Worth Making Memories

A couple years ago Jason found out that the annual American Medical Society for Sports Medicine conference would be at the Dolphin Resort in Disney World this year.  Ever since he found out he's been wanting it to be a big family vacation.  I was reluctant for a couple reasons.  I'm not a huge Disney fan.  (Please don't stop reading until I explain.)  Disney does everything fantastic.  In fact no one does it better.  My complaint is how expensive and overcrowded it has gotten the last 20 years.  Gone are the days where we would go to Disneyland with minimal crowds for a reasonable price.  Instead I feel like I spend a boat load of money to stand in line all day while my kids get bored of waiting and start to fight. The other problem is that the conference always falls one of the last weeks in April.  It's always after spring break but right before AP tests, end of year testing, track season and the rest of the spring sports.  It's an awful time to drop everything and go on vacation.  For this reason Jason usually travels to these conferences alone.  But he was persistent in trying to convince me to take the family. I finally relented on the condition he fly out a few days before us and we make a quick trip so the kids only missed a couple days of school.

For the most part Disney turned out much better than I had anticipated.  Yes, we spent a ridiculous amount of money but the crowds weren't as horrible as they could have been.  I think we hit a nice window after spring break, before school was out and before the heat of summer hit Florida.  The weather was nice.  The few rides with extremely long lines we skipped but there was still plenty of things for everyone to enjoy.  And most of the time the kids got along really well.  It was some really great family time to spend together knowing things would soon be changing with Andrew preparing to leave for a mission.  However, it didn't take long before everyone was so exhausted tears were starting to flow, the money was all gone and it was time to go home.  Enjoy a few highlights of the trip.

Hawaii - One Last Family Trip

My request to my husband was that before Andrew left on his mission for two years I wanted a big family vacation.  When I asked Andrew if he had any suggestions he immediately asked if we could go to Hawaii.  It sounded perfect to me.  I was thinking Maui or Kauai.  My husband wanted to go to Oahu to tour Pearl Harbor.  But Andrew wanted to see an active volcano.  So I booked the trip and hoped the volcano would be active while we were there.  I got more than what I bargained for.  A few weeks before we were due to leave a major volcanic eruption started.  Not the typical calm eruption from the Kilauea Volcano.  This was a major lava flow that was destroying homes and evacuating neighborhoods.  New fissures were opening up daily.  Ash was spewing from the crater and earthquakes were a frequent event.  The National Park was shut down and the evacuation area kept growing.  Suddenly the volcano was too active and I worried about our safety and if there would be anything open that we wanted to do.  We decided the money was already spent and we might as well go to the island.  Kona was far from the volcanic activity and although the air quality was terrible due to the continuing eruptions we hardly knew anything was going on.  We had a fabulous time exploring the beaches on the Kona side of the island. We loved snorkeling with the fish and sea turtles, playing in the sand, watching dolphins, and body boarding.  The one thing lacking was some sunshine with the constant haze and cloudiness overhead.  We were even able to visit the Kona LDS temple.  It was Kaitlyn's first time being able to go inside a temple and do baptisms!

The last few days on the island we headed up to see the top of the mountain Mauna Kea.  It was crazy driving from sea level to over 13,000 ft in less than an hour.  We were finally able to get above the hazy air for a bit.  Then back down the mountain we went to the Hilo side of the island.  We decided to bail on our place to stay in the town of Volcano due to the daily ash eruptions.  Instead we found a charming little house to rent in Hilo complete with a pond the kids could paddle board and canoe on.  We loved the lush vegetation on the other side of the island even though there was a lot of rain that came with it.  We had fun exploring a lava tube and viewing all the waterfalls.

Other than the haze we still hadn't seen any action from the volcano.  I felt sad because that was the whole reason we had picked the Big Island.  We finally heard from some tourists that there was a company that had started doing boat tours out to where the lava flow was entering the ocean.  I had some hesitation knowing my tendency for motion sickness and the ridiculous cost of the boat ride but we finally decided it was our ONLY way to view the volcano.  We woke up at 3 am to catch the 4 am boat from Hilo.  We boarded the boat and headed out the bay in Hilo.  As soon as we were out of the bay I realized my mistake bringing Skyler on board.  It was a ROUGH ride!  Just minutes into the ride he was saying he wanted to get off and NEVER do this ride again!  But at this point we were stuck on the boat for the next 3 hours.  As soon as we had exited the bay we could see the glow in the night sky from the eruption even though we were still miles away.  It was incredible how it lit up the whole side of the island.  Fissure 8 was putting on quite the show spraying lava several hundred feet into the air.  After over an hour speeding up the coast we arrived at the area where lava had been flowing into the ocean.  It was incredible to see lava rock coastline that hadn't existed days ago literally being created right before our eyes.  The flow itself had slowed to a trickle and we couldn't see much lava actually flowing into the ocean but the smoldering fresh lava rock and the lava spraying from fissure 8 was a sight I'll never forget.  I was hoping when we slowed to view the eruption we would get a bit of a respite from the rough ride.  But instead the boat rocking back and forth on the big waves at a slow speed was worse then riding over them and crashing down at high speeds.  Many people on the boat were getting sea sick and soon Skyler and I joined them.  In retrospect I think I'm still glad we did it but from now on I'm keeping my sightseeing adventures on land!

 This day turned into what felt like the longest day ever since it started at 3 am and we were taking the red eye flight home.  We went back to the house and packed up then headed to the south side of the island to drive back to Kona and see some areas we hadn't seen yet.  We spent most of the afternoon at a black sad beach which ended up being one of my favorite outings of the whole trip.  The beach was gorgeous with the black sand, coconut trees and sea turtles resting on the sand.  Skyler thoroughly enjoyed playing in the sand.  We all had fun watching the turtles and the teenage boys kept entertained trying to break open coconuts.  As I sat on the beach watching everyone having so much fun the tears started to flow.  It was all over.  Not just the vacation but it suddenly hit me that Andrew would be leaving in a matter of weeks.  Almost 19 years and it was gone in the blink of an eye.  Although our trip didn't end up much like we had originally planned it really was perfect just to spend the time together knowing we won't have that for a while.

   

Sao Paulo

By the time we left Rio I was ready to go home.  Although I knew there was no way a four year old could have kept up with the schedule we were on in Rio I was really missing Skyler.  We were so close to Sao Paulo thought that we wanted to take the kids there and show them where Jason served his mission 20 years ago.  We could have spent a couple weeks touring his mission but school had already started at home, Jason needed to get back to work, and we needed to get home to Skyler.  So instead we did a quick tour in four days.  We were welcomed so warmly by people Jason worked with all those years ago.  Many I met last time Jason and I visited but it was great for the kids to get a chance to meet them.  It was incredible to me to see how much Jason loved the people he served and how much they loved him.  We were welcomed at the airport by Moises and his family and went to their home for a delicious meal cooked by Eliane.  Moises and Eliane were very generous to drive us around where we needed to go.  The older kids felt a little awkward at first not being able to speak to each other and used Jason to translate.  Kaitlyn and Pamela were best friends from the first moment!  They used an app to translate but mostly just spent the entire car ride in the back seat giggling and jabbering away even though they couldn't understand each other!  The next day we were headed to Gauratingata where we met with Juceli and toured the big basilica.

  That evening we spent in Lorena where the members of the ward hosted a Brazilian churasco for us.  The food was amazing and Jason was brought to tears by the number of people who kept coming to greet him.  Herma Maloo insisted we stay at her house instead of going to a hotel and treated us as guests of honor.  Even though the kids there couldn't speak the same language they had a great time playing together. They used their phones to translate and spent the evening playing hide and seek.  We even had a suprise visit from Bira and his wife who live in another city.  We had been planning on meeting up with Bira the next day but he was suddenly called out of town to work so he drove to Lorena for a chance to see us before he left.

The next day Andrew, Jason and I went for a short run in Lorena.  Jason loved showing us around the town, the church and where he lived.  We left Lorena later in the morning with lots of tears.  On the way back to Sao Paulo we stopped in Guara again.  We drove up to the mountains to try to find some waterfalls that Juceli had told us about.  We got lost and ended up finding a small restaurant where we asked for directions.  They wouldn't give us directions but offered for us to hire a guide.  We finally decided it was the only way we would ever find the falls.  He looked like a guy straight from the Austrailian Outback and we were soon bush wacking through overgrown trials down a steep mountain side.  It was a fun experience in the lush forest and the views were worth it!

After the hike we stopped at another friend's house, Bruno.  He owned a pizzeria and made some delicious pizza for us.  After pizza at Bruno's one of the cars headed back to Sao Paulo because Natalia had an appointment but Eliane, Jason, Kaitlyn, Pamela and I stayed in Guaratigata to visit with Herma Ruth, Juceli's mom.  She had been waiting for us all day.  It was late and we needed to get back but we just couldn't leave without seeing her.  She was delighted to see Jason.  She kept jabbering away in Portuguese to me then she would stop and laugh and look at Jason and say she forgot I couldn't speak Portuguese.  Then 5 minutes later she was doing it again.  She adored Kaitlyn and it was obvious she was delighted to see us and made the late night worth it. 

The drive back to Sao Paulo was an adventure to say the least.  Eliane was driving and Jason was in the front seat helping to Navigate.  I fell asleep but woke up at one point and realized even though they were speaking Portuguese we were lost.  Apparently at some point we were headed towards Rio instead of Sao Paulo.  We eventually made it back to Moises's apartment and Omar was waiting for us.  He had found the biggest car he could find but the 5 passenger vehicle was not big enough to fit all of us and the luggage we had brought along for two weeks.  In the end, we left a couple large suitcases with Moises and then we crammed in the vehicle the best we could.  Omar and his family welcomed us into their beautiful home for our last couple days.  They treated us like family and his mother made us a delicious meal.  Kaitlyn didn't get along so well with one of the cats who scratched her.  Omar showed us around the city the next day and it was such a better experience than my first impression of Sao Paulo five years ago.  Omar lives in a very nice neighborhood and knew how to get us around to the best sights.  It wasn't at all the dirty, scary city I remembered from last time.  We went to the top of one of the tallest buildings and enjoyed the view from the top of the massive city.  We wandered through the central market where vendors were anxious to take advantage of American Tourists.  We left some pricey but very tasty produce.  We walked through Japan town, the largest Japanese population outside of Japan.   When Omar had to go close up his shop he dropped us off at the big park in the city center.  We were planning on walking around but then spied some bikes to rent and decided we could see a lot more of the park that way.  We had fun zipping around on the bikes and the kids found some of the best climbing trees ever.  The last stop was Avenue Paulista, somewhere Jason had wanted to take me last time but we hadn't made it.  It is the high end shopping area and happening place in downtown.  We had fun strolling through the malls and the city streets after dark.

On Saturday morning we went to the Sao Paulo temple with Omar and Moises' family.  What a perfect way to end our time in Brazil!  Over 20 years ago Jason had the opportunity to baptize Omar and Moises.  Before he left to come home he was able to attend the temple with them.  In our church one of the most joyful beliefs is that through temple work families will continue beyond the grave and those who have passed on can still accept and receive saving ordinances such as baptism when we perform them for them.  It was so wonderful to have our children and Moises' children with us.  Moises and Omar both served missions and have influenced so many lives for good.  It was such an amazing experience for Jason to see the fruits of his labor.

After the temple it was time to start saying goodbye but the kids convinced us that we had to get some ice cream first.  I guess some traditions don't have any culture boundaries!  It was so hard to say goodbye knowing it will be quite some time before we will see these good friends again!

After the farewell with Moises' family we headed back to Omar's to say goodbye to his family and get everything packed up to go to the airport.  We had just enough time to take a walk around the park near Omar's house.  His brother lent us a bigger car and it was still a tight squeeze but we managed to fit with all the luggage.  It was time to go home but we left our with our hearts full and precious memories.

Photo credit to Andrew for this last shot and many others during the trip.  He had a great time developing his photography talent while we were there.  I love this glimpse of the city he got as we walked around the park just before sunset.  Goodbye Brazil until we come again!

USA House and the Men's Marathon

One of our last days in Rio we used the guest passes Jason had for us to enjoy the hospitality at the USA House.  The kids loved the VIP treatment.  Jared made a killing on pins that day.  It seemed like everyone there wanted to trade with him or better yet just give him pins.  There was plenty of food, drinks, treats and TVs to watch everything that was going on around Rio.  We watched Brazil beat Germany in the men's gold medal soccer match.  Everyone in the USA House was definitely cheering on Brazil for redemption from the embarrassment Germany handed Brazil two years ago in the World Cup.  We also had fun cheering on Team USA to another successful night at Track and Field.  The best part of the day though was mingling with the athletes who were there.  We met several athletes with such inspiring stories.  These aren't the ones you hear about on TV and they might not have won any medals but their dedication and hard work to make it to the Olympics were inspiring to hear about.  When we had all grab a plate of dinner we were trying to find a place to all sit together to eat.  I went to a table with some extra chairs and asked to borrow some chairs without really looking at who I was talking to.  Then I looked up and realized it was Desi Linden.  I was a bit tongue tied at first not knowing what to say.  I congratulated her on a great marathon.  Later I got up the courage to go back and chat with her a bit more about my experience at the Olympic Trials, running for Brooks, and ask for a picture.  She was very kind and I loved the good fortune of being there at the same time she was!

We also had the privilege of watching Ryan Crouser who won the gold medal in shot put give an award to his mentor.  We had a few minutes afterward to meet him.  He tried to convince Jared to throw the shot put since we told him he isn't fond of running but we'd love to keep him in the track and field family!  Then he posed for a picture and even let Kaitlyn hold his gold medal!

 It was a lot of fun seeing the amazing atmosphere that Jason had been working in for the last few weeks!  The games were winding up but we were able to catch a few more events.  We watched the bike and run for the men's and women's triathalon on the road.  We also went to the lagoon to watch the canoe sprint finals.  There weren't any US teams in the finals but we enjoyed celebrating with the home crowd when some Brazilian's medaled. The last event was the men's marathon.  Again we went to Botafoga and watched the race come past three times.  Some of the highlights were watching local runner Jared Ward run an outstanding race finishing 6th, Galen Rupp winning the bronze medal and Meb Keflezgi in his last Olympics.

  Later that day a storm was blowing in.  The wind was howling and the beach front was deserted and downright eerie.  The wind was painfully blowing the sand in our faces as we rushed back to our hotel.  We sat safely in the hotel watching the closing ceremony while the storm raged outside, wind howling and rain pelting the windows.  The show was a typical Brazilian party and I found a wave of emotions coming over me as I watched.  Memories from the week flooded my mind, a love for the Brazilian culture and the city of Rio, and sadness that it was all over.  What an incredible experience it was and one that we will never forget!

Sightseeing in Rio

Rio is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to!  Last time Jason and I visited we only had a day and a half to visit but I fell in love with Rio.  I was so excited to show the kids some of the amazing sights as well as having over a week there to explore some areas we didn't get to last time.  With a busy work schedule for Jason and a lot of events we had tickets to attend we had to fit the sight seeing in between other things.  Lines were long as expected but we were able to get to most of the sights we wanted to see.

When we arrived at Sugar Loaf we were greeted by a long line but it moved quickly and within an hour we were riding the tram the first peak.  An hour didn't seem like too long and since we were squeezing it in between track in the morning and beach volleyball in the evening I was glad it wasn't too long.  The tram takes you up to the first peak then another tram takes you up to the second peak.  The weather was beautiful when we arrived but by the time we had made it up to the first peak a strong wind had picked up.  A storm was blowing in.  I was a little hesitant about the tram ride to the taller peak with the high winds but we had already bought our tickets and I wasn't sure we'd get another chance to come back.  As we went to get in line for the second tram we found a long winding line that took another hour.  Suddenly the waiting was starting to get long.  Luckily there was a monkey in one of the trees that entertained the kids for a while.  We also ran into one of the women's steeplechasers from Team USA and enjoyed meeting her and her family.  We finally made it to the top.  We took pictures, walked the trails through the forest and enjoyed the views of the bay and the beaches below.  Unfortunately the bottleneck of the line for the tram wasn't any better on the way down.  With about an hour wait in each line that meant we spent a total of four hours in line that afternoon and it was starting to get tiring.  The bright side to this was that we got to experience the breathtaking view in the daylight, at sunset and after dark!

The next day we had a guide take us to Tijuca Forest.  It is in the mountains above Rio and is home to one of the most diverse forests in the world.  We loved walking through the lush vegetation and the beautiful waterfalls.  The guide was mentioning all the animals that lived there and the kids were dying to see a monkey but she said you had to get lucky to spot them.  No sooner had she said that then Jared spied a capuchin monkey eating fruit in a near by tree.  The kids were delighted to watch him for a while.  We ended the day with a scenic drive down the mountainside with some amazing views of the city and the coast.

On Wednesday we had tickets to the morning and evening sessions of track and field so in between we checked out the city center.  It was the first place in Rio that had some areas that were a little more sketchy but during the daylight we felt fairly safe.  We saw several cathedrals and the aqueduct.  We ran out of time to ride the trolley that runs along the top of the aqueduct and figured we would come back another day but when we went back on our final day in Rio we found out it was closed for a holiday. We also missed the colored tile steps but we were able to hit that again on our last day.  It was packed with tourists but a fun place in the city center.

A trip to Rio just wouldn't be complete without a trip to the top of Corcovado with the Christ the Redeemer statue.  We thought we would have just enough time the morning before we went to the men's basketball game.  The problem was that we woke up to partly cloudy skies.  We weren't sure we would have another time to go though so we bought tickets and hoped the clouds would clear enough to get a  bit of a view.  Of course everyone else thought the trip to Corcovado was a must as well so it was as packed as the other tourist sights.  The bus was running on Brazilian time: very late.  We didn't have a lot of time to spend on top once we got there but it was so packed with people I'm not sure we would have wanted to.  It was still quite cloudy but you could occasionally get glimpses of the beach and city below.

The kids and I spent a couple afternoons at the beach while Jason was working.  The kids enjoyed a warm afternoon playing in the water while I sat on the packed beach where you were lucky to find a spot to set down a towel.  The vendors were constantly pestering me with items they were selling to tourists.  We also enjoyed a lot of walks on the boardwalk along Ipanema by the hotel and USA house as well as the rocky point out bay Fort Copacabana.

It made me sad to hear all the negative media our country was spreading about Rio because we all loved it so much and were sad when it was time to leave.  We love the Brazilian culture and the beautiful city and hope to make it back some day!