Weekend Cousins

Thankful this weekend that my kids have their cousins - especially as the Easter holiday approaches. Olivia did a sleepover with 10 year old Sofia last night after a pleasant evening at the Latin American and Caribbean Festival held at Pitt's Student Union each year (sponsored, in part, by the Center for Latin American Studies and The Latin American Cultural Union). The boys played with cousin, Oscar, and Lilliana kept friends Maria and Carmensa entertained (and dragged us to all of the colorful booths in the meeting rooms).

There were many dance performance, speeches, informational booths and food. My mother-in-law read a poem for her friend, Salome Gutierrez, a Latin American leader and popular Pitt professor who was killed by a negligent driver just before Christmas 2009. My mother-in-law, Clara, read her poem in Quechua, a native Peruvian language, which was one of the classes Ms. Gutierrez taught, and a language they both learned to speak as children growing up in Peru. It was very nice - very sad, but... a celebration of culture and life, nonetheless.

Photos: The kids eating Latin American chicken, rice and empanadas and drinking Inca Cola and mango juice (and a zesty Caribbean punch with ginger in it that Milo discovered).