Fathers Day Outing

On Fathers Day, Tim wanted to have lunch at the Old Harbor Brewery in Old San Juan, so we spent the day enjoying one of our favorite parts of Puerto Rico.

We worshiped at the cathedral, and then it was time for burgers and brews.

There was no kids menu!  Abigail does put away a cheese burger with enthusiasm, but this was a bit much for a little girl.

Next, a stroll down the Paseo de la Princesa along the bay.  At the end is this fountain.

Walking below the old city walls, looking out across the bay.

When you get out to the point, in front of the old fort (the moro), there is a huge grassy area with a tremendous breeze, beautiful views, and lots of people enjoying the sunshine, kids playing, and kites flying.

Then we navigated the narrow streets back to the car.

Lucas wore his “My dad is awesome” shirt for the occasion. We’re all in agreement with that sentiment!

More Vacation Highlights

Here’s a few of my favorite photos from our time in the states.

 

Highlights from our Vacation

It’s hard to believe that we returned from our visit to the states just over a month ago. Time flies when trying to keep up with two little people, the house, and unpacking after the move.

We had a great time in Chicago and Columbus. Some of the highlights included:

• Watching our kids and parents enjoy each other.
• Catching up with old friends.
• Cousins playing together (as much as they do as toddlers).
• Worshiping with Church of the Resurrection, Wheaton during Holy Week. It was a feast for the soul–we received communion more times than we have in the entire 15 months we’ve lived in Puerto Rico.
• Visiting with Tim’s extended family over Easter dinner.
• Spring flowers–daffodils, tulips, magnolias, dogwoods, etc.  We could have done without the overwhelming amount of spring rains, though.


Easter Egg Hunt!

• Trips to the park between rain showers.
• Snow in Chicago (!?!).
• Snuggling in a warm bed on a chilly night.
• Abigail’s first hair cut.
• Carpeted floors.
• Date night while the kiddos were with Grandma and Grandpa.
• Watching Abigail explore Grandma and Grandpa Elliott’s yard–she ran up and down the hill hundreds of times.
• An outing to the Columbus Zoo.

My Boricua Baby

It turns out that one of Lucas’ favorite meals is chicken with rice and beans, a staple of the Puerto Rican diet. (A Boricua is a Puerto Rican.)

A Lesson Learned

Last week, we were eating lunch on our patio when a gentle rain turned to downpour. Since we were sheltered, we kept eating, watching the clouds and listening to the pounding of the water hitting the concrete. We recalled how rainy season coincided with our move to Caguas about a year ago, and Tim quipped “It’s beginning to look a lot like Hurricane Season.”  (Officially, hurricane season is from June through September.) We weren’t laughing five minutes later when the gutters started to overflow, and water poured across the floor of the patio.

We scrambled to pick up our dishes, the high chair, Lucas, Abigail, and the laundry baskets of dry clothes I had just pulled off the line, but we weren’t fast enough. Wet feet wouldn’t have been that big of a deal, but the problem is that the lowest point on the patio is in front of the door to the house.   Every time we opened the door, water flowed in.  We had quite a mess to mop up once we got everything inside!

Since then, we’ve had at least a shower, if not a thunderstorm every day.  We’ve learned our lesson.  If we’re outside when it starts to come down, it’s time to head for higher ground and shut the water out!

Moved!

Tim called our friend Jose "the magician" after seeing him pack our things in his pick up truck.

Thanks to the help of two couples from our church and the kindness of a new friend who gave up part of his vacation time, we got moved fairly easily.  The best part was that the ladies cleaned up behind the guys as they emptied out the house, so I hardly had any cleaning left to do later in the week.

We’ve still got a lot of work to do to get settled because we unpacked just enough to repack for a visit to the states to see both grandmas and grandpas.  We’ve been having a good time, even if it has been quite chilly!  But that’s more than enough material for another post.

For now, here’s a picture of our new place.  I’ll give you a tour once we get things in order.

Our new house, and a bit of our neighborhood.

Moving

We’re moving to a new house this weekend.  Packing with the “help” of a two year old, and a baby who cries at the sound of the packing tape is a challenge. But, little by little, we’re getting ready.  We don’t have tons of stuff, but it doesn’t seem to matter how much there is, a move is still a big, tiring job. I look forward to showing off our new place soon.