A Few of My Favorite Things

Not only is this the last week of school for the students at Asuncion Christian Academy, it's Brandon's last week teaching here and our last week living in the apartments on campus.

This is the last blog post I'll write sitting at this desk.

Tomorrow I'll walk to "our" grocery store for the last time.

Thursday I'll take Brandon breakfast one final time before he packs up his office.

It's the "ending of an era" so to speak and I have to admit that I'm a bit anxious about all of the upcoming changes. We're BOTH excited to get off campus and away from the "school drama" (can I get an "amen" from all you fellow educators?). But rather than dwell on what's been wrong, or fret over the unknown of what's to come, this week's blog post is a celebration of the things that we've enjoyed (and will miss) as we move to a new home a few miles away.

#1: Laundromat

Okay, it's not an official laundromat, but the little alcove by our front door that boasts three washers and three dryers has made laundry day a breeze. Rather than having to do four or five loads back to back to back, I can do three at a time and be done with all our laundry in record time.

#2: Oversized Oven

It's a little thing, but I have really enjoyed having six burners on the stove (not that I've ever used all six at the same time) and extra room in the oven. Most stoves (including the one in our new place) have four burners and are considerably smaller width-wise, too. I'll miss not being able to cook two things in the oven at a time.

#3: Huge Backyard

Not officially our backyard, it has been wonderful having the soccer field just steps away from our front door. Bailey loves to run around in the grass, chasing soccer balls and helping Daddy collect the wiffle-ball golf balls he's hit. It's also been nice being so close to school; you don't have to pack a lunch and if you forget something at home . . . no big deal!

#4: Ropero (a.k.a. Wardrobe/Closet)

Each of the rooms in our current apartment have one of these in them (Bailey's actually is four-doors wide). And since we have a third bedroom, Brandon and I have separated our clothes; mine are in the master bedroom and his are in the spare room. The new house has one ropero in the master bedroom that is shorter (without the top cabinets) and narrower AND we'll have to share.

#5: DVD Max

I had to steal this picture from their website, but this is a place we visit regularly, at least once a week. The movies titles are all in Spanish and aren't usually word for word translations of the English titles so there have been a few times we ended up with the "wrong" movie, but it's been nice having a rental spot just up the street when we need a movie fix.

#6: Parque de Salud

Though we haven't visited the park as often as we should, it was nice knowing that a great park was just up the street should the notion strike for an afternoon outing. In addition to the 1 km trail, there is also a play area that Bailey has warmed up to and would enjoy more and more as she gets older and grows into the "big kid" toys.

And these are a few of my favorite things . . .

Donde Esta Papa?

This past week, Brandon was in California for the RICA (Reading Instruction Competency Assessment) - the final test he must pass for his teaching credential - which left Bailey and I solo for seven days and nights. It was quiet and lonely without Daddy, but we made it through, thanks to our apartment family! I don't think I ate a single dinner alone and there was at least one house guest every evening for a movie, TV show, grading, or combination thereof. Here are some pictures (of Bailey, naturally) from our week without Pops!

Sitting with Kristen, playing with the effects on her web cam.

Taking out her own dirty diapers! She needs help up the one stair along the path to the outside trash and a lift so that she can toss the bag into the barrel, but she makes the journey all on her own!

Daddy usually sits outside and plays with her while I'm tutoring . . . "where are you?"

At the park with Miss Cassie and Mommy. It was her first time there and she was in awe of all the kids and swings and slides . . . it took her a while to warm up to it all.

Last Time

This past year has been filled with a gabazillion first times: first time in South America; first time traveling with an infant on 24 hours of flights/layovers; first time eating empanadas, tartas, and noquis; and, most recently, first time ordering ice cream in Spanish to be delivered to the apartment (a personal highlight of mine).

But as the school year begins to wind down (the students have two more weeks of classes, then a week of finals), there are some things that we are beginning to do for the LAST time, especially with Brandon leaving Asuncion Christian Academy to teach at a neighboring school (American School of Asuncion, P.E.).

This past weekend, it was soccer. The girls and boys' teams played in their last intercolegial (a.k.a. multi-sport tournament sponsored by a local school).

They boys had their final game on Friday night. After a bye in the first round, it was a win-or-go-home situation for the "second" game. Though they played hard and were first to score, they lost 2-1 in part because of some one-sided calls by the ref (and I'm not one to jump on the ref-bashing wagon, but it was pretty bad).

The tournament continued into the weekend and the girls played their game on Sunday morning (after a bye for Saturday's game). Now, as a reminder, the girls team is made up of mostly junior high students with only one junior and a handful of frosh/soph players. And most have never played before.

Despite their youth and inexperience, they won! A few key players came to life in what they thought would be their final game and it made all the difference for the team. They advanced in the tournament and played in another game that evening. Similar to the morning game, the defense was (nearly) impenetrable. The opponents, however, used their size and experience to completely shut down the offense (made up of petite little junior high girls you'd like to fold up and tote around in your pocket, just because you can). They lost.

And that was the end of the season . . .

We thought . . .

Yesterday the girls got news that - even though the lost - they advanced in the tournament and will be playing again this weekend.

So much for last time . . .