The Wrong Park & Daddy-Daughter Day

Today was interesting, I would say. It wasn't what we had planned, but wasn't what I would call a bad day, either.

Our intent this morning was to get out and do something new that we hadn't yet done. We have been searching for kid-friendly things to do, and we found a park called Parque de Chico that Kristi Vandermaas had gone to, and so we thought we'd head there with Jen and Gabby. Hermann (one of the workers here) called us a cab, told the cab driver where we wanted to go, and off we went. We drove for about 15 minutes when Beck leaned over to me and said, "Huh. This is the way to Parque 93, too (that's the one we went to yesterday). They must be by each other." And I didn't think anything of it- there are so many parks here there's bound to be some popular parks nearby each other. But when he pulled into the exact same spot we were dropped off at yesterday, we knew we were in the wrong spot. I asked him about Parque de Chico, and he just pointed to Parque 93. Well, looks like we're going to play at Parque 93 for awhile.

So we started playing there, and about 10 minutes into our play time, the rain kicked in. We patiently waited for about 10 minutes (which was a mistake) for the rain to let up, and before we knew it, it started to down pour. I grabbed a taxi, and we made a mad dash over to it, soaked. The ride back to the hotel was pretty grim as well- we had a cab driver who didn't know where to go (we had to tell him the directions: Derecha Senor! Izquierda Senor! Pretty funny stuff!), and his defroster was broken so he just had the heat cranked on high the whole time. We had Will stripped down to just his jeans and diaper- no lie.

The best part about that story is that we actually enjoyed it! We always talk here in terms of getting "out and about", so the things that come along are just part of the trip and make for good conversation later on.

Ally and Beck had a girls only afternoon Monday, so today it was my turn to hang out with Ally by ourselves. At Uni Centro (a huge local mall) they have these "cars" for strollers, and every time we pass by, Ally asks if we can get one. So today after lunch we walked over there together and got one of those cars. Then we walked inside the mall to Dunkin' Donuts, and Ally picked out one donut for herself and one for me. I grabbed a coffee from Juan Valdez, and we sat down and had a "meeting", as Ally likes to call them. We just talked for a bit about whatever she wanted to- I think it was great for her to just be away from everyone for awhile. After our donuts were gone, we walked around the mall for a bit. I gave her an option- either she can pick out a new Polly Pocket, or I would buy her some candy. Wouldn't you know it- she picked the candy. We walked to a candy store in the mall, and she picked out peanut M&Ms for us both. The girl has a serious sweet tooth! After we walked around a bit more, we headed back to the hotel.

Will had a rough afternoon (no nap), so we decided to do an early dinner at Archie's pizza with Jen and Gabby. The kids were bathed and in bed by 7:30 tonight, so Beck and I are doing our nightly routine of checking email and updating the blog. Exciting, huh?? We hope all is well at home- we miss you all.

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will