It's June!

So it’s been a while since I posted... where have I been... let’s start at the beginning:

Tom got home from Cambodia on May 24th and brought great experiences, pictures and souvenirs with him. He had a great time serving the people of Cambodia and helping them with their teeth. Due to the reign of Pol Pot, a totalitarian tyrant, there are very few doctors or dentists in Cambodia so many people came from hours away to wait to be treated for severe tooth pain. From 1975-1979 the Khmer Rouge regime arrested and eventually executed almost everyone suspected of connections with the former government or with foreign governments, as well as professionals and intellectuals. Tom was given a few liberty days before and after his time working on teeth and was able to tour some memorials, visit some markets and feed the monkeys in the park. He is grateful for the time he spent there and we are grateful to be together again.



While Tom was gone things were okay here, although we missed him a lot and the kids fought me every night at bedtime. Tom is often gone in the evening and I put the kids to bed by myself but they knew this was different and Hayden liked to argue and make things hard. Toward the end I learned that if I promised Hayden extra snuggle time in bed he wouldn’t fight me so much. I know he just missed having Tom there to put him to bed while I put the girls in bed. My friend Joy and I decided to take advantage of her husband being really busy with a new trial starting at work and Tom being gone and we went up to stay at some beach cottages. The weather was rainy so instead of the beach we enjoyed going to the NeoPark, the weird zoo/aquarium/aviary place. Hayden’s favorite part was walking the dogs, Danica liked seeing the monkeys and meerkats who are not in cages and were walking all around us while they were being fed, Alyssa liked the peacocks who were huge and plentiful and my favorite was watching them feed all the water birds small fish and seeing the pelican fill his mouth with tons of fish. We spent a day at the Ocean Expo Park, the HUGE aquarium and were delighted to see the feeding of the whale sharks where they dumped tons of squid in the huge tank and we saw them gobbled up by the manta rays. The third day was nice enough and we just lounged and swam at the beach. It was great.



Since Tom has been back we’ve been enjoying ourselves. We did a total makeover in our bedroom. I really wish we had done some before and after pictures because the before was so sad and pathetic. We would avoid our room unless we were sleeping. We aren’t quite done so no pictures yet but I am loving the results and actually enjoy spending time in there! We’ve also filled our time with more parks and beach fun. We went snorkeling on Memorial Day and Tom saw a sea snake. The next Saturday Tom took the kids to a park that we thought was kind of far away and I ran to meet them there. Turns out it only takes so long to get there because of traffic, it was only 4 miles away! I was shocked and saddened to arrive so quickly because I wanted a longer run but mentally was done because I’d reached my goal! Here are some cute shots of the kids at the park. The girls both have pig tails and look sooo much alike!




This past weekend we went to Okuma, the Air Force beach resort about 2 hours away. We stayed in a beach condo and had a fantastic time! We went with our friends Joy and Scott enjoyed the sand, had a campfire, and played games when the kids were in bed. The next day we hiked, explored tide pools and then enjoyed the beach all day. Hayden learned to boogie board and actual swam in the ocean something he is usually terrified of. Alyssa came down with a fever and was tired, but being terrible parents we simply laid her on towel under an umbrella to take a nap and we went on with the day. We rented kayaks and took turns taking the kids out on a ride (my arms are still sore). Then we hired the boat for 30 minutes and we all enjoyed a boat ride and took turns being pulled behind it on the tube. Everything is so affordable, it’s a fantastic military perk to have an amazing weekend for hardly any money! It was a lot of fun! Sadly, Alyssa is still sick and I think it may be strep throat (it’s going around) and I will take her to the doctor in the morning. In the meantime, here are some pics of the trip:




The school year is winding down for Hayden and he has only a few days left this week. Here he is getting his kindergarten participation award!
He is very excited for summer vacation and so am I! We have only 2 weeks until we leave to head back to the states for a long visit!!! We will be arriving in Washington sometime the week of June 22nd (we are trying the free military flights...keep your fingers crossed for us.) Then from the 27th to July 4th we will be at Lake Shasta on a houseboat with all of Tom’s siblings. It’s going to be a wild crazy fun time, 15 adults, 15 kids. We can’t wait! Then we will spend a few more weeks with his family, take in a Coldplay concert and plenty of game nights I am sure. We get to meet some nieces and nephews for the first time and our kids get to have cousin time. Then Tom has to fly back here and I head to Utah on July 16th. With my parents we are heading to southern Utah the day after we arrive to stay in Antimony for 4-wheeling, hiking, a rodea and for me to run in the Bryce Canyon 1/2 marathon. After making a million excuses I decided it’s not the right time for me to run a marathon, maybe next year. In the meantime, the Bryce Canyon 1/2 looks beautiful and I am really excited. Then I will spend a few more weeks with my family, meet a new niece, spend time with siblings including my brother’s wife who lives in Wisconsin, she’s coming to stay at my parents for two of the weeks I am there! I’m excited for the time we have to be with family and be in the states with shopping, eating and playing so different what we have on our little island. Then right at the end I get to go to my mom’s graduation from BYU!!!!! I am so proud of her and can’t wait to be there! She graduates on August 14th and I have to leave on the 15th to fly back before Alyssa turns 2 on the 17th. I bought tickets for the return flight because it would be to hard to get a free military flight at that time and I didn’t want to pay for one for Alyssa! Needless to say, I am sure I will come and need to just sleep for a week and then we’ll have about a week until Hayden starts school and Danica starts preschool! It’s crazy how time just flies by!

Well, that is all our big excitement! I am busy now working on getting all the paperwork in order, thinking through lodging options during our flights, deciding what to pack for a 7 week trip and what bring on the long flights, and what to do get the house ready in case a typhoon hits while we are gone! This may be my last blog before we leave... I guess we’ll see!