ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

To celebrate our first weekend in the Bay Area, we drove over to the coast. We had read about a little beach that wasn't supposed to be busy called Tunitas Beach close to Half Moon Bay. It was a great drive over there, through the mountains and down Highway 1. When we got there, we had to climb down a little path, using a rope at one point to steady ourselves. It wasn't as bad as we'd read, but it was pretty difficult while carrying Emre! But once we got down, we were able to enjoy the sand and the fog! We tried out our new tent and threw the frisbee around while Emre found rocks and put sand in his hair! He loved to explore, and had a great time doing his thing on the beach. Right as we climbed back up the bluff to the car, the fog cleared! It was nice to see more scenery, but a little sad since if we'd have waited another 10 minutes or so before leaving we'd have been able to take some nice pictures and enjoy some nice sun from the beach! Ah well, gla...

  Since Lain and Emre left Michigan early, I needed a driving companion so mum flew out for the drive! After shoving much stuff as possible in the car, Tetris style, we took off! Before long we arrived et stop #1, Chicago. Ever since missing it in 2013, I've wanted to see the Bean, and so that was our destination. It was really cool, this giant mirror in the middle of millennium park. It was fun to walk around it and see our earlier reflections with the city buildings behind us. After a stop at Giordano's pizza, we got back in the car and headed towards Nauvoo. After hitting some undefined creature on the way, we pulled over and slept at a rest stop, mum in the hammock (still can't believe she did it) and me on the floor. The next day, we spent a bit of time in Nauvoo, walking around the town and chatting. Then it was on to Mt. Rushmore. We slept at a rest stop in South Dakota, this time mum in the car and me in the hammock. It was colder than before and a littl...

While Lain and Emre left early for California, I went to Point Pelee national park with the lads (Ian, Arjun, and Mitch). We rented kayaks and took a ferry out to Pelee island. We had planned to go out to Middle island, am uninhabited island not far from the southern tip of Pelee island and the most southern point of Canada, but we were talked out of it by the people in the rental shop. We rowed to the southern part of Pelee island to the nature reserve section as the sun was setting. The sky was amazing and the water was like glass. At one point I looked it and it looked like Mitch was floating in the air. You couldn't tell where the water ended and the sky began. We put up our tent in mosquito bay, which unfortunately turned out to be appropriately named. I wanted to sleep in my hammock but there was no chance of that! It was a great trip, a fantastic Michigan (Canada) send off!

I went to Boston for a few days to see Kip's graduation from Harvard Law School! Congrats! While there, I worked from the Google office in Cambridge which was nice. It was a big office and the food was great! I slept on Kip's balcony on a hammock for three nights, which was fun. The weather was hot in the day, but by night it was perfect. I got to walk around Boston a little bit and went to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. It was fun to hear the crowd sing Sweet Caroline. My mum would have loved it. If I remember right, I think the Red Sox won, so that's good I suppose!

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...