Kids, Concerts and Quito

Here's part of the Gang at Sophie's last concert. At two weeks old, it was Caleb's first concert, but it won't be his last.
Another beautiful "Zack" baby.
And here is our gorgeous girl, Sophie, playing violin at second chair.
This is her fourth year playing the violin and she is extremely good at it. How well I remember her playing "twinkle, twinkle little star" for me those several years ago. This will be her last year and last concert, as she will be a freshman in high school next year and has several other electives she wants to try -- she's a wonderful artist, athlete and academic as well as being an excellent musician. Truly multi-talented.
Not a great photo, but she's holding the trophy her orchestra won at a concert contest at Branson -- they swept the awards!
This is proud dad, Zack, and Caleb at Caleb's second concert a few days later! Never dull nor boring when you're hanging out with the Gang!
Beautiful baby.
This is Josh's first year playing the baritone. Pretty cool! (Check out the black and white Converse!)
Takes a lot of puffing to make that thing work!
Love the shoes and what a handsome fella he is.
They grow up way too fast.
Still "mama's little boy" but I predict he will tower over her before long.
The morning after Josh's concert I got on a plane and flew here to Quito. This is Walt's apartment. It's brand new and the first time I've been here to see it. Quito has a beautiful new American embassy built quite a distance from the old one downtown, so Walt had to move also. This place is huge and very comfortable -- but best of all in a secure compound and very quiet. It's the 'very quiet' part that I really like.
I'm in heaven. One of my favorite things about Ecuador is all the beautiful, fresh produce. I especially like all the fruits that are so incredibly expensive in Dillon, Montana, and not always available even if I wanted to pay the price. The first thing we did was head out to a market and I got some of my favorites: Hawaiian papaya, mango and grenadillas. Heaven. Absolute heaven. And of course, wherever I travel in the world I am always able to find some kind of these little lemon wafer cookies -- Germany, South Africa, Bangkok. I'm always surprised, but it is true. I can even find them in the States at Trader Joe's. . . . I love them.
This is a shot I got of the American flag flying over the new American Embassy backed by the volcano Pichincha. Quito is nestled at the foot of Pichincha and we had a fabulous view of it out of our apartment windows when we lived here. Typically hazy and cloudy. Like mountains everywhere frequently wears a crown of clouds. Wonderful memories. Beautiful vistas.