Day 26, July 25, 2011

Today must be a Monday, when (according to the saying in Honduras) not even the hens lay.  We spent the morning doing chores and poking around the house.  Late morning Corita and Raquel headed out to do some shopping, only to discover the mall had more shops vacant than in use.  We have yet to determine the cause of this abnormality, but it was quite shocking!  We lunched on golden trout, a first for the kids.  Afterwards we went back to the library where they were holding an art program for Joel’s age.  Nancy and Corita got caught up on their emails and researched some upcoming activities on the free internet (time-use limited).  Raquel and Joel each found a new good book.  Later, Corita took Joel and Raquel to a community pool located about 8 blocks from where we are staying.  None of us were up to the water slides, but Raquel used the diving board.  Then, Joel decided he could jump off the diving board, too (first time), except once he got out there it seemed pretty far down and the water seemed pretty deep.  He bravely asked a teenager who was in the pool if he would catch him, and the teen nicely agreed.  Little did the fellow know that Joel was going to jump nearly on TOP of him!  Thankfully, the guy was a good sport as Joel kept asking him for the same favor which they repeated for a total of four jumps.  Amazingly, the guy didn’t drown or even seem tired of the activity.  Joel sure wasn’t either, but it was time to leave.

After dinner Pastry Chef Raquel culminated her cherry project by making a delicious cherry cobbler!  Boy, are we lucky!!

Day 25, July 24, 2011

This morning we had an early breakfast then headed over to the First United Methodist Church of Longmont, where Nancy attended as a child and a youth.  The kids went to Sunday School while Corita and Nancy met people and explored the building.  Here is Nancy with Corita in front of a stained glass window, preserved from the old building.  

Disappointingly, no one remembered Nancy or her father Ray Ashbaugh.  Guess it’s just been too long!  Nonetheless, the kids hit it off instantly with their teachers and the other kids.  In fact, Raquel was invited to the middle-schoolers’ group that same evening.

The service was the start of a series about who Jesus was.  This one focused on Jesus as a teacher.  How did he teach?  Yes, he used stories, but he also taught by example, demonstrating   acceptance, forgiveness, and love.  The pastor team (husband and wife) gave a nice service, but Nancy especially enjoyed watching the organist.   This was the church where Nancy got her start as an organist, occasionally playing for worship services and for many weddings. 

Following church, we drove to Nancy’s cousin Melvin Bickling’s lovely home east of Loveland.  As you can see, their backyard is an oasis from the blistering summer heat.

The event was a Krebill family reunion, Nancy’s mother’s relatives.  Nancy’s brother Alan and his wife Mary joined us again, along with several cousins with their spouses.  Laura brought some old pictures and everyone had a good time reminiscing about Grandpa Dan, Grandma Elsa, and many other people.   We even learned of a family scandal… ooh la la!

Since for most of the afternoon there were no other kids in attendance, Raquel kept busy hanging out with Aunt Sue (Melvin’s wife).  Joel, on the other hand, hung out with the rest of the adults and provided periodic “comic breaks” to liven up our serious adult discussion.

Uncle Mel was trying to make raspberry ice cream, but apparently the ice was “too warm” (run that by me one more time), so we had raspberry smoothie instead.  Joel picked many fresh raspberries from Uncle Mel’s garden to be used as a topping, which everyone enjoyed.  But when we started in on the strawberry pie, Uncle Mel had another topping in mind… canned whipped cream!

Raquel had a middle school church group meeting planned, so we came back to Longmont.  Turns out they were picking pie cherries.

She came home to pit them, as she is planning to make a dessert tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Joel made friends with three neighbor boys who were teaching him how to skateboard.

We capped off the evening laying out on some mattresses in the backyard to enjoy the stars.  So many of our evenings are cloudy in La Esperanza that we rarely get any good star gazing in, so Grandma Nancy planned this as one of our special events, complete with a star book as a guide.  We were attacked by mosquitoes and blinded by the neighbors’ backyard light, so maybe we’ll try again another night…with repellent!

Day 24, July 23, 2011

On Saturday, Joel and Grandma spent a little time playing ping pong.  Grandpa Ray had made an adaptable net to sit on top of his carpentry worktable.

 

 Then Raquel, Joel, and Corita went to the Longmont Public Library.  We got a visitors’ card so we were able to use the internet and check out three items.  Such a public library was a brand-new concept for the kids.  It’s interesting that many U.S. residents do not take advantage of their public libraries, whereas we wish we had such a resource available.

After a quick lunch, we headed over to the nearby city of Boulder in search of the Missoula Children’s Theater production called “The Tortoise Versus the Hare”.  It was indeed a search because, while we found the location quite easily, the play had been moved and there was no indication of the new site.  We had to drive a ways to find a place where we could use wifi to go online and locate the new site, then drive there.  Fortunately, the new production was an hour after the original time so we made it just in time!  If you have kids and haven’t heard of Missoula Children’s Theater, it’s time for some research!  In Missoula, Montana, the theater company prepares around 50 teams of 2 young adults who travel all over the country and the world.  Each Monday they do auditions in a different city, rehearse all week, and then present two musical performances on Saturday.  On Sunday they load all their costumes, sets, etc., into their truck and head off to a new town.  For cities without children’s theater opportunities, MCT is great!  Nathan (now 20) was fortunate enough to participate when he was 11 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Corita is trying to figure out how to get them to Honduras.

This evening we headed over to the local bowling alley and played two games.  Check out our fancy bowling shoes!  Woo-hoo!

 The kids had gutter bumpers so their bowling balls didn’t wipe out, but Corita and Nancy had to brush up on their skills quite a bit.  It was a great time for all until Nancy hurt her hip trying some fancy moves on the lane.   Nancy opted out of the second game.

Day 23, July 22, 2011

This morning we got an early start since we had to get Aunt Kim to the Denver Airport for her work trip to Canada.  It was yet another teary goodbye.  Sadly, we don’t get to spend as much time together as we would like since we live so far apart.

From there, we had a delectable Italian lunch at a place in Northglenn called Enzo’s.  Joel said it was the best pizza he ever ate and Nancy and Corita absolutely marveled over their three-cheese tortellini in alfredo sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms. 

In the heat of the day we reached our destination: the house where Nancy grew up in Longmont, Colorado. 

Her older brother Alan and his wife Mary were waiting for us there.  Nancy’s stepmother Lenn died in April and the house has been frozen in time since then.  It’s fascinating to be in Nancy’s childhood home and hometown as she reminisces about her growing up there.  It’s also great for the kids to get to know more about their grandma’s early years.

After chatting with Alan and Mary for a while and getting caught up on what their various kids, grandkids, and greatgrands were up to, we got set up for our week here and then went shopping for some necessary supplies.  (Unthinkably, we had NO COFFEE!!!)

We were tuckered out so we turned in early after a little t.v.

Day 22, July 21, 2011

This morning was a bit sad, especially for the kids, since Dad was heading home, back to Honduras.   Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay any longer since the next season’s planting was waiting on him.  Have you seen his greenhouses?  He has one in tomatoes: can you see the vines laid down along the walkway?  That’s the part that has finished producing.  Since the plants keep growing and producing for about 36 feet (they can produce twice that, but the production is substantially lower so he plans to start afresh after that height), David lays them down to be able to reach the part that is in production.

And he has another he just finished building that he will be plowing like this with oxen to prepare the soil.  Oxen inside a greenhouse – can you imagine?  After each greenhouse has produced one crop of tomatoes, he’s going to plant a season of strawberries in each.

Anyway, he had to head home to tend to his crops.  While Corita took David to the airport shuttle, Kim, Nancy, Raquel, and Joel bought lift tickets and rode up into the high ski area of Beaver Creek. 

They took a hike around the area and ate lunch at the ski lodge.

After coming down, Joel tried out the bungee trampoline and Raquel tried out the climbing wall.

Since Corita hadn't had the chance to go up the ski lift, Raquel took Corita up to show her around.  On the way up, a storm hit, but the first few drops that fell were actually snow.  "They look like cotton!" exclaimed Raquel as they swirled around us on the ski lift.  They got a bit wet, but dried off and warmed up in the lodge before it all cleared up and they headed back down with a great view of the Beaver Creek resort.

They swam some more while the old folks relaxed in the Jacuzzi.  The kids were especially happy about having some play time with their new friend Isabella.

After dinner, the ladies got spruced up and headed over for a modeling shoot in front of the Posh! Hair Salon. 

Joel was our fashion photographer, but he said he wasn’t going to do that when he grows up because he’s going into ice skating as a career.  So, since he needed to practice his ice skating, we headed over to the rink.  Isabella wasn’t too sure about the ice skating, but Raquel helped her out and she started to get the hang of it.

After skating, we headed back to the condo for a few minutes of play time with Isabella, then off to bed.

Day 21, July 20, 2011

Today was the day of our big outing.  We headed out toward Glenwood Springs where we stopped to enjoy the lovely canyon as well as the white water rafters just taking off.  Joel, tired of smiling for the cameras, gave us a goofy look instead.

From there, we drove over to Aspen where one must leave his or her car and take a bus into the park.  We were so fortunate that our bus driver was an experienced guide and taught us so much on our way up. 

We went to hike at Maroon Bells and enjoyed gorgeous weather made to order.  As Kim so aptly put it, it was like being in the middle of a picture postcard.

The hike went around the Maroon Lake, then up into a waterfall area.  As you can see, Colorado has not been suffering from the drought hitting New Mexico and Texas. 

We tried (unsuccessfully) to avoid the many stinging nettle plants, but the lush fields of wild flowers (highlighted by the Colorado state flower: the columbine) made it all worthwhile.  Nancy was in her element, remembering all the names of the wildflowers we saw. 

This is Corita with the "Forget-Me-Not" flower her mom dedicated to her as a girl.

Driving through the city of Aspen was fun as well.  We enjoyed the relaxed environment there and were impressed with the range of cultural events on the schedule.

If that weren’t enough excitement for one day, from Aspen we drove over the Continental Divide at Independence Pass.  It was Joel’s first time to play in the snow and Raquel’s first time within her working memory.  Such fun!  They had snowball fights, made snow angels, and even made a snow bear.

We got a bit sleepy on our drive back, but waited till home to make our pesto dinner, with a sauce already prepared by Deepa (Corita’s brother Larry’s partner from Colorado Springs…remember her?)…thanks again, Deepa…it was delicious!