http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0007pnj.php

Hopefully there’s no sky tumbling down.

We drove all day today to get to Antigua from the Valley (about 10 hours). I have wifi now although my inbox is seriously scary. Tomorrow I might go up to a volcano (mount picaya) or do a tour here. I’m going to try to go to church tomorrow night at Santo Domingo. It’s built around Mayan ruins, and promises to be cool. Leaving the Valley, where there is no electricity, makes me feel like I’m ready to come home. It’s a different world up there. Anyway, I’ll have more when I get home.

Janie

I don’t have time to read through my massive inbox, so I’m not reading replies.
We’re still working hard in the Valley. It’s not going as fast as the coordinators hoped, so we might stay here another day before going to Antigua for the weekend. It’s just so incredibly wet. I knew it was a rainforest, but goodness it rains 1″-2″ per day.
Otherwise, doing well.
jbm

Hey,
I’m tired and have been waiting in line to use the iPad. We had a hard day today working in the rain all day. “chippy chippy” is a constant misty rain. I probably butchered the spelling, but that’s how you say it. We’re fine and I finally had a warmish shower tonight. I had the same clothes on since Saturday. But, we’re doing well and eating well.

jbm

We are here at the camp and just set up our beds.  We stayed last night at a hotel in Coban and had hot showers this morning.  The drive here was so bumpy.  I mean bumpy.  For hours.  We laughed and laughed.  We worked a little this morning.  And after lunch we hiked up the mountain behind the bodega.  There were some banana trees at the top and we wanted to see the view.  The clouds moved in at the time so we couldn’t see the valley below, but it was nice. It started raining after that and has been cold since.  We’re doing well.  It’s nice.

This is Janie using Kris’s phone.  We have arrived safely and are making our way out of the city.  It’s a bumpy ride.

Janie

Hm. Which one?

(This was originally posted a while ago, but got partially lost in the hard drive crash.  I’m just getting around to fixing and reposting.)

And check out this great picture from Lizzie’s blog.  Boy, Sam sure does love pumpkins.  I guess it’s good that she’s an October baby.

There are great organizations like Engineers Without Borders and Water For People, among others. I didn’ t know about them until the last few years. I only knew about the PeaceCorps, and I wasn’t sure I was up for that. (Now, UA has a chapter of Engineers Without Borders. I’m jealous of current students who are able to participate.) This summer, I worked alongside a group from AmeriCorps rebuilding a Habitat for Humanity house destroyed by the April tornadoes. It sounded like a great organization too!

I now have the opportunity through Liscomb University and my work to go to Guatemala and help install a water system for the people of the Ulpan Valley. The plan is to go in January, and I’m really excited. I’m also really nervous. I’ve obviously never done anything like this before so I don’t know what to expect. I’ve also never been away from my kids for 10 days.

As a side, if anyone would like to contribute to my trip, I will happily accept donations!

Happy Father’s Day.

UPDATE:

What a trip!  We stayed in the big house again, and it seemed like there weren’t as many people there as usual.  I guess that’s because there wasn’t.

Sam enjoyed the water this year, but was still a little anxious at first.  Every year, it takes less time for her to get used to the water.

Ellie didn’t mind the sand at all, but I think the heat bothered her.

I think she enjoyed Patrick’s truck almost as much as he did!  We also discovered during this trip, that she likes push toys and wheels!

Some kids:

And some family:

A Lens Pet! I love it!

And look what happened:

And where the buffalo (or bison or whatever that is) is covered in snow.

Just something to remember since I got badly sunburned yesterday.