Moving on Out!

Now we are really in the thick of packing. This was how the house looked yesterday. Now, all of that stuff is in storage!!

Yes, the house is pretty bare-bones at this point. We are dining on our exquisite IKEA desk. Antonio sits on an old plastic side table, Alejandra is on the piano bench, Ol' Fran is propped up on some cardboard boxes, while Fede and I glide across the wooden floors on the office chairs!

The great thing is that the kids make an adventure and play out of everything. They don't seem to care that our furniture is dwindling down, or that fact that their air mattress has a major hole which must be re-filled with air every night, only to awaken with a deflated bed every morning. What troopers! As you can see, Francisco (above) finds much to smile about. Especially when he has his favorite gimmick in hand: Mr Potato Head's teeth smile!

A tradition: Antonio and Dad mowing the grass. And, making bird shadows.

Francisco is naughty at times. He has quickly learned what the word "Castigo" means (that is, "time-out") and very diligently marches to his corner when he does something forbidden (ex: whacking Antonio with the bat). He stares at the corner, following his older siblings' examples, and 30 seconds in he pokes his head out and asks, "Ya?" We try to hold back the smile while looking sternly at him and saying, "No, todavia no." It is the cutest thing though.
The endless towers of cardboard boxes have provided fun times: forts, caves, pretend ships, islands, and even a turtle shell.

We are enjoying these last days in Houston before the trip to Colombia, and really reflecting on all the good times and wonderful people to whom we are saying "Hasta pronto!"