We had Jason's graduation and graduation party (read here) earlier this month, both of us have been working hard for deadlines we have coming up at the end of this week (working until 8:00 pm on a Friday night is not a good work/life balance!), and we are getting ready for Jason's graduation trip/mission trip to Peru and Honduras. This weekend was (mostly) spent preparing for that, however, we did have some fun mixed in there.
We started by getting lots of shots on Friday - four each to be exact. Hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus, and yellow fever. Not to mention prescriptions for malaria, diamox (for altitude sickness - come on we don't live in CO anymore!), and zithromax (for um, traveler's diarrhea...let's hope we do not end up using that one...).
Saturday we started running errands at 9:00 am and didn't stop until 8:00 pm. It was a long day! We started by returning the keg leftover from the party to Spec's and then hit up the thrift store to find trashable khakis. When we go to Honduras we will be drilling a water well. It will be messy and hot. They suggest long pants, but not jeans, so Jason and I had some shopping to do. We were able to find 2-3 pairs each for a cheap price!
Next we headed to Walmart. The always crowded, but super cheap store where we purchased sunblock, deet, cheap makeup, throw away socks and underwear, sunglasses, and a few other odds and ends. I told Jason that someday I would like to take a vacation where I actually cared what I looked like and got to dress cute and bring nice stuff. He retorted "Where in the heck would we do that and why would we be going there if not to explore and be active?" Touche hubby, touche.
After that we headed to REI for some trekking poles and hiking pants. Jason also got a nice jacket for the hike and to use year-round in Houston. Then we headed to Qdoba to return the catering supplies from the party and received five free entree cards! We of course ate lunch there using said free entree cards. :-)
Then we headed to Best Buy for an additional camera pack for the GoPro (Jason's graduation gift, see more on the GoPro here). We can't wear the camera for the entire 5 day/4 night trek to Machu Picchu, but we plan to wear it for the final day when we hike Huayna Picchu, the mountain that overlooks the ruins of Machu Picchu. We are getting SO excited for our trip!! It's going to be amazing! :-D
Then it was off to the mall where we got some amazing supplies at Lush. Lush makes solid shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and much more that you can use when you travel to avoid having to carry little bottles of things. Since we will be gone three weeks,. it was a huge space and hassle saving purchase!
Then we hurried off to a Well Done Cooking Class! Apparently two months ago Jason and I thought it would be a good idea to take a cooking class the weekend before we leave the country. We had a great time though making southern comfort foods - tomato mac and cheese, okra and tomatoes, mexican cornbread, fried chicken, and peach cobbler. YUM!
Sunday, unfortunately, was a similar story... after church we headed to Luke's Locker where we used gift certificates to purchase Jason compression socks. They are highly recommended for traveling on long flights as they will alleviate stress and cramps in your calves. (I own a pair already from running.)
Then we headed back to REI to get fitted on our backpacks (we have forgotten them the day before when running our errands). Afterwards it was off to Lululemon where I convinced Jason that it was imperative that I purchase a pair of pants and a half-zip up top for the hike. Score! They have the best workout stuff! And CeCe likes them too! (Or at least their bags...)
Finally we were able to head home...and get dinner ready for our friend Ramesh who will be house/cat sitting while we are gone! We picked two fresh zucchini from the garden for Sunday night's dinner and we think we will have one or two more ready for picking tonight or tomorrow! YUM!
Here was one of the same zucchini just a couple days beforehand along with a squash. The squash will probably be ready in just a few more days too!
We are almost ready for our trip and so excited and blessed to have this amazing opportunity to explore the world and serve the Lord!