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!

A couple pictures of a bakery we stopped in at. Conor and the girls are really enjoying all the fresh baked goods that are cheap! 

Monte Albán is a huge area of ruins from 500BC - 800AD just a short ways away from Oaxaca city. The ruins are built on the top of a mountain that was leveled in order to build these buildings. The number of buildings and the space that they spanned was awe inspiring! It's difficult to put into words just how incredible this place was. I've heard that all the big ruins in Mexico have been linked to the Book of Mormon in some way or another and I read an article that suggested that Monte Albán is the City of Nephi. Where my family is reading in the scriptures right now takes place in the location of the City of Nephi and so it was pretty cool! We easily spent almost 3 hours looking at all the different buildings and overall, the girls were real troopers! This was such an incredible experience for me and in my opinion it's a must-see for anyone who visits Oaxaca. 

These pictures don't do it justice, but hey, here they are!

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!