Happy Birthday Brinn (and Daddy!)

David's birthday was while we were in Ecuador so we combined his and Brinn's birthday celebrations!

We started the night off by going to Red Lobster for dinner... after all they do have all-you-can-eat-shrimp going on right now.
The birthday boy and girl! Opening gifts! The birthday cupcake! Aidan decided Brinn was getting too much attention so he tried to show her up! Happy girl! The only way to get her clean... straight from highchair to sink! Brinn sporting her new birthday gift... I have to tell you that I LOVE finally having some girly toys in the house!
Brinn goes to town on her cupcake!

Ecuador- Day 1

Our first day in Ecuador we spent exploring Quito.

Can you believe that we fit all our stuff into these two backpacks...


The Plaza Grande where cathedrals and current government buildings are found.

We took a tram 13,800 feet up above the city of Quito.

Mitad del Mundo- the equator.

The Ravelo Family- A family David baptised while on his mission, who actually opened their house to us and insisted we stay with them for a night.

Day 2

Our second day we took a 2.5 hour bus ride to Santo Domingo, the last area David served on his mission. We tracked down Eddison and his family, all who David had baptised 7 years ago.
This is their home, very humbling for me to be in! Some of their rooms actually just had sheets as dividers.

Later that night we went around the town with Eddison and a few other member from the area.

Days 3 and 4

On Wed. we took a 10 hour bus ride to the coastal town of Puerto Lopez. David's old mission companion is from Ecuador and he and his wife manage a hotel there so we went to visit with them. I hate when you have to go to beautiful places to see old friends! :)

An overcast but beautiful day!

Where we slept... to the right you can see the water.

On Thursday we went whale watching. We saw some huge whales which was awesome but didn't get any good pictures. We did get some fun video that I might try to post on here later.

Paula and Paul

Day 5

Friday we started off at 4am and 10 hours later arrived at Paula's family banana farm.

Where the bus dropped us off we were met by her family and we hopped on the back of their motorcycles, as that is the only way to get to their house.

Relaxing...

We were able to go to the factory where they get bananas ready to be shipped all over the world. FUN!

Her family was so welcoming and even killed a cow (before we arrived) so they could put on a feast for us! :)

Later in the afternoon it was back on the bus for another 3 hours to the city of Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. There we went to the Iguana Park (thousands of iguanas live in this park but they were all sleeping up in the trees), the boardwalk, and drove by the Temple.

Day 6 and 7

Day 6 actually started Friday night when we caught a bus at 11:00pm and arrived in Quito at 8:00am Saturday morning. We then took another 2.5 hour bus ride to the town of Otavalo where the people live a more indigenous lifestyle. They have a HUGE market where you can find all sorts of handmade things!

David and Paul bought these hats!

The four of us!

After the market we headed about 20 min away to a town called San Antonio/ Ibarra. This is the area where David and Paul served together so it was so great that Paul and Paula were able to come with us.

This is Maria Teresa! She used to sit in the park and slap David's behind every time he would walk through there. She's still there and seemed to recognize David. I have a picture of her that David took while he was on his mission that has hung on my fridge for 5 years because it always brings a smile to my face. I will have to scan it and post it sometime.

Pillar and her family. She now has her papers in to go on a mission.

Sister Herrera and her husband. She is a strong member and her husband does incredible woodwork.

On Sunday we went to church and we were excited to see Oswaldo there because David and Paul had wanted to see him and were not sure how to track him down.

After church we went back to Quito and David, Paul, and Paula spent the rest the day visiting with some members that had moved there. I, on the other hand, stayed in bed at the hotel after getting sick from some food bug. NOT FUN!

Alicia, Pillars sister (who also has her mission papers in.)

Sylvia, (who David baptised) and her sisters.


It was so fun because every where we went, when people saw David and recognized him, they were so happy to see him. True joy would spread over their faces (that's the best way to describe it) and he had some long embraces. The people of Ecuador are so humble and kind and it was an amazing experience.

Surprise... Day 8 and 9

Monday we were supposed to be heading home but because of Hurricane Ike our flight was cancelled.
So we took another tram ride to the top of the mountain with Paul and Paula except I just sat inside the lobby... I was trying to feel good! They took a horse ride to a little church at the top of the mountain.


After that, I was done, so went back to the hotel and wasted an extra day in a foreign county... but what can you do?

We said goodbye to Paul and Paula and the next day we managed to catch a flight home. It was the longest flight of my life being sick but knowing that my kiddos were waiting for me at the other end kept me going.

So here is the breakdown of our trip:
Airfare and taxes: 105.00
Hotels: 45.00
Transportation: 250.00
Food: 100.00
Gifts and Souvenirs: 100.00
TOTAL COST= 600.00

Memories= PRICELESS

Tia!!?!?!??

Poor little Aidan has the flu (thanks mom!). It's so cute though because when he is sick the only thing he ever wants to eat is a "tia" (translation: tortillas.)

I am knocking on wood that the rest of us don't get it since David and I are heading to Ecuador in a few days for a quick visit back to where he served his mission.