Our day according to the kids...

Maria
"Today we went to the store and I got to buy two new journals and one of the journals someone made. We also got to walk around town and got to see the Green House (note: the National Palace is made of naturally green granite) and see all of the stuff inside it. We also got to go around different places, feed the birds and chase them. The Green House was really cool and there was lots of beautiful stuff that we could take pictures of. We also got to go upstairs and see all the paintings."

Kyler
"At breakfast I ate the eggs with hollandaise sauce and the sausage and I mixed all the flavors of fresh juice: cantaloupe, pineapple, orange but skipped the cucumber juice and watermelon juice today. On the tour I got to go to the National Palace of Guatemala. I got to go see inside most of every room on the three floors we got to go to. I saw goats being in the plaza in the middle of the city and I got to feed the pigeons and scare them away. Then I had lunch at the Oakland Mall (brand new) at the Nais Aquarium restaurant. I had yummy sausage pizza for lunch and then we went back to the Barcelo hotel. We went shopping for a little bit and I bought a stuffed animal puppy and a little wallet thingy. I also bought a large fabric folder (interpretation: notebook) and now I'm back at the Barcelo and talking to you. BYE!"




Beth
"Today I had a wonderful experience going on a tour. It was lots of fun to see the different statues and buildings. I really enjoyed listening to the history of Guatemala City. We also went to a store where they sold Guatemala things like caps, jewelry, books, bookmarks, etc. We got room service delivered to our room today and enjoyed a meal at the end of the day. Now we are getting ready for lights out and to sleep deeply until tomorrow." (Parent note: don't we hope so!!!)

Ella
"I went on a tour and it was so fun. I got to um to um to do um eat peanuts today for my snack. I gotted the honey with roasted salty peanuts."

Max
"It's cool because I got a new drum today and I got a little tiny hippo and I named it "Stuffy". I got a little angel for my birthmom, Glendys. My birthmom is very special so I got her lots of gifts. She is very pretty and my birth brothers are Jefry and Werner and I have no birth sisters. We got to go to an aquarium restaurant and our table was right next to the jelly fish. Felix was my friend, he was a driver for our tour. He was very nice and we made friends."

Alex
"When my birthmother was snuggling me up I snuggled with Ruffy. This is in my dream".
(today for real) "I played with a train in the store and got my hands all dirty. I bought a tiny truck and two stuffed animals." (Note: he was the cutest barterer in the world and made really low offers with a great big smile as if she had already offered it to him. She just kept asking him to repeat it because she was so tickled with him!)





Aaron (okay, he's not one of the kids, but he wants to share, too)
Kinda thought for a while this morning, starting about 4am, that I was getting sick. I was pretty nauseous through the day and just sucked on Coca Light, ate crunchy bread sticks and dumped my meal at lunch. I've been waiting all day for the caffeine to take away the splitting headache. I just remembered this afternoon that I get a headache from the pollution in Guatemala City. I'm hoping it's not just the altitude (5000 ft) because Toto will be twice that.

Heather
We did start off the day with our tour of Guatemala City- we saw the National Palace and the city center, and we each stood at the center- all the major roads in Guatemala measure out from there. Tradition holds that if you stand there, you will be sure to return. :-)
From there we went to see the giant Relief Map of Guatemala, which is quite fun and impressive but impossible to take a photo of that doesn't look bizarre. It was created 104 years ago, and is a large cement relief map... now that we know Guatemala a bit better, it was more fun for Aaron and I to look out over the country and get perspective on where we've been and where we're going. Yeah... Totonicapan is way up there.
We drove through town and saw the monuments along Avenida Reforma on our way to the new mall in Guatemala City. It's quite impressive! A "Bellevue Square" kind of place... for those from our area. Alex wore his sunglasses the entire day, even 3 floors down in the parking garage, because he thought they were so cool, "...and I can really see, Mom! It's not too dark." The kids have been fascinated with finding security guards and police everywhere with their "big guns." Even the parking garage has multiple attendants on each floor directing traffic and security guards patrolling.
We really enjoyed our guide, Felix, and are looking forward to seeing him again when we get to Antigua. He lives a couple blocks away from the hotel we will be staying at and plans to come by with his family so we can meet his children, Alejandro (3 yrs, just like our "Alejandro!") and Angela, 9 yrs.
As Aaron mentioned, the headaches are definitely a problem. I'm also feeling slightly dizzy at times, which may be why I was having such a hard time with heights today. They usually don't bother me much, but I could hardly handle seeing the kids stand near railings today! If the third floor of a mall is causing me pause, I'm a little nervous how I'll respond on Monday to the kids wanting to climb a centuries old temple over 220 feet in height, accessed by a flight of stone stairs straight up minus a railing, or alterately, a small wooden staircase stuck to the side of the temple. If all our photos from Tikal show pictures of disappointed kids with their feet firmly on the grass, not even on the first step, you'll know I'm in bad shape! :-)
I think the change in climate/air is affecting Angelica and Maria, too. Within moments after getting off the plane, Angelica was sneezing and had a runny nose, and Maria has complained of a headache, too. She is also eating next to nothing, which for her, is really next to nothing! The other kids seem to be doing okay, aside from the cases of grumpies that they contract rather more quickly than normal.
Bedtime is getting faster, though... :-)
We're looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning here at the Hotel with Glendys and her family. We'll be checking out in the afternoon and heading to the airport around 4 pm for our evening flight to Flores. From there, we'll be picked up by the staff at La Lancha, and drive out there to spend the night in the rain forest with the howler monkeys! This is where the "adeventure" part truly begins... wildlife, very large insects and spiders, high temperatures and afternoon thunderstorms!
We've all loved reading your comments and feeling like we are sharing this time with you- thank you SO much for your support and prayers! Much love to you!

PS- Michelle, I'm only at 415 photos so far... I feel a little behind! :-)