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Hope Rocks
This weekend we embraced car camping at its finest. We bought an embarrassingly huge tent which housed the three of us, a pack 'n play, and an air mattress and took over the Hope campground with the Robinson family. Camping has never been so comfortable. We had a great time on the trails, at the beach, and enjoying campfires and smores. Here are a few pics from the tamed adventure:
Anchorage Daily News
Summer Kick-Off
Back on the home front we are putting away our suitcases and settling in for the summer. Jonathan hopes to not pack our bags again until we are packing for Madagascar next Autumn. We look forward to welcoming visitors this summer and hope you'll let us know if you're headed this way. Here are a final few pictures from our action-packed weekend. We competed in a family 5K race (Jonathan took 3rd place), I completed my 4th annual Gold Nugget Triathlon (along with 1200 other women), and we planted our garden. Hopefully it will be fruitful summer.
Family Vacation
Blue skies, 80 degrees, green grass and warm rock....these are a few of my favorite things. We recently took a family vacation to Palm Springs, CA and Joshua Tree National Park. It was nothing short of ridiculously awesome. We spent a few day with Jonathan's mum and Ron at a house in Palm Springs and then Jonathan and I took off to camp and climb for a few days in Joshua Tree. We topped off the week with a visit from some of our best friends who live in the area. We were quickly reminded what big fans we are of vacation, particularly vacations involving grandparents to love on our chicklet. More then ever we appreciate a few days of pure recreation. Here is an album with some more pics.
Oliver and Madagascar
Oliver did not fly anywhere this last month! With all of the trips out of state for fundraising and family visits, he has been flying every other month since he was born. This month at home has given him the opportunity to spend time with his many friends and work on his soon to bud walking skills. His personality continues to reveal a spirited child who encounters life with passion and intensity. We look forward with nervous excitement to Oliver maturing amidst rich cultural and language experiences in Madagascar. Oliver will be learning three languages with exposure to English, Malagasy, and French. The town we plan to settle in, Mahajanga, has a French primary school that Oliver will likely attend for early grade school. After that we will be exploring the many education resources available for children without access to traditional learning environments. Thankfully we have some time until we have to sort this out. For now, we'll keep our focus on learning to walk. We have learned that regardless of where you are in the world that children speak a universal language. They are a bridge, connecting us with friends, neighbors, strangers and even enemies. Here is a link to an Anchorage Daily News blog where Mandy was asked to write more on this subject, click here.
Playing with friends, Lars and Ilsa, in Seward:
