Dinner

Another nice day with Aunt Lou, Uncle Jeff and Spencer. Turkey dinner at our house (we're somehow combining Christmas and Thanksgiving into one, have to take advantage of the visiting family while they are here!).

Some snacks on the porch. Aunt Lou showing Simon how to do the cool scratch paper she brought (all three came laden with awesome Christmas gifts).

Some Skippy Jon Jones.

Some turkey.

Some cuddles on the couch.

Aunt Lou, Uncle Jeff and Spencer

After a flurry of quick emails arranging time/place, the kids and I drove to Casco Antiguo yesterday, and there, as if by magic, standing in the middle of probably the one remaining parking space in the entire old city, was Aunt Lou, waiting for us! Uncle Jeff and Spencer quickly emerged too. It was surreal and wonderful to see them in Panama. Spencer was amazing, he seemed right at home, and already knew more about Casco than we did, having spend the last day/night hopping from rooftop bar to rooftop bar, including one long evening having drinks with the nephew of Noriega. I had no idea he was such an accomplished traveler. 

We set off for the kids' favorite ice cream shop, Gran Clement, and took our ice creams to the water's edge.

Then we drove back to Gamboa, with a short detour first along the new road circling Casco, then the Amador Causeway to see Frank Gehry's BioMuseo, and a stop at the Chinese fruit market. That afternoon we all met in the Gamboa Rainforest Resort pool for mojitos, beers and a swim.

 

Wonderful to have them in Panama!

Christmas fare

 Cinnamon rolls - not quite as good as Sam's.

Quiche - not quite as good as Theo's. You can tell we're thinking of you!!

Christmas!

Tropical Tree

Welcome John and Sharon!

The arrival of grandparents! Welcomed with notes, snuggles and kisses.

Reappearance of Angela

Angela, who has been gone from Gamboa for two years, is back for Christmas, much to Gwendolyn's delight. They've been spending a lot of time together. Here they are making snowflakes.

Shopping for Christmas decorations in Panama City.

And celebrating Angela's birthday. So great to have Angela back!

Christmas preparations

 

Gamboa Elf

When we spent Christmas in Burbank with Sam, Jess, Maddie, Max, Theo and Toby last year, we were visited everyday by a Christmas elf, who would disappear at night to report to Santa and reappear each morning, always in a new spot. A couple rules were in place - you could never touch the Elf (otherwise he might lose his magic powers). But you talk to him, tell him your troubles, if you'd been bad or good - and what you'd really like for Christmas...

The kids were pretty sure that the elves only frequented houses in California. So they were pretty surprised to see (with some thoughtful coordination by Aunt Jess), an elf appear right here in Gamboa! Gwendolyn's reaction was mixed at first - I think she was quite worried that someone would now be watching her every move (and noting bad behavior). But she quickly warmed up. By the end of the first day, she made him a drawing, started conversing with him with winks and hand gestures, and decided that he needed a nightly offering of food, to fortify him for his long trips to the North Pole.


Simon is pretty in to him too. Each morning starts with a hunt for the elf's new location (and he's getting harder and harder to find). We hear that he will leave for good on Christmas eve, to return the following year.

Día de la Madre

Mother's Day is celebrated all over the world, on many different days. Panama has chosen December 8, the date of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. And it's taken very seriously - the whole country shuts down - there is no school, stores and offices are closed, it's an official holiday.

So Monday morning, Dec 8, I was greeted with this sweet offering. As well as cards from both kids.

 

By Simon.

By Gwendobean.

 

And many busy hands the next day at escuelita.

Thanksgiving

Holidays racing by! We just had really nice Thanksgiving. Part 1 (on actual Thanksgiving) was a spur of the moment Gamboa potluck, organized by Vilma and Enith - our two Panamanian neighbors. It was at the escuelita, and about 50 people came, bringing wonderful food, including turkey (cooked by our Dutch/Spanish neighbors) and ham (cooked by our Panamanian neighbors). A truly international affair - we could count on one hand the number of Americans present. We kept fielding questions like - what do Americans really do on Thanksgiving day, is this what they really eat? A nice Gamboa medley.

And then on Saturday, we gathered at Joe and Helene's for more traditional fare. Turkey cooked by Joe. Scalloped potatoes by David. Salads and sides by Sharon and Andrew. Two incredible pies by Daisy (and some not so incredible but extremely sweet additional pies by Eric and Isaac).

 Gwendolyn and Anna checking out the feast.

 

Simon, photo-documenting the whole affair.

The kids' table - Simon, extremely proud to be at the head.

The adults.

Simon, Lily, Anna, Gwendolyn, Eric, Freya and Isaac - an extremely jolly bunch!

Representational Simon

Until now, Simon has mainly drawn ultra squiggly maps with numerous X's to mark pirate treasure. But yesterday he asked if I wanted him to draw me a butterfly. I said yes, and was amazed to see this! New frontiers for Simon!

Colorful Gamboa

 

Courtesy of these gorgeous umbrellas from Taisie. Good for sun and rain.

The Gamboa cohort, revisited

 The clan is getting bigger and bigger....Then and now.

Mila, Gwendolyn and Nico on the way to gymnastics.

 Simon and Anna in escuelita.

Field trip today to Punta Cuebra (from left to right: Telvinia, Lua, Paloma, Simon (holding that starfish up out of the water, oh no!), Alistair, Anna, Ylva, Nico, and the guide from Punta Culebra).

The gang again: Simon, Ylva, Lua, Paloma, Mia.

And little (big!) monkey Nico, towering above Simon and Gwendolyn.