Guatemala Navidad 2012 (Part 1)

This is my favorite Christmas tree from this year, created by Odie, who is the wife of Cristian's younger brother (Edvincito). She and Edvincito are the proud parents of cute lil' Oved who is more commonly known as Frijolito. I just love the 5 gallon bottle trunk!

Sunset view from the roof of Odie & Edvincito's house.

Diego y Frijolito playing on the roof!

This pig lives at Cristian's father Edvin's house. It thinks it's a dog. It nursed from a female dog and now hangs out in the kitchen all day begging for food scraps. The rest of the pigs spend the day in the river or under the stairs, but not this one!

Cristian's mom, Aura, made this intricate nativity scene at her house. There was a little baby Jesus in the manger, and the story goes that someone is supposed to steal the baby Jesus and then in January throw a party to return him. I totally would have stolen him, but the chances of me throwing the party were slim.

Hanging Santa detail from nativity.

I was surprised to see this picture of Cristian, Ezra and I on the wall of Edvin's living room. The picture was taken in 2009 in Antigua, Guatemala. I remember Cristian not liking the picture because he thought is was too close up. The picture to the immediate right of us is of Cristian's mom and dad, Aura and Edvin. The girl in the beautiful dress is Aurita, Cristian's younger sister at her Quinceañera. Also the walls were painted a rosy pink on Christmas day so pay no mind to the dirty corners.

Diego and Frijolito playing together, cousins so sweet.

The view from Aura's new house that she is constructing with her partner Cesar. It's a very beautiful, serene location.

Me and Frijolito.

Ezra drove us home from Grandma's on the motorcycle (Isaac, Cristian's best cousin, assists).

We went to the central park where they had music, lights, Santa, rides and sweets with Grandma Aura and cousin Frijolito.

Abuelita was happy with her new cabbage patch doll in camo jammies!

The Abuelita delighted in buying Diego "algodon de azucar" or cotton candy. He shoved it down his throat so fast! Jaqueline (Cristian's cousin), in the background, didn't get so much as a taste.

Navidad: Journey to California

We have just returned from a three week trip to Santa Barbara, CA as well as Chiquimula, Guatemala. We too the train from Portland to Santa Barbara, and these first photos capture what one does on a train for 30 hours. One certainly spends a great amount of time with the new Lego book one was given from Grandma for Christmas.

Another might take pictures of the scenery.

This is most likely the best shot from the train ride. Conductor Ezra!

Ezra also watched a fair amount of movies.

Visiting the dining car takes up some time.

Playing hide and go seek has it's obvious disadvantages.

He squeezed into any spot he could find.

Almost there!

We made it! Not only to Santa Barbara but to the zoo! Here Ezra and Veronica feed the goat. They were trying to feed the sheep but the one goat in the pen pushed all the sheep away. We tried throwing the food to the sad, rectangle shaped pupil sheep, but it only landed in the piles of poop and then we felt bad that they were having to rummage around in feces to feed. Darn goat.

Ezra is very interested in giraffes. We watched this giraffe feed on these leaves and observed the very long tongue:

Yes, very long indeed! The tongue curls around the branches, removing the leaves carefully. Why is it purple you ask? The purple color acts as a sunscreen to protect the tongue from harmful rays!

Ezra and Veronica got to feed the giraffe (romaine lettuce). We also got to ask some questions about the giraffe, including Ezra's curiosity about how giraffes protect themselves? Answer: a blunt kick. Apparently a giraffe can kill a lion in a single kick. They are mostly left alone.

Then we headed down to L.A. to spend the night before flying out to Guate. We went to the Santa Monica Pier twice, once in the morning with Aunt Nancy, Paul, Raia, Jeff & Veronica (no pictures- sorry) and then again in the afternoon with good ol' friend James (pictured here on the ferris wheel).

The view from the top of the ferris wheel. It was a windy, cloudy L.A. day.

From the top.

To the bottom.

Next up: Guate!

As of Late

Above is a sculpture that Ezra made at his school. It is Portland!

He's so proud! (Tho that smile looks fake...)

We housesat for our friend Lisa over Thanksgiving and had good ol' Usiah over for a sleepover!

The boys enjoy a post bath bedtime snack.

The next day we went on The Polar Express! Well, it's Mt. Hood Railroad's version of the Polar Express. Everyone was encouraged to wear their pajamas, hot cocoa was served, we read the book, and got a special visit from Santa. Grandma got to come too!

The boys listening to one of the chefs read the Polar Express.

Here's Santa's workshop! He and some of his elves waved to us and then boarded the train.

It's pretty exciting to see Santa.

Tho Usiah was a little nervous.

What does he want for Christmas? Legos!

What does he want for Christmas? Legos as well!

It was good to get the boys together and take this special trip with Grandma.

Halloween Finally!

Wow it's almost Christmas and I am just getting around to the Halloween post! Sorry. It is a busy time of year. So here's Ezra the ninja and Jupiter the turkey, enjoying the warm Halloween evening free of rain!

Maya the unicorn helps steady the tippy turkey.

And they're off! I actually took a picture of every single house where they trick or treated, but decided against posting them all. You get the idea.

There were some excellent jack-o-lanterns en route. These guys are fun, I especially like the guy in the middle who has lost his pumpkin lunch.

One more porch shot, for good measure.

This shot was taken inside a haunted house that some teenage boys had constructed in their front yard. Ezra loved it and wasn't a bit scared. Me? Yea a little freaked out.

The loot! Organized, counted, ready to consume.

The after party.