Panama Day 2

Our first adventure was off to Monkey Island! It started out overcast and super lovely. We are loving the heat and warm weather. We hopped in a boat with a driver who didn't speak english, thank goodness for dad! And drove off to explore beautiful Panama!

 Before that though, we had to check out the neques that scavage my parents yard all day long. Basically a large rat the size of a cat....ew. 

Well, when you're in the rainforest, you have to expect some rain. We hit a little storm and since we were traveling forward the rain was just peltinm Mollie and Bri in the front of the boat. We were dying laughing but it didn't last long but the damage had been done. Haha!

Since it was rainy, not many monkeys came out, but this little guy did! 

He walked right on to the boat and scavaged for food. 

He had a baby on his back!!! 

He tried to swipe the banana right out of Chad's hand! We were all just in awe of how cute they were and friendly! One little guy came right on to the boat, spotted my bag of grapes and swiped them SO fast and was gone up into the tree! 

How cute is this pair?! My girls were dying of cuteness. 

Doesn't it just looke like we are in a dream?!

We drove through many little islands and looked for sloths, other monkeys and birds. 

We passed right by the large cargo ships that are waiting to enter the Panama Canal. 

They are so huge and carry so much cargo! It's amazing how they even float! 

After that we stopped and walked a little trail to explore the jungle. I knew Panama had jungle, I didnt realize how jungley it really was! The whole place is jungle. We didn't see any animals here, but so many unique plants and flowers. 

When we got back, dad and I went on a little afternoon walk to see their neighborhood. Panamanians love their flag and this corner had flags for almost a mile! 

Dad showed me Coco the croc. This guy practially lives in my parents back yard! How creepy! Its right next to a shopping complex and a main road. He just chills in this swamp area and my parents and the missionaries named him Coco. 

We weren't sure he was down there, so dad threw a rock from here and he moved so we could better see him. What a sight to see! Sadly the kids stayed back to rest a bit. 

There are flowers everywhere. Very unique in that they bloom in the tops of the trees. 

This is a banana tree. So many fruit trees grow wild here. 

Dad showed me things along the way, little leaf ants, lizards, birds, flowers. And when we got back, THIS GUY was in their yard!!! He was like a yard long. A giant iguanna! 

Look at him! How unique! He stayed there posing for us while we got good pictures. 

After a fun Mexican dinner on the Causway, we explored the area where cruise ships pull in and disembark the guests. There are all sorts of fun things to do. It was late and some things are closed, but it was less people and we really enjoyed just exploring. 

AND THEN we came across a human vending machine. What a brilliant money maker/waster. Mollie and Ry just had to do it. After we paid, they then told us that they had to wear these giant mickey mouse type gloves on their hands. Oh gosh. I didn't think they'd make it out with anything, but oh no, we made it out with about 15 stuffed animals. Just what we need while we are traveling.....

I love how they grabbed things with their feet too.  
We ended the night by snapping some pictures by the Pananma sign covered in locks and with the city in the background. 

 When we got home, we went and met Sis. Dunn who is from Tooele and living in the same 4 plex as my parents. I contacted her parents and let them know I was going and if they wanted to send anything with me then we could deliver it. Her mom asked if we could take her Christmas present. Of course! It was so fun to play Santa for a missionary and see how excited she was to get everything! I think she opened it before Christmas. :)

Panama Day 1

We've been planning on this for several months and the day finally came! We are off to play in Panama for 8 days with my mom and dad who are serving a mission there. Travel days are never fun, but we made it through all of security with no tears and everyone packing their own bags and caring for their own luggage. 

We had 2 flights there and really they both went great. No problems at all. The kids all did great and mostly watched movies and enjoyed their new headphones. 

Bonus having screens in every plane! 

Hello Panama City! 

Customs was pretty easy too. There was a bit of a language barrier, but mostly just asked everyone their age. 

We finally met mom and dad at the Airport! Oh, it was so good to see them! I heard my dad before I saw him and it was so good to hear his voice. Then, I got to run and hug my mom. We stepped outside to go find our rental car and BAM, it hit me. The heat was suffocating and absolutely miserable feeling. It was almost 8 at night and in the 10 minutes I was outside I was wondering how I was going to handle this heat for a full week! It was the kind that just made you want to puke. It was SO hot. 
Our first Panamanian meal was at KFC! Oh yeah! The kids thought it was so great. 

And as we sat there, we heard what sounded like a party coming towards us. And we looked up and sure enough, there was my first party bus! It looked and sounded incredible! I thought a real party was going on there but my dad said it was basically just a taxi. They even called to me to get on when I stepped out to take a pic. Then I got scared and had to run away. 

But I got to check the first thing off on my list of things to see in Panama!

 

Performances

And since we are coming into Maycember, we have many performances to attend! 

We started with Brielle's orchestra concert. It's so fun to see her improve and grow in this talent. And she really does love it. 

The following night we had Rylee's Band concert. She also sounded so good! 

We also attended the Nutcracker to watch Rylee's friend, Maggie. And who do you know was there too, just Elder Uctdorf. The girls all went to meet him. It was super cute and he was very gracious to everyone who wanted to say hello. 

Ry, and Kate and Maggie after the performance. It was fun to go to watch but I had so many things on my mind trying to get ready to go to Panama the following day!!! Here we go! 

 

Happy birthday Chad!

Chad is 43! He really wanted biscoff pancakes, so that's what he got! It was nice that he had the day off this year so we could actually celebrate him. 

Gift and treats follow. 

We went to a new pizza place that was SO yummy for lunch with the fam. We are big fans of Via 313. 

Look at those toppings and cheeeeeeese. 

For the evening, I blind folded him and had a surprise for him! 

I asked my good friend Lori if we could borrow her movie room to watch the BSU game in. He had no clue where he was at! I brought snacks and cake and drinks and we had fun watching the game with Glen and Lori. 

These girls settled right in and got all cozy. 

So cool that we all had a recliner! 

And I attempted a biscoff cake....it was ok... I'm not sure I'd do it again, but he said he liked it. 

Watching the game in style! Sad they lost the game, but it was still a good time!