Christmas Eve in Paraguay

What do people do when they are in a different country than their entire family for Christmas?  Well, this year we decided to take a trip to the zoo.  Our first plan was to go swimming because it has been so hot here, but Christmas Eve was a little cloudy.  The pool is a good 30 minute drive and we didn't want to get all the way there and have to turn around and come home (with very disappointed kids).  So, we chose the zoo- 5 minutes away and costs about $10.00 for the entire family to get in!  Maybe less. 

Here is the crew (minus the photographer).  Walker hiding behind Emma.  And Olivia with her baby, of course.

Such a cutie!  We forgot her shoes, so the poor thing didn't even get to walk around. 

Emma posing in front of the peacock cage.

The most exciting find of the day was two giant green lizards.  They were not part of the zoo- just running around lose on the walkway.  Can you even see them way in the background?

Olivia got antsy in her stroller with no shoes, so Chris gave her a fun "daddy ride".

Giving daddy kisses.

Me with Olivia.  We had bags strapped all over that poor stroller! 

I didn't show any pictures of the animals we saw.  They just aren't that pretty in pictures behind cages :(  But we did really enjoy our day!  And we spent the afternoon at our teammates' house enjoying some fabulous finger foods. 

Christmas Eve in Paraguay, called Noche Buena, is the big event for the Christmas holidays.  Everyone gathers at the homes of their families and they have a huge dinner- at Midnight!  Actually, at midnight, everyone shoots off fireworks simultaneously in the entire city and then they all sit down to have their dinner. The major drawback to that is that many also shoot guns off into the air.  It is always a good idea to be under a roof at midnight!  And then after the chaos and dinner, the kids who are still awake get to open their Christmas gifts.  Chris and I actually celebrated with a Paraguayan family before we had kids one year.  It was lots of fun!  But, now that we have little ones- we opted to get them in bed at a decent hour and watch movies together until the fireworks started.  After all, who can sleep when the entire town is booming fireworks?  Our teammates made a video that they called "Christmas Thunder".  Check it out!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!