July 29th through August 3rd

July 29^th through August 3^rd:  Tuesday, we were all awakened by an earthquake (6.3 magnitude) about 6:00am.   It was fun to lie in bed and feel everything moving and hear the latches on the dresser shaking.  Ginny and Sam were afraid that the TV would fall over on Willa who was asleep in the front room of their apartment, so they pulled the rug and the tent she was in away from the TV.  This was the 3^rd or 4^th earthquake we have felt here in Oaxaca.  They say they are very common.  We had a big day on Monday and so we took it easy Tuesday.  I blogged for about 8 hours, uploading videos and pictures and Sam studied. He is trying to pass some certification for work.  Mom and Gin just hung out with the girls.  I did cook Chinese for dinner.  Wednesday, we all went downtown.  Sam, Gin, mom and Xela went to the museum at the restored Convent.  I walked around town with Willa in the stroller for 2 hours.  She was really good until the last ½ hour and she just kept saying, “mama mama”.  We had lunch downtown at a nice boutique hotel.  The food was good and we all felt better after getting our stomachs filled.  We walked down to the market and did some shopping. 

Lots of extra booths selling things because of the Guelaguetza.

Mom has decided to send home with Ginny birthday presents for everyone that has a birthday in the next few months.  On the way home in the taxi, we showed Sam and Ginny one of our favorite restaurants.  Mom and Ginny went to the Violetes ward and mom taught a lesson on how to make Snikerdoodle cookies.  The Relief Society women loved them. 

Quite the little homemaker.

Snicker doodles anyone?

Then they came home and Sam and Gin ended up going to dinner at the restaurant that we had showed them earlier in the day while we tended the girls.  Thursday, we took the car and headed east to Hierve el Aguas (Boiling water).  The name is not correct because the water is not hot, but it does bubble up out of the ground and is filled with minerals and there are deposits that have made waterfalls look like they are frozen.  It took us about 2 hours to arrive.  Sam and Gin and the girls got into their bathing suits and went swimming.  Mom and I took pictures. 

Looking down into the valley below Hierve de Aguas.

They are ready to go swimming.

One of the frozen water falls from the mineral deposits.

The water was not warm.

But once in they all had fun.

But once in they all had fun.

But once in they all had fun.

But once in they all had fun.

But once in they all had fun.

I'm guarding the clothes.

We ate lunch in the car driving back.  On the way back we stopped in Mitla and visited the ruins there.  They were built in the 1300 and 1400’s.  The city was at it’s peak when the Spanish arrived.  The Spanish tore down some of the buildings and built a church out of the stones.  The stone work is very impressive and reminds me of Uxmal in the Yucatan.  Mom and Ginny did a little more shopping and then we headed back to Oaxaca. 

Mitla.

Mitla.

The rooms were quite  narrow but very cool (temperature) and cool.

Tomb Raiders

It was a beautiful sunny  day.

The church built out of the stones from the Mistec buildings.  Some of the walls are still standing of the original structures.

We were twiners today. Same stripped shirts.

Family Pic.

You can still see the stucco and red paint.

http://youtu.be/bdUXsl43yQY

Video of the ruins. Click above.

When we hit the city, we were immediately in a huge traffic jam.  The teachers were blockading some of the streets, just like in Bolivia. It took us about 45 minutes to get home when it would normally only take 10 minutes.  I then had to go back out in the traffic to deliver announcements for our Sunday meeting with all the temple workers.  That took an hour when it should have only taken 15 minutes.  Everyone had leftover Chinese for dinner.  Friday, we again headed downtown to  shop.  Ginny wanted some things that Xela could give to her friends and mom had a list of people and their birthdays.  After about an hour, Willa was tired and so Sam took Willa and Xela home for a nap.  Gin, Mom and I headed for the Benito Juarez house.  He is a beloved president of Mexico and he lived in this house after coming to Oaxaca as a youth. 

Mom and Gin at the Benito Juarez house.

Mom and I at the Benito Juarez house.

A great old church on the way to find lunch.

A great old church on the way to find lunch.

A great old church on the way to find lunch.

Gin and I ate street food, fried tacos, for lunch.  Chris said she wasn’t hungry.  We then finished shopping in the central market.

Great old building on the way to the market.  Green Stone.

 

The market is a cray place.

Willa in her new dress.

We went to dinner at Ramon Cameron, a local shrimp restaurant.  Sam was the only person who liked what they ordered, ceviche.  The rest of us left very unsatisfied. 

Dinner at Ramon Cameron

Ginny and Sam eating grasshoppers, Chapalines.

So we went to Burger King.  Ginny had seen a print in one of the rooms in the Benito Juarez house and tracked down the artist and convinced him to sell it to her.  He met us at the Burger King. Art dealing and French fries--what a way to end the day!  Actually, we went home and I made caramel popcorn again.  Saturday, we took Sam and Gin and the girls to the airport and said good-bye to them.  Sam and Ginny wrote us a note and in Ginny’s it said, “We are glad that we wore you out so you are not sad to see us leave.”  It is true that we were worn out, but we were still sad to see them leave.  It will be a long time before we get any more hugs from grand-kids and kids.  Thanks Sam and Ginny for visiting us.  We loved every minute of it, well maybe not the melt downs. 

Checking in for their flight.

They're off to California.

I went over to the temple and worked on agendas and handouts for our meetings on Sunday.  Mom came over and opened up boxes of clothes she had ordered for the temple.  In the afternoon she taught another lesson, this time on how to make banana bread.  It was even more of a hit.  Sunday, we went to the Dainzu Ward at 8:00 and we got home about 11:30 and ate the last of the leftover Chinese food.  We then went to the temple at 12:30pm to prepare for the 3 meetings that were planned.  Presidency meeting from 1:00pm to 3:30pm, Coordinators meeting from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, and a special meeting with all of the temple workers from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, after which I took a group photo of all the temple workers in front of the temple.  We then Skyped with a few of our kids and fell into bed exhausted.  That is a record for me--11 hours of meetings.