Our month in Samoa was quite an experience. I am very glad that I went but there were many times when all I wanted to do was come home. First of all, less than a week before I left I found out that I was pregnant. I was happy about this because we had wanted it but I was pretty bummed about the timing. I had morning sickness every day that we were in Samoa which made for some not fun times. On our field days we would hike in the 85 degree weather through the rainforest and I thought I was going to die. Not only was it hot but the humidity was always around 100%. I did get used to it after awhile. Well either I got used to it or I quit noticing how wet I was all of the time. The days that we would go surveying were amazing. The island we were on(Tutuilla) is very mountainous, so the areas that were flat is where the people lived. That left the steep areas for farming. The average slope was around 50%. It would take us about 3 hours to lay out contours on 1/2 an acre. At home that would take about 15 minutes. The landscape was so steep that we would have to move the level often.
Here are a few pictures from our adventure. They are in no particular order
The first week we were there Stina, my sister-in-law/Dalley's babysitter, found a play group at the library. It gave her and the boys something to do a couple days a week.
Everywhere we went it was like we were with movie stars. They were not used to seeing white people, especially not little blond blue eyed boys. People would always want to get their picture taken with the boys.
A view of the harbor where we stayed
Stina became friends with a bishop of one of the wards and his wife. They were really good to us while we were there and treated us like family. This is Dalley with Bishop Matagi
Picking coconuts at Bishop Matagi's house
Our two cute boys
This is Bishop's wife Rita. She was a really sweet lady
Stina took the boys to a Halloween party at the library. They were dressed up as Samoan boys in their little lava lavas
They spent a lot of time watching a Dora DVD. It was a lifesaver.
This is the beach at our hotel. The boys loved playing in the sand
My handsome boy, everyone there said he looked like a little surfer dude with his blond hair and blue eyes.
A performer at a show we went to
Another dancer
The whole group
The boys getting their picture taken with Miss American Samoa
This is Eppi, she worked at the museum and became a good friend. The boys loved her
Dalley and Rita after stake conference
One of the weavers
Dalley sitting with the ladies that weave outside the museum
Cute boys in lava lavas
This picture was taken outside our hotel. We had a pretty spectacular view of the ocean.
The first week we were there Stina, my sister-in-law/Dalley's babysitter, found a play group at the library. It gave her and the boys something to do a couple days a week.
Everywhere we went it was like we were with movie stars. They were not used to seeing white people, especially not little blond blue eyed boys. People would always want to get their picture taken with the boys.
A view of the harbor where we stayed
Stina became friends with a bishop of one of the wards and his wife. They were really good to us while we were there and treated us like family. This is Dalley with Bishop Matagi
Picking coconuts at Bishop Matagi's house
Our two cute boys
This is Bishop's wife Rita. She was a really sweet lady
Stina took the boys to a Halloween party at the library. They were dressed up as Samoan boys in their little lava lavas
They spent a lot of time watching a Dora DVD. It was a lifesaver.
This is the beach at our hotel. The boys loved playing in the sand
My handsome boy, everyone there said he looked like a little surfer dude with his blond hair and blue eyes.
A performer at a show we went to
Another dancer
The whole group
The boys getting their picture taken with Miss American Samoa
This is Eppi, she worked at the museum and became a good friend. The boys loved her
Dalley and Rita after stake conference
One of the weavers
Dalley sitting with the ladies that weave outside the museum
Cute boys in lava lavas
This picture was taken outside our hotel. We had a pretty spectacular view of the ocean. 