Life Lately

Well as you can assume, we have been adjusting to our new life as a family of three.  Estela has been with us for almost eight weeks and we are thoroughly enjoying this new phase of life.  She seems to enjoy being out and about, so we have continued a lot of our day to day activities.  Enjoy a glimpse at what we have been up to over the past month.

*Because we are currently in the adoption process and are not yet legal parents of Estela, we are not able to share any identifying pictures of her.  We can assure you that she is adorable!

This is our last picture as a couple before Estela’s arrival.  We were on our way to Alison’s Quinceañera and made a stop for some refreshing coconut water.

On Estela’s first weekend with us, we headed to the Masaya Market.  We wanted to pick up some footwear for her, along with some traditional Nicaraguan dresses.  The markets in Masaya are the place to shop for handicrafts and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there making purchases for our sweet little girl.

We are now park frequenters and to our luck, the Sandinista government has done an excellent job at remodeling and adding new parks over the past few years.  There are several very impressive parks here in Managua and we are thoroughly enjoying them on a regular basis.

 

We enjoyed an amazing visit from my (Cassie’s) parents, Abuelo Tim and Abuela Suzy.  Estela loved meeting and being spoiled by them!  We spent time swimming at the beach, hiking through coffee plantations, eating yummy Nicaraguan food and hanging out at home.  It was magical!

We have done our fair share of hiking over the last month.  We spent some time in El Crucero at Las Nubes, at Selva Negra with friends for Oktoberfest and on Volcan Mombacho for my birthday.

 

We have been spending a lot of time by water.  Whether it is at the ocean, the pool or the pila, it is a fun and relaxing way to pass time with a toddler, and always helps with the heat of Managua.

Kevin planned an amazing birthday celebration weekend for me in Granada.  We ate a cinnamon frosted carrot cake, watched Notre Dame football, walked around the colonial city, frequented the restaurants on Calle Calzada, swung in the biggest hammock in the world, played at the beach, stayed up late and slept in late, hiked a volcano and drank lots of yummy coffee.  Happy 32nd Birthday to Me!  It could not have been any better!

We love going to the National Theater and were able to get there a couple of times this past month.  The first show was a feature of Nicaraguan dance in which our good friend performed in.  The second show was the Sound of Music, which was a marker of Kevin’s childhood.  He was very excited to share this with Estela.  We enjoyed listening to Maria sing, “The Hills are Alive,” even though the show went on for over four hours.

We have been busy teaching.  Cassie recently finished her semester long Cross Cultural Exploration course with study abroad students from Dordt College.  This past week we finished our Conflict Transformation class and had the students to our home for a meal.  Kevin will be finishing up his first semester at Notre Dame High School in mid-December.  We are looking forward to some time off together!

That is all for now.  As always, thanks for reading!