The circus, Alex got her ears pierced

Time is flying by here. The weather is fabulous. It is truly one of the best parts about being here, especially when we know it is COLD in Colorado and other places. It was sunny and about 80 degrees today. We went to the circus, and it was great. Both of the kids really enjoyed it. Alan sat very good and paid attention for almost the whole thing (1 1/2 hrs). For an amateur performance, it was really quite good. They drive around with trucks blasting the announcements (in Spanish of course) but they have trailers with cages with animals. You can go up to the trucks a buy tickets to the show. We have seen the tigers many times, a kangaroo, some lamas, and some miniature ponies. One thing we did discover is that the tigers are very neat, but they are not in the show. Just the cages outside. For the entire thing being in Spanish, it was fun to watch. Mostly some low grade acrobatics, but they did have a big ball that three motorcycles drive in at one time. It was quite impressive, except they seriously need to tune those machines up. I was starting to become concerned that we might all asphyxiate from the exhaust while watching a bunch of crazy acrobatics in a giant blue tent in Mexico. We also about lost consciousness while laughing so hard when the tightrope walker repeatedly bagged himself while bouncing on a rope to "She Bangs" while wearing something stolen from a Brady Bunch episode. Well worth the money if you ask me. We would definitely go again if it comes to town.

Alexandra got her ears pierced today. She had been asking for a long time, and we finally said yes. It is very common here for girls to get their ears pierced at birth. Literally before they leave the hospital. All the girls in her class have them, and she was very concerned that she was missing out somehow. It was worse for me than for her I am sure. We had to buy the earrings and take them to a doctor or pharmacist. I find it extremely odd that in a country that you can buy just about any drug over the counter, but you have to have a physician pierce your ears. Where's Claires when you need them. Almost any jewelry counter in the US does ear piercing. The earring that we bought had a point on them, and a ball on the back that you screw on. The pharmacist just soaked them in disinfectant, put some numbing stuff on her ear lobes, and shoved them right through. She was so brave. She only cried just a bit on the second one, and once she found out it was over, she was A-OK again. She is so proud. I hope it all goes well after this. She is definitely a girly girl, so we have a long life of girly stuff. She is adorable though.

Joe and I found a babysitter and are trying her out for the second night. She speaks NO English, and we speak little Spanish, but Alex seems to like her. She probably feels like she is at school. She is a maid for another friend of ours, and she has three kids of her own, so crying probably doesn't bother her a bit. Her name is Lulu. We also got the house sprayed for roaches and such. Every morning since, we are excited to get the "count" of dead roaches and such. We have not seen any more scorpions, so that is good. As long as we don't all die of an unknown cancer later in life, it is working out great. The guys who sprayed the house is the "rooster" guy we spoke about early. He told Joe, "it kiills eeveryting!" He was right. As long as it doesn't kill us right? Not much else for now. I will try to include some more pictures of the Circus. My ESL article was published in the paper, so I am going to write a Circus review next.

Pictures are of me and Alex and with her earrings, the tigers that are paraded around town, Joe and the kids, and Alan unhappy about his pacy being taken. Until next time......