A Surprise Visit!

I can't believe this day has finally arrived! My mom, dad, and grandfather came to visit us!! And the best part? We were able to keep it a secret from our boys! They were totally shocked!!

We had been hinting for awhile, saying that "special presents" might arrive via airplane. Of course, we were meaning people, but they just assumed packages! So today, we simply drove to the airport and watched for planes to come in, saying that maybe one of them had some special presents!

We had the boys stand up against this wall, and they still had no idea that their pappy and grandma were coming, until they literally walked around the corner! Kyle was shocked speechless (unusual!) and Taylor said, "Hey! Hey guys!"

Below is a little video we tried to take of the boys' first reaction to seeing their pappy and grandma. Our camera battery was going dead, so we didn't get a whole lot, but it's cute anyway!

[ Just a Glimpse ]

In keeping with my last post, here's a look at some of the nicer (!) fishing boats that dock in the village near Puerto Chiapas. You can buy fresh fish, shrimp, and crab from vendors who are set up all around the docks. It's an interesting place (smelly, too)!!! =)

Cruise "Gawking"

Today turned out to be an interesting day! We had to go into el centro this morning, and while we were there, we noticed a few shuttle buses and coaches that had gringos in them! We figured they had came into Puerto Chiapas on a cruise. We decided to check it out.

We drove the twenty-some minutes down to the port, and sure enough, the cruise liner, Statendam (of Holland America), was docked. We were able to park not far away, and then walk almost right up to the ship. We stopped and talked to several people and found out that this trip originates in San Diego, then travels through the Panama Canal and onto Ft. Lauderdale. It then does a return trip back to San Diego.

It was really neat to see the ship up close. Below are a few cell phone pics.

I also looked online and found a few aerial pics of Puerto Chiapas. The red brick docking area (in the upper right of the pic), is where the ship was pulled in at.

Puerto Chiapas and the Pacific Ocean.

[ Just a Glimpse ]

This past Sunday we were taking some pictures to be sent to H.I.M...so I thought I'd share one of them with you. This is our regular group of church attendees. We were missing one family and two men. We also have another little family that periodically shows up. They're a great group of people that we enjoy working with and doing our best to teach them in the way of Biblical living.

New Wheels

Kyle was one happy little boy yesterday! After having saved up his birthday money (and us searching around trying to find a good deal), we were finally able to get a new bike for Kyle! He is all excited about having hand brakes and that it is a blue bike!! It took a little adjustment to go from his previous (very small) bike to this one...but he's good-to-go now! And Taylor is happily enjoying Kyle's old bike, as his "new" one!

Beautiful Day Pics

I was really hoping to upload these pics yesterday, but blogger was having issues!

Anyway, I was hoping to tease our northern friends a little, who are experiencing the first glimpses of cold and wintry weather, with some of our very beautiful weather (albeit very hot and humid, at times)!

This is a very tall tree in the park across from our house.

And of course, some more pics of the boys!

And Minka was also enjoying playing with boys outside!

And, it's another beautiful day again today! I think rainy season is soon to be officially over. Yay - for no more leaking ceilings, but boo - for not having rain to cool the humidity down!

[ Just a Glimpse ]

It seems as if I'm running out of ideas here on what to take pics of and post...so I decided to just post some "randomness." Hopefully that's okay!

The below scene is taken on "el Par Vial." We travel this road every time we go to church. It's a few streets over from "el centro," and we use it a lot because it moves along at a much faster pace!!

And, we've found a new spot for tacos al pastor! This place adds fried onions on the top of their meat, which makes for a different spin on the traditional taco. It's VERY good! And only 50¢ per taco! Double good!!