We picked Momma, Dad and James up in La Paz, since Dad and Momma were doing a conference there for the church. That in itself was an experience, as we drove our own car and made it our first Bolivian road trip. We arrived over the mountain passes without too much problem (although I left my purse in a little restaurant on the way, and had difficulty finding an open bathroom!) We enjoyed 3 nights with Momma, Dad and James in a quaint hotel in La Paz, and then made the trip back to Cochabamba, which turned out to be even more of an experience! Our car wouldn't start the morning we left, and when we stopped for lunch Mom's purse was stolen, and when we came to a split in the road on the way home we took the wrong highway and ended up in Oruro - the opposite direction from Cochabamba. The incredible part was that when we turned around to catch the right road, there was a paro (strike) in the town we had just left! In Bolivia, a strike means a lot of people sit across the road, blocking traffic in all directions. So we had to go offroading - Josh got to use his 4 wheel drive for the first time - in order to get around the blockade and back on the highway to Cochabamba. Needless to say, we arrived later than we expected in Cochabamba.
The rest of our visit was a little bit more low key. Momma got to babysit Michaela in the mornings while we went to school, and then we just enjoyed the usual family activities (movies, games of spades, time with the team, shopping excursions etc.) On Sunday, April 30th, we celebrated Michaela's actual birthday (her party was the day before) with a picnic trip to a children's park here in Cochabamba. Momma, Dad and James left a few days ago for Santa Cruz to give another conference there, and from there are heading back to the States on furlough. Michaela greatly missed them when they left - she loved especially playing with Uncle James and all the attention from Grammy and Grandpa. We love you guys and are so happy you were able to share our lives in Cochabamba!
