we made it!

i absolutely have to tell you all about the amazing race to get samil's passport, but today we'll just say:

here is samil pulling his little suitcase at JFK airport in new york.
the passport is temporary, but we're here. 

 as soon as we landed at JFK, my brother and i took the kids to the crazy-capital of the world - times square. dominicans refer to all of the united states as "nueva york" and our little minds have been pretty confused about what new york is since mami is always correcting them that, no, they are not from "nueva york" and no, neither is she. so, we showed them a little slice of the big apple before heading to philadelphia.

 we got roped into ghetto character photos in the street before hitting toys r us.

 then we walked up to the m&ms store (my favorite!)

we didn't do a lot. i've spent a significant amount of time in manhattan and it's not my favorite part of the world. i do love uptown, harlem, spanish harlem (and yes, even the heights) but downtown and all of the tourist trappings just aren't my bag.

the kids have been kept busy since we got here. we've been to the library and to playgrounds - and before you think, wow this girl is cheap. you seriously do not appreciate what you have until it doesn't exist. good playgrounds are few and far between in santiago - and library? what's a library? we also did the art museum and will museum it up this week, too.

thank you all for your good thoughts, karma, prayers, for samil's passport issue - it was pure grace and goodness that got us here (wait until you hear the story).