All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten

Apparently, the Mexican government really believes this. After providing every document they had required, they are now asking for transcripts of all of my grades since Kindergarten in order to obtain my medical license here. Either that or someone is looking for a bribe. Any ideas?

Top 10 Reasons Poodle should spend Christmas in Mexico

I realize that I can't compete with the cute nieces and nephew, or with Bethany, Carrie and company, BUT there are a few perks to coming to Mexico for Christmas. These are only the top 10. There are SO many more!

10. Ethnic cuisine - such as tacos al pastor, barbacoa, caldo tlapeño, taquitos, and for the more adventuresome - chapulines, huitlacoche, escamoles or gusanos de maguey. An amazing variety!
9. Private bedroom (downstairs) complete with attached walk-in closet, private bath, maid service, and a chocolate on your pillow each night.
8. Opportunities for service - tons of smiling Mexican children from the Refugio (street kids) or orphanage, just waiting for someone to come play with them or take them to the zoo. And/or play Santa for a needy family and take them Christmas presents! The list here is endless.
7. Archaeological ruins - adventure into history with a trip to Teotihuacán, (one of the seven wonders of the world; Mexico's biggest ancient city with a pair of spectacularly large pyramids), Templo Mayor (the exact place the Aztecs (mexicas) found the eagle with the snake), and Cholula, with the world´s widest pyramid. We even know a renowned archaeologist that can give us a tour.
6. Balet Folclorico - a two-hour festive blur of costumes, music and dance from all over Mexico. Even grandpa liked it! It's amazing!
5. Beautiful parks, including the Mexico City zoo, which happens to be free, located beside a lake with paddleboats and canoes; also Desierto de los Leones, in the beautiful mountains of Mexico complete with horseback riding, trails, hiking and picnic tables. (Also a monastery built in the 1500's)
4. Temperate climate - never snows, never gets hot. The temperature ranges between 58-65 degrees daily with typically no rain in December.
3. Museums - too many to name; art (Frida Kahlo's blue house, Diego Rivera's murals), history (renowned Archeology Museum, Palace of the Fine Arts, Chapultapec Castle, National Palace, to name a few), artifacts, and the Zócolo with live Aztec performers.
2. Shopping, and lots of it. Mercados galore, with a host of artesanians, paintings, artifacts and jewelry. We could take a quick trip to Taxco for silver, or to Puebla, a quaint little town known for its' pottery, painted tiles, and colonial buildings. (The home of the famous battle of Cinco de Mayo)
1. And best of all - it's FREE!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary, my love! It's been a great 32 years. You're worth the move to Mexico - and that's saying a lot!

Love, Susan

Gracias, Jefe!

The grocery stores in Mexico City hire men to work in their parking lots for tips helping people park their cars. We call them jefes. I particularly appreciate these guys who: guide me in and out of the parking space, preventing injury to my car and others; escort me to the store under their umbrella when I've forgotten mine on rainy afternoons (typical); and stop all the cars going with the flow of traffic when I'm driving the wrong way and make them let me in - all for the bargain price of 10 pesos (about $1.00), or whatever change I happen to have in my purse. Thanks, Jefes!

They pulled it off!

Lindsey and Brandon are married! She not only organized the entire wedding, they made their own cheesecake wedding cake and alligator groom's cake, which most of us believed was impossible. The wedding ceremony was beautiful and Lindsey looked radiant!


A few thank you's to:
Lindsey, for organizing the entire event,
Brandon, for making the best groom's cake EVER!






Grandma and Grandpa for allowing us to invade for a couple of nights,
Brad and Sidona for travelling from Montana just for the wedding,


Heidi and Kay for hosting the shower and family party, and for taking us in, helping with the babies, and treating us like royalty for almost a week.










Carrie for traveling without a husband with two babies, and being a very good sport about it.
Jennifer, for giving a fabulous toast, and putting up with the hectic wedding schedule.











Bethany and Brandon for traveling with a newborn, a 2-year old, and surviving the loss of the "yucky wee wee."Ryan and Brianna for providing entertainment for dad-the-bad and Caroline during the shower.








Poodle and Fernash for rearranging their events to accommodate the hectic wedding schedule.
And for Spencer and Laura, for giving up their rooms and playing with Caroline and Devin. You were life-savers!

Thanks to everyone who came and made Lindsey's wedding a wonderful event! We love you!

We have a problem, Houston

It's not a HUGE problem, but could cause a little tension at the wedding "dinner", which is actually now going to be more of a wedding "reception" with dinner. The "Bungalow" where Lindsey is having her dinner informed her this weekend that they could not possibly accommodate all the people that will be coming to her reception all at once. So all that worry over the proper way to say "please be prompt" was irrelevant. They are now asking that people come "between 6:30 and 8:30" in typical "Utah reception" fashion. This should be interesting.

Congratulations, Brianna!

Congratulations to Brianna, who was accepted to the highly competitive Occupational Therapy Program at Texas Women's Hospital. We're very proud of you!

Grandma and Grandpa in Mexico

Believe it or not, my parents visited Mexico this past week. We had a great time. Here are some of the highlights:

We took a tour of the archaeological zone Teotihuacán, the highlight of which was grandpa buying bow and arrows "for the grandkids" and then shooting arrows as we walked along the avenue from Pirámide de la Luna to Pirámide del Sol.


Grandma, however, had a little trouble with
the stairs.







They enjoyed a ride on the Turibus, surveying many of Mexico
city's beautiful parks, monuments, and neighborhoods.







We also had a picnic up in the mountains -
and took a boat ride (trajinera) around
Xochimilco, the only remnants of the lake on which
Mexico City was built.

Grandpa learned a few spanish terms, including "gracias", "muy bien," and his personal favorite, "quien pega paga", (referring to the rule in traffic that the person who hits pays.) He got such a kick out of it he made our driver laugh. He practiced the phrases, especially the last until he perfected them.

And, in spite of what you might think, he even made a few Mexican friends.
The last night they were here a cute toothless Mexican talked him
into a shoe shine for 13 pesos ($1.30) and made his old dirty shoes
look almost new.





We had a great time and enjoyed having them here in Mexico City!

Five Days in Costa Rica

I made some astute observations during my five days in Costa Rica. If you are interested, read on.

Most beautiful country on earth: Costa Rica. Not that I've seen them all, but it beats out all I have, even Hawaii.


Country with the most species of insects: Again, Costa Rica. This is not an opinion, just a fact. And I have some pretty convincing evidence for proof.

Hands down greatest adventure, aka "fear factor" activity: Ride in a small 12 seater plane across Costa Rica. I discovered during the flight why people actually jump out of the plane when they go sky diving. It beat out the zip line adventure (across the jungle, over a canyon, straight down a canyon upside down), tubing exhibition, cliff climbing trip, and hanging bridges

Favorite beverage of most Mexicans (especially during long bus rides): Beer

Favorite song of Mexican males (while consuming said beverage on long bus rides): "Llorar y Llorar"

My favorite drink on long trips with a bus full of Mexicans, an unlimited supply of their favorite beverage, and only one bathroom on the bus: Water, and very little of it.

Animals that can be easily spotted by the untrained eye in Costa Rica: Monkeys, tiny red frogs, oslos, toucans, and many more.

Most common question asked of us (me and dad-the-bad) during our trip to Costa Rica: "Are you with this group?" Apparently, although dad-the-bad thinks he's Mexican, he doesn't look very Mexican.

Best word to describe Mexicans: Divertidisimo! (The most fun!)

A few more cool pics:

This volcano is the most active in Costa Rica and one
of the most active in the world. At times you could actually see
lava flowing down the mountain.











Hanging bridges - this one was approximately 150 feet above the ground and 200 feet long.









We stayed at an amazing hotel/spa with natural spring warm water pools with waterfalls, winding trails, hot tubs. Wonderful!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Bethy, Brandon and Mabel on another beautiful girl! She looks just like her mother, so she's gorgeous!

My weekend

My weekend consisted of:
-going to the Ashes and Snow exhibit
-having a ward party friday night and not being in charge
-spending Saturday at an orphanage where we put in a new playground, planted flowers, painted all of the inside rooms, built and stained "cubbies" for the kids clothes, had a clown show for the kids, distributed quilts, and held babies - all part of the best Eagle Scout Project I've ever seen
-going out to dinner at "El Lago" (a fabulous restaurant on a lake) with dad-the-bad
-getting four dozen pink roses (two from dad-the-bad and one from my filipino friend) as well as a beautiful box made from oyster shell
-having a new ward member from Costa Rica over and listening to his conversion story
and
-receiving phone calls, chats, and blogs from my kids for my birthday, definintely the best part of my weekend (tied with going to dinner with dad-the-bad)

Ashes and Snow

Today I went with a friend to an exhibit that has been in Mexico City a couple months called "Ashes and Snow." It is an exhibition of photographs and three movies depicting people living in harmony with animals. The images depict a world that is "without beginning or end, here or there, past or present." The photos are amazing. The exhibit has been shown in Italy, NYC, California and Tokyo. If you want to see some amazing pictures (none of them superimposed or digitally collaged) go to ashesandsnow.com. Sorry, we weren't allowed to take pictures. You'll have to go to the website.

New Languages

I knew moving to Mexico would necessitate learning Spanish, what I didn't know was that I would have to learn "Utahn" as well. I have several friends from Utah who have introduced me to an interesting new language. A few examples:

"kid" - a term used for a friend, usually girlfriend. "Hey kid, have you been to the zocalo?"

"Lordy" - usually used during an "almost" collision in traffic. (Apparently, if you add a y you're not really taking the Lord's name in vain.)

"Well I'll be dipped!" - an expression of exasperation or surprise.

"Fer" - precedes an adjective to form a "complete sentence," such as "fer rude (most common), fer cute, fer gross," etc.

These are only a few. Please feel free to add to the list if you know any Utahns.

Any takers?

After my seven days in Hawaii, half of them alone, I decided the next time I go with dad on a "business trip" I'll take someone with me. Actually, the only future trip that interests me is the Cisco Summit conference in Paris in 2012.

Seven Days in Hawaii

Hawaii

Days 1 - 2

This is where I spent the first couple of days for several reasons:
I was sick
Dad-the-bad was "working"
It was raining

Two heavenly days of lying in bed feeling achy.




Day 3 - I got lost trying to find Pearl Harbor and ended up somewhere that looked like west Texas. In my defense - it was raining, I didn't have my glasses, and I was having coughing fits.


Day 4 - We made it to Pearl Harbor. This is the U.S.S. Missouri.









Day 4 - Spent all day visiting the Hawaii temple (beautiful!)

and the Polynesian Cultural Center
(amazing show!)












We returned to Waikiki late that night only to find our hotel was on fire! The street was blocked off, and several fire trucks surrounded the building.

So, we pretended we were patrons at the Marriott across the street and hung out there until it was safe to return. We weren't able to park the rental car at the hotel that night, however, which thrilled dad-the-bad because he saved $40 in hotel parking fees.



Day 5 was spent at church and hiking Diamondhead crater.









More hikes on Day 6 - beautiful waterfalls and breathtaking views






We wrapped it up on Day 7 with a trip to the North Shore and to
the Dole Pineapple plantation.
This is as close as we ever got to the beach.

Hawaii

Can you believe? I'm going to be in Hawaii in only three days!

Easter Weekend

We had a great time last weekend . . .







at the park . . .











at the zoo . . .















watching Devin sit up . . .
















having a great shower for Bethany . . .





and making rice krispy treats











Thanks to Ryan and Brianna for hosting the parties!

Beautiful!

The Jacaranda trees are beautiful this time of year! We run past this one every morning.

Easter Fun

This is the official Easter Fun Site for the Reed Family - minus two daughters who will be having fun in Spain and one daughter who is studying hard in Provo.

Friday- Trip to the zoo during the day. Everyone is invited.

Saturday- Easter egg hunt at Ryan's neighborhood park at 4pm. You have been assigned the following items to bring:
Mom and dad will provide sloppy joes and dessert
Bex and Shawn will provide chips
Ryan and Brianna will provide the hunt

Sunday - Easter Dinner - (Petersons are invited as well) Check with Ryan for the time.
Mom and dad: Ham, rolls
Bethany and Brandon: Salad
Ryan and Brianna: Funeral potatoes
Bex and Shawn: Dessert

Any other suggestions, please let us know! See some of you soon.
Fernash and Poodle - Have fun in Spain! Baby the Shady - I hope you get invited to grandma's.

Helpful Hints for driving in Mexico City

Helpful hint #1: If a policeman tries to pull you over because you've made an illegal turn, pretend you don't hear his siren, or honking and ignore the flashing lights. Stay in the heaviest traffic possible in the middle lane - especially if you are lost and don't know where to go anyway. He'll eventually give up and go away.

Helpful hint #2: How to tell if you are in heavy traffic - a) if you're on the periferico (major freeway) and people in the bus behind you are getting off and walking past your car to get in the bus ahead of you, the traffic is bad; or if that doesn't clue you in - b) if there are people standing in the middle of the freeway with portable stands selling chips and soda to weary drivers you are probably in heavy traffic.

Helpful hint #3: Always have a full or nearly full tank of gas. You never know when a relatively short journey can turn into a 2 1/2 hour event, causing undue stress on dad-the-bad, or whoever you may have waiting at home.

Stay tuned for more helpful hints as MomTheBomb discovers La Ciudad de Mexico.