Not counting church, today was the first day I have left k with complete strangers. We started CBS, and k was put in the 12-24 month class. It didn’t go too well. She started crying when I handed her over, and apparently kept crying. One of the caregivers had to hold her the whole time or she would start crying again. When I picked her up, she wasn’t crying, but she was being held. I feel bad for her rude awakening to the “real world” where the ones closest to her aren’t around, but I know it is a necessary step. We’ll see how long it takes her to adjust!

I couldn’t help but take a couple of pictures of k before she left for her class.

Sorry for the diaper shot, but she looked so cute in this picture, I had to post it.

k is growing up so much. I thought it would be a good idea to record some of the things she has been up to lately. She loves closing doors. She cannot stand the sight of an open door and must close it at once. However, she can’t open doors yet, so sometimes she “locks” herself out. She also likes to say “buh-bye mama, buh-bye dada” before closing the door, sometimes giving us good-bye kisses too. k also likes Elmo…not sure why he is the most popular amongst kids. Is it his high-pitched baby voice? In the next couple of weeks k will start going to childcare for a couple of hours while I’m at CBS and going to a class at the local community college with either my mom or me, depending on my work schedule. Plus, she’ll be able to hang out with other kids during my moms’ group. Hopefully she’ll get used to being around more kids!

Saturday we went to the Orange International Street Fair with my parents. We ended up paying $10 for parking at a nearby church (well, actually my parents paid). The streets in Old Town Orange are blocked off and different community organizations run food booths representing different countries. We tried food from an Asian booth (not sure what country, Thailand?), Greek, Ireland, Denmark and Mexico. Pretty diverse, no? k seemed to enjoy everything…

Greek pastries dipped in honey

Abelskievers

Strawberry raspado

Yum!

Saturday night we watched Cal win a close one in its season opener. I can’t believe those guys are still in the trees around Memorial Stadium!

After church on Sunday we went to an Angels-Rangers game. Our tickets were the best I’ve ever had at a baseball game, mainly because we were in the shade the whole time. What luxury! The game wasn’t too exciting (Angels lost, 4-3), but there were three ejections, so that was kind of fun to watch. Plus, we were able to find the elusive nachos! Every time we’ve gone to an Angels’ game in the past, we see people with “loaded” nachos and wonder where they’re from. D would try to order the “super” nachos at certain places, and it would always just end up being chips and cheese. After some internet research I figured out that you have to buy the special nachos at Chili Peppers ($6.75), which is located on the outside perimeter of the stadium. They are quite filling! We also tried a pulled pork sandwcih from Beach Pit BBQ. It was good, but not worth the $9.75 price.

The Olympics are over, D is back, and I’m ready for September to start. I love autumn, and although our summer hasn’t been too hot so far, I can’t wait for the crisp air to return. We will have a busy schedule this year, but I’m looking forward to it. Summer has been a bit blah.

Of course k is too young for back to school shopping, but she definitely needed new shoes. Check them out:

Random picture: enjoying a waffle while sitting in a tub

The weather on Monday was pretty nice, it was sunny and warm but there was a cool breeze.

Here are some of the boys. You can see in the background where family #1 takes a bath and washes clothes. I worked on the house for Virginia (family #2). Her oldest son is the second guy from the left. His name is Indalesio.

Sandra, on the left, is Virginia’s only daughter.

The first day, we built that walls and the roof panels. I worked on helping measure and mark the 2x4s so they could be cut to the proper length. And then did a lot of hammering with long nails to put the 2x4s together and then also to sheet the walls with plywood. By the end of day one we had framed the roof panels and walls.

Day 2
We lifted up the walls and put on the roof panels. This was the most physically demanding day. But with team work and help from the supervisor from IDT we were able to get it done. We had a lot of people help raise the roof and used 2x4s to help put the roof in place. The funnest part of the day was sheeting the roof. On the roof, there was a breeze and a nice view of the valley.

The family sacrificed a lot to make us tamales for lunch. These were muy delicioso. This was the other meal that was tied for the best. However, since it was home-made I enjoyed it the most. I ate my two and since other people didn’t want to eat their’s I ate another. Three tamales and macaroni salad made me stuffed.

Here is a photo of the house that I helped build. You can see that it is really close to the old house. And their view is pretty nice since it is on a hill.

Posing in front of the house.

Day 3

We put on flashing and tacked in the tar paper on the roof. I spent most of the time on the roof. I also worked on installing a whirly bird to the roof and helped install an interior wall. Not only did I use a circular power saw, I drilled a large concrete screw into the concrete floor using a power drill. I asked someone on my team, “are you sure you want me to do it, I am a financial analyst?”

Here is the old house that we didn’t demolish. In Baja they tend to keep building and not tear down the old structures.

The kids were resourceful in using the wood scraps to build tables and boxes.

Day 4

I worked on making bunk beds. I was thinking I could make a wood bed for k. We’ll see. I also worked on stapling electrical wire.

Here is the completed house

Here is the bunk bed I helped make. Here is my buddy Roberto, another of Virginia’s sons. There is another brother, Jose-Luis, who is not pictured.

Kitchen table.

I spoke Spanish with them quite a bit even though I forgot most of my Spanish. I used a lot of words that didn’t make a sentence; however when I added in pointing it helped. I used more Spanish this time then when I went down to Mexico right after high school when I knew the most Spanish. This time I wasn’t worried about making a fool of myself. I missed my family quite a bit; however I enjoyed playing with the kids and they made me feel welcome. The dedication on Thursday was touching and I cried since it was amazing to see God use us to bless the lives of that family.

On Friday I swam in the ocean and it was cool but nice.

I went on a missions trip this week to Baja California, Mexico with WPC. We left for Mexico on Sunday morning and stopped in San Diego to pick up another van and drop items off to an International Disciple Training employee that helps bring items across the border.

Here is some of us in the Home Depot parking lot.

Here is the border crossing

The drive along the coast from Tijuana to Ensenada is beautiful. Here are some homes around Rosarita. Can you spot the island?

We also stopped in Ensenada to get gas.

We finally arrvied in Vicente Guerrero just before dinner time.

Here is a picture of our accomodations for the week.

The first night was a weekend, so Norma, the cook, doesn’t work. So we went to El Pollo Loco. But it is not part of the chain restaurant in the U.S., it is a hole in the wall place. This meal was tied for the best meal during the trip.

Large Taco de Pollo y Queso

Our base camp for putting all our stuff. One old home is in the background.

To be continued…

The Olympics have been very exciting and interesting TV watching; however it has been bad for my sleep.

Cal Swimming has come through with 10 medals.

Women’s Swimming

Natalie Coughlin (USA) – 100 Backstroke (Gold), 400 Free Relay (Silver), 200 Individual Medley (Bronze), 800 Free Relay (Bronze), 100 Freestyle (Bronze),
400 Medley Relay (Silver)
Sara Isakovic (Slovenia) – 200 Freestyle (Silver)
Emily Silver (USA) – 400 Free Relay (Silver)

Men’s Swimming
Nathan Adrian (USA) – 400 Free Relay (Gold)
Milorad Cavic (Serbia) – 100 Butterfly (Silver)

Indiana University did not have any swimming medals, so Cal surpassed them in overall Olympic swimming medals. Cal 61 vs IU 60. Spitz (IU), Biondi (Cal), and Coughlin (Cal) each have 11 medals.