Let's go learn about drugs!

More Wonders of Garvin County

Madagas-car Dos

The New Look

Early last spring, I was six months behind on this blog and my children's abuela wondered if I'd still be six months behind by the time she and el abuelo arrived for their annual summer visit at the beginning of August. I made it my goal to close the gap. And I succeeded (one of my few successes this summer, I might add).

To mark the occasion of the blog's return to live (or semi-live) posting, I am going to begin experimenting with a redesign of the space, using some of blogger's new design tools (including the slideshow implant). We'll see how it goes and how long this live (or semi-live) blogging goes.

Llegaron las valijas

After 10 p.m., our next door neighbor came to the door and told us that an old man had told her he had some luggage for us. Mari says he looked like he was falling apart. We took the bags.

Paint On, Paint Off

Copilots

La colmena pastusa

Orgullosos de su herencia pastusa

¡Feliz 70, Jaime!

Pass the Olive Oil, please

Los abuelos are here at long last! High (and low) lights so far include: touchdown at DFW last night after a long meal-less America flight from Boston following a longer Iberia flight with meals from Madrid; the bags don't make it--again!--and flight detail miscommunication produces late pick-up; on entering the car, Maria Rosa immediately notices that it has been recently cleaned (thank you, Fox River Lane Pit Stop crew!); late dinner buffalo-chicken wraps from Target; 35 degrees centigrade--and humid--at 9 pm; semi-heavy night traffic on 1-35 until we cross the Red River; successfully resist the temptation to stop at the WinStar Casino (the traffic does not); doubts that the Ada Waterboy exists (it's on my list of Ada wonders); exhausted post-midnight arrival on 8th street; reunion with Mari and later with the guest bedroom bed; a Pancho Villa pajama loaner; August morning hugs, stories, house-tours, dances, songs, I-love-you's from los nietos along with invitations to build trains and read books.
And then lunch and phone promises from American Airlines that the bags will be here tonight.

Los abdominales del abuelo

El abuelo sobre Pablo: "Es infatigable!"

Buenos dias, America

Bella E Strikes Again

On Friday, Nina became the last of our three to get a professional haircut. Once again, we took advantage of the styling services offered by Ada's own Bella E Salon. Ten dollars took a little off the front and a couple of inches off the back. That's the "after" shot (in pajamas) at the bottom of this post.

A Boy and his Barbie

I recently bought my youngest son his first Barbie. That's a sentence I never expected to write. The backstory: Potty Training prizes = Toy Story 3 characters. You poop on the potty, you get a prize. Sounds like the call of a strange carnival barker. It seems to be working for Pablo, who is well on his way to becoming a full-time underwear model. Nina on the other hand . . .

Forty Destinations

Having listed the Top Seven Wonders of the World I Have Seen, the Top Seven Wonders of the World I Haven't Seen, and the Top Seven Wonders of the Natural World I Have and Haven't Seen, I can now begin to imagine an Around-the-World trip for the Ruiz Benton Five (and whoever else wants to join us). Add two more 7-item lists--The Family Heritage Itinerary and The Great Cities Itinerary-- and I can start drawing my map:

The Family Heritage Itinerary
1. Chicago (especially the Neo-Futurarium, the University of Chicago, Millenium Park)
2. Madrid (side trip to Chinchon; also: el Retiro, el Prado, la Reina Sofia, la Plaza Mayor, el Puerto del Sol)
3. Buenos Aires (side trip to Arrecifes, where Maria Rosa grew up)
4. Vienna (Staatsoper)
5. Montreal (where Mari spent a semester abroad)
6. Xiamen (Gulangyu)
7. Ipiales, Colombia (I was once sixty miles from Ipiales; sorry I didn't get there then)

The Great Cities Itinerary (Cities I've Visited) in no particular order
1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. London
4. Rome
5. Venice
6. Istanbul
7. Hong Kong
Also considered: Paris (Centre Georges Pompidou, Louvre Museums); Fez and Chaouen (Morocco); Stratford-Upon-Avon; Figueres (Spain). And these places I haven't seen: Edinburgh, Bilbao (Guggenheim Museum).

And so, these are the 40 Destinations we end up with (listed by region; those I've never visited are in bold):

North America (9)
1. San Francisco; 2. Sequoia National Park; 3. The Grand Canyon; 4. Yellowstone National Park; 5. Glacier National Park; 6. Chicago; 7. Montreal; 8. Niagara Falls; 9. New York City

Central and South America (9)
1. Tikal in Guatemala (at right; Mexico's Chichen Itza was on my original list of 7 Wonders to See, but I've since decided that Tikal looks more interesting); 2. Ipiales, Colombia; 3. Canaima National Park (includes Angel Falls), Venezuela; 4. Machu Picchu, Peru; 5. The statues of Easter Island in Chile; 6. Ischigualasto / Talampaya Natural Parks, Argentina; 7. Buenos Aires (side trip to Arrecifes); 8. Iguazu Falls, Argentina; 9. Perito Moreno Glacier in Argentina

Sub-Saharan Africa (3)
1. The Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater (Sopa Lodge), Tanzania ; 2. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda (Mountain Gorillas); 3. Devil's Pool, Victoria Falls, Zambia

Europe (7)
1. London; 2. Stonehenge; 3. Madrid; 4. Rome (the Colosseum); 5. Venice; 6. Vienna; 7. Athens

North Africa and The Middle East (5)
1. The Sahara Desert (Tinfou, Morocco); 2. The Pyramids; 3. The temples of Luxor and Aswan (see image at left), Egypt; 4. Petra, Jordan; 5. Istanbul (Hagia Sophia)

Asia (7)
1. The Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow; 2. The Taj Mahal in Agra, India; 3. The Potala Palace in Llasa, Tibet; 4. The Guilin Mountains of China; 5. The Great Wall of China (Beijing); 6. Xiamen; 7. Hong Kong

DS Club

These photos were taken at the first meeting of the Ruiz Benton DS Club, which was held by the kitchen trashcan. (In our house, all handheld electronic entertainments are DSs: Nina's DS is a calculator, Pablo's is an alphabet boom box, Emi's is a Buzz Lightyear reading instruction device.)

Introducing the Rhythm Section: Take One

... because three Ringos are better than one.



The piano-playing vocalist needs work. And we need to reconfigure the camera placement. More to come.

The Leaning Towers of Pablo

Mi teclado, tu teclado

Mama time

Pietà di cugini

Granddaddy to grandsons: "Stay back there!"

Celtic Fever

I picked Pablo up early from school today because he had a temperature of 101.8 degrees (38.78 centigrado). When we got home, we watched a few clips from our new Celtic Women DVD: A New Journey. When this song started playing, Pablo asked to get up and dance. I am not worried about his fever.

Party Animals

Nina and Pablo got invites to an exclusive birthday party at the home of their classmate Isabel, whose twin siblings Jared and Jenna just turned one (Mari and Emi and I crashed our way in). Highlights: a backyard bouncy house (check Emi's blog for details on the adventures that transpired there), an indoor trampoline--see below (I'd like to see each of our three kids in the same room bouncing on their own private trampolines at our house), and a spicy, creamy pink dip I would like the recipe for.