Our Last Game in the DR for the 2009 Season

Well guys, this will probably be my last post from the Dominican Republic. We're going to the beach again this weekend and then we come home on Tuesday. So, as my last post I thought it would be appropriate to post pics from the last game we went to while we were here.

They were losing.

We were bored. And what better way to pass the time than to take pictures of silly faces to post on the blog?

Of course, AJ was not going to look stupid by making a silly face.

So we got a picture of him with Junior instead.

And when you're completely worn out from making silly faces, or maybe it was from practicing with Papi and the team before the game, you sleep with a sucker in your mouth and with your glove for a pillow. (Please Mom and Heath, no comments about how bad the sucker is for your teeth while you sleep. I know. It won't happen again.)

Sleep tight while you can DJ because you'll be up until 4am waiting for the game to get over, getting home, eating dinner and finally being able to fall asleep again. Such is the schedule of a baseball family.

Love all 5 of you who read our blog! See you soon!!

A Short History

On the edge of Santo Domingo, right by the ocean there is a beautiful part of the city called La Ciudad Colonial. It is seriously a photographer's dream. If only I were a photographer... It's crazy how this country doesn't recognize the amount of money they could generate if they were to capitalize on this part of town. Unfortunately, it's just as littered as other areas. Grass and garbage are over taking the rich history of this genuine piece of world history.

Many people don't know but Christopher Columbus didn't actually discover America. He discovered the island of Hispaniola, which is now the Dominican Republic and Haiti. While he is celebrated as a hero for his daring expeditions there are other parts of history that have not been told such as, the slaughter of so many native islanders that they no longer exist. Still monuments and statues have been erected to remember Christopher Columbus and his discovery.

The port that the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria first sailed into is now located in Santo Domingo. And it is here that begins the story of La Ciudad Colonial.
A few years after his first voyage Christopher Columbus returned to the island with his brother Diego Columbus. They decided to settle the area and Diego began plans for a house, rather a mansion really. That structure still stands today. Oh yes, this is the home of Diego Colon. Built over 500 years ago but the inside was remodeled in 1955 for tourists. You can still walk through the great rooms where Diego spent his life and where Christopher Columbus visited.

As more and more Europeans arrived more natives were killed and a new city was born. The first Catholic Cathedral in the Americas was built. Walkways were paved in stone and the first street was laid, Calle de las Damas. These same stones now provide a perfect place to imagine the sites and sounds of the 1500's in the New World or a to enjoy a popsicle.

And to mourn over a popsicle that melted too fast because even though it looks like it could be the middle of some far away European country we are still on a tropical island.

On the corner of one of these streets just down from the French Embassy now sits a big anchor. Local tour guides will tell you that the anchor was found at the bottom of the ocean and that it was the original anchor of the Santa Maria. I can imagine that Christopher Columbus must have really enjoyed the wildlife and serenity that this new paradise held. Ground so rich that if you drop a seed onto the ground it would sprout with out any help at all. There were new fruits and foods that lasted all season. And it was all his.

The city continued to grow. Other buildings were built to honor the king and queen and forts were erected to ward off unwelcome guests.Now 500 years later we sat in the park of the doves just in front of the original Catholic Church of the Americas, running with the birds that surround you and land on your hands and taking in the scenery. As we sit enjoying the soft tropical breeze we can't help but look around and remember stories of the past and hope that the evidence of these stories is still there to cherish in the future.

THE END

Our Thanksgiving

Well, we definately didn't have a Thanksgiving Day turkey but luckily Papi had the day off so we did get to go on a little adventure to El Salto de Jimenoa in Jarabacoa. To get to it you have to walk on long streches of wooden bridges. AJ loved it. DJ was terrified and Isabel wanted to do it all by herself which terrified her parents. Alexandria was a little nervous but enjoyed the adventure.

Did I mention how high this bridge could be in some places over sharp rocks and flowing rapids and that Isabel wanted run on it all by herself?

After our exciting little hike we finally made it to our destination. I think the kids liked the walk more. They looked at the waterfall for 30 seconds and were ready to go back.

On our way back we found a little beach. The water was just right so we played in the water a little. But everyone kept their clothes on until . . .

PAPI FELL IN!! And pulled AJ in with him. Hilarious!

So we went swimming Dominican Style instead, stripped down to the undies. I mean when in Rome do as the Romans do, right?
I never thought my kid would be the one in the Dominican wearing only undies. Never say never.

Coconut Anyone?

This has got to be one of our favorite things, cold coconut water straight from the coconut. Refreshing!

Baseball: Estilo Dominicano

So I'm sure you're wondering what else we are doing here besides going to the beach, right? Well, we also go to baseball games. Surprise!! These games are so LOUD you could seriously wear two pairs of earplugs and still hear it. (See post below.) The kids aren't really big fans of all the noise but they still like going to the games.

Papi's team is the Aguilas (that's Eagles in ingles). And his cousin, Alejandro, is very quickly winning over the kids with ice cream every day at the park.

Papi has been doing very well. He was just named Aguila of the Week. This was after one of the games against Puerto Rico when he hit in the winning run. The reporters are interviewing him LIVE on the field and as you can see I'm sure the kids are keeping the viewing audience entertained as well.

Loud, LoUD, and LOUD!

To really get the full effect of this you need to do a little setting up first. Gather all the speaker in your house and maybe your neighbors and bring them to your computer. Now turn them all up as loud as they will go. You might want to hook them up to an amplifier too. Once you've got ALL the speakers hooked up and turned up as loud as they will go then push play, sit back and listen. If it's not hurting your ears and you can't feel it in your stomach and chest then you need to add more speakers and possibly and few bass speakers. Go to your other neighbor's house and ask to borrow theirs. Hook those up and try again. Repeat this process until it is SO loud that your house is shaking and you think you could possibly hear it from a mile away but you are standing right in front of the noise. Then you'll know it's loud enough.

Jr. Aguilas

I know it's hard to believe but we've got a son who LOVES baseball. These boys are so lucky! They get to go to the field when Papi has home games and practice with the team. They are loving this so much that they've decided they need uniforms so the Aguilas team can sign them.

AJ especially is really soaking it all in. He's in his own little world when we are at the games. He'll stand off to the side and imitate everything the catcher does. At the last game he branched out a little and started to imitate the pitcher too. Watch the catcher when you can and then watch AJ. It's like a game of follow the leader.

The Beach Part VI: The Finale

And a few more random pics because . . . did I mention how much fun the kids had?

THE END