P-Day in the puebla San Diego at the Pacific Ocean Shore of El Salvador...

We're just a little sun burned today. The black volcanic sand doesn't show up so black in the photos.  And you thought we were working our fingers to the bone...

We do all work hard--these missionary couples have an 8-9 hour shift Tue-Sat every day at the temple.

So we were happy they could have a break on P-day.

We've all decided that we will plan a big outing for once a month. Last month we went to the volcano--El Boquerón.

We'll have to find those photos to post.  Monday, when the temple is closed, is also when all the national museums, zoo, parks, etc., are closed, so we are sad about that.

Sorry for so many photos of us...when I tried to rearrange them, they just kept copying the same one, and I can't get them deleted. 

Very relaxing day.

As you can see from the photos...we had a great day at the beach. Los Gibbons - Marilyn & Dave from Burley, Idaho

Above: Los Thompson - Nancy & Lon from Jerome, Idaho
Below: Guess who...I was tickled that he did doze for a while.

A young man came with a looong rope, put it around the coconut tree and shimmied up, pulled his machete up that he had tied to the other end of the rope, and cut off a bunch of coconuts.  Those in the know said the coconut was not ripe enough to have a good flavored drink from it yet.  And the coconut was not hard inside.
Hna. Kitley is in the navy blue shirt. I didn't get a good couple photo of her and Elder Kitley. He was like a fish out in the ocean

The Thompsons are the youngest couple of the group. They were our coordinators on the Wednesday evening Spanish-speaking shift at our Twin Falls Temple.  They have worked with the Spanish Branch for several years in Jerome. Walt's cousin, Andy Prescott, is the current president of that Spanish Branch.

While we had lunch, it rained like crazy. This gal came up from carrying her necklaces and braclets along the beach to sell. We were the only ones along the stretch of beach where we were. Each of us gals got a necklace or two--they were $1 and $2 each.

Below, Bishop Méndez, who is the assistant recorder at the temple, helped Walt call SLC to get an appointment with his cardiologist for when we're there next week for the New Temple Presidents' Seminar.  Bishop Méndez was our guide for the day.

I've named everyone except Los Kitley - Trent and Arlene from Twin Falls, Idaho. They are the 4th couple from the left.

Well...L-R: Los Wall, Thompson, Petersen, Kitley, Gibbons, y Obispo Méndez.

On the drive back, we stopped at Ciudad Libertad and walked out onto the wharf...we gals thought we were going to see souvenirs...but it was just smelly fish.

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Yesterday, Monday, Oct. 3, we (the 5 Sr. couples) had a short 30-min mini-bus ride to the closest beach...at the pueblo called "San Diego." I will post more of our relaxing day there after I get breakfast for Walt who needs to be at the temple in 30 minutes for his Tuesday morning 9am Temple Presidency meeting.

Yes, we got wet.

 Los Wall - Frank and Diane

 Los Petersen - Walt and Eileen - water was warm

♂♀♪♫♪By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea, you and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be."♪♫♪ (Alt 13=♪ Alt 14 - ♫)

Great General Conference Weekend...

Several weeks ago Elder y Hna. Gibbons had invited all of us to their apartment to start the General Conference Weekend with a biscuit, strawberries, and whipped cream breakfast.

 The first instruction was that when we went by their family photo on the fridge, we were to "oooh and aaah," which came naturally. It is a wonderful family photo of their 5 children and 19 of their 22 grandchildren.

The "us" included everyone in the 7 apartments in our temple complex: Los Majano, Alas, Kitley, Thompson, Wall, Gibbons, and us--so they had two tables set up in the middle of their dining room-living room that fit everyone nicely.

Here's Elder Kitley who is the one who took the group photo above. Next to him are the Majano's, 1C and wife in the temple presidency. Hna. Majano brought some delicious fried platinoes (the big bananas).

Presiden y Hermana Alas showed us a replicalof them by the Guatemala Temple, as a remembrance of when they served in the Temple Presidency and as Assistant to the Matron there, before being called to this Temple Presidency.

Elder Kitley is e-mailing us a photo of the whole group to be put in this spot.

General Conference weekend had started by a morning walk around the temple by Walt before he finished the 24-hour Haltar Monitor check his cardiologist put him on the day before.

P.S. For this Monday, Oct. 3 "P-Day" the four Sr. Temple Missionary Couples, Walt and I, are going to see the El Salvador shore of the Pacific Ocean. Bishop Mendez, our assistant temple recorder, said a couple of weeks ago that he wanted to take us to the beach. He has arranged the transportation, route, places to visit....so we're in his hands today.  We can't find our sunblock, so hope we can get some on the way.   Hope to get some good photos to post.  We're leaving at 8:00 a.m.  He said it's just an hour's drive.  But we usually double the time they tell us.

Happy Anniversary Remembrance for my Mom and Dad...

Today...September 29, 2011 for my Mom and Dad 74th wedding anniversary:

Happy Anniversary Remembrance

September 29, 1937

                  Verna and Arnold are forever!

Verna age 1946  Age 26                           

Arnold 1946   Age 34

As Eternal Sweethearts

you will both be in your prime.

Mom is 91 and living with Julie and John in Saratoga Springs, Utah. She has been a widow for almost 29 years.

Daddy passed away from colon cancer on Feb. 6, 1982,

at the age of 69. We still miss him.

Mom says she misses him more every year. 

We are so thankful for Julie and John taking such good care of Mom while we are so many miles away in San Salvador.

Because of temple covenants, 

my Mom and Dad 

will be together forever!

Here's one of my Mom's favorite songs about September...

She said she always turned mellow in the Autumn....starting in September...

that's why she eloped with Daddy when he dared her at the start of her Senior year...

Try to Remember

Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh, so mellow.

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain was yellow.

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a tender and callow fellow.

Try to remember, and if you remember,

Then follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,

Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender

That no one wept except the willow.

Try to remember when life was so tender

That dreams were kept beside your pillow.

Try to remember when life was so tender

That love was an ember about to billow.

Try to remember, and if you remember,

Then follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,

Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,

Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow,

Follow, follow, follow, follow.

Deep in December, it's nice to remember,

Although you know the snow will follow.

Deep in December, it's nice to remember,

Without a hurt the heart is hollow.

Deep in December, it's nice to remember,

The fire of September that made us mellow.

Deep in December, our hearts should remember

And follow.

Mom and Daddy...we will love you forever!

Dinner at our Stake President's home...

It was raining when we gathered in front of the apartment complex after the broadcast and piling into the temple van, and one couple rode with Los López as they guided us to their home about 10 minutes from the temple grounds.

I had taken photos of everyone else, so they took a photo of us just as the dishes had been cleared.  Notice the bright, colorful tablecloth.

Gladis is telling us about her early life on her Mom and Dad's dairy  farm in El Salvador. Gladis's 6 brothers and 4 sisters all learned how

 to work when they were young.

 Sister Wall and Sister Gibbons are working very hard at studying Spanish. They are understanding more all the time.

 Hermanas Kitley and Thompson are also studying Spanish and coming right along. The four Elders learned Spanish on their first missions: Elder Wall--Central America; Elder Gibbons-Uruguay; Elder Kitley-Argentina; Elder Thompson-Colombia.

Walt went out to the patio to help Presidente López grill the carne--lomo aguja, which Elder Kitley told us is like a rib roast cut.

This little gal was cooking the homemade tortillas when we arrived.

Hermana López must have spent most of the day cooking because her red beans, rice with corn, homemade salsa and homemade tortillas were delicious...

...but her homemade flan was the best Walt and I have ever had!

Presidente Jaime López is our Stake President. He is also our Temple Recorder. His darling wife, Gladis, and he invited us and our 4 Sr. Couple Temple Missionaries to dinner at their home last Saturday after the General Relief Society broadcast.
She had a colorful buffet of typical San Slavadoran food, which we all enjoyed.  We had a delightful evening with them sharing fun stories about each other's lives.
Their three sons are studying in the states: Eduardo at U. of Utah, Omar at BYU, and Diego is a senior in high school in New York, living with an Uncle...one of his Mom's 6 brothers.
This photo of Presidente López with his three sons was taken when they were here visiting for the Temple Open House and Dedication.

President López showed us his favorite photo of his three boys.

We love our Sr. Couple Temple Missionaries...

A first for us...milkshakes for breakfast...because

we're going to PriceSmart and didn't have any more room in freezer...so made room by using up the ice cream from PriceSmart's trip in August.  Walt dipped the homemade cinnamon rolls in his milkshake...another first.

 As Bill Cosby said once: Healthy breakfast...wheat, milk, and fruit!

Our four Sr. couple temple missionaries were wisked off this morning to get their one-year visas. We're all going to PriceSmart when they return.

L-R: Dave & Marilyn Gibbons, Lon & Nancy Thompson, Trent & Arlene Kitley, Frank & Diane Wall.

They are working so hard and have made miracles happen in starting up this new temple.  They are guiding many, many new local temple workers in their assignments.

May versus can...

So now that I may blog, can I? (Meaning finding the time again to blog.) 
....in our blog now when we refer to "The temple" it will be the San Salvador El Salvador Temple. [Please not that there is no comma in the name because it is a name and not a sentence.]
   The temple was scheduled to be closed at 1:00 on Saturday afternoon for our workers to get to their scheduled events for the Women's Conference (that's what they call it here).  ?Is it officially the General Relief Society Meeting?
     We had 5 or 6 scheduled first-time couples coming, plus sealings. Several bus loads came.  Then a family came in to be sealed who had not called in ahead to be scheduled. When Pres. Alas, the second counselor in the temple presidency explained to them that the temple was closing for the afternoon and there wouldn't be time for them to be sealed, the wife/mother burst into tears.  So Pres. Alas said: "I will do the sealing at two o'clock."

It was a blessing that so many of our morning shift workers came for their 4:30 to 12:30 shift. Many of them ended up staying till 4:30...or  5:00 so had more than 12 hours straight.  And I don't know if some even got a lunch break.
At one time we had the waiting room full, the front entrance full, and fifty plus waiting outside to get in.  It's great to have the temple overflowing and already wish we had more space inside.

Here we are at the home of our temple recorder...Presidente Jaime Lopez. He and his wife, Gladis, invited us and our four Sr. couple temple missionaries to their home after the Women's broadcast Saturday evening.  I will add photos and more about it soon--hopefully Monday on our P-day.

    F A M I L I E S   A R E   F O R E V E R !  ...and the temples make that possible.

We' back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yipee, yi, year!

I hit one circle in "Settings" and we're back in the blogging world.  But now it's time to go to bed...so will have to update tomorrow...except we may need to go to the temple even tho it's our day without a shift...with the busy schedule and closing at 1:00 for the workers to get to their homes in time for the Women's Conference satellite broadcast.
      More tomorrow. It's great to be back.

nnn

Thank you to our family and friends for a wonderful 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration...

Walt & Eileen ... Now and
Then. ...back to June 14, 1961 newlyweds, Walt & Eileen

It does go by "as fast as the blink of an eye!"

We had a wonderful 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration. Our anniversary was June 14....they have put the flags out for us for 50 years now.
The Celebration was Friday, June 17.

We are so thankful for all who came to our open house. Our kids figure there were about 350. And we thank our family and friends for the many, many cards we have received.
Our kids did all the planning, decorating, providing, preparing, and serving.

David's wife Julie's father, Brent Black, designed the fun flag display from our missions to Mexico, Central America, and South America to go with the chips 'n salsas.
Meals:
Fri, June 16--Gathering afternoon and evening of the 48:
Walt & I made stew and scones.
Fri, June 1 7: Family photo and Open House
B: Janie & Shawn; L: Dave & Julie; D: Brian & Michelle.
Sat, June 18: Reunion fun day, wedding shower for Aimee
B: Jen & Jerry; L: Steve & Natalie; D: Gary & Kathy
Sun, June 19: Father's Day/Our speaking in Sacrament Meeting
Brunch: Julie & John

Janie did the layout for our invitations, Aimee added some flourishes;
Julie addressed, stamped, and mailed the invitations;
Kathy spray painted in gold 40-50 picture frames to have 3 on each table with photos of us through the years and made the lavender table runners;
All 7 couples and older grandchildren helped decorate the cultural hall in a garden theme, with several family photos through the years and the current photo (taken by Peterson Photography--Cherie Peterson) of Walt and me on easels. Also displayed were Walt's white dinner jacket and cumberbund he wore at our reception, and my wedding dress.

Jen spent hours putting the slide show together, which was shown for the first time to us at the family dinner before the open house. It was played throughout the celebration.
Gary planned activities for the younger grandchildren to do during the open house;
Janie put together a program of the grandchildren acting out a part of our courtship, and then each grandchild told something they loved about Grampa and Grama; with the finale being Katie in my wedding dress and Daniel in the white dinner jacket waltzing to the "Anniversary Waltz"..."Oh, how we danced on the night we were wed..." and Walt and I joining in waltzing for the last half of the song.
Walt and I gave our thanks to finish the program, then resumed the line for those still waiting to greet us.

IT WAS TRULY A PRECIOUS TIME

WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN.

I haven't had a post since May 30th because when everything was transferred to my new laptop on June 8, my blog won't accept posts to be published on the new computer.
I've got to have some help to figure out why my blogs won't post on the new computer.
And now all my current photos are saved in the new computer.....so I've put a couple of photos that I have in this old "dinosaur/slower than molasses" laptop from which I am putting this post.