You Stay There, We'll 'Spring Forward'

Been a little busy down here. Last we checked in we were on the same time zone as the East Coast in the United States. October 6 was our Daylight Savings Time and we are now one hour ahead. Come November when America "falls back", we'll be 2 hours ahead of the East Coast.

Also since we last wrote, we've had another Quiz Night and Kiersten crushed it! The questions were a bit easier and there were less people so she didn't have to shout as much. She also introduced two new elements; visual presentation for the Pop Culture category (Movie scenes) and a prize. It was General Conference weekend and therefore our Bi-annual Cinnamon Roll Bake. We usually have a brunch to share said cinnamon rolls but our friends all moved away so we had more than enough to share. The winning team was awarded cinnamon rolls and they were mighty proud.

Prepping cinnamon rolls the night before is the best kept secret to these things.

From the fridge, after the baking, first frosting and second frostings.

Quiz Night! 5 of the 8 tables in attendance.

We "enjoyed" General Conference last weekend. It was hard to actually listen to the speakers this time with both the girls being mobile but what we did hear was wonderful. One of our immediate take aways was we need to incorporate the Book of Mormon in our lives more so this week we read a few verses directly after dinner while we were all at the table and the children were still contained. It worked really well! Hoping it sticks!

Enjoying her King Benjamin tent for Conference.

She got new markers and paper for Conference.

Mommy worked on Finley's Quiet Book during Conference.
Front cover done!

The week itself was extremely busy. Back to "full" health, Scott and Mackenzie went back to work and school respectively. Finley is teething hard core and drooling everywhere. Kiersten's piano teaching business doubled this week as she gained a new student, the Ambassador's wife! She trained in the mornings and taught some lessons in the evening and her new student on Wednesday morning. Busy, busy.

Art Day!

The pleased artist with her Friday treat.

Boo! Happy Halloween!

Helping Mommy at the grocery store.

Learning hop scotch!

The weather ticked higher and higher this week wiping away any cool feelings we enjoyed the last several months. The humidity is still low but the temperature reached over 100 this weekend so we find ourselves heading into pool season a bit earlier than last year. The water is still cold but that didn't stop our Mackenzie! With her floaties in tow that girl has no fear of water! And on Saturday, Finley joined the fun and seemed to enjoy it very much. So we've got two little fishes for daughters.

It's 100 degrees!

And the water is fine.

Look at that curly hair!!

One of the most special events of this week was attending a VIP tour of the Temple Open House here in Asuncion. Our DCM was interested in attending so we, along with the CLO (who is also a member) and her husband attended an intimate tour of the Temple. They did an incredible job renovating the Temple and it is stunning and beautiful inside and out. So happy this House of the Lord will be re-opening soon! After chatting with the Area President, some missionaries and people from Church Headquarters, Scott and Kiersten went to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant. It was a perfect day.

Ticket for the Open House.

Pizza and Butternut Squash Ravioli. Mmm!

Fruit tart and ice cream. So fancy.

Saturday evening we hosted a Neighbor's Dinner for a few of our Embassy neighbors. We had enchiladas, chips, dip and jamiaca which is a hibiscus flower "tea". For dessert we had churro cupcakes. Kiersten is trying to perfect the recipe before Finley's birthday but this was a dud as she forgot to add milk to the recipe and they were a little bit softer than rocks. Great flavor, bad consistency. Trying to redeem herself today, she decided to soak them in milks to make them Tres Leches Churro Cupcakes. Only time will tell...

But it was a fun evening and Mackenzie was so excited friends came over. We were happy to be able to bring everyone together and promised to have another dinner or dessert night soon. It was also an attempt to see who needed a place for Thanksgiving and the quintessential Pie Night that Kiersten is more than happy to host.

The Mackenzie Update:

• She has been working on folding papers lately. She gets really frustrated if the paper isn't perfectly lined up and then folds on itself. But with practice and patience things are getting better.
• Haven't mentioned it for a while but seriously, this girl is such a great big sister. Helpful, playful, sharing, hugging, kissing, watchful and praising. We suspect she might be a future cheerleader?...

  

  Sharing toys and teaching her how it works.

• Her drawing skills are bursting! She loves to draw happy faces, people and letters.

  

  Almost all these drawings she did herself.

The Finley Report:

• She is pulling herself up on everything now! And it's time to lower the crib down because she is now pulling up on the bars and standing by the edge making Mommy nervous. Legs are getting stronger and it's only a matter of days before she tries to cruise. Only problem: she's afraid to let go so her legs wobble until she eventually does fall down and cry.
• Crawling so fast! This isn't new but it's hilarious to watch her "chase" after Mackenzie. She also seems to love the sound her hands make as they smack against the tile floors.

  

  Playdate!

• Did we mention the drooling? Two top teeth are just about to poke through so hopefully the slobber will die down.
• We thing she is officially down to two naps a day despite the clear need for a third afternoon nap. One in the morning, one mid-day and we try for a third but she just cries and cries despite being tired. This makes the rest of the evening before bedtime so long.

  

  Playing, playing, playing. All day long.

Well that's about it for this week, er, two weeks. We're hoping Kiersten's new work schedule, as rewarding as it is to be making money again, will settle into a normal groove and we can keep our home life and sanity at their normal levels.