"Learn to Swim" Program

Jake has known how to swim for a long while now.  In fact, when I signed him up a few months ago for lessons with a little friend, (figuring it'd be something social and fun for him to enjoy), he looked at me and said, "Why can't I just swim?!!  Why do I have to do what she tells me to do?!"  I think he needed a different class fit for his level.  Thankfully, the woman didn't speak a lick of English, so he didn't come across as incredibly rude to her!!! But when I heard that Nido (Kate's school) was offering swim classes, I knew he would LOVE it.  I had been watching the coaches with the younger kids during Kate's swim team practices and they were so incredible and FUN!  

Plus, you can't beat the facility.  

So his first class was last week.  There he is on the end.  See how far he is sitting from the girl next to him?  Apparently, he decided that he wanted nothing to do with the girls in the class.  This posed a problem a couple of times when the coaches told them all to sit on the side.  They would point for Jake to sit down and he would shake his head "no."  Lovely.  When I finally asked him what the deal was, he replied, "I didn't want to sit next to a girl."  I have no clue when and where this became such a concern!!!  Another issue?  The goggles.  He wanted them, the coaches didn't.  He was stubborn.  Oooooohhhhh so stubborn.  But by the end of the class, his coach had him diving without them!  Huge accomplishment for Jake--he grew about 10 inches that day and the perma-grin was still there when he went to bed.  

THANKFULLY he LOVES his coaches and LOVES  the class.  I couldn't ask for a better fit... the class is during one of the hours of Kate's practice....perfect!  Wish we could do this all year :)  

Haircuts

I could kiss their cheeks forever.

Daddy Daughter Dance

One of my favorite memories in high school was the Daddy Daughter Dance.  Dad and I would go out to dinner, meet up with my girlfriends and their dad's and we would all dance the night away. 

 IT WAS THE BEST.  I still remember Carrie's dad, Mr. P., having to run home and change his button up shirt one year because he was sweating so much!  We looked forward to them every year.  

So when I heard that they were putting on a Daddy Daughter Dance at Kate's school, I knew we had to buy tickets for it.  Mine didn't start 'til high school!  How fun that Kate and Joe could start the tradition in 2nd grade!!!  She wanted to find a new dress for the special event.  We went shopping and she tried on an armful of dresses.  Once the one she fell in love with was chosen, we had to hide it in a bag to make sure Dad didn't see it.  Then we started getting her ready.  As I was drying her hair, she said, "Mom, I'm not sure which lipstick I should wear...and can you help me with my accessories?"  

 

 I was dying.  She was SO CUTE.  Hair. Dress. Lipstick. Jewelry. Purse with kleenex and lipgloss.  She was set.  

 The doorbell rang and I answered it.  Joe waited for Kate to come down the stairs and told her how beautiful she looked and presented her with a bouquet of roses.  She was LOVING it.  Although she did say, "Dad, can you act normal tonight?"  

 It didn't stop her though, from posing for a few pictures before they left on their date.  

 Joe and Kate both left with HUGE smiles.  They were going to have a great time.  

They returned home a little before midnight and Kate was still on cloud 9.  She came in with a bunch of balloons and 2 mugs that said, "Father Daughter Dance" and sat right down on the couch and began to tell me everything that happened.  Getting her to bed was a bit difficult, but I didn't mind.  What a memory :)

Brothers

Popsicles do wonders...

PATAGONIA-- Days 8 & 9 (Los Ultimos Dias)

We had left our last 2 days open, so we could visit Tierra del Fuego--one of the least visited National Parks in the World.  We heard it was a big, barren land--but we still wanted to at least set foot on it.  It would be another 2 hour ferry right across the Strait of Magellan.  We were set to go and then found out the ferries only go over to the island once on Fridays (what is it with Fridays?!!!).  And it wasn't until the evening.  The return ferry the following day wouldn't get us back in time to catch our flight home.  I heard myself singing that song "So close, yet..." again.

 So, this is the closest we got to it.  Behind us is the Strait and behind the Strait is Tierra del Fuego.  If you look hard enough, you can see land!  

"Luke:  you won't remember it, but you were there!!!"

 All in all, it turned out to be ok.  We used our last day and a half to wander around the city of Punta Arenas and explore.  We needed some "easy" downtime anyway.  

 Yep, it's a penguin on his head.  I LOVED it.  Convinced Jake it was cool after a few tries and told him he could get the wallet he wanted AND the hat :)

 love  love  love

 the market

 Our hotel

 After we walked around the city, we spent the rest of our time driving as far south as the road would take us.  Here's what we saw:

Panda Dolphins--see the white belly? 

 Had to get a picture of this.  People leave little memorials of loved ones they have lost all along the sides of the roads.  The plastic bottles were new to us though-- does that show how many people have come to visit?  They stop, drink their juice or Coke and leave the bottle as a token?  That was my hypothesis.  Could be WAY OFF.  

We made it to the "end of the world" and back with 3 kids in one piece.  

Just barely.  

We LOVED what we saw.  It was simply incredible.  

Time to go home.  School starts tomorrow :(  

PATAGONIA- Day 7

 Eight hours after we left El Calafate, we pulled into the parking lot at the dock in Punta Arenas and had about 30 minutes before our boat would be leaving for Isla Magdalena--the island of 60,000 pairs of penguins.  

A quick stretch and bathroom break and we were sailing on the Strait of Magellan! It was way too windy and wet to go outside, so I captured that full rainbow from 2 adjacent windows inside the cabin.  

 Fatigue was definitely setting in.  And something--the water or the food-- possibly in Argentina was catching up to us.  I thought if you got used to the water in one region, you'd be fine elsewhere.  

I was wrong.  Kate wasn't at her finest.  

When we arrived at the island, everyone perked up a bit.  How can you not be excited with 60,000 pairs of Magellanic penguins surrounding you?  I thought the smell would be wretched, so I stashed some nose plugs in my backpack.  But one perk of such horrific wind, is a fresh smelling island :)  

 This island, in the middle of the Strait of Magellan, is the one that all of the penguins come to, to reconnect with their mates for the season.  

 These penguins are monogamous.  They waddle around or stand by the nesting hole that they have dug and call out for their one and only.  Incredible to me, with all of the wind and thousands of others calling out, that the pairs ever connect!  But they do! 

 Happy day when you see two penguins waddling around together.  

 The kids were LOVING this.  

Let me rephrase that:  Kate and Jake were loving this.  The wind was so strong, that Luke gave up.  He just wanted to be held and kept his eyes closed the whole time.  Poor little thing.  Should have brought the backpack.

 Buddies

 "Outta my way!"

 True love

 Sick of the tourists???

 Looks like goosebumps to me!  

Well worth the 8 hour drive to make the Thursday tour.  

Apparently the ferries don't like Fridays and Saturday we would be saying goodbye to the South.  We had to make this work.  So glad we did.  We happily boarded the boat again, put a movie on for the kids, and tried to slip in a quick catnap.