January 1st through January 7th

 January 1^st through January 7^th:  Monday my day started at 5:00 am  going with Sam to buy breakfast burritos for the people who had been camping out all night on the parade route for the Rose Parade.  Sam dropped me off about 4 blocks away.  He couldn’t get any closer than that.  I walked and found our group of campers: John B, his two sons, Badger and James, and Ginny.  One of Ginny’s friends had originally added about 10 feet onto the space she was saving.  But because of the baptisms, no one from our group had been helping save the space until our campers got there Sunday evening.  It all worked out great and I had a couple of burritos that I shared with the other group.  Mom, Sam and the rest of our crew showed up about 7:00 am.  The parade was supposed to start at 8:00am.  We were maybe a block before the real starting point.  About 6:00 am, before the sun was up, they moved 3 floats and 2 marching bands past us, but from then on we saw everything.   The parade was awesome and it was a chance of a life time to see it in person.  I will let the photos and movies speak for themselves.  

This was the first float they moved ahead of us before the sun came up.

We had great seats.  It was a little chilly at first.

The fly over to start the parade with a stealth bomber was awesome.

Click below to see the flyover. 
Stealth bomber flyover.

We did not get to hear the Marine band.

At least one of the grandkids had a good view.

The floats were over the top cool.

Sam and Ginny and Xela.

They moved this band ahead of us.

Every surface that you can see has to be from a living plant.

Some of the floats were whimsical.

They were so creative.

They are much better in person than on TV.

76 trombones led the big parade.

Many had moving parts and articulation.

The Goodyear blimp was on hand.

Fun themes.

Click below to see the animation.
Animation everywhere. 

James had a great view.

Click below to hear the bagpipes.
Every parade needs bagpipes.

Each float was magical.

Lots of very big bands.

What could be better than cowgirls on horses. 

A float for Oklahoma.

Click below to hear their band.
Oklahoma Marching band.

And one for Georgia.

Click below to hear their band.
Georgia Marching band.

This was my favorite band.  I think they were from Japan.

Click below to hear the band.
Can you say Star Wars

Click below to see them dance.
This band had the best dancing.

A little south of the border group.

Lots of roses and lots of pretty girls.

I think this was my favorite float.

Click below to view the float.

The Loch Ness monster come to Pasadena.

Pandamonium.

Click below to view the float.        Pandamonium

This float broke down right in front of us and had to be towed with a tow truck.

Even a float with a Mayan theme.

We had a lazy afternoon with mom and Ginny going shopping and Sam and I watching some of the Rose Bowl in a chicken wings restaurant that was right around the corner from their house.  Tuesday we headed for the airport to fly to SLC to see James, Kirstin and their family.  We got on the airplane in Burbank and had a connecting flight in San Jose, then on to Salt Lake.  We were on the tarmac for takeoff, but returned to the gate.  They explained that there had been a security event in San Jose and that the terminal had been evacuated and we couldn’t leave till it was resolved.  They deplaned and told everyone that had a connection to SLC to go to the counter and get rerouted.  Our new flight was not going to leave for 5 hours.  So Ginny came back to the airport and got us.  We spent a few more hours with her girls.  We arrived in Salt Lake in the evening.  James and his family were at the airport to pick us up.  

These three were waiting for us at the airport in SLC.

We went to his new home in American Fork that is a few blocks west of the Mt. Timponogos  temple.  It is a beautiful home they had built and moved into last summer.  Wednesday morning we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point.  We spent the morning there with his three darling children.  Campbell, the youngest, is the one grandchild I wanted to see the most.  He was born a few days before we left, but was in the hospital and we never got to hold him.  He reminds us of James.  He is huge and happy and into everything.  

Keeping up with grandkids is hard work.

The three musketeers. 

Click below to see Rigby get the ride of his life.                    Fun times at the playground.

These three are so much fun.

Rigby's floating head.

I am still sore from all the rope climbing.

We went to lunch at JCW’s Burgers.  We had to do some shopping so that James could smoke, BBQ, and cook us some ribs.  

Sharing a shake with Nana.

Lunch after a fun time at the Curiosity Museum. 

In the evening, we went to the movies and saw The Greatest Showman.  The “wild man,” as Campbell is referred to, stayed home with their nanny.   We had a great time.  Thursday James got up early and got the ribs in the smoker.  

I made Swedish pancakes both mornings we were at James'.

We went to Emme’s dance class and then came home and had the best ribs in the world.  I’m not exaggerating, they were delicious.  James is a real chef.  He is ready for a BBQ competition.  

Dance Class

Emme is the cutest little ballerina.

To die for Ribs.

Everyone got into the action.

But James and Rigby really know how to enjoy ribs.

They were finger-licken good.

We then headed up to John and Jill’s home.  They bought a home last November and we wanted to see it.  It is a large home on the east bench of Bountiful.  They live in the same ward as David and Janet Norman, my brother Van’s son.  There is a very good chance that when we get home I will remodel the basement and put in an apartment for us.  It certainly is big enough.  We then went to Kate’s new home.  We had never seen the home they bought that is right through the block from Charlotte.  They are literally 3 houses away, but they are in different stakes (only in Utah).  It is fun to see the progress and changes in each family.  They have all been blessed for our service as we were promised.  We took Stan and Luke to buy their scriptures and scripture covers, because they will turn 8 before we get home.  James then took us to the airport.  We flew back to Burbank through San Jose and arrived at 10:30 pm.  We rented a car and drove to Ginny’s home where we crashed.  Friday morning we drove to Chula Vista and turned in the car.  Enterprise Rental Car drove us to the CBX (Cross Border Express).  We walked across the border and into the Tijuana airport.  After we were at our gate, we called John.  He had just finished meeting with the oncologist.  Here are his words, “I have cancer.  I will always have cancer.  I will receive chemo at some point, and then likely again, but for now have elected to monitor the cancer and wait until I have symptoms.  For now, I am feeling good, and should act normally.  The doctor told me to forget about it for 3 months until my next scan.  I could have chemo in a few months, or a few years...I will just have to have it eventually.  Emotionally we are okay.  This is just another reason to focus on what is most important, give forgiveness to others and ourselves, and try and be our best.  I am a believer in Christ and he taught that if we are to find ourselves we need to lose ourselves.  Serving and giving are the happiest ways to live.”  I am very proud of my son, John.  His attitude is one of hope and belief that there are more important things to worry about than having cancer.  Whatever the outcome, we as a family will be ok.  I am not going to blog more about John’s cancer until he needs to have treatment.  Thank you for your prayers and support, we feel like they have worked and he has received good news.  

Tijuana is not a little town.  Almost 2 million people live there.

We had to fly to Mexico City and there we had a two hour delay, so we arrived back in Guatemala at 1:30 am.  We found a taxi and got home.  We were exhausted from travel and the emotions of the trip.  Technology is great, but there is nothing like being able to hug, kiss and love children, their spouses, and our grandchildren.  Thanks John and Jill for making the effort to bring your family to California so we could participate in the baptisms of Jake and Xela and to our other children who drove down from Utah for our mini-family reunion.  We were grateful to spend a few days in Utah and to see James and Kirstin too.  Saturday we took the missionaries that were here to see the movie “Wonder” and then we went grocery shopping.  Sunday we went to the stake conference of Las Victorias stake.  Elder Ochoa presided.  It was so nice to have the opportunity to speak and testify and feel the power of the Spirit.  I’m feeling very tender-hearted after this trip and my talk was a bit of a cry fest.  

Stake Choir.

The Sunday session was well attended.

Sister Ochoa, President Carranza's daughter and mom.

Elder Ochoa and his wife Nancy as we were getting into our cars.

In the afternoon, we took the missionaries to the “Break the Fast” dinner at the area offices.  

Break the Fast dinner.

While in Salt Lake, we had the opportunity to talk to some dear friends, Lee and Connie Crayk.  Chris and I served with Lee in Ecuador, some 47 years ago.  He also recruited us to serve with him in Cochabamba when he served there as the Temple President.  He and Connie had very comforting words and great advice for us as we enter the last few months of this assignment.  Our hearts connected and we felt the Holy Ghost comfort and support us.  We continue to feel the blessings of a loving Father in Heaven.  We are happy to be back in Guatemala and we know that when we are done we will miss everything about this assignment.  We will try to do what Lee Crayk advised us to do, “work hard, do your best, and enjoy these last few months”.  

December 25th through December 31st:

 December 25^th through December 31^st: Christmas morning we got 

up and after I got the blog posted, we started getting ready for the 

Christmas Day Brunch for all of the senior missionaries from the 

area and temple.  We ended up serving 34 people.  

Ready for the Brunch.

Table #1

Table #2

Mom spent a lot of the morning making a Waldorf salad and then 

she forgot to put it out and so we made everyone take a bowl of 

salad home for an afternoon snack.  We also cooked two spiral cut 

hams.  It was a nice get-together and we sang a few Christmas 

carols after we had our meal.  These are great people who sacrifice 

being with their families during the holidays in order to serve the 

Lord and the good people of Guatemala.  This makes the 8^th out of 

the last 9 Christmases that we have been out of the country, but 

next year we will be home for the holidays.  We Facetimed and 

Skyped with our kids and saw what Santa brought to all our grand-

children.  

Christmas morning we took cookies to all the missionaries at the MTC.

Mom's Waldorf salad.

We had lots of desert left over.

Tuesday we got up early and went to the airport.  The first leg of 

our trip took us to Mexico City and then we flew to Tijuana, 

Mexico.  Why Tijuana, you ask?  Money!  It was a lot cheaper to 

fly to Tijuana than to fly to San Diego or LA.  We had no problems 

using the CBX, Cross Boarder Express.  We walked from inside 

the Tijuana airport to the U.S. side of the border.  It took maybe 10 

minutes once we got our tickets printed.  

Waiting for our flight to Mexico City.

Just outside Mexico City we saw this volcano spouting off.

Mexico City is so big.

We got Enterprise Rental to pick us up and we were off.  We 

stayed at a Courtyard by Marriott and had a steak at Outback 

Steakhouse and mom went shopping.  It was great.  Wednesday we 

went grocery shopping  in preparation for the 4 days at the beach 

house.  Then we met up with Sam and Ginny, John and Jill and 

their families at a Costco. This did not quite finish our grocery list, 

so we also made a trip to Ralphs.  We got to our beach house and 

Bryce and Kate, Alex and Charlotte and their families soon 

arrived.  The kids headed to the beach and we started fixing 

dinner.  

They stayed at the beach until there was no more sunshine.

White elephant gift exchange.

Ginny's talking moose was a real hit.

Thursday we went to Cabrillo National Monument to see 

the tide pools, visitors’ center and light house.  We ate our picnic 

lunch and enjoyed the beautiful vistas.  

Poppa made Swedish pancakes for breakfast.

The road to the tide pools.

All 23 of us at the light house.

This national monument was on a naval base and had a military cemetery.  It was sobering to see row after row of head stones.

Pano of San Diego across the bay.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach.  Friday we went and 

toured the USS Midway.  Aircraft carriers are huge and very 

interesting.  With a 4500 member crew it really is a floating city.  

The rest of the day was again spent at the beach.  

The hanger deck on the USS Midway.

They got to climb in a lot of cockpits.

Xela and Mom with Midway in the background.

Part of our group as we boarded the Midway.

Cousin fun.

They loved playing in the sand.

The sunsets were amazing.

Playing on the beach till the sun goes down.

Nana with Abbie, Willa and Tilda.

We celebrated Kate's birthday on the 27th and Xela's on the 28th.

In the evening we left the grandkids at the beach house and took 

our 4 children and their spouses to dinner.  When we got back we 

could not find Jake, age 8.  We looked all through the house and 

some of us got kind of panic stricken.  We said a prayer and Ginny 

went back upstairs and found him asleep under the covers on his 

parent’s bed.  He gave us a scare, but all ended well.  

Dinner with just the adults.

Saturday we went to the San Diego temple with our grandsons, 

Badger, James and Evan, and their dads to do baptisms for the 

dead.  Chris came along to do initiatory. Afterward, we went to 

Denny’s for breakfast.  Then we went to the beach for the rest of 

the morning. 

Breakfast at Denny's

The beach in the morning was almost deserted.

In the afternoon we went to the bay side of the strand 

and rented paddle boards.  They all had fun on the paddle boards.  

We then took Xela and Jake to buy scriptures for their birthdays.  It 

took longer than we thought it would, so everyone went to the 

Mormon Battalion Visitor’s Center.  They called us and told us to 

meet them there.  While we were there we saw Aaron and Venus 

Chang from our branch in Tianjin, China.  They were just 14 and 

16 years old when I was their home teacher and branch president.  

It was so fun to give them a hug and see them again.  Aaron has 

served a mission in Baltimore and Venus served a mission in 

Hawaii.  I don’t believe in coincidences.  We were meant to see 

each other again.  

The boys took turns burying each other.

Ellie and Miles

John, Jake, Luke and Kimball

Ginny and Willa

Mom's rendition of the afternoon activities.

Jake's turn to be buried.

Xela and Jake at the temple getting their new scriptures.

Aaron and Venus Chang at the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center.

Panning for Gold

Sunday I left at 6:30 am with John B.’s family to make it to Sam 

and Ginny’s sacrament meeting back in Pasadena at 9:00 am.  

Chris went with the other two families to church in San Diego and 

in this “small world of coincidences” ran into Scott and Cathy 

Rallinson from the Ensign 6^th ward who were also vacationing in 

San Diego. We then reunited at the chapel in Pasadena for Jake and 

Xela’s baptisms.  Jake’s Grandma Lever flew from Salt Lake to 

attend the baptism and to speak about the importance of baptism.  

Chris testified of the power of the Holy Ghost.  John baptized Jake 

and I baptized Xela.  It was a great meeting.  Sam and Ginny had 

invited 4 non-member families who had children who were Xela’s 

friends.  Many of the ward members also came to support Xela and 

Jake, so the room was packed.  Afterward we went to a Mexican 

restaurant for a taco buffet. All the people who were invited to the 

baptism were also invited to eat dinner with us.  Xela’s friends 

were so cute with her.  It was a very nice day.  It is wonderful to be 

with our children and to get reacquainted with our grandchildren.  

We are so blessed and are very grateful for our many blessings.  

Jake and Xela ready to be baptized.

The cousins sang a "I am a child of God" at the baptism.

Jake after his baptism.

Xela after her baptism.

Table #1

Table #2

Table #3

Xela and her friends.