Off the plane and running (Week 1)

All the moments count when you are with the family and friends you love and miss so much.  So we hit the ground running, literally.  We went straight from the airport on a drive up north for lunch with the Jespy's then came back, cleaned up and made our way to a birthday celebration for my cute little niece.

The first week we had family dinners and outings, a lot of shopping, and a lot of restaurants to fulfill those cravings we had while in Chile.

Family Dinners

Hiking with Grandpa.  While the older boys went hiking, my sister-in-law, two nieces, Easton, and I hit the walking trails and nature center.

For our memories, I have to mention some of the things we did that first week which I didn't have my camera for...

- Watching Grandpa play softball
- Going to America the Beautiful Park to play in the huge fountain
- FHE and Swimming at Uncle Pat and Aunt Andrea's
- Grandma and Mom's lunch out
- Family dinner at Uncle Pat's for Aunt Andrea's amazing Peruvian cooking
- Helping Grandpa build the cover for the window well and cleaning out branches, logs, and leaves of the backyard area to keep things safer in case of forest fires.
- All the playing with cousins

Thanks for waiting

Our wonderful friends the Jespy's happened to be in Colorado for a family reunion the week we arrived  from Chile to Colorado Springs.  They were done on Friday, but they stayed an extra day to have lunch with our fam!  Love those guys!  

It was so good to sit and talk and be with people that make us happy!  Big hugs!

Good Stuff

We have had so much going on, that this is a little collage of all of the day to day in the last couple of weeks of school.

A Happy Father's Day!

I love finding these pictures!

Celebrating friends we have made that are moving back to the States!

A token men picture...we always take lots with the ladies, figured we needed one of the men.

Getting to have dinner with Elder Hunt.  He used to babysit our kids in Des Moines and is now serving in our mission.  It was such a good night for all of us.  What an amazing missionary!  Easton was there too, but he didn't want his picture taken (not an unusual occurrence for him).

Lots of hard work and a science project later.

Big Days for Big D!

The last two weeks of school there was a ton going on.  Including two very big achievements for Dallin.  We went to our last cub scout pack meeting of the year where Dallin received his Arrow of Light.  The highest achievement you can get in cub scouts.  It was a fun night for him our family.

Flag ceremony by the Wolves.  Look at that cute kid holding the Chilean flag!  Drew also received some awards.

Pinning on the parent pin for the Arrow of Light

So after the little ceremony the cub scouts cross the bridge and are welcomed into Boy Scouts.  As you can see this is not the bridge.  The school has the bridge locked in a closet that the scouts do not have access to.  We requested it to be at the ceremony, however it was not there when we arrived.  And the one and only person with the right key was of course not there.  So we used a gym mat/wedge, the kids walked up it and then jumped into Scouts.  It all worked out.  And see that good looking Boy Scout welcoming them in?

A week later was 5th grade graduation!  A big thing for Dallin.  It means middle school and no more uniforms.  It was a fun and thoughtful ceremony.  It started with a flash mob dance!

Then some student speakers, a picture video, and the diplomas.  

I love this  kid.  I remember taking him to preschool and the sad expression on his face.  He did not want to be with others or go at all, it was such a struggle.  I wanted to keep him home, but I also wanted to crack that shell of his.  And he did it all on his own, in his own time.  Dallin you have over come your fears and then some.  I am proud to be your mom.  To have watched you grow into this happy and social young man.  You are talented, hard working, and so much fun.

Then pictures of course.  We have been more than blessed by the people that have come into our lives in Chile.  God has put some amazing people in our path.  Dallin has made very good friends.  And as the nature of living over seas goes, he had to say goodbye to two very good friends this year.  We wish all the best to them and there families!  

I love this picture.   Dad and Dallin, they are definitely related.

We are grateful to good teachers that push our kids to do better.   And in doing so our kids learn that they are capable of things they didn't think they could do.

Once!

And I don't mean tea time (here in Chile tea time is called "once")!  I am talking the big 11 birthday for my second baby, Dallin.  We celebrated on his big day as a family with a favorite dinner, presents, cake, and a game of "fruitbasket upset."  Then Friday night we went out to eat at Johnny Rockets.

 Saturday we had a low-key (but fun) birthday party here at the house.  It included lunch, capture the flag, cake and ice cream, and then a nerf gun war.  So grateful for good weather!

The infamous doughnut cake.

Happy Birthday my Big D!!!  Dallin is a boy who loves to be outside, works hard (once you get him started), confident in his social skills, loyal to his friends, and imaginative.  He loves to be with his friends and and his family.  Dallin can be a social bug, but he also enjoys time to himself.  He is a fairly picky eater, but the things he likes he eats a ton of.  He is a loving kid.  Besos Dallin.

Rain Day

Yes, you read it right.  Last week we had a Rain Day!  It was fantastic.  We drank hot chocolate, made and ate muffins and banana bread, and relaxed.  It was my kind of day right in the middle of all the crazy end of year stuff.  Santiago is a very modern city, but I have to remind myself that this is a developing country.  There is modern, but the infrastructure is still a ways behind the emerging economy.  It is very, very dry here, with very little rain so if you get two full days of hard rain the drainage systems over load.  So to make room for crews to do the things they needed to help flooded streets, all private and public schools were asked cancel so that there would be a million less people out and about.  Also 3 years ago when it rained like this there were mud slides, were people were killed, so caution was advised.  All worked out well with no mudslides.  And the next morning was crystal clear and the mountains were covered in snow - BEAUTIFUL!

Easton had a friend to share the day with (inside of course).

Drew worked a lot on his Spanish lessons!  Dallin and Mason were at a friend's home most of the afternoon.