We welcomed the Chalk Family to our home this week and could not have been more excited to see them after so long! It was so fun to hug and catch up and be in each other's lives again even for just a few days. They had traveled all night and were tired from being on the road. So we got them settled in for a nap and some time to catch up before we showed them all our favorite spots on the island.
First stop this week was a visit to Old San Juan and San Felipe del Morro. We don’t often make it into the fort and the historical sites so it was fun to walk around inside and see that old fort. So cool to learn about it and see how old the building is. It was a perfectly overcast, cool day to be able to walk around. We loved walking along the old walls, jumping from stone to stone, hiding in the secret caves, looking at the huge walls towering above us, looking out at the gorgeous view of the ocean, playing frisbee on the big open lawn, and taking in the salty air. Of course we ended up at Bari’s for pizza and Anita’s for gelato. How could we visit old San Juan without? It was a fun day showing the Chalks the old town.
The next day we had planned on a trip to Culebra and Flamenco Beach, but the high tide and rio current warnings kept us on the main island instead to try and avoid a seasick voyage on the ferry. We ended up on the north side at Mar Chiquita instead. It’s a pretty little cove of a beach that we’ve been to and love and wanted to try again. Turns out the high surf and Rio currents were all over the island and ended up at mar Chiquita as well! What a difference it was being there this time vs the last time we came in June. We found huge, crashing waves and the surf all the way up the beach past where we usually sit. It was crazy! But still so pretty and we had plenty to do even if we didn’t swim much. We climbed up the big rocky ledge that looked out over the north shore and watched the waves rolling in. It was so beautiful up there looking out at the endless ocean and then back at the cove that our beach was in. We could have stayed up there for hours. We eventually came back down and sat on the sand playing fresco ball and frisbee while we soaked in the sun. Liev climbed the palm tree and gathered coconuts for all the kids that wanted one. Somehow they got some of them open and drank the coconut water out of them.
We wandered over to the other side of the cove later on and found a small swimming hole where the water came in from over the rocks. The kids invented a game to see how long they could keep hold onto the rocks before the waves crashed over and got them wet. We all had a laugh as we watched them each get wet with waves they thought they could avoid and even some waves that drenched everyone sitting closely. It entertained those of us that were just standing and watching! Eventually one of those waves caught up with the boys that were standing there “taking it like a man” instead of running from it. Beck, Desh and Liev all got taken by a huge wave and knocked into the rocks bordering the sand. Lots of cuts and scrapes and one or two deep cuts ended that game and we bandages them up. It was an unfortunate end to a fun game with the waves! They’ll all be fine with no major injuries :)
Overall such a fun day at the beach! Mar Chiquita never disappoints.
We loved being with the chalks and just hanging out when we had some extra time. It was so fun to catch up and welcome them back into our lives for the short term. We loved seeing our table full of these people we love and didn’t want it to end. Rhen made her famous pina coladas one night, we visited the açaí bowl truck, played games, swam in the pool and watched the sunset every night from the deck. I think they settled into the island life rather well!
One morning we took them to Charco Frio and had fun jumping frim the rope swing and cliffs there. Their little ones all went down the slides and were so proud to be able to do something so adventurous.
We also made it over to Gozalandia Falls in San Sebastián and had such a fun day swimming in the fresh water and jumping from the cliffs there. I love this place for all the variety it has. Every age can do something here whether it’s just swimming or jumping off small jumps or climbing behind the water falls. And the older, braver ones can be more adventurous and jump off the tall cliffs and swim into the underwater cave. It was a really fun day to be there and I’m so glad we made it over to that side to do that with them!
Before they left, Mark made a few good things happen around the house! He knew we needed some fans put up in the garage and got right to it the last morning here. He and josh worked together and got them done so fast! Before we knew it all three fans in the garage were up and running. It is going to be so nice to have those especially in the warm summer months when it’s hot even in the evenings. Seriously so nice to have them done!!
We loved being with the chalks and just hanging out when we had some extra time. It was so fun to catch up and welcome them back into our lives for the short term. We loved seeing our table full of these people we love and didn’t want it to end. Rhen made her famous pina coladas one night, we visited the açaí bowl truck, played games, swam in the pool and watched the sunset every night from the deck. I think they settled into the island life rather well!
One morning we took them to Charco Frio and had fun jumping frim the rope swing and cliffs there. Their little ones all went down the slides and were so proud to be able to do something so adventurous.
We also made it over to Gozalandia Falls in San Sebastián and had such a fun day swimming in the fresh water and jumping from the cliffs there. I love this place for all the variety it has. Every age can do something here whether it’s just swimming or jumping off small jumps or climbing behind the water falls. And the older, braver ones can be more adventurous and jump off the tall cliffs and swim into the underwater cave. It was a really fun day to be there and I’m so glad we made it over to that side to do that with them!
Before they left, Mark made a few good things happen around the house! He knew we needed some fans put up in the garage and got right to it the last morning here. He and josh worked together and got them done so fast! Before we knew it all three fans in the garage were up and running. It is going to be so nice to have those especially in the warm summer months when it’s hot even in the evenings. Seriously so nice to have them done!!
They also got our microwave in the kitchen installed and we finally got to get rid of the small countertop microwave we’ve been using. I’m so grateful to have these two little projects done and so happy to have someone here that could help us!
We said goodbye to our dear friends and sent them on their way home. We have LOVED every minute of having them here with us and are so grateful that they made the effort to come visit. We love this family dearly and were so glad to get them back with us for a little bit.
The weekend was spent relaxing. And by relaxing I mean having a paper airplane flying contest from the deck upstairs. We flew hundreds of paper airplanes from up there and always tried to guess who made the best looking one, the one that could fly the highest, the longest and the farthest. Of course once dad joined in he won every category!
Saturday night josh and I headed back to old San Juan for the fiesta de Calle de San Sebastián or “Sanse” as people around here call it. It’s a weeklong party to celebrate the end of the Christmas season in Puerto Rico and is a HUGE gathering of all Puerto Ricans on the streets of old San Juan. There’s lots of art and jewelry vendors, food trucks, live music and people everywhere. It’s the party of parties here on the island and we wanted to witness it first hand! We had such a fun night walking around and people watching :) Every type of person and personality was there with something for everyone to do. It reminded me of what Mardi Gras might be like and we were happy to be a part of it for a couple hours. Once it started getting dark, the party crowd showed up and things started to get wild. We headed out pretty quick after that but were so glad we got to be there and have good food, good music and enjoy lots of people around us. Sanse 2023 seemed to be a huge success!
Sunday ended up being a great day for the Beutler family. We had been asked to speak in church and after prepping for a few hours during the week we were ready to get it done. I was so proud of each of the kids as they had prepared their talks on their own in English and then had josh hell them translate it to Spanish before Sunday. Each of them got up and read their own talk in Spanish and did so good! It brought tears to my eyes as I listened to each of them and contemplated how far we have come in the past few months. Of course we have a long way to go with the language still, but hearing each of my kids bare their testimony’s in a new language made me so proud. I felt the spirit so strongly as we all testified of our savior and the lessons we’re each learning every day. What a good day to remember and a great way to end the week!
The weekend was spent relaxing. And by relaxing I mean having a paper airplane flying contest from the deck upstairs. We flew hundreds of paper airplanes from up there and always tried to guess who made the best looking one, the one that could fly the highest, the longest and the farthest. Of course once dad joined in he won every category!
Saturday night josh and I headed back to old San Juan for the fiesta de Calle de San Sebastián or “Sanse” as people around here call it. It’s a weeklong party to celebrate the end of the Christmas season in Puerto Rico and is a HUGE gathering of all Puerto Ricans on the streets of old San Juan. There’s lots of art and jewelry vendors, food trucks, live music and people everywhere. It’s the party of parties here on the island and we wanted to witness it first hand! We had such a fun night walking around and people watching :) Every type of person and personality was there with something for everyone to do. It reminded me of what Mardi Gras might be like and we were happy to be a part of it for a couple hours. Once it started getting dark, the party crowd showed up and things started to get wild. We headed out pretty quick after that but were so glad we got to be there and have good food, good music and enjoy lots of people around us. Sanse 2023 seemed to be a huge success!
Sunday ended up being a great day for the Beutler family. We had been asked to speak in church and after prepping for a few hours during the week we were ready to get it done. I was so proud of each of the kids as they had prepared their talks on their own in English and then had josh hell them translate it to Spanish before Sunday. Each of them got up and read their own talk in Spanish and did so good! It brought tears to my eyes as I listened to each of them and contemplated how far we have come in the past few months. Of course we have a long way to go with the language still, but hearing each of my kids bare their testimony’s in a new language made me so proud. I felt the spirit so strongly as we all testified of our savior and the lessons we’re each learning every day. What a good day to remember and a great way to end the week!
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