Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam is now eleven. That's only a year away from twelve, and a year from then I get to have two teenagers in the house. How lucky can I get?

Sam asked for a cello for his birthday, and we looked all around this town and could not find one. You would think that a city of around a million people would have at least one cello to buy, but no, we could pay someone to go to Argentina to get one, or wait a few weeks and see if one shows up, or just go ourselves to buy one, but we cannot get one here, where we live. I even spent hours on the internet trying to see if I could get somebody to ship a cello to us. Everyone online would be happy to, except that the post office size limits prohibit it. How difficult does it have to be?

Thank you to everyone for your gifts and cards.

What?!

Yesterday was my birthday. This is Noah's gift to me:

"Mom, you drive me nuts!"

I drive him nuts?

Our New Home

Finally, pictures of our new house.

Front of the house. Obviously.

Balcony.

The view from the front balcony, looking down the street.

Front door and entryway.

Office.

Living room.

Looking down at the entryway.

Family dining room.

Formal dining room.

TV room. Noah is playing with friends from school and embassy.

Master bedroom.

Christopher's room.

Samuel's room.

Marcus and Noah's room.

Back of the house.

The Quincho.

We have a grill, a half-bathroom, an extra room upstairs, and maid's quarters.

Pool, swingset, and tetherball.

The quincho from the back balcony.

The pool from the back balcony.