Honduras Day 1

The past 48 hours has been a marathon travel day for us.  We left our house at 9:00 pm to fly out of the Salt Lake City airport at 12:45 am!  We arrived at the airport and were assigned 6 humanitarian bags to check-in.  Then we proceeded to our gate and met up with a lot of the others that are going to be serving with us for the next 10 days.  There are a total of 120 of us on this trip.  We flew from Salt Lake City to Atlanta and had a layover for about 4 hrs.  None of us slept well on the first flight so we were dragging  by the time we landed in Atlanta at 4:00 am.  

Waiting for the shuttle at the Salt Lake City airport!

Tegucigalpa Honduras Airport

We arrived and went through customs, then gathered the six humanitarian bags we were in charge of.  We then waited to load the buses to go to the church to begin setting up the clinic.

Jon with the duffle of all the registration materials.  I'm working the registration desk again this trip.

Our bus ride to the church was an interesting one to say the least.  We had two police motorcycles escorting us with two armed men on each one.  They would stop traffic and keep us moving at all times.  I'm not sure if it was a good thing or not, I think they brought more attention to us than helped! We are getting the feeling that this is really not a safe area to be in, but we feel that the Lord will bless us and watch over us as we serve.

Today we set up the clinic that we will be working in for the next week.  Jon is working in the oral surgery recovery area.  As you can see he didn't have a lot to do today!

All the dentists were busy today setting up their work areas.  We registered 44 young men and women today and they are all coming back tomorrow morning to start the dental process.  It will be a busy day for all the dentists starting tomorrow!

We are extremely tired tonight but will be ready to start bright and early tomorrow for a full day of clinic work. 

Caleb Lacrosse

Caleb played lacrosse for the first time this year and loves it!  I think he has finally found a sport that he can play for a few years and enjoy.  He played defense all year and in the last couple of games they moved him to attack since he had been shooting so fast in practice.  In the last games of the season he made a goal playing defense and a goal playing attack.  It was a great way to end the season.  He is looking forward to summer to do a camp and learn a few more skills.

Spring Soccer

Springtime and soccer is always an interesting thing in Cache Valley.  We sit through a lot of the games in the snow or rain and it is usually freezing cold!  Things were no different this year, we did have a few games towards the end of the season that were nice.  Jack loved to be the goalie and play defense.  

Caleb Birthday

Caleb turned 11 years old this year.  He is growing like crazy and he is so tall that people think he is older than he is.  He is going to pass his Mom pretty soon if he doesn't stop growing!  

He is already 5'5".

Caleb has started playing Lacrosse and all he wanted for his birthday was a new lacrosse stick.  He was so excited to open his presents!  He drove me crazy all day asking when he could open them. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!  We love you and are grateful for your sweet tender heart.  You are a great brother to your sisters and brother and a wonderful son.  LOVE YOU!

Southern California & Disneyland

We took a week and spent it in Southern California.  It was such a nice time to get away and spend time with the family.  We stayed in Newport Beach in a beautiful place.  We did three days of Disneyland, went to the beach and had a great time.  Jon took his bike and was able to get a few rides in while we were there.  We are realizing as it gets closer to having our 2nd child leave home that these trips are a wonderful time to keep our kids close and build great memories.   We missed  Brianna this time but she is having a great time in Jerusalem.

Sunday we went to church in Laguna Beach.  It was a very small chapel that overlooked the ocean.  It was a little overcast and raining this day.  Then we drove to the Newport Temple and walked around the grounds. 

This was our favorite ride this time.  Kind of a crazy picture but is was so much fun.  We ran each day to get a fast pass to ride this later in the day. 

Waiting for the parade

One afternoon we went to a beach that had some tide pools.  We had fun climbing all over the rocks and picking out different things.

Jack 8th Birthday

I can't believe that Jack is turning 8 yrs old!  He is so excited to have his birthday and to be baptized soon.  Jack never seems to amaze us with his knowledge of things.  He has really picked up on reading and loves to read.  Right now he is reading the Harry Potter books and it seems like every time I turn around he has finished one.

We were leaving on Jacks birthday to go to Southern California for the week, so he got to open his presents in his pajamas before he left for school.

We stayed in Las Vegas for the night and went out to dinner.   Jack got to get a special birthday dessert for his birthday cake this year!

Mallory Volleyball

Mallory decided she wanted to play volleyball this year so we got her on a couple of different teams.  She played with a rec team for a few months in the fall and did well.  The first of the year we started her on the Cache Valley Volleyball Club.  She practiced with them twice a week and then we traveled to different tournaments on Saturdays throughout the winter and spring. Luckily we only had to travel to Salt Lake City and Idaho.  As the season progressed she started to do really well with her serving and blocking.  She is so tall that she just puts her arms up and can pretty much block the balls.  We had a great time traveling on the weekends and watching her play.  

Caleb Arrow of Light

Caleb has worked hard in cub scouts and was able to receive his Arrow of Light. 

Great job Caleb!  We are proud of you.  Now on to more scouting and lots of merit badges.

Spring Break Visit to California To Grandma & Grandpa Smiths 2013

We drove to California to spend spring break week with Grandma & Grandpa Smith.  The kids and I left early on Easter sunday and then came home the foloowoing Saturday.  We had a wonderful week of relaxing by their pool and enjoying their warm weather. (Compared to our cold weather we were still having).  We enjoyed all the family dinners that we were able to have.  It's nice to have my 2 brothers live there and be able to visit with them and their families when I go home.  We are so blessed to have such a close family that likes to get together and do things with one another.  I had the opportunity to go to the temple one morning to do sealings and go through a session.  It was such a neat experience to be ther and see my Dad working as a sealer in the temple.  I loved that I was able to take the time and do a session with my Mom.  We don't get to go to the temple together very often and I enjoyed that. 

The boys took their bikes and went on a bike ride with Grandpa and then went for ice cream after. 

Lots of fun with the cousins.

The boys braved the cold water and swam, but the girls and I just sat by the pool and read our books.