family happenings

It has been a busy time for us, an emotional time to be sure as we got ready for a visit from our son Andy at the end of April and then for Kate, Miguel and Javi mid June. Javier was the first of our grandchildren to visit our home here in Santa Cruz and that was especially exciting for us. I wanted everything to be just right and once they got here, it was so much fun, just having the three of them under our roof. As Javi is less than 2 years old, there isn't a lot of really 'touristy' things to do here, but we just wanted to have him in our living room playing with his cars or throwing a ball in the backyard. Then we went with them to Cochabamba, the city where Daniel and I first met, worked and lived. Seeing old friends is always an interesting experience, especially if you see someone after quite a few years. Time changes us all in many ways.
We rushed home from Cochabamba to greet family from La Paz who came to spend some vacation time with us. It is a pleasure to be able to host family and share experiences with them. Unfortunately the great weather we had with Kate and Miguel has disappeared and our highland relatives are shivering from our damp cold. They had never experienced this much cold on previous visits. And, of course, most tourist attractiions are closed. The bonfire on the night of San Juan helped ward off the bitter cold.
How I yearn for and enjoy these kinds of times with family, but I also look forward to a few days of quiet here next week as we begin to gear up for our trip to the States.
I've become rather rusty with blogging and need to relearn all of this so that I can post some pictures.