Week 7 in PR

Monday Beach Day we drove down to Patillas which is an absolutely gorgeous drive up through the mountains and back down along the coast. It was so fun to make the drive down but even better once we got there.  We went all the way down there to go sea glassing and it did not disappoint. We walked along the beach for a couple of hours and grabbed bags of glass and shells and all sorts of good finds that we’ll find something fun to do with! It was a perfect afternoon to be out and we couldn’t get enough of this gorgeous spot!

We’re still out of power at our house so we spent a lot of the week wishing and hoping that the lights would come back soon! Our electrician Eduardo came and installed a power switch to hook up our generator to power the house. It was a game changer when that was done and we could actually switch lights on and use the washer and dryer at the same time! Baby steps. We’re so grateful for good people that help us out!

We have been watching and keeping track of Luma trucks that come up our way on the hill. It has been pretty quiet until Thursday morning when we actually had the mayor of Rio Grande show up right in front of our house! He was doing a live press conference about the power that was still out up on the hill and what they were going to do to get it back on for us. It was pretty cool to see him there and know that there was actual work going to be done around us. Sure enough Luma showed up and worked all day Thursday and Friday putting up new power lines, cutting down trees that were in the way and trying to get the power back on for us. Meanwhile we were living on the generator power and washing dishes outside in the outdoor shower since our kitchen sink hadn’t been installed yet. Kids headed back to school and life returned to somewhat normal aside from the power. We just have felt so lucky to have been taken care of the way we have been and have been just fine with the amenities we have. Things have certainly started to improve around the island. 

And in between it all I got the official word that I was accepted into the Boston marathon for next year! Wohoo! 

Friday and Saturday turned out to be awesome days. Friday the kitchen sink got installed and I’ll tell you I didn’t know how much I missed having a kitchen sink until I didn’t have one! It was a welcome sight to see Edgardo walk through the door to get that in for us! We’re preparing for mom and dad to come visit so it was perfect timing to get that in and have a fully functional kitchen. 

Desh took an updated picture of D Papaya and it has probably doubled in size since he planted it first. 

Saturday we welcomed mom and dad to the island and were soooo excited to see them! They took a red eye Friday night and got to our house around noon Saturday. They were tired but we can’t wait to have them spend the week with us! When they got here we were still out of power but lots of action happening on our street. Luma trucks were roaming around and the mayor was back to oversee things. We watched them put up one last power pole and attach the electrical wire to it. Then just like that, our red light turned on and that means our now owner was back! It was a celebration like no other when we got to unplug the generator and switch on the air conditioning. Mom and dad only had to make it through one hour of no power before it came back. They brought good luck to the island with them! We are so grateful to all those that have worked so hard getting us back up and running and we know there are a lot more that need help. We were without power for 13 days and 8 hours which was much longer than we ever expected. Now so happy to have those two weeks behind us. 

Sunday morning we had the most special day as Beck was baptized at La Playa de Vacia Talega. He really wanted to be baptized on the island and while we’re here wanted to do it on the beach. It worked out timing wise that we could have mom and dad with us for the baptism and that was really special. The beach had the perfect little cove of trees for us to have our meeting before the baptism and beck had asked Elder Leatherwood and Rhen to each give a short talk on baptism and the Holy Ghost. It was a sweet little meeting right before the baptism and brought the spirit to our small group. As beck and Josh walked out to the water for the baptism I couldn’t help but feel overwhelming gratitude for this son of mine who is trying hard to make right choices, for this place that we’ve been lucky enough to make a part of our life for a short time and for all those that were there to share the day with us. It was pretty great to be on a beach and watch my son make important covenants with his Heavenly Father. Once in a lifetime moment for me.  



We finished off Sunday watching general conference and I always love to hear the words of our leaders and feel a boost of love from them. We had scones (we couldn’t miss that tradition) and spent the day together and it was just the perfect way to end our week. So many good things to be grateful for this week but most of all this family of mine that I love with my whole heart. 

Week 6 in PR

This week has been an interesting one as we’ve all been trying to recover from Hurricane Fiona that came though last Sunday. We’ve been without power or water all week and it has been an adjustment to live life without both of those. But we’ve been fine. Our generator has been great and gives us enough power to run our fans, refrigerators and a couple of lights for a few hours a day. We’re in a good rhythm and have enough extension cords running to different parts of the house that we can function with almost everything we need to live. Our extension cord system is impressive to say the least. It’s a labyrinth of cords mixed with power strips and surge protectors but it’s working just fine for us! 

The water on the other hand has been a little more difficult to live without. Our cistern has been supplying us with water to our toilets and a tiny stream of water out of the faucets. Not enough to wash dishes or wash clothes but we at least get enough filling up the toilets that we can flush and let it refill for the next 15-20 minutes to be able to use again. That has been a blessing for sure. We’ve had to relocate our dishwashing station to the spot with the most water pressure and that happens to be the outdoor shower down at the corner of the house. That has been the spot for showers, dishwashing and rinsing out of anything that we need running water for. It’s has worked good enough and we just feel lucky to have any water at all. The adjustment to very little water in the house has been more difficult than adjusting to no power. But we’ve managed and it has worked out ok so far. I got up on the roof Friday to check the level of our cistern. We were right about halfway full and I started calculating how many more days we’d have water if the city water doesn’t return. I figured we’d have about 6 more days left in the cistern and that’s if we could really conserve. So the kids and I decided we could do limit our showers and use minimal water during dishwashing to help out. That night Rhen and I even showered in the downspout after a rainstorm and figured we were doing our part to conserve our water that way :) The kids have been amazing during it all and we’ve found lots of different ways to keep ourselves busy. The elementary kids started back to school Thursday and Rease and Rhen go to the church everyday to work on their online classes. It has been a good setup down there for them with internet, power and water which is what we don’t have at home. And we’ve been so grateful that we have that place for them to go to work on school. The middle school and high schools have been out all week so I’ve had Liev home with me during the day while the others are at school or at the church. He’s been helpful doing all sorts of things with me and we spend some time at the church with the girls too during the hottest part of the day while our generator is off. It’s been a week of lots of learning and trying to just get through the day with no air or ac. A couple of highlights from this week with no power:

We met Elder Linford at the church while we were there doing school with the girls. He just got to the island Wednesday and was assigned to the Luquillo Branch just down in the next town from us. He was at our church for district meeting with the other elders and we happened to be there at the same time!

Rhen has perfected the Pina colada and we’ve had multiple nights of delicious dessert. 

Josh and I celebrated our 18th anniversary - although celebrated may not be the right word since he was in utah and I was here. But we acknowledged the date anyway!

Our outdoor shower continues to be the place that we wash everything: dishes, clothes, bodies etc. 

And the best thing I saw this week? This little doodle that Desh had written on our white board. I’ll let you figure out what it says. It’s absolutely true. 

I also had the task of changing the oil on the generator. Since it’s new it was recommended that the first oil change be after 25 hours of usage. So of course that happened to fall this week so I got to work with two of my favorite side kicks. We had to get a part or two before we could actually get it done. But when it came down to it, it was actually a piece of cake. Desh and Beck filled the oil back up and it was good as new. 

We’ve also had water trucks and Luma trucks all over our mountain this week and I hope that means that our power and water will be back soon. I know everyone is working hard so I’m trying to be patient. But at least it’s a good sign to see trucks around getting some things done. 

While Josh was in utah he stopped in and grabbed a blanket from my friend suz who had made it for me for our move. She’s so sweet and Josh grabbed this pic of my basketball ladies while he was there. Miss them all like crazy! 

Saturday turned out to be a great day! Mid morning we got our city water back! It was a celebration at our house as we realized the water was coming full speed out of the faucet when we turned it on! We cheered and celebrated and then all took showers in honor of our renewed water. Kim invited us over to swim and we took her up in the kind offer to get out of the house. After swimming we took a little drive down to Fajardo and made it to Seven Seas Beach. Beautiful little beach outside of town with a gorgeous view and we ordered some drinks and hung out just taking it in before we headed back home. 

Homemade pizza night on Saturday and sadly we couldn’t watch our movie but we played games like champs instead. Beck and Desh were in charge of dish duty Saturday night and it was obvious by the suds leftover that there was just a little extra soap used during the washing. 

Today we had stake conference and it was so great to gather with such a large group of saints. I loved being there and hearing the messages from our stake presidency and being able to worship together. And this afternoon the boys wrote letters and made a box for their favorite YouTuber Mr A Game. They’re convinced that he will open their letters and packages to him on air, so we got a package all together for him. They’re the best!

 Tonight as we wait for Josh to get home we’re all grateful for the week we’ve had and the things we’ve learned. I’ve had so many moments that have brought me to tears as neighbors and strangers have offered helping hands to those of us that are around. I drove down the hill one afternoon and was stopped by a group of people handing out bags of food and cases of water to everyone that drove past. I was so touched by their generosity and know I didn’t express it well enough in my very broken Spanish. Another day our neighbor two doors down knocked at the gate and said she had saved some bags of ice for us. Her son brought up 5 large bags of ice for us to have in our freezer and I know she was giving more bags away to the rest of the street. Just kindness. And another morning I snuck away to the gym with Rease and we both took our bags to be able to shower and change our clothes while we were there (it had been a while since we’d each had a good shower to wash hair and everything). The woman who works at the front desk stopped us on our way out and told me that Planet Fitness is opening their doors to all family members to be able to come shower and take advantage of the facilities while so many of us are without water still. I just couldn’t help it and broke into tears as she was welcoming me and all my kids into the gym for something that is seemingly so basic as a shower, but something that we haven’t had enough of this week. My heart was touched and I realized how kind hearted and welcoming the Puerto Rican people are and have been to us since we arrived. We’re a community that is working together to get through this difficult situation and they’re all doing it with a smile and kind word. I hope that I can be the same way someday when I see another in need. For today, I’m grateful for all those around me that have loved and served us. 

Just a few moments from the week that I know I’ll never forget. For all of my life I want to remember what we’ve been through this week and what has built our character. Here are just a few:

- Cover Your Assets by lamplight until we can’t play anymore!

- Dish washing in the down spout 

- Reading books because we have no tv

- Pina coladas (perfected by Rhen)

- Hardy Boys every night before bed

- Conserving water in all sorts of way - boys peeing off the deck instead of using the toilets, showering outside or in the rain, filling up gallons of  “poison” water to use for hand washing, washing a few towels and essential clothes by hand (not enough water pressure for washing machine), and just the thought in all of our minds that we are short on water. It makes you think and act differently when you know it’s not endless.

- Early dinners so we can cook in the daylight

-  Liev learned how to light the gas stove with a match so he can still cook his eggs

- Girls working hard at the church on their online school classes

- Beck helped me start the generator everyday. Knows all he steps it takes to get it started

- I learned how to exchange empty propane tanks for full ones all in Spanish. And then exchanged them daily as we went through a tank a day with our generator. 

- Plunging toilets until we couldn’t plunge anymore to get it all just to flush down the drain! 

- The midnight shower in the downspout with Rhen (because we knew it had just rained and it would help us save the water)

- Learning to cook everything on the gas grill

- Teaching my boys (and learning myself as I went) how to check the oil in the generator and then change the oil when needed

- No school most of the week so we learned to be creative with our time. Make believing, writing letters, playing Pokémon, sleeping, playing games together. 

- Being grateful for all the “little wins”. There were many. 

- The simpleness 

Hurricane Fiona

Sunday morning we woke up to no power as Fiona moved in overnight. It’s interesting how the temperature dropped and was in the low to mid 70s instead of the 80s. And what a difference it makes to find yourself with no power and no fans or ac, but we felt fine because the air was so much cooler. Joshs flight was obviously cancelled and our stake conference had been cancelled until next week already so we knew we didn’t have to be anywhere Sunday at all. And a good thing too because from the minute we woke up it was constant and pretty intense rain the whole day. Mixed with winds that went from mild-moderate-heavy at times but were also pretty consistently there. It was just what I thought it might be in the middle of a hurricane. We have a big wrap around covered porch and the west side of the house was completely shielded from the wind and rain blowing in from the east. So we spent most of the day sitting outside and watching mother nature take hold of everything surrounding us. The winds and the rains got crazy at times and we heard and saw huge trees break off and fall right behind our house in the jungle. Water pooled up in our yard and ran like a small river down the road from our house. The bottom level did start to fill up and drain water through it just like we thought it probably would and we were so grateful for our preparations to get everything out of there or off the floor. Meanwhile Beck and Desh filled up some extra gallon jugs of water with the hose and kept those in case we also lose water. And…we ate! We are in love with this grill/griddle we bought and even more now that we can still cook on it with the power out. Josh made yummy tacos for us while we watched the storm go by. 

Sunday night we had church by candlelight and then fired up the generator to make pina coladas for dessert. We talked about how blessed we are to have a sturdy house and the essentials we need while the storm is happening around us. Mostly just a great day of feeling gratitude for the protection we were receiving. 

And so many people reaching out reminding us that we’re being thought of and prayed for. I don’t think we ever felt like we were in danger, and I know it’s because we were being comforted by a Heavenly Father who listens to all those prayers being said. We just felt so much love pouring in.  



Monday morning we woke up to more rain but not the heavy winds like we had Sunday. It was obvious that the hurricane had moved on but we were still getting the tail of the storm circling around us and dropping tons of rain in its wake. We also started to see the magnitude of damage that Fiona had caused when it came through and how many people had been left with flooding towns and homes. We feel a bit isolated up on the mountain and don’t always see or know what’s happening around us, but as we saw pictures come through on Facebook we realized how protected we actually are up on the hill as the rain and water drained down to the valleys. I wish we knew exactly how much rain we got but some places reported 30 inches in those 24 hours. That’s an incredible amount of water and the rivers just swelled up and ran over flooding homes and neighborhoods. In the central and south part of the island where the hurricane hit hardest there are whole towns under water, bridges that have collapsed and roads completely washed out. It’s so crazy to see all the damage happening on the island. The rain let up a little bit and we took a walk around our small neighborhood to see how everyone was doing up our way. Lots of broken trees and bushes and some small areas where the road has started to tear up but for the most part we did ok. We settled in for another day of lots of rain and letting the storm pass. We played tons of games and had a Spanish lesson and of course took naps whenever we could! Still no power all over the island and with no power we also have no internet. We started to realize that maybe getting Josh rescheduled for a new flight out of here might be the best idea so he can get at least some kind of work done while we’re recovering from the hurricane. 

Monday night we had to get out of the house. We loaded up and drove to the beach (you know since it’s Monday and all) and were happy to just be outside. We all posed in front of this incredible angel art and then wandered along the beach and up the pier. The water was so calm it was almost eery, like every bit of energy had been taken away with the storm. It was crazy but so beautiful. 

On the pier we found a few guys fishing and catching small bait fish with a net and then dropping them into bucket. It was so fun to watch them do their job. Liev cleverly named this Fishterra Beach because we didn’t know what it was called exactly and it fit with what was happening around us. Rhen hates the name but we’re going with it :) That night we watched the most incredible thunder/lightning storm around us and were in awe at how close it seemed to be! 

That night we went to bed with no power or water from the city still. 

Tuesday Josh and I got up early and headed into town to see what the state of the towns look like and check out what might possibly be open. We found the gym closed :( but Home Depot was up and running with lights and ac and all! We wandered around and found a few more extension cords that we’re realizing we need, got a couple more cases of water and hoped to be able to change out our small propane tanks for new ones. They were unfortunately out of propane so off we went to find somewhere that might have them. We didn’t have to go too far, just across the street to a little shop that I’ve never really noticed before but ended up being a gem to find! It’s a baking supply store and had lots of things that I haven’t been able to find at regular grocery stores including yeast! I was so excited to find it. And another miracle is they had propane and were able to trade out our used ones for new ones. Double win on that little store! 

We did end up getting Josh a flight off the island as the power and internet outage continue throughout the island. We got him packed up and then he walked me around the house and showed me all the things I might need to know for the coming days. Water valves for the city, water valves from the cistern, how to change the oil on the generator (which I’ll have to do in the next day or two if we need the generator much longer), instructions on when the garbage guy comes, checking the level on the cistern on the roof (and figured out that we have 450 gallons still of our 600 gallon tank), and all the things that I may need to know while he’s gone. I’m so grateful that he’s so prepared and I feel completely comfortable knowing what to do while he’s gone. We’ve figured out that we get the best water pressure in the outside shower and have taken to having our daily showers down there. It’s chilly but worth it after sweating all day in a warm and damp house :) The family keeps asking how we’re doing and I sent this out on day 3 of our power and water outage:

Today is Wednesday and we’re starting to realize that we may be without power and water for a lot longer than we actually anticipated. Lots of Luma and city trucks can be found everywhere working hard to get things back up and running so I know things are in the works. But it’s looking like it will take some time. In the meantime we’re trying to figure out anything to keep us occupied throughout the day. The kids are out of school for now and with no source of power to take up our time, we’ve been forced to be imaginative. Real life smash bros, clay art turned body armor, hide and seek, dead man cacoons, and everything else under the sun. We’ve dubbed cover your assets as our official Fiona game and have played at least 470 rounds of it in the past 4 days. All the creatures have come out as well with all the rain and now the sun, so we’re finding ourselves with lots of bites in the morning and critters crawling around everywhere. Some harmless and some just really gross.  Today we took chrome books down the hill to the church and hoped that it might be a place we could find power and internet access. Without being able to get on from home, the girls have really fallen behind in the online classes they’re taking from home. These days would be perfect days to get caught up on everything! Praise the heavens that we were able to get the logged on and working away on school! This may just be what saves our school year if we can keep it going. Thanks church!

We’ve settled into a routine of having the generator on a few hours a day and cooling down with the fans on, early dinners, games and books before bed. It’s a simple but good life we’re living right now. 

What we’re really feeling is just an incredible amount of gratitude for what we feel are true blessings amidst the storms. We’re safe, healthy, together, have plenty of water, a working generator, now have a place to get schoolwork done and a home that keeps us protected. We are truly blessed and know we have a loving Heavenly Father watching over us. Many many of our beloved Puerto Ricans are suffering. We hope they can find recovery and peace as well and hope to be able to help in any way we can. 

Week 5 in PR

The home improvement projects for Pepo continue at our house! He’s our guy and can seemingly do anything. This week he’s helping fill in all the holes around the house and finishing the edges of the cement work. This electric pillar out front looks sooo much better after he finished it! 

The weeks have started taking on a routine like schedule with school, work, etc with a few “little wins” thrown in there now and then. One morning for the first time we actually bought the donuts that we see “senor dona” selling on the street on our way home from the gym. Turns out…they’re DELICIOUS! We may never go back to regular donuts again.

Our passports came in the mail so now the world is ours for the taking :)

The boys have been loving their after school tutoring. I think mostly because they get snacks and get to play games along with the learning they’re doing - but hey whatever helps them to learn is fine with me! 

Our ward activities have become something to look forward to. Eudaldo renamed them Miércoles de Hot Dog in honor of the hot dogs we eat there every week. We contributed a macaroni salad and bowl of watermelon this week and just made dinner out of it.

Also we’ve all been watching this tropical storm that’s approaching. It keeps looking like it will hit us square on but still not a lot of details on it. So we keep watching it.   

Beck and Desh both got an award in their tutoring class this week for their hard work the progress they're making.  So proud of them!  This has not always been easy so it's great to see that they're doing some good things.  

Our washer and dryer for upstairs got delivered as well! It fits in the big bathroom and looks great. Can’t wait to be able to wash clothes upstairs now. Josh and Pepo also worked on installing the glass for the showers in each of the bathrooms. They look awesome and it adds just the perfect finishing touch. Oh we’re so close to being done! Plumbers are going to come back to install the vanity in the master bathroom as soon as it gets here. But for now we can shower and wash hands and use the toilets! Including the bidet that Josh already loves and that the boys each had to try out for themselves :)

Our kids have been sick the past week or so on and off so Monday Beach Day turned into Thursday Beach Day instead. Just half of us went but we didn’t want to skip a week of at least a little time at the beach. This week we were at Playa Fortuna right by the kiosks in Luquillo. Beautiful. The tropical storm that’s approaching has everyone a little nervous. It’s been the talk around the island the past few days and wondering how bad it will hit or how big it will be by the time it gets here. Of course we can’t really know until it comes but we’re all getting things tidied up and ready for whatever it might bring. Tonight at the beach though we had it mostly to ourselves and definitely could tell the surf was high. The storm is headed our way. But we got a gorgeous sunset to end our day. 

Friday and Saturday mostly was spent on storm prep. We had date night Friday night and ended up at Costco to get a few supplies that we might need. I think we’re figuring that we will lose power for at least a little bit but not sure how long. We feel like the house is pretty set up for power outages. We have a great generator and some large full tanks of propane and also a few small ones. Most of our appliances are gas ones as well so don’t need electricity for them. We stocked up on paper products and water and food that can be easily cooked. Overnight Friday the storm got upgraded to a hurricane and is now approaching as Hurricane Fiona at a category 1. We tied up a little tree that we just planted and secured anything loose around the house. We brought all the plants that haven’t been planted yet inside the garage for safe keeping and cleaned out the whole downstairs of the house, putting everything up off the floor and moving the rest of our stuff upstairs. Chances are if there’s a large amount of rain there will be some flooding in the lower level. We still have some areas that we need to seal off and just haven’t been able to do that yet. So we’re prepping for at least some water getting in down there. 

It’s pretty crazy to think about being on a small island in the middle of a huge ocean and know a hurricane is coming for us. It makes me feel very small and a bit defenseless. But we’ve done all we can do to prepare and I’m actually a little surprised that we’re actually doing this just weeks after we arrived. It seems weird to be preparing for a hurricane when that’s something we’ve never had to do in our lives! We feel good though and hopefully prepared for what comes. The predictions show that it will make landfall Saturday night into Sunday morning. We enjoyed watching tv and playing Nintendo knowing we may not be able to for a few days coming up if we lose power! Josh has a flight out to Utah Sunday morning for the week for some meetings at home. Omit may turn out to be bad timing for that. We’ll have to see what this storm does. 

Saturday morning out countertop guys finally came to install the countertops!! Wohoo! We’ve been waiting oh so long for this and even with the approaching storm they got it all done for us. They turned out beautiful and I’m in love with being able to cook upstairs now! The kitchen has been the one thing we keep needing to go back downstairs for and now we get to enjoy everything upstairs. My favorite part? The long, uninterrupted counter just below the window. I have been dreaming of a big space to prepare and serve food. And with a view?! Can’t beat that! What a good day. 

Saturday Night we dubbed “homemade pizza and movie night” and that’s just what we did. The rains started just as the countertop guys left and we were so grateful for our new kitchen to be able to be up here making dinner as we watched the rain outside. The pizza was delicious and the movie for the week was Lego Ninjago. I’m going to take charge of movie selection next week. For now, we’re happy, healthy and just waiting for what’s to come in the next 24 hours. 

Week 4 in PR

This week we got to celebrate Labor Day with one more day off of school and a road trip to the center of the island to a beautiful little town called Aibonito. It was a bit of a drizzly day and it made the ride up through the windy mountain roads just that much more beautiful. This town is known for its gardens and greenhouse shops and holds an annual flower festival every year in June. We missed it by a couple days last time we were here so decided to take our own trip to see this town and buy some unique flowers and plants. It turned out to be worth the drive! It was so fun to walk through the little garden shops and find some of our favorite flowers to bring home to our yard. Beck even found a Roostery pit that he’s going to put in the front right next to our other mascot Rupert. 

We found a spot that sells lots of fruit trees and Ray the owner was the best at introducing and informing us on all the different kinds. We ended up with a great variety of trees that will be so awesome to watch grow! By the time we left this cutest little town our car was full of plants…and children somewhere in there. 

While we were down south we ventured just a little further to the town of Salinas and walked along this rocky beach to fleecy shells, sea glass and anything else we could find. It’s fun to explore another part of the island and see how different. These beaches can be compared to the ones by us. Since it’s Monday Beach Day we wanted to make sure we made it to Salinas Beach before heading home. It did not disappoint and we left with a trove of treasures we found!


This week we also tried out a new pizza place just down the street from us and it was delicious. Yunques Pizzeria just down from us in the little town of Palmer that we drive through daily on our way to and from school. We’ll definitely be back. We also discovered the incredible sunsets that we have off of our deck and can’t get enough of them. 

Desh comes home from school every day sweaty as a 6 year old boy should be after playing hard all day! 

We’ve been cleaning out the downstairs and still moving things up as we go. This week we cleared out our bedroom and remembered how big that room actually is! It looks and feels so nice to have this room done. 

Kids. Are. Weird. Anyone else recognize that or is it just me? 

And we got the boys bed delivered this week and worked hard to get it together! It is an awesome triple bunker so they can all sleep in it together and it doesn’t take up too much room. The mattresses have been a bit hard to find as the middle and top one are a full xl and a twin xl. The full xl (which I actually didn’t even know was a real size of mattress) we found randomly in just pure luck here on the island at a tiny mattress shop that we went into just as it was closing and they pulled it out of the back like a miracle. We fit it in our car and drove home wondering how on earth we found that random size of mattress in this corner of the earth! The twin xl we ordered from Costco and just like that this bed came together and the boys have their room! It looks really great all put together. 

We have also had a really rainy week with one day in particular that produced a downpour and some pretty good flooding in just a short amount of time. We watched as our yard filled up with water and found out the problem spots that need some work on the drainage. Some water did get into downstairs and flooded the kitchen as well (good thing most of our stuff is moved out) so that’s also something we’re going to have to figure out before too long too. We had the most spectacular sunset that night as the clouds were breaking up just as the sun was going down. 

Other fun happenings:

Eduardo and Junior have been working on installing toilets in our bathrooms upstairs! And I actually got to be the first one to use a flushing toilet on the upper level! 

Joshs bidet was installed and the kids took turns trying it out. Hilarious reactions. 

Nightly Spanish lessons continue. 

I found an indoor basketball court! 

And Friday night we were invited to spend the evening at our branch presidents house with him and his wife. She made us a delicious Puerto Rican dinner (piñon which is a Puerto Rican lasagna made of sweet plantains) and then we swam the night away in their community pool. It was empty except for us and soo fun to be with them! 

Saturday morning we worked hard planting out new trees and plants and recognize after a couple of hours it just gets too hot to work outside. We did all we could then moved inside to do a little work on the house in there. 

Date night Saturday night and the kids got to play nintendo while we were away. 

Josh drew up the plans for the table he’s going to build with Carmelo. 

And I got the sweetest gift from Hermano Vasquez. My very own rice pot to make the perfect rice that he taught me how to make! He is the kindest man and I’m so grateful for friends like this that we’ve found here!

Our week ended as we found a new pet in our yard today and the kids room turns holding him before they let it go. We can’t help but feel so lucky to be in such a beautiful spot at this time of our lives. Things get tough and it’s not all sunshine and rainbows but we sure try to make the best out of it and have found that it’s pretty great! 

Week 3 PR

This week started out great because the kids already knew it would be a short week at school.  With Labor Day next Monday, the schools also have this Friday off so its a 4 day weekend for us!  I told the kids we need to work really hard this week so we can have a great long weekend to relax.  A few of the highlights of the week:

- Josh helped Hector do some yard work at his house and they cut down a big tree and hauled away all the dead limbs.  Josh came home with lots of bug bites, sweaty clothes and a bruise on his elbow from a slip he had.  But...he loves being with Hector so it makes it all better!

- We cleaned everything out of the boys room and moved their mattresses in so they could sleep upstairs with us.  We slowly but surely making our way upstairs! 

- Buttered and toasted "pan de agua" is our new favorite treat and the kids want it every morning for breakfast.  

Monday Beach Day was at Playa Azul this week.  It was also Tilly's first trip to the beach and she was not impressed with the water that kept trying to get her.  She was deathly afraid to go near the waves so usually perched herself on someones lap instead.  First and last trip to the beach for that little lady.  



We spent some time one morning gathering up some of the finishing touches we need for the house.  On the list this week are toilets, sinks, faucets, a bedet, a bbq and a laundry room sink/cabinet.  Its all the fun stuff going in now and we can't wait!

Also...Rhen has been reading a ton, Tilly still loves her spot in the sun and I know how to measure with just my hands.  No tape measure required.  

Rio Grande had their farmers market this week and Josh and I loved walking around and checking out all the fresh produce.  It looked so pretty all stacked up together!  Of course we came home with a couple bags full of stuff to try :)

We made it to Friday and with the kids out of school we put them to work before any playing got done.  We washed windows and walls, mopped floors, drilled holes in the wall for sewer drainage access, and even had an outdoor shower installed for post-beach rinsing!  It was a productive morning!

Friday night was date night for Josh and I and the kids earned Smash Bros for the evening so they were happy with their Nintendo and pizza while Josh and I took some time away.  Always great to get out of the house!

Saturday morning we had more projects to do and Desh was up at the break of day to help dad work.  First thing on the list was planting a tree that is properly named "D Papaya" after Big D who has tended it since it was tiny.  It was ready to be put in the ground so they worked hard getting that planted in just the right spot. 

After planting was done we headed back to San Juan for a few more pick ups.  Rhen, Beck and Desh joined us as we went to IKEA for a desk (and also found some ideas for beds and dressers for the bedrooms), and then to Costco to pick up a king mattress for the master bedroom.  I've been dreading the day we had to get this mattress because I knew we'd have to go full Puerto Rican to get it home.  But it was just as easy as it could have been and no one even looked twice at us as we drove away with a large mattress on top of our mini van.  It only rained on us a little bit on the way home (thank goodness for the plastic covering) and didn't even slip off one single bit.  We made it home and got it upstairs and that was that!  Done and done.  

We had a little bit of clearing out to do before we put the master bedroom together, but with help from all the kids we moved the rest of the extra tile back outside, swept and mopped and then got the bed put together.  We moved out of the girls room that we had been borrowing and finally into our own bedroom!  Now all 8 of us can sleep upstairs together.  Little by little we're getting there.  

We also added a few pieces that we found for the family room (the rug and red chair) and now even that room looks like its liveable!  

Meanwhile we were also dodging Tropical Storm Earl that was threatening to make his way to our little island.  Luckily it turned north and we just got a really awesome thunder and lightening storm from it but nothing major.  

We finished off the night watching BYU win their first football game of the season and were so excited to be able to cheer them on from here!

We rounded off the week with hamburgers on our new grill after church on Sunday and listened to Desh sing us a song (in spanish) that he had learned in music class.  The. Cutest. Thing. Ever.

Mother Nature spoiled us with an incredible sunset tonight and you can see that lingering clouds from the storm made it even more amazing.  Wow are we grateful for the beautiful place we get to call home for now!