Happy Birthday Alex

This picture was taken right before Alex left on his mission, so I know it is two years old now, but it is how I remember him. I just love this picture. He has this mature, somber, yet knowing smile on his face as if he fully knows the wonderful adventure that he is about to embark on. He has prepared to serve a mission since he was just a little boy. Serving, helping others, sharing his testimony of the Savior with others...those things have always been part of who he is.
Today he is 21 years old. I can't even believe it. Where did the time go? Sometimes I refuse to believe that he is not my adorable little toddler that I could snuggle in my lap and read to for hours. He is still adorable, just doesn't fit in my lap too well anymore.
While sometimes I want those days to return, I could not be happier with the stage of life that I am in right now with my kids. Alex has grown into the most incredible young man. He amazes me. He amazes everyone. I have received countless emails, phone calls, letters, from people in Missouri that he has served among on his mission. One day in particular I was driving down the street and my cell phone rang. On the other end was this sweet older woman who introduced herself to me. She said that these 2 wonderful young men had just left her home in Missouri. They had knocked on the door and wanted to share a message with her. She said she had never been so impressed with a young man as she was with "Elder Martinsen". She said, "he had a light about him and a smile that was just magnificent. He brought something into my home that I have never quite felt before." She said the only thing she could think to do in return was to call his mother and tell her. She must be a mother herself. I was so glad she did. It warmed my heart like nothing else could.
A few weeks ago, the 6 of us gathered around our little kitchen table here in the yellow house and we made a birthday card for Alex to send in plenty of time for his birthday today. We decided to list 21 of our favorite things/memories about him. We had ourselves laughing and crying as we went down memory lane. It was hard to stop at 21.
Alex has always had a great sense of humor, yet very sincere. He has always had a good sense of who he is and is a great communicator. He could debate and WIN, most of the time ANY argument from the time he was 3 years old! He attracts friends wherever he goes and has influenced many lives for good.
It is a strange, yet wonderful stage in life, when those little ones that you snuggled and read to and bathed and stayed up long nights with...suddenly become your friend and your example in countless ways. He has become someone that I look up to and admire. I am the luckiest mom in the world to have a son like him.
Alex returns from his mission next month. I have been saving up a hug for 2 years now and you can bet it is going to be a good one.
Our family will finally be complete again. I love you Alex.

News Flash!

The last 24 hours have marked 2 very important "FIRSTS" in the Martinsen Family!

Emma lost her very first tooth! Not too often you see a child with a bloody mouth smiling huh? She worked on this thing for hours and was so excited when she finally pulled it out all by herself. She was all smiles again this morning as she discovered that the Tooth Fairy found her all the way in Costa Rica and left her 1,000 colonies! (that is about $2)

The other "first"was that I caught the Martinsen men hanging clothes on the line! WOW....who knew? We have recently decided to start hanging the laundry to dry now that it is no longer the rainy season. Hoping to lower the electricity bill too. We have all come to LOVE the smell of fresh laundry. Lora's new chore of choice is to fold and put away all of it. She has always had this little quirky habit of smelling things, so this makes the chore very enjoyable for her. She gets paid 100 colonies per load. (shhh....that is only about 20 cents, but she doesn't realize that and it is working out great for me!)
I also spent 5 hours translating songs into Spanish today for Primary (that was a first)....thank you Mariah and Abram for doing all the pictures for me. I am seriously lacking in the artistic department.

It has been a good day. What a difference a new post makes huh?

A good vent cleaning

Ya know how you are supposed to clean out your vents now and then or they will get clogged??? Well, I am feeling a little "clogged" these last few days and I need to clean my vent. Allow me to unleash a little, just know that it is for a good cause. (maybe I will feel a good breeze of fresh air just blow on through me when I am done)

So, I decided to pick my top 10:

1. hot dirty grocery stores that are frequently out of basic commodities such as wheat bread and chocolate pudding!

2. herds of cows just mosy-ing down the road when I am on my way to the hot dirty store. At first it was fun, but now it is just annoying.

3. Pot holes the size of the great lakes. Makes it impossible to drink a smoothie on the road or even chew gum for that matter.

4. seems that everything here from tin foil to toilet paper is made at half the quality we are used to. hard to get a good nose blow when i am having a good cry.

5. PAINFULLY slow internet most of the time, including the phone lines that make you sound like you are underwater....always cross my fingers when I go to make a call.

6. Enormous grasshopper-like creatures that clank into the windows at night and hang out on the porch and the door so we are all screaming as we try to get in our out of the house at night.

7. Trying to dodge entire families on one bike or just people in general that walk IN the road at night and don't seem to mind that we missed them by a mere inch, if that.

8. kids. my kids specifically. I am pretty sure I saw Lane cut the umbilical cord on all of them, but it seems they are still attached these days. I try to take an extra long shower since that is the only place I am really alone. Even then, they know how to pick the lock and will usually come in and out for items that just can't wait. Really important things like a band-aid for a stuffed animal.

9. My hair. Will it ever go back to the nice shiny soft hair that it was before?? It seems that it is permanently frizzy and untamed here from the humidity and I swear my gray is showing up on a much faster schedule than it was in the states! (thank heavens Lane is actually in Boston right now for business and is close to a Target. Please don't forget honey...Garnier Nutrisse #30!!)

Hey, I just had a thought...maybe I am in the slumps because my other half is in the states. We have been together 24/7 for quite a long time now and maybe all these things just aren't that big of a deal when he is around. I will let you know when he returns in a few days :)

ok, I was just gonna post #10 and then I clicked on over to Mariah's blog to check it out......oh boy. I have A LOT of growing to do. Probably the reason that I am here in the first place. Guess I better go borrow that book she is reading.

Mis hijas hermosas

Sometimes I just want to freeze time and keep it locked up forever. That is how I am feeling right now about these three beautiful young women. They are all at different stages of life and I just absolutely love each of them for what they bring to my life right now.
Mariah: gets me out of bed 6 days a week and takes on the role of my personal trainer. I have to admit that sometimes I want to scream at her, but then I love her way too much....so I don't. She is the best math tutor around, adores her siblings like none other, is a great example to me in so many ways...I can't even name them all. She and I can spend hours talking about anything. I love those hours. I don't know how my daughter turned into my best friend, but she did.
Lora: is just intriguing to me right now. She goes back and forth between wanting to grow up yet scared to death to not be a little girl anymore. She seriously hugs me at least 50 times a day and holds on like it might be the last one she will get in before she is "accidentally grows up". Her taste buds mimic her personality: Tobasco sauce and Reeses PB cups. Depends on her mood. She can make me laugh like none other and can also bring out the not so good side of me but I love her for it.
Emma: is the baby and gets away with more than anyone else in the family which doesn't always set well with the Tobasco sauce side of Lora. Emma is 100% girl and can keep herself entertained better than anyone I have ever known. All she needs is her purse with all the glamorous goodies inside, a good pair of heels that make a clicking noise on the tile floor, and some good music in the background and she can keep herself happy for hours. She has adopted one of my dresses to play in and tries to convince me each week that it really does fit her and she should be able to wear it to church. She is pretty independent and doesn't ask me to do much for her anymore, except once in awhile I am given the honor of her asking for my opinion of her choice of clothing for the day. I have given up the battle of trying to convince her that certain colors and patterns don't match......I just go with it now and we are both happier.
These are my girls. I hope I deserve them. I am so blessed that we get to "grow up"together.

Swingin' on the vines

This week we had the Pedersen family from AZ come and visit us. We took them on this great hike early one morning and we stopped along the way to swing on these vines. Looks like Gary is enjoying himself huh?

Emma got some real momentum going....

Lora was just waiting for Tarzan to come along

Later that day we went to the beach and this baby Sperm Whale had washed up on the beach, injured. The rescue team had been working on him all day trying to get him able to go back in the water. It was sad, but so fun to see. The wildlife here never ceases to amaze us. This was a really fun day and so fun to see some faces from home. Thanks for coming to see us Pedersen family!!

We live in a Zoo

Isn't this the cutest little face? These monkeys were just hanging out on the beach with us in a place called Manuel Antonio

This is Abe's hand here giving him a pretzel



Abe has this affect on PEOPLE after awhile...guess it is no different with monkeys!

This is a photo Lane snapped just as this monkey was leaping over to the next tree

I love this one! Totally reminds me of that old tv show...Planet of the Apes. He looks like a little man here huh?
Snuggled up for a family photo

We also saw sloths, toucans, deer, colorful crabs, poisonous spiders and so many beautiful flowers. It was really an amazing day.

A Trip to Panama

Our 90 day passport renewal was due so this time we decided to head south to Panama and explore something new. We took 4 days to do it so that we could have time to experience things along the way and break up the long 12 hour drive. It was Mariah's first time doing a border crossing and I have to say that she got through it better than I thought she would. It is never a real fun experience.....just long lines, chaos and dirt. we are getting the hang of it better now though so it went pretty smooth.
We stopped off for a hike in the Manuel Antonio Parque Nacional, joined some onlookers on the bridge to look at some huge crocodiles, fed some monkeys just hanging out in the trees by the beach and shopped in the duty free zone between Panama & CR. We took about 300 pictures on the trip so as soon as I go through them all, I will post a few.
We saw so much amazing wildlife. It felt like the zoo keeper had given us his key for the week!