A Final Farewell from Slovenia!
July 12, 2024
Welcome back to our final ‘what are they up to in Slov’! We are sad this series is over, but we are SO excited to see all of you so soon! And hopefully be back for another summer🤍 Please enjoy hearing about our time at the lake!
We had been so tired from our time well spent in the Alps that our lake days couldn’t be more perfect! We woke up in our hostel that sits overlooking lake Bohinj, headed over to breakfast where the kids were super happy to find Nutella! Katie even made a Nutella sandwich! Then we packed up, and headed over to a rock wall to go rock climbing!! Luke and Peter were eager to head up first, setting the tone, then Annabel, Taite, and Katie flew up trying to beat their times. There is no way it’s their first time!
It was so hot that after everyone got the chance to ring the bell at the top we all walked across the street to jump in the lake before lunch. Lucas, Mae Mae, Katie, and Luke all enjoyed jumping in the refreshing water. Ginny, Grace, and Annabel were laying out trying to catch as many rays as possible. Peter had his GoPro and was catching lots of laughs! Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We headed to the vans and went to our favorite pizza place! Sumpter, Drew, and Foster all split 3 pizzas… and finished all 3! Lucas got his own and finished the whole thing too! You would have thought they hadn’t eaten in days😂. We all needed to be rolled out of there… Luckily, we had a little drive to Lake Bled so we could sit for a second. Once we arrived we parked the vans at Tito’s old summer lake house. Tito is the old Yugoslavian president! Then we walked through his yard and down to the edge of the lake and got in row boats! Yates was our fearless rower, who might need to join a rowing team after showing everyone up! Although Drew, Mae Mae, Ginny, Grace, and Peter’s rowing skills did give Yates a run for his money. Now our other row boat… they still need practice😂. At one point they had different people rowing with different paddles so they just kept going in circles and before we knew it Lucas put on a life jacket. He didn’t trust Taite and Luke. Then Annabel took it upon herself to become the row captain, and thank goodness she did. Not sure how they made it to the island but they did! We changed into bathing suits and jumped into the water! Grace and Mae Mae swam out to the buoy 🛟 just to show off their swimming skills. Yates was treading water for what seemed like forever! Not sure how he does that. Drew, Peter, Luke, and Lucas were trying different ways to jump in from the dock while the rest of the girls were laying out. It soon became time to hop back into the boats and row back to shore! If you could believe it Taite, Luke, Annabel, Lucas, Katie, and Foster’s boat had the most trouble making it back. But when they did, they came into the slip 90 mph and hit the side like the titanic. Don’t worry just a little whiplash and tons of laughs! We then headed into town to do a little shopping. Annabel, Foster, Taite, Luke, and Lucas found shirts from rip curl! They are so cute! Mae Mae got a few free samples of face moisturizer and perfume! Before we knew it, it was time for dinner. Our lunch was still on our minds so we all got something little like a soup, salad, some fries, or shared an appetizer. We decided to walk back from dinner again because it’s so close to our hostel! It was such a nice walk. We stopped by the lake to have Moonup! AND best part of the day, we ended Moonup and our day with running and jumping into the water fully clothed! It was so much fun and totally worth it!
We absolutely love waking up with a beautiful view of the lake! We got to have coffee looking out the huge windows overlooking the water. Drew was first to breakfast to make sure he got his juice and toast! We all got a quick coffee and toast and laced up our hiking boots to go on a day hike. Taite took the lead on our hike. It was a short hike up to a saddle that overlooked the mountain range we just came from, a full circle moment! Katie’s GoPro, Annabel’s camera, and Sumpter’s drone caught all the views. Once we got all the angles it was time to say goodbye to our little peak. Luke and Foster wanted to roll down the hill so they got to do that once we got a little bit closer to the bottom! About this time Annabel, Grace, and Mae Mae started frolicking through the fields. We soon reached the bottom where we left our vans. Then we changed out of our boots and went to the cute mountain hut at the bottom to get lunch! The girls got two cheese boards to start and the boys got meat stew. The cheese boards were definitely the move… when the warm bread came the boys started drooling! Soon after, our main dishes came. Not sure if Yates’s trout or Grace’s gnocchi took first place but they were both amazing! After lunch we were all ready for a nap. All the boys fell asleep on the drive back while the girls were belting quite a variety of songs😂.
Once we got back to our hostel, Yates, Katie, Peter took naps while Lucas, Annabel, Luke, Foster, Drew, Grace, Mae Mae, Ginny, and Taite went and hung out at the lake. Once everyone woke up we rented paddle boards and hopped on the lake! Lucas was bouncing between 3 or 4 different paddle boards while we paddled to a rock to jump off of. He ended up on Mae Mae and Ginny’s… they were struggling😂. Once we got there Grace and Annabel were first to jump and Ginny was trying to do a headstand on her board! Then Taite and Katie followed! We did hear thunder so we unfortunately had to start heading back. Luke and Peter won the race back to the beach and also to the showers! Then we all got clean and ready for dinner. While everyone was taking showers Foster was learning new tricks on the rope swing. He is fully prepared for a lake day back home to show them off! Then we all headed to a restaurant sitting on the edge of a valley so we had such an amazing view while we ate! We had another grill out style dinner that was SO good! The bread was put on the grill for a minute or two and it made it even better! We then headed back, had Moonup on the beach again, and ended the day with another game of charades. Luke, Drew, Yates, Peter, Grace, and Mae Mae won with flying colors! 3-1🏆 Mae Mae and Grace had the winning answer!
We woke up sad we were leaving our home at the lake. It has treated us SO well the past few days but we are excited to see Ljubljana! The city awaits us! A short car ride and quite the que, we arrived in Ljubljana! We couldn’t be more excited to see how the city life is! We grabbed all of our bags from the vans, threw them in the hostel and ran to town. We had to have lunch before shopping so we went to a local restaurant where a variety of pizza and pastas were ordered! Ginny, Mae Mae, Taite, Grace, and Annabel all got pesto ravioli… to DIE for! Peter and Drew split a spicy pizza and a calzone, something Drew had never had! Lucas got a pizza and some bread he shared with Luke, while Yates got a pizza! Foster and Katie got different pastas! We really had just about everything. When we finished up with lunch we hit the town. Lucas was in search of designer, Peter and Drew wanted Polo’s, Foster wanted a new hairdo, Yates and Luke followed the girls around Zara and to different souvenir shops. Everyone came out successful! We can’t wait to show you what we bought! After walking around we came back to our hostel, showered, and got ready for banquet! We have had the best time exploring Slovenia and we couldn’t be more thankful for this group!🤍
Now a final word from our sponsors,
Luke: sup,🥹 thanks for signing me up for Slav trip it’s super fun with everyone love y’all tootles🥸🤯👹!
Drew: Hey guys, thanks for giving me the opportunity to go across the pond. Love y’all and sometimes deuce.
Foster: what’s good fam learned how to do new tricks off of a rope swing and I tried some new foods too so thanks for the opportunity to go on this trip see you soon.
Peter: Hey fam, thank you so much again for the opportunity. This has been one of my favorite trips of all time. I could not thank you enough. Love you and hope to see you soon!
Katie: Oi familia! This Slovenia trip has been a once in a lifetime experience, thank you so much for this opportunity. I’ve met so many amazing people and visited so many surreal places here so thank you so much. Miss you and see you soon!!
Annabel: Hi mom papa milly! I would first like to thank you for the truly amazing experiences that you all have granted me with. I truly am so lucky. Trips like these really widen my horizons, making me mentally grow so much. Slovenia has been a once in a lifetime experience, the adventures that I have been able to do and the friends I have made. You really can’t ask for more than that. Milly I hope you have an amazing time In Maui! Love you all so!
Lucas: hi mom and dad, this trip was incredibly fun and I made a lot of great friends, like Peter who is a multibillionaire tea importer, Drew who advertises for m&m’s and makes trillions a year, and Luke who mines vBucks in the 9 figure range. In all seriousness the views were incredible and the activities were all fun. I am excited to see you guys.
Yates: Hi mom and dad. Thank you so much for this trip, I have had a great time and met some awesome people. We have gone all over and I have loved every second of it. I love you and can’t wait to see y’all again.
Grace: Hi mom and dad! This trip has been sooooo fun, and I’m so grateful for you letting me have this opportunity! Slovenia is super pretty and cool. I have met amazing people! Thank you so much and see you soon!
Mae Mae: Hey mom and dad thank you for allowing me to come on this trip!! I’ve had the best time in Slovenia and I can’t wait to see y’all so soon and tell y’all all about it! Thank you again love y’all💗💗
Taite: hi Madre and padre, I am sooooo thankful for this opportunity to travel to Slovenia with Moondance. Honestly, these trips are so much fun and such a rewarding experience. Each year I am realizing how lucky I am to be able to travel to so many cool places. Can’t wait to see you all TOMORROW and tell you all some awesome stories. Lots of love, Taite
Ginny: Hey y’all!! Thanks SOOOO much for the opportunity to come on this trip. It has truly been the best experience. It is one of the coolest places and I can’t wait to show y’all all the pics. The activities were also insane and I really couldn’t ask for anything more. Whole lotta love and see y’all soon🫶🫶
Thank you again for tuning in! We have loved every second of it!
Signing off,
Mapp and Sumpter
On Today's Episode of "What's Up in Slov"...
July 9, 2024
We are so glad you decided to tune back in to ‘what are they doing in Slov’! On this episode we are going to take you through our days trekking through the Julian Alps! Hope you enjoy!
We woke up super early, had a charcuterie board for breakfast, and hit the trails! We knew today was going to be long so our amazing chef at our camping spot packed us all lunches. We started our trek early and uphill but luckily we had our LODs to keep morale high! Foster took the front and Katie took the back. With their encouragement, the switch backs felt like nothing! Annabel kept us busy with fun stories and Luke started the alphabet game! Before we knew it we were going back down. We hiked to a dairy farm where there is a 23 year old who is running the whole farm by herself. She milks her cows and sheep then makes cheese. It was so good Foster had to get some to bring home! Not sure it will make it because we all keep sharing it, but there will be a good faith effort! Then we started on our journey to a snack break at a lake. Yates took the lead while we took a short walk to the lake! Once we got there we threw our packs off and took a snack break. Lucas has eaten almost all of his snacks at this point, good thing we can get more! Before leaving, Peter took the ukulele and tried to remember how to play by the bank and Ginny did her infamous headstand! This Alpine lake was beautiful! The water was so blue! After admiring it for a little while it was time to keep on keeping on so we continued upward. After lots of trail talks we arrived at some WW1 Italian bunkers to have lunch. It was so cool to see how they lived and tried to imagine ourselves back 100 years ago! While we were pondering we opened up our sandwiches! Of course no pickles for Drew and Foster but the pickles were Annabel, Mae Mae, and Grace’s favorite part! They were SO good! When we finished lunch we hiked along a ridge looking at the alps the WHOLE time. Taite, Lucas, and mapp got into so many interesting convos along the way to our first mountain hut. We were on relatively solid flat ground for the rest of the time. We eventually got to our hut, took off our shoes and got comfy! We had mushroom soup shortly after that everyone loved! Then we all took naps, some of the best naps yet. When we woke up it was time for dinner! Dinner was a sausage dog on a brioche roll with lettuce and a fun sauce. Another fan favorite! Shortly after we had Moonup at what seemed to be an old helicopter landing pad overlooking the mountain ranges that we had just crossed through. It was breathtaking. Tonight’s Moonup ended in a game of Rock Paper Scissors! Where you pair up and go against each other and if you lose then you join the winner’s team. It ended up being a heated match between Peter and Foster, and Peter came out on top! Before brushing our teeth and going to bed we sat and admired the view.
We woke up the next morning with sun shining through our windows! We got dressed for our day hike and went to breakfast. Breakfast consisted of eggs, bread, granola, milk, yogurt, tea, and coffee. Great way to start the day! We laced up and hit the trails. Our LOD’s of the day, Drew and Grace split the pack. Morale was high with Yates in the lead! Then we hit a stretch of uphill that seemed to go on forever… but don’t worry we were just catching our breath! Grace and Mapp were playing the plane game. It’s a riddle to try and figure out where you ‘end’ up by a series of travel plans. Katie, Luke, and Drew tried their hardest to try and figure it out but were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Annabel, Ginny, and Lucas were practicing their acapella. They sounded pretty good! Once we got to the top we took our packs off, grabbed a snack, and had a photo shoot! Ginny accidentally put her bag on top of an ant hill so Annabel helped her get all of the ants off. What are friends for? During his fiasco Peter, Foster, and Lucas were cracking up watching the time lapse Foster made on our hike up. Many many many pictures were taken, lots of snacks were eaten, and then it was time to put our packs on and head back down. We took a different way down than when we went up. Luke and Drew were giving us all history lessons on their favorite people! Who knew Drew knew so much about Napoleon? After a few more uphills and then downhills we ended up at a mountain hut really close to the one we are staying at, and had tea and coffee. Peter tried the Turkish coffee and ended up liking it much better than he thought! On the other hand, Yates tried it and still doesn’t like it.😂 Annabel and Foster put some (a lot of) sugar in their drinks which only made them better! We had a mini photoshoot and decided to head back towards our hut. When we got back lunch was awaiting us! We had a delicious veggie soup with slices of ham we could add into it. Out of all the soups, I think this was Katie’s favorite! After lunch it was time for naps, mafia, and poker. Not sure we had any winners in mafia or poker but there’s always next time! We did get into a heated game of BS where Mae Mae and Taite were down to just 1 or 2 cards before getting them all back. Before we knew it… it was time for dinner! We had pasta with carrots and beef or no beef depending on what you were feeling. Another one of our favorites… we just LOVE this mountain hut! Never want to leave! We had such an amazing Moonup followed by an intense game of charades where Grace, Annabel, Ginny, Yates, Lucas, and Mae Mae won! We then of course had to have another photo shoot, the lighting and views were perfect! The best way to end the day.
We woke up in our beautiful mountain hut overlooking the lake packed and ready to have another great breakfast of eggs, bread, cereal, coffee, and tea. Once we finished breakfast Katie, Mae Mae, and Annabel got their hair braided for our 3rd day of hiking! We started our hike with Ginny in the front with Yates and one of our guides leading us to our last mountain hut! We were up and down but mostly straight. Todays hike ended up being one of Taite and Drew’s favorites! During our trek Katie, Grace, and Ginny were playing 20 questions but it ended up being more like 45 questions😂. Luke, Drew, Peter, and Foster were in the back discussing their ideal days. Who knew so many people want to hunt and ski in the same day? We stopped for a snack break in a beautiful valley so we of course had to take jumping pictures! The girls got it quicker than the boys… Luke and Lucas were on a different count than the rest. We all said hi to the spirits, ate a snack, and continued on our way! We soon came up to another alpine lake that happened to be the lake our hut was on! We had been hiking for hours so it was time for lunch. We got macaroni with beef/veggies or sausage. Luckily we had time to take quick naps before our afternoon hike! Grace, Mapp, and Taite laid out in the sun while Yates and Sumpter were helping Peter learn new songs on the ukulele. We didn’t quite get to nap, but we did get to rest and lay down. Then we put on our hiking shoes and grabbed a water bottle! We hiked along a rocky ridge to another alpine lake where Annabel’s camera caught some of the best views. Super excited to see the pictures! It did unfortunately start to rain so we had to make our way back to the hut. It drizzled right until we got back inside then it started pouring. Such lucky timing! We also got to see a helicopter land on the pad, which was one of our coolest moments. We had similar food options for dinner that we had for lunch so most people got the same things. Dinner was really fun because we were finally all able to sit at the same table! After dinner, we had Moonup on a huge rock right on the edge of the lake outside our cabin. We even got to watch the sunset over the mountains. The clouds turned pink! We ended our day with mafia, led by Lucas, in our bunk room with everyone.
We hiked out the next morning after spending the night all bunked up together! We found out we have a few snorers but we all got a good nights sleep nonetheless. After a quick breakfast we put our socks and shoes on and started our hike out. Mae Mae set the pace in the front and Lucas took the end of the pack! We started our day with a steep vertical incline to the top of a ridge where Luke was killing it! The uphill was short lived because as soon as we peaked over the ridge and were downhill for the rest of the time! During this Sumpter created a song riff off where we just kept rhyming and saying fun song lyrics in the same toon! It definitely passed the time. We got down to another dairy farm and took a snack break! Yates has found a new love for frutabella bars. He has eaten at least 10 in the past 2 days… if he has another he might turn into one! After our quick break, we went to a little mountain hut to have a light lunch of meat and cheese. Taite’s favorite part was the cheese and Drew couldn’t get enough of the salami. We all made little sandwiches! Before strapping our packs back on Foster went to go herd the cows; he was pretty good at it too! We then were just ready to get down and take off our boots. So we made it down to the beginning of the trailhead in no time. During our last stretch, Grace, Annabel, Lucas, and Drew were all talking about their dream weddings/honeymoons/proposals. Before we knew it we were there! Nothing better than seeing those huge white vans after a long few days of hiking. We threw our bags in the back and hopped in! Sadly to Mae Mae, Taite, and Grace we didn’t have enough service to listen to Zach Bryan’s new album… but don’t worry we ended up listening to a few songs before bed! Once we got back everyone decided to jump in the lake before showering, and it was SO worth it! Then we took our first showers in four days! Lucas was definitely the most excited. Before dinner everyone piled into Foster, Drew, and Peter’s room to hangout and debrief our four days in the Julian Alps! After lots of soups and stews we finally went to an amazing burger place for dinner. Peter and Luke said they have never had a better burger. Everyone was in the clean plate club! Katie’s chicken sandwich was almost as good as Drew and Mae Mae’s pulled pork sandwich. While Foster was eating 3 burgers, Taite and Lucas were eating the best onion rings of their life! Lucas might get stopped by customs on the way back because he’s smuggling them back😂. Before Moonup we had to walk to our favorite gelato shop right on the lake! We got a mix of fruity, chocolaty, and nutty! Because we were already by the lake we decided to just have Moonup on the beach on the lake. Ended with a game of family, where Yates ended up winning it all! Then we took a walk back to our hostel, hung out , and got a good nights rest!
We are so glad you decided to tune back in to ‘what are they doing in Slov’, hope it was everything you wished for and more! We can’t wait to tell you more in person!
Come back soon to hear about our time at the lake! (and maybe another word from our sponsors)
Talk soon!
Mapp and Sumpter
Checking in from Slovenia!
July 5, 2024
We are happy to announce we all made it in one piece! All flights were on time and smooth sailing. Katie, Grace, Taite, Lucas, and Annabel arrived a little bit before Luke, Mae Mae, Yates, Peter, Drew, Foster, and Ginny.
We started our adventure by having breakfast in Venice, then drove to Slovenia for lunch and had dinner in Croatia at our campsite! Not many people can say they had three meals in three different countries in the same day. Once we left the airport, the girls’ van (the better van) jammed out to Morgan Wallen while the boys lost their fight to jet lag. That was solved for a short time when we stopped for lunch. Everyone split margarita pizzas! Katie loved the crust, and Foster liked his so much he got another one! He wasn’t the only one to eat a whole pizza—Lucas did too! Apparently, the airplane food really is as bad as everyone says… good thing we had Za! 🍕 After lunch, everyone had fallen asleep except Annabel, who was the only one to make it the whole car ride without dozing off! She needs to get a prize for that one! Before we knew it, we were at our campsite in Croatia… and that meant it was time to throw on a bathing suit and jump in! We are right on the Adriatic Sea! The girls were the first in and then convinced the boys to join in a game of Marco Polo! Peter couldn’t believe how salty the water was. After drying off, it was time to check out the showers. The water pressure is insane! Once we were clean, we all sat down at a table and had dinner. Some people had burgers while others had chicken with veggies or fries, and Lucas got pad Thai! It was a great first dinner at our campsite. We ended our first day all together with Moonup, sitting next to the water, and new merch!
We woke up ready to kayak! We all got up, brushed our teeth, and ate breakfast before our short drive to the cove. We had to play our guide’s favorite song, “Try” by Pink, to get pumped for our day on the water. Once we parked, everyone jumped out of the vans, unwillingly put on sunscreen, filled up their waters, and grabbed two bananas. It was two people per kayak, so each pair only needed one dry bag! We had a quick safety briefing and then we were ready! Annabel and Yates took the lead! Foster, Luke, and Katie fell victim to the big fish we saw so close to our kayak. The water was so pretty we just had to jump in, so we kayaked to a cove and got out. It was time to go cliff jumping! We all jumped in and swam into Pigeon Cave! To get in, we had to swim through a little passageway and then we popped up inside! We even got to climb out at a little part to look out a hole. Ginny, Mae Mae, and Katie were admiring the view! Then we jumped back in and swam back under and through the passage. We decided to stay a while to go cliff jumping! Luke went first, just to show everyone how it’s done. Then Lucas started teaching everyone how to do a 360 spin! Not sure anyone was able to do it as well as he was. While he was teaching the boys, the girls were laying out on the rocks just hoping to be as tan as Ginny! Sadly, we couldn’t stay all day, but we were excited to get back in our kayaks. Before we headed back to the cove, we attempted a pyramid… the boys were successful with Foster at the top! As for the girls… they were sadly not as successful. A few chicken fights also broke out, and the reigning champion was Peter!
After all of the jumping and swimming, it was time to go have lunch! We jumped back in our kayaks and saw some HUGE fish on the way to our cove. Our lunch spot was a short five-minute drive to a beautiful farm. We sat outside overlooking green fields of fruit trees, chickens, and even a talking parrot. Annabel tried to talk to it, but I’m not sure he was listening to her. Our lunch consisted of a variation of pastas, meatballs, and pizza! It was SO good! After we ate, we went to a different cliffside to do some more laying out and jumping. Grace and Ginny went straight in, and Luke has almost mastered the death dive! Don’t worry, it’s just when you jump in with your feet and hands together. You will have to get him to show you! Peter and Katie started making rock towers, then moved into a cave to continue making them, but this time Peter had a surprise waiting for him! The sun wore us out, so we headed back to camp to shower before dinner. The water is so salty you can feel and see the salt crystals; Yates might be the only one who loves the way it makes his hair feel! We were all showered, ate dinner, and had an early Moonup because Slovenia was playing in the Euros! Our LODs Lucas and Taite came up with such a fun way to close out Moonup… we played HOT POTATO! Grace was our winner! Because it was still light outside, we had to have a rock skipping competition/lesson. Luke was a pro while Lucas ended up hitting Katie. After lots of laughs, it was time to join Peter to watch the Slovenia Portugal game! If it weren’t for him, we would all have been lost. We learned so much and all decided to get matching jerseys if we can find some! We have faith that once we get to Ljubljana, we will have the opportunity. After overtime, it was time to do PKs, and Slovenia sadly didn’t win, but we had the BEST time watching the game with Slovenians! Such a cool experience! It was late, so we went to bed to try to get a good night’s sleep!
We woke up the next morning well-rested; Foster even got a little extra sleep this morning! We packed up all of our things, said goodbye to our Croatian beachfront campsite, and got excited to get back to Slovenia! In the car ride to our cooking class, we figured out Drew has amazing music taste. We drove through the countryside of Slovenia, passing vineyard after vineyard. Then we came into the wine country region they call the “Tuscany of Slovenia,” and let me just tell you… it was breathtaking! We climbed all the way to the top of a lookout tower where we could see Italy, Croatia, and Slovenia! Drew was trying to get anyone to jump for $20; thankfully, no one took him up on his offer. Katie was making sure to get all the views on her GoPro, while Ginny got them on her camera! Before heading to our beautiful vineyard to cook, we played a quick game of birdie on a perch! Annabel and Katie fought hard but ended up losing to Foster and Yates. They were planning out their moves!
We then drove a few minutes to our lunch spot! We split up into teams and started cooking. Ginny and Lucas were on peeling/cutting peaches duty, Mae Mae and Yates peeled potatoes, Katie and Peter cut the ham and chicken, Taite and Drew made the pasta, Grace and Luke cut the veggies, while Annabel and Foster made the pie dough for our peach pie. All the teamwork made our lunch the best one yet! Our lunch conversations consisted of trying to figure out the size ratio of an ant’s perspective of a fridge to ours. We came to the conclusion it was 300 feet taller than the tallest building in Dubai. Don’t quote us, but we are pretty sure NASA is about to reach out, so don’t be surprised if we are on the news soon. We also snacked on a few sour wine grapes (that were very much not ready). Not sure Lucas will ever be trying those again. After our four-course lunch, we took a few more pictures and hopped in the vans to head to our new campsite! One of our favorites! Once we got here, Katie, Annabel, and Foster went on a little hike down a path that ended up leading to a restaurant. When they came back, we all hung out until dinner. Dinner consisted of “perfectly seasoned” chicken according to Taite, a corn coleslaw, and Katie’s new favorite potatoes. We washed everything and grabbed little chairs each of our tents had and formed a circle for Moonup. Before we started, there were beetles flying around what felt like everywhere… but don’t worry, Foster and Yates were there to kick them, and Annabel punched one clean out of the air! It was really impressive! Moonup was amazing, and we ended with a few rounds of broken telephone. Quite a few of us had never played before, so it was something new to close out our day with!
We woke up the next morning to one of our favorite breakfasts yet! Egg and slices of ham on toast. A few people even got seconds! Ginny and Taite tried the cornflakes and loved them! Although it was a bit chilly, we threw on bathing suits and went to the river. It’s canyoneering time! We made little backpacks with our wetsuits and started our hike. Yates was running up the hill! He was so quick we made record time! When we got down to the canyon, we all took a drink out of the water and then struggled to put on our wetsuits. Who knew putting on a wetsuit would be so hard after sweating? After lots of pulling and tugging, everyone was ready! Yates took the lead! Peter was admiring the views and trying to get the perfect picture for his first-ever Instagram post! Lucas was back showing everyone up with his 360 moves, while Luke was trying to be his spirit animal… a penguin. He was pretty successful! Annabel was killing the rappelling, and Foster was baptizing everyone. 😂 We had such a good morning, but we were ready to get warm! Once we got back to the shop, we changed clothes, and Mae Mae even found a hair dryer on the girls’ side, so we were all trying to dry our towels. We slowly started warming up, but lunch really helped! We came back to camp and had pasta with veggies and beans. Then we laid in the sun, played ping pong, volleyball, and Ginny was showing everyone her headstand! Annabel and Taite took naps while Mae Mae and Grace stayed at the same table the whole time and just got a new wave of people every 30 minutes! Foster, Drew, Peter, and Luke were trying to read the girls’ books but didn’t enjoy the rom-com plot. Once everyone woke up, we decided to have a group volleyball game! With Foster and Drew’s height duo, they were unstoppable. Yates, Peter, Lucas, Luke, Ginny, and Katie did put up a good fight! They just couldn’t beat Mae Mae and the boys at the net, with Annabel, Taite, and Grace in the back being the best servers out there! We played for hours before eating chicken and dumplings soup for dinner! We also had a surprise of pancakes with Nutella and orange jam for dessert. We then watched the sun go down as we had Moonup and played musical chairs in the mountains.
The next morning, we woke up ready to party like the RED, WHITE, AND BLUE!! We are wishing everyone back home the best 4th! ❤️🤍💙 We woke up to “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” by the one and only Toby Keith. The best way to wake up if you ask us. We got dressed, had breakfast, and headed to our white water rafting launch! It ended up being the same place as our canyoneering spot. We all hopped out, grabbed wetsuits, and hit the water! It was overcast, but that didn’t stop us! Luke and Lucas were the first ones in. Now whether that was willing or not is still up for debate… but everyone ended up going down our raft slide we made. Lots and lots and lots of tricks were attempted; only a few were able to land them. Foster and Grace being a few of those! Peter slid down on his knees like Elvis; he could’ve fooled us! We also ended up climbing up onto a huge rock and jumping off! Mae Mae, Ginny, and Grace take the cake for best right-side paddlers. Once we were done jumping and going through all the rapids, we had to carry the raft up a hill… let me tell you that was the hardest part. Drew was so tall in the back it was hard to keep the raft from bobbling around on Katie and Mae Mae 😂. We were a bit chilly, so we changed out of our wet clothes and went back to camp for lunch! We had the BEST mushroom risotto that might have been Yates’ favorite meal up until dinner. Everyone finished their plates and some! After lunch, we got a briefing for our trekking that starts tomorrow! We all went to pack up so we can be ready to hit the road in the morning. Then we were surprised with a river afternoon! With a bunch of snacks, cookies, Oreos, gummy worms, and of course coke and sprite! We had to celebrate the 4th somehow, so why not on the water with all your new closest friends, face tats, and good music? It was definitely our favorite afternoon! Luke was teaching people how to skip rocks, Lucas was drawing pictures on people, Katie was finding the best rocks to draw on, Annabel and Ginny were reading and tanning, Peter was learning to juggle, while Taite, Mae Mae, and Grace were educating everyone on the wonders of the 8 passengers. What were Drew, Yates, and Foster doing? Having a rock-throwing competition! If you ask any of them, they all won 🏆
After an amazing afternoon in the sunshine, we headed back to camp for our last showers before hitting the trails in the morning. You can’t have the Fourth of July without a little cookout… so we all took turns prepping and grilling everything! Lucas, Katie, Annabel, Ginny, and Peter cut all of our veggies. Luke and Yates were our grill masters! Yates said this was his favorite part of the whole trip (thus far) because he loves grilling back home. Mae Mae and Grace did the potatoes and bread, and the bread was so good we almost made them go make more! Taite was helping pull everything off the grill while also getting chased by the smoke of the fire 🔥. Drew had to make sure everything Taite pulled off wasn’t poisonous, so he was our taste tester! Foster grabbed the camera and started capturing all the moments! Excited to see what he got! It was so much fun to have a cookout on the Fourth surrounded by some really amazing people. Lastly, before Moonup, we had one last surprise… S’MORES!!! We still had a fire going that was the perfect temperature to get all of our marshmallows that perfect golden brown! It was the best way to end our 4th in our home away from home 🤍
Thanks for tuning in to the first episode of “What Are They Doing in Slov???” There is so much more to come, so keep checking back in with us while we take you through our trip in the Alps!
Mapp and Sumpter
Peter:
Hey mom and dad,
I hope y’all are having a great time in Colorado. Slovenia is awesome and so much better then I could have imagined. Don’t worry though because I have watched almost every game of the euros so far. Foster is doing great and it’s good to see him again. Last thing I want to let you know is I might pay for the Wi-Fi on the plane to watch the finals. Hope to see you soon!
Love, Peter
Katie:
Oi Mae and Papi,
Slovenia is extremely beautiful and I’ve made amazing friendships and bonds on my trip so far. Escalate hasn’t fully prepared me for how strenuous trekking has been but my mentally toughness and strength is getting me through the hikes. I’m looking forward to the lake we will be spending three days at, which is where we are going next. I’m still alive and miss you guys and Cherry a lot. Te amo!!
Love, Katie
Yates:
Hey mom and dad,
I’ve been having a great time and am in the middle of our 4 day hike. Slovenia has been awesome and I’ve gotten to do some great things like cliff jumping. I love the people I’ve met and can’t wait to go home and see y’all again
Love, Yates
Taite:
Hey family!
I’m having an amazing time here in Slovenia- we are in the middle of our trekking journey now and it’s sooooo pretty with the views and flowers (: I can’t wait to hear all about Fraser’s time at BCO and your travels too, I really hope you all had fun. It’s been really nice to disconnect and cleanse from the electronics, especially this year after Spain. Can’t wait to see you so soon and be home for good- give the animals a biggggg hug for me. I loveeee and miss you 🤩💗!!
Drew:
Hey mom, dad, and deuce, Slovenia is pretty cool but I think I’m liking Croatia more as of right now. We’ll see about the second half of the trip. I’m a big fan of sausage now and I think I’ll be fine on basketball. I hope y’all are doing well and going to the lake. Party platform a little and know I’ll be hiking. Love, Drew
Ginny:
Hey fam!! Absolutely LOVING Slovenia, it’s so so pretty. We’re currently trekking for 4 days and then going to a lake before headed back. Can’t wait to hear about New Zealand and what else y’all have been up to. Miss y’all!! Lotta love, Ginny💗💗
Lucas:
it’s very fun. I like it but hiking is tough. Lots of fun too. PLEASE GET ME THE DROP ON INSTAGRAM BY BASEMENT LA BLUE JORTS SIZE M THEY ARE AWESOME. Might need a tighter belt for them because they’ll be very baggy . Excited for Europe with da fam. Lots of fun too btw. 😁🔥🇸🇮😏🤣😂🥰
Luke:
Hey Mom and Dad, doing pretty well. Hiking ain’t that bad love y’all, be safe.
Mae Mae:
hey mom and dad I’m having the best time in Slovenia!! The views are gorgeous and I love my leaders and everyone in my group! Hope y’all are having fun! Love y’all💗💗
Grace:
Hi! I’m having a great time in Slovenia. It is super pretty here! I love my leaders and my group! See you soon!!
Foster:
I am having a lot of fun and everyone is nice and cool. I am struggling a little with the soups we keep having but it’s fine cause they have bread. The hike we did yesterday was long but I was fine and stayed in the front. The hike today was hard and at one point we were just walking vertically up a mountain so that was fun. See you soon!
Annabel:
Hi mom papa and milly! Miss you all lots! Slovenia is amazing, we are currently trenching through the alps which is so beautiful. Miss you all and can’t wait to tell you all about my trip! Love you!
Safely in Slovenia!
June 30, 2024
Hello Slovenia Families!
All students have landed safely in Slovenia and the group is excited for kayaking tomorrow! The trip is off to a great start and we can’t wait to share more updates from their adventure.
-Moondance HQ
