Day hike with the Principals! These are the foothills behind Cacheuta.

Getting ready for a Halloween Fiesta.

Hiking Vallecitos

A Great Vist with some Great Friends...

In the last couple of weeks Mendoza has been showing it's best side with a burst of Spring! The weather is beautiful, the flowers are blooming, the trees are leafing out and we had a fast, fun visit from Kara and Laura!

We started in Buenos Aires where we all flew in on the same morning. We headed to an apartment that we have rented before, dropped our bags and took off running. We would stop long enough to snack and drink fabulous Malbecs before taking off to see another part of the city. Three girls and lots of endurance can see many sights in four days....

The new experiences kept coming with the return trip to Mendoza on the CocheCama (bus with seats that convert to beds), where they served us wine and meals, showed us movies, and let us sleep through the night while we travelled across the country.

Kara and Lara were able to see our life in Chacras and Mendoza and try out some of our restaurants. We hiked, we ran, we tried more Malbecs and Torrontes, we relaxed by the pool....

It came to an end much too soon....

Thanks girls. You are missed...

Karren

50th post!!!!

Yahoo! We have officially posted 50 times in the last 9 months (the anniversary was yesterday; we have lived here for 9 months!!!) I think this deserves a cheer. Go ahead, cheer.
...
I'm serious.
Ok, well, if you're not in a cheery mood, then I'll share some more news. My birthday party was a success!!! Here is a picture of me and Flor before the party:


There were 35 people, more or less, and we had a really fun time!!!
-Izzy

Valle Grande

Our Cabin for the night
The grounds and the canyons behind the cabin
Isabella in the hills
The view from the dam Embalse Valle Grande

We had a quick get-away last weekend to Valle Grande in San Rafael, Mendoza. We had warm Spring weather, and found a totally funky (good funky) place to stay. The kids enjoyed/ endured a 5 hour hike that had all the great elements: bushwacking, scrambling, cross-country without a trail and finally a horse trail to bring us back. It is gorgeous canyon country with a river and several dams/lakes. Plenty of things to do...can't wait to go back.

This weekend we have another big event which is Isabella's Birthday Bash. With a true Argentine schedule of 9 PM- 1AM we hope it is a blast for Izzi and all of her friends!

September Birthdays

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BRAVE, AMAZING CHILDREN!

DANIEL TURNS 11 ON SEPTEMBER 15TH

ISABELLA TURNS 13 ON SEPTEMBER 22ND

YOU ARE SMART, FUNNY, AND I FEEL SO LUCKY TO BE YOUR MOM!

Hey Friends!

It has been such a long time since I have contributed to the blog, that I thought I would give it another go - SO.....

As we head into the spring season here in Argentina there are so many things that we look forward to! We have now been in Argentina 8 months and still so much to see, so this weekend we take another road trip to Merlo and Cordoba to see what this region has to offer. The kids seem to have a holiday from school every other week (was it like this in the states?) so we are taking advantage of Dia Del Maestro and hitting the road.....

The day-to-day life here seemed so strange in the beginning and it is a little sad now that all of those strange things are normal now. The guinea pigs that run around wild in our back yard, the horse-drawn carts on the major roads, the amazing bread we buy out of the back of a broken-down old car at the round-a-bout..... It is so great when someone new comes to town with the fresh perspective so we can be reminded how funny or unique some of these things are. When the family of five rides by on the scooter, I try to remind myself that this is a special thing here, and when I return, I won't (hopefully) see this in the United States....

We love to laugh about the somewhat odd (to us) habits here but I have grown to appreciate them as well. The ten minute conversation we are obligated to have with the egg woman before she will hand over our purchase is no longer the strain that it used to be, our beloved Mirta (who helps us with the house chores) insisting on ironing Randy's underwear, and the restaurants never opening before 10:00pm....well - that one is a little hard still.

We are also looking forward to a visit from two of the kids' previous teachers (who are both now Principals), who will be arriving in October, heavily laden with a few luxuries we have been living without. There are so many things to be grateful for in the States. One major one - U.S. Postal service, another one - Ziplocs (Thank you Lisa, for my lifetime supply). Count your blessings.....

Hopefully this latest blog finds you happy and healthy, and possibly considering a big adventure in South America, or even better - in Argentina. Just let us know!

Besos y abrazos a todos!

Karren

Hot and Cold in Chacras

It has been a crazy week in Chacras (our little town). The temperature was in the mid 80's on Monday with the dreaded hot wind from the Andes called "El Zonda" and snow falling from the sky on Thursday. Here are a couple of pictures. One is Daniel up in Vallecitos (an old ski area) and the second is one of our fruit trees in full bloom with the snow falling all around.