2.7.26 New Dudes. Dog Toys. The Chicken. Chores. MT. Birthday Party!

 Retired/Missionary Life. Sunday.

HAPPY SABBATH!!! Here! Have a Jesus Picture! He loves you'all.
Today's events and experiences:
- The Dense Fog Alert only was valid once we approached Spokane. And then it was dense.
- We had Stake Conference today in which we were edified and instructed by our church leaders, including our awesome Mission President. (A Stake is a group of congregations (aka Wards), about ten in this case). During the conference a new stake presidency was announced, including Hanna's brother, Larry. Pictures of the new presidency, and their wives, and the two authorities that were here to make the change.
- Short phone meeting with the Sister Missionaries from our Congregation to get updated on some folks they are working with.
- Big long juicy nap. (Us introverts get worn out being around a ton of people at a conference like that...)
- Studies, including a lesson we have this week, and Spanish.
- Watched a football movie. Friday Night Lights. It ain't as good as some others and definitely is not as good as the series is, but still pretty good. And it IS about football...
Hope you'all enjoyed your Sabbath!







Retired/Missionary Life. Monday.
Preparation and Recreation Day. Eventful Events:
- Somehow, the dishes didn't get done up all weekend. So, I got to tackle that first thing this morning before we ran out of 'em.
- Old people must have food day. We planned out our hectic week, made up delicious menus, created a detailed shopping list, drove to Plummer, ate salads (and played Book of Mormon Rummy) at the Gateway Cafe, bought the groceries, walked (in the rain) on the Trail of the CDAs (the boys didn't seem to mind much getting wet...), topped off with cheap Idaho gas, drove home, unloaded, put everything away.
- We went way over our budget, but it was fun! We bought groceries for Frivvy's birthday party, the mother of all Superbowl parties, dinner for the Sister Missionaries, and dinner for Del and Ella. (I told you it was going to be a hectic week!) We had happy thoughts about each dinner or party as we bought the grub and dog toys for it.
- In the picture below, just what are the dogs staring at? Why are they staring into the food pantry? Well, because Frivvy saw his new toy before I hid it on the highest shelf (or maybe he smelled it...) and he was whining and growling because I wouldn't get it down for him. "Wait until your birthday, Frivvy!!"
- We ended the busy day by watching a pre-recorded football game. N Dakota vs S Dakota State. Winner goes on to the playoffs. Loser goes home. Great physical game. (Did I mention they are rivals playing their last games of the season?) It went into OT. FCS games never disappoint. For them, it ain't much about money....










Retired/Missionary Life. Tuesday.
List of busy things we did today:
- Reminisced on how we told everyone "we got engaged last night" 14 years ago today.
- We drove into town where we spent the entire next 12+ hours. Hanna was excited by the fog and even learned how to say it in Spanish. Niebla.
- District Council Missionary Meeting with our fellow Spanish-speaking Missionaries. We sure love this group and they are really working hard and having a ton of success!
- Sack lunches in the truck in the church parking lot while the boys watched closely. (I shared a little bit...and then they watched even closer.)
- Taught an incredible lesson to an incredible man that is studying our church and whose wife is preparing to attend the temple. We sure love this family!
- Took Frivvy and Gus on a walk on the Centennial Trail. (Their highlight for the day.)
- Dinner at that Fancy Like place. Made me smile.
- Worshipped in the temple. Families are forever.
- We were all set to finally go back home when the phone beeped. The Sister Missionaries we serve with needed someone to go with them to a lesson. Can't say no to that! So off we went. Taught a nice lesson in Spanish on Jesus Christ in the dark on a cold porch while a chicken watched us from up in the rafters. (I thought I was back in Chile for a moment there....) The guy we taught is really interested in The Book of Mormon. And these Sister Missionaries are sooo incredible! They could be doing anything with their lives right now.....going to school, screaming their guts out at a college basketball game, chasing some guy, working a fun job. But no. They have chosen to ditch all that and instead teach an interested man from Mexico a lesson on his porch in the dark, in the cold, while a rooster watches on. We sure love them and their example of pure selfless service!
And then we went home. We'll sleep well tonight.
I posted a bunch of pictures from our last two Zone Conferences. Can you find us in all the pictures. (Kind of like "Where's Waldo?".
And, if you want your own free personal copy of The Book of Mormon, let me know. I'll get you one. Incredible read! If you'd like to meet our awesome missionaries, let me know that too!!

















Retired/Missionary Life. Wednesday.
After all the running around of the last few days, we stayed home today and did things around the house.
- Drained, scrubbed, refilled the hot tub.
- Caught up the family bookkeeping and medical bill submission and all that stuff.
- Read, studied, etc. (I'm reading up on Scottish History and the Stewart Kings. Good stuff!)
- Took the boys for a walk. NICE. It was like 55 out. And I got to talk to some of our friends I hadn't seen in forever because they pulled over as they went by us.
- Fed the Sister Missionaries we serve with dinner. Sloppy Joes and French Fries complete with Fry Sauce. Always fun meeting with them. They are sooo enthusiastic and we share ideas, testimonies and faith.
- Gawked at yet another great Palouse Sunset.








Retired/Missionary Life. Thursday.
- Reminisced about tax seasons past and our cool "Crazy Boy" ads. They were a lot of fun. (The ads......).
- MISSIONARY ROAD TRIP!!! Our mission covers three states, two time zones, and even has a bit of Canada in it. We chose to drive to the Northeastern corner of its boundaries today to visit some missionaries up there that rarely get visitors. We inspected their apartment, thanked them for serving, and gave them brownies. They were sooooooooo excited to see us! 45 years ago, I served in a remote area of Chile and felt very isolated. I can relate. Bonner's Ferry today, Libby tomorrow.
- For your entertainment, we took some pictures of their apartment (which DID pass inspection) so you can see the behind-the-scenes of missionary life.
- We ate dinner afterwards while gawking at the Kootenai River.
- And tonight we are holed up in an Airbnb in Troy, MT. The boys love Airbnbs!
We love missionary life! Never a boring day.....










Retired/Missionary Life. Friday.
MISSIONARY ROAD TRIP, DAY 2!!
- The boys were acting really lazy and weren't sure they wanted to get up. But they did.
- We made our way to Libby and visited the Missionaries there and inspected their very clean apartment. (See more behind-the-scenes pictures of Missionary Life.)
- Breakfast at a cafe we found in Libby. Delicious Taco Omellette.
- Libby is the City of Eagles. Hanna took a collection of Eagle Pictures while I was trying to drive.
- Pretty location for a church.
- Lots of great scenery on our drive, especially between Libby and Bonners Ferry. We took the boys for a walk at Kootenai Falls and again in Bonners Ferry.
- Couldn't just drive through without stopping and seeing Dominick, Alisha, and our grandkids. We spent the afternoon playing with them. HOT WHEELS!!!!
- Now we're back home.......Happy Missionaries!!






















Retired/Missionary Life. Saturday.
- Old Folks Go To Breakfast Day! We did so at Red Tail, dining on their buffet and omelette bar.
- Walked on the Trail of the CDAs.
- Del and Ella came over for a steak dinner in celebration of Frivvy's Fifth Birthday! Five very happy and adventurous years! Such a great dog. He was happy to dine on steak too. And get a new toy!







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