Acorns

The Sias house has lots of acorns in the spring, thanks to our mature oak trees.  This year, several of the acorns became baby trees.  Uprooting these little trees provided a neat insight into how an acorn becomes a tree.

Life in the Valley . . . Continued

After nearly two years in the Valley, Chris and I witnessed our very first smuggling operation in real time.  We woke up very early one Saturday morning and decided to go watch the sunrise at a state park that borders the Rio Grande River.   After biking to an observation tower and watching the sun rise behind extensive cloud cover (boo!), we headed home around seven.

Shortly after we exited the park, we passed a man hiding in a bush and a suburban on the side of the road just a few hundred feet away.  Less than a minute later, Chris was yelling excited exclamations at me while he pulled onto the shoulder.  After a brief second of confusion on my part, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw the cause of his excitement.  The white suburban had stopped by the bushes where the man was hiding, and about 15 men were running out of the bushes and jumping into the suburban.  Chris told me to "do something," so I called the nearest Border Patrol station.  Meanwhile, Chris decided to follow suburban, which I successfully protested when the suburban made an abrupt turn down an unpaved, unmarked road.  It was a crazy way to start the Sabbath.

Speaking of life in the Valley, the Sias house no longer has cable.  That means we now have an antenna that is bombarded with Spanish stations regularly featuring women in bikinis for absolutely no apparent reason.  Sometimes the bikini-clad women are crowded into a small hot tub overflowing with bare skin.  The bikini girls make the weather girl's snug, spandex dress look conservative.

Smuggling and bikinis.  This pace is ridiculous.

Catching Up

Because August is just around the corner and I haven't updated my blog since May, here is my attempt at catching up a bit.

May brought the end of another pathfinder year.  Working with the pathfinders is extremely rewarding, but I always relish the end of the year.  Everyone needs a couple months to recharge, counselors and students.

This pretty much sums up my year.

At the end of May, I hosted a baby shower for my friend Rachella and her husband Gabe.  This was no small feat as this was the first shower I ever hosted and 60+ guests attended.  I guess I like to go big or go home.  Next time I might just go home.

To continue with the baby theme, I made my first diaper cake for a co-worker's baby shower.  For the first time ever, my house smelled like diapers for a couple days.

In June, I traveled to Georgia for a training conference.  For the first time in a very long time, I stayed in a dorm, used shared shower facilities, and ate in a cafeteria.  Some of the other attorneys in attendance were offended by the accommodations, but I chose to focus on our proximity to St. Simon's Island.  I had no idea Georgia has lovely white sand beaches surrounded by large trees dripping with Spanish moss.  Lovely, lovely, lovely!

After I returned from training, I celebrated yet another birthday.  Rachella surprised me with an oh-so-delicious triple chocolate cake topped with strawberries, and Chris surprised me with a sewing machine.  Fast forward two months and I still have not learned to do anything with my sewing machine.  Plans to remedy this failure are in the works.

July brought visitors!  Jesse (Chris' brother) and Vanessa (Jesse's wife) visited with my only nephew, Elijah, over the Fourth of July weekend.  We spent most of the holiday weekend around the house, with the exception of Sunday brunch at a local restaurant, an evening walk to watch local fireworks, and a rainy trip to the beach (boo again!).  Three-month-old Elijah didn't seem to mind the slow pace, however, and neither did anyone else.

The following weekend, Chris' cousin Marissa visited with her six-month-old baby Jonah.  I saw first hand how much a baby develops from three to six months, and now I can't wait until Elijah is six months old!

To round out the baby trifecta, Rachella visited last night with her new baby, who is now almost two weeks old.  Yes, so much time has passed since I last blogged that I've had time to throw a baby shower for a friend pre-birth and then meet her baby post-birth.  I invited Rachella to hang out with some of the girls at my house last night, but did not really expect her to come.  When she did show up, I learned that inviting someone with a tiny baby to a girl's night is one secret to instant success.  The ladies surrounded baby Leon like flies, and rightly so.  He is so tiny!

Some of the girls in attendance are nurses who work with babies, and it was so fascinating to see how expertly they handled Leon.  They even shared a few insider tips for swaddling, nursing, etc.  Throw in a chick-flick, and the estrogen level was soaring by the end of the evening.

The Sias family has a lot in store over the next few weeks, but I'll leave that for later!

Happy Birthday Mom!

This weekend I traveled to the Fort Worth area to surprise my mom with a 60th birthday celebration.  I made a rainbow cake for the celebration, which I carried on the plane with me.  It was TSA inspected and approved.

All of  my mom's sisters, my dad's sister, and several of my cousins gathered at my Aunt's house on Saturday morning to surprise my mom when she came over after church.  She was very surprised to find everyone hiding in the kitchen.

On Sunday morning, the ladies went to the ArtBarn in Joshua for a private party.  The ArtBarn has a variety of glass, ceramic, and woodworking projects to choose from.  We had so much fun picking different projects and working around the large tables.  My aunt Denise brought lots of yummy food for everyone to munch on.  It was really fun to see everyone's finished projects at the end of the morning.  

Sara, Kelly, Hazel and Katie - the ambitious table.

Mom, Jennifer, Julia, Mimi, Lynda, Denise, and Jenny.

My mom and I. 

One of the employees helping Mimi finish her mug.

Such a fun place!

With our finished projects. 

I used to stay with Jolene and her girls while I was in undergrad.  Now
Jolene's girls are collegiate aged. 

Sorry for the picture overload, but we just had so much fun. 

Before returning home on Sunday evening, I met my first newphew.  Holding tiny baby Elijah while he slept in my arms was the icing on an already wonderful weekend.  

Tia Kim meets baby Elijah.

My First Trip to Mexico

This month, I finally traveled to Chihuahua to meet Chris' maternal grandparents.  I had been apprehensive about traveling in Mexico for quite some time.  Prior conversations about traveling to Mexico usually consisted of Chris telling me it is safe to drive to Chihuahua and me disagreeing.  I knew things were serious when, after talking to his mother about his grandmother's health, Chris informed me that he would book plane tickets to Chihuahua.

In the end, we both compromised on the travel arrangements.   We  drove across the border to a nearby airport and then flew to Chihuahua city.  The first flight left from a very small airport in Mexico, so small that passengers boarded the plane by walking out on the runway to a set of stairs attached to the plane's door.  Had I been any taller, I would have been too tall to stand upright inside the plane.  

After a brief layover in Mexico City, Chris and I arrived in Chihuahua city, where Chris' parents met us and drove us south to Valle De Zaragoza, the small town where Chris' family lives.  Although the next three and a half days moved at a slower pace than life in the United States, the days were full of new experiences.

I saw the humble house where Chris' grandparents have lived for many, many years.  The wood-burning oven was used to make empanadas, the women made homemade cheese from fresh cow's milk, and I drank water filtered through a bowl-shaped stone in the kitchen.

The house where Chris' grandparents live.

The stone that filters water.

Making cheese: boil fresh milk, strain out the curds, squeeze
out as much liquid as possible, mix in salt, and press together.

I saw the old arches carrying water into town as part of the aqueduct system.  I ate ice cream in the town plaza.  I relaxed by the river.  I feasted at Tia Mimi's popular loncheria (lunch counter), which features burritos, tortas, and hamburgers.  I went swimming at a relative's beautiful cabin.  I rode an ATV into the dessert.  I snacked on freshly picked peaches.  I woke up to the rooster's crow.  I ate beans and fresh eggs for breakfast.  I saw lots of animals, including a pair of dogs who chased and rounded-up a large herd of cows at the command of Chris' uncle Jose.

Lots of animals!

Mimi at work, and one of her burgers.

Tio Jose uses this large, red rattle to scare the cows.

The arches and aqueduct, the river, ruins, and a small church.

Relaxing by the river after a dusty afternoon on an ATV.

I went to Parral for a day to visit an old mansion, the Pancho Villa museum, and the place where Pancho Villa was fatally shot.  I was the only one in the group offered the "Mexican Photo Op" at the museum, which required me to step into one of the exhibits, don a serape, and hold a large gourd while everyone watched me.

Streets of Parral.

Palacio Alvarado

I unknowingly joined a group destined for the sobador, a traditional healer who uses rubs and massages to treat people's ailments.  The sobador was located off a steep and narrow alley between a row of small stucco buildings.  The office consisted of  two small rooms joined by a doorless passageway.  The first room, a waiting room, was so small, the entrance was so short, and the furniture was so large that it is possible the room was built around the furniture.  The second room contained matching twin beds, a stool, and some shelves with a variety of homemade rubs.  From the waiting room I watched the sobador provide adjustments to everyone in the group, some of whom had saved up their ailments for this trip to Mexico.  After watching the sobador's rough techniques, hearing the cries of pain, and seeing the industrial engineering degree on the wall, I passed on the offer for my own adjustment.

The sobador.

The highlight of the weekend for Chris's family was the mother's day fiesta at a ranch owned by one of Chris' uncles.  The party took place under a grouping of large trees in an alfalfa pasture. Mariachis performed from the shade of one tree while Chris' uncles pranced and danced their horses to the music in the open field.  I ate freshly slaughtered lamb cooked in a large barrel, head and all, and tasted the grilled fish.  There were lots of cowboy hats and even some pointy boots.  Chris' uncle David eagerly invited Chris and I to ride his horse name Pata Blanca, and his uncle Jose showed off the tricks he taught his horse.   The cow dogs were always right behind the horses.
 

With Tio David and the Mariachis in the background.

The fresh lamb.

Good horse.

Riding Pata Blanca at the fiesta.

My mother-in-law has 13 siblings, some of whom still live in Valle De Zaragoza and the rest of whom returned for the weekend.   The family squeezed into one room in Chris' grandparents home for Friday night worship, singing hymns and sharing bible verses.  The family organized and attended an outdoor church service at an uncle's ranch.  On Saturday afternoon, while relaxing in the shade at the ranch, the family spontaneously began singing hymns.

Most importantly, Chris and I spent time with his grandparents.  I even had an opportunity to speak with Chris' grandmother when no one else was around.  Even though I'm pretty sure she had no idea who I was, she held my hand like someone who already considered me part of the family.

Chris with his grandpa, an uncle, and his oldest cousin.

La familia Sias con los abuelitos.

Chris says goodbye to his grandma.

Prior to this trip, I had visited Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.  This trip, however, could easily be classified as my first real trip to Mexico, and I liked it.