Pre-Christmas Week Actities

Wednesday Evening, December 24

It has been a while since I posted.

Our daughters, their husbands and our five grandchildren are here for the Holidays.

This evening we celebrated Christmas. We pooled our resources and had a family meal of rice, cole slaw and Langastinos. Before our desert of icecream and cooked pairs by Jayne, we distributed Christmas presents and Sarah's birthday gift. Santa Claus is still coming for the little ones, either tomorrow morning or when then return to Seattle. Our gifts were purchased primarily at the Machetazo in La Chorrera: balls, pencil holders, pencils, clay, journals, lego kits, dolls... The kids seemed to enjoy them.

Stacia and family gave us a very nice book they had created on the internet. It featured our travel photos from last year in Panama, and three years ago in Puerto Vallarta. The cover had a picture of Jayne and I kissing. The youngest grandchildren were appalled!

W have had some good laughs over the Seattle weather, but both families must return to it around the New Year.

Yesterday was grandson Clay's 12th birthday. I think it had to have been an almost perfect birth day celebration. We spent most of the morning boogy boarding and body surfing at Malibu, about a mile walk up the beach. Lonnie ferried the grandkids by car.

The birthday dinner was at Don Chacho's, chosen by Clay. We had frozenfruit drinks they call Frostys, roasted chicken, an assortment of meats, and fried yucca and plantains. The lunch went very well.

For desert we returned home and his mother baked a flourless chocolate cake, which Clay loves. Like me, both our daughters, and one other grandchild, Clay has a gluten allergy, so the special cakes are really appreciated.

Another highlight of Clay's birthday celebration was having our caretaker Dimas open some coconuts for all the children to drink. Maverick had come to me asking for the the machete man. I hade told him Dimas could open a coconut for him. Maverick had wanted his old stale coconut opened. Dimas opened some fresh ones, and also opened the old one, so that the kids were able to see the coconut they see at home in Seattle