LOOK WHO'S HERE!!

Marmi and Papa - Gavin's parents, for those who aren't regular followers - and our nephew/cousin Ethan arrived for a few weeks' visit! (They've been here since Dec. 31, but some Internet connection issues have prevented me from posting as soon as I would have liked.) Ethan already left again, but we sure enjoyed our time with him here! He's a super great big 15-year-old young man, a pleasure and blessing to have around! We miss him! Thankfully, Marmi and Papa get to stay a few more weeks.

Marmi and Gracie

Papa helping Seth on the monkey bars

Marmi helping Seth with Gracie climbing up

Will's turn

Gracie's turn

Ethan and Isaac experiencing the true missionary kid life - bicycles and MUD during rainy season! 

The boys went scuba-diving! Ethan is already certified, and it would be a crying shame to miss a chance to dive while in the Pacific, right? There are some incredible reefs around us! (We traveled to the coastal city of Madang for a few days to get this fab activity in.)

Left to right: Ethan, Isaac, Papa and Gavin (I know, twins, right?!)

Ethan and Isaac contemplate the shore and bay

Ethan about to go in!

Celebrating some awesome dives with some awesome food at a restaurant on the water

Mt. Wilhelm in late December

Gavin and Isaac took an epic trek up Mt. Wilhelm, the tallest mountain in PNG. It's over 14,000 ft. so it's also the coldest part of PNG by far! It can get below freezing at night.

At a waterfall along the way

The lake at base camp. It's a grueling hike up there, taking around 4 hours.

Add caption

You can see part of a landslide that has been mostly cleared behind Isaac. Rainy season + dirt roads on steep mountains = landslides!

A helpful crowd towing a car through an exceptionally muddy area. (This is not the main highway in PNG, but rather a bush road going up to the mountain, so certain extreme conditions are expected! The people were lovely.)

Four silly boys

As the kids would say, "Daddies are boys too!"

Will's turn (minus the beard, but plus a mini tree)

Santa Seth

Christmas Day 2016

(I'm doing multiple blog posts in one morning because I have a great Internet connection and time, two truly rare and treasured commodities!)

Stockings!

Marcie thrilled with her socks and new nightgown from Aunt Mickey

With Aunt Natalie and Uncle James on Christmas morning. They made us delicious pancakes with special toppings!

Seth with his new LEGO watch from Grandpadad in Texas

Gracie showing off her watch

David trying to set his watch like a man ;) He would look at it throughout the day and say things like, "Oh, it's already 2 o'clock!" (it wasn't) or "It's time to eat!" (it was).

The most popular gifts of the day were the animal tails Aunt Natalie made the kids: David has the panther tail, Seth has "The Big Bad Wolf" (as they call it) tail, Will has a kangaroo tail, Gracie has a dog tail, and Marcie has the cat tail. 

Marcie being a kitty with her new tail

Isaac came up with the brilliant idea to line up five chairs and give the kids presents only when they were patient and seated. That way we could control the order and timing of an otherwise chaotic event! It worked super well.

I ordered the boys superhero capes and masks. They love them!

Seth as Captain America, David as Batman, Will as Superman (with a Big Bad Wolf tail accoutrement)

Marcie as Spiderman :)

David was excited that his LEGO watch was black and yellow just like his Batman costume, so he had me take a picture.

Seth's police car from Mickey and fireman helmet from Grandpadad
(In this photo he looks so much like me and my brother did!)

One of the two cutest little girls in the world!: Gracie feeding her new baby from Aunt Mickey. She brings me her baby to kiss when it has been accidentally dropped or "hurt" by one of the other quints.

A super-blurry and very rare photo of us reading to the kids at bedtime. Isaac took the photo.Will still has the Big Bad Wolf tail, and Seth is a panther. It was a wonderful Christmas! We are GREATLY blessed. 

Our most recent attempt at a family vacation (November)

Vacationing with toddler/young quints is no vacation for the adults involved. Maybe that's true for any family with small children; I suspect it is! It's fun for us to see them enjoy new places, and we like going somewhere different and being able to focus on just being a family without all the other responsibilities and distractions of work and home. So we took the kids to Orobiga, an Evangelical Brotherhood Church (Swiss Mission) camp outside the city of Goroka. The grounds and scenery are BEAUTIFUL!! More importantly, they have a pool with a locking gate. :)

Left to right: Marcie, David, Will, Seth, Gracie

Isaac and David checking out a treehouse

The boys (minus Isaac)

The world's smallest kiddie pool? Gracie still loved it!

Gavin with Will, Marcie and Gracie. Mom did NOT go into this pool! It's at 5,000 ft altitude, and it's TOO COLD!

We're thankful for Octonauts and Dora when we need a break from the pool. The girls stand at the ready, though, with their inflatable tubes!

David with a mix of chocolate and sunscreen on his face. The New Tribes Mission Store outside Goroka had CHOCOLATE CHIPS, so that became the treat of the weekend!

Kitties and cuties

Friends of ours just had kittens. The kids were so insane about them, Gavin says it's hardened his resolve NOT to get a pet anytime soon! (Our old dog died a few months ago.) David and Seth:

David doing two of his favorite things: "helping" Daddy with the car and riding his buddy's scooter

My friend Esi made these yarn bags, known as "bilums," for the girls. She lives way back in the bush and walks four hours each way once a month to come visit us and trade garden produce for store-bought food such as rice and oil. Her son Matuvi  usually accompanies her. Our lives are so incredibly easy compared to theirs!