We're back!

So we had an awesome time at the beach with our good friends the Youngs, very relaxing. Of course it didn't come without a few hiccups. Our exhaust fell off (again!) on the way there, thankfully we found a welder that quickly fixed it. The first night it rained (we were totally caught off guard) and our tent and foam mattresses got soaked. It was so warm so we just slept on wet mattresses till morning. 

What I love about this beach is that it is out in the middle of nowhere, you're only sharing the beach with a couple of fishermen in their dugout canoes. There is no cell phone reception, so even if your house burns down, you're not going to hear or worry about it till you leave. You have no choice but to relax.

New Year's eve was spent around the camp fire eating smores (with really Hershey's chocolate!), playing charades, strumming the guitar, singing worship songs, and sharing funny stories. A lovely way to ring in 2012! And on New Years Day we stopped at one of our favorite restaurants  on the way home, for shrimp, pizza, and ice-cream bars! My kinda way to start a new year.  Sadly, they are building a deep sea port literately a stone's throw from the camping site so this will be the last time we can go camping on the beach, at least in this area. So sad! And on the way back the wheel fender half fell off. We couldn't find anyone with a rivet gun so Jake just bungee corded it up. Always an adventure! I have put an album up on Facebook if your interested. Anyone can view it, even if you don't have an account. 

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2675180113662.130955.1080983117&type=1&l=94cdd959fa

A few other photos of the kiddos... We got the boys saddles for Christmas, some missionaries were leaving and they had had horses. These are beautiful western saddles, so we didn't want to pass the opportunity up. Well, we finally got a chance to put them on the horses yesterday. Take a look at the photos below to see how it went:

With a saddle:

Without a saddle!

Josh was not comfortable in a saddle! It's so funny, his pretty much only ridden with just a blanket. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon (wow, the dry season sure is hard on our lawn!).

I just finished learning about the Mongols and Genghis Khan with Josh in school. The boys decide to build their own Mongolian "Yurts." Obviously the beach wasn't enough camping for them. They were pretty cute!

(I know, Jude's feet are filthy! We haven't had much water lately)