Going To San Francisco To Spend Time Outside of San Francisco

It has been a while--over a year to be exact--since we have been to San Francisco. Abe kept calling to see when we were going to visit and so the plans were made and off we went to spend the Memorial Day weekend with them.

First night was dinner and a show. Featured on the menu was a whole chicken for two people to share. It was worth the one hour cook time wait, although it did make us have to dash using a cab to make it to our show on time.

Can't help but think of my brother Andy's Halloween costume every time I think of Blue Man Group.

Next morning we stood in line outside Zazie waiting to get seated in the inner garden patio for breakfast.

This choice of dish assured both Abe and Klarissa had egg on their faces (their noses, to be exact) when they took a bite.

Abe had a fun anniversary surprise planned for Klarissa for the next 24 hours and needed our help--specifically our help getting them to their destination in our car. Off we went for a drive to Carmel Valley Ranch.

Abe and Klarissa got checked in and then checked out the main lodge.

They checked out what was available to do on the resort.

And then they checked out their lodging.

We did some exploring on the beautiful grounds of the resort.

Klarissa liked to shoot photos of the wildlife: deer, rabbit and turkeys. 

Glen and Abe liked to chase the wildlife.

It felt good to rest for a few minutes around the fire. The lodge provided s'mores fixin's every night around the campfire.

Dinner that evening was at the restaurant in the lodge.

Glen and I drove into Monterey and stayed at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa which was very nice as well.  The hotel was located right on the water. 

Look--we got robes just like Abe and Klarissa! Only difference is I had to go hunting for our second robe and ours didn't have one sleeve tucked strategically into the neckline.

The room was equipped with binoculars which didn't work too well at night, but were fun to use in the morning to see what was happening outside.
  

We really enjoyed our room with a view.

Nearing the End of His Mission

Glen could hardly wait for the calendar to turn to the month of June so that he could happily say, "Ben comes home next month!!!!"  He is doing the exact same thing he did when both Jacob and Abe were gone on their missions.  He counts down from the day they leave until the day they get home.

It is hitting our son that the end is nearing for him as well.  I am sharing the last part of one of his emails because it is very dear to me.  I love to hear him express his gratitude for his opportunity to serve a mission--and it's always heart-warming to hear a child express gratitude to his family as well.

(Excerpt from Ben's May 25th email.)

At the end of zone conference, there were the farewell testimonies. There were 15 testimonies. It was from all of the elders in my group and Elder Christensen's group. It was really weird to think that that was my last zone conference and to give my farewell testimony. It still feels like a long time until I will go home. It was pretty crazy. It was a good start to the week. It is pretty awesome that I have been able to see two Apostles on the mission.

Well, that is about it for this past week. Things are going well and I really love it here! It is awesome to be able to serve God here and help build the church here. Elder Pratt also came with Elder Bednar and during the meeting, Elder Pratt told us that he served his mission in Argentina and at that time there weren't any stakes but now there are over 100. Elder Bednar also said that 40-50 years from now, we will see the progress here and if we come back with our families to Malaysia, we will pass the church and it won't be there anymore because it will have moved to a bigger building and there will be multiple stakes here. 

He said that we can tell our families that we were a part of building the church in Malaysia. It truly has been a great blessing to come here and I am glad I chose to serve a mission. I couldn't have experienced anything like this or learned what I have doing anything else. Thanks for all of your support and encouragement! I couldn't have done it without you Mom and Dad! I hope that things are going well back home! Love ya!

Elder Thomas