Mamitas

Last weekend 2 of Dave's mamitas, Mamita Maria Lidia and Ena, from Copiapo came to stay with us while they were in Santiago for a temple trip. Mamita is Spanish for little mom, which is what these wonderful women were to Dave while he served his mission... their families really took care of him. He actually served in Copiapo twice, so he knew them fairly well. Since living in Chile we have visited them twice and they visited us once in Antofagasta, but it had been over a year since we had seen them so it was good to catch up.

Enjoying a picnic lunch at Cerro San Cristobal
The Virgin Mary statue on top of Cerro San Cristobal
Jinnie enjoyed walking up the stairs to see the statue, but she preferred jumping down... thank goodness the mamitas were there to help her!We took the gondolas up and down the hill... here is a shot of Ava in the gondola in front of us (the mamitas were with her, you just can't see them).Enjoying a nice ice-cream on a HOT, HOT day (why do I love rubbing it in so much? oh ya... because that's what so many of you do to me when I'm freezing & you're swimming)Enjoying the trampoline... I think it was Ena's 1st time on one, but Mamita Maria Lidia was sooo excited to jump- she hadn't been on one since she was last in the USA.

Play Dough Cookies

Yesterday some friends and I made this recipe... while our children were at school. They were so fun to make that I made them with my girls again last night. Love the colors and creativity!

• 3/4 C butter
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 t vanilla extract (yummy, but next time I think I'll try almond flavoring)
• 2 and 3/4 C flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• assorted food coloring...

1. In a bowl cream butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth.

2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until soft dough forms. Divide dough into Fourths. Tint each with a different food coloring. Wrap in plastic and chill for two hours. (or stick it in the freezer for 15 minutes)

3. Preheat oven to 350. Shape colors into 3/4 inch balls. For each cookie place one pink, one orange, one green, and one blue ball together and roll to make one giant ball. Roll into a 12 inch long snake, and then starting at one end coil roll to make a cookie... or pretend it's play dough and make whatever you want! Place cookies 2 to 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet to allow for spreading.

4. Bake for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool and store in an airtight container.Enjoy!

Jinnie's 1st Sentence

"Ava broked it"

Crazy 8's

Crazy 8's... I've been tagged by Brooke. Unfortunately by the time I finally got to this, my 'yesterday' wasn't super exciting)

8 TV shows I love to watch:

1. The Office
2. Scrubs
3. Gilmore Girls
4. King of Queens
5. Fox News (I know it's not a specific show, but after only having CNN for 3 years, it is certainly refreshing to watch the news from a perspective that I appreciate)
Hmmmm... I can't really think of any other recent shows. I used to really like:
6. Saved By the Bell
7. Full House
8. Kids Incorporated

8 favorite restaurants (#3 & #4 are located in Antofagasta... I'm sure we'll have new favorites once we get to know our new city):

1. Bennihanas (wahoo, can be found in Santiago!)
2. Tucanos
3. El Arion
4. Florencias
5. Cafe Rio
6. Zupas
7. Red Lobster
8. Outback

8 things that happened yesterday:

1. Had friends over for lunch... when I say lunch I mean we ate lunch, but they stayed until 7:00... don't you just love Chile?!?
2. Talked to my future sis-in-law, Rosa Lee, for the 1st time. It was fun to put a voice to the beautiful face.
3. Gave Katrina advice about flying with 3 young children, and no husband (you're going to do great!).
4. Handed out parts for the primary program next month
5. The house got waaaay too hot for spring (just have to rub it in since so many of you do it to me when I'm freezing in July)
6. Ate too much
7. Watched Ava take care of a cute baby all afternoon... if anyone is interested, she is available for babysitting.
8. Used the oven for that last time until autumn.


8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Reading to Ava's class tomorrow
2. Jinnie's b-day
3. Our next Quelf party (thanks for the great game, Beth & Joel!)
4. A nap
5. High School Musical 3 (it's not only my girls that like HSM)
6. Thanksgiving... not sure what our plans are this year, but it's always such a good holiday
7. Family Home Evening tonight... the girls take their responsibilities so seriously, that you can't help but have a good time
8. Lunch with gringo church friends on Thursday (amazing that there are so many in this ward)

8 things on my wish list:

1. Computer (part of the reason I haven't been blogging lately... ours is soooo slow!)
2. Camera (the flash is no longer functioning)
3. Membership to Santa Martina ... looks like that may not happen, so I guess I'll settle for a treadmill
4. Visitors (ok, when are you coming? It's cheaper to come to Santiago than to Antofagasta, so now what's your excuse?)
5. Visit Machu Picchu (I'd LOVE to go for Christmas... hint, hint Dave)
6. NikeID shoes (does it get any better than designing your own shoes?)
7. Pretty much anything emergency preparedness related... I love that sort of stuff (bought these last time we were in the USA & already have my list for next year)
8. Central air conditioning

Hard to Believe...

that these girls are so cute & know all of the words to all of the High School Musical songs (well, Jinnie only knows the last word of each line of each song). Unfortunately the camera died before the end of the song...

Tagged

Brooke tagged me... here is the 4th picture in the 4th folder of my picture file. I think I may have posted it in the past, but too bad... have to follow the rules. Plus I love it. Yes, it's from our apartment in Antofagasta. Yes, I miss it.

I'm tagging Yamin, Suzette, Rachel & Sarah (wahoo Rachel & Sarah... so glad you've started blogs!).