Peru-Day 6 and 7

We enjoyed a nice Sunday in Lima, playing at home for a little while before church and the boys spent some time with the children of another mission president that lives right below.  I really wish I had taken a picture of the boys with Nicole and Nicolai, they were so fun!

 On Monday, our last full day in Lima, we went to the beach.  It was perfect!

 Hunter did not want to touch the small crab that dad found!  (Preston did, though.)  : )

 I love this joyful picture of handsome Preston!!!

 This boy is pure, adorable sweetness!

 And my Benjamin is an amazing little man.  : )

 That evening I got to attend a dinner with David's parents and the missionaries who were leaving the mission.  (A few of them were on the same flight as us.)  That was a sweet opportunity for me.

 I am so blessed by the loving support and the examples of my in-laws.  They are amazing and lift and inspire everyone around them.  David's mom has a unique spiritual gift of beautifying everything that she is around and David's dad is an incredible example of dedication to the Lord's work.  We love them and are grateful that we got to share a small bit of their experience in Peru.

 Saying goodbye was HARD, but we are excited to say hello again in July when they return to Oregon.  : )

Peru-Day 5

We went on a hike to a waterfall and were so happy to experience the dense tropical foliage.  It seems surreal now that we were in the Amazon!  It was amazing and testifies all over again to me of the power and majesty of Heavenly Father's creations!

 After the hike we were able to go to an animal rescue center, it was VERY rustic and we loved it!

 This is a cacao pod--it's where the cocoa beans come from!  You break the pod open and it's full of this white, slimy substance that tasted sweet and bitter-very cool to see that.

 This is a tapir--they called it the "jungle cow," I think.  Very large and docile.

We flew back to Lima that afternoon.

Peru-Day 4

We started out our first full day in Tarapoto with a tour of a town/part native village called Lamas.  This first picture is in Tarapoto where we stayed, a "rustic Hawaii" as David's mom likes to call it.  : )  It was beautiful!

 Here is Hunter and his new Peruvian friend at a museum that we visited in Lamas.

 Jungle-type bugs and and animal skins, including HUGE snakes, gave us a close-up of some of the wildlife!

 At the Plaza de Armas in Lamas.

 An Italian man has had this castle built in Lamas--VERY unique sight in the area and we had a great time exploring it.

 The artist who paints the murals in the castle was at work!  It was neat to watch him.

 Amazing view!!!  Pictures can NEVER do it justice.

 Preston enjoying some time in the backpack with dad.

 More of the same artist's work.

 Ice cream break!

 Boys having a GREAT time pretending to drive a mototaxi.

 Hunter's "treasure" from the native village.  A parrot that matched the one in the restaurant that he loved so much.  His heart was set on it from the moment he saw it.  So cute.  : )

 My treasure was this hand-woven hat.

 And Benjamin looks a little too happy with his blowgun...

Once we got back from Lamas we went on a mototaxi tour of Tarapoto.  I LOVED the mototaxi.  It was so much fun to ride on.  Very refreshing to have the wind blowing on you.  We just laughed and loved the ride!
Here is Benjamin discovering a banana tree.

 Back to the Rio Shilcayo.

Thumb's Up, Hunter!

So, looking through my pictures I was giggling at the progression of Hunter learning how to do thumbs up one day.  SO, I'll share the journey with you...

In the morning this is what he could do...

 Ever the patient instructor, Benjamin did the honors of teaching Hunter that his THUMB needed to be up...

"HEY, look at that, I'm doing it!"

 "Hmmm, can I get both thumbs up?"

 "YEP!"

 Proud Hunter, demonstrating his new skill for Papa.