Keen's field trip

I got to be a chaperone for Keen's field trip today with his 4th grade class.  We went to the conservatory garden in West Jordan and had a great time seeing all the different plants and talk about ways we can conserve water in our state.  Mostly I just loved being with Keen for the day. 

 

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is a day that all my favorite wishes are granted.  

1) I get to sleep in

2) I'm showered with homemade notes, cards and drawings

3) I get foot massages from my children

4) I'm reminded of all the good things that come from being a mother.  I have 6 reminders of this and I couldn't be more happy to be a mom.  

 

Amazing Race 2022

We gathered this week for one of our favorite neighborhood activities of the whole year!  Hayley and I love putting the amazing race on for our friends and neighbors and this year was a blast as usual.  We had a great big crowd of people, lots of delicious food, laughs all around and a race to the end finish between two of the years.  These friends of ours are just the best and we LOVE having all of them in our home and in our life!

 

Liev Principal's Pride

Liev got the Principal's Pride award this week from his teacher and I couldn't be more proud of him.  He has really worked hard this year and has had to work through a couple tough things and a hard kid in his class.  But he's done amazing and has come such a long way!  Love this boy to pieces.

 

Track friends

Rease has loved track this spring and mostly because she has a whole slew of friends that she gets to hang with on the regular.  Darling girls!

 

Biz Town

Oh how we love Biz Town and all the fun it is for these 5th graders!  Liev has been excited for weeks and got placed in a job with Rocky Mountain Power.  This is just the coolest business experience for kids to have.  I got to volunteer and be there with him and loved seeing him at work!

 

Hard fall

Desh took a hard fall on his bike today (ouch) and needed a little love.  And a nap.  He got both those things :)

 

Job auction

We pulled out the old Job Auction cards today and the kids got to participate in their very first one.  It's an oldy but a goody - one that Papa Losee used to use on me as a kid.  We listed off 15 jobs each with a description and a price attached to that job.  The auction part comes when the kids bid on a job but in reverse.  If the job starts at $4.00, then the kids can take turns saying they'll do the job for less like $3.75.  It continues with each kids bidding until its either at it's lowest amount (.25) or there is just one kid left bidding.  Then that job belongs to whoever bid last and that's the amount they get paid for doing it.  Our kids thought it was awesome, but also maybe didn't understand that they were actually bidding to do it for less money?  Lots of the jobs ended up at the low point and were done for just .25 each!  Good for me who's paying for the work to be done, bu sad for the kids to do so much work for very little money.  I think it was more of a competition to see who could get the most jobs!  Maybe they'll learn better for next time.  In any case, we got lots of work done and the kids actually worked really hard.  Job Auction Success today!

 

Bike ride

The boys often go ride their bikes around the neighborhood together.  This particular day I saw them and cute Desh was behind everyone else going up this hill.  Mostly because he has this tiny bike that is WAY too small for him.  But he pedaled with all his might anyway and made it up the hill to catch up with his brothers.  Someday soon he'll have a bigger bike! For now he's making this one work.

 

Tilly butt

Crazy Rhen+tanning goggles+Tilly's butt+too much time on her hands=whatever this is...

 

Track bus

Rease has been running track this spring with her friends and so far loves it.  I think it's not so much the running that she loves, but the fact that all her friends (and also some cute guys) are running so it's like a party every day at practice!  Love that she's doing something fun!

 

Tower

Wow. Just wow...

 

Lunch with Papa and Grammie

We got to snag lunch with Papa and Grammie today while they're on their P-day.  We're so happy we get to see them when they come down on their day off!

 

April PR trip - Day 10

It’s our last full day here and we tried to get as much finished as we could. Josh got in the ladder and painted all the edges around the front of the house and I rolled on the green paint in places that had been patched up and missed. It turned out looking soooo good out there with almost all the painting done on the whole house. We just have the back wall and a little bit of the side by the water tank to do next time we come. I feel like we’ve been painting for days - probably because we have :) We were happy to clean out our paint brushes at the end of the day. 

This evening we walked around the yard and cleaned up, straightened up the garage and sat up on the deck tonight and listened to the sounds of the jungle. We have surely fallen in love with this place and it’s so fun seeing all the progress we’ve made this past year. We’re back again in June and already looking forward to it! 

April PR trip - Day 9

Today was a bit like our own Lego Masters as we all worked on putting the cabinets together. Everyone paired up and had a partner to work with on their own section then moved on to another one when that was done. It worked out awesome and before we knew it they were all out together! We’ll get them all situated and hung and then out the cabinet faces on them. But for now this was a big job to get done. 

Our reward this afternoon was to swim at Melvin’s pool! They are so kind to let us use their place and we had a blast swimming the afternoon away. He brought out a big speaker for us to use and we partied hard until it was time to leave. The highlight of the day was the big waterpolo game we all played together. I’m pretty sure we each have a hurt finger, black eye or scratches from the vicious game that it turned out to be. It was just a little competitive :)

Tonight is chad and Brittany’s last night with us so we snuck the teenagers away for appetizers and pina coladas at the kiosks. It was fun to do something with just the older ones and a fun send off for these kids that have had the best time together this week! It’s so crazy how they’re all growing up! 

We have LOVED having the Losee’s with us this week. They have been such a big help getting things done and we’ve done some really fun things too. Can t wait to welcome them back!

April PR trip - Day 8

Our cabinets from IKEA were delivered this morning! It was such a snap to get them delivered right to us and I’m so glad to have them here already! We worked around the house for a little while today while it rained outside then chad and Britt packed up and headed to the south end of the island this afternoon and evening. They had a tour at the bio bay in Parguera tonight and decided to make a day out of it since it’s a bit of a drive down there. We took naps after they left and it was just what the doctor ordered for our kids! So much fun and late nights with cousins so it was nice to catch up on a little sleep. 

This afternoon we painted the second coat on the inside upstairs and finished up painting the edges. Now that the floor is done we feel like we can finish things up and be done with lots of the big things up there! We all worked really hard and got all the paint done on the inside. It’s such a good feeling to get some of those big things crossed off our list!

April PR trip - Day 7

Today is Brittneys birthday! We got donuts and pastries for breakfast to celebrate! This morning the kids all showed off their amazing sunburns and told us they all had a hard time sleeping because of them. We certainly learned our lesson about beach and sunscreen! Next time we’ll be a lot better about applying it early and often :)

We sent chad and Britt and the kids off the El Yunque today to find a waterfall or a short hike or something to do outside of working at the house. While they were gone we had the floor guys come and polish and buff the floors upstairs and they look just absolutely amazing! It’s crazy the amount of stuff that came off of them and what they look like now. So excited to have this part done! We also got the paint sprayer out and finished priming the bottom half of the house. It’s so much work but the sprayer makes it fast and easy. 

The rest of the group found a fun hike and waterfall to swim at just outside the rainforest. They came back happy and said they had lots of fun. It looks like it was a gorgeous little spot they found. 

This afternoon we headed up to old San to see the old ruins and do a little bit of shopping. The fort is soo cool and though we didn’t have much time before it closed we were able to get some cool views from some of those towers. So awesome. 

We wandered around old San Juan for a little bit and then found a yummy pizza place to eat and toooed it off with some delicious gelato at our favorite little sweet shop. By the time we got home we were all tired after such a long fun day doing all sorts of things. We will definitely they have to make it back up there soon and finish our tour at the fort. 

Happy birthday Britt!

April PR trip - Day 6

Happy Easter Sunday! 

We got up and headed to church this morning with our small little branch. It was fun to be back there and see the people we’re starting to get to know and love! The kids love going to primary and we had a special class for the teenagers today as well which was fun to do together. After church we had dinner and then headed out for a drive to see the new temple being built. It’s coming along so we’ll and so much progress has been made since last time we saw it. It’s so exciting to see it almost done! We drove up to San Juan after that to walk along the beach and spend the afternoon in the beautiful sun. Such gorgeous views along the boardwalk there. The kids were all pretty tired and sunburned so there was plenty of complaining going on as well! We didn’t stay too long but long enough to appreciate the tropical weather and views that we got to see. Tonight we played games and decided it’s time to get to bed early and be ready for a new week ahead of us. 

We’re so grateful to be celebrating this Easter season and to remember our savior who loves us incredibly! 

April PR trip - Day 5

This morning we took a trip to the beach to play. We ended up at one of our favorites, Playa Azul, and had the best time playing in the water and soaking in the sun! The kids could not get enough boogie boarding a and building sand castles. And we just loved the time to relax and bask in the beautiful scenery around us. It was such a fun morning!

After we were thoroughly sunburned and had sand and salt everywhere we headed home by way of Wendy’s for some hamburgers. The rest of the afternoon we hung out and rested at the house. Nothing like a good sunburn to make you want to just sleep. We wandered down to the basketball court for a while and played a bunch of games of “Speed” with the boys. We gathered a bunch of coconuts from the ground on the way back and the boys used their machetes to break them open to see what was inside. A group of 8 boys is bound to find curiosity in anything! Once we were all showered and clean we got the kids settled down for the evening and then the adults headed out for a date night alone. We ended up in San Juan at an outdoor food spot that had lots of different choices of food with a gorgeous view of the beach behind us. We each ordered something different and shared it all while we chatted and laughed the night away! It was such a fun ending to a good day together! 

April PR trip - Day 4

Today we worked hard getting ready for painting the lower half of the house. It took all morning to tape and cover everything and everyone was so good to pitch in and help. We had to remove some old rails in between the posts right on the front side of the house. We also had lots of help so none of it took too long. Rease and Nolan got the power washer going and worked all morning getting the walls clean and shiny! 

After taping and covering everything we sprayed the primer on. We did our very best to cover floors and tile but we weren’t perfect and still have lots of spots of sprayed paint on the ground. Hopefully that comes off somehow! Almost everyone got their hands on the sprayer at some point and it ended up looking awesome by the end! Hopefully the next couple days will give us good time to get the paint on these walls as well!

April PR trip - Day 3

Today we had another day of errands and chores to do. Josh trimmed the yard and since it’s been a while since we’ve been here it was pretty long and overgrown. It took him a good 3-4 hours to get it done and pull some big weeds, clean up the yard etc. It looks sooo good now and like a yard again instead of the jungle :)

We took another trip to Costco looking for a shelf and a few more supplies for the week. We also stopped off and grabbed a few buckets of primer for the outside walls we’re planning to paint this week. That stuff is so expensive but such good quality primer that it’s worth it! The kids worked hard all morning getting the yard and house ready and the reward was Chad and Brittney’s family got to town to spend the week with us! They got here early evening time and we had dinner together and got all settled. The four teenagers hooked hammocks up in the garage to sleep out there for the week while the other six younger boys settled in on the futons and air mattresses in the front room. Parents got both the bedrooms so I think we’ll all fit good for the week! Nice and cozy. We’re so excited to have them here and can’t wait for the week ahead!

Welcome Baby Kimball!

Aunt Hayley had Baby Kimball today!!  We're far away and can't hold him in person just yet but we're so happy we got to see him and Aunt Hayley over facetime.  He's so sweet and is using a cpap for just a bit while he gets his breathing figured out.  We're just happy he's finally here!

 

April PR trip - Day 1 and 2

Yesterday was travel day and the kids have gotten to be great travelers. They know the routine and love the plane rides cause they get to play their game boys for hours on end! We left our house early Tuesday morning and had a few hour layover in Dallas. Unfortunately the ride from Salt Lake to Dallas was one of the worst rides I’ve ever been on. It was so bumpy and bouncy and we hit a pocket of something they called “clear air turbulence” just as we crossed over the Rockies into Colorado. It was a jolt of turbulence that came on so fast that it took everyone by surprise and knocked all the drinks on the floor and even one of the flight attendance went down before we even knew what hit us! I looked out the window and the plane rocked so hard to one side then back up I saw the mountains one second and then the clouds the next. It was one of the scariest moments I’ve ever had on a plane. The pilot came on later after things were under control and said that was a pocket of air that they just weren’t expecting and apologized for not being able to warn us of it coming. I admit, I had real tears in my eyes for a while after that happened. 

We got to Dallas and after a lunch of chic fil a we all felt a little better and had some time to relax. Then we had another bout of drama as the flight attendants for the next flight got on the speaker and announced that they were going to try and board us as quickly as possible and leave early to beat out a storm that was rolling into Texas. Sure enough we looked up the radar and a surge was headed our way along with tornado warnings and a large hail storm. Quick as we all could we boarded the plane and got settled as the captain and attendants continued to say that we would be barely making it out in time if we actually did. Off we went though about 10 minutes before our original flight time and ended up beating the storm. The flight was much smoother than the first though I expected it not to be with the storm right on our heels. After we landed in San Juan we looked up the Dallas weather and sure enough there were two tornadoes that touched down not too long after we left! So glad we got out of there when we did. Overall a pretty dramatic day for flying!

Today we slept in a bit then hit the stores to get some of our big ticket items off our list. First stop was Home Depot for some drainage pipes then the grocery store for food for the week. Last week there was a island wide blackout for about 4 days so any frozen and cold food we had at the home had gone bad. Time to restock. We checked out some light fixtures and fans and some appliances that we’re realizing we need to get pretty soon. IKEA was next to try and purchase our kitchen cabinets. We went in with a complete list of the items we needed from an order form Josh had made from the IKEA US website. Unfortunately it doesn’t transfer directly to the IKEA PR site without redoing the whole order so we took that in hoping for some luck and someone to help us out. We also realized about a week ago that the cabinets we had chosen were being discontinued and some of the pieces looked like they were out of stock already. Josh had made a new order with a new cabinet face and, though we liked the new look, it was double the price! I kept wishing that we could have ordered those other ones sooner and gotten the ones we really wanted and a lower cost in the end. Oh well. We got there and found someone that referred us to the kitchen center for some help. A wonderful soul named Valerie took over and helped us set up the order on the PR site and seriously made it look so easy that she was done in a flash! She got our whole order set up and ready to go and the total was almost $7000. Much less than some other places we had looked. Josh asked if there was any way to see if the old style that we originally wanted was by chance in stock for the pieces we needed. Valerie whipped her fingers around the keyboard and figured out everything in the other style and would you believe it…everything was in stock and at the low discounted price that we had seen online a few weeks ago! Not only did we get the cabinets we wanted but also at the discontinued price of $2900 and free delivery for our order! It was a miracle come true! Josh and I could not believe our luck that the pieces were all there and ordered and on their way just like that. Cabinets are being delivered next Tuesday right to our door! Amazing!

We rounded off our shopping day at Costco and got home with a van full of groceries only to find that the power was out again. Yikes. We loaded everything into the still cold fridge and freezer and decided to get to work setting up our generator. With all the power instability around here we figured it was time to fire that thing up. We had lots of help and it was not too hard to get it going and run an extension cord to the fridge to keep stuff cold and the microwave to make dinner :) Frozen dumplings from Costco and chips and salsa were on the menu tonight, eaten by headlamp. Mother Nature graced us with a gorgeous sunset as the light faded. We read and played games with headlamps on and as we sat there on the upstairs patio the street lamps suddenly flipped back on! Only 6 hours or so without power this time and I think we managed it pretty well. We’re at least set up somewhat for the next time it happens! 

It’s always an adventure around here and these peeps are just the ones I want to adventure with everyday! 



It's also Easter week and we started our Easter week traditions before we left and are continuing them while we're here.  Here's what we've done so far:

Yikes Rhen

Ever wonder what would happen if you pour half and half directly into the can of soda?  Rhen found out...

 

Pine needle wishbone

Josh and Desh created a game while waiting for him to be dropped off at school one day.  It is a daily tradition now as he goes to school and there's not a day we miss the chance to play "Pine Needle Wishbone".  The game is simple.  Desh finds a pair of pine needles that are stuck together that have fallen from the trees right in front of the school.  Each person takes a side and plays it just like a wishbone.  Whoever pulls the side off with the connecter wins!  Most of the time Desh wins, but sometimes we have a tie.  The connector splits just perfectly in half with each side.  And those are the special days.  When both of us win.  This boy is something else.