A post from Nica.

A very WARM greeting from Nicaragua!!! After a delayed flight from LAX, and a 7 hour layover in Texas, and a night without any sleep, I am here in Nica-land hanging out with Joel, Lora, and Alberto. Lora picked me up from the airport in Managua, and when we got to their house, I met Chilo, the woman who cleans for J&L and her daughter who takes care of Beto. I am pretty sure Beto was scared when I first came into the house and said hello to him - I had only met him for a few hours during my whirlwind Christmas in Michigan. But after a few minutes, he warmed up to me, and now we are buddies - except if I sneeze too loudly, then he gets a little scared of me again. :)

Life in Nica with Joel, Lora, and Alberto could be described as pure joy and pure fun. Seriously, this little boy does not cry at all - he just laughs and smiles and pulls on my hair. He loves going for walks around the neighborhood with his mom and dad - something they do every evening. I have visited J&L in Nicaragua before, but in the past year, they moved to a different place, where some other NCA teachers and students live. Tonight on our walk, one of Joel's students/basketball team players was outside his house nearby said, "Hey Mr. K, I won't be in class tomorrow," and I had to laugh a little - how funny to see your teacher/basketball coach out on a walk with his family.

Yesterday we all just hung out at home, talking and playing with Beto. This morning when I came downstairs for breakfast, I heard Lora on skype with her mom in Florida, Nona. I said, "Good morning, Nona!" and she replied, "Good afternoon, Allison!" Apparently I slept until 1:00pm...so it was the afternoon. No wonder Lora was eating lunch....I guess after 2 flights and a layover in which I missed an entire night's sleep, I needed the rest!

Later this afternoon (after breakfast....), I went to one of Joel's basketball games. I was thankful that the NCA Eagles played at a school that had a covered court - so I was not in direct sun all afternoon. The Eagles pulled out a win, but it was touch and go for awhile there. It was fun to see Joel coach the boys - I even shouted out a few pointers from the sidelines here and there - "Get the rebound! Hustle back! Let's go, Eagles!" Basketball games in Nicaragua are a little different than at my school - most schools do not have an electronic score board, so the official just kept time on a little stopwatch. 30 seconds left on the "clock" really meant a minute or more. I was frustrated on the sidelines watching - you can imagine how coach K was feeling too!

After the game, Joel needed to stop at school to get his bike, so he asked, "Do you remember how to drive a stick shift?" (Lora and the babe were at home) and I said, "Sure!" Their house is not too far down the street from NCA, so I thought it would be no problem. Silly me. At the entrance to their complex, you pull up in front of a large metal door that a watchman comes to open when he hears a car. Then, naturally, the person driving the car would pull in and he'd shut the door for safety afterward. Well.....he opened the door, but because I had downshifted and had to stop the car, it was tough to get up the little hill and through the big entrance. I started rolling backward and shifted again, thinking perhaps I was in reverse. Nope. I just needed to give it a little more juice....all the while cars were speeding past on the road behind me. Yikes. I finally made it through the gate, and the watchman was probably laughing at me inside. I would have been! I guess I need a bit more practice if I am going to drive the truck again. :)

Tonight we sipped tea and ate some chocolates, then took Beto on an evening stroll again. We captured a few photos of the two of us...but just focus on him when you look at the pictures - he's much more photogenic and adorable. :) After putting Beto to bed, the three of us big kids ate a delicious dinner and are now just chilling out. Joel is doing a workout (of course), while Lora reads up on recipes for her Baby Bullet (a tiny blender to make baby food, in case you are not a mom!), and both Lora and I munch on some Easter chocolates I brought from home. (see how that works? Bring chocolate as a GIFT, and you get to partake as well. :))

OK, Lora is ready to read this "intense blog post," so I better attach the pictures and get going. Just to add to the fun of this post, Joel is currently going pee with the door open, and I said, "Eeew! Really?" and he says, "It's too hot if I shut the door." This is my family, people. My precious family. I love them!