Lautoka

Our next stop was Lautoka on the North side of the island, opposite of where we were.  This meant a long drive through some beautiful country.  We chose to take the slightly longer route through the non-touristy side of Fiji and it was worth it.  The scenery was great and we got to see some villages.  The kids did pretty well on the drive, sleeping much of the time.

Belo Vula Resort

Once we arrived in Lautoka we took a boat to a small island 10 minutes from the Mainland.  We stayed a couple of nights at the Belo Vula resort there.  It was a relaxing time.  The pool was warm and the ocean inviting.  The sunsets were gorgeous!!

 

 Some down time in our room with a movie.

First Landing Resort

Our next stop in Lautoka was First Landing Resort.  We had a pool in our backyard, and enjoyed our stay there.  Our first evening we welcomed the New Year, and enjoyed fireworks from our balcony.  The following evening/night we got of rain which sounded awesome.

Day Trips

Beach Comber Island

 Our last day in Fiji we took a boat ride out to Beach Comber Island.  We were able to swim, snorkel, and play in the sand.  We had a fun time, and many of us got a bit sunburned.

 

 Jewel of Fiji Tour

The second day we were in Fiji we went on the Jewel of Fiji Tour.  We went in motorized longboats up the river to a waterfall.  We were able to swim in the falls.  We then went to a village for the afternoon.  We enjoyed lunch, songs, and a demonstration about coconut.  It was a rainy day so we were soaking wet, and a little cold when moving quickly upon the water, but it was fun.  The rain was particularly hard just as we reached the waterfall.  Our trip back the trail was covered in water, sometimes rushing water, so it was even more of an adventure.

Santa Claus

Kyle took Hyrum and Sabrina shopping for Christmas and they stopped to see Santa.  They both reported it was fun and were super excited to get the gift, a book, from Santa.

6th Grade Graduation

 Eric graduated from Amesbury Primary School.  He presented a speech and received recognition from his teacher.  Then as a family we enjoyed some fun time at Mission Inflatable.  It was a special graduation because this is the first group that started at Amesbury the first year it opened.
 

The Big 40!

I am another year older and hopefully wiser too.  My birthday was very low-key.  It started with a sick little girl that I picked up from school, so the day was spent at home.  Kyle had to work late, so just before bed the kids sang to me and I opened gifts.  I love my family.

 MiKell at 40:  Her body is beginning to fall apart, and her endurance is significantly less than 20 years ago. She still loves being a mother and finds joy in seeing her children learn.  She finds sewing and blogging stress relievers.  She likes to plan and organize trips for the family.  She is currently working with the Faith in God kids and finds them full of energy and learns from them.  She has much to learn in the next 40 years :) 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Saturday was spent with some of Kyle's co-workers.  We ate, played in the beautiful outdoors, and watched some play flag football.  It was a afternoon well spent.

Hallowen

On Thursday we had a Halloween Activity with the Faith in God group.  It was fun and I got pictures of my two in Halloween glasses, scary.

 Halloween was much like the past two years, pretty low-key.  There are a few houses that go all out, but many also leave notes saying no trick-or-treating.  This year we were lucky to go with three families from our ward, which made it much more fun.  The Parks work with Kyle, the Flamianos and the Fernadez families have children in Faith in God.  the kids chose to be a ghost, soldier, butterfly, and witch.