Update!(Izzy)

So, I don't know how many of you know Smilé, our Rent-a-Dog, but I am just going to have to tell you all again because we finally got her to sit still for pictures.
Smilé (pronounced SMEE-lay,) was originally the pet of the neighbors two doors down. When she started hanging out at our house, she was very shy. But mom won her over with love (and steak) and she eventually became attached to us. Now she is here 23/7, spending about an hour a day at her own house. Every once and a while we run into her owners and they want her back, but then she comes back through the irrigation ditch. I guess we're stuck with her. Here are some pictures:


She's a Cocker Spaniel.Oh, so cute. We love her. I just hope her owners don't mind...

I love you all,
Izzy

Our house! (Izzy)

Hello, all! I have missed you guys a lot!!! How are things? Daniel and I both have birthday parties coming up! Daniel is planing on going to a fun place called Espanta Pajaros with his friends, and I am going to have a dance party with mine! My friend Macarena and I are both having the party together in my house and we are going to try to take lots of pictures. We are renting a mirror ball and everything! I hope it goes well. And that nobody brings confetti (it can get a bit hard to clean out of the grass...)

Also, I cut my hair again! Well, Mom did, but I decided on the style. If you've seen Bridge to Tarabithia, it's like the girl's hair, only not blonde. Here is a picture:









Well, I have to go, but I promise I'll blog again soon, because we finally have internet again (it goes on and off...)
-Izzy

Road Trip-

Well, it has been a couple of weeks since our last post and we were traveling like crazy. After our friends the Crenshaws left we still had some vacation before the kids returned to school. We decided to take a road trip throughout northern Argentina. We drove over 3,000 kilometers in 8 days! Along the way we saw desert canyons, jungle mountains, colonial architecture, lots of llamas, more indigenous culture and salt flats that went almost as far as the eye can see. And though at times we may have been pushed to the edge of killing each other (i.e. while driving on a bumpy gravel road at 12,000 feet of elevation)...we survived! Our favorite city was Salta (could live there in a minute) and I think our favorite vista was along the Quebrada de las Conchas. Favorite sign was the "watch out for loose llamas" sign. Here is a link to see a few of the pictures we took along the way!

Click on this picture to see the web album:

Road Trip- Salta and Beyond

From Road Trip- Sa...

All the kids seated together.

Jake and Sina

Paul and Lisa

Here are some pictures of our great guests the Crenshaws and a photo of the kids together. Thank for you all the peanut butter, the Advil and the adventures. We would also like to thank Paul and Lisa for helping us try out so many great Argentine wines in such a short amount of time. We will continue sampling to honor your visit.

Here is a quick video of just one part of Iguazu Falls!

Has it really been a month since we put our last blog entry in? Unbelievable! So much as been happening here that has distracted us! We just finished up hosting our first visitors from the States, The Crenshaw Family, who just left after two very full weeks of sightseeing. We started right away with their first Argentine style "Asado" accompanied by lots of Argentine wine. After everyone was caught up on much needed sleep, we set off horseback riding along (and through) the Rio Mendoza, through Malbec vineyards, and olive orchards with our guide Cesar. We did some wine tasting, took a (luxurious) overnight bus to Buenos Aires (where they even serve you wine and the seats fold flat into beds), enjoyed the key sights of the city, headed into Uruguay for a full day of food and sights, and back to Argentina so we could catch our flight to Iquazu Falls....

Iquazu Falls deserves a paragraph of it's own! This tropical forest area is a true paradise in the Winter. The falls are a spectacular display and it is very hard to capture the magnitude of it in photos but we will try. Even when away from the falls on the trails you can still enjoy Toucans flying overhead, Cuatis (kind of like a racoon) underfoot , and zillions of tropical plants and vines all around. We had two very full days in the park, and both families experienced the boat ride that takes you right under two different sections of the falls! Wet, but worth it! Puerto Iquazu, the town, is also home to the Tres Fronteras, where you can stand in Argentina, and look out over to the banks of Brazil, and Paraguay, just across where two rivers intersect. Check it out on a map sometime.....

Flying back to Mendoza was easy and after a little more sightseeing (and a crazy day of skiing in the Andes for Paul and Jake), our visiting time with the Crenshaws came to a close. A big thank you to them for making the effort to get to us, bringing us a duffle bag of ziplocs (I think I am set for a year), and for being such great and flexible travelers!

We look forward to our next visitors from the States....

The Feldhaus Family

Didja miss me? (Izzy)

Well, what do you know, I'm back! And no, I didn't forget about you, I just forgot about the blog, there's a difference. I'm sorry, I know, I'm a terrible blogger, I am ashamed.
But I have news!!!!
Those of you who remember the day that I proclaimed I was starting field hockey will be quite happy to know that I bought a stick and ball, they are lovely and awesome. I am getting a lot better at this sport that has now become my new favorite and I hope to amaze you with my sweet skills when I return.
I have been e-mailing a lot of people about parties, and there have been some suspicions. Allow me to clear them up:
1. No, they are not on school nights.
2. Yes, there is usually, like, 50 kids there (OMG!!! I know, I know, It's a lot, but you have to invite both classes or else someone gets jealous.)
3. Yes, they go from 9 pm-1 am, but everyone is usually gone by two ( in the morning.)
4. No, there is not more than one a weekend!
5. No, I don't know if I'm going to do one for my birthday!
I love my school and my friends are doing fine, I recently got a 9 (90%) on a biology oral exam, and I got an over-all 9 in geografia (geography). We just finished the first trimester and I didn't get any over-all grades less than a 7 (which is a C, more or less.) (!!!) Daniel is doing great and rocking in math. I still have to do any and all homework in Spanish, so the Spanish-English diccionary is always near. I think we will have at least 9s and 10s at the end of he year.
We have visitors coming in June, December, some other month and some other month. I am so happy that people are visiting! I am super-excited to see people that I haven't seen in 6 months.
BIG NEWS!!!! On June 10th, Daniel and I will have been vegetarians for a whole year. And to think people were saying I couldn't last a week. Ha! In your faces, people (but I say this lovingly.)
Well, It seems to me that I have used up both all of the colors of the rainbow and the news, so I will have to say a painful goodbye.
(Sob.)
au revoir and adios.
...and adeus and до свидания.
In other words (English, not French or Spanish or Portuguese or Russian,)
Bye- bye!!
-Izzy