A Day at the Beach

We were invited to a wedding in Acapulco this weekend and we decided to take advantage of the trip and take the boys along for a little family excursion.


This is the first time that Josh's body has seen the light of day in some time. I was glad to see him get some color and now I won't have to worry about him developing rickets.

Alex has a blast whenever we go to the beach. He spends the entire day in the ocean.

Josh even decided to get a massage. He has such a rough life!

Of course it wouldn't be a trip to the beach without burying Alex in the sand.

Even Alejandro enjoyed himself.

I think we wore the boys out.

Halloween

A big perk of being in the U.S. in October is Halloween. We have a pseudo Halloween where we live in Mexico, but it is just not the same. So this year, we did it up right. We carved pumpkins.


We put on costumes.

We went to parties to see old friends.

We rang a lot of doorbells and got a lot of candy.

We had a great time.

Haunted Corn Maze

Although we lived in Maryville for a long time, I never got to go to the haunted corn maze at Maple Farms. I really wanted to go this year. So, my parents, my brother, my neice, Alex and I headed out for a spooky time. Below is the design that was cut into the cornfields. We entered at the bottom left-hand corner went all through the maze and exited again at the bottom left-hand corner. We had a blast.



It takes a very secure man to get behind a tractor cut-out and stick his face through the hole . This is why we love you brother.


Alex wasn't too sure of things once we entered the maze.

He had good reason to be concerned.

Kayla, however, wasn't bothered by a thing.

Toward the end of the maze some masked man with a chainsaw surprised us. I went to hug Alex to assure him that everything was alright only to find that Alex was no longer with us. He ran out of the maze and dove under the ticket table as if he was sliding into home. People applauded. I unfortunately will never get that red clay out of those khaki pants.

Fall Festival

Alex and I went to Tennessee this Fall. We were fortunate enough to arrive in time for the Fall Festival. We love to go, but after seeing the sign below I wasn't sure how much fun we were going to have.


Alex started with the climbing wall sponsored by the U. S. Army.


He liked it, but I think that he like the freebies more, dog tags, pens and book covers. We have been receiving recruiter information ever since. He is too young guys; you can't have him yet.

We moved on to a dog training exhibition. It was truly impressive. I can't even get my dog to stop relieving himself all over the house.

Alex decided to try bull riding next.

It is not as easy as it looks.

Alex's cousin, Demi, wasn't interested in the bull riding. She decided to have her face painted. I think that she looks fantastic.

Finally!

I have been looking for the cord to download the photos from my camara to my computer for 6 months. I haven't found it yet. However, I did find a cord that will work. Yea! So I can finally start blogging again. I am doin a happy dance!

Build a Bear

Alex and Demi love to go to build a bear! This year they decided that instead of making their own bear they would make a bear for each other.


There were a lot of smiles and they had a really good time.


When they got their new friends home they decided to camp out in the family room.

The Black & White Affair

One of the great advantages of going back to Tennessee for Christmas is getting to see old friends. Tiffany accompanied her friends to the Black & White Affair. They all looked beautiful .

Of course you can dress them up but, you still can't take them out.

Even the boys got in on the act.

Decorating the Tree

Our tree decorating tradition begins with Dad putting up the star.


Demi and Alex had a lot of fun strategizing their ornament placement.

Usually, I get lost in the crowd, but someone was kind enough to take a snapshot of me this year.

Alejandro put up some ornaments too, but he really prefers to sit back and take pictures.

A special thanks goes out to my Mom who gives each person a new ornament every year. We have come to love and cherish them. Thanks, Mom!

Thanksgiving

I had lots of "helpers" in the kitchen this year. Alex and a friend were in charge of the pumpkin pie. Things were a little wild at first, . . . .


but then everyone settled down and got to work.

In the end, they did a great job . . .

They even put their initials on the pie so that everyone would know who made it.

I think that they did a great job.

The Adriatic Sea

We headed to the small town of Trieste after Venice. It is located in the northeast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea. Alejandro was attending a conference so we used this time to relax in the sun.

It was interesting to discover that Trieste has a connection with Mexico. The French imposed Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I, built and lived in Miramare Castle before moving to Mexico. This is a view of the castle from our hotel.

The castle is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

Ah, Venice!

The beauty of Venice is overwhelming. We loved just walking around the canals.

Alejandro's mother and aunt were traveling around europe and joined us in Venice. It was a real treat to be able to share this experience with them.

First we all went to Piazza San Marco

where we fed the pigeons.

We also toured the Basilica San Marco and Doge's Palace.

We then visited the Bridge of Sighs

and the Rialto Bridge.