Kelly served as Tour Guide Extraordinaire for a day outing to the Phoenix Zoo and on Friday it was my turn to escort our (they were Jacob's guests but we all staked claim on the cheerful guests) visitors for the planned trip to the Mesa Flea Market Park & Swap except ... it was closed. :-(
Instead, we spent most of the morning driving around: Queen Creek to Mesa to Phoenix (tried Greyhound Park & Swap, there was no one there - seriously) then on to Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and across to Fountain Hills where we stopped to watch the fountain when it went off at noon. That's a very tiny Andres and Eliza watching the fountain in this picture at left. I am kicking myself big time that I didn't get more and better pictures of these two. I took only a couple pictures and they weren't framed well for the bright midday sun. 
And, this is Eliza. She is the absolute sweetest gal ever. I had such a good, good time visiting with her and her brother during that morning outing. It was wonderful to hear her talk of landmarks and tourist areas in her home nation and also to hear of their travels and experiences here in the states. Eliza speaks English very well (her brother does too but I think she has a bit of an edge on slang expressions :-) ) and she is very bright - a university graduate and she studied tough courses, concrete and ceramics - construction materials and procedures.
Andres is a total charmer! He has the cutest smile ever and shares his smile easily. He is soft-spoken and inquisitive - loads of questions. He wants to learn all he can as quickly as he can. He is tall and lanky and has a playful personality. He was interested in learning what would make Jacob mad because Jacob had told him he wouldn't want to see him mad. I've no idea what that conversation had been but Andres was good-naturely interested in seeing what would happen if Jacob got mad. I tried doing the one thing that I know annoys him - giving him a hug and kiss when I greeted him but even that didn't seem to bother Jacob when in Andres' presence. Wish he could stay ... I enjoy the hug and kiss greetings. In this picture Andres was sitting on the grass playing with Baylee. It was absolutely a fun day for me - I sure hope it was a fun time for Andres and Eliza to ride around seeing different parts of the metro area. After meeting them, a trip to Venezuela is a definite on my Bucket List. They shared a passion for their country and definitely created a spark in my heart to get there and experience the Venezuelan culture. Thank you Eliza and Andres for sharing your vacation time with me and our family. Enjoy the rest of your visit!
