Visit to the Lights

The Christmas initiative inspired us to visit the lights on Temple Square early this year.  At the visitor center we watched the video "LighttheWorld" to introduce it to the kids.

We made it a day and visited the visitor centers, Assembly Hall, the Tabernacle, the Conference Center and watched "Meet the Mormons" at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (this was their favorite part).

Instead of driving we took Frontrunner which made it even more exciting.

Ben makes everything fun!

Lighting Our Home

We kicked off the Christmas season by lighting our home...

We also added some smells and sounds of Christmas.  Love the way it feels and smells in our home!

#LIGHTtheWORLD

LIGHTtheWORLD
Since a new star first appeared above Bethlehem, Christmas has been a season of light, reminding us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. Together, we can celebrate His birth by making the world a brighter place. All we have to do is follow Him—His life, His example, and His teachings. In doing so, we can help #LIGHTtheWORLD.

I am absolutely in love with the church Christmas initiative this year!  Elder Bednar explained that the initiative is inspired by two scriptures from the New Testament, as well as a quote by President Thomas S. Monson. In the first scripture found in John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” However, in Matthew 5:14, during the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior told his disciples, “Ye are the light of the world.” The initiative will invite people everywhere to share the light of Christ by doing the simple things the Savior did during his earthly ministry.

“As we follow the example of the Savior and live as he lived and as he taught, that light will burn within us and will light the way for others,” President Thomas S. Monson said in his October 2015 general conference address.

We have been invited to Light the World, time to go and do...

Black Friday

This was the first year the kids wanted to go Black Friday shopping, so we did.  We went out to brave the crowds.  Qyntn and Reyn had spent the morning doing chores so they could earn a dollar.  They found out that you can't buy much at the mall with a dollar, so we went to Walmart.

Cheers!  We ended the day playing Risk
and sharing a drink.

Thankful!

Thankful for the ward turkey bowl

Thankful for adult coloring books and gel pens 

Thankful we got to spend Thanksgiving
with grandma who had a stroke a few weeks ago

Thankful for these Rugrats
We were missing Ayzha this year, she went to Washington

To Move or Not to Move...

that has been the question.

We have prayed and fasted and pondered and have finally decided to build a home in Saratoga Springs.  Ben was hoping to go to St. George or Lake Tahoe but I just couldn't bring myself to taking the girls away from their dad, and Ben really didn't want to be that far from Ayzha, Tiago and Reyn.  So, we are moving across the lake and that will have to be far enough for now.  We have 60 days to sell our current home so we're crossing our fingers, saying our prayers and hopefully we will be blessed to get a good offer.

When I told the bishop that we would be listing our house this was his reply...

"Jim told me yesterday that you guys have been getting serious about moving. So I was sort of prepared for this :( But it's still heart-breaking. There has never been a better RS president than you that I know of. And I've known some pretty great ones. And the only reason Ben isn't the bishop is because the Lord needed you as the RS president. I mean that. You guys are a church "power couple" ;)."

We have absolutely loved our ward and neighborhood.  We have tried to get to know each family.  We have invited many of them into our home, we've tried to help create opportunities for them to get to know eachother through neighborhood bonfires, gatherings and bbq's.  We have served them and loved them and we will miss them.  

However, we are excited for our next adventure! We really didn't plan on moving so soon, but we were looking around at houses and fell in love with this one...

The Lyla!

Of course ours won't look quite like this.  This model is upgraded to the hilt, but we think it will still be a beautiful home and we will finally have a 3 car garage, and a mud room, yay!

Straight A's

Since the girls started getting real grades last year they haven’t had anything less than an A-.  I am loving this trend!  They are well rewarded for their efforts.  Their dad gives them money and I take them to Krispy Kreme where they get a free donut for each A.  We love report cards around here.  I hope this trend continues for a long time!

Monkeys!

Ben's favorite animals are monkeys, so we went on a monkey hunt.  We booked a room in Gamboa, made our way to the local dock and hired a guy to take us out in his boat on Gatun Lake to visit monkey island.  We saw howlers and capuchins.  Fun!

We also saw a bunch of these...not monkeys 

San Blas

Instead of planning out our trip in Panama we decided to get there and ask the people what we should do.  Almost everyone we talked to said we should visit San Blas.

2 1/2 hours outside of Panama City across a mountain range over a winding bumpy road through the jungle, San Blas is a collection of 365 islands along the Carribean coast of Panama.  They are controlled by the Guna Yala people.  It is an area that has remained very primitive and relatively free from tourism.

This is the port 

Kids, this is what a phone booth looks like.

I have to admit, when we pulled up to this place I was not impressed.  It looked more like dump-adise than paradise.

One of 49 Guna Yala island communities.
They got electricity for the first time last year
They fish for their food daily.

After we arrived at the port we boarded a boat to tour the islands.  Our guide was a young man that lives on the island pictured above.  The first island he took us to was Perro Chico...

WOW, gorgeous!  Perfect sand, clear 80+ degree water, truly paradise.

To enhance our adventure, Ben spotted some type of ray the instant he entered the water.  It was nestled under and blended in with the sand.  He wanted me to touch it, so he corralled it up toward the beach where it whipped its tail and stung him in the palm. He was worried he might die from the venomous sting, but I am happy to report, he is alive and well.  If you ask him, he will tell you that it was a gigantic ray, atleast 14 feet across, that he took on the sea and conquered.  It was actually just a little guy.

Our next stop was for lunch.  This was our island restaurant...

Isla Fregata Chiquita

That is an entire fried fish, with the head intact, salad and rice 

Star fish!

After lunch we made a quick stop at what they call the "piscina."  A shallow "pool" in the middle of the ocean...

Just look at this water!
We came across another much larger
 sting ray at the piscina.

From there we went to isla Pelicano...

We basically had this
 stunning island to ourselves

I am feeling extremely blessed today for the opportunities I have had in my life and for the beauty of the earth.  This was another day for the books!

Panama!

Ben thought I deserved a break from life so he booked us a flight to Panama.  He arranged everything, even for Willy to come watch the kids.  I was so excited! Everyone should have an awesome husband like Ben, he is the coolest and sweetest!

We've learned a few things about Panama...the dry season is between December and April (it has been raining almost the entire time.)  The best beaches are not near Panama City, and getting around to see the rest of the country is not very easy.  

Panama City skyline

Bridge of the Americas

Our little slice of serenity amidst all the high rises

A dream come true for Ben.
One of the 7 wonders of the world

Hoping for a Trump victory tomorrow!