What's Up Wednesday ~ July Edition

Good morning!  Another month has passed and we are more than halfway through 2016 people!

What we're eating this week.......

The girls and I have been snacking our way through meals since Avery has been gone.  You know, like cereal, sandwiches, ramen noodles and hot dogs.  With Avery's return, I will start cooking.  On the menu for the rest of the week is Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken, Tortilla Soup, and Shrimp & Veggies

What I'm reminiscing about.......

A great summer in the states

and the freedom of driving with little traffic!

What I'm loving........

cooler weather in Bogota and wearing my boots again :)

What we've been up to.........

organizing things around the apartment 

What I'm dreading..........

early mornings, long nights and homework for Isabella starting soon

What I'm working on...........

school planning for Brook

What I'm excited about...........

Avery coming home from Peru!!

What I'm watching/reading..........

It is no secret my guilty pleasure is watching Bachelor/ Bachelorette.  So I will try to watch the end of this season here from Colombia.  I just finished reading this book by a former Bachelorette who writes of her life and how she came to true faith.

I have also started reading a book called "The Question", which is about classical homeschooling.  

What I'm listening to........

Well, we are back in Colombia, so I hear a lot of Spanish, dogs barking, car alarms, and car horns!  

What I'm wearing...........

leggings, boots, and my blardigan...which you should get here on the Nordstrom sale! (they have them in several colors and it is the most comfortable thing you will ever wear!)

What I'm doing this weekend..........

not much 

What I'm looking forward to next month...........

It will be nice to be back into routine for the girls with school.

What else is new..........

Just trying to get paperwork in order for Isabella to return to school and Brook to withdraw!

Funny Facebook Fotos

Here is another edition of what I call funny facebook fotos (although not all of these come from facebook :))

And here is a great reminder as you start your day:

Weekend Wrap Up ~ Back in Bogota

Happy Monday morning to you!  We have been back in Bogota almost a week.  That is crazy.  The week has been good overall, but definitely wtih reminders that I am not in the USA anymore!

Our time back has been low-key, especially with Avery out of town. However, I have managed to go to the mall every day since I've been back!!  I've been to grocery shop, pay rent, meet our language teacher, Clara, for lunch, meet with my dear friend, Sarah, and lunch with Edwin.  Our friends and teammates, the Floyds, came over our first night back and it was great to hang out with them again!

Now for a few photos.....

First up, we had Chick-Fil-A for the last time at the Atlanta airport flying back Tuesday....or so we thought.  They gave us an additional 12 chicken nuggest at no charge.

So of course we put those and our leftovers in my carry on luggage and we had Chick-Fil-A for the first time in Bogota last week!!  

This is a sampling of me unpacking goodies from the USA.

It was so nice to be back in my boots again!  Here I am ready to walk to the grocery store. 

We also brought back some of our friend's famous pound cake she made for Brook.  Thank you Melva!  It has gone international and we shared it with 2 Colombians who really liked it too.

Long story, but we had to purchase a new microwave here, so I bought this on Friday.

As far as our actually weekend goes, it was spent catching up with friends and things at home.  As I mentioned, we had lunch with Clara on Friday and it was good to see her.  Saturday morning, I spent some time with Sarah at Juan Valdez (our coffee place at the mall) to catch up with her.  She is one of my dearest friends here and I am so thankful for her.  Saturday night, we turned on the tv for the first time since our return and found a show in English, so that was nice.  Sunday, we stayed in from church but met Edwin at the mall for lunch and he came over for a little bit.  I was able to deliver goodies from the states to all 3 of them.

And the highlight was being able to Facetime with Avery Sunday night!  That is only the 2nd time we've talked in over a week and first time to "see" him in 2 weeks.  Only a few more days until we are all together here for the first time in 2 months.  Where did the summer go??  Today, I will be school planning for fall.  

Other Memphis Photos

Happy Friday!  This morning I will finish with a grand finale of photos from our trip to the USA.  Next week, I will start blogging from Bogota again as things happen here.

We went to a going away party for our friends, Nick and Emily, who are moving this summer to Germany with their 3 kids.

Brook had a baby tooth pulled. Only one more to go!

I roamed one morning in Kroger just to have time to go down every aisle of the grocery store for fun.  I did not buy one thing on this trip.  

Brook's Jr. High group had a American night one Wednesday night.

We hosted a party with friends we met through SOS and it was so fun to have everyone together again.

Such a special night this was

We visited our dog, Beckham, who has grown so much!

He remembered us :)

We went to the famous Levitt Shell in Memphis to hear patriotic music.

Avery stood as a representative of the armed forces.

Avery and I went to our storage unit.  This made me happy to see some of our stuff I haven't seen in a few years.

I may have Bath and Body Works addiction.

I attended a prayer service at our church for our city and country.

Monday night dinner with these friends.

Brook dressed up like a cow for free chicken at Chick-Fil-A.

Brook and I had a few days to ourselves while Isabella was at the beach. 

Pizza at Garibaldis

Isabella got a pedicure the week prior for her beach trip and Brook got one while she was gone.

We stock up on bars before we come back to Colombia!

Isabella and her tan face from the beach.

We spent our last day roller skating with friends.  

Ashley and I

These past 7 weeks came and went like a flash.  Every day was great and I am so thankful for it.

North Carolina

We went to North Carolina to see Avery's family the week of July 4th.  We made a caravan with our friend, Ashley, and her kids as they were on their way to South Carolina.

Lunch stop!

The girls enjoyed driving golf carts with their cousins.

We celebrated July 4th at Scott & Stacy's house.

We also celebrated Robin's birthday that night.

Scott was working at the fire station that night, so we all went there after dinner for fireworks. This picture of the girls and I turned out pretty cool in front of a fire truck.

This is what we actually looked like :)

It was great being stateside for the 4th of July again.

Scott gave us all a tour of the fire station.  Here he is with all the grandkids on the Bridges side.  Isabella is the oldest.

Then we watched fireworks at the safest place in town!

The next day we went shopping and Sara and Jackson came.  Jackson is my youngest nephew.  I was able to run into a dear friend at the mall and that night met with my best friend in town for dinner,

Our last day in town we took a boat ride.

The girls enjoyed tubing!

Isabella

Brook

As long as it was, I enjoyed our last road trip for a while.