four.

It was four years ago today that this little person came into my life. He is a miniature version of my husband. He is mellow. Sensitive. Kind. He has been challenging me more often these days, and I'm trying very hard to remember that he won't always be this small so I need to embrace every moment.
Some things about Noah:
-He loves chocolate.
-He loves gum.
-He loves to "fight" with dad. Lots of punching, kicking, etc.
-He loves to play with the itouch.
-His favorite superhero is Spiderman.
-If he could have chicken nuggets for every meal, everyday, he would.
-If he could have anything in the world right now, it would be a blue quad.
-He's a sneaker. When it's too quiet, it's because he is doing something mischievous.
-He loves to give me kisses and I will be sad when the day comes that it won't be cool give mom a kiss.

So since Grandma was in town we celebrated his birthday a little early and had a party at one of Noah's favorite places...Peter Piper Pizza. It was perfect for him.

Happy Birthday Noah.

visitor.

I feel fortunate that I have a wonderful mother in law. Mostly, I can't believe she took a week off to spend a week here with us in Mexico. She must have been so exhausted by the time she left. And we were sad to see her go. Very sad. I forgot what an enormous help she can be and she let me take advantage! Her being here was a tremendous help as I was able to get a lot more done. She helped fold my laundry, she watched the kids so J and I could go to the gym in the mornings, she carried Lola for a huge portion of the day (Lola still hates Mexico I think) and she was happy to do it all. We also had the opportunity to take her to a lot of fun places, some of which probably frightened her but hopefully provided a glimpse of what it's like here.

 

This is the temple in Guadalajara. It's a small temple, but very beautiful. My friend told me this story that I loved. A man worked across the street of where the temple was going to be built. He was able to watch the process from start to finish and this experience gave him the desire to become a member of the church of LDS. His wife later became the primary president in my friend's ward here. Pretty amazing.

We took Bonnie to a town called Tonala. This town has everything! They sell furniture, home decor, jewelry, food, etc. My friend bought beautiful 8X10 frames here but 50 pesos each! That's less than $5.00. I mean she had to drive down a creepy alley to get them, but seriously...that's cheap. You can take a picture of a piece of furniture you like and you can find someone here to make it for you. So we walked by this store and could not believe the toilets. So Mexican. Big smiles when we saw these!

I have never seen glass blowing. This picture is obviously not good, but it was fascinating to watch. 

Sorry for the blurry pic, but this was the best I could do. It was heartbreaking to see the kids say goodbye. I kept daydreaming of her flying into Sky Harbor. I was sad to see her go, but I was also sad she wasn't taking me with her.

We did so much more and didn't take pictures unfortunately. But we loved having here with us and look forward to June when we'll be able to spend time with her again. 

Good: I am meeting more people and enjoying making new friendships here. It allows the time to pass quickly. Ava was invited to a birthday party and didn't want to go without me, and I wasn't going to let her go alone. I didn't want to go spend an afternoon with a bunch of people I didn't know and I knew it would be difficult to communicate with, but knew I just had to go. I ended up spending 3 hours at this party and really enjoyed the people I met. And although it's frustrating trying to communicate it's a challenge I'm slowly learning to accept and find rewarding in the end.

Bad: There few people here I consider to be favorites. But I do have some. One of them is my good friend, Stacie. And her husband is allowed the opportunity to do his 4th yr rotations in Utah. Which means she will be leaving in June. Although this is GREAT news for her, and this is something I am desperately hoping will happen for us, I am enormously sad she will be leaving. She has shown me so many things while being here. My experience thus far would never have been this amazing without her. I suppose I should consider the fact that I have been blessed to have had her here to "show me the ropes." And I of course I am. Which makes it very sad that she's going to be leaving. But it will be another semester, I look forward to new students who will make their way down here.

XO

survival.

Without these things, I would not be able to survive here in Mexico...

 

Thank goodness for modern technology. This school has been around for years. I don't know how people did it. I suppose you just adapt with the situation you're in. I am grateful to have these things; they bring me comfort. They make me happy.

Bad: For the first time this week, Ava said she missed Arizona. She asked if her friends will remember her. It was kind of heart breaking to hear her ask me that. And right now, my number 2 child is KILLING me. Almost everyday I want to strangle him. Learning to be patient with him is a constant struggle. Treasure these years?!!! Ya right. I'll be happy when he can wipe his own rear, put himself to bed, and not make the biggest mess every meal. Patience. Lots of patience. 

Good: This past weekend was my first Girls Night Out. It was fabulous. We went to Johnny Rocket's! We ate outside and the weather was beautiful. We were welcomed by many happy Mexicans :) I ate a cheeseburger. And best best best of all..they were playing American oldies. The good stuff. I even got to hear "Brown Eyed Girl." I loved every minute.

medio maraton

Guadalajara...1/2 Marathon 2011

Two weeks ago I saw a sign for a half marathon in downtown Guadalajara. I decided we should do it! Kinda crazy..but it was worth it. Even though my knees and calves are killing me.

This run was awesome because it was downtown where all the cathedrals and tall buildings are. There were some crazy hills..absolutely killed me. I didn't have a watch and there were no mile markers until later in the race so it was difficult for me to pace myself. And J had to leave me about half way through...or I should say I left him as he was having, um, issues. :) But there was this old man, he must have been around 65 years old, and he was pretty fast. He was solid. So I kinda had him be my pacer. We would leap frog our way through the race. Around mile 11 my knees were KILLING me, and as I found myself slowing down, I noticed he was getting further and further away. I wasn't going to let him get away! So despite the pain, I pushed through it and caught up to him. Beat him by a few seconds...you notice I feel a sense of accomplishment by beating an old man. Nice. It was so sweet though because after the race he said something to me about how it was nice to run with me and he gave me a hug. It was so sweet.

Then we had an amazing surprise. Our friends showed up at the finish line! And with them they brought Popsicles, homemade bran muffins, and sliced oranges! I couldn't believe it. It was the nicest thing. We are so lucky to have made such good friends here. 

Loved the loud Mexican music. Loved the enthusiasm and energy at this race. Loved my playlist. Loved the balloons we had at the start line. 

Fun race. I will totally do it again.

amor.

These are some of the neighborhood girls. I love them. They are so sweet. They love to come over because we are American and they want to talk to us in English. But I told them I need to talk to them in Spanish so I can practice. Either way, it's fun to be around them. They think Lola is the cutest thing, with her blonde hair. Sorry this is a bad picture. My camera...no I am retarded with cameras. 

Horseback riding at the park. Kids had a blast. It was so cheap. The occasion was my friend's little girl's 4th bday. She requested horseback riding, however upon arrival, she decided she was too scared and wasn't going to ride. I wasn't having that. So even though I hadn't planned on riding myself, I decided she was going to ride with me. It was awesome. After about 5 minutes of crying for her daddy, she was ok and loved the horse. The best part was this guy that came with us, he's a student who speaks zero Spanish and his horse wouldn't budge. He kept screaming at it, he got a stick to wack it, but nothing worked. I couldn't stop laughing because he was totally yelling at the horse in English. I told him he was so stupid..the horse speaks Spanish!

Valentine's Weekend. 

Went to an AMAZING restaurant. 

J thinks he needs to have a mustache to live in Mexico.

Love this group of people. 

These lanterns were all over.

They make salsa right in front of you at your table.

I don't like salsa.

Until now.

Muy bueno.

This drink was amazing. 

Pina colada con fresas (strawberries) 

Sin alcohol :)

The walls were all like this.

Waterfalls.

These are the sinks in the bathroom.

It was a great night.

I put Ava in a new school. Half English and half Spanish. These are her teachers. Love them. They are wonderful. It's so different here. They are very affectionate with her. She is hugging them when she sees them and when she leaves. I do miss the schools back home. You have to pay for everything here: books, uniforms, tests, supplies, etc. But worth it if I'm going to be here. 

J bought these for me :)

So cliche on VDay, but so comforting. 

Note: Noah's blue mouth in the background. Nice.

Got together with the kiddos and decorated sugar cookies. 

Big mess. But good times.

Had a way better week. 

Love pink day. 

Love my valentine.

My husband

J is very selfless. He would do anything for anyone. When we moved into our first house it was crazy. He quit his job to pursue running his own company, he bought a new truck, Ava was days old, and we bought a new house. It was crazy. And we had NO MONEY. The little we had was what he was getting from small concrete jobs..and I mean small. He always carried cash in his wallet (as most contruction workers do I think) and was out doing stuff one day. He had come home to tell me that he had given some money to someone. Some random person had approached him and asked for money. In that situation, most would either say no, or give a few dollars. Not J. He gave this man $150!! That may seem like nothing..but at the time, to us, it was A LOT! He was confident we'd be blessed for it. He had no doubt. Not a flicker.

J would do anything for me. He's the kind of husband that knows when I need a night out and will watch all the kids, even my girlfriends kids, so that we can enjoy a night out. It's a special man who is willing to spend a Friday night at home with a house full of kids. Ever since we met, he has always done everything in his control to make me happy. Even moving here, he tries everyday to make this experience a good one. I'm always asleep when he comes home and he doesn't know it, but I hear him every night get on his knees and pray for me and that I'll be ok here.

J loves his mom. In fact, if he's doing something that makes me crazy, I theaten him with telling on him to his mom and he does not like it. His love, respect, admiration for his mother is one of the things that made me want to marry him. The way he treats her is exactly how I knew he'd treat me. He is tender. Loving. Respectful. Compassionate. Empathetic. Wonderful.

J is an amazing father. The kind of relationship he has with our children is amazing. I know they want to be like him. He's the kind of dad that after a long day at work, where he might be justified in sitting on the couch and relaxing, he won't. He knows it's the time of day where he can spend time with his kids. He will wrestle with them, teach them to ride a bike, help them with homework, give baths and read to them. And he doesn't do any of this with protest. He actually enjoys it.

J is the kind of friend who will give his friend a ride to the airport at 4 am.

J will wait on his bike during a race for his friend to catch up to help him finish.

J is the kind of person who can handle emergency situations with confidence. When my sister flew out of a tube on the lake, and she couldn't move her legs, he knew exactly what to do. And he proceeded to hold her head in his hands in the HOT SUN for over half an hour, while the ambulance was trying to locate us on the lake. His arms were shaking after 10 minutes but he never moved.

J tells me he loves me everyday. He tells me I'm beautiful. He tells me I'm amazing for coming here.

J is the best.

So why am I taking the time to brag? I mean I must sound so cheesy!

Well.....

This has been the most difficult week for me here. And I had to remind myself why I am here. This has been a dream of J's ever since I met him. He has always wanted to be a doctor. As much as I have fought this, I know it is what he has always wanted to do. And while being here has challenged me in more ways than I ever thought possible, I know in the end, everything will be ok. I know that THINGS WON'T ALWAYS BE LIKE THIS. It has been a week of cold showers, no water (again) falling on my knees on our stairs, a permanently sad, crying baby, drug related violence that is so scary that some wives are moving back to the States and others have decided it's best not to go out at night, and only seeing my husband for a few minutes a day. I will admit, I have shed many tears this week. I don't cry often so I have felt somewhat of a failure this week. I hide my tears from my family for fear that they will think this is a bad place and from J so that he doesn't feel guilt for bringing me here. I have to accept that my tears are ok. That this was a bad week, but next week will be better. That I am lucky to be here with someone who will take care of me. And even though this is hard, things won't always be like this. And when it feels easy, things won't always be like this. So it goes...

XO

Our weekend

For whatever reason, I have no idea why, school was canceled on Friday. Soooo...my friend and I took the kids to a museum. It was fantastic! And of course, cheap. To get an annual pass here for our whole family would cost around 600 pesos. That's around $50USD. So awesome. And what's really great about it is that it's clean. There are no parks here that I would want to take my kids to because they're all metal, they're dirty, and just gross. So having the park at the museum was extra good news.
The museum was separated into different sections. They had a farm, a clinic, a grocery store, a music room, a dance room, a news room, a tumbling area, a science area, and the favorite...a bubble area. I am pretty sure we will need to invest in an annual pass.
Friday night...date night. J said he only has about an hour before he had to study. So we went to our favorite taco stand. It's located right next to the crepe stand. It's a little more pricy than the other taco stands around.. but well worth it. And we still only spent less than $15 for everything. Not too bad for date night. I love the crepas here. They're so huge. So good. They put cajeta inside. Cajeta is kind of like a caramel sauce...but better. Tons of fruit on top. And of course, icecream. Delicioso! J knows how to make me happy.. especially since he was going to be gone...again.
Saturday. Family outing. We went to downtown Guadalajara. I really like downtown. It's old and they have beautiful buildings and cathedrals. We went to this place called San Juan de Dios and inside is tons and tons of jewelry. It's kind of overwhelming. Then next to it there is a market where they sell knock off items. That's where we bought DVDs for dirt cheap. We bought 7 movies for 100 pesos. This place is not exactly the best place for a day with kids. Well..little kids. So it wasn't a huge success. But still glad we went. My favorite part of the day has to do with, of course, lunch. Our friends showed us this place called Chai. It's a cafe that sells paninis, salads, wraps, etc. Very good. It's got a great ambiance. The building is super old but inside it feels very modern. It's always nice to find food here that isn't, Mexican. Loved it. I got a caprese salad (thinking of you Tanners:)) and it was tasty. I also got a turkey and gorgonzola panini..also very tasty. Will definitely be returning to this place soon.

So I guess you could say it sord of feels like a vacation here still. Except that it's not. And tomorrow is Sunday. And Sundays are probably the hardest days of the week here for me. I miss dinners with family. I miss my mother in law and her healthy, yet super tasty cooking. I miss my mom's flan. I miss making random stops at my friends house with goodies and being able to say hi.
So tomorrow I have decided that I will buy bombas and abuelita's hot chocolate and invite friends over. Maybe then I won't feel so homesick. Maybe.

Bad: Last week our water stopped working. No water. That means: no showers, no dishes cleaned, no laundry, and yes..no going to the bathroom. We dealt with this for less than 1 day. Long freakin day. Oh, and J was gone the entire day too. Not fun. At all. ALSO...my newest niece was born this week..and we aren't there to smell and hold and love on her. Big bummer.
Good: One night, in my complete lonliness, I was desperate for a treat. And we had nothing. Or so I thought. They sell these crackers here that are very similar to graham crackers. Only I think they're better. They have some kind of cinnamon flavor. So I pulled out some of those and put peanut butter, mini marshmellows, and chocolate chips on top. So good.

XO