After two hours in the airline office waiting for authorization to waive the penalty, we came back to the hotel and then took the kids to lunch at Archie's. We had wanted to do it yesterday, but had to defer our celebration b/c Wendy was having some difficulties. She was much better today though. Then we went over to Unicentro to do a few errands ("caminando?" (walking?), Wendy always asks plaintively, and the answer is usually yes).
After we finished buying what we needed at the Exito, there was a group of live musicians and dancers dancing their way through the mall, advertising a company called OFFCORSS. (OFFCORSS?? Of course!!) They were amazing dancers and I think they were probably dancing traditional dances because I just don't think they could have choreographed all that. It was fun to watch and we followed them around for awhile
When the dancers headed off, we offered the kids an ice cream. They really wanted to take a taxi home, so we agreed they could choose between ice cream and the taxi. They picked the taxi, but Chris wanted to walk, so we decided to make it a race and see who would get back to Zuetana fastest. He took off and I waited with them in a rather long line because it had been raining. It took us 20 minuts and him 20 minutes, 30 seconds, so the girls were very triumphant and happy.
Afterwards, we hung out at the hotel. The girls watched the Olympic skiing with Chris for a little while, then I was with them in the living room with one of the German families and with Esperanza and Tomas hanging out while they played with their Barbies. Fer is definitely testing out feeling more close . . . she was playing this game where she would kiss me, and then ask me to kiss her back, but then pull away and whine "nooo!" Then sometimes she would let me kiss her, but say "que asco!" or "porque me besa!" (yuck! why do you kiss me?) I think I get what is going on, but it feels a little weird to be hanging out all our psychological laundry with these other families, not that they all aren't doing a lot of laundry themselves! The Germans also probably don't get everything that is being said, but the Spaniards definitely do. Then Fer also always wants to be carried everywhere, which feels pretty regressive as she is 10 years old. We think for now it is OK because again, it seems she is trying to connect, but this afternoon she kept asking me to pick her up and carry her around, but then she would say insulting things to me and laugh hysterically. I talked to her seriously two times, saying I didn't like her to say those things to me and I wasn't willing to keep carrying her around if she continued, but she kept on anyway several times, so I told her we couldn't carry her around any more today. She was upset because she really likes it! But I just didn't feel comfortable allowing her to talk to me that way, even as a joke. I don't know -- ack, parenting.
And then we ended up at dinner with two other families, so of course Wendy was having a wonderful time with a new audience! We counted that she got up out of her seat 13 times, which even for her is a lot. Again, parenting with a whole bunch of witnesses is just not that easy -- they thought she was pretty funny which of course encouraged her, while we were just trying to focus her on the meal.
Afer dinner they spent a few minutes in Tomas's room watching some animal TV, and then came back to shower and get ready for bed. This is the third day of showering in the evening and it is a fabulous change for Mami!! I had so not been enjoying herding them along in the morning, and somehow in the evening it is a whole different dynamic. After Kitty and a few minutes settling down (Wendy doing loud fake snores until she got bored and gave up), they are asleep!
Tomorrow, after the children's Mass at Cristo Rey, we are going with all the families who are staying here to Parque Jaime Duque, a kids park that apparently has a zoo and rides and a garden. Then we are hoping to set up some other day trips for the week, so the girls can have their English lessons in the morning and then we can get out of the hotel for a while on our own. We're thinking of the Botanical Garden, the Museo del Oro, this beautiful lagoon called Guatavita . . . we have some good choices.
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