Freeeeeeedommmmmmmm!

Todd and I just spent two wonderful, fun-filled weeks away from Nadine. His parents are fantastic and they flew out to watch Nadine for us. It was really great to be a couple again and, at least for me, to selfishly enjoy a vacation (seriously, when we got to the airport I wanted to cry out, a la William Wallace, but without the torture).

We joined my parents and sisters in South America and crossed two things off Todd's bucket list: we visited Machu Picchu and Iguazu Falls. We also got to spend a couple days in Buenos Aires, where Todd served his mission, which was fun too. (We didn't actually see the areas where he served; he said they're far too dangerous. Missionaries are incredible.)

Souvenir shopping in Peru was fun and colorful.

These cute girls posed for a picture . . . then asked us to pay them for it. "Un sol" became our vacation joke.

My sister ordered, and my dad and Todd ate some of, guinea pig ("cuy"). They had it on most menus in Peru. This is the head. See the teeth? And the ears? It nearly goes without saying, but I did not eat the guinea pig. I could barely look at it.

The Incas were incredible at fitting the stones together. The stone behind us is one massive stone. I'm amazed they moved all the stones (this is in Cusco, which was the capitol of South America during the Incan reign).

Machu Picchu!

We hiked to the Inca Gate. It was a bit of a hike, but very fun and had a great view. This is Kelsey, me, my dad, and my mom.

And us again. Todd was nice to make sure I wasn't always behind the camera.

We had just hiked straight up the peaked mountain behind Machu Picchu, Huayna Picchu, which involved lots and lots of stairs for about 45 minutes. It was grueling (especially at 8000 feet), but so worth it. Luckily you can't tell how sweaty we were.

There were several llamas around nearly all the time, but we were rarely close to them. For some random reason I really wanted a picture of a llama.

Say it with me: "Llama face!"

This is the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires. It's where their president lives. The balcony up top is what the president uses to address the people; Evita famously waved from it.

Iguazu Falls.

The falls were actually dry, but still stunning. And the dryness allowed us to see the plants and rocks around the falls.

We went to the Argentina and Brazil side of the falls. You get completely different views from each. This is the Brazil side.

Argentina side.

And of course we got pictures of bugs. This ant was bigger than a penny.

The Caminito in Buenos Aires. It's basically an area with wonderfully bright colors, tango dancers, shops, and weird statues.

And there you have it, a sampling of the 670 pictures I took during our trip.