Weekly Update/Joe's Birthday

Hola!!! It has been an exciting week here with the Day of the Dead. They don't really have Halloween, although most of the children know what it is. We went to a Halloween party at some American friends house, and it was mostly us and a bunch of kids. It was fun though. I always think Alex is getting big until I see her around a bunch of 8 yr olds. We carved pumpkins and had a big pinata (check that thing out! $65 pesos for custom made) Alex loves the princesses, and Alan loves Elmo. Joe got the costumes when he was in Vegas. Then we went trick or treating. Only about 1 in 10 houses was giving out candy, so we had to walk a bit more, but they got a good amount of stuff. We tried to stick to the Gringo neighborhood. I am posting some pictures of the kids and such.


The Mexicans use Nov 1-2 to remember those family members who died. They buy these very elaborate wreaths and have parties and such. It is similar to Memorial Day for us, only they take it up a notch. They decorate the graves and hang out there and eat food, sing songs, and party all night. We went by a cemetery today and they had vendors with food, flowers, etc setting up outside. They did have a procession of sorts that went right by the house with a small statue of a virgin? They did not say it was Mary, and it was sanctioned by the Catholic church because the altar boys and priests were involved. If you double click the picture, you can see the statue. They have it on top of the truck. It is very difficult to understand some of it when the language is still not strong for us. Either way they had a little carnival for the kids, and fireworks and such. It was all good until the church started blowing off these bombs at 6:00 am the next morning. When I say bombs, I mean BOMBS. Sounds like a canon. Very loud. Joe thinks it is a half stick of dynamite. We are approx 1 1/2 blocks directly diagonal from the church, and they are close and loud. The only one who didn't wake up was Alex. I swear she could sleep through a war. The Mexican people are always up for an event with food and music and such. We heard a saying that says, "Mexico is easier to love than to understand." That is VERY true. In a country that has a good bit of poverty, why is every kid here running around with cheetos and pop and always snacking on something?

Joe had his birthday, and is now officially 40. Alan and Dan paid for a trip for him to go to Vegas and they had quite a trip. Dan sent me a few pictures, and I am going to attach. The deal was that I did not pack a suitcase for him, just a few necessities, and they were going to provide the wardrobe for him. I guess they found a few select clothing items that would have made your average person take a serious double take, but then again, they were in Vegas. Notice I said average person. Is that pink tie dye, and what does that shirt say? Not Mastercard, Master Pimp? Aren't those pants a bit tight? Where do you find these things? They had a ton of fun and I am forever grateful to them for footing the bill and the arrangements for the trip. Joe is already talking about the next trip. He did get a chance to do some shopping while he was there, which was nice. Toys are very expensive in Mexico. Actually anything that is imported from China has a HUGE tariff on it, so it makes most of the plastic stuff expensive. Your average barbie doll here is about $140 pesos. In the US it is about $5 dollars. Even though they have Walmart and such, the prices and the selection are different. He did get the kids some stuff so that we have Christmas covered here, and he paid for it all with his winnings!!!!! Thanks guys. For Joe's actual birthday, Alex was sick, and she didn't go to school because I didn't want her hacking on all the other kids, so we went for a drive and stopped at the Burger King playland. It was just like the US. The prices were about the same too. We had Whopper combos for Joe's 40th. Now thats living, right?

Other than that, it is just the same things. The weather here is PERFECT. It is cooler at night, so we actually do use a blanket, and you sometimes need a long sleeve shirt in the morning until about 9:00 or so, and then it is sunny and a high is the 70's. The rainy season is over, so it probably won't rain until April. Alex is doing good in school. She is using Spanish words a lot, and doesn't even notice it. When I take her to school, the teachers talk to her in Spanish, and she responds with yes or no answers, so I think she understands more than she knows. Joe and I are still struggling with the language, but now everyone around here has seen us with the kids, and they know we live here, so they are patient with us. Hey, they need to make money too, so they are very willing to accommodate the caveman language we are using. Alan has learned the word, "no", and is using it. He also knows, "Hola", and yells it at everyone we pass while he is on the stroller, or those he sees in the street. Very cute. I never put a lot of thought into socks until now.......