October 2011 -- Tongen Trip to the Southwest. 7,000 miles from VA to the Pacific Ocean and back. We thank God for our fun-filled family trip! Don't worry, I am not going to share all of the 1,200 pictures that we took.
Sent off with Patton prayers
Night Glow
How about that referee?
Thumbs up
Our newest photographer is Micah
Really amazing!
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta was deemed "worth the drive!" I need to say how amazingly flexible and pleasant these four guys were on our travels! It was so enjoyable, I would do the trip all over again.
Exploring Pueblos and Kivas next to our campsite
and the Rio Grande, too.
Grant-writing and music making
while camping with cactus. See our tent under the balloons?
Petrified Wood
In the Painted Desert, Anthony submitted his grant.
A rainbow in the Grand Canyon!
Our friends, the Reids suggested that we stay in one of the hotels on the rim and it was totally worth it to be able to wake up and see this view instantly! (It was also nice to be in a hotel since it was hailing the previous day, resulting in the rainbow.)
A bit of Bright Angel Trail before breakfast
Sam's opinion: "Gan Canya! Whooooooah! Fall down? Owie."
Micah's opinion of the Grand Canyon (after every few steps along the rim): "Oh my, now I need to take ANOTHER picture." Micah was also impressed by how many languages we heard spoken.
Paul's opinions of the Grand Canyon: "Can we hike down in there to the river?" and "What if Micah was trying to drink rain and the hail knocked out his tooth?"
Hooray for nice strangers who are willing to trade picture-taking!
Joshua Tree National Park in California -- note the ominous sky!
Bouldering in Joshua Tree N.P. was a major highlight for Paul and Micah.
Crazy Dr. Seuss Tree (aka Joshua Tree)
Anthony's Aunt Cheryl made her famous french toast!
Uncle Jerry provides great fun and laughter in their impressive Hollywood home!
Cheryl and Jerry received many comments while riding around Hollywood in their convertible with blonde boys.
Jerry's paleontologist friend showed us a 15 million year old shark bite (a dolphin fin with an embedded shark tooth)
and a dinosaur fossil with amazing soft-tissue (e.g. scales) he had cleaned.
Jerry builds cool stuff like this display for museums and Hollywood sets.
Griffith Park
Run!
"There's L.A." says Great-Aunt Cheryl.
Who has the most fun on the playground? Great-Aunt Cheryl.
Paul's 5th Birthday bash included beater licking!
Greg and Betty's rehearsal dinner was the setting for Paul's 5th birthday dinner.
We had a great time with the Chalfant, Thompson, and Bindas families!
Here is the REAL reason we took this big trip -- Anthony was Greg's best man. It was beautiful in so many ways: spiritually, it was an amazing picture of Christ's love for His Church. Culturally, Micah was amazed to be singing "In Christ Alone" next to a woman singing in Chinese (from Shanghai.) Culinarily, (if I can coin a term) the 12-course Chinese feast (especially the jellyfish) was delicious. Meteorologically, the weather and setting were gorgeous and convenient for Samuel to play in the sand below my feet during the ceremony. Personally, I loved hearing Anthony's heart-felt words for Greg in his best-man's toast. Greg and Anthony have been friends since middle school.
Betty's parents are sweet.
Almost a Christmas card!
Hanging with Payne Stuart
Greg and Betty's sense of humor came out in the reception photos!
Little Boy Blue
Anthony already knew, Jordan, Greg's old roommate from Tianjin, China because of Anthony's visit to China two years ago.
Greg and Betty
We then went north of L.A. to see Anthony's uncle Robert and his wife Nona. We got to be with Anthony's cousin Lance, whom he had not seen for many years, and his wife and twin sons.
I'll need to share pictures of the rest of our trip in another post.
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