Holidays and Helicopters...

Happy Holidays and an Amazing New Year to all! I hope you all had an amazing holiday time with friends and family, as I had a great time with my dad (from DC) and sister’s family (from London) in town. The one thing I should not complain about but will is that having my sister and the kids stay at the house prevents me from getting my regular sleep. Noah and Marnix were usually put to bed around 8PM, so they’re up and about around 6AM, which means no sleeping in for me.

Noah, Marnix, and Carlos

Xmas eve was nicely spent with family and friends. First we want to my dad’s house for a surprise visit from Santa for the nephews, and we spent the rest of the evening at my aunt’s house, eating tamales (I don’t eat that), opening presents, and shooting some fireworks. On Xmas day, everybody came over to our house for turkey and our annual FIFA 08 tournament on PS3. Turkey and fixings were exquisite, though I ended up being six out of eight in the rankings.

At my dad's apartment... My dad's side of the family.

Carlos, Tatiana, Margit. Underneath my dad's apartment lives my friend Tatiana. She actually lives in Texas, but her parents live in Guate, and she was here visiting...

At my aunt's house, Carlos, Patty, and Rodolfo.

The day after Xmas, my dad took us on a helicopter ride across parts of Guatemala! I had never been on one, and the ride was amazing as we saw Mixco Viejo, Chichi, Panajachel / Atitlan, and Antigua... it was for 1 1/2 hour, and it went by extremely fast (and it was not sketchy at all, as we bumped into John Stossel from ABC's 20 / 20... Yes, I recognized him, told my dad who he was as he had no clue, after which he proceeded to talk to him and we got a picture out of it). Poor Mr. Stossel, trying to relax and these crazy chapines come bother him. Also notice that Mr. Stossel and I are wearing the same shirt... hahahahe). Anyway, some pics from that day:

Here are the brave souls behind the chopper... no barfing please!

JD, Patty, and Carlos... 10-4!

Amazing view of Pana, the lake, and volcanoes.... just jaw dropping!

I just love this pic... looks like a quilt!

Stossel in the house! He was actually very nice and patient with us.

On the 27th, we went to the beach as we had rented a beach house with some family members. We were a bit crowded, but we sure did have a great time: sand, sun, pool, poker, drinks, XL party (with Kumkia All Stars as special guests), and one last FIFA 08 tournament.

That was a crazy game of poker!

Yeah the pool! Andres, Fritz, and Carlos...

FIFA 08 tournament with a twist. If you lost or tied a game, you had to drink a shot of vodka or rum.... oh yeah!

Ahhh... we finished the bottle of vodka and had about half the bottle of rum! I actually only had one shot during the tournament, as I ended up only tying one game (did not lose one). First place baby!

JD, Fernando, Allan, Carlos. Afterwards, we were challenged to Nintendo Wii tennis... with the losers taking shots. My tennis skills were not there that night... many a shot was had!

Good times!!! Yeah!

New Year's was spent at Monoloco with Bob, Pamela, Charlie, Jorge, and friends... Billy was there (one of the bar owners), so they closed the bar around 12ish and the VIPs stayed till about 4AM with free open bar. I had a bit too much to drink, and didn't get as much sleep as I had planned, since the bed I was staying at ended up having three people in it and we didn’t go to bed till about 6AM. On the 1st, we met my dad at Casa Santo Domingo for brunch and pigged out (good way to start the New Year…. As my dad says: if you don’t put on a few pounds during the holiday time, it’s because you’re poor… hehe).

My sister and her family, as well as my dad, have gone back to their respective homes. It’s amazing having them around, and reminds me how lucky I am of having family member that I actually enjoy spending time with. I wish I could spend more time with the nephews, but we each choose our own paths in our lives, and you gotta respect that. To all my family and friends, best to you in this 2008!

Abrazos y muchas bendiciones este nuevo año,
CRCP

P.S. - If you want a good / funny review of 07, check out our friend from the Washington Post, Dave Barry... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122101950.html

P.S. II - I finally got my car back on the 4th… just in time to pick up my special friend at the airport (I really missed her)! I was supposed to get in about 10 days before, but you know how car shops are…
P.S. III - DVDs added to my collection during the holidays: 07 World Series, Seinfeld Season 9, Memento, Zatoichi, and Hot Fuzz.