Phillies versus Atlanta Braves, Sept 20

Baseball at Citizen's Bank Park.  It does not get any more American than this.
Ignacio, Rafa and I cheered the Phillies on to another victory over the Atlanta Braves on Monday, September 20th.
We spent a few hours tailgaiting outside the park with Bill, MJ and Will. 
Hoagies, tomato pie, bean bag toss, music and lots of Phillies fans geting all psyched for the game.

Bicentenial Event, Chilean Independence Day

On Saturday, we loaded up my sister's Honda Pilot and Cody, Ignacio, Chris, Rafa and I drove to Washington, DC for the Chilean Independence Day. September 18th marked the 200th anniversary of Chile's Independence from Spain.  Ignacio's Aunt, Trinidad, met us for Mass and then took the boys for a fun-filled weekend in Washington, DC.  I spent the evening with friends in Virginia and returned to pick the boys up from the Independence Day festival in Silver Spring MD on Sunday. 

The boys visited with Trinidad and her husband, had dinner in Georgetown at the Tombs and stopped by the Potomac River waterfront where they claim there were tons of parties on boats and yachts that I would not have believed.

Georgetown University moved up to top position for a college pick for Cody. 

Here are some pictures of the Independence Day Mass.

Independence Day - September 18th

Chileans celebrate their independence on the 18th of September. Their road to independence from Spain started on that date in 1810. Although they would have to fight for eight more years to earn their total freedom, Chile celebrates the 18th of 1810 with great fanfare. Chile officially proclaimed independence February 12, 1818.
The 18th, or "dieciocho," is celebrated during a week full of fiestas patrias. This includes parades, dances, drinking, eating traditional Chilean food, and music.

And some pictures of the boys in DC

The Prep Mixer

I am waiting for mixer pictures but I heard the boys loved the Prep Mixer and are counting down the days until the next one.
Rumor has it that Cody is ready to try out for Dancing with the Stars!
Pictures to follow....

Welcome Party, Sept 17 St Joe's Prep

The Prep students and teachers welcomed Ignacio and Rafaele after school on Friday, September 17th.
The boys recieved Prep tshirts, sports Jersey's and other memorabilia.
Pictures to follow....

Annual Luau

Saturday, September 11th

We attended the annual Luau at Bill and MJ's house.

The pig roast is always part of the luau and here is a picture of the pig just before it was devoured....

Cody and Ignacio posed for a picture with my brother and with MJ's Uncle Bob, who both also attended the Prep.

Cody, Uncle Bill, Uncle Bob and Ignacio...the 4 Preppers

Here are some other party pictures....

First Week of School

Cody and Ignacio have completed their first week of school.  So far, so good.  Ignacio likes all of his classes and his teachers.  We had a busy week getting all of the school supplies and books together.  Ignacio was particularly amazed by "Book Sox" which are these really cool, easy to use book covers.  We talked about how clever the person is who invented the book sox and how sometimes a simple idea is so brilliant!

Ignacio's classes include BioEthics, English, Government and Drawing to name a few.

The Mac Book arrived yesterday. This was thrilling.  Ignacio and Cody worked on getting everything set up and Ignacio loves it!

The week ended with Cody taking and passing his driver's license test.  Finally!

Labor Day weekend at the shore...the final days of summer vacation

Jerry and Ignacio at the Pudgy Pelican, Avalon NJ

Thursday, August 30th
Hurricaine Earl was moving up the coast as we headed back to the shore for the Labor Day weekend.  The storm was not as bad as the weathermen were predicting for New Jersey but there were sustained winds of 45 mph on Friday night into Saturday.

Cody and Ignacio spent most of the weekend with Cody's dad in Avalon.  Ignacio really liked Avalon. What's not to like...the beach is beautiful, the waves were great this weekend and the boys stayed close to the center of town so they could ride bikes around town and visit with friends.

On Sunday, Ignacio, Jerry, Jerry's parents and I went to Church and then to the Pudgy Pelican for a late breakfast. We got to see Cody at work on a very busy day.

We drove home Monday evening after the final few hours of swimming and skim boarding and a last look at the beach.  Jerry, Ignacio, Christian and Cody all agreed they were not quite ready for summer to be over.

But school starts tomorrow so it seems another summer has come and gone.

St. Joe's Prep Orientation

Wednesday, September 1

Today was oreintation day for Ignacio. Cody was a student leader for the orientation session.
The boys looked very handsome in their navy blue blazers and ties.  We took a picture with Ignacio's camera which he will email me and I will post shortly.

Grandma's Pat Cook's Birthday

Sunday, August 29th

My mom's birthday was on Sunday. The family came over for a birthday lunch and some cake.  My mom turned 77.  We sang and she blew out all the candles!
We also said farewell to Alex, Cody and Trevor's cousin who was flying to Amsterdam Sunday afternoon for a semester abroad.

Uncle Karl, Alex and Ignacio

Debbie, Alex, Grandma and Robert