A Soggy Adventure

Yesterday was quite the adventure! It was raining. It was raining A LOT. Sometimes it poured down buckets, sometimes more gentle rain, but it rained ALL DAY until about 7 p.m.! So what did we decide to do on this rainy, muddy, wet and slippery day?!? Why we went to visit some friends, of course! And no, I don't mean the kind that live just around the corner either. We had been invited to our Youth Pastor's house for lunch. He and his wife have 3 kids, with their youngest boy being Clara's age. They are truly "2 peas in a pod" and play so well together. So, we got up and going, I gave the kids baths (as if they weren't going to get wet enough), had a little breakfast, put ourselves all together, including the big stroller and diaper bag stuffed to busting and we set out. I am sure we were quite the procession to watch as we made our way slowly down the puddle-filled street--no car so we were braving it on foot. First, there was Matt, with large plaid umbrella in hand, attempting to push Ethan's stroller around the mud and over the bumps and keep the rain off of his head at the same time. Then came Clara and I, both with umbrellas, too, mine a pretty lavender color, and Clara sporting her new clear Minnie Mouse one. She got it as a present for her birthday, and just in time, too! The catch is that with the umbrella firmly gripped in 2 small, 3 yr. old hands, she walks even slower than normal. And, also due to the umbrella, did not want to take my hand to let me help her across the street. O brother!

So after about 4 blocks that felt like miles, we made it to the bus stop. Thankfully, there was a little roof to wait under because in the next 10 min. it was pouring and blowing like CrAzY! Finally, we saw the bus that we needed approaching and started to get on, I asked as politely as possible in my rough Spanish if the bus driver would open the other door so that Matt could get the stroller inside. "Wheew! He understood me!", I thought. "One obstacle down, a billion and 2 more to go!" Then I told him that I needed to pay for the 2 of us (little kiddos are FREE! :) He rattled something back to me, which I had no clue, but attempted to smile and turned to put my coins in. **AAAAAAANT** (Buzzer noise) Wrong answer! No bluffing on this one! After he repeated himself a couple of times, I realized he was trying to find out how far I was going so he knew what to charge me. Yikes! Another problem--I really had no idea to where we were going, not the street or neighborhood or anything. Ugh! Such a feeling of helplessness and embarrassment. Here I am on his bus, but I don't even know where I am going. Double UGH! **Dun da dun!!!** Matt to the rescue!!! I plopped Clara in a seat and went to hold the stroller so Matt could talk to the driver and pay.  About 20 min. later, we made it to our stop and were met by our friend who escorted us to his house, dodging mud puddles all the way. (Big sigh of relief) And that was just the trip to get to their house! (Big chuckle) Life's never dull, that's for sure!
The Lord gave us a relaxing and wonderful time of fellowship with our dear friends. They are so kind and patient (they have to be to put up with our limited Spanish vocabulary and strange accents). We ate, we talked, we laughed, we played games (even Chickenfoot with Dominoes--my favorite!), we passed Baby-Man around. It was a wonderful break and thankfully, the trip home was much drier and uneventful! :)