Where Our City Began...

Clue #3

Thanks to the Spanish, in every city in Mexico you

will find this.  Defined by a large square, a church,

and a government building, this location is the

centre of our city.  Originally an island with

pyramids, this is where our city began.  This

location is one of the main reasons we love where

we live.

When you arrive, find the BLUE page in your

packet and follow the directions.

Make sure you bring a pencil and your CAMERA!

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We are at the Zócalo.  Here is Christopher in front of the church that stands in the middle of the square.


The church is quite old and is leaning quite a bit.  In fact, Brian wasn't too fond of walking to close to it. Although the kids and I were welcoming the shade.

A *fun* picture in the square.

Isn't it beautiful?

Surrounding the square are other "official" buildings such as government offices.  (They weren't as interesting so we didn't take any pictures.)

Our Second Stop! YUM!!!!

Clue #2

In the heart of the Condesa, you're in for a treat.
At the corner of Mazatlan and Fernando Montes
de Oca, choose your favourite flavour and enjoy!

When you arrive, find the PINK page in your
packet and follow the directions.

Make sure you bring a pencil!

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I was expecting to blog about these daily last week, but needed to wait so I could add pictures!  What's a blog without pictures???  Especially when you are eating...ICE CREAM!

You guessed it...much to Christopher's surprise, our 2nd stop was at an Ice-Cream shop that started in 1946!  I have to say, for it not being Gelato, it was pretty good.  Christopher seems to be the ice-cream connoisseur.  Both kids enjoyed a delicious sundae and Brian and I had Roxy's Special (I think is what it was called).  Here is a pic of Christopher enjoying his project so far:

Enjoying his "We Love Where We Live"
stop at Roxy's.

Our First Stop!

***Let our scavenger hunt begin!  I will be posting the clues we received for each adventure and then tell you all about the locations.  This was our first stop.  Although I had the camera with me, we didn't take any pictures.  What was I thinking???  It's super close, so when you come for a visit, we will be taking you there.***  

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Clue #1

This monument is the symbol of Mexico City.  It is

made of gold, and if it weren't a monument it 

might fly away.  It rises high above the city, and

cars zoom around it.  It was a gift from France and

is the monumento a la independencia.

When you arrive, find the GREEN page in your 

packet and follow the directions.

Make sure you bring a pencil!

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So, have you figured out where we are yet?  We are at El Angel de la Independencia.   Here are a couple of different places you can read about it.

Angel of Independence

The Story Behind:  El Angel de la Indepencia

We drive by this monument almost every day, but until this lesson, we have not stopped.  If we wanted, we could visit it every day, that's how close it is.  It's a beautiful monument and there is so much to learn.  

There are four women on the base of the statue that stand for:  War, Peace, Justice and Law.

The men at the base represent: the heroes of independence.

In 1925 the remains of the following Heroes of the Mexican Independence were interred in a mausoleum at the base of the monument:

• Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla: Chief instigator of the Revolution and "Father of the Nation".
• José María Morelos y Pavón: Skilled general and leader of the independence movement after Hidalgo's execution.
• Ignacio Allende: Lieutenant general of the insurgent army and later rebel leader.
• Juan Aldama: A rebel captain and conspirator.
• José Mariano Jiménez: Hidalgo's lieutenant colonel.
• Guadalupe Victoria: Commander of the insurgent army and first President of Mexico.
• Vicente Guerrero: Insurgent general following the death of Morelos and second President of Mexico.
• Nicolás Bravo: Commander of the rebel army and later President of Mexico on three occasions.
• Mariano Matamoros: A priest who served as Morelos' lieutenant general.
• Andrés Quintana Roo: A prominent constitutionalist.
• Leona Vicario: Active supporter of the rebel movement and wife of Andrés Quintana Roo.
• Francisco Javier Mina (Xavier Mina): A Spanish officer who joined the rebel cause against the absolute monarchy of Ferdinand VII.
• Pedro Moreno: Insurgente
• Victor Rosales: Insurgente

(Thanks wikipedia for the info!)

While trying to find out some more information on the Angel de la Independencia, I found that in May 2010, the remains were removed to be researched and our now on loan at Castillo de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Castle) until later this year.  Luckily, the Castillo is close to our house.  Another place we will be taking you when you come visit!

We Love Where We Live

So, the school the kids go to is an IB School.  They study "Unit of Inquiries" and when studying these units they are given a project near the end that sums up what they have learned.  These units are really a "hands on" lesson and teachers work diligently to incorporate all of the subjects to teach the students how everything works together.

Buddy's most recent unit was "We Love Where We Live".  

So, guess where we went???

On a scavenger hunt...ALL OVER THE CITY!

It was so much fun.  We had to visit 5 important places in our city and then Christopher had to draw a picture, eat an ice-cream...well, eating an ice-cream was a bonus question, but who is gonna pass that up?  =)  Think about what the area around our "landmarks" looked like 100 years ago, and some other fun stuff.  

So, guess what I'm gonna do this week?  

I am going to share all of the places we went.  It was so much fun!  Well, for some reason we didn't take a picture at the first place, but I'll tell you all about it...tomorrow.

So, stay tuned for a few days of blogs from me.  Can't wait to share our adventures.

A Military (FS) Child

I saw this on my FB page.  It totally rings true to Military children!
If anyone knows, it's mine;
Ky has been through 3 deployments.
And,  Buddy has only been through one (that he remembers).
We have experienced countless field ops from 1 week to 4+ weeks.
TAD's for a 1 - 3+ months, etc.
They have seen friends say "See You Later" & "Welcome Home" to their Dads.
They've shared all of that and stood by supporting their friends.
Even now, my babies sometimes go to bed without getting their kiss from Daddy.
He leaves for a week here or a week there.
But, not for weeks or months on end.
We are lucky to be on this program.
OH!  So lucky!
The experiences that my babies are getting.
Living in a culture that others only dream of living in.
Anyways, this "poem" that I saw on my FB page~
I've learned that FS Kids sacrifice so much too.
Some are forced to say "See You Later" when they are evacuated for one reason or another.
Some parents are forced to go to an "unaccompanied" post.
These kids are serving just as much as their parent(s) and I don't think they get the credit they deserve.
So, enjoy this.  And, if you are an FS Family, you can TOTALLY replace "Military" with "FS" in a majority of these.  ENJOY!!!

(If anyone knows who I can give credit to for this, please leave a comment.)

1. A civilian child usually dances around or talks during the National Anthem. A military child stands quietly with his hands to his heart.

2. A civilian child has a best friend in his hometown. A military child has a best friend on almost every continent.

3. A civilian child sees a person in uniform. A military child can tell you what... branch he's in and what his rank is.

‎4. A civilian child lives for tomorrow and what it might bring. A military child lives for today because tomorrow, Daddy or Mommy might get called away again.

5. A civilian child gets to kiss mommy and daddy goodnight each night. A military child sometimes has to kiss a picture of daddy or mommy goodnight.

6. A civilian child talks on the phone for fun. A military child lives for the 15 minute phone calls once a week.

‎7. A civilian child says "good-bye". A military child says "see you later" ( there's never GOOD BYE).

8. A civilian child gets to see things other kids would love to see. A military child gets to see things world leaders would love to see.

9. A civilian child will probably go to the same school his entire life. A military child will probably change schools every 2 years.

‎10. A civilian child might rarely leave his hometown for anything other than vacation. A military child will rarely see his "hometown" for anything other than vacation.

And finally...a civilian child supports our soldiers. A military child ...IS a soldier.

Happy Birthday, Cousin!!!!

So, there is this guy.
He's been in my life for 24 years!
YES!  24 YEARS!!!
TODAY is his special day.
Today is his BIRTHDAY!!!
Everyone sing...

I thought today would be a perfect day to tell him how much he means.
We've shared some fun times!

Your appendix surgery (we won't talk about the puke)
High School Graduations.
My Christmas Eve "fun" (we won't talk about that puke either)
Me babysitting you
You babysitting my babies.
The missed "people of wal-mart" photo op.
HORRIBLE Mexican food in the middle of the night during your finals.

I could go on forever...but I won't.
I just wanted to say:

Happy Birthday, Casey!
May this year fill your life with love!
Thank you for being you..
And thank you for being one of my very best friends!