Lupe y Lola

I have had quite a busy week. First, let me preface with some information about my most recent visitors:

• My mom and aunt are twins
• They are from Veracruz, Mexico and they didn't even live in the U.S. until their 20s
• When the two of them get together, watch out. It's a party. And practically nothing is going to get in their way.

This busy week included some amazing things while my mom and aunt stayed here with me in Guadalajara. Here are some of the many things we enjoyed :

• Lots and lots of food. We ate at some amazing restaurants, lots of tacos, churros, crepes, and icecream. 
• Movies at the VIP theatres. These theatres are amazing. You sit in lazy boy seats that recline all the way. There are mini tables in between seats where there are menus that you can order items such as: drinks, candy, popcorn, sushi, pizza, smoothies, etc.
• Shopping! We went to Tonala, Tlaquepaque, and San Juan. Tlaquepaque was my favorite. It's an artsy place. Beautiful architecture. Fun shops. Tonala is a good experience because they have so much and it's so cheap. 
• We went to the Teatro Degollado and saw a show. The theatre was beautiful. The show was kind of long but still a good experience.

Being that these women are true Mexicans, they reminded me of some of the things that are amazing here that I will miss when I leave someday:

• In the mornings, I drive by this little stand where this young girl squeezes oranges and drains the seeds and pulp. I get fresh squeezed orange juice with no added sugar or preservatives. I give this to my kids almost everyday. 
• The fruit and vegetables market is amazing. The produce is soooo good, and it lasts forever. The guy that works there is so nice. He loves to give me samples of everything, which is smart, because I almost always end up buying it. And it's also so very cheap! 
• I can actually afford a cleaning lady here! And it is worth every penny. It gets so dirty here.

I am grateful to be reminded of how fun it is here. Don't misunderstand, it is still Mexico. Bad roads. Lots of dirt. Lots of Spanish. An occasional drug bust. But I'm glad to live in this big city full of so much life and culture. I'm glad to have had these women absorb it all and enjoy themselves.

I will say one more thing...we all got sick by the end of their stay. Not a great way to end the week.

Good: We put grass in our front and back yards and it looks so pretty and it will help keep the dirt out.
Bad: I am so sick of my kids having permanent diarrhea. Their little stomachs just can't seem to get used to it here. Lola misses her 2nd mommy...still wants to be held all the time. Two more months...

XO

bad hair day.

So I have been wanting to grow Noah's hair out to be kinda shaggy. It is always unsuccessful because of that one stage where it just looks awful. However, while being here in Mexico, it has been a little easier to get through that stage, as I have been a little more consumed. It wasn't quite to the point I wanted it to be, but finally one day J said it was time for buzz. He was right, it was time. Especially since there are many kids in his class who have had lice. Can't take any chances...
I hear the clippers going, followed by tons of laughter. In comes this person...

So so so many tears from laughing so hard. I think J told Noah to flex, which is the reason for these amazing poses and facial expressions. Maybe you just had to be there...or not because these pictures are worth tons of laughter. Aren't they?! Gotta love the old man :)

Good: My mom and aunt come tomorrow for a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bad: I am certain everyone except J has had a parasite since we've been here. I now feel like I can handle Mexico.

XO

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.