Christmas season in Mexico

We had such a wonderful trip. We left the day after Christmas.

It started out a little hairy -- our flight was delayed and we spent almost 7 hours in the airport before taking off! But even with no stroller for Kidney Boy, it worked out better than I'd have expected. We bought treats for the kids and they were surprisingly well-behaved. Then, upon arriving in Leon, we discovered that the plane had been overloaded with luggage and they took random pieces off, one of them being Kidney Boy's carseat. We had to drive 2 hours to Santa Rosa with him in a seatbelt. I wasn't happy about that but there was nothing else to do.

We got to Gama's mom's and dad's house pretty late but they had some food waiting for us. We ate and chatted for a while and then went to Paola's house where we were going to be staying. They have built 2 big bedrooms upstairs and our room had 2 full-size beds with a pack-and-play in between for Kidney Boy. There was a TV with cable and a DVD player, racks to hang clothes, shelves for other clothes and a little desk/dresser with a couple of small drawers. It was such a nice room.

The next day, we hung out with the family, bouncing around from house to house. We also took a quick trip to Walmart for diapers and wipes. It was just mostly a nice day of visiting.

Friday came and everything was buzzing. Brittany's quinceañera party was that night. We went to the hall to help everyone set up. The kids ran around and I tried to help Connie's mom with the napkin holders. Mostly, I chased Leo, though LOL

Friday night was wonderful. Brittany was a vision in her pink dress. She is such a beautiful girl. The mass was beautiful too, said by Gama's cousin, Padre Mayito. I love his sermons. He has such a way of speaking. He relays his messages so beautifully, yet not overdone or stuffy. I always come away with stuff that stays with me and that will always come back to me later on. After the mass, we headed to the party. It was a blast. The music was great. I danced a lot. Vivian and Erasmo came with their twins and it was so much fun to see them there. Brittany's choreographed dances went so well. She looked great. Gama started crying when his dad started dancing with her. He knew that her uncles would follow and that Pancho wasn't there to dance with her. He came back from dancing with her, still crying. After those dances, the slideshow started with so many tear-jerking pictures. We were all misty-eyed. Then the picture of Brittany with Pancho popped up and everyone just burst into tears. Gama was so sad. But the slideshow ended with all these gorgeous pictures of the beautiful young woman she has become and everyone clapped and then they announced her last choreographed dance, the hip-hop number. She and all the chambelanes had changed into street clothes and as the music started, fireworks went off inside the hall! It was so cool. A few of the younger girls ran around them, shooting them with silly string. It was quite a sight. The whole night was so much fun and Brittany was glowing. Her boyfriend Efren was there too and it was very obvious how crazy they are about each other. Young love... =)

The next day was my birthday. We didn't have any big plans. We had to make another trip to Walmart for a few things. In the evening, we went to Mayra's house and she was having a little get-together for everyone. Gama had them get me a cake too and they all sang to me later in the evening. That was nice. Then when they made me take a bite of the cake, Connie tipped the cake up to my face to cover me with icing LOL

Over the next few days, we hung out and visited with everyone, mostly just taking it easy. We made a few trips into the city and took a lot of walks around the town. The big New Year's eve party went great at Gama's abuelita's house. Kidney Boy had a bit of wheezing because it was so cold out but his asthma was really getting better. The next day, we spent almost the entire day at his abuelita's house again, for the "recalentado" but luckily, they made new food instead of reheating the stuff from the night before LOL On the 3rd, a photographer came and took pictures of the family. Afterwards, we went to Church for Pancho's monthly mass. Connie and Lupe and their group left on the 4th.

On the 5th, we went to the mercado and tianguis. The mercado and tianguis run all day long that day, in preparation for Three Kings Day the next day. Everyone has to do their shopping. The place was packed all day long. We hung out a lot in Gama's mom's "post" and walked around and did our own shopping too. We also bought the boys a little turtle. Paola said she'd keep it for them. They named him Swimmy =) When we got home that night, they each left a shoe under the tree.

The 6th was a lot of fun. The kids woke up and found what the Three Kings left them under the tree. They were so excited. We went to Gama's mom's house and then into the city, to show the kids the huge nacimiento display they have in the center of the city. It is awesome. It takes up this huge town square area. There are several smaller displays all set up next to each other. There are all kinds of animals, a set-up of the Visitation, a big nacimiento with Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the shepherds, the Three Kings arriving, etc. and there is even a section on the outside corner with devils. It is very impressive. After seeing that, we walked over to Gama's old school. He only went there for 2 semesters and hadn't been back in 20 years. The school's front door was open and we went in and walked around. He was filled with memories. The place was incredible, just like all the buildings in Queretaro. I took a bunch of pictures. It was such a fun excursion.

The 7th was our day to leave. First we had to run into the city to get a correction issued for Kidney Boy's baptismal certificate. It has his last name as Rodriguez Robin. They were a little confused and thought that my last name was Robin. Also, they don't realize that kids in the states don't use a matrinimic. We got the correction and now Paola will have to take it to the church we had the baptism in so that they can issue a new certificate.

We went to say goodbye to Gama's "little grandma" -- his dad's mom. We had said goodbye to almost everyone else the night before. His little grandma always cries so much. She always says she might not see us again. She is 95 but doing good. She is frail and tiny but mentally she is all there and she gets around pretty good for 95. We should all be that lucky.

We went to the airport and that is where we said goodbye to Gama's parents and to Paola and Erick. It was so hard and everyone cried. Our flight home wasn't delayed and it was mostly smooth with just a little turbulence about an hour before we landed. The kids were wild though, because Chicken-hair and Kidney Boy slept the 2 hour drive to the airport. So neither one fell asleep on the plane this time! It wasn't easy but we made it LOL

So that is most of it...