BOO: did I scare you?

We had a fun halloween. We went to our neighborhood fall festival, a ward trunk-or-treat, and regular trick-or-treating. We ended up with probably 15 lbs. of candy. YUCK!

Audrey had a birthday, shout hooray!

Audrey also had a fun birthday party this year. Since her party was on the 30th of October, we had a halloween party. There was scary food, and witch's brew to drink. They decorated graham cracker haunted houses, and bobbed for apples. Audrey had so much fun dressing up and hanging out with her friends!

Lookout here comes a teen!

Indeed, we now have a teenager in the house. Whitney is so fun and fabulous (most of the time!) I hope she doesn't change much. Whitney turned 13 last month and had a fun birthday party with her good friends. The kids played volleyball and football in the backyard. They also braved the cold swimming pool. Luckily, the fire pit was working, so they could all get warm. It was fun to cook smores out in the backyard as well! We sure missed having her cousin, Rachel, here. Hopefully, they can get together again soon!

Valpariaso and Vina del Mar

After some confusion with a local tour company, Kevin hired a driver to take us out to the seaside towns of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar. This was a place I had always wanted to visit, and it didn't let me down. We toured a house of a famous Pulitzer Prize winnner of poetry, saw the ports, ate empanadas for lunch along the coast, saw sea lions in the wild, walked in the sand, and so many other places. We both loved this day, our last day in Chile. Our driver took us to the airport that evening, as we were heading back home.

Cancer Stinks

So I need to take a break from my Chile posts. Yes, I am almost done! Recently we found out that my good friend was diagnosed with a very aggressive stage IV breast cancer. It is also in her lungs. We have been saddened by this news. We try to help the family any way that we can. I am constantly amazed by my friend's strength and her testimony, so it hasn't been all bad. Then, today we received a very sad email from Kevin's good friend, Fred. Fred and his family live in Austin, and we have been able to see them only once since moving here. Fred's dear wife, Caroline, passed away last night. She had been battling colon cancer for 5 years. She definately had her ups and downs, and even was considered cancer-free for a time. We are praying for Fred, and his 3 beautiful children at this time. We hope to go to the services next week.

The Geysers

We travelled to a very small village called San Pedro de Atacama. The town is extremely rustic, which was so fun! We got up at 4:00 in the morning to begin our tour of the geysers in the High Andes on the border with Bolivia. We were cautioned to walk slowly, and to breathe deeply. They weren't kidding. The geysers sit at just under 14,000 feet! I think that is the highest place I have ever been. It was freezing cold, but so amazing! It was a fun day....

We also drove across the Tropic of Capricorn!

Chuquicamata

This was a mining town that Kevin served in for a time. The town was completely owned by the mine company. A few years ago, they decided it was unsafe for the people to live there, so they all moved to a nearby city. It is now a ghost town. That was pretty weird for Kevin to see this once vibrant city completely silent and still. We were able to tour the mines, and see some of his old areas!

On to Anto

Antofogasta that is! This was Kevin's mission city. It sits on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It is a port city with much to offer the local economy. There are all kinds of neighborhoods there from very well off to extremely poor. Kevin served in the poorest sections of the city for 5 months of his mission. I must say, that I am not sure I could've done it. The missionaries all around the world have such a marvelous and life-changing message to spread. I am sure at times Kevin felt that he just couldn't do enough to help the people that he had grown to love. I know that the best gift that a poor 19 year old, or any aged person, could give was the message of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.