Quotes of the Week

Obedience is not a process of pounding our souls into something we are not.  It is the process by which we discover what we truly are.
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

The fundamental truths of the restored gospel were revealed as the timing was right.
--David A. Bednar

Think the best of each other, especially of those you say you love.  Assume the good and doubt the bad.
--Jeffery R. Holland

When we put God first, all things fall into their proper place and drop out of our lives.
--Ezra Taft Benson

Tree Down, Carpet Cleaned, County Fair

One morning I looked out the back door to see two men and one of them was scaling the wall.

Our neighbor had been complaining about our tree leaning over into their yard and was worried it would break their fence.

Well I guess this took care of that.

The finished look is a half chopped tree.

Our latest group of new missionaries reporting for training. The assistants are on the back row.

We got notification of carpet cleaning days in all the church buildings. Our mission home was on the carpet cleaning rotation as well. White booties were the order of the day while the carpet was wet.

Can there ever be enough sunset beach photos? Complete with the Oceanside Pier in the background?

When we arrived in our mission a year ago, we drove by the Del Mar Fairgrounds and wanted to go there one day. We were so busy.

One date night Glen determined we were going to go check it out. When we got there the place was a ghost town. No one there. Nothing going on. We wondered why.

This year we learned the fair runs from the first weekend in June until the July 4th weekend. Since we reported for duty July 1st, I guess that explains the problem.

We went early in June and had success this year.

We enjoyed watching the horse show. The part we saw were the horses with the super long tails prancing around the arena.

Any time we see a big chicken, it makes us think of the KFC Big Chicken famous landmark in Marietta, Georgia.

There are a lot of food options advertising very hugely what they are offering to the public.

We decided to get a Texas-sized turkey leg for dinner to see what all the hype was about.

Our taste test determined we liked the BBQ chicken I ordered better than the turkey leg.

There were tables of flower blooms on display.

Here's what a blue ribbon flower looks like.

Different kinds of art and garden displays were interesting to look at.

We did not go on any rides. They were expensive. Carnival rides just never look that safe to me.

We kept commenting on how uncrowded the fair was compared to the Minnesota State Fair where it was shoulder to shoulder, streets and streets full of people.

Horseshoe art winning first place.

Nighttime view of the fair.

Now we know what goes on at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

Quotes of the Week

If you desire to make a difference in the world, you much be different from the world.
--Elaine S. Dalton

There has never been a greater need for us to profess our faith.
--Dallin H. Oaks

Heaven is filled with those who have this in common: They are forgiven.  And they forgive.
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

We tend to compare our weakest attribute with someone else's strongest.
--Marvin J. Ashton

June Gloom, More Chalk Art, Transfer #9

The bird of paradise flower grows year round here in Carlsbad. It is so prominent it is featured in a mosaic in the sidewalk at the big intersection in Carlsbad Village.

We had several days where it was so foggy we couldn't even see the mountains driving up to Temecula. The bridge was hidden from view until we were very close to it.

We enjoyed some more scripture art in the parking lot of a church. Glen really liked the last one.

One Sunday I got up super early to drive with Glen up to Murrieta and I sat in the car studying while he went to his early morning stake missionary coordination meeting. We then drove to this building in Temecula which we had never been to before and attended all three sacrament meetings.

We set a goal at the beginning of the mission to try and get to all the wards in the six stakes in our mission every year. We are finding ourselves a little short of weeks as we are nearing our one-year mark and have not quite reached our goal.

We like to walk outside our neighborhood on Monday mornings because the trash cans are out and it is a stinky walk. So, we like to take adventures when we have the time. This particular day we drove to Encinitas and walked around the neighborhoods near the ocean.

June Gloom has set in and this photo captures the feel exactly. The definition is "a period known to the locals as May Gray and/or June Gloom often darkens the coastal skies of sunny southern California with a layer of marine stratus." One can hardly tell where the sky ends and the ocean begins.

This cactus we spied on one of our walks wears a hat and has a heart.

We always see surfers in the ocean no matter how gray the skies or how cold the weather.

Transfer #9 was upon us. That means a delicious breakfast for the assistants on Tuesday morning.

They drove the van to the airport to help haul passengers and luggage to the mission office.

We greeted three new missionaries.

Glen interviewed each one of them and I talked to each one of them about medical stuff. We fed them lunch and then paired them up with their trainers.

When we are done with the new missionaries, we hurry home to get the potatoes cooking for our roast beef dinner with the departing missionaries. The assistants always help with the clean up. Since Elder Romney was leaving this transfer, we now have a new assistant joining Elder Higginson and Elder Horton--Elder Hadfield.

We had this kind elder present us with some gifts--a poem he had written and a portrait of us. We loved them!

The Radfords and Kopenhefers wanted to attend our dinner and testimony meeting, so we had a full house. These are the sixteen departing missionaries. We had Hermana Adams spend the night with some sister training leaders who live nearby so the elders could have full roam of the house. 

 (back row) Elder Yancey, Elder Halsey, Elder Myers, Elder Wilde, 

Elder Phillips, Elder Johnsrud, Elder Maloney

(middle row) Glen, Elder Bundy, Elder Anderson, Elder Kindmark, Elder Romney, Elder Marchand

(front row) Me, Hermana Adams, Elder Ramos, Elder Ruhl, Elder Sedgwick

Another transfer completed. The cycle begins again.

Mormon Battalion, Beaver Utah Youth Group

It was time for another Mormon Battalion visit. The historic site is the brown building in the center of the photo. But first stop--Tequila Factory for a Mexican buffet lunch. We always park at the Battalion and walk half a block up the hill to the restaurant.

 The purple trees were in full bloom across the street.

We had a relatively small group this time of eight missionaries and their trainers just finishing up their First 12 Weeks of training. The assistants go with us as well to drive the van.

Who knew waffles were included in the Mexican buffet as dessert? Two sisters chowed down on that delicacy.

Panning for gold is a must after the tour.

This is our group of new leaders at the new leadership training meeting. The three assistants (back left) and two sister training leaders (front left) helped do the training.

Yes, that is a missionary in an arm sling. Elbow injury. Preparation day activity. I am always telling the missionaries to be careful on p-day. Sheesh!!!

The Beaver Utah stake had a high adventure activity in our area and had asked if two missionaries could speak to their group of young men ages 14-18. They specifically asked if one of our elders and his companion could be there because the elder had two brothers in the group.

Glen said no. He doesn't allow people to visit the missionaries. There are too many people who come here on vacation and he gets asked about visits all the time. He just has to give a flat no to every request. But he said we would show up and speak to the group.

They were staying on Camp Pendleton and had been given a tour about what goes on there and learned all about the marines. They ate in the mess hall and had been impressed with the recruits and the marines in uniform. They were very respectful and looked them right in the eye when they spoke to them.

As the young men arrived at the church that evening and took their seats, I kept thinking about what a difference it must be for them to now be in a very different environment. They were sitting in a chapel and looking at our men in uniform--the three assistants wearing their missionary attire.

The second best part of the evening was the question and answer session where the young men asked the assistants questions about being missionaries. The very best part of the meeting was when the assistants taught a short restoration lesson to the group. It was powerful and the young men listened intently. I was very touched by the spiritual experience.

We received a letter later from the stake president letting us know the young men felt something as well. They discussed it in their individual ward groups as they separated afterward for their nightly meeting with their bishops.

We made sure to take a couple of pictures with the brothers of the elder in our mission. 

It was proof to show the elder that his brothers had been well taken care of in his absence.