Home Sweet Home?

Well, a little Pingree-ite is somehow seeing more of the world than she ever thought imaginable. A little adventure never hurt anybody, but wow - I never thought South America would be in the cards for me. An offer to re-locate our little family turned into a 10 day trip for Jared & I - a crazy, long, & wild 10 day trip full of flying, driving, walking, more driving, more walking, more driving, & more flying. (I'm obviously not a very optimistic traveler, but hey, I'm an active mom, & active moms don't sit, but I'll get better at it...I think) ;). Of course I missed my girls tremendously who were having the time of their lives being spoiled rotten by Grandmas & Grandpas everywhere throughout Southeastern Idaho. (I'm so grateful for everyone who helped take care of them - I know I missed them more than they missed me :)!!

Anyway, after having created a decision tree (not once, but twice, wait, three times), we now know we need to cease this opportunity. We have a few months to prepare, but alas, the day will soon come when we take the plunge to Argentina for 2 years. Something about this upcoming transition has given me a new outlook on life, & I look forward to really sharing my testimony & heart with the people of Argentina. Here are a few of the sights we saw...

A private Catholic school. Pink is a popular color in Argentina.

A ridiculous poisonous snake I helped kill. Basically, I thought I was going to die. Okay, not really, but it was creepy. The snake was still alive & well when Jared took this picture. I was screaming in the back of a truck.

A glimpse of Quebracho (a ranch literally out in the middle of nowhere where Jared & I will be spending a lot of time).

More of Quebracho. The parrot nests were incredible.

Walking a neighboring street of our future new home. Primitive? Yes. Livable? Certainly...I think!

Walking in Argentina

Today I walked through the streets of Venado Tuerto Argentina. The streets are dusty, & it smells like exhaust - not necessarily a bad thing, but I wish I had my camping clothes. There's either a fresh fruit stand or a French pastry shop on most corners (definitely yummy), & there are a lot of people riding bikes & motorcycles with a baby (or two) attached somewhere. Animal control is non-existent. I'm not quite sure where all these stray dogs are coming from, but they seem pretty tame. Jared & I made it to the central park, & we sat on a bench for about an hour & didn't really say anything. We were staring at a giant bronze statue of an Argentine cowboy getting bucked by a horse. Our conversation went something like this:

Jared: "Well, what do you think?" (About the 100th time I've heard that this week.)
Me: "About what?"
Jared: "About life?
Me: "Do you know what sets centurions apart from everyone else?"
Jared: "No, what?" (Is this 20 questions or is this a conversation?)
Me: "Their ability to adapt."
Jared: "Looks like I'll live to be 100, how about you?"
Me: "I could get used to paisley tight jeans & red high heel boots."
Jared: "Yeah, me too." (Not sure how to interpret that one.)