A wrap up of our summer - June and July 2015

Welcome back to Arriaga's Adventures! I have taken some time off from posting as we got settled here in our new home. We arrived in Bogota at the end of July and things have been busy as we have all been getting used to our new city and home.

So a quick wrap up about our summer, in between leaving DC and arriving in Bogota. We left DC in mid-June and made our way towards Mississippi. We made a stop off in Chattanooga, TN to see some of the sites that Al and Sofia had been asking to see for several years. We spent the night in a Pullman Sleeper Car at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel. It was certainly an interesting experience! We visited Ruby Falls and Rock City and had a great time. Even Grover enjoyed his vacation in Chattanooga.

Inside the Pullman Car at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Inside the Pullman Car at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo

Ruby Falls

Rock City

Looks like Grover is enjoying a drink!

After leaving Chattanooga, we headed to Louisiana to visit some great friends that we made while in Cameroon. Dwayne and Kim Bailey and their four kids. We enjoyed a couple of days relaxing and hanging out with these amazing people.

We also got to swing by Gulfport, MS to see a whole flock of amazing people. Mark and Felica and the whole gang came out to say hello and wish us well on our next big adventure. Sofia also got to see her friends that she made while we were living in South Mississippi. Carmen and Madison are always willing to spend time with Sofia whenever we can make the time to get down to the Gulf Coast.

We finally made it to Philadelphia and got to see the family. Everyone made us feel at home and we enjoyed some quality time with my family. I don't have many pictures of our time in Philadelphia, but it was very relaxing and we enjoyed seeing everyone. After 10 days in Philadelphia, Alberto, Sofia and Grover travelled to Mexico to visit with his family.  

Sofia and sweet Henry Logan

I stayed behind in Mississippi to surprise Mom with a Girl Scout Reunion. Those of us who finished up our scouting days with Virginia as our troop leader planned a surprise reunion for her and we also celebrated her birthday. It was a great day and I am so glad that we got together to remember the amazing times we had as Girl Scouts and to thank our amazing leader.

I travelled to Mexico to reconnect with my family and we got to spend 2 weeks in San Luis Potosi. We spent some time at the Arriaga family swimming compound and a good time was had by all. 

We travelled to Rio Verde to see the Media Luna. It is a spring fed "pool" that is shaped like a half moon. The water is crystal clear but it is super cold. We also got to go to Tamasopo. Tamasopo is an amazing set of waterfalls and pools that you can swim in and enjoy nature at its finest. The water here was cold as well but we all had a great time. The 

Finally, after being on the road and on "vacation" for 6 weeks, it was time for us to travel to Bogota. We were looking forward to our new adventure and our new home and we were all ready to go. 

Well maybe after a nap!

Stay tuned for the next post where I will share some thoughts and photos from our first few weeks in Bogota!

Until next time....

Summer 2013 Update

So, I realize that it has been a while since I posted anything and for that I apologize. Honestly, before our vacation, we hadn't done anything worthwhile or exciting for me to talk about. Well, all that has changed now. We just returned from R&R (vacation in the Foreign Service) and I have tons of pictures to show and some stories to tell.

We left the day after school ended for Sofia. Can you tell that we were itching to get away. We spent 2 days traveling to get home and our first Air France experience was really good (not so on the way back, but that is another story). We stayed in Philadelphia, MS for a few days visiting my mom and the rest of the Philly family and doing really boring stuff like going to the eye doctor and dentist and getting hair cuts. These things are important and most people take them for granted, but we were so glad to have clean teeth and short hair. 

Next it was off to Biloxi, MS for a short visit with Dad and Deb. We enjoyed doing really normal stuff like going to Walmart and Sams. We got to visit with great friends (thanks so much to Felica, Marie, Cheree, Carla, Ashley and the guys for making us welcome). I had lunch with a great friend and mentor, Krystyna and we checked out Margaritaville for some average food and pretty good live music. Sofia got to visit with some of her friends and even spent the night with a couple of them while we were in town.

It was back to Philadelphia for a few short days where we got to see even more great friends (thanks for swimming and making a wave pool with us) and had a nice meal with my brother and his family. Mom makes the best ribs ever! We got to spend time with Grandma Sue and Papa and played lots with Anna Katherine, who was very small when I left for Washington in 2012.

Our next adventure began with a trip to Walt Disney World. We took Sofia and my mom and my nephew, Charlie, came along. It was busy and not particularly relaxing, but we had a great time! 

The kids enjoyed swimming and we got some fun shots with our new underwater camera. The camera was a gift from my sweet husband. 

We stayed at a neat resort at Disney World called the Art of Animation. We took this fun shot with Rafiki right outside our hotel building.

Up next, here are some random pictures that we took. 

We went to Epcot and got these fun shots. 

Sofia playing in a fountain in the rain in Germany

Al and the kids enjoying the mariachi music in Mexico

Last up, here are pictures of the kids with some of the Disney characters. There will be more Disney pictures to come, once we get our disc from Disney World in the mail. Wait until you see the ones of Mom dancing and singing with Tigger.

Sofia and Charlie with Chip and Dale

Sofia with Tigger and Pooh

After a busy week at Walt Disney World, Mom and Charlie headed back to Mississippi and we left for a few relaxing days on the Disney Cruise. My dad and stepmom, Deb, came along on this leg of our vacation. It was a bit more relaxing than Disney World. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the cruise.

We took a ride on a catamaran.

Sofia went snorkeling!

Sofia liked snorkeling. I always call her my little fish!

Disney Cruise Line took some professional shots and I wanted to share those. They turned out pretty good. We had a lot of fun on Pirate night!

After our Disney trip, it was time to head back to Yaounde, after a short stop in Philadelphia. We stayed for a couple of nights in Paris to try and get over the jet lag a bit before returning to Cameroon. We saw Notra Dame, the Louvre and took a Seine River cruise. We were really tired and I don't know that Paris is really a city for kids, but here are some good pictures that we got.

We all had fun on our vacation, but we are glad to be back home. We have another year here in Yaounde and then we will be off to our next post. Stay tuned for information on where that will be...I will share it soon!

Until next time....