Day 2 of the Packout

...and I am tired.

...and I am sad.

...and I am excited for a new adventure to begin.

La Despedida de Abe

Abe class threw a great going away party for Abe and I.  Nearly all of his classmates (27) and most of their moms came to big us farewell.  Unfortunately, I only took these three photos which do no justice to the great afternoon.  The kids gifted Abe a beautifully handcrafted silver belt buckle with an additional belt so that he can use it for many years.  

It was a joy and privilege to know these wonderful Argentine women.  Thanks for all of you kindness and support! 

After the party, Abe brought a few of his best friends to the house for his first pajama party.  He had been talking about it for weeks.  This photo was right before I dropped them off the following morning at a birthday party.  He truly misses his classmates and these great boys.

Our Last Visitor

My sister made a last-minute trip to see us here in Buenos Aires, just in the nick of time.  I love that I get a small vacation when people visit and it is always nice to take a break from our standard routine and experience what the city has to offer. 

Grand Canyon

We made an over night trip to the Grand Canyon while we were in Phoenix with my in-laws.  We had a great time hiking to Oh-Ahh Point.

We stayed in Williams about an hour from the Canyon.  It was such a great little town right on Route 66.  There was a street gun show and a Wild West town replica.  

More photos to come...

Random

• We have a house in Lima and more importantly, it should be ready when we arrive.  Steve has seen it and thinks it will be great for us.    I am a big fan of the location in relation to the temple (2 mi.), school (10 blocks) and SUNSHINE!  
• We are having trouble finding a place for Abe at the school, but are hopeful.  However, the admissions director is not as optimistic.  Think happy thoughts, right?
• Buying a car has turned out to be a much bigger deal than we had anticipated.  I might just save this for a post of it's own.  International moves are tricky.
• The movers will be here bright and early on Monday morning and will drive the truck away on Wed.
• Abe's going away party is today and 4 boys coming over for a slumber party afterwards.
• Organization for the packers is coming together.  
• Only 7 more nights in this house... How has 2.5 years flown by so fast? 
• Man, I will miss this third floor.  We really have spent 80% of our waking hours up here and I love the sunshine from the 3 large windows!

Cristi

The coolest little sister

anyone could ask for

has come to Buenos Aires

for a last-minute visit

before we move.  

and that

MAKES. ME. HAPPY!

Movie Night

We invited some of our great friends here in Buenos Aires over for a fun-filled Friday night.  The kids brought their movie tickets to the door to receive a tub of popcorn and a drink, and vote on a movie.  17 kids ages 18 months -10 years headed upstairs to watch Peter Cottontail.

While the kids enjoyed their movie, the 14 of us played Blurt, Taboo and Bananagrams.  The boys even considered a late night of Risk, but decided to hold out and save that for later. :)

Happy Easter 2010

I find that I am not a very good photographer on Christmas and Easter.  I would much rather be in the mix than taking photos for a few feet away.  I did manage to take a few.

Peyton insisted that the Easter Bunny would love a gatorade and definetly needed his own egg with a piece of candy in it. Evidently, she was right.

To: E.B. Enjoy your carrots.  We (heart) you  From: Peyton and Abe-e

Sophie quickly learned that the real eggs didn't provide the "goods".  She wouldn't even pick them up in the hunt unless they rattled. :)

EB was tricky and really his Peyton's basket well.  She was elated to find it after all of the searching.

The photo is 100% Abe humor.  It goes something like this:  Oh, little bunny is hiding in the grass.  His mommy told him to never leave the grass or a big monster would eat him.  Oh no!  Little Peep didn't listen to him mommy!  (then Abe eats the Peep in one bite!)

Is it any surprise she loves those Peeps too?  Look at all of the chocolate on her face from all the other treats.

Cleaning

Spring Fall Cleaning

It feels good.  But sometimes it feels like you are giving away your heart or a small memory.

Today.. it is liberating.  Extremely liberating and I am thinking of all of the possibilities.

When hit the kids closets, it might be more like agony.

Just posted.

Here.

My Girls

What a little stinker! Sophia is really growing out of being a baby and into toddlerhood. At a backyard birthday party, we found Sophia (who managed to dash off in a matter of seconds) inside with a piece of cake she stole from someone else's plate!

Steve has really set the bar high for Miss P on their Daddy-Daughter date. Not only did she get to go to a Boca game, she sat in the best seats in the entire stadium to watch Boca beat River 2-0 in El Superclasico!

Rugby

Abe had his first Rugby practice on Saturday.  This is a semi-mandatory event at the school every Saturday morning.  Girls are required to play field hockey.  The goal for this week: mold and trim the mouth guard.

I was disappointed that Steve missed it.  This is about as close to playing American Football as Abe will do for the next few years.  The first and second graders are paired together and they spent 20 minutes practicing tackles.  Aren't they a bit small for full contact?  

New Blog

Dear Readers,

I love blogging and sharing our adventures with you.   However, I realize that I have two groups of readers.  Some of you are here to learn about the daily happenings of my family (i.e. birthday parties, first day of school, etc.) and the other half of you would like to know more about Argentina and our travels.

So here is my solution.  I have created a new blog, called Check My Carry-Ons.  I will blog about our adventures both in the States and in the countries in which we live.  I will talk about life in the Foreign Service, living as an expat with young children, and the adventures of raising Third Culture Kids.  I hope to include the itineraries for you and your guests, hotel and restaurant recommendations, my opinions on schooling options and individual referrals for those of you who move to where we have been.    We are excited to see where this takes us!

At the same time, this blog will go private.  If you would like and invitation so that you can continue to read this blog, please leave a comment or email me [ jaclyn(dot)barlow(at)gmail(dot)com ] .

Thanks for your support!
Jaclyn

Maxi, Marcos and Abe

Tonight at dinner, Abe gave me his typical rundown of his day.  Out of nowhere,

Abe: "Mom, your spanish is much better now."

Me: "Thanks Abe.  I still have to work hard."

Abe: "Yes, but you know lots of words now, even more than Dad."

Me (thinking): Yeah right.  I have you fooled. At least I am no longer an embarrassment to the poor kid. "Thanks Abe."

You see, last year, Abe was playing a game with his friend on the floor.  

Midturn, he stops and asks: "Mom, will you say something in Spanish?"  

Me: "Why Abe? What do you want me to say"

Abe: "Just say anything."

Me (knowing right where this was going): "Abe just play your game."

Then Abe turns to his friend and says, "Mi mama habla castellano muy, muy malo." And then they laugh. Thanks Abe. 

So tonight after Abe's proclamation, I started asking him tell me how to say different phrases in spanish. The kids love this game.  I start with simple phrases and then increase the difficulty, just to push them and encourage Peyton.  Abe used a subjunctive conjugation and I asked him if he meant to use present tense, just to see how much of the language he understood.  He then gave me a 5 minute explanation, with examples, of why he meant to say it the way that he did.  

So for everything that has been difficult the past two years, this on the top of my list of reasons why it has been worth it.  When we first decided that Abe would not go to the english-speaking American School, we doubted our decision.  And when the boys in the class tackled him on the playground and put leaves in his pants because he couldn't speak spanish, I questioned our decision again.  But today, I know that we made the right choice for him.  Sometimes, I listen in awe and just can't believe how far they have come. 

Big Changes

For those of your wondering why I have yet to blog the rest of our cruise, there are big changes coming to this not-so-personal blog. I need some time to get that done and have decided to wait to publish the last part of our trip until I have finished.

Soon, I promise.

He's Really Going to Miss Them...Me Too.

We still have more than two months until we pack out (assuming that we don't make the drive to Peru, which is looking more and more likely). He has known that we are moving since January. Abe doesn't like surprises.

We once showed up at school to take him out to lunch without telling him because he has been asking for a couple of weeks. When we arrived, he cried and protested because it wasn't part of his plan. He went and was happy, but it took 10 minutes to get him into the car. But I digress.

Yesterday he said to me, "Mom, I am not moving to Lima with you." Until now he had been thinking about all of the new places and people he would meet. "I am staying here." I moved a lot as a child and so I understand the difficulty. At this point, I hugged him and pried for his reasoning. "If I move, I will never see Marcos again." Probably true. What are the odds they will find each other again? However I tried to explain just how small the world is and that he can see them on Skype and Club Penguin. Man, these two really love Club Penguin.

After going back and forth about all of the great reasons to move and how I understood how he felt, he held firm and had officially decided to move into a hotel that I will pay for with food from Marcos' mom. This move is going to be tough for him, and my heart hurts because I know from repeated experience how difficult leaving friends behind really is. I guess it just hasn't hit me this time yet. These are the moments when I question whether or not this lifestyle is best for them. I try to remind myself (and him) of the 3,001 good reason to move, but it just doesn't make anyone feel better right now. Check back in 6 months.

Benja, Juancho, Abe and Manuel

This was his first sleepover. I am not a fan of sleepovers in general and I wasn't sure that we, I mean I, was ready for this. I groaned and paced and worried all night, but he could not have been happier. I am thankful that he has such nice friends with great moms.

Wow! A cruise timeout.

I have just found Tea. I would dress my children in ANY of it and adore the simple originality. I have never before found a children's clothing line that I really adore. I find pieces and sets in other well-loved stores, but honestly, I would love to own this entire collection. I only wish that I could vouch for it's quality. I might have to buy a couple of things and let you know. :) Simply perfect.

Glacier Cruising

After our long day in Ushuaia in the morning and rounding Cape Horn on Sunday afternoon, we spent Monday in the Beagle Channel cruising the glaciers. The kids would tell you that they finally had another day to spend in the Kids Korner. We had to peel them away to spend a couple of hours with us to see the glaciers. It was cold, but we found a hidden gem of a place on Deck 13 to watch the glaciers go by.

Ushuaia

Our next stop was in Ushuaia where we rode the Train to the End of the World.

We found our way to the very end of Route 3,


and through Tierra del Fuego National Park with our personal guide, "Crazy Horse", which is a bit of an understatement.







Our friend Michael carrying Peyton. There was always a friend to lend a helping hand.

And a day is never complete without a little horsing around.

Cape Horn

The infamously rough water around the Cape were smooth and peaceful. Words just cannot accurately describe the experience. The clouds hovered and the skies were grey, but we were grateful for the calm waters. I overheard a few passengers discussing their disappointment. They had hoped for adventure. I, on the other hand, felt blessed that we could be outside on the deck enjoying the view. I still can't believe that we actually rounded the Horn. Wow!