The Rest of the Trip . . .

Manzanillo looks like it's going to be great!! We found a house, it's REALLY small, but has 2 bedrooms, a new fridge, microwave and stove, a washing machine and air conditioners in all the rooms. It's completely furnished and has a front and back yard. I'm really excited about it! Ben and I both loved it! The job at the Port for Ben looks really promising and I've got a couple of leads with English Schools and at a hotel. It just seems that things are falling into place. After we left Manzanillo, we went back to the Ranch and boy is that different!! There were HUGE alacrans (scorpions) on the bathroom walls, I actually washed my clothes by hand, I had to deal with a MAJOR language barrier, but hell, what's life without a few challenges. :) I'm back in Utah until Thursday and that is a disaster in and of itself!! I'm trying to pack up, clean and sanitize my house, get a million errands ran and fix things on the car before the big drive down there. I'm excited and nervous, but I know it's for the best. It really should be something else. Please remember that our door is ALWAYS open for you to come visit. We now have an extra room for you and will feel hurt if you don't take advantage of it!! Have a great week and I'll add more when I get down there sometime next week!!!

Getting Here . . .

Well everyone, we made it!! It was sure interesting getting here! Most of you know that I brought 4 kids with me including my own. For the most part they did pretty good. Security was a little stressful getting through in Utah. However, once in Mexico, the fun really started!! I had six 70lb bags that I had packed. The kids had 2 between the 3 of them and boy was that a lot of work. In Salt Lake, I had my sister and her husband helping pack everything. Once in Mexico, I had myself and 4 kids. Thank goodness for the kindness of others!! I had quite a bit of help and had no problem tipping!! Ben was of course late, as usual and we had to wait outside the terminal for him. When he pulled up and realized all the bags we had, he about died!! I had tried to warn him, but I'm guessing he didn't quite understand, I don't think anybody really did! Once in the truck we made way for La Piedad. Of course we hit traffic, it was 85 degrees and the air conditioner didn't work. Does it get better than this? I don't know . . . Once at the ranch things went well. The kids were thrilled to be there and frankly so was I. We put the jumper together for my nino and it took him awhile to figure out that it would jump like the one in Utah. Once that was figured out, it was like riding a bike. We put it outside and he went to town. I don't think the people at the Ranch had ever seen anything like that and would sit there and watch and laugh. After the first day, it was like I had never left. All the little kids came around and once again I didn't understand anything that was going on. There are 3 little girls that NEVER leave, the typical Mexican hospitality. Ha! Ha! We spent one afternoon picking garbanzo beans and hay for the cows. That was fun, something I had never done before. Other than that, the Ranch was pretty uneventful. We are now in Manzanillo and getting here was once again an adventure!!! We got about 25 minutes out of La Piedad and hit a cop stop. Because our license plates were from Utah, of course we got pulled over. I'm sure it looked funny, two Mexicans and a Gringa with a kid. They checked the car for drugs and such. They also took the car's registration and Ben's license and checked all that out. It took about 45 minutes. We got on our way again and made it here about 8:30pm. Aiden did great until we actually got into the City and then it was a done deal. However, our rooms were ready and cool and bed was something I was looking forward to! The bed back at the Ranch just about killed me and here the mattresses are brand new! FABULOUS!! The day after we arrived, we went grocery shopping to get the food and just hung out. Ben and I got massages and his sister sat in the pool for an hour. She's never been in a pool before and never seen the ocean. It's been fun to see her reactions!! Today, I had my job interview and on the way there, we got lost . . . of course. We finally found the place, right where we started and I met with Troy. He was very nice, however, I don't speak Spanish and he was unable to help me. BUT . . . I got the inside to getting Ben a job and we're going to get his resume over to Troy tomorrow and get that underway. Troy gave me a bunch of places to try to get a job teaching English. I checked out two of them, but of course they were all closed because of the Holiday this weekend. I've got numbers and will try to get ahold of them next week. Tomorrow we are going to look at a house to rent. It's small, but has 2 bedrooms and fully furnished. It also has aircondioning, a must considering the weather is unbearable until November. It is only 85 degrees, but feels like a million with the humidity. I am loving it though and am excited to finally get down here. Aiden is so happy and loves all the attention he gets! Ben is so happy to have him here. My little nino isn't so little anymore. He just keeps porking out. It's unbelieveable!! He went swimming with his poppy yesterday and today and just splashes the water everywhere. He LOVES it!! He's going to be a fish like both his parents! I hope everyone is doing well and hanging in there! Check for updates later this week!!