Greetings from Guatemala

Monday, May 18, 2026

Last Day of School May 2026 (8th and 10th Grade)

On Friday, May 15, we wrapped up our school year and officially started our summer break. It is the best feeling!!! This was a split year because we spent the first semester in the States and the second semester back in Guatemala. That can be a challenge, but we stayed on track and finished strong. We have now completed eleven years of homeschool and only have four more to go (two with Cruz and four with Ben). I am so proud to have made it this far! In the fall we will have two in high school. How is that possible???

our decorations

Cruz

Ben

For breakfast I made waffles with a wide variety of toppings. Everyone fixed their own like they like them. We also had bacon.

My waffle had nutella, banana, honey, whipped cream, and sprinkles.

the boys on the last day of school

Cruz completed 10th grade.

Ben completed 8th grade.

me and my boys

hello summer break!!!

The years are passing quickly!

our schoolroom board

I got the sweetest teacher gifts from the boys. The first was these two African violet plants. I love purple!

I put them on my kitchen windowsill.

Years ago the boys put that plastic iguana there to try to scare me. I never moved it and now seeing it makes me smile.

I got this cute confetti filled helium balloon.

And, I got a slice of strawberry cake from the San Martin bakery. It is a favorite!

So, that's a wrap! We'll be back at it again the first week of August.

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Mother's Day 2026

Here is a look at my Mother's Day celebration this year.

The boys decorated the kitchen and dining room with balloons and streamers.

ready for breakfast

We had a delicious sausage, egg, and cheese casserole.

Mother's Day breakfast

My homemade cards and some Lindor chocolate was waiting on the table.

Every year they get me cupcakes from San Martin. They are my favorite!

I also get flowers.

me and my precious boys on Mother's Day

me and Ben

me and Cruz

After church we drove out to Paseo Antigua and enjoyed tacos and quesadillas at Fridas.

I love horchata!!

me and the boys

It was a great day!

I waited many years to be a mother. I’ll forever be grateful that God allowed me to experience the joy of motherhood. Being a mom to these two boys is one of the greatest blessings of my life.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Traveling Home from Rocky Mountain National Park 2026

Sadly, our trip had come to an end, and it was time to go. I was not ready to leave!!! Much to my surprise, when we walked outside to go to breakfast that morning the ground had snow on it. It was like a sweet goodbye gift to me.

morning snow at the YMCA of the Rockies

our morning view

We love to stay at the YMCA!

I took this photo on the walk to the dining hall for our last buffet meal.

Snow falling as we loaded the car.

For the second time we stayed in the Wind River Lodge. We love it!

Wind River Lodge at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park

leaving the YMCA

I cannot wait to return!!!

We had snowfall all the way out of town.

Checkout was at 10:00 am. We had an overnight flight that didn't leave Denver until 12:45 am (Wednesday morning). We had to be at the airport to drop off our vehicle by 10:00 pm. That meant a twelve hour day to kill. We left Estes Park that morning and made the 1.5 hour drive back into Denver.

We killed most of our time walking around stores. The boys insisted on stopping first at Bass Pro Shop.

We had lunch at In-N-Out, which is a family favorite. We do not have those in the South so it was a must on our list to do while in Colorado.

a lovely Denver sunset

We ate supper at Raising Cane's and then hung out at a Starbucks until time to drive to the airport.

driving back into the Denver airport

Like I said on our arrival, I love this airport view, especially at night! It's so pretty!

It is hard to sum up this trip in words. It was incredible and perfect in every way. If I could do it over again, I would not change a thing. The memories it provided, we will never forget.

Monday, May 11, 2026

Celebrating our 30th Wedding Annivesary in Estes Park & RMNP 2026

On Monday, April 27, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. I could not be happier to be celebrating it in one of my favorite places- Rocky Mountain National Park.

We began the morning by taking photos.

We then enjoyed a buffet breakfast in the YMCA dining hall.

The boys both have live math classes on Monday mornings so we left them at the lodge and went into town by ourselves. We stopped and explored the Stanley Hotel. It is beautiful!

us on the steps of the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park

I loved this old car.

Of course it made me think of my dad.

The Stanley Hotel was the inspiration for the movie The Shining. They had several movie themed things for sell in the gift shop.

Before leaving, we stopped by their coffee shop for a coffee and a cappuccino.

We then drove out to Lily Lake and walked the loop around it.

Just like almost every other hike we did on the trip, as soon as we got out of the car, the snowflakes started falling. It just made our trip magical! I would love to see this park in the fall, but because of the snow, I think I'll always be drawn back there in the spring. I just love snow! It makes me happy!

Lily Lake

It's only a 0.8 mile flat walk around the lake.

I loved seeing these tiny pine cones.

walking around Lily Lake on our anniversary

Lily Lake

We returned to the YMCA and picked up the boys in time for lunch. Prior to our trip, I had researched good hamburger places in Estes Park. Fresh Burger Stop came highly recommended in most all of my searches so we went there for our anniversary lunch. Much to my surprise, it was located in a gas station. The boys thought surely I would not want to eat there once we arrived, but my curiosity was up and I had to try the burgers. Just as recommended, they were delicious and the onion rings were perfect. Don't let the location deter you! There is also a burrito shop and a donut shop (Donut Haus) located there. The donut shop closes at noon and the sweet young guy working there gave us free donuts for dessert. If you know me, I love donuts!! That young man had no idea how much joy that small gesture gave me. Because all of our meals were provided at the YMCA and we had picnic lunches, this was the first meal we had eaten out since the Atlanta airport on our flight there.