Pumpkin carving.... oh how the personalities come out. :)

 
Monday night we carved our pumpkin.

 
We went out to dinner, met some friends that are in the ward there, hung out by the pool, and just enjoyed walking around together. One morning my new friend took me shopping to the souvenier spot the tourists don't usually go to. I found some fun trinkets to bring back. And then it was time to come home. I hadn't realized how much I miss the ocean and the breezes, the smells, just being outside. We loved the sound of the waves so much we slept with the sliding door open and got mosquito bites. It was a great breath of fresh, hot, humid air.

 
More castle pictures...

 
I heard this squeeking coming from the walls and I thought for sure it was rats..... but it was baby pigeons.

 
Doesn't this look like a perfect escape route?

 
After walking around the old town, I went to see the old castle. I was really sad to be there on my own because it was a perfect place to have a game of tag or hide and go seek.

 
I just really like the roof lines. In some old cities all of the roofs are the same. All red tile and all the same shape. These are all totally different... just cool.

 
View of the old city from the wall. We were there during the off season and it was fantastic. Not crowded at all. Aparently there is actually less crime in Cartagena than in Bogota because the mafia keeps the crime down so as not to discourage the tourists and hamper the money laundering that goes on there.

 
This is a picture of the new part of town, where our hotel was from up on top of the wall.

 
This is a picture of the wall from the outside.

 
One of the main squares. My back is to the old wall that surrounds the city. There are walled cities all over the world.... but not so much in the US.

 
The first day I walked around the old city by myself and took pictures of the architecture etc. Then when the sun came out in the afternoon I hung out by the pool.

 
So last week James had to go to Cartagena for work and I got to tag along and spend 3 glorious days all alone. We left the kids in Bogota with the nanny and a friend. This is the view from our hotel room balcony. It rained a little the first day but the rest of the time we had sun mixed with clouds. It was great. That is the caribbean sea off in the distance.

 
I forgot to include this picture of the kids licking the walls of the salt cave. Papi tried to get Teac to do it but he wouldn't do it until he saw his sisters do it first.

 
Gotta love the hair. It does most of it naturally... easier up than down. I also put gorilla snot (a brand of gel and Teac loves the name... the fact that I put buggars in his hair...)and it stays up all day.

 
We love aunt Carrie... and uncle Ryan too!

 
This is the last picture Ryan took before they left. I love it! We were headed out the door to enjoy some yummy Crepes and Waffles ice cream. We are so glad they came to visit.

 
Our last meal together before they left. Chicken soft tacos.... Carrie was glad to have some food that her tummy recognized after 4 days of Colombian fare.

 
Ready for church.

 
Hanging out while Teac took a bath.

 
Welcome to Bogota..... back to the city.

 
The front of the restaurant.

 
This is in the front of the restaurant.... and my cute Zoe.

 
This was our table with the playground behind it.

 
Gotta love this one. If she can climb on something she is a happy girl.

 
Another cute one of the small guy.

 

 
After we left the mine we left the little town and stopped at a fun Colombian restaurant on the road. It had a tables outside surrounded by a small playground, trampoline, swings and lots of grass. The kids got to run around and play while we waited for our food. This poor little dog just wandered around looking for scraps.

 
This picture can give you an idea of the scale of the place. It is a huge man made cave... they even have a small movie theater in side where they showed a 3-D movie about how they mine the salt.

 
You might just get this one on a christmas card in the mail in December.

 
Here we are in the main chamber in front of one of the many crosses carved out of salt. It must have been at least 30 feet tall.

 
Here we are on our way into the salt cathedral. The floor, walls, ceiling are all solid salt.

 
Teac saw one of the workers coming out of the mine and she had a light on a cord around her neck. He thought it was cool and got her to stop and show it to him.

 
He spent almost the whole day in the back pack and he didn't fall asleep once.

 
Waiting for our turn to enter the mine.

 
Saturday of their visit we took a trip to Zipaquira and the salt mine cathedral. There is an enormous natural salt deposit there. It is actively mined but part of it has been carved out as a kind of religious place where I hear they actually hold services.
This is the huge climbing wall they have out in front of the entrance to the mine.

 
Carrie bought a pair of these adorable mole shoes for London.

 
Teac took a ride on a llama in the Mont Serate parking lot. The guy let go of the reigns and the llama started to take off. I was a littl nervous at that point, but Teac had a great time.

 
Just a cool picture while we were in the tram headed back down the hill. You can walk up and down if you like, but with the altitude, Ryan was glad we didn't.

 
I thought this was a cool picture with the city as we walked back down the hill. And I am proud that after 4 kids I can still wear those jeans ;)

 
I picked him up because he wouldn't leave all the little toys at the vendors alone. You know they put stuff down where kids can reach them on purpose.

 
It was a georgous day in Bogota. They brought the sun from Florida with them but by the third day it had worn off and the rain was back. Ryan was loving the cooler weather.

 
Teh happy couple on Mont Serate for their 10th wedding anniversary. :)

 
My new favorite picture of my sister and me. We are getting older but life just keeps getting better.

 
A little roadside stand....taken through the window as we were driving

 
Uncle Ryan and Aunt Carrie came to visit us!!! We had a fantastic time. Uncle Ryan used his great camera and skills to capture most of it on film. The next group of pictures are ones that he took.... you will notice the difference from my normal shots.

 
Sometimes they have to find just the right spot.

 
Trying on possible halloween costumes.... Mr. Wizard?

 
In September a very good friend of ours had to come work at the embassy for a couple of weeks. He adopted us as his surrogate family and my kids adopted him. It was wonderful to have someone so positive and playful around the house.