Aunt Linda, Amy & Sophia visit OK!

Where did June go?  I can't believe I am now coming off of July 4th weekend.  Life has been packed to the max with activities-- travel, house renovations, photo shoots and baby showers.  One of the most memorable was a visit from Aunt Linda, Amy & Sophia.  We did all sorts of fun stuff like go to the zoo, visit a horse ranch, go swimming and TALK.  That's what girls like to do, you know???   I tortured Amy and my sisters by making them wake up very early and go out and shoot maternity shots.  More of those to come later.  Here are some from Aunt Linda's birthday party.  I'm so glad we were able to celebrate with her this year.  We talked about having a family-get-together next summer again, but instead of OK we are thinking along the lines of the beach.  Woo hoo!

the celebration

lighting the cake

aww... brother and sister!

two pregnant beauties, where is Rebecca!!!!

Georgia and Sophia.  These two cousins played, played and played.  Aren't their matching PJs cute?  Thanks Aunt Linda for the gift!  :)

We are so glad you guys came to visit us out here.  Come again soon!!

cousin!

We really had fun hanging out with Elle this past week.  Since Elle would wake up before Georgia in the morning and afternoon I would wake Gigi up with Elle in my arms.  Georgia loved waking up to her cousin so much that every time before she would go to sleep she asked "can Elle wake me up again?"  And I said of course!!!  I am very hopeful that someday Gigi will have a sibling.  Until then, cousins are the next best thing!  Rodolfo is down visiting family in Guatemala.  Georgia has three cousins down there.  Hopefully we will be able to see them sometime soon.  My hope is that we can all meet up at Disney.  Wouldn't that be fun?

Beautiful Blessing!

Beautiful blessings. That's what children are. My mother always used to make this comment. I never really realized how true that was until this past year. It is true. Newborns are so much work! But when you have had time to see them develop and grow into little people, when you hear their laughs, watch them do the silliest things (like try to take a bow but need to hold onto the table to keep from tumbling over), when you feel their little arms squeeze your neck in their version of a bear-hug--- oh! there is nothing like it. It is beautiful.

BTW, Aunt Mindy, I'm thinking the top photo could compete for birth announcement, what do you say, eh?

Elle, Ellyn & Max meet

Aunt Mindy was up visiting last week and she finally was able to introduce Elle to her namesake--Ellyn Lewey, our grandmother. It was a beautiful, perfect introduction. Elle behaved like an angel and Granny & Grampy Max were able to hold her and enjoy seeing their second great-grandchild. Georgia was a little ornery due to the fact she wasn't the center of attention. See her lovely hair-do below.

Well, here are some more cute pictures from our last night in Guatemala. I guess these were taken after midnight and so the photos rolled over to the following day in my photo files. I just found them. Aren't they cute? Georgia sure did have fun with all of her cousins!

Returning to La Ciudad

Another hearty breakfast for another busy day. The food here was delicious and prepared by several tall white hat wearing chefs!

After scarfing down a quick meal, the cousins quickly found other things to do.

The grounds had peacocks walking around and Estephan found a feather! He had lots of fun pretending to be a peacock!

It sure is hard to get little ones to stop and look at the camera. They are always so busy and involved! :)

Here is Rodolfo with his grandmother.

Here he is laughing with his mom and grandmother.

On the road again! Here you can see some volcanos in the background. Yes, volcanos! Isn't that fascinating!

On the way back to the city, we stopped for lunch in Antigua. Rodolfo's cousin, Suzanne, and her husband, Eric have started a restaurant there called Como como. Isn't that a clever name? It means "how I eat". Eric is a chef from Belgium and it has been their dream to open a restaurant. I love it when people are bold enough to pursue their dreams! You guys rock! Their restaurant is in the photos below. Isn't it beautiful?

Here is Rodolfo's Tio Carlos and Tio Carlos's mother.

Here we are at the entrance of the restaurant. And below is Eric leaving with his dogs. One is on the belly of the moped, and do you see where the other one is? Yep, the backpack.

We also paid a short visit to Rodolfo's Tia and cousin.

For dinner we met 4 of Rodolfo's other cousins, his brother and everyone's kids at Pizza Hut. Gigi had so much fun on the jungle gym at this place that she screamed her head off when we left at close to midnight. This was one crazy long day.

Fiorella and myself.

Alejandra, Cessira and Manlio.

Tio Carlos, Tia Beatriz, Rodolfo's dad and mom, Rodolfo & Orietta.

And all the cousins, finally united! Beatriz, Sophia, Hector, Cessira & Gigi. There were many other cousins playing, but this was the biggest group of them that I could get to stand still together.

Visiting Friends and Family

We had a hearty breakfast this morning to prepare us for a round of visits in Reu. When visiting Rodolfo's home after a year to two year long absence, there are a lot of people to see! Rodolfo has so many wonderful friends and family. The first time I went on this string of visits I was overwhelmed. If my memory serves me correctly, it seems that we had 3-4 solid days of new faces. They all streamed into us and we went out to their homes. I had a hard time keeping up with the Spanish let alone knowing what was the polite and correct way to respond. I remember feeling like I was on stage and everyone I met was waiting for me to do or say something marvelously interesting. I guess that is what most people feel like when they are the newest member of any family. Fortunately, everyone was very nice to me and very forgiving of my mistakes. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of the introdutions! I can't believe it has been 9 years since those first introductions took place! And now, this time around, it was Georgia's turn to be the new person in the family. She did pretty well meeting and greeting all the new faces, although I could tell she was wiped out after this day. We didn't quite make the rounds like the past-- the dynamics and timing were slightly different because we had a toddler and we were not staying in Reu proper. But we still did visit a few familiar faces. The first of which was Tio Whyo. And I have to say, nobody has worn these past 9 years better than him. We visited him in his pharmacy as we have on every visit. I could have easily been reliving a visit from 9 years ago. Not much has changed in his welcoming, busy store. Below is a photo of the 3 of us visiting him.

Here is the mermaid fountain that Rodolfo remembers from his childhood. He would eat ice cream here after school and this is where he and his brother chaperoned his sister on many of her dates. :)

A photo of Rodolfo's all-time favorite car next to the home where his mother lives.

Here is a picture of the church Rodolfo was baptized in as a child. He did his first communion here too. In front of the church is a "took took". This is the easiest means of transportation in the bustling and expanding town of Reu. Supposedly these little carts were imported from India.

Here we are, Rodolfo, Orietta, Georgia and myself after catching our took took ride. The next post has details of our evening visit.

La Pinata at Norma's House

The evening before we headed back to la ciudad to catch an airplane home, Norma hosted a "pinata" for us. It was Gigi's first time to play this game. She wasn't sure why she was supposed to hit the colorful object but was pleasantly surprised to find it contained all sorts of candy!

Ready, aim, fire!!!

Needless to say, the pinata broke open with a little help from Yiu Yiu.

Orietta and Andrea.

Ti Ti and Yiu Yiu, they have grown up! I can't believe how quickly time flies.

Norma made this copy of the Lord's Supper. I'm so impressed with her talent!

And, to add to the fun, after dinner the cousins got to play with sparklers! (las estrellitas)!!!!! How fun is that!?!