apple mountain

Just in case you weren't sure where to turn.....



...we had our first fall adventure last weekend.  For me, it was all about taking some pictures.  It was nice to have my camera back in my hands.  Ever since Carmen has been born, I haven't been snapping as many.

I love the age difference between these two.  I think this will be one of those photos when they are older and they think 'remember when...'.



You can't beat Target for cool shirts.  The skull on his shirt is made up of lots of little skulls.  Just a warning...you may see this shirt in every photo this month.



Isabela snapped one of Carmen and I.  It's so sweet when she reaches for your face...until she grabs two fistfuls of cheeks.



The first apple of fall!  Look at that leaf on the end.  I didn't realize until half way through that they had been pulling the stems and leaves off!   Those help the apples last longer, so don't do that.



We tasted a few along the way.  There were a LOT of apples on the ground so there was a smell in the air of apple cider gone wrong.  Joaquin is super sensitive to smells, so he was about ready to go as soon as we got there.



This is why I don't take many pictures now....if I'm holding Carmen and have my camera strapped around my neck, it doesn't work out as well.  Although every now and then, I still get a good one.



Juan Pablo actually was the one who suggested we go apple picking.  Forty dollars later, I'm not sure he'll do it again.



When we got out of the car, I had told them to only pick four apples each.  Nobody listened.  They charge by the weight, you know.



We probably were only on the mountain for thirty minutes total.  Everyone else had decided to go apple picking that day, too--way too crowded for us to enjoy.

Diego and I went to get a view of the beautiful valley before we left.  He's got such an imagination...I didn't tell him to pose like this.  I asked him after I saw the shot, "Are you pretending you're falling off the mountain?"  Yep.



So here's where the adventure really begins.  We decided to head to the city to eat.  JP pulls over in a park to text someone for recommendations.  Meanwhile, I let Carmen have a little freedom from her car seat and grabbed some cute photos of the kids.



She can almost fit that whole fist in her mouth!



On a side note, I'm an old-fashioned car traveler.   Before we left, I quick printed out this list of things to spot on the way there...in spanish.  It had pictures to go along with the words.  There was one that stumped us...pantano.  Any guesses?  It's a swamp...check, we have one right near our house.  As we got closer, Joaquin started writing down everything he saw...grass, mommy, sissy, pants, and more.  Funny.



Keep in mind, by this time, we are ALL STARVING.  We get close to the restaurant JP wants to try-it's near a large shopping center.  So we're driving through the shopping center looking for it.  It's nowhere.  And here we are passing every restaurant known to man....and ones we've never heard of that look just as good.  The kids and I see a pizza joint called Slices and then Ben and Jerry's- we know where we want to eat, but JP is on a mission to find this place.

He's getting frustrated because his phone says it's right here, but we can't see it.  The kids are whining because they're SO hungry.  I try to nicely say, "Sometimes you have to choose your battles and know when to give up," but this isn't one he's willing to lose.  I'm not sure why he was so intent on this place, but sadly, after many u-turns and red lights...we found it.  It had long been closed down and abandoned.

Guess where we ended up?

guest post!

I'm so honored to do a guest post over at Latinaish today!  In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, she's doing a series called  "A Trip to...." where readers can share a bit about a Latin American country they've been to.  Of course, I talked about Bolivia!  See more pictures like these over there.....

goooaaaal

Soccer Saturdays are back.  Oh, plus there are practices for three kids that take up four nights out of the week.  I don't go to the practices if I can help it...and I don't feel guilty one little bit.  Plus I can't be at three different games in one day, so I don't see all those either.  It just makes it all the more special when I can be there.

Diego is in a league of his own.  He was born with the running gene and can go forever.



He scores at least ten times each game and sometimes dribbles the ball all the way down to his own goal before turning around and going back to score.  I'm sure the other parents aren't too thrilled about it, but I love to watch him.



This is a look I get often...although here she's just walking back from checking on the Papa John's snack booth.  We tried a new style with her hair that involved twisting it around into a ponytail...we both loved it and she got several compliments.  Maybe she'll let me do it more often?



Carmen played with Joaquin a bit on the sidelines.  If there's action going on around her, this baby does. not. sleep.



Isabela loves being part of a team.



The running and kicking part of the sport she could do without, but she loves a team.



This photo from the other week turned out prophetic.  She scored the first goal of the game last weekend!  I asked her how she did it.  She said, "The goalie and another girl were fighting over the ball, so I thought I better stand a little close to the goal in case it comes my way."  And sure enough, the ball slipped out over to Isabela and she kicked it right at the goal.  The goalie ran over to block it with her knees knocked together and the ball went right between her feet.

Well, that deserves an 'atta girl!  And just like that... her confidence in her abilities and herself is back.  Yay, for soccer!

stopping by Bolivia on a busy day

There was a local event last weekend about Peru, so I suggested we go despite our super busy morning filled with soccer and taekwondo.

Juan Pablo gave me a funny smile... because as any Bolivian knows, Peru is not Bolivia.  But in my mind, it was as close as we could get for now.
I think that in the busy-ness of life, we often forget that we are raising bicultural children.  We struggle to keep up the Spanish in an ever-increasing English speaking day...there's school, homework, friends.  Bolivian foods are replaced with quick and easy spaghetti and taco soup.

But I'm not giving up.  I've told Isabela that we are going to have 'Bolivian dinner night' where we cook one dish each week....and she's so excited, sighing each time I say it can't be tonight.

And I'm repeating myself in Spanish every time I realize I could have just as easily said it in Spanish in the first place.  Like last night...Joaquin walked out of TaeKwonDo without shoes on.  That's usual.  But I said, "No tienes zapatos?"  And he stopped mid sentence and ran back to the building to get his shoes.  And I was happy.

So.... this past Saturday, on empty stomachs and with tired bodies, we headed downtown.

The kids protested, complained, and fought with each other...plus I had to change Carmen as soon as we arrived...all of this trying to coax us into just giving up and going home...but I was undeterred.

At the entrance, the kids were given a little passport and were told to get stamps at the various activities, then come back for their reward...a colorful friendship bracelet.  Best. Idea. Ever.  That was all they needed to hear, and hunger pangs ceased and interest soared.

Here's Diego playing his handmade zampoña.

Isabela weaving on a loom.



We decided to split up at one point...the boys went on to carve a stamp and Isabela sat to watch some dancing.  But in the end, they got their prize.  

But the best was yet to come....a parade.  And guess who was there??  Bolivian dancers!!  See the flag on her costume....red, yellow, and green.

It was almost like being there.

The kids were speechless as they watched.  And Isabela is ready to sign on the dotted line to join a Bolivian dance troupe.  She made a video and memorized the moves already.

Then, in an instant, we're back into our everyday life, stopping by McDonald's on the way home when our hunger pangs returned with a fierceness.

But for a few hours, the kids reflected on a heritage and culture that makes them who they are.   And I am excited to help them discover it, even half a world away.

bangs

I am now officially my mother's daughter. (If I get a chance, I'll have to find a photo of her to upload.)



I've been wanting a new do for years.  But every time I come out of the salon, I look exactly the same.  They talk me into something else, which is basically the same thing I've always had.

You know you've done it right when the kids see you and say, "I HATE IT, MOM!"  "GO BACK AND TELL THEM TO CUT IT OFF!"

Well, I don't think cutting it off would solve the problem.

We're still getting used to the new me, but overall, I kinda like it.  Of course, I can't straighten my hair as well as those stylists do, but I still do a double take every time I walk by a store window.

to a new year

Not Enough Time in the Day + Tired Mom = ME!

And I lamented the fact that our NOT bummer summer really wasn't that fantastic at all.  If there's no big 'remember when' vacation, it somehow feels like summer never happened.   We checked a lot off our list, yet only managed to complete one row.  So the day before school started, I took them to Chuck E. Cheese.... and the last three months were quickly forgotten.  (End it on a good note, and they'll never know!)




Maymont with friends...the brothers were showing some LOVE.  These two really are daredevils.  Diego is following right in Joaquin's footsteps, climbing rocks and trekking paths.






Interesting expressions.



Not sure what he's doing with his hair as he stares down the eagle.



Carmen amazed by everything, as always.  Babies are so much FUN!!  The world is new again.



The weekend before school started, we went on a family walk downtown at the canal.  Way too hot.  Carmen didn't want any of it.  So we called it a day and left early.



But we did see some amazing graffiti art that we hadn't seen before...



...how do they do that?



The four.  Carmen fits right in with her love of books!  Eating them, reading them...it's all the same.



Oh, yeah.  JP decided to knock down our chimney one weekend.  He demolished my favorite desk as the stones came crashing down, but I had to be thankful he was okay.  This was only days after I read a great book, One Year to an Organized Life, and had determined to declutter and make our house beautiful.  Typical.

It's ready for drywall now, so we'll take some after pictures when it's done.



And then school finally started.  A fifth grader...



...and a fourth grader.



Diego's doing preschool with me.  Nothing too complicated...how about blowing on baby sister's cool hair?  Science experiment, check!



And in the middle of all the new beginnings, we had a very important birthday to celebrate.  And what a busy day it was!  His first travel game of the soccer season and he made three goals!!



Some way cool presents....Joaquin is into trash packs...he's not sure he wants his friends to know it, but I'm encouraging him to be himself and to know it's okay to like what he likes.



I pulled 'other one' bear out of the pile up and he said he still smells like he did when he was a baby.



Diego made an amazing birthday card with Mario and Wigi and bob-omb and some way cool secret door.



Still on his birthday....TaeKwonDo demo practice....Joaquin is on the kicking team and can do some amazing things.  We finished up his big day with just Daddy, Mommy and Carmen to his favorite restaurant and one activity.  Guess what he chose?.....Panera Bread and Putt-Putt.  He even scored a hole in one with some wild hit over a rock and around the bend.  Crazy.  The next day he said it was the worst birthday ever, but I reminded him of all he did and as I always say, how much better could it get?



Our Saturdays this fall will be filled with soccer games.  We have THREE playing and JP is coaching Diego's team!!  This was us before we went our separate ways to get everyone where they needed to be on time.



We're still working on that hair.  Her bow stays now....



...and look at that cute little face.



Did I mention she's crawling?  She inches forward on her face.  I really do need to take a video of it.

So that's it in a nutshell.

Just one little nap...for me.  That's all I ask.