Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

This morning we went out to the Deer Valley Airport, we ate breakfast at the restaurant and watched Santa come into town via Helicopter. Milo has been obsessed with airplanes and after this event he is obsessed with "copters", too. He loved watching the airplanes and helicopter take off and land. He couldn't sit still at the breakfast table, he needed to constantly be outside near the runway. He's wasn't too into Santa, but he did like his helicopter and he gave him a high five.

He Did It!

Congratulations to Jordan for graduating with his MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. Milo and I are so proud. For as long as I've known Jordan it has been a goal of his to get an MBA from Thunderbird. I am so proud of him for getting into school, working hard through school, and finishing his goal to earn his MBA ... all done while balancing his family life. Graduation was held yesterday, it was fun to watch him graduate and experience the unique multi-cultural graduation ceremony at Thunderbird. I am so excited for all of our future adventures, good things are coming our way!

Flake Family Photos 2012

We spent Thanksgiving with the Flake side of the family, here in Arizona. We were lucky to have everyone in town to celebrate and so we took advantage of that and had a family photo taken. When I looked through the photos, I quickly realized our easy family photo days are over, Milo is obviously adorable but not always the most cooperative when it comes to photos. Luckily, there are a few good ones! We are so lucky to have such wonderful family to live near and celebrate the holidays with.

Lil' Nacho

We had a sweet little monkey costume all planned out for Milo. I bought it on Old Navy's clearance rack last year for about 3 bucks. score, or so I thought. Milo was to be Curious George and Jordan The Man with the Yellow Hat. But for once my excellent bargain shopping skills didn't pay off and Milo decided to let us know that he does in fact have quite the little opinion. Every time the monkey suit got talked about or brought out it was instant "No No No" and tears. So we were back to the Old Navy clearance rack once more ... this time for some stretchy pants. Even after the wardrobe change there was some drama, he hates his cape and required some pretty severe bribery to get his mustache drawn on, but he was still the cutest lil' Nacho Libre around.

Summer break is officially over around here

... Could someone please tell the weather?

We are still missing things our simple life back in Peru but it is finally starting to feel like we are finally settling back into our routine and life in the USA. It feels like we have been going non-stop from the moment that we touched down in Phoenix. We had just a few days in Arizona before we headed off to Idaho for a week. We had a lot of fun visiting family, going to the Western Idaho Fair, the aquarium, riding bikes, rafting the Payette river ... it's always a good time in Idaho. After we got back from our vacation to Idaho we had a week before school was back in session. We spent our time catching up with family and friends, working on projects around the house, and spending a lot of time at the water park and pool, but now the summer fun is officially over. Jordan started his final semester at Thunderbird on Tuesday and the job hunt is in full force, graduation is only 4 months away ... I think we're gonna make it!

Peruvian Abuelo y Abuela

Jordan's host family from when he was here in January was so sweet to us while we were here. I loved meeting them and seeing where Jordan stayed when he came earlier this year and they loved meeting Milo. Milo was terrified of Rosa at first, because on our first visit to their house Rosa answered the door screaming with excitement to see Jordan again, which woke up Milo who was asleep in his stroller. Lucho loved giving parenting advice and calling Milo "gringo". They fed us many meals and it was so nice to know that they were here if we needed anything ... the best Peruvian Grandparents Around! We also got to know their daughter and grandsons which are hilarious.

Hasta Luego, Peru.

The past week has really seemed to really drag, and It hasn't really felt real that were are about to head back to Arizona. A couple nights ago, I had a "get me out of here moment" Milo woke up screaming, I went in his room and tried to console him, no success. So I set him back down in his bed and went to the kitchen to make him a bottle. I turned on the kitchen light, only to see hundreds (slight exaggeration) of my favorite little roach friends scurrying to find a hiding place, awesome. Then opened the fridge to find an unopened bag of milk and the milk pitcher sitting in the sink, double awesome. Because I am a moron and always spill the milk when I am trying to get it into the pitcher (seriously, why can't they just sell cartons or jugs of milk around here?) Sure enough: milk everywhere, roaches everywhere, screaming baby, cranky tired mom, the sweet smell of raid, dishes piled in the sink, out of paper towels ... at that moment in time I would have paid an arm and a leg for the next flight out of here and back to my bug free, milk in a jug apartment in Arizona. The following morning, Jordan took Milo to the park and I headed to the grocery store by myself to pick up just enough to get us through the next few days and of course some more milk, because most of ours ended up spilling on the counter and dripping on to the floor. I collected a basket full of items, saw a friend from the park, and actually understood what the cashier was asking me as I checked out. As I was walking home I couldn't help but realize how far I had come since we first arrived and that I was experiencing total 180 from the feeling I had just a few hours before, I will miss it here. We have been so lucky to come here and experience this as a family. There probably won't be another time in our lives where we will be able to just pick up and head to another country to live and if there happens to be another chance, Jordan's work will likely be much more demanding. I have really come to appreciate the simple life we have been able to lead while we have been here. Walking everywhere, taking Milo to the park everyday (usually twice a day), making new friends from all over the world, picking up fresh fruit at the stand on the corner, taking naps with Milo, walking to the bakery for fresh bread each day, learning about a new culture and a little Spanish, and spending quality time with Milo and Jordan ... so as excited as I am to get home and as much as I have had my frustrated moments here in Peru (especially with the language) this is a time in my life and a place that I will definitely cherish.

Land Lovers

We signed up for a tour to visit some islands of the coast of Callo, that are filled with sea lions and penguins. We thought that Milo would love it and that it would be fun way to celebrate Peru's Independence Day. The first part of the tour was spent driving to Callo in a double decker tour bus. The tour guide first spoke Spanish, then English ... but mainly spent the entire ride saying, "Okay my dear friends, please be careful to watch the tree branches and cables." Shortly after him mentioning this for the 7th time the entire right side of the bus was nearly beheaded by a tree limb. It was not a branch by any definition, it was huge. We were sitting on the left hand side and watched the couple in front get hit and then watched the rest of the right side of bus scramble to duck. It's really not funny, but I couldn't stop laughing. As half the passengers were assessing their injuries, I was hunched over in my seat and brought to tears, I could not stop. I guess I paid for my insensitivity on the boat. When we got to Callo we lined up and got aboard a boat that would be taking us out to the islands. Pretty much immediately, I got sea sick. I was hunched over in my chair again, this time nauseous. Unfortunately, Milo also got sick he spent the first hour crying. Jordan finally got him to sleep and put him in his carrier and went out on the deck, while I sprawled across our seats and tried to hold on to my breakfast. There was only a handful of people who didn't get sick, Jordan was one of the lucky few. The people in front of me, behind me, and to the side of me were all puking. The workers were passing out barf bags and emptying the trash can non-stop for three hours. Milo finally joined in the puking fun and puked all over himself, Jordan, and the floor. I walked up to where they were sitting and we wiped Jordan down as best as we could and Milo was striped down to his onesie and jacket. Jordan and I looked up at the rest of the passengers and every single person was either puking or green. Everyone looked miserable, Jordan and I couldn't help but laugh, "We are paying for this?" After Milo threw up he was happy as a clam, I was still feeling sick so I laid down. The people sitting next to Jordan and Milo offered them a juice box and Milo gulped it down, and was being a little entertainer. Awhile later I see a worker running to the front of the boat with a mop, so I sit up to see that Milo has puked up all his juice all over himself, Jordan, and the floor. I run to the front in time to hear Jordan thanking the passengers for the Juice, they all bust a gut and start passing over baby wipes trying to help Jordan clean the puke off of his pants. We strip Milo down to his diaper, shoes, and socks. He thinks it is hilarious, and so does everyone around. Camera flashes were going off as if he was a celebrity. At this point I still feel sick, but can't do anything but laugh. This three hour tour from hell will probably end up being one of our favorite memories from Peru.

Life lately, according to my phone

We are in home stretch of this adventure, we have had an amazing time here in Peru. It has been so wonderful for us as a family to live a simpler life and focus more on each other. Lately we've spent most of our time enjoying our little neighborhood ... we love going to the park (twice most days), the food (especially the fresh bread), and walking everywhere. Two and a half more weeks and we are headed back to the US of A! Bring on the AZ heat, In-n-out, water pressure, friends and family, Target, fellow English speakers ... can't wait.