A Visit from our Kathy

I have had such a major blogger's block (something like writer's cramp) the last while that I just haven't been able to make myself sit down and write. It isn't that I don't have plenty to blog about or even that I haven't wanted to. It is that I just couldn't seem to get started. Anyway this morning Larry was leaving to run some errands and suggested that I use the time to blog, so here I am.

There is much that has happened since I last blogged but I must start with the Kathy's visit. It was so sweet of Scott to spend a big part of his vacation watching the boys so Kathy could come and spend time with her Mom and Dad. Thanks again Scott!!

Kathy flew through Dallas and spent a couple of days there catching up with her old high school buddy Debby and her college pal Kristi. It was fun for her to see their homes and spend time with their families. Good friends are just the best!

After a difficult day getting out of Dallas (she was flying on standby), she arrived here on Saturday night. It was quite late when we got home from picking her up at the airport so we just visited and caught up on things. It was so good to see her and she looked great!!

Sunday we had a very low keyed morning, had a nice dinner and then went to church at 2 pm. It was fun to introduce Kathy to our friends there and to have her join us in our meetings. She seemed to pick up quite a bit of what was going on. That evening we went to the Visitors Center and took a tour and watched a movie. Again, we loved being able to introduce Kathy to all of our "other daughters" and the Stewarts.

Sunday dinner coming up

Kathy and her Dad

The temple on our walk

The VC

Our Christus picture

On Monday we were off to Teotihuacan and our trek to the Pyramid of the Sun. It was a beautiful day and all went well. We left early and took a bus and it was kind of fun. The bus on the way out stopped in every little berg. Kathy actually seemed to enjoy seeing the Mexican countryside. Once there she joined us in our awe of the place. It was really beautiful because of all the rain we had been having and everything was really green. We did the usual rounds but we got to see a couple of new things we had never before seen. After we all climbed the Pyramid of the Sun, Kathy became the first member of the family to climb the Pyramid of the Moon. Way to go Kathy!!

Larry and Kathy by the Temple of the Plumed Serpent

An interesting new area we hadn't seen before

A rest in the shade before the long climb


Top of the Pyramid of the Sun

View from the Pyramid of the Sun

Kathy's view from the Pyramid of the Moon

On Tuesday we hit downtown. Mexico City is such a huge place that you can never run out of things to see. In the morning we started off at the National Palace. It is such a beautiful building and we looked at all the Diego Rivera murals on the 2nd floor and then went through much of the rest of the building and grounds. We especially enjoyed the cactus garden and the other gardens in the courtyard behind the palace.

Off on the metro for a day in town

Palacio Nacional

Courtyard at the National Palace

Garden behind National Palace

We next walked by the Templo Mayor and saw the amazing ruins there. We decided not to go in the museum as there was so many other things we wanted to see. We went to the Metropolitan Cathedral and then took a Turibus tour of the city. The bus tour takes about 3 hours but gives you a really good overview of the city. There are headphones with a recording in English to point out the history of the sites as you pass by. After the tour we went to the Tile House and had a late lunch and then, of course, we had to visit the Ideal Bakery. Finally we headed back to the metro and back home for a relaxing night.

Templo Mayor

Metropolitan Cathedral in the Zocolo

On the Turibus

The Tile House

This cake made me think of my princess-loving granddaughters

Cookies galore at the Ideal Bakery

On Wednesday we woke up to rain. We decided to go to the Temple in the morning and then head to Chapultepec Park in the afternoon. The Temple session was wonderful. It was so great to have Kathy there with us. She got a headset to listen in English but ended up listening to much of it in Spanish and she did well.

After we got home we changed and took the metro to town. By now we had great weather and the walk from the metro to Maxmillian's Castle was really pleasant. Beautiful flowers blooming in the park and lots of people to watch. We actually didn't walk all the way to the castle because we decided it might be fun to ride the little tram up. It was a lot easier. The castle, as always, was beautiful and we were able to share a little of the history of Mexico with Kathy that we had learned on earlier visits. One of the upstairs hallways has beautiful stained glass windows of Greek goddesses. This area is not always open to the public, so it was a real treat to see them with her.

After we left the castle we walked by the lake and then back to the metro to head home. Kathy got her things together and we enjoyed our last night with her.

Chapultapec Castle

On the tram going up to the castle


Kathy on the beautiful patio of the castle overlooking Mexico City

Two of the beautiful stained glass windows in the castle

Fountain of Mother and Child in the rooftop garden

Kathy by the lake

Thursday morning we took Kathy to the airport and then headed back to work to resume our missionary activities. Kathy spent much of the day in the Mexico City airport on standby but finally got to Dallas. Standby there was also difficult so she ended up spending the night there. The next day after much more airport waiting and round about flights she finally returned home to her cute family who were very excited to see her.

If you want to see additional pictures and story line check out Kathy's blogs.

here
here
here
and here

Sean Family Visits!!

We recently had another great experience with the visit of Sean, Vivian and family. It was so fun to be able to share our beloved Mexico City with them.

Friday The first day we were off to the Zocalo and the Templo Mayor. We wrote about the templo in an earlier post that you can check it out below if you would like. It was a fun day and we were able to show the family many of our favorite things in Mexico City.

Waiting for the Metro

No seats on the train

Sean and Vivian at the Templo Mayor

Sage Brock and Ryan
Some of the ruins at the Templo Mayor

Wall of Skulls and others scary things at the Templo Mayor


who is the scariest?


Scary girls


Resting up for the next stop

After lunch at the "Tile House", a fun place to eat, we went to find dessert. One of the kids' favorite places turned out to be the Ideal Bakery. An amazing place with LOTS of goodies to choose from. Some of the cakes are unbelievably tall and it was fun seeing how all the different cakes were decorated.

Main dining room in the Casa de los Azulejos (Tile House) resturaunt



Goodies galore!!

It is quite the place!!

We spent the afternoon on the Turibus doing the tour of Mexico City. It is really quite interesting and gives a great overview of the city.

Famous Mexico City landmark, the angel statue, from the Turibus

Saturday we did some things in our neighborhood. We went to a shop where Brock bought a soccer jersey. We then went to the tianguis (our outdoor market) and finally to the Merced, a huge market where the kids all found some great deals. It was a day with the true flavor of Mexico.

Brock's first purchase

The Merced

On Sunday we relaxed in the morning and then everyone headed off to our 2pm church schedule. After one hour of sacrament meeting in Spanish most of the clan decided to head back to the apartment, rather than go to two more meetings they didn't understand. Sage, however, wanted to go to Primary and went and made quite a hit. That night Ryan presented a concert in the Visitors Center. It was wonderful. He is so talented and many of the Sr. missionaries as well as most of our young missionaries, our bishop and his family and many of our ward members came to hear him play. In all there were over a hundred people in attendance and they all seemed to love it. Sage had a great reunion with many friends she had made that morning in Primary. We tried to upload a video of his playing but it was too long. You will just have to take our word that it was great!

The family before the concert

Monday the plan was to go to Maximillian's castle in Chapultepec Park. We got an early start and when we got to the park it was all gated closed. In Mexico City many things are closed on
Mondays but we were surprised to see the whole park closed. Plan B turned out to be a trip to Ciudadela, a wonderful more upscale market place where goods from all over Mexico all sold. Again the Foley kids didn't have any trouble finding things they liked. But first, we had lunch in a nearby park.

The Foley boys in the park

The Foley girls in the park

Let the shopping begin!!!

That looks pretty good

They sure look native huh? Cute kids!!!

Tuesday and we are off to Teotihuacan and more fun!

In front of the Temple of the Plumed Serpent

A better view of the plumed serpent


The Ciudadela
(open area near Temple of the Plumed Serpernt with 12 smaller structures surrounding it where many ceremonies took place)


On the road to the Pyramids of the Sun (on the right) and
the Moon (straight ahead)


Entrance to an underground area on the way to the Pyramid of the Sun
Way cool!!


Another interesting area on the way to the Sun


Branden resting on the steps to the sun


Sage on the top on sentry duty

View from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun


A visit to the Palace of Quetzalpapalotl
(thought to be the place where the high priest lived)


Lunch with a view

Waiting for the bus for the ride home in a cactus garden
Love the hat?
(Sage was chatting up a guy about the world soccer playoffs)

Wednesday, our last day

The kids had to leave for the airport by one o'clock so we decided to take a quick trip to the Basilica de Guadalupe (the second most visited Catholic shrine in the world) since it is not far from our apartment. It was a hot day but it was still good to be able to see one more sight before sending them off.

On the bus to the Basilica


Inside the new Basilica


Outside the new Basilica

Sleeping Accomodations

We were able to get the boys rooms in the MTC dorms which was a great help. Not only did they sleep there but they were able to shower there which saved us having 9 people waiting to shower in our little bathroom. It really worked out well and gave Brock and Ryan a taste of dorm life before they hit Heritage Halls at BYU this Fall. Sean posed with the boys (we didn't make him stay in the dorms. We let him stay with Vivian.) Branden, however, did stay in the dorms.

More to Come

It was a great visit. Now we are waiting for Kathy to come next week. She is taking a well deserved break and coming alone, thanks to a good husband who is going to watch the four boys.
I am not sure what we can do to get our other girls here but we do love sharing Mexico with our family and friends