Game 7 - not so fast...

We just knew the Texas Rangers were going to win the World Series this year.  Luke and Jordan were down the street playing at Nick's house and Casey picked them up and surprised them by going to Sports Planet to watch the Texas Rangers win the World Series.  Well, the Texas Rangers did not win but there were 3 loyal fans cheering them on in Quito, Ecuador.  The boys were disappointed but the frozen lemonades, chicken fingers and french fries still made for a fun surprise outing with dad.

Chapel

I would like to introduce you to Chef Sal Chicha (hot dog) and Chef Pepe Roni.  Nico and Jordan helped their teacher, Mr. Morrison lead chapel. 

 Jordan was so excited to have lunch with his teacher every day that week working on their presentation.  They were terrific!  I am posting all of the videos so grandparents can watch.  It will take about 10 minutes to watch all of them.

Jordan did great and was not even too nervous.  So proud of you, Jordan!

Calacali

The kindergarten classes loaded up the bus and headed to the country.  Alliance Academy has a property in Calacali with cabins and lots of outdoor space to run and play. 

Molly and Mia Belen enjoying a picnic lunch together around the smoky camp fire.

Roasting marshmallows!

Each of the 3 kindergarten classes planted a tree.

We went for a hike up the mountain.

We played lots of games together.  In the morning during our bible time, the teacher thought it would be better to have parents act out the lesson.  Yes, I got to be one of the lucky parents.  Not only do I despise being in front of a large group (there were lots of parents there), I also got to translate into spanish and have my feet washed in ice cold water by some dad who was mortified to do this and would not look at me the rest of the day.  If that incident was not enough, we then moved outside and formed one huge circle.  I then got to go to the center of the circle and be the example of how to do a team building exercise where you sit back to back with your partner, hook elbows and have to stand up by pushing off one another.  Fun times!  I did make an instant best friend that day when a mom told me how good my spanish was - I think she really felt sorry for me.

Quito Baseball

Luke and Jordan have started their third season with Quito Youth Baseball Association, and Molly  began her first season.  Molly plays T-ball for the Texas Rangers.  Jordan plays machine pitch for the Baltimore Orioles and Luke plays little league for the St. Louis Cardinals.  As much as my kids like to play baseball, one of the highlights every Saturday are the treats after the game.  There are a lot of kids whose parents work for the US Embassy who play baseball, so that means our kids get to have fun treats from the States that we cannot buy here.  An all time favorite is the Capri Sun.  Here are Lucy and Molly showing off their treasure. 

During the Opening Ceremonies this year, Luke was asked to catch the first pitch thrown from the US Embassy.  Typically it is the US Ambassador who pitches the first ball but since currently there is not a US Ambassador in Ecuador the next highest person in the Embassy threw out the first pitch and Luke caught it. 

Molly Margaret Bryans playing for the Texas Rangers.  She is very excited to be on the Texas Rangers and her brothers are super jealous.

Jordan Reily Bryans playing for the Baltimore Orioles.

Luke William Bryans playing for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Oh, and did I mention the great treats from the States?

Molly at bat.  Check out that look of determination.

My favorite part of the first game was when Molly stopped the ball in the out field, threw it to first base, and then yelled, "Mommy, did you see me?" You can tell she has older brothers and has watched her fair share of baseball.  She knows how to play the game. 

Check out this powerful duo - Lucy as pitcher and Molly on first base. 

Quito's T-Ball

Texas Rangers

Hello Kitty Birthday Party

Molly's 6th Birthday Party

Thanks to my sweet friend, Lori Price, who asked my kids back in May what birthday theme they each wanted for their birthday parties.  She bought Hello Kitty for Molly, Star Wars for Jordan, and Mario Kart for Luke and sent all of these fun supplies down with the Grace Community team that came to Ecuador in June.  What a thoughtful and precious friend!

While we were waiting for the other girls to arrive,we kicked the party off with dress up time.  All of the girls chose to be princesses except for the birthday girl who decided to be a pirate.

Casey and his dad got up early Saturday morning to go find little pumpkins at the market for the girls to paint.

After painting pumpkins, it was time to paint fingernails.

Pizza and pink cupcakes!

We ended the party with play time at the park in our neighborhood.

PePaw picked out this special gift for Molly and she loves it.

Look at this cute shirt that my friend, Carla made for Molly's birthday.  She was such a trooper who came to the birthday celebration with a migraine and still took great pictures to share.  Thanks Carla!

Very thankful for each person in this picture.  We love you all and thanks for making Molly's 6th birthday so special.

Grandparents Day

As I wrote in the previous post, Casey's parents got to be here this year for Molly's Grandparents Day at school.  Last year Molly asked our neighbors, Jorge and Maggie.

We are so thankful for our dear neighbors who love our children and proudly went to Alliance Academy as Molly's adopted grandparents.


This year MaMaw and PePaw just happened to be in Ecuador when it was Grandparent's Day at Alliance Academy.

Here is one of the special songs the Kindergarten class sang during chapel for Grandparents Day.

MaMaw and PePaw

This was Robert and Carol's 4th visit to Ecuador.  Jordan began counting down the days 3 months before their arrival date.  It was finally here!!!

We had lots of activities planned for their week with us.  First up, Grandparents Day at Alliance Academy.  Last year Molly asked our wonderful neighbors to go as her adopted grandparents, and this year she was thrilled to have MaMaw and PePaw with her.

MaMaw working on the puzzle with Molly's best buddy, Mia Belen

You can definitely tell these two are related - love this picture!

Next stop - Ganas.  Ganas is our family's new ministry.  It is a home for children whose parents are in prison.  Robert and Carol completely fell in love with all of the kids.

Christmas in October - I do believe October 7 is the earliest we have ever celebrated Christmas. 

PePaw reading the Christmas story.  I love that my kids get to hear every year from their grandfather why we celebrate Christmas.

Time to open presents and hear the squeals of excitement!

And the final gift of the evening was from Luke to MaMaw and PePaw.  He wrote and played a song to them.  Here are some of the words from the song, "You guys are my family and I will always love you.  Even though we are in Ecuador, I will always love you.  You will always love me and I will always love you." Not a dry eye in the room (except for Molly and Jordan who were pretending to listen as they played with their new toys).  I had not heard the song because he wanted it to be a surprise for all of us.  Well, it was a surprise and the sweetest thing I had ever heard.  I hope he is working on a special song for me for Christmas :)

After the Christmas celebration, the next day we celebrated Molly's 6th birthday.  She turned 6 in August.  If we celebrated Christmas in October, I figured it was okay to celebrate an August birthday in October.  It makes me sad that all of our family misses our kids birthday parties each year, so we decided to celebrate a little late this year.

Sunday, we got to introduce them to our church, La Luz.  MaMaw and PePaw even got to see Luke receive his Sunday School award for completing all of his homework each week and learning Bible verses(all in Spanish).

After church we loaded up the car and headed to the Guayllabamba Zoo.  Robert and Carol loved seeing the Galapagos turtles and spending a day as a family enjoying all of Ecuador's animals.  Monday we had a special dinner together complete with Carol's delicious dressing, caramelized green beans, and chocolate pie.  Tuesday, we took the kids out of school early and had a picnic at Metropolitano Park.  The week flew by...  We enjoy every minute we get to spend with family and do not waste one moment together.  Thanks Robert and Carol for your love, encouragement, support and prayers for us.  We appreciate you more than words can express.