What a Week!

One of the cons of Alberto's new school is that the week before the official start of school, his school is closed. During that time, the teachers are cleaning and preparing the classroom for the coming year. So last weekend, things began...

So we started off the break by feeding the turtles. We feed turtles almost every day. It's just something we do. Two of the parks we like to go to offer us the opportunity to feed turtles. Alberto hasn't gotten used to the idea of just tossing in little bits of food at a time. Instead, he will dump his Dixie cup of cat food (yep, that's the special diet these turtles eat) into the water. The turtles love it. But the thrill of feeding the turtles is over pretty quick.

We then met up with Camille at the Splash Park to play for a little while. That was until the thunder started and the water was turned off and everyone had to leave.

Needless to say, they had a good time. I don't recall these types of parks existing when I was a kid. My grandmother used to turn on the sprinklers and just let us run around until we couldn't run anymore.

Influenza A has been in the air in our parts. My co-workers entire family paid a visit to the Emergency Room because of it and her 6 month old baby got pretty sick. (Fortunately, he is much better now). My mom was watching the kids this week while they were off from school. The last thing my mom wanted was to be exposed to any form of Influenza so there were precautionary measures taken.

While at my mom's house, they visited the local fire department and got tours of the fire trucks (no camera!). They also visited the local police station and got tours of all the cool police stuff (no camera). They visited the lakes and parks where I used to play as a child (no camera). They had a blast. My mom needs a week at a spa to recover.

To end the week, I decided to go to the beach. The weather has been scorching HOT! I figured we could head on out to the beach and it had to be much more refreshing. Well, I was wrong. It was HOT. We were there for a little while and then headed to the pool. I kicked myself for forgetting my camera!

As we headed home, the storm clouds breezed in and the rains came down. Everything cooled down. So, our options for afternoon fun were limited. Alberto decided he was going to play in the backyard and show me how well he's learned the lesson at school where we climb up the steps and slide down the slide. As you can see, he is climbing up the slide...I refuse to let him slide down the steps.

He's always and forever reaching for new heights. In this case, he was reaching for my wind chimes that I bought in Guatemala. I love sunflowers and when I saw these wind chimes, I knew I just had to have them. Alberto seems to like them as well.

The week of fun and lack of structure ended with church. Alberto loves going to church and that is probably because he loves to go out into the field and play with the balls.

I'm hoping that as he matures, that he will love going to the house of the Lord to worship and learn. In the meantime, I am glad that he is embracing all the good things that are available to him.

All in all, it was a good week. I have to confess. I am ecstatic that school started up today. I am glad that we are getting back to our old routine. Our structure and time together was disrupted as we had to make alternate plans for the day. By the end of the week, both of us were beyond exhausted. But when all is said and done, Alberto is a happy little boy. I am not sure much else matters!