Matt and Becki Dillingham

So Becki did lots of exciting flying in America...

....... what did Matt and Bethan get up to you might (but probably won't) be wondering?

Our first 2 weeks were spent staying with my uncle Kit, Angie, Joe, Ivan and Katherine, plus Trapper the dog and Juliette the cat. Being school holidays it was great to spend time with them. Bethan and I took trips down-town on the bus, visited a water park, children's museum and fairground among many other adventures. We loved Portland and had great fun seeing family and meeting new people there.

A short flight over to Nampa in Idaho and we settled into our MAF studio appartment, which would be home for 4 weeks. Becki had a busy schedule of groundschool and flying but we weren't allowed to be passengers (something about making the aircraft too heavy to take off again from the short strips) so Bethan and I made a 4-week plan. I found the only 2 places of interest in Nampa to visit (children's play centre and the most awesome water park) while Bethan thought time would be best spent in the sandpit or being pushed around the block on a variety of toddler-sized vehicles by her Dad.

So week 1 in Nampa meant I finally had to get behind the wheel of the car (smallest available was a 7-seater), which was a scary experience. It probably didn't help that the road I chose to drive on (Happy Valley road) was used by Becki's flying instructor to illustrate how we have to manage risk in everyday life. Anyway, Bethan and I did successfully get to our destination and I'm glad we did as it was a toddler paradise with a race track, pretend shopping and slide, which we went on again and again...and again!

Lakeview water park was going to be our second home as far as I was concerned, with the temperature in Idaho being consistently in the 30's. Exact temperature unknown as the Americans use Fahrenheit, which I believed (and taught Holsworthy students) to be extinct nowadays! Unfortunately, mid-August signalled the end of summer season and a few days into our stay the pool closed so that was a blow! Our studio appartment had a sink however, so Bethan did get to do plenty of splashing around!

Fortunately, Bethan didn't just have me for company, she made great friends with Adah and Laron and looked up to the older kids with awe. Many an hour was spent in the paddling pool, giant sandpit, on a trike or running away, squealing in delight when an older child came round on a scooter who was (albeit unknowingly) chasing Bethan! Usually tired out after lunch (or on one occasion during - photo below), Bethan would have a nap and I would hone my domestic skills ready for being a house-husband in Africa. Cooking was a bit hit and miss, with the rice pudding hitting the floor and smashing its glass bowl being a low-point. After that I gave it a miss and made myself useful by catching up on the new football season via the web!

Living next to the airfield meant that Bethan quickly developed a love of aeroplanes. We went to the hanger to watch Becki take-off one morning and from then on, Becki was told in no-uncertain (sign-language) terms, that she should (at all times) go up in the air. Equally, all overhead aircraft were told to land at Bethan's feet so she could have a go. Being co-pilot in the simulator wasn't enough to satisfy her!

We were kindly taken out to Snake river by Becki's instructor, Tim and his family for a lovely evening. I was glad to see a little more of Idaho than Nampa, which was a very disappointing city compared to Portland! We spent a few hours one day hopelessly looking for an interesting feature of the city but alas, it hasn't yet been built!

One thing that Idaho does well is rain, it didn't happen often but for a couple of days we had fantastic storms, giant raindrops, hail and the most beautiful double rainbow I've ever seen. We watched this unfold from our apartment, another downpour coincided with our visit to Jump Creek to see a waterfall. It was great fun but we all got soaked.

All too quickly, our time in Nampa came to an end and we said farewell to our MAF neighbours. We felt that it certainly wouldn't be the last time we saw most of them even though they are now travelling all over the world to begin life as missionary families. Before travelling back to England, we took a few days to visit some of Becki's friends in Vancouver, stopping in Seattle on the way. We had a great few days socialising, relaxing and sight-seeing in a beautiful city.

Bethan slept for most of the 6 hour drive back to Portland, clearly worn out from all the excitement of her American adventure.