In case you didn't know, today was Ant Day! You certainly wouldn't have known because Audrey made it up! Haha! Yesterday afternoon she mentioned something about "tomorrow is going to be Ant Day" but she didn't really say anything more about it. This morning, however, she was 100% in to it!! It turned out to be such a fun day! We all loved it! In fact, it was so fun and creative that it definitely deserves a blog post!
By 6:00 this morning Audrey was already full force making crafts and setting up for the Ant Day festivities. Before we took Mitchell to work and the kids went to school Audrey gave both Mitchell and me a piece of lined paper. She asked us to learn about ants and write everything down on the paper so we could give an oral report of what we learned this evening.
Ant decor
An articulating ant with many legs!
These are homemade paper envelopes to collect live ants from outside. They even sprinkled sugar out on the back porch to attract some. Oh darn, it didn't work.
This is for the Pin the Thorax on the Ant game!
Audrey gave us a demo of the game this morning
They asked for Ant snacks, so ants on a log for breakfast!
After school they really enjoyed making their own ant snacks. They loved the idea of crafts you can eat and food you can craft! *My kids are crazy about crafts and are constantly creating things!
A corndog ant. Good one Redick!
Mom's ant snack
One of Reid's ant creations
She loved this activity!
So did Reid!
We had pizza with "ants" (olives look like ants, right? By dinner I was short on more ideas!)
Every Monday night we have Family Home Evening. Normally it is an opportunity to do gospel teaching and learning as a family. We also love to have fun together, play games and often we have a treat! Tonight Audrey took charge and she directed our ant themed Family Home Evening. Mitchell and I gave our oral reports then Audrey read several sections from 2 different books she had checked out from her school library about ants. It was awesome and actually quite educational! We sang the hymn All Creatures of Our God and King, it was perfect. We finished off the great Ant Day by playing pin the thorax on the ant. Great, light fun was had by all!
Ant Facts:
There are around 22,000 different species of ants!
The workers live around 1-2 years
The queen can live up to 30 years!
The queen is the only fertile female ant in a colony
The fertile males are called drones
Ants are the only animal, aside from humans, that farm other animals for food.
Some types of ants will conquer another colony and take slaves from the conquered to work for them
The insect with the deadliest venom is actually a type of ant
Ants sometimes nurture aphids and actually care for them because the aphids are really good at extracting nectar from plants. The ants love this nectar so they follow the aphids around to steal their nectar. Some mother aphids will actually leave their offspring in the care of the ants and go off to have another set of offspring knowing the first set will be well taken care of.
We had the most wonderful week with our friends the Homers! We are so lucky to have such amazing friends! They were the first people we met when we moved to our neighborhood in Lehi. Serendipitously, Mitchell and BJ hit it off and have lots of common interests, Tianna and I pretty immediately became great friends too! Even our kids are best friends! We have done play dates, freezer meal exchanges, Joy School, babysitting co-op, date nights, game nights, girls nights, late nights, trips to Island Park, home births, yard work, zoo trips, Thanksgiving Point trips, star gazing, landscaping class, young womens and so much more! We often joke about how it's harder to make friends as adults because every combination and permutation of individuals in each family have to be compatible. How blessed we are to have found a perfect match!
When we moved last June they started saving for their Nicaragua trip. Even the girls saved a sizable amount! We feel so loved that they would come so far to see us! We tried to plan a trip that would not disappoint. Success! I think the only disappointment was when it was all over. Good times were had by all and great memories were made!
They were brave and caught a red-eye flight and arrived here in Managua about lunch time on Wednesday. We weren't sure how hard they were going to crash after the lack of sleep so we kept Wednesday unplanned. Audrey got to miss school so we could greet our friends at the airport together. The whole drive to the airport we took turns squealing out loud with excitement!
First miracle and joyful realization: we all (even the kids) just picked up right where we left off! No awkwardness or uneasiness at all! We just love you guys!
Audrey and I excitedly waiting at the airport!
The first adventure is driving in Nicaragua!
Audrey had prepared a snack and a sitting area for the girls to enjoy first thing!
The Homers and some of our other friends surprised us with gifts!! **Well, some things I had ordered because Amazon Prime doesn't reach Nicaragua.** We feel so loved! A few of our other friends in the neighborhood back in Utah sent letters and gifts to us. Even "My Girls" the young women from the ward sent me sweet notes that made me cry! Thank you! Thank you! We definitely feel the love.
Audrey and Kessa checking out one of Audrey's new chapter books
A note from Audrey's good buddy Paige who did Joy School, kindergarten, babysitting co-op and many play dates with her.
This is a lovely painting of a unicorn near a castle under the northern lights that Kessa painted for Audrey.
Once the gifts were distributed and we were all basking in the excitement of the Homers actually being here, Abby reminded us that she was sweating and really hot. A perfect time for a swim actually! The pool at our condo complex was under maintenance so we set off on our first adventure. We decided to visit a local water park that we've never gone to. It was great fun! None of the water was deeper than wading depth and the park was big enough that the kids had a blast but small enough that the adults could keep a close eye on all of the kids at once. We all enjoyed the relaxing afternoon immensely. By the time we left the water park and made it back home the consequences of flying red-eye had set in so we all went right to bed.
THURSDAY
The sun comes up eeeeearly here (5:30am) so all of my kids were also up early. Which meant we were all pretty much awake well before 7:00am. Taking advantage of the jump start on the day we packed a lunch and took off toward the beach around 8:30am. We made a stop on the way in San Jorge to try to see Ometepe Island but it was cloudy and kind of hazy and too hard to see. We did get to see the waves crashing on the shore of Lake Nicaragua. It is such a big lake that there are big waves and even fresh water sharks!
Our first stop in San Juan del Sur was to the Cristo statue. It is a mega sized (similar scale as the iconic Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro) statue of Christ that looks over the San Juan del Sur bay and city. We loved the beautiful view of the ocean, the small city and the beautiful countryside. The statue is majestic and impressive too!
It's a really steep climb up to the statue!
Ugh!!! About the same time we got to the statue some police officers with a camera and microphone went around interviewing everyone there! I reeeeeally did NOT want to appear on TV and I kept a careful eye on them and tried to avoid their path the whole time. *I just hate feeling put on the spot, especially with a camera pointed at me!* As we were coming down the hill from the statue I was feeling pleased and relieved that I succeeded in remaining off camera. It was not to be! At the base of the hill they cornered me for an interview! Blahhh! I picked up Layne hoping he would wiggle and keep the interview short. This is the THIRD time I have been interviewed for TV here! (In case you're wondering why the police were interviewing, they have a daily TV spot and were just wanting to hear from tourists about the safety and security around town.)
After the statue we headed for one of our favorite white sand beaches! This time we visited Coco Beach. It has a slow entry so it's pretty shallow, perfect for our crew of 6 little kids! There were still some great waves though! This was Tianna's first time ever to the beach!! It was fun to see her amazement at the sand washing away under her feet, seeing the burrowing sand crabs in the shallow wet sand, the feeling of movement with the water swelling back and forth around our ankles even through we were standing still and watching her catch the surf on the body board even though she was nervous to try! Totally amazing. The place where the ocean meets land is a magical place!
I think she liked it!!
So much beach fun made us hungry so we hit up our favorite local food restaurant. Great fresh food for $3-4 a plate! The fresh squeezed orange juice is divine!
By the time we got home the kids all looked like this:
We adults didn't have much more energy either so it was straight to bed!
FRIDAY
Friday we went to one of my personal favorite places in Nicaragua! Volcan Mombacho! It is an inactive volcano that looks out over Lake Nicaragua and the city of Granada. It is absolutely gorgeous, lush and green! It's also so much cooler than Managua, one reason to love going there! Mombacho is a unique ecosystem, even for the area. Most of the volcano is rainforest and very lush. Part of it though, is cloud forest and that is pretty uncommon and neat. There is a permanent cloud over the cloud forest that provides a self-perpetuating water source to the habitat below. The air feels misty and the ground and plants are always damp.
We hoped to see monkeys and maybe even a sloth, that proved to be too high a bar when hiking with 6 loud kids! We did see some beautiful plants though!
Redick and Abby were pretty inseparable all week! It was the sweetest thing!
Again we worked up an appetite after all of that hiking! This time we introduced the Homers to Pupusas. Yum! They are an El Savadorian food that is kind of like a corn pancake stuffed with meat, cheese and beans. A little like a quesadilla but the tortillas aren't cooked yet when you stuff them.
Here is the assembly line with the finished pupusas cooking on the grill behind her.
Redick and Abby. So sweet!
Later Friday evening after we got cleaned up a little from the hike we girls decided we needed some pampering. Audrey knew just the place! The Princess Salon!
SATURDAY
Saturday was interesting because it was a first for us and none of us knew what to expect! We contracted with a guy we met a few weeks ago to take us on a horseback ride up to Venteron. The first time we went to Venteron we drove up the road part way then walked to the top. At the top one of the guards/guides there mentioned that he could book us a horseback ride if we wanted. We decided to go for it but we really didn't know if it was legit or if he just knew a guy with some horses who wouldn't mind taking our money! Haha! We showed up at the meeting place and fortunately, it was a legit tour operation. Whew. Especially because we had the kids with us! It was hot and dusty but we had a wonderful time!
In the center of this picture you can see rows of pineapple plants! This particular area is known for its agriculture, especially pineapple and dragon fruit.
The awning you can see at the top of the hill is Venteron. It was at this place that Elder Richard G. Scott (of the LDS Church) dedicated Nicaragua for missionary work in April of 1990.
A great panorama of the caldera (sunken valley) surrounding Volcan Masaya or Volcan Nindiri as we learned it is actually called.
Abby was one excited little princess on her horse!
This, my friends, is a smoking active volcano! It is technically erupting too! Because the underground lava lake is visible from the rim of the crater it is considered a level one eruption!
The locals make it look so easy to just lop off the top of a coconut with a giant machete!
Yum! The coconut water is refreshing, clean and has a hint of sweetness. For centuries, and even today in some areas, coconuts were one of few sources of reliably clean drinking water.
While the adults relaxed in the shade sipping our coconut water, the guides took the kids on a short kids only ride. They were delighted!
Coming back from the kids only loop!
Smokin'!
We brought carrots for the horses to enjoy after the ride. They are apparently not accustomed to eating carrots though because most of the horses didn't want them.
SUNDAY
We went to church in the morning and caught up on some needed rest and relaxing! We are glad we did because Monday was a full day and turned out to be our favorite!
MONDAY
This was a great day! We filled it with activities but ended feeling relaxed and happy. We got moving first thing in the morning so we could drive to Granada early. We got there about 9:00 and looked around the main square for a while. It feels quite touristy but we enjoyed seeing the vendors and artisans selling their wares. We all got to look around the impressive cathedral and even climbed all the way to the top to the bell tower! The first construction of this cathedral was in 1525 by the early Spanish colonists. It has been rebuilt several times over the centuries and the building that stands today was built in 1972.
Before we went inside the cathedral, which is an operating church with people praying inside and everything, we had a huddle with the kids. Mitchell explained the behavior expectations before we went in and we even did a cheer! I think the huddle worked because the kids were great!
Gooooooo team!
An artist is painting giant murals of bible stories on the ceiling. They are totally beautiful!
The view of Granada from the roof
It's a narrow staircase to the bell tower!
After the cathedral we let the kids buy some sunglasses from a vendor. Mitchell and BJ even found hats they liked. At the other end of the square from the cathedral we hopped into a couple of horse-drawn carriages to see a bit more of the city, in style!
WHAT ARE THE ODDS??!?!? This guy is wearing a Lehi High School t-shirt! Deseret Industries (thrift store owned by the LDS church) sends humanitarian aid bundles abroad with clothing and household items. I actually fairly frequently see people wearing BYU gear. Haha!
Next stop, chocolate making workshop! In this class we got to see how cocoa beans grow on the tree in pods, we roasted the fermented beans over a fire, we pulled off the shell from the roasted beans and even ground the cocoa with a mortar and pestle into cocoa paste. From our own cocoa paste we made and tasted 2 types of ancient chocolate drinks. One was a Mayan drink that is water based and even has black pepper and the other is European and is made from milk with sugar to sweeten it. Super fun class for everyone!
Roasting the beans! There is even a chant you've got to shout so the beans will be properly toasted. Haha. "Bate bate, chocolate!"
Then we remove the shells
Ready to eat! ....well, grind
Abby made awesome cocoa paste!
Someone loved the chocolate drinks!!
Stirring the drinks with a special mixing tool called a molinillo
We each got to make our own chocolate bar to take home. Layne mixed in marshmallows!
What an adorable bunch of kids!!
After the chocolate workshop we ate a quick lunch in the car while we drove about 20 minutes to the docks at the shore of Lake Nicaragua. There we met Alejandro who was waiting for us with a motor boat. He gave us a 45 minute tour of some of the 365 tiny islands (isletas) at the base of Volcan Mombacho then took us to an island resort called Pico de Garza for the rest of the afternoon. It was glorious!
We met this monkey up close and personal on one of the isletas
That white bird is a heron or garza in Spanish
This was cool. Our boat captain and guide pulled up along a tree and picked what looked like a long skinny banana shaped seedpod. He twisted it in his hands like a wringing a wet towel and then this cool flower just burst out!
When we got to the resort we all changed into our swimsuits and checked out all of the fun things we could do! First stop was this large pool mostly shaded by big mango trees. There are 3 other pools on the island resort.
We had some fun in the paddle boats.
Layne and Tianna relaxed on the beach in the shade
This was one of 4 pools on the island resort and the only one in full sun. I would also like to point out how incredible the view is! You see the beautiful pool, the smooth lake and Volcan Mombacho back in the distance. So amazing!
Mitchell was impressed that Audrey stood on his shoulders and was able to balance so well!
I didn't want to be left out!
Neither did Layne!
Nor Abby!
What kind of craziness did we start?!
We thoroughly enjoyed the pools, paddle boats, swimming in the lake and relaxing in hammocks. Then they brought us out a delicious dinner. This was the perfect way to spend the afternoon! We all wish we had had more time there!
Fresh fish! We catch em you eat em!
We all felt this happy and relaxed at the end of the day!
A beautiful sunset over the lake with the volcano in the background ended a pretty perfect day.
TUESDAY
After such a full day on Monday we left Tuesday unscheduled so we could take it a little slower. Tianna and I had set up a plastic table cloth, paints, brushes and canvases the night before so the kids could wake up and paint right away. Our thought was only one adult would need to wake up early with them and it would buy some time before we all got up to make breakfast etc. It turned out to be a super fun activity! We were impressed by the kids' creativity!
Kessa painted Audrey. Spitting image!
Reid didn't pose with his creation but it is Volcan Momotombo erupting!! Apparently, it's very happy about it too!
Redick knew exactly what he wanted to paint immediately. He started with the rainbow and then drew the unicorn version of Rainbow Dash (apparently he knows about My Little Ponies even though they don't watch the show) prancing around on the green grass. To say that I am impressed with the artistic ability of my 4 year old would be a total understatement!
Audrey made a beautifully abstract rendition of some volcanoes "with decorations"
Thankfully Tianna thought to put down the plastic table cloth and clean up was a cinch! After breakfast we took the kids, and the adults who were embracing their inner child that day, to a big park! Rather, a big collection of parks all in one place.
First stop was to the obstacle course. It is Redick and Reid's favorite!
We had a lot of fun and all of us were hot and could have been ready to go home for some lunch about 1:00pm but Abby really wanted to ride the carousel that opened at 2:00. It was easy to persuade everyone to play another hour and then ride the carousel!
After a day at the park we came home to relax for a bit. The kids ate dinner and took showers. The adults took showers and got ready because we were getting a night out! We hired a very brave babysitter who was willing to care for 6 kids at bedtime! We grown ups went to a delicious and pretty fancy Peruvian restaurant. Everything was delicious and we totally enjoyed the double date!
Delicious Ceviche
Toblerone cheesecake with dulce de leche ice cream. MMmmmm.
WEDNESDAY
Our last full day with the Homers in Nicaragua. We tried not to be sad so we took them to see lava!! In the morning Audrey and Kessa made boats out of disposable plates, cups and spoons. In order to test out their boats they had to jump in the pool. Good one kids! They swam for a while then we left to go see Volcan Masaya.
Volcan Masaya is a MUST see here! When else will you get to peer over the edge of an active volcano to see a lake of boiling molten lava??!!
There was lots of sulfur smoke that day and the winds made it hard to capture a picture of the actual lava.
We had lunch at a local chain called Mi Viejo Ranchito. The kids loved it because there was a playground right by our table!
Our last stop on the trip was to the Masaya Artisan Market to get some souvenirs! Kessa and Abby have spent the last 9 months saving each month for their Nicaragua trip! They saved a lot and were able to buy their own treasures to remember Nicaragua.
Unfortunately, we didn't get many pictures from the market because it was a little frenzied keeping track of 6 curious little kids in a market full of interesting treasures!
Redick really wanted this sling shot. For the sake of preserving our eye balls and windows, that is a no way!
I like this painting that has all of the iconic Masaya destinations represented.
Audrey and I got one last surprise. A couple of days after they left, we found a book the Homers had left on the shelf. Tucked inside were sweet notes from Kessa and Tianna. We miss them all over again but we are so appreciative of the visit! It was so much fun! These memories and shared experiences add so much to our friendship! We love you guys! See you in a couple more years!
