
<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9248879829_89099c1392_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Well hello, there!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9248879829_f2a05c0c78_t.jpg" alt="Well hello, there!"/>
</a>

After six long months of cold and rain, the longest spell of bad weather anyone can remember, literally when we changed the calendar on July 1, the weather turned into the nicest summer weather we've had in the eight years I've been living here. With Nora out of school, we made a lot of effort to go to the beach, which is difficult since the beach is not really a good place for a two month old baby. Many times either my wife or I would go with Nora and the other parent would either stay home with Ian or walk along the sidewalk that lines the beach for the hour or two that Nora was enjoying the sand.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9256216338_1533db1d80_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora at the Beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9256216338_b0b7360280.jpg" alt="Nora at the Beach"/>
</a>

Nora's favorite activity at the beach is making sand "castles", which are really just towers shaped like the bucket she has. We settled on a "recipe", which she enjoys repeating over and over again. It goes something like this:

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9256218108_559904f699_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nora at the Beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9256218108_f8d97c04ca_n.jpg" alt="Nora at the Beach"/>
</a>

1. Walk the 100 meters (the beach is really wide!) to the water to fill up the bucket and the watering can with sea water.
2. Due to the relative weights, the adult carries the bucket, and Nora the can, to our towels.
3. Nora uses the shovel to spoon dry sand into the bucket, displacing the water.
4. When it's heaping full, she checks with the adult, "More water?" To which an affirmative answer must be given. (this step is very important)
5. Nora begins pouring the water from the watering can over the heaping bucket, washing away any excess sand, checking exactly once with the adult, "All of it?", which is answered in the affirmative.
6. Then she goes to find a spot for the tower to go, usually linearly adjacent to any previous towers.
7. The adult flips the bucket over to make the soggier-than-optimal tower.
8. Go to step #1.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9253440581_6da8400350_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach family">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9253440581_7a61d192ce_n.jpg" alt="Beach family"/>
</a>

When a suitable number of towers have been constructed – she often starts with a target of five, but, like most engineering projects, usually ends up expanding to eight – she likes to sit on each tower, one by one, crushing them.

One day, when we had agreed that we were going to fetch the water for the eighth and final tower of the day, we came back from the surf to discover a valuable lesson of sand castle construction and life in general. Someone had taken the liberty of stepping on and destroying all of our previous towers. Nora was quite disappointed, and I expected some tears, but she stoically declared that "Whoever did that is a very bad person," and accepted the loss. I was very proud.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9248879829_89099c1392_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Well hello, there!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9248879829_f2a05c0c78.jpg" alt="Well hello, there!"/>
</a>

Ian is progressing very well, doing what a baby his age should be doing. He smiles an awful lot. Nora [didn't really smile](/2009/06/09/the-elusive-smile/) at his age, but Ian gets in these moods, especially before bed, where he's a delight to be around, grinning and cooing. He really likes bedtime. If you can pull yourself away from his happy adorableness, you can just leave him in the crib and turn out the lights, and he'll coo and kick happily until he falls asleep. We know from experience with Nora and from talking to other parents that this is a _huge_ blessing, and we hope it continues.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9411939537_715a3d2527_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Happy Baby and Family">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9411939537_1626fa1219.jpg" alt="Happy Baby and Family"/>
</a>

Ian is also pretty good about sleeping through the night. He lightly crescendos up to a cry when his stomach is empty, about twice a night, and has little problem returning to sleep after being fed.

<iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/h7LOXmDiDLm/embed/simple" width="500" height="500" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<script async src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Okay, that's all the good stuff about Ian. Now for the bad stuff… And it's not really bad, of course, it's just who he is and his personality… He requires _constant_ attention during the day. He won't stand for being left alone [like Nora did](/2009/04/27/inactivity-mat/). His favorite position is with his back against an adults chest, looking out into the world. And don't try sitting down, either; he requires that you be up and walking around. He's a curious little fella.

Whenever I tell anyone how demanding Ian is, they immediately, almost without fail, respond, "Whatever you do, _don't pick him up all the time!_ You have to let him get used to not being in your arms. Otherwise you're just setting yourself up for a _lot_ of work in the future! Better to let him cry!" My standard response to that is, "Yeah, easier said than done." But what I really think is that that parenting methodology is bullshit. Babies don't have wants; they have needs. There's no subterfuge going on. He doesn't have a self-satisfied chuckle every evening about what total control he has over The Big People. He's a baby and he needs love and touch and care, and refusing him that "to toughen him up" is neglectful and abusive.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9246300207_d4a3c48ffe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="It's naked baby weather today.">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9246300207_3b9629e82e_n.jpg" alt="It's naked baby weather today."/>
</a>

This final week of July, I have been [_de Rodrí­guez_](/2011/04/21/spanish-lesson-estar-de-rodriguez/), left at home to work while my wife and kids went down to Extremadura on vacation. I will join them soon, but it's been very quiet around here lately. I miss them quite a bit, but I've been calling every day. Nora is extra cute when we talk on the phone; she seems so much more mature than when she's talking in person because she's normally so fidgety. Plus, her bilingualism is more evident when she's in a Spanish-only environment, but talking in English. Sometimes when I ask her about what she did the previous day, she says, "Hold on a second… \[turns away from phone\] _Abuela, ¿qué hemos hecho ayer?_" before returning to me to translate what I just heard her _abuela_ say. In previous years, she has been too overcome with "Why are you so far away!??!" emotion to speak for long on the phone, but she's doing a lot better this year, only bursting into tears once when we had to say goodbye. When they first got there, I told her that it would only be six more days until I come, and she said, "Are you looking on the _calendario_ in the kitchen?" I said that I was. "Okay, then you need to call me every day to tell me how many days until you come, okay?" I agreed. She assured me the day after the crying incident that it was okay now, because they had [made a calendar](/2012/10/26/how-to-talk-to-a-three-year-old-about-the-future/) to track the days.

The state of the offspring is strong!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9303019596_d3a986b25a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian and Nora">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-31-state-of-the-offspring-address-july-2013/9303019596_4ba2e0d126_z.jpg" alt="Ian and Nora"/>
</a>


State of the Offspring Address - July 2013


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-30-bar-culture-in-spain/4714268545_0eef5864a8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Which way to the nearest bar?">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-30-bar-culture-in-spain/4714268545_c32990a4b7_t.jpg" alt="Which way to the nearest bar?"/>
</a>

After living in Spain for so long, I have internalized so much of the culture, that I forget what is quirky about it and what seems weird to outsiders. One aspect of Spanish culture that visitors often misunderstand is just how central bars are to Spanish society. When you first visit Spain, you will notice that there are a _lot_ of people in the bars every midday and evening (and even for breakfast), and you might think, "Wait, where's the economic crisis?" There is one simple fact that you need to know to understand almost anything about Spanish social culture:  **In Spain, no one socializes with friends at their home.**

Obviously there will be some exceptions, but as a general rule, it holds true, especially compared to other countries. In Spain, it's very common to be best friends with someone for ten or twenty years and never have seen the inside of their house. What you do with friends is go out to bars, and when you're done socializing, you go back to your own homes.

There are a few causal feedback loops at work.

![CIMG1530.JPG](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-30-bar-culture-in-spain/538864573_9e8f7ec806_m.jpg)

Spanish homes, by which I mostly mean "apartments", are very small and aren't designed with hosting dinner parties in mind. Do people not socialize at home because the houses are small, or are the houses small because people don't socialize at home? Both, probably.

This insight also explains the very dense – tall apartment buildings – living conditions in Spain. I live in a small town of seven thousand residents, and 95% of those people live in apartment buildings that are at least five stories tall. Do people only socialize in bars because they all live so close, or do they all live so close because they only socialize in bars? Both, probably.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-30-bar-culture-in-spain/5950072100_1df8d94b1a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="I love Spain">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-30-bar-culture-in-spain/5950072100_57d0aaf074_m.jpg" alt="I love Spain"/>
</a>

The exception to the rule is family. Space permitting, extended family members do tend to eat at each other's houses, but often space is not permitting.

One interesting side effect of this phenomenon is the Basque [_txoko_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Txoko) (pronounced "choco"). The formal _txokos_ are "gastronomical societies", and are made up of a group of friends that have pooled resources to rent or buy a restaurant where they can cook meals and socialize privately together. More informally, the word _txoko_ can be used to refer to a garage or basement that someone has installed a basic kitchen and bathroom in, where large dinner parties can be held. I have several friends, whose houses I've never set foot in, that have invited me to their "party garages" for meals.

Now that you understand this basic tenet of Spanish society, a lot more things that make Spain so different from other countries make more sense, like why children go to bars, why the bars always seem so full, even in tough economic times, and how a town of seven thousand people can support thirty bars.

<iframe width="505" height="284" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/R8QuI52P_wQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Bar Culture in Spain


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-10-today-is-our-wedding-day-or-not/9253240781_bdd6e908ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Marriage Beret">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-10-today-is-our-wedding-day-or-not/9253240781_d213876896_t.jpg" alt="Marriage Beret"/>
</a>

If an American were to look at the special Basque wedding beret we were given on our wedding day, she may very well conclude that we were married today, July 10, 2013. You see, my wife's family knew that Those Wacky Americans wrote the date in a different order, but they weren't exactly sure what order. In doing so, they came very close to my very favorite date format, [ISO 8601](http://xkcd.com/1179/) (with the most significant digits to the left, just like our numbering system). They put the year first, then the month, and then the day, which would be ISO 8601, but they only used two digits for the year. So, in reality, our wedding was 2097 days ago, on October 13, 2007. "Arrasate" is the Basque name of my wife's home town, and "Zorionak" is Basque for "Congratulations". We'll have to celebrate again in October, for the European date format.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-10-today-is-our-wedding-day-or-not/9253243499_6f92d86870_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Marriage Beret">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-10-today-is-our-wedding-day-or-not/9253243499_f3e616ca6e.jpg" alt="Marriage Beret"/>
</a>

So, happy alternate-date-parsing anniversary, to my lovely wife, Marga!


Today is our wedding day! …or not.


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9135120771_0b009378bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="July Fourth Party Invite">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9135120771_ddf02c20e3_t.jpg" alt="July Fourth Party Invite"/>
</a>

It's July again, and time for my annual party I've dubbed Hamburgerfest, because it's mostly just be cooking hamburgers for some friends. This year was a little more relaxed than previous years, with a considerable drop in alcohol consumption and general rowdiness that makes parties good, but it was still very nice company and also very nice to have someone to take our children's laser focus off of us for a few hours. Nora had fun playing with our friend Elena, who was very patient with her, and was immediately accepted into the Grandmother role (a playmate for Nora to boss around). And there were plenty of women queueing up for a chance to hold baby Ian, which is all he needs to be happy.  <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9135120771_0b009378bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="July Fourth Party Invite">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9135120771_ddf02c20e3.jpg" alt="July Fourth Party Invite"/>
</a>

I made an invitation this year.

I had to make it twice because of a spelling mistake. I always say "_cuarto de julio_" in Spanish, which is literally "_fourth_ of July", but that's not the way dates are said in Spanish, so the correct way to say it is "_cuatro de julio_", which is literally "four of July". It's the only date for which I make that mistake.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251888748_8a3b64673c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251888748_1b88484567.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

I also used Nora's chalkboard to write up a _meníº_, like restaurants in Spain do. It reads: "Beer, Hamburger, Cocktail".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251828566_093747396e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251828566_f6ed121a0f.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

The bar is stocked!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251860994_32bc28f2af_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251860994_c6259a8110.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

The spread. Marga made an onion quiche/pie thing that I'm going to have to blog about one day.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251843414_3617ebfca5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251843414_640311f6ca_m.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251864668_096a30877c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251864668_9abe852b71_m.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9249089327_00d1f40ecb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9249089327_ea77558114_m.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

Ian, ladies man, working the crowd.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9249091189_024963989e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9249091189_1c610116e6.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

Manolo is our resident mixologist.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251874690_93822442aa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251874690_741dc4cc9b.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

Couch dozers.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251884678_48693ffb91_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-09-july-4th-party-hamburgerfest-2013/9251884678_8f0634e187.jpg" alt="Fourth of July Party - Hamburgerfest 2013"/>
</a>

It was a good party with good friends. With all the complements I got on my hamburgers, I'll have to invite them all back again next year.


July 4th Party - Hamburgerfest 2013


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207605228_d8ea401caa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Drinking Wine from a Spanish Bota">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207605228_1af82f7df5_t.jpg" alt="Drinking Wine from a Spanish Bota"/>
</a>

Last Sunday was the annual _Cocido Montañes_ in the Park day here in Colindres. Every year, around the summer solstice, the Peña San Juan (Saint John's Club), named after the town's patron saint, throws a huge cookout in the local park. They make a Cantabrian specialty, known as _cocido montañes_, which is a white bean and spinach soup with pieces of meat in it. Each serving contains a pork rib, a piece of chorizo, and a piece of _morcilla_ (blood sausage). Over the eight years we have been attending the festival, it has been evolving and improving. When we first went, you waited in line and then asked for as many servings as you wanted and paid 1€ each. So some groups of four would order eight servings to have leftovers later that week. But it was hard to calculate just how much to make.  Since then, they have started selling tickets, still 1€, in the town hall the week before. That way they know exactly how many servings they need to make. This is the first year that I have actually inquired about how much they make, and I was told that, in a town of 7,000 people, they sold 2,450 tickets, which required 225 kilograms (500 lbs) of beans. Not to mention all the sausage and several pigs worth of ribs. Although the 2450€ certainly helps, I think the real reason they charge for the tickets is to make people only take as much as they want. The real cost of putting on the event must be at least five times that.

The weather was wonderful, for one of the first times this year, so everyone and their brother was there enjoying a picnic in the park. When we went at 11am to stake out a place and leave our picnic table and chairs, there were already hundreds of people and chairs there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207603746_6c374844ba_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Passing the Bota">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207603746_0b35f78f44.jpg" alt="Passing the Bota"/>
</a>

My in-laws came to enjoy the day with us, too….and lend us their foldable picnic table.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207605228_d8ea401caa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Drinking Wine from a Spanish Bota">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207605228_1af82f7df5.jpg" alt="Drinking Wine from a Spanish Bota"/>
</a>

The Spanish drink wine in many ways, but this is by far my favorite. It's called a _bota_. Historically, I think they were made from animal stomachs (sheep?), but now they are sewn from goat hide, and the interior is treated with resin to make it impermeable. It keeps your wine cool, and makes it last longer, because it takes a while to get what would be a full glass of wine into your belly, especially since the tradition is to pass it around the group, each taking turns squirting some into their mouth. Proper technique involves trying to get the _bota_ as far from your face as you can, and keep the opening of your mouth as small as possible. It takes practice.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204827843_fa56ef9b63_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cup Organizer">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204827843_b573709b40.jpg" alt="Cup Organizer"/>
</a>

We brought cups, but they were mainly used as toys.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204816741_69212359db_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Train Ride">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204816741_525f3bbe41.jpg" alt="Train Ride"/>
</a>

There was a little train that drove around for about ten minutes. In previous years, Nora has been too timid to ride it, but this year she rode it three times. When I rode with her, we just happened to be sitting next to…Rubén! He's the boy that Nora went to daycare with for several years and who was a very present imaginary friend in our house for along time. [Remember this](/2011/11/07/arguing-with-ruben/)? Unfortunately, after a year apart at different schools, neither Nora nor Rubén wanted to talk to one another. Just a funny coincidence. We hadn't seen him in months and months.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204839343_134da4f0cc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian picked you a flower">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204839343_c491b2072c.jpg" alt="Ian picked you a flower"/>
</a>

Ian was very well behaved, spending a lot of the day sleeping in his stroller or lying blissfully on a towel on the grass.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204841579_61b6f51310_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian on the grass">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204841579_9b090e46ee_z.jpg" alt="Ian on the grass"/>
</a>

Just lying around kicking.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204843373_66e03a73d8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ian and Mara">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204843373_49028f3a03.jpg" alt="Ian and Mara"/>
</a>

Later, his "friend" Mara (the sister of Nora's best friend, Claudia) came over to "play".

"Houston, we've lost a sock!"

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207637922_5185c63977_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Foam Festival">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207637922_eb45be44ae.jpg" alt="Foam Festival"/>
</a>

They had a foam festival, one of these guns that sprays soap bubbles. Nora enjoyed it, but didn't venture too far into the suds.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204865809_3cd039d32d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Abuela and Ian">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9204865809_4a430695bd.jpg" alt="Abuela and Ian"/>
</a>

We stayed out until sunset.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9217176044_878aa9db1d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bucket of Fried Lamb Chops">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9217176044_7985f250b9.jpg" alt="Bucket of Fried Lamb Chops"/>
</a>

For dinner we had brought a homemade bucket of breaded and fried lamb chops. Delicious!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207658012_3e8ae66c3a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Picnic in the Park">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2013-07-05-san-juan-beans-in-the-park/9207658012_4d98a653f9.jpg" alt="Picnic in the Park"/>
</a>

It was a wonderful day in the park.


5 posts from July, 2013