Nurturing November

 To nurture means to sustain, support, feed, nourish, cherish, and educate, just to name a few of the words to describe our month. 

It was a pretty nurturing month in a lot of ways.

A big part of our nurturing was because Dale and I joined up with Andrew & Lindsay's family and Garrett & Zandra's family and we went to Hawaii! We stayed on the island of Oahu together in a nice home that was a short drive to a nice beach. 

Day 1: Andrew's crew arrived before we did, so they had the cupboards and fridge stocked with food for our stay and were also able to check out the beach. While there they saw a big seal soaking in the sun on the beach. 

We were on the same flight as Garrett, Zandra, and their kids so we all arrived at the rental together. We got settled in the place and went out for a bite to eat. On our way back to the house, we saw a bunch of tents and encampments set up along a couple of stretches of the beach. I was surprised to see this and am sure the residents are saddened by it. 

We stopped at the beach that was where the seal was, but the seal was gone. We walked along the beach, and watched the waves come in and out. The kids got in the water a bit, but it had some pretty big waves and a strong undertow in areas. Perfect for those surfing though.

After talking to a resident that lived in the area of where our rental house was, we found out that with inflation and the influx of immigrants that the government flew over to the island, made the homelessness rise considerably. Sad, deal.

Day 2: We loaded up into our cars and headed out to see the Dole Plantation. I was quite surprised to see more homeless camps along the beach in more areas.

We ate lunch at the Dole Plantation and then went to my favorite beach, Sunset beach to see the sunset. Oh, how I love walking on the beach and the sunsets.

Day 3: We loaded up to head to the big city of Honolulu where we went to Pearl Harbor and saw the memorial, watched a documentary about the attack, and walked through a museum. We also walked around the area where the Japanese attacked and killed a lot of people and sunk or damaged ships that were in the harbor. It was a very humbling area.

After getting our fill there, we got some lunch in Honolulu and, on our way back, we went around another way and stopped to watch the surfers at Waimea beach and let the kids play in the water some, but the waves were quite high, and it was windy, so we mainly just enjoyed the beach and watched the surfers.

Day 4: Dad and I got up early and drove into Laie to go do sealings in the Laie Hawaii Temple. We met Garrett & Zandra's crew after for lunch and then walked around the temple grounds. We met Andrew & Lindsay's crew at the Temple Visitor's Center. 

We changed and then drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center to see the sights and got to go to the night luau and show. Before the canoe show we got dumped on, but the PCC knew it would rain and gave us plastic rain gear as we entered the show area. The rain didn't last long, but it came down really fast and hard and then cleared up and we got to see a rainbow!

Andrew's crew didn't go to the luau and night show, they went back into Honolulu and checked out the downtown area and did some souvenir shopping. 

Day 4: Garrett and Dale rented scuba gear and the rest of us met them at Electric beach. We snorkeled and played in the water while they saw the sights under the sea. 

Garret & Zandra's crew headed to a resort they had gotten a reservation at through the help of a friend. They were going to stay in Hawaii longer than we were planning. 

We got a bite to eat in town and checked out Turtle Beach and then went back to the house and played games, visited and relaxed.

                                  

                                                                         I love hearing and watching the waves crash --so powerful!

Day 5: Dale and I, along with some of Andrews clan went to Church. We walked in and realized that it was a Tongan branch that we were visiting. We were definitely in the minority but still welcomed. It was also the Primary Program, and they sang most of the songs in Tongan, but that brought in a spirit in itself because they sing with such feeling and gusto. It was a nice meeting. 

Garrett & Zandra had invited us to go to the resort they were staying at for dinner, so we played games and then headed back to the Honolulu area. The resort they were at was way nice. It had a waterfall in the pool area, a private beach, and the grounds were really nice. We swam, went snorkeling and had dinner by the beach as the sun was setting. It was a nice day.

Day 7: I forgot to tell you that the day we got to Hawaii I had a boil show up in the middle of my back on my spine. It was full of puss and very uncomfortable. With the care of Zandra, Dale, Andrew, Garrett, Nate via Facetime and Dr. Nic Winn, who is a family friend that's a PA in dermatology, I was taken care of. I got put on a prescription, and had it lanced and drained by my skillful aids. The picture is about two days after I had it drained, and then the days following.

I didn't get in the water as much as I would have liked to because of it, but I still did get in for short stents and made the most of it. 

We packed up our bags, said good-by to the ocean, returned our rental car, and boarded the plane to head back home. We had a layover in Los Angeles and got home around 11:00pm. It was a nice trip. The weather was good and bad, but I got enough sun to show I'd been somewhere warm and sunny!

We were home a couple of days and back in the car to head to South Jordan for a Gala event where Amie was to be named the Coach of the Year for the Utah United Soccer Association. Quite an honor, but she is very deserving of it. She has coached for quite some time, and her teams have done pretty well. This was only her second-year coaching with this Utah United organization, however. Pretty cool. Way to go Amie!

We caught the USU vs Montana Men's B-Ball game at home,
and they won! This team still has no losses and looks really promising. The new coach, Coach Calhoun, seems to have what it takes to get the guys to perform.

We served a couple of times at the Cache Valley Humanitarian Center; I got in a temple session and went to a ward Relief Society Humanitarian night and loomed a hat.

We went to Val Potter's dad's funeral which was good to see their family, and visited with Doug and Donna, Dale's sister and husband, as well as with his sister Susan and her husband, Reed. 

  

We had an early family Thanksgiving dinner here with those that could come because it was our off year, but the kids wanted to get together (Or just wanted more turkey to eat). 

For Thanksgiving we went to dinner at Garrett & Zandra's with Andrew & Lindsay. It was a nice meal, and we were in great company. We have a lot to be thankful for. 

One of those things is that we were able to go do a temple session with Elder Mallory in the Bountiful Temple and then have lunch with he and his family and visit with him.

He had to fly back to Salt Lake after being in Mexico for 4 months to get his Visa fixed because when he got to Mexico, they saw that his gender on his visa was marked as female. So, he had to apply for a new Visa in the states so he wouldn't get caught in Mexico due to the err of a government worker. Jaxson looks great and it was nice to visit. An early Christmas gift for his family and a bonus for us.

I ushered at the Eccles for The Cache Valley Civic Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. They always do a nice job. 

Nate and Diana had a different form of nurturing happen with them; towards the end of the month they closed on a loan for a new home! It's in an area that's a little farther from the office, but closer to Seattle and has access to a railway that can take them to the airport, so they don't have to leave a car there when they travel. It's an older home, so they've started working on doing some remodeling to it. We wish them the best in this new adventure of being homeowners.

The Mallory's are back at it on the hardwood. Kennlyn tried out for the Ridgeline Girls Basketball team and will be playing on the Sophomore team. We've been able to go to a couple of her pre-season games. 

Kennlyn also went on her first official date. The school had a Girl's Choice Dance and she went with a group of friends. It was a "Casino Night" themed dance held at the Old Rock Church in Providence. They had a fun time. 

Langston and Mazin are playing indoor soccer and basketball. Those guys don't stop. We got to see Mazin play in a mini tournament that was held at Sky View. His coach, Brandon Birch, played for USU in his college days. They have a pretty good team.

Langston celebrated his 12th birthday, we didn't get to do his birthday date, due to it falling on Thanksgiving and with the surprise visit from his big brother missionary. We'll get it in next month though. Happy Birthday Langston!!

With Elder Mallory being home, they let the kids take a couple of days off of school and stayed in Salt Lake, so Jaxson wasn't alone.

Amie, Jaxson, Kennlyn and Langston got up early and went to the Bountiful Temple and did baptisms for the dead with him, before Jaxson had to meet with the Mexican consulate in SLC to get his visa fixed. They also got to go to a Jazz game with the Hassell's (Danica and Jason, but not the their kids). 

Then it all came to a close and they had to say their good-byes again, but he's officially able to be in Mexico now!

Some highlights and a few pictures we got from Elder Mallory this month-- They mix Halloween and Dia de Muertos together and its pretty fun. It's also like 3 days. They had a parade and there's a bunch of set ups that are cool. People go all out on costumes.

What should have happened months ago finally happened. Fernando got baptized! Such a miracle.  We got to the waterfalls and then he got scared again. It was quite the experience. First it was me in the water and then he wouldn't come and then my companion came too and then he got in where his feet were only in the water. Then his mom came and got in the water, and he got about calf deep. He was scared of how cold it was, but it wasn't even that bad imam be honest. He was so hesitant and scared of the cold it was crazy. His mom finally gave me the "just do it" so I took his hand and started talking and then he quickly got ready and BOOM. He got baptized. Such a good moment. He was so excited after and was like "did I do it?" We all got hyped and celebrated. 

It reminded of my brother Mazin that says he will do something and then once it's time to do the thing he chickens out. And then my parents make him do it. And then after we will ask Mazin if it was really that bad and scary. He always says no it was good. The same thing happened with Fernando. I asked him and he said it wasn't even that cold and it was good. Kids will be kids.

My training is officially over! I definitely couldn't train but it's fine because I'm just getting a different companion named Elder Pastor. I learned quite a bit from my trainer, but it was time ha-ha. I'm still in Zacapoaxtla too which is so nice. Elder Cook is leaving which is probably the worst news because he is one of the coolest missionaries in the mission.

We hopefully will have a baptism this next week. Our friend Hugo.

 

Now for the fun part. As you all know I am still an illegal in Mexico. So, I get an email out of nowhere on Tuesday that was saying I had to get a bunch of papers ready and a picture for my passport. I thought I was good because I got a new passport, and my old visa was still eligible. Sykeeee! They said we have to do it in the correct way and get a new visa for the new passport. So yesterday I went on a 5-hour bus ride to Xalapa and now am currently on my way back to Salt Lake City to go get a new visa😆 31 hours of chilling in airports and flying for a 15-minute appointment. The funny thing is I got on the plane 15 minutes before it was time to leave because the APs forgot to give me my passport, so they had to drive an hour and a half to give it to me and I was almost late. But we made it so now I am in Mexico City. Let's go! I'm pretty excited to see the family though and go to the temple and eat American food and just be in Utah. It's going to be weird coming to snow. 

Andrew also had a birthday the day after Langston's, but with Thanksgiving and all that was going on he decided to join in celebrating an early birthday with Nora, who's birthday is two days into next month. So.... to celebrate we went to the movie Moana 2 (Nora's birth mom, Sadie and her husband joined us), and then we went to dinner at Stonefire Pizza and to their house and visited. Happy Birthday Andrew & Happy Birthday Nora!

Jorie and Luke had their Christmas piano recital. They both enjoy taking lessons still and are improving. Maybe Garretts love for the piano is rubbing off on them?

Zandra started teaching skiing lessons at Snow Basin, and with some new snow Garrett was able to take the kids skiing one day when Zandra was working. I guess it helps to live more southeast of us, the mountains there have more snow. 

The Hassell's got in all they could to get into the Christmas spirit early. They took the kids on the Heber Creeper Trains "Polar Express" experience and spent a day in Salt Lake to see the Christmas lights and window displays at the Grand America, before a Jazz game. They also went to Ogden's Christmas parade and walked around the town square and saw their light display. Definitely a great way to nurture your spirit by bringing in some Christmas cheer.

In our national news: Donald Trump was voted in by the people of America to be the next President of the United States, due to Pres. Joe Biden stepping down and deciding to not run for another term because of health issues. JD Vance will be Trumps Vice Pres. Trump beat out Kamala Harris, the Democrat nominee for President.

Kamala Harris was appointed by the Democratic Committee to be the delegate for the Democrats, with Tim Walz as her Vice Pres. pick. 

Locally we got some snow fall in the mountains, but not a lot and towards the first to the mid of the month what came down was wet and heavy, but only about 2 inches on the ground, and it melted within a day or two. This snowfall however did help me feel like we might have a white Christmas which was nurturing for my soul.