A little something extra before Manila-

I've dropped off the face of the planet recently. I know. Here's why-

YUP! Three Schniers are going to Manila! Over the past couple weeks we've been able to share the good news with family. Most received phone calls, but Dave's dad's visited Lima a couple weeks ago so Dave was able to tell him in person! We then traveled to Arequipa with them, which was delightful! Exhaustion and nausea hasn't been so fun and Arequipa was the perfect place to take it easy! (I'll have to do a separate post on that delightful city!) We told both Dave's mom and sister over the phone- we were pretty sure they both had figured it out weeks before and wouldn't you know it! They had! For my side, not only will this be the first grandchild but it will be the first great-grandchild on both the maternal and paternal sides, so we had to do something a little 'extra.' We sent my mom a book of baby quilt patterns- I can't wait to see what she's going to make! For my dad, we sent him a 'Best dads get promoted to grandpas' t-shirt then had him wear it to my grandparents' to share the news with them!

Our next OB appointment is next week- we're hoping for some new ultrasound pics! Here's what the chick looked like last time:

Teeny tiny but we got to hear a heartbeat before 6 weeks! We checked out the heartbeat again last week but no pictures that time :(

The chicken's expected the hatch around Oct. 1 making our move to the Philippines extra complicated! Here's how we think it's going to work:

July: Leave Lima in early July and fly to VA for a wedding (!!!) then head south for family time at the beach. We're stoked but mainly worried about Riley (the large orange cat) at this point. He doesn't travel so well...

August: Head for the northern east coast (where it's cooler) and get all the family time in that we can before Dave and Riley head to post. The day Dave's scheduled to depart is exactly 6 weeks before my due date- which means not only will State not give me medical clearance to go to post, no airline would accept me if they did. I'll settle in to Arlington for at least 12 more weeks (6 before, min. 6 after). I already have docs and a hospital there, so we're very comfortable with my staying put! Plus, that gives me so much more time to catch up with all the wonderful folks back home!

October: We're hoping the chick decides to take his or her time- showing up late and/or a long labor would give us the best chance of Dave actually making it back to DC in time.  In an ideal situation, transit from Manila to DC takes about 26 hours. Healthy is of course the top priority though! Dave will take as much time off as he can post-arrival, but will head back to Manila well before chick and I can.

November: At some point med will clear us to join Dave at post, at which point the only thing standing between me and my new home with be 3 flights and 26+ hours of transit with an infant!

So yeah! Lots happening in the Land of the Llamas and Schniers!

Book you ticket now for...

That's right, folks- we've decided to take the world on in alphabetical order! Next summer we're leaving Peru and heading off for a 3-year stint in the Philippines!!!!

R&R

Dave and I spent this year's R&R on a quick trip to the States for a couple weddings! It was a fast visit but packed full of family and friends- and we got to enjoy time with our families without any distractions. After Dave's cousin's wedding in D.C., he flew home and I flew up to Maine for a friend's wedding. And let me tell you- October is THE time to be in Maine! Somehow I failed to take pictures of the leaves turning colors, but their wedding pictures are going to be GORGEOUS!

I did however take a ton of pictures along the beach! Check out the Nubble Lighthouse-

And look how huge the beach was! And the tide's not even all the way out yet!

Kuelap!

Embassy Lima gets both American and Peruvian holidays, so our Labor Day weekend turned into a 4-Day weekend, thanks to St. Rose of Lima! We leaped at the chance to get out of dreary, foggy Lima and find some sun! We decided it was the perfect chance to go to Kuelap- and Dave wouldn't have to take any time off to do so! Kuelap is an ancient fortress in the northern Peruvian mountains from maybe as early as the 700s AD and Dave's wanted to go since he got assigned to Lima. We just never had the chance until now!
However, getting there is no picnic. First, we flew to Chiclayo and saw a (unrelated) ruins around there

and visited a fantastic museum- the Museo Tumbas Reales. The website doesn't give you half an idea of how incredible the collection is (and we weren't allowed to bring cameras), but the place to chock-full of gold artifacts.

From Chiclayo, we took a double-decker bus for 10 hours inland, through the mountains, to Chachapoyas. The way there wasn't too bad because we fell asleep before things got too hairy, thank goodness! (The return trip...not so much.) Chachapoyas was a nice, small town- cold weather but very friendly. We stayed at an adorable hacienda hotel, Casa Vieja (literally, Old House). The flowers were gorgeous!

From Chachas, we still had to drive for 3 hours to get to Kuelap, and then there was about a 30 minute walk!

But it was SO worth it! No travel guide does it justice- extensive ruins, HUGE walls, llamas, and it's practically deserted! We felt like we had the entire place just to ourselves!

We forgot sunscreen, so Dave pretended he was Lawrence of Arabia. I did not. One of us got terribly burnt and regrets that decision.

If you're interested in wedding photos...

you can find all of them here!
Enjoy!

One Month!

The last month has been so full of events, meeting people, and getting settled but the pace is happily slowing back down to normal. Single biggest factor in this is I got a job! Hopefully. I'm still waiting on final government approval (read: paperwork), but the American School here wants me to be their go-to secondary sub. Perfect!
So while I've been waiting for that approval, I've been meandering through the neighborhood. Miraflores really does have some charm! Check out these sister bugs-

And like any charming city, true function may be called into question-

That door (and the yard and house behind it) sits on the Malecon- I pass it frequently and find it completely intriguing!

There is always something happening- the orange cones mark a hole in which a man is completely submerged, shoveling out dirt. No one's with him, just a man, digging a hole, supervised by street art.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but across the Malecon from our apartment, parasailers launch! (It looks much better in the summer, I promise!)

Miraflores is full of comfy cafes! My favorite is La Mora- artisan breads, real chai tea, and the most chock-full of vegetables quiche I've ever had! I could spend every afternoon there with a cafe con leche and a good book!

Photo Blog

Our photographer recently blogged about our wedding! See it here!

It was so much fun reading through and re-living our wedding through the pictures- enjoy!