8/29/10-9/4/10

Sunday, August 29, 2010

I had one of the most stress inducing experiences of my life today. I had my temple recommend interview in Spanish. I was so unprepared. I had hoped to have somebody help translate for me or at least meet with one of the counselors that I know somewhat. No such luck. I got to meet with the bishop who hasn't spoken more than 5 words to me in the past year and a half! EEK!! I was so close to tears when I walked in and I didn't know what he was saying to me. I had to keep looking for the bright lights! I also made the mistake of wearing a big huge sweater and I was sweating like crazy. After a few questions, I started to relax a little since I actually understood what he was saying. Then there were several words that I didn't have a clue what they were! For some reason I've never learned the Spanish word for tithing and it wasn't in my dictionary either. The bishop was very patient with me and finally pulled out a tithing envelope so I would know what the question was! I was so relieved when we were finally done. Chris kept joking that that was probably the bishop's first time signing a temple recommend when the person answered the questions wrong!

Another amazing thing happened that we heard about today. Tons of people have been trying to figure out the Whitney genealogy for years. We've only been able to go back a couple of generations and then get stuck. I don't think it's coincidence that shortly after the passing of both of Chris's grandparents, Sharon found a link back to 1784!! I think it is so reassuring to know that there is help coming from the other side of the veil!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Another typical day of homework. Life is a little boring as of late. No exciting trips or changes. It feels like we are kind of in limbo waiting for the next step in life.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Cole was so excited for his friends to come over and play that he had all of his school work done by 9:30!! He was very disappointed to find out that they were in Guatemala City and wouldn't be coming over. What to do for the rest of the day! READ! Cole has read almost of all the books that we brought back with us. He reads so much and loves it.

I had my stake temple recommend interview tonight. I wasn't quite so stressed out because I was told that the stake president speaks English. When he came out to get me, he kept talking in Spanish even though I wasn't too sure of what he was saying. Once we got in his office and I was starting to look very fearful, he switched to English. He said that he wasn't sure if he could do the interview in English but that he would try. I told him that he could do it in Spanish (I studied a little more church vocabulary since Sunday!!) and if I got stuck he could help me in English. He went ahead and did the entire interview in English with me helping out with a couple of words. I do have to say that it is nice to answer questions to the Lord when I am sure of what I am answering!!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

After finishing all the school work for the day, we all went down to the park. Cole and I played tennis, Alysa and Laina played on the equipment, and Morgan watched and read. It was nice to get out of the house before the days rain began!

After lunch, the kids had a blast making homemade stickers. They cut out pictures from magazines and then put a gelatin solution on the back. They probably would have continued making more and more if it wasn't for the fact that Chris called and asked us to pick him up. Apparently it's not fun to drive in the rain with a window that won't roll up! So, he dropped the car off at the repair shop.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

For breakfast, Morgan made muffins. She made half with a cinnamon/sugar topping and the others with "Sully sauce" (a berry sauce that my friend Sully made!). They were really good and so now she wants to make them to sell. I told her that she needs to go through and find out what the costs would be to make them and see how much she would have to sell them for to make a profit.

The little girls and I took Chris to work and then went to the grocery store. Then I took the girls to school, dropped off the groceries, picked up the other kids to go to market, then to the zoo. We had a food chain field trip! I think the kids were more excited to find new snacks that they liked. Then it was back to pick up the girls before heading home to make lunch. Wow, I feel like a real mom from the states again playing chauffer. To be honest, I really don't envy the crazy lives that moms live in the states!

Friday, September 3, 2010

The older kids have started exercising again. Morgan and Cole are best of buds. I sat by the front balcony doing my pilates and watched the two of them running together. It makes me so incredibly sad that they don't have very many friends here, but the joy that their bond brings me outweighs my sadness. They are truly best friends. (Morgan even wrote a paper about Cole this week!)

As soon as the kids finished exercising, the rain began. It is very rare for it to rain in the morning! It continued nonstop for the entire day! It was such a bleak day outside. I was making bread, so I thought I'd let each kids have a section of the dough to sculpt as they wanted. Alysa made a cool elephant/moose and a jack-o-lantern. Cole made fish, Morgan made a hot pocket, and Laina made teddy bears. They painted them, baked them, then ate them for lunch.

We had the best dinner out tonight. It was still pouring down rain and everybody had been couped up all day so we decided to go out. We went to an Italian restaurant that was playing 80's music in English. We were the only customers and the entire staff was entertained by our crazy family singing and dancing!

Saturday, September 4, 2010

It it still raining. I don't think it's stopped for more than 5 minutes since yesterday morning. The only other time I remember it raining so long was when the tropical storm hit us several months ago. It is unbelievable how cold it can get here without the sun shining for a little while! My feet felt like popsicles the entire night.

The doldrums continued through today. The kids watched cartoons forever, Chris cleaned, and I worked on a quilt.

8/22/10-8/28/10

Sunday, August 22, 2010

What a rough day today. One of the men in the ward tried to talk to me while I was playing the piano and I can't concentrate on both things at the same time. He tried to tell me again later but even with only focusing on him, I still couldn't figure out what he was saying. It was even one of the members that is usually really patient with me and I can figure out the general idea of what he is saying. Not today. After that awkward start, it just went further down hill. By the time we got to Relief Society, I hid in the back and ran out at the end so that I wouldn't have to try to talk. What a wimp I am! I am having mixed feelings about learning Spanish. I really want to understand but at other times I feel like giving up since we won't be here much longer. Whenever I find myself having those thoughts, I get even more frustrated because I hate giving up on anything!

Monday, August 23, 2010

So, after yesterdays disappointments in myself, I pulled out the Spanish books. Now, if I can just get motivated to work on them rather than leaving them on the floor while I read other more interesting books!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I can not believe how many new songs I am having to learn for the next month. The choir is doing a special number for fast Sunday, then a couple of new numbers for our ward conference, plus the monthly practice song, and then the regular songs that I have been assigned for the other Sundays. Oh, and I am just praying that I don't get asked to play for stake conference also in the middle of the month. I keep telling Chris that we might have to go to Mexico that weekend!!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Dave, and the church bosses, all came down today so the kids and I were on our own for the whole day. The kids were all in bed by the time he got home. I tend to get a little lazy when I know Chris isn't going to be home. The kids helped make tostadas for dinner and we watched t.v..

Thursday, August 26, 2010

For Teacher Lily's school, we went on a field trip to the Museum of Natural History. I never even knew it existed even though I've walked past the building a million times! We loaded 9 kids and 2 adults in the van and headed to the much dreaded area of Central Park. (Remember, I've only driven there once without crying!!) It was nice to have Lily there to lead the way.

The first section of the museum was hilarious. I couldn't believe that the items that I used when I was younger were in a museum now!! They had computers from the 1980's. There were also different phones, radios, etc. There was another section for sports as well as one for music. It was really cool to see the original marimbas. The bottom part was made out of dried out fruits.

Upstairs, we saw a bunch of pottery and stones from the early Mayans. There was a big urn that they would put the dead bodies in to bury. Yuck! There was another area of plants. It showed the leaves of the plants and then it showed the products that were made out of them. The area that was by far the most interesting to the kids was the animal section. To me personally, it was the most disturbing area! They had all sorts of animals that had been stuffed. They also had jars of animal fetuses including what I believe was a human but I couldn't bring myself to look at it! The taxidermy skills weren't the best that I have ever seen. Most of the animals looked like they came straight out of a low budget horror film. There were snakes, birds, bugs, rodents, alligators, lions, and even a two headed calf. The one animal that caused me to giggle the most was the stuffed chowchow dog! Who in their right mind would stuff a chowchow dog to put in a museum of natural history??? Every time I saw it, I would start laughing. All in all, the kids LOVED the animal section and probably would have stayed there all day if we had let them.

On the way home, we stopped and let the kids play at a park for a little while. Morgan was happy because one of the little boys at the school really latched on to her. I can't believe how grown up she is getting. She can't wait to be old enough to get to start babysitting!

By the time we got home, I was so tired that I didn't even care if the kids did their homework for the day. Morgan and Cole didn't seem to pick up on that and so they went ahead and did all their work without me bugging them about it! Wow!

Friday, August 27, 2010

When Dave came down for this trip, he brought all of the kids new books for the next school year. He gave them to Chris yesterday and so late last night after everybody was in bed, Chris put the books on the table in the study. The kids were so excited when they woke up this morning and found them. You'd think that it was Christmas. They worked so hard to get all of their work done before so they could go through all of the new books. It was great to hear Morgan and Cole arguing over who got which books to read. They both wanted all of them!

So, I've been feeling a bit trunky lately. I have the personality where I like to plan for what's next. Up until now it's always been the next vacation. Now, it is going to be the end of the job. We still don't know when that will be or where we will be going next but we know that the inevitable is going to happen sooner than later. So, I went through some of my fabric today and decided to use up all of my leftover scraps from previous blankets that I have made. Cole helped me and we sewed together a crazy quilt. I was shocked at how much Cole was helping me out. The girls were all playing Band Hero and he was sewing with me. It wasn't until the girls tried to get him to play and he said that he couldn't because he was grounded that I realized why he was still helping me. I didn't even remember him being grounded but he enforced it upon himself. What a good kid!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

I got to experience why the kids love to go with Daddy to the car wash. They have a bunch of tree swings, a dog, a rabbit, and snacks! What more could a kid ask for?

Morgan and I went to the fabric store to get some material for quilt backings. She still needs to finish her quilt and we lucked out with finding something that might work. I also found some fleece that will hopefully go well with another quilt top that I made. I am feeling a little bit of pressure to get the big quilts done for my friends! I've got a few done but I have a lot more go to before we leave here!

Earlier in the day, Chris talked to a guy in Alaska that was interested in buying his truck. When we got home from our errands, Chris's parents called with the guy saying that he wanted to buy it. The truck is now officially gone and sold. We are having extremely mixed emotions but are sure that everything is working out for the best. Now....if we could just get the house sold with the stinkin' market!

8/15/10-8/21/10

Sunday, August 15, 2010

We had an amazingly warm welcome back to church. Everybody seemed so excited. Chris had people welcoming him back to church even though he has been here for the last month! He said that nobody notices him... they only care about me and the kids.

Monday, August 16, 2010

I forgot to write about getting a new wii game last Saturday. We got Band Hero and the kids are so excited to get to play it. Today Morgan and Cole locked me out of their room so they could do a surprise. When they were done, they brought me in to show me how they had cleaned up their whole room without being asked. Come to find out that they were trying to earn brownie points so that they could play Band Hero. It worked!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The kids have been doing a good job of getting back into the school schedule. Today we finished up another set of tests. Only a couple more months and they'll be done with their school year!!

Sully came over to visit in the afternoon. She brought some funnel cake that she made from a new cookbook that I brought back for her. (Thanks Sharon!) Sully loves making new stuff and we love being her taste testers!! We shared some of our pictures from our trip and just enjoyed getting to hangout.

Afterwards, I ran to the church to teach piano and play for choir. There are so many new songs that they are throwing at me all at once!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

With the kids finishing up a set of tests yesterday, we worked extra hard all day trying to get more schoolwork done.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

After teaching piano lessons and picking the girls up from school, we went to meet Chris for lunch. It is so good to be back together as a family!

Friday, August 20, 2010

We left early this morning and took a little trip to Antigua. It is an old Spanish town. We had to meet with a lawyer there about Chris's temporary residency. While Chris met with the lawyer, the kids and I walked to McDonalds. From the outside it looked just like all of the other walls. Once you got inside though, it opened up and there was a big courtyard and a huge McDonalds. The kids worked on some of their homework while we ate ice cream cones. There is nothing better than being able to apply our real life experiences to the things the kids are learning about. I was able to help Cole with his social studies by saying, "You had to make a choice between an ice cream cone and a pie. If you chose the ice cream, what was your opportunity cost?" I also told the kids that whoever came up with the most examples of things they have studied while we were traveling, they would earn a prize. Morgan told us about the pollution in the air from the buses. Cole showed us examples of weathering and erosion. My personal favorite was when Morgan saw a dead dog and said that that was an example of biomass.

After we were done in Antigua, we headed into Guatemala City where we saw a movie at the VIP theatres. It was so nice in the big cushy recliners. The kids thought it was the best thing ever. I have a huge fear that the kids have gotten overly spoiled with stuff in Guatemala and they are going to expect a lot whenever we get back to the states!

After the movie, we went to the hotel and let the kids swim for a little while before eating and going to bed.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A LONG time ago, our landlord told us about a quilt store in Guatemala City. We finally had a chance to stop there this morning. Unfortunately, the store was closed because they were at an art fair for the day. UGH! Anyway, there was the most amazing quilt in their display window. I liked it so much that I made Chris take a picture of it in hopes of one day being able to replicate it. I'll probably have to go back another time and see if they have a pattern for it. It is hard to see in the picture, but it is all pieced together and the braid stands out like a real braid.

The rest of the day was pretty miserable. Everybody was tired, and cranky and the drive home was not the most enjoyable car ride we've ever had!

8/8/10-8/14/10

Sunday, August 8, 2010

So, our trip back to Guatemala was very good considering that we were traveling all through the night. We were able to get all of our bags checked in with only a little bit of rearranging due to the weight limit!! The kids were all on their best behavior, and were so helpful going through security. They all carried their own carry ons and backpacks. They all know exactley what to do with going through security, and I didn't have to worry at all. The first plane ride was 6 1/2 hours from Anchorage to Houston. We had brought some little blankets with us only to have blankets and pillows set out on each seat! I guess they still do the pillows/blankets on flights that go through the night! During the flight, they played Diary of a Wimpy Kid and then the latest Shrek movie. The kids were so excited to get to watch them! It was after midnight before any of the kids even tried to go to sleep. Once we arrived in Houston, everybody was pretty tired, but they didn't complain or whine at all. Since we had a 3 hour layover, we opted to just stay on the plane until everybody else was off so we could deal with the ten million bags that we had! In Houston we camped out at the gate, ate some snacks, slept, etc. Morgan was still not feeling very good, so she curled up on some chairs with a blanket and slept the majority of the time while we were there.

The second flight from Houston to Guatemala, everybody was beyond tired and slept most of the way. I had to wake Laina up when we got to Guatemala and I was dreading having to carry a tired cranky kid with all of the luggage. To my utmost surprise, she sad up dazed, looked at me then smiled and said with a big grin, "I had a good nap, Mommy!" What a relief!!

We made it through immigration, baggage claim, and customs without any problems. All that worrying that I did was for nothing!

As we walked out of the airport, I told the kids to look for the tall, white guy. Alysa said, you mean the tall, red guy. It was so good to see him in the huge crowd waiting for us. I think everybody was very excited, but a little too tired to fully show it!

Our drive back to Xela was uneventful, especially since it took Chris 10 hours to do the drive yesterday with multiple mudslides blocking the road as well as construction detours. We were lucky! To make it even better, all of our fish made it without thawing out! YEAH!! We now have a freezer full of fish to eat!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Our morning wake up came early with the roar of the lawnmower from the gardeners. UGH!! I was so tired and really did not want to get up. I figured there was a lot of work to be done so I finally rolled out of bed. The day was filled with unpacking, playing with old toys, reading, laundry, etc.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

So, this morning while I am saying good bye to Chris, one of the development gardeners said something to me. I thought he said that Guatemala was beautiful and I answered yes. As soon as I saw his face, I knew that I had answered wrong. Oops!! A little while later, Hermano Sak came over to repair the broken box springs as well as the broken banister railing. He said the same thing to me that the gardener had said so I tried to concentrate and figure out what it was. They had both told me welcome back to Guatemala. Geez, I'm an idiot sometimes! It is so fun (yes, a little sarcasm) to be thrown back into Spanish! The kids had to help me out a few times. Hermano Sak is very patient with me and my lack of understanding though.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

I love going to the market. It is so good to be back and to be around the crazy energy again. I love just wondering around and watching the people. I also love buying produce here, especially after having to pay the Alaska prices!! Strawberries - $.37/#. Pineapple - 3 for $1.25. Watermelon (small)- $.62. Cilantro- $.12 etc. I am going to miss that!

We bought a ton of strawberries because the kids have been planning a strawberry party. After they finished all of their schooling and helped sanitize all the produce, they went crazy. They made strawberry milkshakes, juice, jello, etc. They had a blast.

We've been having the most awesome thunder storms here! I love laying in bed listening to the thunder and having the rooms all light up every time there is a flash of lightning. And the rain, is so fun here. It is so different than in Alaska. There isn't just a little drizzle, it pours hard with big huge raindrops that splat on the skylights. After surviving one of the rainiest, dreariest, cloudiest summers in Alaska, the rain here is a nice break.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

I must be one of the luckiest moms in the world. The kids are getting along so well. They have been playing together nonstop (except for when they have to do their schooling) since we got back. They are using their imaginations and making up stuff, they are playing outside, they are planning parties, etc.

I've also decided that 4 is a great number of kids. They are always able to have a buddy to play with and aren't left out. Today Cole and Alysa were inseparable. They searched the development and found some stuff that they used to make their own teeter totter. It was a big hit with all the kids.

Friday, August 13, 2010

What an amazingly gorgeous day. Not to constantly be talking about how nice it is here, but dang....it was beautiful today! I just sit and look outside and enjoy the scenery here and think how sad I am going to be when it is time to leave. We have been so blessed here. It is such a calm, serene, area that we live in surrounded by mountains, valleys, trees, etc.

It was so nice today that I told the kids to take a break from school and we all went outside to play tennis and to run around for a little while. And of course, I forgot sunblock and Cole burnt his neck!!

Cole's writing assignment for today was to write about a friend. Even though the kids don't have a ton of friends here, I think his experience has really helped our family to be strengthened.

My Friend

My friend is Morgan Whitney. She is 11. She is very good at being bossy. We were friends ever since we were born. I usually do school work and play outside with her. We like to build things, spy, and play video games. We usually don't fight but sometimes we do. Sometimes I want to play with her but she doesn't. Whenever we go on drives we sit together. And on vacation we share a hotel room. I am very glad to have Morgan as a friend!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

So, what do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? That is how our morning went. Everybody wanted to do something but nobody could think of what. We finally just got in the car and started driving. Chris told us that they built a new McDonald's while we were gone so we went to take a look. We finally ended up in Central Park and decided to take the kids out to lunch at an Italian place that they haven't been to. It was delicious and the kids loved it. They said that next time they want to try octopus.

We stopped by to visit the temple site also. It has changed quite a bit since we were last there! Almost all of the white siding is up as well as the framing for walls inside.

8/1/10-8/7/10

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Today was our last Sunday in English for a while! It'll be weird to go back to Spanish again!

While talking to Chris tonight, he told me that he met a sister missionary from the area of the temple. After hearing what we are doing here, she asked if his wife is the red head that helps everybody. Wow, I didn't realize that I was making that much of an impression. It really made my day to hear that.

Monday, August 2, 2010

So, my parents land is being taken over by rabbits. The other night my mom was so upset because one of her favorite flowers had just bloomed and while doing the dishes, she witnessed a rabbit eat the flower. So, today, Cole took if upon himself to lower the population of rabbits. He shot this rabbit with an air rifle and was pleased with himself. He tried bringing the rabbit into the cabin to show everybody!

We packed, as well as made another batch of homemade ice cream. The kids have such fond

memories of homemade ice cream!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

We left Sterling early this morning to take my mom to the airport. I am so jealous that she gets to go see Meghan's new little baby and I don't!! I don't know how old the baby will be before I ever get to see her.

The kids and I did a little shopping in Anchorage, went to see the old house (Morgan hadn't gotten to see it the last time we went) and had a wonderful lunch of Costco pizza!

We then headed out to Wasilla for the remainder of our stay in Alaska.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Laina and Morgan got to go with Sharon into Eagle River and Anchorage. Cole and Alysa were excited to stay home and play video games the whole day. It was a wonderful down time for everybody.

I still can't get over how dreary the weather has been. We are definitely at the end of a really long vacation. We are so ready to be going home and to be with Chris again.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

We were very pleased to find out that they have just installed Redbox in Alaska now!! I love Redbox!! I got the kids a few movies that they have been wanting to see. So in addition to playing video games today, they watched movies also. The kids are stocking up on video playing time before we go back home to reality of school and chores again!!

I also took Morgan and Alysa shopping. Morgan wanted to get a pair of new jeans. She was so excited to find a pair that she liked that were on clearance for $7! She used her own money to buy them and was even more excited when they rang up at $5 instead of $7! Lucky girl!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Today was more of the same with the dreary rain and no motivation to do anything at all. I did take Cole shopping so he could buy a new video game with his birthday money. He got a 4 wheeling game and he can't wait to take it back to Guatemala to try it out.

In the evening I joined Sharon to attend their stake women's conference. We listened to a small part of a class, then went to the dinner. I love potluck type meals where there is so much variety to choose from. It is fun to try a little bit of everything.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

I don't think that today will ever end!! I am beyond ready to go home! The bags are packed and we are ready!!

We were able to kill some time by going out to lunch at an Italian place with Rich and Sharon. Poor Morgan hasn't been feeling well for a few days now and she could only take two bites of her food. It doesn't help that she is emotionally distraught about having to leave her grandparents and cousins! She really wants to live in Alaska. I hope she does o.k. on the plane!