Finally I am back in action! For all of those who think we are on one big holiday... tell my kids!!! There is no holiday with kids they run 24/7 as all Moms know : -)
We have been plugging away here in our regular life. The kids have been in school for a few weeks and love it more and more each day. Each day brings more Spanish which brings more options for playing with the other kids. Trent went and got Emma early from school the other day thinking it would be a good surprise for her but she was mad. Emma is now making friends and has a big smile on her face when I go and get her at the end of the day. This is wonderful for me as a Mom... All the kids in her class only speak Spanish so she has been doing amazing. I think she knows alot of Spanish and we have no idea what or how much. Amazing how young minds pick up so much. I go to Spanish class and I feel I am learning at a snails pace.... I am hearing more and more words though so something is sticking.
Trent & I are back to our regular date nights... so nice. We have a bilingual babysitter, her name is Patricia and I tell her to speak Spanish to the kids... I have been told many times Emma understands alot, Easton somewhat and Everett I have no idea. Patricia is good but I do have to say she is no Miss. Melody... Melody you are missed!
Last saturday we went to a Village Museum. At this museum it showed three villages * A village from the interior * A village from the province of Bocas *An Indian village.
The church we saw was a replica from the interior of Panama... it was a quaint little church with beautifully detailed dark wood.... I love old churches, all the history in them and if only it could tell the stories of the past.
(simple, quaint small little church from the interior of Panama)The home from the interior was a learning experience. The walls are constructed from bamboo.... then grass and mud are layered on top to make the wall (like our drywall) Homes are constructed like this instead of concrete because of cost and the bamboo homes are much cooler, the guide told us.
The kids had fun at the little school. It reminded me of the little school at Heritage Park, a little Laura Ingles school.
The Bocas village was full of buildings of wonderfully bright colored structures. Again a church, with beautiful stain glass, and a few other typical Latin American/Caribbean colored buildings.... I love that. The kids had fun running wild.
( this little church was so inviting... I love the look of it)
(my three munchkins with their buddy Jesse)
(nice little church with beautful windows)
(Everett & Trent on one of the typical Bocas houses - the homes the American's constructed when they were here yrs. ago look like this)The Indian Village was the typical grass huts.
(many families would live together in a hut)There were a few Indian woman hand sewing their beautiful Mola's..... (the mola is a traditional textile art form made by the Kuna people of Panama and Colombia. Molas are cloth panels, made to wear on clothing, and feature complex designs made with multiple layers of cloth in a reverse applique technique.
Molas are used to decorate the blouses of the Kuna women; although most mola makers are women, a few men take up the art, and some of these are very highly regarded. Molas are still made by Kuna women for their own use; however, sale of molas to tourists and craft centres is a major source of income for the Kuna people)
Trent bought all the kids a hand painted whistle from the natives and they drove us crazy with all the noise as we went for a walk in the jungle.
(a creature that greeted us along our walk)It was an extremely hot day. It was so hot that I could feel the sweat droplets dripping off my back down my t-shirt. Trent was pretty wet by the end of our adventurous afternoon.
(Trent & Everett during our walk)Trent went to go get the truck as the kids, Jennifer & I walked to another area of the museum. As we finally arrived across the street I saw Trent talking to these people, I said to Jennifer as we were walking up "He talks to anybody who is a foreigner" As it turned out Trent saw this guy as he drove up and he went up and said "Hey is your name Jamie?" Sure enough it was Jamie Elliott a guy who played football at UofC when Trent was coaching. What are the odds of that???
Jamie and his girlfriend were travelling around Panama for a few weeks and it was their last day before heading home to Calgary. We had a great talk and it was so amazing to be in the same spot at that particular moment. What are the odds of that I keep saying? I hope you guys had a safe trip home!
Last Sunday after our usual pit stop at the bagel shop we went to see "The Jungle Book" play preformed in English. It was excellent. The performers were from one of the International Schools here and they did an amazing job. Our kids loved it and it was great to see something in English that we all could enjoy. I can't wait for the next play!
As we were driving home I looked across the street and I noticed this guy about 18yrs. old holding football pads, I looked to the right and sure enough there was a field of two teams playing American Football. I said to Trent "look they are actually playing football, pads and everything". My dear husband almost drove us off the road trying to look in his excitement. We stopped a young guy outside the stadium who spoke English and he said "yes there is a Panama league and it consists of teams from all around Panama and they play every Sunday. During school the universities have their own teams who play the other Latin countries.
Of course we went to take a look at the action. Our kids loved to watch. Trent said it was comparable to Division 3 with alot of hitting after the whistle. The age of the players is anywhere from 18-50. They practice 3 times/week and it is quite competitive. There were a few Americans (they stick out) that we stopped to talk to and they play in the league. Trent had a BRIEF flash of coming out of retirement and putting on the pads... Ya that thought was gone in a few seconds when he realised he is not 23 anymore. The football was entertaining and we will venture out on the occasional Sunday for a taste of North American Football.
(American football in Panama... we were shocked)Easton came home from school the other day with what looked like a birthday invitation (all in Spanish so I was unsure) Emma said "Yes it's a birthday party" (she helps alot). The party was on Saturday afternoon and it was for a little boy Carlos from Easton's class. It was held at Spaceworld at one of the malls here. Spaceworld is a large arcade with a few rides and a party area.
(Carlos - (birthday boy) and his Mom & Dad)Easton's whole class was invited!... Now from what I have heard birthday parties here are a big event. I love birthdays and usually go over the top with our kids but I have never seem anything quite like this party. The whole class was invited, all siblings & parents were invited to stay. There were so many kids. at least 40! The clown was amazing.... Of course none of the kids spoke English but the clown did his best to keep Easton included. It was cute to watch... the kids were dancing to a song and all the other kids would jump & then East would jump... all the kids would turn, then East would turn... He is oblivious most days... he is a trooper!!!!!
(our little red head just does not look like the others... cutie)The birthday theme was CARS... of course a little boys birthday. The cake was huge and amazing... the party favors were CAR bags stuffed with coloring books, puzzle, bouncy ball, candy, play dough.... on & on. The pinata.... the thing was huge (4 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet approx.) and was FULL of candy & toys. It was pretty interesting for me since I could not talk to any other parents, then a lady sat beside me and she turned out to be from Montreal. She was born in Vietnam and moved to Canada when she was 5yrs. old. Rebeca is her name, she has lived in Panama for 7yrs. now and her parents & two sisters have moved here also. Rebeca said that each birthday party will get more and more elaborate... that everyone tries to out do the previous party... it will be interesting to see if this is true.
(East had a great time)
(this pinata was pretty cool, no shortage of candy & toys in this thing)
(help McQueen is down...)This past Sunday we ventured out to the Summit Golf Course & Country Club to sit by the pool and take in the lush surroundings. We had a wonderfully quiet day sipping cold cerveza and playing with the kids in the pool. They are all so independent swimming now that Trent & I can now actually sit and relax a bit... that is why we choose the pool over the ocean right now. The ocean is unpredictable and huge the pool is controllable : -) & more relaxing.
(the kids love having a super strong daddy)Well it is time to sign off.
Friday Trent is pulling the kids out of school to go fishing... Not for the big fish, for peacock bass, they can get up to 8-9lbs . Easton is super excited to out fish his dad. Also this weekend I am going on a Health & Wellness tour of all the hospitals and clinics here in the city. I am very excited about this tour to see what all the facilities are like and meet English speaking doctors.
It is the first day of Spring and the flowers will be popping up soon... It is almost April (wow time is flying by) April showers bring May flowers for all you gardeners.
You are very missed... a part of me is so excited to get back to Calgary for some delicious salads and English speaking grocery stores and basically English speaking anything... haha
(This is how I found Everett the other day on our patio. We find him sleeping in the strangest places, but whatever works... He is such a funny guy... & growing so much)Until next time... Trent, Jody, Emma, Easton & Everett..