Update- March 2009

It's quite clear that, since no one has even asked about updating our blog, that we are likely the only ones who ever look at this thing. Nevertheless, we must provide the world with our goings on.

I'm not even going to try to sum up the last 6 months. Just look at the photos and enjoy.

October: Halloween was fun. Mae hates adults in costume.

October: Mike's an awesome husband and get Sara a cat for her birthday. Her cat of 18 years died in August. We picked up Olaf at the shelter. Mellow Yellow, the dog, tolerates him.

December: Snow Day in St. George. Kids got out of school. Mom went crazy.

Christmas: We were good this year.

February: Disneyland and the beach.

February: Chinese New Year with Mae and all of her native friends (I think they talked about us the whole time).

Home Sweet Home

There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home.

My Little Project

I collected backpacks, notebooks, pencils, and learning worksheets as my little project to take with me. My favorite part was handing out the backpacks. The kids were so excited, but I loved the reaction of the Mothers. They would hug, kiss, and sing to you to thank you. I can only imagine how hard it must be to go without so many things, but it must be painful not being able to provide simple things like pencils for school for your children. As a Mother I related to the other Mothers and that's why it was my favorite part of the trip.

Making New Friends

I had a fanastic group that I was able to go with. They were all a lot of fun, and they didn't mean to make me feel like an old lady, but since they were all in their early twenties, I called it a night about 2 hours before the rest of them. I was also the only one who complained about sore feet. Mike's secertary Kelsey came with me, and I'll be eternally grateful for having a comrade with me with throughout the whole trip.

The Haitian People I met in the Dominican Republic were the most amazingly loving people. All the women hug and kiss you. All kids want you to pack them around, hold their hands, and give them lots of hugs. My favorite thing was to have the little girls braid my hair, however I never seen a dirtier comb than the one the used on my hair.

The Dump

I visited the dump where many people live. They collect different recyclable or sell able items, as well as look for food to eat. They build little villages around the dump where most of the children stay during the day. I had the hardest time watching all the little kids walk around with all the broken glass and garbage on the ground because none of them wore shoes. They were some tough little kids in this village, and it felt a little like the a scene from The Lord of the Flies. It's kind of a survival of the fittest there and they played rough. We had to stop some of the kids from hitting each other with big rocks and sticks.

The Usual Suspects

It's the traditional first day of school line up. Ethan is especially excited to start the second grade. You can't see my face, but it has a big smile on it.

Another stamp in my passport

Lo siento mucho, soy gringo. Translation: I am very sorry, I am a Gringo.
I'm taking a week long humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic. Mike is taking a week long humanitarian mission of caring for 4 kids, and that includes taking all of them to back to school night. I found a local women who puts together volunteer groups to go over to the DR to work at orphanages, hospitals, and different villages. It's been a great project for me this summer to put together school supplies to hand out while I'm there. I'm so excited and will let you know how it goes. The website for the foundation I'm going though is http://www.children-in-need.us/ if you'd like to check it out. They do some pretty cool things.

Road Runners

We went to a few games of the local semi-pro baseball team the Road Runners. We of course couldn't miss the game when they had Star Wars Celebrities there like Obi Wan, Storm Troopers, and of course the big DV. Ben was very brave and started a light saber battle with Reggie the Road Runner, but quickly retreated after he realized that Reggie was really swinging the saber hard, and has limited visibility.

The Brave of Heart

Congrats to the Braves and Mr. Ethan Leavitt for being the Cal Ripken league Champions. I also need to apologize to Ethan for making him wear ankle socks with his baseball uniform, I didn't understand the unspoken dress code of baseball.

Swim Team

We enjoyed watching Andrew and Ethan swim at a few meets this summer. Andrew voluntarily signed up for the swim team, although he claims he was manipulated into it. Apparently he thinks we give missed messages when we tell him "I really think you should do it, and there is no real excuse for not doing it" and then turn around and tell him "but it's your choice." I believe these parenting skills have been around since just after the Garden of Eden and they're workin' real good. Being able to go to the meets with the Rich cousins (Aidan, Addie, & Andy) made it worth it, and the ribbons and medals weren't bad either.