April

There was a whole island filled with penguins at the little oasis that we went to in Paracas

 Hope took this picture of Sofia TOTALLY crashing a wedding at the hotel.  It was SO funny she just went right in.  That's my girl!

 Just wanted to throw this one in here so you guys could all see how cool my hair looks about 98% of the time here in Peru:)

 Sofia at the beginning of her lessons going tandem with Jesus (that's his name)

 Hope and Easton (are they not just SO cute!!!)

 Ok, so this picture messed up but it was the cutest picture of Maddox in AWE of Easton.  He would just sit there and listen to him like he was a super hero!!!

 First time up on the board with Jesus (again, that's his name)

 Just had to throw this one in here cause this kid keeps us laughing ALL the time!

 Maddox and Sofia getting ready to surf (this was Maddox's first and last lesson, haha) Maybe in another year.

 This boy is READY, mama isn't quite ready though for him to go in

 Keeps us smiling

 Sofia's instructors

 Practicing on land

 Maddox and Liam playing with one of the instructors (actually the owner of the surf school)

 And she's going solo....tear

 Maddox about to be thrown in by one of the instructors

 I just loved watching these boys watch Sofia, too funny!

 All of them going in

Ok, so i've decided that maybe I'm a "once a month blogger:)"  Just kidding! I still have high hopes of blogging more often but then life just happens.  I decided that I would post about April since lots of fun stuff happened.

First of all we have officially become a surfing family.  That is saying A LOT coming from a girl who hasn't gone passed her knees into an ocean since she almost drown when she was 9 (Marie-Claire and Penny Gilliland, do you gals remember that??)

Anyway, this year I have decided to conquer some fears.  This was one.  Why I chose to do that by surfing I have no idea.  Sofia was inspired by the movie "Soul Surfer" and we were off.  Lee had already done some surfing on his own so we set out and we LOVED it.  Sofia started off on a board with another instructor and now she is up on her own.  It's absolutely amazing to watch her and see how passionate she is about it.  That little girl is fearless and has truly helped me get passed (well I'm not TOTALLY passed:) my fear.
She was recently asked by a Spaniard that had been watching her surf if he could have his picture with her because he thought she would be a champion one day.  Yes, her head grew a few sizes that day:)
Maddox enjoys watching us surf:)  He tried one time (a family rule of ours, you have to try it once) and he was content playing in the sand after that.  Liam practices lots on his skateboard and will be ready by next summer.
The coolest part is that my instructor has come to church and another one is coming this week.  I love that ministry can even happen in the WATER!!!

Lee turned 35 on April 13th and he got the best gift of all, HOPE AND EASTON HARROLD!!!  They arrived right in time to celebrate with a weekend away in Paracas.  Lee and I had never been there and after arriving we thought "why in the WORLD did we wait 2.5 years to come here?!?"  It was like a little paradise oasis just a few hours away from Lima!
We relaxed and just played with Hope and Easton and it was an absolute gargantuan lift to our spirits.  Really wherever we are with Hope and Easton it's a spirit lifter, they are about the funnest people we know!

I'm sure tons more happened in April but baby steps here:)  Just glad I got one post out.  Were all sick at home so who knows I might get A LOT of blogging done!