Peter Piper

Yes, they have one of those here! We did have to ask them to open the doors for us because even though they

were open the previous week during lunch time, When we arrived this time they had changed their hours and wouldn't open until 1:00pm instead of 11:00. This is the kind of thing we run into

some times here. It is funny really!

We have a chance to do lunch with each of the other wives, every Wednesday. This one is a week ago, before school started for all of the kids.

Thomas is playing ball with a nice boy named Coasta(sp?)

(sp?). Kirtlyn is playing with that boys sister, Hale(sp?). She really is a sweet girl and Kirtlyn just loves her!

And there is a great shot of all the boys playing together. I do not remember the name of the boy in the red shirt, but the Puerto Rican boys are Joshua, Hyrum, and Brandon (oldest to youngest). They are our good friends that live just done the street!

First Day of School

The first day of school! We got their bags filled with some cool stuff for lunch or snacktime. Then I drove them to school,

where I should drop them of at the

curb and leave. I of course could not do that so I held up

traffic while I walked my nervous children

inside!

Being the first day, all of the teachers were

busily assisting children, and we felt a little

unnoticed as we walked in. But we found

Thomas'

class, and

both of the

"English" teachers were

in there

and made him feel comfortable right away. Than we

found Kirtlyn's class and she was a little bit nervous.

In this school they will do an hour of Spanish and an

hour of English. Thomas starts his day in his English

class. Kirtlyn started her day in her Spanish class, and

the spanish teachers don't really speak any English. This

was a little nerve racking, but she does know two of the boys

very well so I sat her next to them with a puzzle, and one of the

teachers came over to sit with her as I ran out the door to

move my car that had already been blocking traffic for Minutes

at this point.

I also had my Bilingual friend call the school to make sure

everyone is ok. So I can be sure all is well!

I do know that the kids will be fine, and I am

grateful that they are now able to go to a private Bilingual

school, rather than an all Spanish speaking public school, but

it is hard to leave a child on the first day...

Thomas gave each of the kids a blessing that promised they would

learn their Spanish. That Kirtlyn would be a good example to the

other kids and they would want to be like her. That little Thomas would

be able to be kind to all of those around him and learn to communicate

and be heard, and that he would play well with the other kids. Thomas even

gave Hyrum a blessing because he climbed up on the chair after the kids

were done. So Hyrum was blessed to be able to learn Spanish and accomplish

all he needs to do in his day...very sweet!

How blessed we are to have the priesthood and promised blessings from the Lord.

Even now I feel sure all will be well! Thank you all of your help, for prayers, and keeping us close in your thoughts! We love you!

I'ts Raining, It's Pouring

We enjoy rain, on average, every three nights.

But it is usually late night or Very early morning.

This was actually our very first day time rain since

have been here! The kids just soaked it in. They

were so excited to use the rain coats we bought just

for this very thing.

I am so glad I bought them extra large, their clothes actually stayed completely dry under those huge coats, and they should fit them for the next four years!:)

I was going to mention that you will notice the neighbors house

is a beautiful orange, and all of the house have some catchy color or

element to it, it really grows on you! Just beautiful!

White Coat Ceremony & Hippocratic Oath

Today was the white coat ceremony and the hippocratic oath.  I thought that it was usually done after the four years and maybe it is elsewhere, but here we start in the hospital next week so I guess they wanted to make it official.  There are 170 students in my class, about equally mixed between girls/boys and puerto ricans/US students.  I also got my schedule for the first semester.  I will be in class/lab from 8am to 5pm and one day a week I will be at the hospital until 8pm.  It sounds like a busy day, but it should be fun and fulfilling finally getting to learn about the things that interest me and that I'll use for the rest of my life.  

We're Here!!

We finally made it, all of us, together. We'll have to post later with pictures of the drive down here. We did have a lot of fun along the way, we played at the beach and the pool, but it was a long trip. The kids really did well especially considering there are only so many McDonalds along the way.

But now we've been here for a little over a week and so far we love it. Our house is still virtually devoid of furniture and decor but we still love it. There is a lot of time spent hanging out on the

bed in our room, because it is the most comfortable place in the house, it's been a lot of fun.

Hyrum has become a pro at getting the help he needs to go up and down the stairs! He will actually stand at the top of the stairs &

yell over and over," MOM, MOM..." until someone comes up to

hold his hand and help him walk down the stairs. The kids love to "walk Hyrum down the stairs," and everyone takes turns.

Now we just find ourselves going outside all the time... it is that nice here! It is the kind of weather that you take a trip to the cabin for in Arizona! The last couple of days have been in the eighties and we just keep looking around saying, " is it hot? It Is hot."

We feel really safe, I don't worry about my kids playing in the front

yard any more, there is nothing to worry about!

Arrival in Mexico

Sorry there aren't any pictures this time, I keep forgetting to take pics whenever I go somewhere worth seeing.  I arrived in Mexico a week ago without Jenn nor the kids.  I came early to get the house ready, check into the school, and other chores that I thought would be easier without the kids, but in reality missing Jenn and the kids has made everything more difficult.  Jenn wrote my phone number down for Kirtlyn, and she is so good at reading numbers that she calls me pretty often without Jenn's permission or even knowledge.  I have been able to iChat with them over the webcam, and Kirtlyn is constantly asking for a tour of her new house.  Hyrum, I think doesn't quite understand that I'm a thousand miles away, because he tries to grab me through the webcam.  And Thomas is still very excited about whatever he can get his hands on to make a "sword".  I'm glad there will be a little yard for him to run around in.  Every once in a while Jenn and I will synch our iTunes to play the same episode of "Life" while we chat about it.  It has been pretty fun dating Jenn even though it is a thousand miles away.  

I have had some neighbors who have been so gracious as to take me everywhere I needed to go.  One of those places is a town called Tonala.  It seems to be what I pictured Mexico to be like.  It is this beautiful place that has tons of art shops, and when I say art shops I mean art in furniture making (wood and metal), glass, paint, and so much more, cafes, street vendors, and tons of people.  In the furniture shop we went into, they hand carve all their stuff.  You can take a hand drawn design in and they'll make it for cheap.  What would cost $1,000 in the States, it would cost $3,000 pesos or $275 US dollars.  All the students come here to furnish their entire homes for practically nothing.  Some of it is pretty outlandish, as you can see if you follow this link ( www.arteenmadera.com.mx ), but a lot of it is beautiful.

I'm going back to the States on Sunday afternoon to pick up Jenn and the kids, then we'll all drive down together next week.  It seems as though the hard part of this journey is over, or hopefully anyway.  For some reason there has been opposition in us coming down, Jenn and I both felt like this is what we're supposed to do, so hopefully it was just a test and we'll see the good at the end.

Good Bye with a Splash

We had a great time at a BBQ our friends organized for us!   

Greyson was jumping in with no fear, and so was Craig and the hot dogs!

The food was great, and the company even better!  

Just admit it, that is a cute group of girls!! Thank you for the party, and the memories!!  We will miss you Angie & Vince, Croft's, Franzen's, Perkin's, Tess & Boyz, and the Udall's!  Thank you for all you have done to bless our little family!   

  

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