Antigua and Home Again!

The 328th (Bobby's Unit) was under constant armed escort everywhere they went in Guatemala but not by these guys. These are new infantry recruits at the Guatemalan army base--numbers instead of names and sweet wooden guns!This is a typical Guatemalan town (Cuyotenango, Suchitapequez).Pretty countryside...Here's the city of Antigua way up in the mountains. Bobby got to go there the last day since their unit used up all the medical supplies and couldn't treat anyone else. It was the old Guatemalan capital until the nearby volcano caused a massive earthquake in 1795 and leveled the town. Although Antigua lost a lot of its beautiful architecture, it still has its stone roads.

Their first stop in Antigua was the Saint Fransisco Cathedral.
The main hall...
The Hall of Angels...
The statues in the cathedral are over 400 years old!
Antigua's famous arch...Bobby wanted a picture looking the other way through the arch towards the volcano, but their armed guards were getting spread thin and wouldn't head down there.
This was the largest cathedral in the Americas when it was built by Spain. It's right off the town square in Antigua.
The earthquake collapsed the ceilings, but the walls still stand. Behind the far marker on the ground, a stairway leads down to a crypt where the first American Cardinal was entombed back in the mid 16th Century.
Above the tomb is the famous Cristo Negro. The centuries of candles and incense have turned the statues black.
On his way home Bobby had a layover in Dallas where his Aunt Gina, cousin Andy, cousin Casey and her husband Jose met up with him. They brought him some delicious Texas BBQ!
Home at last!!!

Welcome home Bobby!!!

Guatemala!

For the past two weeks Bobby has been in Guatemala with his unit doing a medical mission! They had open clinics where people could come for free and receive medical treatments, prescriptions, and other services all free of charge (what other country does that?). It was a huge success--over 6 thousand people were blessed with medical treatments they would never have been able to afford otherwise, and even their vice president came to give his thanks and gratitude to our soldiers. Here are a few of the pictures from Bobby's trip~

Here is one of Guatemala's active volcanoes sending smoke into the sky

Bobby's bedroom paradise (actually not too bad!)

A cashew tree! The red fruit above the nut will turn into a big red apple when the nut is ripe and ready to pick. From what we've learned, it's the most labor-intensive nut to harvest!

A Goliath Beetle 4 inches long the boys found in their barracks

Black Hawks bringing the US diplomat in Guatemala to one of their clinic sites. (Guatemalans don't have Black Hawks so hundreds of people lined up to watch the sight--which, of course, was pretty awesome.)

Bobby and his medical translator Salvador. He liked Bobby's hat and wanted to give it a try so they traded for a few minutes! More pics to come!

6 Months!

Henry has reached the big 0-6 mark! He's still the same old Henry, but is becoming so expressive and increasingly active! We think he's just a doll and so much fun to be around--we're so glad to have shared 6 amazing months with him! We love our son so much!

Out and About: Kennecott Copper Mine

A few days ago Bobby, Henry, and I decided to take a little day trip and visit Kennecott Copper Mine--the largest open-pit mine in the world. The weather was great, and it was so nice being somewhere quiet and outdoors! Here are a few pics from our outing: