A Quick Trip

So, Shaylie has been bummed that we didn't get around to giving her a Birthday Party...and who can blame her?...it's just been such a crazy month with Puerto Rico, and School, and new schedules, etc. I just couldn't find the time...and when I finally broke the news to her...she cried and said, "We didn't even get to have birthday cake!" She had everything else...presents, decorations, dinner...but no cake!

So we woke up Saturday morning and decided to head to Holden to have Birthday cake with Grandma Dawn since it was also her birthday on the 16th and we didn't get to celebrate with her either. We made cake and took it down to Papa and Greats house. She got to blow out candles (after we turned off Papa's oxygen) and we sang to her. So now her birthday experience is complete! I promised her a big birthday bash next year...so I'll have to get it on my calendar now!

We had planned to come back last night, but after haircuts and visiting, it got to be too late, so we stayed over and came home today. It was a quick trip but fun! Now she's looking forward to her baptism (and party) on Sept. 6th...can't wait!

Puerto Rico Pictures

I've gotten organized and uploaded our pictures from Puerto Rico...some of them are kind of grainy since we had to use our phones, but all in all we got some good pics!

More Free Time?

Today I was released as the Primary President for the WF5th Ward.  Check out my personal blog for more info!  I do think I will have more free time, or maybe just less guilt about not spending more time with Primary.  I will miss working with the other ladies and the kids....but I'm happy for the new President.  I hope she loves it as much as I did.  I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back in another calling...I'm going to enjoy the moment while it lasts.

Everyone's Invited

Saturday, Sept. 6th at 5pm is Shaylie's baptism.  She is super excited and would love to have as many of her friends and family as possible to come and support her.  We are probably going to have a picnic/party earlier in the day too.  We'll let you know more details as the days get closer...let us know if you think you might make it.  Love to everyone...more later.

Here's that cartoon...

Firsts

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Today was the first day of school for Shaylie and Taylor.  Shaylie met her teacher for the first time...Mrs. Seville.  This is her first year teaching at Riverside...she seems very nice and Shaylie did have a few friends in her class.  We walked to school together this morning (as per our tradition) and she tried to come home on her own but ended up on the wrong street so I had to go pick her up...doesn't bode well for future excursions, I'm afraid...she had her cell phone so it was no big!

Taylor almost missed the bus as we were posing for this picture right when the bus was supposed to be coming...for some reason we were too busy vamping it up to pay attention to the time...she ran down the street with a few minutes to spare before the bus came.  She had a very good day at school as well.   She sat with her friend Aubrey on the bus and was a little bummed when her friend Conner wasn't in her Band class...but he is in her other class so that's okay.  There is a Foxtrot cartoon that reminded me of Taylor today.  If I can find it again, I'll post it here.  It's funny, yet at the same time, it scares the goobers out of me that she's getting to be THAT age.  Yikes....we'll see how it goes. 

Both the girls looked cute...it's hard to tell from my fuzzy pics, but since my camera went on the fritz...it's all there is.

Scott gave both the girls blessings last night and it really helped them to put aside their first day jitters.  I think it's going to be a really good year for both of them. 

Scott also had a first day today...his first 10-hour workday.  I hope he adjusts all right.  It could be good for him.  At any rate, a 3-day weekend is never a bad thing...

Well, more to come later, I'm sure.  Thanks for checking in on us and leave us a message.  I found out that it is proper blog etiquette to leave a post WHENEVER you read someone's blog...so don't be rude!!!!

Good To Be Home!

It's hard to believe that just yesterday morning we were taking one last swim in the beautiful blue Puerto Rican waves...but like all good things, it had to come to an end.  Our flights were uneventful and we drove up to our house about 2:30 am this morning.  I had to go wake up the girls to tell them we were home...Shaylie opened her eyes and said, "Mom, why aren't you home?" I kissed her then she promptly went back to sleep. She didn't even remember waking up in the morning.   Taylor did though...she was glad we were home too.

We had the best time and our vacation (even with the training) was restful and fun.  It sure hasn't taken long, though, before we are getting back into our chaotic routine.  I had a meeting this morning with ETS and we've been getting ready for tomorrow (FIRST DAY of SCHOOL) and I've had several calls about Primary and I went shopping with the rest of the world at Wal-Mart and everything else that needs to be done after a vacation. 

I have to give a big THANK YOU to my mom!!!!  Thanks so much for staying with the girls this week.  I know they loved spending time with you and it was good knowing they were being well looked after.  I am so grateful for your sacrifice!  You're the best!

More Big First Day news tomorrow...see you soon!

Bio-bay-eautiful!!!

Wow...I'm almost speechless...tonight we went to the Laguna Grande in Fajardo, Puerto Rico with Kayaking Puerto Rico.  It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen...It is one of five places in the world where glowing microscopic plankton live in the water.  They light up as a defense mechanism whenever they are disturbed.  It literally makes the water glow when you put the oar or your hand in the water or when fish swim through it. 

The lagoon was about a half mile wide and completely surrounded by Mangrove trees.  We navigated through a narrow passage to get into the lagoon.  It was tricky to get the hand of our two-man kayak, especially with other kayaks coming at us on the return trip, but we caught on after a while.

This photo is a picture of the picture they took as we started our trip.  I'm glad we have it too, since it will liikely be the only picture we have that turned out. 

The lagoon itself was gorgeous in the moonlight.  The stars were bright and the reflection of the moon on the water sparkled almost as bright as the water.  The clouds were billowing up all around the palm tree silhouettes in the distance.  We could hear night animals in the mangroves and the splash of water against the canoes, but other than that it was still and peaceful. 

The most amazing thing of course was the glowing water.  It was really indescribeably beautiful.  I'm glad I got to see it with my own eyes.  The pictures on the internet are nice, but it was another experience all together to see my own hand glowing in the water.   I am so glad we went!!!!

I will probably post more about it later, but I wanted to post before I get to bed.  Check out the company website KayakingPuertoRico.com for pics and info.  Good Night!

Sleep-in day!

Today was the only day that Tonya didn't have classes in the morning.  So we stayed in bed till 7:30!  It was really different to have to wait in line at breakfast, so we will definately be back to doing it in the early mornings.



After breakfast, we headed to the beach because Tonya wanted to see the sun and play in the waves.  It was windier this time, so the waves were a little harder to fload on.  I decided to swim out to the bouye (about a quarter mile out)  Tonya was nervous as I go about half way there as I would disappear with the waves.  I made it ok and swam back, although I have achieved my daily intake of salt for the next year or so (I do not like salt water in my face)  After that we sat on the beach for a while and Tonya wanted to say hi to the girls so she made this sign.  After going back in the ocean for a while, we headed back to the hotel.

They were working on our door so we went to the pool and swam for an hour.  It is much easier to swim in a pool than in an ocean.  The pool is great.  Since we ate breakfast latem we decided to skip lunch.  We will go to Outback for dinner.  Tonya had her new class start at 2 so when that is over we'll go out.  As I am a little sun burned, I bet Tonya is hurting right now.  Hope she is ok.  More later....

Half-way

We are half-way through our Puerto Rico vacation!  It has been so much fun so far...my first workshop ended today and we had a whole half-day of free time.  Tomorrow will be the same since my next workshop doesn't begin until 2:30 in the afternoon. 

Today, we hit the pool and then walked up the street to a fun local restaurant called Metropol.  It was recommended to me by the great Puerto Rican friends we met here at the training.  It was about a 15 minute walk (dripping in the high humidity) but well worth it.  I had fresh Salmon with lime, rice and beans and sweet plantains.  Scott had pepper steak prepared Cuban style with rice and beans and salad.  Everything was SO GOOD!  I think my new favorite food is Plantains.  I've had a variation for two nights in a row and loved it both times.  After dinner, we hit a  little mall for souvenir shopping and headed back to the hotel and SWIMMING POOL again!!!

Tomorrow we are planning on being beach bums and maybe visiting Old San Juan again.  I wanted to go into the fort and explore a bit more.  We ARE going to the BioBay on Friday night.  I booked it today...I'm so excited.  I so wish my camera was working.  It has a night setting that would probably get some good shots, but it died yesterday with an E18 error which is the kiss of death, I guess.  Oh well...I might go get a disposable waterproof camera that might work.  At least we'll have our memories of the experience. 

We love and miss you all!  Thanks for checking our blog to see what we're up to.  More posts to come!

Old San Juan

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Tonight we visited Old San Juan.  (Click here to see some pics and info from Wikipedia.)  We took a taxi that dropped us off at the Castillo, but unfortunately it was closed so we took some pics and started walking down the famous cobblestone streets.  The buildings were so colorful and tonight there were vendors and booths and concert venues set up all along the roads. 

We did a little shopping and found a great Puerto Rican restaurant called Mojito's.  I had Mofongo Relleno con Pollo which was a cooked mashed plantain stuffed with chicken and covered in a tomato sauce.  Scott had Bifstec Encebolladas which was a steak smothered in sauted onions with rice and beans.  It was very good!!!  I was nervous for the first bite, but no worries.  It was tasty!  I was the only one adventurous enough to try it...and I was glad I did. 

The taxi ride home was very adventurous too....the drivers are super major crazy here!  It was like a roller coaster/bumper cars combo ride at Disneyland.  Luckily, we made it back to the hotel safely and soundly. 

Scott spent some time walking around the area again and swimming in the pool today.  My conference ends at noon tomorrow so I'll have a whole afternoon to play and explore.  I still want to go to the BioBay but it is proving to be somewhat problematic...we can't go to Vieques to see it there because we would have to stay overnight due to lack of ferrys after dark and we can't do that...but there is another one in Fajardo (that I'm going to try to book.  And, we may visit the Bacardi Rum Factory which would be interesting.  Lots more to do and the week is still young!!  Post more soon...love to all!

Swimming in the Atlantic

Scott's been doing a good job of keeping you updated, but I wanted to post on this momentous occasion...tonight, we swam in the Atlantic Ocean!!!  The beach was so soft and sandy, hardly any people, and the waves were warm.  We went in and floated and swam for about an hour.  It was heaven!  I wished Taylor and Shaylie could have been here with us...you guys would love it!  I took some good pics but they are on the camera so you'll have to wait to see them. 

After swimming, we went to a little shopping mall where there was a Subway.  We still haven't eaten any local cuisine...but I did get a chance to use some Spanish while we were ordering.  And, actually (Mom, you'll be proud of me), I have been practicing my Spanish skills quite a bit.  We have a man in our group from Dixie who speaks Spanish and he talks to most everyone.  I can follow it quite easily, but not when the natives speak to each other.  We have been working with three local ETS people and I got brave enough today to get in on some of their conversations.  I was literally shaking after the first interjection, but after that, it came a lot easier.  Weird, huh?  It's been nice to use some of my knowledge.

Tomorrow, we found out from our local friends, there is a festival in Old San Juan so we will probably ride the bus and spend the evening there.  They have vendors, music, wine-tastings, entertainment, etc...every first Tuesday of the month...so we are in luck.  Wednesday, I would like to find a way out to the little island about 7 miles west of PR called Vieques.  That's where the Bio-luminescent Bay is and they are said to have good snorkeling which I'd really like to do. 

Other than that, the training has been good.  I wish we had more free time...there is so much to do but we have meeting until 5pm every day except Wednesday and Saturday...so there will be some opportunity to get out and about...We'll keep you updated!!!  All my love to everyone!  We miss you!

From our room

 Just wanted to let you know what we see when we  walk out our door.  We are on  the sixth floor.  Down on ground level, we have breakfast, which was really great!  We had omlets and fruit.  Then Tonya went to classes.  I walked around town a little and went over to the beach.  It was way humid as it had just rained so that wasn't much fun.  I then went to the gym and rode the bike for a half hour (just like home!) and then went swimming.  When Tonya comes back, we will probably go to the beach walk around.  Daylight is a little different here, it is bright at 6:00am but it was dark last night by 8:00pm.  Will write more later

We are here!

We are refreshed in Puerto Rico!  After having to sleep in the upright position on the plane, we made it to Charlotte at 5 o'clock mountain time (7:00am here) After a short layover there, we flew to Puerto Rico, it was the first time in my life that all I could ever see out the window was water.  Oh and btw, I never got sick on this flight or was even nervous about it, so that was also a first. Once we got here, we ate and then went to sleep for quite a long time.  Thankfully the NASCAR race was very long as it gave us good nap time.  Tonya is downstairs at the opening meeting.  I will take and put pictures online tomorrow. 

I love you girls, please be good and do what is right, hope you sleep better tonight.  See ya later!

PR Here We Come!!!

We leave tomorrow for our big Carribean Anniversary/ETS Training Vacation!  I'm a little nervous but I think everything will be okay.  There are so many things to worry about like taking the right shoes, and hurricanes, and spending all day inside boring meetings when you're in paradise!  But there will be plenty of time for everything and there are no hurricanes on the horizon and I'm just taking almost every pair of shoes I own.  And, call me weird, but I am looking forward to actually getting some training for the job I'm doing.  It's the first I'm getting, aside from a couple hours of brain picking with my co-workers. 

Mom is coming to watch the girls and they have to get all the final details taken care of for the beginning of school.  I've done some good shopping but there is still much to do.  Shaylie needs to find out who her teacher is and buy supplies and Taylor needs to register and go to Back-to-School Night to meet her teachers and find classrooms.  Unfortunately, I'll miss it all and we won't be back until the day before school starts. 

Hopefully, I'll find time to post some pics and updates while we're down there...adios!!!