Yes, we travel to see new things and to be tourists and explore. But the primary reason why our family travels is to make connections with people. We want to get to know those we live with. It's been amazing to make friends here and we have felt so incredibly blessed to make some really good friends that we hope to know forever. One family that we absolutely adore is the Navas Family. On Saturday, we spent the whole afternoon and evening swimming in the pool, hanging out and eating delicious food. Maeve especially loves this family and calls Claudia, "mama," and she calls Sergio, "Papa" and "Papi." She cries when we have to say goodbye to them and we joke that we'll leave Maeve here and come back for her in 5 years. And while that's totally a joke, in my heart I believe that Maeve wouldn't miss us and may even be happier with the Navas family! Maeve would only go in the pool with Claudia and Sergio.

Saturday was so hot! On Friday, we thought our pipes at our home in Spokane were frozen (turns out a neighbor turned off the water after seeing a faucet dripping on the outside), but our furnace for sure stopped working on Friday so it's cold in the house. But as I was basking in the hot sun and jumping into the pool, it was hard to believe that anywhere in the world could be cold! (No one got sunburned!)

Sergio and Claudia make amazing food. Yesterday, we ate grilled meat, the best black beans I've ever had, rice and guacamole. Claudia and Sergio are from Guatemala (crossing my fingers they are still here when we return) and they made us an incredible salsa as well. We ate with tortillas and for dessert we had grilled plantains with nutella. I thought I'd never eat again! 

We are going to miss the Navas family so much! We've had so much fun with them and I really admire the way they parent. Claudia is always laughing and relaxed. Both Sergio and Claudia are so generous with their time and what they have. For me, it has been really restorative to be cared about and taken care of so well. There are so many good people in this world and I'm so grateful to know some of them!

We went to the largest market in Latin America and saw maybe only a quarter of it. We were really fortunate to go with our friends, Valerie and Clay, who have experience and bearings on what parts of the market we should see. It was so nice to have extra adults to wrangle the kiddos. We spent about 3 hours total in the market. It was so interesting! When we were in Ecuador, we went to a really large market and left feeling dazed and overwhelmed. This market was more enjoyable in that the halls were wider, the items being sold more interesting, and the time of day was more ideal with not too many people. It's kind of mind blowing, how does everything get sold? We're starting to reach a point of anxiety (for me) about transporting our goods home and so we didn't buy much. Plus, I have too many experiences where I've bought something and not really used it like I thought I would. Anyways, I did a buy a maraca for Maeve. It's nice for her to have something to hold while she's on my back. And I found itty bitty panties for her too, we had to double back for those! I'm not potty training her yet, but she's showing signs of readiness. I'll probably cry when I'm no longer changing diapers. Also bought Maeve shoes... so maybe I wasn't being honest when I said I didn't buy much? I bought lots of Mexican buntings because I love it. And I found a sweater for my niece... Qué más? Holly and Greta have spending money and they bought a few trinkets too. Greta's really into buying gum and treats. 

Everything at this market was much cheaper (everything - food, textiles, etc!) than at 20 de Noviembre. Obviously it's a bit of a beast, but the next time I'm in Oaxaca, I plan on wondering around here more! 

A couple notes about the pictures... all the jeans are displayed with the peaches outwards. Makes  me laugh every time! The live animals... oh gosh, some of those chickens were looking rough! I cropped those out. We also watched (and smelled and sampled!) chocolate our friends had fresh ground at Mayordomo. Definitely doing that for ourselves next time and customizing the ingredients, less sugar, more almonds. And maybe bring a big suitcase next time?? This was a super fun adventure!

Okay, and  real life of traveling with Maeve... the poor girl rarely gets a good nap at the apartment in her bed. She's a really trooper! Most of her naps are on my back! Our girls are the best ages and sizes to travel right now! Holly and Greta are big enough to walk a lot without complaining and Maeve is small enough to carry a lot. 

After the Jaguar Zoo, we went to Mitla. Mitla was such a pretty little town! We ate a really yummy lunch (I tried a mole and liked it!) and then we walked through a market and looked at the ruins of Mitla. The Mitla ruins are unique in that they have many mosaics made without mortars. Unfortunately when the conquistadores arrived, the dismantled much of Mitla and used it to build a Catholic church. At one point, it seems as though Mitla was a colorful, vibrant and incredible place! We really enjoyed walking through the ruins. They are of a different era than Monte Albán and if you could only visit one of the ruins, I would choose Monte Albán, however they were still very fascinating. I would love to learn more about these places! And I would be thrilled to read historic novels that take place in these areas. 

Yesterday, we headed out of town with our friends, Angela and Santi. Our first stop was a Jaguar Zoo. The only way to visit the zoo is with a guide. The first animals we saw are animals that Jaguars eats, ie raccoons, hogs, monkeys, etc. We also got to see and touch a python! Holly and Greta were thrilled about this, but Maeve absolutely would not touch it - she was afraid! We also saw a couple of black bears, tigers and a lion. And then we saw the jaguars! They put on a little show for us with raw meat around the enclosure. There was a chicken hanging from a rope and the guide pulled the rope as though the chicken were a piñata. Maeve thought the jaguar jumping was pretty funny. We had a great time!

On February 7th, my wee little baby turned 8 years old! It's crazy how fast time goes by and I constantly wish I had stronger memories of Holly and Greta as babies. Greta has always been a very loving child and I do recall that from a very young age, I could understand what she needed and wanted even before she communicated it. As a toddler, she was very demanding as she developed emotionally. And now she is an intuitive and complex little girl who asks for hugs frequently and is a Daddy's girl through and through. She's goofy and likes to make us all laugh, but can't stand feeling embarrassed. She's an avid reader and almost constantly has a nose in a book. She can express herself very well and is very in touch with how she feels and what's fair or not fair. Greta is brave and outgoing, but also needs alone time to recharge. She loves fiercely and wants to be loved in the same way. She's a passionate child. She feels life deeply and experiences life to the fullest. I love her dearly. She's so very different from me in many ways and I often wonder how I created such a beautiful child. She's dear to my heart and I love her!

I feel very fortunate to have made some dear friends in Oaxaca. And those friends came to celebrate Greta with us. My friend, Claudia, made a beautiful and decadent chocolate cake with strawberries! We broke a couple piñatas and had a grand time!