Tagged!

Ya so forgot to keep the fun going and tag people so I tag: Katie Higbee, Emily, Anna, Ashley!!!! I look forward to reading yours!!!

Tagged!

♥What are your middle names? April/Ryan
♥ How long have you been together?6yrs
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Good question! We met when we were 14 but we were just friends and then we went away to college and met back up in 2002.
♥Who asked who out? Chris
♥ How old were each of of you when you started dating? 23
♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most? Chris's my family is all over the place!
♥ Do you have any children together? 2 boys
♥What about pets? Nope.
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Me having to learn another language and him wanting to help me!
♥ Did you go to the same school? Nope rivals!
♥ Are you from the same home town? More or less we are both from SD
♥ Who is the smartest? Its a tie, but I am alays right!
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Chris
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? La carreta
♥ Who has the worst temper? Hmmmm, maybe me
♥ Who does the cooking? Both of us. Until we moved to Peru and now I have a cook!!
Who's more social? Me
♥ Who is the neat-freak? Me for sure, I love my hubby, but what a slob!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? a tie
♥ Who hogs the bed?Chris
♥ Who wakes up earlier? Me
♥ Where was your first date? Hmmm, we alays went with his best friend Steve so I guess it depends on what you consider a date!
♥ Who has the bigger family? Me, but depends on how you look at it.
♥ Do you get flowers often? Birthdays and anniversaries
♥ How do you spend Christmas? Celebrating the way what ever country we are living in does!
♥ Who is more jealous? Chris
♥ How long did it take to get serious? 4 months
♥ Who eats more? Depends on what it is!
♥ Who does/did the laundry? I do
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Chris
♥Who drives when you are together? Me

Back in Time!

It's been a long time no post, and I can not believe how fast time flies. So now my goal is to get back on the blog train and get caught up. So why then are the pictures in this post so old, well I have been going through all my pictures trying to get organized when I just could not resist a little step back in time. So Emily this is for you, I thought these pics of the kids were so cute, man they are little in these pics.

Uncle Josh, Tameryn, and Brock at Sea World. Brock must have been about 2 yrs, how fast time flies. Uncle Josh had just made the kids day buying them all little shamu's.

Zander is just a lil guy about 6 months or so, on one of our trips back to SD from Puerto Rico. I just thought it was such a sweet picture.

Tidwell family moment, all the grandkids, Chris and Em doing some family cuddling one morning.

Grandpa, Tameryn, and Brock at their favorite place in the whole world Sea World. Look at how lil they are! Where did the time go?

Ok so time to get back on track. Stay posted I will be updating this week. Thanks for letting share some memories.

Camp!

Here are some pice of girls camp. I took over 800 pictures so I'll spare you the boredom and just share a few!

30

As I the time approached for me to turn the big 30, I was feeling a little down about the whole milestone that was about to occur. I sat there thinking "man what do I have to show for the last ten years of my life." All I could focus on were the things I was not doing, like keeping up with my dancing, teaching, doing anything martha stewart like(scrapbooking, any craft). I sat there thinking geez what is there that I am even good at? So I decided I was just going to stay 29 forever. Its possible right?

Thank heavens for a good husband and good friends who were able to point out a few things to me to get me out of my slump. I mean geez I do live in another country with a different language right! I was even about to embark on an adventure I never thought I would do, GIRLS CAMP in SPANISH! Yep, for my birthday I was off to spend three days camping with the young women from our church. Oh did I mention it is all in SPANISH, and with my kids. I mention the spanish thing because it is one thing to learn another language, but to learn church vocabulary is a whole other bag of worms. I do have to say that I am pretty proud of myself. Somehow the words are just there and we all had a great time. I have never seen my kids dirtier, but they love being with the youth from our church.

So I did girls camp for my birthday, in spanish, I have learned another language, I have lived out of the states for 4 years now, yep kiddos no target, and a lot of things you learn to live without. I have two kids that are bilingual, and have had the opportunity to travel a lot. I am in the best sahpe I have been in since my dancing days, and have found a new love for running. So I think it is safe to say that I have accomplished something right? I guess its not time for a mid life crisis yet!

Kids are so funny!

Brock is such a funny kid these days, he has such an imagination, and he thinks that he knows everything. So I thought I would share this funny story with you. (Yeah I know lame still no pics, soon I promise) Ok so here it goes:
Last weekend Chris was really sick(throwing up, and other stuff Ill spare you the details), but if you know Chris you know that he never gets sick, ever. So he stayed home from church on Sunday, and I went with the kids. Well after church I was talking to some ladies and they were asking me if Chris was ok, and if I knew what was wrong. I went on to tell them how strange it was because Chris never gets sick(remember this is all happening in spanish), so I was telling them how Chris has a lead stomach and could eat trash out of the gutter and never get sick.

Later that day the bishop and his counselor came by the house to give Chris a blessing and to see if he was ok, when Brock comes walking in to chat(he loves talking to the Bishop). He was listening to them ask questions about how Chris was feeling when he chimes in, "mi papa esta enfermo porque el comio basura."(my dad is sick because he ate trash) The little stinker had listened to my conversation at church but only heard the part about Chris being able to eat trash and never get sick.
The whole week he kept telling everyone that his poppy is sick because he eats trash, and telling Chris to please not eat trash anymore so he does not get sick again. He kept advising others to be careful and not eat trash as well or they would get sick. It is so funny the way kids interpret what we say. I am so blessed to have two crazy lil monsters, they seem to make me laugh each day. I just need to remember there are ears everywhere in my house that will and do repeat everything I say.

Time Goes By!

Wow have I been horrible at keeping my blog up to date, so sorry. Life has been it's usual craziness, and I say usual because it seems to never be anything else but crazy. Well let me see where to start. Well for starters we moved last week, yep I said it we have moved yet again, still in Lima, but to a bigger place. We had some major problems with our last apartment and so we decided during the time we were living in a hotel because we could not be in our apartment that we would start looking around for something with a bit more space. After looking for a while we found a great house that we fell in love with and so we made an offer and a verbal agreement to sign the contract the next day, so we told our landlord that we would be moving in a week. Well long story short the guy was a creep and so 3 days before moving day he backed out and we were left with a half packed house and no where to live in three days. So yeah I was in freak out mode because now we needed to try and find some place new, but this time I had to do it all by myself since Chris had his boss and 2 people from Malaysia in town, which is always fun to do in another language.

So I set up some appointments with 2 realtor's to take me and show me some places, and everything was junk. I saw about 12 houses in a day and a half with my poor boys and found nothing. That night I was talking with the realtor about what I wanted specifically and she said to me that she has the place for me. Remember I am down to 2 days now, so the next morning she took me to see this place, luckily Chris went with, and sure enough she was right. It is a beautiful house, with plenty of area to entertain, which if any of you know us we love to have parties. So we signed the contract later that night, Thursday, and we moved on Saturday. It all happened so fast, that I really did not have time to change back into moving mode. All went well, just still trying to get situated. We are loving our new place, and I am getting my exercise chasing the boys all around the house.

Besides that Chris has been crazy with work, I don't even know if he lives anymore. Between work and being in the bishopric he is never here. Brock is having a hard time with this right now, so hopefully it gets better. Who am I kidding we have been doing this for 4 yrs. now, one can always hope right! The boys started school, and man does Z love school. I am still taking spanish classes and being in Young Women's again is keeping me busier then ever. We are getting ready to go to girls camp in two weeks on top of everything else. It is a good things my boys love hanging out with the young women. I feel like I have to learn the program all over again but this time in spanish, which complicates things. So far the girls have not laughed at me, at least not to my face, and we all manage to understand one another thankfully. So there is a lil tid bit of why I have not blogged in a while, not to mention no Internet still, but we are all good. I hope to get a ton of pics posted soon. Besos

Phase 2!

On Brock's actual birthday we were trying to figure out what to do, and he requeted going to Parque de Agua, a giant park with water fountains and some for the kids to play in. He is my water baby. We invited some friends to go with us, but this is how I saw Brock the whole time, by himself. Some of the other boys we went with were too scared to go in, but that did not deter Brock from having fun.

My little baby is growing up. He now thinks he can do everything by himself, now that he is 4.

Brock has such a sweet spirit, although he does not show it all the time. When we asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday besides go the the water park he said he would like to go to the temple. So we headed to the temple only to arrive and find out that it is closed for repairs. So he wanted to get out and take a picture. He loves to go to the temple, which I think is so sweet.

Next on his list was to go to his very favorite restaurant in the whole world. Some kids like McDonalds, or pizza, but Brock loves Bennihanas. He would go there once a week if he could. Luckily it is a lot cheeper here then in the states. He thinks watching the guy cook is the coolest thing in the whole world.

Sorry I just realized the seqence of events is all disorganized, but you can get the picture right! This is Brock on the morning of his birthday. Zaida made him this chocolate cake just for him, and he was so excited, not so much for the cake, but to blow out the candles. I still can not believe he is 4, I am feeling so old!

Big 4!

He's a ladies man! Yeah that is my boy going in for the kill to say thank you to his GF Lucianna for the cool car she gave him for his Bday.
We threw Brock a little party for him at his school to celebrate the big 4. Actually I wanted to just bring some cookies in, but his teacher insisted that I go home and write up some invitations to give out so the kids will bring presents. I said that that is ok, and I will just bring some cookis, and the next thing I know I am home trying to print out some invitations to take back to the school, well actually Chris did it for me. Man his teacher was convincing! Anyways, it turned out to be a great day for Brock. He loved the fact that we came to his class and brought goodies and cupcakes, and I was relieved that this would be sufficent and so I am now off the hook from throwing a giant peruvian bday party. Yeah! That will come next year.

Brock's class mates singing to him, and do you see the arm around Brock's shoulder hmmmmm.

Brock loves any reason to be the center of attention, and he make sure to put on the BIG act and all.

Here is what we got him for his Bday, and man was he excited. I was even more excited then he was because I got it at 40% discount. I think he loked ot most because of how big it was!

More Las Dunas!

Z and daddy going down the slide, Z is not quite sure what to think about it.

I tell ya my kids have turned into little fish, it is like pulling teeth to get them out of the water. They were in this pool swimming all day and when I say all day I mean all day.

Dad going for a solo run down the slide to show the boys how much fun it is.

Las Dunas!

The first weekend in Feb. we went to this resort called Las Dunas about 3 hours away in a town called Ica. Chris needed to go for work and called me the night before to see if i wanted to go and my answer was you bet. I think I can handle a weekend in the sun! So off we went bright and early the next morning. Let me just tell you that my kids were in heaven.
At the resort they have 3 pools, horse back riding, sand boarding, dune buggies, massages, and the list goes on.
Funny story, see the llama in the picture, well he did not like us getting too close to him so as Chris got closer he startes making this funny noise and spitting at Chris. Man do I wish i had this on video. As Chris gets closer this llama is just spitting all over him as I tell him to get closer so i can get a better picture. I have never seen anything like it, and we have seen a ton of llamas here in Peru. Chris said it smelled horrible, but the kids sure thought it was hillarios, and so did I.

Here is Z and Dominic riding horses. I was sure Z was going to freak out, but he did not, if fact he wanted to do it all by himself.

Brock riding his horse, he thought it was so cool to be up there solito, as he calls it.

As we were waiting for the horses to get sattled up, the boys were feeding the horses some hay when Brock comes walking over and says "mom look what I found." He was so proud of himself for finding some eggs, and I quickly explained why he needed to put them back, and he was so perplexed.(They have tons of animals at this resort, kind of like a petting zoo).

Random

Brock finished his first year of school in December, so as I was going through the house trying to get organized after the holidays I came accross a drawer full of everything he did in school last year. The drawer was full of papers and projects, so I dedided the best way to remember it all is to take a picture and then yes, throw it all away, with a few exceptions. I have to say that putting it in the trash was a very difficult thing for me, afterall he is my first born. I was strong and filled those trash bags full of my lil mans work. So here is a shot of his achievements.

Ok Zander is in love with babies, in particular he loves baby Alia. My friend Megan and her family just moved here, her husband is working with Chris, and she has a 4 month old baby that Z just adores. I never see this kid sit still except for when he is holding baby Alia. When ever he sees her he says "I wanna hold it." He better enjoy her becuase I am not ready to have another one!!!

I am Lame!

I know I said I would not let my blog get out of control again, but here I am with no post for a month. Where does the time go? Things have been crazy to say the least with a quick trip to Puerto Rico, oh how do I miss it there, doctors appointments, oh and the newest a new resonsibility at church. Yeah I am freaking out a lil bit. Last week I was asked to be the president of the Young Womens Program, its a voluntary position to work with the Young Women in our church from age 12-18, which is fun I love working with the youth, but in SPANISH! I think I have had problems breathing since the question was asked, and the panik that runs through my body every time I think about having to speak in front of them is paralizing. I had my first meeting on Thursday, and all I can say is Wow. Just when I had started to feel pretty confident with my spanish this comes along and puts me back in check. Hopefully I will be getting some guidance from up above because I am going to need it.
So anyhow, I am done giving excuses, and I promise to post some pics really soon. Lots of good stuff to post so be on the lookout. Brock turns 4 on Saturday, can you believe it.

Done!

O.K thanks for being patient and putting up with all the back tracking, I am officially caught up on my blogging. Whew that was a lot of work. Remind to never let it get that far behiind.

Another Celebration!

So I was feeling guilty for not having a real celebration with cake and a few friends so last minute on Sunday I made some calls and invited some friends over for cake. It was the craziest party in the sense that we had probably 7 kids 12 adults in my tiny apartment, but we had a great time. The kids played hard and ate more sugar then I am sure their little bodies knew what to do with, but that is what a party is about right? Anyhow, hopefully Z had a great day and thanks to those who came a celebrated with us.

All the kiddos, what a fun bunch of lil guys. Zander loved every bit of it. (Santiago, Z, Brock, Lilly, Ishmael, Dillan, Alec and Mark)

Blowing out the candles, Z had been practicing all day for this. He was so excited!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZANDER!

Zander turned 2 this past Saturday, and boy I can not believe how fast time flies. So on his special day we wanted to do something fun, since he wont remember a big party anyways, so we went to the beach. We have some friends who invited us to come to their beach house about an hour away from here in Asia so we jumped at the invite and we were off. We had such a great time not only because we were at the beach, but because we got to spend some quality time as a family.
Zander has been such a wonderful addition to this family and we love him dearly. We are so proud of him, and he never seems to amaze us at his readiness to try and do everything. He always seems to make me laugh, and he just adores his big brother. Happy Bday Z!

This is Z with Facundo and Carmen. Carmen is Facundo's nanny but she and Z love each other dearly, so this is how he spent most of the day holding her hand and playing in the water. Thanks Carmen!

Z's Big Day!

Last Tuesday was Zander and Brock's first day of summer school, and Z's very first day of school ever. I did not know what to expect when I dropped him off, but he sure is a different kid then Brock. As soon as we got near the front gate he wiggled out of my arms and walked right in as if he owned the place, and never looked back. I never even got a single tear! He looked back to say bye and then he was off. Really I am glad that it went that way and that they are both super happy. They love going to school together. This is Z in his class with his teacher.

Z playing on the big boy toys, he does not know he is only 2.

Morning of the first day of school, don't they look so happy!

Almost caught up!

On New Years day we went to Parque de Agua, which is a big giant park filled with some of the largest water fountains in the world. It was so much fun. They have light shows on the water to music, big fountain tunnels to walk through, and this fountain that Chris and Brock are standing in. It is a huge fountain you can walk through and not get wet if you plan you steps appropriately. We had a blast and the kids loved it.

On New Years Eve we all loaded into a van and made the 5v hour drive to Nazca to go see the Nazca Lines. Yeah so I don't have any other pictures but this one, because I felt so sick in the air that it was all I could do from throwing up on my dads leg!!! I hat to even admit that but it is true. I am not one to sick easily, but it sure did a number on my stomach. It was amazing to see regardless, definitely a must see as well. This is us getting ready to take off in a tiny little plane.

The whole gang at Saqsaywaman in Cusco, Grandma and Grandpa Higbee and my crew.

See in spite of it all they do love each other! Man sometimes I wonder though so it is always good to see a reminder. Oh we are at Saqsaywaman in Cusco. The boys were really good considering there was not a whole lot for them to do but chase llamas.

It is so amazing to not only hear about the stories of how these ancient cities and temples were built, but it is amazing to see them in person. Just to give you an idea, look at how giant these rocks are and they moved them by hand, crazy? I could spend a few pages talking about how interesting all the history is here in Peru and Cusco, but you just need to come and visit and see for yourself.

More Machu Picchu!

A view of Machu Picchu! Tempting huh, come visit us! It is beautiful.

So the boys favorite thing to do was chase the llamas. Zander thought they were the coolest thing ever.

That is the peak we climbed, man what a work out.

While we were hiking to the top we took the road less traveled and got stuck. We were on the top of the ledge and couldn't see a way to get down until we found some steps of the cliff. They were crazy, it is basically just a rock hanging out of the cliff, they call them floating steps. I wish the picture would have turned out better. My heart was sure beating fast when I took my first step.

Machu Picchu!

I finally made it to Machu Picchu! On Christmas day after we opened presents we packed up to head to Cusco and Machu Picchu. This was Chris's 3rd time Brock's 2nd and my first, finally. We stayed in Cusco the first night and then took a train up to Aguas Calientes to spend the night before we headed to Machu Picchu. Really it was because my dad and I wanted to get up early to hike to the top of Huanapicchu. They only allow 400 people a day on the trail so we had to get up early to be the first on the trek. It was way cool because we were the very first 2 people on the trail, I am no the least bit competitive, right! The trail is pretty fun with complete drop offs and tiny steps but wow was it beautiful. This is me on the top of the mountain, it was really cloudy though so we could not see much but so worth it.

My dad and I waiting to be the first on the trail at the crack of dawn. Were pumped up and ready!

Unfortunately it rained quite a bit while we were there, but the boys did not care on bit. In fact I think they went out of their way to find every puddle they could find to jump in.

This is my child who never sleeps. I swear the kid never gets tired. From Cusco you have to take a train to Machu Picchu which is about 4 hours, and man he fought going to sleep hard, but finally gave in and this is what he looked like when he did. He would not go to sleep in my lap, but instead went on the floor, in the middle of the isle might I add and fell asleep. Whew that was alot of work.

Grandma and Grandpa Higbee eating their choclo on the train. It is fun along the way the train will stop and you can buy things from people from the window of your seat, so Chris bought everyone some choclo and cheese. Choclo is the Peruvian version of corn, but the kernels are gigantic. I personally don't care much for it, but my husband and kids do. I think it grew on my grandparents, either that or they were just being nice.

Christmas Day

Yeah I know it looks like Toys R Us threw up in our living room! This was the biggest Christmas we have ever had, well the boys I mean. My dad and his parents came to spend the holidays with us, which was so fun. So between all the many grandparents and great grandparents these boys have it made for a big Christmas. The boys were on overload by the end of the morning, they could not decide what they wanted to play with. Luckily we left later that morning to go to Machu Picchu for four days, so they could relax. We had a great holiday and the kids loved having Grandpa and Grandma here to visit.

Yeah don't we look good first thing in the morning. I just wish I had the same energy level as my boys, I am not asking for all of it, just some for heavens sake! Oh and aren't the lil outfits my dad got for the boys, including Chris cute!

Christmas eve we went to the park right out in front of our house and blew up fireworks. When I say we blew up fireworks, we did not just do sparklers we did full on fourth of July fireworks. Chris has a good friend that has the "hook up," it was so much fun. All the people in the apartments around us were all on their patios watching the show. The kids and I stood by the side while Chris and his friend Rafa dropped these huge fireworks in these huge canisters and would light it and run while they flew up in the sky. We saved the biggest one for 12 midnight to celebrate Christmas. Brock was not so sure he liked them, well the noise of them, but it was such a fun way to celebrate.

Brock and Z in their brand new Christmas PJ's.

We have a tradition that the kids get to open one present on Christmas eve and it is always PJ's. Brock was so excited when he opened his new Ben 10 PJ's and Z for his Lazy Town. The kids could hardly wait for Christmas, and I could hardly wait to not have to re wrap all the presents that Z kept getting into. Oh and I am so ready to take my tree down. Z's favorite thing to do is to take all the ornaments off the tree. Anyhow, belated Merry Christmas to you all.

Blog Back Log!

I am so behind on blogging it is not even funny. I don't even know where to begin, so bare with me as I back track a little.
We ended Brock's first year of school in December, I know we are backwards it is summer here now finally!). I can hardly believe we have been here in Peru almost a year and that Brock has been through one year of school, time is going by so fast. The school ended the year with a huge show in a giant theatre. Each class did a Disney movie and Brock's class did Madagascar, and he was the Zebra. My heavens it was quite the show, I'll put some video up later. Brock did an awesome job "movin it" up on stage. (He must take after his mommy!) It was so cute I cant wait for next years show. This is Brock and his teacher Miss Lily. She was a wonderful teacher, we will miss her, luckily we Will see her next year at school.

I have to admit I had a really hard time getting in the holiday spirit this year, so we made goodies to help us, me, get in the mood. My little Rudolf helped me deliver the goodies, isn't he darling! We had a great time going around and spreading holiday cheer, although I feel like i was trying to steel some as we went house to house. I have to say it did help a bit.

Okay so are you ready to hear about our crazy ward Christmas party? Let me just say crazy it was. Is this not the scariest Santa costume you have ever seen? Guess who it is, yep it is Chris! Along with the craziness right before Christmas Chris got called into the bishopric, so here he is with the bishop and the other counselor.

Ill try and sum up the party for you as bet I can, here it goes. The party started at 8pm which I thought was kind of late, but not if you are in Latin America. They had a little devotional to bring in the spirit, and all I kept hearing was "where is papa noel, Santa." We then moved on to a dinner that was then followed by the fun part. They had a group that performed all the kids favorite shows, hi 5 and such, the kids ate it up. Then they had reindeer, barney, elf's and more. I mean what is Christmas without Barney right? It is now about 11pm and man I am tired, the kids are on their second wind, and ready for Santa. Santa finally comes and I am trying to find Chris cause he has my camera. I finally realize after noticing Santa's watch that he is Santa. And a scary Santa I thought. Santa brought presents for all the kids and then after pictures, that my kids refused to take with Santa it was time to go home, its only 12:30. All in all the kids had a great time, and it was unlike any church Christmas party I have ever been to.

Merry Belated Christmas! I am sorry we were lame this year and did not get cards out this year. I was not super excited about taking family pictures while I still looked 7 months pregnant after surgery. We will get some pics out soon though. Love you all!

What a Night!

I felt like I was getting ready for prom night all over again this past Saturday as we got ready for our first big social event here in Peru. Our good friends were celebrating their marriage and we were so honored to be invited to this special event. If you have ever lived in Latin America you know that an event like this is a big deal, so we were so excited to check it out. I even had the freak out to find the right dress since I was only a week post opp and still very swollen and uncomfortable. Just what I wanted to do, go looking for a fancy dress. Long story short I found something and even had the chance to get my hair done by a famous hairdresser here in Peru. I have to say it was a blast to get pampered and all dressed up. It was nice to remember that a girl can clean up rather nicely, and get out of mommy mode!
Let me just tell you that this party was nothing like I have ever seen, breath taking. The flowers, the set up, the food, it was like being in a movie but better. There was dancing, music and even a show complete with stilt walkers and fireworks. People in Latin America really now how to party. Things just got started around mid-night, and kept on rolling even after we left around 3am. I must be getting old, I just cant do those kind of nights anymore. Not to mention Z was up and ready for the day an hour or so after I fell asleep. We had such a wonderful time though, we danced like crazy, made lots of new friends, and to this day are still trying to catch up on sleep.

Here is a glimpse of what the party looked like. It is hard to tell, but the lighting and decorations were so elegant.

We were the first ones to arrive in our section, but it was nice to have some time to check things out and sneak some pics.

Catching Up!

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We had a great turkey day, complete with the tummy ache afterward. We went to another American families house along with a few other lonely soles without family here in Peru. We even had a bounce house for the kids, a Peru thing, so it was nice to have them entertained. It is so nice to know that where ever you are through out the world there is family, maybe not blood related but family none the less. We have been truly blessed this year and we are so grateful for all the adventures that life has brought us. I hope that everyone had a great holiday, and we love you!

Check out this bounce house! I have to say that the adults had just as much fun in it as the kids.

Every week at Brock's school they have theater class and music class, but as the year is coming to end all the parents were invited to come and see what they have been learning all year. Let me just say it was so much fun. This pic is of the music class, complete with the teacher playing live music on the guitar. She has been teaching the kids the scales with nesting dolls, so creative, that is what they are doing in this picture. I am so proud of my lil man.

Here is Brock in his theater class having a blast can you tell? Their teacher is awesome, he also had live music for the kids to act to, so fun. At the end of the class we all made a giant spider web of yarn, and the kids loved it. It was especially fun this day because Grandma and Grandpa Tidwell came to class. Man what a well rounded kid he is growing up to be.

Grandparents Visit!

Machu Pichu baby! Yeah I am not at all jealous, my turn is coming next though. Chris took Brock to Machu Pichu for the weekend with his parents and they had a blast. It gives new meaning to a father and sons outing right! Brock still talks about he and his dad are Machu Pichu buddies, it is really cute. I am so glad they had a few days to bond, but man was I lonely with just Z and me.

Isn't it beautiful? Chris said Brock was great the whole trip, which was a relief, because this trip was not exactly geared for kids.

Grandpa and Brock checking out the llama. Man are they soft lil guys. Look at how tiny this lil lady is!

I love this pic of Grandma and Brock at the beach by our house. We had so much fun looking for pretty rocks, and Brock loved trying to find the biggest one he could find and throwing it into the ocean. It was such a relaxing afternoon.

Grandma and Brock playing at the park. Poor Grandma had to try all the toys at the park by Brock's request, including the giant dragon slide. How fun, she was such a good sport.

Long time no post!

I am so behind on all my posts so this week is the week to try and catch up hopefully! We have had a few hiccups the last week, but things are looking up. As some of you know I was in the hospital this week having a very unexpected surgery, so that is my excuse for lack of blogging.

I have been feeling a little under the weather for a couple of weeks now, Ill spare you the details, and thought I had a nasty bug. Well the day after Thanksgiving I hit rock bottom throwing up the whole enchilada, yuck! On Monday Chris finally forced me to go to the doctors and 5 min after we arrived the doctor said he needed to schedule me for surgery, and my reaction was"WHAT?' He then proceeded to tell me I needed to have me appendix taken out as soon as possible before it burst. My immediate reaction was I burst into tears, which is not like me, and then I regained control, and got clarity and realized this was not an option. I dont know maybe it had something to do with having a major surgery done in a different country? Well long story short I am home now despite a few complications and healing slowly. It was such a blessing to have the help that we have in our home with the boys, it made it a lot less stressful for me. So watch out, I have a lot of posting to do, so stay posted. We had a lot of things happen the last few weeks, so I will have to back track so bare with me. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Besos!

Daddy son trip!

Chris's parents got into town on Friday and I can't tell you how excited the boys are to have guests in the house. So they were here for one short day and then it was off to Machu Pichu, with Brock and Chris. Yep so it is just Z and I hanging out at home. I have to say I was terribly afraid to send Brock when Chris first brought up the idea, but then we decided it would be a really good father son bonding moment(brock has been struggling with dad never being around lately). So Saturday morning they were off, and I am sure they are tired of me calling to check on them. What can I say, I am overprotective. Chris says Brock has been awesome and they are having a great time. This morning they head out for a 3 hour train ride up to Machu Pichu, Brock is soooo excited, he loves trains. Anyhow, Zander and I had fun yesterday just the two of us, and then I had to go and get sick. Today is not looking so hot as far as fun goes, poor lil guy. He keeps asking where everone is, so sad. It is so cute every time I talk to Brock he asks to talk to Z, or as he says "his baby." It is so nice to see they really do love each other. I do feel wierd though just having one of them here with me it is so quiet, I miss Brock, and cant wait for him to come home tomorrow.

Tagged!

So my friend Melissa tagged me a few weeks back and I have been really lame at following through, better late then never right. So here is the 4th picture of my blog. Thankfully it is one of my favorites ever, thanks Lilly. Man I cant get over how big Z is getting.

I tag Emily J, Kelsey and Lilly, Luv ya. Oopps forgot to tell ya what to do, go to your archive and re post your fourth picture, good luck.

Phase 2

Yesterday was the last day of soccer, Yeah! Brock had a great time this season and learned a ton, but I have to say I dont think it is his thing. So I am on the hunt for his THING!

All of us, the moms all pitched in money to do something nice for the profe on the last day, so here it is. It was so sweet, he actually had tears in his eyes when we gave it to him and told us how much he loved all our kids. It was such a sweet moment.

So now soccer is over, so we are going to give swimming a try. Another plus to living abroad all these activities are super chea, so you can have your go at all of them. For example I was paying $50 soles a month for soccer three times a week for one hour, which is about $17. Cheap huh! So hopefully swimming will be a good experience for Brock, fingers crossed. So far so good see the giant smile on his face!

Again!

The competition is already starting for battle wounds! Yesterday we took brock to the hospital for stitches, 4 to be exact. I had just gotten home from a luncheon and Chris had picked Brock up from school for me, and he was so excited to show me his new karate uniform. He put it on and was showing me his new moves, by the way he is starting karate. We were having such a good time when he went to jump on the bean bag chair we have in the corner of our room, and over estimated his power and his head landed on the bottom ledge of our window. In a matter of seconds the floor was covered in blood and his head was just squirting, so i am a mess. It actually was probably a pretty funny sight because I am a mess Chris is putting pressure on his head, both our empleadas were trying to get his clothes off and cleaned up, it was chaos. We then went to the hospital to see what the damage was. Luckily he just needed 4 stitches. He thought it was cool because Zander only had 2 and he has 4, way to be positive right! Anyways, luckily Chris was home, and we live right by a great hospital wheeeeew. I will be happy if we do not have to go back to the hospital anytime soon. I guess this being our first incident with Brock in almost 4 years those are pretty good odds, hopefully it will be at least another 4 years!!!