Mija....

 

 Dear Precious Mija...(my daughter)...

You are 22 years old today! 

 I know I always say the same thing when you and your brothers birthdays roll around...

"where has the time gone??" 

I am amazed by you! You have the strength and wisdom of an old soul...

I guess that is really what you are. You have been and continue to be a great comfort to me...

Thank you for that! You are fiercely loyal to those you love. You seek to comfort anyone or 

anything you see that may be suffering. You defend the underdog. 

 You don't speak badly of anyone, and hate it if you hear others gossip. 

 I love that about you. You try your best to make correct choices. 

 You are constantly setting goals and want to achieve great things. 

You have a deep and strong commitment to Jesus Christ. 

 I think this is one of your greatest traits, one you inherited from your Dad.

 

You have had some great learning experience these past couple of years. 

Some of those experience have been hard to understand. 

 But you push forward with great faith...faith that they will all work for you good. 

I have to admit that I have spent many nights, and days, in prayer for you, 

pleading with Heavenly Father to support you through these experiences that are meant 

to be yours, and He has done just that. You are stronger than you have ever been 

and I know that you will continue to get stronger. I have faith in you!

   

 You light up a room with your smile and your sense 

of humor keeps us laughing! You are a light in our family! 

Oh how I love you My Girl!! 

Happy Birthday to you!!

Accidents Happen...

 

 Heart breaking...but it happens. 

Tuesday afternoon we were headed back to Mexico after spending a few days in El Paso. 

 So much of our travel is on quiet "off the path" roads and this day was the same. 

 We travel this road weekly...we know it well. There is no cel signal on this road and not too 

much traffic. As we were making our way on this road, The Farmer came upon a car that was 

driving slow and decided to pass the car. He began his attempt to pass when the car

 made a quick decision to turn directly in front of us on to a ranch road. Our car hit the 

back half of the other car. The impact was very hard and every air bag in our car activated. 

 It took a few minutes to gather ourselves, but no one was gravely injured. 

 We are so grateful for that!

   

 When everything stopped all that we could hear was the radio of the other car playing...

and it was loud, which may explain why the guy did what he did. 

 He wasn't paying a bit of attention to where he was or what he was doing. 

 When The Farmer asked him why he attempted the turn...

he replied that he was curious to see if the watering hole in the distance had water in it. 

 Was he the owner of the ranch...no.

 Just someone driving by.

 

It took about 30 minutes for anyone to pass by. 

 We stood and waited. Soon the Border Patrol arrived who then called the police...

another 30-45 minutes until they arrived...good thing it wasn't an emergency. 

Three hours later and just as a terrible thunder storm hit, our totaled car was headed 

to a salvage yard. A couple of our trusted employees arrived to take us home. 

 We arrived home around 2 am, exhausted and sore but grateful that 

everyone was unharmed.

 

The Farmer gave the car to me as a Christmas gift and boy have I been enjoying it. 

It was so unexpected and just what I had been dreaming about.

 I am grateful it can be replaced...

and more grateful that we walked away from a very bad accident ok.

 

Day 3...Hoonah, Alaska

 

Such a fun stop!! 

 We hadn't planned a specific tour to do on this day but headed into the 

little city to see what our options were. We quickly figured out that Whale Watching would 

be first on our list. We found a little restaurant that was also an outfitting company. 

 We set up our trip and while we waited for the time to come...we rented ATV's and 

explored the area. The only advice the attendant gave us was that we 

shouldn't bother the bears. The populations of humans is 3,000 in that town and the 

population of Brown Bear was 14,000. 

 He suggested we be careful and stay on the roads.

Off we went...

 

Day 2....Seward, Alaska

 

We arrived in Seward, Alaska mid morning. 

 Again, the scenery was just beautiful and the weather cool but not cold. 

 We wandered the streets and had our first taste of Alaskan Fish and Chips...

with freshly caught Halibut...DELICIOUS!! 

The town was filled with darling artisan shops and wonderful food. 

The perfect beginning to our Alaskan adventure...

 

Day 1, Alaskan Adventure...Train Ride To Seward, Alaska...

 

Day 1 of the Alaskan Adventure... 

We arrived at the hotel in Anchorage around 2:00 am. Everyone exhausted, 

but happy with the cool temperatures. Uncle Nate and Aunt Jen had arrived earlier in the day. 

We slept for just a couple of hours then boarded a passenger 

train to Seward, Alaska. We were all so tired, 

but excited for the adventure that was ahead of us.

   

 The scenery was breathtaking! 

 We soaked it all up! The landscape...the wildlife...the streams...the glaciers... 

It was all beyond amazing!

 

We had a great time together! 

 The train ride was 4 hours long...worth every minute! 

They served a fun breakfast along with great commentary along the way,  

Teaching us about Alaska. We had time to visit...

sleep...eat...take pictures and tease each other.

 It was a great time!!

 

Alaska With The Darlings...

 

Several months ago The Farmer suggested that we take a family trip. 

It's something we try and do a couple of times a year, but as 

The Darlings get older...it gets more and more difficult. 

 This seemed like a good year for us all to gather together and do 

something really fun. We have wanted to visit Alaska for a long time...

it's a bucket list trip for us, so it seemed like the perfect destination for the family.

 

We decided to meet in Mesa, 

Precious would join us there from Utah, 

and the rest would travel from Mexico. 

 The day we arrived in It was 124 degrees in Phoenix! 

We stopped at Grandma Vicki's to get PreSh and say hi... 

Then it was off to the airport.

   

 Traveling with the whole family was really a great time! 

Lots of laughing...talking...eating...a very good time!

   

 We boarded the plane and headed to Seattle 

and then on to Anchorage Alaska, where we arrived in the middle of the night.