Panama Family

We have been having a great time at Yira and Evelio's this week.  We've settled into a little routine for preparing dinner, cleaning up, etc. and our nightly meals have become more comfortable and relaxed for everyone.  Yira and Evelio's two-year old granddaughter, Luana, is staying with them for the next month while her parents work in Panama City so she is around all day and night to play with our kids.  She and Cal occasionally have to work out some disagreements about the swingset or the toddler bike but their interactions also give Cal a chance to speak in Spanish, which he does so much more often when Danny and I are not listening.  I love hearing Luana's voice calling out through out the house for Harper.  She yells, "Niña!  Niña!  Niña!  Ven!"

The seven-year old next door neighbor, Michele, is always waiting for us to get home from Spanish class and she and Harper have become fast friends.  Yesterday we taught her Pato, Pato, Ganzo (Duck, Duck, Goose) and it became a rowdy game of laughs and crashes. (Cal was playing so we weren't surprised!)
Yira and Evelio's house is set up so well for our family.  They have a large yard and the swingset out back is just outside our window so the kids can play on their own and we all can get a nice break at times.  Cal found a great spot on their lanai for playing soccer even when the rain starts to fall.  He also found a small toddler bike that he can't get enough of.  He races down the concrete sloping patio over and over each afternoon.  Harper appreciates their gardens and has spent a lot of time collecting fallen flower petals.

It is hard to believe our two weeks are coming to a close here.  At dinner tonight we talked about how Harper wants to travel on her own when she is older and Evelio and Yira made her promise that she'd come back and visit them.  Her Spanish is really coming together and she is able to understand and contribute so much to our conversations lately.  After dinner she asked Yira to paint her nails and they were able to carry on a dialogue without much help from us at all.  Que bueno!

Ramone, a student at Habla Ya and also staying with Yira and Evelio, traded magic tricks with Harper tonight.