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."

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!!!

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!