Visitor from Paris

Spencer came to visit us this past week-end and both Jordan and I really enjoyed his visit. I find Spencer extremely refreshing. The dark figure in the first picture is him at Dunator Castle which is shown in the second picture. I think Jordan really appreciated being able to have a conversation about hockey with a true fellow fan.

news flash: schneider family vacation!!!

Hiya - this is Mom posting from Woozen's account - I gave myself a new password and since I can't remember it Rachel has graciously given me permission to hack into hers! Ya'll have a lot to look forward to in your golden years...
I got to be in Houston last week- went to a convention there with lots of Texan women - it was cool to be in a place where fleece and grey are not on anyone's radar screen - there were tons of pink floral jackets, matching shoes, purses and lipstick and some very fun women.
So here's the news flash from Dad and I - it's actually Dad's idea but I don't think he can remember his password either so here goes.
We get to think about our next family trip and then we get to think about when we want to take it. And the way that happens is by earning points .The more we post on the blog, the more points we get.
Every time you post at least a three or four sentence blog with photos you earn four points for the vacation trust fund. Every time you post without photos you earn 2 points.
When we reach 1,000 points we've earned a trip to a tres fun vacation spot.
Let's do this!
(I'm counting the points we've earned so far and we've got 83 points already. If everyone posts three times a month with even one photo we'll earn the trip by Christmas.
For further incentives, there will be a draw at the end of each month. People who've posted ge their name in the draw each time they post. At the end of the month, we draw for the prize.
Love Gramps and Nano

spring break in LA!

here's some photos from the time that mom, dad and i spent in LA with the puentes and linds. we had a fun picnic at the beach, went on walks or runs, went shopping, and just hung out. it was very fun! dad and i also got to go on a tour of beverly hills and see some of the stars' houses. some of them were pretty crazy.

My daily walk

I take little Oliver for a walk everyday and I choose the same route everyday because I love it. Doesn't he looked thrilled to be on his walk! On this path I breathe, think, sing, appreciate, and rejuvenate. This walk is a huge part of my life right now so I thought I'd share some of the views with all of you.

¡Bakan! and the Boca Chueca

¡Bakan!- this is slang in Chilean for 'ultra cool'
I checked out some stuff about Rico's mission online and it looks really ¡Bakan!. It's fun to read about the food, the culture (I guess they're really into soccer) of the place that Rico will be serving in for two years! There's this funny story about te Boca Chueca that I put at the bottom of the post, but the food also sounds cool. I found out from this www.joeskitchen.com/chile website written by an RM that for Chileans, the first meal of the day is small and usually consists of bread which is sometimes bought from a bread salesman that travels around the neighborhood. whoa. Chileans will top their bread with jelly or a delicious caramel-like topping called manjar. Yum, manjar.
The largest meal of the day is usually lunch with a siesta, and then "Once"
"Once" is a light meal that is eaten between 4 and 7 in the afternoon. Often times this is a repeat of breakfast; with bread and sandwich toppings with some tea or coffee- kinda like High Tea at the Randolph Hotel.
Tradition has it that long ago men that wanted to drink their liquor, or "aguardiente" in Spanish, during the time of day that is now "Once" invented a code to hide the fact that they were drinking at 5:00 in the afternoon. This code was the number of letters in "aguardiente" which is eleven or "once" in Spanish. With the passage of time, tea time became known as "Once."

Also, there is another story from this missionary, he writes: My favorite Chilean legend is the Crooked Mouth or Boca Chueca. Legend has it that if you drink or eat something hot then immediately go outside into the cold, your mouth will be jerked to the side of your face and will be stuck. The opposite is also true where you can drink something cold and go outside into the hot sun.
Are gringos affected by the Boca Chueca?

On several occasions, we'd be drinking some hot herbal tea or some cold fruit juice. Upon finishing, we'd get up to leave and our host would stop us and say that we couldn't go outside yet. We'd ask why and they would explain that we would get the boca chueca. When we were with friends we'd often run outside anyway, returning with our jaw and lips moved to the right side of our face pretending to have received the boca chueca. However with all joking aside, I never really got the boca chueca.
Who really gets the Boca Chueca?

After playing our little joke on our Chilean friends, they would always sternly warn us that the boca chueca wasn't a laughing matter. They always new someone that had a friend or family member that really did get the boca chueca. However, in my two years in Chile I never met anyone who actually had the boca chueca happen to them.

Could it happen to you? I don't know, but don't say I didn't warn you!

Fun!!

ELDER RICO

To all you happy bloggers - so everyone knows the big news of the month!
RICO GOT HIS MISSION CALL!!!
Chile, Santiago North will never be the same after Sept 20, when Rico is scheduled to arrive!!
He's scheduled to report to the MTC on June 20.
Rico, we are all so very proud of you!
Congratulations!!
Love from all of us.