puddles and fall

Fall is officially my favorite season.  I actually pulled out all my fall decorations a couple of weeks ago...I just couldn't wait.

And the cooler temperatures...this is what front yards and front porches are made for.

The last big rain we had?  We got caught out in it.  Torrential down pour and we crossed the parking lot in the middle of it...water was up to my ankles.  When we got home, it had stopped and since we were already wet, I said 'why not?'

Diego's always been a puddle jumper anyway.



I started him early... and I guess he never forgot.



His shoes, however, still haven't recovered.  I need to remember to take those off next time.



I count it all as learning for him, since we slack so often in the preschool department.



But then!  I looked across the yard and thought, "What could that be?"  A turtle?  A giant toad?  Someone's brain?



Definitely the biggest mushroom I've ever seen in MY life.  Our yard is great for growing anything but grass.  Mushrooms, moss and weeds are its favorite things.



We finished up that day with another fall favorite...caramel apples.  The easy-to-make package of caramel sheets they strategically place by the apples in the grocery store called to me.

Diego listened to his sweet tooth and just ate the caramel part.



Fall also brings with it tons of outdoor fairs that I surely would avoid at any other time.  Fairs that are usually too crowded and make me spend unnecessary money.  But this one was five dollars...and that tip-a-troll...totally worth it.



And sno-cones, of course.  My one wish for Christmas has always been a real sno-cone machine.  But they're like $400, so it never quite materializes.  And then I wonder, if I had my own, would it taste as good?

Um....yeah, I'm pretty sure it would.

goochland farm tours

There was another reason that enticed Isabela to go with us to Touch A Truck last Saturday....the Goochland Farm Tours.  Six farms opened their doors to the public for the day...a llama farm, two horse farms, a dairy farm, a beef farm, and the farmer's market.  And if you read this blog, you know we love to visit farms.

The llama farm was first, of course.  We were probably there for an hour...and Isabela can tell you ALL about them....ask her about 'junior girls' and she'll have a lot to say.


Feeding them was the most fun...although I didn't want to.  Did you know llamas have no top teeth?  That way they can't bite you.  This one was about five weeks old, I think.



The farm hand led us out to the field and we were surrounded.  They're pretty skiddish, though, so nothing to worry about.  Isabela led them around like she worked there.



It looks like these two are hugging, doesn't it?  So sweet.   (But really they were fighting/playing.)  Apparently there's a lot of money in selling alpacas...some cost as much as $300,000 depending on their color.  Wow!



And this is why I remember I don't like farms. Spiderwebs.



Next, we headed off to a horse farm.  Diego's favorite part was jumping off this mounting stand, as Isabela named it.



Most of the horses were in their stalls.  Diego told our tour guide,  "You sure have a lot of horses."  This ranch specialized in breeding and medical care.



Whoa...that's a big wall of hay.



Diego wasn't so interested in the horses...just enough to wave and say hi to them, then went on his way.



We went out to the fields to see the stallions.  Do you know what a stallion is?  I asked.  Oops.  Anyway, here's Isabela feeding one...apparently they can be quite temperamental and there were danger signs around the fences.  But a carrot makes them happy.



We didn't get to the other farms because we ran out of time.  But it was a great way to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

truck yeah

This past weekend was our first time ever to Touch A Truck.

My own two words of advice for any activity that takes place in Richmond...."GO EARLY."



We got there about ten minutes before it officially started.  There were barely any kids there!  We were climbing on these trucks with no line.



Contrast that with when we left...all lines were at least 15 deep.  Who wants to wait that long to sit on a truck for 10 seconds while those still waiting glare at how long you're taking?



This boy was in heaven!  Every night before bed, we read My Big Truck Book, at least once.  He knew all these trucks by heart.



The monster truck is one of his favorites...although this one wasn't as monster as the ones he's seen in the books.



To see him so excited...trying to contain it...was priceless.



Isabela reluctantly had to go along with us.  It was either that, or sit at Joaquin's soccer game.  She acted way too cool for most of it, but there were some things that caught her eye.

This is one of those surveyor scopes...just like a telescope!



We got to see the chopper land, too.  All the parents rushed their kids over to see it as the wind whipped dirt into their little eyes.  We used the Coke truck as a barrier to the wind....



...and then realized everyone had ran over to the helicopter, so we really had the run of the place.  Going up on the Coke truckbed was definitely a highlight.



Diego really did touch some of the vehicles.  He seemed to have a quiet moment with this digger.



Our longest wait was for this fire hose game....Isabela's idea....and she would make a great firefighter!



I'm glad we didn't miss this.  Bringing kids' books to life...there's nothing better.

TRUCK YEAH!

pipiripi

One thing that never fails to entertain us in La Paz are the parks.  They are always so different than our own and very exciting...and normally, slightly dangerous.

Here we are on our way to Pipiripi, which is like a children's museum, full of fun games and activities for kids.
But this is just the sidewalk along the street.  The kids asked their uncle what those bars were for, and he said they were for skateboarders.  Can you imagine?  I didn't ever see any skateboarders on it.  The kids walked along it...and yes, Isabela fell off and hurt her elbow on the sidewalk.  I'm glad we didn't have a skateboard around, or I know someone who would have wanted to try it.



To get to Pipiripi,  you have to climb the steps to that yellow elevator, then ride it up the mountain.  Always an adventure in Bolivia!



A lot of the games inside are 'old-fashioned'.  The boys took a little time to play soccer with a handmade ball.  It's definitely more fun with a real one.



Joaquin and his cousin played this soccer game with little bottle caps.



And bubbles are always a hit with Diego.  The cut-off water bottles make huge bubbles!



Juan Pablo wrote me a little message with the hanging words...something about wanting a beso.  How sweet!



There was also an arts and crafts area...picture frames made from recycled newspaper and cardboard.
Joaquin wanted to get creative and make something completely different, but the teachers were a little stingy and wouldn't let him.  Strictly picture frames there.

Isabela is hiding her lips because she had the WORST chapped lips almost the whole time we were there.  We must have bought five chap sticks, but they kept disappearing.  It finally got better when we got home.



And here's a view on the way down.  What do you think?

tiwanaku

Our big vacation this summer was to Bolivia...three and half weeks.  And while my intentions were to have us visit lots of places we'd never been to in our many trips there, I was pretty sick the whole time, which put a huge damper on us doing lots of fun stuff.

But one place we did get to was Tiwanaku, the mysterious ancient ruins located just a short drive from La Paz.

I had read up on a little of the history of it beforehand and tried to share some of the mysteries surrounding the  site with the kids to peak their interest.  Juan Pablo's brother was also able to point out lots of interesting facts and stories to keep them going.  It was a lot of walking in the oppressive Bolivian sun, but definitely worth it.



We saw a sign as soon as we got there about not taking photos of the excavation sites.  What??  Not sure why that would be, but Mariana (Julio's wife) and I were weary of taking lots of pictures, so we tried to hide our cameras and take them when no one was looking.

That's why you see a quick shot of the back of this monolith.



The most amazing part was the accessibility of the entire ancient place.  A simple rope is blocking off the most important structures.



But as you can see here, we were able to run our hands along the rocks to find the smoothest ones.  Some felt almost like silk.  So you can't take pictures, but you can touch it and mess it up with your hands, right?



Part of the Tiwanaku site includes a place called Puma Punku...fun to say and even more mysterious and not to be missed.  Lots of large, heavy stones, cut to perfection...but how?

Here's one of the more amazing ones...a perfectly chiseled line down this hard stone with tiny little holes drilled along it....only... there were no drills back then, were there?



Check out Diego in the back.  He found a long, fluffy piece of grass and started sweeping the dirt path. I thought it was so funny because it's similar to how you'd see people sweeping around the city.



Here's a quick picture I snapped at the park of a broom and dust pan one of the workers was using.



So here he is sweeping around the ruins again.



Somewhere on one of these rocks, there's an image of an elephant type animal.  The mystery...there are obviously no elephants in Bolivia.

Notice how they're leaning on these possibly thousands of years old stones.  Don't touch them!  That would never be allowed here in the states.
(Oh, and check out Diego sweeping in the background.)



And one more to prove I was really there.  Beautiful blue sky, right?!



Get off of those ancient ruins, kids!



If you're interested in learning more about the mysteries surrounding Tiwanaku, it's worth looking up.  There are lots of sites out there that will leave you wondering who built this place, how did they do it, and what happened to them?