Dear Diary, BAH HA HA HA!!!!!!!!! I'M IN PUERTO RICO!!!!!!!! Crazy, isn't it? My bro just got off his mission from here a little over a week ago, so we've been visiting bunches of people he knew. And we've been swimming and doing other touristy stuff, of course. Puerto Rico may be part of the U.S., but it's MUCHO different from Utah. Hey, and now I know some Spanish! Well, I know "muy pocito" (very little), but enough to make some small talk. Which, by the way, is hard enough when you speak the language, but it's ten times harder when you don't! lol. My favorite Puerto Rico (/spanish) custom so far is the greetings. All the girls kiss each other on the cheeks--so fun! Oh, and when we went to church today, we were pretty much treated like celebrities; we were "Elder Lacy's" family AND we were genuine Mormons from UTAH! lol. It was cool. And a little strange, 'cause this 18-year-old guy asked for my email address... My brother knew him from the mish, but it was still weird! lol. Anything else? Ah. I missed 3-act auditions didn't I? sigh. That's rather disappointing. I would have loved to try out, even though I don't know if I would be able to be in it... Sadness. Oh well, I guess. Btw, my nieces (who were/are pretty much the only reason I still get out of bed every day--to be with them) love my older sister more now. She just got back from NJ after two months of being away, and all of a sudden it's SARAH SARAH SARAH. I tried to talk to Ashlyn on the phone today, and all she said was "But I want to talk to Sarah REALLY BAD!" ...okay... never mind of pratically taken care of you 24/7 for the past two months or so... OH MY GOSH! Speaking of my nieces and nephew! "Muy importanta" news! I can't believe I forgot. THEY ARE OFFICIALLY ADOPTED!!! ASHLYN, KYLEE, AND NATHAN ARE OURS TO KEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad all that foster stuff is over... Actually, I can believe that I forgot to tell you. Not only did it happen like four days ago (right before we left for P.R.), but they already seem like MY nieces and nephew. A 15 minute court appearance and a piece of paper made it offical for the government. But it was already official in my heart. Oh, so this hotel we're at right now? Freakin' nicest hotel I've ever stayed in! It's an Emabassy Suite, and for super fancy rich people, which we are NOT! lol. We're only here because my dad has racked up so many frequent flier miles from business, that he earned a free hotel stay. But only for two days. The past five days we've been staying in... I don't even know what to call it. A small little house by the ocean. It had a wonderful view and was free (the guy who owns it knows/likes my bro)! BUT... it had bugs... and it was dirty... and when I say bugs I mean... COCKROACHES!! EW! GROSS! DIE! ICK! Luckily, we only found... Well, I don't know how many; about four I'd guess. But my dad and my brother always would kill them before we saw them, so i never saw live one, THANKFULLY. And speaking of being thankful, it was nice to have a free place to stay so we could afford to do things like... Eat! lol, jk. Anyway. Puerto Rico, known as "Isla de Encanta" (the Island of Enchantment) is VERY BEAUTIFUL (or "muy bonita", we've used that phrase a lot). Green, green, green trees everywhere, sparkling blue (WARM) ocean, the works. I like it very much. It's BIG, too! P.R. looks like some TINY island on the map, but to drive from one end to the other would take about six hours. Did I mention everything is very different in P.R.? From the people, to the houses, to the food. In fact, I'd think we WERE in a different country if not for all the Burger Kings/Kmarts and etc., and all the interstate signs and such are just like if you were driving down to SLC... well, only they're in Spanish... lol Well! This is a LOOOONG entry. Sorry. I think I'm done now... Especially since for the next day or so I'll have internet access *almost* whenever I want! Love you all! Lisa Ann