guest post by tricia #4 and #5

Can I just say we were awful about taking pictures this trip?
Monday we went into downtown so I could place an order for tango shoes. I bought one pair off the rack and my mom and I designed another pair to be made. I got a fantastic deal by purchasing them with American dollars, which will no doubt be sold on the "blue market." My mom was fantastically patient with me. I'm kind of a mess when it comes to being creative, but I do usually end up pretty happy when it's all over with.
Other highlights of the day included driving past a park where it looked like all the dogs had been drugged. There were dozens of dogs, each sitting quietly alone, basking in the sun. I think it was freaky because they kind of seemed like people.
We ate lunch at Carlito's and had a tennis lesson with Pablo. I love that I'm a frequent enough visitor that he remembers my name.
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On Tuesday, my mom and I headed to the temple. It was so stormy, we could actually hear the thunder during the session. After we were finished, we ran into the Temple President, who recognized my mom. She asked if he would show me his office. On our little tour, he congratulated me on having the parents that I do. I seriously loved that! Thank you, yes, I worked so hard at that. I'm glad they've turned out so amazing too.
While the Temple President's office had some great furniture, I really noticed the Matron's office. There isn't a word that means Matron exactly in Spanish, so she is known as the Directora. I think having the men be Presidents and the women being the Directors sounds about right. I loved the artwork she had in her office.
And, as if to underscore how famoso my parents are, a couple came up to my mom and I while we were in the lobby waiting for our remis. My mom wasn't sure who they were at first. But of their backpack, they pulled a copy of a picture of them with my parents at the temple open house from September. Seriously, they carry around a picture of my parents with them. Kind of weird since I don't even do that, but really sweet at the same time.

Finally our remis came and we headed back to the mission office. On the way there, it was raining and the taxi's windshield wipers just stopped working. I tell you this a) so you can get a sense of the car we were in and b) so you can relive my fear with me. The windows were fogging up and we were driving through the rain on the freeway in Argentina without wipers. I was literally praying to please just let it not rain too badly and just let us get safely to the mission office. It's only about 15 minutes away, but there were a couple of parts where I just had to close my eyes and not look. This was really a hair-raising experience for this particular control freak, that's for sure.
At the office, I ate all good candy out of the Elder's stash. With my parents, I never know when I'm going to eat again. It's especially true when we wait for my dad. It's kind of a party hanging out in the office, but I get the feeling it's not quite the same when I'm not there. Not that I'm the life of the party by any means, just that I'm...something different.
And then my dad (who didn't make us wait too long, for once) took us to eat at Demetria. It's a yummy, health foodie kind of restaurant not far from their house. If I lived there, I would go there once a week. He complained about it, but he had to admit, it was delicious. I liked the waiter who told me hello as I was leaving. Bonus points for trying.
And then we went to Jumbo and walked around Unicenter. I went there 12 years ago when I visited my parents here before, but haven't made it yet on any subsequent trips. The place is always packed. We struck out on a movie, but decided to go home and watch something on Netflix. I introduced my parents to the beauty of Netflix (Brianna, you owe me) and we had a blast watching The Family Man together.