dando vueltas...

I'd give just about anything to turn myself around and be back in Mexico right about now. So, I did the best I could do five months after the fact; I threw myself into our pictures from late June and early July. I found the blessed cobblestone and plaster chipped walls in all their bright earthen splendor. Oh, I could marvel in the colors all day long for a year on end. There's nothing quite like it, and a camera lens can't possibly catch it all, but there are a few things that I did snatch up before they got away. This one is one I hope my kids will cherish if not any other...

Unbeknown to her - because I wouldn't have got it any other way - I found Chato's grandmother watching the children play one afternoon while we were barbecuing in the old family huerta. With the title "con ecos y gritos" I wanted to relay the powerful presence of the crazy noise the kids were making, all the while she was enjoying them, and I have a hope that a little bit of it remained with her - like an echo - and it returns time and time again.

We had a tremendous time coming and going, always checking in and taking time to visit a little bit each day. I'm ready for the kids to spend more time there. I know that feeling so well. Spending time away from the everyday, always made the everyday after so much better. Returning again and again is the only way to appreciate life all the more.

It may seem from the following pages that all we accomplished in Mexico was to document the food we devoured. Maybe, but it was worth the documentation to remember the flavors and experiences all the more. From the tacos consumed at the street vendors...

...to the ice creams in Dolores Hidalgo...

..and the "after a filling meal" dessert...

...I'm sure it won't be the last of the culinary delights. So many were just too good to not record.
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In between the scents and visual delicacies, we walked in the rain...

...played games at the carnival...
..and went horseback riding.

I have more than 300 pictures set aside (not counting the other thousand saved to disk) from the grand cities that stretch across the state of Guanajuato, and these 11 pages are the initial effort. There are the things that require stories and others that speak for themselves, but I love that the kids are looking at these pages and sounding their way through the Spanish comprehension. I, too, have been challenging myself to critique my grammar. My "lenguaje escolar" or school themed conversations have boxed me in over the years and I want to stretch my vocabulary and reach out in my second language. For my Spanish speaking friends, I welcome assistance and critique - I'm sure I will make plenty of mistakes. For my non-Spanish speaking readers, I will do my best to define the not so obvious.
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So, back to strolling and snacking...
..there's no better reminder of Dolores Hidalgo or the streets of Guanajuato without returning HERE and HERE, but I'm going to make more of an effort to translate it and put it in to more of my pages.
And no, I did not get carried away playing with paper at home this rainy, cold weekend -- I did it at a retreat. Thanks to Ceci and Reina, I packed myself into bags for the first time in two years and ensured myself a bit of calming vibes with my favorite hobby. I accomplished 23 layouts in all at our little scrapbooking sanctuary in Aurora this weekend, from Friday evening to early this morning. I made the best effort I could to get started with uploads this evening. I'll piece a bit more together as the week permits...if that is possible, and pray for a moment or two over Thanksgiving weekend to fit in some more!