A Good End to Spring Break

Back at the beach again! Woohoo!

I could really get used to this.

Of course, from a blogging point of view, it was quite boring. Same old, same old: pool, ocean, pool, seafood, etc, etc, etc.

The kids did get some play time in: Angry Birds, the card game! (Quickly becoming a favorite, and a classic! - thanks Aunt Kimmy!)

The kids didn't seem all that excited to see us (the parents) because Bati was there, and they couldn't get enough of him (Yet oddly I don't have one picture of them with him - bummer!).

But I am sure they were excited to get lots of bedtime reading in, especially with our favorite English book The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

It was hot, still, and the kids got to use their fancy M&M's fans.

I caught Agustín reading the paper one morning (it was a Miami Herald Andrés had brought from work). He informed me, very seriously, that he was "reading about London. It's really interesting. I don't really understand much, but I know it's interesting."

We left for Quito on Saturday, hoping to beat the holiday traffic by a day, and were glad we did. There had been a landslide on the highway we normally take (only 20 miles north of Quito! Such a bummer - so close, yet so far...) so we had to take the Sto Domingo highway. It had been years since we'd taken this route, and they've done a lot to the highway to improve it - tunnels and two lanes both sides, more signage. Man was it ever gorgeous! The "new" highway can't compete at all - and it is pretty too, but the Sto Domingo road is full - FULL! - of waterfalls and volcanic rock and breathtaking drops off the edge. Absolutely awe-inspiring. We were all speechless - except for Andrés, who actually had to drive it. Still as dangerous as ever, the highway is super wind-y with tons of hairpin turns, and of course it rained and was foggy all the way to Quito - quite stressful, not to mention the extra hour and a half it added to the already long drive.

But I got to see the Devil's face! Yay! I thought it had been demolished with all the construction.

Creepy.

A Good Start to Spring Break

Of course, it isn't technically spring break here, since there is no spring on the equator, but it was Easter week, and the kids had it off, so the grandparents decided to take them to the beach for the week. Andrés and I had to work during the week, so we bookended the week with two trips to the beach (the second with Sebastián and his girlfriend).

The first weekend we made it down to the beach, to see how clean up was going since the huge storm that hit a few weeks ago and destroyed the shoreline.

Hmmmm, could be better, but at least you can see the sand!

Nico came down to the beach with us (Agustín stayed at home - not sure why he doesn't like the sand lately) and got his cars out to do some rallying in the sand. It was quite hot, and we had to leave quickly because the sun was beating down and frying us, but it was really nice to get in the sand and hear the ocean a bit.

Of course we spent lots of time by the pool.

Me, reading a book on my iPod.

The kids doing lots of cannon balls.

Some silliness before bed.

And cooling off by eating ice cubes - oh he has that Miller blood in him!

Excited to be alone with the grandparents, Agustín kept encouraging us to "leave whenever you want."

Swimming in the rain

Spent the morning basking in the hot sun at the beach, then the afternoon in the pool. We didn't even get out when it started to rain.

Love these faces.

Post-Christmas Trip

We decided to take a little trip to the beach the day after Christmas to warm up a bit from the colder Quito temps. The kids didn't seem to mind. It was nice and hot, hotter than the last time we were there.

Four pineapples and three papayas for a dollar means one big fruit salad!

It's not looking like Christmas...

I am planning on using these pictures in my December Daily album, but I think it is funny that so far I have very little that really resembles "Christmas" much!

The kids, enjoying a light snack poolside.

Christmas on the Coast

It was so strange to leave Quito during the city's parties. But on Thursday the deal went through that Grandma had been working on, and now the beach house in Tonsupa is ours! We were all very excited to go and check it out - last time we were there we saw the house and met the owners, without (at least for me) really believing it would someday be ours. But everything went perfectly and now it is - furnished and all.

The view from the bedroom balcony. The pool has spigots that spit out water and make a waterfall - the kids love it!

We are just two blocks from the ocean, but the pool is so beautiful that we ended up spending most of the day here. It was a bit chilly in the afternoon though, but the kids didn't care.

The kids in their room.

The kitchen.

The living room and porch.

The house itself is two stories - three bedrooms (the two upper rooms both have balconies), two and a half baths, with a small garden in back by the car park. The caretaker and his family is so nice - they made us some delicious bolones de verde as well, and we spent a heavenly day just setting up house and hanging out on the porch. Well, we had to get in the pool for a while (believe me, it was a bit too cold for that, but I won't complain. In some parts of the world it is snowing right now! Plus, it is usually very hot so most of the time the pool will be a godsend!)

We did some real cabin-like things such as jigsaw puzzles as well. And played Bunco at night.

Take THAT! And THAT!

Nico really got into playing in the sand today. He went wild, attacking the sand with his entire body. Screaming bloody murder as he rammed the shovel into the sand, over and over.

He was really loud.

Lots of people stared.

A few smiled.

He did attract a band of renegade kids, though, who later had to be shooed away before they took off with all his sand toys.

Swimming Lessons

Swimming lessons have really paid off! We got to witness Agustín's skills first hand this weekend, as he doggie-paddled across the kiddie pool and showed us how to tread water in the larger pool. He still wears his floaters, but he isn't as scared of the water, and it is amazing to me that in another month or so he will be able to be without the floaters!

Mom, these swings are too LOW!

I thought it would be so much fun. Swinging, see sawing, monkey barring. But when Nicolás got to the park at the hotel and saw that the swings were too low for swinging, he got so mad! Lately he has been having these little temper tantrums, and today I witnessed one first hand. He kicked and hit the swingset as he said, emphatically, "These. swings. are. too. LOW!"

He was so mad, but I had to get a picture of that crabby crabby face.

I can't get over why Ecuadorians love to cement the kids' parks. Not very safety conscious. And Nico did end up falling and scraping his ankle, making a HUGE scene.

Like I said, I thought it was a good idea.

Halloween at the beach

Strange to spend Halloween at the beach, but we had a five-day weekend and needed to take advantage of it! We stayed in La Pradera, and it was nice. Very economical. Not near the beach, but we drove into Tonsupa and Las Palmas with no problem whatsoever. Spent the first day in the pool and then in the sand.




This is the life! Why don't we live here?

At the beach

After the last session today we had some time to relax before the closing ceremony. I spent some time on the beach.

Then by the pool.

Oh, I will miss Panama, but in two days will be in Minnesota, and hopefully at the cabin, where I plan to do more of this. But by a lake of course!

Happy birthday, Nicolas!

Hard to believe, but my little baby is not a baby anymore. At four, there is no more pretending. He is growing in leaps and bounds, and getting more and more independent every day.

The way he plays, intense just like his brother, makes me feel complete. His imagination is amazing and he comes up with the craziest stories.




Today he was the swimming instructor and we all had to do what he said. He had us swimming laps, back and forth, back and forth, then kicking, blowing bubbles, and splashing. He, of course, just sat and relaxed while his pupils worked.



Watching him float in the pool, unafraid of the water and "relaxing", just made me laugh.

Later, after hours at the beach and in the pool, Agustin took a break, spreading all his toys out on the bed to play with.



Nico, however, wanted to go back in the pool. So we did. He got his way a lot today, since it was his birthday. And he took advantage of that as much as he could! :)


You don't need much in life if you've got this smile to look at every day. I am so lucky to be your mom, Nico!

Lifesize airplane

Today we went to the beach, a request Nicolas made a few months ago (he wanted to go to the beach for his birthday). One of the presents the kids got from Laura and Checho for Christmas was this blow up toy for the pool. Nicolas was a bit taken aback by it - it was too big for him and scared him a little. Agustin, however, was more than happy to spend more than 3 hours in the pool today, much of that time crashing his airplane into anything that moved.

Another favorite game in the pool today was "big shark-little shark."