The boys have been great this week...despite their excitement. Today is one week from blast-off. I treated the to an ice-cream at the mall and a soccer outfit (they want to wear on the plane). Latin America has rubbed off. Of course they forewent Colo Colo of Universidad de Chile and went with Barcelona...but they are still cute as heck!

Sometimes, during those rough days where you spend 1 hour at the bank and 3 hours at the DMV selling your car, you wonder if you have enough strength to make it through the last 10 days. Then Tj and Cole spend the night with a fantastic babysitter (Michelle) speaking in Spanish the whole time, and Tj comments to me later..."Mom..what is hombre arana". I respond: "It is Spider Man." And he remarks: "Well that is just backwards. In Spanish it is Man Spider." WOW! This 5 year old is cognizant of all this!!! Standing in line was worth it.

I took a before and after photo of all the construction going on in Downtown Concepcion. We have watched these two buildings everyday (downtown mall and apartment building (to replace the one that fell in the earthquake of 2010).

Although we are all extremely excited to head home, be back with Dad, our friends, our home and our sweet Liliah, there are many things we will miss from Chile. This view will be one of them.

Five round-trip flights, 200,000 frequent flyer miles used, a bunch of sleepless nights...Dave's last trip to Chile is over. That is one dedicated Dad who made all those sacrifices so the boys could experience all that they have here in Chile. The countdown for us now begins. .

There have been a lot of new firsts here in Chile (besides skateboarding on a ramp for the first time):
Tj lost his first tooth in the elevator
Living in a building with an elevator
Experiencing their first earthquake (6.2)
Learning Spanish and attending a bilingual school
Wearing an uniform to school (mom really likes that)
Discovering Nutella
Taking piano (Cole) and playing with the big boys at the YMCA (Tj)
Skiing on a Volcano (Chillan)
Running down a Sand Dune (San Pedro de Atacama)
Going to Children's Theater productions (in Spanish)
Eating A LOT of ice-cream
Watching "Bob Esponja" and other children's tv shows in Spanish without complaint
Learning to fall asleep with the sound of squealing buses and disco music going on outside
Playing in the water and sand of the (very cold) Pacific ocean

and the list goes on. . .