Mexico!!

We went to Mexico City to visit my parents who are serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My dad is the medical advisor for the Mexican missions. He takes calls all day long, but they still have the flexibility of being tour guides :).

Our arrival day was spent sleeping since we traveled all night. The adults took turns going to the temple. Scott really enjoyed being able to do temple work in Spanish. I used headphones to translate everything in to English. The kids just hung out, colored, and watched Spanish TV.

Here is our first hour in their apartment. We'd been traveling all night.

Our first full day there we went to Teotihuacan. We had beautiful weather and the kids were very willing to climb the stairs of the pyramids. My mom was nice enough to stay at the bottom with Thomas. I think places like this are fascinating.

Sometimes you try so hard to get a nice family picture and someone is just oblivious. I was so annoyed when I realized what Peter is doing.

This picture is for all those who have been here before. The Pyramid of the Sun is behind us. Notice the orange plastic ropes going along the base of the pyramid at at the second base as you climb. The lines goes all the way along the side to the back of the pyramid.

The second day there was Sunday and so we went to church with my parents. I admit I had a very hard time being a good example to my kids as I had NO IDEA what was being said. Scott was kind and went to primary (the kid's classes) with the kids so they could understand what was going on.

In the afternoon, we went to the temple. The temple is right next to the apartment building my parents live in. We took pictures and wandered.

My girls love to pose.

We found a pretty flower. All the kids insisted of having their picture taken by it.

It's very difficult to get a decent look on Peter's face. This one is extra unique.

Posing again.

The next few days, we had to brave the metro. The kids were wonderful to hold hands and to stay with us. Richard would sometimes be in charge of carrying the stroller as we traveled. I was very pleased at how cooperative my kids were. Even when they were tired, the plugged along and didn't whine (too much). Scott and I were concerned at having so many little kids in a huge city like Mexico City, but the kids were wonderful!

The next day, we went on a tour of Mexico City on the top of a bus. We also visited an art museum, a cathedral off the Zocolo, and walked down a pedestrian only street filled with shops.

The next day, we went to the anthropology museum. the zoo, and Chapultepec Castle. 

Richard frequently wanted his picture taken by stuff in the anthropology museum. We have 25 or so pictures of him standing next to something.

They had an outdoor courtyard on the second floor of the castle off several of the bedrooms. I wouldn't mind having that off my bedroom!

We had a more relaxed morning the next day since my Dad was busy welcoming new missionaries to the MTC (aka, giving them immunizations). We were concerned about having one less adult on the extremely busy metro and hoped that by going later we would have a smaller crowd. Our plan may have worked slightly. It only took 4 trains instead of 7 (like it did the day before) to get us all on the second metro line.

Mom, this picture is for you! We have proof of a phone number written on the kids' arms.

The next day we went to the Templo Mayor, Bella Artes, a restaurant for lunch, the park, and then a shopping district with all kinds of souvenirs. I think the kids enjoyed running in the fountains the most.

Thomas got close enough to be sprayed but didn't let himself get too wet.

Richard wasn't worried about getting wet.

Our last day there, we went to a Basilica, ate lunch at the MTC, went to a Mexican farmers market, and went to a zoo nearby the temple.

If you look closely in this picture, you can see the building behind us has separated from the building to the left. The soil of Mexico City is not stable and everything sinks and shifts.

At the zoo, Grandpa would lift Thomas so he could see the animals.

We had to give Thomas a bath in the kitchen sink as the apartment didn't have a bathtub. Marie and Peter are old enough to shower with help, but I didn't think a shower would go over very will with Thomas.

We had such a great trip and were all exhausted! Scott loved being back in the country where he served his mission.

On the way home, we had a 9 hour layover in Houston. We were able to visit with Scott's parents and my brother. Fortunately, my brother happened to have the whole day off and spent all the afternoon with us. We were only able to see my sister-in-law for about 15 minutes, because she was busy with school all day.

Unfortunately, Scott forgot he had not taken the pictures in Houston off the memory card before he reformatted the card. So, you'll have to take our word for it that we actually were there. We went to the zoo and let the kids play on the park equipment in the zoo.

Reader

So, uh, I knew something was happening to google reader. Did I take the time to figure out what it was? No. What I know is that yesterday when I went to see what was up in the blogging world, I couldn't find the reader link on my gmail account. So, from memory, I have to find all the blogs I used to follow via google reader and find another way to keep track of them. Sigh. I don't have time for this.

Skiing

We brought our kids to my parent's cabin. While we were there, we taught them how to ski. Well, we worked with Richard and Audrey last year, but they certainly needed some refreshing. It's a great location because the terrain is not very steep, the price is right, and there is a very conveniently located resting spot.

They all did really well. I didn't think Marie and Peter would be up to it, and so we didn't bring up skis for them. They both really wanted to do it and so had to share with Audrey. Marie really caught on quickly. 

Peter did ski. For some reason we don't have a picture of him doing it.

Memory

The great thing about having a 4 year old set up the game Memory is that the cards don't always get shuffled. Makes for a quick game! Can't say I minded today.

What have we been up to?

So, for all of you who care about what we've been up to for four months, here are some pictures and a brief description.

We celebrated Halloween by carving pumpkins. Audrey, Marie, and Peter just wanted to paint their pumpkins. Audrey was able to paint a pumpkin we grew in our own back yard! Richard carved the pumpkin he had painted for a school project. He was really excited about his painting job until he got to school and realized the other kids had their parent's help. Now, I have nothing against helping your child. However, shouldn't the child do the majority of the work? 

The kids enjoyed playing in the snow after our first snow fall of the year. It's the only time I took pictures, so...

I had a birthday! My fabulous sister made my cake so I wouldn't have to make my own. Since my birthday was on a Sunday and Scott was busy with tithing settlement, we didn't do anything that grandiose. However, we had a fun evening when some family was able to come.

I made a gingerbread train again this year. The kids had a great time decorating. The boys decorated the engine and the girls did the caboose. It was intact only long enough for the pictures to be taken.

Richard decorated another house at school. I think the proportion of candy to cracker is definitely higher than on our train.

Marie and Peter had their Christmas preschool program. They sang and participated in all the songs but were far from the loudest or most demonstrative.

Marie and Audrey had their Christmas dance recital. Audrey was in a "Grinch" production number. The girls were supposed to have "Who" hair. 

We spent Christmas Eve at my sister's house with all my family that lives locally as well as a sister and her family from out of town. After dinner, the kids acted out the nativity. Marie was an angel. Peter was a shepherd. Richard was the wise man. Audrey was Mary. 

Christmas Day came to our house. Here is the excited bunch before we open presents. Thomas woke up quite a bit later than the rest and had just sat down for some food. Everyone found something to be excited about and we got some great presents.

We have enjoyed our new house. We love that we have a play room for the kids to go to. We love the huge backyard. We (meaning I) love the much larger kitchen. We love the higher quality feel to the home. We love that we weren't on top of each other when opening Christmas presents.

We got to experience a leak in the roof that we affectionately named "Lake Thomas." Fortunately, the home warranty that the previous owners provided when we bought the home covered the reseal the roof. Unfortunately, we had weeks of snow sitting on the roof and so had to wait for that snow to melt for a roofer to come. In the meantime, tons of that melting snow damaged the sheet rock in Thomas's room ceiling and it's considered "incidental damage" and so is not covered. Can I tell you how irritating that is?

Scott was t-boned going to work on Martin Luther King Jr. day. The morning was extremely foggy and the other car didn't slow down to realize they had a red light. They were going probably 50+ mph. Scott was in his F150 and they were in a Ford Taurus. Fortunately, they hit the passenger side and not the driver's side. So, Scott fared pretty well. He did have some abdominal pain that was checked out in the ER and declared to be just muscle pain. Otherwise, he was just fine. It took over a month for the truck to be repaired. We finally got it back today.

Thomas still doesn't really talk, but we're starting to hear some words. We think. He finally decided to walk at 16 1/2 months. He's such a climber and in to things ever so much more than I remember the other kids.

Oh, and our camera broke. Right after Christmas. We're just getting around to mailing it in to be fixed. So, that's why we have no more pictures after Christmas.

Otherwise, life is about the same. Kids go to school. Scott goes to work. I go to work. Etc, etc, etc....