California Summer

Drew and I made a trip to Sacramento for a quick weekend wedding reception for my cousin Chris and his wonderful new wife Jen.  They were married in Hawaii at a small ceremony, so they had a reception a couple of months after the fact.  It was such a blessing to get to spend time with my parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  It has been a long time since I have seen them and none of them had ever met Drew so that was so fun.  Oh how I love these people.  

A morning walk with my parents along the Folsom river.  While there I thought of my beautiful grandmother who I miss dearly.  I believe she was there with us during this celebration.

Getting ready for the main event.

 Where do you keep the food when there is no room in the fridge, the bathtub of course!

 Watching the world cup while the party starts!

Towards the end of the reception Drew needed a little playtime.  So we walked the 4-5 blocks down to this great park.  It was a bit farther than I thought, those shoes weren't the right choice.

 I got a text with this cute picture.  Mark and the boys went to an Iowa Cubs minor league game while we partied at the reception.

 My dad, Aunt Deb, Uncle Dave, and Uncle Andy.  The four siblings.  

 The newlyweds are at the far right of this great picture.

 The morning we left, we all met for breakfast!

During a layover we had lunch and Drew had his favorite…a great big glass of milk!

More 4th on the 5th

We got to do more 4th of July celebrating on the 5th of July we more wonderful friends!  A BBQ, ultimate frisbee, fireworks, and friends we love!

 That young man sitting to the right of Dallin?  Look familiar from Chile photos.  That is Elder Hunt home from his mission in the Chile Santiago East mission!  We shared Santiago at the same time.  

July 4 2014

It was a special celebration for our family this year.  We have loved Chile so much.  It has also taught us that the USA is an amazing place to live.  Scout Camp actually didn't end until early Saturday morning, but the boys came home a bit early from camp - Friday afternoon - so that we could be together for the celebration.

We started our morning at the Urbandale Fourth of July 5km and 1 mile kid run.  It was fun to be a part of a city celebration!

 That's me to the right with the pink shirt starting the 5km.

 Drew and the kid one mile.

And Easton in the tot trot!

 A little USA treat we have missed while gone!

 We spent the afternoon and evening with our wonderful friends the Karras' and a couple of other families.

 After the BBQ at the house we headed to the club that our friends are in and had a little fun at a carnival and watching the much missed fireworks - all together!  

 Check out this boy!  That is a scream of joy!

And the grand finale of our night!  Lots of friends, blankets on the grass, glow sticks, glow in the dark balloons, and lots of beautiful fireworks.  

A Chile Thing

The day that we left Chile was a big day - World Cup game Chile vs Spain.  School even got out an hour early so everyone could get home to watch the game.  Well, we picked the kids up from school and then had a couple of hours before we had to be at the airport - perfect timing because the game was just the right time to fill that gap.  So we went to a restaurant with Mark's office to watch the game with all of Chile doing the same thing at homes, offices, and restaurants around the country.  Chile pretty much stopped for a couple of hours.  It was the perfect send off and especially because they won.  

We got some great videos of men up on bars dancing in celebration!  It was wild and crazy and so much fun!

Welcome Back!

     

 We arrived back to Iowa on Monday June 23 and hit the ground running!  There was a lot to do and get ready for.  We had service calls, rental furniture to arrive, medical appointments, and don't forget Costco and Target!!!  It was a bit overwhelming to see our home after 2 years and 8 months.  Mark had been to Iowa several times while we were in Chile and then of course he arrived back 2 1/2 months prior to our return.  But I and the boys hadn't been back since the day we left.  There were new things to see and things that looked exactly the same.  And it felt different because even though it was all the same, we are all very different from when we left.  It has made getting settled a slow process, but a good process.  

     We kicked it into high gear and sent Mason off to Youth Conference (a three day activity for the 14-18 year old youth at our church).  Then he had a day home and we sent Mason and Dallin off to Scout Camp.  It was hard on them, but also the best thing we could have done.  Those boys have thrived and are really enjoying being back.  We were able to visit them for parent night while they were there.

More of our stop over in Utah

In our three day stop (in June) in Utah we got to see Temple Square and spend time with Mark's family.  Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton travelled from Oregon to be there and welcome us home to the US.

 There was some Fifa fever going on with the cousins while we were there!

 And we got to see cousin Casey play ball!