This was a really fun tour for me, even though we were out of water and all really thirsty, tired from our day of walking and it was a very warm day! The Botanical Gardens are so beautiful and to me, there's something really magical about cacti. Sometime when we lived in California, I decided to buy some house plants because I had read that they can increase happiness. My mom was visiting and we choose 3 plants together. I've since expanded my collection to 16 (and maybe killed a few!) and I find so much joy in my plants and how they grow. I have some cacti and other plants that I've seen growing outdoors in the ground here. 

The tour was long and we bailed after an hour. At one point, when the tour guide was explaining something in Spanish that I couldn't understand, Maeve walked in front of the crowd (I'd guess 50+ people), waving and saying, "hola." She's a heart melter! My girls have an appreciation for plants and they enjoyed the tour as well, although they were happy to go early and hunt down some water! In my opinion, this is a Oaxaca must visit. There are tours in English too. It just worked better for our schedule to go at that time (or so I thought). I'm a little panicked about fitting everything I want to do in. I need to let go of my scarcity mentality. Here's a swamp of photos! Because you know, my girls + a beautiful garden = me going bananas with my camera! 

A few photos at the Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca. This is a really neat and well designed space. We've popped in a couple of times now. This one visit, we were here playing and waiting for a tour at the botanical gardens. 

Yesterday, we had a shopping day. Shopping is not my favorite activity, but there were some things we wanted and needed to find. Greta's sandals broke so we bought her new ones. Holly wanted a hat and I can totally support that because the sun is bright and Maeve also wanted a hat which she very happily wears! I love the hats on both of them and I'm thinking about picking up one for myself. We bought some textiles - a few dresses for Maeve (couldn't resist!) and I bought a couple shirts for myself and a small rug for the bathroom at home. Qué más? Holly and Greta spent some of their money on some little trinkets and Greta bought herself a very pretty dress. We finished all our shopping with a little rest in the Zocálo (a place we find ourselves very often!) before we continued on our way to the stamp museum and the botanical gardens. The girls got snow cones. Holly's choice of flavor is called "beso de angel" or angel's kiss. 

Here are some cute pictures of my favorite girls! Last night we walked to the supermarket to buy supplies like toothpaste, chocolate, and diapers (except I accidentally bought pull-ups!). Poor Conor is feeling pretty rough right now and so while we had planned to go to a new restaurant for dinner, we opted to take a taxi home, put Conor in bed and go to the local taco shop instead. No disappointments there because the food at our local place is so yummy (and cheap!). I'm hoping that this coming week brings a little more health to my family. At the beginning of last week, I ate something dirty and was really sick for 24 hours. An authentic experience here in Mexico! We don't have Spanish School this week, so we have lots and lots of fun plans like visiting some towns, eating good food, visiting ruins... etc, etc! I'm so excited to see more of this area and maybe do some shopping. 

We visited the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca and the space was so beautiful. The inner courtyards were really gorgeous with so many plants and the perfect amount of life. There were many rooms filled with design books and some art on display. The art primarily addressed abuse, global warming, repression... all more serious matters. It was a sobering and inspiring visit.