Ecuador Adventures

All the Richert kids!

I first started this blog because Jon and I thought we would be joining the Sr. Richerts, David and Danielle, in Guayaquil, Ecuador the following year. I had been offered a job teaching 2nd grade at InterAmerican Academy, while Jon was planning to explore and be a stay-at-home husband until other opportunities presented themselves. I wanted to blog about our adventures, not only so they would be forever documented on the Internet machine, but so friends and family could keep up on our travels.

Plans changed when we found out I was pregnant, and wouldn't be keeping my job. Life took a much different turn than we had expected, but there's nothing we would change about the last year and a half. God knew what He was doing, as usual. The biggest disappointment was actually the fact that we wouldn't be living in the same city as Dave and Danielle for the following two years, since we've never lived in the same place!

You can imagine our excitement when our chance to travel internationally came at the end of February when we got to visit the other Richerts with the main reason for our original change of plans: Kealani! She ended up being a better traveler than some adults I've known, and added an extra element of excitement to an already amazing trip. On this trip we were able to do so many things we love: travel, hang out with Dave and Danielle, play outside with Kealani in tow, and even relax in a hammock and read (oh, wait, it's just the girls who love that...). Here are some photos of our awesome South American adventure...

On top of the Basilica in Quito

Kealani looking over the city of Quito

The main street in Mindo

Ziplining in Mindo

Checking out butterflies at the butterfly farm

The cable car taking us where we could hike to look for waterfalls

Jon toted K just about everywhere in the backpack

Relaxing in the hammock outside our room
We stopped at the "Middle of the World" on the way from Mindo to Otavalo

Lunch break on the equator!

The view of Otavalo from the roof of our hostel

Otavalo animal market

Some beautiful handcrafted vases in the Otavalo market

Kealani's First Birthday

It's obviously been a while since I added anything to this blog, so instead of trying to "catch up" on the past 9 1/2 months, I think I'll just start right where we are... and attempt to update a little more often!

On February 16th, we celebrated Kealani's first birthday. Jon and I often talk about what a weird sense of time we've had for the last year. Looking back at newborn photos of K makes us feel like we've been parents for decades, as it seems like those events took place a million years ago. At the same time, we can't believe how lightning fast the year flew by!

Whether you're a parent or not, we all have events or seasons in our lives that we look back on and wonder how it's possible for the time to have passed as quickly as it has... For me, having a child has added a new outlook on what it means to enjoy every minute, no matter what stage I'm in... I'll never get those minutes back, or be able to relive them. Watching Kealani grow and learn is like having a new "marker" in time, with the ability to remember events and seasons in relation to how old she was, and what she was doing at the time. I wouldn't trade a minute of the last year for anything. Jon and I look forward to living out this coming year with our precious daughter.

Birth Time photo! 12:37 p.m.

Our family date in Cambria

Enjoying some birthday cupcake

Opening gifts... the wrapping is the best part, of course!