Baby #3

Spence felt our little baby boy move for the first time today. It was so fun. We get more excited every day. We don't, however, have any idea what we'll name the little guy.

Home Sweet Home

We found a place to stay for the next few weeks. It's really nice compared to other places we checked out and just two blocks from the beach. It has three bedrooms, two nice bathrooms, a kitchen and a family room area. We are super happy to be unpacked and not digging everything out of suitcases and then re-packing to move to the next place. The house we're staying in has a nice backyard too- it's Davis' favorite part. One of my favorite parts- the washer. I am thrilled that I don't have to go to the laundry mat all the time. I did, however, need Spence's assistance when I hung up the clothes the first time. They kept falling down, but Spence taught me to fold them over the line before clipping them- much better.

Spence and Blair putting on the "4 thread count" sheets. We had to get our own sheets and towels for this house and I about died when we were buying them. The sheets are like paper and they cost $20-$30. When the lady was showing us the towels, she showed us some pretty good ones like we have at home and said they were $30 each. No thanks, I can use the crappy ones for a month. We bought some pretty awesome ones for $7 even though they repel water instead of absorb it. At least they dry out fast after.

One of the bathrooms. Spence thinks the bidet is one of the coolest things ever- I'm not sure if he's tried it out.

A pretty nice little kitchen compared to others I've checked out.

According to Davis, this is his house he built out of bricks so no one could blow it down. He's out there all the time.

Clothes line in our backyard

This is the main living area- just another table, no couches

Our bedroom- Don't worry, Spence got rid of the creepy bedspread.

The office. This is the only room in the house where the internet works. There is actually no internet in this house, but Spence paid the guy at the hostels across the street to use it. We use it in this room or on the porch of the hostels. It's not the best, but it works okay.

More living room

Blair's side of the kid's room

Davis' side of the room- They've actually done pretty well sharing a room again. Luckily Blair can sleep through anything.

Eating bizcochos this morning. Spence went to the bakery while Blair and I showered. Spence has been talking about eating these pasteries for breakfast every day in Uruguay since the first time we talked about coming. Everyone loved them. Davis and Blair were thrilled to eat pasteries when it wasn't even "Saturday donut day".

Celebrities for a Day

This morning we went to the park for a while and Davis and Blair were the center of attention. There were a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds there who thought our kids were the bees knees. They loved watching our kids play and listening to them speak English. They talked to Spence a ton and asked all about our family and practiced their English on him. It turns out their English is just as bad as my Spanish. I told them I was from the USA, my name, and that I didn't understand anything else they were saying to me. They thought it was absolute craziness that the kids and I only spoke English.
The kids here followed Davis and Blair wherever they went and tried to help them on the playground equipment despite Davis telling them he could do it himself. The kids loved having their picture taken too and liked to see it on my camera afterward. Davis was thrilled when he had a whole herd of kids who were happy to race him around the park. Our kids had a great time and the kids here did too.

10 Years Ago Today...

Spence was celebrating "Hump Day" here in Uruguay. We're so excited to be back and see where he served.

"We're at Uruguay!"

We took a ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Montevideo, Uruguay. We were pretty tired when we finally got to Montevideo, but we found a place to stay pretty quickly, had some dinner and went to bed. Blair was sick in the night, but I think traveling and no sleep had just taken a toll on her little body. She was fine when we woke up Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, we left Montevideo and took a bus to Piriapolis. We're planning to find somewhere to stay longer term here. Right now, we are just in a hotel, but today we're planning to go look at monthly rentals. We're all feeling good and happy with a shower and a couple nights of sleep under our belts.

Spence and the kids headed to board the ferry
This was how Davis spent the ferry ride. It turns out if you're awake from midnight until noon the next day, you're pretty tired. The ferry was nice because it had so much space. We weren't cramped in like the airplane; Davis had the whole row to himself to stretch out. Spence and I also took turns naping on another row.
Blair liked the ferry, but I think it was becuase she had the iPad to herself with Davis sleeping.
Blair crashed the second we made it to the hostel in Montevideo. Too bad we had to wake her up to go get some dinner. Later that night, we remembered how nice it is to have the conveniences of home when kids are sick. Blair threw up in the night all over her bed and blanket and we had to rinse her hair out in the bathroom sink before putting all resources together to make somewhat of a bed for the rest of the night. We also used her Halloween bucket from her McDonald's Happy Meal to catch more throw up later in the night. We still have a gross blanket and pair of PJs in a grocery bag in the suitcase- we need to find a laundry mat today.

Davis loved all the bunk beds in the hostel.

We all enjoyed some food that felt to us like it should have been breakfast, but it turns out it was 12:30pm in Uruguay. The kids and I had somethign familiar and Spence went with something from his mission days. I don't think they'll have any McDonalds where we'll be staying for the remainder of the month.

The kids had a blast chasing the Pigeons in the plaza outside of the mall where we had lunch.

Waiting for the bus from Montevideo to Piriapolis. Davis and Blair got some random toys in the bus terminal they thought were pretty fun.

The LeapPads from Grandma and Grandpa Davis have been lifesavers throughout our traveling. The kids played them on the whole two hour bus ride.

Davis having a blast when we stopped for a break on our walk from the bus terminal in Piriapolis to a hotel for the night. At the bus terminal, the people told Spence it was just a short walk so we wouldn't need a taxi, but I'm not sure they knew we had a bunch of luggage and two three year olds to take along. We had to stop twice on the way. Luckily, we found a hotel pretty fast once we made it to the la rambla.

We found a great hotel on the beach with two bedrooms and a bathroom and Blair thought it was "fancy". I guess she was comparing it to the hostel we stayed in the night before with a bunch of bunk beds and a bathroom we shared with other people.

Hamburguesa Completa. That says it all. I picked the best when it came to dinner in Piriapolis.

This beach is just steps from our hotel. When we walked over and saw it Davis happily exclaimed, "Dad, we're at Uruguay!" He has been telling everyone we were going to Uruguay to got to the beach, so I guess the day and a half we've been here didn't feel like it to Davis. He was waiting to see the beach.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles

We left for the airport yesterday morning at 11 and we got to Argentina this morning at 9 Argentine time. The kids did pretty good on the plane and were happy the whole time, but they didn't sleep much. I think the kids and I are running on just a few hours of sleep max and Spence maybe about one hour. We're all looking awesome as were still wearing the clothes we had on yesterday, but we're waiting for the ferry and we'll be in Uruguay tonight at around 6:30 Uruguay time (it's 4 hours later here than home). After we find a hotel for the night, I'm sure none of us will have trouble sleeping.

Getting ready for the first flight
The kids were great following right behind Spence. Blair even followed when Spence started weaving back and forth.

Two pretty happy kids waiting for the ferry in Buenos Aires after some long miserable flights.

This picture of Spence shows perfectly how we were all feeling after the flight and all the travel.

4th Birthday Party

Because we'll be in Uruguay on the kids birthday, we decided to have a little party with our family before we went. The weather has been so nice this fall that we ended up having most of the party outside. We got pizza and let the kids play. Because I have so much to do to get ready for our trip, I didn't want to worry about doing cakes for the kids, so we ordered them from the grocery store. It was awesome. The kids were thrilled and I didn't have to do anything. I don't know if I'll be motivated to make them fancy cakes again...

We gave the kids ski clothes so we can teach them to ski this winter. They didn't really seem that excited about them, but they'll have fun skiing. The next favorite gifts were the Leap Pads that Grandpa and Grandma Davis gave them. They kids couldn't have been more excited.