The Wallen Street Journal

What is a trip to Florida without sunsets? Here are some of our photos.

Last year's fishing trip was so exciting that the boys (and Bekah) had to do it again. It was an all day trip, from 9 to 5. They caught groupers and grunts, enough to freeze and take home to enjoy through the year.

Once again, we are enjoying the hospitality of Fernando and Jackie Diaz, Roberto's brother and sister-in-law, in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Rose and Michael were able to join us as well as Katie, Roberto and Celeste. We miss Tony and Rachel, but they were not able to get away. Nine of us drove down in the van, but we took two days for the trip. It was just a bit crowded, but fun nonetheless. The weather is exceptional, sunny but not too hot. The first few days were part of the Memorial Day weekend, so the beach was crowded. But the rest of the week should give us more room on the beach. Tom, David, Christian, Micah and Bekah went out on a full day fishing trip today, so I'll post the fish photos later. Below are some photos of our beach visits.

On Saturday, April 25th, Rose and Michael were covenantly united as man and wife in a most beautiful wedding ceremony and reception. We thank God for His provision and blessings on our families.

On Thursday, we headed back toward Los Angeles, arriving on Saturday morning. The weather was kind of cool, so we stayed indoors much of the time. Our conference sessions were refreshing and enlightening. However, the highlight of the trip was the people we met, both within the conference and just on the ship. In addition, living without a cell phone and internet was the key to a relaxing week. I'll post here some photos of our new friends.

This is a post for our cruise in February, though it has taken me until May to post it. Thus, the incorrect date. On Wednesday, we docked in Puerto Vallarta, a familiar city to us since we lived nearby for 5 years. However, the city has grown in the last 15 years. Just after docking, we took a shore excursion to an isolated bay south of Puerto Vallarta, that is accessible only by boat. SItuated at the base of a mountain and on the coastline, there is no road that reaches it. Along the way, we stopped and kayaked and snorkeled in a lagoon-like small bay. We also ate lunch on the catamaran. After go ing ashore, we hiked up into the mountain a little to view a waterfall. Nice spot, though full of tourists like us. The whole trip lasted about 6 hours. After returning to Puerto Vallarta, we went to a nearby mall to meet two of our best friends from Tepic, Flor and Pepe Zaragoza. We chatted for hours, catching up on 15 years of news. It was a heavenly blessing to be with them and...