Chihuahua, Mexico

On September 13th Doug and I flew to El Paso and rented a car for a trip into Mexico. We were going to get Rod from his mission. It was a trip filled with joy, beautiful scenery, wonderful people, a few disappointments, and some anxious moments.

We entered Mexico and thought we had everything that we needed (car insurance, permission paper, passports). I'm not sure we were totally prepared for the sights and experiences we met. First the minute we crossed the border people were walking between the cars selling their trinkets, flags, papers, popsicles, flowers, toys, and almost anything else you could imagine. Some would stand in front of the cars and stop lights and do juggling acts. Driving was an act of faith as there were no lines on the road and few signs to follow. Horns were constantly honking as drivers turned whenever and where ever they wanted.

The next shock was the sight of uniformed soldiers with machine guns at the border and along the roads at several military checkpoints. We only had to get out of the car and have it searched once. Luckily Rod was with us then so he knew what was going on.

About 20 miles into Mexico we went through customs and were stopped because we didn't have a car permit. We weren't sure what they wanted and kept showing them all of the papers in our possession. Finally, someone who spoke a little English directed us to where we needed to purchase the "permit". That delayed us about an hour...but we finally reached Chihuahua. It is a big city and we had no idea where to go. It was 10:00 pm so, we decided to just stop at a grocery store pay phone and call the mission offices. They asked where we were and I gave them the name of the store. They laughed because there are only 40-50 of them throughout the city. I grabbed an old guy with no teeth standing there and handed him the phone. He told the missionaries where we were and after about an hour the mission president's wife and son found us and took us to the mission home. This was our reward on Sunday......

ours is the one that isn't so brown.

It was nice to have Rod as a travel guide and translator for the rest of the trip. There isn't enough time to tell it all, but we visited with many of his converts, investigators, and friends. Everyone was so kind and loved our son almost as much as we do.

We spent three nights with the President and Sister Flores and their two sons, Marcos and Cesar.



The Familia Felix welcomed us into their home giving up their own bed for us to sleep in. We became fast friends and Gorgina and I practiced our English/Spanish on each other. They have a son on a mission in Provo.



Bishop's Family in Juarez Investigator (Rod baptized her daughter)

These are some of the beautiful sights we saw. Sunsets over the mountains, waterfalls (Basaseachi is the tallest in Mexico - 750 feet), and Copper Canyon (the Grand Canyon of Mexico)




We had planned to attend the Temples while we were there, but we picked the wrong days and times. That was a little disappointing, but we did get to see the beautiful buildings and Temple grounds.

Colonial Juarez Temple Ciudad Juarez Temple

It was a great trip but we were so glad to get back into the good old USA. We are truly blessed to live in this country and enjoy the freedoms that we have. I also realized how blessed we areand YES! SPOILED. What really matters is our family. We arrived home at 1:00 am on Sunday morning and the other boys were waiting up. Oh how good it was to have them ALL together again.

Daren's Graduation

DAREN IS GRADUATIONG FROM HIGH SCHOOL! It's hard to believe that he is already there. We attended seminary graduation and baccalaureate on Sunday and next Tuesday is Bonneville High School Graduation. We are very proud of his hard work and accomplishments. He is planning on working for the summer and then in the Fall he is off to ISU in Pocatello. As soon as school is out we've got to get started on housing and such. It will be really different around the house with only Scott at home, however Daren has been working so much this year I think he has been trying to prepare us. I'm glad it's just Pocatello for awhile to get me ready to send another missionary. We love you Dare!

Spring Break

It was wonderful to have a week away from everything. Doug, Daren, Scott and I went to St. George and spent the week with Doug's parents in the warmth and sunshine. We relaxed, went on picnics, played cards, went on a few road trips, and ate!

We visited the Grand Canyon on the Northside near Tuweep, Zions, and Bryce Canyon National Parks. I loved the red hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. The best part was just spending time with the boys. We had a great time and it was good to come home but hard to come back to the cold and snow.

Janet will probably be sorry that she prompted this site. Here are just a few steps down memory lane. Remember Janet, there are more!

DAY 1

Janet thinks I need to get into this blogging habit, however I'm not sure I have the time or creativity. But here's an attempt to answer the challenge. My computer died on me and I just got it back and running. I haven't had time to load pictures and things back on, so this looks pretty lame, but it's a start.