Here comes Peter Cottontail...

... to the Ballard household! Our family now has four little ducklings and four baby bunnies! We have quite the little animal farm beginning! A few months ago my husband brought home some adorable, wild bunnies he had caught - and that must have been a sight to see a grown man running around after fast, fast, fast little bunnies! Unfortunately, the bunnies were too young and did not make it - our family called the local bunny specialist and she took our sick bunnies and tried to nurse them back to health; but to no avail. Yet, through that experience we met our friend, Cecilia, and she has tons of bunnies... because they proliferate quite quickly (as you may know)!

So, the day before Easter our little bunch visited Cecilia's home / bunny farm and chose the most adorable little rabbits! Our little man had to have a boy, 'Vader' (and he had to be a black bunny to match Darth Vader). The girls are all pictured holding their bunnies and the names change every few days for their bunnies... right now they are Sasha, Mancha and our little Strawberry's bunny doesn't have a name yet.

We have already had the adventure of our bunnies crawling into a tight space and I, thinking that they were in a life - threatening situation was up after dark with flashlights, poles and a really scraped up arm trying to 'save the bunnies'. Then my cute husband came home and told me that bunnies prefer those types of areas and if they can get in they can get out... so, sure enough, we placed food and water in their sight and they eventually climbed out. As soon as they did so I quickly blocked all entrance to the hole - because, all truth told... I was out in the yard late into the night until the bunnies came out... waiting, without moving a muscle (so that they wouldn't hear me) until they ventured out of their hole and I could catch them and put them into their safe cage for the night!

Make Way for Ducklings!

A couple of weekends ago our family visited a Mexican "mercado" (market) and there were many different types of animals for sale - dead or alive! Next to a fruit stand was a 'carniceria' with pig heads hanging from hooks for purchase - and across from that area was the live animals. Well, my sweet husband decided it would be fun to purchase four little ducklings for our little ones! I often have called our little children 'my little ducklings' as they have followed me around from one place to another! Now, we do have our own little ducklings to care for and we are having quite a wonderful time with them! When they grow up my husband wants to try duck pate! - I told him we'd have to settle for duck eggs!

A day at the 'Parque'

Our family enjoyed some time at a beautiful park hidden away behind some neighborhoods. There were riding trails, a lake complete with an island and paddle boats, a large playground area and (of course) five soccer fields! We decided to have a picnic in the park and enjoyed some time outdoors together.

The regulations for safety are not quite what they would be in the U.S.A. - notice the half-pipe type 'ride'; a person holds onto two chains and the platform can move under his feet up and down the half-pipe! It is really fun and takes coordination... but I am not quite sure we would see that in the U.S.A. - it's a bit too dangerous!

We hope you enjoy seeing the pictures - we enjoyed taking them.

Cleaning Day in 'La Capilla'

Today our family assisted in cleaning 'la capilla' the church building. We had fun with the Mexican members signing songs and cleaning (although they had no idea what we were signing - they were all smiling and enjoying watching our children). Many members took pictures with their cell phones of our little family and I decided that I would take some pictures as well! We had a fun morning cleaning all the tile floors and putting the chairs up for church tomorrow!

The Mexican Invitational Swim Competition!

This weekend was the first competition of the year for the "Liga Masters" tournament. I put the items I thought I would need for the competition in my bag and our family traveled to the competition! I arrived and suited up for warm-ups. During warm-ups I realized that there were quite a few people there... then more came... and more... then the TV AZTECA television crews and spectators... and official looking people.

Upon asking why everyone looked so serious I was told that this was the first competition of the year - the Mexican Invitational! The entire meet was a scheduled five and a half (5 1/2) hours long! I was swimming with people from all over Mexico! Professionals, Semi-Pros, Young and Old alike - and then there was me... a 33 year old mother of four who started this whole thing just to get some exercise!

Sufficed to say, at that point I decided to just forego the entire competitive spirit and have fun... because there was NO WAY I was going to stand a chance against any pros! I was scheduled to swim the 50m freestyle, backstroke and freestyle relay. The pictures you see are my first heat (50m freestyle) and I am in lane three. I actually placed first in all my heats! Never before in my life has tenths of a second mattered to me... unless it was running a child into a restroom... but my times were (to the tenths of a second) - Freestyle (50m) 48.06 seconds & Backstroke (50km) 58.34 seconds but during my leg of the relay freestyle (50 m) I clocked 47.00 seconds! My category of swimmers (ages 30-35) was quite a competitive category and I placed 8th in my freestyle time - but I placed 3rd in my backstroke and actually got a medal! Bronze, of course!

I have to tell you that no one was as surprised as I was - my coach kept motioning me to come across the pool and my teammates were waving excitedly (the pro who doesn't need air, Monica swam her 50km races in just over 30 seconds! - Luckily she is older than I - so she wasn't in my category!) I walked across the pool, a bit dizzy from exerting myself during the race and they told me the great news... I had placed! It was exciting standing on the platform with the other swimmers and receiving the medal - it was about as close as this mom will get to the Olympics! Just goes to show "You never know what you can do - until you try!"

Here is a 'newspaper article' - the writing and artwork are both by our Ladybug!

El Cerrito / El Pueblito

Our little group traveled to El Cerrito (also known as El Pueblito). The name signifies either 'Little Hill' or 'Little Town' and is an archaeological site where they are unearthing and restoring a pyramid within the city of Queretaro, in the Mexican state of Queretaro. This pyramid was built at approximately the same time as Teotihuacán - yet this little pyramid (similar in size to the Temple of the Moon) outlasted the pyramids of Teotihuacán in longevity. It is believed that this pyramid was "one of the most important ruins in the central region of Mexico." (www.wikipedia.com)

It was interesting to see a pyramid in the process of recovery and restoration. The edifice at the top of the pyramid was actually a home built by a Spanish family. The family for some unknown reason decided to build their home on top of a Mexican pyramid and religious worship site... I am sure that didn't engender the Spanish in the hearts of minds of the people of the area at that time.

As we listened to the tour guide and viewed the structure as it was being unearthed it was interesting to see and learn. There was also a small museum with artifacts unearthed during excavation - including a winged serpent and the wings and tail of an eagle. I enjoyed seeing in real form the glyphs we so often see on the Mayan calendars or in the children's movies - such as "El Dorado". Although it was an wonderful experience, it gave us more of a perspective on how magnificent the pyramids at Teotihuacán truly are!

Felicidades - The Pedicure Party!

My ninth birthday was "FABULOUS" in more ways than one... my friends and I went to a salon and we all got our toenails painted! We also got designs on our toes! While we were there we got to watch "High School Musical: The Concert" and "High School Musical 2"! All my friends and I sang and danced in the salon on the stairs... (Note from mom: They danced and sang so loud that they could be heard two stores away from the salon! So cute! My sweet husband knew right where we were when he came to help drive all the girls back to our house! He could hear all the fun.) When we got home we had pizza, cake and ice cream while we opened presents! My friends gave me books in Spanish, a door hanger that I get to decorate, a "High School Musical" tee, a lovely doll, and a beautiful stationary set! After presents we danced, sang and played games! We had a great night!