Thanksgiving numero uno

Mike & I are pretty thankful people, so we figured why not start Thanksgiving a bit early this year. Don't worry, we'll still be celebrating again in a couple of weeks, but Thanksgiving numero uno with his family (and ALL the kiddos) was a lot of fun!

First...everyone had to hide from Grandpa Jim....can you spot two little monkeys and a cupcake? Where could they be? (Also, please note Mike's baby...haha)

SURPRISE! Two little monkeys....

...and there's that cupcake!

Haha....poor Benjamin had to borrow a jacket that was a little too big on him. 

Grandpa Jim video taping his big surprise.

The kids did a Halloween costume parade for Grandma Frankie. They were ADORABLE, but getting a picture of their cuteness all at once was a bit easier said than done. 

Here's one unhappy lil spider...

Happy spider, but a distracted Buzz Lightyear and a tiger-turned-Tarzan looking somewhat confused. 

 This is the best shot I got...although hopefully some of the moms got a better one. There were lots of cameras trying, so I would expect that one of them came out with a great picture. 

Here's all the grown ups laughing and calling kid names and trying hard to make everybody smile and look straight ahead.  

We had a lot of fun during our first Thanksgiving...and we're looking forward to the ones to come in just a couple weeks! 

Put-him-in-your-pocket cuteness....

Ecuador Story Time!


So, my final favorite thing about Ecuador was definitely all of the ADORABLE kids and the sincerely grateful patients that we were able to see on our trip.  One of the cutest patient families was a mom who brought three of her sons to the clinic. 


The youngest, Gabriel, was about three years old. He had been playing outside and ran inside to find his mom, who had gone upstairs to get a prescription filled for her oldest son. I found him searching and took him to her. As soon as he walked up to her, he reached out his hand and said, "Quiero mis carmelitos" (I want my candies). His mom told him no and explained that they were not "carmelitos" but were "vitaminas." Gabriel started to pout and his mom looked at me for back up. The ensuing conversation went like this:


Me: "Gabriel, no puedes comer todas las vitaminas en un dia o vas a tener un dolor del estomago hooooooorible! Solo debes comer uno cada dia." (Gabriel, you can't eat all your vitamins in one day or you will get a terrible stomach ache! You should only eat one a day.)


Gabe: "NO! YO QUIERO MIS CARMELITOS!" (No! I want my candies!)


Me: Lo ciento, pero no son carmelitos, son vitaminas y ya has comido uno hoy. No debes comer mas. (I'm sorry, but they aren't candies, they are vitamins and you have already eaten one today. You shouldn't eat more.)


Gabe: NO! YO QUIERO MIS CARMELITOS!" 


We went back and forth for a few more rounds and then...pouting....he went outside and started making this face for a good fifteen minutes:

 Me: "Gabe, no quieres jugar? Mira los ninos alla jugando. No quieres quedarte triste, debes jugar." (Gabe, don't you want to play? Look at all the children playing over there. You don't want to stay sad, you should play.)


Gabe: NO! YO QUIERO MIS CARMELITOS! (very creative arguments...but, hey, he's three.)


Me: "Quieres jugar....conmigo?" (Do you want to play....with me?)


Gabe: Si. (No happy face accompanied this, but I thought at least a "yes" was progress.)


Me: Okay, vamos. (Okay, let's go -- for those of you who didn't learn this on Dora the Explorer).


We then climbed through a barbed wire fence to the playground and within seconds the face changed from the above to this:

Sigh. Such a cutie whether pouting or happy, but I have to admit I prefer the big grin!