Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 11

Today Josh and I took some time to get our washer and dryer working. I am determined to no have to take clothes to the laundromat again but we’re getting close! The huge pile of laundry is getting bigger as the hours pass! 3 trips to Home Depot, a man with a saw and a little patience and we finally got it figured out. And wouldn’t you know…now that we can actually wash clothes, we have no water. Go figure. It’s been out for hours today and I’m hoping that sometime during the night it will magically come back. Crossing our fingers for that one. 

The roof crew got done with the clean up part and pressure washed off all the debris that was laying around from the removal of all the junk up there. Now it looks all nice and shiny and ready for the next step!

We had some down time in between Home Depot runs and the rain outside forced us in, so we passed the time playing games and cleaning up a little around the house. 

Tonight we had the sister missionaries over and had such a fun time! Cute sisters with lots of love and personality and we loved getting to know them better. We had tacos and fruit and after they played a game with us and taught us a lesson about the apostasy. So fun to have them in our home!

And…we finished up our first book tonight! The boys and I have been reading every night as finished the first book in our series. 3 more to go and I’m not sure we’ll make it through all of them, but we’ve gotten a good start!

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 10

Today I took the kids on a “road trip” to the north coast of the island. We’ve been on a road trip every year for the last several years so I thought it might be fun to do a mini one this year and explore some new places. We typically stay in the east side when we come to PR so this was new for all of us. We packed our cooler, threw the boogie boards and snorkel gear in the trunk and squished into the car Puerto Rican style and took off!  I had Liev and Keen double buckled up front with me and the other four in the back. It was tight but totally fine. We drove to the furthest place on our list first and made our way back from there. It was about an hour and a half drive and at first the kids complained that it would be too long. But we got some good music going and we laughed and joked our way to the northwest side and before we knew it we had arrived. 

Our first stop was a spot called Pozo del Bispo. It was a pretty little spot with a lighthouse on the hill and a perfect swimming hole made from an inlet of water surrounded by rocks. The kids had a great time snorkeling here and saw lots small swordfish here. The rocks made the perfect surf break and I thought the waves crashing along the rocks made for a gorgeous background. There was a local guy spear fishing and he had a whole line of octopus that he caught. He said fresh octopus is one of the most delicious things to eat so I promised myself I’d try it sometime soon! We hiked up the hill a bit and saw the incredible coastline with jagged rocks all along the way and waves crashing over them. So pretty!

At lunchtime we headed back to the car and had sandwiches and chips for lunch then drove back along the coast and enjoyed the scenery along the way. The beaches up here are much more rough and jagged with rocks but absolutely gorgeous! We stopped at one spot hoping to get some boogie boarding in but realized within the first five minutes that it was just too rough for our group of smaller people. The beach itself was sandy all the way but the waves crashed in hard and dropped off deep not too far from the shore. I think it might be a perfect spot for surfing but I’m no expert :) 

Rhen found a little mossy friend inside her swimsuit once we got back in the car and Waa Waa sunbathed on the dashboard We saw some cute towns and houses as we drove and also stopped for a quick picture at the “Birth of the New World” monument that commemorates the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage. It was a huge monument and the boys said it looks like a pirate ship, which I agreed with. But we couldn’t find the road to get up there so we opted for a quick pic along the side of the road.  There was a moment as we were driving that I almost pooped  my pants. Literally. Remember…I have all six kids in the car with me. So 7 people in a 5 person car. Totally jammed in. So, I’m just driving minding my own business and switched lanes in front of a big van that had lots of different logos all over it. I didn’t think anything of it when we passed it. Immediately the van let out a little siren like honk at me and flashed the lights that were on top. A cop! At least I was sure it was in that moment. I pushed keens head down and yelled to the kids to hold still. I pulled off to the side of the road, resigned to the fact that I was going to jail that instant. The van pulled past me and just kept driving. Rease and Rhen quickly pointed out that the van was a junior college advertising van and not a cop at all. We had a good laugh and I’m sure the guys in the van laughed too knowing that they got me good and scared…

We made our way to one of the most picturesque beaches I’ve seen called Mar Chiquita. It was a stunning cove of a beach with a rock ledge almost all the way around that made for great swimming, snorkeling and sea glass hunting. We LOVED this place and spent the next few hours here just absolutely enjoying ourselves and scorching our white skin. I tried hard to keep enough sunscreen on but in the end we all got a little crispy. This place. Gorgeous. 

We left Mar Chiquita and drove about 45 minutes back to San Juan where we met up with Josh for dinner and walked around the fort in Old San Juan. This big field is one of our favorites to watch the sunset and play on the enormous field. We brought the frisbee with us and played for a while until we were all tired and ready for our beds. 

I love these little people that are my companions in all the crazy that we want to do! I’m so grateful that they go along withy ideas and plans and have a good time doing it all with me! And Josh…no words to describe the man by my side through this adventure. He’s. The. Best. 

Successful road trip in my book! 

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 9

We’ve gotten into a routine around here. Mornings start out early as josh and Rease and I have been going to the gym at 5:00 and trying to be home by 6:30 to get the day started before it gets too hot. We have Spanish study and scripture study and then sometime during the day the kids work on their school workbooks. (Something I bought so I could have some downtime for a few minutes while they do their “studying”. It works amazing! Ha!) They each do 5 pages and then once they get them passed off they can be done for the day. So cute to see them all studying and reading. 

The roof project is in full swing and they work hard I’m there. There’s lots of tar and debris falling down from there and I can tell the progress is being made! While they worked on the roof we took some time upstairs to take some old shelves off the wall and haul the wood out. We also swept out the standing water and keep hoping that the water from there doesn’t leak into our part of the house down here. So far it hasn’t. The kids worked hard taking out nails and learning how to use a crowbar to remove wood. They also told me that there was a huge “hornet wasp” on the floor in the bathroom and had me come look. I guess they haven’t been exposed to cockroaches enough in their life to know what one is when they see it. They’ll figure it out before the end of the trip I’m sure…

After we worked we all sat around the empty space upstairs and each took a turn talking about their idea of what the space should be like when it’s finished. Liev wants a pool table, Keen described in detail what the kitchen should look like (of course), Rhen wants bright colors on the walls, Rease said we should have hammocks hooks in all the rooms, Beck wants a TV in the kitchen and Desh just said that he’d at least like to have the floor all cleaned up. All good ideas that we will definitely take into consideration. I love this dreaming stage that we’re all in! So fun!

After lunch Josh had some work calls to take care of so the rest of us loaded into the car and took off for Home Depot and Walmart. Let me tell you how we roll here in PR…with two small cars and only me as a  driver when Josh doesn’t come with us, we just slam into one car and double buckle all over then place. It’s amazing. And then when we shop and have stuff to try and fit in as well…now that’s when the fun begins! We bought paint and barstools, squeegees and groceries. And a bunch of other stuff. And managed to fit us and all the rest of our stuff in with us. We deserve a medal. 

Tonight we walked down to the baseball court and played until the sun went down. I wish we could get the lights turned on and play into the night, but no luck. I told Josh that we should clean the court up and invite all the neighbors for a basketball tournament one of these weekends. It would be the funnest! I’d love to see the place cleaned up and used more often! I’ll see what I can do about organizing that…

For now, we’ll use it and enjoy the heck out of it! 

Day 9 over and out…

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 8

Today was the first day of something I call Big Roof Project. Luckily we don’t have to actually do the Big Roof Project on our own and we hired some professionals to do it for us. We realized we might be in way over our heads on that one and quickly found an amazing guy who’s taking care of it for us. He’s on time, does what he says, works hard and all the things that will get this roof done in no time! He says he can have it done in three of four days if the weather is good. Today they were at the house right at 7:00 am to get started pressure washing and scraping off the layer of old sealant and tar that has been on there. They’ll finish the pressure washing up tomorrow and then they start the layers of foam to even it out then top it with silicone. It’s going to be the best thing to have done! Josh finished up digging out the tall weeds in the middle of the yard and had a helper following him around like crazy glue today. Such a cute little duo out in the yard. Meanwhile I headed to the laundromat to wash three baskets of dirty clothes and towels. Washer and dryer get here Wednesday so this is the las time we have to take it somewhere else to be done! I fumbled through with my very limited Spanish but knew enough to get it all done and back in a couple  hours. 

After laundry and yard projects we sat down for a Spanish lesson together. Josh taught us all how to say a prayer! It was an awesome lesson and we hung up papers to help remind us how to say all the parts to a prayer. The kids are going to keep working on it and memorizing so they can say a Spanish prayer before we leave here at the end of the month. 

After lunch we decided to cool off and headed to the beach. We met up with our friends the Lunsfords that moved here from Eagle Mountain a few weeks ago and we just got to know after we got here. It’s a crazy story about how they ended up here but we connected through the sister missionaries in the ward and now have gotten together a couple times and the kids love having friends! We went to the beach just down from their house Playa Azul. It was a great beach for boogie boarding which is just what my kids love to do. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at the beach and then the kids talked me into our favorite treat stop on the way home - Pikole. The most delicious açaí bowls and popsicles on the planet. I can’t ever resist! Rease even got some mellophone practice in today which was good for me to see since we lugged that instrument all the way here! She’s headed to band camp after we get back so she’s motivated to keep practicing. One more day here in the island and we keep on loving it!

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 7

Sunday morning showers were outside today! The boys decided that the water is a little warmer outside than in the actual shower so opted to do it outside this morning. Fine by me. Quick and easy they were clean and ready for church! 

We were excited to be with the branch today for sacrament meeting. When we were here in December they were still not meeting for in person meetings yet so we were so glad to hear that we were back at the church! We doubled the attendance of the branch when we walked in today but we were welcomed with fist bumps and an announcement over the pulpit that we were visiting from Utah. Such wonderful people and we LOVED feeling a part of the branch today. We talked with the branch President and sister missionaries after and exchanged information. We told them we’d love to be involved and I know we will grow to love these people! After church the kids said how much they liked being there and they had the sense that it felt very familiar to them :) Love the way the spirit works for all of us no matter what side of the world we’re on!

We had some down time after church and josh and I zoomed into a couple meetings back at home and tackled an internet problem in the Herriman house with our renters in the basement while hosting renters upstairs. Talk about a week full of “if something can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Luckily our super neighbor Sim saved the day and got internet back up for everyone at home! We owe him big time. 

After dinner and business at home wrapped up, we wanted to get out of the house. So we took a drive down south past Ceiba and Humacao and made it to the beach down near Yabacao. The drive was absolutely gorgeous and it got more rural the farther south we went. Of course, the kids snatched our phones and made the best of their time while we drove…yikes. 

Luckily we finally got there and were saved from the demons that were taking over our cars! 

The beach we stopped at was filled with palm trees and it was incredible! We collected shells, flew kites, and even made sand angels! It was a gorgeous evening to be out and we just took it all in on this Sunday evening together. Here’s to another week ahead!

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 6

Today we woke up to clear blue skies and the chance for an outside work day! The kids and I tackled the upstairs railing, scraping off all the old and peeling paint. It was tedious and time consuming but we made it all the way around both sides of the deck! As we worked we talked about color ideas for the house and railing and still haven’t quite come to a unanimous decision yet…but at least we’re all ready for priming and painting the railing! 

Meanwhile Josh got to work on the yard and suited up like a ninja ready for battle. It was sunny and hot and he must have been roasting out there, but he got the whole yard trimmed and did it all with a weed whip! They don’t use lawn mowers around here at all, just trimmers and we are people everywhere just trimming their yards. It took him a good 3 hours but he was a champ and finished the whole thing! After he was done, the cold shower was no problem I’m sure! And the yard looks so much better. Now we have an idea of what we’re working with and what we need to accomplish around the yard. Overall a really productive day!

We took the kids out for dinner and then a stroll along the beach as the sun was setting. We feel lucky to be in this little piece of paradise and have such a fun project to work on together!

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 5

We broke out of the work mode today and just took off to the beach. We really wanted a day in the water and it was just what we needed! The kids couldn’t wait to get out their boogie boards and snorkel gear and I loved just watching them have fun out there with all their new gear. We spent lots of time digging holes and making sand castles, snorkeling in the shallow water, writing in the sand, chasing birds, making a sand tunnel and anything else we could think of.  It was heavenly being out in the warm air and soaking in the sun. 

After we left the beach we headed home and had a fun drop in visit from Dona Carmen. She is the sweetest and brought us a house warming gift and dropped off some extra keys that she had forgotten to give us. It was so fun to visit with her and have her meet the kids. She invited us to go swim at her new apartment sometime next week and I’m sure we’ll take her up on that offer! 

Just as Carmen was leaving we got a visit from a family that just moved here from Eagle Mountain and wanted to meet us and bring dinner. It was so nice of them and we loved meeting new people and making new friends on the island. Andrea has 6 kids and some of them line up perfectly with our kids ages so I have a feeling we have made some friends that we’ll have for life! 

Kim and hector invited us over for pizza and swimming tonight so after our two visitors we drove the few minutes to their house and spent the evening with these amazing friends that we have grown to love so much the last few months. They are the best people and it’s going to be such fun to be neighbors with them!

Such a fun and relaxing day and a great evening with good friends! One more day in the books. 

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 4

I should have known how the day would go when we saw this hanging around outside the gym this morning. Crazy. Wacko. Only in Puerto Rico. Yep all those things. And the day didn’t get any less wild from there. 

We planned on a morning of some deep cleaning inside the house - washing walls, mopping, dusting, taking away old curtains and shelves, and prepping for painting. Our reward was going to be the rest of the day at the beach and the kids were excited! They all worked hard and we got the front room and entry way all done before we got a surprise visit from Kim and hector our friends just down the way! We love those two and had such a fun visit with them. Meanwhile and they were looking around the house and we were chatting, it started to rain. And rain hard. 

Kim finally said that they better go cause their dogs would be nervous with the thunder and lightning that was going on, so off they went. And we settled in and realized that we might not be going to the beach after all. We sat outside and watched the rain come down in sheets from our covered garage and couldn’t hardly believe the amount of water that was falling! Josh jumped on a phone call and the kids and I started lunch. A minute later Liev came out and said that there was water all over the floor in the girls room. And sure enough…the floor was flooding and we all went into discovery mode trying to figure out where the water was coming from. We figured out soon enough that water was coming in from the back room as well and flooding out into the main room and kitchen. Quick as we could we picked up everything from the ground and piled it onto beds and tables and anything that was high enough to keep dry. Josh jumped off his call and came and helped us get buckets and garbage cans and towels to try and keep the water from continually flooding the house. But still a large amount of water was getting in and we were just doing our best to get it out fast as we could! I went outside and found a large area on the back of the house that had a big pool of water gathering and started digging a trench to let that water go. Josh joined me and we found another pool on the side of the house doing the same thing. We dug and dug and made a little progress while the kids were hauling buckets in and out and mopping the water out the front door. It was a group effort and we did good! Finally…the rain started the let up and the pools around the house drained enough that the water stopped flooding into the house. We breathed a small sigh of relief then started working inside to clear all the standing water that was left. We mopped and squeegeed until it was as dry as we could get it, then turned on the fans and hoped that would dry it out the rest of the way. It was quite and event and we could hardly believe that had just happened! 

We hung the towels out to dry somewhat, left the fans on and headed down the street to the basketball court to get out of the craziness at home. Josh left for the laundromat with three baskets full of dirty laundry and towels (we haven’t had our washer and dryer delivered yet) and was going to try and get some work done on the WiFi at the laundromat. 

We played basketball, threw the football around and then eventually lost the soccer ball down a small ravine that led to a larger stream that was even more like a river because of all the rain. So that was the end of the soccer ball that we just bought yesterday. 

We got back home just around dinner time and had lots of leftovers in the fridge. Leftover night is always fun cause no one can decide which old dinner they want to have. Lots of dishes later we realized that the water was off again.  So ironic that we just got loads of water flooding into our house, but none coming out of our faucet when we need it. I feel like we should be used to it since it has gone off at some point every day since we got here. But it still makes me crazy! Anyway…we left a pile of dishes in the sink to be done later. 

I sat down the fold laundry, the kids turned on a movie and josh was trying to finish up one last work call of the day. And wouldn’t you know…the power goes out. Why not? The adventure continues on the island and we just jumped right in again for one more thing.  We got the candles and flashlights out (which we luckily bought this week just in case), finished the laundry and getting beds ready in the last few hints of daylight and sat down for bedtime book and and early night to bed. It’s not too uncommon for the power to go out here for a little while so I wasn’t too worried when it went off. Then we got a couple texts from Kim and Carmen and realized that maybe this power outage might be more involved. Turns out there was a fire at one of the substations and 700k people on the island are without power! Who knows how long this will last. 

So here I am writing this while josh is off to Home Depot to buy a generator. Still no power. Still no water. But I’ll tell you this…we have a dry house and four boys laying by me doing puppet stories on the wall in the shadow of the candlelight. We’re rollin with this wild ride we’ve started and I am so glad to have the crew that I have with me! It has been AN ADVENTURE today. But I guess that’s what we signed up for right? Bring it on…

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 3

The day started out good! Josh and I found a small gym just down the road from us and had a great workout together and signed up for a month membership on the spot. Sooo fun to work out with this man of mine! Then it was back home and cold showers were in order. Nothing like a cold shower to shock the senses and bring out a tear or two. Desh didn’t love it…

And who knew it would take another day of shopping to knock more things off our list of house needs. 

The boys and I hit Costco this morning and filled our small car full of food, snorkel gear, a ladder, flashlights, lightbulbs, batteries and water to name a few. We had just enough room left to stop at Walmart and get basketballs, boogie boards and football and soccer balls. The kids worked hard last week before we left and had some “fun money” to spend and have been dreaming of what it could be. They found all the right things and couldn’t wait to get home and open it all! 

The rest of the afternoon was spent putting things away, putting light bulbs in lamps, playing games, reading, coloring and drawing and staying quiet for a few hours while josh was on an important work call. All in all, a great day that ended with a massive game of dodgeball in the garage after dinner! 

Josh had a roof guy come out and take a look and gave us the amazing news that the roof only needs $10,000 worth of work to get it back in order (eye roll and throw up emoji at the same time). We knew it, but didn’t want to admit it until someone else told us. Ahh well. Tomorrow we plan to clean and possibly paint inside walls. We’ll see how far we get! 

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 2

Today we all woke up and realized it was almost 10:00! We were all catching up and slept for the night that we basically missed too and we were glad to do it! We all felt much better and were ready to start the day. With lists on hand, josh and the boys headed to Home Depot and the girls and I went to Marshalls and Walmart for house supplies. 2 hours and 3 full carts later we were done checking out and squeezed it all into our little car.  We literally packed Rease in and piled stuff around her just to fit it all. Luckily it’s not to far of a drive to get back home :)

Once home, we unloaded and got to work putting together tables, lamps, shelves, fans, night stands and unloading silverware, pots and pans, knives and cleaning supplies. Everyone worked hard and each had their own project going and before we knew it the job was done! Josh was able to work out on the patio while we had our workshop going inside. And it RAINED so hard this afternoon while we were inside working. It was coming down in sheets and we loved watching it! 

Highlights of the day:

Liev ran out into the pouring rain and got drenched in about 15 seconds 

We survived the check out line at Walmart 

Pikole for lunch (YUM)

Rhen made it through her first cold shower 

Amazing sunset from our top deck 

Desh was a master with the screwdriver 

The water in our house goes up and down...as I sit here there’s actually no water at all coming from the faucet. In 15 minutes there might be, but for now it’s bone dry. So crazy! And we love it!

Puerto Rico Citrus Hill Project - Day 1

Well we’re off on an adventure! And what an adventure it will be. We did something crazy and bought a house in Puerto Rico and now we’re headed to renovate it as a family! The kids just finished school on Friday and we get the spend the rest of the month of June working on the house and the property and hopefully making lots of crazy memories while we’re at it. 

Our flight out of salt lake was a midnight flight and we got to the airport just as everyone was feeling the effects of the late hour. Once we were on the plane we all tried to sleep as much as possible but it ended up not being very much. We had a really short connection in Fort Lauderdale and actually almost missed our flight to San Juan because our plane came in late. But luckily we got off the plane and our gate for the next flight was just two gates over. We walked off one plane and right into another! 

By the time we got to San Juan we were beat and ready for a nap. We had a long wait at the rental car place that was actually a big joke and not run very well. We waited and waited and the kids were so tired from no sleep the night before that they just fell asleep as they were and where they were! We finally got our cars (two small cars since there are no vans available right now) and finally we were off and headed to our new (to us) home. 

About two weeks ago josh and I flew down and spent 24 hours in PR just to sign papers on the house. While we were here we ended up buying some mattresses, futons, a few dishes and appliances, etc just so we could have a few things when we first got here with the family. I am soooo glad we did that! Because when we got to the house we were all tired and and just wanted to have a place to sleep. We spent about an hour putting futons together and setting up mattresses and were so glad to have a place to sleep last night. Before bed we took a walk around the neighborhood and found the basketball court just down the street and watched a rainstorm from the top deck. We already have a huge list of things we need but for now we’re just happy to be here and have a house of our own! We know there’s lots of work ahead...bring it on!

Rease turns 14!

Rease turns 14 today and I couldn't be more excited to celebrate this daughter who first made me a mother!  She is THE BEST teenager and we wouldn't change a thing about this girl.  Of course she wanted a marching band cake so I tried my hand at a fondant cake.  It certainly wasn't perfect, but it turned out cute enough.  She loved it.  

She wanted a night game party with friends so that's what we did.  Cake and ice cream and then loaded into the truck for a night of Fugitive.  It was a blast and we had fun laughing and playing into the night!

14 year old stats from Dr. Erikson:

Height: 5'7" - 92%

Weight: 166 lbs. - 96%

My favorite things about 14 year old Rease:

1) Rease is passionate about things that are important to her.  She's completely dedicated to doing what she loves and gives it her all.  Marching band has become her favorite thing and she works hard at it.  She's also passionate about keeping good relationships with people she loves.  She had great friends and they love spending time together.  She makes a big effort to put time into the family and she loves being with Josh and I.  We couldn't ask for a better teenager than this girl.

2) Rease is super smart.  She catches on to things easily and has a mind for figuring things out.  School comes easily to her and she uses her brain to excel in her classes.  That's going to get her far and I know she'll be successful in whatever she does!

3) Rease is my friend and her friendship is something I cherish!  She tells me all that she's thinking, doing, wondering and who she likes or doesn't like.  She is so good about keeping in touch with me and making sure she knows how I'm doing.  She is a true friend and I hope that never changes.  Love this girl to pieces!

Happy Birthday Ras!

 

Rease and her friends

This group of girls have been friends for as long as I can remember.  The 4 of them have been in the same classes on and off together since 1st grade and now as 8th graders are still best of friends.  Love them all and what they do for each other!

 

Rease end of year

 

Rhen end of year

 

Liev end of year

 

Keen end of year

 

Beck end of year

 

Last day of school

It's the last day of school and these 7th graders-to-be planned a celebration in honor of graduating from elementary school!  They took a trip to the district for lunch, shopping and a movie.  Such a cute group of kiddos that are getting so grown up!