Iguazu Falls (Day 1)

I have been thinking about how to blog our trip to Iguazu Falls.  Words cannot describe the shear beauty and power of this natural wonder.  God's hand is truly in our lives and it is evident by His creations.  I felt that as we were on this trip.  Not only at the Falls but in the jungle, in the wild life, and even in the complexity of the man made dam we saw.  Truly our intelligence as humans is God given.  I feel extremely blessed to have had this week with my family in a place that two years ago I never could dream existed.  It was not just good because of where we went, but because of the time we spent together.  Don't get me wrong there were times when I thought how nice it would be to have left the kids at home...but for the most part it was amazing.  We were able to stay at a place which was not only amazing, but perfect for our family. 
Our taxi driver from the airport became our transport for the week, door to door service where ever we went.  He was waiting for us whenever we came out at all locations, ready to take us any where at any time (and for less than the bus would cost for our family).  The reason I mention this was because this was one of my biggest worries before the trip.  Getting our family around is no easy task and with a person who knows where to go and how to do everything it can make or break the trip.  And it made everything work. 
So finally I will start...

On our way.  Monday we travelled.

 Day 1 Tuesday begins with a jungle jeep tour to the river.

A short walk with lots of stairs down to the motor boat.  And this thing had some real kick.  The rapids we went through to get to the falls were strong and a lot of fun too.

 

 Our first glimpse of the falls.  These pictures on the motorboat are only of part of the falls, they just keep going and going.

See that big cloud of mist...we are about to go into that. And the only smart person was Drew who put on a poncho. The rest of us took a shower (several actually).

As we were getting our shoes back on after the boat, we were greeted by this big guy.

 

 The rainbows were incredible, always gorgeous.  Oh and Mason...double rainbow, double rainbow.

 There were so many butterflies, thousands (the guide said millions).  This was soon after the boat, notice I am drenched and Drew is dry.  I guess those ponchos work.

 

 Then lunch.  We saw the coatis when we first got to the picnic area and thought it was so cool to see this new animal.  It only took a few minutes to figure out these raccoon type animals are over grown rats who drive you crazy when you try to eat.  There were so many of them.  We also learned a couple of days later that they are not nice (which is the fault of people for feeding them).

 A little train ride always brings smiles.

"Devil's Throat"

 

You walk nearly 2km on catwalks over the river to get to the Devil's throat.

 Our first glimpse.

This place was overwhelming. The volume of water takes your breathe away.  The bottom was a long way down, however pictures of the bottom only show up as a white cloud so it is hard to get the whole effect.

Not a great picture of me, however, it shows how wet it was.  We had the camera in a plastic bag and would bring it out really quickly to take a pic and then wipe the lens and put it away.  It didn't take more than 2-3 seconds to be covered.

 It was extremely loud. And Easton was not a fan.

A calm river raft after all that walking.

You can see a water plume in the distance, that is Devil's Throat.

On the short walk through the jungle to the exit we got to see our first toucan in the wild.

Then back to the jungle bungalow for a little swim and some dinner.  A big day with a lot to see and amazing memories.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday babe!  I love you!  Here's to another amazing year.  Thank you for being an amazing father, husband, friend, and provider.  Thank you for making me laugh, love, and look forward to all that our crazy life brings. 

Dieciocho School event

So each grade in the elementary memorized a poem, sang a song, and danced a certain dance, in costume for the performance.  It was a lot of fun for us to watch and for the kids to learn of the hertiage here.  I am so grateful for these experiences.  Mason also had a performance that the MS and HS did.  I unfortunately did not get to see Mason's, as I was helping in another classroom.  But he had to also learn a dance in gym class, ask a partner, and dress in costume.  And his grade in gym depended on it too. 

This is so funny! It just describes Drew to a tee. See how that little girl is so enjoying herself? See Drew tolerating it! I am laughing so hard right now. Mark and I were belly laughing watching him that day. Love that kid.

 

 

Easton's fiesta at school was without parents.  Which was a little sad for me, but in talking to other parents, we think it would be completely overwhelming to have all the parents of all the kids there at once.  It is a big preschool, there are over 120 kids there.  But doesn't he look so cute!  And the teachers took pictures, so we got to see pics of them dancing.