Vivian decided she was ready for shorter hair, so I took her to the neighborhood salon, and watched the locks fall.
It worked out well for her part in the school play, Pirates of the Curry Bean where she played Captain Cod who was supposed to be male.
One of the teachers did a great job braiding her hair back, but it was the eyebrows that really completed her look.
I got to see the show both nights, and on Friday, Jeff and Elena brought us dinner and stayed to watch as well. We dined in style in my classroom.
Then we had some time to hang out until the show started.
Elena thought the show was very funny and that her sister was awesome, which she was.
Elena had had her assembly the week before. Her class did skits centered around the story of the Little Prince.
Elena was part of a group of princesses who realized that inner beauty was more important than outer beauty.
All the excitement of the performance wore her out, and she had to nap on the way home.
While we're so proud of our actresses, we also need to spend time with our adult friends who keep us sane by letting us act a bit crazy.
Recently we've done two finca weekends, one with the kids and one without. The first was with the kids and another family in La Vega which is not very far outside of Bogotá, but it was far enough down the mountain to be warm and have a pool.
We had a lovely time outside, but the beds were so hard that Jeff and I both had bruised hips for several days afterwards. Still, it was great to get away with friends.
Last weekend, we went quite a bit farther out of town without the kids. Several of the teachers I started with two years ago are done with their contracts and are either moving home or to other international schools, so a group of 18 of us got a big house in Apulo which is a bit past Anapoima. I knew it was going to be a three to four hour drive, and Jeff had just gotten back from a full day of international travel, so I offered to drive. He appreciated it.
The road to Anapoima is not great. There is a lot of construction along the way, so it took quite a while, and the last part was a dirt road with no lights and barely enough room for cars to pass which we had to navigate in the dark. It was quite harrowing, but at the end, the house was totally worth it.
We were the first to arrive, so we made sure to chill the wine and get out snacks. Eventually everyone else showed up and we had so much fun that we didn't get to sleep until well into the next day. For some reason, I decided it would be a good idea to sleep on the sofa in the common area, but it meant that I was able to get some pictures as the sun came up in the morning before falling back asleep until a more reasonable time.
It was absolutely stunning. We spent the day swimming, eating, and enjoying each other's company.
We stayed up late again talking and playing a great quiz game one of my friends had designed just for the weekend. The next morning was a bit overcast, but it made for some cool pictures.
Even though we could have stayed longer, it was Father's Day, so we wanted to get home to be with the girls. It was tough to leave the company and the view though.
Jeff had a nice, low key Father's Day hanging out with the girls. He has a crazy travel schedule for work coming up, so it was good to be home. He left Monday morning, and my mom arrived Monday night. Elena had a welcome message for her.
Mom had planned her travel to make sure that she was here for Vivi's graduation from primary/elementary to secondary/middle school. The ceremony was very nice and not too long. Then, we had some time to take pictures afterwards.
We got a photo with the Head of Primary and the school Director (who are also my friends ;-)
and Vivi's teacher Mister William.
She has been so lucky to have wonderful, nurturing teachers these past two years, and she has grown so much both academically, and more importantly, in her self-confidence. We couldn't be prouder of her.
