Arriving Home, Safe and Sound!

6.1.08
We had an eventful evening, being back in the states and into the cold of Portland. We slept at my father's apartment in Beaverton, Oregon. He was kind enough to let us do laundry, sleep in his bed and wake up to a yummy breakfast. Over night, Trey had his first bloody nose, and I caught up on all of my E! Entertainment shows while I did about 4 or 5 loads of laundry (the pillow cases and sheets were done in the morning upon realizing what had happened to Trey during the night, poor Trey!)! It was so nice to travel home, knowing I had almost all of our laundry completed.

While on our way home from Portland, we stopped in LaGrande, Oregon to say "hello" to my brother Taylor who is attending college there. Trey was so excited to see his "uncle Taylor" (not to be confused to Miss Michelle's daughter Taylor!) and couldn't wait to tell him about his adventures. We met Taylor at to neatest park in LaGrande. It is right next to a river and the play-structure is quite the sight.

Taylor and his dog looked very healthy and we were able to meet a friend of Taylor's named Alex who was really sweet and personable.

Trey had somehow contracted our stomach virus and unfortunately we had to make several stops along our trek home. One stop ended landed us on the side of the highway, in the middle of a huge rainstorm. It would have been Trey's first experience "doing his business" outside, on the side of the road, but he got stage-freight, and decided he didn’t need to go. I knew he did, so I told him he would have to wait about 10 minutes. I prayed the whole way, I didn't want to clean up a disaster in his car seat!

We listened to a John Grisham book on CD, I think it was called, "The Painted House." Pretty sweet but so sad. The CD made me realize how blessed we are to live in a time where we didn't depend on a years crop for our future.

We arrived home, safe and sound. Cooper looked very healthy and happy to see us, our home was cool and our mail was piled on our kitchen table in a neat little heap. Thank you Zach Jones for taking such good care of our home, our dog, garbage and mail. We can always count on you.

Thank you Dad for letting us stay in your condo. We really appreciate your hospitality, your kind notes and the groceries you bought just for us! We love you!

Things I will miss about Mexico:
1. The nice, warm climate, no matter if it is raining or storming
2. The friendly Mexican people, always wanting to please you and make you smile
3. Spending time with family
4. Not caring about the time or day
5. The warm ocean water and the bright white sand
6. Housekeeping!

Things I will NOT miss about Mexico:
1. Having to drink bottled water, brush teeth with bottled water and wash dishes with bottled water. (Yes, I was paranoid about the "bad water", and I STILL got a stomach virus!)
2. Tipping EVERYONE for EVERYTHING! The woman in the restroom who handed out papertowels, or on the Island of Cozumel, the woman who STOOD next to the pile of paper towels that she probably didn't even fold. The men who flagged you out of your parking spot, EVEN at the local Wal-Mart. (We have door greeters at our Wal-Marts in America, they have flaggers in their parking lots!)
3. The speed bumps that came in ALL shapes and sizes. From the road reflectors to the HUGE Speed Bumps they call "Topes" that even a 3 year old would have to CLIMB over.
4. The military men that seemed to circle our hotel grounds. Kind of scared me a bit. 5. Having to convert American currency to Mexican currency. Thank heavens for Tithing and the 10% rule, it helped out!
6. Putting ALL USED TOILET PAPER IN THE WASTE BASKET INSTEAD OF THE TOILET. DISGUISTING! (I AM SURE THE CREW ON THE SAILBOAT “LUPITA” WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW I AM SAFE IN SOUND IN AMERICA AND OUT OF THEIR COUNTRY!)