School has started, Futbol, Nana and PopPop Johnson visit and More

I will begin this latest blog with 4 words, “THE ADVENTURE HAS BEGUN.”  So, school is now in full swing for the boys and they seem to be settling in much better then we had anticipated.  The boys both get to school early in the morning around 8:00am and stay until 2:00pm.  The day is divided into ½ English and ½ Spanish.  Zach has no English speaking kids in his class and is picking up the language thing really quick.  Andrew is in class with all Spanish-speaking kids, but all have been studying English for 3-5 years.  They are both making friends and seem to be enjoying the school day.  Homework is a bit tough for them, because his parents don’t know enough Spanish to really be of much help, but with Google Translator, were getting by nicely.  The boys do wear uniforms for school which makes our lives really easy when it comes to buying school clothes and they look super cute.

Zach and Andrew have both taken up futbol (soccer) and are playing 2 days a week with mostly Spanish speakers and loving it.  They do drills and play for 2 hours each night.  The couple that puts on the practices is from Canada couple that worked with the Canadian National Team for years and it shows.  They are getting all these kids to really focus and work hard and still play hard.  In 2 weeks we have already seen a huge improvement in Andrew and Zach, who have really never had any formal coaching in the game (no offense coach Frank).  The best part is they LOVE going and getting in the middle of it all.  I am amazed at how well they both just jump in and start making friends and participating. 

Nana and PopPop Johnson just came for 2 weeks and we had such a fantastic time.  We took them to Guadalajara, showed them all over town and decided that they really need to move here for at least a few months a year.  Not sure if they agree, but they were looking at places to rent for a few months next year. Yippee!!

I got my first round of food poisoning from a dish that I knew better then to actually eat.  It was fantastic tasting going in, but coming out was horrible, two days later it was all over and I was back to 100%.  Hey I did say this was going to be an adventure didn’t I.  Then the crazy part of all of this has been with Andrew.  He has been complaining of a stomachache for 2 weeks now and we kept thinking it was all due to nerves.  He was in a new school, new kids, …  well this week, we decided to call his bluff and go get him tested.  We did a blood panel and a fecal test ad then waited two days.  Well the results come back and everything looks really good, except for Big Capital Letters that say he has an Amoeba in his gut and we need to treat with antibiotics.  Once we found out he did have something in his gut, we were actually relieved.  This is something that we can help with, if it would have been depression, anxiety and nervousness, which was a bit more daunting for us to consider.  He is feeling much better now just with the information that he really is feeling and experiencing a stomach issue.  I think he thought we were crazy by not believing him.  He has always been incredibly intuitive about his body.  Guess the lesson here is to really listen to your kids, they know!

All in all things are fantastic for us.  Tracy is in a Lip Sync Fund Raiser for the local theatre.  We just finished our Level I Spanish class after 7 weeks and begin Level II on Monday.  Finding our way around is super easy now, I got invited out for the first time to go listen to some live music, we have all our paperwork now and submitting things to the INM (Immigration) to get our legal working papers.  Tracy loves her Yoga class.  I have a great gym that I am back at, with the exception of the week off from the food/stomach issue.  In the past 3 weeks, we have met 3 more families with young kids that have moved here for a better quality of life. 

This place is truly magical and we are loving being here.  I wish I had photos to share but the camera got dropped on the floor and the view-screen is now shattered.  I will get around to buying one soon, juts need to find out where the best deals are.   Miss you all a ton and hope you will come see our slice of paradise someday soon.

Light and love,

Brian