Cruz's 16th Birthday Celebration

 On May 26 we celebrated Cruz's 16th birthday.   

 

kitchen decorations 

 

 

He is currently obsessed with trucks and vehicles.  When I saw this balloon at a local store I knew he'd love it. 

 

 
birthday pancakes

 

 

opening gifts

This year he didn't ask for any presents.  He wanted money for upcoming outings with friends.

 

I did get him a few of his favorite snacks. 

 

Sweet 16 

 

 

We took family photos. 

 

 

David and Cruz 

 

Ben and Cruz 

 

me and Cruz 

 

 

We drove into Guatemala City to visit Futeca Top Tee. 

 

 

He had the best time!! 

 

 

 

 

We stopped for coffee on the drive back home. 

 

We ended the day with supper at Hector's Bistro. 

 

birthday supper 

 

We ended the day with birthday dessert. He wanted a chocolate swirl cheesecake this year. 

 

 

He is growing up fast! 

 

 

his birth announcement 

 

 Here's a look at his birthdays over the years-

 

 

birthdays 1-10 

 

birthdays 11-15 

 

 

family photos 1-7  

 

 

family photos 8- 14 

 

 

family photo from his 15th birthday

 

He will be a junior in the fall.  He just got his Guatemala driver's license and will transfer his U.S. driver's permit to a regular license later this summer.  He is steadily getting more independent and mature.  It is a joy to watch him grow up and become who God wants him to be. He makes us laugh, keeps us on our toes, and fills our home with so much life. We cannot thank God enough for this incredible gift.

Homemade Yogurt

As part of his Biology class, Cruz recently had to make homemade yogurt.  It seemed a little intimidating at first but actually turned out great.  In addition to making homemade pasta, yogurt making has also become a new hobby of mine.  I now make it at least once a week and sometimes more than once depending on how fast we eat it.  It is not quite as easy as pasta but once you get the kinks worked out, it's a smooth process. 

Here are some photos of his yogurt experiment.  He takes Biology as a live online class through Apologia so this was an experiment he was required to do, and he had to submit photos of each step.  

 

The only ingredients are milk and a live yogurt culture.  Here he is heating his milk.

 

You have to heat it to a certain degree and then cool it to a certain degree before adding the live culture.  It is a delicate process.

 

adding the live culture

 

 

mixing it together

 

 

pouring it into jars

 

Next, we put it in the oven to sit for several hours with the light on.

 

Our finished yogurt ready to be cooled in the refrigerator.

 

Our first taste of it was sweetened with honey and some added blueberries.

 

I have since tweaked the process of how I make it. I still boil the milk on the stove, but I put it in my Instant Pot to sit instead of the oven.  That seems much easier to me. We have tried many different ways to eat it.  We love it with fruit and granola and also in smoothies.

 

 

a recent breakfast

 

 

We even made overnight oats with it that included chia seeds and fruit.

 

It's fun to think that a science experiment inspired a new hobby.  That's a part of homeschool that I really love! 

A Taste of Italy in Guatemala

Last semester Cruz took a World Geography and Cultures class.  For his final project he had to choose a country that they had not already studied, research it, and make a PowerPoint presentation on it.  In his final live online class, he had to present it to his teacher and classmates.  He chose Italy.  

I recently discovered an Italian cooking class in our town and thought it would be a perfect asset to Cruz's study of Italy. He and I took the class together, and it was so much fun.  We both loved it! We learned how to make homemade pasta.  It was very interesting, and I was amazed at how easy it was.  The only ingredients are flour and eggs.  In addition to learning how to make the dough, we also learned how to make several different pasta shapes like fettuccine, spaghetti, ravioli, bow tie, tortellini, penne, and fusilli. The lead instructor is from Italy so she shared many interesting facts throughout the class. I have done a lot of different activities here in Antigua, but this one was by far my absolute favorite.

 

Our work stations all set up and ready for the class to begin.

 

forming his flour "volcano"

 

adding eggs to the flour

All you do is whip them together until a soft dough forms.

 

rolling out his dough

 

his dough ready to be cut and shaped into pasta

 

making fettuccine noodles

 

we were proud of how they turned out

 

 

drying our noodles

 

our class working hard

 

me and Cruz working together

 

We loved Alex, who was one of the instructors.  He was full of energy and made the class extra fun.

 

 

making spaghetti noodles

 

Cruz with his pasta shapes

 

Part of the class included getting to eat the pasta that we made. It was served with a tomato sauce and a white cheese sauce.  Everyone sat around a large table and enjoyed the meal together.  It was like having a meal with family or old friends.  We laughed, shared stories, and just enjoyed each others fellowship.  It was a highlight.

 

They also served two delicious appetizers.

 

best mother/ son outing we have ever done

 

 

a group photo of our class

 

What I loved most about taking this class was that it actually taught me a skill that I could go home and use.  Pasta making has become a fun hobby for me.  I have since made it at least once a week.  It is really easy and quick to make.   

 

 

my homemade fettuchini with a homemade white sauce 

This is my boy's current favorite meal.

 

 

homemade cheese filled ravioli  

 

I have even practiced making homemade bread to have on our pasta nights.

 

 

If you are ever in town, I highly recommend this class!  I feel certain that you would love it.

 

 

YouTube video of our class