This month we have had the blessing of my parents, Burnell and Paula Johnson, come and visit us!
We live in a third world country at approx. 8,400+ feet elevation. Our location is reached after at least 24 hours of grueling travel. This is not a trip for cowards! Before they came, I had many people ask me, "Are your parents in good health?" I am very happy to say that, yes, they are in great health and did awesome while they were here. The first week they were a little woozy and extra tired, but have bounced back from their long journey and first encounters with Bolivia just fine!
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| Waiting for Grandpa and Grams to touch down! |
Tia stayed with our Casa Kids and the rest of us were able to be at the airport to welcome our first "official" guests!
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| Walking to the Cochabamba baggage claim! |
My parents have arrived! Can you find them in this picture? What a blessing to see them after many long months!
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| Waiting outside the baggage claim! |
Our friend and taxi driver, Cristian got time off work to help us pick
my parents up. Jennifer was also there to meet my parents! Cristian told
Rudi that he had never seen an older man from the U.S. who had a full
head of hair! I failed to get a good picture at the airport with my parents in it... silly me!
My parents brought four BIG bags full of things for numerous people here in Bolivia. It was like Christmas in April!
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| Grams with L. |
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| Grampa with Abby |
Leo and Abby had no trouble adjusting to the "Abuelitos"!
After she had a chance to rest up, Clancy and Clara got Grams to clip their birds wings, so that they could "tame" them. Clara had the most success and we dubbed her the "bird trainer"!
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| Clancy with "Pretty Boy" |
Clancy got warmed up to the idea also... After lots of bites on his fingers, his bird finally calmed down!
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| Clara with "Verdecito" and "Pretty Boy" |
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| Taking in the Pedestrian Day! |
The first Sunday they were here was the "Dia del Peaton" (Pedestrian Day)! We all went for a walk to the market on our usually bustling with traffic, Avenida Blanco Galindo. Pedestrians ruled the day with driving not allowed from 8-4 ish!
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| Gotta love those hats! |
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| Ruth taking care of her pals! |
I loved this picture of Ruth with the twins, too cute!
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| Myles and Grandpa |
It was a real cultural experience for my parents and a blast for us to show them our favorite market that we go to every Sunday!
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| Clancy and Myles "At the Fruit Stand" |
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| Making the deal at one of the veggie stands! |
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| Do you think he will be able to ride that bike home? |
We just had to take a picture of this man taking home his potatoes on his bike... only in Bolivia!
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Thankfully, the first full week they were here Tia Techy and Carlee teamed up to watch our Casa Kids and we took our first vacation as a family since we have been here. I did not realize how much I needed the break until we got it! It was incredible to be able to relax, relax, and relax some more!
We opted to go to a Hotel/Resort close to our house, so we didn't have to spend a lot of time traveling. Our children enjoyed swimming to their hearts delight. The got sunburned the first day, but each day after we slathered on the sunscreen and avoided further damage!
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| Hotel Regina Pool |
This is where the children could be found most of the day!
And us too!
We were able to have quality time together, as well as show Mama and Daddy around Cochabamba a bit.
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| Pizza for All! |
Daddy uses an electric razor and as we did not have an adapter to recharge it, he opted to buy a new one here in Bolivia. Mama and I waited with some of the chillin's while he went to buy it.
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| Waiting in the Shade! |
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Mother loves art and especially watercolor. While we were out souvenir shopping and taking in Cochabamba, we found this man that does watercolor art and Mama and Daddy bought a few pictures from him!
Hotel Regina, along with its regular hotel rooms, has six separate houses that have four bedrooms, three baths, kitchen, dining, and living room. The bonus is that each "Casita" has its own pool. It was a bit hot when we got there, but we asked them to turn the heat off and it was a perfect temperature the rest of the time. When we weren't out on the town or in the outside pool, the kids LIVED in this pool! Grampa and Grams got in on some swimming too!
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| Bathing Beauties! |
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| One! |
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| Two! |
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| Three! |
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| Our Adorable, P.J.! |
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| Bowling! |
Grampa and Grams took the children out for bowling and ice cream, so that Rudi and I could have some time together. A good time was had by all!
One evening Vico and Elena came over for dinner! We were glad Mama and Daddy were able to meet them before Vico and Elena left for the States for an extended visit. Vico swam with the kids and then we had a fun game of Yahtzee. I won! Which is worth mentioning because I NEVER win at Yahtzee! Tuve la buena suerte!
I will continue the adventures of Los Padres in Bolivia in the next blog! Stay tuned for details!
Great blog Carla :) I am glad you all had some good quality time as a family. Rudi, hope you liked your jeans! I found some on Craigslist that were your size and style. They were $10 for 4 pairs!!! Only problem was that there wasn't much of them left they were so full of holes :(
ReplyDeleteMust have been fun having a Christmas in April. Now if I could only get Brendan to celebrate at a different time of the year... Haha
We miss you all and look forward to your next update!
Yay! Loved this update! Glad your parents got to visit!
ReplyDeleteCarla ... love all the pictures. It's fun to get to see and hear what ya'll did. So glad you were able to rejuvenate, recoop, and relax. Mother and Daddy are coming over tomorrow night so we'll get to hear lots of stories, me thinks. Love you all!
ReplyDeleteMarilee
It was good to be with you. I thank the Lord for you. I feel very blessed to have you for my children and grandchildren. You were very gracious and accommodating in an otherwise very inconvenient world. You went out of your way to pamper and care for us. We're grateful for your love for us, and for your love and faithfulness to the Lord. Since this is public, that's all I've got to say. :)
ReplyDeleteI love you, Daddy/Grampa
Awww, what fond memories this provokes! You all rolled out the "red carpet" Bolivian style, and we felt loved, honored, and tenderly cared for. We knew our visit was very important to you when we saw the box of Kleenex on our bedside table! :)
ReplyDeleteIt was so satisfying to give and receive hugs with you all and to meet L, A, K, and A and to experience their personalities. We pray that each one will come to know their Saviour, Jesus Cristo. (I did not have a way to add the accent over the u in Jesus) Their adoptive parents are in for a treat.
It was also a delight to put faces with the names of Jake and Jennifer, Vico and Elena, Cristian and Marlene, Tia Techi and Javier, and briefly, David, Richard and Gladys and more!! :)
We are so glad that our Father allowed us the means, ways, and health to enter your "world" so we can know first hand what it means to ride a trufi, micro, Bolivian taxi--and survive the driving in each. I could get into public transportation. Ha ha! I guess I did!! We experienced many new cultural ways and sights (some a bit "tough" to take and others so good)!
We have enough things to recall to last us until our next visit. :)
It was very difficult to say good-bye, but it is really "so long for now."
Lots of love,
Mama/Grams