Week 45 in PR and saying goodbye

What a week it has been.  So many emotions hit all of us at different times throughout the week as we knew it was our last week on the island and living at La Brisa.  I can't hardly believe the time is up.  Let's talk highlights first:

Just like any good sendoff should have, we were hit with a tropical storm warning for the island this week.  The path was super fluid and we didn't know if it was going to hit us straight on before we left or move south of us.  All we knew was we were probably in for some rain at some point and that's ok.  We can handle it.

Projects continue to be crossed of the list and little by little our master list is getting shorter!  We hung pictures and hung the map in the hallway to finish off our "favorite things" wall.  

The Flamboyans.  What can I say except they are making my every day a bit brighter just by existing!

Late night "dead man float" contest.

A last trip to Acai Express

And a ponytail on Keen with his long surfer hair

All great highlights of the week!

We had planned an overnight trip to Culebra to hammock on the beach and soak in a whole day of sun.  But the approaching storm threw off our plans and we opted out of sleeping outside in the rain.  Instead we took the day and drove north to Mar Chiquita and spent the day there.  It's a gorgeous little beach that is just stunning to look at and fun to swim in because it's like a cove surrounded by rocks except one small opening where the water comes in.  We couldn't have asked for a better day to spend doing nothing except enjoying ourselves in the sun and sand.  

The kids got to say goodbye to friends and teachers at summer camp and got cute notes and gifts from their friends.  We will never forget the kindness we have been shown and our love for these great people will always be a part of us.  Our kids have done better than I ever hoped they would at school and with friends.  It's all to do with the nature of the Puerto Rican people who are friendly, welcoming and loving by nature.  I hope some part of that has rubbed off on all of us and we get to take that back to Utah with us!





Saying goodbye is always hard and we felt it hard this week as we got to say goodbye to our branch that we have grown to love with our whole hearts.  They have been our family away from home and we have relied so much on them this year as we've been away from our own families.  We love them now just as if they were real family to us.  We'll never forget the weekly branch activities with boiled hot dogs specially made by Eudaldo, David with his big smile and hug every time we see him, Hermano Vasquez falling asleep in sacrament meeting (every week without fail), Hermana Loisa speaking spanish so fast we barely caught a word she was saying, Hermano Waldo and his endless positivity, Hermana Sonia's gifts for every holiday for every family, the Elders who have been such a big part of our life as they come and go, and everyone and everything else that is logged in our memory bank.  We will never forget.

Most of all, we got to say goodbye to our dearest and most incredible friends Laura and Carlos.  Not only friends but family as they just enveloped us and took us in from the minute we got to the island.  They are part of our every day and I'm not sure what we do without them in it!  Laura said it best though, "I know it's not goodbye.  We'll be in each others lives forever."  We sure will!  We love those two so much.  

Big D had to get some final growth pics of D Papaya and I can not believe how much it has grown in one year!  It's really remarkable.  

It felt like one last everything this week.  

One last service project (the boys helped put up a fan at the Vasquez house)

One last time at Planet Fitness

One last trip to Home Depot (literally our second home here)

One last plant to be put in the ground

One last dinner with Carlos and Laura

We wanted to take it all in before we left.  We tried hard to do it.

Of course there were projects to be done until the last minute.  We got our La Brisa sign in the mail the day before we left!  Just perfect timing to get it up as one of the very last things on our to do list.  We hung a few more light fixtures, took one last measurement on the wall (it's amazing how everyone has grown!), signed our own names on the wall, and spent our last full day in the pool! 

La Brisa has come a long way in the past two years and especially this year as we've lived here.  I had to make a collage of all of Josh's "darlings" and show how beautiful it has all turned out.  Really remarkable how far it has all come this year.  

The night before we left I showed the family a video I made of the whole year, from the day we left Utah to the last day here.  It was so fun to see the progress that has been made on the house, the yard and in ourselves.  Amidst all the memories and fun times and hard times, there was a lot of growth and learning too.  It was a fun time to reflect on what we've done and what we're going to take home with us.  What kind of people we are now because of the year we spent at La Brisa.  

At 4:30 am as we packed the car to drive to the airport, Rhen took one last look at the house and with tears running down her cheeks said, "Look what we've done."  Truly.  Look what we've done.  This year is one we will never forget.