July: Garcia family pictures

The rest of the Garcia grandkids:

We went to Tulane, put my camera on a tripod and here's the whole crew:

Notice the look Claire is giving the dog. Most people look at that dog in the same way. It drew blood at least once while we were there. But we love the Abuelos. They always make us good food and tell us good stories and give lots of love when we go.

 

As we were driving out of NOLA, heading back to AZ, I thought about all the times I had left my Udall home: after every visit from boarding school and college, the mission, even after marriage. Despite priding myself in my independence, every time, I leave with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Leaving my Garcia family is no different. They are tightly woven into my life and heart. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

July, week 2

Week 2 began with a visit to an alligator farm where the kids handled all types of creepy-crawleys. We also watched men feeding chicken to alligators and slapping their tongues.

 Alligator wrestling. I was going to participate, but the poor alligators seemed too depressed.

Claire was brave enough to touch a cat. That's big for her.

Waveland, MS

City Park

The kids were thrilled to go to the new Putt-putt at city park.

 Street car and Jackson Square

 Mississippi River ferry and the French Market

 Adults' night out. Good seafood (alligator, grilled oysters, shrimp pasta, etc)

Up next: family pictures.

July, week 1

Hello ROUTINE, I’m home and I missed you even though I hated you when I left. With you in my life I accomplish more than cleaning my nostrils and I am able to think without the haze of exhaustion washing over me. Even though it’s great to be back in the swing, the heavy responsibilities that have been floating high above me are now crashing back into my brain. So I'll start with sorting through well over a thousand pictures of pure joy and entertainment… There was only 1 day in July that we weren't either housed with family or had family in town.
Week one:
We arrived in NOLA before most of the out-of-towners, so we got to hang with the locals.

These girls are extremely baby hungry. Their cousins were happy to oblige.

Audubon Zoo

The giraffes were fighting each other, butting heads into chests.

third of July fireworks in Laffrienere Park

fourth of July at the Ortiz lair

chilling at GG's

The Florida crew arrived and the first order of business was to get our sno-ball on

 I took pictures of all of the grandkids. Here is the first half.

 



June

Mighty Mud Mania! David was participating in a triathlon, so I biked with this crew to MIGHTY MUD MANIA where thousands of people crowded within a couple square miles to get dirty.

Elijah splintered off to go with a friend but this one wasn't interested in getting dirty:

This one was:

We had a Udall family get-together. And family reunions inevitably include at least a little of Dumb and Dumber.

15 kids and 13 adults

This past weekend we went to Sedona.

This hike was 1.5 miles round trip but very tricky since the elevation climb was about 700 ft. A man at the top said he had never seen kids as young as ours make it to the top.

You can barely see the David and the kids here. They are in the center of the photo.

Below is my favorite picture. Iris looks slightly surprised. Notice the line of liquid escaping down the side of the tree she's sitting on. She's been out of diapers for about 2 weeks. The child still has to mark her territory occasionally.

Sleeping arrangements

went for a drive the next day

another artist is born

She said she was a cat... Apparently she's a rabid cat.

A couple tidbits: Elijah and Claire are addicted to chess. They break out the board whenever there's a lull. Elijah may bend the rules in his favor occasionally. Another big hit is the keyboard I got off of  Craigslist this week. YouTube teaches some good lessons. It's a starting point to assess interest and dedication. Besides that, summer has been good. E and C have Spanish camp from 8-noon (M-Th) and then they all have swimming class in the afternoon with soccer practice and lots of playdates and swimming in between.