a huge spider

This is a picture of the huge spider that lives outside on our back deck. We have let him live there, I guess because we don't go out there very much. I have to eat dinner looking at him every night, which is how I manage to stay so skinny...haha. His web is huge too, but we never see too many bugs in it. Today I watched some crazy bug fly all around the spider, even bumping into him, which made him arch out his legs in surprise ( I think the spider was sleeping), but the bug didn't get eaten. We had another pet spider on our front banister, whose name was, of course, Charlotte. We would say hi to her each day we passed by and enjoyed watching her little web be made. But then, one day, I asked Juan Pablo to spray around the porch for the big spiders...but be careful not to spray near Charlotte. He did very good, leaving her whole side of the porch untouched, but I guess the fumes got to her. She was gone the next day. The kids decided that she must have moved over to the tree fort.

a big girl desk!

I bought this desk and chair off of craigslist yesterday for Isabela. It was a surprise when she came home from school. She loves it! She has sat at it constantly...writing stuff, painting her nails. And it definitely helped to straighten up her room...all that stuff used to be on her floor.

apple picking

We went apple picking this past weekend...it was our first time! And the day was perfect!

This is a great shot of Charlottesville...it was a lot of fun driving up the mountain to the orchard, and only slightly reminded us of the dangerous mountain roads of Bolivia.

They told us we didn't need an apple picker pole....luckily we had brought our own...Daddy.


We also got to take a nice hayride around the orchard. There's nothing better than a hayride on a fall day!

Our professional picture taker..Isabela...got one of us!

We walked down one big hill to get to the JonaGold apples...the other's we picked were red delicious and golden delicious...they were all out of Galas. In this picture you can kind of see my belly too!

a long day

Our days have gotten very long since I've started working and the kids are going to school. Doing anything after Isabela comes home from school is pretty much out of the question. Today, she didn't get off the bus until 4:30! I called because she is usually home at 4:10pm and they told me her bus had broken down and she would be home shortly on a substitute bus. I wonder why those buses are always breaking down? She arrived very excited, telling me all about it...and the bus driver said, "She is so sweet! I could just take her home with me!" And I replied, "I thought you did!"
Today we tried to go to Kids Choir at church which starts at 5;30PM, but she came out crying about 20 minutes into it. I think it's just too much time away from home...she just wanted to relax with us and play with her brother, and I think that's great. There'll be time enough for other things.
Working has been great for me so far. Although I am tired, I haven't been taking my usual nap in the middle of the day...there's just too much to do. My class is great and the day passes quickly. And it's nice to be able to peek in on Joaquin every now and then to see what he's up to....his teacher told me today that Joaquin was very polite. That was nice to hear, although a little shocking.
The kids are usually in bed by 7:30pm at which time I raid the freezer for a great dessert I can eat all by myself!

first practice!

The kids had their first soccer practice! They had a lot of fun wearing their uniforms and feeling like professionals!

At one point, one kid asked, "Are we going to get to kick the ball any?"


Joaquin loved running down field to kick it in the goal. The actual game, however, was a different story. It was HOT, and there were other kids trying to get the same ball...at least at practice they each got their own ball to kick around. He sat out most of the game, but he said he will try more at the next game. Isabela took a little break to fix the goal...helper that she is.

She was a fast runner too...I think that's a Beckham move she's attempting. She did great during the game...kept at it despite the heat...but she did get frustrated, saying "They won't let me score a goal". I hope the next game, it will cool off some. I can't imagine running around in those uniforms and knee high socks!

do-it-yourself

Juan Pablo has begun our first big project on the house. I came home one day from work to find the bathroom looking like this. I'm just glad I wasn't there to see it happening...even though I couldn't stand that bathroom and hadn't used it since we moved in. I'm not good around destructive projects. Juan Pablo seemed to have had a lot of fun though. Who knows what the next step will be...I hope it is to get all that junk off the front porch! It is currently still sitting there.

Fall Festival

Our church had its fall festival last Sunday. It was a beautiful, hot day and the kids had a wonderful time. It was a great ending for Joaquin's fourth birthday!

Look at those wind ups! This was, by far, their favorite booth! Ms. Jill is our MOPS leader and has also taught them in kids' choir, so they thought it was hilarious to dunk her...and they both got her on their last throw!

The best way to cool off??? A dip in the duck pond, of course!

The good ol' sack race. It was just too hot...Joaquin gave up on the way back, but Isabela stuck it out. She just loves games!

The police and fire displays were big hits with my kids. They got a chance to sit in a real state troopers car...and I asked him, "Are you ever driving and typing on that computer at the same time?" And he said, "Ma'am, I would never do something like that." They both got to practice calling 911 and hearing what might be said to them...Isabela's response to "what is your emergency" was "I'm lost" and Joaquin's was "Bad Guys"....they both knew their address! We also got to go in a fire simulated house...smoke started to fill our room and the fireman showed the kids how to get down, check the door if it's hot, and yell for help out of the window. It was great practice that I hope we'll never have to use.

Remember the first time you got your fingers stuck in one of these?!! I do! I thought I would never be able to get them off! The kids loved them!

The kids waited a long time in line in the hot sun to get their faces painted....Isabela wanted to be a princess and Joaquin wanted Star Wars....those are light sabers on his cheeks, not paint brushes!

coming home!

She didn't get off the bus until 4:35 pm!! It's supposed to come around 4:00pm but I guess with the first day and everything, it was late. Joaquin played with rocks and went in to get some chalk so we could trace him on the pavement. I started to worry a little around 4:20pm, but on orientation day, the principal had told us NOT to ...she said, "Have we ever lost a kid? NO...Have we ever misplaced a kid? YES"... She told us not to leave the house because the kids would eventually arrive, so we just waited patiently. When the bus arrived, Isabela crossed the street all by herself! She was so excited about her big day..and sat and told me all about it...which made me so happy! But I'll still miss her tomorrow.

first day!!

Isabela had a great first day at Kindergarten! She caught the bus around 8:40am...it picks her up right at our driveway! She got on all smiles, and as soon as it pulled off, I started crying. It is such a long day away from us, and I don't know if people will be nice to her or hurt her feelings, and I miss her!

last day before school

We decided to play putt-putt for our labor day fun. Here is JP teaching Isabela how to hold the putter. Looks like he should have shown Joaquin instead! Despite Joaquin's great grip, he managed to get a hole in one...and was sooo close many times! It was quite amazing. It was pretty hot out there, and there was a family in front of us, and one behind us...which always puts on the pressure to hurry up. But it was Juan Pablo, not the kids, who had the melt down....half way through he said "let's just go home"...because of squabbling kids and he couldn't concentrate on his putt....they started crying, and I managed to calm him down and remind him that it was about them having fun, not him. They ended up having the best time and talked about it all day. We played arcade games and did the go-karts too. I was driving very cautiously...and everyone passed us...but as I pointed out to Juan Pablo...the last shall be first...Joaquin and I were the first to pull into the gate...haha!