Ecuador #2: Summer CLO Trips

This Ecuador post is just a compilation of the places I have been able to go with my job at work. Every Friday for a month and a half, we took Embassy kids to really neat places

The Quito Zoo- 
My whole family decided to join me on this trip as my co-worker and I transported 25 or so people to the zoo and back for a day. It was pretty small but just perfect. The exhibits are close together and you're up pretty close to the animals (no US security measures) but the huge Galapagos bred turtles were awesome.

Enthralled with the animals

Just huge man..... huge

This sweet little girl was the beeest. She clung to my shoulders all day :)

Photo creds to my dad. It's like he's staring into my soul. 

The Yaku Water Museum.
 This activity was actually quite boring except for the bubble room but the view outside was incredible, so it just barely makes the list!

So dang pretty

Am-Em Foundation (Horseback riding in the valley)
We went horseback riding down in Tumbaco at a stable that often does therapy for disabled children by allowing them to ride and play with the horses. Gorgeous horses and learned to trot with no hands :)

Lets GO!

Startin'

No hands. 

You know? These kids were pretty cute. :)

Chocolate factory- Ferrero Chocolate Company. 

Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside so here are the only ones I have. But this factory is the ONLY producer of Tic Tacs in the world. We had to put on all sorts of safety gear and masks to not "infect" the goods. Ate waaaay too much candy that day but it was fun. Factories always fascinate me.

My mom, brother and I. 

Group shot (not like you can tell who is who)

Rock Climbing
I will admit that this was easily the most bratty group of kids out of all the trips. There was just an INCREDIBLE amount of attitude/complaining/cattiness. Sisters were insulting each other and wishing 50 foot falls on one another, others were mocking kids for not making it all the way up the wall, just not great moral in general. So glad it was one of the shorter trips! But I managed to take a turn up the wall. Way more difficult than it looks because it's real rocks. The second wall I did took WAY too long and my arms were dying but the guide spotting me was patient.

That's me :) 

Hacienda la Compania  + Rosadex Rose Farm  (My favorite trip)

Little did I know just how fun this trip would be when I went in to work that morning. This one wasn't a kid trip, it was an adult brunch and the drive was about an hour and a half but we had great participants so the conversation was fun. We got to the Hacienda (a really old Ecuadorian ranch) and it was so beautiful. The furniture was neoclassical french and there were tons of antiques everywhere. They fed us a delicious breakfast (shown below) and then we went to the rose farm. We browsed the packaging plant and they let us take home 2 dozen each! I have the most pics from this because I loved it so much! Everything was just gorgeous.

Fresh fruits, breads, and empanadas- absolutely delicious

Centuries old church on the property of the hacienda

Part of the show room. It was so gorgeous. Thousands of roses.

The logo on a shipment truck and our guide (co-owner of the Hacienda/plantation)

Packaged roses

Compilation :)

On the way back to the Embassy some people wanted to stop and buy coffee scone things :) This is me and my awesome two bosses.... Workin' hard, obviously. 

My "Sunset Delight" roses. Great day!!

So those are my adventures at work. So blessed to have had the opportunity to coordinate and assist with planning all these- and partaking in them!!

Ecuador #1: Quito in a Snapshot

I've decided to do some short travel blogs of my experiences in Ecuador. Essentially I'm just doing this to remember them and show people that I'm a prooooo photographer (not even close). When I get back from Ukraine in March of 2015, anyone is welcome to come visit in Ecuador and partake of the same incredible experiences!

Here is the first post: Quito in a Snapshot
I took a double decker tour bus around Quito the second week I got here and then again about a month later when the rest of my family arrived so here are pictures from both experiences. This city is quite gorgeous.

First stop: El Mercada and Itchibamba Park

Among the vendors of this market I found this adooorable girl dressed in traditional Ecuadorian attire. The lollipop was just too perfect. 

Reminded me of that arch in Paris

Next Stop: Basilica del Voto Nacional

This gorgeous Roman Catholic church is the largest Neo-Gothic church in the Americas. The stained glass inside was incredible and it still holds mass on the weekends. I didn't get to climb the

Basilica from outside. It's pretty massive. 

My favorite picture taken that day.

Every window had some sort of pretty design from a Bible story. 

This picture just can't do this incredible window justice...

Lovely stained glass. This is only one of 20 something. Just decided to spare you all 20 ;) 

Pretty big, right?

Up on second level

Smaller cathedral off the side of the basilica- also gorgeous. Wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, only from doorways. Somehow I feel weird taking pictures in people's places of worship though.....

Next Stop: Centro Historic (Old Town Quito- Street of 7 churches)

Outside each church on the street is a large stone cross- sometimes its called the street of 7 crosses

The courtyard of Centro Historico

This church was incredible. Gold plated walls (no pictures allowed inside, but if you google La Compania you'll see some)

The Next Stop: Panecillo (Angel of Quito)

This is the statue- rather pretty. We didn't go up the hill with the tour bus because we ran out of time, but I will some day.

View of the city from up higher.

Other Pictures of Quito from Other Days: Sometimes the weather just works and you can see gorgeous views of surrounding mountains/volcanoes:

This was our view at night while staying in the Sheraton before getting into our house

Increeedible view from the dentist- Cotopaxi Volcano

Cayambe Volcanoe- One of my favorite photos hence, it gets a big post ;) 

This city is incredible. Come visit me in 2015 :) 

Makeover, in more ways than one and secrets revealed about make-up

This is a kinda long post, but it's really important that you get all the way to the bottom... cause that's where the best part is.

Today I had the opportunity to go to the MAC store here in Washington and get a make-over. The actual make-over part was pretty fun, the lady was nice and taught me some techniques. As I looked at myself during the transformation I was in shock for two reasons:
a) It didn't look like me anymore- I mean it was, but it was starting to look more and more NOT like me and
b) I didn't realize that amount of stuff can go on one person's face.
We left the store a whole lot poorer, and with plenty of supplies to have a top class face. Here's what it looked like:

I spent the rest of the morning feeling like a rockstar but as I'd catch myself in the reflection of a mirror or something I still wouldn't recognize myself. As the day went on I felt less and less sure about my 'new look'. People said they liked it, and by the the all-knowing media's standards it looked 'great' but I just couldn't quite get past the fact that I had a bunch of stuff on my face. Now here comes the more personal part, which nonetheless I'm going to share cause it's pivotal to the story: An accidental comment from my mom later in the day pushed me over the edge. I was skyping with my sister and mother who are currently a few states away and as I was showing them what I'd bought, Kierstyn leaned over to her fiance and said "Don't worry, I won't ever drop a ton of money on make-up when we're married" and my mom said "Yeah, that's because Kierstyn looks pretty without it".

 Now by no means was that meant to insinuate anything- sometimes we just take phrases when we are feeling vulnerable and it 'speaks to us' or something. But here's the deal- it hit hard. I felt like I wasn't pretty without it, or had no hopes of being so. The 'likes' on facebook that were wracking up on the picture above weren't really helping to diminish that belief either. So, with the tears somewhat welling up in my eye-lined lids, and being the teenage girl that I am, I turned to one of my best friends. He's pretty much a no-nonsense guy when it comes to girl drama and made me come to the following realization:

Make-up, while it can enhance your look, should not be your look.

And with that I want to reveal how much work goes into looking like the me that is pictured above. They say a magician should not reveal their secrets but I think it's important to know that people don't just naturally look like magazine covers and photoshoped images (not that I'm saying I did, but, you get the point). My grandma took these originally so that I'd be able to remember what she did on how to get the look, but since I'm never going to use this much stuff on my face again, it's time to expose. He we go.. first, she started on the eyes.

For the eye shadow alone, she used about 5 different colors, paint pots, and highlighters. Then 2 liners, and mascara so we are at a total of 8 PRODUCTS.

Then she did the brow and she used a highlight and a darker color so now we are at a total of 10 PRODUCTS. 

Then she did the face. This is the most embarassing part to post, but people need to see it so... here we go. She used a primer base, then the cover up, then a mineral sheer, then a light rouge. Then she sprayed a set spray thing on... so that 4 products more. Now we are at- 14 PRODUCTS. You starting to see where I'm going? 

So after she started spreading it around I looked slightly more human, but only a bit. She added a contour line of blush and finished off with a face spray that evens out powders and whatnot so now 16 PRODUCTS.

She added a final lip color of 'Viva glam' lipstick and I was finished. With the use of about 6 different brushes and 3 baby wipes I was at a grand total of 25 VARIOUS THINGS used on my face to create the look you saw above. So after pouring over that comment from my mom a few times and talking to my ever amazing friends, I realized I shouldn't have gotten so caught up in all of this stuff. The facebook 'likes', 'comments' and messages I got about how I looked "so pretty" seemed ever so slightly superficial. I'll keep the profile picture up as a reminder but here's the bottom line.

Don't let make-up define you. I'll still use a bit of it, I still love what I got today, but never let someone put so much on you that it changes how you feel and look to such an extent that you have a major breakdown. As I scrubbed of the make-up today, and my tears mixed with my face wash I'm so grateful I had this huge realization. So, to anyone still reading this- love yourself for who you are. You can use make-up, but don't be afraid to love your face in it's naked and natural state, blemishes, glasses and all.