Random!

Crazy hat day at Zander's school, and a mom with no ideas, so this is what you get. It was one of a kind that was for sure. I used a pair of Cooper's old pants and a little paint and you have a crazy hat. Everyone thought it was pretty crazy so A for us!!!

Just thought I would share a cute picture of chubbers, he is such a good baby we all love him dearly.

Paracas!

In September Peru had elections which meant that church was cancelled so we took a quick weekend trip to Paracas, about 4 hours outside of Lima. We stayed in a beautiful resort, and since it was election weekend had the enitre hotel to ourselves. We swam, played wii, and Brock and Chris went on this catamaran. It was a fantastic weekend.

When we got to our room I found this baby robe and slippers laying on our bed, so cute right! I just had to get a picture of my "gordo." He is only my 27lb. bundle of joy.

See this Island, yes folks those are birds. This is Islas Ballestas, this island is full of sea lons, penguins, and more birds then you have ever seen in your whole life. They actually send a team out to collect the poop and sell it. Fun job!

Penguins!

If you have done any reading about Peru you know that it is full of history and lots of unknown mysteries. This candle stick is on the side of this island and there are many contradicting theories as to when and who made it. So many things to see and do here, you really need to come visit.

My crew, love the smile on Cooper.

The sweet that we stayed in was right in front of the pool, so I could sit and relax while the boys played and Cooper slept in the room. What a perfet day!

Cooper loves the water just like his brother Z.

At the pool they had these fun giant balls you can play in the water. The boys were not to sure about it at first, but it did not take long for the fun to begin.

The cutest slippers in the world.

My little model. I swear Brock is a natural, he loves to have his picture taken. This is him in our room.

Diamonds for Puno

Here is a video explaining the campaign "Diamonds for Puno."

Puno!

The last weekend in August we went to Puno with Chris for work. Every year Chris organizes through his company a big project called "Diamonds for Puno" to collect clothes, food, medicine etc. to donate to a small village in Puno. For those that don't know where Puno is, it is on the border of Bolivia and it is very cold and there are many small towns that the people don't have very good living conditions. Children die every year from the cold, and all suffer from not having warm enough clothing. So they organize this project to help improve the lives of these people.

We decided this year to take the boys with us, to give them an opportunity to do service and to see that not everyone is as blessed as they are. It was a wonderful experience for all of us and I was so glad to see how giving my boys are. In fact I had to keep an eye on Z or he would have given away everything in my bag. I had put some snacks for them in my bag and he decided to give them all to the little kids, he had such a huge following that Chris had to go to the local store and he bought every cookie/treat they had in the store. The store was tiny so with $10 he was able to clean the store out. It was a touching experience to see my boys with kids and adults that don't have shoes, jackets, food and are suffering. I had the boys each pick a toy of their own to bring with them to give to a kid that they choose, and they did so with joy. Zander had the opportunity to give his favorite shoes away to a little boy his age that did not have any, his face just glowed. I look forward to next year for sure!


It was a quick trip, but we were able to go to Lake Titicaca to see the floating islands and what an amazing experience. Here is Cooper while we were on the boat out to the islands.

Here is the line of people waiting for us to arrive and recieve their packets. Many of these people had to walk for hours to get to the main center of the village early Saturday morning. It broke my heart to see some grandma's being wheeled in wheelbarrows because they could not walk. It really makes you realize how blessed we are to have the things we have.

Lake Titicaca and one of the floating islands we stopped at, see the fish in the air. When we stopped to get off the boat Zander ran and climbed all the way up to the top of this fish. The funny part is that he could not get down so Chris had to climb up and help him down. The people build these structures, their islands and boats out of a type of weed called tortora, they are incredible to see.

Chris and I in front of one of the houses on one of the islands we stopped to see.

This is how these kids get to school everyday. I was told that it takes about 1-2 hours to row this boat for them to get to school everyday.

Trying to stay warm on the boat! This is Iris with me, my lifesaver. She lives with us 5 days a week and helps me with the kids and the house. We love her dearly!

Cooper 6 months!

My friend Giovanna in Puerto Rico, good times. Oh how we miss PR!

PR Continues!

We have some very good friends Giovanna and her family that we love to go see whenever we are in town, hopefully someday in-laws!!! Brock and Sara are in love, and Brock tells me all the time he is going to marry her. They have 2 daughters the same age as Brock and Z, so the odds are good right?

K.C is one of my favorite Young Women. She was in the YW's program when I was president in PR. My boys just loved her, and she was such a great help to me.

Mommy and Brock!

Sara and Brock playing in their pool in PR. They are so cute together, it is so fun to see how they really remember each other after all this time.

Puerto Rico!

The end of July we went to our old stomping grounds, Puerto Rico, with my sister-in-law and her two kids. It was so fun for our kids to be together, a little bit crazy with 2 adults and 5 kids but so much fun. I miss PR and all its beauty, and our friends as well. We had such a wonderful 3 yrs there that it is fun to be able to go back when we can. We had plenty of beach time, parks, museums and of course shopping!

El moro, we went to fly kites and go to the children's museum. What a fun day, until the boys kite's flew away with the wind.

The kids first time ice skating, poor Em had to take all 4 kiddos so I could stay with Cooper. They loved every second, and beg to go again.

Dia de Patrias!

I have so many pictures like this of these two guys, I am so grateful that Z loves his brother so much. This pic was taken during Zander's fiesta de patrias, kind of like the 4th of July in the states, but they celebrate all month. Every year Zander's school does a show where the kids perform, and this year Zander played the cajon and danced the marinera. It was adorable!

Zander with his cajon and his costume.

All the boys in his class playing their cajon's on stage.

El Pueblo!

So cute right! For Easter weekend we went back to the resort El Pueblo that I posted a few days ago. Chris had not been so we took advantage and had some family time. We had a great weekend, and again the kids did not want to leave.

There is a huge water slide that Brock was too scared to go down, but Z on the other hand begged to go down a billion times with dad. He is my dare devil for sure.

Gordo, some fatness too bad it is only cute when your little right? Cooper is about 2 1/2 months in this picture.

Having some laughs with dad!

Cooper's first pool experience, he did not know what to think. He now is my little fish like Zander.

Easter!

This was the madness that was my house when I decided to have Zander's class over to dye eggs and have an easter egg hunt. Dying eggs is not a tradition here so they all thought it was pretty cool. Funny story though: so the morning of I had the girl that helps in my home boil 40 eggs so that they would have time to cool, and when I came home I found 40 eggs boiled alright, but also peeled! I was so mad, poor girl was trying to be proactive and help. So I asked her how I was supposed to die the eggs with no shell??? So yes she had to go buy more eggs to boil, and to help me think of something to do with 40 hardboiled, peeled eggs!!!

Our try at an easter egg hunt!

I made an attempt to make bunny cupcakes, but man was it hard to find the right ingredients to make the faces here, but they tasted good. The mom's all think I am some sort of Martha Stewart, but only because they do not cook so it works in my favor!

On a Roll!

Random pic, Zander is just changing so much so fast. I just love his face. And the ladies love the hair.

This is how Z is everyday with his "baby." This was when Cooper was not even 2 months old. I often have to tell him to leave poor Coop alone, he is just so full of love.

First day of school in March, he just loves his preschool and has a great teacher.

When Grandpa Higbee came to town we went to this really fun resort called El Pueblo. They have everything a kid could want, pools, horses, bowling, shows, and more. We had a great time and the boys of course did not want to go home.

Just look at Z's face. This is how he is folks, good luck at getting a real picture of him. Brock on the other hand is my model boy, he will strut his stuff fo the camera!

Cooper 2 months!!!

One of my friends gave me this outfit and I just loved it! Cooper just looks like such a bruiser with those arms, they grow way too fast. He is about 2 months here.

Knock em dead smile just like his brothers, watch out ladies!

Big ole blues, he gets lots of attention here in Peru that is for sure. It is so funny though, everyone asks me why he does not have any hair, since latin babies usually have a full head. They often think there is something wrong with him, or that I had his head shaved.