Tuesday, July 22, 2008

A week of what's better than TV?

So, I just checked and it was a week ago yesterday that we posted last. Anyone interested in what we have been up to since?

Well, Connor and Alex have both overcome their case of Thrush. They are having a couple minor issues, but nothing of note... or rather nothing you'd want to hear about.

The main thing we have been up to this past week is trying to get all our paperwork completed so that we can be "in the system" for health care and such.

The first day, we went to one office to get our social security numbers. In order to get our SS numbers, we have to fill out a bunch of papers and provide a few documents... after we establish that we really live here. So... off to another office to establish that we live here. BTW, many businesses and official offices are on summer hours which means they close for the day at 1:00 or 1:30 in the afternoon... as you might imagine, they were already closed by the time we got there. So, we went to the Police Office to see about getting an ID... turns out we were at the wrong Police Office for that. We took the boys and went home.

The next day, we headed out again. We learned that in order to establish that we live here, we need to fill out more paperwork and submit more documentation. Of course we didn't have everything we needed so we got the paperwork and headed out... to the other police office. There we learned that we must first establish that we live here, then send an e-mail to get further instructions and to set up an appointment....Jaime has sent that e-mail hoping to expedite the process a little.

So, we will be out and about again tomorrow to try and finally establish that we live here so everything else can fall into place... after we complete the paperwork and submit the proper documentation, of course ;o) If things are half as "difficult" in the states, it's no wonder people remain illegal.

What else you might ask?? That is if you are still reading.

Well, we try to get out with the boys a minimum of once a day. Sometimes twice a day if they are driving us really crazy...Usually it's just to the pool or to the grocery store or for a walk in the neighboring town with another playground.



Occasionally we venture out a bit further...

On Sunday we took them for a drive and went part way up the mountain and stopped at a Mirador.





This evening we finally took them to las Teresitas, a man made beach with thousands of tons of sand brought in from the Sahara (all other beaches in Tenerife are black, as it is a volcanic island).



As soon as we put Connor down on the sand, he took off for the Ocean. Right into the water he went. He seemed to love the sand, and the waves rolling in. He played in the water and the sand and tasted plenty of both. He walked and crawled all over the place, and got nice and dirty.






Alex took a little longer to warm up to the experience. Eventually he became interested in the sand and the water, but he was cold (don't let the pretty blue color fool you, the water is still quite "brisk"), so he hung out with Daddy by our towels and such and tasted the sand from there. It was a neat outing, but a lot of work... sand sure does get everywhere!



That's pretty much what we have been up to. Connor is still working on tooth number 7. He walks around everywhere and can go from sitting to standing without using anything to pull up on. He likes to steal whatever Alex is playing with and loves to turn on (not off) all the lights in the house.



Alex crawls around everywhere and pulls up on everything. He has let go a couple times, but hasn't attempted his first step yet. He does walk around with a push toy though. He is working on his 5th tooth and gets frustrated when Connor takes his toys. He also wants to turn on the lights, but can't quite reach yet...

Oh!! And the boys "discovered" the washing machine in my kitchen... It was better than TV!! They sat there and watched it for quite awhile. Too bad the magic wears off... okay, until next time!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

whoa...washing machine in the kitchen? weird...lol

Amy said...

Wow, what a hassle. I can't believe how much of a run around you have gotten to get "in the system."

LOVE the pictures! You have the most beautiful backdrops for pictures now! I'm jealous of the nice weather and "cool" temperatures!

Cynthia L. Edwards said...

Hi Tricia,

I am enjoying your posts tremendously and love watching the boys grow up and have new experiences. I am so glad you are doing this!

The washing machine photo is a classic. Love it!

Cynthia