Trip reflection

OK. We're back. We're unpacked. I've had Taco Bell. Everything is good. It still seems a little strange. I know we were gone for a month- the mail was proof of that! Jared is with Kyle. They are having fun. Eric went back to work today and I am trying to do whatever it is I am going to do.

The trip was good. We learned a lot and I don't mean Spanish or History or Business or whatever. We learned that we can pick up the family and drive forever and live in a small 2 bedroom apartment for a month. I think what saved me was being able to have internet access in the apartment so I could stay in touch with people and with what was going on in the world.

I really enjoyed our experiences there. It was wild being there as a mom and a teacher this time instead of a college student. It was fun seeing my students live some of the experiences I did and at the same school (different campus but still).

Next time we will hire a cleaning person to do the floors and bathrooms once a week. Just too much for us to try to keep up with. We will also need to find a new place for Jared too- he is a little too old for the other place.

We enjoyed the school, that is for sure. We should be able to manage the trip much better/easier etc. next year. We'll start planning much earlier this year and we hope to stay in the apartments again as it is a couple hundred dollars cheaper- and right next to the school. Lots of things like that.

It was a really great experience and I loved watching my students grow and learn from what they learned in class and applied that with what they already knew. It was amazing to watch them sometimes!

The last day...

First of all, it rained for the first time Thursday night! About 9pm we heard a ton of racket and it was the rain on the roof of the school next door. It rained all night. It hadn't rained the whole time we were there! So that was just awesome. I couldn't really sleep. GRRR. I had packed up about everything and I justs wanted to sleep. So much for that.

We got up and the boys got ready and headed for daycare. We got ready and walked to school in the rain. It was wild. It wasn't raining super hard but since it hadn't rained at all the whole month we were there it was kind of strange. We had a really great business class. One of Rosy's friends is a literature professor and she specializes in Chicano literature. She came and talked to us about the genre and had some books for everyone to look at. One of the cool things about the class was that the kids were looking at the books and making connections to things they learned in the Mexican History class. That was great. They knew that if they hadn't had the other class then the two things that stood out to them in this one particular story would not have made sense at all. I love those moments! It was a really great session. But it was the last one and that was a bummer. We all took pictures as you can see above. I think they turned out well. That is the whole group- minus Amparo and Zulema. They left late Thursday evening to go home with their Dad.

Thursday in history I had asked if Nava could teach modern Mexico- from 94-present. I wasn't sure if he would or not but when we got to class - it was all over the board. We weren't supposed to have much of a class but he really took my request seriously and presented a fabulous lesson. We were all taking notes even though there was no test or anything. It was great to see him work extemporaneously like that and the information was awesome. The kids really enjoyed his class. Today's lesson really just put the finishing touch on the whole month of history. Again we took pictures and those are above as well.

The school had organized a going away lunch for everyone but that was to be at 1:30 and we wanted to hit the road before then so we could make the border at a decent time. We weren't sure if we were going to stay in San Antonio or if we would try to drive all the way through. We figured we would just play it by ear and see how things unfolded. So we said goodbye to the kids and that was kind of a bummer. Most of them are seniors and have graduated so I won't see them again next year. Kind of a smack in the face but hey that is reality.

Eric went to pick up the boys and I finished packing up the last few things. I brought some things down to the van and then the kids came home. We loaded everyone up, dropped off the keys and we were on our way. Really weird feeling.

The drive was fine. Jared played games and Drew fell asleep. It rained sporadically on our way through Nuevo Leon but there wasn't a lot of traffic and the rain never got super bad so it wasn't crazy nuts or anything. What was crazy is how Jared had to use the bathroom. There was nothing in sight and we didn't want to stop and wake up Drew. It is much easier to drive when Drew is asleep! Soooooo I poured a bottle of water out the window and Jared peed in that. Yeah. That was fun. But it worked and we didn't have to stop.

We hit Nuevo Laredo about 4:30. We had to stop at the border and cancel the sticker for the van. That didn't take long and then we had to get in the lovely, long line to cross the bridge. It took FOREVER! Goodness. A little over an hour... everyone was getting a little irritated. We finally got to the customs agent and we were on our way. We ate dinner at IHOP and man that was good. I swear we looked like we were eating our last meal or something.

So we thought we would stop in San Antonio or a little further south. Let's just say that wasn't happening on the 4th of July. I called hotels, we stopped at hotels and there wasn't anything vacant. Eric said that was our sign to keep driving all the way through- and that is what we did.

Austin was pretty busy- we came through there a little after 11 and fireworks must have just ended. I was driving so Eric could get a little rest and then he would finish the drive. The boys were both asleep and that was great. I knew we would get in late and I wanted them to just be able to fall asleep in their own beds when we got here. I told Eric I would let him drive at midnight- and I was looking for an easy on/off exit. Yeah well I didn't really find one and at about that same time is when the State Trooper pulled me over for going 71 in a 65. PUHLEEZE! Anyway, I just got a warning but it is only the 2nd time I have ever been pulled over in my life so it was a little unnerving. Drew woke up and said hi to the nice policeman.

Eric drove after that and we got home around 2:30. Plucked the boys out of the van and put them in bed. Everyone seemed to be able to sleep except for me. Finally about 4:30 I slept. THANK GOD! I was in my own bed!!!

A nice cool day

Well today is our last full day here. We will leave tomorrow afternoon and head back to Texas. Don't have a true itinerary yet- just know when we are leaving.

Today was another nice and overcast day. Man it waits until our last week to do this! I am feeling more human today so I was able to walk to school- took me awhile but we did it. Classes were fine- had our last test in history and then that was it. We didn't meet for the 2nd hour at all. So we went full-time in the first class- 2 hours with no break... and then the 2nd class was just the test and that was it. I think we are all pretty much fried. Our business teacher sent everyone the final so they could do it tonight. I think that was a really good idea because it was really hard for a lot of them.

I came home and took a nap. I still didn't really feel like eating anything much so I just took it easy. We picked up the boys a little early since it was a nice day and we decided to go back to Santa Lucia (riverwalk) and play on the playground. Since the sun wasn't out we felt it wouldn't scorch the skin off the kids and the playground toys wouldn't be too hot. Took a taxi and walked down to the playground. I took it easy but it was a nice walk. The kids played for a good while and it was a really nice day. There were a lot of other people there and Jared played with a couple of boys who looked to be close to his age. He went on a see-saw for the first time. Drew had a blast of course. We walked back down the riverwalk to a restaurant that is right on the water and we had dinner. Nothing crazy for me but it was good. Kids ate really well too and Eric chowed down.

Took a taxi back and then Eric and Jared went to play catch. Drew and I played here. Boys are in bed already. I guess it's time for me to go and start packing my junk up. Shouldn't take too long anyway! This time tomorrow we should be in Texas somewhere!!!

Hello! Katie was horribly ill last night and today (she wants me to be graphic, but I will spare you the details) so I am back on blogging duty! I got up with the kids about 6:30, knowing that Katie had been up and down all night. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she would not be going to class today. No problem, except that Drew had a fever and a cough as well. I was worried because this apartment is too small for two sickos, so I dosed up Drew and stuffed him full of food. By 7:30 his fever had started to drop some and he was a much happier little boy so I thought we could risk him at daycare. I want to take a moment to thank Jimmy Parker, our adopted student. Jimmy is a 26 year old college student from San Antonio whose group fell apart. He still wanted to come to Monterrey so he came down by himself and got added in to our group. Not an easy situation, but he has done a great job. Anyway, he let me use his cell phone as an emergency contact in case one of the sickos worsened, but luckily, that didn't happen. Classes were pretty good today. In business Spanish, we worked on the imperfect subjunctive and talked about using conditional phrases with the pluscamperfecto tense. Fascinating stuff, I know :) Katie was really bummed about missing today's history class. We were studying the presidencies of Portilla, Madrid and Gortari (1976-1994). Gortari, especially, was interesting. He is widely regarded as the worst president in Mexican history. And that is saying a LOT! Assasinations, selling off state companies to his friends, etc. Good stuff! One weird thing...at the end of class, the professor (who we really like) had us all go around the room and talk about what we thought of the class. I don't know if that is customary down here or if he was just looking for an evaluation, but it was a weird vibe. We have our final papers due tomorrow along with our final exam so I don't know how honest everyone was with him! Ooosh! (Sorry, that is one of the sound effects he makes all the time in class and I had to put it in for Katie :) After classes, I skipped lunch and went back to check on Katie. She looked much better (human, even). I had bought her some gatorade and an assortment of crackers so she had a little to eat and then went back to sleep. I went to pick up the kids and, to give her a little more time to rest, decided that we would visit the Mexican baseball hall of fame, which happens to be located next to the brewery that we visited last week. So we took a cab over there (I am going to miss having cheap cabs around at my beck and call. Some of them are scary, but it is so convenient! And you never have to worry about getting lost. Just wander wherever you want, then have a cab take you home!) Jared was very impressed by the staues outside the Hall of Fame, although he did want to know who those other guys (Fernando Valenzuela, Hector Espina, etc.) were with Babe Ruth, Cy Young, etc. :) He did a pretty good job when we got inside, also. Even though he didn't know any of the Mexican teams or players, we were able to talk about some crossovers (Did you know that before African Americans were allowed in MLB, lots of the stars like John Gibson played half the year in the Negro league and then the other half of the year in the Mexican league?) as well as comparing what was going on in the major leagues at the same time. Both boys liked the interactive area best, though, as you can probably tell from the videos in the smilebox. There was a batting cage, a simulated pitchers mound, and even a small scale stadium with a tee ball set up for the little ones. (Jared was hopelessly overmatched in the batting cage. He must have taken fifty swings without making contact, but had a good time, anyway :) The whole thing was very well done! We got back around 6:00 and I made dinner for the boys (Katie had a sprite and more saltines). After that Jared and I had to go out and play catch for an hour or so. Then I came back and got the kids (and Katie) showered and put to bed. As soon as I finish this I am going to work on my history essay for tomorrow and some grammar exercises for the other class. I have been doing some extra grammar work to try to catch up (most of our kids are native speakers so staying ahead in the grammar is my only advantage), but I will probably skip it tonight. Tomorrow we start packing...

Guest Blogging!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Katie is taking the day off, so I have been enlisted for blogging duty. It worked out anyway, since I took the kids on an outing today (more on that later).

This morning was a great morning, probably the coolest it has been since we arrived. I took the kids to daycare about 7:15 and it was actually "crisp." Awesome! The business Spanish class was a little disorganized today, but the history class was great. We are studying modern Mexican history and got to learn about this huge student uprising in 1968 that I had never even heard of. It is amazing how little I really know about Mexico. After class we came back to the apartment to get ready for the trip.

I have been planning to visit the Grutas de Garcia, a cave system about 25 miles outside of Monterrey. Well, with one thing after another, today was our first good opportunity. I took Jared out of daycare early and invited some of the kids to fill out the trip. Katie is not a fan of caves and it probably wasn't a great trip for Drew, anyway, so I ended up squeezing five girls in the van for the hour drive (that is right, 25 miles took about an hour. Love the roads and traffic in Mexico!).

We got there and I was pleasantly surprised. The whole rest area was new and well maintained. (In fact, they probably had the cleanest bathrooms I have seen in my three weeks down here!). Like I said, it was a cool day so we had a lot of fun playing on the playground equipment while waiting for our teleférico ride (that is a cable car to most of us) up to the top of the mountain where the cavern entrance is located. Once we got up there and were able to enter, it was just awesome. Jared was impressed by all of the stalactites, stalagmites and columns of rocks. He especially got into the game of trying to see the various shapes that have been identified in the rock formations. We spent about an hour being guided up, down, and around a series of caves before taking the teleférico back down the mountain and piling into the van. It was a great trip, but half the girls were so tired from spelunking that they fell asleep on the way back!

We got back around 6:00, collected Katie and Drew and headed out for dinner (I know that I am doing the blog for Katie today, but it wouldn't seem complete without a mention of food, right?) We tried a new restaurant and got some great service (a very nice waiter who tried to speak English while I tried to speak Spanish). He brought us all kinds of extra salsas, fresh limes, grilled onions, etc. to go along with some excellent steak tacos and quesadillas. It was one of the best places we have eaten while in Monterrey! On the walk back we stopped for at our new favorite ice cream place (of course). Drew started chanting "bite? bite?" before we even walked through the door :)

Jared and I played some catch afterwards while Drew and Katie got cleaned up. Jared's arm is getting stronger and he is doing well with pop ups as well. He is still a little afraid of the ball when I throw short hops, but given the unpredictable ground we are playing on I guess I can't blame him too much for that. All of the people walking around the park are really impressed by Jared. They frequently come over and compliment him on his "beisbol."

Cooler weather!!!

Well today was just gorgeous. It was overcast most of the day and so the temperature did not reach Scorching. Classes were good. Had a history test today and it was "interesting". Eric was really tired and didn't stay to eat. I ended up ordering tacos and bringing them back to the apartment. When I got there he told me that I was going to have a manicure and pedicure this afternoon! What a surprise!!! That is why there is a picture of my toe on this post. She cut it a little funky but hey- it was the thought that counted. It was not quite like the pedicures I have had here, but it wasn't super different either. She and I were the only people in the salon and she asked a LOT of questions. It was very interesting. She was quite young though and curious about things so hey- we passed two hours just chatting about life.

I got out about 6 and was walking home when I heard someone yelling, "MOM". So I look around and finally I look up and there are Drew, Eric and Jared standing on the roof of the apartment building looking for me. It was cute. So I go up the elevator and didn't see them- thought they had come back down to the apartment... so I came down and they weren't here either. So I went back up... I could hear Drew crying for me but I still didn't see them so I came back down again. Turns out they were in the elevator coming down and that is when I heard Drew. Crazy!! The weather was so nice we decided to go to the macroplaza and have dinner and do some shopping. We were looking for soccer jerseys and a wrestling mask for Jared. It was such a lovely evening!!

Went to a book store first. Drew decided to scream but it wasn't because he was mad- he was just having fun. I bought a book and a couple of magazines and Jared got a comic book. We had dinner at Burger King and I swear Drew had 7 chicken tenders and Jared had 8. They were bottomless pits. We found Jared's mask (see above) and he is happy as a clam about that. We went to the mall we went into the other day and they had some native people making beautiful crafts. I was fascinated with the weaving and the pottery. They were making them right there! It was amazing to watch them. I bought a few things and then we kept on walking. We were full from dinner so we didn't get any other snacks. Drew thought it was fun watching everyone. We finally left around 8:30 and everyone is in bed now. It was so nice to be able to go outside and not sweat to death!!

I was taking pictures of Jared in his mask and then Drew decided he needed to wear it so I could take pictures of him. Then he wanted me to take pictures of him in his Burger King crown. He thinks he is so very clever... Today was our last Monday!!!

Plaza Sésamo

Oh my goodness can you say HOT? The boys got up at some awful hour and Eric took them out. Drew came back for a nap and then I got up. We went to Plaza Sesamo today. It is a combination theme/water park. It was Hot. I don't think Drew or I had recovered from yesterday but I really wanted to go. It was something we had talked about before we left Irving and today was the last day available that we could really do it- so off we went.

I couldn't handle the heat so I had us go to the waterpark after a few minutes. Drew thought it was the coolest thing so we were pretty pumped. He had never been in a water park before and this was the kiddie area. Eric and I took turns going on water rides with Jared. That was a lot of fun. The last time we were at a water park was when I was pregnant with Drew and I couldn't go on any of the water rides.

So it was all good until Eric left with Jared to go on some rides. Drew just melted down. He wanted in the water but only if I would hold him. I didn't want to do that the whole time and so he pitched a fit. Then he went hysterical and I had to just sit there and wrestle with him. I was already tired and I wasn't in the water so I was hot. Finally Eric and Jared came back and we got something to eat. Poor Drew was just wiped out so he and I came back to the apartment and Jared and Eric stayed and played. Drew slept for 3 hours. I slept for a little over an hour.

The boys came back at 4:30 and we played around here for a bit and Drew had some dinner. There was no puking today thank goodness! We went to the taco stand where we first had dinner that first Sunday night. Eric was really hankering for a real hamburger. So he ordered one and an order of tacos. Jared ordered a baked potato and I had tacos with mushrooms and bacon. Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We waited until 7 because that is when they opened but also when it is a more humane hour to be outside. It was downright pleasant. After dinner we went for some ice cream and that was delicious as usual.

The boys are in bed and I am finishing up these blogs and Eric is working on homework. I wrote my essay already for history class tomorrow... I still need to study though.

Today was our last Sunday here in Monterrey!!!

Cola de caballo

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Wow. We are exhausted. I am just going to post these pictures so you can see how sleepy Drew was after the trip, Jared on his pony and of course the waterfalls themselves. Everyone else is asleep and it is only 8:52 pm. I am still up because I was finishing my grad work for this week and am talking to a friend on IM. I think I will have to edit this tomorrow morning...

OK it's Sunday morning now. I slept in until about 10 am. Jared and Drew woke up around six. Wow. Eric took them on a walk and then Drew took a nap around 9. He is still asleep.

So yesterday we got to the school around 10. My kids were all there. There was another group that was going to go so we thought we could just share the same bus. We had to drive slowly up to the waterfalls. Most of it wasn't due to the winding roads but to the super slow speed limits in some of the places we drove through. No big deal, we drove up into the mountains and it was really pretty. Drew slept a little on Eric on the drive up there. Once we got closer to the waterfalls we were on some really tight curves. Of course there were houses and little stores right on the edge of the road so it was pretty wild driving there. There is a really nice hotel up there and I wouldn't mind staying there! We walked over to the entrance and we saw we had options of how we got up the mountain. We wanted to ride horses but all of the horses had been taken by students so we were just going to ride up in a little cart. As it turns out, there was one horse left and one pony so Jared and I rode those. I rode the horse and he rode the pony- just for clarification.

The waterfalls are magnificent. No other word to describe them. Just beautiful. The water was so clear too. Nice breeze too. There was a little food stand up there and I found my Precious POFFETS! My favorite cheese popcorn that is nearly impossible to find. I have looked in every store, tienda etc. trying to find that stuff and when I saw it at that stand in the mountains, I about passed out. I seriously bought 14 bags and left two. Nice of me huh?

So we rode the little horses down the hill and then walked over to where my kids were thinking about bungee jumping. I would NEVER do that of course but my kids well, they are a little different. Claudia decided she was going to jump. Sooooo... we watched. Of course we are in the sun most of the time and since we are in the mountains we are even closer to the blasted sun than we were just in Monterrey. So yeah it's hot. She jumps and it was great and I was relieved it all went well. Then it was time to head for the bus. Well an hour and 15 minutes later we finally get everyone on the bus. I was beyond irritated because the other group just decided to dilly-dally and well, that wasn't ok. We hadn't eaten lunch and the heat was taking its toll on me and on Drew. GRR. My kids weren't perfect either and I let them know it. They KNEW better than to even say anything when they got on the bus.

On our way down the mountain Drew decided to puke up everything all over Eric. No, really ALL OVER. So we got Drew cleaned up and Eric couldn't get that clean and so he wore puke covered clothes the rest of the way. That is a real badge of fatherhood right there.

We went to a market called Los Cavazos and we ate there and shopped. Eric, Jared, Drew and I went to a different buffet place than most of the others. Man was it good. My dad would have LOVED it there and would have made food fool of himself there. It was that good though. Even Jared had a lot to eat there. Drew was "ok" but didn't really eat anything. We went shopping but it was sooooo hot it was miserable. Eric tried to find some clothes he could change into but for some reason there weren't any extra tall shirts. HMM We made it back to the bus and got cooled down and headed back to town. Drew fell asleep on me and slept most of the way back. Thankfully the bus driver dropped us off at the apartments.

After a little while the boys ate dinner and everything was good until Drew threw up again. YUCK. He had been in here sitting on me but then he got up to see Daddy. Whew! I think he was just overheated, too tired and all that good stuff. We all went to bed very early and passed out. It was a very good trip though. I highly recommend it.

Thank God it's Friday!

No pictures today. Sorry. I wanted to get one of Jared but he wouldn't let me take one of him. He lost a tooth you see, and I thought it would be cool to put a picture of him on here. But he said no and well that was that. OK. I lied. I just remembered we got pictures of Jared's field trip yesterday so I am posting them. We don't have a scanner so I took pictures of them with my iphone. Quality isn't that great- taking a picture of a picture... I propped it up on my purse on the bed. Yahoo! I think the pictures are really cute and the big one with him and the little bunny is absolutely precious. That daycare has been so amazing. I am so glad we found a good place like that for them. We got really lucky with that.

Boys got up bright and early- gotta love that- and Eric got them ready and on to daycare. I was still drained from yesterday's heat so I stayed in bed a while longer. Besides, I didn't need to go to class- they were taking a test and I don't do those!

I did a lot of homework after school. Seemed to not realize that Sunday is the day my first assignment is due for this new class I am in and I hadn't done anything for it yet. Oops. So I did a lot of it this afternoon. I just have to do the discussion board and that will be it for this week. Whew! Eric washed the clothes and then we folded them and put them away. Probably the last time we will do that here - we can take home our dirty stuff and wash it there!

We have to get our essays written, questions answered and study for our history test Monday. There was so much stuff going on this week in that class. It really makes you think. My kids ask really good questions though and I am very impressed. The professor is so good with them and they are really rising to his challenge in that class. I think it is really making them feel very confident in themselves.

We went to eat at a new taco place (no, I am not tired of them yet!) and it was quite tasty. After that we went to the grocery store to get a few things for our last week. I can't believe it's almost over- these last 3 weeks have flown by. We got ice cream at the store- they have a little kiosk. Man it was good. Just simple vanilla in a cup but wow. Jared had it all over but he enjoyed his cone. Drew enjoyed sharing mine. He was asking for bites before we even had ours ordered! Little pig.

We are trying to find a camera battery so I can take pictures tomorrow. We leave at 10am for the Cola de Caballo waterfalls. From what mom said, Grandpa and Norma have been there too so I think that is pretty darn cool. We will be gone until about 5 and that is why I wanted to get homework done for the Lamar class... I HAVE to turn in that stuff- the stuff here is optional for me. Anyway. I plan on taking a lot of pictures.

So that is pretty much our day in a nutshell. It was a nice relaxing evening. Since yesterday was nuts and tomorrow and Sunday could be quite busy it was good to chill tonight.

Beeeeeeeeeeeer

Well it's Thursday. It was hot and I sweated most of the afternoon which is not something I particularly enjoy. To start it off we got to our first class late because we started at 8:30 and not 9am like normal. I didn't know we were going to do that and Eric didn't understand that was the plan so we walked in late. No biggie but it was kind of weird. :) Classes went well though. History is flying by. The business class is very interesting and I have already figured out how I could teach that class at school if we were given the opportunity.

Eric and I ate lunch at Doñá Tota and it was quite yummy. We came back and rested for about 20 minutes and then it was time to go on our tour. Eric had talked to Giannina this morning and he got it arranged where the bus would come pick us up at our apartments instead of us walking over to where we usually catch it. That was great. We were supposed to leave at 2:30 but we didn't leave until after 3.... GRRR We left the kids at daycare because this was not a place for them to be. We had a dress code to follow too so we were all in pants and closed toed shoes. Man it wasn't hot or anything!! Anyway, the bus we were on was not air conditioned and there was not a lot of air on the bus. Outside was fine in the shade but our bus felt like an oven and of course we hit every red light and got a little lost.

We went on this field trip because this cerveceria is kind of what brought Monterrey into the place it is today. The relatives of the founders have invested their money into the city since 1890 and they have taken very good care of their employees. One of the family members is who founded the Tec de Monterrey. This factory makes and distributes Tecate, Dos Equis, Bohemia, Sol etc. We had a very informative presentation on how the beer is made, what goes into it etc. I feel like I learned a lot. We were not able to go on the coolest part of the tour because they were using the room we would have been in for some kind of fancy reception. sheesh... but what we saw was cool.

The Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame is adjacent to the cerveceria and we went in there as well. I think it is cool and I think Jared would like it. There are some interactive exhibits he could do and plus it just is pretty nifty.

Out in the garden area is where you could sample their beer for free if you were not a minor. I thought I would try some out even though I really don't like beer. I had a couple of drinks but not all of it. First and only time my students will see me drink. Erica and Zulema had the fruit juice they gave to the kids.

We left about 5:15 so we could pick up the boys. The ride back was just as hot and sweaty... We picked them up and then walked to eat some tacos. The place wasn't open yet so we went to Subway. I was so hot and so tired... I was able to recuperate at the Subway because the a/c was sooooo awesome. We went and tried out a new ice cream place too and boy was that tasty. Jared got it ALL over him and Drew did a good job of that as well. Jared had chocolate with marshmallows in it. I had cajeta and Eric had the same flavor as Jared. Drew had some of mine and Eric's and he is an ice cream freak.

Jared went on his field trip today and had a really good time. It sounds like they were able to get him to chill out about some of the animals he is kind of freaked out about. Bottom line was he had a good time even though he is much older than the rest of the kids. He is a good boy. :)

Boys are all clean and in bed. I am going to try and sleep tonight as well. I am tired of not sleeping!!!

BTW, in yesterday's post I forgot to explain Drew's shirt. It's my shirt but Drew insisted on wearing it. He would take it off and then try to put it back on again. He is a mess! Well that is all for today... Tomorrow is Friday! Our last weekend here in Monterrey. Wow!

La Pastora- the zoo in Monterrey

This week is just flying by. Eric got up early to work on some school stuff so I got the boys ready and headed out. They both slept till almost 8 and were in very good moods. On the way to the daycare Drew needed to stop and wave to everyone he saw. Yeah. "How cute". Classes were good and everyone seemed to have alot of energy in the history class. Our prof has a ton of energy and is very passionate about his work. My kids really like both teachers a ton. It is fun to hear them talk about them. Such good kids and they are working really hard.

We thought we were going to visit a software company but that has been moved to tomorrow- we think. Now we were left with the whole afternoon with nothing planned so we had to come up with something quick. We really didn't want to have hours with nothing planned and the kids just bounce off the walls here in the apartment. The pictures I am posting show our "living" room. It isn't bad and the mirrors make it seem bigger. The colors of the furniture however, are bad. But hey, it works! Drew loves to climb on the table thing in the corner that Jared is lying on. Drew likes to climb on the top part and lie down and look in the mirror and "talk" to the baby.

Anyway! For some reason I thought we should go to the zoo so we looked it up and it is not far from here at all. It was 4pm so we picked up the boys and headed over to the zoo since it closed at 6. It wasn't as hot as it has been but boy it was still hot. It was a fun place though and they had a lot of nice exhibits. They are in the middle of renovating it so we didn't see some things because there were no animals in those exhibits. DUH. They did have some cool hawks and owls. They actually had some great cats and some elephants and lions. Since the Dallas Zoo doesn't have lions or elephants anymore it was nice to see these. We sure did sweat a lot though. :)

It was a fun outing and we came home and cooled down. Then we went to Pollo Loco again for dinner. We did NOT eat outside this time though! Jared ate two pieces of chicken and I was so proud of him. Thankfully it is just down the block so it is a good cheap, close dinner we can have once a week. Jared is glad that we have those in Texas. Now I just have to find the closest one!

Eric is telling me right now about their presentation that they are working on tomorrow. He just told me that we are NOT going to the software company tomorrow but to the cerveceria. That would be beer manufacturing plant. It's very famous and it was founded by the great-grandfather of the guy who started the Tec in 1943... So because of that beer we have the school. :) That will be fun though. We might bring the kids to that but I don't know...

Good times

Today was fun! School was good- some kids are fighting stomach stuff and colds and weren't in school today but it isn't anything major. The weather was pretty decent and it wasn't super duper humid. Eric didn't sleep much last night so he was pretty tired today. The class had to do some presentations on stereotypes and I thought they were pretty good. I ended up not going to history class because I stayed and chatted with Rosy- our business teacher. Eric laughs at me because she and I just go on and on and on. We always have so much to say!

We had lunch at school and we tried their little taco place and boy were those good. YUUUUM. Came back and napped and then we went to the Mexican History Museum here in Monterrey. We picked up the boys and went in a taxi and Claudia, Janet and Erica went too- but in another taxi. Tuesdays are free admission so we took advantage of that. Boy was that a great museum. We saw a lot of cool things and the stuff that we have been learning about in history. It was very well done and it was pretty.

After the museum we went to the macroplaza. It is a really cool place with lots of shops, restaurants and a mall. It isn't anything fancy- but it is a place where lots of folks go to hang out. We had dinner there and then walked around a bit. Eric had watermelon juice and I had a great limeade. It was really fun and I enjoyed the atmosphere. It was "real life" in Monterrey. Jared loved hanging with the girls of course. :) As you can see in the pictures and video he might as well have been with them the whole time!

Everybody was kung fu fighting...

Today was quite low-key. I did not go to class and slept until 11:08. I just haven't slept well the past few nights and it finally caught up to me. I slept really hard for about 3 hours this morning and then was much better. Eric went to school though and he brought the boys to daycare.

This afternoon we picked up the kids and I asked about the field trip. Apparently it's not until this Friday. oops, minor detail! So he has something to look forward to this weekend as well. Eric really wanted to take Jared to see "Kung Fu Panda" in Spanish. He saw it with Kyle the day before we left for Monterrey. We had Claudia watch Drew and of course he didn't mind a bit that we left him for a couple of hours. We walked to the movies and had a good time. Their concessions are sooo much cheaper here- and good too! We had our choice of flavored popcorn and we had caramel. We had a large popcorn and 2 large drinks and candy for $9. Coolio. The movie was really cute and Jared was sooooo excited that we were going to see it. After dinner we picked up some KFC since we still don't have any food. We brought it back here and picked up Drew. I don't think he knew we were even gone. We ate and then watched some baseball on tv. Jared and Eric went to play catch and Drew and I went on the roof to look for buses. Of course! We went to the other side of the roof and he was "playing" with some of his new friends he met this weekend. Some kids from Texas State were there and he loved flirting with them as he opened and closed the door to the laundry room. The boys are in bed and quiet and that is much better than the past few days!

This is a much shorter post than the first one I wrote today! I hope you guys could see all the pictures in the Smilebox thingie I made!

A blog in Three Parts (weekend in Zacatecas)

Friday, June 20-- Part 1

Friday morning was really humid. Eric went to school early so he could work on his group's project. I got the boys ready and dropped them off and then went to school. I walked slowly so I wouldn't sweat so much. The presentations were really good that the kids did. The teacher was very surprised at how good they were. Of course our kids have been working with computers and doing presentations for many years so they were used to speaking in front of people without too much issue. Apparently the teacher doesn't see that from her other students! I was very pleased with them! We came back and got things packed and rested before we had to pick up the boys.

Well we left Monterrey at 3pm. Jared was supposed to be on a field trip so we waited until then to leave. For some reason he didn't go and I need to check with them today (Monday) to see what happened. We had the van all packed up and ready to go when we picked up the boys so we just headed out of town. Of course it was HOT. There was a bit of traffic but we were able to move pretty well.

We got to an area outside of Monterrey and I had flashbacks to the Grapevine in California. Wow. Trucks grunting in the right lane on the way up and then on the way down- look out! Lots of emergency lanes with gravel in them - but we didn't see anyone who needed to use them! Nice curvy roads too. We left the state of Nuevo Leon and entered Coahuila. Saltillo is one of the main cities there and I had heard a lot about it. I hadn't heard about the traffic and construction on a Friday night though. Goodness! So we finally start to get through it and it looks like we are going to finally get out of the construction and IT HAPPENS. The policia are radaring people and pulling them over right and left. Of course we get pulled over. ARGH. The nice Mr. Policeman comes over and tells us that he is going to take Eric's license and that we will have to go to the police headquarters and pay $120 to get it back etc. Standard procedure. By now it's like 6pm and I am a tad irritated because we have taken so long to get through Saltillo with traffic and construction and we just don't have time to deal with this. Plus it was a racket in the first place- Eric barely accelerated and was going like 20 miles an hour. GRR... So I asked if there was someone there that we could just pay the fine to and we could be on our way. I told him that we were teachers and that we were on our way to Zacatecas ahead of the students- all true. Plus he saw the chilluns in the back seat and I told him we needed to get there because of the kids etc. So he 'suggested' that if we wanted to we could just pay $60 and be on our way. It took a few minutes for me to totally understand what he was saying and he was getting a little frustrated with my lack of understanding. I knew what he was saying, but I wanted to clarify and make sure that we weren't going to get in more trouble etc. So we paid him off (corruption!) and were on our way again.

Psych! By then the "check engine" light had come on so we had to stop at a gas station so Eric could check the oil. Of course the gas station didn't have oil there so we had to find another place. The oil was a little low so he filled it and it was fine. Jared and I took the opportunity to use the restroom in a little store. We had to fill the toilet up with water before we could use it... By now we were really enjoying our "trip" to Zacatecas. Everything was ok and we really were on our way by now. We had lost so much time though that we didn't stop for dinner. Plus after we got out of Saltillo there wasn't much of ANYTHING so we couldn't really stop. We fed the kids a bunch of junk food for dinner. It was awesome. :)

Now you can see why this is in 3 parts. Friday took FOREVER and we aren't done yet! Most of our trip after Saltillo was done on cute little 2 lane roads that wound around everything. Trucks and buses were coming the other way of course. They didn't always stay in their lane either. Let's see... After Coahuila we entered the state of Zacatecas but the city was about 4 hours away. We went through military checkpoints but never got pulled over. For some reason we were a tad skittish after the whole Saltillo incident. We kept seeing these trees that we referred to as "Dr. Seuss" trees because they were so goofy looking! We went through a couple of really nice dust storms. The 2nd one was in Zacatecas and that was a "real" one. Thankfully it wasn't too dark and it didn't last too long. Lots of the little pueblos had speedbumps that you practically had to stop before going over them.

Of course the drama wasn't over yet. Drew dumped food out all over the back- not once but twice. So that was fun. We had to pull over once to fix things and then one time we almost drove off the road. Boy that was fun! :) Things finally chilled out and I was just looking out the window. It was raining periodically but especially to the right... where I was looking. That is when I saw the tornado. Luckily it was just a "small" one- the white and grey version- and not some huge F5 black spinning horribleness. It still freaked me out and I tried to take a picture but it didn't come out. The area we were driving through was largely desert and uninhabited... but still! I think I was so jaded after our other hijinks that day that it really didn't faze me. Of course I was wishing I could use my iphone and look at the radar... or call mom and tell her!!!

About 10:30 pm we pull into the hotel. We got our room without incident- same place everyone was going to stay at Saturday- and we tried to go to sleep. Yeah that didn't really happen very quickly! But hey- we were in Zacatecas and we were in one piece!

Saturday, June 21 -- Part 2

Well we didn't sleep all that great. Zacatecas is much, much cooler than Monterrey but our room was warm and there was no AC so we slept with the door open to the patio. That was great but when the boys woke up (waaay too early) Drew figured out the door thing. Yes, there were bars on the patio, but there was one missing that allowed Mr. Drew enough room to climb out of the patio onto the roof thing next to us. So it wasn't like he could get into anything really- except maybe into other people's rooms! He thought it was cool to do that until Daddy spanked him. oops

We got ready and headed downstairs for breakfast. We didn't have to meet the group until 10:30 and we had plenty of time. Eric got the buffet, I had ham and eggs, Jared had waffles and Drew had pancakes. Everything was really tasty and I was FULL!! We went upstairs and tried to get Drew to take a nap but of course that was not happening.

Met everyone downstairs and we were all chomping at the bit to get going on our tour! The kids did fine on their bus ride down and some had slept more than others. They loved how wonderful the weather was though! Such a break from Dallas and Monterrey. We eventually got around to getting on the bus and then we headed out to the tour.

First stop was the Serro de La Bufa. It was a great place that had views of the city. You can see where the city was founded and where the river used to flow. Could also see how the mines had taken all of the trees from the area and they are re-planting so hopefully in about 20-30 years it will be all green again. We took the bus up to the top and then took the tram (teleferico) down to the bottom. I love heights and am not claustrophobic at all. WHATEVER! We saw 3 statues of 3 revolucionarios (including Villa) and we learned what it meant when the horses were positioned a certain way in a sculpture. If the horse had one foot up then the rider died from natural causes. If the horse is rearing back then the rider died a violent death (Villa). The 3rd guy had his horse in a very serene, standing position and that guy was executed. So that was interesting to learn- plus the sculptures were great. We went to the cathedral up there and it was built in the 1700's. There is a patron saint to the miners there and so it was used a lot back when that was a busy mining area. The floor is original from that time. It was gorgeous.

We waited in line for over an hour to take the tram down and I was so "excited" about it I couldn't wait. It wasn't too bad though. We walked down some super steep hills and there weren't many ramps for Eric to take Drew down in the stroller so he did a lot of stairs. Thanks to Jimmy and David and some of the guys from the Texas State group who helped carry Drew down. I could only do so much. Zacatecas is the 2nd highest city in Mexico. :)

We saw some temples and wound around some narrow streets. Saw the theater that was built in 1833. Way cool.

So then we got lost. Rather, the last part of the group got left behind. I was in that part. Jared was in the first group. Long story short, we had no idea where the first part of the group went and I was NOT a happy camper to say the least. It all turned out fine- eventually but I took a while to calm down. Jared was never in any danger or trouble but that was not the point. Don't separate me from my kid!!! We ended up having lunch and then we went back out to do some more sightseeing. We had a good time and had some ice cream and then we headed back to the hotel.

We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant and boy that was good. Jared had spaghetti, I had awesome chicken flautas, Eric had steak and Drew just made a mess. Yeah. He had a "good" time though. We didn't go eat until 7:30 so by the time we finished it was time for bed for everyone but Eric. He was going to accompany our kids to a discotheque so they would be ok. He also wanted to go because it was in an old silver mine. I didn't want to go- plus I was too tired. So we all got ready for bed and he left around 9pm to chaperone. Drew and Jared were sharing the same bed and boy was that a mess! Drew thought it was the coolest thing and just kept body slamming into Jared. I think it took about an hour for them to fall asleep. I couldn't sleep for whatever reason. Eric got home around 2 and told me all about the club- and that the kids behaved and all was well. I knew they would behave- I didn't know how everyone would treat my kids though and I didn't want them to get in over their heads. I couldn't get back to sleep and of course I hadn't slept much the night before so that made me real happy. Of course I was asleep when Drew fell out of bed and had to try to get back to sleep after that. GRR. Drew never moves in his bed at home. But because he was messing around then he fell asleep in whatever postion, wherever etc. !!!

Sunday, June 22, -- Part 3 We are almost done!

Well I hadn't slept much and I know Eric didn't either. Boys thought they should wake up nice and early (yay) and we got ready. Drew was filthy so had a good shower and he was rarin' to go. Jared got ready very well too and we packed up our stuff so we could just leave after breakfast.

We went downstairs and had breakfast and it was delicious. I had the buffet and had chilaquiles mixed with ham and eggs. Put it all into a corn tortilla of course! Jared and Drew split pancakes and we shared melon from the buffet with them.

The group met up at 10am and eventually we got on the bus for Tour Part II. Drew was antsy to get back on the bus and we had to make him wait. The poor baby. Well the itinerary changed 3 times or so and we just ended up going with the group to the museum. It was a museum of masks and was quite cool- but we didn't go in. By then it was 11:30 and I wanted to do a little shopping before we left. I knew we wanted to leave by 1at the latest so we could get home in decent time. The museum was gorgeous and I took pictures of the outside of it- an old Franciscan monastery I believe... Just beautiful. We walked for awhile down the streets of residential Zacatecas. They look just like the pictures- everything is like that there. It was cool though because people were getting up and opening businesses, getting out of church etc. We did a little shopping and then took a taxi back to the hotel so we could pick up the van and head out of town.

Well unfortunately our drive back to Monterrey was uneventful. Everything that we hoped for on Friday happened Sunday. Drew slept for a couple of hours, I slept, no traffic, not much construction... No police giving us tickets! It still took a while to get back but not like anything Friday! Sheesh. We got home around 6pm and got laundry done. Boys went to get ice cream and I unpacked and put things away. We were all so tired from the weekend. It was nice to be back here though so we could get back into a routine for the week. Boys got bathed and went to bed. Drew thinks bedtime is a game now so he didn't go to bed really well. He was playing around and fell out of bed again and bonked his head. Hmm maybe he will stop playing around? Doubt it. :)

So that is our weekend in a huge gigantic nutshell. Nothing like a little adventure every now and then!!

HOT

OK. Today was just plain hot. It got up to 107 that I saw. That is not including the heat index. That made it 109. Whoopdeedoo. This morning was not too bad but wow this afternoon that sun just made you HOT.
We had to go in early today because our teacher had an obligation last week and we missed an hour of the first class. So we are making it up a half our at a time. On the way to class today Eric saw the buck. He was just chilling in the grass and he looked great. I had to take the picture with my iphone so I couldn't zoom in really well. We also saw the fawn and its mom but I didn't take a picture of them. So cool. One of my kids lost their pre-paid lunch card so I took care of that during the first class. Got a new one for her and it will be active tomorrow. History class is covering soooo much this week it is a tad overwhelming when you break it down. I really enjoy the classes we are taking.

We picked the boys up from daycare and we came back to our apartment and a lot of the kids came by. Eric is working with 3 of them in a group and David came by to pick up his money. Drew loooooves Diana and wanted to leave with her but I wanted to go out to eat! So everyone left and we went to El Pollo Loco which is like a block from here. We have them in Dallas but I haven't been there before. Well we chowed down and it was relatively cheap for us to all eat there. $14 for chicken, tortillas, 2 drinks and fries. As you can see from the picture, Jared really enjoyed it. He gets corn tortillas at lunch at daycare so he knew to put his food in there. He had fun putting chips, chicken, fries all together in his tortilla. We ate outside... yes it was warm, but it was covered and there was a nice breeze. The bonus was we were right on the road so Drew could see his buses go by.

We walked to the Oxxo and Eric got an ice cream and Jared got a Twix. I got some weird breath mint that I thought was candy and just bit through it. It's cool but weird. Drew didn't get anything even though he did try to pull off everything from the shelves.

Boys are in bed now. Eric and Jared went to play catch again. That is a nice routine that they have. We watched some Mexican baseball game on tv too. Eric is going to go and study with his group and work on tomorrow's presentation.

Tomorrow after class we will get everyone packed up. Jared has his field trip and I am sure we will leave early afternoon. We don't know where we are going but hey- we got here just fine!!

MARCO

Today was kind of a weird day. It was a good day but the organization was a little different. We went to class and then I started making a to-do list. I knew we had to leave by 2:30 to pick up the boys and then get to school by 3 so we could go on the art museum field trip. Well we get out of class at 1, have to eat, and then it's almost 2... I had to do some school stuff (Academy) that I knew would be time consuming and I also had to do some school stuff for here- little things but still things that took time. I decided to go back to the apartment and I worked here until it was time to go pick up the boys. I got a lot done- talked to our contact about Zacatecas, tried to pay for the apartments here but didn't get that done until after our field trip, and of course- finished the Spanish placement test grading. That wasn't so bad but I hadn't really had a chance to do it since the tests were taken about a month ago. Something about the end of school and preparing for this trip just kind of wiped me out. :)

So we picked up the boys and headed to school. We got there at three and that is when we were supposed to leave. All of my kids were there except for four. They went to exchange currency. We waited a few minutes and then we started to pull out. Of course that is when they came back. I think they were in Starbuck's but hey... So the bus goes into reverse and then I run across the street and let them know we were leaving etc. and I was a little tweaked. Oh well. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MARCO) downtown and it was nice. We got to see the exhibits and the kids enjoyed them. They had 2 exhibits and the first was a little creepy but cool. http://www.lorettalux.de/ Here is her website. She is from Germany. The technique she uses is really cool. The pictures are interesting though! The other artist was Tomas Sanchez http://www.remediosvaro.biz/tomas_sanchez.html. I really, really liked his stuff. The details are amazing and the pictures are just beautiful. Check out the water- how in the world does he do this? Everyone enjoyed this artist thoroughly. In the pictures you see a lot of my kids. David gave Jared a piggy back ride and he really enjoyed that. Drew has his favorite kids too but his #1 fave is the bus itself. He HAS to sit in the front seat and from there we look for other buses. I enjoyed the picture of Drew sitting on Eric's lap.

We got dropped off at our apartment this time! That was wonderful since it was over 100 today and don't even start with the humidity! Oooosh! Eric and I brought our 2 goofballs to McDonald's. We hadn't been and it was right down the street. It was quite good. Drew enjoyed his nuggets and his fries and of course Jared did too. Then we all had ice cream. As you can see from the pictures Drew is working hard to get his out and Jared is trying to get all of his out before eating the cone.

After dinner Jared called Kyle and then Eric brought the boys to the park. Some of my girls walked by and they all came back together. Today Drew is particularly fond of Diana. They came to the room and hung out for awhile. They left and kids got ready for bed.

Tomorrow will be a busy day because we have to get all of our homework done before we leave for Zacatecas on Friday. I think it will work out for us to leave early- still checking on the whole hotel room thing. We are doing laundry tonight since we won't have time to do that this weekend. Next weekend we are going to the Horse Tail waterfall and that will be really awesome- it is just a day trip though. We would really like to bring the kids to Plaza Sesamo before we leave.

I guess this is long enough huh!!