My Birthday

I'm normally uplake on the houseboat on my birthday but this year we opted not to go on the boat. Since I knew the lake would be crazy busy, Josh and I went out on the 2nd and did a little surfing and stopped for dinner at Latitude 37. The lake really is my happy place when she's cooperating. 

I told my friends that all I wanted to do was lay on the back of my boat and listen to my music. This is me doing what I want. 

I got some very sweet gifts from friends. This on was from Sarah. Gosh, I love her. Haven't seen much of her this summer unfortunately. 

Josh made a delicious tres leches cake for me and took it to a World Cup viewing party at the Hettingers. They had a bunch of their extended family there and they were good sports about celebrating me and singing to me.  It was also fun because I got to play a little soccer outside with Tyler, Kenzie and some of the kiddos there. 

Flower from work friends.

 Another year older and I am starting to feel my age a bit. Lame.

Random May

Zach picking up some awards at the end of the year. 

Flower from Josh on our anniversary. 

Mother's day card from the fam. 

Parade of Champions. Zach is on that float somewhere...

Josh's 48th bday. We had ice cream sandwiches.

This car is the main character.

We ran into the Shaw's while fishing and they invited us onto their boat.

I even got in!!

We're going to do our best to make it a fabulous summer!

 

WW Window and Floatz

The Shaws are our adventure friends. They invited us to Wahweap window and then we went to the new drink boat shop over by Anchovy Point. What a novel little business idea! It was a great day to spend a summer afternoon. 

Argentina Mission Tour

 Our Argentina adventure started off to a rocky start with delayed flights, but luckily we were only set back by a couple of hours and were able to get back on schedule. In total, it was about 24 hours of driving, 5 flights (3 within country), 7 airbnbs. We were exhausted by the end, but it was SO worth it to go.

 

Always have to take a picture of the cool cars for the boys. Saw this one in the airport in Rio ( I think)

We started off by flying into Iguazu Falls, on the Brazilian side. Whitney was able to communicate with everyone and we took a taxi over to Argentina and started our adventure! It was rainy, but so beautiful. Felt like a jungle. 

Our Hotel at Posadas 21 Oranges. Beautiful and Cozy and the BEST breakfast. We even had a housecat. Also, it smells wonderful in Iguazu. 

We did some walking and also Uber'ed to a fancy restaurant, Aqva, for our first night there. These people love Messi on such a deep level. I had my first of many empanadas on the trip here. Also had a milanesa and gnocchi. 

Then we went to Whitney's favorite ice cream shop. The first of MANY ice cream shops we'd visit on this trip. Cremolatti. They have all the dulce de leche flavors and we probably tried each one.

Road performers. 

Going to the Falls

We visited on a very wet day, but it was still so beautiful!

Waterfalls everywhere you look!

We took a ride on a boat to get even closer to the falls. Boy did we get WET. They took us almost right under the falls. It was wild. I've never felt so wet!

I wish I could have got a shot of the capybaras that we saw on the bank of the river!

Make sure to dispose of your yerba properly.

Cutest little monkeys in the trees

Not the cutest little animals trying to steal our food though. Weird racoons that were NOT afraid of humans. It was gross. Also, I literally had a bird swoop down and take a dried mango piece out of my hand as I was eating it. I ended up literally kicking one of these things off the train. So gross. 

Then we flew from Iguazu to Buenos Aires for the night. This was our 2nd of 5 flights we'd take on the trip.

While in Buenos Aires, we made a temple trip! They were so nice to let us stash our luggage in the temple. We then went to the Distribution Center and loaded up on garments, LOL. This was our stay while there. Very cute and quiet for BA. This was in La Ciudad Evita. 

Genuine Argentinian Burger. Amazing, of course. 

Changing our money. Whitney saved us here. The Western Union lady was not a fan of us. Whitney put her in check and got us what we needed. 

We then flew from AEP to Resistencia for a quick stop before we started our mission tour. There we stayed in a cute little apartment across from a cool bakery, Pan Caliente. I wish I had more than just video of this apartment. It was one of my favorites. 

We then began the trek to Paso de Los Libres. It was a beautiful drive, with random forest farms popping up out of nowhere. We snuck over to Uruguaiana, Brazil to see some friends first thing.

Our ride

Mari made this beautiful mug for Whitney. She wanted to give it to her on the mission, but Whitney left that area before she could give it to her. She and Erwin are the SWEETEST people. I loved being in their home.  

Apartment. Not our fav.

Same buses she rode on.

Cats are welcome

Cool town.

We did some visits at night. That seems to be when things come alive. 

Augustina's family

Visiting Mauricio and Mari

We were given gifts . This was homemade by Mari. 

Visiting Vania's family

The next day, we had lunch at the Delzarts. They are some of the best people. 

The church in Paso

mijas departmento

Found the bets alfajore. Never saw it again on this trip. Coconut, dulce and chocolate!

Headed to Saenz Pena for the night.

The sky is so big in Argentina

A fave air bnb

We went to a super yummy restaurant by our Airbnb in Saenz Pena. I got Fanta. 

Kept our nightly tradition of ice cream alive. 

That next morning, we headed to Las Brenas for church. This was such a highlight. The members were SO excited to see Whitney. They were so kind to us and welcoming. It was the best. Had testimony meeting and just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. 

After church we headed to our hotel. It was small but sincere...At least it had breakfast. We were probably the only guests, lol. 

We then went to the Alomas for lunch (Noah, Fabian, Noemi Denni(?). They provided a delicious spread of the best food! We love them. Brother Aloma is FUNNY. Keep an eye on that one.

 

More visits with hermana Alicia

Cinthia and her sweet boy Juli

Found Cosmo's doppelganger

Visiting with Anita and Roberto Tesarevich and Marlena.

We all enjoyed mate at each home. People are so generous. 

That night we caught some cool dancing in the park. Bought some souvenirs and just enjoyed nights in Las Brenas. It was a really cute town. 

Girlfriend got her lomito on... And I of course got my ice cream on.

Apple Gatorade is legit. This is Chris' fav alfajore. We searched the whole trip for it and finally found it in the airport. 

Spent a little time in Resistencia, where the mission home is located. We flew out later on that day. 

We spent the last day or so in Buenos Aires, this city is very big, populated, lively and LOUD. We sure saw a lot of it and had ALL the yummy food we could get our hands on. 

They LOVE their dulce de leche fillings.

Chocolate croissant

Lomitas

We would always tell the restaurant our name was Amanda because it's the easiest to pronounce. 

VIVA ARGENTINA

Always with the mate...Also, it's important to note that the cars literally drive withing INCHES of each other here. So wild. 

Went to a couple of churches while there. 

We went to the National Museum of Art  while there 

Souvenir. 

We checked out this preserve. It was beautiful and on the ocean. 

Wild parrots?

Tango! I wanted to see this while in Argentina. It was such a treat to see them randomly dancing. SO cool. 

Cool botanical Garden.

So many dog walkers. I had to stop taking pictures. Apparently, that's a pretty normal job in big cities. 

Always an empanada close by.

Even more obsessed in BA with MESSI.

We went to this really cool market and there were cute shops and food. Vibes were up. 

So many antique shops

Eva Perone is a legend.

Punte Mujeres. So rad. 

Saw some bikers showing off. 

We met up with Hermana Lopez and went to dinner and dessert. She could not be more endearing. 

Last Milanesa of the trip...

Adios, Argentina. Hasta proximo...

That was a huge undertaking to get to Argentina and to do all that we did. I'm glad I made this trip happen though. It was so worth it to me. We'll remember it forever. 

Things I want to remember about Argentina:

*Always seems to be a strong smell of cologne in the air.

*Everyone greets with a kiss- the women anyway (both cheeks in Las Brenas and Paso), even if you don't know them. All of Whitney's friends did this and it immediately made you feel welcome and accepted. 

*People are so warm and kind. They will talk to you forever. Usually about themselves, but that's OK! Good vibes from everyone.

*Kioskos on every corner. They love their processed foods. Lots of treats in packages.

*Argentina is worn down. This is an old country. Humidity is not good for buildings, I suppose. 

*You can usually hear music nearby or in the distance.