sierra norte

   On the third of February, we went to the mountains. We were staying for two days at Ecoturixtlan (a little ecotourism center that felt like a summer camp for families). 

    At Ecoturixlan, there was a zipline that was about 100 feet in the air (according to my mother). It wasn’t that fast but it was fun. Aurora and Mom were terrified of how high it was. Theo went first and screamed. (Theo, Eve, and Rowen wanted to go again immediately).

Then we went to a cave with a river flowing through it. I went back sooner than the others because it was cold and dark  but it was quite cool with a big drop at the end.

    

   On Sunday, (Abe and Shannon wanted to get to a neighboring town and couldn’t find a trail so...) we walked in a  creek for two and a half hours. (This was really fun for the first hour–kids enthusiastically crossed back and forth and plunged into pools, but then littler kids got rather chilled and tired. The

creek became much more steep with giant boulders as we continued–Abe and I were both starting to wonder how much more intense it would get, when we came to the juncture we were looking for and found a small foot path that we followed
for 10 minutes).

Then we came out to a little restaurant next to

the creek where we got food and played at the playground then we walked into the town.

    

    Dad found a place where we could get a taxi into and out of Ecoturixlan. Then we took the taxi back from the town and ate dinner in the cabin then went to bed.

The next day  Aurora, Eve, and Theo went on the zipline again.(Mom went to but she hasn't gone before) After that we waited for the taxi. We had already put our stuff by the road so all we had to  do was wait. 

I went up to a little spot outside of the cabin where we signed in and got gear for the zipline to read until the taxi got there. 

Hierve el Agua

 By Rowen (with parenthetical info from Shannon)

Today  (December 18) we went to Hierve el Agua, a petried waterfall (really two of them). There are only two petrified waterfalls in the world, the other is in Turkey. 

We caught a bus to the town of Mitla, an hour away. Then we got to ride in the back of a truck (collectivo) with two other people from London. It took about 45 minutes to get there. 

After we swam for a bit, we walked up to a little market above the pools to get some lunch and "aguas frescas" which are water blended with different fruits, with different flavors like horchata or pina colada.  Then Eve went with Mom to buy a cute hate from one of the vendors (so Eve wouldn't get burned to a crisp) while everyone else finished the food. 

Then we went back to the pools. Eve, Aurora and I swam for a while again and then got Dad to join us in the water, but got out a couple minutes later because there were a ton of clouds. (Theo mostly just played by little rivulets running down by the "volcano"--water bubbling up from the earth.)

 After that, we decided to be done because we were going to go soon. 

We put on sunscreen (which wasn't allowed in the pools, so we all got a little pink). Then we took some pictures and walked back up to the market and then the trucks to get us home. This time, I got an edge seat as well as Dad. Once we had been riding about 15 minutes I guess we would be there in half an hour, and I was correct. We were dropped off at the bus station and caught one back to Oaxaca, and then walked 8 blocks home. 

A few more photos from Shannon: (next time maybe I'll figure out how to move photos, but not today).

The small village above Hierve el Agua had a variety of small "comedors" or eateries. All had simple, outdoor kitchens. This is a cumal. We love all the wood-fired ovens and cooking surfaces like this that we have been seeing, and benefitting from most deliciously. 

We keep bringing water bottles with us. But then we end up ordering these inexpensive and delicious "aguas" which are basically fruit and purified water put in a blender and then the fruit bits are strained out. Too, too good. So far favorites are jimaica (hibiscis), pina colada, and limon. 

 

Hurry and wait is how life rolls when you use public transportation. A good reminder to us of how prinviledged we are to have cars of our own back home. And a great way to slow down and meet people along the way (since we are also privileged to be travelling and working on our own schedules right now). 

Riding back in the collectivo--covered truck with built in benches. On the way back, we chatted with a couple from France and three people from Mexico City. All of them were flying down to the coast in the next 24 hours. 

Oaxaca!!

 Hello dear friends and family! 

We are breathing life back into this old blog so that we can share a little bit about our family adventures in Oaxaca, Mexico--and to have a solid forum for enforcing some writing time for Aurora and Rowen since we are "worldschooling" while we travel. Because, parents have to be obnoxious like that, right? 

Abram, as you might have sensed, is a more goal-oriented person, and I'm more of a feel-oriented person. It has been my dream to take the kids to spend some time in Latin America for the past 5 years, so as our departure got closer and closer, he kept asking me, "Why are we doing this again?" 

My hope has been for us to have a long enough time in Mexico that the kids will start at least a foundation in Spanish, develop a sense for how different life can be in other places, and begin to appreciate some of the cultures that exist here. I also, of course, have hoped that we can share some wonderful experiences as a family while the kids all generally still like us and each other ;).  It felt important to go this year as I've been just taking graduate courses online and could take a pause, and it's our last year before we have a highschooler.  

So, here we are! We are now a month into it and I'm finally sharing some photos and pieces written by Rowen and Aurora. We also hope to share a little bit of the beauty and learning we are experiencing here. 

We spent our first three weeks in the capitol city of the state, Oaxaca de Juarez. It is a central area for art, history, excellent food, and culture. 

Walking from our AirBnB house the first night. 

                  Lunch out after the first day of Spanish language school for the kids--everyone is super hot                                                                   and tired (surprise!). 

            Those balls are giant paper mache ornaments. The Metropolitan Cathedral is in the background. 

                                         Admiring a large mural by the mercado closest to us. 

We walk a lot now, which is awesome. We also catch taxis, collectivos (collective taxis that have a more set route), and occasional buses. 

This is us waiting for our first bus on our first excusrion out of the city. Our friend Bacchus is patiently waiting in the background as Abe gets more and more "psyched" about adventuring with the kids. 

It takes a lot of mental energy to be constantly trying to figure out how get places or where to find the basic things we need.  And we are also embracing the not-knowing and not really having much control over our timing most of the time. 

The kids are pretty into trying out the treats. They are becoming more adventurous about trying other foods as well. The favorite treat in the city were the churros sold by our usual spot to catch a taxi to Spanish school. 

                                         I'm pretty crazy about all the street art in Oaxaca city.  This kids were pretty tired after school this day and we were on our way to visit a market because Eve wanted to buy a purse and the girls all wanted to do a little shopping and exploring. 

Landscaping in our neighborhood--love all these tall cacti. 

"La noche buena" is the name for Christmas Eve and this plant that we call poinsettas. Most of the streets in Oaxaca are cobbled like this. 

Our sweet house on Huerto Los Mangoes, complete with bouganvillea. We loved being in a quiet little neighborhood off the beaten path. We rarely ever saw other foreigners, AKA "gringos." 

Art installation. 

Agave is a very important agricultural and cultural plant here. 

El Templo de Santo Domingo--most iconic church in the city. 

Theo loves getting rides from Bacchus, our friend who encouraged us to come put to the coast of Oaxaca as I began to plan the trip and then graciously came up to visit us in the city as we were getting our traveller's legs under us (we will be staying in the same town on the coast and look forward to lots more Bacco time).  

Highlights of the First Year

Welcome Eve/Wow Its Been Over a Year Already!!

Last December, as we read about the events leading up to birth of our Savior, I had a lot of empathy and insight into Mary’s condition. 

Aurora was two weeks late. Rowen was a day early. There were two different due dates: 12/13 and 12/18. I had false labor on 12/6 and 12/13.

 I was so hopeful about having a baby come before Christmas. But in the end, babies and Lord have a lot more control over these things than mothers, even impatient mothers with acupuncture or super greasy meals (which I tried this time instead of castor oil).  

I really, really wanted to meet our new little baby before Christmas. 

One part of that was so that he or she could star in our family’s little Nativity play.

Instead, I got to be the donkey and Rosie got to be Mary. 

We had a sweet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just the four of us and I really did wonder at how I ever would have gotten things together for the holiday if our baby had come at my leisure, but… I also was just aching to have this baby come out and meet us!

By the 26th, I'd already done my share of silly attempts to get baby to come out, so I went swimming at the Y, and tried to just relax, not think about it and enjoy the day.  Abram and I each nonchalantly suggested that perhaps instead of celebrating our anniversary on the 27th, we should get a sitter and go out on the 26th. We went to Village Books and enjoyed a nice, quiet, peaceful evening.  

In the wee hours of the morning I awoke with contractions (again!), after a few hours we called our beloved midwife, Winni. She came and checked me at 5, said it was still pre labor, and went to sleep at the birth center (she must have amazing mastery over her body's wakefulness with her career). 

In the morning, once everyone else was up, Abram contacted our good friend Dayna to come and get the girls. I was making muffins and getting to the point of needing to take breaks when the contractions came. Abram considered that he perhaps could squeeze in a run. I mustered a decent death glare.

  

I wanted to walk with him during this stage as we'd been able to with Aurora, but it was raining pretty steadily and I didn't want to be leaning on his wet jacket every time I had a contraction… so we stuck around the house. At least this baby was granting my wish for active labor during the daytime instead of through the night like Aurora and Rowen's. 

The yoga/birthing ball and Abram pushing on my back were my biggest helps.

We had Winni come back to check on me sometime in the late morning and she checked me and said I was at a 9! Woohoo! I thought maybe she was right and this labor would go fairly quickly. 

I ended up pushing for an hour. It seemed a lot longer and harder than I had hoped or expected for a third delivery. I remember despairing that I would be able to ever gain traction enough to help this baby come out. I knew that Abram and the midwives were there to support me, but it felt so lonely knowing only I could help this child come out.

Fortunately, she did. We were surprised and delighted to learn that we had another daughter!!

As I lay in my bed holding this tiny, snuffling wonder, I just felt so, so grateful for the privilege of being with this tender soul. It felt so blissful to have her at last in my arms after longing and working to help her come for what felt like so long. 

I think I was most prepared this time to just soak in these early, precious moments this time and truly savor them. 

 Fortunately, I was not alone in my delight at her arrival! 

Aurora and Rowen were frequently pleading to hold her or contesting whose turn it was to hold her. 

It was so wonderful to have Winni's wisdom and caring. I felt so grateful to have her home visits! 

We all just delighted in having this darling, tiny wonder join our family. After a few days, Abram officially conceded (its so short! What will her nickname be?) and we named her 

Eve McCune Dickerson. 

It is such a blessing and privilege to have her happy soul join our family.