Back at the end of July and the beginning of August, my mom came down to help me out with the kids while Josh was traveling. We took a day at the very end to take her out to a wildlife reserve a the base of the volcano Pinchincha. We had a picnic (found a great place to camp) and did a little hiking. This reserve one they claim has more original native vegetation. It was a beautiful reserve and a lovely drive.
Right before Christmas, went with Josh's folks to one the the newest, biggest malls to open in the Quito area - with a huge area with games and rides. The kids loved it! Although the downside of the day was Jana wiping out down a set of stairs and fracturing her collarbone.
At the end of December we took a trip for both ministry and pleasure to the southern coast of Ecuador. We stayed at the beach for a couple nights and then traveled to Portoviejo to bring in the New Year with the church and team there. The drive to the southern coast was unique: switchback roads for over half the trip through one of the biggest and most unusual national parks in Ecuador. It is dry brush among rolling hills, spotted by ceibo (or baobab) trees - reminding me hauntingly of the drive to Mombasa in Kenya. When we drove down, the ceibo trees were just starting to bloom. I wish I had taken more pictures of the drive down, but the kids and I all got motion sick in the car due to the super windy roads. The beach itself was beautiful - much cleaner and quieter than the beach in Northern Ecuador. And we ate seafood fresh out of the ocean.
Our most recent trip was to the cloud-forest town of Mindo with the entire Marcum clan. We stayed in a quaint little hotel called the Dragonfly Inn. The following day we went ziplining through the canopy of the cloud-forest and then went hiking to a waterfall. It was an amazing day.
Then a few weeks ago in March, we took a whirlwind trip to Guayaquil. I was invited to do a seminar on children's ministry, so Josh took care of the kids while I did an all day marathon with about 50 church members from 10 different congregations. That night we did manage to get away to do something fun: a pirate ship ride around the Guayaquil bay. It was wet and rainy, but it was fun: the girls got their faces painted and we got our pictures taken in pirate hats.
Finally, for James' 15th birthday the girls, Josh and Papa took James to a little amusement park at the foot of the teleferico going up Volcano Pinchincha. They all got to ride several rides.
