Getting Dirty

One of Eli's favorite pastimes is getting dirty, probably like many 3 year old boys. So last weekend Eli was in dirt heaven. We took a trip with some other families to a coffee farm about an hour outside of Managua. The couple who owns the farm lives down the street from us and we buy are coffee regularly from them...and it is maybe one of the best coffees I've ever tasted. Their farm is organic and they pay meticulous attention to the details of farming coffee, like an art, and perhaps that is why it is so delicious.  Unfortunately, they have suffered with their crop recently because of the shortage of rainfall. But, in an attempt to utilize their land the best they can, they've begun to grow vanilla which is not at all a crop common to Nicaragua.  It will be a process of several years before they yield a crop but I found it so interesting to see the ingenuity given uncontrollable circumstances.


The land they have is beautiful and we got to take a little hike through it with the kids in tow.  We were a slightly unprepared for the walk and Isi got passed around a bit so no one tired too much but it was worth it.

Afterwards we gathered in their visitors' center for a potluck lunch and for some getting dirty time. I think I'm still cleaning off the dirt on Eli from that day.

 Isi got in on the action too.

 

Happy Birthday Isi!

My in-laws just left after visiting with us for about a week. They got to help us celebrate Isi's first birthday which turned out to be a little thrown together but we managed to get in a cake (a delicious carrot cake from a local shop) and a rendition of "happy birthday" but with Eli throwing his dinner on the floor and Isi less than enthusiastic about it being his birthday, we were lucky to get a candle in the cake.

 

Mothers Day on Steroids

Last Friday was Mothers' Day here in Nicaragua. It is always May 30th and is always a really big big deal! I thought us Americans were a bit crazy with regards to "Hallmark Holidays" but this is another level. To give you an idea of how big it is, government offices are closed, the mothers in Alan's office had the day off, and there is a great deal of hype from retail stores and companies in general. Even my cell phone company was giving out chocolates to celebrate. Normally we don't make a big deal out of Mothers Day in our house (because every day should be a day to celebrate moms) but my boys sent me flowers which I happily received. Granted the delivery arrived at 5:30am but thankfully they had already woken me up way beforehand.

In honor of all the moms in our house - our nanny, Maria, and our other helper, Patricia - we decided to make cake because really what better way is there? We all agreed on chocolate and Patricia, who cooks the delicious food we eat in our house, requested I teach her how to make the cake.

 



 So we spent the better half of the morning making a double chocolate cake which turned out so delicious!  We sent big chunks of cake home with everyone and gave away some to the neighbors.

Then I headed to Eli's school for a Mothers' Day performance by the preschool kids. Despite Eli's initial excitement over seeing me, he quickly was reduced to tears at the suggestion of singing and dancing in front of all the mamas. So he sat on the stage sobbing as the other kids sang a song and marched in a circle.

The whole thing was quickly forgotten thankfully and we tried to focus on the positive...this lovely handprint card I received!

 Now on to Fathers' Day!