The Morton Family Tree

YAY DAD!

2010-02-08T16:19:00.001-08:00

Duane started the Biggest Loser program at Peak Fitness at the beginning of January(Along with Mikin and her mom Jean, pictured below). This last weekend they did their first "group challenge." All of the teams had to meet down at the CDA city beach at 9:00 in the morning and compete in a couple of challenges. Not exactly the warmest day out. Besides the freezing cold air and touch physical challenges, he did awesome! The first challenge was to carry golf balls 150 golf balls, one at a time, as a team across the beach and fill up a different bucket. (Sorry, I got there late, so I didn't get pictures of this). The next challenge was running 2 miles. Down the dyke road and back. Duane finished with a crowd of people cheering him on. Way to go DAD!!!!!

Duane, Mikin, Jean between challenges

Duane rounding the last corner of the run

Duane' s big finish with his crowd of supporters!

And the bike goes on........

2009-05-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

On Monday, Memorial day, Alora and I met up with Natalie and Jayson and kids in Pinehurst to ride the "Rails to Trails" bike route... The kids were pretty tolerant of the ride at first, but Allie doesn't care much for the trailer, and finally had to ride in Dad's lap for a while. We also had Mckenzie and Trenton Frank with us, (Trenton is quite the stunt rider!!) He kept us amazed with his "wheelies" along the route. It was the most beautiful trail I have seen! We went from PInehurst to within 2 miles of the Cataldo Mission--a fabulous beginning to the day!

Memorial Weekend!! No camping--just biking, biking, biking!

2009-05-26T15:48:00.000-07:00

This craze started on Saturday! We met up with Nicole and started at Riverstone and peddled all the way to the parking lot at Tubbs Hill. Duane had biked enough so we turned around and all went back to the cars. The girls and I decided to take a little more time to ride, so we told Duane to meet us at Higgins Point with the car in about an hour, to an hour and a half. We all managed to get there in less than an hour and when we arrived at the parking lot, no Duane! I called him on my cell, only to find out that he had gone home to move the sprinkler! So--Nicole said, well, lets start back and we'll keep going until he gets here! Never thought I'd make the Bennett Bay (Sunnyside) hill forward and backward, but I DID IT! Yea!

Ella bella Ballerina!!

2009-05-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

After the race, I came home, took a quick shower and drove down to NIC to watch Ella's dance recital---I told Jean Gatten that this is the real perks of being grandmom's--all the cute and none of the pre-recital stress the mom's have to endure! She was as adorable as this picture and really dances well!! Good job Ella!

Still going Strong!!!

2009-05-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

So, Mom did a half marathon today, Saturday! She did amazing! We headed down to Riverfront Park, and watched and waited for Mom, and all the rest of the fam doing the race. Luckily for me it was nice and warm, but unfortunatley for the runners, they were probably dying of heat towards the end. I wasn't even running, and I still got toasty and a little sweaty out there. IT WAS AWESOME!!!.. not the sweaty part, the warm part. I am so proud of my mom, she accomplished so much, and she's inspired me to become a runner! Seeing her doing it, and the accomplishment she felt, and the fun she had, almost made me jealous, and wishing I had done it with her. Maybe next year, but still she is amazing and a huge example to me!.. Love you mom!! Love Alora!

From MOM: I love you too Alora!! It was so awesome to see my family (Alora, Duane, Shawnte and Cameron and little Vance) at the finish line cheering me on! I expected to arrive all alone and have to go back to the car by myself!! What a surprise!! The race was grueling--I wish I had trained a little harder, but that's all hindsight! I finished a full 40 minutes earlier than I thought I would so YEA for me!!

A new adventure--the Spokane Falls!

2009-05-10T10:22:00.001-07:00

Wow! I never knew so much water went over the Falls!! First time ever on the gondola ride--a happy day for all of us!!--Doesn't Duane look cute???

Ahhh the SUNSHINE!!!

2009-05-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today was the best day ever!

The sunshine and warm weather was absolutely infectious!! We went into Spokane and enjoyed sights we hadn't done before--like jumping from block to block, running with the statues and hanging on a goat?

The busy Red Hens are a-working and HARD!!!

2009-05-08T16:11:00.001-07:00

Today Mikin totally surprised me and came over bright and early to help in the garden! She and Cameron worked almost all day fixing the garden on the porch and weeding like crazy in the huge field garden!! Mikin is such a hard worker!! Nothing stops her--I am amazed and grateful for all the help.

The garden is growing and I was feeling pretty confident about it until Natalie told me that she knows two friends who have tomatoes much bigger than our little starts in the basement.

Maybe we should have planted earlier???? Gosh will I ever get the hang of this gardening thing??? Maybe a New Yorker is just genetically challenged not to ever grow green things, just concrete.......Aughhhhh!

Terrific Tubbs Hill! A family Saturday outing.....

2009-05-02T19:09:00.001-07:00

So we took advantage of the wonderful weather and headed toward Tubbs Hill--with a stop at Costco to get something for Duane's camera, and by the time we got there, the weather had changed a bit......

Undaunted, we pressed on and took pics all along the way....flora, fauna, mostly us! Smile! You're on Candid Camera!

The Wind picked up and really started whipping around--Duane was afraid he would get caught in a rainstorm, so he quit and waited for us--Alora jumped on a rock with the hair and everything a flying!

OK, so the funniest part of this picture is that this guy and his dog (pictured) came along the path and Duane asked if he could take the dogs picture--the man said "sure" do you want to hold him? And gave the leash to Alora--the dog was very friendly and turned around and snotted all over Alora!! I almost hurled!!! It was so funny I'm still laughing!

The Field garden!!

2009-04-25T16:38:00.000-07:00

I think I can- I think I can-I think I can....

Cameron made this amazing gate to keep out deer, critters, and Preston! We decided to name it the Little Red Hen's garden because Natalie and I have been the main gardener's so far......

It's really happening!!!

2009-04-25T16:29:00.001-07:00

Can it really be?? Natalie and I are trying a fantastic experiment this year--the "family" garden. It started out with four families and now we are down to three--we have already begun our seedlings (marigolds, nastursiums, peppers, and two types of tomatoes) and as you can see--they are sprouting up really well!! I am so excited!! We have also had Cameron till up our field garden and we have planted our potatoes, strawberries, onions, lots and lots of onions, and lettuce and carrots----the whole cool crop kit and kaboodle!!! If we are really lucky and pray alot, we are hoping for a pretty terrific harvest this year (no more Carvers farms??)

ALLIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-04-12T11:00:00.001-07:00

What a fun day!!! Allie's birthday party was themed on 'bugs'! Natalie really went all out!! She headbands with antennae for each party-goer and decorations galore! I made the caterpillar cake and her 'personal' cake--a lot of work, but lots of fun too! I also made a pinata in the shape of a bee and I think the kids had a lot of fun whacking the daylights of it.

Natalie also had a find the bug egg game (like and Easter egg hunt) and a pin the head on the butterfly, which we didn't get a chance to do--too much fun--not enough time! Lots of good food to eat and family to share it with! A great turnout for a terrific little girl! Grandkids are fun! (most of time!)

A Soggy Spring Break!!

2009-04-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

Alora and I started out in North Idaho with freezing weather--hopeful that we would be able to use the bikes we strapped to the car when we got to Utah. As you can see, the weather on the road was just as icy as home!! We did get a slight break on Tuesday and went for a short, but pretty dang cold ride, just so we could say we did! We were doing the 'girls away for the week' thing until Wednesday--then Duane flew in and joined us. We went to the zoo--as pictured--and I discovered I really like zoos!! O.K. so I'm weird, but they are really interesting to me.

We were going to come home on Saturday, but Duane got a ticket to Priesthood, so we stayed until Monday. Yes, Alora missed a day of school--again..... But--she did get a ticket to the Saturday morning session so both of them got to go to the Conference center--which was pretty amazing!!

We also took Friday to be our "church" day and went to the Salt Lake Temple. Alora did baptisms--with a slight hitch--and we did some initiatory work. I had called the temple the day before to make sure she didn't need an appointment or anything, and they said that it is on a walk-in basis--no problem! So after finding out where we needed to go, I checked her in and left to go back to the main entrance to find Duane. After an hour we were done and we went back to the foyer to meet Alora. We found her there, and she had a strange look on her face---we found out that there was a huge group from Florida that came in and she wasn't able to do any baptisms! She was crying and upset, so I went back to the font area and talked to the leaders there--we ended up going to the museum for a couple of hours and then returned when the 'Florida" group was done. The next group to come in was just four boys from-----yep---Spokane! Alora didn't see them, but she said that although it was really neat to see the elegance of the SLC temple, she liked Spokane better! More opportunity--they only let you do five names in SLC. The best part of the trip was getting to be with family and having an opportunity to do whatever we wanted without interruptions!

I'm Back!

2009-03-23T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, I know it has been way too long, but I need to get back into the habit. Finally, I am done blogging about Peru. Too many things have happened in the short months since I last blogged, so I will mention a few of the highlights.

First, and the one that consumed most of my time was Tami's wedding. I do have to brag for a moment though, I believe it turned out so beautiful. Tami was sealed to Casey Fowler in the Spokane Washington Temple on March 6, 2009. Besides the freezing cold weather outside, it was the perfect sunny day to take pictures on the temple grounds(even though the forecast predicted rain, and we brought umbrellas just in case). After the wedding, most of the family that attended the sealing went to the church building next door and ate lunch. Next, we went straight over to the reception and took the last of the pictures before the guests started to arrive. The reception followed. It was full of dancing, food, and the traditions of wedding parties. It was fun planning and participating in Tami's wedding, but I can honestly say I am glad that it is all over, I was exhausted!

Second, Asa turned one! Actually, he turned one on Tami's wedding day, but his parents celebrated his birthday a week later. He had a polka-dot themed birthday, it was really fun. I can't believe he is already a year old. He' s walking all over the place, getting into mischeif and just plain being adorable, I love those dimples. Happy b-day Asa, we love you.

Lastly, Natalie and I went to a musical at the Spokane Opera house this weekend called "Aint Misbehavin'." It was a blast. Beforehand, we enjoyed dinner at "P.F. Changs." Delicious! We even got appetizers on the house, because they thought that we had to wait for a long time, but we had a reservation, so it was only like 20 minutes. After that, we walked around the mall across the street and window shopped, then went to the show. It was not what we were expecting, but it turned out to be really well done. It was fun to have a girls night out!

The Sunset Tour

2009-01-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

We were able to relax for pretty much the rest of the day. But we had an optional jungle walk which we opted to do. There is no way we were going to pass anything adventurous up! Duane was too tired to go and Denise wasnt feeling well, so it was me, Alora, Tami, and our other tour buddy. Phil wanted to stay with Denise and Deanna was sick too. We walked for awhile and saw peanut bugs, mccaws, and more monkeys. These monkeys were alot more active and playful than the ones we saw that morning.

Once we got back to the resort Tami and I went to the hammocks inside the lodge to take a break and journal a little. Its a tough life to live... It was hard to journal in a hammock though because its so relaxing that all we wanted to do was nap. Alora was off doing her own thing most of the time because she had an admirer that would follow her around. He wanted her to teach him English. His name was Paolo to which Alora loved getting attention from. He was a good looking guy too, so she would get giddy and giggle when around him. Later we went on our next tour with almost everyone. Deanna still was sick and wasn't feeling up for anything.. The sunsets are so beautiful there. At one point in time, Tami suggested that Alora go back and help Paolo paddle the canoe around. She was just giving Alora a hard time but she was so excited that it seemed like she was just waiting for someone to give her the opportunity.

The funny part about Alora paddling was that we were heading in cirlces. Poor Paulo had to paddle twice as hard. She got the hang of it eventually, but its hard to compete with a buff Amazon man! When the sun went down and the sky was pitch black, we began looking for the red caimen eyes in the water. I couldn't believe how many there were! We couldn't have the flashlight on for too long though because it attracted bugs. Once the tour ended we headed back to the lodge once again for a long awaited sleep.

A little of the wildlife in Peru!

2009-01-29T12:32:00.000-08:00

In the morning we woke up and started our journey for the day. We cruised around the lake on our canoe while the same guys that carried our bags, paddled us everywhere. We saw so many herons and exotic birds. Also turtles and a whole tree full of monkeys. The tour guide told us that they were slower moving monkeys and liked to take their time while eating... this worked perfect for us because we were able to take a couple decent pictures! You can kind of see them in the picture. Tons of large black dots. We also saw a few turtles and the biggest black caimen in the lake. The tour guide said it was about 3 meters long. Which is pretty big! It didnt let us get very close to it though. Our canoe started back to the dock of the lodge, when all was said and done. When we jumped up on the dock we looked down and saw a black caimen staring at us! He was a little guy but it was neat to see him only a few feet away. Tami got a few good pictures. I think he liked the camera because he stayed there while everyone took a picture.

I know I know, I really need to get out of Peru

2009-01-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

After our hike through the jungle, it opened up to a small canal in which we got into paddle canoes and were on our way to being that much closer to the resort. We reached the shore and jumped out onto a long stretch of wooden stairs. This trip has proved to be a pretty good workout as far as stairs and long hikes.

We are at Sandoval Lake Lodge/Resort. We were complemented with a very tart drink and then checked into our rooms. The rooms had mosquito nets above the beds! I was hoping we wouldnt encounter many mosquitos on the trip... but thankfully our tour guide explained that there arent many at this time of year. There are billions during the rainy season. We had a bit of down time to get settled and check the place out before we went to dinner and also on our night jungle tour! We found a nice bench that over looked the lake and had an awesome foot rest. The funny part, is that those who know us Mortons know how short we are.... needless to say, we had to stretch our legs as far as they would reach to get to the foot rest.
We then went to dinner and met up with our tour guide. He explained a little about the night jungle tour, like what we would encounter and what we should bring. We ran into a few creepy spiders and bugs. I think the biggest trial was trying not to trip over the large tree roots in the ground. Its crazy walking through the jungle during the day, knowing all these bugs are in the cracks of the trees waiting to come out at night! We then went to bed because there are only certain times of the day they keep the electricity on at the lodge. The housekeepers tucked our mosquito nets around our beds. We were very excited for the next day because we were getting up at dawn to see the giant otters of the lake playing, and also see some of the other wild life living around the lake.

The march in the jungle....

2008-12-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

The boat arrived on the opposite side of the river at a dock with a long steep staircase that led to the top of the bank. I was very glad I wasn't the one carrying the huge sack that contained all our little duffle bags!! Once at the top we started our hour long march through the jungle. We stopped at the park station where we wrote our names and passport numbers to register our arrival and departure dates. Then on through the steamy green canopy... There were so many things to see!! Hundreds of butterflies would be swarming around mud puddles to get the minerals left by the drying earth. The most fantastic butterfly was the giant electric blue one--they were gorgeous!!--I will have to see if Tami got a picture of one of them--my camera was too slow to snap it before they flew away. When they landed, they would close up their wings and just look like a black leaf. At one point--there was a bridge we crossed (picture above) but mostly the trail was muddy dirt and a lot of uneven ground. The "rickshaw" passed us at one point--it was just a metal board between two large wheels with metal poles sticking out for handles--this is how they transfer "goods" to the lodge from the mainland.

On our way to the AMAZON!!

2008-12-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

After a wonderful farewell dinner in Cusco with most of our tour group, we woke early and headed to the airport to embark for Puerto Maldanado. We arrived with the captain announcing that it was 99 degrees outside with a relative humidity of 96 per

cent! We felt the steamy air the minute we disembarked the plane!! Our group, which now consisted of Phil, Denise, a couple from the tour (Glenn and Deanna) and our family-Duane, me, Tami and Alora--gathered our luggage and got on a small bus. We were driven to the tour company's office where we were given small green duffle bags to re-pack from our large suitcases three days worth of belongings into the small bags. The tour group tagged and locked up our suitcases for our return. We then got back on the bus, and were taken to the bank of the Amazon River. We went down to the dock where the boat--(pictured above) awaited our arrival. We ferried down the river, which is very muddy and dirty for about 25 minutes. They served us lunch that was a wonderful mix of rice, vegetables and soy meat wrapped in a leaf and steamed!! It was REALLY yummy!!

The last humanitarian aid to Mismanay

2008-11-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

As we got back from the farm land area we had a packed lunch from the tour company waiting for us. We sat on the bus because there was no place in the village to sit and eat, and it had started to rain a bit--anyway--the lunch was GI-normous!! Two meat sandwiches an apple, banana chips, pasta salad and a cake. The tour guide found out that some of the people in the front (we were in the back) wanted to give the children some of this huge lunch--we heard them donating and the whole bus gave most of their lunch away to the people--it was awesome!! The top picture is all the kids eating the packed lunches and writing on the post-it notes that our tour group gave the little kids. (All the older children of the village were still in school).

A real "Farm Girl"

2008-11-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

So all the men decided to try their hand at plowing. Naturally, my little Tami isn't going to be outdone by anyone--so she waits until last and then tells them she wants to give it a hand. These beasts are like, 20 times her size and she grabs the plow and the whip and outshines all the guys--her rows were straight, the oxen obeyed her at every turn!! She ended up plowing way more rows than any of the men. The unfortunate part was that when she was almost done, she stepped in the muddy water that they had started to flood the field with and got her shoe soaked. No problem-- there is a stream up the bank where she decided to rinse off her shoe. She started hobbling toward it with just her toe in the muddy shoe to keep her sock out of the goo and lost her balance just as she got there and reached out with her hand so she wouldn't fall over and shoved it right into a nasty cactus!! She had so many spines sticking out of her hand!!--some were really deep too. One of the village ladies came running over immediately and took her to her home whipped out a needle and started digging the spines out. She didn't get all of them and we ended up working and working back at the hotel to get the rest--some finally ended up coming out after the trip was all over back at home!

Humanitarian aid rendered!

2008-11-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

We had quite a trudge up a hill holding our little pine trees--(they felt like they weighed a hundred pounds in 12,000 foot elevation). As you can see by the pictures, the women in the village are not exactly small in girth, but they had no problem marching up the hill!! I was sucking air like no other!! We got to the place where the village has a plot of land to farm. We were instructed to plant the little trees in the holes that the men dug in the side of a bank above the plot of farm land. I thought I did a pretty good job, but after Alora and Tami were done planting their trees, the men came by to water them and when he got to mine, he shoved some more dirt on it--Oh well, I never said I was a farmer!!!

This is my little tree--

I thought he looked

pretty good!!

Hope he grows.......

The Village of Mismanay

2008-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

This is the village of Mismanay. It is a small (very small) village about 2 hours from Cusco. We rode a bus to get there (of course!). We got there in the late morning and we were introduced to the people--they had lots of handmade items to sell, and demonstrated how they weave cloth. Some of the group tried it--its a lot harder than you think. Later, I found out that one of the village women has a son that owns a hand loom. He produces most of the things that were for sale--the demonstration was for us. It is a very poor village and the tour agency (Condor Tours) has adopted them. They have started a program of hygiene and industry--by bringing tour groups for purchasing souveniers and also providing some humanitarian aid.

The disappearance of Duane and the purchase of three stone totem poles...

2008-11-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is another ruin close to the city of Cusco. It was the site of the final battle between the Incan warriors and the Spaniards. It is the Temple of Lightning, and is built in a zigzag pattern to simulate lightning. Tami and Alora and I went with our very annoying tour guide "Jose" to learn about this place while Duane went back to the bus, or so we thought. Turns out he went to the bathroom and while he was in there, the bus left to move to the opposite end of the ruins to pick us all up. Duane comes out of the bathroom, no bus, just tons of vendors--so while he sits there waiting for the bus that isn't going to return, he gets accosted and ends up falling for a very convincing young lady who sells him three stone carved totem poles she insists her husband made himself. (good thing she took the made in china stickers off the bottom before she sold them to him!)

the train ride back to Cusco

2008-11-19T12:04:00.000-08:00

Scary as he seems, he was the entertainment on the train ride back to Ollyantambo--along with a full scale fashion show of Alpaca sweaters, shawls and ponchos. He was the "god of alpacas" or something, but when I looked at a picture of a llama all decked out with costuming, it looked just like this guy!--go figure.

Getting sick of these pics yet?

2008-11-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

This might be the very spot where the treasure lies buried!!??

Well, if nothing else, I found Denise among the ruins!!

More of Machu Piccu

2008-11-19T11:20:00.000-08:00

I got a picture of Alora amidst the ruins!! She is so cute!!

The most amazing part of these ruins are the stones that mesh so perfectly with one another they look like a master architect designed them. They had fountains that ran the whole length of the ruins--holes drillled in rocks an channels carved out to guide the water into pools. There is no mortar, they had no signifigant tools to work with, no written language, and yet there buildings have lasted for hundreds of years, in spite of earthquakes that have toppled even the most sturdy cathedrals. After huffing and puffing (because of the lack of oxygen) over the hundreds of stairs at this site, I can't even begin to imagine how the Incas ever managed to complete places like this one!

Our tour guide, Garland Dennett told us that they flew over this site at one point when he was working for the US Government looking for possible drug growning operations. On the opposite mountain they could see with infrared photography that there are terraced imprints on the side of the mountain. They are pretty sure that there are ruins just like Machu Piccu on this opposite site. No money for excavation at this point, but who knows? That might be the very spot where they kept the Inca treasure that has never been found!.......

Finally the update!!

2008-11-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Cusco, and got to our hotel in time to go to bed and get up the next morning at 3:00am!! We had to catch the bus to go to Ollyantambo where we caught the train to Machu Piccu. We arrived in the town very early in the morning and even the vendors weren't set up yet! A miracle--I didn't think they ever slept....Anyway....We got on the bus that took us WAY up the mountain to the top where the ruins are. As you look at these photos above of the mountains look at how high up we are--the bus took us to the top and the road was very narrow and you pass trucks and other busses all the time--very scary! The ruins were so much bigger and the square footage of the area was amazing. In the first two photos you can see a mountain in the background that is typically in the photos of Machu Piccu. It is the "younger" mountain, not Machu (older) mountain. There is a stairway that goes to the top of this mountain and it is very trecherous and steep. They only allow 450 people on it at a time, and the stairs at the top are about 4 inches wide and 12 or more inches deep. You can't put your whole foot on it. When you get to the top, there are three boulders to sit on and that's all. You get your picture taken and come back down. Four members of our tour group made the climb, but since it was almost one in the afternoon and we hadn't eaten since 3:00am, we decided not to try it (that would be Tami and I)--Alora and Duane had no interest in it at all. Tami sincerely regrets that decision, but after hearing about it, I think I made the right choice--not so great on heights, or falls for that matter!

No pictures right now....

2008-11-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

Just to give everyone an update....the keyboards here are weird, so not much punctuation...bear with me. This is the first time we have had internet since the beginning of the trip. We arrived in Puno and I started getting sick on the plane. By the time we landed it was sheer misery and much embarrassment until we finally made it to the hotel. Duane decided to have a relapse and I was way too sick myself to take care of him...we were quite a pair. I spent the whole night up hugging my new best friend the porcelien god. We both were still too sick to go to Lake Tititicaca and the floating islands the next day. Although the girls took lots and lots of pictures, I was so sad to miss that part.
We were nursed on and off by Tami, and we pulled through enough to get on the plane the next day to leave for Cusco. Back up and at it for the ruins and lots of pictures. will try to get back to the computer with photos as soon as possible, just wanted to check in. Remember to VOTE today!!! I think Elizabeth Taylor died.....not sure...no question mark....sorry....love to all!!!

Our first tour....

2008-10-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-10-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-10-28T18:56:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-10-28T16:28:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-10-22T16:00:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-10-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

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???

2008-10-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-14T17:49:00.000-07:00

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!

Here we are!

2008-07-05T15:17:00.000-07:00