Saturday, December 10, 2011
Mazapan Christmas Show 2011
Last night, my school had their annual Christmas show. It was such a relief to be finished with it since my kids and I have been practicing since October! We put so much work into and it turned out great...even if it was a little long! :) They also performed Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on their recorders (oh the days of recorders....I'm sure my parents remember it so well). The show finished with a school wide finale with us all singing a song in Spanish (yes including me). Here is the video of my kids main performance I promised. I'll get to the other ones soon. Thanks to Ken for being the cinematographer yesterday!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Christmas in Honduras
We are getting into the spirit of things this season by putting up our Christmas decorations and jamming out to Christmas tunes like Alvin and the Chipmunks. Thought I'd share with you our "Christmas Corner" that we have set up and what my door at school looks like. Enjoy and we can't wait to see everyone in 2 WEEKS!!
Ta-da!
Ken's really excited about the decorations...can't you tell!
My door at school for the door decorating contest!
Coach Haltenhof
For the past 2 months, Ken has been coaching high school girls basketball 3 days a week. Since the season is coming to a close before winter vacation starts, the surrounding schools decided to do a basketball tournament. I was lucky enough to be able to go to one last week and act as photographer while Ken was coaching his team. It was very neat to see him doing this because the girls were very receptive to him and you could tell he was enjoying it...even when he had to continuously tell his girls to keep their "hands up" while they were on defense.
Although they haven't been on a winning streak, it has still been a great experience for him and I know he's made a difference with his team as well.
Warming up before the game
The ref's want to start!
Let's huddle...go jaguars!
GO TEAM GO!
"Get back here!"
STBS Girls Basketball Team 2010
Although they haven't been on a winning streak, it has still been a great experience for him and I know he's made a difference with his team as well.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Best surprise ever...
I went to San Pedro this weekend with some of my girlfriends to go see the new Breaking Dawn movie and to shop a bit. Ken of course thought this wasn't his style so he stayed back in La Ceiba to hang out. Look what I came home too....he must have missed me!
Before and After
I just thought everyone should know how amazing our green bean casserole with homemade fried onions was at our Thanksgiving pot luck. Here is the evidence...
Before
After
P.S. It was the only dish completely finished :) YIP YIP!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
GOBBLE GOBBLE!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
Paper Cup Turkeys my 4th graders made :)
Morning Brunch Crew: Jesse, Jessie, Meghan, Ken and me
"Brunch Pizza"
pumpkin cream cheese muffins with a streusel topping
cookies!
Ken making the fried onions....they smelled soooo good!
We hope that you are all enjoying the holiday yourselves at home. It sounds like a perfect day to stay cuddled up close to the fire. See you all in 3 weeks!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Our new roommate
While doing the laundry one afternoon, Ken noticed that we had a new roommate living with us. Luckily it wasn't another possum like last time but instead a small kitten. Somehow it had climbed up into the top of an old palm tree and was hanging out there. We've seen it run by the door a few times, we're assuming to get food, before heading back up into the tree for protection. Isn't he a cutie?
Sunday, November 20, 2011
It's the plumbing I swear...that's why I can't do the dishes!
Last night, while Ken was washing dishes after dinner, I decided to wipe down some of the counters. When I went under the sink to get the cleaning supplies I noticed that there was water dripping down below. This happens occasionally so I didn't think to much of it until I saw that the bowl it drips into was completely full and there was specks of orange grease floating in it. Gross right!? I then saw that there was orange on the plumbing as well....hmmm...this must be a job for a plumber.
Ken decided that he would try and fix it though so he turned off the water and twisted off the pipes to clean out the supposed clog that we had. As he was trying to fit the pieces back together he accidentally pushed one of the pipes into the wall farther than he meant to making it so he couldn't twist the pipe back on. Needless to say we couldn't use our kitchen sink any longer and inevitably a plumber was going to have come.
Luckily one came this afternoon, even though it was Sunday, and fixed it quickly. It wasn't as big of a problem as we thought it was. However when we went to start washing all of our dishes, it turns out that La Ceiba has turned off the water for the rest of the day! Just our luck, but I guess it gives Ken an excuse to not have to clean up the dishes from dinner tonight. What a lucky guy!
Ken decided that he would try and fix it though so he turned off the water and twisted off the pipes to clean out the supposed clog that we had. As he was trying to fit the pieces back together he accidentally pushed one of the pipes into the wall farther than he meant to making it so he couldn't twist the pipe back on. Needless to say we couldn't use our kitchen sink any longer and inevitably a plumber was going to have come.
Luckily one came this afternoon, even though it was Sunday, and fixed it quickly. It wasn't as big of a problem as we thought it was. However when we went to start washing all of our dishes, it turns out that La Ceiba has turned off the water for the rest of the day! Just our luck, but I guess it gives Ken an excuse to not have to clean up the dishes from dinner tonight. What a lucky guy!
Caribbean brass section: good times with good friends
It's been awhile since I've sat down at my computer to update you all and I'm sorry about the wait! Over the past week and a half we had our friend Dani visiting us from the dates and we were the busiest we have been all year...I SWEAR! She arrived last Thursday and it was non-stop until yesterday.
We of course introduced her to Expats immediately where we enjoyed Monkey La La's and the typical Thursday night line up of a retired man named Peter singing old Jimmy Buffet songs :) Ken and I both had to work on Friday so it was an early night for us.
Dani came and visited my school Friday afternoon where she met some of my colleagues and my students of course. They absolutely adored her (who wouldn't!) and they enjoyed asking her questions as they used water colors to paint landforms of the Northeast (a topic we had been studying in Social Studies). Friday night was eventful by attending a Bingo Fundraiser by Ken's senior class at a community center down the road. I'm never very lucky at these things but Ken ended up winning 2 free lunches at a restaurant owned by one of his students. ROCK ON! To be completely honest, I started getting antsy, and a little outrageous with Dani, since we had been sitting (and losing) for the past 2 hours, so we finally left and enjoyed some buckets of beer with our friend Dan at Expats.
Saturday was rainy and overcast so we ended up lying low and baking a bit. We made an apple pull-apart bread (perfect for fall!) and read magazines, books, and napped a bit. In the afternoon we headed to Jenna's to play Catan before stopping at the grocery store to pick up some fixings for a homemade dinner. We ended up throwing together a homemade sausage with vodka cream sauce pasta dish, a large salad, and some cheesy bread all complemented with a nice bottle of red wine. Our stomachs were full and we were ready to start bar hopping in the Zona Viva with our good friends Carla and Anuar. It was a whirlwind of a night and Dani got to experience 3 different bars that night. She got a good feel of what the night life was like including how promiscuous some girls can be with their dancing.
It was a slow start to the morning on Sunday, to be expected of course, but we ended up going to the beach to relax for a few hours just outside of town. One of the secretaries at my school and her husband own a great place called Las Baceras about 20 minutes from town where you have the option of swimming in the river or the ocean. I had never been there before and I couldn't believe I had waited this long to go. It was breath taking with all of the tropical plants and completely serene With all of the rain we've been having the beach was a bit dirty with wood and other garbage that had been washed ashore but overall it was exceptional. We enjoyed a few hotdogs and some coconut water before heading home and eating Anuar's famous buffalo wings and playing "Pass the Pigs" (an instant hit in Honduras)!
Ken and I both took Monday off from work as a personal day to spend a bit more time with Dani. We headed to Rio Maria to show her our river hang out. Although the hike to the top kicks our butts every time the end result with the beautiful waterfall and the cool river is amazing. We spent a good portion of the morning there before coming back into town and going to a yoga class (no Ken did not come along for that!). What a relaxing way to end a long weekend.
The rest of the week Dani enjoyed relaxing in our hammock, lounging by the pool at La Quinta Real, or walking around the mall while we were at work. After school we walked around the main market in downtown, enjoyed some chai tea lattes from Espresso Americano, got manicures and pedicures at a local salon, and splurged on some Jugo Chapala (similar to Jamba Juice) with our banana granola smoothies..YUM! On Dani's last night, Anuar cooked us a gourmet meal of Pasta Carbonara from scatch. She got to experience it all and so did we!
Ken and I have been relaxing ever since and taking it easy from this past weeks activities. It was great to have a friend from home visiting once again so we could show her what we get to experience in Honduras. We are so fortunate to live in paradise! :)
We of course introduced her to Expats immediately where we enjoyed Monkey La La's and the typical Thursday night line up of a retired man named Peter singing old Jimmy Buffet songs :) Ken and I both had to work on Friday so it was an early night for us.
Dani came and visited my school Friday afternoon where she met some of my colleagues and my students of course. They absolutely adored her (who wouldn't!) and they enjoyed asking her questions as they used water colors to paint landforms of the Northeast (a topic we had been studying in Social Studies). Friday night was eventful by attending a Bingo Fundraiser by Ken's senior class at a community center down the road. I'm never very lucky at these things but Ken ended up winning 2 free lunches at a restaurant owned by one of his students. ROCK ON! To be completely honest, I started getting antsy, and a little outrageous with Dani, since we had been sitting (and losing) for the past 2 hours, so we finally left and enjoyed some buckets of beer with our friend Dan at Expats.
Ken's so happy with his prize!
Saturday was rainy and overcast so we ended up lying low and baking a bit. We made an apple pull-apart bread (perfect for fall!) and read magazines, books, and napped a bit. In the afternoon we headed to Jenna's to play Catan before stopping at the grocery store to pick up some fixings for a homemade dinner. We ended up throwing together a homemade sausage with vodka cream sauce pasta dish, a large salad, and some cheesy bread all complemented with a nice bottle of red wine. Our stomachs were full and we were ready to start bar hopping in the Zona Viva with our good friends Carla and Anuar. It was a whirlwind of a night and Dani got to experience 3 different bars that night. She got a good feel of what the night life was like including how promiscuous some girls can be with their dancing.
Hard at work making bread. Dani learned how to need dough for the first time!
So proud of our creation.
Delicious!
We're classy here in La Ceiba.
Ken enjoying my dance moves.
It was a slow start to the morning on Sunday, to be expected of course, but we ended up going to the beach to relax for a few hours just outside of town. One of the secretaries at my school and her husband own a great place called Las Baceras about 20 minutes from town where you have the option of swimming in the river or the ocean. I had never been there before and I couldn't believe I had waited this long to go. It was breath taking with all of the tropical plants and completely serene With all of the rain we've been having the beach was a bit dirty with wood and other garbage that had been washed ashore but overall it was exceptional. We enjoyed a few hotdogs and some coconut water before heading home and eating Anuar's famous buffalo wings and playing "Pass the Pigs" (an instant hit in Honduras)!
Beautiful.
Dani enjoying the waves.
"Did I get all the suntan lotion rubbed in?"
Coconut water from the actual coconut!
Beach babe.
Besties at the beach
Yep there was a wild pig running around.
Looking to see if the pigs were touching in Pass the Pigs!
Ken and I both took Monday off from work as a personal day to spend a bit more time with Dani. We headed to Rio Maria to show her our river hang out. Although the hike to the top kicks our butts every time the end result with the beautiful waterfall and the cool river is amazing. We spent a good portion of the morning there before coming back into town and going to a yoga class (no Ken did not come along for that!). What a relaxing way to end a long weekend.
The hike down to the waterfall.
Rock jumping!
The rest of the week Dani enjoyed relaxing in our hammock, lounging by the pool at La Quinta Real, or walking around the mall while we were at work. After school we walked around the main market in downtown, enjoyed some chai tea lattes from Espresso Americano, got manicures and pedicures at a local salon, and splurged on some Jugo Chapala (similar to Jamba Juice) with our banana granola smoothies..YUM! On Dani's last night, Anuar cooked us a gourmet meal of Pasta Carbonara from scatch. She got to experience it all and so did we!
Chai Tea Lattes
Ken sad that he didn't get the "Bomba" Sundae.
Babes on a mo-ped...ow ow!
Pasta Carbonara - Anuar "Master" Chef
Ken and I have been relaxing ever since and taking it easy from this past weeks activities. It was great to have a friend from home visiting once again so we could show her what we get to experience in Honduras. We are so fortunate to live in paradise! :)
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