Congratulations in order

Our congratulations to Tasha (Rob's cousin) and Phillip who were married this last Saturday in Bellingham. We're sorry we missed the wedding, and especially the cake!!! All our best wishes go out to you guys.

(photos courtesy of Scott)

Baby Aitken Makes an Appearance

Well, a week has come and gone and with it the arrival and departure of Lindsay, Ewart, and Owen. We had a fantastic week together of sand, surf, food and a lot of settling. (Settler's of Catan - our favorite board game for those of you not in the know!)

The boys were so cute together, although we really had to try and keep giant Lucas from squishing baby Owen flat. After Lucas got over the confusion of Owen not playing cars with him, he quite took to having him around; sitting beside him and watching him every once in a while.

Look carefully at Lucas' left hand in the above picture. We believe he may be saying, "hey dude, you're a little close buddy." teeheee...

Pretty good looking families, hey?!

What a looker!

Ouch!

Happy Easter!

I hope the Easter Bunny was good to you all. Here we were spoiled with gifts from Grandmas and a warm swim in the pool. It was especially exciting to have chocolate bunnies left by the Herman's when they came to visit. Just look at the pleasure on Lucas' face!

As Easter, of course, is primarily a religious holiday (and a very important one) in a predominantly Catholic country such as Mexico, there were no bunnies to be seen around here. Just a few chickens running around and cock-a-doodle-dooing as usual! The Easter thrill here was a visit from Sub-commander General Marcos - the highly esteemed as well as mysterious leader of the Mexican Zapatista movement. Rob was very disappointed to have missed his two appearances, but I think perhaps it was a good thing; I don't really think we would have fit in... ;~P Rob seemed to think we should try and get a photo of him and Lucas... well...I didn't really think that it was such a great idea! I've posted a stolen photo that someone else took yesterday. Those of you who have been to visit will recognize the main downtown basketball court.

I hear it's raining a lot in Vancouver; we'll send thoughts of sunshine to you. Ting

Barra de Potosi

It seems as though it's been an awfully long time since Rob has had a day to play, so this morning (after a little lazing about) we got off to Barra de Potosi for a day of fun. We had only ever been there once before with George, Justine and Logan, and so we thought it was time to give it another try. This time we opted to hang out on the lagoon side of the area, where it meets the sea. After checking on the security of swimming in potentially crocodile infested waters, we chose a great little shady spot with knee-deep lagoon water for Lucas to paddle about in. He's really mastering his water wings, I'll tell you!

Anyways, we spent a great day kayaking through the lagoon, (Lucas fell asleep it was so peaceful) eating all sorts of yummy seafood creations, swimming, kicking a ball around and laughing. Lucas was the charmer as usual, making friends with other kids and posing for photos for Mexican tourists. Today Lucas also surprised us by showing us he could shake his head for no (apparently he's been watching us intently when vendors come by to sell us stuff!) as well as for signing "please" when the ice-cream man came by. How could we resist?!

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

A Peek into my Day

Happy April!

I thought I'd share a little slice of Ting life with you today.

This morning was quite an insightful for me when I took the dogs and Lucas to the beach for our normal dog exercise after dropping Rob off at work. It started quite badly with Pillo clothes-lining Lucas from the side and knocking him very hard onto the ground. This, of course, was followed by abundant tears and much sand wiping on my part as Pillo lay submissively (not bouncing) as his punishment. Crisis solved with a lovely little stroll in the shade. Then everything got out of control. First, Chola went for a swim, which means incredible barking to announce that she is in the water and I'd better watch her NOW in case she gets blindsided by a wave and needs assistance. At the same time Pillo was refusing to retrieve his ball which was quite a ways down the beach from me. So what does Lucas do to help? Runs, (which is truly a run, not jog) down the beach in the opposite direction from all the doggy action. As I ran off after Lucas and hauled him back screaming, I was dropping every dog and kid toy with me (too many) and avoiding the pointed stares of the tourists having their breakfast at the cafe. Erk. This is when it came to me; I really am, whatever others may think, a much more patient person than I was pre-baby. I didn't scream once, nor did I shed tears; even though wanted to!(And this is a very good thing I think!) Haha! A little moment for you to picture me in.

I can't tell you how much I miss being in Vancouver as the Cherry blossoms are in full bloom and the buds poke their heads out to see the world. I especially miss those cool rains and wandering through the neighborhood with dogs, strollers a cup of coffee and good friends! This all comes as the heat begins to rise here in Zihuatanejo. Those lovely cool breezes are starting to fade away into searing heat and sticky humidity once again. Rob and I put the air conditioner on last night for the first time in what seems like many months. Ah well, I can finally bare getting into the pool again! (It was actually too cold for a while! HA! I've never been one much for cold water; even here I still prefer a warm shower.) We are, however, seeing lots of spring blooms on the trees here as well. Mom tells me the bright orange ones are Acacia trees, but alas the rest I do not know. I am simply enjoying them. We are also seeing a reduction in the visibility of tourists in the area, although Semana Santa (Holy Week) should bring a swack more.

The dogs, I'm happy to report, are feeling much better. Pillo, who is becoming fat, is currently obsessed with what we think may be geckos living in or around the stove. Yesterday he managed to pull the stove apart into metal pieces in his attempt at gecko liberation. Chola has become my little shadow as she follows me faithfully around the house now. We all change, I suppose and Chola is just needing a little more Mommy time these days.

Speaking of Moms, it's great to have Mom back and we are slowly sorting out our rightful roles in the household. Lucas has been enjoying having another person to boss around, that's for sure!