Hyrum's Baptism

Here are pictures from Hyrum's baptism back March 10.  I realized I never posted any pictures from that day.  My friend Kim Paulos took them for us.

Here is the group of pretty much everyone who came to support Hyrum in his decision to be baptized.  Click the picture to make it larger.

These are more pictures from before his baptism to use in the program.

I love Hyrum's tired of smiling face in this picture.

Two group shots with Kyle & my family together who made it to the baptism.

Hyrum with his friends afterwards when they were getting ready to play in the gym.

Scriptures on his head balancing act.

Gretchen & Kyle with Christian, Julian, Vivian, Hyrum, Kaden, Quinten.  This picture is on here because I want Hyrum to one day know that I choose to make the day about him and what was important to him and I encouraged them to get a group picture even though our divorce was not final.

Kyle & Hyrum.

Hyrum with Kyle's family

Hyrum with Bishop Updike - Hyrum's choice of who he wanted to baptise him.

With my family after church on Sunday.

Hyrum's family with Bishop Updike.

So there you have it, pictures from the baptism on a day that brought so much excitement to me and my son, yet at the same time was a huge challenge as I invited Gretchen and had to see Kyle's unsupportive parents.

Peru

It is hard to believe that I was in Peru just a few short weeks ago. More pictures of the landscape.

This was where we slept the first night out on the trek. The bottom of this beautiful freezing cold snow capped glacier.

Notice the bridge over the water that we had to cross.

These steps were so narrow and steep! No hand rails way up in the mountains either.

Salkantay Mountain

My boys are gone to their dad's for the weekend and I am off on yet another adventure. Trip #25 here I come!  I love the fact that there are so many small towns around San Antonio that I can easily get my exploring trips in in short amounts of time.  This is the last kid free weekend before school starts and I have no school obligations.  I am going to make it count!

Yesterday I joined the gym again..... it was a long 2 month vacation and I was missing it.  I picked a new place this time and the kid place is heavenly for the boys. A win win for all of us.  I need to get my non-running self into a running mode for this http://www.godirtygirl.com the first week of December with some girlfriends from church.  Should be a fun time!!

moving on

I have been asked a few times since updating my blog about how I can go on a trip to a foreign country with a person that I am not even dating.  Well my response to that would be my blog doesn't reveal the full story and after getting back from my crazy June vacation I am enjoying my time with Brian again.  Who knows how long things will last or what will come of it, but I am having fun and enjoying my life and that is what matters.  Just clarifying that up for my friends who don't live close by who I am not lucky enough to talk to all the time.  I am grateful for people in my life who encourage me and care about mine and my children's well being.  Thank you!

I have been feeling the anxiety of single parenting these days.  Not that my kids are difficult, but I had my kids with every intention of being a stay at home mother, now I am forced to put them into day care and have someone else raise them.  To some this is ok, for me this is a HUGE struggle.  I know that there are qualified people who can watch them, but they are so young and impressionable at their ages.  We (I) will survive this!

The boys!

Since returning home I have LOVED every second of having my boys.  We are keeping the theme of the best summer ever alive and planning out these last 3 weeks until school starts. 

Last night after the Missions game

Today at the pool TinTin has found a love of goggles and swimming all around the pool on his own again looking for "cool stuff" under the water.

Right before I left I took Kade and Quinten in for allergy testing. We are the newest epi pen and nebulizer family.

This guy cracks me up. He is losing his baby face and turning into a little boy.  I am re-potty training him again as apparently day care can only put undies on your kid if you bring them undies - imagine that!

Sunrise over the (I think) Florida Keys. It was amazing!

This kid loves wide rimmed hats!

We played with friends Friday up at the church for hours and made up "new olympic sports" 

Kaden loves sleeping in my bed and I love the lighting in there especially in the morning.

Last night at the Missions game Quinten kept trying for a ball. He was asking the players and he and Hyrum were running around trying to catch the balls. Finally during the 7th inning he was lucky enough to catch one!

There are 20 more days left of summer and we have a busy next few weeks. We are planning a camping trip, kayaking, and a hike. After looking at my pictures from my trip and a boring daytime in daycare for the last month, we want to add some more excitement to the end of the best summer ever!

Salkantay Trek

These pictures are not in order at all and I am not in any kind of mood to change them.  They are from the Salkantay Trek.  Pretty much one of the hardest things I have ever physically done.  It was also a mental mind challenge to continue on knowing that the beginning was more difficult and it would get easier as the week went on.  After this trip I am so thankful to live at a lower altitude where it is easy to breathe and think and function.  That being said I would go on this trek again. Being able to start up in the mountains and finish in the cloud forest was amazing.  I had lots of time to think about my life and what I want and the future while taking in amazing views!  There are many more pictures on Facebook if you want to take a look over there.

Machu Picchu

This is Cusco. We left here in the dark in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

The mules and pack horses that carried in our tents and sleeping bags.

Heidi & I hiking up to the top of the mountain.

This was actually on our first night in Cusco. The Peruvian peddlers had "problem, problem" with our torn dollars. The mom here wanted us to pay to hold her lamb and take a picture. The little girl on the right and the boy knit little llamas that I ended up getting for Kaden.

Spectactular views!

Me, Brian, Chris, and Heidi on the morning we left for the trek. We had to be up at 4:45am. I think we look pretty good for just a few hours of sleep.

Our "family" after we finished hiking riding the train to Aguas Calientes. We look pretty great for not having showered in 4 days and hiking over 35 miles!

After the train ride with Freddy & Valentine our amazing guides.

At the summit of the mountain. I had to take a horse ride to the top because I couldn't breathe this morning. My lungs were not wanting to expand and I was getting numb and dizzy.

This is the Salkantay Mountain we slept under the first night. It was so cool.  The stars at night were so bright and the snow glowed in the dark. It was so quiet around and FREEZING cold. -10/15 Celsius.  Hiking into camp that night my hands were bleeding they were so cold.  During the night you could hear the avalanches cracking down the sides of the mountain.

Here is our gear crossing one of the many rivers.

Vanessa, Christine, and me looking back to where we came from as we were cold and exhausted climbing up the huge rocks.

Brian & I at one of the many scenic spots.

This was the last day of the trek about 1/3 of the way up 800 meters.  In the "jungle." 

The final day I hiked machu picchu and wayna picchu (the mountain in the middle) in flip flops because the day prior my socks rubbed a huge blood blister under my toenail and I could not wear my hiking shoes anymore. I was exhausted, swollen, but did not want to miss out on the main purpose of my trip to see this wonder of the world. So I continued on. There were some tears of pain but I could smile!

with Carlos & Thuy. I loved hiking with these new Texas friends!

This was on the 4th day, my first peek at Machu Picchu. Made going on worth it knowing that I was so close and would be there tomorrow!

The family! We lucked into being a part of an amazing group that ended up being like family by the end of the week. I am glad that we were with these wonderful people.

After this trip I was able to spend the night in Miami with Tia because it was an ordeal to get home. They closed the Cusco airport because of high winds, so we were put on an earlier flight then when we left Lima we had to make an emergency landing in Guayaquil Ecuador because an old man had a heart attack.  This delay caused us to miss our connecting flights and be forced to wait on stand by all day. I had them change my flight to the next day so that I could spend the day with my sister.  When I got there, her dog jumped on my toe and we spent the afternoon at the podiatrist getting my toenail cut off and hoping to see my bones stick out of my body once again.  Edema took over my entire body and I was told to lay down and put my feet up.  We had fun going out to dinner and watching the olympics before I was on the plane the next morning with more travel problems and mechanical problems.