Iron Kids Triathlon

Claudio Delpeuche

A really fancy spa here in Paraguay     
 is hosting Iron Kids.  It's a type of Iron Man for kids.  It will be much SMALLER than a real triathlon, duh?  But my kids have been participating in the training sessions.  They are free as a service of the spa.  SO FUN!  And apparently, the gentleman leading the training is famous...


Here are my Darlings:

Joey on the Run

I wish adult Iron Man's had a trampoline....

Personal Training

FRIENDS!

My Joey and Kate

Stretching out afterward.

The whole group!

YOGA

We have started doing family Yoga.  It's so much fun!  My kids are WAY into it.  Kate (4) claps her hands and says YO-GA, YO-GA, YO-GA.

At first we tried doing a DVD with someone instructing us.  After we learned the moves (VERY BASIC) we decided to do our own thing.  So, now we play music (Enya or Classical) and let the kids lead us in 'their' Yoga moves:

Sofie's new pose, "The Thinker"

Even The Adult Kids got into it.

Is this Yoga?

  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family!  They make every day worthwhile!

Ah, Seth!  Warrior 1.

Down Ward Dog, Joey!

A Small Band of Warriors!

FAQ's Part 2

  

I miss you, old friend.

1.  Have you gotten your car yet?  

NO!  While you're at it, why don't you give me a paper-cut and pour lemon juice in it! But I'm not bitter or anything!  It is somewhere in Asuncion going through customs....it may just be a paper-work thing.  So....we wait.  As of July 20th, we do not have our car, going on 4 months now.  So, we could 'survive' without a car, but not THRIVE!

2.  Are you Homesick?

Amazingly, no.  I miss my family.  I talk to most of them frequently (801-210-0239) hint, hint.  But never frequently enough.  They have been so supportive of this crazy life Joel and I have chosen for ourselves.  Everywhere we go, there is another family built in for us.  That does help....but they are never as good or funny as my real family!

My kids are doing great.  They love Paraguay and the opportunities they are having, ie: horse riding lessons, a swimming pool, friends from all over, a maid (ok, that last one was mine).

3.  What does a typical day look like?  Like this!

We wake up @ 6:30 am.  Joel is out the door by 7:10 so he can be at the Visa desk by 8:00.

Kids go to school at 7:30 - 8:00

I go back to bed, eat bon bons, and pretend "I have SO much to do."  Kidding!  I inherited the in-ability to go back to sleep once I am up. So I try to get my emailing done, pay bills, read, exercise, walk the dog, grocery shop, volunteer at the school and run the household.  At this point, it a lot easier to run when all the kids are in school and I have a house keeper.  Not to brag....

(I HAVE SPENT 5 YEARS WITH 4 KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF 5, it's time to enjoy!)

Kate arrives home at 12:00.  We read, play and bond because "you're my best friend, mommy."  Poor kid.  3 days a week we have a Spanish Tutor come over and work with our family in Spanish.

The other kids arrive home at 3:30.  I let them have 1/2-1 hour of TV or computer to relax.  Then on to home-work.  It's fun that they can help each other now.  I love that!

Dinner is at 6:00 (Joel arrives home at 5:45) and we enjoy hearing about each others' day.  Then we do Yoga* from about 6:30-7:00.  This has become so much fun for our family.  It's great to spend time together.

Books, Baths, and Bedtime from 7:00-7:30. 

Then Joel and I pull our house back together a little, relax, read, watch our stories and go to sleep by 10:00.

Rinse and repeat.

4.  What do I plan to do with all my 'spare time.'  Anyone else have this problem?  What should I do with all this spare time?  Actually, between studying Spanish and preparing for the Foreign Service Exam (yes this will be the 3rd time taking it) I will be a student again....

I may or may not begin a Master's...

5.  Have you traveled yet?  See Number 1.

Fourth of July in Paraguay

Take just a minute and read through the lyrics.  Skip the first verse if you please, but read the last one.  It's so beautiful.

"Then Conquer we must, when our cause, it is just!"

 


The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, In full glory reflected now shines in the stream: 'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! And where is that band who so vauntingly swore That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, A home and a country should leave us no more! Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. No refuge could save the hireling and slave From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave: And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!