Cloud Nine

Lucy is now 9 months. She weighs 19 lbs. 4 ounces (65%) and she's 28 inches long (75%). Here is a sample of her 9 month cuteness.

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We can't get over how cool this girl is. She's so sweet and always happy. She started pulling up on couches, beds and bathtubs and she now cruises with the best of them.

We love you Lucy! Or as your dad calls you - "McCrawly Culkin".

luke 'news'

a new look

a new class

a new menu (of spiders, cats, fences, pumpkins, buses, cars and snakes)

a new skill

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Luke is a pretty funny kid. He's really into asking us permission to do something and then saying "or yeah or no?" (his version of "say yes or no") He is still pretty rambunctious but now at least comes up with pretty good reasons why. One day when he was being super loud I asked him why he was yelling at me and he said "cause I want to protect you." hmmm I'm not sure how that works but...

Oh and he's super tough. Since he runs full speed at all times - he falls down on the sidewalk about 4 or 5 times a day. And he says, "that was a hard time" and then gets up and keep running. It always makes me chuckle. One day he sat on the kitchen floor with his legs out in front of him and said "I have lots of owies" as he observed his legs. I went over and he was bleeding in numerous places! He never gets too upset over his lots of owies.
I'm training for the St. Jude half marathon. I get up at the unreasonable hour of 5:00 am and go running with my friend Jerianne. The other day as we were running, I stepped off a curb and fell hard. I thought of Luke and tried to be tough and not cry. If he can do it 5 times a day without crying - I should be able to do it too. "that was a hard time" but I'm ok.

PS - stay tuned for Luke's Halloween. He was a monster this year. And I think he really identified with the costume because he asked to wear it all the time and even wanted to sleep in it. Let's just say it was a good fit.

day of rest?

today joes was called to be the second counselor in the bishopric. a month ago i was called to be the young women's president. today might have been a preview of what is to come. i've been running full speed until now - and it's after 10:00 pm. that scares me. i keep thinking - how are we going to do this?

but i will say that my feelings ran a little deeper today. i was more alert, had more energy and i would say even happier than normal. joey is feeling overwhelmed but said he feels like when he gets too complacent in his testimony - God gives him a challenge. like in high school how his life was crazy with social activities and playing sports and then he broke his ankle. he now looks back on that as a blessing. he felt like it slowed his life down enough to do some soul searching.

now, he gets to trade in some of his time spent boating and buying mt. bike derailleurs and electronics to working hard,to giving a lot of time and service and just being super busy. but we feel like this will be a good thing for our family. joey and i both agreed we kinda needed a spiritual kick in the pants.

Costa Rica - Sunny Side Up

the morning we woke up to sun - we opened up all the doors and windows and blasted this song...
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Luke loved "costawica!". He ran through every airport full speed - knocking into people as he went. We'd try to look surprised like "whose kid is that?"
Here we are getting off the plane in costawica - Luke is super excited.

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Costa Rican Crocs: (we are on a bridge looking down. Lucy was being really squirmy and kept trying to dive out of my arms. With that thought - looking at these pictures kind of freaks me out)

along comes mr. crocodile sly as can be

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We decided to try the beach for some sun. We were lucky and got some slices of sunshine. And even when it rained - it was nice and warm. This is Samara beach on the Nicoya peninsula. It was really beautiful and the waves were perfect.


gracie & jake

horseback riding - jake's neighbor let all the kids ride, lay on and do tricks with his very well-trained horse. Marvin (pronounced marveen) is a pretty entertaining horse guy.


monteverde was founded by quakers who made their living by farming dairy cattle. this is the famous monteverde cheese factory where they make a variety of cheeses and ice cream. Luke's loving the mango ice cream.


monteverde's bat jungle museum. Luke tests his bat hearing.


monteverde's world of insects


One of the best things was the "trainforest" - a ride through the rain forest on a little train. at the end we had a view of lake arenal and a volcano and then took a hike through the dense cloud forest . Then some hot chocolate and brownies and a train ride back. Don't you hear the whistle blowing?

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And I have to mention really quick how awesome Gracie was with Lucy. See how awesome?


Here is Solenne riding her neighbor's horse, learning spanish and math at school and eating guava she picked in her backyard. She seems to really be in her element.


oh and both of the girls could eat these crazy mamon chino fruits all day. they love them. Luke calls them 'monster fruit'.


One of my favorite things about this trip was just seeing my bro and his family living in costa rica. Speaking Spanish, hanging with the ticos, shopping at the market and making all the local cuisine. I admire their adventurous spirits. I also really loved our late night talks and movie nights. The thing is - their passion for life and fun make every day a party - rain or shine.

Costa Rica - The Perfect Storm

So - we went to Costa Rica and....

it rained



and rained


and rained


and... yep... rained some more


My brother and his cool family live in Monteverde on a mountain in a tropical cloud forest. And it rains there. Normally just a little every day in the afternoon with sunny mornings. But because of some cheeky hurricane named Matthew - we got about 4 days and nights without seeing blue sky or sunshine. Oh and to make things even wetter - the dryer broke the day we got there. Everything got wet and stayed wet. We did a lot of indoor bonding. The kids got creative.

Dr. Gracie nursing the "sick" toddlers back to health with shots of orange kool-aid.


Then tea and crumpets including delectable loops de frutas


Some education:
Truman doing his best to teach Luke his amazing face-making skills


and Luke & Truman review their letters Uncle Jake style
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Another favorite while staying cozy inside was eating AMAZING food. Breakfast, lunch & dinner were each a culinary treat. We tried all sorts of crazy new tropical fruits and native Costa Rican dishes with a variety of special sauces.


Weatherman Luke Hale reports live from Monteverde Costa Rica

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Our last couple days were actually awesome weather and we had a blast - so stay tuned for our less rainy tales of Costa Rica.