December

Weston's birthday party at Top Golf

Hiking at Eagle Mountain Lake

Master Singer's Concert
(Max and Clay are trying to spot Nana)

Medieval celebration at Arrow

Packing and delivering boxes for Lovepacs

Dungeons and Dragons is a new
favorite game at our house.

Fun at Northpark Center

The Twelve Days of Christmas at
the Dallas Arboretum

Weston achieved the rank of Life Scout.

Winter Breakfast

Homestead Heritage in Waco

Mayborn Museum at Baylor

Holiday family fun

Weston spent Christmas Eve
researching stocks and investing
in the stock market.

Weston attended Twin Arrows
Scout leadership training at Camp Tahuaya

Ruth attended a CAP leadership training
at Lackland Air Force Base

Carnival Cruise as a family of four

Cozumel

New Year's Eve

Celebrating 16

We had a pretty low-key, but still very fun, celebration for Ruth's birthday today. She had requested pancakes for breakfast, which was a little easier said than done, since that doesn't really seem to be a thing here in Mendoza. We also don't have any measuring cups in our house, so Ruth just threw ingredients into a bowl and hoped for the best. I then cooked the pancakes one at a time in a frying pan, which took quite a long time but was worth it. The pancakes came out super thick but quite tasty, and even though we couldn't find syrup, we found a number of other acceptable toppings. 

Birthday breakfast

Pancakes upon pancakes upon pancakes!

Later, Ruth made herself a chocolate pie, which also proved to be something of an adventure. We only had an oval pan, and the pie crust we found was more like phyllo dough. Also the handle on the saucepan was just about to fall off and would twist around in her hand every time she tried to grab it, so hot chocolate kept spilling all over everything. And a certain little brother released all the aerosol from the whipped cream canister, so that it came out creamy rather than foamy. But it tasted good and makes for a good story. 

Birthday pie

When we were giving Ruth our gift of many gift cards to some of her favorite places, Clay was sad because he didn't have a store-bought gift for her, even though he had drawn a lovely picture to give her. So, he begged me to take him to the store to pick something out. He is such a giver and a lover, and I couldn't resist his request. He found the perfect thing: a pack of four different writing instruments Ruth could use for school and a package of Ferro Rocher bonbons. He's such a sweet boy, and he does love his sister so!

When you get exactly what you
wanted for your birthday.

There will be some shopping in this girl's future

These two have the sweetest relationship!

For dinner, we went out to a cool place that Ruth picked out called Fuente y Fonda. The restaurant didn't even open until 8, and we were some of the first patrons to arrive. The concept of the place is shareable dishes served family-style. We ordered three different things: Chicken Milanesa, Shepard's Pie, and Steak, which came with sides and bread and desserts. Everything was delicious, and we had such a great time!

Fuente y Fonda

Birthday dinner

So much yumminess!

The Amazon

We arrived late last night in Iquitos and spent the day today exploring. Our day started with a delicious breakfast at our hotel. Then we had our first rides in motortaxis, which whisked us away to the Belena Market, the largest in the city. It was certainly a spectacle! We enjoyed (and didn't enjoy!) a vareity of experiences for all our senses. We got to try concha, an egg-based drink with boiled yuca, sweetened with sugar and vanilla. We all thought it was delicious! The bravest amongst us (Ruth and Weston) also tried a type of grilled worm. It was one of the more unique items for sale, but we saw plenty of other interesting things.

Hotel breakfast

Motortaxis

Balena Market

From bait to brunch

When we finished up in the market, we climbed aboard a couple of very small homemade boats in order to explore the floating village. For six months out of the year, the river overtakes the streets of the village and the area is only navigable by boat. I have never seen anything like it, and I truly cannot imagine living that way. However, the people seemed quite content, and we were told by our guide that they are a very happy people.

The floating village

Later, we boarded a larger boat for a tour of the Amazon and one of its tributaries. The tributary was especially beautiful and serene. We saw all kinds of birds and two varieties of river dolphins. The boys also got to fish for piranhas, but to their disappointment, they weren't successful. We had lunch aboard the boat, which included fresh fruits, cheese sandwiches, and juane, a local dish consisting of chicken, eggs, and olives wrapped up in a ball of rice and baked in some sort of leaf. It is a traditional dish of that region of the Amazon and it was very good.

An Amazon tributary

Fishing for piranhas

Juane

Pink dolphins playing in
the mighty Amazon

At the end of our tour, we visited a smaller market, where we tasted some roasted seeds from a plant related to cacao and some freshly shelled and peeled Brazil nuts. We enjoyed both.

The smaller market

Back at our hotel, we rested for a while before going out for dinner at a place recommended by the person working at the front desk, who, along with the rest of the staff, were very eager to please us. We suspect we may have been their first American visitors. Anyway, the dinner place turned out to be a sort of fast food place, which we think was recommended to keep us from having to wait long. Mother's Day is a huge deal here, and the restaurants were indeed packed. We got a good chuckle out of celebrating Mother's Day with fast food, which is typically forbidden by me when we're in the States. The food was good, though, and we had a great time.

A very happy Mother's Day indeed!

Family Fun

We were blessed to finish out 2017 and begin 2018 surrounded by family. We got to spend a few days with my side of the family before Christmas and then headed down to South Padre Island on Christmas Day to spend a week with Jeff's side of the family. We had so much fun and made so many wonderful memories!

Crazy Cousins

So thankful to have these two beautiful ladies in my life!

Shooting lessons and target practice with an expert

Cousins and best friends

South Padre House

We played lots of Trivial Pursuit

These crazies thought it was warm enough to get in the water!

So much beach fun!

This little lady loved the beach and
wanted to be out with the big kids!

It really doesn't get any better than this!

Max and Slade really bonded!

Celebrating Mimi and Grandpa's anniversary at Dirty Al's

The breakfast chefs at our house were amazing!

Victoria and Clay were so proud of their pancakes,
which they made with their very own pancake makers.

It was necessary to sit in the hot tub after a cold day at the beach.

A cold beach picnic

Uncle Alan was a good sport and let the kids bury him in the sand.

New Year's Eve on the beach commemorated in shells

New Year's Head Gear

Playing Mexican Train while waiting on midnight

Ready for the countdown

New Year's Day breakfast at Yummies Bistro

The Polar Bear Club

The Buckhorn Museum in San Antonio

Grandpa bought everyone a round of root beer at the Buckhorn,
since it claims to be the place that pioneered the idea during Prohibition.