Chile - Day 3

Day 3 was the 18th of September, a patriotic holiday in Chile. You can read more about it here. We attended a festival at Ines Suarez park, close to where we were staying in Santiago. They had booths set up with hand made things to buy, rides for kids, live animal displays, and lots of Cueca dancing.

Later that day we attended another festival and watched a history of Chile on horseback. It was fun to watch despite not understanding a word the narrator was saying and the LOUD speakers that we were sitting near. Then we walked around the festival grounds and had a lunch of empanadas fritas con queso (fried empanadas with cheese, my favorite food of Chile), french fries (my mom thinks that Chile has good fries, and I agree), and Pastele de Choclo (Chilean corn and meat pie). (I have never tried the recipe that I linked, but I thought some of you might find it interesting to see the ingredients).

I took this picture because my mom was telling us how this was her favorite place to stand when she rides the bus, and I wanted to remember it.

Chile - Day 2

We spent most of the morning (and some of the afternoon) at Centro Artesanal Los Dominicos. It is a really fun shopping village that has all kinds of hand made goods. We shopped and had lunch there. It was a very beautiful day.

Then we took a bus and walked to Cerro San Cristobal (St. Christopher's Hill, one of the highest hills in Santiago). We rode the cable car to the top, and then my sister and I climbed the rest of the way to see the (huge) statue of the Virgin Mary.

Chile - Day 1

Our flight arrived at 8 am and in our excitement to see our mom, we forgot to get our luggage before we left the security area! In order to go through customs, you have to pick up all of your luggage, have it scanned and turn in your customs forms, and then exit. So, we have to find someone to let us back in so that we could complete this process! Not a great way to start the trip, but it turned out okay.

We took a taxi to the church offices in Santiago where my mom has been working. The office is on the temple grounds, so we got to see the temple, the hospidaje (a hotel of sorts where people can stay when they come long distances to the temple), and meet all of her senior missionary friends.

That night we went (with some of her Senior Sister Missionary friends) to a Catholic Mass. We visited Chile during their Independance holiday, so there were a lot of patriotic things going on. This was a special mass with singing and people in traditional clothing/costumes.

I have returned from Chile!

So, I have returned back to my homeland. It was wonderful to see my mom and see where she's been serving for 18 months.

I ate lots of new foods and saw lots of beautiful things and places.

Stay tuned for more...

The rest of our Saturday...

So, since I was at TOFW, for the majority of the day, Mike & the girls had all day to play! Mike ran 5 miles pushing both of them in the jogging stroller (!!!). Then he loaded them up in the bike trailer and rode down to see the Tour of Missouri ride through our backyard (practically, it was near City Hall). Then we left the girls with a babysitter and we helped our friend Chad celebrate his birthday with a surprise dinner. Fun times!

Chad, Karyn, & Gabby

Time Out for Women

Today I attended Time Out for Women with a bunch of my ward sisters. It was such a nice, uplifting experience. I really needed to hear a lot of those things like: Satan wants me to think that I'm unproductive, Heavenly Father wants me to love my children, I need to surrender my problems to the Lord, I need to find JOY! in life, I need to listen to my children, I need to speak in "accents of wonder", I need to write more letters/notes, I need to listen longer after I pray (instead of falling asleep), I (and everyone else!) am a Child of God, and I'm sure there was more.

Here are Leslie and I. (I look weird in this picture, but it was the only one that wasn't blurry.)

Here are some of the presenters: Jane Clayson Johnson, S. Michael Wilcox, Cherie Call, Jason Wright, & Pam Hansen

Me and my friend, Kate!

Cherilyn, Hilary Weeks, and moi!

Seatbelts buckled...so we can be safe!

Sydney wanted to put her bear in her carseat and buckle him up, but we needed to get going, so I just strapped him in with her. (Don't worry, safety police, I repositioned the upper clip before we went anywhere!)

Our Trip to the Farm (or Scream-O-Rama)

We visited a working farm today for playgroup. The girls and I were the first to arrive. We all got out of the car and moseyed over to see some chickens. Then we met the first friendly dog and that's when the Scream-O-Rama began. There was another dog as well, and a couple of kittens. Everytime any animal would look at/head towards/think about sniffing the girls they would both scream. Not a sweet scream like, "Okay...I don't like this..."it was more like, "Oh Crap Mommy! This animal is going to eat me!" It was headache inducing, but I knew that if we didn't stay the girls would leave scared. So, we endured.

Here is a mommy goose. She kept her distance.

Sydney was really just sympathy screaming when Kathryn was, so Farmer Pat picked her up and that's where she stayed until we left.

They gave us some carrots to feed the horses and they loved it. Even when we were finished they continued to follow us around. Now, I can understand being a little wary of a horse. They're huge! And have no facial expression. Their happy face looks just like their mad face, which looks just like their indifferent face. At least to me.

The smelly cows. These are the (huge) babies. The oldest one was about a year!

I'm happy to say that by the end of our visit, the screaming had ceased. The cats would run by us and she would scoot a little closer to me, but (thank goodness) no screaming. When we were leaving she said to me, "Mom, that was fun! And my eyes aren't wet anymore!"

The Chickens

Yes, Kathryn was afraid of the chickens as well. Though they really just all steered clear of us. Farmer Pat found some eggs in the coop and let some of the kids hold them.

Sydney and Farmer Pat...attached at the hip (literally!)

The Flowers

This was the last part of our exploration of the farm. Kathryn had finally stopped screaming at this point, whenever a cat would run by her. Sydney, thankfully, had also stopped screaming, because Kathryn stopped!

Look at Kathryn's sweet face and Sydney's goofy face. Farmer Pat picked some flowers for the kids and Kathryn admired hers while Sydney ripped all of the petals off.

Our friends Kate, Ella, & Dallin.

Kathryn took this picture of me.

I made an apron!

Yesterday I found an apron pattern online that I wanted to try, so I did, and here it is! It is a potential project for our Super Saturday. I was talking to my friend and she was saying that they needed something else for SS, so I suggested an apron. This one is pretty plain, but you could choose any type of cute fabric. I found this fabric as a remnant, so it was an inexpensive experiment. I guess I maybe shouldn't post this, since it's what most of you will be getting for Christmas! I had fun making it and can't wait to go and look for more fun fabric. I'm excited to try and make kid aprons. I actually prefer my kids to wear aprons instead of bibs, because they cover their lap. That's where most of the food end up!

I don't wear aprons enough. I always forget to put them on, and end up getting something on myself. But when I have one on, I feel so...protected? I don't know, it's just a good feeling (for me) to be able to wipe my hands on my shirt (or at least where my shirt would be if I wasn't wearing my fancy apron).

A Fun Saturday...

We had a really fun day today. We slept in (super fun) and then we had biscuits and bacon for breakfast (mmmmm.....bacon). The girls and I got ready for the day while Mike went and ran, then we headed off to Forest Park to picnic, play, and ride bikes. The weather was really nice and it was so fun just to be outside. While Mike and the girls got the bikes ready and played at the playground, I went for a short run, then we rode almost all the way around Forest Park on the bike path. Then we came home and took care of some small chores and the girls played outside with our neighbor, Brenden. Oh, and I mowed.

Here is a picture of my living room mantel. I have been working for a while to put something decorative on it that has interesting negative space (you like that Melynie?). Anyway, this is what I've finally come up with and I'm satisfied. Not thrilled, shout it from the rooftops happy, but satisfied. The wall looks horribly purple in this picture. I'd really like to repaint it. Any suggestions? I thought dark blue would look nice, but Mike made a face. What do you think? I'd love to get some other opinions.

Sydney Anne is 2!

Here are Sydney's 2 year old pictures! What a cutie! She did so well smiling and sitting (relatively) still.

Here is some woman hair (as Kathryn calls it).