We are Great Grandparents!!!

Meet Haven Diana whose birth today officially promoted us up another bracket on the pedigree chart.    She weighs 6 lb. 11 1/2 oz. and is 21 inches long.

We are thrilled for Haven, her parents and her grandparents!

We Now Own a Toaster!

We usually travel light.  We even went to Europe for 10 days a few years ago and we traveled and lived out of only carry-on luggage.  However, when we decided to travel from our mission in Mexico to the United States for a few days, we took two empty suitcases with us and filled them to the weight limit to return.  It is an interesting processing to decide what it is that we miss and will need for the further months here.  We hauled back with us multi-vitamins, calcium pills, fish oil capsules, Nestle's Nesquik, finger nail polish, a book on Origami, Origami paper, colored elastic thread, calligraphy pens,  rechargeable batteries, Rook cards, shoe laces, brown sugar, necklaces to hold eyeglasses, a slotted serving spoon, sunglasses, blouses, ped hose, a shoe horn, prescriptions, a microwaveable pressure cooker, York mints, Wint-o-green mints, electric toothbrushes, etc.  But our greatest treasure is our toaster!

We had also told Hermana Jordan we would be happy to bring some items back for her and she asked for:  3 bags of brown sugar, Nestle's Nesquik, Boston Baked Beans [the candy] and Chipotle Seasonings.  She had fulfilled our wish list on her last trip and we were returning the favor.

As we left the USA, Sherryl's carry-on bag had to be opened and checked and the culprit turned out to be the 2# bag of brown sugar. .   As we entered into Mexico, they asked us if we had any food items--what were we to say to that?  Our bags were inspected and they found nothing amiss among our stash and let us in.

Together for Spencer's Baptism

How nice to have all of our current "Texas family" together for Spencer's baptism.

Beating the Heat!

We had followed the FIFA World Cup and had brought our booklet and extra stickers to share.

Nothing like water to keep cousins busy on a hot afternoon.

Having fun needs to be followed by good food!

Cute!

Fun Times!

We spent a few days in Texas enjoying the everyday life of a busy family.  

We picked up a few bags of groceries.

 

We watched as Holly received instructions for her new hobby

flying her remote controlled airplane.

A man with a cross bow retrieved the plane a few days later. 

We celebrated a very special birthday.

We enjoyed an afternoon walk along the local waterway.

 We had a refreshing time  at the pool to cool off after a day in the hot sun.

Sunday in Houston

Scott and Angela were kind enough to invite 10 extra people from our family to their ward for Scott's memorable day where he blessed their son, was ordained a high priest and set apart as a member of their ward's bishopric. After their church services, we were invited to their home for lunch.  We enjoyed seeing them again and visiting with Kay and Ellvert about their service in the Albuquerque Temple presidency and comparing our experiences since we serve in a smaller temple.

Ellvert and Kay with Sherryl and Paul

Owen and Carrie were born just one week apart.  

Our Mexico City Wish List -- Accomplished!

We were in Mexico City in February and had four things we wanted to see or do should we ever return.  So we worked on our "wish list" when we returned again to Mexico City with Andy, Heidi and their family.  Our "wishes" are numbered but not in priority order. We are happy to report that we were able to do them all.

#1 Go to the Plaza Garibaldi.  Several of our friends at the temple said we needed to go to the Plaza Garibaldi to listen to the Mariachis play.  We wandered over there one evening and it wasn't very crowded but it was fun to sit and listen to the music

#2 Visit the Ciudadala.  There is a large covered.block of about 200 artisan stores that we discovered was quite close to our hotel.  We went there one rainy afternoon to look around and were amazed by the wide variety available.

#3 See a performance at the Bellas Arts or Fine Arts Building.  It is a beautiful building and is noted for its stage with a stained glass curtain.  We happened to notice there would be a performances of the folkloric dances in Mexico.  We bought tickets and it said "no cameras" on the tickets and we think we were the only ones in the building who didn't bring a camera.  Here is a photo of the Bellas Artes building on the outside and a scanned copy of our program.  We loved the energy and colorful costumes of the up to 20 couples performing.  The program was written both in English and Spanish and explained the dances and the area of Mexico where they originated.

#4 Go to the Templo Mayor or Bigger Temple.  We heard there was a set of ruins close to the Zocalo that were worth a visit called the Templo Mayor.  We only had a little time on our last day to see them before returning to the hotel to catch a taxi back to the airport.  We hurried to walk through the outside ruins before entering the 8 floor museum.  We hurried again as we made our way through all 8 floors of the museum. "Templo Mayor was one of the main temples of the the Aztecs in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City." [wikipedia]

We thought this plaque by the Templo Mayor was interesting because it begins with questions that missionaries answer as they teach the gospel:

"Where do we come from?  Where are we going?  

This is a double problem whose resolution has been unceasingly sought for 

by  individuals and societies...."  

Papantla Voladores and the Archeologyical Museum

An American breakfast was included in the price of the rooms at the restaurant in the same building. Our eggs and bacon or sausage came with black beans and bread--or we could choose pancakes or cold cereal and it all cost the same $12.  Some thought the best part of the breakfast was the fresh squeezed orange juice and hot chocolate.  

We thought of going to the Chapultepec Castle but changed our mind when we saw the lines below and heard we would have to dump our water after walking to the castle and before we entered so we changed plans.  The kids found a friendly squirrel.

We walked through the park to the Archaeological Museum.and saw that the Papantla Voladores were about to fly so we stayed to see their performance.  Four men fall from a very high rotating platform with a rope around their waist that is slowly let out until the men read the ground.  It takes them about 5 minutes to reach the ground.  One man stays on top to play the flute while his station slowly twirls. Other colorfully dressed men walk around the crowd seeking donations for the flyers and their family. This is their line of work and this is how they get paid.

Our video of the performance - part 1

Our video of the performance - part 2

We noticed other performers in the distance as we made our way to the museum.

We check in our bags and went to get tickets to the museum.  As it turned out, three were under 13 years and two were over 65 years and didn't have to pay admission.  So we got tickets for 3 of the 8 of us. Plus we paid to get each of us a head set that explains the numbered displays in English.  The kids enjoyed having their own headset. 

They have a nice cafeteria at the museum and with both American and Mexican food.

We took time to see both the first and second floor exhibits.  There is just an incredible amount of things to do and little time to see it all in one afternoon. 

The largest Aztec calendar in the world.

This interesting diorama shows life in the village several centuries ago.

Then we all turned into angels before heading back to the hotel. 

The kids relaxed in the evenings being together and 

playing a dice game in our hotel rooms.