Tuesday - Went to Mitad del Mundo, Middle of the World, where the Equator goes through, kind of cool. Ate some stuff that Iīm not sure what it was.

Wednesday - Saw the Virgin De Panecillo, a giant statue of the virgin Mary that looks over Quito. Watched the Ecuador national team on TV at a town center, was awesome, no one in the US cares that much about any sport.

Thursday - Went to Otavolo, an Indian town near Quito. Got ripped off by some Indian women in the market, I think they just see me(El Gringo) and all they see is money. Ate some chicken legs and feet.

Friday - Went to Teleferico on top of the mountains, about 12,000 feet, awesome view. More Indian market shopping, actually quite fun. Walked the La Ronda street, nightlife stuff. Had banana in a new way, loved it.

Saturday - Played soccer with Aliciaīs cousinīs friends in a fenced in lot, very cool. Ate some pig skin off a street vendor, never do again.

Sunday - Alanis is sick.

Monday (Oct. 19, 2009) - same, no fun, poor girl. Right now we are stuck in Quito at Aliciaīs cousinīs house, was planning on flying to Guayaquil, but Alanis is sick. We have been to 3 different doctors and have got 3 different presciptions, really comforting. She has some kind of bacteria and has been having a lot of diarrhea and vomiting. Sounds like some of the other kids had something similiar. She has been very weak though and not reacting. At the moment, she is taking something for the vomiting, so she can keep the Pedialyte down. She is also taking something for the bacteria. We hope she gets better soon, something we are worried about obviously. She has been sick since Saturday and we havenīt done anything since then, just been trying to keep her hydrated. So please keep her in your prayers.

On a lighter note, Ecuador is interesting, different, fun, crazy, scary, soccer crazy, perfect/strange weather, humbling, tasty, cheap, and brain/language/tongue twisting.

Tuesday - Alanis taking liquids, stopped vomiting, so Alicia lets me go to town with some friends of hers. Saw some Catholic churches filled with gold and a giant cathedral, almost died, never been on a tour where they let you do whatever you want, we climbed all over that thing

Wednesday - Alanis is better, hooray, went shopping some with the Indians.

Thursday - Flew a quick 45 minutes to Guayaquil (coast). Arrived at her Aunt's house during a birthday party (no surprise there) and had to dance with Vincente's single sisters all night.

Friday - Walked a malecon near the river going to ocean. Guayaquil is much more modern and much more humid, a difference of 9000 ft will do that I guess. Walked another malecon that night, lots of nightlife stuff and beautiful waters.

Saturday - Drove to Salinas, a resort town on the beach. Saw a Christian sanctuary and went to a hippie town. Drank some bamboo juice from some street hippies, I think, not pleasant.

Sunday - Went to church at a small branch. Went to the beach and was bombarded my walking salesman. Could buy anything, from pirated music/movies, to clothes, to weird trinkets that I could never see anyone buying, so we bought some. Drove back to Guayaquil, I'm getting pretty good and driving here, the only rule is, there are no rules. Kind of like race car driving, I would imagine. Stayed at her Uncle Ivan's house, these are the people that stayed at our house for 2 months, a couple of years ago, getting some payback. Stayed up to 4 AM playing cuarenta with Ivan, I didn't win one game, sad.

Monday - Went shopping some more, can never shop enough. They bought about 50 fresh crabs. Got to participate in killing them and cleaning them and then eating them with a hammer, very fun (restaurant idea).

Tuesday - Went to the Guayaquil Temple, had the baby, so just walked around and took pictures. Beautiful of course, but was stuck sweating in my church clothes the rest of day. Said goodbye to the aunts and cousins and flew back to Quito.

Wednesday - Did nothing spectacular, was kind of nice. Hung out with family and friends, shopping some more, and got ready to come home. Alicia was very sad.

Thursday (Oct. 29, 2009) - Flew home. Always good to be home. Especially after almost 24 hours of flying. We left Ecuador at 7 in the morning, arrived in Utah at 3 in the morning (not recommended with children). We had a long layover in Panama and weather delayed a layover in Houston.

Alanis is well again after we decided she couldn't touch anything in Ecuador or breath the air there, she was safe. We had a lot of fun and always a good thing to experience other cultures. Was an awesome experience. Always humbling to see how people live in other parts of the world. Alicia loved it, it was her first time back in 11 years, so she was very sad to say goodbye to her friends and family. I was glad to be home and be able to walk out my door at night, have drivers drive in their own lane, and not have to lock my door.

Matt

Last weekend, August 8, my kids and I (except for Wayne & his family---he was in Europe on business) were in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, for a one-day family reunion with their father's side of the family. The day proved to be perfect in weather (although a little cool), companionship, food, and, indeed, memory making. Most enjoyable. At least 20 years had passed since some of them had seen each other. Kathie, Bill's one surviving sister, gave me a suitcase of family pictures because Lloyd and I are the ones who have expressed the most interest in them