Grandma and Grandpa in Guatemala. Surfing Guatemala.

/last+swim+in+the+rio,+surfin+guatemala,+grandma+and+grandpa+154.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403051348422769522" />


























































We finally got our first visitors to Guatemala! Yeah! Nathan's parents came to visit us for 11 days and we had a great time. We came to Guatemala City the night before and stayed with Monkey so we wouldn't take any chances of being late. Monkey went with us to the airport so we wouldn't get lost. We still can't find our way around this city. We were so happy to see them.

We took them to a really good restaurant on the way to Quatzaltenango. I didn't take photos but Betty did. They bring out the meat on little mini grills and it is sooooo delicious. When we got home we had a mini Christmas party. Grandma and Granpa brought Christmas with them since we won't be able to come home for the Holidays and the shipping is unpredictable. Speaking of which. We have been in Guatemala City since leaving them at the airport, get our brakes fixed on the suburban, so I don't have our new address with me. But as soon as we return home I will post it. It should be safe to send letters but no money or packages until we get a PO Box.

The next day we took them to Panajachel to see Lake Atitlan. Scholars believe this to be the Waters of Mormon. It is such a beautiful lake. I never tire of going there. The pictures of us on the launcha are taken here. We took the launcha to towns on the lake to shop. Then we walked around Panajachel and shopped and went to the fair. We found a chocolate shop that makes gormet chocolate. The chocolate was soooo delicious. They sell chocao fruit and the nibs also. We would have bought some to send home but we weren't sure if they would let the nibs pass customs, but I think Betty bought some gifts from the chocolate store. I think we all crashed early this night.

The following day, Friday, we went to Huehuetnango to the ruins there. I took lots of photos here for you. I wish we would have had a guide but from what I could tell this city was still inhabited until the Spanish came. Indignius guides led them here and the people of this settlement were masacred. So sad.

Saturday we packed up and hit the Fuentas Georgina's (hotspring pools) on our way to the resort in the coast. I didn't take pictures here but I think Betty did. I have posted pictures from here in past posts. The rest of the pictures are from the resort.

We had a great time. Our days consisted of waking up, eating breakfast and then heading to the beach where Nathan, and the 3 older kids would play in the waves. The waves were way to big for the kids but they had a blast in the white water. Grandma, Grandpa, and I rode a few of those also. Nathan was the brave one that ventured out to the big waves. Ammon got really good at body surfing. I wish I could've got a good picture of him doing this.

Gabby had so much fun playing on the beach with her Grandma. They would sit and let the waves wash up on them and Grandma drew a treasure chest in the sand for the lava rocks they found. The last day Grandma trained her to jump the shallow shore break. The sand was super sticky. It would get ground into our suits and we couldn't get it out. Then we would hit the showers before hitting the pool and swim for a few hours and our suits would still be full of sand when we got to the room. It was crazy.

We went to Antigua one day which was fun . I wish I had had my camera with us because we climbed to the roof of our restaurant and had a beautiful view of the city and surrounding volcanos. The buildings all have beautiful flowers growing over the concrete fences. Betty took photos though so I'm sure you will see them on facebook. We did a lot of shopping here also. I was so proud of Betty and George for speaking spanish and being brave enough to negotiate and purchase stuff themselves. It took me forever to be that brave. I guess all those cruises prepared them. Guatemala is a beautiful country with beautiful people but you can't really travel the country without knowing spanish or having a translator accompany you. Which would be us if you come to visit.

We played with the idea of climbing Pacaya, an active volcano, but chickened out in the end. Nathan and I will probably do it one day with the kids, but we need more details first.

The last couple of days our surburban had bad breaks so we couldn't travel far from the resort.

The last night we found a fantastic restaurant near the resort. I am totally craving the chicken right now just thinking about it. Grandma and Grandpa treated us and it was delicious! Thank you!

I would just like to thank Mama and Papa for coming. We enjoyed their visit so much and really appreciate them treating us to a week at the resort. It was super fun and a time we will never forget. Oh and I forgot to mention that they didn't get sick at all! Yeah!

They also brought us a video Kim made of her kids and Dana and Hannah's family. We loved watching every minute of it. Thank you Kimbo!

Mel

The Last Swim

Ok!!! I am still alive! I promise! I have finally rejoined the cyber world!! I didn't realize how theraputic it is for me to communicate with all of you on a regular basis. Thank you so much for staying in touch. We haven't had internet since the move to the city (we were trying to decide which company, whether to have it at the restaurant or house or both. Decisions decisions!). Anyway, I have a lot to post so I hope you have alooooot of time. I have 300 pictures on my camera to share but I might die before I have a chance to upload them. I know you are all thinking you want pics of the new living situation and the restaurant but I don't have those yet. I'll try to describe them.

The house is older. It was built before people here had fridges and stoves so the kitchen is teeny tiny. We had to turn the servants bedroom (since we know we aren't getting one of those anytime soon)into a second kitchen to fit the fridge and stove. The living room and dining room are big with a fireplace but we still don't have any furniture for them (besides 2 plastic tables and some plastic chairs). There is also a bathroom downstairs. Upstairs has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. We had to turn one of the bedrooms into a closet room because the house was also built before closets and kitchen cabinets were common. I had to use my bookshelves to house the dishes. Our landlord had them build us a huge closet rod across the back of the room to hang clothes with a shelf on top. That being said, I haven't unpacked everything because we don't have anywhere to put it. Our games books toys and some clothes are all still packed. We don't want to purchase any shelving ect. because Victor's house will have closets with shelving and kitchen cabinets. This house is only temporary. We do have huge windows everywhere and our bedroom window frames a beautiful volcano perfectly. Yes! We have to wear socks!! Robin - You are so funny! I think you should still sympathize with me! It gets cold at night so we snuggle down under tons of blankets. I'll post pics soon.

We finally found a location for the pizzeria. It is right next to an arcade. Perfect right? I don't even know how to describe our location to Americans. I will just have to take photos and post them. We are right next to the market which is a very busy area during the day, so it will bring us a lot of business.

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions and prayers!! We appreciate them all so much and will definately be using them. You are all hired so hurry up and get down here! We open in a week! I don't care if you eat it all! I would just love to see you all every day.

Leslie and Preston!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!You do not even know how happy I am for you! I want to cry I am so happy. Your kids will have soooooo much fun. That is one lucky baby! Please please please keep me up to date. I will totally be checking in with you on facebook when I am done here!!!!!

We are at a resort right now with Betty and George on the Pacific Coast. They are visiting us and traded one of their timeshares. It is actually the same place we stayed at when we brought the kids last year. Very beautiful and tranquil here. Look for the next post for more info on this visit. I will try to do it soon. See ya all in a few minutes on facebook! It's time for me to see what you have all been up to!

Mel