We first read about Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) in a guest book at cozy coffee shop in Copacabana about a week before we decided to go there.  We were on the lookout for some sort of volunteer gig, but weren't terribly inspired by the various organic farming options we'd found online. Although it wasn't something we'd really considered, we jumped at the idea of working with jungle animals!

Looking into the organization further we were touched by the story of how a Bolivian couple in the late 1980's, in the hopes of making a difference in Bolivia, established a school of alternative education outside of La Paz for the many children of miners who had relocated to the area. After being exposed to the lush surrounding rainforest and its ruthless destruction, the children vowed to protect the fragile rainforest and its animals through a campaign of education and awareness.  During a later field trip to Rurrenabaque, the project took an important shift after the kids pooled together their meagre funds to purchase and rescue a spider monkey from its local owners who were forcing it to drink alcohol and dance for their amusement.  Over the next few years, a number of other animals were adopted and rescued, despite the constant struggle to figure out what to do with them. Finally, Parque Machia, the first wildlife refuge in Bolivia, was established.

For nearly 20 years now, professionals and volunteers from all over the world have been supporting this cause through the raising of funds and the donating of time.  The organization now manages three parks in Bolivia where upwards of 500 animals of over 30 different species (including bears, cats, birds, monkeys, coatis, and foxes) are cared for.  

A few days after reading the guest book in Copacabana we saw a poster for CIWY at our hostel in La Paz, and soon after ran into a guy who knew a guy who had volunteered with them and spent a month walking a puma.  By then the seed of the idea had sprouted and taken root, and we found ourselves packing our bags.  After a long day of bussing through Cochabamba and beyond, we arrived in Villa Tunari late in the evening and crawled to the closest hostel to hide from the torrential downpour that welcomed us.  In the morning we walked across the bridge looking for the CIWY office, only to walk right past it.  It was not marked well and looked more like an abandoned concrete structure with graffiti all over it.

We were quick to forgive the outer appearance of the office after being hailed by other volunteers watching from the cafe.  On the inside, the place was humming with activity: volunteers chopping food for the monkeys, hauling hay and trees for the cats and bear, unloading endless truckloads of bananas, and disposing of bucketfuls of animal waste.  Everyone looked very enthusiastic!  

For the next four weeks we’ll be volunteering at a wildlife reserve called Inti Wara Yassi in the small town of Villa Tunari in Bolivia.  Only in Bolivia (or another developing country, I suppose) could a place like this exist, where unqualified but willing volunteers can, after only a short lesson from other volunteers, work with and handle wild animals.  We arrive partway through the workday and kill some time in the outdoor cafeteria where breakfasts, lunches, and after work beers are available.  While surveying our new surroundings, we take in the graffiti from past volunteers which covers the nearby walls, including things like “Tigre the Lostalot Ocelot”, “Quaranteam 2013”, “Monkey Love”, “small (but vicious) animals”, and “Badass Balu”, and wonder what we’re about to get ourselves into. 

As the workday wraps up and the volunteers straggle into the café, we strike up a conversation hoping to learn more about the volunteer experience.  A couple realities quickly sink in: there will be a lot of dealing with poop, and, at some point, we’re likely to pick up a minor wound (making for an interesting scar story once we’re back at home).  One of the volunteers, a skinny redhead from Australia, eagerly describes his latest encounter with a fox while working in the small animal section.  While attempting to get a collar around the fox’s neck (after days in a cage, he figured it would enjoy a nice walk), the fox decided it didn’t like what was going on.  After a couple quick bites to the shin (through a rubber boot), the fox clamped its jaws on the aussie’s forearm and hung on for dear life.  No lasting damage was done, and we’re assured that the on-site vets are very skilled at stitching up both animals and humans.

Finally, 4:30 rolls around and we’re led on a quick tour of the facilities which include: quarantine, containing about eighty capuchin monkeys, some in cages and some tied up on runners (not to mention the dozen or more wild ones that hang out hoping to snag food from the residents); the aviary, where macaws, toucans, and parrots are guarded from hungry wild monkeys by a well-trained dog; and a sizeable area for land and water turtles.  We´re also told about other areas in which a number of coatis, two ocelots, one puma, and an Andean bear are kept (but which aren´t included in the express tour).  We are then sat down and asked by Marta, the volunteer coordinator, to fill out a survey (along with a hefty waiver form) as well as some extra questions to help figure out which section we belong in.  Chelsea’s asked if she has a good sense of direction, to which she replies yes, and I’m asked if I can handle running through the jungle with my glasses on, to which I explain that I can wear contact lenses if necessary.  We’re then shown to the closet of second-hand clothing so we can pick up something we won’t mind destroying over the next weeks.  Finally, we gather in the office and are given our assignments: Chelsea is to work with Tigre the Ocelot (a lucky opening since the current volunteer, just that afternoon, was jumped and received a decent scratch on her arm) and I’m to spend my first few days in quarantine, after which I’ll be working with Balu, the fully-grown Andean bear.

La Paz sucks.

Keep in mind here that neither Chelsea nor I are big fans of cities - they're usually too busy, too noisy, too smelly... we'd both really rather be in a smaller town or out lost in the wilderness.  La Paz, Bolivia's bustling administrative capital, is the epitome of all that sucks about cities: streets packed with breaking-down cars and trucks, all constantly weaving around one another, doing their best to decorate their hoods with pedestrian guts while spewing plumes of acrid, black exhaust; sidewalks and plazas crammed with crowds of pushy, loud strangers all pushing their way past the rancid cesspools of garbage and human waste that scatter the streets.  I'm sure there are some worthwhile spots hidden within the nightmarish cityscape, though we were so appalled we did our best to stay hidden in our hostel.  One of the few times we did venture out in search of a decent meal, we discovered a maggot at the bottom of our (otherwise delicious) compost soup.

Okay, fine, the central market was a great place to stock up on alpaca-wool sweaters in preparation for the coming cold of Patagonia, and the Witches' Market was a perfect spot to shop around for stuffed piranhas and llama fetuses.  Alright, I'll admit that there were a couple okay watering holes, some even offering different options (options!) of beer: our aptly-named hostel Adventure Brew even had a decent micro-brewed IPA, the likes of which my lips hadn't touched since leaving Canada.

On the whole, however, La Paz sucks. Unfortunately, however, traveling around Bolivia by bus will almost inevitably leave you stuck there for a night.  For us, the only redeeming feature of La Paz was its proximity to "Death Road", the site of numerous fatal vehicle accidents (including a single event in the 80's which took the lives of over one hundred people) and a popular spot for downhill mountain biking.

Our time in Baños and Quito has been a blast, but we’ve both been experiencing some serious nature withdrawal – we need to get back into the forest!!  Well, if things go as planned, in the next few days we’ll be setting off on a serious adventure deep into the Amazon jungle.  This trip could take anywhere from one to three weeks, likely without any internet or phone access – look out for our SPOT GPS updates letting you all know we’re still alive and kicking.  =)

Our original plan was to catch a bus from Quito and head further inland, over the mountains and into the area known as “the Orient”.  There are a few parks that are supposed to be great, Yasuni National Park among them, and since oil companies have begun to work on extracting the vast reserves found under the park, we figure there may not be much of it left after a few years.  Upon reading a bit about getting into the park (quite a feat in itself), however, we found that it’s actually possible (though not always recommended) to continue along the Rio Napo all the way deep into the Peruvian jungle.  We’re not exactly sure what this kind of adventure will have in store for us, but that’s part of the fun, right??

After spending the morning doing some research online, it seems the trip will be something like the following:

• 8 to 10 hour overnight bus from Quito to Coca
• One-day by boat to Nuevo Rocafuerte at the border of Ecuador and Peru.
• Two hours by boat to cross the border to a city on the Peruvian side called Pantoja.
• Four to five days by cargo boat down the river to the town of Mazán, with a handful of loading/unloading stops along the way
• Quick jaunt on a three-wheeled motorbike across a narrow strip of land (skipping out on 13 more hours on the boat), and then a one hour boat ride to Iquitos, Peru.
• From Iquitos, the world’s biggest city without road access, we will spend some time recovering and enjoying the surrounding jungle, after which we can either fly back to civilization or travel another five days by boat to the nearest town with road access and then catch a bus.

Hola Amigos,

After a few months of travelling in Central America, I want to share with you some of the things that we didn't like.  While we have found much beauty and met several wonderful people along the way, not everything is wonderful all of the time.

I can't speak accurately for Andrew though I know that he is having a little difficulty dealing with not having a "goal" or "mission" to work toward.  For me it is a little bit different.  I don't miss "home" exactly, but the constantly packing and unpacking is a little bit tiring, and I am getting sick of my clothes.  Always the same outfits that I don't really like anymore, lol, and always having to decide which outfit is less dirty to wear that day.  It feels like we are constantly doing laundry!  This doesn't bother me THAT much, but along with a few other things, makes some days feel very exhausting.  

What has been getting to me more lately are the negative looks from people in places that we go. It is not the majority of people by any means, but those few and far between people who clearly do not appreciate our presence in their town and who believe that we are somehow the cause of all of their pain and suffering.  I try not to let it get to me, but I have to admit that it does make me feel guilty.  Guilty that I have enough money that I can go travelling for a year and not have to worry about starving to death on any given day.  Guilty that if I don't like it here, I can just go somewhere else.  This combined with the majority of people who are constantly trying to overcharge us because they believe that we are some sort of money machine and don't actually care at all to know who we are.  Often times they go out of their way to make sure that we feel guilty if we don't buy something from them.  It really is unfair that we can live our lives this way, and most people in the world will never have this opportunity.  It is shameful that corruption, greed and politics get in the way of government and allow this to go on in this day and age.

"Six days, 228 miles, a close grizzly encounter, way too much sun, an incredible thunderstorm, and a constant feeling of awe - this was a trip we'll both remember for a lifetime."

We've been away from internet for awhile now, time to catch up on here! Andrew already posted a blog about Bolita but it didn't include pictures so here you are!  

It was such an interesting little place, exactly what we were hoping for.  I won't re-describe everything for you but there were a couple of things I wanted to add to Andrews notes.

We had so much time to hike around and watch wildlife near Bolita.  The picture here is from beside our table at breakfast.  Hummingbirds, bees, monkeys, macaws, doves, geckos, etc. were always nearby.

This picture shows the nearly finished product of our volunteer work.  We were asked to build a shelter over the clothes-line.  We used bamboo which we cut down from a nearby bush, and some scraps that were lying around from previous projects.  

It took us two days (4-5 hours per day) to build and was very fun!  We learned a lot about working with bamboo though didn't have any instruction - all by trial and error.

At one point Andrew got a bamboo cut on his thumb.  At first he looked at it a bit nervously and insisted that he was ok when I asked.  After a few minutes, he got off of the stump he was standing on and wobbled to the kitchen sink.  I knew he was going to faint so I grabbed a stump for him to sit on while I held onto him from behind.  (Note from Andrew - it was a really hot and sunny day of hard work, I was really just quite dehydrated! =P)

This is not the first time I've had to do this so was pretty routine, lol.  When he was feeling up for it we cleaned it out well and stuck a bandage on it.  It really wasn't too bad, but he said he got disturbed when it began to ooze dark blood.  lol, funny day.  The next day I got a couple of bamboo cuts as well (nothing bad) but it is worth noting that bamboo can be pretty dangerous for that!  Super sharp!  We wore gloves after a few warning cuts.

The last few weeks have been a blast!  After a couple action-packed weeks with my parents (so glad you guys were able to visit!), we decided to get back to nature and spent the last week at an incredible hostel called La Bolita located on the edge of Corcovado National Park.  The place was great – exactly what we’d originally had in mind when we first planned on visiting Costa Rica.  Although it was a bit of an adventure to get to ...

take a colectivo (mini-bus) about half an hour along the world's bumpiest road from Puerto Jimenez to Dos Brazos del Tigre, a town of about two hundred people.  Once there, walk five minutes to the edge of town and then hike for half an hour up a steep jungle path, at one point wading through the Rio Tigre (don't worry, there aren't any tigers).

... for us this just added to the wonder of the place.  Every morning we awoke to the sunrise and the sound of howling monkeys and screaming macaws (why does such a beautiful bird have to sound so horrible?), and spent the day hiking, nature-watching, relaxing in hammocks, and doing a bit of volunteer work.  How could we ever go back to an office job after this??

Situated on sixty hectares of land that once contained a banana plantation, Bolita consists of a couple dorm buildings, a kitchen, a bathroom & shower building (with flush toilets), and a series of hiking trails through the old plantation and surrounding jungle.  One morning we did an awesome hike that took us a couple hours through the jungle and up to a waterfall, after which we followed the Rio Tigre for a couple hours back down, hiking in water anywhere from ankle- to armpit-deep.  We saw howler monkeys, white-faced (capuchin) monkeys, a couple small snakes, and a few jesus christ lizards running across the water and earning their names – amazing!  We also ran into a couple local oreros (gold miners) panning for gold, which was a bit of a surprise for us.  We were later told that there's a whole shanty town of gold miners who live in the jungle a four hour hike from town and pan various parts of the river.

Because we stayed as volunteers, in exchange for about 20 hours of work per week, we got free accommodation along with unlimited beans & rice – finally a volunteer gig where we aren’t working AND paying.  And since we didn’t realize there would be next to no groceries available in town, we ate nothing but beans & rice for the first couple days and saved a bunch of money on food (at least we had brought some hot sauce).  Luckily, the owner Val was nice and picked us up a few things during her weekly trip to Puerto Jimenez, letting us to cook up some of the best pasta ever. The volunteer work was enjoyable, and we spent a couple days putting together a rain shelter for the clotheslines.  We felt like proper rainforest pioneers chopping down a couple tall bamboo trees, splitting and cutting the bamboo, and lashing together a beautifully-engineered structure.

Spending the week at the edge of Corcovado National Park has got us really excited for our next adventure – four days at La Sirena ranger station deep in the park.  The plan is to catch a bus to Carate, the small town at the edge of the park, then early the next morning set out for the 20 km hike in along the beach. 

If we’re lucky, during our stay we’ll get to see tapirs, giant anteaters, pumas, jaguars, ocelots, crocodiles, bull sharks, a load of monkeys, and a plethora of frogs, lizards and birds.  Also, if we’re lucky we won’t be seeing any of the many kinds of large, venomous snakes.  Apparently there’s a very poisonous snake called the bushmaster (insert inappropriate comment here) that grows to be over three metres long and has been known to be aggressive, even at times chasing people through the jungle (or perhaps here).  We’ll definitely have our hiking sticks and machetes­­­ out and will be ready to defend ourselves.  =)

We haven’t had much internet access lately and so haven’t had a chance to upload any photos, but once we’re out of the park and have settled somewhere in Panama we’ll be able to catch up and share some more stories. 

Until then, Pura Vida!  -  Mandrew

When we arrived at La Biosfera late Saturday night, we walked up the steep muddy driveway to the lodge area and met Suzanne, the owner who immediately poured us some mugs of the most delicious home brewed herbal tea.  She is a VERY interesting character (check our her "Curious Character" profile).  Originally from Buffalo, NY, Suzanne's an ex-marine now in her early 50’s, living on a piece of land she owns just outside of Jinotega.  Although she lives alone, she has lots of visitors like us coming through all the time (though maybe not as many as she would like).  In a few words I guess I would describe her as eccentric, tough and very generous! 

There was also an Argentine family staying there (Rafi, Flor and their 3 year old son, Fidel) when we arrived who were equally as interesting and mystical, but unfortunately they had to leave the next day.  Rafi spoke the most English of them though we tried our best to speak in Spanish as much as possible (and then Andrew and I both had dreams in Spanish, FINALLY!).  We talked about just about everything including the meaning of life, water vibrations, UFO's, herbal remedies, etc…  Later, when we were getting ready for bed I told Andrew that I felt like we had stepped into – Andrew cut me off and finished my sentence perfectly – another universe…

In the morning we got ready to start some work and said our goodbyes to Rafi, Flor and Fidel – we hadn’t known them for long but for some reason it felt like years.  We took a tour of the property with Suzanne, which is huge and so green!  There is a waterfall and small river, the bat cave is wicked cool, and the potential for forest preservation and education is enormous!  There isn’t too much infrastructure there right now, and lots to do to get some more in there.  We did some high priority work for the day including scrubbing the algae off of the walkway so no one would slip and fall.  The next day we did some more manual work, as well as put our engineering skills to the test with the design of a lightweight, mobile chicken coop (which we chose to make out of PVC pipe, inspired by the photo booth structure Kim and Nate made for our wedding) as well as a support structure for the squash greenhouse.  The chicken coop became our pet project for the next few days, and it turned out very well, we think.  Assuming she can be caught, the pet chicken (originally known as "cena", meaning "dinner", but after many battles with the pet dog now known as "cena the warrior chicken") can chill in there now, along with some egg-laying hens Suzanne plans to buy from a neighbour.  It was a really fun project even though Andrew and I had some trouble working together as we both like to take the lead on designs, lol.

After a few more days we got some new visitors!  Michael and Amanda are in their early 20's and are basically searching for the meaning of life.  They were kind of funny to talk to, and in a weird way, reminded me a bit of Andrew and I when we were their age travelling in Australia (oh so long ago now!).  They were very enthusiastic about everything, and really seemed to take what we said, and anyone else said, to heart.  We talked about all kinds of wacky, fun things such as, again, the meaning of life, vibrations, water, mermaids, fractals (patterns that repeat on all scales, for example the Fibonacci Spiral found in nature; snail shells; broccoli), free energy, the Bermuda Triangle (which by the way it looks like it could be the location of Atlantis based on some underground quartz pyramids!  Seriously! Check Youtube!), pyramid power, DMT, etc.  From what I gathered, Amanda grew up in a very religious family and had, only in the last couple of years, begun to question her beliefs.  It must have been a very stressful and scary time for her, but now she says she is re-discovering the meaning in her life, and determining what is really important to her. Michael is a free spirit who appreciates nature more than most 20-year-old guys I've known. He thinks outside the box and is in search of new experiences.  They make a very good couple, finishing each-other's sentences, sharing the same open-minded philosophies, and they are very supportive of each other. We had a really good time getting to know them over a few days. We even spent one evening making German Strudel with a Nica twist!  I used the recipe that Oma taught me before we left the Yukon, but we had to substitute some of the ingredients (instead of apple and raisin filling, we used guava, passionfruit, raspberry extract & coconut oil), and we baked it in a wood-fired cobb oven so it tasted a little smokey which wasn't the best, lol. But it was still fun and turned out pretty well.

When the time came to leave, we were very sad to say goodbye.  In a very short amount of time we came to know Suzanne, Michael and Amanda surprisingly well.  I would say the highlight of La Biosfera for me was the people, and the bonus was the place; nestled in the mountains and full of life.  We made some possible plans to meet up with Michael and Amanda in a few months in Peru as they will be heading down there after a short stint back home - I hope we do see them again!  

We hope you enjoy our pictures, Andrew says that I post too many, but I really have a hard time cutting out any because I think that if they are good they should stay.  He thinks that no one will look at them if we keep putting this many, but I guess I don't really mind if you don't, lol.  What do you all think?  Should we be putting limits on them?  Or just keep going as we are so that in the future we can look back at this website and have all our photos on hand? That's my logic anyway...

Sorry that we have been running behind on posting, the internet has been pretty terrible these last few weeks, but we are catching up now!

Adios Amigos!
-Chelsea

To open in a new window click here.

We spent five nights in Leon (including one night camping on an active volcano!) and loved every minute of it!  After spending lots of time in the rainforest and on a beach, we thought it was time to see a little culture.  Leon is pretty small but has a great market and a ton of history.  It isn’t as touristy as other cities either, which made it attractive for us.  We stayed at Sonati, an interesting hostel run by a volunteer organization that gives environmental tours to backpackers and educates the local children in Leon.  

On our first day we split up and explored the city by ourselves.  I was so stinkin' hot I decided to buy a dress that was much much cooler than my yoga pants and t-shirt.  Andrew explored the markets and churches.  It was a nice relaxing day.

The next day we decided to take a tour with the Sonati group.  Johnny, a German dude who just so happened to turn 20 that day, was our tour guide on a daylong kayak trip through the mangrove forest!  Two other volunteers from the hostel joined in the fun for the day, Simon, another Sonati guide, and Emma the awesome receptionist, which made the trip extra fun.  

We left around 7:00am on foot from the hostel and walked a block or so before catching a local... truck-thing…  It was supposed to be a bus but apparently when they are short on busses they use pick-up trucks with canopies on the back and jam a TON of people in.  So we jumped on while it was basically still moving and I nearly fell out when they gunned it, thinking we were all secure (though they do this ALL THE TIME).  From there we switched to a real bus that was a little less crowded (but not by much) and had a bunch of people wandering through the aisle selling food and drinks.  You can buy just about anything from your seat on any bus in Nicaragua, it seems.  At bus stops sometimes people will board the bus from the front with a basket of baked goods or other treats and walk to the back trying to sell, advertising their goods quickly and loudly kind of like an auctioneer.  Then when they get to the back they hang out until the next stop and get off.  It is very interesting!  We’ve seen them sell everything from baked things, ice-cream, corn-on-the-cob, little plastic bags of juice, razors, nail clippers, hammocks, DVD’s, SIM cards, and even pharmaceuticals.

Anyways, I digress, so we get to the kayak place around nine, get in our kayaks and off we go!  It was so gorgeous!  But after an hour or so we started thinking it might be fun to check out some of the little channels that branch off of the main river, something Johnny had never done before, and it turned out to be super awesome!  We dragged ourselves through the narrow mangrove channels by pulling on the roots ahead of ourselves and came out into some neat ponds with birds, bugs, crabs and even a raccoon in one spot.  At lunchtime we made it back to the main channel and stopped off at a beach spot to chillax, eat a bunch, and swim in the ocean.  It was an awesome day!  And to top it off, when we got back to the hostel, everyone that was staying there, and more (probably 20 people or more!) decided to throw Johnny a surprise birthday party!  Emma and I made up a delicious chickpea salad thing, and Andrew did a couple of beer runs to contribute (20 cordobas, about $0.80 for a LITRE of beer!).  The dinner was great, and the company was even greater!  After dinner and a bunch of drinks I decided to call it a night but Andrew stayed out and played Flinky-Ball, a German drinking game that sounds a lot like dodgeball.

The next morning we got up and packed our bags for a two-day trek up Telica, an active volcano in the area.  People were a bit hung over so we got a later start than we had planned, but we picked up a few more hikers, which was great!  We had Johnny and Simon again, our friend Devon who we had hiked La Conception with on Isla de Ometepe a few weeks earlier, and a girl named Anna who arrived at the hostel the night before and after some consideration we had convinced to come along.  

It was a 15min walk to the bus station, then an hour-long bus ride to the starting trail.  The hike was incredible!  We started out at some boiling mud pots that smelled like sulfur then headed up a dried riverbed/ cattle trail and up over some farmland.  It wasn’t until after lunch that we started the climb.  I made a bad decision to eat two peanut butter sandwiches even though I don’t like peanut butter, because I was so hungry by the time we stopped for lunch.  Unfortunately the steep hill with a nasty peanut butter filled stomach was not so pleasant.  I managed to keep it all down but couldn’t stand the sight of peanut butter for the rest of the trip, and that’s almost the only thing we brought… (I traded for other things).  Once we made it to the cone, the view was surreal!  A massive smoking cone sprouting out of the hillside and a frozen lava river spilled over the top.  We quickly set up our tents as we had less than an hour before sundown, and then headed up to check out the cone!  It was loud, like a jet engine but muted.  The cone was about 1km across and maybe that deep.  We stood and crouched on the edge, literally where the ground cuts deep into the engine below.  Yes we did acknowledge how dangerous it was there, but how could you resist!  Deep in the center of the pit was a fiery glowing red hole with smoke spewing out.  After staring at the lava hole for some time, mesmerized, we got up and walked to the other side of the cone to watch the sunset before heading back for dinner (a delicious homemade Dutch veggie mush dish made by Simon and Johnny) and topped it off with some roasted marshmallows at the campfire.  

The next morning was equally awesome, we woke up early to see the sun rise (4:30) then hiked back up to the cone for another look before cruising around to a bat cave that Simon found one time when he was guiding another group up there.  It was neat-o!  And then we headed back down the volcano.  The hike back was fun and quick, but everyone’s legs were happy for the break by the time we got on the bus to go home.

So while our cultural visit to Leon itself was a little short, we got to see some super neat things, meet some new friends, as well as an “old” friend, Devon.

After Leon we hoped back on the Chicken Bus and headed to Jinotega to stay on a finca/ nature retreat called La Biosfera, about two and a half hours north of Leon.  We found La Biosfera on helpx.org while looking for another place to do some volunteering, and chose it partly because there is a bat cave there, and partly because it sounds very unique!  

Hope everyone is well at home!  I would like to congratulate my Dad and Carolyn on a successful hunting and fishing year!  They finally got two moose and 27 Coho salmon!  Of course it isn't all for them as there were others in the group to split with, but the freezer is full this winter which is awesome!  We are also getting excited to spend two weeks with Donna and Jim (Mandrew's parents) who will be heading to Costa Rica on Nov 11th!  Can't wait to see you!!

Love,
Chelsea

To open in a new window click here