Hey this still works!!!

Danni and I are traveling to Ecuador October 6 to October 23rd 2018. I will try to update this blog as much as I can depending on the internet. We will be visiting in Quito for a few days then spending two weeks in an Orphanage in Cuenca. Very excited!!!!

Our Final Days

I left off as we were running out of our apartment to the airport to go to Guayaquil. It was a tense morning waiting for the call from our attorney that we could leave. We were watching the commuter flights to Guayaquil fill up. Finally the phone rang at 11 AM and she said we needed to leave. By this time the only flight that we could tell was available didn't leave until 840 PM but we headed to the airport anyway. The first airline was booked but the second could get on us early afternoon. By 2:30 PM we were pool side in Guayaquil! It is much warmer there so the pool felt great! Danni loves to swim. Good thing he starts swim lessons in June. Our attorney met us that evening and told us that typically we wont get in until mid-day so if we wanted to visit a park that was near by it was okay but don't be more than 10 minutes from the hotel. We decide to skip the park, sleep in and take our time that Tuesday morning. I had showered, Hayden was ironing his shirt and the kids were watching TV - Michelle was fast asleep in her room. 9 AM the phone rings - we are to meet our attorney in the lobby in 10 minutes!!! Boy did we move!!!! I pounded on Michelle's door so she could get Danni ready, Hayden hopped into the shower, I got ready and Emma was the time keeper!! We ran out the hotel room in 10 minutes!!! The US Consulate is across the street, we go through security including a pat down and then to a waiting room where it took about 20 minutes before our name was called. The woman asked us to raise our right hand and swear that everything that we have submitted is true. She then informed us that the face recognition program was running on Danni but had not finished. It was running slow and could take up to 24 hours before complete. Again....we get to wait more!!! We were told to come back at 3PM and see where it was at.

Back to the hotel for breakfast and then to the pool once again! We were swimming about 30 minutes when Emma said she didn't feel well. Long story short...she had issues from both ends! This went on all afternoon. Our attorney comes at 3 PM and tells us everything is finished - we can go home!!! We take a 6 PM flight back to Quito. Emma is sick the whole time. Once back to Quito we finish packing and organizing for our 3:45 AM pick up!! Emma continues to be sick. Very short night for all of us. We check in Wednesday AM at the airport with no problems. We heard of issues but no one questioned us at all. Emma is still sick. Finally at midnight we landed in Minneapolis. Emma is better but not 100%. Everyone is exhausted yet we still have a 90 minute drive home. By 2:30 AM we were all home and in bed. I wasn't sure if Danni would sleep because he sure had BIG eyes wondering around our house looking and playing with all the toys.

I kept Emma home from school Thursday because she was just so tired and weak from not eating. We did go for 30 minutes at the end of the school day to say hello to all her classmates. They were so excited to see her and she got lots of hugs! Her best friend Sarah was in tears! She felt better Thursday night so I sent her to school Friday. All went well! That meant we were clear to head to grandma and grandpa's to pick up the dogs on Saturday. Emma was fine at first but we ended up taking 4 bathroom breaks! Poor kid!! Sunday I took her today to Urgent care and she has a parasite. One that is common and easy to get rid of. We think it was from the pool water. We were so careful of everything we ate and drank. Here we went 8 weeks and no one got sick until the last days! She is in good spirits - just has to use the bathroom A LOT!! :) She should be back to normal in a few days.

We visited my parents and family in WI until today (Monday). We had a little birthday party for Danni on Sunday. He fits right in with everybody! When we got to my parents he ran right up and hugged them both. I think he remembered them from Skyping. He is best buddies with his cousins already! He really, really likes his dogs but I am not so sure what they think of him yet. Kramer, who is quite jealous, barks when ever I pay attention to Danni or pick him up. It may be a long summer for him! Zoey, she is easy going and enjoys giving Danni kisses!!!

It was so hot when we got home to MN that the neighbor kids came over and we got the sprinkler out. Danni loved it! He was the one in the water most of the time. He didn't care how cold it was! Back to school and work tomorrow. I already need a nap!

Thanks for following our travels! Mari, Hayden, Emma and Danni

Happy 4th Birthday Daniel!!

Yes we are home!!! It was a crazy week but we made it and are home celebrating Danni's 4th Birthday! :) We got him a new bike! He loves it even though it is a bit big for him. He rode it around the kitchen a few times early this morning but it is raining now so we will have to get it outside later. We plan to go out for dinner and then have cake and ice cream. I let him pick out the cake and it was chocolate, frosting was chocolate and lastly the ice cream was also chocolate!! We will be a bit wired later!! :)

Our final few days in Ecuador were a bit crazy and then home has been crazy too! I will do a recap of the last days and post it....but not today! This weekend. I just wanted to say we are home and Happy Birthday to Danni!!

Mari, Hayden and Emma

We are off to Guayaquil!

Our Last Sunday...at least I hope it was!!!

It was Sunday so you know we had to go have one last ride on the horses at Parque Carolina!!!! It was a long line but we waited!! We had to visit our favorite places today so we first headed to Centro Historico. It is a very cool place to go. We saw some awesome local dancers and listened to some music. Did a little last minute shopping too!! :) Then off to Parque Carolina. Danni fell asleep in the taxi so when we got to the park he was not happy. He livened up once he got on his horse. :) We walked around the park to the airplane...it was finally open today!! Then our last stop is of course the little ice-cream shop near our apartment!! It is the best!!! Instead of sharing with Danni I splurged and had coconut ice cream! It was yummy! We all enjoyed our last cone!! :) Then one last walk up the hill to home!! That hill is a killer!! I remember the first morning we were here we were so excited so we went out for a walk. Well going down the hill was just fine BUT then coming back up.....OMG!! It was pure torture especially since we were not used to the altitude either!! Now the hill is better but it still makes you work!!!!

Hayden forgot to tell me yesterday that he ran into our cab driver that went to the water museum! He was in his taxi driving some one but slowed down, honked and yelled "HOLA Amigo's"!!!! He said it was hilarious!! :)

We all packed up today too. The last of the laundry is in the dryer. Now we just need to get that phone call tomorrow that the letter is ready!! We are suppose to get the call by noon and then we hope to catch a 3 PM flight to Guayaquil. We are packed for that too!!!

Dig the picture of the clouds between the buildings?!?! We woke up early due to a power outage - we heard the generators. The sun was coming up but the clouds were still hanging out near the ground. It was really cool looking!

If we get the call I will make a quick post to let you all know. I wont be blogging tomorrow night if we go. That is a good thing!!

Have a great week everyone!! See some of you real soon!! Mari

Eight Weeks!

Wow, we have been here 8 weeks today! The time sure did fly by. We enjoyed it immensely but it is time to go home!!! I did pack up quite a bit of stuff today. Will finish up most of what is left tomorrow night.

Hayden took Michelle to the "gold" church today. We visited it before she arrived and it is really beautiful so we wanted her to see it. The church has service on Sunday's but on other days it is open for tours for a small fee. The entire church is covered in gold leaf. No pictures allowed but we do have some post cards.

We had another hail storm today. It came across the mountain and you could see the rain get closer and closer to our apartment. Before it rained me and kids made it to Megamaxi. We walked with promise of ice cream at KFC! It is only soft serve but to them it is great and worth the walk!! I think that was my last trip to Megamaxi!! We spent many hours wandering around in there. :)

That is about it. Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Mari

Papallacta Again!

It was so good the first time we needed to go again!! It was awesome the second time too! It was funny as we even got the same cabin. The kids spent many, many, many hours in the pools. Danni loves the water, goes under and even attempts at some type of stroke. I already signed him up for swim lessons this summer. Michelle thought Papallacta was pretty awesome too. We even got a special treat. The volcano Antisna is near by and we were able to see it for several hours on both days. It was awesome!

We are all pretty tired today so I don't have much energy to blog tonight. I will load a bunch of pictures so enjoy.

We don't have big plans for the weekend. Hayden was going to take Michelle to see a church tomorrow AM. Danni and Emma have no patience for that any more. I saw the church already so I will stay home and start to pack. Yeah pack!!!! Sunday we will go one last time to Parque Carolina and ride the horses. Hayden can have his huge hot dog too!!

I need to explain one of the pictures. The one of Danni with weird eyes. That is his signature look! He looks at you out of the corner of his eyes. It is hilarious. He is quite the comedian!!

That is all tonight!! Hasta Manana!! Mari