last full day

Yesterday we basically finished the Bucaramanga process of our trip. Shirley and I went out in the morning to get passports, airline tickets and to return shoes and were successful on all counts. Shirley did really well in signing her name on her passport and was very excited all morning. It only took about an hour to get our passports done, which was nice, as our attorney was there pushing the process along, making sure we wouldn't have to wait any longer than we should. After that, the airline tickets. We got flights out for Sunday at 2, which is later than we would have liked, but it will be fine. We will arrive in Bogota at around 3, which should give us time to get settled in, pick up our bag that we left at the hotel, and hopefully get the kids acclimated to the new environment. Our interpreter continually talks about how much colder it is in Bogota, how the kids will be cold, but it appears to only be a 10 degree difference in the day time, so I am not sure why the worries. Oh well. I am sure the kids will be fine. We will not be out at 3 a.m. in shorts cruising the streets.

While Shirley and I were out getting stuff done, Janine's day was not as good, having trouble with two fussy boys who were basically disagreeable all day long. The trend continued when we got back, as it seemed that either one or the other was fussing at any given time. The boys can be difficult when they are like this, but it still amazes me how they can have me exasperated one minute and laughing like crazy with them the next. That basically continued all day. We ate lunch in the room, and then Janine and Shirley went to the pool for a couple of hours while the boys napped.

When they returned, we left for the pool side to use a table to make play-doh creations. Shirley really enjoyed it, but the boys were more interested in destroying anything that was made or trying to eat the play-doh. We did manage to have fun, though, and Janine proved herself to be the best play-doh artist, continually "wowing" the kids with her animals. I just made a moustache.

After this we decided to eat dinner, one of our last here at the resort. It was a simple meal, followed by dessert, which the kids enjoyed. We were on our toes the whole time, though, as I had run into Emmanuelle right before dinner and she told me that Yolanda (the attorney) would be coming around 5:30 or 6. Anyhow, she ended up showing up at 6:45, but had our paperwork and explained all that she had for us in the packet and that she was now done. There was so much finality to it, and I felt so relieved that this part was done. I don't know why I had not felt such relief at any other time, but last night I felt that we had accomplished something, so much, in all this time. I know that there is more, but it felt nice. Anyhow, we paid her and got a few pictures, and then she and Emmanuelle left.

We did some things around the room, Janine keeping the kids busy while I made a phone call to our contact in Bogota. Then, with the boys being fussy, we decided it wouldn't be bad to put them to bed 15 minutes early, so with some fussing, some flopping, we got the boys to bed. They cried for a bit, but settled down pretty good. After stories and fifteen minutes of their own time, I turned out the light and they fell asleep pretty quickly. Shirley and Janine did some stickers in the front room, and then Shirley got on the computer for about ten minutes before bed. She fell asleep quickly, too.

Anyhow, today is our last full day here in Bucaramanga. I know that I will look back at our time here with fondness, even through the food and the inconsistency, but right now I am pretty happy about getting to Bogota to finish the process. There is a chance that we will finish by mid-week, so if that happens we will consider changing our flights back to SLC to maybe come back earlier. We will have to wait and see, though, as I am not exactly sure what that would all entail. I know that Janine and I would have to pay a fee, but we were told that the kids wouldn't, so we will see what happens. I really wouldn't mind getting back a few days earlier, to be honest.

So today we will go to the shopping center one last time (to get the kids out) and we will hit the pool one more time, as Shirley will miss the pool the most. Hopefully the boys are in good moods today and we do not feel the added stress of two fussy 2 year olds. I am sure they will be fine, though, as they seem to have slept soundly through the night. It should be a good day.

Maybe I will even see NC/BC game on tv. I doubt it, but one can dream...

The song for the day is "Neverending Math Equation" by Sun Kil Moon...