Beautiful Blossoms …

 

It was great to see these flowers blossom …

on the little bush … planted in a pot …

set out on the balcony …

from our bedroom …

we stayed in while visiting …

the family in Mexico …

Winter Crystals …

 

 

 

 

I joined a Ladies Walking group …

right here in the valley …

It was a beautiful day hiking in the area …

stopping in an open field …

with the hoarfrost glistening …

capturing this incredible picture of nature …

Christmas Baking Started …

Gingerbread Men and Angels were the first cookies to be baked …
an afternoon in the kitchen …

Another afternoon baking Viennese Crescents … German Pfeffernusse Cookies (pepper nut balls)
and Mike's sugarless Oatmeal Chocolate chip cookies …

 

 

This was another day spent icing cookies …

 I love seeing the ginger cookies faces smiling back at me …

such a tedious yet rewarding task … 

Next on the list are the assortment of shortbread cookies …

to be bake and decorated … 

Canning All Done …

My friend Tammy … had asked a while back if I would be interested …
in making a batch of Anitpasto … to be divided equally between us …
That was a great idea …
I always felt that one whole batch was too much for our family …

We had an awesome day …
working together in the kitchen … actually both kitchens …
making and processing the vegetables …
we ended up with 16 pints and 19 half pints of Anitpasto …
Perfect amount to see us thru the year …!!!

So Excited ….

It was time to trade in the old 2008 Buick … with 155,800 km …
 still in excellent shape although … we felt we should upgrade this year …
I was so excited to pick up my new Enclave on Saturday …
It is exactly the one I wanted … totally loaded … it should last us …
for quite a few years again …

Love all the new features that this Crossover has …
and a new look to the exterior … sleeker style …
Ready to hit the road …
and go for a cruise …

An early birthday gift for me … !!!!

Sending Birthday wishes to mom … hope you are having a great time in Victoria … !!!
I'll take you for a ride when you get back … !!
Love Mike
&

Birthday Shopping …

November 5, 2013

Right across the street from the La Venta Hotel … was this huge modern shopping centre …
James picked out a Lego kit for his birthday …

We then wandered thru the mall … stopping at the Pet Shop …
and the boys were able to hold a snake …
Grandpa decided that it would be a good idea to take the kids to the arcade …
they had a blast … lots of tickets won to exchange for little trinkets …

The children received money for Halloween … so they each bought themselves toys …
Craig chose the Lego truck and boat …
James bought a Lego Helicopter …
and Ella bought Polly Pockets …

November 6, 2013 … Leaving San Gil, Mexico …
Heading to the Queretero Airport … to fly back home …
lots of hugs and kisses were given out before we boarded the plane …

 

Pictures captured from the plane of the Texas shoreline …

we had a great trip home … good roads … clear skies … !!

We woke up to all this snow the next morning … what a surprise … !!!

Happy to be home …

We want to wish Craig a Happy Birthday … born this day 10 years ago …

… hope you have a fun day … 

Luv Grandma and Grandpa

Breakfast at La Venta …

Nov. 5, 2013

This was our last day in Mexico …
we decided to go for a lovely breakfast …
and celebrate James and Craig's birthdays …

They were both really excited to get money for their gifts …
although Grandma was taking it back from them …
to deposit it into their accounts …

James delighted to a special little birthday cake …
brought out for him …
There was a slight breeze and therefore was difficult to keep the candle lit …
but finally he was able to make his wish …

Next door to the hotel …
was an old Bull Ring … and bull pen …
it was a great place to have a few pictures taken …

Next stop is the shopping centre to pick out birthday presents …

What A Thrill …

November 4, 2013

Mike, Nathan and Katie were excited to go on the Zip Line …
one of the activities available at El Geiser …
I stayed behind with the grandchildren … we were their support …
Since we came to the water park with sandals on … the guys ran back into town …
to purchase running shoes to be able to do this …
when they came back … they told Katie that it was a go … no backing out …
they were then all harnessed up …
ready to go zipping ….

First leg of the journey was 350 meters across … then another 300 meters to the back peak …
then walking150 meters on a cable bridge with wood slats …
another 150 meters on a zip line again …
then walked across a 50 meter cable …
to the last peak … taking the 450 meter zip line back to the starting point … 

These photos are when they arrived back …
the children were so excited to see them get captured by the rope to stop them …
It was an exhilarating experience …
that they would do again … in a heartbeat … !!!

A small video of them on the zip line …

Mike returning to the starting point …

Going to the other side of the water park … to relax in the hot pools … 

we all ventured into the steam cave as well …

but didn't last long in there …

it was mighty toasty …

perfect ending to an exciting day …

On Our Way …

November 4, 2013

Our journey to El Geiser …
all thru our trip I wanted pictures of signs …
indicating where we were going …
Mike was in charge of the camera since he was sitting in the front …
well … we were stopped at an intersection …
 and I wanted the green sign that had El Geiser on it …
we were yelling at Mike to get the picture …
and  …what I got was this huge mural of "I don't know what …?"
Nathan had commented that he thought it was heck of a good picture …
that was it … Mike was band to the back  …
and I took over taking pictures …
fortunately there was another "sign" … for me to snap a shot …

 

 

 

 

We had a great time going to all the pools …
some were hotter than others …
the grandchildren were free to go and play …

Another Day on the Road …

November 3, 4, 2013

Grandpa was there to help the boys work on their projects …

All three of the kids wanted a refresher course …
on how to crochet the Friendship Bracelets again …
they wanted to make more of them to share with their friends at school …
Ella was also working on her weaving loom …
beautiful colours … I wonder what she is going to make …

This is the pipeline that is being placed in the ground …
for the Tamazunchale Extension …
Nathan's project he is working on …
capturing these photos on our way to our next destination …

Photos on route …

Heading up a winding road up the mountain …
passing a rock quarry … these are found all around the area …
also stopping to take pictures of the cacti …

Heading for the Rock …

November 2, 2013

After our Breakfast … we decided to travel to Pena de Bernal …
the second largest monolith (free standing rock) in the world …


We started on our journey it was a nice day … the closer we got to Queretaro …
the temperature was dropping and clouds moved in …
We were all dressed in shorts … thankfully I brought warm clothes along …
for everyone … except for Nathan … he said he didn't need to …
It was cold and drizzly … we were not able to get very far to hike up the path …
Craig, James and I ventured out … walking around the area … so I could take some pictures …
the other 3 were sitting in the vehicle … staying warm …
(should have listened to mom Nathan … !!!)


Landscape at the bottom of the big rock …

Some of the cacti plants …

For more information on Pena de Bernal …
click
 HERE …