Stasiu 4!

Our little Stasiu is a big boy now: he turned 4 today! The day started with presents. Then off to school with a basket full of treats for his classmates. Lunch in his favorite restaurant with Lucy and mama. Play with his birthday presents. And later in the afternoon a few of his friends came over to sing, celebrate and share the birthday cake. It was a great day!

Swimming lessons!

Nina and Stasiu had already started swimming lessons during 'colonia de verano' (summer school). To keep up their acquired skills, they now go for the weekly session too. They were delighted to find that they will have the same instructor. For a moment it seemed like they were going to have the semi-olympic pool to themselves. The group was small, the activities fun and they had a great time!

Felices Pascuas!

Apart from our cat Jip, the Easter Bunny is Nina's favorite animal at this moment. All week she's been talking about him and anticipating tons of easter eggs in our patio. Fortunately he came and left some colorful chocolaty presents for both Nina and Stasiu: they were very impressed and could not wait to finish everything off in one session :) Fortunately they did not, but will for breakfast tomorrow morning! Happy Easter!

First day at school 2013

The first day at school is a fact for both Nina & Stasiu. Both mom & dad accompanied them this morning to Amapola: Stasiu to the Jardin location and Nina to the Primaria (where the big kids go!) location. They were all excited to see their new teachers and friends so no problems at drop-off. All went well and two very happy kids were picked up at midday.

Roller Skating in the Park

Nina got the pink roller skates she really wanted already some time ago from ciocia and we finally made it to the park to give them a good try. Stasiu did not want to be without wheels either so he took his trike. It's not easy to 'walk on wheels', but slowly Nina was getting there. A few more practice sessions and she'll be making rounds like a pro! After a while it was time to change: Stasiu the skates and Nina the trike. But the round in the park is big so they finished it off together!

Muffin deco!

Anything to do with sweets, cakes, candy is good according to Nina and Stasiu: decorating little cakes with candy even better. A good 45 minute activity for the summer holiday which will be extended when the pieces of art are going to be eaten as dessert this evening - a winner!

Cuca time again!

Summer has only just begun but the cucarachas have already been visitors for a little bit. Warm weather paired with the occasional rainy day make it a perfect climate for them. Once a month the 'exterminator' comes to spray the house to keep them at bay a little bit. Fortunately it works because usually in the few days after his job, all we have to do it pick them up and discard. They seem to get bigger and bigger every year though just like the kids :)

Last day at school

The last day at school for Nina & Stasiu: finally summer holidays! Both had little closing ceremonies in their respective classes with music and the hand-over of the much awaited art file with all the pieces of art they produced in the second term! Then it was time to say goodbye to their classmates and lovely teachers. The kids will miss them all although they will surely meet up with some of their little friends during the summer. Next year: sala de 5 and sala de 4!

El Chalten

After visiting the glaciers we drove to El Chalten, the hiking capital of Argentina for a healthy family hike. The trail we took was quite challenging and not as easy as we expected, but the kids did great and after a few motivation sessions we all returned proud, tired and hungry to our hotel. That evening, while we walked back from the restaurant, the clouds moved a bit so we had an almost unobstructed view of the Fitz Roy mountain.The next day, just before we returned to the airport to catch our plane back to BA, we discovered that Stasiu is blessed with the gift to understand the language of penguins....

El Calafate

We took a short trip to the south of Argentina to see some glaciers....and glaciers we saw. It took a flight of just over three hours from Buenos Aires and early evening we arrived at the small and beautifully located airport of EL Calafate.  The next morning we left our hotel very early to catch a boat that would bring us to three different glaciers during a 7 hour trip. The experience was nothing short of spectacular (and very cold...).