Summer love and the pool affair

Tomorrow it will be three weeks since our arrival. 21 days.
Of course, it feels like we just arrived and I think we all feel like we are still in vacation. We are in the middle of the summer here and that adds to that feeling. Also, our annual trips to Argentina were about three to four weeks, so we are still within that time frame to feel anything else but a vacation affair.
It has been hot but not awful. It has barely rained and the dryness of the land is beginning to be felt and seen all around. We need rain soon.
Thank goodness we have a pool in the house and that has helped with one important aspect: having fun!!
But there is a lot more than fun to having a pool. There is maintenance!
Zach spends thirty minutes to two hours every day working on the pool. And still we always feel in the verge of the disaster:  the water becoming green and dirty, which would mean emptying the pool to clean it and fill it again. That would be A LOT OF WORK!
We had no idea of the amount of chemicals a swimming pool sucks and all the steps to keep it nice and clear. It is not just chlorine, you also have to measure the acidic level of the water, because if the PH is too low or too high, the chlorine does not work. So, we have a PH test kit, and we get hydro-chloric acid (muriatic acid), to level the PH.  Then we also got the alguicide, to prevent algae, and "decantador" for the dirt to accumulate at the bottom so you can vacuum. Then there is the re circulation and filtering of water, vacuuming the bottom, and knowing when and how much of each of the chemicals to put on. As you might know, chlorine gets inactive with the sun! So, it has to go in at night!  All would be easier if the pump and all the accessories would in working condition, but...there are not. The pump is erratic and inconsistent, and sometimes just simply does not work. Same with the vacuum. And then, they work. Just like that. Same with the pump that pumps water from the earth to the house! Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. The owners sent an electrician twice and he did some changes but the pump continues to work inconsistently. It is an old pump, in a old house, in a neighborhood that has not updated its power lines in a long time. Demand for energy has grown exponentially and everyone's theory is that there is not enough energy to make things work fine. Makes sense, given that other people living near have appliances working inconsistently, too, and we can see the lights inside the house blinking at night when it is hot and people, specially in nearby private and wealthy neighborhoods, turn on air conditioners. We do not have air conditioners in this house but so far, we have been okay.

The kids are enjoying the pool the most! They swim everyday, morning and afternoon. The pool has been the anchor to our sanity. When we feel we still have miles to end this process of settling in, we just go in the pool and get a break!

The cousins all together!! Martin and his family visited for the Holidays and my nieces Jose and Cony played with Nico, Luci and Mora! They all got along pretty well, specially Cony and Luci!

Mora is in love with Fede! She calls him Fese. She knows he is her Godfather and she makes sure she demands lots of attention. Fede adores her and teaches her to swim. All three kids love all their uncles, they are devoted and fun! 

It has been hard to find time to relax with so much going and the constant demand of the kids and the never ending social interaction! Everyone is excited with our arrival and tries to help, visit, want to spend time with the kid, etc.. I at least tried every day to sit for a few minutes and breath in, look around and enjoy the view and remember how lucky we are to have this opportunity!