Thanksgiving

I hadn't planned on doing Thanksgiving this year. The kids had school. Turkey is really expensive. It's hot. (not that I'm complaining). And with no family here it just didn't feel like Thanksgiving.

But some friends called us to see if we wanted to join them at the Lake Chapala Society's annual Thanksgiving dinner and we thought...why not? But plans changed when the LCS dinner was sold out.

So I invited our friends to come over here and enjoy a chicken dinner. They had also invited the missionaries to the LCS dinner, so we invited them too.

Then Dave said it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without turkey, so he quickly ran to Walmart and found a $35 turkey and some fixings.

But I'm glad it turned out the way it did. We had a good dinner. Everything turned out except the apple crisp that I burned (still not used to a gas oven that has a temperature dial that reads 1,2,3,4,5 as the settings). Conversation was good and the kids had fun.

After dinner, we had an appointment with a photographer for my Birthday family picture. Haven't seen the pictures yet but will post some when they are available.

Now for the gratitude part. I'm so grateful to be here. I read once that the reason time seems to go so faster and faster when you get older is because every day gets to be more and more the same. Nothing happens that is memorable. In my experience this is totally true. I'm grateful for a year where time seems to have slowed down. Though the kids have grown and changed a lot here, their youth doesn't seem to be running away so fast. And though sometimes (usually grouchy afternoons with Amelia) I wish it would speed up again, I know I will always remember this year together.

What's happening with Jane?

Jane has always had a very similar life to Riley. Because they are so close in age, they have some of the same friends, hobbies, views on life, etc. So most of what I have said about Riley also applies to Jane. But Jane differs in a few ways too.

Jane has become our resident Spanish expert. Many times Jane will correct Dave and I on our Spanish. And she's usually right. Her accent is awesome, too.

Jane has been very successful at making friends at school. She gets invited to play at someone's house about once a week. Her best friends are Jenita, Mayari, Alberto, Andres and Indigo.

Jane has found a love of lime juice and salt. She puts it on cucumber, guacamole, chips, and tacos. She is always the one pulling limes off our tree and leaving juiced limes in the kitchen. She'll even suck on a lime with salt by itself. She is also our bravest eater. There isn't anything that I would try that she wouldn't. She likes Mexican food more than any of the other kids.

Jane is also doing well in piano. She is currently learning to play a challenging song called "Trumpet Tune" that Riley did for a recital a few years ago. She's learned it in half the time.

The kids have seemed to adjust to Mexico pretty well, but there have still been some repercussions. One of which is that Jane has started sucking her thumb again. She quit about a year ago and earned money to buy a DS Lite. She really wants to get her ears pierced, so I told her that she can when she stops sucking her thumb for real. We'll see.

Jane is a member of the spy club too, but has less interest than the others and frequently opts out of meetings.

Jane has also been a great big sister to Amelia. Besides sharing a room, they have to shower together, because there are no bathtubs. Jane is usually a good sport about this. They also play house, animal shelter, doctor's office, the "spy on the spy club" club, and babysitter.

Look what Riley has done.

I know that updates on the kids are what my readers have been waiting for, so here's the first. (Thanks for reading, mom and dad)

Riley has finally gotten hooked on Harry Potter books. Back when he was 6 or 7, I tried to get him to read the first one and I think it was a little too advanced for him and put him off the books. But beggars can't be choosers here, and since our selection is more limited he finally gave in and tried again. He read the first 3 books in about 1 week. Now #4 is already checked out at the library and he's dying for it. He's also watched each of the movies after finishing the book.

Speaking of books, some of his favorites (besides Harry Potter) that he's read here have been: Phantom Tollbooth, The City of Ember, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Harriet the Spy, The Mysterious Benedict Society, Here Be Monsters, and Alaskan Adventure Series.

Amazingly, Riley hasn't been playing as many videogames since we've been here. In part because our Xbox broke on the way here; so sad. But he still spends a few hours a week on clubpenguin. He even runs into some of his friends from Utah on it occasionally.

Riley had started making these intricate mazes at school during his free time. I remember doing this during church when I was a kid, so I understand the appeal.

He has also started a collection of Tazos. These are little plastic or metal discs that come in bags of chips here. I think they call them Pogs at home. You play a game with them and try to win more. Very popular with the Mexican kids.

Riley, Jane and Jocie have started a spy club and even built a clubhouse out of scrap from the Walmart construction in the backyard. He spends endless time contemplating new rules, contraptions and merchandise for the club. Currently they are decorating for Christmas.

I still make the kids practice piano at the church a couple of times a week and Riley has learned a couple of new favorite songs and even started to write one of his own. I promise to record it when he says it's ready.

Riley still refuses to admit that he likes Mexico, but he already admits that he'll miss Jocie when we go. They have a lot of fun together.

Carrie's Happy Moments

Everyone may be sick of hearing about me and the things I do, but I decided that there were aspects of my life here that I want to remember, so I'm going to blog myself anyway.

First, most of my routine is the same as at home. Cook, clean, drive, homework, grocery shop, read, exercise, church, and play. Those things will probably never change as long as I have the kids and Dave to take care of.

But some additions since moving to Mexico have brought me extra joy.

I love it on the days when after Charlie goes down for a nap, I get to take my book outside with Amelia and sit in the sun. As a teenager I used to love to take my homework out into the backyard and lay out while I studied. I remember Freshman Year in High School when I had honors Geometry and English, I got my best grades and my best tan ever. (Remember I lived in California.)

I love to try to perfect recipes from restaurants when I like one of their dishes. Mexican recipes add extra challenge. Currently I am trying to perfect a Chicken Tinga Tostada recipe. I usually try a few different recipes from the internet. This dish actually was served to me at a church activity, so I could break down and ask the chef for the recipe, but that would take some of the fun out of it, and I'd have to embarrass myself with my broken Spanish.

Here is my latest attempt. Not bad, but not the same as the one I love.

I have also been spending time the last month trying to track down a good photographer for a family picture. I asked Dave to give one to me for my Birthday, but have yet to find a photographer that I like that doesn't cost a fortune. It's very few times when I wish we were wealthy, but this is one of those times. If I had the money, I'd fly down one of my very talented friends to come shoot us. Looking for the photographer is not what brings me joy. It's picturing how wonderful the picture will be to look at in 10 years, when I remember how cute my kids used to be before they were teenagers and how much I loved Mexico.

Believe it or not, driving in Ajijic also brings me joy. But only when I'm doing the driving. First, it reminds me of driving in England as a missionary. There are one-way streets everywhere and streets too narrow for 2 cars to drive even though they are 2-way. I told this to a native Englishwomen, and she was slightly offended, because the drivers in England are very polite and follow all the rules, while Mexicans don't follow any rules except try not to get hit. But I love driving down a narrow road and having to pull way over to the side and wave another driver past. It challenges my peripheral vision and makes me feel like I did a good deed that day.

This brings me to walking around Ajijic. I also love to walk down a street and say Buenos Dias, or Buenas Tardes to everyone I pass. They always smile and say it back. I don't have to really talk in Spanish, but I feel like a local.

And on to running. Like Dave, I have been trying to run along the Ciclopista every so often. I'm not going to say that I don't prefer or miss the aerobics I used to do at home (Hi, aerobics girls), but I do feel pretty healthy after running a couple of miles (My record is 2) and coming home super sweaty.

I almost forgot to add blogging. I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do, but it replaces my scrapbooking hobby very well and I feel like it will help us remember this year even better.

As the song says, these are a few of my favorite things.