Celebrating Christmas

It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas this year with family and friends and be able to share traditions with those we love.  We are thankful for blessings that got loved ones through a year dealing with Covid without any loss of life to members of our family, and we're grateful for Ryan's recovery from Covid and for Tani being able to enjoy being with family and friends after being hospitalized with Covid although still needing to have supplemental oxygen.

We appreciate those who were able to celebrate with us our Christmas Eve traditions:  our family Nativity Pageant, a ham dinner with all the trimmings, and a visit from Santa on his way from the North Pole to all the good boys and girls.  

Mary & Joseph (Maren & Eden); 

Sheep (Mason, Corban); 

Shepherds (Rebecca, Paul, Joshua); Angel (Anna);

Wise Men (Brynlee, Mason); Narrator (Jacob) 

Enjoying our dinner and being together.

(Kristine, Shannon, Shannon and Doug;

Beth, Sam, Marla, and Tani)

Jared, Brady, and Kortney

Max and Tyler

(back) Joshua, Jacob, Eden and Maren with their 2 guests,

Curtis, and Haley

(front) Derek and Anna

Amanda, Alex, Jacob, and Joshua

Sarah, Marisa, Carson, Koryn, Kyle

and Grant

Koryn, Kyle, Grant, Sarah, Marisa, and Carson

Brynlee and Rebecca

Playing a Game

(Shannon, Kristine, Scott, Joshua, Beth, Rebecca, and Grampa Sam)

Five of our children went together and gave us 

prepaid cards for a variety of local eating places,

which we will be enjoying in 2022.

Beth and Todd updated our 72-hour backpacks

and gave us a "rapid egg cooker" 

to make 6 eggs any style.

And we appreciate the ongoing availability for fresh

eggs any time we want them.

Doug and Shannon gave us the nice items in the photo above

and this unique gift shown below:

Again this year we like displaying the Christmas cards

we have received on the "tree" Shannon made for us.

We appreciate all the gifts, cards, and neighborhood treats

we were given and the love that came with them.

A very special event on Christmas Eve was the 

anticipated visit from Santa.

Beth took those photos with her camera,

which I will be including in another blog entry.

Thanksgiving with Family

We got home from our Galápagos trip on the Monday before Thanksgiving (November 22).

We appreciate having Beth contact family about plans for celebrating Thanksgiving in our home on November 25 and for all who came.

For my part, I roasted two turkeys, provided the beverage, and got the tables ready.  I had also decorated the house before leaving for our trip.

   

(back) Grampa Sam, Shannon, Gramma Narene, Doug,

(front) Rebecca, Isaac, Jacob, Jared, and Mason

Shannon, Doug, Tani, Todd, Ryan, Narene, and Sam

Jacob, Isaac, Ryan, Rebecca, Brynlee, and Corban

Megan, Mason, Marisa, Carson, Joshua, and Gabe

Sharing a video of some of our photos taken on our trip to the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador. 

(Sam, Narene, Doug, Marisa, Tani, and Ryan) 

Playing Games

(Mason, Brynlee, Rebecca, and Isaac)

Todd and Beth's Family

(Joshua, Todd, Beth, Rebecca, and Jared)

Megan and Gabe

Ryan and Tani's Family

(Marisa, Ryan, Tani, and Carson)

Doug and Shannon's Family

(back: Jacob, Brynlee, Doug, and Shannon,

front:  Isaac, Corban, and Mason)

Jared and Grampa Sam

Rebecca and Isaac

We love sharing good times with family. 

Galápagos Islands - Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island

 Day 7 - Santa Cruz Island - November 19 (dry landing)

9:00 a.m.  Bus ride to the Highlands.  

Visited Los Gemelos, impressive volcanic formations.

Pit craters

Scalesia forest

Vegetation was different on Santa Cruz Island.

(Sam on the path.)

"Los Gemelos" are not volcanoes!

Geologists call them collapse craters.  Most of the islands are made by magma flows from inside the earth that pushed and uplifted land over the ocean.  This spectacular landscape was formed because under the ground where we were standing, magma had flowed until the volcanic activity came to an end.  When the liquid rock cooled down and contracted, unstable zones were left.  As time went by they collapsed and built the holes or craters seen in this photo. 

 

Lunch buffet at Manzanillo Ranch,

privately owned and where the large tortoises live naturally.

This is our tour director from the ship.

I attempted to get my photo in the giant tortoise,

but it was too painful due to my injured tailbone.

Bus ride to visit the Charles Darwin Foundation to see the 

Giant Tortoise breeding program.

Notice the extended neck and shell shape these turtles have enabling them to reach lower leaves.

These turtles were hatched in 2020

and kept here until mature enough to release.

We found it interesting that the 120-day incubation kept at 28 degrees Centigrade resulted in male tortoises,

but resulted in female tortoises if kept at 29.5 Centigrade.

Back on the ship, we had a departure briefing for the next day

and had the opportunity to toast and applaud the ship crew

for their service.  

I didn't take photos of all the 55-member staff,

but I did include this one with the chef.

Brian and Debbie Judd,

our tour directors from Murray, Utah.

The evening meal was on the deck featuring lobster and chicken from the grill.  

With friends we made on this tour.

The next day we left our suitcases outside our stateroom and went to breakfast.  After eating, we were shown a documentary movie about Charles Darwin and got our passports back.

Dora Quito, Cruise Director

At 11:30, disembarking the ship began 

as our stateroom number was called.

2:30 p.m. we departed from the Baltra Airport for our flight to Quito where we had a couple of hours of sightseeing and souvenir shopping.  We returned to the JVV Marriott Quito Hotel to rest before leaving by bus at 9:00 p.m. for the airport to board our plane at midnight and fly by Delta back to Atlanta and then arriving home on Monday, November 22.