Daddy's Boots

One day, when Stephen was getting ready for a mariachi performance,

Jaden decided that he needed some mariachi boots too!

Bus Station Dedication

In the neighborhood near the church the city recently opened a new bus station and asked the mariachi to play for part of the dedication ceremony.I had a doctor appointment that morning so Jaden got to tag along with Daddy until I got there.
He was having a GREAT time because there were buses AND mariachi music!
It is always an amazing blessing to me that the mariachi gets to play both popular and Christian music at public events like this. What a wonderful opportunity to share the message of Jesus!
A new, clean bus was there for checking out. Jaden HAD to climb on and go for "rides" with his trains!

Trumpeter in Training

This fall I have been going to a Bible study every Tuesday night. That means that Jaden has been going to mariachi practice with Stephen. One night, his water bottle that turns into a bell when he goes with me to handbell choir practice became a trumpet so he could play along!
No matter what music is playing Jaden seems to be interesting in joining in!

Mariachi San Pablo Tour - San Antonio & Austin TX

The summer has been in full swing for us for quite some time. Here are a few pictures from our recent travels with the mariachi group! 10 performances for over 2,250 people and driving over 1,200 miles in 7 days. FUN STUFF!

San Antonio – Concordia Lutheran Summer Day ProgramThey had the kids dancing in the aisles
San Antonio - Abundant Grace Daycare - even the kiddos in the cribs were dancing!
San Antonio - a full concert at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran ChurchJaden joining all the kids and adults at the Community Center for a bit of fun music

Joined by a little fan for singing AlabareOf course, a little fun along the way

Remember the Alamo!crusing the river

Packing, unpacking, and repacking...you get used to it I guess.Iglesia Luterana Pueblo de Dios in Austin

Stephen as the mission speaker at the TX LWML Convention in Austin. He had them laughing! Doesn’t he look sharp in the new suit that God gave him just in time for the event? (He hadn’t known just what to pack to wear. His nice suit seemed too formal, less than a suit too informal for a mission speaker. a woman in San Antonio brought this suit the day we were packing up to leave saying she had found it at a Thrift store where she volunteered that was closing and she just had to hold onto it. Can you believe it was his PERFECT – and nearly impossible to find – size, and a really nice brand! AND he just happened to have a shirt that looked nice with it!?!?! God always takes care of His people – even in the little things!

Playing for the TX LWML Banquet – the group had a GREAT reception! The crowd was cheering, applauding, dancing, and snapping pictures like they were rock stars!

Praise God for safe travels and an amazing time sharing His love through music!

Mariachi San Pablo

What a good looking crew!

Come see us in Nebraska next week!

July 22 – Omaha, NE

[Private Event] Entertainment for the International Global Village Dinner at the International Lutheran Laymen’s League Convention, 5:30pm, Location: Qwest Center Jr. Ballroom.

July 23 – Lincoln, NE

7:00-9:00pm – Nebraska State Penitentary – Performance with Religious Services for inmates.

July 24 – Lincoln, NE

4:30-8:00pm – Outdoor Carnival and Concert – Trinity Lutheran Church -724 S 12th St Lincoln, NE. Mariachi San Pablo will perform various sets. Other entertainment includes the “Grupo Folklorico Sangre Azteca”, a pinata, Joan Wells a trick roper. Food is available. For more information call Tom Pruitt – (402)474-0606.

July 25 – Omaha, NE & Fremont, NE

9:00am Worship, 10:30am Bible Study - Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 7301 N 28th Ave Omaha, NE. For information call (402)455-8700

3:00pm Concert – Trinity Lutheran Church, 1546 N. Luther Rd, Fremont, NE. For information call (402)721-5536.

July 27 - Grand Island, NE

6:00pm, Outreach Concert. Each year Peace Lutheran Church runs an outreach Vacation Bible School in one of the city’s trailer parks. In this concert Mariachi San Pablo will assist them in this outreach effort as a follow-up event to their annual VBS the week before. For more information contact Peace Lutheran Church: (308)384-5673

July 28 – Hastings, NE

7:15pm Concert – Peace Lutheran Church, 906 California Ave. For more information call 402-462-9023.

July 30 – Grand Island, NE

Perform for employees of Swift Meat Packing Plant during lunch and dinner shift meal breaks.

July 31 – Grand Island, NE

7:00pm – Concert. Ashley Park 220 W. Capital Ave. For more information call 308-389-4611.

August 1 – Grand Island, NE

8:00 & 10:30am Worship – Peace Lutheran Church 1710 N North Rd. For more information call 308-384-2001

2:00pm Spanish Worship – Cristo Cordero de Dios 512 E 2nd St. For more information call 308-389-4611.

Mariachi San Pablo - Tour St. Louis - Part 2

The next day we went to the St. Louis Arch.  I showed Jaden the little cars that we would ride the elevator in.  He LOVES elevators so he was pretty excited.  Here we are in front of the door waiting our turn to get in.

Once we got in, he was NOT a big fan of the little egg shaped cars.  It was a good thing we had “Pablo” with us.  He was Jaden’s best friend the whole time we were there.

Looking out the windows at the top was a big hit with Jaden.  He especially loved watching the cars and trucks below.

The whole group

Me and my boy

And my man

That evening the group played at Zion Lutheran Church

The next day we had some free time at the Science Center.  This was a cool place but most of the activities were quite a bit over Jaden's interest level.  Although, Jaden did think the dinosaurs were pretty cool!

And he enjoyed looking through the window in the floor that overlooks the traffic passing on the interstate below.

The had a section with numbered blocks where you could build an arch.  Mostly, Jaden loved knocking other people’s arches over.  Oops!  Sometimes BEFORE they were able to get a picture of their work!

He also dug for fossils in the dinosaur exhibit

That night, the Mariachi played at the Concordia Seminary Campus as the opening before a lecture series.

The next day we had a bit more free time at “The Magic House.”  This place is SERIOUSLY cool for anyone under about 10.  The older members of the group didn’t really have much to do since the staff wouldn’t even let them check out the cool things since they didn’t have a child with them.  Sadly, they hadn’t told us that at the entrance and instead just got mad at the group along the way.  SO, if you’re ever in St. Louis with smaller kids this is INSANELY cool, otherwise, not a big hit.

They have all kinds of hands on activities and science type experiments for kids to play with.

One room was a “fairy tale” room with scenes set up from various books that kids could play in.

Beauty and the Beast

Jack and the Beanstalk

W whole town where you can “work” in the various stores.

Here is the mechanic

And even an outdoor construction site where Jaden got to drive the Bobcat with daddy

The next day the group played at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres MO.  They got to play music during worship and lead the Sunday School hour.

They got all of the kids dancing the “pato” and the “sapo” and had a lot of fun.

And that night we had one more concert in Washington MO.  This was a last minute addition to the schedule and they had over 200 people attend.  Amazing!  They only booked us one week before we played!!!

There you have it.  Our trip to St. Louis.  At least in short!

Flying with a 2 Year Old – Part 1

DISCLAIMER (sorry to any of my regular readers who isn’t interested in this one.  Skip to the end to see a cute pic of the munchkin.)

Our mariachi tour to St. Louis was the first trip we’ve taken by plane since Jaden turned 2.  That meant we had to buy him his own ticket (OUCH!).  I did a bunch of reading and searching and was just NOT excited about carrying our GIGANTIC car seat through the airport (along with all our other STUFF) and into and out of the skinny airplane aisles.

I found the CARES Safety Harness  for kids but thought it was kind of a lot of money since I don’t know exactly how much we’ll travel by plane.

In the end.  I decided my sanity was worth an effort to save so I bought it.

Based on some of the reviews I had read I wondered

-          If I would have trouble with the airlines to use it.

-          If it would really be as easy to install as the directions indicated.

-          If it would be comfortable for Jaden.

-          If he would actually stay buckled in it.

Here is my review:

SUMMARY: I would recommend this product to anyone flying with a child that fits the size requirements for the harness.  There are a few things I would recommend (see detailed summary).

-          I did have a few flights attendants tell me that they didn’t think I could use the item when I was installing it.  In most cases simply telling them it was FAA Approved gave me the green light.  A few actually looked at the paper I showed them which the manufacturer recommends you carry with you.

-          It was SUPER easy to install.  Honestly.  Like 1 ½ minutes tops.

-          1^st flight Jaden was awake and playing the whole time.  He was just fine and comfortable.  2^nd flight he was in it for takeoff and a bit of reading.  Then he was really tired and wanted to sleep.  He just wanted to be on mommy’s lap so I let him.  He returned to the seat belt before landing.  3^rd flight he was fine playing, eating, etc.  4^th flight he was REALLY tired so he fell asleep at takeoff.  Many reviews indicated that the chest strap is too close to the child’s neck and they are worried about strangling them when they fall asleep or that the child couldn’t get comfortable while wearing the harness.  I propped Jaden’s head with a blanket (I didn’t have a neck pillow) and after takeoff I reclined his seat a little bit so he was in a little more of a relaxed position.

-          While Jaden was awake he was pretty interested in the airplane seat buckle.  Reviewers of the product said that it was impossible to keep their kids in the harness because it relied on the easy-to-open airplane buckle to secure.  Jaden did want to open the buckle.  But, I let him do it a few times and then reminded him how we always buckle up in the car and we always have to buckle up in the airplane too.  I showed him how mommy was wearing her seat belt and how the people around us were also and explained that Jaden needed to wear his seatbelt too.  I also showed him the seat belt fastened light up above our heads and told him that when that light was on, the rule was that we have our seat belt fastened, and we might get in trouble if we weren’t wearing it.  All of that satisfied his curiosity and he left it alone (for the most part).  He was usually pretty anxious to get out of the harness by the end of the flight (especially when we were sitting on the ground for about 15 minutes waiting to pull up to our gate) but I just reminded him about the light, told him that when the light went off he could open the buckle, and distracted him with something else to do.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR USING THE HARNESS:

-          Show it to your child before getting on the plane.

-          Talk to your child about how they are going to get to wear a big boy/girl seatbelt on the airplane (especially if you have flown with them in your lap before).

-          Take something like a blanket or pillow to help them be comfortable when they fall asleep (and to keep their head from bobbing here, there, and everywhere.

-          Take plenty of activities to keep them entertained (of course, you were going to do that anyway, right?)

-    Shop around.  I bought mine on amazon.com and found a cheaper price including shipping. aa.com also sells one but it is exactly the same thing and about $10 more.

I’m sure we’ll get our money’s worth out of this product because we have to fly to see family (or drive 27 hours).  I learned that you can rent them if you don’t want to purchase one.

In the end…..it was SUPER easy and fast and hassle free.  That gets it a 5 STARS in my book!