July 2nd 2009....Max has finally made it to 7. Happy birthday little fellow. We'll miss the 6 year old in you, but look forward to meeting the 7 year old.

Our new Chilean friends Juan-Pablo and Jennifer invited us to their country retreat at Ralun, located on a beautiful stretch of coastline east of Puerto Montt. Winter has set in with a bad temper, and our 3 day stay was no exeption...it rained and rained. However, the English blood in JP and I came through when we decided to take a slow motor up the nearby river inlet to their natural hot springs. The huge washtub is built on a rickety wooden frame, and the photo shows the kids (Kila, Max and their friend Coulson) boiling away. The background looks to the north with snow capped mountains tucked safely behind the clouds. It was surreal with the rain splattering down and the volcanoes, thankfully dormant, brooding in the background while we cooked to a turn....all we needed were carrots and some salt.

This is Kila at work.....this is in the clubhouse which Kila and I dominate from 9 am to 1 pm weekdays...and she is much easier to teach than Max.