PICKING UP ROCKS FOR GRANDMA CAROL

We took a long walk with the 2 kids on Saturday morning. On the way back we walk up a lightly improved roadway which has lots of stones and Max filled my left pocket with treasures for Grandma Carol. He knows that she likes rocks and had a few already before Grandpa Ron arrived.

PARK ON WTC PROPERTY

The children´s park is fenced to keep out the watch dogs and other bigger kids from playing in the sand and breaking the equipment. This was taken on a Saturday afternoon when a couple of father´s were watching a large bunch of kids. Max is sort of in the middle. It has 3 swings, a big teeter totter, two slides and a large jungle gyms with monkey bars under one long bridge over. Sand covers the main play area and a specific sand box with lots of toys is a fun place. Sara will not let her kids go unless an adult is present.

The park is right behind the row of homes that Sara and Wem live.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY

Since Sara had invited people over for Sunday lunch, I took her out for Mother´s Day on Saturday evening. She of course chose a pizza place with a kids play area. This was the best photo of the evening. We had Portuguese pizza which featured a thin crust with thin ham slices, mild pepperoni, and lots of cheese. No, there wasn´t any tomato sauce!! Had to add catsup in packets to get that taste. The kids loved the slides and Max really had a ball on the jumpalene (small trampolene and that is Sammi´s name for Trampolene) Hope everyone had an enjoyable day. We are having ground chicken lasagna, as Wem is not supposed to have red meat.

Dining hall for students and staff

The dining hall is quite large and even with 40 people around tables (6 persons per table) it is less than half full. Wemerson bakes bread in the morning to the right of the photo. All the chairs and tables are to the left. Large rolling glass doors on either end (out past the people and behind the camera) are used to secure the area at night and when no kitchen personnel are present. Yes, that is Sara walking away on the left. The gentlemen looking at the camera is Cornelius who is manager of the physical plant and maintenance.

Breathing saturated NaCl air for less snoring

Max has become quite good at doing deep breathing with this appartus which is currently on Wem´s nose. It seems to help them with breathing at night and Sara says he doesn´t snore as much. Same results with Wem.

Grandpa and Lucas

This is a typical early morning routine with Grandpa Ron coming by at 6:30 to 7am and having bread with Sara, Max and Lucas. The munchkin is very comfortable sitting on Grandpa´s lap and eating and drinking. Max is too big for Grandpa´s lap while eating. Lucas is learning to use a spoon and gets a goodly portion in his mouth with repeated practice.

Sara´s Veranda

Sara and Wem play a lot more on their veranda than other families in the complex. I have seen the Venezuelan man playing with his little girl, but seldom is there a group of kids. Could be that Max and Lucas have more interesting toys or that Sara or Wem are usually outside involved in the activities. The girl in pink is Julia, Brasilian daughter of a professor, and the girl in red is Andrea, one year old Venezuelan whose mom and dad are students.

We need to get another hummingbird feeder, as they buzz through often but have no reason to stop.

We did see a flock of 20-30 yellowish colored birds with top knots fly from tree to tree in the complex yesterday. They were about the size and shape of a mockingbird. Wish I could have taken a photo to better describe them. We think they are migrating.