Fiesta!

Well, I admit that while we have worked on our "theme" this week (Mexico), it really dwindled down to just two days of actual "Mexico" time.
Two productive, very fun days...We finished the bear/not-a-polar-bear-anymore who is red, and while he is adorable and is often confused with a hippo or pig, he is actually very fragile...Beau could punch a hole in him, and would, if I gave him the chance. The kids stopped helping me, so I didn't have the heart to do another layer of paper mache, and thus when all the balloons were popped (that make up his innards) with a needle and holes appear, I just patched the poor guy up with duct tape. Lots of it. And then I spray painted him and gave him his red crepe paper coat.
(For anyone who would like to make their own pinata: Mix 3 cups water with one cup flour in a saucepan. Stir constantly over high heat until boiling and thickened. Remove from heat, cool. Tear old newspapers into strips, dip them into the glue mixture and then apply to a balloon-shaped pinata of your choice. Or your kid's choice. Do about two to three layers to ensure a nice strong pinata. Or one if you're lazy like me. Patch with duct tape.)
We are taking the red guy with us to Flagstaff for memorial day, so he can be strung up and beat by our kids and their cousins.
On another day we stopped at a Mexican grocery store and bought hot chocolate and some chile-spiced watermelon candy. I thought the kids would hate the candy, but they actually did eat it! They also loved the hot cocoa with it's cinnamony spiciness, but I didn't really care for it.
We made corn tortillas..."we" as in "I" made them and the kids played with the dough. I don't blame them, it was cool dough...it would stick together fine until you tried to roll it out and then it'd crumble. We fried our tortillas into tacos that we had for dinner without too much whining (aahhgg! my kids and their awful pickyness!) We made these really fun papel picados for decorations...they are cut out of tissue paper and I really love how they look in my kitchen. I might keep them up all summer! Bekah and Jacob also made their own Mexican flags, and Rus was dismayed to come home and find the US flag placed below the Mexican on Bekah's little flagpole. I can't believe I didn't teach her about true patriotism.
It has been a fun week...Bekah now demands "Mexican music" every time we get in the van and she was scarred for life I'm sure by seeing a whole cow head for sale at the Ranch Market (little Mexico). Oh wait, that was me...

Next week...Transportation!