Zone Conference Part 2 and 3 With Sick Glen; Date Night at the Zoo

Zone conference day 2 was held in Escondido with that zone, the San Marcos zone and the Del Mar zone.

Again we had the assistants and the zone leaders doing some of the teaching.

It was a fun, festive feel in the gym for lunch with balloons on the tables and candy and little card game questions for the missionaries to look at while they were eating.

After lunch the missionaries met with their district leaders to make goals for using technology in their individual districts.

Zone conference day 3 was held in Carlsbad at the church right by our house with that zone and the Vista zone. 

Zone leaders doing their training.

The car inspectors were busy doing their job.

Picnic lunch atmosphere as we ate our Chick-fil-A sandwich and chips.

Kept up the routine after lunch of missionaries meeting with their district leaders.

The GOOD NEWS was Glen's health kept improving each day which meant his voice got a little stronger and less croaky as time went on. 

HALLELUJAH!! We breathed a big sigh of relief he made it through those demanding days. Blessings all around!!

Blessings continued on Friday. Glen went back to the dentist to get his two front teeth fixed. They were all chipped off and jagged. He doesn't know how that happened. His dentist friend tells him it's because he's stressed and he grinds his teeth at night. I can account to the possibility of being stressed and I do see his jaw tensing up sometimes during the day.

Anyway, I'm happy to report his front teeth now look fabulous!!! 

We met with our church physical facilities manager when he got home from the dentist and he proposed to us the plan for updating things on the house. Every few years they update stuff and try to get it done in years other than the first year of a new Mission President's reign. They figure he and his wife have enough to worry about without worrying about house stuff.

The plan for this house is to get the rest of the cabinetry matching what's already been updated on the kitchen cabinets. That will include the bathroom cabinets, the hall closet upstairs, the laundry room cupboards and the entertainment center will be getting a new configuration. That makes me happy as I haven't really loved the look of the big, flat-screen television hanging on the front of the cabinets because there is no compartment big enough to set it on.

The biggest thing going on will be the renovation of the main floor bathroom. That will be a big improvement!! The sink, tile and shower could really use a face lift. They are also going to touch up the stucco paint outside. It will be nice to get the spot on the front of the house painted where the dead bush was pulled out so it matches the rest of the house.

I think we went into the mission office for a while that day to get some things done and then we found ourselves having a few hours once again for an extended date night. Unbelievable!! 

Blessings were continuing!! 

Glen had perked up and suggested we go to the Zoo and get some exercise walking around there. Just say the word and I'm there!! Free date night at the Zoo!! 

Now all of you just take a deep breath 

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and scroll down 

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through these photos of animals 

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and see if they don't have the same calming effect on you as they do on us!

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Okay--maybe these needle-nosed alligators aren't so calming, but the turtles and the brave bird in the mix will surely calm one's nerves.

Look at those newly-fixed front teeth on that man!!!!

The flamingos cracked us up. They would run to one side of their enclosure and then all turn around and run to the opposite side. They went back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth.

Some would get in a head/neck butting altercation with another one.

Then they would get back in configuration for their march and peck each other's feathery behind as they marched on their way. What a bunch of cantankerous long-legged, long-necked creatures!!

We took a gander (a little play on fowl terminology) at dining at the Butcher Shop Steakhouse on our way home from the Zoo. We decided to go on in and give it a try. It was a great choice!

It is always so nice when we actually get to have a real, relaxing date night rather than just a rushed dinner with more work waiting upon the completion of the date. 

Loved the date. Love my date.