I Scream!

It's hard being away from home, especially when your

daughter is in high school and you're not there to all the fun things 

that you would have done. When Jason and Heather were in school

I took ice cream to choir class at the end of the year.

Well, with Heather's help, I was able to do the same thing

for Courtney and her choir class.

Courtney picked up the toppings for me the day before,

then Heather slipped out of work and spent her lunch

hour picking up ice cream and taking it to the school.

cute kids and good friends,

choir has been a real tender mercy for Courtney this year.

She's been able to travel to other schools, spend the night in Salt Lake City,

be conducted by Mr. Wilberg and opportunities to compete at state.

I wish I could have been there, but it went well and they seemed

to have fun according to the pictures that Heather took.

Mr. Wood, what a guy, he has been wonderful this year and very

supportive of Courtney and our situation.  I loved choir when I was

in school, decades ago, so I'm very happy that she had this opportunity.

Even though there were days that were rough, I think 

the smile on her face proves she had a good time too.

Ice cream was just the cherry on top, literally.

Cinco De Mayo

So, I couldn't resist, zone leader council happens to fall on

May 5th, Cinco De Mayo, let's have some fun.

I picked up a couple of decorations last year and found a few more

to add to it for this year.  I figure I have one more year to use them

so I decided it was a good investment.

I love decorating and doing things with a theme.

I realize the elders probably don't really care if there are

decorations or a theme, as long as there's food.

But I enjoy doing it, so I keep doing it.  It's part of me.

These are the new streamers I found this year,

they fit in very nicely.

Ole!

I even bought some curly Q ribbon, the colors were perfect.

It looked so nice and it fit nicely with the mexican food fare that

I fixed.  We had enchiladas with green sauce, chips and salsa.

I even made faux fried ice cream.  It wasn't very good, the idea

was there but it just didn't pan out.  I would try it again, but I'd 

take a little more time and make them a little tastier.

Time for the shiny shoe contest.  The elders are really catching on, 

most of their shoes are nice and shiny, every single time.

It's getting harder and harder to choose, so sometimes I do several.

This time I did the best slip on's as well as the "shiniest" shoes.

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

A Surprise Visitor!

Today we welcomed back a dear friend, Elder Shalvis, Ronnie!

He called us to let us know he was in town working for a few weeks, 

so we took him to lunch at Five Guys.

It's always good to visit with our sons.   We are so grateful when 

they call us and want to share their lives.  He had several

tidbits of incredible and exciting things to tell us. 

Sweet Gifts?

This has been a month of wonderful sweet gifts

and pleasant surprises.  I would like to share with you

these unique gifts.

"Ga day Mate" says this little stuffed kangaroo.

He was left for me, courtesy of Elder Prall the night he went

home.  He tucked it away so I would find it the next day

after he left for home.  I was tickled to find him.  He's so cute!

Then we were given these adorable little red cardinals from our

dear friends and fellow mission presidents, the Clarks.  They

were a gift for us when we flew into their fair city of St. Louis

for mission presidents seminar.  We had a wonderful visit,

Sister Clark and I,  A well needed visit.  I love that dear lady.

And last but not least, I guess this was a gift.  The night before 

Elder Wild (one of our assistants) went home, we played a friendly

game of win, lose or draw.  When we were done, I asked Elder Wild

to draw me something before he left, because of his amazing artistic ability.

Of all the things he could have drawn or the image he could have left,

he drew THIS!  

Whatever!  I love him anyway.

Transfer Day

You can get a lot of stuff in the back of a truck,

but it takes much more talent to get the same amount of stuff in 

the back of a car,

see?

Now I can understand a blender, a pillow, even weights,

but a sword, really?

Supper Time!

To continue the day,

after the office we head back to the mission home with all the new

missionaries.  They have a training from the assistants while

President interviews each one of them, so he can decide where and

who to put them with.

Then I fix them supper.  I have been serving the same thing for the 

past 18 months.  I figure, if it's not broken, don't fix it.

We have super nachos, tortilla chips, taco meat, black beans, cheese,

lettuce, (when I want a real treat I put out cilantro) salsa and sour cream. 

 I make plenty so they can have as much as they want 

and they can put on what they like.

And besides, they won't get good mexican food for the next two 

years, so I try and give them a treat.

This is the "perfect" plate.  Well done Elder Wild, looks delicious.

May Missionaries!

Our first stop, the mission office.  We let them wash

 up and then feed them a nice lunch.  They are pretty 

hungry by the time we pick them up at the airport and 

shuttle them back to the office.

We offer them ham or turkey Subway sandwiches,

Canadian flavored chips, dill pickle, all dressed and ketchup.

Dill pickles and carrots on the side,

store bought maple leaf cookies and I always make some kind

of homemade cookies.  This time I made lemon bars and peanut

butter fingers, Mmmm, my favorite.