Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Joseph has really gotten into skateboarding lately. He got a board and has been figuring it out on his own for a couple of weeks and this past week we found a class for him to join. The name of the training group is on on the board below, right above the chicken:  Here's the scene outside of the skate shop: He is VERY excited about his new board. "Mom, take a below and after." Before:  After:

23 Sept: Ward Independence Day party on a Wednesday night (???)  Photospot Games and prizes: Tacos (these ladies are serving up the cochinita) And comradery   We left a little after 8 p.m. because they boys have to be up a 6 a.m. for school, but pics sent out on the ward chat afterwards showed that it turned into a dance party around 10 p.m.! 24 Sept: Neighborhood celebration. We live in a section of town called Chuburná de Hidalgo which used to be its own city. As part of the general patriotic goings-on of the month, they had a history celebration in the town square tonight. Dancers, music, people selling treats, and a slideshow by a local historian. This is also the park where Joseph's parkour class also sometimes comes out to do outdoor practices. So imagine Joseph doing flips off that blue wall. You can share in some of my heart attacks. 25 Sept: And as long as we're celebrating, it's my birthday! 26 Sept: Merida is about 20 minutes away from Progresso beach. The big ...

13 Sept: Ok, this is a long story to make a small point about trying to communicate in a foreign country: In church, Joseph was supposed to bring a bunch of little pieces of paper for some kind of class activity. Neither of us remembered until right before the class and the only paper I had was a sheet he'd been drawing on earlier. I quickly tore it into squares and sent him into class. Somehow, the teacher misinterpreted this as "Joseph brought a puzzle for the class to assemble" and THAT became the class activity. The author Bill Bryson describes living in a foreign country as living in a constant state of bewilderment. He's pretty much dead on. 14 Sept: Hey, there's a Krispy Kreme in Mérida. We checked out the donut conveyor belt and then bought a dozen (and kinda made ourselves sick eating them all). One donut didn't get flipped as it went through the cooking oil and came out white and underdone on one side. Joseph observed, "Hey Mom, that one's y...

 James made the competitive soccer team this season. They had a big start-of-season ceremony a Estadio Salvador Alvarado with a marching band and flag team. All of the teams paraded in wearing their dress uniforms.  Can you spot the James? He's pretty well camouflaged.  The band played the Himno Nacional. Joseph struck the appropriate pose. (They have a flag ceremony every Monday morning at his school, so he knows the drill.) The internet went out for a couple of days. Here's the Telcel guy checking it out. Turned out the problem was a chewed wire on the roof. Cats, maybe? Speaking of internet stuff, we found a Pokémon store on the route home from school. You can buy and sell and trade cards and on weekends they have groups that get together to play the actual table game. Liquid Skwinkles sauce. Liquid Cheetos sauce. Liquid Doritos sauce. Liquid Takis sauce. Somebody in Marketing knows their Mexicans. There's a half-barrel planter on the patio that had a small palm tree i...

 Ok, we're back in Mexico! (That astroturf on the ground, by the way. Grass doesn't like Yucatan soil for some reason.) Combo birthday party and baptism for Mahonri and his little brother Eli. Play date with James's buddy, Santiago. Back at Parque La Plancha: "Taquicardia: The racing heart you feel when you smell tacos." "Acme vs. Coyote" at the movie theater. Joseph. 20th anniversary breakfast at a Veracruzian restaurant. Tom got molletes and I got some sort of egg and potato pie soaking in chicken broth? It was good, just different. We didn't the usual first day of school picture because they have to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. and it was pretty chaotic, but there's the you-survived-the-first-day trip to Subway afterwards.