Our first tour....

This is the President's Palace and it takes up a whole city block. The President of Argentina came for a visit yesterday, but we weren't invited....awwww....

This is the cathedral that Francisco Pizzarro built. It is massive and very ornate.

I had to take a picture out of the window of the bus--this was a lady making pork sandwiches--note the carcass in the bottom of the picture--lunch to go!!

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Arriving at the airport in Lima, boarding a bus to the hotel. Very tired, long long day it's now 12:00am! Went to the grocery store to get food--we were hungry got to bed around 1:00am.

This is the view from our hotel room on the eleventh floor bright and early the next morning. Welcome to Lima!

And now for a long fllight...

We started the long journey with a flight from Salt Lake to Dallas then to Miami. This is all of us getting ready to leave Miami for Lima. The flights were all very full, but thankfully uneventful. Poor Duane spent most of the first flights in the lavatory, but by the time we got to Lima, he was feeling a lot better!

We leave at last!!

Leaving from Denise and Phil's house in South Jordan--very very early in the morning--3:00am on Monday--the big trip is about to begin--(Duane is still very sick...)

Cameron and Shawnte's new visitor!

This little guy was in their backyard--he has a squinty eye, and doesn't fly very well, so Fish and Game is supposed to make him all better!! The funniest part was when Alora texted me to tell me he was trying to fly while they were transporting him in the car!!! Picture that one!

Fall is Here!

I am always so delighted to see the leaves change colors!!! I love fall!! We are getting ready to take off for our Peru trip and I wonder if the snow will be covering all the pretty leaves by the time we get back? It will be so surreal. The girls got all their immunizations and watching Alora get hers was a sight to behold--I really wish I had the camera for that! The good thing is, by the time she got the fifth and last shot, she was a pro! Now just for the malaria medication.....I keep telling myself, this will all be worth it!

Am I crazy???

So I have decided to start training for my first half-marathon. It takes place May 15, 2009 in Spokane, Washington. I don't know if I am crazy or not, but if anyone out there would like to join me in my madness, let me know so we can start training together. If not, I could use some tips, or just friendly words of encouragement to get me going. Thanks.

The Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom came to the spokane opera house this season for the first time in several years, so naturally we were the first to buy tickets! After some rearranging of seats and tickets, Tami went with Natalie and Jayson on Thursday and Dad gave up his seat for Saturday so that Alora could go with me. Alora has never seen the show live before and agreed that it was better than seeing the movie. As for me... I will be serenading the family with phantom songs out loud for the next few weeks. Needless to say, it was definately worth it and I am looking forward to seeing again next time it comes to Spokane!