Here I am!

Another tardy post! With so much going on it's been hard to find time to get at this computer and pound out some words for you guys!

Rob's parents were here for a two week visit which included a lot of pool paddling, Lucas spoiling, and surprisingly quite a lot of tequila drinking. We are afraid we might have sent Rob's dad home with a new found taste for the stuff...! Lots of fun was had by all. They left amidst a huge storm that rocked the coast for three days straight.

The electrical storms were amazing and even though we are true Vancouverites, you have NEVER seen rain like this! Due to really poor infrastructure, the town is just not able to handle the deluges it routinely gets in the rainy season here. You think Vancouver shuts down in a sprinkling of snow? You should see Zihuatanejo with rain! Most of the roads get completely flooded. There are cars with flooded engines everywhere. Shops close, people go home early, umbrellas are the hot ticket item on the corners. We loved every minute of it. Mom and I were so excited to wear pants and not to have to put the air conditioning on. Lucas went for a fantastic puddle jump in the yard in only his diaper and Rob went swimming in the flooded pool without me telling him to stop cannon-balling because we have to keep re-filling it. We ran through the deluge to eat over-priced sushi at Sushi-ito, a section of Senor Frog's. Such fun. The down-side to the rain was the fact that we had to put buckets up all over our house to collect the rain, our puzzle and Settlers game got really wet, one of the fans shorted out after spewing water out of its base (how safe is that?!) and two bathrooms flooded. Nothing unexpected, really. Ah yes, and another very unhappy and very close encounter with an entire army of cockroaches that decided that damp towels was just the place to hang out in after a good rain. When mom and I went to fold them those nasty cucarachas scattered around the living room and climbed up the walls. Lucas laughed as we ran around screaming and stomping; then just about peeing ourselves laughing. The little girls that live next door thought it was great and decided to play "gringas afraid of cucarachas' for the next half hour. I may never heal from the experience of a two-inch coakroach on the back of my hand. Never.

Rob is off in Mexico City this week at a Food and Beverage Convention. Ok, that's just not fair. When I go to a professional day I have to sit and listen to teachers tell me how to teach better. Rob gets to eat and drink his way through booths and booths of people wanting him to buy their product or service. Justly, Mom and I decided we shoud sneak off to Acapulco for a bit of a shop. There is really nothing to buy here in Zihua and seeing as Lucas' big first birthday is arriving next week, we though we should make the journey.

The drive was breathtaking both because of the scenery and the daring drivers all over the road. People use their signals in ways I am still not entirely sure of. Hazard lights are all the rage here. They can mean, "there's a speed bump coming," or "there's a herd of cows on the road" or "please pass me" or "please don't pass me" or " I just might stop here" or"I just forgot to turn them off." Caution at all costs is my motto! The art of passing on the one lane highways had mom holding on to her holy-shirt bar with white knuckles, but when in Rome... Don't let the motor vehicle branch know or they may revoke my class four! Actually, I think I had several drivers shaking there heads in wonder as I used my signals and actually chose not to pass sometimes! I discovered that if you wait for the next speed bump, you can sneak into the oncoming lane and go over the speed bump just a little faster, thus making your move on whatever cattle-mover, tractor or bus was impeding your view of the coast ;P

Acapulco was really nothing special in our eyes. We had been once before many years ago and seen the touristy stuff, so we were really just trying to get the practical stuff done. Like go to Costco, you know. We managed to fill every nook and cranny of the truck with stuff for Lucas and the house. The bellboys at the hotel were very curious about why two women and a small child, driving a truck with BC plates, were buying large toys and saran wrap.

Tomorrow we will spend the day hiding all our purchases from Lucas' little fingers and Rob's bewildered looks. (He's really not looking forward to moving again and is trying to keep us from buying stuff we'll have to move...teehee...do you think he'll find the Costco-sized olive oil?!) We'll also be getting ourselves ready for our visit from George, Justine and Logan who arrive on Saturday. We're sure they'll help us consume a few of our purchases!

I will try and post more photos when I can, but I often don't seem to be able to get them up. Oh, and by the way, I know there must be people reading this from time to time. Drop me a line! It's awfully lonely writing into cyber-space when you're not entirely sure people are reading!