11-8 through 11-22-09: Luke and Mike's birthday fiesta, Patty's glamour shot

11-8 through 11-22-09: The kids continue their studies at Fenix and their comfort level with Spanish and their ability to speak it is growing exponentially now. Gaby even remarked to Dad that she could hear Luke using spontaneous words in Spanish while he played with his Lego figures. The big event during this period, though, was a joint birthday fiesta for Luke and Mike held 11-14 at the park (Parque del Arroyo de la Plata). With my cousin Chuy's help (he oversees the park operations), we reserved a palapa (an open air structure with a roof, a table and benches underneath, and a grill). Chuy also made sure we had electricity hooked up since we had rented an inflatable, jumping thingamajig. Mike's fellow students and teachers from Fenix arrived on time bearing dishes to share while Patty's family arrived somewhat later (Mexico time). It was a beautiful, sunny day to enjoy outside. We grilled hamburgers and chicken breasts with barbeque sauce (to treat our family to an American picnic). Luke had picked out a cow pinata (he liked the horns on it) and all the kids enjoyed hitting it to get to the candy/toys inside.

A couple of picture captions: 2nd pic: Luke and Gaby with their cousins Andrea and Cristina, 5th pic: cousin Chuy, niece Paty, cousin Licha, cousin Lucy, and cousin Jorge, 6th pic: group pic of the students and teachers from Fenix.

On 11-15, we went to my cousin Sara's house to celebrate my tia Eva's birthday. There was plenty of excellent food, drink, and live music. A tarp had been set up in the backyard with table and chairs underneath; again another pleasant day to enjoy outside!

On 11-20, I (Patty) took a makeup class for the heck of it with my nephew Jorge Adrian. He is a hair stylist/makeup artist with lots of experience. He recently worked with lots of gorgeous models at an international silver festival held in Zacatecas a few weeks back; it showcased silver jewelry designs. He taught me how to apply foundation, rouge, eye shadow, and lipstick for the max advantage. He even applied false eyelashes for my glamour look! It was a fun experience overall!