First trip to Breezy this year!

Last minute trip to Breezy with Andrea & the girls.  Always a good time!  We almost didn't go because Spencer is grounded from tv and video games but the girls so badly wanted him to come that they gave them up for the weekend too.  Not a big sacrafice for any of them though... They all love being outside, regardless of the weather and they are all so creative too. 

We went to the park for awhile and the kids acted silly as usual.  Spencer really enjoyed the baby swing as you will see...  They also looked for golf balls on the walk. I think there were about 20 found!  Leave it to me to tell them I would buy them from them!  $5 later... I was the proud owner of some golf balls. I was glad that so many were Pro V's.  

As always.... a good time was had by ALL.  It was a short weekend, but always nice to get away!

Overdue visit...

Sunday, April 22nd


After church, we stopped to visit with Uncle Dave.  It's been awhile.  Was a really nice visit.  Spencer made a new friend while we were there.  A lizard/dragon named Reggie.

Spencer was a little hesitant to hold him but after he sat on uncle Dave's lap for a bit, he decided to give it a shot.  He really just sat on his lap and barely moved.  But then... To Spencers surprise, he found himself pooped on! 

After our visit, we headed home to get ready for the Maxs' to come over.  Was a great night of baseball and dinner.  Bacon wrapped steak was what Spencer chose for the menu along with some veggies and the good old staple of Mac & Cheese. Yummy! 

As always... the boys had a fun time playing.  And... I need to start taking some pictures of them!

Just another manic Monday...

Monday, April 9th

Why is it that Monday's are always crazy?  We ended our crazy days with a visit to the library and then home for dinner.  As crazy as Mondays are, I love my Monday nights with the man of my life.

Tonight, my little man was, well, for lack of a better word.... Just plain GOOFY!   Every time I turned around, I was at first in shock, which quickly turned to laughing myself to tears!  I can't even explain it... I will let the pictures speak for themselves!

He did an amazing job of taking my crazy Monday and my bit of sadness and reminding me of what I have and how lucky I truly am.  He teaches me new lessons every day.  I have to say... I kinda love that kid! 

A night of bonding....

Monday, April 2nd
Spencer and I are often so busy, dinner ends up being quick and usually something reheated. 
It's always an awesome night when we have a chance to make a good dinner. It's even better when we have the radio on and cooking together.

It was perfect after a stressful Monday at work and having to replace a tire after somehow running over a tire weight. We talked about our days, talked about baseball, guitar lessons and just life in general. How awesome to share moments like this with my amazing 9 year old man. I'm not sure why I'm constantly amazed by what a great little man he is growing into. He truly is an amazing blessing and has really grounded me lately. He is continuing to teach me patience and what is really important.

As we were listening to KTIS, making dinner.... Me cooking up some chicken; Spencer chopping up zuchini and peppers... Spencer says to me, "Mom, what would it be like if God was a girl?"  Wow, wasn't expecting that.  My answer to him... "life would be way better".  Ha!  Just kidding.  I actually told him it wouldn't be any different. 

Spencer...
I love that you have God on your mind. 

I love that you have God in your heart. 

I love that you pray every night.

I love that papa is still on your mind and you pray for him every night.

I love how you are growing into an amazing,

compassionate little man.

I love you.

My welcome home....

Wednesday, Feb 29

My flight was delayed a bit so didn't get home til 1am.  First things first, turn up the heat.  Or not?  I came home to a broken furnace so my first night home was spent sleeping or trying to sleep in the frozen tundra, stocking cap and all.  Not fun. Also woke up not feeling well. Also, not fun.

But, despite all that, was excited to see Spencer.  I gave him the tshirt I brought him home with a 'mono' (monkey) on it.  He put that on and then I set up a scavenger hunt for him for the other little goodies I brought him home.  Scavenger hunts are by far one of his favorite things!  He had about 8 things to find and yes, they were all treats from Ecuador.  He tried a couple of them already and his thoughts.... "Ecuador candy tastes better"

He also spent some time outside playing in the snow.  Feb 29th and we finally have enough snow to play in. I'm happy for him but sure hope it doesn't make for an extended winter!

From Ecuador to Atlanta to Minnesota

Monday & Tuesday, Feb 27th/28th

Monday I woke up (early) in Ecuador and I fell asleep in Atlanta.  I had a stop in Miami in between. Only long enough to go through customs and change planes. Good thing I had over 2 hours to make it through customs or I would have certainly missed my plane to Atlanta.

Billy picked me up Monday around 4 and we had a great time, great conversation and made a great dinner. We did the same tonight. Guess you could say it was great. Always hard to say goodbye though... Today, more than normal.

Sometimes it seems weird to me that in just a matter of hours you can find yourself thousands of miles away. If only it was always that easy to just be where we want to be.

I'm now sitting on the plane going back to Minnesota.  Looking out the window, I am watching a lighting show.  There is something peaceful about it.  Something that helps me sit and reflect.  I am very fortunate to have had the last 2 weeks to spend some time in Atlanta with Billy and some time in Ecuador with Connie.  I am very excited to see my man Spencer, but I'm confident it will not be easy to step back into this thing we call reality.  

Random facts & observations while in Ecuador

• it is NOT illegal for 12 people to ride in the back of a pickup - some even standing.
• it IS illegal for a taxi to get in the way of a bus at the terminal.
• it is normal to walk down the side of the highway and apparently not illegal as even the police do it.
• It is normal to see people walking their cows down the street.
• squeezing SO MANY people on a bus that you couldn't possibly even tip over is normal - you could not be claustrophobic & live here.
• Ecuadorians are both aggressive (like on a bus or in crowds) AND fun & care free.
• There is a KFC on almost every corner.
• They hang their clothes out to dry, yet it rains every day.
• stopping to pee on the side of the road is commonplace (and apparently also not illegal).
• Ecuador is approximately the size of the state of Nevada
• Quito is the highest legal capital with altitude at 2800 meters (9200 feet)
• The central square of Quito is located about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the equator and is known as la mitad del mundo (the middle of the world).
• the word ecuador is Spanish for equator.
• because of it's elevation and proximity to the equator, Quito has a constant cool climate with the average temp being 65 year round.  
• And they only have 2 seasons - the dry season, or summer, is June-Sept and the wet season, or winter, is October - May
• They switched to using the US dollar in 1999.
• The city bus costs $0.25
• An overnight/long distance bus (like a greyhound) costs $8.00
• A bottle of water was $0.35
• A bottle of Pilsner beer was $0.85 at the corner store.           
• our first hostal was $24/night. The second was $30 but you can find some for as little as $7-$10/night.
• gas was $1.48 for regular unleaded          

Another amazing observation to me is that I think Connie and I were the only two tourists that were only spending 9 days in Ecuador.  It really is NOT enough time to see everything, but we met an amazing number of people (all from other countries) that are traveling around Ecuador and/or all of South American for months at a time.  Many of them had quit their jobs.  Guess other countries have a better economy than we do if they are not afraid of not finding another job after they get back.

We met people from all around.  I'm sure I'm missing a few, but this is what I can remember:

Denmark
Finland
Argentina
Columbia
Canada
Mexico
London
America
Islreal
Netherlands/Holland
Germany
Australia

Brazil                                                                                                                                                                                            

                                   

Our last day in Ecuador...

Sunday, Feb 26


Our over night bus ride was better than the first, although, it started out kind of interesting. A short time after we got on the bus, we were stopped by the Federalie. We all had to get off the bus and show our passports.  Back on the bus. Probably less than 10 minutes later we stopped again. This time, immigration. Again, off the bus to show our passports and our bags were searched. Apparently this area is big for drug trafficing due to its location.


The rest of the bus ride was flawless. We arrived back in Quito around 5am and found our hostal. Apparently though, they didn't understand our early was 5am. He was expecting us at 7 or 8 so he had no room for us.  For the next couple hours, we slept on a bench in the hostal.

He was kind enough to give us a couple pillows & blankets though.  My favorite part... Using the bathroom that I guess you could say was by the front desk. It was literally a closest with a toilet and a sink. And a chicken in a bag. Yes, a live chicken (see photo).  Ha!  I love this place. Anything goes!

At this point we don't have a room and we haven't heard back from our travel agent as to where to meet our driver for our last day excursions, which is supposed to start at 8. So, the hostal held our bags for us and we walked the 2 blocks to the travel agent.  Yep, you guessed it - they weren't open. Not until 10. Back to the hostal to have them call for us. Yep, you guessed it - she doesn't answer. Hmm. Now we wait until 10. So we grabbed breakfast at the Magic Bean and found another agent, Adrian about 10 after 10. By this time we are a bit frustrated as our last day is quickly fading and we are not getting anywhere. Adrian was able to contact our driver who was told to pick is up at 8 somewhere we were never told to be. This time it wasn't a language barrier as the agent who booked for us spoke perfectly good English. I could go on about that fiasco, but at this point the driver is on his way and we decide to make the best of it.


We finally jump in the truck around noon with Alex, our guide for the day. He was very nice. Connie picked his brain about the economy, drugs, cars, gas prices. Found out that Ecuador sells oil but doesn't produce gas but buys it from Columbia & Peru.
We heading toward Baeza to see if we could find White Water rafting. Connie heard it was one of the best places in Ecuador but the agency didn't book any of these trips so we figured we'd drive and find a place and go.  Ok, so maybe not that easy. I guess a lot of places were closed due to all the rain they had just gotten.


We were a bit bummed thinking it wouldn't work out, but our guide Alex didn't give up on us. He knew someone, so we swung by his place... Casa de Rodrigo. He wasn't there.  But he knew of another place in a neighboring town so we drove to El Chaco where we found Water Dog Sports.  It was closed, but Alex still knocked on the door and that is when we met Eduardo.  He hoped in the truck with us to go check the river. He said it was good, but we needed at least 4 to raft.  Alex comes through again and decides to go with us which I thought was awesome especially since he has never been white water rafting before, its raining, and many places are closed due to the river levels being high. Edwardo then called on his brother, Gustavo to spot us in his kayak. 


Next we know, we are all dolled up in our wet suits, life vests and helmets, threw the raft on top of a taxi truck and headed to the Quijos river. We hiked down some crazy path and dropped the raft in the river.  Let me just say...Amazingly beautiful!!  In the little calm spot we dropped in, we did some quick training and were on our way down the river!  We did class 3 & 4 rapids. We didn't have enough people to attempt the 5s, but it was awesome!  Intense at parts, but never felt like we were out of control. A couple times I thought Edwardo was nervous about us flipping, but he guided us well!  What a great group to be with. Funny how things work out sometimes. Edwardo was an amazing guide and complimented everyone but especially Connie on her intenseness!  Gus also took our camera and got some amazing shots. I'll post them soon.  He even gave a couple little kayaking lessons after we were done rafting. These guys were great. Edwardo even gave us a little lesson on the area and where we were was partially a jungle reservation & partially in Park National Cayambe. Did I mention how beautiful it was?
Unfortunately, because we were so late starting, we couldn't do the full 5 hour run. We were out about 2 hours and went about 9k. For $30, it was still money well spent. And, after we were done, Edwardo admitted he was napping when Alex started knocking on the door. Too funny!  We were glad he was napping and available!

Leaving there, we stopped back to Baeza for a quick bite to eat at a place Alex recommended. Food was great, huge portions and cheap.  We bought dinner for Alex to say thanks for making the rafting happen. If we simply would have listened to the travel agent, we would have never had that amazing experience.
By now its about 6pm. Next stop - Papallacta to soak in the natual hot springs!  I mean really... what better way to end a day white water rafting in the chilly river!?  It took about an hour and a half to get there. Nothing it quick in those winding mountains!


Papallacta is at 3300 meters (10,800 feet) and at first it felt like a bad idea because it was chilly out!  I may have even been seeing my own breath! And, again, we found ourselves without towels bit by now we were getting used to it.  It was cold getting back into our suits, but that first step into the hot springs and all was forgotten.


It smelled awesome, like a spa. Being in the water made my skin feel so soft. There were different pools so we tried a few of them out.  There was one they had a rock chair built in and we found that to be our favorite spot to sit and stare at the stars. It was a clear night and they were amazing. We talked a bit about our trip and sat in silence some just to soak it all in. 

Again, it was unfortunate that our time here had to be limited.  But, with a late start to the day and an early morning flight to catch, we decided we should head out after about 9 as we still had an hour drive back to our hostal.  It was still worth our $7 for the hour and a half.


Back to the hostal, we found our room and it was very nice compared to the first place we stayed. We only had a few hours to enjoy it, or should I say sleep, before the alarm would go off to head to the airport.

Farewell to the Jungle...

Saturday, Feb 25th

Our day started by sleeping in, which was nice.  We had some heavy, heavy rain and some thunder last night that sounded so awesome, I recorded it.  I also recorded sounds of the jungle the night before.  What great sounds to sleep to.  Although we wondered what we were getting ourselves into the first night we arrived in the Jungle, it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip so it is bitter-sweet to say goodbye.

We had breakfast at 8 with our group.  Our group was great!  There was our guide, Juan from Ecuador, Corrie from Canada who was a perfect fit for Connie and I.  There was a couple, Wiclo from Finland and Minna from Holland that now live in Finland.  Then there was Shaun who was from Manchester, England and Sergio from Guadalajara, Mexico who had met earlier in their travels and were traveling some together.  And of course, then Connie from California and myself from Minnesota.   I find it just awesome when you meet a group of people, from all over the world, that all get a long so well.  They were all trying to talk us into staying longer! We would have loved to, but also were excited for the rest of our agenda while in Ecuador.

Promptly at 10, we were back in the canoe for our 2 hour ride back to the reserve where we would meet our driver to bring us back to Lago Agrio.  The 2 hours went surprisingly fast.  It almost didn't feel like enough time to take it all in for the last time.  Once back at the reserve, we ate a quick boxed lunch as we waited for our driver.  A random funny while we were waiting, there were a couple military men that requested a picture with Connie and I.  Of course, we obliged.

Now back in the pickup with the same cute, short, old man who doesn't speak a lick of English.  I think what I liked about him so much was that he reminded me of my dad.  Made me feel dad was close.  Made me smile.

Once to Lago Agrio, we had about 5 hours to kill before heading to the bus station.  We paid a hotel $1 to hold our bags so we didn't have to lug them around.  We then walked around the town for a while and through the markets they had going on.  I probably would have shopped more, especially for shoes as they had an over abundance of shoes.  I wanted to buy shoes for both Spencer and Billy, but had no idea what sizes to by as their sizes are different than ours.  I was actually a little bummed.  It would have been easy if I would have had internet access but there were few places that we had service.

The craziest thing we saw here....  we saw a motorcycle hit another motorcycle which also happened to be the police.  The crash sounded bad, but they both got up and were OK.  Although, the cop was less than happy, as you could imagine.

After we tired from walking around, we found a place to grab a bit to eat and just reminisce about the trip and our last few days in the jungle.  It was nice to sit an relive everything that had happened so far.  We both felt it seemed like forever ago we first arrived because we had done so much.  We also felt like it went too fast, as we had so many other things we wanted to do before heading home that we just couldn't fit in the 9 days we were there.  We have a list started for what to do when we make it back!

We then headed to the bus station to catch our 9:20 bus.  Another overnight on the bus.  Let's hope this one goes smoother than the last....

Jungle Fever!!

Friday, Feb 24th

Our last full day in the jungle and it was a great one.  It started at 6am with a canoe ride on the river to look for more wildlife, specifically an anaconda.  Although we did not see the anaconda on our morning trip, we did see the river dolphins again and a Tucan! It was one of the only birds we really wanted to see so well worth the trip. 

We were back to the lodge by 8am for breakfast which was once again, wonderful.  I am not a pancake fan, or a marmalade fan, but I am now a jungle pancake & marmalade fan. Best pancakes ever!  The juices they always have are just fantastic too. The worst part, even when I asked what they were I either couldn't understand or forgot... Except, I did remember the passion fruit. The name was an easy one. The rest were apparently a bit too exotic for me to remember!

Now that we were all full from breakfast it was time to go on a jungle walk so back in the canoe for a short drive.  We then all get out to start our hike. Here we found out that 2% of the jungle in Ecuador is rain forest and there are I think 3 additional different types of rain forest. Juan showed us things such as natural nail polish, a leaf the natives used to use to write messages to one another using a stick to write with, a huge caterpillar, more monkeys, seceda hive (which is a bit phalic), some tree sap that they used to use to start fires which worked really well since most of the wood is wet.  We also were introduced to lemon ants which are very tiny & live in a tree in which nothing else grows around it.  Juan was a great guide but was super funny with his answers sometimes. I asked if we cut the lemon tree in half, if it would be hollow with only ants in it and his answer pertained not at all to my question. We determined, this was his reaction if he either didn't understand the question or didn't know the answer.

We also found the muddy part of the forest!  Mud up to our knees or more in which we had to cross!  Connie barreled right through. I'm not sure how she did that as with each step I took, I felt pulled in, suctioned actually. However, my boots were shorter & not tight around my calfs like hers were so let's just say there was much more room for mud entry! I'll have to post the pics later of us not only going through the mud, but me trying to get my boots off. Quite funny!

After we were all muddied up... We found some more jungle weed for the new group to try. We also found some vines to swing on, which was quite fun to play Tarzan & Jane for a while. 

We also got to meet the most poisonous frog in the jungle.  What I found interesting about this, is it is apparently only deadly if eaten.

We were off once again in the canoe. We went to the Lagoona to take a little swim with the pirahnas and river dolphin.  We didn't stay long as we needed to get back for lunch, but being the really only warm day we've had, so decided this was our chance to swim in the jungle, so myself, Connie, Sergio & Juan all jumped in. I had to giggle a bit cuz Juan just dropped his pants and jumped in the water in his underware which is totally fine, but they looked like underware I would buy Spencer!
On our way back to the lodge for lunch, Juan and his eagle eyes spotted an Anaconda! 

Our trip was complete with all the animals and creatures we wanted to see.  Except, of course, the jaguar!  Apparently they are a few in the jungle, but in 8 years of being a guide, Juan hasn't seen one so even my offering him a big tip didn't help!

Again, lunch was great. We got to taste baked yuca which was better than French fries!  And now, for the first time on out trip, Connie and I were truly able to kick our feet up and enjoy the hammocks!  And let me tell ya, with a cold cerveza and some good conversation with our new friend Corrie from Canada. It was great and relaxing!

After a couple beers, it was time to hit the water again (with a Pilsner in hand this time).

We started out with some more pirahna fishing in which this time, I caught the biggest (and look at those teeth!!) Well, besides Jimmy, but he is a 10 year veteran so I took the win for the tourists anyway. Jimmy for sure took the win on number of catches though... He pulled in a whopping 10 fish, including the worlds smallest piranha and he caught a perch by its belly. Seriously crazy.

After we ran out of bait, we headed back to the Lagoona for a sunset swim. It was beautiful. The water was great. The company was a blast. It was just a great time.

Back in the boat we started heading back and of course, eagle eye Juan just happened to find 2 more black caimans and another anaconda. Seriously, that man is one with the jungle!

After the night out and another great dinner, we once again enjoyed the hammocks, another cerveza and our new friends.  most of us even feel asleep on the hammocks.  Shortly after we awoke and found our way back to the hut, it started pouring and thundering. I recorded it, it sounded so awesome. I also had recorded the animal noises of the jungle the night before. So cool!

Connie & I were saying we are going to quit our jobs & move to the jungle. Juan thought that was a good idea (I think he had a crush her!). It really is beautiful and peaceful. I see why people go & never come back.