The Long Way Home

How have we been back home in Uganda for 1 month already!? We jumped right back into life and are loving it! Days after settling in we got into the routine of homeschool and then began getting ready for a team from Pacific Academy School. Although it already feels like forever ago we really did have an incredible summer. Our family was able to travel a bit through Europe before our month visiting with family, friends, and our supporters in BC.

 First stop for me was a day in Athens and then a few days in Santorini with Gabriella

It was way harder than we imagined to get this photo!!! 

Reunited in Rome! It was a first time for all of us to be in Italy and we loved it

 There are 2500 public fountains like this in the city of Rome, it was very hot out while we were there so we definitely took advantage filling our water bottles up every chance we got. Our kids actually found it pretty overwhelming coming from Uganda, seeing water flowing everywhere! 

Trevi Fountain is gorgeous, definitely my favourite spot in Rome!  

Inside the Colosseum, a rare picture with all 7 of us! 

Split Croatia was absolutely stunning, we loved our time here, it was very relaxing! 

Gorgeous waterfalls

Hanging out in an ancient palace

Playing Picigin, a favourite local game at Bacvice Beach in Split

Hike views

We didn't reazlie when we started our walk just how far away this beach would be, we are about half way and can now see it, really off in the distance. 

Worth the 10km walk to get here!! 

Oui, Oui, Paris! 

Louvre

View from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower!

Picnic lunch at Jardin du Luxembourg

Sacre Cour

Beautiful Versailles

Our last day, now onto BC!! 

The day after we arrived in Vancouver all 4 kids went to camp for a week on Anvil Island, Joel as a counsellor and the other 3 as campers. 

This is always a highlight for the kids each year, they had such a great time!! 

A week without kids! Day 1 and 2 we missed them so much, but our week quickly filled up with visits and running errands. We did manage to fit in a quick hike, actually a very long hike up Grouse Mountain! Glad we did it but it was a lot harder than we thought!! 

When the kids got back from camp the beautiful summer weather Vancouver is known for appeared, perfect for bbqs, swimming and hanging out with family and friends! 

This is the first time for all of Jeff's family to get together since Nick and Hayley's wedding which we missed last summer. 

With cousins Tyler and Sarah on Jeff's side

With their cousin Ashton on Shan's side

Great Grandma Dyck

Great Grandma Unger

Great Grandpa Oshowy

With Jeff's siblings at our cousins wedding

Dinner out with Shan's not so little baby brothers

Helping Grandpa bbq dinner

My Mom

Avin with my sister Lisa and Mom

Sarah and Mazzy, cutest cousins! 

The kids at Wild Play in Nanaimo with Jeff's parents

Berries with their cousin Ashton

Krause Berry Farms with Gabriella

Finn and our good friend's Baby Finn! 

Last day in BC, we are really going to miss all of our family and friends for these next 2 years, so come visit us in Uganda!!! 

Goodbye, Vancouver!! 

We had a layover in Amsterdam on our way back to Uganda, also a first for all of us! 

I think we all agree that our favourite part was visiting the Hiding Place at Corrie ten Boom's house in Haarlem, our kids were tired and jet lagged but our tour guide had their full attention! 

Amsterdam is a very cool city, so relaxed except for the watching out for bikes zooming by, everywhere you look!! 

We'd highly recommend a canal tour, a great way to see the whole city and learn a lot too! 

Last Starbucks for a while!!! 

Next stop, Uganda!!!! 

Thank you to everyone who welcomed us this summer; gave us a place to stay, cars to use, dinners, coffees, and took time to spend with our family, we appreciate all of you so much! 

Next post is an update of our first month back!