Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Jumping For Joy
I let the boys jump on the bed one last time before we depart. Enjoy! It really never gets old...for them or for us.
Hasta Luego Colombia!
Today was our last full day in Colombia. Nothing bittersweet about it! We are ready to go home and the boys are ready to go to casa nueva. The day started off a little slow because all I wanted to do was pack, so it took us a while to get out the door. All I can say is once we got out the door, WOW! what an adventure.
We wanted to do something American to celebrate our trip to America - so we set off to find the Hard Rock Café. Well, it wasn't where we thought it was, and we ended up walking about thirty blocks to this mall only to defeatedly catch a taxi and have the driver take us in the completely opposite direction, far past our hotel. Once we were there though, it was worth it. Troy, Samuel and I had burgers, and the twins had chicken fingers. Everyone was happy to be filling up on fries and greasy food. Troy and I bought t-shirts. We then caught a cab back to our hotel because Troy had to meet Jaime to go pick up the translated paperwork. I thought I could finish packing while the boys went down for a nap after their epic walk. Apparently they cannot nap after drinking Coca-Cola. This was the first soda we let them have, and it was a great lesson for us. After our missed naps, we caught another cab and went back to the aforementioned mall for ice cream with the Uhlenbrock family (see Brian and Penny's story under our "Other Adoptions" section). Catching a cab back to the hotel was a little tricky, but we made it just in time for dinner!
The sweetest part of the day was getting ready for bed. We had Q&A about mañana and let the boys ask whatever they wanted to ask (the big question is what color will the planes be). We looked at pictures of the house, the dogs, their room, the Western Hemisphere, etc. We talked about being "una familia siempre" (a family always) and that seemed to really make them happy. This was followed by mucho besos! Daniel is so cute because he grabs your cheeks when he kisses you. I don't know how much they truly understand, but they did ask a lot of really good questions. Tomorrow is the big day!
Walking to the mall, the boys decided that Papa was way cooler than Mama and everyone wanted to hold his hand. He is working on ordering a prosthetic third arm so that no one feels left out.
Yummy! All I wanted was some comfort food!
Note to self: Coke + Child = Lack of Nap = No Down Time for Padrés
I think the twins both ended up with more ice cream on them than in them. That is pretty typical for most of their food.
When Samuel walked out of the ice cream shop with this cone, I immediately shot Troy a look like "That was the worst idea ever!", but he did really well and none of the scoops fell off.
Uhlenbrocks + Eisenbergers = Awesomeness!!!! Back row: Penny, Brian, Andrea and Troy; Front row: Laura (3), Rosita (2), Daniel, Angela (3), Luis, and Samuel. It was wonderful to meet other Americans in process, and to meet the parents of another sibling group.
Troy's treat to himself and farewell to Colombia was to enjoy a Cuban cigar and a good Dutch beer. It was a tribute to the international flair of Hotel Halifax!
Adios Colombia!!! Charlotte, we can't wait to be home!
We wanted to do something American to celebrate our trip to America - so we set off to find the Hard Rock Café. Well, it wasn't where we thought it was, and we ended up walking about thirty blocks to this mall only to defeatedly catch a taxi and have the driver take us in the completely opposite direction, far past our hotel. Once we were there though, it was worth it. Troy, Samuel and I had burgers, and the twins had chicken fingers. Everyone was happy to be filling up on fries and greasy food. Troy and I bought t-shirts. We then caught a cab back to our hotel because Troy had to meet Jaime to go pick up the translated paperwork. I thought I could finish packing while the boys went down for a nap after their epic walk. Apparently they cannot nap after drinking Coca-Cola. This was the first soda we let them have, and it was a great lesson for us. After our missed naps, we caught another cab and went back to the aforementioned mall for ice cream with the Uhlenbrock family (see Brian and Penny's story under our "Other Adoptions" section). Catching a cab back to the hotel was a little tricky, but we made it just in time for dinner!
The sweetest part of the day was getting ready for bed. We had Q&A about mañana and let the boys ask whatever they wanted to ask (the big question is what color will the planes be). We looked at pictures of the house, the dogs, their room, the Western Hemisphere, etc. We talked about being "una familia siempre" (a family always) and that seemed to really make them happy. This was followed by mucho besos! Daniel is so cute because he grabs your cheeks when he kisses you. I don't know how much they truly understand, but they did ask a lot of really good questions. Tomorrow is the big day!
Walking to the mall, the boys decided that Papa was way cooler than Mama and everyone wanted to hold his hand. He is working on ordering a prosthetic third arm so that no one feels left out.
Yummy! All I wanted was some comfort food!
Note to self: Coke + Child = Lack of Nap = No Down Time for Padrés
I think the twins both ended up with more ice cream on them than in them. That is pretty typical for most of their food.
When Samuel walked out of the ice cream shop with this cone, I immediately shot Troy a look like "That was the worst idea ever!", but he did really well and none of the scoops fell off.
Uhlenbrocks + Eisenbergers = Awesomeness!!!! Back row: Penny, Brian, Andrea and Troy; Front row: Laura (3), Rosita (2), Daniel, Angela (3), Luis, and Samuel. It was wonderful to meet other Americans in process, and to meet the parents of another sibling group.
Troy's treat to himself and farewell to Colombia was to enjoy a Cuban cigar and a good Dutch beer. It was a tribute to the international flair of Hotel Halifax!
Adios Colombia!!! Charlotte, we can't wait to be home!
In 24 Hours...
...we will be at the airport! Yay! No I didn't wake up early just to write this post. I think I am just so excited to be so close to going HOME!
Not long after finishing last night's post I was able to resolve everything with Delta, and they were able to get Troy and I on the flight for no cost (which is good because that is why we purchased the special "adoption" tickets to begin with). The only hitch now is that they can't seat all of us together, as in one of the children will be sitting by themselves...Again, my children are 4 and 6, this is not an option. I will be discussing this with the ticketing agent at the counter tomorrow morning - or perhaps Troy will depending on how much or how little English they speak. At any rate, barring any unforeseen hindrances by weather, baggage system failure or the Dharma Initiative, we should be in Charlotte 36 hours from now.
Today we plan to wear the boys out by walking a lot, or at least that is what I told them last night. They are so adorable and wound up. They would not go to sleep last night, and they were absolutely giggly. Every time I would go in to tell them that they needed to settle down, Daniel would say "Mama, beco, beco..." which sounds sort of like this word that we have outlawed "pepeco"** which means "stinky feet" (we are trying to get them to be nice to each other.) So, Troy came in and we were asking them to tell us what "beco" is and it turns out that it is how Daniel pronounces "beso" which is "kiss" in Spanish. So we had a short, giggly talk about how kisses from mom and dad are good because we love them so much. It was really fun! And it was really sweet because they were all asking for kisses. It had never occurred to either of us that they have probably never been loved on as much as they have for the past four weeks, and I, especially, grew up in a very affectionate family.
**So, we have told them that if they call each other "stinky feet", they will get in trouble (whatever consequences we have available at the time) and they are not to use that word. Well yesterday, Troy said Daniel was laying on the bed, with his foot up to his nose, saying "pepeco, pepeco!" What are the consequences for using the word in context?
Prayer Requests: Safe and happy travels for all. I am trying to pack more incognito this time so as not to upset the boys (and their tummys). They know we are going "en un avion" at some point and are excited, and that we are going to our "casa nueva". However, we are certain they don't really know what that means. Samuel is still showing us that he is reluctant about all of the changes that have and are taking place. Please pray that none of the children have to sit alone on the plane. Also that none of our flights would be delayed. Oh, and this may seem silly, but this is huge for me, please pray that they car ride from the airport to home won't be an issue when we strap all of them into their carseats for the first time ever.
Yesterday we hung out at Parque 93 in the morning. The boys had a great time trying to make "castillos". Not exactly sandcastles in the sand, but we will wait until we get to the beach for that. At one point, we had mama's foot and most of their legs buried. It was pretty awesome oppossum.
Not long after finishing last night's post I was able to resolve everything with Delta, and they were able to get Troy and I on the flight for no cost (which is good because that is why we purchased the special "adoption" tickets to begin with). The only hitch now is that they can't seat all of us together, as in one of the children will be sitting by themselves...Again, my children are 4 and 6, this is not an option. I will be discussing this with the ticketing agent at the counter tomorrow morning - or perhaps Troy will depending on how much or how little English they speak. At any rate, barring any unforeseen hindrances by weather, baggage system failure or the Dharma Initiative, we should be in Charlotte 36 hours from now.
Today we plan to wear the boys out by walking a lot, or at least that is what I told them last night. They are so adorable and wound up. They would not go to sleep last night, and they were absolutely giggly. Every time I would go in to tell them that they needed to settle down, Daniel would say "Mama, beco, beco..." which sounds sort of like this word that we have outlawed "pepeco"** which means "stinky feet" (we are trying to get them to be nice to each other.) So, Troy came in and we were asking them to tell us what "beco" is and it turns out that it is how Daniel pronounces "beso" which is "kiss" in Spanish. So we had a short, giggly talk about how kisses from mom and dad are good because we love them so much. It was really fun! And it was really sweet because they were all asking for kisses. It had never occurred to either of us that they have probably never been loved on as much as they have for the past four weeks, and I, especially, grew up in a very affectionate family.
**So, we have told them that if they call each other "stinky feet", they will get in trouble (whatever consequences we have available at the time) and they are not to use that word. Well yesterday, Troy said Daniel was laying on the bed, with his foot up to his nose, saying "pepeco, pepeco!" What are the consequences for using the word in context?
Prayer Requests: Safe and happy travels for all. I am trying to pack more incognito this time so as not to upset the boys (and their tummys). They know we are going "en un avion" at some point and are excited, and that we are going to our "casa nueva". However, we are certain they don't really know what that means. Samuel is still showing us that he is reluctant about all of the changes that have and are taking place. Please pray that none of the children have to sit alone on the plane. Also that none of our flights would be delayed. Oh, and this may seem silly, but this is huge for me, please pray that they car ride from the airport to home won't be an issue when we strap all of them into their carseats for the first time ever.
Yesterday we hung out at Parque 93 in the morning. The boys had a great time trying to make "castillos". Not exactly sandcastles in the sand, but we will wait until we get to the beach for that. At one point, we had mama's foot and most of their legs buried. It was pretty awesome oppossum.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Ever Get That Sinking Feeling
***UPDATE: No Delta Representatives were harmed during the creation of this post.***
You know we couldn't get out of here without one more glitch, right? Well, we have the boys visas and that went smoothly. Troy goes back to the embassy tomorrow to pick up the translation of the birth certificates, sentencia and abandonment decree which is a new requirement for citizenship that we don't totally understand (except it is more pesos out of our pockets), but whatever...While Troy went to the embassy to pick up the visas and the boys were napping, I was busy packing away. However, I just couldn't seem to get rid of that nagging "we only have two days left, this is too good to be true" feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach. Turns out, my woman's intuition is right...again.
I am on the phone with Delta right now. I just found out that when Troy called to switch the tickets last weekend, the incompetent person that he spoke to put our four and six year olds on the flight all by themselves and did not change our tickets! So in Delta's eyes we have missed our Sunday flight and they are telling me that we may have to pay a change fee. [insert string of American obscenities] They are the ones who made the mistake. I am not paying them anything. If DirecTV thinks it heard an earful when they incorrectly installed our DVR twice, I feel sorry for the next pseudo-English speaking South American Delta rep that gets on the line with me. Sorry, but we cannot miss that flight on Thursday!
***REAL TIME UPDATE: The woman just came on the line to tell me that I am moments away from receiving my confirmation number. Does this mean I don't have to pay anything else? Stay tuned...***
You know we couldn't get out of here without one more glitch, right? Well, we have the boys visas and that went smoothly. Troy goes back to the embassy tomorrow to pick up the translation of the birth certificates, sentencia and abandonment decree which is a new requirement for citizenship that we don't totally understand (except it is more pesos out of our pockets), but whatever...While Troy went to the embassy to pick up the visas and the boys were napping, I was busy packing away. However, I just couldn't seem to get rid of that nagging "we only have two days left, this is too good to be true" feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach. Turns out, my woman's intuition is right...again.
I am on the phone with Delta right now. I just found out that when Troy called to switch the tickets last weekend, the incompetent person that he spoke to put our four and six year olds on the flight all by themselves and did not change our tickets! So in Delta's eyes we have missed our Sunday flight and they are telling me that we may have to pay a change fee. [insert string of American obscenities] They are the ones who made the mistake. I am not paying them anything. If DirecTV thinks it heard an earful when they incorrectly installed our DVR twice, I feel sorry for the next pseudo-English speaking South American Delta rep that gets on the line with me. Sorry, but we cannot miss that flight on Thursday!
***REAL TIME UPDATE: The woman just came on the line to tell me that I am moments away from receiving my confirmation number. Does this mean I don't have to pay anything else? Stay tuned...***
Monday, August 04, 2008
27 Days Down, 3 Days To Go
Our visit to the embassy was this morning! Aside from having to wait for a couple of hours in an overcrowded space with three small children, this step was fairly easy. Since the paperwork is my area of expertise, Troy had the challenge of entertaining the boys. We took coloring books and crayons which helped, but the twins are a little OCD and like to stack things that do not stack (like round crayons) which led to crying spells and stares from onlookers. What the onlookers don't know is that when the OCD crying spells begin, there isn't much comforting we can provide nor is there much we can do to stop the stacking. Here is your rock and your hard place: 1) let the boys continue to stack stuff that cannot be stacked and let them cry out of frustration or 2) take away the stuff that cannot be stacked and let them scream hysterically because you have taken their toys - it is a toss up really. Tomorrow, Troy will return to the embassy at 3:30 PM to pick up the visas and that is the last step in the Colombian process. Hooray! All we will have to do is wait for the the flight home!
Yesterday, after breakfast, we decided to seek out a flea market that Ines had told Troy about. On Sundays they close Avenida 15 to cars and open it solely to pedestrian traffic, so we decided to go for a walk. It was fantastic. There were walkers, runners, cyclists galore. The flea market ended up being much farther than we could hoof it, so we took to a side street and hailed a cab to take us the rest of the way. The market itself was pretty amazing. It was not your average American flea market junk. This was quality hand-made goods by artisans from towns all over the country-side. We ended up buying a few things that we knew we could pack, including a new bag for Mama that will go with my "everyday" shoes. Then it began to rain so we hailed a cab to bring us back. It felt great to be out and about and free! Plus, the boys love being in a taxi, and once we are home they won't get to do that anymore. We spent the rest of the day just hanging around Hotel Halifax.
Oh, and I must mention here that last night was bath night. It was slightly better. Daniel did cry the entire time, but neither he nor I screamed hysterically and at the end he even gave me a big kiss. Sweet boy!
In sad news, and news of the "can our trip get any weirder", we found out this afternoon that our adoption agency is closing. This will not have any bearing on getting us home and settled in the U.S., but Troy and I do have many questions as to how this effects the next steps in our process. The adoption doesn't end when we get home, we have to file reports on the boys every few months for something like the next two years. Also, this announcement effects the jobs of people that I have personally come to know and love through this process. Please pray for them, particularly our caseworker Sarah Huaman and the Colombian Program Director Raul Velez Velez, during this difficult time.
Yesterday, after breakfast, we decided to seek out a flea market that Ines had told Troy about. On Sundays they close Avenida 15 to cars and open it solely to pedestrian traffic, so we decided to go for a walk. It was fantastic. There were walkers, runners, cyclists galore. The flea market ended up being much farther than we could hoof it, so we took to a side street and hailed a cab to take us the rest of the way. The market itself was pretty amazing. It was not your average American flea market junk. This was quality hand-made goods by artisans from towns all over the country-side. We ended up buying a few things that we knew we could pack, including a new bag for Mama that will go with my "everyday" shoes. Then it began to rain so we hailed a cab to bring us back. It felt great to be out and about and free! Plus, the boys love being in a taxi, and once we are home they won't get to do that anymore. We spent the rest of the day just hanging around Hotel Halifax.
Oh, and I must mention here that last night was bath night. It was slightly better. Daniel did cry the entire time, but neither he nor I screamed hysterically and at the end he even gave me a big kiss. Sweet boy!
In sad news, and news of the "can our trip get any weirder", we found out this afternoon that our adoption agency is closing. This will not have any bearing on getting us home and settled in the U.S., but Troy and I do have many questions as to how this effects the next steps in our process. The adoption doesn't end when we get home, we have to file reports on the boys every few months for something like the next two years. Also, this announcement effects the jobs of people that I have personally come to know and love through this process. Please pray for them, particularly our caseworker Sarah Huaman and the Colombian Program Director Raul Velez Velez, during this difficult time.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Divercity (a.k.a. Disaster City)
***SPOILER ALERT: For anyone looking for a post on the bright, sunny joys of adopting and parenting and parenting adopted kids, you might want to skip this post! There won't be any sugar coating today!***
Oh and this is going to be a long one because it has been a long (and I stress long) couple of days!
So, we are in Bogotá and we are definitely feeling in between homes. We miss Charlotte of course, but we miss the comfort and friendly faces of Pereira too. Don't get me wrong, we are glad to be on the last leg of our trip, it would just be great if we could have accomplished everything in the comfort of our El Cortijo home with our familiar friends and food (yes, this one will involve my weird food issues). I spent most of yesterday crying, I think from exhaustion and hunger. The food here at Halifax is just plain different, and if you like everything just plain (like me), then you are simply out of luck. Troy has had a splitting headache today due in part to the fact that his brain is about to explode from constantly having to think in two languages. So this trip is starting to take its toll on us.
Friday
Yesterday morning (pre-crying spells) we went exploring. There is a parque just a few blocks from the hotel that is surrounded by restaurants, so we took the boys for a walk to get out some of their energy and let them play on the playground. It is such a treat to have a park so close by. We also have this at home and I now know how valuable it is going to be.
The day ended horribly though with the worst bath night in the history of bath nights. We don't have a bath tub here, so we had to shower the boys with a hand-held nozzle which they are not used to. I made Daniel go first, which was so stupid on my part because he freaks out easily, but I thought Luis would be far worse. He screamed the entire time and since I was already pretty much on edge I ended up getting really upset with him which upset him more. He wouldn't let me get the shampoo out of his hair and after much commotion, constant screaming on his part, I finally just covered his eyes and turned the nozzle on his head. Needless to say, the poor boy was completely panicked, freaked out, upset, confused, etc... He was still crying hysterically ten minutes later when I put Luis Angel in the shower who was also crying by this point. However, within two minutes Luis was splashing around having a grand old time. Samuel even asked Troy if he could take another "bath" when he was done. The whole time I felt completely horrible because I was not only mad at my child for being afraid and crying, but then I made him more afraid than he already was. To add salt to my wounds (and this is why I don't deserve to be a mom) when I sat down on the bed near Daniel after Luis' bath, he got up and gave me a big hug!
Saturday
This morning the boys woke up at the crack of dawn and we could hear them just giggling away in the other room. They clearly think that being able to wake up without Mama and Papa is a hoot. I would think so too if their ruckus didn't wake me up!
After breakfast, Jaime came to get us to take us to Divercity. What is Divercity, you ask? Well, it is this really brilliant concept where kids can go and "work" and earn "money". There are something like 60 types of jobs they can try out - including firefighter, construction worker, cashier, detective, and more. They get costumes at each station and when they have completed their task, they get paid, then they can take that money and buy prizes with what they have earned. Sounds awesome, right? I thought so when I read about it on the Boyachek's blog. Well, we got there around 11:00 AM only to find out that they were having a special party for the newspaper (who is a sponsor) and that they wouldn't be open to the public until 1:30 PM. So we decided that we would return to the hotel, get some lunch and come back.
For lunch we went to Archie's (sorry Brian and Penny, I have been dying to go to an Archie's for weeks now). The kids got to make their own pizzas which was so adorable. They got chef hats and aprons and were covered in flour. It was just too cute! The service wasn't great, but the pizza tasted divine! We made it back to the hotel just in time to meet Jaime again for the second time to go back to Divercity. Troy asked "Are you sure you want to skip naptime?" Of course, it's Divercity, it is going to be awesome!
So, we get to Divercity and the line doesn't look too bad until a man in a "construction outfit" points out that it is broken in half and wraps all the way around the little glass wall in the mall...Well, we waited for about 45 minutes just to get to the cashier. Then we were directed to another line that was about 4 times the length of the pay line (how is that possible!?) to get into the actual park. Luckily, that line moved very quickly, and Daniel only threw one fit in which he refused to move and I had to carry him kicking and screaming ("no big deal, he'll be fine once we are inside"). Once inside though, it was full on chaos! Kids running everywhere, some scary looking wolf thing nearly made the twins cry, and for the first time I started to admit maybe this isn't going to be awesome...
I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, I will say this: Divercity is really a place where you go and stand in line for hours on end...well your kids stand in line and parents aren't allowed to stand with them even if they are four, are criers, and are terrified of everything - which we didn't know until we had already paid. It is a place that is really cool in concept, but a little off in execution. There is nothing to do for the smaller kids. Samuel had a blast, but he only got to be a fireman because the line was so long we didn't have time for anything else. The twins were just too afraid to even try anything and they were exhausted from all the walking. At one point, they were laying on the astroturf in this fake park across from the fire station. I knew someone would probably step on them, but I didn't feel like fighting them on it so I just let them lay there for a while. In short, Divercity was a bit of a disaster for us.
That being said, I take every single day here as learning experience, from baths where my son is begging me to bathe his brothers first to family outings that fall way short of fun. Our children have not been exposed to a whole lot of stuff, including having to stand in line by themselves for an hour in order to be firefighters for five minutes. Every day brings mini-victories and to me that's what counts, that is what I take with me.
When we first got to the park the boys were more excited about the sand than anything else. What will they do when they get to go to the beach for the first time?
Playing with the kids has been the biggest treat. I think I like pushing Luis on the swing more than he likes swinging.
Me and Daniel looking at each other through this bubbly thing. He makes some pretty funny faces, but mostly he just needs to know you are there.
Samuel is so brave. He will try any of the equipment just to see what it does. That means one of us needs to be nearby!
In order to get Daniel out of the sand and up onto the playground equipment, we had to tell him that this tunnel was a cave. He immediately started yelling for his brothers, "Carlito, Luis Angel! Venga! Una cueva! Una cueva! Venga aqui!" I told Troy that it is all about how you market it!
The hermanos enjoying the cueva! Isn't my spanglish awesome opposum!
Yay! Comfort food! We treated the boys to ice cream and the twins didn't really eat theirs. Very weird! Maybe they have weird food issues too!
At Archie's making pizza! It is just so fun to watch the little chefs.
At Divercity, Troy was actually able to get Daniel to pose in one of those head cut-out things. How cute is he?!
Samuel makes a very handsome firefighter!
This picture pretty much sums up Divercity. Here Samuel and I are waiting in line to take "money" out of the ATM to go spend it on little prizes.
Oh and this is going to be a long one because it has been a long (and I stress long) couple of days!
So, we are in Bogotá and we are definitely feeling in between homes. We miss Charlotte of course, but we miss the comfort and friendly faces of Pereira too. Don't get me wrong, we are glad to be on the last leg of our trip, it would just be great if we could have accomplished everything in the comfort of our El Cortijo home with our familiar friends and food (yes, this one will involve my weird food issues). I spent most of yesterday crying, I think from exhaustion and hunger. The food here at Halifax is just plain different, and if you like everything just plain (like me), then you are simply out of luck. Troy has had a splitting headache today due in part to the fact that his brain is about to explode from constantly having to think in two languages. So this trip is starting to take its toll on us.
Friday
Yesterday morning (pre-crying spells) we went exploring. There is a parque just a few blocks from the hotel that is surrounded by restaurants, so we took the boys for a walk to get out some of their energy and let them play on the playground. It is such a treat to have a park so close by. We also have this at home and I now know how valuable it is going to be.
The day ended horribly though with the worst bath night in the history of bath nights. We don't have a bath tub here, so we had to shower the boys with a hand-held nozzle which they are not used to. I made Daniel go first, which was so stupid on my part because he freaks out easily, but I thought Luis would be far worse. He screamed the entire time and since I was already pretty much on edge I ended up getting really upset with him which upset him more. He wouldn't let me get the shampoo out of his hair and after much commotion, constant screaming on his part, I finally just covered his eyes and turned the nozzle on his head. Needless to say, the poor boy was completely panicked, freaked out, upset, confused, etc... He was still crying hysterically ten minutes later when I put Luis Angel in the shower who was also crying by this point. However, within two minutes Luis was splashing around having a grand old time. Samuel even asked Troy if he could take another "bath" when he was done. The whole time I felt completely horrible because I was not only mad at my child for being afraid and crying, but then I made him more afraid than he already was. To add salt to my wounds (and this is why I don't deserve to be a mom) when I sat down on the bed near Daniel after Luis' bath, he got up and gave me a big hug!
Saturday
This morning the boys woke up at the crack of dawn and we could hear them just giggling away in the other room. They clearly think that being able to wake up without Mama and Papa is a hoot. I would think so too if their ruckus didn't wake me up!
After breakfast, Jaime came to get us to take us to Divercity. What is Divercity, you ask? Well, it is this really brilliant concept where kids can go and "work" and earn "money". There are something like 60 types of jobs they can try out - including firefighter, construction worker, cashier, detective, and more. They get costumes at each station and when they have completed their task, they get paid, then they can take that money and buy prizes with what they have earned. Sounds awesome, right? I thought so when I read about it on the Boyachek's blog. Well, we got there around 11:00 AM only to find out that they were having a special party for the newspaper (who is a sponsor) and that they wouldn't be open to the public until 1:30 PM. So we decided that we would return to the hotel, get some lunch and come back.
For lunch we went to Archie's (sorry Brian and Penny, I have been dying to go to an Archie's for weeks now). The kids got to make their own pizzas which was so adorable. They got chef hats and aprons and were covered in flour. It was just too cute! The service wasn't great, but the pizza tasted divine! We made it back to the hotel just in time to meet Jaime again for the second time to go back to Divercity. Troy asked "Are you sure you want to skip naptime?" Of course, it's Divercity, it is going to be awesome!
So, we get to Divercity and the line doesn't look too bad until a man in a "construction outfit" points out that it is broken in half and wraps all the way around the little glass wall in the mall...Well, we waited for about 45 minutes just to get to the cashier. Then we were directed to another line that was about 4 times the length of the pay line (how is that possible!?) to get into the actual park. Luckily, that line moved very quickly, and Daniel only threw one fit in which he refused to move and I had to carry him kicking and screaming ("no big deal, he'll be fine once we are inside"). Once inside though, it was full on chaos! Kids running everywhere, some scary looking wolf thing nearly made the twins cry, and for the first time I started to admit maybe this isn't going to be awesome...
I could go on and on, but to make a long story short, I will say this: Divercity is really a place where you go and stand in line for hours on end...well your kids stand in line and parents aren't allowed to stand with them even if they are four, are criers, and are terrified of everything - which we didn't know until we had already paid. It is a place that is really cool in concept, but a little off in execution. There is nothing to do for the smaller kids. Samuel had a blast, but he only got to be a fireman because the line was so long we didn't have time for anything else. The twins were just too afraid to even try anything and they were exhausted from all the walking. At one point, they were laying on the astroturf in this fake park across from the fire station. I knew someone would probably step on them, but I didn't feel like fighting them on it so I just let them lay there for a while. In short, Divercity was a bit of a disaster for us.
That being said, I take every single day here as learning experience, from baths where my son is begging me to bathe his brothers first to family outings that fall way short of fun. Our children have not been exposed to a whole lot of stuff, including having to stand in line by themselves for an hour in order to be firefighters for five minutes. Every day brings mini-victories and to me that's what counts, that is what I take with me.
When we first got to the park the boys were more excited about the sand than anything else. What will they do when they get to go to the beach for the first time?
Playing with the kids has been the biggest treat. I think I like pushing Luis on the swing more than he likes swinging.
Me and Daniel looking at each other through this bubbly thing. He makes some pretty funny faces, but mostly he just needs to know you are there.
Samuel is so brave. He will try any of the equipment just to see what it does. That means one of us needs to be nearby!
In order to get Daniel out of the sand and up onto the playground equipment, we had to tell him that this tunnel was a cave. He immediately started yelling for his brothers, "Carlito, Luis Angel! Venga! Una cueva! Una cueva! Venga aqui!" I told Troy that it is all about how you market it!
The hermanos enjoying the cueva! Isn't my spanglish awesome opposum!
Yay! Comfort food! We treated the boys to ice cream and the twins didn't really eat theirs. Very weird! Maybe they have weird food issues too!
At Archie's making pizza! It is just so fun to watch the little chefs.
At Divercity, Troy was actually able to get Daniel to pose in one of those head cut-out things. How cute is he?!
Samuel makes a very handsome firefighter!
This picture pretty much sums up Divercity. Here Samuel and I are waiting in line to take "money" out of the ATM to go spend it on little prizes.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Scroll Down...
...for a very entertaining post - complete with YouTube clips - ranking the shows we have been forced to watch since our abrupt introduction to parenthood. Troy started the post before we left for Pereira, but of course kept getting interrupted every time the boys heard the clips. So he didn't get to post it until today. As an fyi, Blogger back dates to the day you start the post.
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