ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

The end of April was Logan & Veronica's wedding in Portland, so we headed over and took a couple of days to enjoy a little bit of Oregon. The wedding itself was pretty fun, it was at the Portland LDS temple and then we headed back to Veronica's parents for the reception. We danced for a bit, and my Dad said something really funny in his speech, but I can't quite remember what it was right now... But I do remember that it was a great speech. Emre had a great time at the wedding. He really enjoyed spending lots of time with his Auntie Hollie, and then playing a little bit on the trampoline. Two things we need more of! And of course he looked really cute in his outfit! We went to Portland a couple of times, mostly to go back to Voodoo Donuts (which we visited a few years ago) and then a restaurant downtown which was really good, we actually went there twice in the end! The day after the wedding, we went to Multnomah Falls with the parents (with my Dad c...

Our last stop in our trip was in Lima. Alastair had just turned down a job in Lima, so we were kicking ourselves for turning it down. Kind of, the pay was too low to justify the move. But we sure enjoyed our time in Lima!  Alastair had a high school friend living there with his family, so we met up with him after he got off work. We waited for him at a park right across the street from his office, and the Peruvian ladies were adoring Emre. These two older ladies were chatting with Alastair and were wanting to play with Emre and hold him. They were so friendly to Emre, it was sweet! Before our flight home, we had a whole day to explore Lima. We decided to go to this square, with all the side streets were closed off, making it seem desolate. It was wild! The main square, there were people going to church, bands playing, and some kind of fitness dance class going on. It seemed like fun! It was actually scorching hot, so we wanted to save our energy for the entir...

One things for sure: it is trek to get out to Machu Picchu! But for us it wasn't the Inca trail, it was three flights, a taxi, a train, and a bus. All with a baby! The train from the sacred valley to Aguas Calientes was great, big windows all over the place allowed us to see the mountains so well. The Andes are so steep, they seemed to tower over the train instead of seeming off in the distance. It was a beautiful ride, and what made it better was we were served local food on our way! Aguas Calientes was a great town. We had some great food there. The Lomo Saltado that I had was fantastic, a definite 10/10. I definitely bought two too many Peruvian sweaters (2), but Emre's was really cute! When you look at people's pictures of Machu Picchu, they are always so chill, people lying down admiring the view, kicked back on the grass or something. Well when you go with a one year old it is a little more stressful! We let Emre walk sound as he had been coop...

The first half of our trip was go-go-go! After all the craziness of Machu Picchu, we needed a little rest from our adventures. Alastair definitely needed it, because he ate a bad empanada the night before! The night before arriving in Santiago, we were in Cusco and Emre fell asleep pretty early. Alastair wanted to see the city at night, so I just stayed behind in the hotel with Emre while Alastair went out on his own. He came back with a bunch of food, even a whole chocolate cake! Alastair and I ate out in the hallway while Emre was asleep in the room. I was so full by the time he offered me an empanada, I only ate a small bite, but Alastair ate the rest. Big mistake on his part! The next few days were spent with some gnarly bathroom trips. It was pretty bad!!! After a few days, he was much better! We stayed in a town called Los Andes at a monastery, which was beautiful. The relaxing days spent in Chile were much needed. We were all in need of some rest, so that's pret...

When we decided to move to Michigan, Laleinia made me promise two things: that we'd have Emre's blessing in Utah, and that we'd go back again for Christmas. Lain and Emre went out a few days before me, and then I followed along. I worked for a few days from the Provo office, which was nice. Very small, and most people were out for their holiday breaks, so I had the office almost to myself on some days! It was great to spend time with both sides of our families, especially for Emre to get time with all of his grandparents. The other massive positive was that we got to go skiing/snowboarding a couple of times, and the snow was fantastic! When we travel, we love to explore new places, but it is always great to see family, and to go back to Utah. Another bonus was to meet Logan's girlfriend (who would soon become his wife), and for me and Logan to build our Christmas igloo. This year was the year of the BIGloo! It was nice to celebrat...

I'm thinking back on this part of the trip, kind of amazed that we actually pulled this off. We passed through eight countries in three days, driving over 1,300 miles. Kind of wild, very rushed, very worth it! The goal was just to pass through as many countries as possible, seeing what we could from the car. We started in Milan and drive through Mt. Blanc. We stopped in Geneva, Switzerland for the night, before heading through Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and doing in Pula, Croatia for the night. We then went back to Milan to watch AC Milan vs. Sampdoria, surrounded by the ultras. The highlights of the trip were the following: Gorillas visit Connor We decided we would go and visit Connor on his mission in Geneva. I didn't want him to be the guy who's brother visited him, so we decided to go in disguise and not tell him we were going to be there. In the after Halloween sales we bought gorilla suits for $5 each. My dad got his address so ...

We arrived in Oslo by an overnight ferry; great value for money since you get travel and a bed for the night for one price. We would be flying out of Oslo later that afternoon, so we decided to walk around semi-aimlessly and get a feel for the city. Oslo was wet and slippery! There was a fine rain coming down the whole time we were there. To be fair, nothing really stood out in Oslo, but it was a really nice place. I'd consider living there one day. It's another place I'd like to take Lain. We stopped by the Google office for lunch, which was really good, before heading up to the airport for our flight to Tromsø. I think that Tromsø was the part of the trip that I was looking forward to the most. It is over 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, would be experiencing Polar Night while we were there (sun doesn't rise the whole time we are there), and it also happens to be one of the best places on earth to see the Northern Lights!  We were there for two...