Thanksgiving!

For Thanksgiving, a friend hosted a wonderful dinner for about 20 folks from around town. It was the first Thanksgiving for her beautiful adopted (Ecuadorian) daughter, and for us in Quito. The meal was delicious and it was great to be among friends - particularly with a wonderful turkey, bountiful sides, and a table full of desserts. A real treat!

The next morning we got up early and headed to Banos, a town about 3.5 hours south of Quito. (Well 5 if you get lost and have 2 little people to juggle!) Banos is well known for its active volcano - Tungurahua, which was spewing while we were there, and which has recently erupted causing some serious damage in the area.

It is a great place for hiking, rafting, canyoning (the new thing, I guess), thermal springs, spas, etc. etc. etc. We stayed at a beautiful place in the mountains which provided us great hiking and a spectacular view of the mountains.

We spent our time hiking down to a waterfall called the Devil's Cauldron and then to a place to view the mountain, at the pool, or just hanging out with pigs.

Devil's Cauldron


ok - so Timothy wasn't that impressed...

Nicole and Jacob with a spewing Tungurahua


Pool with a view


El Chancho

Milestones - 18 and 3!

Jacob turned one and a half on Sunday, and Timothy three months on Tuesday. How time flies. Here they are!

Abuelos!!!

For the last ten days, we've had the pleasure of hosting Santiago's parents, also known as Abuelo and Abuela. Jacob was naturally delighted with the increased attention, and Timothy showed off his best squirms and smiles. In addition to just good old relaxing and hanging around the house, we had a great time seeing Quito and some sights around Ecuador.

We went to the zoo, which is a very scenic 45 minute drive north of Quito. Abuela and Jacob investigated the bear, and enjoyed the petting zoo.


We also went to the equator line, and the Sedacas tested whether it was the real thing or not. And of course, there was the obligatory grandfather blowdart.

We traveled to beautiful Mindo for birdwatching and gorgeous scenary. Here we are:


Here are some of the birds we saw:



And of course, here are our little people.

The boys...

I know I promised to put info about the boys in the bar on the side, but I just can't help myself from putting them in this main section when there's a cute picture or two.

Here are the boys together, including Jacob giving Timmy a kiss, and another picture of our little puppy (who won a prize in his school for best costume!)