Mongolia

In June, Spencer told me that he volunteered his name for a two week humanitarian deployment to Madagascar. Less than a week later, he reported that he was selected for the trip, and it was actually to Mongolia. On July 30, he flew into Ulaanbataar, Mongolia, and after several days of mishaps (e.g. no one to pick them up at the airport, his dental supplies not making it on the plane), prayers were answered and they were able to get to work.

He was introduced to the atrocious barracks that would be his home for the next 2 1/2 weeks,

Spencer's room, complete with flies, spiders, and creaky doors. The electricity in the barracks was also inconsistent.

The shower. It was chilly in the morning, and the water was super cold.

The highly sanitary looking stove where meals were prepared for them.

Their adopted pet Sparky, who would wait for them by the door to their barracks every day. 

 enjoyed various welcoming ceremonies,

ate some disgusting Mongolian food,

He described this dish as "Beef, but with a sheepy taste."

Five organ soup plus (left to right): liver, intestine, heart, kidney, stomach. 

pulled a whole lot of nasty teeth,

The dental crew.

Army, Navy, and Mongolian army dental group.

This one was so disgusting I had to include it!

and photographed the landscape.

Spencer said it reminded him of Rohan from Lord of the Rings. 

Holding a vulture.

Getting nervous when it started crawling up his arm!

The hawk proved to be a little easier.

Hanging out by some Gers.

One of my favorites.

They also got to make some touristy stops,

and had plenty of time to mess around.

Shopping. Fur is so hot right now.

Playing nightly games of Eucre. 

No one we've ever played with has heard of being "In the barn," but Spencer said they all thought it was really funny.

One weekend they got special liberty, so a bunch of guys decided to escape the barracks for a few days and get hotel rooms. They opted to go to a totally expensive five star hotel. It was at least nice that Spencer had consistent Internet access there, so we got to Skype with him several times.

The Blue Sky Hotel in Ulaanbaatar.

The highlight for Spencer was not only getting to ride home in a C-130 (a day earlier than planned- wohoo for me!),

but also getting to fly it! The pilot goes to church with us, and he called Spencer up to the cockpit and let him take the controls for about an hour. Autopilot was off, and Spencer was in total control. Our friend was obviously right there the entire time just in case he needed to take over.

Spencer, in heaven.

Now whenever a C-130 flies over our house (which is often), he likes to remind us that he got to fly one.

Fourth of July

We joined the Hurst's at the Heaton's house for a BBQ on the blazing hot 4th of July. Despite the heat, our kids couldn't get enough of the neighbor's trampoline. Shawn especially loved it when all the big kids got off and he actually got a chance to show off his skills.

My kids love jumping so much that I've added a trampoline to my list of things I'd like to buy when we get back to the states.

After some good food and conversation, we drove over to Torii Beach for some fireworks. We got prime parking spots next to a little hill that had offered a great view- it was much nicer than walking a million miles all the way to the beach. While we waited for the show to start, the kids had fun doing sparklers.

The fireworks only last for about 10 minutes, but it was a decent show. We especially love the shimmery ones that sparkled as they fell back down to the ground. Shawn was mesmerized, although he wanted Spencer to plug his ears during the entire show. Sydney was able to plug her own :)

Eight Years!

Ever since I heard about the Ai Cottage at Okuma, I wanted to rent it for our anniversary. This being the last anniversary we'd celebrate in Okinawa, I was really excited that we were able to reserve it (it's a private cottage for a couple… no kids). We dropped our kids off at the Heaton's, then headed up north to our first destination, Tadake Falls. 

The coolest part about the hike to the falls was that the trail is actually the river. So once we got to the trail head, we put on our booties and made our way through the water. 

Me at the trail head.

In some areas along the trail, the water got too deep for walking, so we climbed up onto boulders on the sides of the river, where there were ropes up to help guide us across the rocks. The hike was pretty pleasant until we were attacked by black horseflies- the big ones, which my Dad nicknamed "black willys" when I was a kid. Once the black willys came out, I turned into a raving lunatic trying to swat at them as they buzzed around my head. They seriously made me crazy, I regretted not having doused myself in bug spray.

We made it!

After enjoying a little swim around the falls, we decided to hike up to the top of the falls. BIG MISTAKE! Within a few minutes the black willys were all up in my business again, plus it was quite a bit more strenuous going up and down hills and stairs in the jungle. The real letdown was that we did it all for a pretty lame view. Oh well, at least we got some exercise.

View from the top of the falls.

After the falls we drove over to Okuma, where we were excited to check in and see our cottage. It was secluded from the rest of the buildings, so the package included a golf cart so we could zip around the grounds. This was one of Spencer's favorite parts for our stay :)

Spencer loved driving this baby around Okuma.

Our cottage.

Our private beach.

Although having a private beach was pretty awesome, it the beach was rocky and the water was kind of rough. But it was a peaceful place to lay out, talk, and listen to the waves.

Since we were kidless, this was our first time being able to rent gear from the beach house. First we did stand up paddle boards. Those were really fun, although we sure fell off a lot in the beginning! Then we got kayaks and paddled out to rock formations further out in the water. We spent a while swimming and talking afterward, then got out just before a windy rainstorm started. It was such a fun getaway, the perfect way to celebrate eight years of marriage.

I Should Probably Mention...

Guess I'm just a little late in announcing this on my blog, but this is the reason I kind of stopped blogging for a while:

Our little "gummy bear" as the ultrasound lady called it, made the months of April, May, and part of June kind of icky. Despite being my third pregnancy, it was the first time I actually puked from the nausea. We found out in July that we're expecting another girl, so Sydney is especially excited. Now that I'm 32 weeks along, I'm feeling really good. She's is kicking me like crazy and making it hard for me to get a good night's sleep. I can't believe in just a few short weeks we'll be the parents for 3 kids!