This morning while in the bathroom, the ever-curious Rafa surprised me by leaping from the sink to the top of the bathroom door for no apparent reason. I guess he just wanted to see what was up there, or possibly have a better vantage point for hunting me. I let him stay up there a while so I could get some pictures, and then I helped him down. But wanting to catch him on video making the jump, I figured I could lure him back with one of Beth's hair ties--his absolute favorite toy. He loves to play fetch with these, and when he's not playing with them, he hoards them in his food and water bowls. So, sure enough, after visibly placing the hair tie on top of the door, it was just a matter of seconds before he went after it. He surprised me again by making the leap back down to the floor and then later back across to the sink. Rafa went up and down five times before I thought he ought to take a rest. What a cool cat!
If you want to see more leaps, check out our YouTube page HERE.
p.s. Today is our 4-year wedding anniversary! I love you, Beth!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
How Rafa Plays Fetch
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Picture Perfect Prom 2009
Charlotte, having pilfered the Queen's crown
Cara and Sam
James and our friend, Reid. Who looks more rad?
This year's Prom King and Queen, the Olsens!
Catie, donning Spanish flair
3 hot hair-dos, coming your way!
That's how we get our hair to hold it's fabulous form!
James and last year's Prom Queen, Kelly
All the single (and not single) ladies!Monday, May 11, 2009
Fastest Gams in the West
This may seem impossible to believe, but I won a running race last week! It has never happened before, nor will it ever happen again, but the fact it could even happen ONCE is amazing and exciting!
While I have been running since 2003, I am not what you could ever qualify as fast. I'm not that into distance running like my friends Linden and Jake, or distance walking like my friend Kim, but I do enjoy a good run for the physical and mental benefits of vigorous exercise. Since the Chicago Marathon over 5 years ago, I haven't really gone back to long distance running, never really running more than 3-5 miles at a time.
Recently I started training for a half-marathon (13.1 miles) in Coban, Guatemala, that would have been May 17. Unbelieveably, the half-marathon was CANCELLED due to SWINE FLU. It is still totally beyond my how a runner with the illness would show up to run 13.1 miles with serious influenza. Not only that, but it's an OPEN AIR race! Where are people in close quarters?! They would be running! Furthermore, there's only been like 1 documented case in the whole country, a little Mexican girl. I still cannot believe it. Oh well, the point is, I have been training for long distance runs lately, which apparently helped me.
So I was at the gym on a Friday afternoon, and a female personal trainer at the gym approached me to ask if I would be interested in running in a race for mujeres fuertes (strong women) in honor of Mother's Day, but on Saturday. It is important to note that this entire conversation occurred in Spanish, not English, so I thought I was getting myself into a little race for ladies, so of course, I said yes, and signed up.
Later, I talked to a girlfriend who was told about the race -- in English. It turns out the race was a "Last Woman Running" kind of competition, in which women would run until they couldn't any more, and the last woman still running would be the winner. A bit different from the friendly, small competition I had understood this to be!
Remember, we're in Guatemala, and women running outside in a small race is not recommended for safety reasons. So, the race was on treadmills at the gym, which was good news to me, because I frankly find outdoors long-distance running to be hard on my knees (hills, concrete), and a little boring, too. So, I was still excited to do the race because I wasn't going to get to compete in the long-distance race I was planning on in Coban, and this seemed like a great substitute to put that training to use! Plus, it didn't involve traveling 4 hours away, just for a race...
"Animo, Beth!"("Go Beth!")
Rules: You couldn't drop your speed below 5.0 mph (7.0 kph on Guate treadmills b/c they're on the metric system here :), and there was a judge watching you to make sure you were running. You could take one 1-minute stretch break in the two hours. The race would be stopped at 2 hours if there was more than one woman still running (still not sure why they stopped it at 2 hours). At the end of 2 hours, if there was more than one woman running, the race would be judged by each woman's total distance.
James made me a cute little sign that said "I'm running for my mom, Jackie" in Spanish, to put on the treadmill, since the race was in honor of Mothers' Day. So, Saturday morning, I ran against 7 other women for the title. I brought James' little video player and watched episodes of a guilty pleasure HBO series of mine, Big Love. I got lost in the shows, and time went by really fast! There were still 4 of us running at the end of the 2 hours, and I had run the farthest, 20 km! I started a little early, and did a 1.5 mile warm-up before the race, bringing my grand total to 13.4 miles, a half-marathon! So there was a little ceremony and I got a certificate and a free month's membership for June.
Since I will never be in a race with only 7 participants who all have shorter legs than me ever again, I will go ahead and count this as a stroke of good luck, and I am nonetheless proud of winning. But we all know what they say about being in the land of blind men... ;)
The Gatorade sponsor guy, and those of us who ran the full 2 hoursI got Primer Lugar! (first place) and defended my Mom's honor
Sonpopos de Mayo!
A sonpopo Sonpopos are these large ant-like creatures with wings that fly around. But it is a special day. Why? Sonpopos only come out for ONE day. They live, mate, fly, and die. They also lose their wings throughout the day. They will fight each other, so the kids like to put 2 in a mason jar and bet on which giant ant will win. Sort of macabre, but better than dog fighting.
A sonpopo who has already lost its wings
Anyways, it's sort of a special day to see, knowing these little guys won't be here tomorrow.
Not a single one.
Fun with the Forehands!
Beth and I were fortunate enough to have our two good friends, Mandi and Aaron Forehand, come visit us two weeks ago. We all became friends while living in Lawrence, and shortly after we moved to Guatemala, they moved to Los Angeles. So it was especially nice to spend a week with them since we won't get to see them very often any more. We had a really fun time and wished we could have had more time together.
They flew in on Tuesday, June 28, in the afternoon. That evening we had a tasty dinner of Guatemalan specialties at the Hacienda Real restaurant in Zona Viva (the nightlife zone of the city). They were exhausted from traveling all day, plus Beth had to go to work the next day, so we called it fairly early that night.
On Wednesday, we slept late and took our time getting around. Mid-morning I took Aaron and Mandi down to Zone 1 to see the National Palace and go shopping in the market. They enjoyed exploring the wares, buying a few souvenirs, and perusing the colorful food market where we bought fresh mango, pineapple, strawberries, and bananas for smoothies later in the day.
After the market, we drove to Beth's school to have lunch with her at the cafe on adjoining University's campus. We all had crepes with various tasty fillings. Afterward we showed them around the expansive, pretty campus.
That night we lived it up by going to our first VIP movie showing! A new mall in the city has a special movie theater that charges double the normal ticket price, but you get to enjoy sitting in large leather recliners, order dinner from a full menu, as well as drinks, and of course candy and popcorn. It was the most comfortable movie viewing any of us had ever seen. And best of all, the tickets only cost $8! Oh, and we saw the new X-Men origens movie, which was entertaining but not as memorable as the experience.
Beth had off from school Thursday and Friday, so we got up early Thursday to head south to the coast where we stayed a night at the Cayman Suites. It was an easy drive, and we got there early enough in the day to enjoy the place all to ourselves until late afternoon. We spent the whole day by the pool and really enjoyed the time together. That night we ordered room service to get away from the bugs and heat as well as to watch Harry Potter 4 (they're big fans like Beth and me).
The next day we got up early and were at the pool from 7 a.m. till nearly 1 p.m. getting in as much sun and water as we could before leaving. Once back in Guatemala City, we took our time cleaning up and repacking our bags for two days in Antigua. That evening in Antigua we did some light shopping and exploring before having dinner at the Mexican restaurant, Fridas.
The following morning we had a wonderful breakfast at Cafe Condessa, one of our favorite places to eat in the town. Afterwards, we explored the local and artisan markets. After noon, Aaron and I tried catching a shuttle to a nearby coffee farm to take a tour, but it never came. So, he and I spent the afternoon snacking on chips and salsa at the Irish pub, reading our books while it rained in the afternoon, and then getting coffee later. All the while, Mandi and Beth were busy shopping and exploring the multitude of shops.
In the evening, the four of us went to Casa Santo Domingo for dinner. The Forehands seemed to really enjoy the food, ambience, and grounds of the amazing hotel.
On Sunday morning, we did a bit more last minute shopping, then drove over to Pacaya Volcano for a hike. We had good views again of flowing lava, and even enjoyed lava-toasted marshmellows! After the tiring hike, we drove up to the Santa Terecita Spas at Amatitlan to relax in the thermal pools. Aaron and Mandi also got massages. Getting home that night took longer than normal due to a carnival taking place in Amatitlan, followed by heavy traffic into the city. Unfortunately, Beth came down suddenly with a bug that evening and ended up going to bed at 8 p.m. and missing the next day of school.
Monday night was our last night together, and since we had nothing planned, we decided to go back and rewatch the Wolvering movie at the VIP theater. It was just as enjoyable as the first time around.
The next day we said our goodbyes, but had already made plans to come visit them this summer in L.A. The adventure wasn't over yet however. Mandi and Aaron arrived at the airport on time, but had somehow missed their flight by a full day! Somewhere along the way, we were all convinced they left on Tuesday, when in fact their ticket was booked for Monday. But thanks to the unbelievable generosity of a Mexican Air employee, they were able to fly back home for free and at the same time as their originally scheduled flight! Pretty amazing.
