We are in South America!

Paul and I have spent time in Europe and Asia. Up until February 22 the kids had only ever been in North America. On Thursday morning we took the hotel's shuttle to the Miami airport. Although the line was longer than at BWI, we still made it through security very quickly. Our flight from Miami to Quito was about four hours long. They served us Biscoff cookies and drinks, and the kids used our own devices to access the in-flight entertainment. The line at the Quito airport to present our passports moved slowly, but eventually we were able to meet up with Joe near the exit of the airport. As soon as we exited the airplane, we noticed the difference in the air we were breathing due to the high altitude (9,613 feet). We drove straight from the airport to the Towfighi's home.

Adjustments to being in a foreign country include remembering not to drink the tap water and adjusting to differences with the toilets. Ian forgot and drank some tap water at their home on Sunday morning, which caused him to vomit a little bit later. Toilet paper cannot be flushed down the toilet in this country. Oliver forgot once and clogged a toilet. At first I kept forgetting to have a quarter in my pocket so that I could use a public bathroom if needed. At one such public bathroom (Joe loaned me a quarter), I was told to use a bucket of water to flush the toilet. When you give them the quarter, they give you a little toilet paper to take into the stall. They use the U.S. dollar in this country, so we didn't need to exchange any currency. The biggest adjustment is to the altitude. Our oxygen saturation levels have been lower than usual. Nadia and I had the least trouble adjusting. Oliver, Paul, and Ian had saturation levels that were in the 80's, whereas it's supposed to be between 95-100. Oliver's were the worst (as low as 79). Thankfully, Paul hasn't been bothered by the Towfighi's cat, Skittles. Paul and I had our own bedroom upstairs. Nadia and Julianna shared a bedroom. Joshua, Micah, Wesley, and Oliver shared another bedroom upstairs. Ian, Joel, and Nathan shared a bedroom downstairs.

Based on the license plate of your vehicle, there is one day a week that you can't drive your car. One of their cars can't be driven on Thursdays, and the other can't be driven on Fridays. A friend of theirs helped transport us to their home since we could only use one car on Friday. We then walked about 10 blocks to a Metro station. The Metro system has been in operation for almost 3 months. The tickets for children were only 22 cents each, and the tickets for adults were 45 cents each. We rode the Metro from the northern part of Quito to the central part known as Quito Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Two of Yvonne and Joe's friends served as our tour guides. Our first stop was La Basilica Voto Nacional, which was built in 1883. Some of us climbed 16 floors to the top of the spire and clock towers. It's the largest neo-Gothic Basilica in North or South America. Next, we had a guided tour of Compania de Jesus Church, which is also known as the golden church because so much of the interior is covered in gold leaf. We weren't allowed to take any pictures in that church. The construction of this Jesuit church began in 1605. We walked past the Carondelet Palace, but it was not open for tours given the state of emergency that has been in place since January 12. We walked to the San Francisco Church and Convent but opted not to pay to enter that site as we had done at the other two churches. Our last stop was Minka Chocolate where some people enjoyed eating ice cream or milk shakes. I tried one that was made from the fruit of the cacao plant. It didn't taste anything like chocolate. We took the Metro back to our guides' home where we visited for a while before returning to the Towfighi's home for a late dinner. 

We got up VERY early on Saturday morning so that we could be on the road by 5:30am to drive to the Secret Garden Cotopaxi. We had paid $40 per person for twelve of us to have breakfast, be driven to the Cotopaxi National Park, ride horses for three hours, be taken back to the hotel, and finally served lunch. On our way there we encountered some VERY uneven dirt roads. Paul was driving one of the Towfighi's cars, and the car began to overheat. We had one person from their car join the one that Joe was driving, and he dropped us off to have breakfast while he went back to get the rest of our group. During the time Joe was gone, a very kind soul put some water in the vehicle Paul was driving. He was able to resume driving to the Secret Garden. Joe turned around when he realized the car was moving again. They discovered that they couldn't put the car into reverse. Thankfully, they arrived about ten minutes before we were supposed to board the vehicle that would take everyone to the horseback riding, which meant they were able to quickly eat breakfast. Breakfast included a large pancake covered in fresh fruit (pineapple, papaya, banana, blueberries, strawberries, etc.), toast, and yogurt. 

The horseback riding was more challenging than I was expecting. The kids loved the fact that they frequently had opportunities to trot and occasionally go at a full gallop. I just wanted my horse to go at a leisurely pace. This is the rainy season in Ecuador, but thankfully it didn't rain while we were in Old Town on Friday, and it only rained as we were driving home on Saturday. Our horses went up steep hills, down steep hills, crossed over creeks, etc. In the middle of our horseback riding adventure, we stopped for a break. They provided each person with a piece of cake and some hot tea to drink. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy for us to see Cotopaxi. The top of Cotopaxi is covered in snow all year round even though the weather in Ecuador is generally warm all year round. The Secret Garden is a very beautiful place to stay. Some of their units look like hobbit holes! They have many flowers, several hammocks, a swing that the kids really enjoyed, a jacuzzi, etc. Our lunch consisted of some beef plus a chickpea pasta salad. Some of us had a strawberry and rhubarb dessert. After lunch, Paul and Joe went to check on the cars. At first, they thought the battery had died on the "good" car, but it turned out some cables had just come loose. They had to physically push the vehicle that couldn't go in reverse. Around 2:15, Joe and Paul thought they were ready to drive us all home. Unfortunately, part of the way home the car that wouldn't go in reverse switched to only being able to go in reverse. The "good" car also needed gas, and Joe wasn't able to make any phone calls at the location where the other vehicle was stranded. So he drove to get gas and try to make a plan. He came back about 30 minutes later, and then he took a few kids in the car with him as well as a stranger who said he could get us a tow truck. About an hour later they returned with a tow truck. Paul and I as well as several kids stayed in the broken down vehicle while it was loaded onto the tow truck, and we rode that way all the way back to their home in Quito. The drive was "supposed" to take about 1 hour and 40 minutes from Secret Garden to the Towfighi's home, but it took 15 minutes shy of 5 hours due to all the hiccups we experienced. Thankfully we all arrived back safe and sound. Another tow truck came and picked up the vehicle from the Towfighi's house on Monday morning. I skipped dinner, but the rest of our group ate a later dinner. 

Due to the fact we only had one working vehicle, some of us stayed home to watch church online while others went with Joe to attend the English Fellowship Church in Quito. After lunch, they borrowed a neighbor's car so we could all go to the Intinan Museum, which is located at the Equator. The nearby Mital del Mundo was constructed hundreds of years ago, but then through GPS they discovered that wasn't the exact location of the equator, so the Intinan was built. We had a guided tour of the property that included instruction about cacao beans, the native people who live in that area, the Coriolis effect, etc. One challenge was to balance an egg. Ian was the only one of our group who accomplished that task. Not everyone attempted it. He was given a certificate. On our way back to their home, we made a brief stop at the Mital del Mundo, but we didn't pay to actually enter that site. 

Monday morning Paul and Joe left about 7:30 to drive to the airport to rent a vehicle. By the time they got back, it was almost 10:00 before we left in the two vehicles. We drove for four hours to a waterfall called Pailon del Diablo. There are two different entrances. We chose to go to the older one which takes you through some very tight spaces. Several of the kids were soaked because they walked behind the waterfall. The newer entrance takes you over some rope bridges to the top of the waterfall. We didn't pay to go that route. After the waterfall we drove to La Casa Verde, which is a guest house in Banos. Joe had rented three rooms - two for their family and one for ours. The kids were thrilled because our room had four beds - three singles for each of the kids a double for Paul and I. Joe picked up pizza, and we ate in the dining room of the guest house. The kids enjoyed playing outside, using the hammocks, and playing some games. Paul and Joe played a game of chess. We have some very lovely views from the windows and decks of this guest house where we're spending two nights. 

Animals galore!

When I plan vacations, I try to take into account the varied interests of each member of our family. Our eight days in Florida contained very little "history," which is one of Paul's favorite interests. We learned a little bit of history at the Everglades National Park in the part where a Nike missile has been housed since the 1960's. Paul had a lengthy tour of Fort Jefferson, which was built during the Civil War, and we learned about the history of Biscayne during our tour of the Jones Lagoon. All of us enjoy seeing animals, and we've visited far more zoos, aquariums, and animal refuges since Nadia decided to major in Zoology. We saw many different animals almost every day of this trip. In the Everglades and Big Cypress, we saw hundreds of birds and alligators. We saw manatees and sting rays on two occasions. On our glass bottom boat tour, we saw a dolphin, sea turtles, and a variety of fish including a goliath grouper. We visited a few places where animals are rescued/rehabilitated with the goal of releasing them into the wild if possible. Those sites included McCarthy Wildlife Sanctuary, Turtle Hospital, Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, and the Zoological Wildlife Foundation. We didn't visit Zoo Miami. The closest we came to a traditional zoo was the Lion Country Safari.

On our final day in Florida, we visited our fourth National Park site of this trip - Biscayne National Park, which is almost all under water. There were so many (expensive) tours to choose between. I think I made the right choice in picking a paddle boarding activity instead of a snorkeling one given Miami was experiencing a "cold snap" (meaning highs only in the high 60's) this week. Two employees took the five of us out on a boat to the Jones Lagoon, which was about 30 minutes away from the Visitor Center. The kids and the two men used paddle boards, and Paul and I shared a kayak. Oliver is often the only one who counts as a "child" when I am buying tickets these days so usually his ticket costs less, but the opposite was true of this tour. The minimum age was eight, but if you bring a child between the ages of 8-11, you have to book a private tour, which in our case meant paying for a 6th person because the maximum group size was six. Oliver wasn't supposed to be allowed to paddle board, which is why I had reserved one double kayak, but the guides allowed him to paddle board (at the age of 11.5) when we told them he did know how to paddle board. Oliver was thrilled because he really wanted to use a SUP, and Paul was happy because he preferred to use a kayak. We traveled around many mangrove trees. We saw two lemon sharks, many Cassiopeia jellyfish, parrotfish, many different kinds of sponges, sea stars, and some birds (one spoonbill and many pelicans, seagulls, and cormorants). The kids earned their fourth Junior Ranger badge plus one patch because they had earned a badge at the three parks in that area. 

After we left Biscayne, we stopped at Robert is Here, which is a famous fruit stand and farm south of Miami. Oliver and I absolutely loved our milkshakes. You choose three fresh fruits to be added to your shake. I picked passion fruit, pineapple, and strawberry. Nadia sadly didn't like hers. After that stop we headed to the Zoological Wildlife Foundation for our third tour that included encounters with animals. Our first experience was in Indiana last April. That one is still our favorite. On this trip we did two. The first one did a better job during the tour portion of the experience, but the animal encounter portion was much better at ZWF. I should add that ZWF cost a lot more than the other one. At ZWF we had the opportunity to hold a lemur, armadillo, python, kinkajou, cockatoo, and a baby alligator. We also were able to pet a capuchin monkey (he jumped onto Paul) and a serval. Because he was under the age of 13, Oliver wasn't allowed to come near the monkey. After our tour was over, we had dinner at Olive Garden and then drove to a hotel located very close to the Miami airport. Paul dropped Nadia, Oliver, and I off and then he and Ian vacuumed out the van, returned it to the rental car company, took a shuttle to the airport, and then finally took a shuttle to the hotel. The next morning, we had an early breakfast and then boarded the 7:00 to the airport for our flight to Quito. 

We were not a fan of the rental car company. I hope to do a better job picking which company we use in Alaska in August because this one tacked on SO many unexpected fees (ex. forcing us to pay $20 a day for the tolls even though there were several days we were never near a toll road). Paul vacuumed out the vehicle because they threatened us with a $350 fee if it was at all dirty on the inside when we returned it.

We didn't buy many souvenirs on the trip. We bought five magnets for our refrigerator (one from each National Park site and also one from the Turtle Hospital). Nadia bought herself a bracelet at the Turtle Hospital, and she asked me to buy her a pair of earrings there that I will give her in June for her birthday. 

We've taken the kids to Florida many times over the years. Several of the trips were to the Orlando area. I'm not anticipating we will go back to Florida for quite a few years now that we've also had the opportunity to explore the Everglades, Florida Keys, etc. This was the first time we visited Florida in the winter, and I have to say that it's a very nice time to visit the state, especially if you are visiting the southern part. 

Florida Keys

I visited the Florida Keys when I was a child, but it was the first time for Paul and the kids. On Saturday morning we drove to Key Largo where we spent time at a state park, took a glass bottom boat tour, and spent the night at a hotel we really loved. On Sunday morning the boys used the stand-up paddleboards at the hotel again before we checked out. Our plans for Sunday had been altered on Friday evening when they called to tell us we needed to reschedule our snorkeling tour that we had planned to do to Looe Key on Sunday afternoon. After we left our hotel, our first stop was a wild bird sanctuary also located on Key Largo. Our next stop was to feed tarpon fish at Robbie's on Islamorada Key. I would definitely classify it as a tourist trap. I knew it would cost $5 for a bucket of fish to feed the tarpon, but I didn't realize they also charge $2.50 per person just to walk onto the pier. Nadia had the most success in feeding the tarpon. The pelicans were very aggressive in trying to get the fish from the buckets. The first day we arrived in Florida, we got some groceries because we don't usually stop for lunch when we're on vacation. I knew that they only gave out pastries for breakfast at the hotel on Key Largo, so I had planned for us to stop at Taco Bell for lunch on Sunday since we had a small breakfast. After we had lunch, it started raining. I tried to change our reservations for the Turtle Hospital to Sunday, but they were all booked up for the day. In light of the downpour, it didn't seem to be a good day to go to a beach or visit the Key Deer Refuge. So, we checked into our hotel around 2:00pm (much earlier than usual). 

When I had been planning the vacation, I discovered it was very challenging to find affordable lodging on the keys. I searched hotels, Airbnb, VRBO, etc. Originally, I had planned for us to stay one night in Key West, but that was even more expensive. So, we spent two nights on Ramrod Key. All three nights on the keys we only had a room with two beds. For three nights in a row, we created a "bed" for Nadia on the floor by using a blanket, sheet, and four extra pillows. We went to pizza places for dinner on Key Largo on Saturday night and on Key West on Monday night. On Sunday we went to a popular restaurant on Big Pine Key called No Name Pub. There are about 90,000 $1 bills covering the walls, ceiling, etc. in that restaurant! We got one 14-inch pizza and one order of nachos to share between the five of us. Food prices (whether at a grocery store or a restaurant) are much higher down here compared to around our home. Even though a large pizza costs more than we are accustomed to paying, it's still cheaper than buying five separate entrees. Typically, we bring some games with us on vacation. Because we were flying and not checking any bags, we didn't bring any games this time. On Sunday afternoon when we picked up some reef safe sunscreen and a little bit more groceries, we also got a deck of cards. We played hearts in our hotel room on Sunday as well as on the ship to and from Dry Tortugas on Monday.

While booking the trip, Paul and I discussed which tours to take at Biscayne National Park, John Pennekamp State Park, etc. I looked into a wide variety of snorkeling tours and kayaking tours. One that was easy to pick (because there was only one option) was the ferry to Dry Tortugas National Park. I knew Paul would enjoy the tour of Fort Jefferson, and I was enticed by the descriptions of how amazing the snorkeling was supposed to be there. My only hesitation had been the cost. It's an expensive outing. Early in our marriage we had some wonderful snorkeling experiences when we were in Mexico and at some islands in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the waves were really high as we sailed out. I've had motion sickness since I was a child, but usually as long as I was careful not to sit in the back of a car, not read when in a car or airplane, etc. I could avoid throwing up due to motion sickness. Smelling the vomit of other passengers didn't exactly help me. Paul, Oliver, and I eventually succumbed even though we made it most of the way there before we started making use of the little bags. We tried taking Dramamine, but we waited too long for it to help. I almost never get a stomach bug. Over the last 20+ years usually the only time I throw up is in reaction to having anesthesia. I had been a little queasy on Saturday in the big waves on our glass bottom boat tour, but as long as I took a break from looking down and looked out at the horizon, I was fine. It's rather unpleasant to pay a lot of money for an outing and then have 3/5 of our family throwing up because of said activity. The kids only wanted to do the 20-minute Fort Jefferson talk. Paul did that as well as a 70-minute tour. I would have enjoyed the longer tour, but the kids wanted to explore on their own. They also earned a Junior Ranger badge while we were there. I hadn't realized that breakfast had been included, so we had stopped for a very early breakfast at Dunkin.  I knew that lunch was included. They served Jersey Mike subs, chips/pretzels, carrots/celery, cookies, and drinks for lunch. Because the water was so cloudy due to the waves, it wasn't really possible to see much of anything by snorkeling. This week the air temperature had dropped about ten degrees which made the water seem colder albeit the water temperature was actually warmer than the air temperature. I had expected that this day would be my favorite of our time in Florida this month, but that definitely wasn't the case. Thankfully, the trip back was smooth, and no one experienced any motion sickness. Paul said he still thought it was worth it to be able to visit Fort Jefferson. After we go to Biscayne National Park today, we will have been to 9 of the 11 National Park sites in Florida. 

We arrived back on Key West at 5:30pm. We drove to a pizza place, had dinner, and then drove back to the hotel on Ramrod Key. We considered taking a photo at the southernmost point buoy, but there was a long line of people at the time we went past it. As we were driving back, the hotel called us to tell us *again* that our snorkeling trip that had been rescheduled for Tuesday morning had been cancelled. I'm not exactly sure why as there wasn't any rain in the forecast, but I just asked for a refund. On our way to No Name Pub, we had several sightings of key deer, so we opted to skip visiting the National Key Deer Refuge. Since we had to leave our hotel at 6:10 on Monday morning, we let the kids sleep in a little on Tuesday morning. We had bagels and cream cheese (from our ferry ride the previous day) or pop tarts (from the grocery store) for breakfast in our room. Our first stop was Bahia Honda State Park also on Big Pine Key. The boys wanted to rent stand up paddleboards, but they only rent kayaks and SUPs to those age 18 and up. We headed to Sandspur Beach and spent a few hours there. Our second stop was a ninety-minute tour of the Turtle Hospital on Marathon Key. We had planned to have dinner at IHOP, but it turned out it was permanently closed. Oops! I had brought some McDonald's gift cards "just in case." Oliver and I got tacos at Taco Bell, and the other three got food at McDonald's. The kids got ice cream at McDonald's. We stopped at the Key Lime Pie Factory on Key Largo on the way back so I could have a slice of key lime pie. It was expensive but delicious! We spent a night for the third time in a week at the same Holiday Inn Express in Florida City. Today is our last day in Florida as we are headed to Ecuador tomorrow! 

Manatees and more!

 

On Friday morning we started our day at the Manatee Lagoon in West Palm Beach. While we were walking along the dock, we saw two adult and one baby manatee as well as many barracudas and other fish. Our second stop was also in West Palm Beach - McCarthy's Wildlife Sanctuary. We had a two hour long guided tour during which we learned about the various animals they have rescued or are in the process of rehabilitating for release back into the wild. They have big cats (jaguar, tiger, liger, lions, lynx, cheetah, and more), primates, birds, reptiles, etc. Oliver liked that their squirrel monkey is named Oliver. We were allowed to pet one of the tortoises and hold a kinkajou, python, tarantula, boa constrictor, and a young alligator. Our third stop was Lion Country Safari. We drove through the safari, rode in pedalboats, played miniature golf, and fed some lorikeets. Extending our trip to West Palm Beach definitely added some driving time to our vacation, but the kids had a blast. We had dinner at Golden Corral and then drove back to Homestead to stay at the same Holiday Inn that we stayed in on Tuesday evening.

On Saturday morning we drove thirty minutes to the John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo. We spent time at the beach before it was time for us to board a glass bottom boat. The waves were very choppy. We saw two sea turtles and some dolphins off the side of the boat, and we saw a variety of fish, one sea turtle, and one shark through one the windows at the bottom of the boat. After we got back, we spent more time at the beach. Nadia snorkeled most of the time. Around 4:00 we checked in at a beach resort. After putting out suitcases in our room, we made use of the complimentary kayaks and stand-up boards. After getting some pizza for dinner, the kids enjoyed the hammocks, playing some cornhole, and seeing a manatee along the dock. 

The weather has been beautiful the past four days - highs in the high 70's and lows in the 60's. It hasn't rained. The rental car company gave us an older vehicle, but we are thankful that we have a minivan (Dodge Caravan) as we definitely prefer a minivan to an SUV, which is what we had when we rented a vehicle in Seattle in August. This van is so old it has a CD player and doesn't have Bluetooth capabilities. Ian is usually the one asking to listen to a story when we're in a vehicle, but Nadia also really likes the book we are listening to on this trip (Keeper of the Lost Cities) so we've been listening to it even though we don't have Bluetooth. This part of Florida reminds me of Canada where everything is in two languages as everything is in English and Spanish down here. On more than one occasion we've been in a business and the employee only spoke Spanish. In terms of fellow tourists, we have heard a LOT of French being spoken. Speaking of Spanish, yesterday I hit my 1,000th day streak on Duolingo yesterday! We shall see how much Spanish I understand while we're in Ecuador. 

Birds and Alligators galore!

 On Tuesday morning we drove to BWI airport. Paul dropped the kids and I off and then took our van to the long-term parking. The kids and I waited for him so that we could go through security together. There was zero wait to go through security, which meant we had arrived earlier at the airport than necessary, but better safe than sorry! I had packed lunches for the kids and I the previous day, and we ate those before we boarded the plane. Because the time in the air to Charlotte was only one hour and they knew the ride was going to be a bit bumpy, we were told the flight attendants were going to stay seated the whole time, which meant no snacks or drinks. The landing was anything but smooth. The kids had flown to California in 2018, but they don't remember that much or at all. Our flights in August/September 2023 are the first they really recall. We flew on Southwest for our northwest trip, so the kids were comparing the similarities and differences with American Airlines. Unlike Southwest we had assigned seats, and there were places to plug in our devices to charge them. On our flight from BWI to CLT we needed to use our own devices to watch anything, just as it was on Southwest, but on our flight from CLT to MIA, there was a screen and headphones were provided. The kids liked the snacks better on Southwest, but Paul liked that on American (on the second leg of our journey) they gave him a full can of Coke rather than just a cup of it. 

The flight I had selected many months ago didn't include a long layover in Charlotte, but in the intervening time American Airlines changed our flight times and lengthened our layover by two hours. Originally, we planned to have dinner in Miami, but in light of the delay, we had dinner in the Charlotte airport instead. Paul got a sub from Jersey Mike's (they didn't accept our gift card, bah humbug), and the kids and I got food from Panera (they accepted the gift card). Oliver had cheddar broccoli soup which was a first for him, and he loved it. Since they were out of the yogurt tubes the boys ordered with their kids' meals, they let them have a dessert of their choice instead. When we landed at the Miami airport, there was another airplane at the gate where we were supposed to go, so we had to sit on the tarmac for almost another hour waiting for that gate to open up. By the time we trekked out to the rental car area, waited for a shuttle to the off-site rental location, and got our minivan, it was much later than we had anticipated. 

We knew we had to drive about 40 minutes to our hotel, and we planned to stop at a Walmart near our hotel to get some groceries, bug spray, and sunscreen. We hadn't checked any bags, which meant we couldn't bring those items with us. We spent the first night at a Holiday Inn. Not counting when we are on the Florida Keys, I booked rooms that included either two double or queen beds plus one sofa bed. Nadia just sleeps on the sofa without opening it up. She likes it best when there is a door separating the bedroom (or bedrooms) from the living room. Our first night in Florida this wasn't the case. The second night we stayed at a TownPlace Suites which had two bedrooms and a living room/kitchen. The third night was at a Best Western, and there was a door in between the bedroom (where the other four of us slept) and the living room (where Nadia slept). The first night the pool was closed for repairs, which was irrelevant for us since we went to bed as soon as possible after we checked in. The second night there was an outdoor pool, but the kids decided not to use it although we checked in much earlier than we had the first night. The third night the kids and Paul did go swimming, partially because there was also a jacuzzi. Ian is a big fan of jacuzzi tubs. Although I also like jacuzzis, I opted to work on editing photos on my computer. The breakfast at the hotel in Maryland was certainly the best one so far, but all of the hotels have served hot breakfasts so far, which are greatly preferred to continental ones since we only eat snacks for our "lunch." The worst breakfasts were the "grab and go" variety during COVID.  

On Wednesday morning our first stop was one of the visitor centers of the Everglades National Park, which is the third largest National Park if you exclude the ones located in Alaska. We bought a magnet, stamped our passports, watched a film, and the kids started working on their Junior Ranger books. Our second stop was Royal Palm. We took a hike with a park ranger along the Ahinga trail, and then we took the Gumbo Limbo trail on our own after that. Our third stop was to see a Nike missile that was placed there in the 1960's during the Cuban missile crisis. After that we drove to three other locations where we hiked a trail. Since the park is so large, we were unable to visit all of it. We ended our day by driving to the Shark Valley region of the park where we rode an airboat through the everglades and also saw a nature program that featured alligators and pythons. The airboat ride was the highlight of our day. We had dinner at Chili's and then checked into our hotel for the night.

On Thursday morning our first two stops were visitor centers in Big Cypress National Preserve. The kids had started working on their Junior Ranger pages for this site the previous day, so they received their badges after we watched a film in the first visitor center. There were MANY alligators very close to the first visitor center. At the second visitor center many manatees had been spotted the previous couple of days, but none were there while we walked the short boardwalk. We stopped at two other locations for brief hikes before beginning our drive on Loop Road, which is a dirt road. This was the highlight of my first two days as we saw SO many alligators so close to us when we drove on that road. After Loop Road we reentered Everglades National Park at the Shark Valley Visitor Center. The kids received their Everglades Junior Ranger badges at this point. They've now been in 132 National Park sites in person. Nadia has earned 202 badges, Ian has earned 204, and Oliver has earned 188, We had to wait in a line and pray for another car to exit so that another car could be allowed in the area, similar to what we experienced in the rainforest section of Olympic National Park in Washington. Thankfully, Paul was able to park in time for us to all participate in the 2:00 tram tour for which I had already booked our tickets. The tour lasted a little over two hours, and a park ranger spoke a lot about the park in general, birds, alligators, etc. I would say we saw over 100 alligators over the course of the day - from babies to adults. We didn't see any panthers, manatees, or crocodiles although all three live there. The birds we saw the most frequently were great blue herons, white egrets, purple gallinules, and anhingas. We also saw a couple of pink spoonbills. We ended our day by driving farther north as we had dinner at Bahama Breeze and then spent the night in Deerfield Beach. It was the first time any of us ate at a Bahama Breeze. As appetizers were half-price while we were there, Nadia had yucca cheese sticks and a side salad as her meal, and Oliver had crab and cheese dip with tortilla chips as his meal. Oliver had never had crab before, and he loved it. Ian had his usual chicken tenders. I had a delicious Caribbean salad. Today we're looking forward to seeing a wide variety of animals, and then tomorrow we will begin our time in the keys.

Early Start

When I booked our airfare to Florida, I assumed we'd be leaving our home in the morning on February 13 because we are flying out of BWI, which is less than three hours from our home, and our flight is at 12:25pm. Our plans changed on Sunday morning when we found out we'd be getting 4-6 inches of snow in the morning on February 13. At church on Sunday morning, we talked to the couple that would be dog sitting both dogs for four days, until Cooper's family got back from Florida, and they said we could drop the dogs off on Monday night instead of Tuesday morning. I booked one room at a hotel about 30 minutes from the airport, and we arrived here last night at 9:15pm. Ironically, a few days ago it was really warm in Pennsylvania as temperatures reached the high 50's. At our game day on Friday, the kids played games outdoors in addition to playing some inside. I don't think we've ever stayed at an Embassy Suites. I am really grateful at the moment that we are planning to stay at one for one night in Virginia in May as this hotel has the most amazing free breakfast that we've ever had a hotel that wasn't an all-inclusive resort. They even have someone making omelets to order! They also offer free snacks/drinks at an evening reception, but we arrived too late to check that out. Over the last year or so I've gotten a little bit pickier about where I make our reservations. I certainly still try to pay as little as possible, but there are some chains I now try to avoid when possible, and there are others we know we usually like. Embassy Suites has now been added to that list although my back did not like the mattress last night. 

Paul went to work last Wednesday thinking it would be his last day to go to the plant before our trip, but he didn't finish the bookkeeping that he needed to send to the accountant, so he went back on Friday. He ended up also going in on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday! On Sunday we drove in two cars to church. After the two services, I took the kids to their last ice-skating lesson for the year, and Paul drove to work. He didn't come back home until after 8:00 pm! I took Nadia and Ian back to church in the evening for the youth group Super Bowl party, and Paul picked them up near the end of the game. I didn't watch the game, but since I didn't want SF to win their 6th Super Bowl ring, I was happy when I found out the next morning that the Chiefs had won. One of my nephews is a Chiefs fan, so I was also happy his favorite team won.

Although we had the added expense of one more night at a hotel, not driving from our home to Baltimore this morning makes it seem like this day won't be quite as tiring. Also making sure everyone has packed everything can be an ordeal, and it was easier to do that on Monday afternoon/early evening rather than early in the morning today. Yesterday was a hectic day as both boys had an orthodontist appointment (Ian now has braces on the top jaw), Ian had a piano lesson (working on the 2nd and 3rd movements of Moonlight Sonata), a day of homeschooling, walking the dogs, and also making travel arrangements and finishing up our packing. Praying that all will go as smoothly as possible for the next sixteen days while we're in Florida and Ecuador! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to make memories and see places we've never seen before! I did bring my camera, but I didn't bring my camera bag on this trip. Hopefully I won't miss my lenses too much, ha ha! Packing when you're flying is definitely different than packing when you're on a road trip in your own vehicle.

11.5 Years Old!

Eighteen months from today, I'll be the mother of three teenagers. The time is just flying by. In addition to today being Oliver's half-birthday, today is also the 27th anniversary of the day Paul and I met at a ballroom dancing class at Boscov's department store. Originally, I planned for him to have a date with Paul this afternoon at Kaos, but Xandir's mom asked if Oliver could spend a few hours at their home and then go with them to Kaos this afternoon. Yesterday Oliver did extra schoolwork so that he could have this fun outing today. 

Here are eleven current descriptions of our youngest:

1. He loves the blanket shown in the photo above. He carries that thing all around the house for many months of the year. 

2. He loves to try new foods - especially any kind of seafood. He's looking forward to eating some "gator bites" when we're in Florida later this month. 

3. He eats the widest variety of foods for lunch than anyone in our family. The items he requests include tomato soup, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, any kind of Ramen, hot dog, ham and cheese Hot Pocket, or an egg salad sandwich. 

4. He enjoys doing jigsaw puzzles although the 1,000-piece puzzles we've been doing lately are a bit challenging for him. Paul and Nadia do the majority of those puzzles. 

5. He still loves Nerf guns. He recently went shopping at Walmart to spend some money he received at Christmas, and he purchased another Nerf gun, a Lego set, and some fingerboards (basically a very tiny skateboard if you're as clueless as I was until he showed me one). 

6. He loves to use the iPad to chat with his cousins in Quito or to play a video game. 

7. His favorite book series to read are Dead Sea Squirrels, Imagination Station, and Magic Tree House. During our fall session of co-op, he read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

8. He still is very generous.

9. He still talks almost nonstop.

10. He still is the only one of our children who sometimes chooses to go to bed before his bedtime.

11. He loves to have his back, neck, or head scratched. He's also a hugger, for which I am very thankful.

I usually do my gratitude lists on Thursdays, but I'll write one today since I doubt that I'll write another post this week.

1. I spoke with the investigator again on Monday. He said he's going to ask the insurance company to reimburse us $20K from my 2021 ankle surgery. That would be such a blessing! I greatly appreciate his help!

2. I've been talking to Yvonne for 1-2 hours once a week lately. I don't talk to Wendy regularly, but she called me once near the end of January, and that was a treat. 

3.  We hosted two game days for homeschoolers in January, and we're hosting one more this Friday afternoon. I'm thankful we can have the kids' friends over. Our little co-op that we host in our home will begin in March and last for ten weeks.

4. Last Saturday Oliver went to a Nerf war at another church while Julianna spent a few hours at our home with Nadia. Their family (of 5) joined our family for dinner, Apples to Apples, and Quiplash.

5. Cooper has been sleeping through the night lately, which is greatly appreciated. The two dogs get along pretty well. We will be dropping the dogs off on Tuesday morning. We've had Cooper for two weeks so far. 

6. Nadia earned an A in her third class through Grand Canyon University. She'll start her fourth class in early March. 

7. The Living History Fair went well on Friday night. There was a really nice turnout for the event.

8. Ian's piano recital went well on Sunday. I'm also thankful that Pop Pop came up to attend it. 

9. Ian did well on his math and reading standardized tests on Monday and Tuesday. I can't say that Oliver did well, but he did better than he did in 2021 so at least he's moving in the right direction. They'll take their language test on Monday. In our state testing is required in grades 3, 5, and 8, which means this is Ian's last time until he takes the PSAT/SAT. 

10. I took my friend, Cheri, out for dinner on Monday night to celebrate her birthday (which was January 25). I hadn't seen her since December. 

11. We had tickets to go up the Washington Monument in 2020 which obviously was cancelled due to COVID. I have tried multiple times since then to get tickets and never managed to get them before they sold out. Today I got 5 tickets for March 8! I was SO happy when I completed that purchase!

Piano Recital

Ian's first recital was a duet recital in November. His first solo piano recital took place this afternoon. His teacher currently has 53 students, and the majority of these participated in one of her two recitals today. Ian was in the 2:00 pm recital. He played a Mario song called "Castle Background." The kids are allowed to pick what they want to play for this recital. In between the two recitals she hosts a reception. Everyone is asked to bring some finger food. After attending both services at our church, we did something we don't usually do, we ate pizza at a restaurant. Usually, we get pizza as carry-out, but we didn't think we had the time to go home as Ian was supposed to be there early to run through his piece before the recital began. Pop Pop drove from his church and met us at the restaurant. Paul and Oliver used Pop Pop's car to run home to let the dogs out. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten into the garbage like they did on Friday night while the kids and I were at the living history fair and Paul was at work. We knew a lot of the kids who performed in the recital today. I'm very thankful for the time Ian puts into practicing the piano every week! I hope that he will keep developing his skills with Mrs. DeVito for four more years. 

As for the living history fair, I think next year will be the last time Nadia will participate, and the boys will be at least taking a break. There were two kids who chose to do Elizabeth 1 this year. The other girl was much younger than Nadia. Another girl did Elizabeth 2. There was more than one Washington and more than one Thomas Edison. As the adults went around and asked the kids questions, Ian said a lot of people told him they didn't know anything about Robert Boyle. Next year I'll let the kids pick people from the 1700's to the present. Ian had a demonstration using a syringe and marshmallows to illustrate Boyle's law. 

Dog Mom

 Although I longed for the day that I would be a mom since I was in elementary school, I never aspired to be a "dog mom." I grew up with cats and frankly the best word to describe my attitude toward dogs for most of my life was that I was fear. My friend, Tab, used to have a longhaired dachshund. Ruby really helped me to see that I could enjoy a dog because she sat in my lap like our cats had when I was growing up. Paul had grown up with dogs so I figured that we would get one someday, but I figured that would be whenever he was home more. If I had stuck with that plan, we wouldn't have gotten a dog until the fall of 2023, but we got one in 2020 to try and bring a bright spot amidst all things that were cancelled and impossible to do that year. I never would have dreamt that Milo would pick ME out of the five members of our family to be his "person." We are dog sitting Cooper for three weeks. He's been at our house for one week so far. Cooper has picked Paul and I as his two favorite people in our family. Instead of having ONE shadow follow me around the house, now I have two shadows. Having two dogs has been good in some ways. I'm not a fan of having TWO dogs bark at the same time because there's a dog or a jogger on our street, and it's a challenge to keep their leashes from getting tangled up when I walk them, but Milo definitely enjoys having a buddy. He gets up VERY willingly in the morning whereas other times he'd rather stay in bed with Nadia or Ian when I come to get him at 7:00 am. Also, sometimes when it's just him we accuse him of "going on strike" because he doesn't want to walk. That doesn't happen when Cooper is with us. This does not mean that I want to get a second dog! One is enough for me, but I'm happy that we can trade dog sitting duties with another family. It's much better for the dogs and saves us hundreds of dollars. 

On Sunday afternoon Paul picked up the 1/4 of a cow that we had agreed to purchase from someone in our church. We've never bought that much meat at one time before or paid that much for food in one month before. I used some yesterday to make beef stew, and I'm planning to make a roast on Saturday as we have friends coming over for dinner that night. We'll definitely be eating more steak than usual this year as typically I might buy steak one time in the year, but now we have a lot of steak in our freezer. 

Monday morning began with the piano tuner spending about two hours at our house. Pianos are expensive to own, but I love hearing Ian practicing every day! It was a hectic day as I also took Ian to his piano lesson and to the doctor for his annual physical. The kids' babysitting job for that evening was cancelled, but they still had a two-hour Seussical rehearsal in the afternoon. At Ian's physical I mentioned that over the years several people (including Paul and Drayton) have mentioned that it sounds like Ian has sleep apnea. When I mentioned it to the pediatrician years ago, he said Ian was too young to be concerned about it. This time I was told we should have it investigated. We're starting the process to have a sleep study done on him in the spring. Since we have become self-pay patients, we've been paying $50 per visit at our PCP. On Monday they told me that the cost for a well-child check has gone up to $100 because of the vision/hearing screening are a separate $50 charge. I wasn't thrilled with the change, but I know their prices are still far less than what other doctors charge self-pay customers around here. Over the past year Ian grew three inches and gained at least fourteen pounds! His BMI last year was only 3%, which put him in the underweight category. This week they weighed him while he was wearing his winter coat and sneakers, which wasn't the case last year. With those on, they said he gained seventeen pounds, which put him at the 12th percentile for his BMI. I had him step on our scale once he came home to see what he weighed without his coat and shoes, and his weight dropped by three pounds. If our scale is accurate, then he weighs 90 pounds and is 5 ft. 2.5 inches tall. His height is at the 24th percentile (compared to 26th percentile last year). If he does weigh 90 pounds, then his BMI is at the 6th percentile, which still means he's not in the underweight category, and his weight would be at the 10th percentile (compared to 6th percentile last year). With his coat and shoes on, he weighed 93 pounds, which put him at the 14th percentile for weight. Either way he's growing taller and gaining weight! He slathers on a lot of peanut butter on his apple slices at lunch every day. I think this helped him gain weight! 

I haven't been doing well at taking pictures lately. I plan to take some on Friday evening while the kids are participating in the history fair, and I'll take a video on Sunday of Ian's performance at the piano recital. We'll be on vacation for two weeks in February, which should give me opportunities to take a lot of pictures!

Unexpected Blessing

Sometimes when we get an unexpected phone call, the news is very unpleasant, such as when the police called to inform me of my brother's passing in March 2019. Yesterday I had an unexpected conversation with an investigator from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. It was unexpected because we had filed a case with them in November 2021 and hadn't heard anything from them since 2022. It turns out that another resident of Pennsylvania filed a complaint against the same insurance company in 2023, and during that investigation they uncovered the fact that the insurance company wasn't licensed in the state of Pennsylvania. To avoid a felony charge, the insurance company opted to reimburse the other customer. The investigator then remembered he had received another complaint previously (mine). He said if we submit documentation from the hospital showing what we paid, they will tell the insurance company they have to reimburse us if they want to avoid prosecution. He fully expects that we will be reimbursed! I thought that God's answer to our prayers in 2021/22 had been "no," but it turns out His answer was wait. I never thought we'd get the money back even though I knew their lies were the reason we had to pay such a large bill. We are so thankful that it seems like we will be getting our money back as we paid almost $20K for my ankle surgery! 

Here are some other things I am grateful for today:

1. We hosted two game days at our home for homeschoolers this month. The kids played Wits and Wagers, Outburst, Spontuneous, Battleship, Apples to Apples, etc. 

2. I've been participating in a Bible study at a friend's house one night a week. We've met three times so far. I've also been discussing another Bible study with my sister over the phone. 

3. Nadia and Ian babysat for a small group study at their youth pastor's home once, and they will be doing so again next Monday.

4. Paul and I enjoyed watching season 4 of All Creatures Great and Small together via the PBS app.

5. The kids all had private ice-skating lessons from 2:00-3:30 on Sunday. Paul ice skated with Oliver once earlier this month and with all three kids on Sunday afternoon. They are all having a second lesson tomorrow. A third (and final) lesson has been scheduled for February 11. 

6. Nadia and Ian are enjoying participating in rehearsals for MCS's spring musical - Seussical. 

7. My dad made it safely down to Florida. 

8. We are dog sitting a thirteen-year-old dog for three weeks. He had a stroke last week before his family left on vacation. Thankfully it seems like he's mostly recovered. The first night at our home went very badly. All of us got very little sleep due to all the noise he made, and he marked a lot of territory in our home (carpet, couch, walls, and drapes). Thankfully it's going much better now. 

9. Ian continues to spend a lot of time practicing the piano almost every day. We recently made the change from 30 to 45-minute lessons. For his (early) Valentine's Day gift this year I got him a new book of piano music.

10. Paul, Oliver, and Nadia have really been enjoying doing jigsaw puzzles lately. I bought them each a 1,000-piece puzzle for Valentine's Day - a tank puzzle for Paul, a dog puzzle for Nadia, and a Lord of the Rings puzzle for Oliver.

11. For years I've had the goal to drink more water on a regular basis. I recently got myself a new water bottle, and I think this is going to help me achieve my goal to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. 

12. I (and then we) had dental insurance for about 30 years. We lost our coverage when Paul sold the company at the beginning of August. The bills for getting our teeth cleaned was much higher than I was anticipating. I also was shocked at how much it cost to have two of Ian's teeth extracted in December. So, I signed up for a dental insurance plan for our family earlier this month. I am confident we will save a lot of money over the course of the year. I had my teeth cleaned this week, and Oliver had two teeth extracted. The extractions will cost more than we paid under the dental insurance we used to have, but they also cost a lot less than what I paid without any insurance.