Kids playing with Camera

The division playoffs against the Jets...Go Steelers!

Mom - not again!

Kiersten is interested in football this year because her teacher is a HUGE Bears fan...she has to be informed.  kinda cute!

On a cold night we had a movie night in the basement complete with sign and concessions.  Secretariat was the movie and we all enjoyed it!

ugly front tooth FINALLY fell out.  he damaged it 2 1/2 years ago and now it is gone!

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Argentina Day 9 - the end.

***a note that Matt sent home to Austin that I wanted to save.***

Hey Aust,
I was going to share all of the things I have had to do to manage my health on this trip.

First, I carry a candy bar or some sugar every where I go.  I make sure I can get it if I need it.  I also carry my little running bag holding my tester and some money.  Also, being out of the country, I never leave my passport anywhere, so I carry that too.

I have had to make sure the time on my pump is correct to get the right dosages.  I test probably six times a day, sometimes more! 

We are traveling with two doctors and I make sure to tell them what I'm doing with my insulin, just so that they know how much I'm taking if something goes wrong.  When we were climbing the mountain, I would move my basal rate to fifty percent or less.  I would not take any insulin when I would eat.  The hardest part has been adjusting after we are done climbing for the day.  I've had some high highs (379) and some low lows (49), but overall it is going well.

One of the doctors is from Florida, and he does not have any patients on a pump.  He believes that you really need to know your body and how insulin works to use a pump successfully.  I'm glad you are getting one!!
I look forward to seeing you.

Love dad.

Argentina Day 8

Hey,

I'm now counting down the days until I get home.  Two more!!

I finally got a good nights sleep.  I lost my appetite and went to bed without eating, but felt fine.  We took a bus to a glacier, perito moreno, and took a boat ride to the face.  It is about ninety feet high above the water and as deep two thousand feet below!!  We could hear it cracking and popping and some ice fell off the front.  The view with the mountains in the background was pretty. 

I never took the time to learn about your camera, but figured out today you can do a panorama picture.  It is a great little camera and I have over two hundred pictures! 

We visited the part of the park where they had a set of stairs that walked down very close to the face.  Big chunks would break off and fall into the lake.  It would sound like a gun shot and then you would see the ice fall.  It was pretty interesting to watch the glacier move, about six feet a day.  They dropped us off and told us we had three hours, and all we could think was three hours would be forever.  Pretty funny to say we stared at the glacier forever watching the ice peel off!!  It is a national park, so they had nice facilities and good places to hang out.  Makes me want to take our family to the Utah national parks.

The park was a lite touristy, but still enjoyable.  My feet are swollen and need another day of rest to recover.  Other than that, my body has held up pretty well.  Jimmy and cory said I snored starting about four this morning, so I must have been tired!

Cory and I just grabbed dinner at a little corner cafe.  We are waiting for, get ready for this, the laundromat to open so we can wash some clothes.  I have some stinky clothes from hiking and don't want to wait to get them clean.  Wild and crazy, huh? 

I'll call shortly.  Love you.

Argentina Day 7

Day 7

We started at four this morning!  We planned to hike to the top of a mountain and needed an early start so the snow did not get too wet.  We caught a shuttle with our guides at four thirty and rode for an hour and a half to a base station.  It was cold, probably around thirty five or so.  We all bundled up and started up the mountain.  We had four guides, two with lots of experience and two with less.  We made really good time and everyone was panting.  We finally hit the snow line and slowed down.  We put on our crampons and belts and we split into four teams.  Each team connected to one another with ropes so that if someone fell, the others could catch them!!

We headed up the mountain on the snow, which was probably fifteen feet deep!  We crossed deep crevasses and trekked for a few hours.  We were about at the top when one of the guides saw a crack in the snow that made him nervous, so we had to stop.  The views were amazing and you will not believe how steep the climb was.  We stopped and had a quick lunch and then headed down.  Going down was much easier, but put a ton of strain on my hamstrings. 

The gaiters went over my pants and top of my shoes to keep the snow out of my boots.  They worked perfect and it would have been a mess without them.  However, my boots did not cut it.  On the second day of hiking I noticed the bottom was coming loose, no big deal, they were working fine.  On the third day, I wore new thick socks and it was a warm day.  My feet must have sweated nonstop.  They were so stinky, I could barely wear them.  I aired them out over night, but on the snow day, they got soaked, through and through.  When we were preparing to catch the bus back to calafate, I knew I could not wear them.  I saw a store with some crocs, bought them and threw my boots away!

We are now back at the hostel, clean and tired.  We take a boat tour of the glacier tomorrow.

I love and miss you.  I can hardly wait to be in our bed together.  I hope everything has been ok?  It feels like I've been gone forever.  Cannot wait to hug the kids and you.