Colombia

Hey everyone! As a lot of you know, Raulito and I took a trip to Colombia at the beginning of October. We left the kids with a friend here in Utah and took off for a week and a half. We had a wonderful time. We hardly slept because we were visiting and traveling. Two nights we slept on a bus...not fun, especially when the bus got a flat tire and we were stuck for 2 hours without any AC in the middle of the night!!! We brought Raul's mom back with us. That part of the trip was pretty emotional, especially since Raul's brother is still in Colombia. The ward had a good-bye party for her and everyone cried so much!!! She really is a special woman. She is adjusting well here, though. She is motivated to learn English and excited to be with us and the kids. She and I get along very well, thank goodness! We took almost 700 pictures while we were there, but the disappointing news is that we don't get to share them with you... During the LONG trip back to Utah, in the middle of the night...somehow our camera stayed in LAX... We are SOOO SAD! Not so much because of the camera but because of all the pictures that were lost. We kept hoping that someone would turn it in, or at least the memory card, but to no avail...Oh, well, we still have the memories. Besides that, the trip was a blast! The kids were really good with the babysitter, although they missed us a lot. We're planning to go back sometime in the next few years and take the kids with us.

Temple visit

Last Sunday Raul had the day off, so we decided to go check out the Oquirrh Mountain, UT temple. We drove up and took some pictures. It was really nice. The grounds are so peaceful, and it was neat to see two other temples from there. I am so glad that I was sealed for time and all eternity to my wonderful husband! We tried to get Rakel to take a picture of us...but she was just to busy, so we took one of ourselves...

The fountain was beautiful with the lights.

"I love to see the temple" So cute! We didn't even pose this one...

Seven Peaks Fun!

The seven peaks summer is over...We're not as close to it anymore anyway...Overall, we thought it was a great deal, and we went 1-3 times/week. We took the camera a few times, so here's some of our fun summer!

The one time it rained really hard while Raul was there with the kids. It really scared Rakel and she has been a bit traumatized of thunder an lightning since...

Raulito getting a "dolphin ride"

The face of happiness

Raulito loved the alligator in the tadpole pond, but only the mouth...He wouldn't actually get on it...

Graduation

Well, it finally came! Raulito's graduation! It has been a crazy week, with packing and everything, but we made it. Thursday we went to the commencement. Elder Ballard spoke and it was really neat. It was nice that there were not so many people there (being summer) and we got to sit pretty close to Raulito. Friday was the convocation. My parents, sister, and Aunt and Uncle came as well as some friends. It was great to see Raulito be able to receive his diploma! I cried at the end. He is such a hard worker and I am so proud of him. Afterwards, we had a little party for him and Rakel, because it will be her birthday on Tuesday. As happens, we were late to our own party, and I put the wrong address on the invitation, so who knows if people tried to come and we weren't there. Oh well, Rakel had a good time. Mom helped pack on Friday and Saturday, so we're making progress in that area. It will be another busy week, and who knows when we'll get our internet connected in the new apartment, so I'll post as soon as possible. Enjoy the pictures!

Ringing the victory bell. Rakel was too scared. It was pretty loud. Notice the dark clouds behind...We got rained on afterwards...Jumping for joy!The family: Mom, Shanise, Raulito, me, Raul, Rakel in front and my Dad in back Happy birthday Rakel! Shanise made the cake to resemble Rakel...It turned out pretty cute and took another thing of my to-do list for the week. Thanks!

Camping!

On Monday morning, we decided we were going to take a trip...We needed to go to Idaho anyway to pick up a dresser from Grandma's house before the closing date...So Monday was as good a time as any, mostly because we couldn't find another date in the next few weeks. So, we went up to Twin Falls and spent the night with the fam. We actually got everyone together. All 4 kids at once! Tuesday we left for Bear Lake. We would have made it a lot sooner without the construction...Good thing for the dvd player in the car! It was not a long enough trip for us, especially because we only got to play in the lake for about an hour...But life's like that, and we're grateful for the family time we were able to have! Enjoy the pics!

Rakel and her friend Alex on Sunday...The eyes say it all!

We finally found a place to put the hammock!

White was not a good color for clothing...He fell down so many times!

Playing at Bear Lake! Rakel's favorite activity at the lake, shell collecting! She said she likes it better than 7 peaks!

The deer liked that camping spot for some reason, we saw him there twice...beautiful!

Raulito's Birthday...(Daddy)

We had a great day for Raul's birthday. A friend came over to take care of the kids so we could go to the temple. That was a nice start to the day! Then after lunch and cake (ok, it was cheesecake) we went mini golfing. It was REALLY HOT!!! But we survived (we found a hose hooked up to a fauced in the middle of the course and cooled ourselves off...) Then we went to 7 peaks. Happy birthday Raulito, I Love you! Some fun with the whipped cream...

AWWW!

The kids actually hit a couple of balls...It only lasted about two or three holes, though...Rakel was running to get in the picture...Then we took another one...Yes, I'm a little wet. Don't mind the facial expression. I Really wasn't unhappy, I just didn't know he was taking a picture! The kids found a golf cart!

4th of July fun

Well, since the fourth was a Saturday, both Raul and I had to work, but I think we had fun despite of it. Raul took the kids to the parade in Provo. They had a fun time. Then when I got off work we went down to downtown Provo and checked out the booths. Later, we were all able to meet up to see the fireworks. The first two pics are of the neighbors...They love hanging out with Rakel and Raulito...And they would stay all day long if we let them...We don't let them, but they have a good time anyway... What happens when we open our door for more than a minute...

Parade!

Rakel, Raulito, Sofie and Ema. It rained just enough to cool everyone off, then it got hot!

Glowsticks, YAY!

Just a small snake at the reptile show we saw...

ALmost the only free thing at the downtown event. There was also a long line! Rakel was really cute and helped Raulito go up and down...

Rakel's sparkly butterfly stamp. She was sad when it washed off..

Happy 4th!