This year we decided to try somewhere new for our annual snow boarding trip. We settled on Vail Colorado, smaller than our usual spot of Park City, but equally beautiful and enjoyable. Below is a video of our trip!
Video link here.
We spent the holidays in South Texas, Christmas in McAllen and New Years in Austin. While "winter" in South Texas can range in temperatures from 30F - 90 F, the change was welcomed. Once again Annika loved Abu's cooking and once again she loved "mi boat". Oh and my lovely wife got me a new toy for Christmas!!
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Videos Below
Twice a year Bogota has Sunday Ciclovia at night. On December 15th, Julia and I took advantage to view the Christmas lights from the bike route. As weather in Bogota is always temperate, everyone was in the streets and it was pretty packed.
Dia De Las Velitas (Little Candles Day) is celebrated on the evening of December 7th. People place candles and/or paper lanterns on sidewalks, balconies, streets, parks, etc.. in honor of the Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Conception.
Below are some pictures of people celebrating this event around our neighborhood.
Annika and I left the family in McAllen and drove up to Austin to meet up with Michelle, Vince, and Julia, who was in town to celebrate her birthday. Along with eating a ton of great food in Austin, we enjoyed taking Annika trick-or-treating for Halloween, visiting Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and watching Tio Vince and Annika paint. Annika was also estatic to ride mi boat (my boat) down the Colorado River.
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Videos below
Annika and I spent a week in McAllen to visit the family. Annika of course devoured every meal made by her Abu, and enjoyed running on the tall Texas grass, naps with Abuelo, playing with her cousins, and more of Abu's food. Even though I had to work during the week, I was still able to enjoy quality time with my parents (playing dominos and smoking cigars) and family.
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For Columbus Day weekend, we took a trip to Pereira, Colombia located in the foothills of the Andes in a coffee producing area called the Coffee Axis (eje cafetero). To get away from the city life here in Bogota, we stayed at Sazagua hotel located just outside of the city with beautiful gardens, tropical flowers, and a nice pool which Annika loved. Although it rained just about every day, we did take a couple of excursions: Cocora Valley, Aguas Claras Nature Reserve with its wax palm trees (the national tree and symbol of Colombia), lunch on the bank of the Aguas Claras creek that included delicious tamales, drinking the best coffee at Jesus Martin in Salento, and finally to Don Manolo Coffee Farm where we saw the coffee fields, harvesting, and processing of Colombian coffee.
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Tired of Annika's hair constantly getting in her face, and her giving us a hard time combing it, we decided it was time for Annika's first haircut. Julia found a place especially tailored for toddlers and their tantrums, where kids sit in little cars and watch TV while the hairdresser cuts their hair. SUCCESS!!
The Grand MiMi (Suzan) gifted Annika a rocking chair that she had personalized with Annika's name. Annika, however, wanted to take part in the creative process and was not content until she, too, had personalized her rocking chair. So the Grand MiMi helped Annika paint the back of the chair, and Annika proudly points to her artwork nearly every day.
A couple of videos...
With Annika finally getting over a cold/ear infection, and the rest of us slowly getting over a nagging cough, we headed out to Parque El Virrey for a food festival. Annika's appetite has definitely returned as she sampled everything we threw at her.
Mmmm..potato
Pork Ribs
Wonder what she is doing...
When we decided that it was time for a vacation sans la puchy, we figured California would be the perfect destination. The Grand-MiMi watched Annika in Bogota while we enjoyed some of our favorite things in San Francisco: oysters, sushi, a walk across Golden Gate. A good portion of our paychecks was left behind in the one corner of Union Square that has both an Apple Store and Cole Haan. We warmed up with 2 days in Yountville and visits to Pine Ridge, Regusci, and Clos du Val, where we made a wise investment in a piece of luggage that carries one full case of wine. We finished up with a weekend in Gilroy, visiting family and hanging out. The Grand-MiMi was a trooper through all of it, caring for a a sick (yet again) and cranky Puchy. It's nice to be home, but we'll be back...it's the vacation we can take over, and over, and over...
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Sampling Chowder
Facetiming with Annika
San Andreas Fault is in those shrubs!
Mission San Juan Bautista
One of the most special people in our lives is Marcela, Annika's nana from Quito. Marcela raised Annika from the time she was 7 weeks old until we left Ecuador a year and a half later. And I literally mean "raised" and not just "cared for." She is simply one of the most loving and incredible people we have met, and we feel blessed that she has been a part of our lives. Marcela is an ideal role model for our daughter. She is patient, kind, honest, and fun; she values family, exercise, health, and being outdoors. And every day she imparts these values on Annika.
Of course, we begged Marcela to come to Bogota with us, but she politely declined as her family in Quito is too important to her. Still, we take advantage of her proximity and willingness to travel, and it is a treat for all three of us when Marcela is able to visit. Marcela came to spend time with Annika during her 3-week summer vacation...and we loved documenting this very special time for the both of them.
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This past weekend we traveled to Aruba for Nate and Gigi's wedding. The wedding was fantastic and a great time was had by all especially Annika who enjoyed the pool and the beach immensely. Congratulations to the newlyweds. Wishing you guys a long and happy life together!
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June 17th weekend we took a little relaxation trip with our good friends to Anapoima. While technically it's less then 100 km away, its about 5000 ft lower then Bogota. At ~3000 feet we got to enjoy a bit more of oxygen, humidity, and warmer temperatures.
The place was fantastic with plenty of open door space, perfect for smoking cigars, and it did not require any air conditioning. The pool was perfect with a shallow end for Annika to play in.
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I've been happily taking a lot of pictures of Annika lately and thought I'd share some of these random photos.
Just days after the Velazquez family suffered from the flu, the owners of the jardin Annika attends invited us to their house for some Ajiaco, a traditional Colombian soup that consists of several types of potatoes and chicken. They cooked it for hours over a leña (fire) which gave the soup a fantastic smokey flavor.
Annika just loved it and had 3 bowls. I wished I had more but my stomach was still sensitive after not eating for 2 days because of the flu. In any event, a great time was had by all especially Annika with the gallinas.
Hard to believe another year has passed and our beloved Annika is 2 years old. We celebrated her birthday with our good friends here in Bogota and Julia thew a little birthday party at Annika's jardin with the help of the staff.
Below are pics from the party at the jardin filled with laughter and a couple of tears.
The entire album can be viewed here.
Videos below...
One more video...
All is okay. No Puchi was hurt during the capturing of this event...
For the past 2 weeks, Annika has been spending her days at the jardin, which is what they call preschool here in Bogota. Annika's jardin won us over with its expansive play spaces and loving staff. Annika is in a class with 5 other students her age and 3 smaller babies. She's keeping super-busy, eating well, and making new friends. We look forward to celebrating Annika's birthday with them next week.
Of course, within the first week, she got sick and passed her lovely germs to her father. After a week of the crud, we both are feeling better. I'm sure many more germs are to come with the hopes of strengthening her immune system. Not sure about Dad though...
Below are some pictures taken by the teachers at the jardin.
Our first road trip in Colombia was to the Chingaza National Park roughly one hour east of Bogota. Even though reservations to enter the park are required, we managed to get access to Laguna Seca.
This was Annika's first time hiking and probably hiked about 1/2 a mile of a 1 mile hike on her own.
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