the new La Paz

This is the new way to get around in La Paz.  In Spanish, it's called the teleférico.... and I can't ever remember the name in English so I always call it the teleférico, plus it's fun to say. 

It's so modern, like a space capsule.

And you get a bird's eye view of the city, of course.

The kids really enjoyed it, despite Joaquin's dazed look here...

...and especially, this big kid.  It was the first thing he wanted to do when they touched down in La Paz.

Here's a little reminder of how dangerous simple driving can be.

I'm scared of heights, so I'm not sure I'll ever enjoy riding on the teleférico.  Really, La Paz is not a city for the fearful....hint* on more to come!

JP was also impressed with the new buses throughout the city.  The most important thing is there are now actual bus stops for these buses, and they only stop right there and on schedule.  I can remember signaling buses and hopping on and off them as they were still rolling down the street.  The new way might be a little safer, but not as much fun, I imagine.

one new park

Every summer, we vow to find one new park to visit.  Pickings are getting slim because we're always going to parks.  But a friend had heard of a free one that included a splash park, and as hot as the end of August was, water could only make it better.

We tried out the swings first, of course.  Diego's new accomplishment this summer was learning to swing all by himself...from hopping on to pumping high to even jumping off.  Carmen thought it looked fun, too.

This park had a spongy floor that got H-O-T when the sun glared down on it.  That's one of the bad things of manmade parks...there's never any trees for shade.

Someone's watching you!

Carmen paraded around in her little tutu bathing suit, but wasn't much for getting wet.

This fake tree had a soft mist floating all around it, but get too close and the geysers would soak you.

Carmen was loving this green frog.

And people watching.

This was Diego's last playdate with his little friend, Hazel, before he went off to Kindergarten and she went off to preschool.

How about that anthill.  Diego does love nature.

I think Carmen looks a little like that ant with her expression. 

This park is in Twin Hickory near Short Pump if you're looking to get wet.

Mid County Park, Williamsburg

My kids have yet to experience the angry mobs and Revolutionary War soldiers of Colonial Williamsburg, but one place we love to go is Mid County Park, which has recently been completely renovated.  It used to have a large wooden pirate ship and cool tire and rope climbing courses.  You can see a few pictures of the old park HERE.

The new park is amazing and there's still a pirate theme throughout.  My cousin, Elizabeth, and her daughter, Anaum, made their way from Philly to Williamsburg, and we came to pick them up for a weekend playdate at our house, but stopping by this park is a MUST if you have small kids.

I spy....

This girl is fearless.  Loves the swing, loves the slide...she asks for the tallest ones with a sneaky little smirk like she knows it's definitely out of the question.

Anaum is amazingly fashionable, just like her mom, and loves to wear hats.

Here I go!.......

And her brothers have taught her the fun of going up the wrong way, too.

This is one of those slides that's way too high for her, but Diego loved it.  I will mention...this park is HUGE.  There were several times when I had no idea where Diego was, and my heart beat just a little faster.  It's good to have at least two parent eyes watching your kids here, and don't expect to be able to sit around and chat.  Save that for the car ride home.

Sneaking up on deck from the anchor.

I like how Carmen has her little hand on her hip.

The girls had fun spinning Diego around.

Anaum likes the swing, too...

Elizabeth gave them both a push while I went in search of Diego.

Hold on tight, a storm's coming!

A little help?

Prepare the canons!

And that distant look means it's time to head home now.  We didn't get to the park until 7pm, but it was perfect with the late sunset of summer and the kids were ready for bed when we got home.

Don't miss this park if you're near Williamsburg.  They call it Kidsburg, too. 

grape juice?

Where should I start?  The blog's been quiet because JP, Isabela, and Joaquin went to BOLIVIA for two weeks at the end of summer!  I can't wait to post pictures about their amazing adventures.  But Diego, Carmen, and I had our own little trip while they were gone.  My uncle David invited us to pick apples and grapes with him at one of his friend's orchards close to Charlottesville.

It was an amazing, cloudy, misty, cool day.  Just the kind you want if you're going to be picking anything outside at noon.

The most beautiful, tall trees throughout the property begged me to take their pictures, but I'll only share one.

This dog greeted us at the entrance.  He got a sip of water off of the buckets available for picking your grapes.  (Remember to wash your produce, right?)

And this little kitten showed off her acrobatics playing chase with the dog.

BONUS: she even let Carmen pet her.

The orchard was overflowing with grapes...many varieties...but definitely NOT like the ones in the grocery store.  These have seeds, some have hard skins, some are tiny, some are tangy...who knew there could be so many types of grapes?

We actually picked apples first.  Some of us picked them up off the ground...

...and some from the trees.

No long-armed pickers were needed, since the branches were low to the ground.

It's always hard to limit what you pick to what you'll be able to eat before they go bad...plus I had to remind Diego not to drag the bag on the ground because it would bruise up all the apples.

We were the only people in the orchard at one point.  There was one other car when we arrived and one other when we left.  We stayed for two hours!  This is where you want to go if you don't like the crowds at Carter's Mountain.

Later, it started gently raining on us.  Uncle David wanted a poncho, but we always enjoy getting a little wet.

This was our bucket after picking.  Our favorites were those tiny dark purple ones towards the bottom of the picture.  Carmen was eating whole bunches at a time, seeds and all.

I think the prices were reasonable, too.  If you bought over 10 lbs. (and who can stop themselves before 10 lbs?) it was .75 cents/lb.

There's plenty of space for little people to explore.

And lots of cute expressions for photos.

This beautiful bunch of flowers had a sign out front: 10 stems for $5.  I need to buy more flowers, but then again, why don't I grow my own little wild patch to snip for the dinner table?

When we got home, we turned the grapes that we had kept into grape juice.  It was pretty strong and I hadn't added sugar, so no one really liked it, but it was a fun experiment.  There is still a little frozen cup of grape juice in the freezer waiting for someone to turn it into a slushie.

There may be one more weekend open for picking if you're interested, but call first, just in case.  Here's a link to the orchard webpage:  Kipps Grapes.