First Day of School 2012

While Megan and mom were off in Idaho, "The Boys" were here starting school with Dad's help.

Here are our two handsome guys on the first day.  Thanks so much, Steve, for snapping the traditional first day photos so I didn't have to miss it.

Love these two!!!

Megan Goes to BYU-I

Well, the time came whether we were ready for it or not.  We had kind of been able to put it on the back burner while getting ready for the Peru trip, but once we got back we were in full swing with college prep.  Megan was able to squeeze in a few things before she left and then she and I made the trip out to Rexburg to get her settled.

Meg with some of her high school buddies....one last lunch at the diner

She got to go to one more Phillies game.  Here is Evan getting ready to run the bases after the game.

Check out the stair step heights....These kids are going to miss each other a lot

We even made one last batch of mancakes before she left

Here she is on move in day......#214

During the move in process

And.....The Finished Product

(actually there were a lot more photos that went up after this....but this gives a rough idea)

Her new kitchen

Some of the stash of food that we bought.  Grandma and Grandpa Tucker were so good to let us stay with them and help us get all the stuff we needed.  Also thanks to Aunt Jeri, Hannah, and Olivia for their amazing help in home decor, food labeling,  and moral support.  Megan is so lucky to have them all living nearby.

Meg's living room

Some of her cool roommates....Natalie, Shannon, Megan, and Kaloni

Here she is.....just think of the adventures that await her!

Sure miss this girl!!

PERU (Part 6) Lima

We left Puno on Friday, August 24, and headed to our final destination, Lima, the capital of Peru.

After arriving at our hotel which took us forever to get to because of a big traffic jam, we decided that since we just had the late afternoon and evening, we would take a taxi to the temple.  We knew we wanted to go there and that it would take a taxi ride any time we went, so this seemed like the time to go. We went to the lobby of our hotel and had a lovely supper and then headed to the temple.   Megan wanted to see it too, so she came along and planned to go to the visitor's center to sort through her photos on the computer while Steve and I went in to do a session.

The Lima Peru  Temple, taken just as we arrived

Steve and I just before going in

We enjoyed our session and I was able to use an English headset so that I understood everything.  We met the temple president and his wife and spent a few minutes talking with them after our session.  Unfortunately, Megan did not have such a good experience while we were in the temple.  While in the visitor's center, her phone and ipod were stolen.  A man came up to her, asked about the time, and sat down in a chair next to her, laying his coat over her purse.  He left after a little while, and when she reached into her purse to get her phone, she found she had been robbed.  She was so upset, but could not speak to anyone because she does not speak Spanish.  She said she went outside an tried to find the man, but could not.  She went back inside and tried to control her emotions, but there was a young man sitting across from her that could tell she was upset.  When his mom came in from the session, he pointed Megan out and his mom (who thankfully spoke English) came over and asked Megan if she was OK.  She just broke down crying and told her what had happened.  This kind sister brought Megan into the foyer of the temple to us.  We went to the security gate which video tapes at various places in the temple out buildings, but there was nothing that could be done.  Everyone was so apologetic and took our number to call if they found anything, but we knew it was a professional job and we were not going to get our things back.  We were so thankful that Megan was safe, but still felt violated.  It started to feel like it was time to go home.  :)  I think the thing that was so upsetting was that we had been so vigilant during our whole trip since we had been warned of pick pockets,etc.  But when we let down our guard for just a minute, on the temple grounds of all places, we were taken advantage of.  Tough night.

We got up the next morning determined to make it a good day....and we did!!

We took a taxi downtown to see the sights there.  It was an overcast day, but still pleasant.  Here are some of the places we visited.

The Municipal Palace on the Plaza de Armas

The Archbishop's Palace...known for its intricately carved wooden balconies

This is also on the Plaza Mayor (Plaza de Armas or Major Plaza)

Presidential Palace 

Changing of the guard at the Presidential Palace

School children arriving at the changing of the guard ceremony

Notice the armed guard preventing any spectators from going beyond the yellow line

The Lima Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

We discovered that since the cathedral is a public place, even a wedding could not keep the tourists out.  It was so fun to just sit and watch the whole wedding.  The music was amazing, sung by a trio of men that sounded like they could have been the Three Tenors.

A photo op down the aisle

A look at the beautiful ceiling....

...and the happy couple.  Very fun!!

So, there is a funny story that goes with this picture.  This is at the base of a statue in the Plaza de San Martin.  The statue was commissioned in Spain to commemorate the 100 anniversary of Peru's independence.  The woman was supposed to have a crown of flames on her head.  But since the word  for flame in Spanish is llama, the artist mistakenly carved a small llama on the woman's head.  :)

These next photos were all taken at the Parque de la Reserva.  This is a park full of different fountains which are illuminated after dark.  It was amazing.

Teapot and cup fountain

Steve putting his hand through the tunnel fountain

Yep, you could walk right through it....so fun

Steve and Megan going through

As it got dark, the fountains were lit up

Megan and Steve inside the portico with the fountain in the background

This one reminded us of the Bellagio fountain from Ocean's Eleven 

They even had a laser show on the fountain at night

One last pose by the tunnel fountain..Meg and Mom

We didn't eat her, but we spotted these little carts outside the entrance to the park.  Steve had been telling us that they used to buy anticuchos  (basically, meat on a stick) on the street all the time, and this was the first cart selling them that we saw...had to get the photo

We took a taxi back to the Miraflores section where we were staying.  Steve wanted to go to a place called Manolo's.  They served churros that you could dip in thick hot chocolate.  We also got some tres leches cake.  He had never been to this particular place, but they used to have a place with the same name in Arequipa where the missionaries loved to go and get American style hamburgers when he was on his mission.  It was delicious!!!

Scenes  from Miraflores on our last night...beautiful architecture..... 

.....and one of the biggest McDonald's we had ever seen!! 

Here are Meg and Steve in our hotel room on the night before we left.  The looks on their faces are a combination of "We're tired", "We are ready to speak English", and "We just found out there is a storm headed toward Florida which could impact our flight through Ft. Lauderdale."

Thankfully, it didn't and it was an amazing, once in a lifetime trip!!!

PERU (Part 5) Puno and the Floating Islands of Lake Titicaca

The morning after our Sacred Valley tour we boarded a bus and headed out on our 7 hour trip to Puno.  The road from Cusco to Puno took us through the Altiplano region of Peru.  These high plains are dry, covered with ancient terraces, and get extremely cold in the winter time.  Although there were some beautiful places along the way, most of the trip featured very barren looking areas where people live in the most basic of dwellings and eek out an existence of ranching, adobe brick making, or something like that.  

As we drove along the road, we started to notice that breathing became more and more difficult.  Steve had planned our trip carefully so that we slowly rose in altitude as we traveled to our destination.  Puno was our highest elevation and was the first place we really noticed the breathing difficulties.  I would start to fall asleep in my bus seat and would find myself waking up trying to catch my breath. Not gonna lie....it was a little scary.  

About an hour out of Puno we went through the town of Juliaca.  This is the location of  the airport that we would fly back to Lima from in a few days.  Since I had not been smart enough to take any photos from the bus through the Altiplano,  I decided to take a few in Juliaca and along the road to Puno.  Here are a few of those photos.

A little corner market

One of the interesting forms of transportation found in the cites

The barren lands between Juliaca and Puno

Our first look at Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world

The city of Puno

It is built along the banks of Lake Titicaca and spreads up into the surrounding hills.  We settled into our family owned hostel, rested a little, and then headed down to the port where the markets were.  After buying a few items, we headed back up into town and did a little sight seeing and got a yummy dinner in a restaurant that had a nice brick oven fire going.  Occasionally, we still noticed that breathing was a little difficult, but we still had a nice afternoon and evening in the city.

Steve and Megan in front of the Cathedral de Puno

Steve and Megan in front of the same Cathedral the next day 

School children across from our hostel were practicing a native dance out on the playground.  It was really fun to watch them out our window.

Our second day in Puno was one of our favorites of the whole Peruvian adventure.  Our friend, Nelson, (who we had never actually met before) came and picked us up to take us to his home on the floating  islands of Lake Titicaca.  Our son Geoffrey had met him in the Spring when he traveled to Peru on an engineering outreach trip with fellow BYU students.  They had participated in several projects to improve the lives of the people in the areas they traveled to.  On the floating islands they had  assembled a water filtration system to clean the water that the people previously drank straight from the lake.

Megan, Nelson, and I

Heading out in Nelson's boat

Puno in the background

Looking out on the reeds in the lake

These groups of reeds serve as the basis of life on the islands

A beautiful day on Lake Titicaca

One of the islands we passed on the way with their welcome sign

The islands are built from piling layer upon layer of the reeds on each other and anchoring the floating raft-like island to a pole stuck deep in the floor of this shallow part of the lake.

They also use the reeds to construct boats.  Nelson and his father build these boats as part of their livelihood.  He said that it takes about one month to construct one boat.

Women in traditional clothing waiting to meet tourists who come to the islands to see the very different way of life that exists here

Almost there

Nelsons island with their welcome sign

A side view of the island shows the stacked reeds.  The islands disintegrate from the bottom so it is necessary for a new layer of reeds to be applied to the top every 20 days or so.  This island was extremely well maintained since it not only had Nelson's home and his father's home, but also had the church buildings on it.  We traveled to one other island as we left that day where the "ground" was much more squishy.

Nelson showed us these eggs he had gathered over several days amongst the reeds.  With the exception of  tourism, which is rapidly growing, these people are basically hunters and gatherers as far as food goes.  They are also craftsman who sell their wares to augment their living.

The buildings of the church are also made of reeds but have metal roofs.  There was a building for Relief Society, Primary, youth, and a Chapel.

Megan standing in the doorway of the Relief Society room

The youth  room

Inside the chapel with little Marie Isabella and Nelson's wife, Dora

As we entered the humble church buildings and heard about their little branch of some 78 members, we could not hold back the tears.  The spirit was amazing in this chapel of reeds and we knew we were in the presence of some of God's most faithful disciples.

Playing with Maria Isabella

Megan and I in the chapel

Can you guess what room this is....."Our primary colors are one, two, three......."

Dora, Maria Isabella, an Nelson Coila

They also have a son, Emerson, but he was at school during our visit

They had taken the root balls from the bottom of the lake and made little gardens on top of their island.  They grew flowers and were also experimenting with potatoes.

These are the bundles of reeds they use to make their boats an rebuild their islands

The water filtration system built by the BYU students during their trip in the Spring

Nelson demonstrates how the water is pumped from below the island into the red filtration bucket and then into the green collection bucket.  He said that a recent storm had knocked over the system, but because the students had shown him how to dissemble the unit for cleaning, he was able to put it back together again and it is working fine.

Megan, Dora, Maria Isabella, Nelson, and Steve outside the chapel

A woman gathering reeds that we saw as we left the islands.  The softer white parts of the roots of the reeds are used as food.

It was an amazing journey to a place where the people are so humble and thankful for everything the  Lord has blessed them with.  We will remember it with great fondness for our whole lives.

The next morning we boarded a plane for Lima.  This band was there in the airport to send us on our way.  Ahhh, Peruvian music.