Hello, again!

I last blogged two months ago... The end of school was crazy but we finished! Now I'm on vacation for a couple months but it's not really vacation as I'm tutoring every day. Not getting up early and having a more relaxed day has been nice though!

We've had a busy few months so lots of pictures again! :)

APRIL:

 At the end of April, B. turned 3! He was so excited that it was his birthday. We were happy to be able to celebrate that birthday with him because a couple weeks ago he moved to another children's home to be with his older siblings. We miss him but we're excited they get to be together again!

Sometimes we take all the kids to church, but on this particular day the babies and tías stayed home, and I took the girls by myself... So much more relaxing just having the 4 of them!

 We gave this picture to Tía Silvia a couple Christmases ago after she begged and begged for a picture of us... One day I walked into the girls' bedroom and saw that they'd taken it off the fridge and hung it up on their wall. It's a nice touch, for sure!

 Gymnastics all day, every day... If only I could post the videos B. took of me doing handstands and cartwheels!

Get your hair braided and makeup done offered exclusively at Sunshine House!

On this Sunday we took EVERYONE to church. When it was time to go home, no one wanted to pay for the taxi so the tías decided we could all fit in my car... I think I was the only one who got a comfortable ride that day! I think we had 14 people crammed in there.

MAY:

 At the beginning of May we began our count-down to go to 1st grade... The kids LOVED it and from the second they walked in in the morning they were asking whose turn it was to take off a ring.

Sometimes when one of my kids would get mad, he would tell me that he hated me and that I'm the worst teacher in the whole world (other days he told me he loved me and that he was my son so who really knows how he felt!). One day I told him that I was sure he didn't really mean what he said so he needed to write "I love Ms. Hannah" on the board. He reluctantly did so. Pretty soon they were all asking to write it... Not much of a punishment any more!

 S. and B. are obsessed with the group Tercer Cielo so when Sarah and I heard they were giving a free concert earlier this month, we knew we had to take the girls! Through some connections we were invited to meet them at the airport when they arrived and then we were given VIP wristbands to sit up close at the concert. The girls were so excited but then so shy when we were actually at the airport!

 This picture made me laugh because I feel as if I'm looking at my future getting my kids ready in the morning. It was taken one day by B., who was begging me to buy her a cell phone for her upcoming 10th birthday. I didn't realize she was taking pictures while we were having this conversation... In case you're wondering, I did not buy her a cell phone. Although she would argue that it's not true, she's far too young.

Reading the encyclopedia for his first book seems like a lofty goal to me...

Happy 10th birthday, B.!

 Love my kinder co-teachers! 

 Mother's Day is on May 27th. At church, some of the kids' classes put on a little program for the moms. Before A.'s class began singing, they were asked to tell their mom's name. I cringed a little (Mother's Day is so hard for our kids and questions like this are never easy for them to answer) but when it was her turn she loudly proclaimed "Her name is Tía Hannah!" and everyone let out a collective "Awww." I'm so lucky to be the one she calls "Mami!"

 May 29th marked 4 years in Bolivia... Can't believe it's already been that long!

 The kids' school had a dance festival at the end of May. My school also had one, and can I just say, I was once again reminded how wonderful it is to be the parent at these events instead of the teacher. Seriously, it's so much more enjoyable.

B. is in 5th grade and his class did this cool dance with ribbons. It almost reminded me of the May Pole dance we did in 4th grade.

JUNE:

 We made it! Kinder graduation with some of the best :)

 Probably not the safest activity (they found random pieces of food and put them together) but who am I to stop their imaginative play!

Celebrating Sarah's birthday with our favorite son/nephew! While she'll always be the real favorite, he's decided I'm not so bad!

 The past couple days I've had A. and J. staying over at my house. We had to make a stop at the grocery store and A. begged for strawberries. That night they both ate them dipped in mayo (meant for their chicken)... sounds yummy, doesn't it?!

 A. is OBSESSED with Miel and made sure to bring all of her toys to her bed.

Playing in the ball pit at the indoor park... They had a great time!

If you're my friend on Facebook then you might have already seen this picture... At lunch yesterday, I made pasta that had mushrooms mixed into it. J. ate it all but A. complained about "those little brown things" from the moment she saw the plate and refused to eat any food with mushrooms. Yesterday evening, I made pancakes for them for dinner and it would appear that when "little brown things" are chocolate chips, suddenly they're edible!

At the rate I'm going with blogging, the next post will be after school has started again... If I don't blog again before then, hope all of y'all up north are enjoying your summer!