In June, we had our first non-family visitors. Our good friends, the Saldana family, came all the way from California to visit us. They have a wonderful adventurous spirit, love to travel, and want to expose their children to different cultures. However, the best thing about being with them is their sense of humor. We laughed through the entire week with them and had a blast.
It was also so heartwarming to have them here because their children are closer to Asher’s age. One of the biggest challenges of being here is that there aren’t many kids in our community around his age. He often talks about feeling like he doesn’t have any best friends. Asher connected right away with Matteo who is also six. They were equally annoying and found each other hilarious. There was a lot of potty humor and non-stop talking. It was also good for me to observe. Because we don’t know many other six year old boys, it was reassuring to see that, yes, my son is normal and his annoying behaviors are totally age appropriate (though still super annoying).
The Saldana’s actually spent twenty days in Panama. We helped them prepare an itinerary, and their last week was with us. If you are interested in all of our Panama suggestions, check out this travel plan we prepared for them.
While they visited us, we tried to give them a good balance of fun, adventure and relaxation time. They explored the beaches, Isla Iguana, and the kids spent their afternoons in Spanish class together. I think we were all surprised by how hard it was to say good bye. Their love of life and laughter brought a joy to our house, and a big void was left when they had to return to the States. We hope they loved their time in Panama because we loved them being here.
Family Stoke 