Summer swimming!

After having to cancel our swimming plans on Monday night because it rained, we were able to reschedule for Tuesday afternoon. We all went swimming at Sandee's house...and as usual...had a fabulous time! It's so fun to have all the cousins playing together and getting together to make those memories! A little swimming, a little chatting poolside...ahhh, this is the life!

Austin's Owie!

Austin had a very unfortunate accident while playing with his cousins on Monday. They were having a water fight and while he was running away his foot caught something sharp on the fence! It was not a pretty sight and it has been very painful for him. In addition to the 10 stitches you see here there are 2 internal ones to repair the muscle he tore. He was fortunate enough not to sever the tendon and will have no lasting effects except the scar! Not a fun way to start a family vacation...no swimming, no running, no hiking, no biking, no walking, no nothing!! Hopefully all will be well in 10 days!

Golden Eggs!

Due to our long vacation and then our impending move, we had to rehome our chickens. I was very sad about it, but also understood that moving with chickens would not have been fun! We will definitely get chickens again once we're settled. For now, they are with a very wonderful young lady who has named them all and cuddles them daily. The ironic part of the whole adventure was that the older group of chickens JUST started laying eggs this week. We were gone in Tennessee when they laid these 6, but I did get to eat 2 eggs before I gave them away. All in all it was a great adventure and I miss them terrible already. I loved watching them and caring for them. I loved Jag herding them around the yard, and the kids and I rounding them up to the coop each day. They were a fun experiment these past few months....good luck chickens!

Fourth of July Fireworks

For the 4th of July we were invited over to our friends, the Draper's for a yummy dinner and to light off fireworks. There were lots of kids there and we had a great time. We always enjoy fireworks in Texas because they really let you have the fun ones...bottle rockets, flying fireworks, and huge fountains. The kids did Roman Candles and sparklers and waited for the night to come for the "big show".

Everyone had a great time...no one got hurt, and we were home by 11pm! Great celebration!

Trip to Lake Atitlan

One of the biggest trips we had planned was a trip to Lake Atitlan and Panajachel. We hired a driver to take us there and be our guide. It was a long, windy road from Chimaltenango to Panajachel (about 2 hours) but so beautiful. We stopped at a viewpoint about 1/2 hour from the shore and took this picture: And of course, every opportunity to sell their wares! There were roadside shops all along the way and especially at the look out points.

A few views of the countryside homes as we drove along the roads to Panajachel:

We finally arrived to the village and walked down to the shore. We posed for this picture with 2 of the 5 volcanos behind us. It was so beautiful there. The lake has aqua blue water and the green mountainous countryside was so lush and pretty.

This is the view from our balcony at the hotel we stayed at. There are actually three volcanoes in a row here. Our guide told us that there is nowhere else in the world where three volcanoes are in a row like this.

Another view from our balcony of another volcano slightly to the right of the other three.

Down at the shore there are all these boats for hire. They are called launches and you can negotiate a fare to take you to any of the villages around the lake or just on a sightseeing adventure around the lake. Our guide wanted to show us some of the big houses on the lake and so we went for a short boat ride partway around the lake.

These are some of the nicest homes I saw in Guatemala. Rich people's summer/weekend homes is what our guide called them.

Here's the happy boaters enjoying the beautiful countryside of Lake Atitlan.

Los Colinas

Near the village of Chimaltenango the LDS church has a large piece of property that they purchased for scout camps, girls camps, and church retreats. I took the bigger kids there for an afternoon of fun and exploring. We had a great time and got really dirty!

The favorite exploration of the day was the rope climb. There was a rope that lead up a rock and we were up for the challenge. Austin and Kylie led the way, followed by Libby and then me. Ethan and Ellie stayed below to watch the backbacks and cameras!

Further down the trail was the wall climbs. Kylie and Austin raced up each side, and Kylie won each time! Must be the extra few inches of height.

Here's Ethan making his way across the rope walk. Ethan waited until we were all done and then he conquered it for himself. This is a big accomplishment because Ethan is afraid of heights. I was so proud of him for doing it!

All in all it was a great day spent with some crazy teens! I had a good time climbing, falling, swinging, and hiking all over the preserve with these guys. At the end of the day we were filthy and tired and hungry...so we headed back to the apartment to get cleaned up!

Guatemala City Temple

Before we left the US we knew that we wanted to go and do baptisms at the Guatemala City temple. Tiffanie and I were able to take my two boys and her Kylie and friend Ellie to the temple on Friday and do baptisms. Unfortunately Austin was suffering from a sunburn and was very tender when doing baptisms, but between the 6 of us I think we did 75 names! It was a beautiful temple and a pleasure to be able to do that saving work with great friends!

Day trip to Pacaya

One of our biggest adventures was a day trip to the active volcano Pacaya. This is the volcano that had erupted merely 3 weeks before we arrived, shutting the airport and covering Guatemala City with ash. The original route that we were going to use was closed due to the mudslides and lava fields, so we went another way around. We had hired a driver and ended up waiting an hour at the Maxi Bodega (grocery store---owned by Walmart of course!). Tiffany kept Maryn and Naty busy while we waited: After a long and windy bus ride we got to get out and walk right by the hot lava field. The lava was steaming and even red in places. It was so hot to walk next too! But what an experience. The guide told us that the lava will remain hot/warm for up to 18 months! The place where we hiked was a farmers field and he was now turning to tourism because his grazing fields were covered with lava. He said, "what am I going to do...it's my land!". So he put up a gate and charged admission for people to come and see the lava! How creative.

Here we all are next to the big lava field. We roasted our marshmallows and poked at the red lava and then headed back to the van for the long, windy ride home. Another great memory!

Antigua

After several days in the countryside, we drove up through some small villages to Antigua...the most popular tourist site in the area. Antigua is a beautiful town, with cobblestone streets and beautiful churches and architecture. This is the most famous arch in Antigua with the volcano in the back (behind the cloud).
While some of the cathedrals are restored and functioning, this one was in ruin and was not being restored. It was fully fenced and pieces were falling off.

There were many unique doorways throughout the city. As we walked up and down the streets we would take pictures of the different doorways. Austin thought this one looked like a prison gate!

In Antigua there is a working jade factory. The jade itself is found in eastern guatemala and brought to Antigua to be cut and polished into beautiful jewelry and art. This man was shining the jade from the quary before it was to be cut.

In the jade museum was a replica of the ruins at Tikal (which were not able to go see). Jade was the most important material to the Mayans, far surpasing gold and silver.

These masks were in the museum and were found in the tombs of the royalty of Mayan civilization. The people were buried with jade masks that would help them enter into the afterlife with riches and power.

Our day in Antigua included market shopping and dinner at a nice restaurant before heading home. What a fabulous day!