Good times with good friends

This weekend was another good one, full of activities. There's a lot to do in Quito, and since our weekdays are booked with our daily routine, we've been trying to get out and do stuff on weekends.

Saturday was the first rainy day we've had in Ecuador, but that didn't stop us. We first went in search of "Quito Chiquito," a children's interactive art museum. But after an hour of walking and searching in the cold rain, we discovered that it either didn't exist or was closed (at that point we no longer had the energy to accurately translate the Spanish, so we're not really sure what happened to the museum). Jairo was a trooper, though, and kept himself in better spirits than his parents during this little goose chase.

We've learned through all our travels that when we get a bit cranky, that means we need to eat, so our next order of business was finding food. Fortunately, we discovered Archie's, a great pizza joint, which was just what we all needed. Jairo got a real kick out of seeing Archie:



From Archie's we went to HUPS -- an indoor activity place for kids. It has five different play areas -- e.g., a trampoline/climbing room, an arts & crafts room, a dress-up/theater room, and a water room. Parents are not allowed into the play areas, so they are encouraged to just drop their kids off and come back later. What a brilliant concept! (We discussed the possibility of bringing this to the US -- "Hey parents, drop your kids off for a day of safe and secure fun, while you go relax/run errands/whatever." The marketer in me salivates at a concept that sells itself so easily.) Unfortunately, Jairo was a little hesitant about HUPS -- probably because he was alone, when most other kids had their friends with them. So we decided to return another day with his friends.

So the first half of Saturday wasn't a resounding success, but we remedied that with a wonderful siesta -- all three of us cozied up under a blanket, dozing to the sound of a hard rain. Very peaceful. Later we went to our friends' house for dinner (Claire & Andrew -- friends of friends who are American, and both work here in Quito). They prepared a delicious meal, and we appreciated the opportunity to speak English for the first time in a couple weeks! They also had a movie for Jairo, Ratatouille, which he loved (the kids in the orphanage don't really watch tv, so movies are a huge treat). He was so well-behaved all evening -- we were very proud of him (and once again thankful to the tias for having raised him so well).

On Sunday we went to Parque Metropolitano -- a large, rural park on the edge of Quito. Jairo asked if he could bring his friends along, and we were happy to include Jessica, Carlita and Fabian. They were also really excited to have an excursion, which doesn't get to happen often. When we went to pick them up at Casa Fe, they all came bounding out of the house with their baseball hats on, ready for an adventure.



The park was full of families, and we found a great area with lots of play structures for kids. So we spent a few hours climbing, running, jumping, swinging and riding on a zipline. They worked up quite an appetite, and enjoyed their snack of oranges and crackers.



Given all the rain we had on Saturday, Suki (the dog that lives downstairs with our neighbors) was filthy, so Jairo and I decided to give her a bath. Jairo LOVES Suki, so he was very excited about this adventure (far more excited than poor Suki, who patiently tolerated us -- she's a very good dog). We washed, rinsed, dried and combed Suki, and Jairo loved every minute of it. (The next day, he pointed out to us how clean Suki's paws were, and he was very proud of his efforts.)







We wrapped up Sunday night with a Superbowl feast of tacos -- another new food for Jairo, which he loved (how could he not?). We were thankful for another great weekend, and so happy that our boy is continuing to do well with this big transition.