Tuesday, April 30, 2013

New Car


One of the great perks of being a mission president's wife.
When the new cars come in and they don't immediately need them
in the field, I get to pick one and drive it home and use if for awhile.
It's usually worked out that I've been able to have a car of my own,
but I had to give mine up a transfer ago, because the sisters needed it.
So I've been on a car share with President!
I have to say, it's nice to have a car of my own again, and a brand new
one at that.  Look, only 11 kilometers.  That's just enough miles to drive
it off the lot and get it to the mission office.  Crazy!

Monday, April 29, 2013

Where Are You Spring?


It's the end of April, May is just around the corner,
but where is Spring?  The ground is brown, the plants are still dead,
the grass is a matted mess, there is no sign of life.
Except for the evergreens, thank goodness for them.  At this point
I don't think we'll ever see life.
And just to prove that Spring is no where to be found, take a look
at our snow mountain.  This entire mound is snow, hard to believe isn't it.

Tim What?


So today on my way to the grocery store, I passed Tim Horton's
and over night this is what they'd done.
The sign is gone and they are tearing the inside apart, literally.
(notice the snow on the roof)
But not to worry, right along side the dumpsters,
is a little temporary Tim Horton's.
Complete with a drive through, serving coffee and donuts.
They don't skip a beat.
I have a feeling they've done this before.  I'm just not sure why 
they are remodeling in the first place.  They seem to do that a lot.
The McDonald's down the road is having a complete makeove

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Screwy Sign


So, if you remember, they've been working on the 17th street
 bridge since we arrived three years ago.
The bridge is finally complete, has been for a year now
and it is wonderful.  But the funny thing is, they've never
put the sign back in place.  I think they moved it to the side
when they had all the heavy equipment working around the area.
I really don't think the international airport is in that direction.
I wonder if they'll ever put it back.  It's been a year and so far
no such luck.

Mexican Supper


We have found one mexican restaurant here in Edmonton, that we kind of like.
The food is okay, nothing like the mexican food back home.
Yes, I know Utah mexican food is not as authentic as it could be, 
but it's what I grew up with, it's what I know and love. 
But this is the closest we've come.  The food is almost, but no enchilada, 
get it, enchilada, mexican food.  
The best part is the restaurant's atmosphere itself, the bright colors and decorations.  
The place makes me smile.  We went to get a bite to eat on our
way to Riverbend's Stake Conference, Saturday evening session.
Can't wait to get back to some of my favorite places;
Melina's
El Matador
Javier's
Then of course, Cafe Rio and Costa Vida!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Lifetime!



Today we were driving down the freeway and we drove up along
side this truck, carrying these boxes.
Marked "Lifetime".
I couldn't help but wonder if they were from Utah,
from Brad's work.   Is that possible?

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Almost Gone


It has been the longest winter ever, I didn't think the snow would ever
go away.  It started snowing in October and we have had snow ever
since, even a few snow storms in April.  Will it ever stop?
But slowly, the snow is melting.
Just a few weeks ago, the ground was covered and the snow was
3-4 feet high.  At this rate it will never go away.  I've even come
home from the store and chipped away at this pile, but it's still a foot 
out onto the driveway. 

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

What A Blessing!


We had the privilege of accompanying another one
of our missionaries to Patriarch Henderson's home for a
blessing.
Sister Siu, is Vietnamese, but moved to Eastern Canada
with her family and joined the church a little over two years ago.
Now she is serving as a missionary here in our mission. 
We found out that she has never had the opportunity to receive a blessing, 
so we called Patriarch Henderson and he was more than happy to assist.
Brother and Sister Henderson, with Sister Siu
and we snuck in on a picture with her ourselves.
She is a beautiful young lady and her blessing was just as beautiful.
She will do great things in bringing her own parents into the gospel.
We are thrilled to have her serving here.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

See the Mission Home


I took a few pictures of the mission home for Sister Manion,
so she could get an idea of what to expect.  But it was a good
thing for me to capture some views of the house for myself.
Something to remember it by.
Let me take you on a tour!  The door to the left leads to
the laundry room and ultimately to the garage.  The door on the right
is the half bathroom.  I have loved the grandfather clock, definitely
considering getting one when we get home.
This view is from the front entry way.  When you come in the front
door, you see the stairs that lead to the bedrooms.
To the left of the front door is the front room,
and the dining room.
Another view of the front room looking towards the front of the house.
This is the kitchen, the "way to small to feed 14 missionaries" kitchen.
the kitchen dining area, I finally added another leaf to this table so
we could fit another two people, but we've outgrown this too
Our family room.  Can you tell that I took these pictures around Easter time?
  
When all is said and done, the only thing left will be the two potted
plants, everything else is ours that we are taking home.
That is how we made this house our home.
This is the view into President's office from the front door, see all
the little missionaries on the white board.
And this is the main level of the mission home.  Nice!

Goodbye!


Today, we helped Heather pack up her things,
drove her to the airport and put her on a plane for home.
We had such a wonderful time, it was hard to say goodbye.
But it helped to know that this farewell would only be
for a short time.  
Take care of our "little" one, and see you in July.

We checked Heather in and then walked her down the
corridor to drop off her luggage.  When we came back, Chris
stopped to take a phone call, right back to work.  As I was waiting,
I looked up and saw a family checking in their son, he had to
be a missionary.  We made eye contact and sure enough.  So
I walked over and talked to them for a minute.  He and his mother
were on their way to Salt Lake to drop him at the MTC.  They
would be making the entire trip with Heather.  I quickly messaged
Heather and told her to be on the look out for the two of them.
And the work moves forward, never ceasing.  Thank goodness.


Monday, April 22, 2013

A Walk to the Island


It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a walk over to the island.
We love our little island, it's always full of surprises.
Today we were surprised to see this.
Canadian geese, on the ice, just waiting for the ice to melt.
Can't they read the sign!!
Didn't seem to bother them, you'd think their feet and under bellies
would be frozen, obviously it didn't seem to effect them.
There was one little spot where the ice had melted through,
and they were having a ball.  Eating, drinking,
getting a little frisky,
and bathing!  They would go under multiple times, shake and splash,
and the water would just run off their backs.  
There were two ducks on the other side, it didn't take them long
to waddle over and join in the fun.  That's them on the left upper hand side.
We didn't stick around to see if they let them share their swimming pool.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Farewell Travis


Travis is leaving on his mission soon, they had a open house for
him, so Heather and I ran over there for a minutes, just to say goodbye.
Amazing how much he's grown in the last three years.
He has been a wonderful friend, not only to Courtney,
but to us too.   It has been a real pleasure to have him in
our home.  Even after Courtney had moved back to Utah,
I would receive random texts from him, just checking in.

I will truly miss him and wish him all the best in the world.
Good luck in Germany, now go find, teach and baptize, Elder Boyd!

Happy Birthday!


I tried to make Heather her favorite dinner, because
I haven't been around for the past three birthdays. 
And besides, it's always nice to get fresh ideas for cooking.
She asked for Kathy's pears, it's a recipe from my Aunt Kathy,
we often times would make them for baby showers and family
get togethers, back in the day.  More to come.
Then I made her my new favorite, vegetable root bake, 
thanks to my dear friend, Yvonne Woodruff.
Along with a nicely cooked piece of salmon, all our favorite, I might add.
These are the finished pears, look how pretty.  They are simply
pears halves, topped with a cream cheese filling.
Delectable, scrumptious, lip-smackingly good.
The best part of making something yummy for someone else, 
you also reap the benefits!

I Scream!


I decided to celebrate Heather's birthday, even though I was off by
a few months.  Not really celebrate, but asked her what her choice
would be for a birthday dinner.  That will come later.  The important
part was finding out what flavor ice cream she wanted.
She was hesitant of the dairy and raw eggs, so she chose
lemon sorbet.
We found the recipe in my trusty Ben and Jerry's recipe book and mixed
it up, it was quite simple and required no milk.
Then just for fun, we also made fresh strawberry ice cream for Chris,
one of his favorites, likes the fresh fruit idea.
We chopped and stirred and mixed and churned and voila! 
Sorbet and Ice Cream
The lemon sorbet was DELICIOUS, my new favorite.  I kept going back
for another scoop, it was so sweet and refreshing.  After Heather went
home, I finished off the rest of it all by myself.  So good, can't even begin 
to tell you.  One we will be making again, soon.
The strawberry was very good too, just look how pretty it turned out.
I would definitely make this one again, Chris loved it.  
It makes such a perfect scoop, wouldn't you say?