Masatepe day trip

When we are all together our group is hard not to notice. . . it goes without saying that we are a larger than average family. So it is an unusually exciting blessing when we are all invited over for a meal. We were recently asked to have lunch at the home of a family that goes to our church. It was a delicious soup that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

And although we go to Masatepe every week for church, we rarely get the opportunity to just hang out while we are there. So after lunch we went to the park and the kids ran out all their energy before we got cleaned up and ready for church.

Debonney and Joely with our smallest host

 

 Aren't these two the cutest!!! (three if you count the puppy)

 

 Enjoying our soup

Swinging on the swings!

Hanging out with my little buddy

 

 The pretty flower drawn in my mocha :)

The perfect group snack

We love palomitas.
They are requested approximately 20 times a day. (more or less) but we usually end up actually making them once or maybe twice a week.

I mean really, who doesn't love a bowl of popcorn while you are all snuggled up watching a movie. Especially when you are snuggled up with two or three or five little ones on the couch!

So palomitas (popcorn) are a special treat loved by all in this house. And really you can't beat it. One bag costs less than $1.50 and makes enough popcorn for 20 of us.
So you can add it up:
1 bag of popcorn (maybe 1.5 if we are really hungry)= $1.50
1/2 cup of oil (spilt between the multiple batches)= maybe $0.25
1 stick of butter (margarine)= $0.50
20 minutes of gas for cooking and a couple pinches of salt= hardly worth mentioning

So we have the before:

 

The cooking process:

 

the after:

 

and the enjoying :)

Teachers' Day Out

I'm not entirely sure who first came up with the idea of a field trip without the students, but its somewhat of a genius idea! Take off school for the day, and go somewhere fun with all the rest of the people you work with in the school, while leaving the kids home. . . sounds good to me!

We spent the day at the Islets of Granada. So in a short summary, drive to Granada, take a boat to a little island, fish, make lunch, and hang out enjoying the lake and its beautiful views. I don't know about you, but I consider that quite an enjoyable day trip.

 

 

I caught a fish! (I wasn't expecting to even fish, let alone catch something!) It was also my first time using a handmade pole (fishing line attached to a stick :)

 

 

Lake Nicaragua

 

 

The volcano on the edge of the lake.

 

 

Our boat

 

 

Our little island

 

 

 

 

Ale and I

 

 

Some of the others trying out their luck fishing

 

 

and the truck ride back home.

 

The Circus :)

So a while back, we were blessed with the chance to take ALL the kids to the circus!!! The last couple days that the circus was here they had a special of two for one, so we decided to pack up the van and head to Managua :)

Most of our kids had never seen anything like a circus, so they had no idea what to expect and were very much looking forward to it. I have always loved magic and acrobatics and circus shows, so I was pretty excited myself too. And I would have to say that I was surprisingly impressed! The kids loved it too, although I think they were just as thrilled to simply see the animals and when they did anything beyond that, it was an added excitement.

 

 

There were prancing horses, trick doing dogs, crazy clowns, 

 

 

tigers that climbed on stools, ran in a wheel, and jumped through fire,  

 



 

 

a man that did circles inside and outside of a spinning twirly wheely thing, a juggling dancer, acrobats, flying motorcycles. . . 

 

and a lion that rode a motorcycle!



 

So over all, a successful trip!