Life Lately

We have had a wonderful start to 2016.  As we mentioned in an older post, Kevin’s parents were here to visit in the beginning of January.  We enjoyed two weeks together surviving the heat, relaxing in the mountains and kissing by the sea.

We are regular visitors of the several parks in Managua.  This park near our home is always packed, even during the hottest part of the day.  You won’t always find people playing, rather they are sitting under the play equipment, enjoying the shade and free wi-fi.  Estela and I are usually the only ones climbing up and down!

We, along with our neighbors, celebrated the quinceañera of our neighbor Luisa.  Each neighbor helped with an aspect of the party, some provided the food and drinks, others did her hair and makeup, and we took the pictures.  It was a lovely evening of laughter, dancing and friendship.

My dad’s best friend and my second dad, Dave Foy was here in the middle of January.  He was working in Honduras and came down to visit us, experience our lives here and meet Estela.  We had a great time and so appreciated his visit.

When Dave was here visiting, we went up to Estelí to see the cigar making process from start to finish.  We had a great day learning about this amazing crop.  Below is a field of tobacco leaves being cultivated by oxen. 

My junior high friend Erin and her husband Lucas came to Nicaragua at the end of February.  We spent time together in Managua, Granada and the beaches of Tola.  We had such a great time together!

Fish tacos have been a favorite of ours lately.  We have been eating them whenever we have the chance to, whether that is out at a restaurant or at home.  Yum!

I have continued to take Spanish classes with my friend and teacher Mayela.  Estela is usually along for the class, it works out perfectly when she naps!

This is how I do yoga these days!  My workouts now have a big, but welcomed distraction, and she does add some extra weight to the routine.

I love our little family.  And I love living by the ocean!

And the most exciting news of all, we welcomed our niece Ivy Lane into the family through adoption.  My brother Justin and sister-in-law Kate are now parents to this amazing little girl.  Here is the first of many facetime calls for the primas!

The month of February has started off quite well.  Our friends Eric and Nikki and their kiddos are currently here visiting us for a couple of weeks.  School is also keeping us busy.  Later this month, we have plans to head to the Poetry Festival in Granada and a girls weekend in Matagalpa.  All for now!