visitors and torn ligaments

Alisa mentioned in a recent post that we just had family visitors. This was actually our second visit from family members since we moved to New Zealand. The first visit was a quick overnight stay by my aunt and uncle, Vicki and Jerry, who had planned a trip to Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand even before we had moved here. So our visit from Vicki and Jerry was sweet but short as they had accommodation planned in places other than Auckland.

Last month's visit was from Lucky, one of my brothers, who had been planning for some time to come visit us and see New Zealand. At the last minute, he was joined by Tiffany (one of my many cousins), who is a flight attendant and flew here stand by.

When Lucky made his plans to come, we planned a trip to see some sights around the North Island. We went to the Coromandel Peninsula, which is a beautiful coastal area about 2-3 hours from Auckland. The Coromandel has beautiful beaches and a forested coastal mountain range. We enjoyed a couple nights in Whitianga, where we went to Hot Water Beach, which has a hot spring that flows out of the beach right in the surf. We also did a glass bottom boat tour, which took us to Cathedral Cove (filming location in one of the Chronicles of Narnia movies). We also got in a quick snorkel and looked at the marine life through the bottom of the boat.

After the Coromandel, we moved on for a night near Rotorua. In Rotorua, we enjoyed doing "The Luge", which involves taking a gondola ride up a mountain and carting down a concrete track. We enjoyed some hot mineral pools, and we also kayaked on Lake Tarawera.

The next destination was Lake Taupo. We had just arrived at our holiday home (bach) when trouble happened. We had been working on potty training for a few weeks before the trip, and the kids had actually been doing very well on the trip. But we arrived at this house, and Alisa went to find Max, who was on a spiral staircase and had peed his pants. Alisa can't remember exactly how it occurred, but she picked up Max and slipped in his pee, which was trailing down the stairs. Fortunately, she did not land on her stomach, and baby Tyrone (at least that's what I call him, for now) was just fine. But her ankle and shin got worked over. Just to add insult to injury, Max and Maya both pooped their pants within a half hour of Alisa injuring her ankle. It was a crazy hour. Alisa spent that evening on a bed and couldn't put any weight on her foot without unbearable pain.

The next morning, we ended our trip (just one day early) and headed back to Auckland. A trip to the doctor with accompanying x-ray revealed she hadn't broken anything, and later a physical therapist indicated she had a partial ligament tear. After a few days of resting the ankle, Alisa was able to get around on crutches. Our ward and friends really took care of us while Alisa recovered, and she gradually got more mobile over the next week. We were actually fortunate to have some other visitors (Devin and Ivan; Alisa got to know Devin while at BYU). Devin and Ivan were on a long trip through NZ and stayed two nights with us. While I was at work during the day and out of town for work one night, they provided great help to Alisa during the first few days after her ankle injury. A month later, the ankle is still weak, but she's getting around okay.

So it was a wild end to the trip, but we enjoyed a great week with Lucky and Tiffany. On our return to Auckland, Tiffany flew back to the US. Lucky went on a quick trip to Queenstown by himself and had a great time touring Milford Sound and doing a few of the extreme adventures available in Queenstown. We loved having our visitors and enjoyed a great trip with Lucky and Tiffany, even if it ended with some craziness. At least, we can promise some great memories for visitors that make the long trek to see us in NZ.

Walking along Piha Beach

Cooks Beach (near Whitianga)

Alisa loves to get ice cream for the kids so she can help them finish it (not that the kids don't enjoy it too)

View from the highway between Coromandel Town and Whitianga

Max and watermelon

                          

Glass bottom boat tour in Whitianga

Maya with Tiffany

We got in a quick swim while on the boat tour

Skyline Gondola at Rotorua

"The Luge"- Alisa had to skip the luge but Max and Maya really enjoyed it.  

Taking the lift back up for another luge run

Lucky with Maya on the lift

Blakc swan on Lake Tarawera (near Rotorua)

Huka Falls, near Lake Taupo

The infamous staircase where Alisa slipped from about half way down the metal stairs.  

We had a rest stop at the Hamilton Temple on the way back to Auckland

babies meet the alligators, alligators meet the babies

With family in town for Labor Day weekend, we decided to take the kids out for their first hike. There are several reasons we hadn't done this earlier: 1) Houston is REALLY hot this time of year, even at night. 2) Getting out the house with two babies is quite complicated. 3) Because the babies had a hard time getting started with breastfeeding, I was afraid of being away from the breastpump for more than 3 hours. 4) Making milk for two babies wears me out.

We were able to leave the house at about 9:00am. Surprisingly, the weather was not too hot. We went to Brazos Bend State Park, and we walked around 40 acre lake. It is a great park with lots of walking trails and trees covered in Spanish moss. It is also a wonderful place to bird watch and see alligators. The bigger alligators (10-14 feet) are easier to see in the spring, but we still were able to see several medium sized (4-6 feet) alligators and probably over 20 little ones.

Then while some of our group enjoyed touring the visitors center, I fed the babies under a big, shady tree on a park bench. (This mobile breastfeeding is great, it is ready anywhere and anytime.) After working up an appetite, we went to the Swinging Door and had great Texas BBQ. You gotta love a BBQ place that serves baked beans and potato salad as "vegetables".

When we got home, the guys watched football, I took and nap, and the grandmas and Zaley went to the mall.

It was a perfect Texas day.

Max in the carrier with mom.

Maya taking a nap with dad. The blankets were used to shield their fair skin from the sun, not to make them sweat more than they already did.

Small alligator lurking in the mossy water.

The lake was covered with huge lily pads and flowers.

Obama on fathers

Other than a brief comment just before Maya and Max were born, Alisa and I haven't expressed our appreciation of Barack Obama on our blog. We voted for Obama during the Texas Democratic Primary/Caucus and even served as delegates at our county convention.

Obama gave an impressive speech on Father's Day. I embedded a clip from youtube with the speech. It's fairly long (almost 25 minutes), but I highly recommend you take some time to listen, if you haven't heard it already. We so often hear short clips from speeches, and this talk in its entirety is excellent. Although some of his comments are directed toward the African American community, his thoughts are relevant to all fathers and families. As a new father, I found his words to be encouraging.

lake powell with the mercers

Last week, we spent several days at Lake Powell with the Mercer family. I grew up spending many days at the lake waterskiing, kneeboarding, and wakeboarding. We spent enough time waterskiing that I have often joked that I waterskiied before I was born (in my mother's womb, although it's probably not likely since I was born in April).

When I was growing up, my family would make at least one trip to Lake Powell every year, but recently we hadn't been on a family trip to Lake Powell for several years. So when my parents and siblings purchased a timeshare on a houseboat, we all got excited for a trip back to Lake Powell. We filled up the houseboat and enjoyed a wonderful time together. And Alisa experienced her first trip to Lake Powell.

-Lonnie

funny faces.....

Eden making funny faces.


Eden and Logan

We had a great visit in Pueblo, Colorado with my cousin Heidi and her family. Thank you so much Heidi and Brain for hosting us at your lovely house!
-Alisa

my brother

My youngest brother Mike is on a break from his Navy schooling right now. He only has a little over a week off, but he came to spend a couple days with us here in Houston before heading home to California.

Mike is 10 years younger than I am. When he was born, I was convinced that he was my own personal doll, brought home for me to love and adore. I used to fall asleep on the floor of his room so I could be the one to take care of him in the middle of the night when he woke up. I would even ask him to call me mom.

He has always been the peacemaker in our family. I remember several times as a child, after getting in an argument with one of my family members, that little Mike would come into my room, rub my back and tell me that he loved me. He is not so little anymore, but he still is a great person to have around when things are tough.

Mike joined the Navy about a year ago. He wanted to do something meaningful and service oriented. Although we worry about him, we are proud of the service he is willing to offer.

My sisters and me kissing our cute sailor.

Me, Laura (sister), Mike, Aimee (sister) and Abby (my sister-in-law, wife of my other brother Andrew)

We took these photos over Christmas when we were all in California.

-Alisa

thai 4th of july

Our house has become the un-official holiday gathering place for our random assortment of friends here in Houston. It started with Easter and has continued with Independence day. We are people lovers. A holiday is not complete without a full house. Our great mix of friends and family always extends to include anyone else who might want to join the festivities. This holiday we had an especialy eclectic mix.

Our friends Kristy and James, along with their kids Issac and Levi are always part of the festivities. James invited some of his co-workers, living in Houston for the summer doing internships, to join us. They are from Thailand and offered to make us some great Thai food that included shrimp, squid, three types of soups and amazing spices. Another family, Aitran, Hugo, Phoebe and Andy, who just recently moved to the area, made some delicious spicy eggplant. Aitran is originally from China but also lived in Vietnam. Her husband Hugo is from Mexico and they have two great kids. Others at the gathering were; Lyle and Emily, along with baby Eva (Emily and Alisa volunteered together at a women's shelter and Lonnie and Lyle went to JR High together), Stephanie and Martin (Lonnie was the teaching assistant in a class Stephanie took in college), Sister Fisher and Sister Kendrick (the missionaries in our ward), Kelly (our neighbor) and Tim and Julia Nuttall (brother and sister-in-law to James and Kristy).

All together there were about 20 people here at the house and way to much food for us to finish. It was a great holiday.


James' coworkers from Thailand- Nee and Niran. They were amazing cooks and took the kitchen by storm. In the end we convinced them to only cook 6 of th 9 dishes they had planned.

The non-stop sampling that took place all day long. The missionaries, Aitran, Kristy and Stephanie .

Emily and Eva, Kelly, Alisa, Kristy and baby Levi.

Everyone took their time in the kitchen, but these four were the hardest working.

soy un hijo de dios

Soy un hijo de Dios;
El me envió aquí.
Me ha dado un hogar
Y padres buenos para mí.
Guíenme; enséñen-me la senda a seguir
Para que algún día yo con El pueda vivir.

Je suis un enfant de Dieu
et Il m'a mis ici.
Il m'a donne un bon foyer
et parents si gentils.
Conduit-moi et marche avec moi
sur le bon chemin
dites-moi tout ce qu'il faut faire
de te connaitre enfin.

Sou um filho de Deus
Por ele estou aqui
Mandou-me a terra
Deu-me um lar
E pais tao bons pra mim
Ensinai-me, ajudai-me
As leis de Deus guardar
Para que um dia eu va
Com ele habitar

I am a child of God
and he has sent me hear.
Has given me an earthly home,
with parents kind and dear.
Lead me, Guide me,
Walk beside me,
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do,
To live with Him someday.

Last night Lonnie and I went to my cousin Loretta's house. Loretta and her husband Teboho and two kids, Malika and Tabo live close to us and we get together often.

Before putting the kids to bed, we all sat together, said prayers and sang "I am a Child of God" in as many languages as we could. Together with Loretta (who speaks; English, French, Malagasy and Swahili, Teboho (her husband from South Africa, who speaks more languages that I can count), Lonnie (who speaks Portuguese and Spanish) and myself (who speaks Spanish) we were able to sing the beautiful song in several different languages. Tabo and Malika sang some sort of a medley between them all.

We pray that we will one day be given the blessing of caring for and parenting a divine child of God in our earthly home.

-Alisa

relying on the improbable - READ THIS FIRST

I always thought that I would start a family by having a baby in a traditional way, you know...falling in love, getting married, months of planning...then on the predetermined date...candles, a night alone, and then nine painfully pleasurable months later...an amazingly, perfectly peculiar child keeping me up at night. Then over the years, I would bake pies, take the kids to soccer practice and coach the team, make the world more beautiful, vote with my heart, be a friend to those in need, save the world, and be a loving wife as well as a patient mother to my children.

Yet, what I have come to realize, is that my life is not often what I have planned. And, in most cases, life has given me gifts that have been far greater that anything I would have imagined for myself.

It never occurred to me that I would be using the internet as a tool to bring children into our family and home. Yet, for some reason, this method, although possibly less romantic than the way most children come into families, makes sense to me.

I actually met my wonderful husband through a large network of contacts. So it makes sense that our family may grow through the benefit of mass electronic communication.

-Alisa