Feliz Cumpleanos Luis!!!!

Since it was raining all day yesterday, we decided it would be a good night to do the annual sleep under the tree tradition. About 6pm I started Polar Express while Jenny made spaghetti aand garlic bread for dinner. We all ate on the matteresses I took off the beds and put on the floor. After dinner we had hot chocolate and popcorn balls. By the end of the movie the kids were all sugared up and we could barely get them to hold still long enough for the all important picture. Here it is.....



Here is another of us being a little loco....



It took a good while to get everyone settled down and resting, but the kids were all asleep by 9:30.

Sleeping on the couch was not bad, but I could hear every noise the kids made (yes, I am a light sleeper). This morning Luis was up at 5:30 needing the bathroom and was so excited about his birthday that he could not get back to sleep. I kept him relatively quiet until about 6:15, when Caroline and Christopher started waking up. Then it was all over.

For breakfast Luis requested bacon and eggs and Jenny did a great job making them. Luis especially enjoyed the eggs and Jenny and I made ours into breakfast tacos. Delicious!

After breakfast the kids rediscovered LEGO star wars on the computer. Christopher had complained that it was not working and I had fixed it after they went to sleep last night. We played around the apartment until about 10 am when it was time to run some errands before heading to McDonalds for Luis preferred lunch. By the way, Christopher has ranked Chicken McNugget's second on his list of favorite chicken nuggets, behind Pollo Campero. We ran to the bank and changed money, then went to Nim Pot so we could get some gifts for the gift exchange at the apartment's Christmas party tonight. McDonalds was fun and we met another family that adopted from Guatemala 3 years ago and was back for a vacation. On the way home we stopped at the Alamo Rental car to see about getting a car for tomorrow and the next day to drive to Hiper Piaz and Casa to visit Maria and Jennifer.

When we arrived back at the apartment the gifts were out on the table (Jenny had handled that before we left). Luis' eyes were huge and he asked "Por quien?" (for who?). He could hardly belive they were for him. Watching him open the gifts was awesome. He gets so excited and jumps around and yells. Christmas is going to be wild. Here is a picture of Luis with the gifts before the frenzy of opening....



After the presents it was time for cake. Here is a picture of Luis with his strawberry birthday cake. The cake was delicious and we saved some for tomorrow.



The kids spent the afternoon playing with the new toys while I went back over the the rental car store and finalized the contract and Jenny baked cookies and Buckeye Balls for the holiday party tonight.

The party started at six o'clock and featured a Santa Claus Pinata, Guatemalan tamales, potche (a hot Guatemalan fruit punch) and of course the gift exchange. Here is a picture of the pinata before it was dismembered by the kids.



We had a good time talking to the neighbors and enjoying the food. After the party we were all tired and it was right to the showers and bed for the kids. They are all asleep and soon I will be too.