In the USA

We made it just in case you didn't know! I say that like it just happened but we have been here for 2 weeks. It is going by too fast. I finally have a minute to write. We have been having a blast. Every second of our time has been sucked up with fun. Here is a little of what we have been doing: visiting friends, seminar meeting, shopping, eating food I have been missing, the Temple, Park City, a rodeo, visiting family, Rigby Lake, graduation dinner party, softball, more friends and family, church in ENGLISH (went by way too fast), a 8.5 mile hike to Palisades Lake, stuffed animal talent show, visiting grandparents, Star Valley Ranch, Jackson Hole, too sore to move, sunburned, insect bites, more hiking, raspberry shakes, Logan, dentist, staying up late, throw up, smiling, laughing, and an airplane ride. I think that is it, you see what I mean now. I'll post photos of these fun adventures later. Can't wait to see what the next two weeks bring.

Overjoyed

Bags are packed,car is fueled, checked in on-line. Now all we need to do is drive five hours, arrive three hours early for international check in, fly ten hours, three hours to pass customs, fly three more hours, one hour to switch planes, then fly 1 more hour. Then the fun begins, not that that doesn't sound like fun. This doesn't come at a more perfect time since our kids are really missing their California home and friends. Fortunately we'll be able to help with the friend part but the home won't be part of this trip. The past two Sundays Dillon has not wanted to go to church. Last Sunday he even refused to where his church clothes. Oh well, he went in a Dinosaur t-shirt and sandals. We hope that a couple of weeks of church in English will recharge his spirit and help get him through till he understands even more. He really dreads sitting in class and listening to lessons in Castellano.

Hope to find time to document our travels. We'll see!

Calving season

It is calving season up at the ranch right now. While we were traveling up there Madison couldn't stop talking about wanting to see a baby be born. We all thought she was crazy but she really couldn't stop. Spencer told her how hard it is to actually get the timing right to witness this. So she thought if she could pet a baby that would be great.

Spencer tried to catch the calf below but couldn't. The kids all had fun watching their dad run around the pasture.

Then we learned of a calf that was born during the night. The cowboys tied him up and put mamma out of the corral so the kids could play with him. The kids had a great time playing especially Madison but mamma so did not appreciate being on the other side of the fence. She was crying the whole time.

Muddy roads

When we traveled to Iguazu Falls we stopped at the ranch before and after for a couple of days. The ranch is 6 hours North East of where we live. Being on the ranch is like stepping back 100 years. They do have running water, electricity, and internet some of the time. For me it is a great place to visit, for Spencer he would love to live there, if the internet was reliable. It started to work on our last day there, it is hit and miss.

Before we started our great adventure we needed to get there. The road you take is a dirt road and if it had rained good luck in getting there. It takes about 45 minutes from the edge of town to the gates of the ranch. It was such our luck that it had rained a couple of days before we arrived. I thought we would be fine the road was bad in spots but for the most part our van was acting like a truck. Until we got to the river crossing. We could see a nice BIG mud puddle and all we could do was hit head on. At that point our van remembered it is a van and sunk!! OH the mud that flipped up on the van, Spencer tried to drive it out. Then he climbed out to try to push it out, we were unsuccessful. To make this even sweeter we were sitting at a low point on the land so he had no cell reception. The only thing he could do was walk until his phone worked. He was gone for a while, I was worried he was walking the last 6 miles to the ranch. This was about 5 in the evening the kids were excited to get there and play outside before the sun went down. That didn't happen, they thought it was great, for some reason, to be stuck. I think it was Austin who said "don't worry mom we can play outside tomorrow." We laughed and played till Spencer returned with good news, help was on its way. We got pushed out, you could probably hear the cheering for miles. It all took about a hour to get out!

Below are some new friends the kids met. They couldn't get enough of outside, you think they have been cooped up? It was cold but they didn't care. They were outside when the sun came up and came in when it went down.

Birthday kids

We have celebrated a couple of birthdays lately. Austin turned 9 today and Dakota turned 11 on June 28. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. It feels like just yesterday we had a horrible 2 year old Austin. So happy we all survived that time. I really didn't think we were going to make it through.

Dakota celebrated when we were at Iguazu Falls. We are thinking of making it a tradition, at least for the next 4 years. I think she is pretty spoiled. She is so helpful, caring, and lately she as had her nose in a book. That is all she does some days. We are going to need some new books when we get home.

Austin what can I say, he as grown so much since we moved. Three months ago he was freaked out about Spanish. When he was planning his party he wanted to watch a movie and he said he would put it in Spanish so his friends could understand. His true character is coming out and it is beautiful to watch. He has been helping me in the kitchen more and it has been so fun to spend that time together. I am so proud of all my kids, they are the bravest people I know!

Cooking

It has been quite the challenge to cook here. Spencer and I have had fun trying to figure things out. We bought what we thought was basil but turned out to be parsley, not too big of a disaster. I have used sour cream instead of cream cheese for frosting and it turned out OK. My friend wants the recipe. Evaporated milk so not the same as in the states.

We feed the sister missionaries every other Wednesday, today was that day. They always want American food. They have been so kind to complement me on my cooking. For the most part I have been able to find the ingredients needed. There are a couple of things I bought from home that I thought I couldn't cook without. Items like cream of chicken soup, Italian dressing mix, peanut butter, chocolate chips and the list goes on. The first two items are needed for my favorite meal, zesty chicken, so they are a must. I just don't think I could live 4 years without eating it. That was on the menu for today.

I try to pick easy things since the kids have swim lessons on Wednesdays and by the time we get home we only have a hour till lunch. A couple of other necessities that we shipped down here are my crock pot, rice cooker, and blender. All have not been used every much. Since we run on 220 we need a transformer to run those appliances. We have two here a big one and a little one. I didn't know the size matters, the little one works fine for our Wii but not for our appliances. The big transformer crashed to the floor a couple of weeks ago so I am not plugging anything into it. So I used the little one and plugged the crock pot in. Just before we left for swim lessons I touched the transformer and quickly pulled my hand away it was HOT. I grabbed my phone to call Spencer. I prayed he would answer, he is in Brazil, prayer answered. He told me to unplug it and not use it but it should be fine for the rice cooker. So quickly I put the chicken in the ridge and off we went. A hour and a half latter we returned. As soon as the door opened I ran in the kitchen to turn the oven on, get the chicken out and in oven, get the rice, the water, plug it in, and turn it on. About 5 minutes latter there was a lot of popping sounds and smoke coming out of the plug! The little one does not work with the rice cooker. That is 2 times I almost burned the house down. I checked the breaker box and everything seemed fine. Went to try to cook the rice on the stove but it wouldn't turn on. So how about rice cooked in the oven? Put it in and then the thought came to me check the breaker. I did and glad I listened, it was tripped. Turned it on and we are back in business. Pull the rice out of the oven back on the stove and we are cooking. My brain doesn't not work well under pressure. I wish I had a video camera recording me I bet it would be hilarious to watch. My lesson maybe I should forget about my American stuff and really learn cooking the Argentine way. If anything we would be a lot safer!!

Kids at the Cataratas

Just so you don't think I forgot about my kids here are some photos of them at the waterfalls.

Waiting for the train and riding the train was Dillon's highlight.

Here are the walkways to get to the falls. Austin is afraid of heights so he didn't appreciate it when we walked across the top of the falls.

When you first walk into the park there are convincing salespeople selling jeep rides. They told us we could see parrots, birds, 7 different cats, and monkeys. How could we say no? Sad to say we wasted 3 hours and the only animal we saw was a butterfly! We saw more wild animals in the park. See Austin below.

Here is Dillon at the end of the day, poor kid was done. Sometimes he begs me to take his photo but at this moment he wanted nothing to do with walking, water, and most of all photos!

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July and I miss being in the states to celebrate. I love the heat, BBQ, fireworks, dressing up in red, white and blue, and getting together with friends or family. I am so blessed to have been born in America, it's a great country. I always buy new new shirts for the kids to wear on the 4th. It is as big to me as buying new Christmas dresses for the girls. It's tradition and one I never thought of ending. So today when we got home from swim lessons we dug through the kids drawers to find any clothing in red, white, or blue. We needed to feel connected and I guess wearing clothes in those colors helped. We wore them with pride. I hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating! Here are some photos of the previous 2 years and today all dressed up.

Idaho 2009

Bakersfield 2010

Venado Tuerto 2011

Iguazu Falls

We are home!! We had the most amazing week. We went to Iguazu Falls, have you heard of it? Hands down the most beautiful place I have ever been, Spencer agrees. We are talking about going back, anyone want to go with us? Spencer made this video of the photos I took. I took A LOT! The kids had a lot of fun but the 3 younger ones got tired of the waterfalls. Dakota appreciated the views. The others kept saying, "another waterfall?" There are paths built that follow the top of the falls and some below that show a panoramic view. Absolutely breathtaking! We spent 2 and a half days there and that was not enough time. Dakota thought it was a great birthday gift. She turned 11 on the 28th, can't believe it. Hope you enjoy the show!!! Turn up your volume there is music. If file doesn't work try this link: MOVIE