Madang!

Last Thursday, we left for a few days' of much-needed vacation in the PNG coastal town of Madang. Aden, Wiley, and Mommy flew with the other ladies and children on our trip (Radcliffes and some volunteers), and the trip was only 30 minutes; Daddy drove with the men and split a rough 10-hour drive into two days. As we boarded the airplane, Aden started talking, and he didn't stop until we got off the airplane in Madang. His initial question (of many) for Mommy was, "When are we going back to PNG?" And so the trip began.

We enjoyed pizza we didn't make ourselves, watched the sunrise, visited the ocean and swam in swimming pools (Mommy and Daddy went snorkeling, but the boys were still a bit overwhelmed by the ocean), waited in the car while Mommy shopped at the market and bought lots of pottery, enjoyed many meals in restaurants and a few at the guesthouse where we stayed, and went to a new church. Although Wiley did not seem too excited about swimming, Aden quickly overcame any past fears of the water and was soon jumping into the kiddie pools. He even learned how to say the name of the hotel with his favorite pool, "Jais Aben."

The boys enjoyed the time away, though a lack of routine was quite taxing by the end of five days, and we were all happy to be back home again by Tuesday evening. We recently discovered a new way to get multiple pictures onto a blog fairly easily (thanks, Meghan, for letting us steal your idea) . . . So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, Madang in pictures looks like this:


If you click on the image, you can take a closer look at the individual photos in the collage.