Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 9

Today we tried to get as many things done as possible before we pack up and leave tomorrow. We had a busy morning: Eduardo (electrician) and his crew came to work on the electricity that will pipe into the air conditioning units upstairs. Also working on getting power to the pump on the roof that will control the water in the cistern. Lots of good things happening on the electrical end. 

The boys took one last trip to the tienda down the road for Coca Cola (suddenly their beverage of choice) and bags of chips. 

Josh took down the last of the tile in the blue bathroom and I started working in the master bathroom where the boys have been hammering tiles off all week. We definitely won’t get that bathroom done befor we go but at least the blue room is done! That’s hard work removing that pesky tile. 

This afternoon the boys and I left josh to some work calls he had to join and drove down to Ceiba to see Carmen and swim for a couple of hours. She’s so sweet and made lunch for us and let us hang out and be there as long as we wanted! We had the pool to ourselves all afternoon and the boys could not get enough swimming. So we stayed and played and finally after 3 hours in the pool I decided that was probably long enough :) It was so fun to see Carmen and we’re so glad to have this sweet friend in our lives! 

Tonight we drove down the road to the food truck stop which is open Thursday- Sunday. We’ve never tried them so tonight we thought we’d give it a shot. The boys chose pizza, josh had a Venezuelan sandwich of sorts and I had chicken tacos. Overall everything was delicious and fun to try something new! 

It’s hard to believe that our time here is up and we’re leaving our PR home tomorrow. We’re excited to see our girls and get back to life, but we always leave a little piece behind when we go. We love every minute of the time we get to be here! 

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 8

Another day in the books at Citrus Hill! Highlights from today:

Josh and I met with Kimberly at Home Depot to get the cabinets going for the kitchen upstairs! (Cabinets take 3-4 months so we thought we’d get that going even though there’s a lot to do between now and when we’ll actually be ready for them)

Desh bought his very own machete 

Got to FaceTime with our girls who we are missing dearly 

The daily routine of outside showers (that inevitably turns into a water fight)

Just a bunch of good things going on here. 

This afternoon our good friends Melvin and Maria invited us over for a late lunch and a swim in their pool. It was so fun to get away to do that for a couple hours! Melvin was one of the first people we met when we first started looking for houses here and we’ve stayed close to them since day one. Rides to the airport, borrowing a car, help lifting something- Melvin is there without a question. They are THE BEST and we’re so grateful to have friends like them around here!

The night ended early for us as we’re all tired and there’s a light rain falling outside which is just the perfect thing to fall asleep to :)

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 7

We had a lot of work going on at the house today and we got right to it. A landscaper came with a large tractor to start leveling out the upper part of the property. We eventually want to put a patio and pool there but in the meantime having it level will get us started and in a holding spot until we’re ready for that. Desh did not want to stop watching that tractor go back and forth hauling dirt. He was totally engrossed in the project! 

By the end of the day it looks so much different and so awesome to see it leveling off. 

We continued our work removing tile from the bathrooms upstairs. It’s such a big job and I almost feel like we may not ever get it done.  But we are definitely  making some progress. 

We also had Edgardo the plumber come today and work on some of the lines running to the bathrooms upstairs. He’s great and does such a good job and I can feel the day drawing closer that we’ll have hot water running through these pipes! He’s sure prepping for it! That will be a good day. 

A trip to Home Depot and the grocery store in the middle of those projects sealed up the day and before we knew it we were back to bed for the evening. The kids go to bed just completely exhausted from working/playing all day in the heat and they just fall asleep instantly.  

I splurged this late evening and stayed up to watch the opening game of the NBA. Warriors vs the lakers was one I just couldn’t miss so even though it didn’t start until 10:00 pm (yikes) I stayed up until the last second just glad to be watching basketball again! So I’m going to say good night and get a few hours of sleep before it starts all over again tomorrow!

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 6

Today we spent the morning working on the tile again in the upstairs bathroom. We’re so close to getting it done that we just busted through and kept working. It’s hard. And hot. So it makes for a sweaty, eyewear fogging job. The boys meanwhile cleared out the roots of the plantain bushes that we chopped down. Chopping roots and hauling them away was also a hard sweaty job but the boys kept at it and finished that up. 

Josh had some work calls in the early afternoon so we got to take a break :) I napped while the boys played scum. Then we packed up and headed to the beach for the rest of the afternoon before dinner. One of our favorite beaches is down in Luquillo called Playa Azul. It has great waves for boogie boarding and an awesome beach to sit and enjoy the day. It was the perfect way to spend the hot afternoon while Josh was occupied. 

Tonight we started watching Thor Ragnarok - the boys first time seeing it. We didn’t make it all the way through before we had sleepy eyes starting to show up. I’m sure we’ll take the rest of the week to finish it up. Just a little at a time but we’ll eventually get there! Night night!

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 5

Today was Sunday and we had the most wonderful day! We went to church and met back up with our  little branch that we grew to love and still love after all these months! It was fun to see some familiar faces and also meet some new ones. There are new sister missionaries in the branch and we chatted them up for a while. The branch seems to be growing a bit as the sisters are trying to reactivate some that have been missing for a while. I love to see that progress! Church is also two hours now which is fun. The kids got to go to primary (joining the 3 other boys that are in the branch) and practiced songs for the primary program that’s happening in a few weeks. Too bad we aren’t going to be here for that. I would have loved our boys to be a part of that day. 

After church we drove over to San Juan to look at the new temple that is under construction. It’s said to be completed in April and I’m hoping that we get to be here for the open house! 

We spent the rest of the afternoon doing just what the day of rest is for - resting. Josh and I got a nap while the boys played games and traded Pokémon cards with each other. After we woke up we played some more games (scum, checkers, mastermind were the top choices) and had dinner together. We used up some ripe avocados to make guacamole and toasted up some taquitos that Desh lovingly kept calling “torpedoes” although he didn’t say it with much love as he complained that he “hates eating torpedoes!” He opted for Mac and cheese while the rest of us ate taquitos and guacamole. 

The rest of the night was spent listening to a delightful playlist “slow down” in the speaker and reading, catching lizards (namely Olympian,  Edward, Sparky, Rocky and, my favorite, Wilford), using machetes to show off ninja skills and catching a gorgeous sunset from our patio. Josh and I kept looking at each other and pinching ourselves that we could have a day like this together in a place like this. We feel so lucky to be here and have this place to escape to. 

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 4

We woke up to an incredible sunrise on the beach after a night of just a couple incidents: Liev couldn’t sleep because the waves were too loud, Keen had a mosquito inside his mosquito net that kept biting him and Beck needed a drink in the middle of the night. Other than that, the night on the beach was a success and most of us slept great in our hammocks. The best part was we got to wake up to an incredible view and that is something you can’t beat. We had a couple hours to swim and pack up before we had to return our Jeep and catch the ferry back home. It was a great morning with the beach to ourselves for a couple hours!

Those that didn’t get enough sleep had a chance to catch up while we waited at the boat launch. And the rest of us compared who got the most mosquito bites. Liev definitely takes the award for biggest bites but Keen has a good patch right on his knees that might beat everyone else. You’d think we would be used to the big bites but somehow we always get surprised by how many we end up with. 

The rest of the day we spent at home getting a few things done. Josh and I mapped out the upstairs kitchen including a new window that we’re going to have cut and installed (it’s going to look amazing!).  Dinner tonight was Liev’s choice: poached eggs on toast and mangos topped off with Coca Cola from the tienda down the road. Beck and Desh had dish duty and rocked it. And we finished off the night with a solid game of scum (Desh ended as king, mom as scum) and a gorgeous sunset from the upstairs balcony. All in all a great day in Puerto Rico!

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break day 3

This morning started early with a trip to our favorite Puerto Rican gym and then breakfast of fruit bowls up on the deck. I love this part of our routine and we rarely break from those two things while we’re here. We headed out pretty quick after that and drove to Ceiba to catch a ferry to Vieques. We’ve been to the island culebra a handful of times now but never spent any time on the other island Vieques. We’ve all been so excited to try it out!

The ferry ride was short and smooth and we all made it here without any seasickness! That’s a win. 

The first beach we visited was one we’ve been anxious to see. It’s a black sand beach and the sand comes from the volcanic rock on the island. It was really cool to see the mixture of sands and play in sand that is a color you typically don’t see. To get there we hiked for about 10 minutes through a jungle full of hermit crabs and huge spiders hanging on their webs above us. We stopped to look at one particularly large one then hurried our way past the rest and pretended that we didn’t know they were there. We were glad to make it to the beach. 

I got a glimpse into the life of my boys as I watched them all disappear around a corner and then streak towards the water at full speed. And you better believe that Josh was there leading his pack of sons! I just love all five of these boys in my life!

After Playa Negra we headed to another beach so the boys could boogie board. We ended up at Sun Bay Beach which is a big arching half circle with warm water and beautiful views. We spent the day just soaking in the warm sun, catching crabs, playing in the sand and water and enjoying every minute of the beautiful weather! It was a great day on the beach. 

After dinner at a yummy place called Bananas we headed back to Sun Bay Beach to set up camp for the night. We brought hammocks and mosquito nets for all of us and a small blanket for the boys to sleep in. We showered in the open showers on the beach (which felt amazing to clean off the salt water!) and then jumped into our hammocks before the mosquitos chomped us to death. Now here we are laying in our hammocks, the boys are chatting away from their own corners and I can’t even hardly believe that we get to sleep in the open air on this beautiful beach! It is an absolutely gorgeous night. I guess tomorrow will tell how the night on the beach went but as for now it doesn’t get much better than this!

Citrus Hill Project - Fall Break Days 1-2

It’s finally time for us (most of us anyway) to head back to PR! Josh has been there a handful of times since June but the rest of us have waiting lots of month to get to go back again. Fall Break for the kids is next week so we took them out a few days early and get to spend a good chunk of time down there working on the house. This turned into a boys trip as the girls have band and school commitments they couldn’t get out of, so we left them with friends and grandmas for a couple weeks and off we went! 

Josh took an earlier flight than the rest of us so he could get down and get the van and come back to pick us up. We ended up with an overnight layover in Chicago so the boys and I rented a hotel room for the night and came back the next morning to catch our second flight. It worked out great so we weren’t tired but did make it seem like we were flying for a solid 24 hours. We got a great deal on our flights though so it was all good! The boys did great on the flight and we were so happy to see Josh pull up to the curb to pick us up! We stepped off the plane to a perfect temperature and light rainstorm. Just what I picture when I think of Puerto Rico weather. 

We made a quick stop at Costco to fill up on food and then made it home just in time to crash into our beds and sleep off the plane ride. 

Today we woke up rested and ready to work! Josh and the Hammer boys worked hard last week getting the tile out of the bathrooms upstairs. There’s still some to go so that’s where we worked this morning. We have a little mini jackhammer that works well getting underneath the tiles, but it is hard, sweaty work. We all helped though josh of course did the bulk of the work. Our goal is to finish up both bathrooms before our trip ends. 

The boys also took some time to trim the bushes and grass with their machetes. They’ve been looking forward to getting their machetes out for weeks and they spent a good portion of the morning chopping whatever they had in their sights. 

One of my goals this trip is to catch up on some sleep so I also worked hard on that goal and going a nice nap this afternoon while it rained outside. It was the perfect nap/chill weather. 

Later this afternoon we walked down to the basketball hoop and played for a while before dinner. And Josh and I polished off the night with another Costco run to get a generator that was about to go off sale. Totally worth the drive to Carolina! Now we’re set. 

Sunrise

We woke up to this beauty this morning...

 

Chilly Day

We had our first really chilly day of the year and the first snow visible in the mountains.  It was gorgeous!  We drove up the canyon to look at the fall colors and loved seeing the white tipped mountains in the background.  We also enjoyed a chilly (and sometimes rainy) football game but loved being in that stadium to cheer on the cougars!

 

Halloween Concert

Rease and her symphonic band had their Halloween concert tonight.  They played some really fun songs and were dressed up in their costumes which made for a fun night for all of us!  

 

School puppets

Keen and his class made these amazing hand puppets in school with their teacher.  They used all sorts of supplies to make whatever kind of puppet they wanted and there are some super cute ideas up there on display.  Such a fun project!

 

Citrus Hill (October) - Hammer Labor

This trip included some serious muscle showing up day two.  Hammers and all their beef came one day after my arrival and it was well received!  These boys know how to work! 

Clearing the property including plantains, bushes and weed trimming then lead to tile removal along with toilets, fixtures and tubs.  At one point I went upstairs to check on them and they all had their shirts off and covered in red tile dust.  

The odd rainstorm would draw them outside to wash and cool off.  It was so good to work alongside these great friends! 

And of course, right on queue, the minute the junk hit the ground it was picked up by Jesus (a local) happy to take it to get recycled.  I told him he was an answer to my prayers. 

Eduardo (electrician) and his crew and Edgardo (plumber) pushed forward and even tag teamed the setup of the cistern, pump and pressurized water tank. 

First water from the Cistern! We now don't have to worry about the daily water outage.

Hammers love the beach so we made our way to Culebra to stay a night on Flamenco beach.  These boys don't ever stop getting in the water.  It was pitch black before we could get them out of the surf. 

Snorkeling at Melones beach in the AM then back to Rio Grande on the afternoon Ferry.  It was such a great trip!

The rest of the beach included more work along with Charco Frio.  Pikole on the way to the airport was the cherry on top and the acai stains on JT's mouth. 

Awesome week Hammer Men.  Let's do it again!

Conference tower

General Conference wouldn't be the same without some amazing lincoln log towers being made...

 

New York girls trip - Day 4

Our last day in the city and we visited the 9/11 memorial and museum first thing this morning.  It was INCREDIBLE and also very sobering to remember that day 20 years ago.  The museum is so well done with amazing tours and artifacts left from that day.  We could have spent 2 full days there but unfortunately we had just a few hours before we had to get to the airport.  We loved being there!

We got on the subway for the last time in lower Manhattan and rode all the way out to JFK airport.  It took us about an hour and a half to get there but we avoided all the traffic that way and had plenty of time to get checked in before our flight left.  As we said goodbye to Britt and headed home, we promised each other that this would not be the end of our girls trips!  Next year? Same group, new destination!  Love all these sisters of mine like crazy!

New York girls trip - Day 3

We had a day packed with all the things we wanted to do before our trip ends. We have loved riding the subway into town every day and it’s so convenient with a stop right by the house we’ve been staying in. We feel like we’ve finally caught on to where to go and how to get there by train! 

We got to Manhattan around 9:30 this morning and walked over to Madison square garden to see if we could get a tour. Turns out they’re not doing tours right now (due to covid 🙄) so we just got to take a picture outside. Then we made our way slowly up the streets to Central Park, shopping, eating and sight seeing along the way. We found the naked cowboy (we were hoping we’d see him!), went into the fashion district and found a fabric store to die for, ate some yummy food, continued to people watch (one of my favorite things) and just enjoyed the beautiful day and pleasant company we are in! We ended up at the zoo in Central Park and hung out there for a little while since it was such a nice day outside. The four of us sisters actually had tickets to go see The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon so we figured that the zoo would be as good a place as any to get mom all set and leave her on her own for a few hours. She was happy to be with the animals and said she could walk up to the temple too if she had extra time. After lots of instructions and mom reassuring us that she would be ok, we left her on her own in New York City (what were we thinking?!) and made our way to Rockefeller square!

About a month ago we put in for the lottery to get tickets to see the tonight show. I didn’t actually think we would get chosen but just a few days ago we got the email that we had 4 tickets! Sooo exciting! Once we got there, it was quite a process to get checked in, show our vaccination and ID cards, wait in the holding area and divide into groups according to what number or letter we were give.  Finally after about an hour we were led into the studio and got to see where the tonight show is taped every day! It was so cool to be there and see what goes into making a show run. The woman who seemed to be in charge told us that the whole point of the show is to have a great time, so laugh if things are funny and applaud when Jimmy and the guests arrive. So we did! We had a GREAT time being there and Jimmy is actually super funny and fun to be in the same room with! We loved the band, the guests, the jokes, the retakes, the in betweens, the games and every bit of it! It was such a fun day to be there. Definitely a highlight of the trip!

After we left the show we jumped on a train and headed out to Queens to the Citi Park to the Mets play. Mom had made her way to the ballpark by way of a cab (because we couldn’t get her to use Uber or Lyft so figure me a good old taxi was as good as anything) so we met up with her and got there not too long after the game had started. It turned out to be a fun night at the ballpark and just warm enough that we weren’t too cold until about the 8th inning. Mom loves watching baseball and we were all happy to be there together and take in one more New York moment. 

New York girls trip - Day 2

Steph and I got up this morning and ran along the river walk. It was sooo fun to see the city across the river and watch everyone headed back and forth into town. The perfect way to start the day. 

We had a busy day seeing all the things that we wanted to see. First stop was the Rockefeller center and up the tower to the lookout. It was AMAZING to see everything from up there. We spent so much time picking out different landmarks that we knew and trying to figure out what all the other ones were. The view was sooo cool and it’s incredible to see the size of New York City. 

Also fun to see what else is at Rockefeller square: the Today Show, ice skating rink, Jimmy Fallon and so many other famous spots that we’ve all seen on tv. 

We left Rockefeller square and made our way up to the temple which is about 25 minutes north walking. We stopped at a few spots to look along the way but then we’re so glad to make it to the Manhattan temple. Pretty amazing to have such a peaceful spot in the midst of a loud and busy city. We loved being there as a family and had such a great session together!

The rest of the day was spent doing all the best things you could think of in New York: shopping, eating good food, people watching at Times Square, and walking all the famous streets and stopping at all the trendy stops. Only on a girls trip can wandering around the city with not much of a plan be fun!

We finished off the night on Broadway seeing the play Come From Away. It was INCREDIBLE. I loved every minute of watching those talented people up on the stage. It’s a play based off of a book about the town Gander Newfoundland that hosted all the planes that had to land after 9/11. It was a beautiful story of how those people opened their lives for a few days to take care of 38 planes full of stranded people. We all loved it! 

It has been such a fun trip to be together and talk and laugh all day long. Love these ladies so much!