OK, Dad here for this installment...
First up: Summer gymnastics.
Two years ago we offered to enroll Allie in ballet. Like most Kindergarten girls she was thrilled to be a beautiful princess dancer. So what was with all the picking cherries and not dancing (or so she thought)? Aside from all the weird non-dance moves, she already knows how to dance. We made her finish it up but she did not enjoy it very much.
Enter the begging to sign up for gymnastics. It finally happened this summer- we "signed her up". What's more, the boys can go too. Allie is enamored. She told us "don't ever unsign me from gymnastics!"
The gym is very close to our home - it is about 35 years old and only a mile and a half away.
The boys love it too and look forward to their class. We like the fact that all three of our older kids can participate in the same activity.
The best part for Wesley is "swimming" in the foam blocks.
After Dad was out of town for a few weeks we decided to go on a little family outing to Rancho de Las Golondrians (see http://golondrinas.org/index.html).
Golondrinas is a living history museum recreating the Spanish settlement at the site dating to the early 1700s. Each weekend has a different emphasis- the event we attended was the "Viva Mexico" weekend and was co-sponsored by the Mexican Consulate (Joy's former employer). The guys on stilts above were super funny and gave me plenty of flack about my wife and numerous kiddos.
Kids watching the cute little girls performing traditional dances.
We had a hard time keeping track of our super shy little girl- this woman made a wool bracelet for her.
LARGE:
MEDIUM:
SMALL:
The highlight of the trip was seeing the Voladores de Papantla perform. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danza_de_los_Voladores_de_Papantla). They are a dance troupe from Oaxaca who perform a traditional ritual (for rain I believe) and climb an 80 foot pole, balance on the top and play a mesmerizing half flute/half drum instrument. The museum worked for years to get a pole permanently installed and bring the dancers. They suspend themselves from the pole, twirl a rope around their feet/pole and launch themselves off.
And they are all 50+ years old:
As you can see from this last photo, our kids are growing up too quickly. Come to ABQ next summer and we'll take you to Golondrinas!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Summer of 2011 - Round 4
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7 comments:
yes! we will be there. Thanks for showing.
Grandma
wow! what neat adventures. i want to go visit there someday. the gymnastics gym looks so fun. i love "don't ever unsign me."
I love the gymnastics! They look like they are already pros! And is that a picture of Rachel sitting up with her brothers? She's not old enuf yet! Stay a baby!
What fun pictures! I'm glad that you were able to have such a fun activity after Jason had been gone so much. I remember the Mexican guys on the pole- they used to come to the Ceremonials in Gallup every August (I wonder if the same guys are still doing it- they would be really OLD by now!). I was surprised by the picture of Rachel sitting out in the front of the stroller as well. How about sending a close-up picture of her so we can see how much she has changed since June? MOM
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Cool stuff! Sorry i couldn't be with you to see the pole dancers!
That foam pit looks fun.
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