Gonzalo part 1

Tornado.  I suppose that is the best word to describe how our lives have been the last little bit.  We have gone from 5 to 6 overnight with the arrival of Gonzalo Ortega Arambarri from Spain into our home.  He is 11 years old and very fun.  We already had a hard time with the constant activity of 3 boys and boy has it gone through the roof.  The noise level is much higher, and the soccer inside the house will not stop!  I guess this is exactly what I expected and possibly the reason I stopped having children at 3 boys.  They just have 100 times the energy of me and times that by 4 and it is like the perfect storm.

He arrived last Sunday and does not speak very much English.  As the week progressed I could hear some of his English coming together.  He often says things we say a lot like "come on" and "stop it" and one day he even asked Shane "What is this 'ready' you always say?".  Now he knows and says that all the time.  He is respectful and laughs a lot and warmed up to us from the very start.

I feel a bit like since his arrival we have been on vacation in Plain City.  We have been swimming multiple times, to a movie, to the fish farm, partied on the 4th, slept on the trampoline, went to Toads, and on and on.  It has been a lot of fun, I think the boys wonder why we got to do so much in one week, but we tell them Gonzalo is on vacation.  This is the closest thing we have had to family coming in from out of town.  We took him to church (which he was not very fond of, I will write of that later), and he told the primary class that we have lots of grandparents and lots of cousins "Big Family!".

He has tried a few new foods: Pancake (rejected), tacos (loved), nachos (rejected), cheesy potatoes (not a chance), cookies (rejected), corndogs (loved).  His favorites are Pizza, Hot Dogs, Toast with olive oil, Ramen Noodles, Popcorn, and more Pizza.  Typical kid foods! He is not scared to let us know what he wants to eat.  He can out eat all 3 of my boys combined.  At the 4th of July he ate 2 hot dogs and 2 big slices of pizza.  I about died.  Yesterday at my sisters' house he ate 4 pulled pork sandwiches.  That would almost feed my whole family with some sides.  He loves to eat for sure.

One funny story is that I told him to get in the shower and out he came about 45 seconds later with the same clothes on and his shoes on but his hair was wet and he said he showered.  He so did not.  The shower was dry, he did it in the sink, I was cracking up, he must pull that over on his mom back home.  His brother is also here staying in North Ogden and when we saw him for the first time, he told Gonzalo he was not brushing his teeth, and he needed to.  Gonzalo leaned over to me and said "Tell him I brush my teeth."  It was funny :)

It has been a slight adjustment for the boys, a bit of jealousy, but they really like him.  He just feels like part of the family.  It is going to take some getting used to me because I always make him turn off the electronics. He LOVES the Wii, and I am bit of a crazy mom when it comes to screen time, and maybe crazy all the time.  I figure if the worst thing he has to say about me is that I didn't let him play his games, then I have done my job as a mother.  His mom did not send him here for that I am sure.

Overall we are having a great time and I am thankful for this experience.  I am practicing my Spanish and the boys are learning many new and wonderful things.  Shane is also learning a lot of Spanish, which is something he has always wanted to do.

 First day making the family smoothie.

 Making pancakes that he liked making, but not eating.

Soccer in the house.  A bit crazy.

 Many a summer hour is spent on the trampoline, either with the water on or just jumping.

 Fish Farm.

 We introduced him to the scouts and he taught us a basketball game, and next week he will teach us soccer.

 This is Pablo and Gonzalo

 Tara had some lanterns that we let fly into the air on 3rd of July.

 Braxton and Dakota each caught a chicken at the 4th.  We kept them for 3 days and gave them to some neighbors last night. Fun while it lasted.   

 Family Kickball.  He says they don't play baseball in Spain, so he is getting used to the rules--three outs, foul balls, all foreign to Gonzalo.