Week 24 in PR

This week was great! Lots of the usual stuff but had some fun visitors to our house too. Monday night we changed our plans from beach day and had a pool day instead. Carlos and Laura haven’t come to swim at the house yet so we had them for dinner and a swim night. We had the best time with them like always and played pool games all night with them. Carlos made a good bottom half for chicken fights and also started a game of “who can make the smallest splash”. Beck ended up with the smallest splash and congratulated himself on a job well done :) We always love the time we get to spend with Carlos and Laura! 

Tuesday morning Dixie and Delaney flew into town to be with us for the rest of the week. It was sooo fun to see them and welcome them to our home!! I got to the end of the week and realized we didn’t take very many pictures together, but we filled our week with lots of fun. They joined right into our routine and also got to relax like they were in vacation which is just what we wanted them to do! We took them to the beach, they ate dinner with the missionaries at our house Tuesday, took them to our ward activity Wednesday, took them to eat açaí bowls and drive down to the south side to Patillas to sea glass with them. One day they ventured out on their own and drove to Oracovis to go zip lining. Delaney said she loved it after she got over being scared :) We were so glad to have them in our home, to catch up on lost time and just be together! We recognize it’s a long trip to come see us and we just appreciate them coming all this way! It was a great week with loved ones. 

Saturday after Dixie and Delaney left we spent most of the day outside in the pool. We had a pretty relaxing day just soaking up the warm sun and playing games in the pool. The day ended with the boys competing in a “dance fight” across the pool and showing us their best moves. We got some priceless videos that will one day show up on their wedding video. They were hilarious dancing like no one was watching - which is the best way to dance! 

Today (Sunday) was a good day. After church we had a “Family Inventory” to check in on how we’re all doing. Whether we like it or not, we’ve just hit our halfway mark her in Puerto Rico and we figured it was a good time to check in with each other. We made two lists together - one list of all the things we’ve done well and the progress we’ve made here so far. So many things were mentioned; the language, the relationship with our branch members, friends we’ve made, school, learning a new culture, making new traditions, family scripture study, just to name a few. Talking about the past 5 months in that setting was so good for all of us to really appreciate how far we’ve come. We have made some great progress and grown together as a family in the process. The second list was a list of what we can improve on in the second half of our year. We know we have a long way to go and this list ended up just as long as the previous. But it was good for us to be open and honest with each other and talk about what we want to do to make the most of the short time we have left. The things we listed; continuing to work hard on the language, being positive at school, having more people in our home, being kind to each other, etc. We talked a good long time and had some great ideas about how to make the most of our time. It was a bittersweet discussion as we have all fallen in love with our new home and the people here. There were tears shed and goals made and overall it was just a great family inventory. At the end of the discussion we challenged the kids to think about what they’d like their life to be like the next 6 months and what kind of things they’d like to incorporate in their world. We gave them each a chance to express their thoughts and feelings for themselves and gave them a stack of magazines and a poster to make their own vision boards with. It was the perfect activity to end with and the kids loved searching, cutting and pasting all their thoughts into their boards and then sharing them with the rest of us. I LOVE how they each turned out and how they are perfectly just the style of each of the kids. Such a positive way for them to share their feelings in a way that was all their own. I can’t wait to hang them up so we can refer back to them as often as we can! Love this family of mine just so so much! 

Week 23 in PR

We welcomed the Chalk Family to our home this week and could not have been more excited to see them after so long!  It was so fun to hug and catch up and be in each other's lives again even for just a few days.  They had traveled all night and were tired from being on the road.  So we got them settled in for a nap and some time to catch up before we showed them all our favorite spots on the island.  

First stop this week was a visit to Old San Juan and San Felipe del Morro. We don’t often make it into the fort and the historical sites so it was fun to walk around inside and see that old fort. So cool to learn about it and see how old the building is. It was a perfectly overcast, cool day to be able to walk around. We loved walking along the old walls, jumping from stone to stone, hiding in the secret caves, looking at the huge walls towering above us, looking out at the gorgeous view of the ocean, playing frisbee on the big open lawn, and taking in the salty air. Of course we ended up at Bari’s for pizza and Anita’s for gelato. How could we visit old San Juan without? It was a fun day showing the Chalks the old town. 





The next day we had planned on a trip to Culebra and Flamenco Beach, but the high tide and rio current warnings kept us on the main island instead to try and avoid a seasick voyage on the ferry. We ended up on the north side at Mar Chiquita instead. It’s a pretty little cove of a beach that we’ve been to and love and wanted to try again. Turns out the high surf and Rio currents were all over the island and ended up at mar Chiquita as well! What a difference it was being there this time vs the last time we came in June. We found huge, crashing waves and the surf all the way up the beach past where we usually sit. It was crazy! But still so pretty and we had plenty to do even if we didn’t swim much. We climbed up the big rocky ledge that looked out over the north shore and watched the waves rolling in. It was so beautiful up there looking out at the endless ocean and then back at the cove that our beach was in. We could have stayed up there for hours. We eventually came back down and sat on the sand playing fresco ball and frisbee while we soaked in the sun. Liev climbed the palm tree and gathered coconuts for all the kids that wanted one. Somehow they got some of them open and drank the coconut water out of them. 

We wandered over to the other side of the cove later on and found a small swimming hole where the water came in from over the rocks. The kids invented a game to see how long they could keep hold onto the rocks before the waves crashed over and got them wet. We all had a laugh as we watched them each get wet with waves they thought they could avoid and even some waves that drenched everyone sitting closely. It entertained those of us that were just standing and watching! Eventually one of those waves caught up with the boys that were standing there “taking it like a man” instead of running from it. Beck, Desh and Liev all got taken by a huge wave and knocked into the rocks bordering the sand. Lots of cuts and scrapes and one or two deep cuts ended that game and we bandages them up. It was an unfortunate end to a fun game with the waves! They’ll all be fine with no major injuries :)

Overall such a fun day at the beach! Mar Chiquita never disappoints. 

We loved being with the chalks and just hanging out when we had some extra time. It was so fun to catch up and welcome them back into our lives for the short term. We loved seeing our table full of these people we love and didn’t want it to end. Rhen made her famous pina coladas one night, we visited the açaí bowl truck, played games, swam in the pool and watched the sunset every night from the deck. I think they settled into the island life rather well! 

One morning we took them to Charco Frio and had fun jumping frim the rope swing and cliffs there. Their little ones all went down the slides and were so proud to be able to do something so adventurous. 

We also made it over to Gozalandia Falls in San Sebastián and had such a fun day swimming in the fresh water and jumping from the cliffs there. I love this place for all the variety it has. Every age can do something here whether it’s just swimming or jumping off small jumps or climbing behind the water falls. And the older, braver ones can be more adventurous and jump off the tall cliffs and swim into the underwater cave. It was a really fun day to be there and I’m so glad we made it over to that side to do that with them! 



Before they left, Mark made a few good things happen around the house! He knew we needed some fans put up in the garage and got right to it the last morning here. He and josh worked together and got them done so fast! Before we knew it all three fans in the garage were up and running. It is going to be so nice to have those especially in the warm summer months when it’s hot even in the evenings. Seriously so nice to have them done!!

They also got our microwave in the kitchen installed and we finally got to get rid of the small countertop microwave we’ve been using. I’m so grateful to have these two little projects done and so happy to have someone here that could help us! 

We said goodbye to our dear friends and sent them on their way home. We have LOVED every minute of having them here with us and are so grateful that they made the effort to come visit. We love this family dearly and were so glad to get them back with us for a little bit. 

The weekend was spent relaxing. And by relaxing I mean having a paper airplane flying contest from the deck upstairs. We flew hundreds of paper airplanes from up there and always tried to guess who made the best looking one, the one that could fly the highest, the longest and the farthest. Of course once dad joined in he won every category! 

Saturday night josh and I headed back to old San Juan for the fiesta de Calle de San Sebastián or “Sanse” as people around here call it. It’s a weeklong party to celebrate the end of the Christmas season in Puerto Rico and is a HUGE gathering of all Puerto Ricans on the streets of old San Juan. There’s lots of art and jewelry vendors, food trucks, live music and people everywhere. It’s the party of parties here on the island and we wanted to witness it first hand! We had such a fun night walking around and people watching :) Every type of person and personality was there with something for everyone to do. It reminded me of what Mardi Gras might be like and we were happy to be a part of it for a couple hours. Once it started getting dark, the party crowd showed up and things started to get wild. We headed out pretty quick after that but were so glad we got to be there and have good food, good music and enjoy lots of people around us. Sanse 2023 seemed to be a huge success!

Sunday ended up being a great day for the Beutler family. We had been asked to speak in church and after prepping for a few hours during the week we were ready to get it done. I was so proud of each of the kids as they had prepared their talks on their own in English and then had josh hell them translate it to Spanish before Sunday. Each of them got up and read their own talk in Spanish and did so good! It brought tears to my eyes as I listened to each of them and contemplated how far we have come in the past few months. Of course we have a long way to go with the language still, but hearing each of my kids bare their testimony’s in a new language made me so proud. I felt the spirit so strongly as we all testified of our savior and the lessons we’re each learning every day. What a good day to remember and a great way to end the week! 

Week 22 in PR

This week was pretty chill for us. We had a touch of something going through the house and none of us felt really amazing on and off all week. So we took it easy! The kids started school after being off for 3+ weeks and it put us back onto a good schedule. We spent our extra time in the pool, playing with rubics cubes and getting mail from some of our favorites - the Swensens! Tilly also got a haircut which is always a big ordeal for her. She looks much better though! 

Josh spent the week in Utah for work but managed to fit in a few other important things while he was there. He spent time with family and friends that we’ve missed so much and even took a ski day at Alta with all the new snow! What a week he had. 

Thursday morning Kim and hector took us to a new sea glassing spot in Old San Juan. It was so fun to be out with them finding glass, tile, shells and lots of treasures. Rhen is in the glass art mode and was so glad to get her supply replenished. 

We ended the week on a high note as we got to watch the live stream of the temple dedication in San Juan. Elder Christofferson was the one presiding and dedicating and it was so cool. He speaks perfect Spanish and the whole meeting was done in Spanish which was just the perfect touch for these sweet members here that have waited so long for this temple. It has been so awesome to be a part of the temple construction, open house and dedication and we can’t wait to be able to attend in the months ahead. We’re so grateful for the gospel and the way we’ve learned to love it in a different way along with our members here. Such a beautiful part of our lives!  

Week 21 in PR

This week was amazing and wonderful, fast and furious. We did so many things and also enjoyed every minute of being together with our friends who we love and have missed dearly. Lots of highlights on the way…

One of the first stops was to Charco Frio which is a spot that we love. Lots of the group had been there before but we wanted everyone to have a chance at it so we went again! It did not disappoint. It was one of my favorite days of the whole week. The river is so beautiful with lots of spots for cliff jumping, water sliding and rope swinging. We couldn’t get enough of the fresh, cool water and spent most of the day there. Everyone was super brave and tried all sorts of new, adventurous things including a “40 footer” jump that Beck literally talked himself into with positive words and a nerve squashing attitude. He did SO AWESOME. He’s typically one that is nervous but didn’t want to miss out on being one of the big kids that were doing it. So proud of that kid. It also happened to be Izzy’s 16th birthday that day and she also joined the 40 foot club and jumped right at the last second. 

It was a beautiful day and we had tons of fun being there together. A few of the boys got super muddy on the hike and looked like mud monsters for the rest of the hike back until they could wash off. And Melissa ripped off a nail (like the whole nail, too and natural nail together) and it was a nasty looking injury. She handled it well and wrapped it up tight as soon as we got back to the house. Poor girl is probably going to be hurting from that one. 

Overall this was such a fun spot to be together!

We laughed and talked and did crazy hair and ate yummy food and made our way to açaí bowls pretty much every day. All the good things in life made their way into our days this week. We loved having our house full of loud and crazy loved ones!

We took a trip to Seven Seas Beach one day for snorkeling and conch shell hunting. Some of us (Melis and I) sat on the shore and watched while the rest of the group snorkeled their hearts out. They all found fun shells and saw lots of tropical fish. Later that night we took them to Old San Juan to our fav place Bari’s for pizza and on to Anita’s for gelato after. It’s always a hit and we never get tired of it! 

One day we made our way across the island to the west side to visit a favorite beach of Morgan’s. She took us to Crashboat beach in aguadilla and one that we have ever been to before. It was really fun and we loved trying out a new spot! The beach is separated in half by a big long pier and jumping off the pier was a favorite for all of us to do. It was a really beautiful day to be at the beach. 



After the  each we drove about 30 minutes to one of our favorite spots on the whole island, Gozalandia Falls. We haven’t been back there for so long and it was a blast to be there again! There’s lots of fun jumping spots for all ages which makes it great for everyone to be able to do whatever they’re comfortable with. Luckily for us, our boys are super adventurous, daring and crazy so they like to jump from anywhere! Liev and Rhen immediately climbed up to the top jump (35 feet) and jumped off followed by Tay, Bry, Kar, Jack and me. The others swam to the waterfall and climbed behind and jumped from other spots along the rock wall. I love this place so much because it’s great for everyone and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS! 

We swam and played and jumped and loved every minute of our time at this beautiful spot. It was a great way to end our day on the west side! After swimming and jumping all day we were tired on the long drive home. We stopped for dinner at a roadside taco stand (delicious) and all made it home just in time to fall into our beds. Such a good day. 

One morning a few of us got up early and packed a day pack to hike the trail El Toro. It’s a trail just outside of El Yunque and I’ve been wanting to hike it but never had anyone to go with. Jordan, Bryson and Karson saved the day and said they’d let me go with them! We went into it knowing it would be a muddy trail and it certainly was! We tried to navigate around it as much as possible but there was no way to do it without getting absolutely messy. We embraced it and made it to the top to see the amazing overlook in front of us. It was so cool to be able to see every direction from the top of that mountain. I LOVED it! 

The rest of the day was spent at the beach and relaxing around the house and the pool. Katie and Bryson were so cute and happily took all of my kids to the beach with them while I got some laundry and dinner started at the house. The kids had such a fun time with them and were so happy to be able to go. 

We loved eating meals together and playing games and sitting around the deck watching sunsets and rainbows appear. Favorite game of the week? We loved the game of Left, Right, Center that ended up with Melissa winning the 95 $1 bills. It was a hoot. We also took a trip down to the basketball court and played spikeball and paddle smash along with the basket ball game we had going. The good thing about having a big group of people is that there’s always some sort of game being played that anyone can join. That’s how the week went!

Friday morning we jumped on the ferry and headed over to Culebra to spend the day at Flamenco Beach. To say the ferry ride was bumpy would be a huge understatement, and though most of us were sick the whole way (with some puke making it’s way into the pukebags) we finally made it and we were all so happy to be on dry ground. 

Flamenco Beach never disappoints and we had a beautiful day sitting in the sun and building sand castles. The water there is perfectly clear blue surrounded by white sand. It’s the perfect beach in my opinion and one I could go to any day of the week. I LOVE this beach and I’m so glad we made it there with our group. 

Josh and I took our boys back on the ferry Friday night but the girls and the rest of the Hammer Family ham kicked overnight on the beach and came home early Saturday morning.  They said it was a great night with no rain which I’m so glad to hear! It’s been rainy on and off all week and it looks like the clouds cleared on just the perfect night for a sleep out! 

Sunday we had a really sweet day at church with everyone there with us. Being the first day of the new year, Liev was old enough to be sustained and set apart to receive the priesthood and become a deacon in our branch. I felt so much joy as I watched this sweet boy of mine (who is growing up way too fast) surrounded by a group of men who have known him since he was born, all lay their hands on his head to give him the priesthood. Having the Hammers there felt like we’d come a full circle as we’ve been a part of each of their ordinations over the years. And now they were there for Liev’s and it was such a special moment to see and be a part of. So proud of this boy of mine who is growing up right before our eyes! 

We hated to say goodbye. It was bittersweet to see them drive away from us once again, but we are SO grateful for the week we had and the memories we made together. Until next time Hammers!

Week 20 in PR

Christmas is over and now we’re feeling the need to get a few big projects done before the first wave of visitors come. Next week the Hammers will be here then a handful of others one right after the other. So we’re getting the house completely ready before all the fun starts! 

The first big project this week was painting the downstairs. We decided to do it all white and make it look new and fresh and bright down there. We taped and covered everything in the main room and sprayed that whole room with the sprayer. It worked good because of all the pipes and tubes on the ceiling. It covered everything up great and looks so nice! We rolled the rest of the rooms and finished up with all the paint by Wednesday. I’ll tell you this, I don’t want to touch a paint brush or roller for a long time now! We’ve had enough painting for a while. 

Josh and the boys mixed cement and filled in the open area on the driveway that was cut away for the electrical. They all worked hard and did a good job getting that done!

Other highlights of the week included a new cooking class from Hermano Vasquez (I learned how to make empanadas and arroz con gandules),  Rhen and Kim made wind chimes and had a great time together, Liev perfected his monster truck drawing and Rease made a mess of the kitchen. 

It was a good but long week getting lots of things done and the house ready for a houseful of visitors. I’m so glad to have it all done but now I need a nap to catch up on it all! 

New Year’s Eve was so cool as we sat up on our deck and watched fireworks all over the valley below us. And they were literally all over.  Everything was lit up below us and it went on forever as people were celebrating a new year. It was the best sitting up there watching it! We loved bringing the the new year and also wishing Josh a happy birthday from here. 

Sunday afternoon the Hammer family arrived!! They had a long trip over with delays and long layovers but finally ended up at our door! We were sooo excited to see them all and welcome our second family into our life again. Everyone settled in quickly and the boys took up their normal spot right next to one of the big Hammer boys and Rease and Rhen next to Izzy and JT. It was just like normal again :)

We had cake and ice cream for Josh’s birthday (the big 44!), had Hammer/Beutler Christmas with gifts all around (Rhen made custom sea glass wind chimes for each of the girls) and then settled in for an early movie and early to bed for everyone. It has been a long 48 hours for them traveling and we’re all ready to rest and get ready for the week ahead. We can not wait to spend the next 7 days together. Welcome to our home Hammers!!

Christmas 2022!

Christmas looked a little different this year and we just embraced it fully! After getting food and everything ready on Christmas Eve, we spent the rest of the day in the pool. It was a perfectly warm, sunny afternoon and we took in every ray of sunshine we could. It was so delightful. We had a traditional Christmas Eve dinner of French dip sandwiches and we’re joined by our good friend Carlos as he was headed to work the night shift that night. We are and enjoyed having home there then changed into pjs to wait for Santa to try and find us in our new home! 

Turns out he had no problem finding us in Rio Grande! We woke up to lots of presents and such a fun morning of opening them all together. Favorite gifts of the day? Rease - a harry styles t shirt (from rhen)

Rhen - a dremmel and sea glassing supplies

Liev - bae blades

Keen - Nintendo pro controller

Beck - Pokémon binder

Desh - pool toys

Dad - A new machete (which is basically a sword)

Mom - new sunglasses

Such a great morning together!

It also was Sunday on Christmas Day this year and was such a treat to go to church and remember the real reason for celebrating. We loved being able to take the kids to church and see the people we love and remember our savior who’s birth we are celebrating. Such a sweet part of our morning. 



After a long nap in the afternoon, Laura and Carlos came and spent the rest of the evening with us. We ate more food and played games and the kids showed them all their new gifts. They stayed until late and we loved having them there. They’ve become like family to us and they were just the people we wanted to spend our Christmas hanging out with! 

Merry Christmas everyone!