We have finally returned to school and some sense of normalcy after a ridiculously long and unplanned break from formal education here in Managua. I thought I'd share some of our last goings ons before going back to school this week.
Last week we took a nice little trip to the local zoo with some of Eli's classmates. We made it a household trip and took Maria, our nanny, Jose Luis, our driver, and Isi, Eli, and Maria's daughter and we met up with a few other moms and kids. We'd been to the zoo once before with Eli's class and I can't say it is the most sophisticated zoo we've ever seen and there are a few safety concerns (like child height barbed wire and cages within reach so you can literally stick your hand in the cages of some animals). But having said that, the kids had fun and we paid a little extra to go in the butterfly garden which was in fact really special.
Here Jose Luis gently held one for Eli to get a closer look. He was fascinated and even held it for a second himself before letting it go.
And yes, after lighting it, all the pretty blue (and toxic) paint peeled off.
We put it to some good use on Sunday. After an hour of trying to get the charcoal lit with some weird pink gel that they market as a wonderful charcoal starter, we finally got some heat and slapped on some veggies and meat. For our first go at barrel-style barby, it wasn't too bad. We can only improve our skills from here.
Last week we took a nice little trip to the local zoo with some of Eli's classmates. We made it a household trip and took Maria, our nanny, Jose Luis, our driver, and Isi, Eli, and Maria's daughter and we met up with a few other moms and kids. We'd been to the zoo once before with Eli's class and I can't say it is the most sophisticated zoo we've ever seen and there are a few safety concerns (like child height barbed wire and cages within reach so you can literally stick your hand in the cages of some animals). But having said that, the kids had fun and we paid a little extra to go in the butterfly garden which was in fact really special.
Here Jose Luis gently held one for Eli to get a closer look. He was fascinated and even held it for a second himself before letting it go.
Maybe even more special was the escape of some animal as we were walking towards to the exit to leave. We got to watch the zoo keepers chase the animal all over and eventually scoop it out of a duck pond where it was hiding. I'm still not sure what it was but we can only assume it wasn't too dangerous as they said nothing to us letting the 3-year olds watch its capture.
And towards the end of last week, when we finally knew schools was going to start back up again on Monday, we had a final party playdate with a water blow up thingy which the kids loved! We parents enjoyed a cold beer and breathed a sigh of relief as we reflected on how crazy the last few weeks had been.
And as usual, our kids were in the flesh. They get used to running around naked here with this heat.
To finish off what had been some stressful and crazy weeks, we decided to splurge on what some might call a rustic bbq. And by splurge I mean we paid maybe $12 for this half of a barrel-turned-bbq beauty.
And yes, after lighting it, all the pretty blue (and toxic) paint peeled off.
We put it to some good use on Sunday. After an hour of trying to get the charcoal lit with some weird pink gel that they market as a wonderful charcoal starter, we finally got some heat and slapped on some veggies and meat. For our first go at barrel-style barby, it wasn't too bad. We can only improve our skills from here.
With escaped animals sounds more like a safari than a trip to the zoo. Looks like a great time.
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