Safely Home

My sweet Grandma is now with Jesus. As Caden said, "is this good news or bad news?" I told him its GREAT news for her. I would love to be able to see her recieving line...I know its a long one! See Lynne's blog (link on sidebar) for a sweet picture and post.

Dear Island Trip

Here we are on an excusion to a nearby island for snorkeling, kayaking, banana boat rides, and lunch.
We went way past the island destination for a look at sea lion rock. The Captain turned off the motor so we could get good pictures and hear them barking!
Then when he tried to start it again, there was trouble. You can see the billowing smoke. :)
So we put-putted to the island, taking us quite a long time! But here we are...

So peaceful.
Then at the end of the day, the crew came in about 4 little fishing boats to take us back as our original boat had been towed home! :)

On our own in Mazatlan

So easy on the eyes... This guy reminded us of China! I think I could've gotten him in my carry-on. This was a large market downtown much like our Q-mart at home - well, in some ways. You don't have to pay to use the bathroom in Pennsylvania. Otherwise I might be broke.

There were some beautiful buildings in downtown Mazatlan. Neo-classic architecture, according to our city-tour guide. Also behind me, is a mode of transportation exclusive to Mazatlan, called a Pulmonia, which is Pnuemonia in Spanish. When these things were first starting to be used, the taxi drivers told people not to use them, or they'd get pnuemonia. Apparently no one cared, because these are everywhere!

The opera house...we could hear a voice lesson going on inside.

Daytime picture of the cathedral - so beautiful.

This is the only catholic cathedral that has the star of David on it...in each of the 28 or so stained glass windows is a star of David....a thank you to the many Jewish contributors to the building project.

Sweet girl we were playing with on the bus...we'd bought a hand-made doll from she and her mom the day before. See her sweatshirt - all around the world, girls love princesses!

Dinner and a show

This is the next installment in Alyssa's meals from her new cookbook!

While Caden was eating his burger, I asked him to tell Shann about the gym class he'd had that afternoon. He had just eaten a green olive, which he doesn't love...so choking it down, he said "Mom, could you tell him? I've got a situation here...".

And afterward, the kids put on a show with several songs...the one we actually recorded is a bit repetitive. Sorry.

Some common sights...

Random mexicanos

Welcome to the random reel! Yesterday we went on a city tour, so here we are on the trolley, and our new buddies Dave and Barbara behind us. Windy cabana scene this morning

Senor Frog and hoodlum shann

Mexican Lombard street.. the view from our veranda restaurant.

Back to city tour...the Devils Gate. Mexicans stored guns and gunpowder in this cave during a french invasion...and the smell of sulfur from the gunpowder...thus the name.

The cliff diver. A stop on the city tour for this brave soul. He has become a famous Mazatlan icon.

City view.

Interior of cathedral

Exterior, of course...

View from my seat this morning. The yellow rope keeps vendors out unless you beckon them. I did buy a ring this morning. :)

This afternoon's ATV ride. Shann learned how to drive this through the crazy streets of Mazatlan! Nothing like trial by fire! I tried it out too, once we were out in the country. Got to drive down the beach for awhile too. Very, very fun. And now we'll be bringing home dirt and sand as souvenirs caked in our clothes!

Mexico...phew, we're here!

I'm happy to report that Shann and I are finally here. Our trip was fraught with several trials, including a missed plane, me fainting in the check-in line, an ambulence called, sitting for hours waiting for the next plane to a different layover city than planned, arriving in Pheonix to be greeted by my Uncle Roy, thank the Lord, only to not recieve our luggage. After a great evening with Roy, back to the airport the next morning, to learn that my suitcase has gone to Bermuda while we slept. Easy trip to Mazatlan and to resort. Happily, I did have a swimming suit, a pair of shorts, and a toothbrush in my carry-on. I never realized how high maintenance I am! But I need a comb. I need eye-makeup. I really enjoy clean underwear. And its nice to change clothes sometimes. So when my suitcase arrived yesterday afternoon after I hadn't seen it in 2 and a half days, I nearly cried. Here are some pics of our first day. view from our room.

the tissues are fancy here!

We both lost the Monday bingo game...maybe tomorrow.

And to add some structure, we plotted out when we'll get the most benefit from our free-gifts-from-time-share-schpeels, including an all-inclusive meal plan, and some excursions. :)

More soon!

Monday night. 19:00 hours: Robotic Bird Experiment

The other day, we found this cool kit to make a robotic bird, so Caden couldn't wait to put it together with Daddy. You have to build all the parts,
and connect all the wires to make it work!

Success! He was a little disappointed that it didn't come off the stand and fly around!

You can see how it works:

My birthday gift

Today Alyssa Jane asked Jesus to come live in her heart.

She often declares how much she loves him, she sings to God songs she has made up, and delights in saying how Satan will lose in the end. Today in the car we were talking about how much we love Jesus, so after we dropped Caden at gym class, she and I came home, and I decided to talk to her about it.
She told me she believes that Jesus died for her sins, and rose again. So she asked Him to forgive her and come live in her heart.
I told her that he is preparing a special place just for her in heaven, and that after she prayed today that the angels were dancing and singing, and there was a big party in heaven.

While I expect that she'll probably recommit herself when she is a bit older, its amazing how easy it is. A 4 year-old girl asks Jesus to come.
And he does.

Pounding

Lately, Shann has had to work long hours, and has been coming home late or after kids are in bed, and going in on the weekends. This has left Caden feeling punchy and rammy. He starts pestering Alyssa, tries to pick fights with me, and bounces off the walls (and the snow isn't helpling!)
The other night, Shann got home a bit late, and as soon as he came in the door, Caden pounced on him. He pushed and pulled, trying to lure Shann into a wrestling match. Shann told him they could wrestle after he'd eaten and changed.
So Caden jumped up and down, singing to the tune of 'nana nana boo boo', "I get a pounding, I get a pounding!"
I don't understand why being tossed around is so close to the heart of little boys, but they don't connect by telling each other about their day, thats for sure.