Farewell Honduras!

Our last week in Honduras did not go exactly as I planned but it was a wonderful week.  I had hoped to spend our last week playing with our friends and going to all of the places we loved one last time.  Unfortunately, I got strep throat so we spent half of the week sick and miserable and the other half stressed out trying to get everything done.  The Friday before we came home some of the members of our ward threw us a party.  It was so nice to spend some time with these wonderful families before we left.  The next day we went swimming and had dinner with the Flores family.  We are going to miss them so much.  They have been such good friends to us and we hope they will come visit Utah someday.

 

 Caden and Connor ask about Hector and Elisa everyday.  They all became such good friends. 

 The night before we left the Young Women and their leaders came over and made us one final Honduran meal.  I did not always understand everything these girls said to me but I can tell you that they are all amazing and I am excited to see how their lives play out. (thank you facebook)

 We had to say goodbye to Cristina, Obed, Daniel, and Meredith.  We have so many memories with this family and hope to see them in Utah someday as well.

 About a month before we came home somebody introduced us to these plants.  When you touch them the leaves close up.  We spent many hours playing with these plants and they are missed.

 Our friends came to see us off at the airport.  Connor lost that special blanket in the Houston airport and our lives have not been the same since.  Goodbye Hector and Elisa!

 Goodbye Jose Daniel!

This was a hard goodbye.  I already miss my friend so much.

We had a five hour layover in Houston which was pretty rough.  The boys were both really good on the airplanes but that layover was not very pleasant.  We finally made it to Utah at 11:20 pm.  I wish I would have gotten our arrival on video.  Caden and Connor were running at full speed until they saw our family and then they both stopped dead in their tracks. Connor would not move.  Caden warmed up pretty fast but he started doing this weird nervous laugh that I have never heard before. Connor would not look at anyone.  It was quite the homecoming.  I, of course, was elated and wish that I would've taken pictures.  We love being back in Utah but still miss Honduras.  Perhaps someday we will go back...

What I will miss about Honduras

I have been thinking about this post for several days now.  I am excited to go home but as the day approaches I am starting to feel some anxiety.(This may have something to do with the fact that I am flying back alone with my two kids)  I have realized that although Honduras does not quite feel like home, I have become very comfortable here and feel a little sad to be leaving.

These are in no particular order

#1 The Weather-  It is really hard to describe how perfect the weather is here in Tegucigalpa.  There are other parts of the country that are much hotter and more humid, but here it is quite perfect.  There is just enough humidity that my skin does not dry out and the weather has been consistently in the 70s and 80s.  Even during the rainy season it is gorgeous most of the day with a brief rain storm.  I seriously love the weather.

#2 The People- I have been so impressed by the general friendliness and kindness of people here.  The only exception to this is when you are driving, but overall the people here look out for each other.  It might be as simple as stopping my 2 year-old from running out the door and into the crowded parking lot or picking up something that fell out of my purse while I was wrestling with my two kids but they are generally very kind.

#3 The Schedule- I am generally not the most punctual person, but here in Honduras I am usually an hour early for every event.  This is because I usually show up about 15-20 minutes after the start time.  I really am not mocking, I kind of like how relaxed they are about when things should start.  It gives me more time to visit with people and have awkward conversations in my severely inadequate Spanish.

#4  The Temple-  It has been kind of difficult not being able to attend the temple for 7 months.  I have definitely learned how much I take temple access for granted.  But I love driving to this beautiful building every day.  It has become a focal point in our family and it gives us numerous opportunities to talk about the temple.  I am so excited for the members here to have a temple and I am really going to miss seeing this beautiful building every day.  I hope that someday I will get the chance to come back and go inside.  I will try to get an updated picture.

#5-The Friends-  I have been blessed with some incredible friends.  Most of them have come from our incredible ward. (Anybody counting how many times I use the word incredible?) We were definitely blessed to be in one of the best wards I have ever been in.  I barely understand a word people are saying to me, but I can still feel their concern for me.  We have made some wonderful friends and I am going to miss them very much. Is it bad that I wish they would all move to Utah?

#6-Nadia- I had to give this particular friend her own category.  I cannot say for certain that I would have made it through this experience were it not for Nadia.  She has always been so concerned about me and has always gone above and beyond to help me get by down here.  I am REALLY going to miss her.  She has blessed my life in so many ways and I really wish I could take her back with me.  She is the kind of friend that you want to live next door to for the rest of your life. I will miss her kids and husband as well.  They are such an amazing family.

#7-Time with Dad-  In our ward here they only do church activities on Saturdays.  Before we came to Honduras Tom had been the Young Men's President for 3 1/2 years and he spent many weeknights at the church.   It has been SO nice to have him home every night.  I love eating dinner together as a family and playing outside or just spending a few hours together every night.  I can say that this experience has definitely strengthened our family.  Unfortunately we are going to have to be apart for the next few months.  Tom will definitely be the thing that I miss the most (even though it is only temporary).  It might be because he is the only one who understands the language completely but he has been the rock of our family while we have been here.

 I am pretty sure these boys will miss him as well.  Anybody want to wrestle with my boys for the next four months? 

Connor Coo Turns Two!

 He is SO excited for his birthday, can't you tell?

 He finally warms up a little after opening presents. 

 In lieu of a party (Mom and Dad are lazy) we went with our friends to Chiminike(a childrens museum).  Connor loves Hector and Elisa (or Cracker and Leesy as he calls them).

 Connor is terrified of anyone wearing a mask or costume if he can't see their face.  Halloween should be fun this year.

 My amazing friend Nadia was sick but she still came AND she took the time to entertain Connor with blocks.  If everybody could have a friend like Nadia, this world would be a much happier place.

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 What was Connor's favorite toy to play with?  The Barney cups.

 I am not sure why I love pictures of them sitting next to each other but they pretty much hate it.  Luckily out of the 20 pictures I took one turned out ok. 

 We had to play a quick game of Mario Kart on the Wii.  Connor loves it even though he is not actually playing.

 We picked up Dad and some pizza and then went to the swimming pool.

 It is so much warmer in the water but Connor prefers to play on the deck.

 Look at that stretch, he is definitely going to be a swimmer.

 Pinata time!  I don't think our neighbors thought we were weird when we went outside and hit a pinata with just two kids in their pajamas. Ok, one guy walked by and clearly thought there was something wrong with us. 

 It was actually very good exercise for Caden.  He was hitting that pinata SO hard.  I think it got Tom kind of excited for his son's future prospects as a baseball player.

 I will just answer the question that I know is in your head.  Yes, I will be opening a bakery when I get home and yes, these cakes will go fast. 

Cake, donuts, and ice cream.  This boy was in heaven!  Happy Birthday!

Side note story:  This story is just to illustrate the kind of luck I have had while in Honduras.  About 2 months ago, we were at the pool and a woman was leaving but she stopped to tell me that we had the same beach towel.  Well, it turns out she is American and lives in our neighborhood.  I have tried for 2 months to go on walks and hopefully run into her, but have never been successful until this past Monday.  We finally ran into them at the park.  It turns out she has a son the same age as Caden and the two of them had SO much fun together.  I have never seen him connect with another child the way he did with this little boy.  She also has a daughter that is a little younger than Connor.  The two of us have been living in the same neighborhood for nine months.  I know what you're thinking, maybe you could at least play a little bit these last few weeks before you leave?  This is where my luck comes in.  They are leaving this week to go back to the U.S. to visit and they return 2 days before I leave.  Caden was a little heart broken.  I guess I have learned that when you move to a new place you need to get out more and be more outgoing.

Another random post

 The rainy season is VERY unpredictable.  I lack the powers of John Locke(reference to the tv show LOST) and am horrible at deciding when  it is actually going to rain.  On this particular day we were at the park when it started to rain.  We immediately started running home but were unable to avoid the downpour.  Of course it stopped the second we walked inside.

 How to keep a restless 4-year-old entertained:  give them chocolate chips, cereal, marshmallows, and beans and tell them to count them and put them in corresponding boxes.  Pure magic! (for about 30 minutes anyway)

 Connor's first fort!  It stayed up for almost 5 minutes which is basically a miracle for this little guy.

 Oh how we love pinatas!  Our good friends had a birthday party and we had so much fun celebrating with them.

 You can pretty much expect pinatas at all future Heath birthday parties.

I had to share a funny/embarrassing story.  Last week we took the young women swimming at our pool.  It was totally raining but they were good sports and got in anyway.  This story is about the girl on the right.  Her name is MariaJose.  So there is a custom here in Honduras where they kiss on the cheek when they see someone they know and when they say goodbye.  I sometimes forget to do it and am always afraid that I have offended someone but I usually wait for them to initiate it.  Well, I was dropping MariaJose off after this activity and I was in the driver seat.  I turned around to say goodbye and she came in for the kiss on the cheek (which I wasn't expecting).  It was kind of an awkward angle so I tried to adjust....oh boy.  Let's just say we came within centimeters of a full blown kiss on the lips.  Luckily we didn't but it was still a very uncomfortable situation.

34 days until we are back on American soil!  We are going to miss so many people here but are so excited to be back with our family and friends!

The joys of a big boy bed and more

  It is hard to go to sleep when it is so easy to read books and play.  We are thinking of renaming him Hurricane.

This is what his room looks like now.  The crib is still there as his consequence for getting out of bed.


I was going to call this post 'my kid is more righteous than your kid' but we all know that is not true.  I have a feeling every kid falls asleep like this at some point, but I like to believe he was praying.

We had the swimming pool all to ourselves last weekend.  It seems like Hondurans stop swimming when it drops into the high 80s.  We enjoy the privacy! (Oh wait, there is a guard that watches us the entire time)

Caden LOVES to draw.  The problem is, he loves every drawing and has a very difficult time parting with any of his artwork.  I finally made him go through it.  He was very traumatized.

Can you see those two stacks of paper?! I don't want him to turn into a pack rat but there is no way we can bring home this much paper (yes, I am already preparing to come home)

Caden's last day of school.  Teacher is happy, Caden is happy, Mom is sad...so very sad.  No, I love having him home but it is getting harder and harder to keep him entertained.  Hence the next few pictures.

I decided to sew Caden a little bag for his innotab.  I don't have a sewing machine so hand sewing it is.  It takes FOREVER!  So I let Caden do a little sewing as well.  His masterpiece is below..

Yes my son chose purple and pink and I think that is just fine! (but don't tell Tom)


One final thought.  We booked my tickets to fly home. Wahoo!  We had to pay 120 dollars for me and my children to sit by each other.  Do you know how tempted I was to force some poor sucker to sit by my 2-year-old  and another to sit by my 4-year-old for 3 hours!  It was very tempting.  I could just shrug my shoulders and say 'sorry, we couldn't afford to sit together.'  I am glad that you paid 60 extra dollars to be annoyed by my child though.  I think this might be the MOST ridiculous thing ever.  If I didn't think it might leave my children traumatized and if I were the one paying for the tickets, I would've done it.  I really hope this comes back to bite the airlines in the behind. 

The most valuable food item...

A few months ago I was perusing my local Honduran Wal-mart when something rather unusual caught my eye.  I was on the food isle and I discovered that one of the food items here is tagged with those theft detection devices that are typically on clothes and other expensive items.  It literally caused me to laugh aloud.  Not only was it very unusual to see these devices on food, but in this case it was the particular food that amused me.  So what food item is apparently so precious and desirable that it is stolen on a frequent enough basis that Walmart has decided to protect its asset?  Scroll down to find out....

It should also be noted that I have not seen these devices on any other item. 

'Funnest Day Ever!'

 First of all, yes, I know that funnest is not grammatically correct.  I, however, do not pretend that my child is smarter than he really is on my blog.  Caden has been begging for a month to ride a horse.  As we were leaving the ruins our guide said there was a man at the entrance who would let him ride his horse.  Well, he apparently was not there that day so Tom started talking to a taxi driver about finding another arrangement (Caden was beyond excited at this point) .  It is important to note that sometimes my husband has conversations in Spanish that I do not understand and he does not translate for me.  I walked away to buy some souvenirs (Connor apparently followed me without my knowledge and a few minutes later a woman brought him to me-close call) and as soon as I was done Tom was putting the boys into one of these small taxis. The taxi driver was taking us to someone with horses.  We get to a small field with horses, they bring one out for Caden to ride (her name is Princesa) and as far as I am concerned this is turning out lovely.  Conversations continue in Spanish and the next thing I know Tom says we are going to walk behind the horse to some cemetery.  Ok, I am not going to let some random stranger take my 4-year-old on a horse through a small town in a third world country.  So we start walking.  One problem: it is Connor's nap time and he is already exhausted from walking around the ruins (plus we will find out in a few hours that he is sick) so he has to be carried.  Who is generally his choice to carry him? Mom.  We keep walking and walking through the run-down residential areas of Copan.  Have I mentioned that it is at least 90 degrees outside? 



We kind of got ripped off and paid a lot of money for this impromptu horseback ride but I would have been content with ten minutes in that little field.  Oh no, we are apparently going to get our money's worth.  We finally arrive at the blessed cemetery (there is a picture below).  I thought the taxi was going to pick us up here.  Nope, now we have to walk back!  Added bonus: our guide takes us through what can only be described as the 'red light district' of Copan.  Our children are now completely dehydrated, hungry, and tired (except Caden who was been comfortably riding atop Princesa).  I am exhausted! (Have I mentioned that Tom and I have been doing 'Insanity' for the past few weeks-my muscles just hurt).  The good news:  Caden had the time of his life and called this the 'funnest day ever!'  Do you know how ridiculous we must have looked?  I cannot begin to imagine what all of these Hondurans were thinking when they looked out their humble dwellings and saw a horse with a kid on it and his American parents walking behind it while sweating profusely.

 "Why do my parents do this to me?"  -Poor Connor

It was a very colorful cemetery. 

 This was our fun little taxi.  Caden had such a hard time understanding why it did not have doors.  Our driver took us to a restaurant after our fun walk.  It was a pretty good restaurant but we were all dehydrated so we did not eat much.  There were some little boys selling us little dolls (I bought three)  so we offered them our leftover food.  As we drove away and I watched those little boys devouring that food I committed myself to someday fight for hungry children.  Malnutrition is such a big problem in this country and it literally breaks my heart. 

We went back to the hotel and finished our day with some much needed cooling off in the pool.  There is a really cool bird sanctuary in Copan that we wanted to see and were hoping to go to the following day but Connor developed a fever that night and I got very anxious to get him home.  As we were driving home we got stopped because a semi-truck rolled and blocked the entire road (there is only one road) so we were forced to sit and wait for 2 1/2 hours.  Luckily, they don't really enforce traffic laws here so I held Connor on my lap for the entire trip.  It was definitely a trip to remember!