Tranquility

Well, summer break is finally here, and everyone is gone. Life is very different here at Familia Feliz now. A lot has happened in the past week. Let me fill you all in.

Pool Parties

Last week, the other houses picked a day and took all their kids to town for an afternoon to swim at a pool, eat food, and just experience Rurre. The kids rarely go into town, so it's a real treat when they get the chance. Naturally, when our boys heard of all the other houses going, they wanted to go too. Justin and I were so down to go to town, but we needed to get Teacher Juan's approval because one, it's his house, and two, he would have to drive us. Before I even had a chance to ask him, he returned from town on Sunday night and asked me if I would like to go to town with the kids. Everyone was in agreement, so on Thursday afternoon, the day before all the kids were supposed to leave, we headed into town: me, Justin, our 12 kids, and T. Juan and his family. Four other SMs joined us too, so that made  22 of us. That afternoon was an absolute blast and the perfect way to end the school year! We spent about an hour and a half swimming at a pool, we got food, and then we headed back. I'll explain more in the picture captions below.

An Empty House

Obviously, the biggest happening this week was all of the kids leaving. On Friday, seven of our kids went home for summer. On Sabbath, two more. On Sunday, Selim left. That left us with two kids for the next two months: Jesús and Valentín. It all happened so fast. One day, our house is filled with twelve energetic, wild kids, and the next, our house feels empty and eerily quiet. I got so used to having so many kids in the house for three and a half months, and then POOF! gone. It is also a crazy thought when I remember that they won't be coming back for over two months. As expected, it was hard to see them go, but I know I will see them again next school year, and that has made it a lot easier to handle. When I leave for the States in April, the goodbyes will be much more painful. But for now, I am enjoying the slower pace. If I'm being honest, it is really nice only having to cook for four people instead of 14 and only having to shower two kids instead of 12. I have no doubt that when it's time for the kids to come back, I will be so ready, but for now, the peace and quiet on campus is very enjoyable. Please pray that the kids who have gone home will have a wonderful time with their families and that the kids who are staying here over the summer will be able to enjoy their summer breaks too.

South America Trip!

It's also hard to believe that we leave for our three-and-a-half-week vacation around South America in just seven days. It will be the most exciting three and a half weeks of my life. We have the opportunity to see some incredible places and do some awesome things over this trip. Because we leave on Wednesday, we will not take our day off on Tuesday, which means this post might be the last one for a while. Because of weight restrictions on our luggage for all of our flights, I may not be able to take my laptop on our trip, which would mean I wouldn't be able to blog until we return. I will figure it all out, but I can't say how just yet. 

Pictures

After almost four months of being here, we just now got a picture with all of the SMs.
I have no idea why it took so long.

A 0.5 of everyone.

Over the past two weeks, Selim and Emir fell asleep with me
my hammock more times than I can count. What a
privilege!

We got a picture with Laney's mom, me, and
all of the kids. 

Christmas!!! Justin bought some Christmas decorations in town, including a small tree, colored 
lights, ornaments, and a star for the tree. The kids had fun setting it up, and now it feels a little
bit more like Christmas time back home. I love it!

Speaking of Christmas, we received our
Christmas packages from Southern last
week, so we had a little package opening 
party at the clinic. It was wonderful!

Some of the things in my package: a Cotopaxi hat (best hat I own now), sunglasses,
four instant Indian meals, ramen, two bottles of ranch dressing, a bottle of vegan mayo, 
dried mango, smokehouse almonds, lots of candy for the kids, a puzzle book, and
lots of handwritten notes from friends back home.

On our way to town and the pool!

Arriving at the pool.

Emir wanted to try on Justin's goggles.

What a beautiful smile!

Benjamín absolutely vibing.

Alex and Lauren.

Marcelo. All but two of our kids can't swim,
so they just ended up clinging to us for dear
life.

A sick shot of Alvaro.

Justin the Jungle Gym.

Because no one could swim, there was always a cluster of kids
around the ladder.

The time in that pool is the coldest I have been so far in Bolivia.

What a backdrop!

Bakua Pizza with a pesto mayonnaise drizzle. Best pizza 
in town!

On our way back home.

This might have been my favorite part of the day. We stood up in the truck, so the wind was
smacking us in the face.

Adrián decided to wear ear muffs for lunch.

Another perfect picture of Selim.

These next few pictures are ones that I took right before we said goodbye for the summer. 
Alvaro and Adrián in this picture.

Andres.

Marcelo.

Alex.

Diego-Alexis.

Do you notice anything different between the above two pictures? Diego-Alexis asked to
borrow my favorite The North Face hat over summer break, and I was hesitatant at first, but
I couldn't refuse. Then, I was thinking about it, and I thought it would be better if I just gave it 
to him. That hat served me well, but it will serve Diego-Alexis much better.

Emir.

Jeremías.

Benjamín.

Selim.

We made biscuits and gravy with hashbrowns for breakfast.
Scrumptious!

On our way to the store with only three kids. Without twelve kids to
keep track of, it was pretty relaxing actually.