Trip to Texas

We went to TX last week after a long wait for our visas! The plane rides were long but we made it and had an awesome time! We are all recharged after the visit and have stepped right back into the swing of things.
Here I am in the Spain airport. Mama and Papa brought my truck with us (yeah). I rode it everywhere and it came in handy during our lay-overs at the airport. I even got to share it with some other kids that were waiting for their planes.
Here I am, in Spain, with my favorite white tiger that belongs to a sweet friend of mine. We got to visit with our friends in Spain before leaving the next day for our flight to America!
Jojo and I woke up to a nice breakfast the first morning. We were so thrilled to finally get to see each other. I never stopped hugging her and calling her name.
I'm ready for the pool! I say "cheese" now for pictures!
Here is Aunite Kimberly and I dumping water on Jojo. I got a taste of my own medicine later!
My Aunt Emily made a special trip to see us and it was a nice surprise. She was able to enjoy the pool with us. I was tired of pictures at this point.
Here, my Auntie Shannon was making me a boat that I could watch float down the stream, flowing in the road, down to the drain. Her dog Miles wanted to help.
Papa and I help put together a shelf for Mee-maw. I was a big boy and did most of the hammering with Papa's help.
We played play-doh soccer in honor of the World Cup. Uncle Josh was good about teaching me how to make a ball and roll it into the goal.
We ate at a really good Mexican restaurant. This is my Nana and my Mama!
We celebrated Papa's birthday and I was included in it, too, since my birthday is coming up. Blowing out 30 candles in a lot more fun than just 2!
We all sat in on story time. Nana gave me some great books for my birthday present. Jojo did a great job reading them. My great-grandma Memi got to come, too, and that was a very special treat.
Here I am crashed out in Spain during one of our stop overs. I was bushed.

Then, I fell asleep, again, when we arrived at the airport. It was a long trip and I don't want to have to do it again for a while. But, now I am back on schedule and loving life. I brought back some other toys and I keep myself busy. I have enjoyed being with my friends here. It is like I never left.

Bun-bun

Look at this little cutie!
We went to our friends house last Sunday for a meeting and had a great time! They have bunnies, a big yard, a stroller I could push, and a swimming pool! I know where we are going when the heat gets turned up here. The family we played with has 5 girls! I watched them play in the pool and I ran around dumping water and playing chase.

Here is me with Mama. I slowly made my way in. Here, I am watching the girls.
Papa helped me inch my way in....
...this is as far as I got! I was wade, wade, wading in the water....wade, wade, wade, in the water (Jars of Clay, Baby!)

Night out

We went out for dinner at one of Mama and Papa's favorite places. Mama was craving a steak after recovering from being sick and has been struggling a little bit with culture shock. She is tired of the smells, the food, the poverty, and the frustrations with learning the langugae. She needed an American night out.
Later, we went to McDonald's to hear a concert in English! Some of workers from the states came and put on a concert of American music. It was great. A lot of university students showed up because they know English. They were clapping and dancing! It was a nice topper for the evening.
Mama showed me how my cars can go down this ramp next to the stairs and fly really far into the kitchen of the restaurant! It was awesome!
They liked this picture of me and wanted to share it with you because I look so distinguished! They alsways tell me how big I am getting and how proud they are to have me as their son.
Here is a close up of me, saying cheese and posing for the camera, with my bug shirt on. I'm really into bugs. We went on a picnic and I wasn't afraid of picking up the beetles and letting them crawl on me! It was fun.
This is my friend Kautar. She playes with me almost everyday! She lives in the apartment across from me. She picks me up and helps me onto the fountain. She chases me and we spin around together! She helps fill the void for my cousin Jojo who I miss very much.

Volubilus

We took trip to Volubilus about a week ago and had a great time! The admission was only about $5 for both of us and we did a self guided tour with some friends.

"Volubilis was a central Roman administrative city in Africa from around the third century BC, built atop a previous Carthaginian city. Volubilis was unique in that it was not abandoned after the Romans lost North Africa to the Arabs and even the Latin language lived on in the area for several centuries. Volubilis remained inhabited until the 18th century, when it was demolished to provide building materials for the palaces of Moulay Ismail in nearby Meknes, which meant that a great deal of the Roman architectural heritage was lost. Today the ruins consist of some well-preserved columns, a basilica, a triumphal arch and about 30 high quality mosaics."
http://www.wordtravels.com/Attractions/Countries/Morocco/Attractions/Volubilis/


In the dry climate thisels of several varieties thrive. Behind this beauty was the main administration building.


The storks find the reconstructed columns a good place to build their enormous nests. Our son had a great time watching these fascinating birds.


The administration center above, with the restored columns, gave me the feeling of going back in time. I imagined men speaking Latin and other dialects, conferring about business in the region, with guards here and there by the large doorways.

Through this archway we could see a Muslim holy city in the hills nearby. No foreigner is allowed inside the city, and those Muslims who are too poor to travel to Mecca can make a pilgrimage to it instead.

This is the Arch of Triumph built by the city inhabitants in AD 217, to thank the Emperor Caracalla for bestowing Roman citizenship and tax exemption upon them.

Mama's Home-stay

Check out our other blog to get more details!

This blanket was a wedding gift given by the mother of the woman 17 years ago. She wanted many pictures taken of the blanket. This is one of them!









This was one of the many tea times!










We were making lunch and storying here! :)












Hanging out with the kids










Whoa Nelly! This is hard work!












Me and grandma. She was really struggling with the death of her youngest son who commited suicide 3 years ago.









Singing songs under the stars.










At school with the girls.

Ceemal

Here is Fatima. She is 15 and just finished a semester of English. She lives in an orphanage. Most of the kids live in the orphanage because their families are too poor to take care of them. How sad is that? They do get to go home for the summer. Mommy got to join the workers here at the orphanage helping these girls learn English. It was good practice for Mommy to learn the language that she is studying. This was one of her favorite little girls. Mommy said she was really funny and was very determined to learn the language.

These two girl with Mommy are Bteesim (on the left-translates to "smile") and Sukaina. They, too, are very funny and full of life. Sukaina stuck out to Mommy the most because she would give Mom about 6 kisses on one cheek and Mom could feel the welcome from her greeting all the way to her toes. She is a precious little girl. This picture is from a night of clebration for the girls because they finished a semester of English. We had a Kareoke machine that the girls just loved and we bought all of the girls in the orphange rotisserie chickens with fries and rice and soda! They hardly ever get meat and soda so, it was a real banquetting table!
We went for a walk the other night and we saw these "quack, quacks" in the plaza. I especially liked the baby quack-quack. They weren't alive but they had feathers from some kind of animal. Mommy and Pap thought it was creepy looking.
I also got to have my picture taken with a "ceemal" I was very fascinated by it. I have seen some in books but never in person...it was "wow!".
Mommy and Papa met a woman who owns a book store here and she has 4 boys. She graciously collected some of her son's books and dropped them off one day for me to borrow. There were lots of books about trucks! Here I am enjoying the books!