Red

I took the picture above on the streets of San Pancho. Not sure what it is but the colors are lovely. Apparently, I was so impressed with the plant that I dropped my entire camera case here without noticing until 3 blocks later. Husband graciously backtracked to find it lying under this red beauty.

And more red below along the sidewalks of San Pancho.

Road Trip To San Pancho

We have so enjoyed exploring various places in Mexico. San Pancho was no exception. It has its own unique qualities that we enjoyed. It is a small coastal village with lots of charm and an obvious prosperous element. There are many “2nd homes” to Canadians and Americans that influence the town. We were completely impressed with the sidewalks and street signs. Although the main drag was a total mess from construction.

Costa Azul
We stayed in an adventure resort on the beach called Costa Azul. We really liked it and enjoyed the luxury of air conditioning! It is not super fancy but just right for us ($99 per night.) The beach was gorgeous but no swimming due to the rip tide. The pool was really nice. And our favorite element? The Crabs!!! They were everywhere. (Just as you said they would be Steve: http://steveinmexico.blogspot.com/) Boys had a great time catching them, watching them and chasing them.

Horse Ride
The highlight of the trip was our horse ride on the cobblestone streets and through the jungle and up to the top of the mountain and down to the beach. Lots of wildlife including 2 snakes! And a Buddha statue put on side of dirt road on top of mountain - odd.

Professor Noggin
The boys love playing Professor Noggin games. We have many over various topics: American Revolution, Space, Civil War, Famous Explorers, Human Body, etc.. We took them to restaurants and played in hotel over entire weekend. We are a family of geeks. I admit it.

Father’s Day
We went to a great hotel restaurant in town for breakfast that had amazing food. Youngest Son presented gifts that he had cleverly transported as “extra toys in disguise.” He does have the biggest heart! Youngest Son enjoyed the courtyard mini-pool too! Oh and Husband also got a massage.

New Dessert

Ever had chocolate covered strawberries on a stick dipped in sprinkles?

Polo Club

Yes. This town has a Polo Club and field! There was supposed to be a match Saturday night. We were pumped - I have never seen a Polo match and to see one in Mexico beach village … but we get there and it was postponed. Bummer.

Rain & Fever
Oldest Son turned up with another fever and we did get some rain. But I read a quote recently: "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain." And we did.

San Pancho!

We are off to San Pancho this afternoon for a couple days. We are excited to have a mini get-a-way.

More later ...

Big Dose of Going with the Flow

We definitely have to put on our Mexico face as we move into the final couple months of school.

The regular school day has been 8-2 Nayarit time (Mountain Time.)

In May, the school day changed to 7:30-2:30 Nayarit time to make up for swine flu days. We had 1 day notice of the change. Kids started 30 minutes earlier and left 30 minutes later.

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Yesterday we got the memo that the school day will now be 7:30-1:30. Kids will get out 1 hour earlier. Kids are excited. I guess this cancels out making up the time kids out for swine flu. Too funny.

There are several kid type events and presentations to attend at the school. The challenge is sometimes we know about them, sometimes we get 1 day notice and sometimes we get more notice. It is always a little vague as to what to do exactly whether that means providing materials for the projects or attending as the parent.

We completely missed Oldest Son receiving the 1st Place Diploma in Spanish! It was presented in a school assembly. This means Oldest Son had the highest marks in his series of Spanish Exams in his 3rd grade group. The exams covered Math, MX History, Grammar/Reading/Spelling, Geography, Social Studies in Spanish Language and were given over 4 days. Oldest Son was very, very happy. Diplomas for 1st, 2nd and 3rd are presented to the students. In the prior round, Oldest Son had gotten 2nd place so this was great way to finish the year! (Yes, I am blatantly bragging - I suffer from Proud Parent syndrome.)

Rain Oh Glorious Rain

I feel a bit thrown back in time when villagers anxiously awaited the arrival of the rains. Today is the day for us. Lightening flickered throughout the night and finally rain tumbled onto our small part of Mexico this morning.

Unlike the villagers, the first rain has crippled our electricity. I have already missed one conference call and was not able to be heard on the second one. Electricity comes and goes so I try to quickly send emails when the electricity presents itself.

It was fun for our family to witness the beautiful rain this morning. Youngest Son commented “It smells like Hawaii!”

We arrived during the rains last July and have now experienced the full cycle. Feels special.

Night at the Museum

I must admit that one of the things I have missed living away from our large USA city is access to museums. So Youngest Son decided to create a Museum with his Oldest Brother assisting.









After paying and receiving our tickets (remember this is Youngest Son who always has an angle) we entered as Oldest Son played the primary tour guide and Youngest Son providing color when needed.

We stepped onto the Dora Carpet to view the first set of exhibits. Just a sampling of the sights: a magic shell, Native American Indian paper, arrowheads found in a battlefield in India, a diamond owl with cameras in its eyes for security, ancient money from Korea, ....

Jewels from China (above)








Yes THAT is King Arthur's Crown! (above)









All museums have an exhibit where you are “Allowed to Touch” – here is our opportunity. (above)

The Warrior and Ninja exhibits were the Grand Finale. Notice the professional use of scotch tape and duct tape to display the artifacts. (above)
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So many reasons for Moving Kids to Mexico for 1 year. One was to allow our kids time to be kids. Imagination and the time to use it is a wondrous gift …

Guest Blogger: Youngest Son & Jelatina

First we cut up the fruit. There were apples and pears and strawberries.

Then, we put all our fruit in a cup. One cup per person.

Then, we put melted jello in the cup.

Then, we put the cup in the freezer.

Then, we took it out in an hour.

And we put La Lechera on it.

Then, you eat it! It tastes fruity. And it is very good.

It is called, in Spanish, Jelatina.

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Today's class activity in Kinder3 as told by Youngest Son, age 7.

FYI: La Lechera (Milkmaid) is a brand for dairy products, specially sweetened condensed milk, manufactured by Nestle. It has been the #1 brand of sweetened condensed milk in Latin America for 60 years.

Guest Blogger: Oldest Son & Global Warming

As dicated by Oldest Son, age 9, to American Mommy in Mexico:
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“My Oldest Son said this the 12th of June 2009.

Hola, Buenos dias mi nombre es ---.

Voy a hacer mi oratroia sobre el calentamiento global.

El calentamiento global es una crisis global porque va a hacer dificil para vivir. Forma cuando los gases de las fábricas y la basura que tiramos entran la atmósfera y el los rayos del sol y lo calentan. Cuando baja comienza el calentamiento global.

El calentamiento global va a descongelar el Polo Norte y Polo Sur. Va a hacer que el nivel del océano se levantará causando tsunamis y huracanes. Podemos pararlo no lanzando basura y las fábricas no tienen que emitir tanta gas.

Gracias por su atención.


Hello, Good morning my name is ---.

I am going to present the Global Warming.

The Global Warming is a global crisis because it will make it very hard to live. It forms when the gases from factories and the trash that we throw on the ground goes into the atmosphere and sun's rays heat it up. When it comes down, it starts global warming.

Global Warming will make the North Pole and South Pole melt. When they do then the ocean level will rise causing tsunamis and hurricanes. We can stop it by not throwing trash on the ground and the factories don't have to emit too much gas.

Thank you for your attention.”

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Interview of sorts:

American Mommy in Mexico: “Where did you get your information?”
Oldest Son: “Out of a book and my mind.”

American Mommy in Mexico: “What book?”
Oldest Son: “It is called Global Warming. I found it in the library.”

American Mommy in Mexico: “In Spanish or English?”
Oldest Son: “Spanish”

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Oldest Son will be saying this in Spanish at school event tomorrow. I gather he was chosen to speak from his class. I will miss it due to work so I got a preview tonight. Oldest Son was kind enough to translate into English for me.

I am not sure the information is exact nor the translations perfect but it is good to know Oldest Son cares about his world and picks topics of importance.

Trouble in Paradise

Trouble #1
The local Mexico Mega was hit by an ATM card reader. Starting May 26th we had multiple withdrawals a day hit our account. Several thousands of dollars were stolen. Since it was with Husband’s card number and he was in USA entire time, it was easy to demonstrate to bank that fraud was involved. We have been reimbursed by bank. Other American Family was hit as well.

Trouble #2
Oldest Son and I have been sick, sick, sick. Husband has been gone, gone, gone. Husband arrived back in Mexico this afternoon. Thank goodness!

Play Dates in Mexico

Oldest Son, Youngest Son, Nanny, Nanny’s Husband and I spent yesterday afternoon at Punta de Mita. The intention was to surf. We went with Other American Family (Other American Dad, Other Oldest Son, Other Middle Son and Other Youngest Son) who lives In Mexico too. We have mutual friends visiting which includes Oldest Son’s Best Friend and Best Friend’s Dad.
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No surf. Zilch. So …

Youngest Son and Other Middle Son grabbed their boogie boards and used them to collect sand and rocks from the bottom of ocean to play some imaginary game. They were fully engrossed and had a good time.


Oldest Son, Other Oldest Son and Best Friend took a fishing pole and some bait to fish. They caught a couple of eels and a rockfish. I get the Mommy of the Day award since I removed the hook from the rockfish. Rockfish have spines that are poisonous so I used a plastic bag to grab the fish and maneuver the hook out of his mouth and then to release the rockfish back into the ocean.

We all piled into a water taxi to boat around. Some of the kids took a swim and we all enjoyed the views.

Finally we had dinner on the beach after which the 6 boys spent a long time playing and building stuff in the sand.

A Play Date in Mexico.

Swine Flu Effects at School

The initial rumor was Oldest Son and Youngest Son would have to extend their school year from July 3 to July 14.

Tuesday we got The Memo effective Wednesday – the very next day.

Oldest Son will attend 3rd grade 30 minutes earlier and 30 minutes later each day until July 3rd. He will also go to school for the next 2 Saturdays.

Youngest Son will attend Kinder3 30 minutes earlier each day until July 3rd. Much to Oldest Son’s displeasure, Youngest Son does NOT go to school for the next 2 Saturdays.

So in usual Mexican fashion, things have been a bit confusing the past 2 days but nothing we are not used to in our Mexico life.

Just relieved that school year will finish as expected.

Yelapa in May

Our favorite thing to do with guests is to spend the day at Yelapa. Nanny, Nanny’s Husband, Oldest Son, Youngest Son and I took a water taxi from Los Muertos pier. We got a surprise when the taxi took us through the tunnels of Los Arcos which are located near Mismaloya.

Once at Yelapa, we had a very relaxing day at the beach. Kids commandeered Chicos boat as a spot to jump into the surf. We snacked through the day with our friend, random dog, sprawled next to the table. Of course, we sampled pie from the Yelapa Pie Lady. Nanny’s Husband was a popular “playmate” for Youngest Son – thank goodness Nanny’s Husband is so good natured!

We decided at the last moment to hike up the waterfall through village with Youngest Son astride a horse. Guess what? There is no waterfall at the end of the dry season – only a trickle. Duh.

Culture Shock Already Beginning

Husband and I were in USA this past week and Husband will be there another 2 weeks. Husband has not been back to USA since last July. So how is it going for Husband … well what has become intuitive to Husband is Mexico …

- Husband remarked “I feel like I am in the car all day.” In large USA city, you are. In Mexico, we have 1 main road and everything is right off it and we can walk to our coastal village and we do not go out and about too much.

- Say where is that and where did you say and which exit is it?

- Pants. Ties. Real shoes. Where are my flip flops?

- When did the mall get so big?

- Sinus headache anyone?

- USA money is all the same size and same color and it is paper – takes a little longer to count things out.

- Husband went to McDonalds drive through and started ordering in Spanish. The young woman kindly informs Husband she does NOT speak Spanish.

Meanwhile, I am back in Mexico. Muy Bien.

Kids Back to School After 3 weeks!

So our kids have been out of school 5 of the last 6 weeks. We were out 2 weeks for Easter vacation, back in school 1 week for exams and then out another 3 weeks for swine flu.

When we dropped them off this morning we were greeted with an “official parent” asking whether we were sick. Upon answering no, we were allowed to progress to drop off where we were greeted by hand sanitizer and teachers in masks.

I am off to USA this afternoon to join Husband. Our much trusted and loved Nanny and Nanny’s Husband will be in Mexico with Oldest Son and Youngest Son till I return on Friday. Husband and I are a bit nervous leaving our two precious boys in Mexico without us but logically we know all will be just fine. The boys on the other hand are excitedly awaiting Nanny’s Husband’s arrival this afternoon - Nanny’s Husband plays in a band, writes music and is much cooler than Mommy and Daddy!

Overheard: Chess Anyone?

Youngest Son: "I am going to play chess against myself."

American Mommy in Mexico: " Okay ... who do you think will win?"

Youngest Son: "I don't know."

The scene shows Youngest Son playing Chess and Oldest Son outside on patio with Housekeeper's Son (who only speaks Spanish and often comes to play) drawing pictures.