Southern California

This week is Cinco de Mayo.  Tomorrow is the actual Cinco de Mayo, but people have been celebrating all weekend.  We had heard how busy it would be in Old Town and the Battalion was prepared!  Old Town was certainly a lot busier than it usually is.  (One of our Sisters calls it Drink-o de Mayo.  Yes, pretty much.)  There were a lot of fun activities and various vendors at the Old Town State Park.  Our Sisters were assigned to be at one booth that showed how to make rope.  You may have seen the contraption they use to make rope if you have been to Nauvoo.  Sorry, I don't have a picture of that.

Several of the Sisters were sad they were not able to participate in a churro eating contest each day since they are so busy.  They work 6 hours most days at the Battalion and another 6 hours in their areas. You have to admit, a churro eating contest does sound good.

The Battalion was not as busy as it could have been, but it was busy enough and that is ok.  It was hotter than we thought, though!  When it is over 90 degrees, it is a bit too hot for me.  It is especially hot when you are wearing a lined, long sleeved, long dress.  HOT.  But it is much cooler today and we are back to our usual beautiful weather that San Diego is known and loved for.

Weather isn’t the only thing we like about San Diego.  Here are just a few things we have enjoyed since coming back to Southern Cal:

Lily of the Nile.  My father-in-law thought this should be the state flower of California

 

 

Hibiscus as big as your head!

 

Fun bikes

 I love, love, love jacaranda trees and have missed them since we moved from So Cal  25 years ago.

 Craig jogs along Mission Bay whenever possible

 Beautiful star jasmine.  It smells SO good!

Gorgeous succulents

 Our Sisters!  Here are some of the 23 we work with.

Of course, there are a few things that we could do without:

Traffic

 Overhead wires.  I know these are not exclusive to So Cal, but I am not a fan.

Tomorrow Elder Ballard will be speaking to all of the missionaries in the San Diego Mission.  By "all of the missionaries" I mean except the seniors that work at the Battalion.  We are open every day of the year and so we'll be holding down the fort while the Sisters attend.  Elder Ballard's daughter is our Mission President's wife.  The missionaries will get to shake his hand when it is over. 

Do all of the senior missionaries carry this sort of stuff in their cars?  These boxes just live in our car.  There is no other place for them.  It has actually come in handy to have access to these boxes at various places.  So they will stay there for now.

How fun is it to be able to park here?  This is at the temple and we park here on Sundays.  I think it is probably needed more on days the temple is open, but I can feel important parking here anyway.

Have a great Cinco de Mayo!  It is my favorite day. Tomorrow marks 37 years married to the love of my life.