The Walsh half of the Walton family left this morning. All the kids and teachers gathered up to say goodbye with a send off party. Some of the kids danced. We passed around lots of hugs and said a teary "hasta luego".

We decided to squeeze every last drop out of our last day here. During the day a bunch of the kids worked in the bakery. All sorts of good smells were coming out if the kitchen. We were treated to snacks of warm banana bread after lunch and cookies during evening playtime.

While the kids did chores, we sadly cleaned the volunteer house, collected up the cards and drawings from the kids. And packed up. Not. Ready. To. Leave!!

We had an awesome evening. We played seemingly endless games of Twister. Holy Cow!  It was very competitive. In the end, Christofer (big one), Junior, Josue, and Maury competed for Champion of the Universe. After trying my best to twist them up, they wore me down and they were all crowned co-champions.

We brought the paper flowers out again and pasted them on the Popsicle sticks to make a lovely garden. Mikaela brought out the yarn balls and made God's Eyes with the kids. Sean played a lot of soccer and basketball tonight. He is wiped!  He is really going to miss Christofer (big one) and Mykel. They have gotten to be great pals.  Everett and his new best friend Jaison made shields out of old card board boxes and fended off attackers (including Nancy, who apparently has a crush on poor Ev.)

We miss our Walshes, but we are glad to know they have safely arrived in Houston and are with our dear friends the Nolascos. (Muchos besos y abrazos a los Nolascos, por favor.)

We leave El Hogar at 8:30 tomorrow. Sigh. It has been a truly memorable week. Every time I leave this place I feel sad.  But, I always know I will be back.

Con muchas gracias,

Julie