Merry Christmas 2013

With the end of the year just around the corner I thought it would be a good time to give an update on our family and a bit of a summary of our year. We were a bit disorganised this year (can I blame the baby?!) an didn't send out Christmas cards...except a few for rellies who don't have internet access etc. Please know that our family and friends have been on our mind and we send you our love and best wishes at this wonderful time of year. 

Will: Learnt so much it's been impossible to keep track. He's developing amazing traits. He has an amazing memory. He remembers people's names easily and will talk about them randomly. Just today when skyping with my parents he piped up with "No more cat, Grandad." Mum and Dad were looking after a cat on a semi-permanent basis up until about 8 months ago. For Will to just mention it out of the blue and the fact that it was no longer there caught us all by surprise. He is also good at remembering lyrics to his favourite songs and books. We are really encouraging him to read his books out loud and he loves reading.

Will is a quick study and has picked up some great skills this year. I was able to toilet train him back in May and apart from one false start, 2 weeks later he initiated using a potty himself and hasn't looked back. He has very occasional accidents when he gets busy and races to the toilet a little late. I think a lot of kids get lost in their own world so we aren't too phased about these rare accidents. Our next job will be to toilet train him overnight but I don't think we're there yet. 

In November we said goodbye to Will's afternoon nap. It has been hard for me to let this go but it is not worth the battle to get Will to nap. He is very insistent that "I not tired" even as he is rubbing his eyes and drifting off at times. When he's in the car he automatically tells me "I not tired" but within minutes will be fast asleep and snoring if we are in the car anytime after 12pm...He is generally really easy to get to bed between 6:30-7pm though. In August he started a phase where he would get up continually through the night and started getting up at 5-5:30am. We had no idea what was going on but put it down to either night terrors or simply that he sensed life was about to change and was unsettled about it. Pete and I really persevered and resisted the temptation to sleep next to him and remained quite firm. He gradually got up less during the night and the purchase of a grow clock has been great for him. When the light on his clock turns yellow he knows he can get up for the day. 7:30am wake ups are so much more pleasant. 

Will loves singing and dancing. He is happy for me to play video clips. At the end of last year it was Bruno Mars' "Locked outta Heaven" that was his jam. Now it's "Happy" by Pharrell Williams. I think mainly because it features in his current favourite movie 'Despicable Me 2.' He loves watching music videos on Youtube and Daft Punk seem to be his favourite at the moment, other than his beloved Garbage trucks and monster trucks.

Will loves movies. His favourites are "Despicable Me 1&2, Cars 1&2, Ponyo, Wall-E and Finding Nemo. He will also enjoy The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Kung Fu Panda, Tarzan, Monsters Inc and Thomas the Tank Engine. 

When Henry was a week old we took Will to the Cinema for the first time. We saw 'Planes.' He didn't seem to like viewing it in the dark and got tired in the last 30 mins and cuddled on my lap at the end but overall he seemed to enjoy the movie. I think we'll take him again when we're in Tassie.

He is great at giving praise. The last week or so he has been greeting me outside (and sometimes inside) the toilet door and exclaiming "Good job mummy. Now wash your hands." It's nice to be validated for the little things in life by your children :-)

He loves Lego (duplo) and will play with it for up to an hour on his own. He also loves cars and trucks and anything vehicular...

He is THE WORST hider in the world. We have tried to give him lots of ideas of hiding places but his go to place is lying in plank position in the middle of the floor or head down bum in the air like an ostrich. It still crack us up when we're playing hide and seek. As long as he can't see you, he thinks he's hiding sufficiently!

His prayers are very cute. He has mimicked a lot of the things we say and sometimes puts his on interpretation on them. For example, with my dad being really unwell he prays most nights "Help Grandad to get sore" rather than get better! We know exactly what he is trying to say though. He also likes to thank Heavenly Father for Garbage trucks, Fire engines and cars. They are pretty important though ;-) 

Will is a social butterfly. He loves meeting new people and especially loves kids and babies. Last week he befriended a group of children at the playground and instigated a fairly elaborate game of chasy/king of the castle. I found myself staring with my mouth open as he directed the other kids and referred to them by their names. It was only a month ago when he'd refer to others as 'boy or girl' and didn't understand about asking for people's names. When we explained that it was polite to ask for people's names he'd ask "What's your name girl?" :-) When we are interacting with retail assistants Will is eager to thank them. When we leave a shop he always says "thank-you lady" or 'thankyou man." It is very sweet. 

Will's common phrases at the moment are "Maybe later, Good Done mummy and just today he has been endlessly exclaiming "Aw Man!" I think he's picked it up from Despicable Me. 

Will has lovely manners and uses them without being prompted. It makes us very proud when he is out and about and is such a gentleman!

Henry: Loves baths and kicks around like a frog and practically puts his head in the water. He has swallowed a bit of water at times so I have to hold him so carefully. A bath does wonders to relax him and he is now settling down for the night anywhere from 7-8:30pm and he wakes up once between 2:30-4. He's then up for the day around 7am. He's really gotten into a good night time routine. He's daytime naps are still a bit all over the place and he's doing the annoying 45 min naps at the moment. I figure I won't worry too much about sleep training him until we're back from Tassie in the New Year. He seems to sleep better when the weather is cooler and apart from a couple of hot days at the beginning of our holiday it has been typically mild in Tassie. 

Henry loves being sung to and he LOVES being tickled. He is laughing often but particularly when we tickle him he cracks up. Grandpa Watt put it best when he says that Henry chortles a lot! He is the smiliest baby I've known. Anyone who interacts with him or looks at him and talks to him gets beautiful smiles. Since being in Tassie I am getting stopped in the street while people coo over him. It's his amazing hair that is attracting all the attention. People can't believe how much he has and always ask why he has so much hair...I am forever telling people that my hair was the same as a baby. Mine went blonde about 5-6 months old and already Henry's is getting brown undertones. I would love his hair to stay thick and dark but I doubt it will. 

When Henry wakes up he wakes up happy just like Will used to. When I approach his basinet and greet him he grins at me and his eyes sparkle. It's just beautiful. He coos at me all the time. It's crazy how much love radiates from him and I hope he feels that from all of us too. Henry will often wake up and remain so quiet. Even the monitor doesn't pick it up and he rarely gets too upset. 

He is physically strong like Will was. He almost jumps on me when I hold him upright and he moves his head around so much. You really have to be careful when holding him as he has a tendency to almost fling himself out of your grasp. 

He is growing so fast and really starting to show an interest in his surroundings. 

Pete:This year has been pretty hectic for Pete. He has been involved in many different projects at work and often feels that he's been pulled from lots of different directions. His company have made a lot of senior staff redundant and the future of the company isn't looking as strong as it did when he first began almost 3 years ago. He's felt quite unsettled a lot of the time. However, on his last day of work for the year he was promoted to a role as "Experienced Engineer." He'll be discussing payrise etc in the New Year so we hope that will proceed well in 2014. We've felt a bit in limbo for the past few months and still din't feel completely settled here in Vic at times. We're happy here but would be happy in Adelaide or Tassie as well. We'll just have to see how things pan out in the New Year. 

He's really gotten into wood-working and he's really good at it. He's bought himself a couple of 'toys' as he calls them and would love to have a workshop and spend lots of time making things. He even goes on pinterest with me occasionally for inspiration and ideas. I love that he has a nerdy job but that he has this really practical skill and is quite a handy man around the home. 

Pete has loved going to the gym but struggles to get there as often as he'd like. It seems I've been successful in converting him to Bodypump and we really love days when we can attend these classes together. He's enjoyed serving in the High Council at church but misses teaching the Gospel Doctrine class in our ward. 

Mel: I've had a fantastic year. I really felt content as a stay athome mum for the first time since Will was born. I am just loving being at home with my boys and am not keen to go back to work yet. My fitness has been a major influence for good in my life. I was so happy that I could keep up my exercise regime throughout my pregnancy. I only stopped at 37 1/2 weeks. I know it played a major part in my successful labour with Henry and the recovery. It has gone from a hobby to a way of life. My eating habits regressed somewhat when I was pregnant but I'm easing back into it and trying not to be so hard on myself. 
After having a flat tummy for the first time in my life before I got pregnant with Henry it is frustrating at times to have a wobbly belly again but I'll get there. I have Pete who is constantly telling me to be easy on myself and is always great at telling me that I'm beautiful. Like most women, I just need to believe him more!

I have made a fantastic group of friends in Melbourne and feel really settled where we are. My gym friends have become like a second family to me over the last year and I feel enriched to have so many positive people in my life. 

Speaking of the gym, I am aiming at doing my instructor course with Les Mills to become a Body Pump instructor in 2014. I am very excited about this. I'm not looking to do this as a day job but it's something I'm passionate about and I look forward to doing here and there so it will fit in around raising my boys as they are my first priority.

Christmas is my favourite time of year and I'm thrilled to be sharing it with my family in Tassie this year. Each Christmas with Dad now is a blessing and I know emotions will be raw amongst us. With Will and Henry around it will be impossible not to feel the love and joy at this special time and I am looking forward to lots of laughs over the next few days. 

Utah

As most of you who have been reading about our US adventures would know, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. A huge factor in our trip to the US was timing our travel to attend our church's General Conference in April. The leaders of our church hold a special conference every 6 months. There are beautiful and inspiring talks and music. It is held in Church Headquarters in a gorgeous conference centre in Salt Lake City. It has been a lifelong dream to attend one of these sessions live, not just via satellite broadcast at home in Australia. 

Any trip to the USA had to be timed so we could attend and also spend some time catching up with our many friends who live in Utah. 

Pete and I spent 3 months in Provo, Utah at the Missionary Training Centre (MTC) when we were missionaries but unfortunately, apart from one day trip into Salt Lake City, missionaries do not get the opportunity to see any of the surroundings beyond the MTC. You are seriously that focused and flat out learning for 3 months there isn't time for it.  

We were very lucky to again have lovely friends who opened their homes to us. We spent the first few days in Utah in Spanish Fork with my friend Danniey and her hubby Tyler and their adorable children Calvin and Linus. What a fun and lively family they are. Calvin was VERY excited to see us and kept us on our toes and entertained. Danniey and I met on my first day in the MTC. She approached me and asked to share her testimony (statement of personal beliefs about our church) in Japanese. I was very happy to oblige and felt such a strong spirit of truth when she spoke. I will never forget thinking then that this Sister Missionary was a powerful force for good and we instantly connected as friends from that first meeting. I am so grateful for her example and friendship.

The Watt and Wright families

Sister Brenley Charles, (Danniey and I - centre) and Sister Katherine Hurd, at the famous world map in the MTC. August 2004 I think. 

It was pretty chilly in Utah but the snow on the mountains looked beautiful. We really wish we had longer than 6 days in Utah as there was sooo much we could have done. I'd definitely visit when it's warmer and hike in the gorgeous canyons and national parks. It wasn't very practical given we were travelling with a toddler anyhow. 

As a last minute thing, Simeon decided to head to Las Vegas for 2 days while we stayed with the Wright family. I'm glad he had some downtime just for himself and although he came back flat broke and exhausted he said it was very worth it :-) Will really missed him and was very excited when he came back.

We were really happy to meet up with one of Peter's mission companions, Jon Daniels and his wife Tina. They were such sweethearts and made us all feel so at ease in their home. I was really quite surprised when meeting their son Max as they came right out and told us that they had adopted him. I wouldn't have even known. The fair skin and super blonde hair hadn't registered as unusual next to Tina and Jon's dark hair and olive complexions. They were so open about their trials with the adoption process and why they had to go down that road. I am so pleased that Max has joined their family. They are amazing parents and love their little man so much. We all thought he was adorable too - especially Will! He just loves babies...

Here's trouble - Elder Daniels and Elder Watt. It was lovely that Jon and Pete got on like a house on fire. You would never have known they hadn't seen each other in about 8 years! Tina and I could tell that they'd had a lot of fun serving together in Japan. 

Using the trusty timer on our point and shoot. 

We would have loved to spend more time with them but had so much to do and people to see in Utah it was quite crazy. Thanks for the yummy dinner and great company guys! Please come visit us in Australia sometime. x

One of my most anticipated catch ups was with one of my most favourite companions from my mission - sister Bethany Landon (Bethany Coffin now). We had so much fun serving together. You should see the photos from the time we worked together! I remember mum and dad commenting in a letter that we looked like we were having a blast and that we seemed like Sisters. This girl is amazingly talented and I looked up to her so much. Although we haven't been great at keeping in contact the love is still there. I was actually a little nervous about meeting her. We arranged to meet her and her family at Temple Square and go from there to lunch together. Pete was laughing at me when we were walking to the meeting place and commented how nervous I seemed. I kept saying "It's been 8 years, and I'm just really emotional!" 

The moment I saw her my eyes welled up with tears and we embraced in a huge bear hug. Beth isn't a huge crier but I think I set her off a little bit too. I can't tell you how happy I was to see her again. After I had my little teary and lots of hugs we had a photo together. 

This was the only 'nice' and 'normal photo of the 2 of us as companions. I have spent the last 10 mins cracking up looking at all the crazy photos. I could do a blog post just on that! ha ha

This is in Ube, Japan between Nov-Dec 2004. 

I was so grateful that she had driven all the way from Pocatello, Idaho to see me. It's like a 5 hour drive and they had lunch with us and then turned around and drove all the way home. She is one of those true friends that remind me of the saying "The road to a friend's home is never long." We had wanted to visit Idaho but just couldn't squeeze it in this time. There were a few people we tried to catch up with who just couldn't get themselves organised and/or timing didn't gel but Beth just made it happen. Seeing her was really important to me. She is good for the soul that girl! We had an amazing lunch at the cheesecake factory (so so good) and enjoyed reminiscing about our missions and talking about our families. She has 3 kids and they are balls of energy and fun just like their mumma. 

We had lots more hugs before we had to say goodbye.

I nicked this photo from Beth's Facebook page - The Watt and Coffin families. 

Libby cracks me up here. She really didn't want her photo taken. My preggy belly was really showing at this point (16 weeks along) and I remember Beth posted a pic of us that I thought would send the rumor mill going before I made the announcement. I told all our friends in the US but they kept it under wraps until we got home and made it official. 

Later that evening we got to catch up with my Mission President, President Banks for ice-cream. I was so sad not to see his lovely wife Melanie but she was too unwell. She has long battled with her health and I know she was devastated not to see us. All the more reason we have to get back to Utah again someday. I have so much love and respect for this couple. They truly were like surrogate parents to me when I was a Missionary. It was so great for us to talk about what we've been up to since our missions and it was just uplifting to be around this great man again. The time was short but I'm so grateful that we could see each other and to have Peter meet someone I spoke so much about. Will was his cheeky and adorable self and was very happy with the ice-cream :-)

Simeon arrived back in Utah on Friday. By this point we had left my friends in Spanish Fork as we'd arranged to have our last 3 days with the Bollinger family. Tiffany is an awesome friend I also met in the MTC. She served her misson in Hong Kong. She was actually a lifesaver for me. You see, for some reason there was a big mix up with my arrival date at the MTC. I rocked up on a Monday but wasn't due to be there until Tuesday. So they were unprepared for my arrival and I had no companion for a whole day (very strange for a missionary who is always paired with at least 1 other person). I was jet-lagged and nervous and Sister Tiffany Messick (as she was back then) and her companion Sister Ward, took me under their wings and I spent a bit of time with them that first day. I even joined in on their PE time and played Beach Volleyball. It was just what I needed. Just like with Metta, I have kept in better contact with Tiffany than most of my companions. She is a legend and we absolutely loved staying with her family. Her hubby, Bubba is a crack-up and a big talker. We loved him to bits. And their son Charlie is the cutest thing in the world...next to my boys of course. x

I am so blessed to have made so many beautiful friends on my mission. Tiffany is a legend and has such a great sense of humor and is so easy to talk to. On the last night of our stay, Simeon, Pete and I had a great D&M with her and Bubba. We talked about so many things and I wish we'd had more time to just hang out with them like that. I felt bad a lot of the time as we went back and forth to sessions of conference and other catch-ups. I wish we had just stayed put a little more as I just love these guys!

Here we are at the MTC back in July 2004. Jeepers I look fat there!

The gang - Bubba, Tiff and Charlie, Sim, Mel Will and Pete

I love this one of Will and his daddy!

One morning we went with Sim to Temple Square and did a little tour with a couple of Sister Missionaries. We loved being at the Christus statue in the visitors centre and enjoyed walking around the grounds. Spring was bursting with gorgeous flowers and it was a nice atmosphere that day. Sim and I had an emotional moment when talking about eternal families as we'd received bad news about Dad's cancer on our trip and were worried about him. This trip really strengthened my resolve to be a better wife, mother. daughter and sister. Family is the most important thing!

 

 I can't remember what day it was but we ventured way out into the suburbs to visit my friend Matt Mikhail. He and I served together in the Matsue Zone of our mission. My parents and I actually stayed with him and his then fiance when I returned to Japan a year after finishing my mission. So it hadn't been quite as long since seeing him as most of my other friends. He has a growing family of gorgeous boys but they were pretty scarce when we visited :-) 

Will was happy to help himself to some of their toys though.

Silly Matt had recently injured himself and was recovering from surgery. His family were also getting ready for a big move back to Japan. I must admit I was a little jealous as I'd love to move to Japan with my boys. 

Matt's a bit hairier than I remember him but still the same awesome guy! 

On Saturday and Sunday Pete and I got to attend General Conference. We went to the Saturday afternoon session and had pretty good seats. When the prophet enters the room there is this incredible feeling of greatness and warmth. Everyone stands as he enters and then sits down once he is seated. There is a reverence and respect that I've only felt in the MTC and here at conference. It's such an amazing experience. He is indeed a representative for our Saviour and I feel privileged that I could be there in the same room to hear him speak. It was so nice to be there with Pete and have a little spiritual reflection time without a toddler around :-)

After the session, Pete had arranged to catch up briefly with his Mission President, Henry J Eyring (son of President Henry B Eyring of the First Presidency of the church). Simeon had meanwhile been dropped off with Will and after a fair bit of mucking around he had the job of getting our car from the place we'd parked it and would meet us a bit later. We really didn't have things worked out very well so I felt awful that Simeon had to do so much mucking around.
We were waiting awhile and I said to Pete that we should call him to see what was happening. I don't know whether he'd forgotten or not but he said to meet him at his dad's office. We were pretty stoked to think that we'd get to be in President Eyring's office but didn't think the chances of him actually being there were great. Well, as we entered the room it was packed with all of the Eyring family and who should be sitting eating his dinner at his desk but President Eyring. I almost did a double take and remember being a bit awe struck as he stood up to shake our hands and talk with us. In between sessions he was catching up with family who were visiting from Idaho so I felt kinda bad to be encroaching on family time but we were welcomed warmly and even offered dinner and cookies. We ate some cookies happily - especially Will. Another guy from Pete's mission had also come up to the office to catch up. We spent the next 30 mins chatting to President Eyring (snr) about our missions and he was talking to us about the new guidelines and asking for our ideas and thoughts about it all. That was pretty awesome!! As much as it was incredible to be there the time flew by before they all had to go to the next session of conference. It definitely wasn't like the relaxed catch-up we'd enjoyed with my Mission President. However, we are glad that despite these people having really busy schedules, they made a bit of time for us. Pete got to have a photo with these very special people. 

L-R Elder Garrett Hyde, Sister and President Henry B Eyring, President Henry J Eyring and Pete :-)

After leaving Pete behind to go to the Priesthood session of conference Simeon, Will and I walked back to the car. It was pretty awful to be honest as there were lots of protesters out and the atmosphere was hostile. It made Simeon really angry and it put me on edge also. It definitely wasn't the most pleasant car ride that's for sure. We were both glad to get out of the city and hang out with Tiffany, Bubba and Charlie who helped to pick up our spirits in no time. I would like to come back to Utah to see what it's like when there isn't so much on in Temple Square. 

Sunday was different though. There were hardly any protesters out and it was a lot more pleasant. We got there really early and enjoyed strolling along Temple Square and then being able to hear the Spoken Word by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We were sitting a lot further back this time but it was still amazing to be there. 

It's quite something to get there and see the place gradually fill up. I think it seats about 11,000 people.

After the conference session it was nice to just stroll around Temple Square and take some photos. We were loving our Sunday date together!

I wish Simeon had experienced Salt Lake City today rather than yesterday. A very different experience that's for sure. The Salt Lake Temple is stunning and I wish we'd had time to actually visit. Definitely next time!

Utah is a funny place. I have pretty mixed emotions about it but really loved seeing all our beautiful friends and being able to attend conference was very special.

We left Monday morning and whilst I was sad to say goodbye to the Bollingers I was getting tired after all of our jet-setting across the country. I think all of us were feeling like we were ready to go home but we had 3 days to spend in California yet...it turned out to be incredible and was the perfect way to end our trip..but more on that in the final installment of my travelogues...

Growing too fast

It's been 10 weeks since little Henry entered this world and we can't believe how fast time is zooming by. My days are so busy and I can't believe how much there always is to do with 2 children. I used to get so bored being at home with Will and yearned to be back at work. I definitely don't get bored now and I really don't miss work all that much. I absolutely love being a full time stay at home mum. I'm lucky that I don't have to go back to work. Although it would be a tremendous help financially we don't feel it is quite the right time yet. Because time goes so fast I don't want to waste these precious early years at all. 

As you can see in the pics below Henry has done lots of growing!

                         Henry - 4 weeks old                                                      Henry - 8.5 weeks old       

He is long and lean. I love his long dainty fingers and gorgeous long feet. He definitely hasn't inherited my wide and ugly feet :-)

He may be little but Henry is developing such a gorgeous personality. He is so cheeky - He loves being up late once Will has gone to bed and coos and gurgles and smiles away at us. It is so gorgeous but tiring. He just looks up at me and grins and grins :-)

He is so placid and easy going. Will gets a bit too enthusiastic and although Henry cries out occasionally he calms down quickly and continues to smile at his big brother. Will has taken to rolling Henry over if I look away and he sometimes drags him off his mat. I reckon I've aged a lot in the last couple of weeks!

Henry loves laying on his mat and having a big kick around and whacking the dangly objects and he LOVES looking at himself in his little mirror. He's not that keen on his swing or the bouncer thing...at least when I put him in them. He's fine for his daddy!

He seems to like baths but tends to ball when I take him out and dry him. I think he hates being wet and naked. Once he's dressed and cuddled he calms down instantly.

He sleeps on the go so well. I have been constantly out and about and am so relieved he's so portable. However, he is growing out of his capsule so fast. I've loved having one this time around and am not looking forward to giving it up in a couple of weeks. 

 See what I mean about dragging his brother around!!

A name and a blessing

"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom or God.... And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. 

Mark 10:14-16

On Sunday 10th November we were joined with beloved family and friends to witness the blessing of our son, Henry. 
The purpose of a baby blessing is to give a baby an official name and to provide an opportunity to give a blessing for the child's spiritual and physical welfare. Peter, together with other Priesthood holders amongst our family pronounced a blessing upon him. It is a special occasion and whilst it's not a Christening like in many other Christian churches, it has some similarities... In our church we don't get baptised until we are 8 years old. 
A friend once explained that when she witnesses a baby's blessing she feels that henceforth, she is connected to that child and takes an interest in their life. I like to think that all who gathered for Henry's blessing will be his lifelong friends, and many of them will influence him for good. We are so blessed to have wonderful family and friends in our life. I'm so grateful to everyone who came. 

It's not necessary but I think it's lovely to dress our babies in white when they are blessed. This is the blessing suit Will wore on his blessing day. Henry doesn't fit into it quite as snugly as his big brother did!

Will on his blessing day

Nana and Grandad Jones with their Grandsons

Grandad Jones looking very proud!

Henry got a bit sleepy and fell asleep in my arms right up until his blessing when he started crying. He stopped crying when he was blessed luckily.

Grandma Watt enjoying snuggles. Pete's dad was so unwell after a trip to Mexico for work that he couldn't be there with us. We hope to see him in a few weeks when he is up to traveling again.

We had to bribe Will with a cookie to get him to co-operate with photos. These are the best we could do but at least we have some family shots now!

 Our family almost 3 years ago. I still can't get over Will's amazing smile at 5 weeks old!

North Carolina

On Friday 29th March, after visiting Arlington Cemetery, we left Washington DC for North Carolina. I mentioned this briefly in my DC post.

Here is Will on our Journey. He wanted to wear mummy's sunnies for part of the trip. Meanwhile, I snoozed away in the back seat with a giant suitcase in between him and I. We got pretty good at squeezing in all our gear. It was crazy the amount of stuff we had but we made it work.

We arrived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina about 7pm ish and were warmly greeted by the Prieto family. So, a bit of background here. When Peter and I served our missions in Japan (over 7 years ago) we had the opportunity to meet and work with some pretty amazing people. 

When I was doing my training in Provo, UT at the Missionary Training Center I met this crazy girl from Hawaii. Sister Pratt-Bosley as she was referred to then, entered the MTC like a whirlwind. Her group were in the intake 6 weeks after I'd arrived. She was outgoing and I admit, a little intimidating. Just one of those people who walk into a room and command attention. Not through any conceit mind you, just through a big heart and personality!!

I'll never forget the moment that I knew we just had to be friends! We were attending what's called a Large Group Meeting. These meetings were like a giant training and improvement session and happened once a week. We could ask questions and participate depending on who was taking the meeting. 

One particular day a question had been asked and all I remember is that Sister Pratt piped up in front of the whole group (about 300 odd fellow missionaries) and said something so witty but slightly cheeky that half the group laughed and the other half kind of looked stunned. You could tell they were thinking "Did she really just say that?!" My companion, Sister Charles, leaned over and whispered to me "I love that girl!" Coming from Sister Charles, this was a MASSIVE display of approval. I remember nodding mutely and just thinking that she was pretty darn cool; especially for an American ;-)

Anyway, we became fast friends and even though we didn't see each other much except between classes and during our gym time I loved knocking around with her. During our missions (Her to Tokyo North and me to Hiroshima) we kept in touch. The funny thing is, out of all my beloved companions and friends she is the one I keep in touch with the most. What was especially funny is that she went on to marry one of Pete's favourite companions; Marcos Prieto. They have 2 adorable children, Giovanna and Orion. 

When we knew we were going to the states we knew we REALLY wanted to catch up with them. It just made sense to do a special trip to North Carolina and I'm so glad we did. 

So back to North Carolina. Within minutes of arriving we were chatting away like we'd only seen each other recently. They warmly welcomed my brother Simeon and he felt comfortable right away. But how could he not love this family! During dinner (a delicious home-cooked meal of Spag bol) Metta admitted that she and Marcos were a little worried that things might be awkward after so long. She was happy to say that they weren't at all. We were glad too!

Metta's lovely mother was out of town for the first couple of days we were there and kindly let us stay at her apartment. We were so spoilt! Being Easter weekend Metta and Marcos had quite a bit planned in their social calendar but we were so glad they let us tag along to the various activities. I can't tell you how nice it was to be staying with good friends, in a home environment where Easter is celebrated. On Saturday morning we went along to The Prieto's local ward (church congregation) to their Easter breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt. It was a slightly crisp morning but the sun was shining beautifully. As we drove to the activity we got to see a bit of Chapel Hill and were impressed with how pretty the place was. It is just a lovely city. Heaps of trees and just a great atmosphere. 

After a yummy breaky some ladies in the ward organised the kiddies for their egg hunt. I wasn't sure whether Will would understand what was happening but it took him no time to go off in search of the eggs. GiGi took him under her wing (at least initially) and they had the best time exploring the field. The church in Chapel Hill owns a huge block of land at the back of the church building. I was totally jealous of all their space and resources for hosting activities like these.

Gi Gi was very proud of her stash!

Will loved searching for Eggs and did quite well. He even won a special prize as one of his eggs had a lucky number in it. I was so proud of him for choosing a stuffed toy instead of candy!

The gorgeous Prieto Family

I just want to smoosh that cute little face! Also, Can you see my tummy starting to pop?

Will chose strawberries over most other food that morning!

After the activity, Metta and Marcos took us for a walk around the University of North Carolina. It is a gorgeous campus. The Universities in the USA are so gorgeous. This particular University has a very high reputation and you could tell Marcos and Metta were very proud of it and their association with the place. 

Gi Gi and Will just loved being able to run amok

By this stage the day had gotten beautiful and warm. It was about 21 degrees and we were loving it. I still felt like we were defrosting from the past week and a half of bitter cold! Evidence of Spring was everywhere...

We replenished ourselves at the Old Well. Apparently, drinking from the well brings good luck!

That night the Prieto's had a bunch of friends join us for dinner. They were excited to start digging into some of the chocolate goodies we'd given them - especially Tim Tams. It seems every Aussie Missionary introduces their Mission friends from around the world to The Tim Tam Slam. I even made a bunch of Milos so they could have the true experience! 

I love showing people how to 'slam.' The looks of ecstasy on people's faces are awesome! 

Metta has the best face here! 

If you want to head over to the Prieto blog, you can read about our stay from their perspective. I didn't want to post pics of their friends as I thought that might be a little weird/inappropriate but there are some great shots of everyone indulging in chocolate goodness on their blog :-)


Sunday morning we joined the Prieto's at their place for Easter brunch and yet another Egg hunt. The kids were so happy to be doing this again. I was excited because one of their friends made an Easter bunny shaped with cinnamon rolls. It was amazing! 

Will loved the egg hunt but got a little distracted when one of the neighbors came to visit in their car. They were nice enough to let him have a little ride. I really loved that everyone in the Cul de Sac knew each other beyond just polite hellos. I wish people were more like this in Australia. 

I love this photo of Will and Sim.

Will and Simeon grew really close on our trip. I'm so glad we had Simeon come with us. Sure, he was there to help us out with Will but it wouldn't have been the same without him and he and Will are so close now because of it. When we were in Adelaide in August Will's Uncle John asked him "Who is your favourite Uncle?" Will didn't pause long before saying "Uncle Sim!" The next day John asked again and got the same response. John got shut down! ha ha. Of course Will loves his Uncle John but having had the opportunity to spend so much time and experience so many amazing things with his Uncle Sim has made their relationship a special one. 

After brunch we were able to attend church with the Prieto Family. The ward did a special musical presentation for Sacrament meeting and it was so nice to hear the lovely Easter music and reflect on this special holiday. To share the time with great friends was lovely. If we had been elsewhere, staying in a hotel, Easter would have been just another weekend!

Will didn't hesitate going to Nursery. He knew the drill and felt completely comfortable with the predictable church format. We are so glad he is chilled out. The ward there is so big they have 2 nurseries. It's pretty amazing how big the church buildings are over there. We were a bit jealous!

That night Metta's mum arrived home, along with her brother who was there for a visit. We then spent Sunday night at the Prieto's home. We stayed up into the early hours of the morning talking. 

Monday morning we went to a local park for a run around with the kids. I am glad we didn't plan much for this day. It was a gorgeous sunny day and it was great to be outside with everyone enjoying some downtime.
Sim, Marcos and Pete disappeared for awhile. They ended up having a game of Frisbee of all things. Simeon was really funny when I saw him after - puffing his lungs out but with a goofy grin like he was having the best time.

Will and Gi Gi played for ages and ages. 

Gi Gi has already got the pout down pat!

For lunch we went to this amazing Mexican cafe I guess you'd call it. Though it was more like a random shed on a sideroad. However, it was the yummiest Mexican food I had ever tasted. I couldn't get over how cheap it was too. This is another good thing going for the US. During the first couple of days of our stay Metta asked us what things we loved about the US and did we think 'Hey, we should do that in Australia!' We're lucky we didn't offend her because we all responded with 'ummm'...We came up with some pretty ordinary responses and felt kinda bad actually. Over the rest of our stay we would randomly pipe up with things we noticed and would tell her. It's not that we don't love the USA, we totally do. We just love where we're from and I guess are happy with our lifestyle...Anyway, the reason I say this is because Australia really need more decent Mexican eateries. We have some nice restaurants but they are expensive and certainly not overly authentic if you ask me. 

After our amazing lunch we got these awesome ice-creams. They were the coolest flaours and packed with chunks of real fruit. My real highlight was the Mexican soda. I'm not a huge fizzy drink fan but these sodas were so good! My one fail of the day was ordering something for Will that I didn't really understand. It was basically a chocolate burrito.  I think it's called Mole. It was the strangest flavour so we gave that to Marcos. Ha ha. I had fajitas and Pete ate a bit of everything I think ;-)

Sim enjoying his ice-cream.

Pete ate so much that day I was thinking we'd have to roll him into the car ;-)

Will loved the lime soda too!

It was sad that our time with the Prietos had to come to an end. I almost didn't want to go on to the next part of our trip! Monday night we got to take Metta out for dinner to an Aussie steak house. Good ol' Marcos stayed home with all the kids. We had another late night of talking and all agreed 7 years between visits was just too long. I hope we can see each other soon. It's our turn to have you guys stay!!