Tuesday, November 3rd, aside from doing more packing, we checked one more thing off of our short list of things to do in Lima before we move. We went to the Museo del Convento de San Francisco de Asis de Lima, or the Museum of the Convent of Saint Francis of Assisi of Lima. I'm so happy we made it, even if we drove through the ghetto to get there. It was awesome. We got an English tour of the church, which included awesome art and woodwork along with history lessons. And the library! It was awesome! They had choir books that the choir would use for the words. Very large, heavy books that the'd put up on a big lectern that could rotate to set up multiple books. The pages were made of goat skin and the covers were wood.

Then after touring the church (and seeing an awesome Last Supper painting. I loved how Judas was portrayed with the Devil whispering in his ear), it was time for the main attraction for me, the catacombs! Being in real catacombs that were hundreds of years old was way cooler than any recreation done for halloween. Although, it got warm pretty quickly. We learned that they used to lay a body in a grave and pour lye over it to quickly decompose it, and they'd lay body over body in drawers like that. When it was excavated, only the strongest bones survived the lye, so the separated them by bone type to get an idea of how many people were buried there. So there was a pit full of skulls, and Henlie gave everyone a chuckle because when she saw them, she said there were monsters :) Unfortunately for us, pictures were not permitted anywhere inside, but their website has some. Also, you can read about it in English. Here is the link to the English homepage. Here are the virtual tour pictures.


We also looked at some of the markets because I wanted to get a particular shirt that I didn't get at the market the day before. We ended up walking to the main square, so I got to take pictures of some of the awesome architecture. Apparently a lot of the main buildings in Lima were gifted and built by other countries, so there's some pretty cool architecture.














In our quest for the shirt, we ended up walking past an artist who does street caricatures and portraits, and Andrés insisted Matt get one done. It ended up being a family portrait. By the time that was done, Andrew was chilly and needed a change and to eat again, so we just went back to the car to change him, and then I fed him on our way back to Inka Market where we knew the shirt was :) 



We did find the shirt I wanted for Henlie and even picked up a onesie for Andrew. Then we stopped by KFC for dinner and headed home. Even though we were gone longer than I thought and we still had lots of packing to do, I'm so glad we got to spend a few hours doing some touristy things in Lima. I'm also glad we went back to Inka Market to get this shirt for Henlie. I would have been sad if we hadn't.

We are having some busy days getting ready to move to Utah, so I didn't get this written yesterday :) That, and we really got no sleep the night before, so we headed to bed instead.

I don't think Matt and I have ever carved a pumpkin in our married life. We definitely weren't going to this year as Henlie is still pretty young and we're moving in a few days. However, Andrés messaged me a picture of pumpkins one day and asked if I could do them. I was confused, and then he sent another picture of a jack-o-lantern. Finally understanding, I consented. I mean, if the Peruvian wanted to carve pumpkins, I guess we could carve pumpkins :)

We were initially going to carve them on Thursday, the 29th, but Andrés and Licet got to our house late, and then we went to Plaza Vea, which was a little further away, and then Andrés had to pay for his internet router, and since we were at Plaza Vea and I also needed other groceries, I didn't know where things were so it took longer. Then, Andrés' card didn't read, so that took forever before Matt paid with cash. During this waiting, Henlie fell asleep. Needless to say, we didn't carve pumpkins. Although we maybe could have because Henlie woke up as we got home and then she was super sad and angry and didn't go right back to sleep. She ended up finally coming out with us for a bit during dinner.


We had invited Andrés and Licet to our ward Halloween party on Friday, the 30th. We talked about doing pumpkins before that instead. However, Andrés messaged me at 3pm (when they were supposed to come over) saying he had some work, so he wasn't going to make it before the party. No pumpkins.


Finally on Halloween, we carved pumpkins. Andrés and Licet picked up some dinner at Don Belisario since I hadn't had that before. However, they were much later than anticipated, so we finally started on our pumpkin. They made it while Matt was finishing the face. 


Henlie wanted triangle eyes. Neither Matt nor I is very crafty, especially when carving a pumpkin, so this worked out. She and I designed the face and Daddy cut it out. It had been a long time since I'd carved a pumpkin. I forgot (or maybe never knew?) just how much work cleaning it out could be! We had to take turns :)


Then, we had dinner. The chicken was nothing unusual, but the sides truly were better at Don Belisario. The cheesy potatoes and sweet potato fries were super yummy.

After dinner, it was Andrés' turn to carve his pumpkin. I'm kind of sad I was nursing Andrew and didn't get to video the beginning. He'd never done it before, so when he cut his lid and pulled it open, he was shocked haha. Then he began the long, hard work of cleaning it out. THEN he had to sift through the internet to find a carving he liked. I was impressed with his drawing skills, though. He free-handed a template by looking at a picture online, and it was really good. Then he transferred the concept onto the pumpkin and began the process of carving. He took much pride in his pumpkin. After carving it, he polished up the edges and wiped off any little stray pumpkin pieces. It turned out pretty well.


Then we had to light them. I think he had to use four tealights because a) the candles were tiny and b) his pumpkin was large. (We only used one in Henlie's pumpkin :))


While Andrés finished his pumpkin, I let Henlie watch the Curious George Halloween special movie on Netflix. She ended up staying up a little too late, but she did eventually go to sleep after Matt, Andrés, and Licet left. Matt had to make an airport run due to the campaign, so it was me and the kids again.


As a side note, we had no trick-or-treaters, which was good because I had no candy :) I wasn't sure if it would be a thing within the building or not. Turns out not.

Our ward had a Halloween party/culture night on Friday, October 30th. Apparently this combination happened accidentally a year or two ago, and now it's a thing.

We actually got there right on time, which was impressive because we live in San Isidro, and also, the traffic on Javier Prado was especially bad. However, on time in Peru = very early lol We wandered around and watched people set up. The Adams girls also brought their cuys (guinea pigs), so we got to see them and Henlie got to pet one.





The party got started around 7pm with a little trick-or-treating at various classrooms in the church. It was nicer than previous trunk-or-treats because that limits it to people with cars...and people who can afford/find candy. Apparently the ward also had some budget for candy, which helped offset costs.



After trick-or-treating, it was a lot of sitting around waiting for everyone to finish....and then waiting for the culture night part of the party to start. I talked Andrés into coming in, and then I felt bad because it still took forever to start. And while there were some samplers of food, we didn't stay and get any because we had sleepy babies.


Culture night had some cool stuff, though. I mean, those who just talked about the various countries weren't exciting since I don't understand Spanish, but Peru and Colombia had some dances. A couple people sang songs. I guess the idea was to get a representation of the different countries represented in our ward. Don't be confused, it wasn't related to Halloween, just a general culture overview :)


Since we left early and were hungry, we stopped at the McDonald's drive-through on our way home. Henlie got the cutest Happy Meal box with the cutest, tiniest fry holder you ever did see. They had two available toys, and they let her pick, car or guitar. She picked the car. Matt was proud because technically the car was the "boy" toy. (The guitar was pink and played the Barbie theme.)



I got chicken nuggets. Not nearly as yummy as my last McD's experience, but what do you expect from nuggets, I guess. I did get an Oreo McFlurry, and that was rather tasty :) After dinner and a piece of Halloween candy, it was time for bed.

After the campaign, Matt was basically done with work in order to get ready to move. However, he mostly did a lot of sleeping the first couple of days playing catch-up after long campaign hours. He did want to print something for his new job, though, so we went to his office. But first, lunch!

We went upstairs to his office to eat. I snapped some photos of his swanky office, along with the view from some of his windows. Henlie found a dry erase marker and made him a picture, just like on Peppa haha. 



While we waited for Andrés to pick us up (it was kind of chilly and was getting late when we finally left the house....), we went to Parque El Olivar and looked at the fishes in the small pond.



Then it was time to go home. It was colder than we thought. Naturally it's the one time I forgo jackets. Even poor Andrew only had a lightweight blanket. Oh well, it wasn't too bad. While we waited for Andrés, we saw some more pigeons and some laser birds. I'm going to miss laser birds. One finally indulged me in getting a little bit of their call (which is why we call them laser birds. They're really Scrub Blackbirds.) on video.


I love family outings. These are some things that I'll miss when we leave Lima.

And so we get to November. I have some things to blog about in October still, but I want to do a post (hopefully) every day leading up to Thanksgiving with something or some things I am thankful for. Hence I'm up blogging at 11:10pm Lima time. :)

Moving is bittersweet. Today was our last Sunday in the La Molina ward here in Peru. Firstly, I'm very thankful for this ward. Sometimes I really think having a separate English branch would be the better option, but I'm glad they offer translation, and it has been fun to learn some Spanish at church, like some of the primary songs. Henlie sings Cristo Me Manda Que Brille (Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam) and Cabeza, Cara, Hombros, Pies (Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes) now. It's freaking adorable. Also, it has been nice to have a community of like-minded expats as friends. Expat living gives you a new type of community. Like, you're from the States? Let's be friends! -or- Oh my gosh, you speak English? Let's be friends! It doesn't matter if they're from across the country or even another English-speaking country. Or, heck, a different country but they also happen to be fluent in English. Funny how it works.

Anyway, Matt stood up and bore his testimony and announced to the ward it was our last week. We got a lot of goodbyes from friends. Our primary kids locked us out of our classroom for awhile, which let us chat with some other friends. The kids decorated the chalkboard and gave us a card. Two, really. Eliza did one from home. The other had messages from the kids that the primary presidency had them pass around. In Sharing Time, they also thanked us and said goodbye and gave us a bag of fun size Milky Ways. I was amused we were given American candy when we are moving back to America :)

We had tentative plans to have dinner with one of Matt's old mission friends, but he didn't confirm anything, and another friend of ours from the ward invited us to lunch at her house instead, so we got to visit with her and her kids. It was very enjoyable. We had some fun chats, and her kids (while older) did great entertaining Henlie while we talked and she cooked. She also graciously drove us home afterward. I wish we'd taken the opportunity to get together earlier in our stay. It's okay, though, because in December, they are moving to Logan :)

I'm also grateful for the extra push to forge and maintain relationships living in Lima has given us. Even though distance-wise, our friends don't live that far away, the logistics of traffic make it a bit of an ordeal to see them, but it is so very much worth it. And these are the kinds of friends you don't come across every day (see above about expat living :)) It really is a special kind of bond, and makes a two hour drive to Logan on occasion that much more worth it in order to maintain such a friendship. I've also tried to be better about talking with other friends and family instead of letting those relationships wither away. #priorities

Another instant community you find when away from home is church. It's nice that even though it may be in a different language and there are still some cultural differences, the Church is still the Church. The doctrines are the same. The same Spirit is there. The structure of the meetings is the same. Like when I had Andrew and my first nurse was LDS, instant connection. Instant connections are pretty cool.

I've also been grateful to have the opportunity to teach our primary class this year as we studied the New Testament. It has been fun and enlightening to study the life of Christ in such a chronological way. 

I guess I'll end tonight's thankful post with one of the simple things - Matt made me hot chocolate, and it was yummy :)