Return of the Mosquitos

It was a nice couple of months here with the cooler weather and much fewer mosquitos. Now that things are warming back up, the bugs have returned. It's bug spray season again!

What a crazy week! Kiersten started teaching piano and saxophone again on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and then Scott had a church audit on Wednesday night so they didn't see much of each other during the week. Oh and Kiersten picked up another Personal Training client for twice a week in the afternoons!

After Monday's super hot weather, things settled back to a nice comfortable degree. We even got a little sprinkle on Thursday morning and Mackenzie insisted on bringing the umbrella on our walk to school. Speaking of school, registration for next year was this week! We've loved her little school so much and are sad that she'll only be able to attend half the year next year with our eminent move upon us. No we don't have a departure date but it's only a matter of time.

I love our "walking school bus" that we do in the mornings for school.

She carried it all the way to school...riding on the stroller.

The girls are playing really well together these days. When Mackenzie does dress up she wants Finley to play along. But if Finley wants something Mackenzie has or vice versa, all bets are off. Usually they are calm, happy playmates but the seeds of competition and bullying are dormant in both. 

Thursday evening was an Embassy community chili cook-off. We attended to be social and ended up watching the kids play on the playground. But it was a beautiful evening with a gorgeous pinkish-orange sunset and cooler weather.

Swinging together at the embassy.

Friday evening we hosted Brenda and Netza for the last time officially. They have their departure date (September 30) so we enjoyed pizza, Brenda's Tres Leches cake and Harry Potter, box 4 and WON! It was indeed an epic battle. We will miss these two friends dearly but are excited they get to finally move on to the next thing after sitting in limbo for months.

The aftermath of our stunning defeat of Voldemort.

Saturday was a very low-key day. Mackenzie slept poorly the night before resulting in parents sleeping poorly. Kiersten took the morning/day shift while Scott rested and wrote another talk for church. Around noon, K and M went to the park and then when she got hungry we went to McDonald's (because of the M and because she wanted burger cheese obviously). When they got home at 2 Mackenzie collapsed for a much needed 2 hour nap. We spent the rest of the day watching the BYU v. USC game and it was very exciting. Not to jinx anything but the Cougs are having a good season so far. By the end of it, Kiersten was feeling poorly with nausea and exhaustion so she went to bed at 8pm.

How this girl loves her burger cheese.

Sunday morning, still not feeling 100%, Kiersten opted to stay home from church while S and M went. K and F played and read scriptures and rested. Scott gave his talk and Mackenzie enjoyed a birthday celebration in Nursery. When they returned home we rested and chatted with family. By 4pm, Kiersten's 24 hour stomach bug had ended and was able to attend choir. So happy we are back to being healthy, fingers crossed.

Getting my hair done by the 3 year old. It was actually relaxing.

And Monday we received some super exciting news. We are no longer in limbo! Scott was offered a post in Kuwait and we accepted. So next summer we are headed to one of the three hottest cities in the world for three years. So happy to finally know what's in store for our family.

The Mackenzie Update:

• Her chore chart is a success! She needs 10 stickers in one category to receive a reward and this week after putting her dishes in the sink 10 times, she chose a treat for her reward and got ice cream! She was very thrilled.

  

  Yes, she ate the whole thing! Including licking her plate clean.

• Her favorite thing at the playground is the swings and she can pump her legs herself! Can't always keep the same momentum but she's got it down.
• At school she is learning the alphabet song in English and is learning more and more letters.
• And her Spanish is seriously taking off! She told Kiersten a story on a walk home about a boy in class who did something and she said something in Spanish to K then said in English, "That means, 'Don't do that!'"

  

  She loves her Portugal soccer jersey (jammies) from Aunt Jenna!

The Finley Report:

• She can stand on her own! And by that we mean she can be placed next to something to hold on to and stand for a matter of seconds. If she takes your hands and you help gently pull her up to standing she acts very proud as if she did it herself.
• Waving! Not sure we mentioned this feat but she's been waving for a few weeks now and knows to do it when someone leaves the room or when we hang up on FaceTime.

  

  First time sitting on grass. She wasn't too sure about it.

Thanks for following along on our Paraguayan adventures for the last 2 years. We still have several months left of South American adventures so tune in next week! And thank you for your love and support. Our continued foreign living could not be made possible without it.