Today I woke up for the biggest day of school. I had breakfast and then me, Mommy, and Tia walked to school and then once we got to school we didn’t have time to do that many learning or playing any games because we had to prepare our food for the presentation. Mommy brought all of the food that we needed in my backpack so we were ready to cook. I was preparing radish salsa with chips. Mommy forgot one of the most important things yesterday when she went to the Mercado, chips! She went and got the chips and brought it right at the time the presentation was about to start. I was like the fourth or fifth person to get called up and for some reason I wasn’t that nervous this year because I have done it a million times. Mrs. Andrea and Mr. Matthew’s kids were presenting at school too, the youngest was a little shy but the oldest crushed it! Probably because his dad is a Spanish teacher and he also has advanced Spanish classes in high school because he’s a senior. Once everyone went the presentations were over and we could eat whatever we wanted from the table. I ate my radish salsa and something like a donut hole that was kinda yummy. Once the presentation was over we continued on our day and then me and Tia walked home. I had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. We rested for a little bit and we were going to have hamburgers for dinner but we ran out of gas so we had to go out for dinner. I ate chicken fingers and French fries and I had some of tias pork chunks dipped in guacamole and it was so good. It is called chicharrones. Then we walked home, took a shower and then we watched a movie that Mommy watched at my age called sister act. It was one of the funniest movies ever, and a little scary but I enjoyed it a lot. My favorite is the happy nun. Then I went to bed.

(Also, Wednesday was a normal day so I didn’t want to write about a normal day.

The End.

Me, mommy and Tia walked to school. Once we got to school we met our teachers and started learning. After a bit it was tortilla day. It’s where you get to make your own tortillas on the comal over a fire 🔥. I made my own tortilla and once it was ready I out guacamole on it and it was pretty good. Once we were done we went back to class until it was time to go. Once it was time to go me and Tia walked home and I ate lunch. We went to the grilled meat place called Los Tres Tiempos and it was so good. Then we walked home, took a shower, and went to bed.

The End.

• The anticipation was great. . Michele had invited me for the two previous years. The fact that she had the desire to share this experience with me put it very high on my priority list. But timing just wasn’t right. My heart was at home and I needed to cherish those moments with Michael. When he passed away in November 2025, a new priority came to the top of my list. Now my priority was spending time with our children, family and friends from all the chapters of my life.
• There was shopping shoes/clothes/a million Amazon deliveries and returns, packing and repacking by Michele 🥰
• WEEK ONE
  !! The day had come. A Little overwhelming to say the least!!!
  !!! Michele and Nicole navigated us through the airport and to Sergio our driver. The drive was long and very slow moving to Antigua
  !! Roads were narrow with motorcycles zipping in and out. Luca reminded me to pay attention to when we hit the Cobblestone road, that meant we were in the ancient city of Antigua. Our new home away from home for the next three weeks.
  !!! We arrived at our house And it was Just beautiful Four bedrooms All centered around a beautiful Courtyard of flowers and visits daily by our Hummingbirds. Our four Bedrooms and kitchen overlook four different Gardens and a view of The volcanic Mountains
  !!! Michele has done all the meal prep in the house making me feel very safe eating the food she’s prepared I was extremely nervous about getting sick and ruining the trip for everyone. She has learned all the methods to properly prepare fruits and vegetables to make them safe to eat.
  !!! Within the first week I’ve been able to experience many rooftop cafes with views of a part of the world that are so beautiful thatI just look up in awe at God’s creation!
  !!! My biggest accomplishment the first week is learning to safely walk on the cobblestone streets and uneven sidewalks Looking out constantly for iron window coverings that that project out onto the sidewalk. I learned to walk with my hand up and not to try to walk and talk at the same time. My first week I definitely was not comfortable walking anywhere alone. As everyone knows I have no sense of direction. The kids have graciously escorted me everywhere
  !!! My next adventure was my first day at La Union Language School. My intent is three weeks of language school, five hours a day. My teacher Lucia is perfect for me. I’m so thankful. She’s patient, she’s kind, she is having normal conversation with me. This allows me to try speaking first and then she’s helping me complete my sentences. I love this. Our focus is not so much on grammar as just being able to communicate which I appreciate. I don’t think that in three weeks time, focusing on grammar, I would be able to learn everyday communication. That is my goal
  !!! I did it I made it through my first week. It was a lot! But I learned a lot. Now it’s time for my next adventure, a weekend on a lake. Anything on the Water is a little piece of Heaven to me.
  !!! Santa Cruz on Lake Atitlan here we come.
  !!! It started with a two and a half hour drive to the lake. I felt very confident that Sergio’s son Daniel would drive us safely. We stopped for lunch before heading to the boat that would take us across the lake. It was an adventure on its own . I could handle getting into the boat . It was a fast ride over. Now getting out of the boat is a whole other story!!! I must admit I was in tears. Everyone wanted to help but it just overwhelmed me. I coudn’t figure it out. Eventually with everyone helping, I managed somehow to get into the dock like a beached whale!!!! When I finally was able to stand up, I walked into Paradise!!! An absolutely beautiful Estate with a main house , two Casitas and the owner’s house.
  !!!The house/gardens/birds…
  Such a peaceful retreat directly on the lake. I spent my mornings watching the lake come alive. Birds singing, people kayaking and paddle boarding, boats transporting locals and visitors across the lake. Boats are the only mode of transportation. There are no roads around the lake or up to houses on the Returning by boat was a whole lot easier at this point. I was able to enter and exit the boat a little more gracefully! Our driver Danielle  did a great job getting us back to our house in Antigua safely. I was surprised how happy I was to return “home “. Michele, Nicole, Luca and I decided to treat ourselves to an upscale steakhouse for dinner that night. Michael-John and Rachel went off for a little time on their own.  The restaurant was fabulous.  Of course I had to splurge on the tenderloin!  Service was first class and everyone’s food was delicious!

Me, Tía, and Mommy walked to school today but mommy didn’t stay and Mrs. Patti didn’t go because she said she needed a break. Once we got to school I met up with my teacher and then she asked me how the time was at the lake. I said “ yo nadé, y salté en el lago y conocí a un niño se llamaba Emilio y fue de Colombia.” (Which means I swam and jumped in the lake and I met a kid named Emilio and he was from Colombia). My teacher was impressed about what I said. Then when I started school she asked me to write about my experience at the lake. I did and I wrote every day I was at the lake. Once we finished school me and Tia walked back home and I had chipotle for lunch. Tia and Mommy cooked for the rest of the afternoon because Mrs. Andrea, Mr. Matthew, and Mrs. Jeannie came over for dinner. I had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and then the rest of the night was a chatting night. I took a shower and went to bed.

The End.

Today I woke up at 7:45 AM and I got dressed to go to our favorite breakfast spot because it has the best pancakes I’ve ever tasted in Guatemala. We walked to the main area and then we took a tuc tuc up to the breakfast place. Once we got there, we got out of the tuc tuc and we walked in, and then we walked up the stairs because the actual restaurant was up the stairs. Once we got there, we ordered what we wanted and then we played Gin Rummy with a couple added rules. We played for a little bit until our food got here and I was so excited to eat my food because it looked so delicious. I love the pancakes that I had with a side of bacon. It was so yummy. Once we finished our food, I got a cookie that was there and then we took a tuc tuc back to the main area. Then we walked the rest of the way home. Once we got home, I got dressed into my bathing suit and I went swimming for the last time at the lake. Emilio was also swimming in the lake so we played for a little while and then Mommy called me back to the house because we had to go soon. I took a shower and then I got dressed and then all of us went on a boat ride to the place we were going to get picked up by. It took a couple minutes but then when our driver was here, we got in the car and we drove like 3 hours back to Antigua. It surprisingly went faster than I thought because last time we drove, it felt like it took longer. Once we finally got to Antigua, we went into the house and I remembered how it looked like. We rested for a little bit and then we went to my favorite steakhouse called Escobars. They had the best steak there i’ve ever tasted in Guatemala. I had a sirloin steak and I loved it so much that I wanted more. Then we walked home, took a shower and went to bed.

The End.

Today I woke up and me and Mrs. Patti went to breakfast alone because Tia and Mommy had to go to a massage at 8:30. I had eggs, bacon, potatoes and bread for breakfast. I also met a kid named Emilio and he was from Colombia and it was his first time visiting Guatemala. His English was actually very good. Once we finished breakfast, we walked back home, I played with the rocks for a little bit and then I went in the house and rested. Once it was finally time we walked to the place where they had the game on. The place was called GuateMia. The good part about it was that it was an Italian restaurant but also had Guatemalan food and the game started. No one scored for a long time but finally after almost 2 hours, Spain scored a goal and I was very upset about that because I wanted Argentina to win, finally when the game was over I was so upset because Spain won 1-0 and I was so sad Argentina lost. After the game was over we walked home and then I jumped in the lake, and it was pretty cold, but not that cold. After that, I got dressed and me, Mommy, and Tia went to a restaurant where I had shrimp and french fries. After that, we walked back home in the dark where we couldn’t see anything so we had to use Tia‘s flashlight on her phone in order for us to see. Then, when we got home, I took a shower and I went to bed.

Once I woke up we walked to the road and then took a tuk tuk to our favorite breakfast spot. Once we got there I was so excited to eat my favorite breakfast and I wanted the food as soon as I got there. I got blue corn pancakes that I tried last year because Maggie got them and she let me try them and they were so delicious! So I knew to order the pancakes when we went to breakfast there. The pancakes were so good when I finally ate them when it finally came. Once we finished breakfast we took a tuk tuk to the first spot and then we walked home. Mr Michael John and Ms. Rachel decided to walk to the rocks which was in a different town and it took three hours, I can’t believe they did that! Me, mommy, and Tia took the easier way and took a boat across the lake and I was in the front of the boat. Once we got there,there was so many people in line because they posted on Instagram that the rocks are a fun place to jump off and the internet ruined it because last time we went there there was like nobody there ! Unfortunately we didn’t get to jump off of our usual spot because people were blocking it and I didn’t want to jump with people there, I wanted to jump alone! So we only swam in the lake that was freezing cold. Mr. Michael John and Ms. Rachel said it was nice but I said it was super cold. We swam for a little while and then we walked out of the place and there was a lot of people in line still. Our boat driver met us and we went home on the boat. Once we got home we rested and then we went to a restaurant that we usually go to every year. It is called La Iguana Perdida. Everyone was dressed up because it was costume day and I saw Chula (a dog who used to like catching rocks in the lake like balls but now doesn’t because she’s old) sleeping on the couch. I saw them cooking the chicken like on top of the fire because it was barbecue chicken night and it was so cool. While I was waiting for the chicken to be ready, I played Solitaire with our cards! SHOUT OUT TO MY GRANNY!

When the food was finally ready we got so lucky because we got called first to pick out our food when there was like a million people there! I ate the delicious chicken with potatoes with ketchup. Once we were done eating dinner we also got lucky and got served first for dessert. It was brownies for dessert and each of us had one brownie except me, I had two because there was an extra one because I was hungry still somehow. When we were done eating we walked home in the dark and we had to have flashlights on because it was so dark. Once we got home I took a shower and went to bed

Today was a crazy day today because we had to leave early from school at ten o’clock because we had to go to the lake. So, I woke up and ate breakfast and then we all walked to school together. Once we got to school I read a story that was actually real, in Guatemala. There is a small man called el Sombreron who wears all black and wears a very large hat. He always brings a guitar with him and he only comes out at night, not in the morning. If he sees girls with long hair, he plays his guitar and plays melodies so that the girls like that song and then when the girls go into their house and get ready to sleep, he secretly enters the girls house and then enters the room where the girl is and carefully braids their hair so tight that they can’t untie it in the morning when they see it. So the girls only options are to change their hairstyle, or cut their hair off. The crazy part of the day was that there was an earthquake happening and I could feel the ground shaking. We all gathered around into a safe area, and stayed there until the earthquake finished. I was scared at first because I didn’t know what was going to happen because this was my first big earthquake I ever experienced and I was a little scared but then when I knew everyone was safe, I started to calm down a little. That was basically my day at school (I don’t know Tia and Aunt Patti’s). Then Sergio’s (our driver) son Danilo drove us all to Lago Atitlan. It took about two and a half hours and I was so tired after that. When we finally got to our destination we went to lunch and I had fried chicken and French fries. Once we were done with lunch we walked down to the lake and met our boat driver who was going to take us to our lake house. We have a different lake house this year and I think it’s nicer than last years house. We all have our separate houses in the same property, me mommy and Tia have one house, Mr. Michael John and Ms. Rachel have another, and Aunt Patti has one too. Another exciting part of the day is that I jumped in the freezing cold lake! It was scary at first but when I jumped I was cold and then I went back up on the dock and then I jumped again and once I got used to the water I didn’t want to get out because it felt warmer in the water then I got out of the water and it was super cold and then me and mommy walked to our house and I went right in the shower and took a shower. It was one of the nicest showers I had in Guatemala, it felt so good. Once I got out of the shower I got dressed and then we relaxed for a bit and then me, mommy, Tia and Mrs Patti walked to the restaurant we were going to called Isla Verde and then Mr. Michael John and Ms. Rachel came after because they went for drinks before we went to dinner. For an appetizer I tried something new, carrot soup which surprisingly tasted a tiny bit like El Paso. Then for the main meal I had chicken dipped in tomato sauce and for dessert I had a little bit of chocolate mousse because it had milk in it and I couldn’t eat it all. I really wanted to eat it the chocolate mousse because it was so good ! After dinner we walked home and I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

The End.

This is the first time I was sick out of the country 😢. I had a lot of rough nights but Tuesday night was the worst! Mommy woke me up because I was wheezing and then I had to take a shower to get all the boogers out of my lungs. I had to sleep in the shower from 10:30-11:30 and Mommy held me while I was sleeping in the shower. Then I slept a little bit after the shower but I couldn’t sleep until morning because I was so congested and sick and I couldn’t sleep because of that. Mommy helped me a lot last night. I really wanted to go to school to mommy gave me medicine and made sure my teacher was ok with me coming and so I went. I’m so glad I went because we did a lot of fun stuff even though we did exercises. I only coughed a little. I also had to breathe in my first inhaler because I was that sick. We went to watch the game after, and Argentina won 2-1! And guess what I had? Una hamburgesa! I was nervous that Argentina was going to lose because England scored before Argentina and I was starting to get a little worried, but they won! Then we walked home and we rested and then we all played a game that Ms. Rachel brought that is called First and Worst. It’s where there are five categories and you get cards 1-5. Whatever those categories are you have to rank them secretly from the one you like the most to the one you dislike the most. Then everyone else when you’re done ranking has to try to guess where you ranked them. Everyone gets a turn and it’s a good way to get to know each other. Once all the people are locked in the person who ranked the cards reveals them and that’s how it works. After that I took a shower and went to bed.

The End.

We walked to school and once we got to school we saw our teachers and went in our classrooms ready to learn (well at least I know I was 😂). I did a lot of fun stuff at school but today we did Spanish exercises because it wasn’t my first day so I didn’t get a lucky day off like yesterday. After school instead of going home we went to this cool sports bar to watch the Spain vs. France game! I had a hamburger and French fries and then Spain won 2-0! I was so happy because France has been in the finals for the last two world cups and I was so excited for them to win. When the game was over we walked home and we rested for a bit before dinner. I also played in the garden while Mommy and Tia were at Pilates. When it was time for dinner we had leftover chipotle bowls.

The End.