Vacation Bible School 2008

Yeah, yeah! It's been a month and I'm finally getting around to posting VBS pictures.
* Sorry...not sure what the (1) means...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My short synopsis: The theme of the Bible School was, "Living Like a Child of the King". It was a whole packet done in Spanish and included puppet skits. The kids really seemed to like the puppets. We also used the Bible story of Joseph with the lessons. We had an average of 40 kids there each night. Philip and Collette, along with some others from church, did a good job creating the props, painting the castle walls, etc...

Lip Smackin' Good

Thought you all would enjoy this picture. As mentioned before, Taylor loves to eat (can't imagine where he gets that from?!?!!!!) and he loves to show everyone else just how much he enjoys it! You have to keep a broom and washcloth handy when he starts digging in the food!

Today in Pictures - V

8/12/08 - 8/14/08

I believe this will be the last post concerning Michelle and Kay's visit. After Kyle's birthday party on Monday, we packed up and headed out with Philip and Collette early Tuesday morning. Our destination? A mini-vacation at the Pacific Ocean. Specifically? A small town north of Puerto Vallarta called, Sayulita.

It took us 8 hours to get there...and then I'm not sure how long we drove around trying to find the house we had rented. It was a big house with 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, a kitchen, and large sitting porch...and a private pool, too! Unfortunately there had been some mis-communication between the renter and the property manager...and our house had not been cleaned for our arrival. So, we drove around looking at other places while the maid and gardener prepared the place.

The weather was very hot, humid, and buggy....but the ocean was just beatiful. Very relaxing! Wednesday we spent several hours at the ocean and then came back to the house so the kids could take a nap. That evening we drove around the area (for a long time!!!) before we finally decided on a hole-in-the-wall Mexican eatery! I had a chicken fajita...very, very, good!!

Thursday morning we ate a a really cute outdoor place that had several palapas. The picture below shows you what a palapa looks like. They can be small or large.

Ater that delicious breakfast, we headed the 8 hours back home!

All in all, the trip was very nice, but a little too short!

Here's a slideshow of some of the pictures.
Hint: Once you hit play for the slideshow to come up, try hitting the next button instead of play. Even at it's slowest, it goes a little too fast to read the captions and look at the pictures.

I also wanted to say"Thank-You" to Michelle and Kay for coming to visit us! We had a blast! They also brought along tons of clothes for the kids and food and personal items for Michael and I...what a blessing. Once again, "Thank-You!!!' We hope you enjoyed your stay! Come back soon!!!

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Birthday Wishes

8/23/08

...Thinking of my little sister on this special day...

What more can I say?
A sweet sister...

... and a wonderful aunt! She loves to have fun with the kids!


Brenda,

Hope You Have...

A Very, Very, Happy Birthday!!

We Love You Lots & Miss You Much,

Crystal, Michael, Kyle & Taylor

Kyle's 3rd Birthday Party

8/11/08

Here are some pictures from the party. Some are not the greatest quality, but you'll get the idea. Enjoy!

We had a great time! Besides Michelle and Kay being here, Pappy and Mammaw Burch came, along with a family from church. One of our neighbor girls also stopped in.

Kyle really likes 'Shamu', so we tried to make one for him. Michael, Michelle, and Kay made a paper mache whale and I decorated it with icing to use on top of the cake.

Along with the whale idea...we bought a pinata that had some ugly face on it, then we re-painted it and Michelle made little whales to put on it. Each little kid got a chance to whack the pinata, then we let Philip finish it off since his birthday had been the day after Kyle's. Oh yes, and I should mention, Philip bent the handle on my broom....

Kyle got a lot of gifts from relatives and friends. Some of the things he got: clothes, a bat and ball, a play microphone, Little People toys, and of course, Hunter Dan! Thanks to those who sent or brought gifts. We really appreciated it!

Today in Pictures - IV

8/9/08
Saturday's Agenda:
- Went back to the Pipila and enjoyed the surrounding view
- Went to the grocery store, MEGA
- Went to the beautiful 'Casa Colorado' for supper
- Rode the cable car down into the heart of the city
- Walked around downtown, listened to a few mariachi bands, and then walked down to look at Michael's school

- Went back to MEGA for a few things we (okay, I) forgot!

(Above) The Pipila

(Above) Casa Colorado - hotel and restaurant

(Above) A horrible picture...but maybe it will give you an idea of how beautiful the view was from where we ate. We had our own personal room to dine in with two wall sized windows and a balcony.

(Above) The beautiful grounds at Casa Colorado

(Above) Smiling for the camera - Michelle and Kay

(Above) Looking down from our cable car.

Note: I did not take many pictures downtown. Maybe sometime soon I'll go on a photo shoot and show you more of where we live. There are some beautiful building here.

Today in Pictures - III

8/8/08
Friday's Agenda:
- We finally ate at a taco stand, "Tacos Roy"
- Went to the monument "Pipila", but it was raining, so we didn't stay
- Went to Cristo Rey (click here to see more pictures and the details of this religious monument)
- Drove to Leon (and sat in a 1-1/2 hour traffic jam, due to....not much...well actually, it's because people make a three lane highway into five and then have to come back down to two lanes...VERY ANNOYING!!
- So after sitting in traffic, we were very hungry and upon our arrival in Leon, we ate at Sirloin Stockade for a wonderful buffet. (More to this story, below)

(Above) The taco stand

(Above) Fixin' our food. Notice on the left the pork on the spit with the pineapple on top. Tacos made with this are called "Tacos al pastor". I think these are Michael's favorite....I'm into the pollo (chicken) thing.

(Above) This man was going to town choppin' the onions! They normally serve diced onions and cilantro with their tacos. Oh yeah, salsa, too.

(Above) Tacos al pastor.

(Above) The view from our parking spot at the Pipila.

(Above) A sanctuary (? for lack of a better term) at Cristo Rey. Notice the crown of thorns that runs around this circular room. Also, there was a nun sitting there...not sure what she was doing...!

(Above) Another family photo - taken at Cristo Rey.

An interesting side note: Not too long before this picture, Michael slipped on some marble steps and sat down very hard! He's still feeling the after-shocks! (Too bad it was painful, because it was also a little funny! I think Michelle took a picture...)

(Above) Kyle. Check out the shirt his Aunt Michelle got him...I like it!


(Above) The buffet.


And now for the story. All of us were enjoying our food at this buffet...except Taylor. Now this is very unusual. Taylor is ALWAYS ready to eat - NO exceptions! He started crying like something was hurting him, so Kay suggested I loose his belt on the highchair. Well, I just decided to pick him up....and, then he proceeded to puke all over ME!!!!!!!!!!!! Uuggghhhhh! What a mess! We had to carry him through the food lines to get to the bathroom! We stripped him down...unfortunately, that wouldn't work for me. So, my shirt got totally soaked trying to wash it off so I could wear it out of the restaurant! Thankfully, Michelle was so kind to help me in this clean-up. What a memory!!

Today in Pictures - II

8/7/08
Thursday's Agenda:
- Went to the famous "Mummy Museum"
- Visited the artisan shops outside the museum
- Left our house early enough to eat at a taco place in Salamanca before church...except they were not open yet when we got there. So we ate grapes and crackers and peanut butter that Michael had brought to use for an object lesson. We also stopped at a small store and got drinks and ice cream.
- Then we went to church for Bible Study.

(Above) For whatever reason, most of the mummies had their mouths wide open!

(Above) Michelle and Kay looking at a pregnant mommy mummy with a premature baby.

For everyone's peace of mind, it was just we three ladies who toured the museum - the kids stayed in the truck with Michael.

(Above) Looking for t-shirts in one of the market shops.

(Above) Two little girls outside the markets shops - couldn't resist taking their picture.

I'm Back!

Wow! Sorry for the long absence! Obviously we've been busy...but our wireless internet decided to conk out too...and we're just now getting it up and going! I'll be posting more pictures from our time spent with Michelle and Kay. Check back soon!

Today in Pictures - I

8/6/08
Wednesday's Agenda:
- Drove around Guanajuato on the Panoramica
- Visited the grounds of an old, yet working mine
- Drove around the center of town
- Checked out a new tunnel/road
- Ate at Vips

(Most of my pictures today are of people...sorry if you get tired of seeing us!!!)

Our Guests Have Arrived!

Thank the Lord for safe travels! For the next week and a half, Michelle and Kay will be visiting us and checking out the sights and sounds of Mexico. We are so happy to have them here!

WELCOME!

Picnic at the Lake

Today we went on a picnic with Philip and Collette and their guests...Marjorie Alexander, Margaret Velazquez and son, Jared. We went to the beautiful lake we had scouted out last week. Minus the bugs, it was very relaxing and a lot of fun. Here are a few random pictures from the day.

Our borrowed picnic facility.

Eating...!

The view from where we ate.

Miss Marjie reading her book.

Kyle...enjoying the animals nearby.

Taylor...happy about something...!

Simply Collette.
(hopefully she doesn't kill me for this - I think it's a great photo!!)

Philip and Collette

Us

A Group Photo