Time for our next adventure!

 I guess we should give you all an update.  Since our last blog post in Jan. 2020, Chris and I have stayed busy with work. Chris worked as a therapist at Bloomquist Hale for a year and then decided to open her private practice back up and I drove Uber for a few months. But when Covid hit I stopped.  I had been doing some marketing part time for a cabinet company while driving Uber and they asked if I wanted to do some estimating and project manageing.  I said yes and primaraly worked estimating temple projects and then project manageing them.  We completed the Cape Verde temple, a large remodel in Detroit and Rexburg and they are finishing up the McAllen temple.  At the same time, I helped build out a basement apartment in the home of our daughter, Genevieve, and her husband, Sam. They moved from Pasadena, CA and bought the house in January of 2021.  That was just over a years worth of going up to their house almost everyday after work and on Saturdays.  

                    These were all of Sam and Ginny's basement apartment.  It turned out very cute.

I have also completed adding can lights in Charlotte and Alex's upstairs bedrooms and installing new doors and moldings and I just finished building a sauna in James and Kirstin's home in American Fork.

. 

We have had some fun get togethers for family dinners and activities.  

                                            Tubing at Soldier Hollow Dec. 2021

                                                    Antelope Island Summer 2019

                                                    Top Golf Dec. 2020

                                                        Racing go carts Dec. 2021

                                                            Ensign Peak July 23rd 2022

In April, after President Nelson's talk, we started to think about another mission.  When our papers were ready to submit, I called Elder Kevin Duncan, who was the area president when we served in Guatemala, and asked him if there were going to be any opportunities to serve in any of the foreign temples.  He asked what we would like to do. I mentioned that we would really love to serve in the Quito, Ecuador temple.  I told him that Chris and I had met as young missionaries in Quito, Ecuador 51 years ago. He said he would check into things.  Two weeks later we got a call from the temple department saying that our names had been suggested to serve on the start up committee for the Quito, Ecuador temple. Of course, we said we would love to, not even knowing what the startup committee did.  They told us to submit our missionary papers and mark that we wanted to serve a temple mission in the Quito, Ecuador temple.  About a month later, we received our call to serve in the Quito, Ecuador temple.  We were to report at the temple on Aug. 1st.  We have been waiting on our Visa for 5 weeks and we don't know when we will be leaving.  We are packed and just waiting for one last document from the US state department to arrive.  Everyday we run the mailbox hoping that our apostillized (certified) FBI background check will be there.  We have weekly zoom meetings with the temple president and his wife and all the other members of the start up committee.  Our primary responsibilites will be to train the workers and shift coordinators.  They want to start training next week.  We hope and pray that we will get our visa and be able to get there in time.  We will stay through the open house and dedication, which is in October and November and then for a few months until everything is running smoothy.  

                                                                Nauvoo June 2022

                                                         St Louis June 2022 with 5 hooligans

In June, Chris and I took 5 of our grandchildren to Nauvoo to do baptisms for the dead. We flew to St. Louis and then rented a car and drove to Nauvoo.  It was a great trip and we hope the grandkids will have fond memories of our trip to Nauvoo.

December 30th through January 5, 2020

December 30^th through January 5, 2020:  Monday the girls went shopping and Mom and James took the younger ones to McDonalds and the park.  In the afternoon, the older boys and Ellie went and did Virtual Reality.  In the evening, we opened cousin presents and did the T-shirt exchange for the adults and then played charades.  Everyone had a great time.  

Cousins gift exchange

Funny T-shirt exchange.  Mine said "I don't snore, I dream I am a motorcycle."

Lunch at McDonalds

VR fun

Charades with lots of laughter!

Charades and giggles.

Tuesday was spent at the Phoenix Science Center.  Eleven of the grandkids took an autobot class and built chariots and then had a demolition derby.  Badger won.  The evening was spent playing “Secret Hitler”.  James brought the game and we all enjoyed learning how to play it.  

Lunch at the Science Center.

Sam helping Ginny program her autobot.

Demolition time.

Over half the group were related. The others did not know what to think of us.

Wednesday John B, Charlotte and Ginny and their families drove 2 hours to Saguaro National Park.  James and Kirstin took Rigby to see Star Wars.  Kate and Bryce took some of the kids to the music museum.  That left Nana and Poppa tending everyone else.  In the afternoon Chris and I took Evan on a hike.  In the evening, we did karaoke and played some more “Secret Hitler”.  Most of the adults stayed up talking and laughing until 1:00am.  I went to sleep! 

We hiked to this hole in hill.

It was a great view of Phoenix in the distance.

Chris and I with an adult Saguaro cactus.

Kate and Charlotte really got into the singing and dancing.

Kirstin singing and Emme dancing.

Kimball and Miles taking their turn.

Ellie and Xela were great.

Our home away from home.

Great room at our rental in Glendale, AZ.

Thursday everyone drove home.  It took Chris and I 12 hours.  Some did it a little faster.  It was a great 4 days spent together under one roof.  I can’t remember the last time we were all together.  Friday I drove Uber in the early morning and then we went to the rec center and then grocery shopping.  Saturday I again drove early and then the rec center where we took a introductory class on the weight room.  I then went to Kate’s home and built and installed some cabinets in her laundry room.  Mom stayed home and cleaned the house.  

New cabinets in Kate's laundry room.

More new cabinets.

Sunday our church time changed and we now go at noon.  After church we went to Kimball’s ordination as a deacon.  Then we went to Kate’s for dinner and a small celebration of Abby’s birthday.  

Kimball is now a deacon.

Happy Birthday Abby.

It is good to be home and we know that this is going to be a great year.  Happy New Year to all.

December 23rd through December 29th

 

December 23rd through December 29th: Monday mom had to work. I drove Uber every morning from around 3am to 7 or 8am except Tuesday and Sunday.  Tuesday I started early, cutting up vegetables and getting everything ready to make a few Chinese dishes for our Christmas Eve dinner. I cooked most of the day.  I had ordered rice and noodles and two dishes from Panda Express so I had to run out and get that order picked up. I cooked spicy dried fried green beans, spicy chicken, broccoli, and snow peas in a peanut sauce, and spicy cucumbers.  Panda Express added orange chicken and broccoli beef. We had way too much food. After dinner, we had the grand-kids act out the nativity while I read the Christmas story from Luke. It was quite the performance. Then we had a family prayer.  We so missed Sam and Ginny and their girls.

My peanut dish.

Dried fried green beans.

Broccoli beef,  orange chicken, noodles and rice.  Thanks Panda Express

Dinner is served.

Christmas Eve dinner, kids table.

Adult table.

Wednesday, Christmas, we visited Charlotte’s, then Kate’s and finally John’s house to see what Santa had brought the grand-kids. Then we all went down to James’ house to see what Santa had left at his house. We faced timed with Ginny to see what Santa had left at her house for Xela and Willa. Kate’s family did not make it, but the rest of us enjoyed a huge prime rib roast dinner that James had cooked in his smoker. It was truly the best piece of meat I have ever eaten.  We stayed and played some CEO and enjoyed being together.

Alex and Charlotte's house Christmas morning.

Bryce and Kate's house, Christmas morning.

Thursday mom had to work till noon. I got my tools cleaned up from Paul’s house. We went to the movies in the afternoon.

The force is strong with with one.

Friday we took down the Christmas decorations and then I went out in the afternoon and drove Lyft. I am going to see if there is any difference between Uber and Lyft. The apps are a little different, but the work is very similar so far. Saturday we left at 1pm for Arizona. We made it to Littlefield Arizona, near Mesquite, Nevada. We stayed at an airbnb we had rented.  James and Kirstin and kids arrived at about 10pm and stayed with us. Sunday we got up early and drove to Phoenix and went to church at the ward house where Mark and Linda, Chris’ brother and sister in law, go to church. We got there just as Mark and Linda’s sacrament meeting was getting out. We said hi and then stayed for the 12 noon sacrament meeting. We then went over to Linda’s mother's house for lunch. She is almost 100 and Linda takes care of her.

Mom with her brother, Mark, and his wife, Linda.

We then went to the house we have rented for all 28 of us to be together for New Years. It is a 6 bedroom house in Glendale, Arizona a suburb of Phoenix.  It is huge and will be great for our togetherness. Pictures next week of the house will be included in the blog. This is only the second Christmas that we have all been together in 11 years. We are truly loving being with all our our kids and their spouses and especially all of our grand-kids. We feel so blessed, because we are.

December 16th through December 22nd

December 16^th through December 22^nd: Monday I got up early and drove Uber and Mom went to work. I spent the rest of the day framing a wall above the half-wall of brick that made the fireplace in Paul’s basement and covering it with OSB board.  

OSB installed.

Tuesday I again went drive early till I had to meet with Shawn at Client’s Design, the cabinet company where I am now working part-time.  He gave me a list of companies to visit and deliver a box of apples as a Christmas gift.  I went and finished installing MDF over the fireplace and then installed molding over the MDF.  I also got all of the crown molding installed.  I then delivered apples the rest of the day.  

MDF and moldings installed.

Wednesday we went to our temple shift.  Before we got started with sealings, one of the other sealers saw that one of his sheets of marriages had 3 couples with Spanish names.  He said, "I can’t pronounce these names, you had better switch one of your sheets with this one of mine".  Our first session of sealings is always with temple workers participating as patrons.  I got choked up doing the Spanish names.  It took me right back to Guatemala.  I apologized for being so emotional and explained that I had memories of being back in Guatemala.  We think of Guatemala every day and have such fond memories of our time there.  One of the temple workers asked if I was there when Larry and Babbette Jenson were serving there.  I of course said yes, they were our temple missionaries and we loved serving with them.  He said, "Well, Larry is my brother." The church is such a small place.  In the afternoon, I went to the dermatologist and he took a biopsy of something he did not like by my right eye.  He also froze something on the tip of my nose.  So now I have some scabs on my face.  We had a ward temple activity in the evening.  I went up and did a sealing session with members from our ward.  Chris went to watch Ellie and Moose/James at their orchestra performance.  They both play the cello and did very well.  The music was excellent.  

Ellie and her cello.

Moose and his cello.

Thursday I drove early and then went and finished the casing and base in the room where I installed the door to the garage.  Then in the afternoon I delivered apples.  Mom went to lunch with Kate and Charlotte to celebrate Kate's birthday that she will have next week.

New door to the house and concrete step.

Friday I drove for a few hours in the early morning.  I then finished my Christmas apples deliveries.  I dropped mom off at the train station and she went down to American Fork to tend James and Kirstin’s kids for the evening.  I drove Uber till 8:00pm and then I went and picked up Chris.  Saturday I got up and drove early.  I am finding that from 3:00am to 8:00 or 9:00am is a good time to drive and I always wake up early so it doesn’t interfere with my other projects.  I got a text from one of the sealers at the temple asking if I could take his place for his mid-day shift.  He had come down with a bad cold.  So I stopped driving and went home to shower and eat and get ready to go to the temple.  Mom went with Kate and her kids and Alex and Charlotte and their kids to see the lights on temple square in the evening.  

Visiting the Christmas lights at temple square.

Mom with 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters.

Sunday we only had sacrament meeting and the speakers and music were very nice and brought the Christmas spirit to the meeting.  We went to dinner with Alex and Charlotte’s family in the evening. It was a great week and went by really fast.  Merry Christmas to all of you.