Dad and Mom: Missionary Musical Fireside, Religious Freedom Broadcast and Botanic Garden

Last time Dad and Mom came for a visit, it was to take care of me when I had foot surgery. This time I was in good form and ready to show them a good time.

Here's Glen's idea of showing my Dad a good time. Watching a horrible ball game one evening.

If going to a Religious Freedom Broadcast is not a good time, I don't know what is!

At least we had the common courtesy to take them to Texas Roadhouse instead of fixing them another grilled cheese sandwich. 

Oh!! Maybe that is why Dad kept insisting he would treat us...to avoid another grilled cheese sandwich meal possibly???

The Del Mar stake president wanted to have a missionary fireside that consisted mostly of music with a few short testimonies all centered on Christ. All the missionaries from that stake were involved and a few musical missionaries from the rest of the mission were also included. 

All of them were urged to bring investigators. Any other missionaries throughout the mission who could get investigators to go were able to attend. 

I snapped a photo of the missionaries at their dress rehearsal the day before. The Elders were all wearing their suits during the actual performance. 

It was held at the Cardiff-by-the-Sea building. The ocean is visible from the parking lot. Dad and Mom were interested in the bunnies they saw on the other side of the building as they were taking themselves on a tour of the unique church building.

Glen's counselor, President Marín, was there. After the meeting was over and he had spent some time talking with Dad and Mom, he left. Then he came right back carrying a bouquet of plumerias which he presented to Mom.

He told us he had picked a couple of bouquets of flowers to give to whomever he felt impressed to give them to and he felt Mom needed one of them. He is such a good man with such a loving, giving heart.

Glen and I walked around Leucadia Monday morning. This is a little of what we saw while there.

While Glen was holed up in his office all day working on answering the missionaries' letters, I took Dad and Mom to walk around the Botanic Garden for a while.

 This plant looked like a gigantic asparagus stalk.

This plant looks like it is growing corn on the cob.

Dad ventured out into the crow's nest.

And there is the crow perched nearby.

When Nani and I went to the Botanic Garden last winter, we were looking at all the extremely expensive pieces of art placed all throughout the garden.

As far as I can tell, most of the art was different this time. Nani needs to come back again and we'll have to compare what's there now to see how much of it is different.

I need her to come back in a different season, if at all possible. I still need to see what it looks like at the Botanic Garden in the spring and summer.

I love these two wonderful parents of mine.

 They are such good people! So glad they came for a second visit.

Live Photo, Interviews/Flu Shot Forms, Dad and Mom at the Safari Park

Chad Gardner is the mission president of the Nebraska Omaha Mission. He and Susie are good friends of ours. We lived in the same stake back in North Salt Lake. He was a member of the stake presidency when Glen was the stake executive clerk. They started serving a year before us.

We loved it when Jacob and Laurie sent us a picture of them with the Gardners. Small world! It really freaked me out when I touched the picture and all four of the people started moving and talking.

It was a "live" photo. I had never experienced one of those before. It reminded me of the Mormon Battalion tour when the photos on the wall start moving and talking to the audience.

During the interview cycle this transfer, I had the missionaries filling out medical forms for an upcoming flu clinic to be held at zone conference. 

In the Felicita building, I set up my work stations in the nursery room as it has good air conditioning and was the closest room to the Primary room where Glen was doing his interviews.

These sisters enjoyed themselves so much they decided to stay and eat their lunch with us.

This group of missionaries had just finished their district meeting and then were having their interviews with Glen.

On date night, we found an area in San Marcos that has lots of restaurants. We were excited as we tried one of them and still have a nice selection for more options on other date nights.

In Temecula, I set up the paperwork stations in the foyer as Glen was doing the interviews in the high council room nearby.

We received a new elder from a mission in Mexico. The assistants brought him to us in Escondido after our day of interviews in Temecula. The elders who were assigned to be his companions met us there so we could all have dinner together and hand off the new elder.

Turns out I had dinner with these five elders by myself. 

Glen had taken a couple of bites of salad and then had gotten a phone call that lasted the rest of the meal. He finally ended the call after we were all finished eating. He bid the elders farewell and then came back to eat by himself. His pasta was cold and wasn't very appealing to him. SAD!!!

Here are three elders from the Del Mar zone.

For the Vista zone, I set up the work stations right outside the mission office leading out into the huge double-chapel church building.

Right outside the mission office I spied these elders with all these vacuums and couldn't resist the photo op. I told them I really love elders that like to clean.

We brought this group of missionaries and their trainers back in for their second new missionary training meeting. This means they have been out 8 weeks and they are looking a lot more confident each time we see them.

We had a little change in our usual schedule with Dad and Mom's arrival in town. The first meal we had together was a grilled cheese sandwich. We went all out on that one. We were pressed for time because Glen had to get to an evening meeting.

I told them things could only improve from there on out. Mom was thrilled with the Doritos to go along with her sandwich, so I guess it was a win.

We caught Dad and Mom doing exactly what the grandchildren like to do--stare at the photos that go by on the computer screen saver. And look who they are staring at--ME!!

Mom wanted to go to the Safari Park to see what all the hype is about as I keep exclaiming we love going there because it is so relaxing and helps us feel rejuvenated.

Glen had rescheduled a day of interviews so we could spend the day with the animals (and my parents 😉).

This might be my favorite photo.

If that messed with your brain, see what this one does for you.

I always think it's adorable when the little grandchildren are studying a theme park map. It's almost as cute when older people do that very thing.

The gorillas are always fun to watch. Especially when there is a little gorilla in the mix. Riding on his mother's back.

We enjoyed the bird show. We saw some different birds than we'd seen before, which was nice for us.

The free tram ride around the African plains is a highlight.

Yes, my parents had to agree with us. They can see how we can walk out of there feeling rejuvenated.

It also helps if there is food involved on the way home from the Safari Park to help with the rejuvenation process.

We took them to Coyote Grill in Carlsbad and let them experience the delicacy of the fall-off-the-bone goodness of the ribs there. Mmmm, delicious!!!

Leaves Are Falling, Spunky Seniors, Cruz's Baptism, Sea Lions, Paddle Board

One Saturday when we were at the mission office church, I walked down the hall and saw these sisters at the other end of the hallway. I wondered why one sister was on the floor.

She had done something to her back and was in a lot of pain. Their district leader knew a member chiropractor from when he lived in a previous ward. He was able to get this sister seen at the doctor's home that day. It helped her a lot and she is feeling much better now.

The first year we lived in California, I was anxious to see if the leaves changed colors and fell off the trees in the fall. I was pleasantly surprised to see some of the trees did indeed have leaves that changed colors and fell to the ground.

As we were walking in the neighborhood the other day, I noticed a big "leaf" had started to turn brown and was attempting to fall to the ground. Look at the size of that thing next to Glen.

Once a transfer (every 6 weeks), we invite all the senior missionaries to our home for dinner and Family Home Evening. We always provide the meat and they bring the rest of the food.

Brother Maughan took the picture and he told us he thought it was important to include Jesus in the photo. After all, we are doing His work!

(Sister Miller, Atkinsons, Radfords, Sweetwoods, Kopenhefers, Sattleys, us and Sister Maughan)

They are definitely a spunky group of people who work hard in their respective assignments which helps keep the mission running smoothly.

When I say spunky, I mean SPUNKY!! Elder and Sister Sweetwood (age 85 and 83) left our home that evening on a three-wheel motorcycle. It was Labor Day and they had been off playing on that thing all day.

I enjoyed seeing this license plate on a car close to the beach.

We met the Hermanas one evening at Cruz's home as he was preparing for baptism. He and Glen became instant friends. Glen's mastery of the Spanish language helps him have an instant bond with the Hispanic people. 

While the men were conversing and having the baptismal interview, I took a walk with the man's wife, their children and the Hermanas. It was a super hot and humid day. Our walk took us straight up the hill and all around and back up another hill to end the walk.

I was never so thankful for the glass of iced punch I was offered upon arrival. I carried it with me on my walk and it helped me survive. The little girls had such fun with the sister missionaries.

It was a special day when Cruz got baptized. The other sister missionary who taught him most recently was able to attend. He had been investigating the church for several years and knows the names of all the missionaries who have taught him. 

And now he knows the name of President Thomas who interviewed him. We were quite touched when he requested Glen stand in a picture with him.

We enjoyed our walk around Oceanside Harbor on one of our Monday mornings. 

  We watched a tree trimmer at work.

Glen keeps checking out homes to buy here in California to see if we can afford to live here. We hadn't even considered a houseboat.

The one other time we walked around this area, we didn't see any sea lions.

This time we saw lots of them. I researched a little bit about them and found an article I think is hilarious. It was written 5 years ago, but I think it still applies.

OCEANSIDE: Sea Lions Overrun Harbor.

They're loud, they're smelly, they tear the place up and they won't take a hint that it's time to leave. No, these aren't obnoxious relatives who come to crash for a cheap vacation--they're sea lions, and they've settled into Oceanside Harbor with a vengeance.  

It's really bad; they're getting all over the place. They get this slobber, it gets all over the boat. It's very difficult to clean. The dock is loaded with sea lion manure. The smell is like you're living in a sea lion toilet. 

A man paid $150 to have his boat cleaned, only to return the next day to find it covered in slime again.

As if the slime, the stench and the manure weren't bad enough, some of the sea lions are so big that when they climb onto swimming steps some boats have attached to their sterns, they snap the steps off. If they are torn off, they leave a hole and the boat can sink.

Then there's the noise. Sea lions bark, loudly and often. That's all you hear all night.

Hmmm, makes me want to rethink buying a houseboat!

This waterman (as he called himself) used the water hose to spray at the sea lions to get them off the area of the dock he needed to use.

He was putting together a wheelchair paddle board.

Once he got the young man secured in the wheelchair on the paddle board, he hopped on his paddle board and away they both went on an adventure together. The parents had to be thrilled to see their son enjoying the water despite his limitations.

It is so beautiful at Oceanside Harbor. There is something very calming about being near the water. 

As opposed to being IN the water which, for me, is anything but calming. Dad, have you forgiven me yet for all the money I wasted on several years of swimming lessons???