysterically, she couldn't even believe it.
I'm looking forward to enjoying Windy's company while Jake gets to play with his beloved Cade & Heath and I catch up on my too-long-neglected laundry pile.
I asked Gigi if it was her best birthday party ever and she said that when she was a girl, she and Margaret had a joint birthday party that was pretty fabulous, but she could safely call this her 2nd best birthday party ever! :)
It was funny, when we came in exhausted and harried from Jake's party and I told Gigi we had to leave again immediately for a Father's Day celebration with Mark's family, she actually just started laughing hysterically, she couldn't even believe it.
I'm looking forward to enjoying Windy's company while Jake gets to play with his beloved Cade & Heath and I catch up on my too-long-neglected laundry pile.
I asked Gigi if it was her best birthday party ever and she said that when she was a girl, she and Margaret had a joint birthday party that was pretty fabulous, but she could safely call this her 2nd best birthday party ever! :)
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
The future English Prof
Grandma carefully dressed Heath in coordinating clothes this morning. (She has been told before about her poor combinations). But as we were looking for undies Heath cried with glee, "My socks!" And when I was out of the room added them to the outfit. And then proceeded to adventure play. That's a new snake hanging out of his pocket, Mommy.
Now you see him - now you don't
Kyle, Mark, Jordan & Nathan plotted to dunk George. He was pretty canny - finally Kyle & Jordan found opportunity
beach fun for the kids
A transcript of what was said at this moment:
Kyle "Son, you need to settle down before I settle you down."
Mark "Boy, you might have skills, but have you noticed my muscles? They are EVERYWHERE."
Nathan "I say, gentleman, have you seen my male Monarch butterfly? I must find him."
Football was rough
The tackles were vicious - Here are 2 of the combatants wearing the sand they accumulated while face down in the sand. And ... they still want more on Friday. Thet were all sore - and Kyle is still feeling it this am. Mont & Mike were smart enough not to try and mingle with the wild bunch.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Gigi's 90th Birthyear Extravaganza- Day 1
We all met up at Gigi's house, arriving between 10:00 and 10:30 in the morning. We greeted and visited for about an hour until it was time to head over to Nati's for our lunch reservation.
They put us in the back room where the adults had one long table and the kids had another long table. The kids were pretty much angels and made absolutely no ruckus or mess- just ate and chatted with each other. Gigi treated everyone for lunch. Thank you Gigi!!!
After lunch we headed back to the house to change into bathing suits, assault the ice cream truck, and load up the cars with people for the caravan over to Mission Bay. We packed it up around 6 and were all on the road to our respective locations by 6:30. Mike & Marilyn and the Naughtons to the campground, N&T to their condo and Mom, Dad & Gigi and the Petries back home.
Tomorrow is "Group Disneyland Day." Woohoo!!
P.S....Gigi had her best smile on all day. :)
The gathering
We settled in Bonita Cove on our usual side. It was overcast and cool, but pleasant.
If you look closely, you can see the kids down by the water too.
If you look closely, you can see the kids down by the water too.The kids
Sarah and Emma spent most of the day in their own little special world. Kelsey, Monique, Josh, Cade, Heath, and Jacob spent it at the waters edge, playing or building a sand castle. Amy conversed with the adults and Caleb was in the football game. Ethan arrived later and ran around in flourescent swim trunks.
The special Emma-Sarah world
FYI- this is not catching Cade at a bad moment. I asked him to look at the camera and he made this face and held it until I took the picture.
The special Emma-Sarah world
FYI- this is not catching Cade at a bad moment. I asked him to look at the camera and he made this face and held it until I took the picture.
I never got of picture of Heath because he was always pottering in the opposite place that I was. Kelsey and Monique were a little camera-shy. Of course, the others got a lot more pictures. I thought I had forgotten my camera most of the day, until I found it in my bag and then got what pictures I could, but the kids had mellowed and dispersed by then.
The Football
The guys entertained themselves and the rest of us with a game of hard-touch/tackle football that included diving catches, one massive dogpile, a few minor injuries, a couple team reshufflings, and some impressive/scary-looking take-downs
.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
TYPO
TYPO....
TYPO....
TYPO....
I found a Typo in Windy's section...
"Yes, folks, this year's novel ***QUESTON*** has to do with the use of minor characters as 'foils' for major ones."
Just helping my English PhD earning aunt out...
Friday, June 06, 2008
They made it
For whomever is checking the blog and interested, the Naughtons are safely nestled in the campground in Orange County. They made it into Orange by 8pm, but between dinner, pitstop at our house and never-ending trailer tutorial we didn't leave them alone until almost 11pm.
Jake is THRILLED and having a blast already.
See everyone in SD on Sunday!
Jake is THRILLED and having a blast already.
See everyone in SD on Sunday!
strange things have I seen in Kentucky
Ok, I know by now all the rest of you are in SoCal together and not checking the blog, but I am going to post anyway.
STRANGE THINGS HAVE I SEEN IN KENTUCKY
1. When 1200 english teachers get together, there is a lot of quirky (and sometimes just bad) fashion. I saw a man laying out by the pool today in hiking shorts and black socks. Also, many, many more embroidered jumpers than one sees in a normal day.
2. When retired English teachers get drunk, they want to make crafts. This morning, a woman was waiting for our elevator with us. She appeared to be carrying a giant, shiny doll. She explained that it was her "foil". And indeed it was: it was entirely made of aluminum foil, down to its little curls. Yes, folks, this year's novel queston has to do with the use of minor characters as "foils" for major ones.
3. When students cannot answer the AP question, they think of other things to do with their test booklet.
Such as
writing the words "I don't know" over and over again for 3 pages
writing "couture" at the top of each page and sketching outfits
writing the complete lyrics to Johnny Cash's greatest hits
drawing cartoons depicting their poor relationship with their teacher
And NONE of this is as funny as the faux-paus they make when they do answer questions, which I am legally bound not to report to you (in writing). Since text messages don't count, Heidi and Kyle will need to check their cell phones...
STRANGE THINGS HAVE I SEEN IN KENTUCKY
1. When 1200 english teachers get together, there is a lot of quirky (and sometimes just bad) fashion. I saw a man laying out by the pool today in hiking shorts and black socks. Also, many, many more embroidered jumpers than one sees in a normal day.
2. When retired English teachers get drunk, they want to make crafts. This morning, a woman was waiting for our elevator with us. She appeared to be carrying a giant, shiny doll. She explained that it was her "foil". And indeed it was: it was entirely made of aluminum foil, down to its little curls. Yes, folks, this year's novel queston has to do with the use of minor characters as "foils" for major ones.
3. When students cannot answer the AP question, they think of other things to do with their test booklet.
Such as
writing the words "I don't know" over and over again for 3 pages
writing "couture" at the top of each page and sketching outfits
writing the complete lyrics to Johnny Cash's greatest hits
drawing cartoons depicting their poor relationship with their teacher
And NONE of this is as funny as the faux-paus they make when they do answer questions, which I am legally bound not to report to you (in writing). Since text messages don't count, Heidi and Kyle will need to check their cell phones...
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Naughtons Over and Out
We're leaving a little later than hoped, but not bad. See you in the sunny south. :)
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Honduras
I should probably share a little. Honestly, the trip was hard in ways I didn't expect. I had pictured Honduras as poor but peaceful, like Malawi or the way Tijuana used to be long ago. The truth is, it's more in line with Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua and more recently, Tijuana as far as crime goes. It has the highest murder rate in the world and the second highest poverty rate in the Western Hemisphere (behind Haiti). I didn't quite get the whole always-on-guard thing before I saw grocery stores with guards armed with automatic rifles and hotel lobbies and homes that have floor to ceiling locked iron gates where you have to be buzzed in to be admitted to the lobby or to sleep with any security.
We saw beautiful countryside, rainforests, lagoons, gorgeous tropical birds and fish. We loved the food, we met some really cool people, and we learned a lot. But when the plane crashed in Teguc, causing the airport closure, it caused some stress. They could get us out of San Pedro Sula, but it was a city that Sheree, as an experienced Honduran, had sworn never to go to because of the kidnapping and crime rate. Then, the morning of our flight we disovered our passports were GONE. The rule is, if that happens, you have to go to the American Embassy and wait 2-4 days to be issued a new passport. The embassy was back in Teguc, 5 hours away, where the airport was closed. We decided to take our color copies (which thank God we had brought "just in case") and head to the airport anyway and give it all we had in a united front in the slim chance we could beg our way out of the country without the trip back to Teguc and the several extra days stay. It's seriously a miracle that we cleared customs, probably partially due to the terror and tear-stains on my face and a lot due to prayer and intervention (of God and humans: Sheree, the American Airlines manager, the Embassy Official), both to be able to board the plane in Honduras, not have to pay a fine for losing our Honduran visas, and clear customs in Miami in the US. We were shuffled to the naughty-room Immigration Office where we were lectured that we should have gone back to the Embassy, but they let us go. Hallelujah.
Here's some summary:
Things We Take For Granted In the US:
10. flushing toilet paper- in Honduras you can't
9. toilet covers in public restrooms- don't exist there
8. uninterrupted electricity- it shuts off 3-4 times per day, sometimes it's off for days at a time
7. water pressure, and any temperature you want
6. clocks- try to find one, or someone who knows what time it is in Central America, I dare you
5. driving with the windows down- just can't, if it's not for safety then it's to keep the dust out
4. sense of security- don't have one
3. ketchup that tastes like ketchup, and as much you want- it's all sweet down there!
2. access to healthcare & education
1. street signs- there aren't many, you just have to know how to get where you're going
Things That We Learned In Honduras
10. Anafres are yummy- Honduras bean dip/fondue
9. Jordan's nipples get caught in the cracks when he goes down big waterslides on his stomach- self-explanatory
8. Livestock in people's front yards, or everywhere really, is okay- they just wander around
7. Roadside Pineapple is good
6. There is a whole language to horn-honking- the one main rule is: always honk
5. There's Sheree and there's Central American Sheree (aka CAS). CAS does the driving. It's like a cross between Autopia, the Indiana Jones ride and the video game Centipede.
4. Olancho is the best- so they say ;-)...it's a very Texas vibe there- the roughest, biggest, loudest, proudest. They passed a law in Honduras limiting each person to owning no more than 8 fireams a piece...people in Olancho protested.
3. Blake pees in pools- a lot. He says all swimmers do.
2. Honduras needs a new airport- closer to Olancho, not further- if Teguc stays closed Sheree has no idea how she can keep her programs going of sending kids to the US for surgery or being able to pick up clinic volunteers
1. Don't trust locals, even your tour guide, to watch your bag while you swim in the ocean.
And as a bonus- the number one cool moment from the trip was Sheree saying:
"THIS IS AWESOME."
Okay, I have to put it in context. She said it while she and I were:
in the pouring rain
in the dark of night
in thunder and lightning
in the middle of a rainforest
in the middle of a river
in a kayak
holding a flashlight
looking for crocodiles (which we found, at which point for some reason, we would paddle towards them)
I actually thought it was pretty cool too. :)
I'll work on getting some pics up.
We saw beautiful countryside, rainforests, lagoons, gorgeous tropical birds and fish. We loved the food, we met some really cool people, and we learned a lot. But when the plane crashed in Teguc, causing the airport closure, it caused some stress. They could get us out of San Pedro Sula, but it was a city that Sheree, as an experienced Honduran, had sworn never to go to because of the kidnapping and crime rate. Then, the morning of our flight we disovered our passports were GONE. The rule is, if that happens, you have to go to the American Embassy and wait 2-4 days to be issued a new passport. The embassy was back in Teguc, 5 hours away, where the airport was closed. We decided to take our color copies (which thank God we had brought "just in case") and head to the airport anyway and give it all we had in a united front in the slim chance we could beg our way out of the country without the trip back to Teguc and the several extra days stay. It's seriously a miracle that we cleared customs, probably partially due to the terror and tear-stains on my face and a lot due to prayer and intervention (of God and humans: Sheree, the American Airlines manager, the Embassy Official), both to be able to board the plane in Honduras, not have to pay a fine for losing our Honduran visas, and clear customs in Miami in the US. We were shuffled to the naughty-room Immigration Office where we were lectured that we should have gone back to the Embassy, but they let us go. Hallelujah.
Here's some summary:
Things We Take For Granted In the US:
10. flushing toilet paper- in Honduras you can't
9. toilet covers in public restrooms- don't exist there
8. uninterrupted electricity- it shuts off 3-4 times per day, sometimes it's off for days at a time
7. water pressure, and any temperature you want
6. clocks- try to find one, or someone who knows what time it is in Central America, I dare you
5. driving with the windows down- just can't, if it's not for safety then it's to keep the dust out
4. sense of security- don't have one
3. ketchup that tastes like ketchup, and as much you want- it's all sweet down there!
2. access to healthcare & education
1. street signs- there aren't many, you just have to know how to get where you're going
Things That We Learned In Honduras
10. Anafres are yummy- Honduras bean dip/fondue
9. Jordan's nipples get caught in the cracks when he goes down big waterslides on his stomach- self-explanatory
8. Livestock in people's front yards, or everywhere really, is okay- they just wander around
7. Roadside Pineapple is good
6. There is a whole language to horn-honking- the one main rule is: always honk
5. There's Sheree and there's Central American Sheree (aka CAS). CAS does the driving. It's like a cross between Autopia, the Indiana Jones ride and the video game Centipede.
4. Olancho is the best- so they say ;-)...it's a very Texas vibe there- the roughest, biggest, loudest, proudest. They passed a law in Honduras limiting each person to owning no more than 8 fireams a piece...people in Olancho protested.
3. Blake pees in pools- a lot. He says all swimmers do.
2. Honduras needs a new airport- closer to Olancho, not further- if Teguc stays closed Sheree has no idea how she can keep her programs going of sending kids to the US for surgery or being able to pick up clinic volunteers
1. Don't trust locals, even your tour guide, to watch your bag while you swim in the ocean.
And as a bonus- the number one cool moment from the trip was Sheree saying:
"THIS IS AWESOME."
Okay, I have to put it in context. She said it while she and I were:
in the pouring rain
in the dark of night
in thunder and lightning
in the middle of a rainforest
in the middle of a river
in a kayak
holding a flashlight
looking for crocodiles (which we found, at which point for some reason, we would paddle towards them)
I actually thought it was pretty cool too. :)
I'll work on getting some pics up.
Big Chuckle
I certainly got a laugh at the expense of the big teaser of the family today.
Mike came by to drop off car seats for Emma & Ethan which Mont & I will take to the airport Sat eve for N&T.
As I went out into the garage to greet him, Cade followed me. I asked him if he knew whose Grandpa that was. He looked puzzled for a while, then said to me: "YOURS?" Boy, did I love it! Mike didn't - but was a good sport and now is threatening to dunk Cade on Sunday.
;-)
Mike came by to drop off car seats for Emma & Ethan which Mont & I will take to the airport Sat eve for N&T.
As I went out into the garage to greet him, Cade followed me. I asked him if he knew whose Grandpa that was. He looked puzzled for a while, then said to me: "YOURS?" Boy, did I love it! Mike didn't - but was a good sport and now is threatening to dunk Cade on Sunday.
;-)
Monday, June 02, 2008
Packing
Did you know that packing 6 people for a 10 day road trip is quite an undertaking? I have lists attached to my lists attached to my lists and it feels like every time I cross something off I think of two more things to write down. Yeesh! We're making progress, though.
Is Heidi home yet? I have a few RV questions.
Is Heidi home yet? I have a few RV questions.
ARRG - Our email won't work!
ARRRRRRG indeed!!!!
I haven't seen our email in close to a week now & now that Mike is away it won't come in! :-( Wierd 'cause our 'net IS working. SOO, IF any of you have emailed me, whether new or in response, I haven't been able to see it/them. (Mike doesn't remember who has emailed me personally & when I am working he purposely doesn't tell me who wrote cause I too often stay up too late for my own good (sigh), reading and responding! :-p ) THUSLY, for now, please connect with me via blog or phone til it can be figured out. BTW Mike is having a wonderful time with Pat & Barbara but has no wireless there & without "net available, he can't email or blog. He leaves Pats Wed. to meet old pals, Sam N. & Dick L. for lunch before "moving" to Ellie's in Ocean Beach.
Sis & Harvey, have a WONDERFUL, fun time on your delayed 50th celebration trip!! Be sure to tell ALL about it! Maybe your email can be cut and pasted here? - I don't know how to do that or even IF it can be done, sigh, BUT if it can, maybe someone else can do that & paste it here in comments or? (BTW I am over my cold and PTL that it didn't progress to anything requiring a Dr. visit(& Ella didn't get it either), PTL!!!)
Love& Hugs to ALL! mc
I haven't seen our email in close to a week now & now that Mike is away it won't come in! :-( Wierd 'cause our 'net IS working. SOO, IF any of you have emailed me, whether new or in response, I haven't been able to see it/them. (Mike doesn't remember who has emailed me personally & when I am working he purposely doesn't tell me who wrote cause I too often stay up too late for my own good (sigh), reading and responding! :-p ) THUSLY, for now, please connect with me via blog or phone til it can be figured out. BTW Mike is having a wonderful time with Pat & Barbara but has no wireless there & without "net available, he can't email or blog. He leaves Pats Wed. to meet old pals, Sam N. & Dick L. for lunch before "moving" to Ellie's in Ocean Beach.
Sis & Harvey, have a WONDERFUL, fun time on your delayed 50th celebration trip!! Be sure to tell ALL about it! Maybe your email can be cut and pasted here? - I don't know how to do that or even IF it can be done, sigh, BUT if it can, maybe someone else can do that & paste it here in comments or? (BTW I am over my cold and PTL that it didn't progress to anything requiring a Dr. visit(& Ella didn't get it either), PTL!!!)
Love& Hugs to ALL! mc
Friday, May 30, 2008
The Patio Project
We're putting in phase 1 of our backyard patio... woo boy is this filthy, back breaking work! Looking forward to the end result, though. This is what my feet looked like after I took off my shoes the other night. Nice, huh?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Leaving Catacamas
We are in our last hours here in Catacamas. The humidity has been an adjustment, but the last couple days haven't been as HOT as Sunday evening and Monday were.
We have painted a lot at the clinic over the last 3 days: 2 bathrooms, 2 outside walls (finishing the last one now), 1 waiting room and 1 office. We did a little organizing work and I also did a lot of writing things down and taking pictures.
Some of the roads in Catacamas are paved, but most are not, so everytime we get in the truck- it's an adventure! The family has been very gracious and hospitable- always smiling, laughing or singing.
This afternoon when Sheree is finished with patients, we will go home to grab our bags and take off to try to make it to the capital before dark. If there's time, we'll take in a showing of Indiana Jones. We'll be back at Leslie's Place tonight and in the morning we will drive out to Tela for our 2 nights there. (If you want to see where we're staying, it's www.hoteltelamar.com and you can click on the "English Site" button)
We have painted a lot at the clinic over the last 3 days: 2 bathrooms, 2 outside walls (finishing the last one now), 1 waiting room and 1 office. We did a little organizing work and I also did a lot of writing things down and taking pictures.
Some of the roads in Catacamas are paved, but most are not, so everytime we get in the truck- it's an adventure! The family has been very gracious and hospitable- always smiling, laughing or singing.
This afternoon when Sheree is finished with patients, we will go home to grab our bags and take off to try to make it to the capital before dark. If there's time, we'll take in a showing of Indiana Jones. We'll be back at Leslie's Place tonight and in the morning we will drive out to Tela for our 2 nights there. (If you want to see where we're staying, it's www.hoteltelamar.com and you can click on the "English Site" button)
Monday, May 26, 2008
Shorty & the birthday!
Happy Birthday #9, Sarah! We had a great day all together, huh?!
Grandpa, sweating Caleb's growth spurt! (Kinda "scary" when your 12 yr old Grandson is ALmost as tall as YOU are, huh?! ;-)
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Bienvenidos a Olancho!
Hello! We have internet again tonight so I'll get this down while it's fresh.
Saturday, we checked out of the hotel in Teguc and drove out to Valle de Angeles, self titled "Tourist City", about an hour outside of the capital. It's like a larger version of Old Town San Diego or Olvera Street in LA, except that it's a separate town to itself rather than being inside the city. We got some good souvenir shopping done, though we're not quite finished yet. We ate dinner in a quaint little restaurant in the main plaza across from the cathedral and enjoyed some ice cream on the stroll back to the hotel. Mark unfortunately felt ill enough that he went back to the hotel before dinner and laid down for the rest of the evening. (Don't worry! This morning he is feeling fine again).
Back at the hotel, we watched the Gran Final de Futbol, which is like the Super Bowl for Honduras, and luckily happened to be last night and featured the home team of our host family, which won! We heard a mixture of horn-honking, shouting and thunder from the hotel balcony after the game. The hotel in Valle de Angeles looks nicer from the outside, but was not nearly as nice on the inside as Leslie's Place in Teguc- no AC or fans or screens on the windows, or running water during the night. But it's the only hotel in town so they have the market cornered.
This morning we made the long, somewhat treacherous drive out to Catacamas in Olancho, . The Department of Olancho in Honduras, roughly equates to the state of Texas in the US- the biggest, loudest and proudest. They recently passed a law in Honduras limiting the owning of fireams to eight per person and the people of Olancho protested! We were only stopped at one police checkpoint on the way, and we got a female officer who was in a good mood, so we were lucky.
We are settled into Sheree's house in Catacamas, which is the 2nd largest town in Olancho. Their home is very secure- high fencing, locked gates and German Shepherd guard dogs. They made us baleadas for dinner, a traditional Honduran dish: refried beans (a different bean than in Mexico), mantequilla (which in Honduras refers to a cream sauce), queso freca and avocados in a folded flour tortilla then grilled a little. She washed fresh mango silces in purified water for us for dessert- delicious!
Jordan, Blake and Mark are a welcome addition to the household for Daniel, who is 12 and lives in a house full of women and his eldery grandfather. Daniel attends a private bilingual school (Sheree's mom sponsors his tuition) so he is fluent in English and is not intimidated by the older boys. He beat them all in one-on-one futbol! Now he's trouncing Blake and Jordan in FIFA for Playstation. They all rode standing up in the back of Sheree's pickup (holding on the roll bar) for the dusty ride out to Olancho's archeological gem, Las Cuevas de Talgua, a system of caves containing the ritual burial chamber of a civilization t that pre-dates the Mayans, discovered by some archeology volunteers who went exploring in 1994. They still have not discovered the end of the caves!
Tomorrow we will be at the clinic at 7:30 am where the men will paint and I will assist Sheree in gathering information to be able to make a media kit for her, since she really doesn't have the time to do it herself. We will be here until Wed, when we drive back to Teguc and then out to Tela.
Love to all!!
Saturday, we checked out of the hotel in Teguc and drove out to Valle de Angeles, self titled "Tourist City", about an hour outside of the capital. It's like a larger version of Old Town San Diego or Olvera Street in LA, except that it's a separate town to itself rather than being inside the city. We got some good souvenir shopping done, though we're not quite finished yet. We ate dinner in a quaint little restaurant in the main plaza across from the cathedral and enjoyed some ice cream on the stroll back to the hotel. Mark unfortunately felt ill enough that he went back to the hotel before dinner and laid down for the rest of the evening. (Don't worry! This morning he is feeling fine again).
Back at the hotel, we watched the Gran Final de Futbol, which is like the Super Bowl for Honduras, and luckily happened to be last night and featured the home team of our host family, which won! We heard a mixture of horn-honking, shouting and thunder from the hotel balcony after the game. The hotel in Valle de Angeles looks nicer from the outside, but was not nearly as nice on the inside as Leslie's Place in Teguc- no AC or fans or screens on the windows, or running water during the night. But it's the only hotel in town so they have the market cornered.
This morning we made the long, somewhat treacherous drive out to Catacamas in Olancho, . The Department of Olancho in Honduras, roughly equates to the state of Texas in the US- the biggest, loudest and proudest. They recently passed a law in Honduras limiting the owning of fireams to eight per person and the people of Olancho protested! We were only stopped at one police checkpoint on the way, and we got a female officer who was in a good mood, so we were lucky.
We are settled into Sheree's house in Catacamas, which is the 2nd largest town in Olancho. Their home is very secure- high fencing, locked gates and German Shepherd guard dogs. They made us baleadas for dinner, a traditional Honduran dish: refried beans (a different bean than in Mexico), mantequilla (which in Honduras refers to a cream sauce), queso freca and avocados in a folded flour tortilla then grilled a little. She washed fresh mango silces in purified water for us for dessert- delicious!
Jordan, Blake and Mark are a welcome addition to the household for Daniel, who is 12 and lives in a house full of women and his eldery grandfather. Daniel attends a private bilingual school (Sheree's mom sponsors his tuition) so he is fluent in English and is not intimidated by the older boys. He beat them all in one-on-one futbol! Now he's trouncing Blake and Jordan in FIFA for Playstation. They all rode standing up in the back of Sheree's pickup (holding on the roll bar) for the dusty ride out to Olancho's archeological gem, Las Cuevas de Talgua, a system of caves containing the ritual burial chamber of a civilization t that pre-dates the Mayans, discovered by some archeology volunteers who went exploring in 1994. They still have not discovered the end of the caves!
Tomorrow we will be at the clinic at 7:30 am where the men will paint and I will assist Sheree in gathering information to be able to make a media kit for her, since she really doesn't have the time to do it herself. We will be here until Wed, when we drive back to Teguc and then out to Tela.
Love to all!!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Full First Day
While we have internet access, we might as well use it. :)
After lunch, Sheree arrived and we spent the afternoon driving around with her. Driving in Tegucigalpa is CRAZY!! Seriously, I will pit any crazy-driving city against it. For one, there are no maps of the city, and there are no street names or street signs! It's literally a maze of up and down and around and around that you just have to know to get around. Also, there is a whole language of horn-honking at other cars and pedestrians. The pedestrian aggressive jaywalking situation is so bad that there is a law that if you hit or run over a pedestrian within 50 feet of a crosswalk you don't have to stop, because it's assumed the pedestrian was at fault and it would endanger the driver to stop (street justice). So seriously, if you hit someone who walks out in front of you, you're supposed to keep going.
Teguc is, like many cities in developing nations, a study in contrasts. A few high rise buildings (mostly banks) jut up into the sky while the hills are completely jammed with ramshackle houses. The streets are in horrible condition, weeds and trash are everywhere, but there is a luxury mall and most people have cellphones. We heard several gun shots while we were eating dinner...in a lovely restaurant with delicious food that could have rivaled any ethnic restaurant in So Cal (except in speed of service--this is Central America and the pace is slow, except for driving which is a frenetic cross between the Indiana Jones ride, Autopia, and Centipede).
Before dinner, we visited a gorgeous cigar shop where Mark picked out a few cigars for the guys to enjoy together while we are here. Dinner included another sister, Karla, a dentist, and her husband Lionel along with Dilian and Mario.
Now we are back at our little hotel for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow after breakfast, we will drive up a hill to a statue of Jesus (very similar to the one in Rio, but on a smaller scale) and walk around and take in the view. Then we will drive to Valle de Angeles where we will spend the night. Since Sheree's church cancelled services this week, we will have the extra day of sight-seeing for Valle de Angeles. Sunday afternoon we will visit caves after arriving back in Catacamas.
We are already looking forward to getting to the family home in Catacamas so we can have more beans! We love Honduran beans! It seems strange that we still have 2 more full days of sightseeing and frivolity before we start work at the clinic.
We REALLY miss Jake, but the rough views of the streets, and the danger (we can never roll the windows down in the car or have the doors unlocked, ever...hotel security guards have machine guns and our hotel has to buzz you in to even be admitted to the lobby) confirm for me that it's right that he stayed home for fun with grandma, Gigi and Windy. We will have a great time, but we will also count the days until we see him again.
After lunch, Sheree arrived and we spent the afternoon driving around with her. Driving in Tegucigalpa is CRAZY!! Seriously, I will pit any crazy-driving city against it. For one, there are no maps of the city, and there are no street names or street signs! It's literally a maze of up and down and around and around that you just have to know to get around. Also, there is a whole language of horn-honking at other cars and pedestrians. The pedestrian aggressive jaywalking situation is so bad that there is a law that if you hit or run over a pedestrian within 50 feet of a crosswalk you don't have to stop, because it's assumed the pedestrian was at fault and it would endanger the driver to stop (street justice). So seriously, if you hit someone who walks out in front of you, you're supposed to keep going.
Teguc is, like many cities in developing nations, a study in contrasts. A few high rise buildings (mostly banks) jut up into the sky while the hills are completely jammed with ramshackle houses. The streets are in horrible condition, weeds and trash are everywhere, but there is a luxury mall and most people have cellphones. We heard several gun shots while we were eating dinner...in a lovely restaurant with delicious food that could have rivaled any ethnic restaurant in So Cal (except in speed of service--this is Central America and the pace is slow, except for driving which is a frenetic cross between the Indiana Jones ride, Autopia, and Centipede).
Before dinner, we visited a gorgeous cigar shop where Mark picked out a few cigars for the guys to enjoy together while we are here. Dinner included another sister, Karla, a dentist, and her husband Lionel along with Dilian and Mario.
Now we are back at our little hotel for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow after breakfast, we will drive up a hill to a statue of Jesus (very similar to the one in Rio, but on a smaller scale) and walk around and take in the view. Then we will drive to Valle de Angeles where we will spend the night. Since Sheree's church cancelled services this week, we will have the extra day of sight-seeing for Valle de Angeles. Sunday afternoon we will visit caves after arriving back in Catacamas.
We are already looking forward to getting to the family home in Catacamas so we can have more beans! We love Honduran beans! It seems strange that we still have 2 more full days of sightseeing and frivolity before we start work at the clinic.
We REALLY miss Jake, but the rough views of the streets, and the danger (we can never roll the windows down in the car or have the doors unlocked, ever...hotel security guards have machine guns and our hotel has to buzz you in to even be admitted to the lobby) confirm for me that it's right that he stayed home for fun with grandma, Gigi and Windy. We will have a great time, but we will also count the days until we see him again.
We´re here!
We, and our luggage, made it safely here to Tegucigalpa!
Mario and Dilian the brother and one of the sisters of Sheree´s Honduran "family" picked us up at the airport and took us to the hotel. Sheree should arrive soon. She´s on her way from Catacamas.
We´re going across the street to eat at the "London Pub" ...should be interesting!
Mario and Dilian the brother and one of the sisters of Sheree´s Honduran "family" picked us up at the airport and took us to the hotel. Sheree should arrive soon. She´s on her way from Catacamas.
We´re going across the street to eat at the "London Pub" ...should be interesting!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
They're off
The Schmidts are off! I'm grateful I did not have to drive them to the airport. Blake's (Jordan's friend) Dad took them and will also pick them up. The last minute "Oh yes, we need that" and trying to fit all the extras going to Sheree without too much weight and luggage left us all feeling exhausted - but they got on their way well on time. Now it seems SO quiet here! I hope Jakie appreciates the orderliness of his old Grandma & Gigi. He is obviously feeling the reality of the separation. But we'll do fine. I'm going to enjoy some individual time with him. We already have the train tracks set up.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Colfax Marathon
Very briefly, since you haven't heard from a Coloradan in awhile. We are working like dogs on the house...
The Mission has a program for guys in rehab that gets them involved in running marathons and 1/2 marathons. It is great for them to learn about goal setting and achieving this way. This marathon is the big one that everyone has been training for. The guys in green are in the rehab program, red are DRM staff. Our PR team was able to secure me some press credentials for the event. These are my two favorite pictures that I took of people coming across the finish line. JJ was the first guy in the program to finish the full marathon this year and this is him crossing the line (check out his bib number). Kevin is our CFO and his son finished the last half mile with him.
I knew I was forgetting something
I meant to add that Mont & I have enjoyed 2 movies (I think that is almost our yearly average) lately. We saw Expelled several weeks ago and then Prince Caspian yesterday. Both very good. We recommend them both.
Nice aspect of those sags and wrinkles - got the senior discount for both of us since my BD in March. ;-)
You have to read later posts to make sense of some of this.
Nice aspect of those sags and wrinkles - got the senior discount for both of us since my BD in March. ;-)
You have to read later posts to make sense of some of this.
This, That & the Other
Greetings from sunny So Cal. This morning I thought I was back in Georgia at 7am. I was doing my weights and with the residual heat in the house, & the early morning fog - Yuck! I guess all of us on the west coast are hot these days. Remember though - June could still have COOL days on the beach - so make sure you have sweatshirts or other cover for our Sunday beach day.
I'm only 1/2 here this AM after little sleep and a cup of caffiene - (a hyped daze) - we'll hope this is coherent. It is tuff trying to sleep and stay cool and still cope with Nimitz and airplane noise! Boy do we miss our whole house fan these days.
The Petries are coming along with their house. They are camping in the basement (Windy says the boys think they are the luckiest boys alive - sleeping in a tent in the basement!!!) Kyle & Windy are spending every available minute and energy cleaning , painting etc. Windy finally got all the wall paper & glue off and is on to painting the bedrooms. She sounded much better this week than last now that the wall paper was dealt with, and school is done for her. They still have the same process to go through in the front of the house, though. They will move upstairs when the bedrooms are done. I thought I would give an update since they are not posting right now.
Gigi & I will be off to Orange Wed afternoon and Mont to Lakewood on Friday eve to help Kyle through Tuesday.
I'm only 1/2 here this AM after little sleep and a cup of caffiene - (a hyped daze) - we'll hope this is coherent. It is tuff trying to sleep and stay cool and still cope with Nimitz and airplane noise! Boy do we miss our whole house fan these days.
The Petries are coming along with their house. They are camping in the basement (Windy says the boys think they are the luckiest boys alive - sleeping in a tent in the basement!!!) Kyle & Windy are spending every available minute and energy cleaning , painting etc. Windy finally got all the wall paper & glue off and is on to painting the bedrooms. She sounded much better this week than last now that the wall paper was dealt with, and school is done for her. They still have the same process to go through in the front of the house, though. They will move upstairs when the bedrooms are done. I thought I would give an update since they are not posting right now.
Gigi & I will be off to Orange Wed afternoon and Mont to Lakewood on Friday eve to help Kyle through Tuesday.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Joshua the RBI man
Sarah really enjoyed Josh's ballgame - except for the 90 degree weather.
Joshua has really improved his baseball skills. He has a good stance, getting some hip action, good extension of his arms and, as you can see, has good concentration. He did have an RBI in this game. GO Joshua!!!!!!!! mb
Out of the "mouths of babes" ;-)
1.) "Family Secrets" - I CAN'T let THIS one pass into oblivion! ;-)
I keep forgetting to share an experience that happened a few weeks ago while at the zoo with Caleb, Joshua & Sarah!
- We were passing the Polar Bear exhibit when suddenly, out of nowhere, Sarah put both hands on her hips, & whirling, turned on her heels & adamently asked me - "Did you know that YOUR DAUGHTER is thinking about getting a tattoo?"!!!! (Emphasis HERS!)
Controlling a laugh, I calmly responded "No, I didn't know that. What do you think about it?"
"WELL", Sarah said, "I don't think it is a good idea at all because when you get old they get all wrinkly and sag and ..." Then she stopped suddenly in mid sentence, stared up at me for a moment, & said "No offense intended"! (I don't remember what I said after that because I was laughing too hard!!)
(Yes, sigh! Getting "old" isn't for sissies at ALL! ;-)
2.) "Friendship" from the perspective of a 2 yr old boy ;-)
While Teresa, Mike & I were talking together a few minutes ago, Ethan was playing outside where he found a little lizzard he wanted to pick up, triggering a memory of Teresa's.
- Teresa was with him outside when he found a TINY little bug on the sidewalk.
He picked it up and was just thrilled with the new little friend he had in his hand! Oohing & ahhing repeatedly, he showed it to her saying something to the effect of "I LOVE it SO much!! It is so cute! Can I take it home? Can I keep it? Etc etc.
Teresa admiring it with him said "No, he'd be happier staying in his home", a nearby bush. SOO, continuing to marvel at it affectionately, he took it over near the bush, put it down on the pavement beside it, picked up his foot and SQUASHED it flat as pancake, then took one last look at it & moved on!!
(TOUGH love indeed! ;-)
3.) "Gramma wings" (Evie, I THOUGHT I had "escaped" this ;-)
- Last month, Ethan, Monique & I were riding together to Monique's gym meet in the middle seat of Nathan's van when Monique suddenly poked my outstretched upper left arm and gleefully announced (that like her beloved teacher) "LOOK!!- Gramma has them, too!" (She had a LOT MORE "fun" with my upper arm "movements" after that & of COURSE I secretly checked them out closely in a mirror soon after we got back & sigh, yes, I guess I CAN "fly" now, too! ;-)
("GOTTA" keep a sense of humor to survive this life, huh?! ;-)! mc
I keep forgetting to share an experience that happened a few weeks ago while at the zoo with Caleb, Joshua & Sarah!
- We were passing the Polar Bear exhibit when suddenly, out of nowhere, Sarah put both hands on her hips, & whirling, turned on her heels & adamently asked me - "Did you know that YOUR DAUGHTER is thinking about getting a tattoo?"!!!! (Emphasis HERS!)
Controlling a laugh, I calmly responded "No, I didn't know that. What do you think about it?"
"WELL", Sarah said, "I don't think it is a good idea at all because when you get old they get all wrinkly and sag and ..." Then she stopped suddenly in mid sentence, stared up at me for a moment, & said "No offense intended"! (I don't remember what I said after that because I was laughing too hard!!)
(Yes, sigh! Getting "old" isn't for sissies at ALL! ;-)
2.) "Friendship" from the perspective of a 2 yr old boy ;-)
While Teresa, Mike & I were talking together a few minutes ago, Ethan was playing outside where he found a little lizzard he wanted to pick up, triggering a memory of Teresa's.
- Teresa was with him outside when he found a TINY little bug on the sidewalk.
He picked it up and was just thrilled with the new little friend he had in his hand! Oohing & ahhing repeatedly, he showed it to her saying something to the effect of "I LOVE it SO much!! It is so cute! Can I take it home? Can I keep it? Etc etc.
Teresa admiring it with him said "No, he'd be happier staying in his home", a nearby bush. SOO, continuing to marvel at it affectionately, he took it over near the bush, put it down on the pavement beside it, picked up his foot and SQUASHED it flat as pancake, then took one last look at it & moved on!!
(TOUGH love indeed! ;-)
3.) "Gramma wings" (Evie, I THOUGHT I had "escaped" this ;-)
- Last month, Ethan, Monique & I were riding together to Monique's gym meet in the middle seat of Nathan's van when Monique suddenly poked my outstretched upper left arm and gleefully announced (that like her beloved teacher) "LOOK!!- Gramma has them, too!" (She had a LOT MORE "fun" with my upper arm "movements" after that & of COURSE I secretly checked them out closely in a mirror soon after we got back & sigh, yes, I guess I CAN "fly" now, too! ;-)
("GOTTA" keep a sense of humor to survive this life, huh?! ;-)! mc
Saturday, May 17, 2008
See you in June!
We are less than a month away from the reunion, also known as "Gigi's 90 Birthyear Extravaganza"!! Woohoo!!
And just so that it wouldn't be too easy to get ready for it...we are leaving for 10 days in Honduras this Thursday! We'll be going to see my friend Sheree who's a doctor there. We're bringing Jordan and his friend Blake and we'll split our time between volunteering at her clinic and taking her to the coast for a retreat. Woohoo!!
I have everyone's reunion money now and you should all see your checks clear as soon as we get back. I've been holding them to be able to cash all together to keep better track of everything. Sorry for the accounting delay. :)
Maybe I'll even get a post in from Central America! It depends on whether Sheree has electricity. It's HOT down there with no rains yet and electricity has been going out for days at a time, so we'll see.
Mom and Windy are going to split the time staying here caring for Jake since he is still in his last important weeks of kindergarten. When we get back, it will be just a week before everyone arrives!!! AHHHHH!!!!! I mean, YAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! ;-)
Kyle, I'll say hi to Costa Rica for you. ;)
Randomly, now that Honduras is actually upon us, I think we just decided last night that our next major overseas goal is South Africa in 2010 (only 2 years away!) for the FIFA World Cup. How crazy would that be? Mark's good friend is from Johannesburg and Jordan loved his brief time there, so we'd love to make that happen and think it's actually feasible. We're feeling more adventurous lately. ;)
Love to all!
And just so that it wouldn't be too easy to get ready for it...we are leaving for 10 days in Honduras this Thursday! We'll be going to see my friend Sheree who's a doctor there. We're bringing Jordan and his friend Blake and we'll split our time between volunteering at her clinic and taking her to the coast for a retreat. Woohoo!!
I have everyone's reunion money now and you should all see your checks clear as soon as we get back. I've been holding them to be able to cash all together to keep better track of everything. Sorry for the accounting delay. :)
Maybe I'll even get a post in from Central America! It depends on whether Sheree has electricity. It's HOT down there with no rains yet and electricity has been going out for days at a time, so we'll see.
Mom and Windy are going to split the time staying here caring for Jake since he is still in his last important weeks of kindergarten. When we get back, it will be just a week before everyone arrives!!! AHHHHH!!!!! I mean, YAAAAAYYYYYYY!!! ;-)
Kyle, I'll say hi to Costa Rica for you. ;)
Randomly, now that Honduras is actually upon us, I think we just decided last night that our next major overseas goal is South Africa in 2010 (only 2 years away!) for the FIFA World Cup. How crazy would that be? Mark's good friend is from Johannesburg and Jordan loved his brief time there, so we'd love to make that happen and think it's actually feasible. We're feeling more adventurous lately. ;)
Love to all!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Take a good look...
...at Jake's nose in the post below, because it doesn't look like that anymore. Poor kiddo split his toe open, a good 1/4 inch deep split front to back across the tip of his big toe. And in a separate incident, he fell hard on his face onto a tile floor and now his nose is large and purple. He's not doing well tonight.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Padre Game
Greg Maddox finally got his 350th win.
Grandma & Jakie - grandma wearing hr Jake Peavy T-shirt to add to her warmth.
Hugga eating his hotdog. Hugga is in Jakie's charge this weekend for his kindergarten class .
Happy Mother's Day
To all the MOMs!!
We're off to brunch at Tom Ham's lighthouse with the Schmidts. We enjoyeds a Padre game last night. We really enjoyed it becuase we actually won!
We're off to brunch at Tom Ham's lighthouse with the Schmidts. We enjoyeds a Padre game last night. We really enjoyed it becuase we actually won!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
A Day in the Life...
Okay, so it's more like a week in the life. We've been crazy busy ~ spring and fall are the peaks around here. This week we had horseback riding, track, baseball, 3rd grade field trip to the tide pools at Otter Crest, 5th grade field trip to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, plus fighting head colds. Felt like we were crawling to the finish line this week.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The coast!
We spent a couple of great days at the coast with our good friends, Peter & Jeanette. Monday and Tuesday were fairly nice, great days for walking the beach. On the way home, we were going to stop by an eatery called "Oneys" and have clam chowder cause they make on of the best chowders around. When we drove around the corner, we couldn't see the reasturant - only the huge Paul Bunyon sign was in sight. Then we saw the fire truck and a TV news van and the burned out (still smoldering) shell of the reasturant. It put a lump in our throats.
Marilyn had to be at work aT 8 am this morning and I'm going to get a wee bit caught up on e-mail before I go get our paychecks.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
The Jello Thing
In the sixth grade at Caleb's school they do an annual egg toss, where all the sixth graders have to build a contraption to protect a raw egg. The contraption and the egg are then tossed off the roof of the school. All surviving eggs are tested to be sure they are, in fact, raw.
Caleb and George filled a plastic tub thing with jello and put the egg in the middle of the jello. They then wrapped the container in duct tape to hopefully hold it together and named it "the jello bomb".
The launch went well and much to Caleb's chagrin there was not a large jello explosion. Afterward he opened up his container to see if his egg had survived and guess what he found?
Points to the Counsell who can tell me what was inside.
- - and he's OFF & RUNNING!!
What FUN it was for us to be able to watch Caleb's track meet in nearby Woodburn today! - In "decent", well, even NICE weather, too!
The pic taken where he is in the shade of the stands was taken when I arrived barely in time to catch his (100m) race & I couldn't see well facing the sun so took the shot when I thought he might be approaching. - Just before the shot, however, when the gun went off & I could manage to see the runners by sheltering my eyes from the oncoming sun, I thought "WOW that big blonde kid is FAST" - & lo & behold, that "big blonde kid" was ours & he took his heat!! GOOOO Caleb!
The other is of the 200m & he placed 3rd. It was all so interesting and FUN! We were glad that George was better (flu :-p) enough to make it, too!
Signed,
Proud Gramma
So.. you'd think it was Denver
I see snow is predicted for Denver today. We've had our roller coaster of weather here, too. The weekend & Monday hit over 90 degrees here in PL. Then Wed was cool & gray - just over 60 degrees. It looks like Oregon has had rain & more rain (when it was not snow). How did your flowers survive, Darcy?
I for one am ready for summer - but I know I probably have 2 more gray, cool months ahead.
Post - people - Post
I for one am ready for summer - but I know I probably have 2 more gray, cool months ahead.
Post - people - Post
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