Chipinque Slides

This is one of the first things we did here in Monterrey in July! We drove up a beautiful winding road that leads nearly to the top of Chipinque mountain. The road ends in a parking lot where there is a hotel, picnic areas, a playground, and these 2 fun cement slides. Also, lots of hiking and bike trails begin where the road ends. We had been advised to bring cardboard to slide down on...it makes it faster and more fun! I think we could have stayed all day on the slides, if it hadn't been so darn hot.

Our House

Here is our house! We're not sure if we'll be painting color on the walls or not(well I'd like to, but Andy's not too sure...he says the ceilings are too high), and we need to buy some things still, but you get the idea! Most of the furniture has been provided by the state dept., and while it isn't what I would pick out, it's not too bad and everything is in great condition. Each of the four bedrooms upstairs has a bathroom and a huge closet. There is also a maid's quarters(room and bathroom)off of the laundry room, but we will be using it for storage, as we can't store things in the garage. Our house is on a small gated dead end street, and has a pretty view of Chipinque mountain. It's a nice place to be, and it feels like home to us!

Oh, How I Love Unpacking!

I'm not being sarcastic! It is more fun for me than blogging! I get to sort through our stuff, find a place for everything, and decorate. What could be more fun? So, that's my excuse for not having written sooner. When we were waiting to get into this house, I didn't really have much to do, and I whined about not having handy internet access. Now we have our household things and I can practice piano again, scrapbook, make some wood signs, workout, invite friends over...We'll see how often I'm online now. Of course I'll be checking out everyone's blogs. I have a lot of catch up reading to do! By the way, thanks for all of your well wishes these last few weeks!

Also, we have a garbage disposal! Woohoo! And a dishwasher! Life is good.

Rebecca

Moved In!

So, we finally moved in this weekend. While I had assumed that Becca would be on the computer non-stop once we got the internet hooked up in the house, she has managed to find other things to keep her busy. I, on the other hand, like to take a more hands-off approach to unpacking when we move into a new house, so I have some time on my hands. I put together an updated playlist of music for the blog that represents our favorite songs from Mexico so far. Some of it is actually good, and other stuff we just like. In reality, some combination of these songs is on the radio stations that we have set in the cars at any given time. Well, these songs and also the Jonas Brothers and Madonna, but I don't like that stuff nearly as much (though I am told that the Jonas Brothers are dreamy, I liked it better when they were called Hanson and sang that Um-Bop song).

I think that I am nowt ready to retire as the temporary blogger for the family. Like you, I also look forward to Rebecca regularly posting stuff about us on-line for the whole world to see, or at least our parents, siblings, and the occasional pervert who no doubt is surfing the site regularly. I asked Rebecca to figure out how to make the blog private so that we can post more stuff about the kids' schools and stuff. I trust she can figure out how to do it in a way that will inconvenience people the least. Or not. At any rate, happy Mexican Independence Day to everyone (September 16th).

Andy

Update #2

So, apparently when someone in Mexico says that you can move in on Friday, they really mean a week from Friday. We are not moving into the house tomorrow, but will be moving in next Friday. I am told to count on that. We'll see. But, if we don't get in by the end of next week, Becca may head back north. To appease Rebecca and the kids and soften the blow of the non-move, we are headed to McAllen, TX this weekend to shop for some of the things we cannot get here and to stay in a hotel with a real swimming pool. It should be a lot of fun. Rebecca is taking our laptop and intends to spend all night on the internet. I'm sure that she will update the blog with lots of Mexican tales and pictures. (Preview: at some point there may be an item or two about laser hair removal treatment at rock-bottom prices in Mexico -- something to look forward to if you ever visit, I guess).

Also, we are probably going to make the blog a private/invitation-only kind of endeavor in the future. We had a briefing about Narcos here in Mexico and I figure the less free detailed information about the family on the web available to all my Narco neighbors, the better. I don't know how a private blog works, so like most things, I will leave it to Rebecca to hammer out the details and make it all work.

Andy

Update

Just a quick update, we will be moving into our "real" house next Friday. Hopefully, by early the next week we will have internet in the house and Rebecca will be able to spend hours updating the blog with all the events, sights, sounds, tastes, and smells of our experience here in Monterrey. Sorry for the news blackout as of late, but I am not smart enough to have figured out how to get temporary internet in our temporary house.

Andy

Things I Like About Monterrey

The nice lady who helped me load my groceries into the van when I was holding my sleeping Rachel, and then took my cart back for me. She spoke Spanish to me the whole time, and all I could say was “Muchisimas gracias!” What a nice lady.

The mountains that surround the city. I can figure out where I am when I look at Saddle Mountain and Chipinque Mountain. They are very beautiful, especially on a clear day with blue sky behind them. Last weekend we took a drive up Chipinque mountain. At the end of the road there is a hotel, playground, snack bar, and two awesome tall cement slides. Everyone brings cardboard to sit on and slide down. It was fun and it had great views of the valley.

The younger Hermana who taught our Relief Society lesson on Sunday. She used visual aids and spoke very clearly, so I could actually get the idea of the lesson. She also handed me a Spanish hymnal last week so I could sing along. I need to learn her name.

Listening to Andy speak Spanish with everyone. I don’t know why I like it. Maybe just because I admire that he can speak so well. I’m always the one just nodding my head with a goofy smile. Soon, I’m sure I’ll be able to express myself clearly…I’m learning a little every day.

The colorful playgrounds for the kids. Every park has all of those old metal playthings that are pretty-much illegal in the states because they are unsafe. Unsafe, but really fun. The kids love the spinning merry-go-rounds. At the parks we’ve been to, the equipment is well-maintained and painted nice. They’ve been fun.

Full-service gas pumps. All gas stations are Pemex here. There is no other brand. And all of the pumps are full service. I haven’t gotten gas by myself yet, but it seems really nice to not have to get out of the car. You only have to tip the guy like 5 pesos, 50 cents. I think he’ll wash windows too.

Retornos. Retornos are like built in U-turns, but you don’t have to wait for the stop light. I am often passing where I am supposed to go, so it’s nice to know there will be a retorno coming up soon on whatever road I’m on.

People here dress up a bit more than in the US. Men’s shirts are usually tucked in. Women usually wear heels and often wear dresses or skirts. This isn’t dependant on how nice or expensive their clothes are either, though there are many affluent Mexicans here.

Garbage Disposals

It’s true that I’m not very grateful for things until I don’t have them anymore. I usually think this about my friends or my health, but lately I’ve been thinking about garbage disposals. What a wonderful invention! It chops up unwanted food and sends it down the drain. I love that! In this house, we don’t have a dishwasher (well Andy and I…I mean automatic dishwasher), nor do we have a garbage disposal! I really haven’t missed having a dishwasher, but I do miss having a garbage disposal! I’ve been reminiscing about the days when I used to just dump the kid’s leftover soggy cereal into the sink, flip the switch, and let the disposal send it away to who-know’s-where. Now, I have to strain the soggy cocoa puffs and frosted flakes and dump them into the garbage. It kind of grosses me out. I’m sure I’ll get used to it. It’s funny, even houses that have dishwashers still don’t have garbage disposals. Anyways, to look on the bright side, that is really my only complaint about living here. Not too bad, eh?

Sorry, I lied. One other little complaint. No good hamburgers. Not even at Chili’s. That’s it…I’ll stop whining now.

More Pics of our Temporary House

This is our front little courtyard. I didn't get the front patio in the picture.This is half of our backyard. There's a big tree right in the middle of it, so this is the left half. Not very big, but I think it's pretty, and we have more yard than other FSOs.This is the view from our front entry room. All the floors are limestone tile, I think (a pain to clean by the way) and the house is very empty. The kids and the toys are all that belong to us. Does our furniture look familiar Erin? Lindsay? Sunny? Everyone says that in the foreign service everyone has the same furniture in their houses (our houses are furnished by the state dept.).Jake playing video games. I think you can see the dining room behind him. The kitchen is on the other side of the right wall. Bedrooms are off to the left when you enter the house. I can't wait to get into our real house. I just won't feel settled until we have our own things, and I've decorated and found a place for everything. Hopefully soon!

Crossing the Border

We crossed the border at the Columbia Bridge. This was not one of the bridges in Laredo where we were. We were advised to use this other bridge because it enters Mexico in Nuevo Leon, the state where we’re living and working. People at this border crossing are familiar with the consulate, so I really think it was the best choice. Also, there were hardly any people going in either direction on this bridge. We thought they would make us unpack both of our cars, but luckily, with the diplomatic passports, we can’t be searched. Whew. Our cars were packed to the brim. We parked so we could get our cars registered, and after about an hour of running back and forth from office to office and filling out forms and making copies of documents, we were on our way. We drove for about 2 ½ hours until we reached our sponsors in Monterrey. It was my first experience driving outside of the US. My only near death experience was when a semi-truck driving the opposite direction was passing a slower vehicle and he was still half-way into my lane when he reached me. I swerved in time, and I’m glad I had that little experience, as it gave me a little taste of how people drive here. Our sponsor family met us just at the city limits of Monterrey, and led us to our temporary home, Carl’s Jr., and the grocery store. That evening another little family from the ward came to visit us. It was so nice to meet these American families and make some new friends, and it was so nice to finally arrive in Monterrey!