I Did It!

I have to brag about the fact that I gave my sacrament meeting talk in Spanish yesterday & I didn't faint! Plus, the members of my ward said that they could understand my whole talk. I was definitely helped, because when I read it aloud for the first time on Saturday night, it did NOT sound good. Luckily with the help of Lincoln and my friend Kim, and with quite a few "I'm really nervous...PLEASE help me to speak better Spanish than I can really speak!" prayers, I survived it. I learned that the feeling of satisfaction I get from doing something SO out of my comfort zone is totally worth the anxiety & frustration!

Anyway, I thought I'd mention a little bit more about the differences in our ward here compared to the wards in Mesa. Our ward meets for church in the stake center, which is about a 15-minute drive from our house. The only room that is carpeted in the church is the nursery room...the rest is tile. There is no library, foyers, or mothers' lounge in the building. Only one person in our ward (my friend Kim) knows how to play the piano, so if she isn't there then we sing a cappella. The members here don't grow up knowing all of the hymns in the hymn book, like a lot of us do in AZ, so we usually end up singing the hymns that everybody knows. 

We will probably be asked to speak in sacrament meeting every few months while we are here. Lincoln has already spoken twice, and I'm guessing now that the ward knows that I'm willing to give a talk in Spanish, they will probably ask me to do it again. I think I mentioned that I've been subbing in Primary for the last few months. I was teaching my class in English, but now I have three Mexican boys coming to my class, so my friend Dani comes in & translates for me. Sharing time & singing time are in Spanish, although the Presidency & teachers do a great job trying to incorporate some English into the lessons & songs. 

Other than that, the church is the same. It's amazing to know that the gospel is the same everywhere, and that our Church is so united in purpose around the world!

P.S. Linc is now the ward clerk/secretary!

Linc's Bday Celebration

Lincoln turned 29 yesterday! He had school all morning, but when he got home Kylee & I had a "Feliz Cumpleanos" sign waiting for him...

That night our friends Josh & Heather watched Kylee so that we could go out & celebrate. It was so nice of them! Lincoln & I went to our favorite French restaurant, Chez Nene. I ate duck w/ apples and Lincoln ate shrimp. We were excited to see that the shrimp heads & legs were still attached. :)

 Gerard (the owner) informed us that the shrimp's head has the most flavor, so we thought we'd better try it...

They weren't bad! Don't you love the shrimp's long antennae by Linc's eye? :)

Gerard brought out some creme brulee for Linc's birthday...

After dinner we went to see Harry Potter in 3D at the V.I.P. theater. I've mentioned before that you sit in recliners & there are waiters who you can order food from. It's awesome!

We loved the movie, even though we bought our tickets too late and weren't able to sit next to each other. :)

Today our friend Adriana, who lives across the street, brought over a little chocolate cake that she made for Lincoln's birthday. Our neighbors are the best!

I am SO glad that this guy was born! I don't know what I would do without him. Happy Birthday Linc!!!

Family

Needless to say, our favorite part of our trip to the U.S. was spending time with our families. We have the most loving, supportive families & feel INCREDIBLY lucky to have them in our lives! 

Kylee & Marcus...

Anj, Olivia & Claire...

(Linc's mom made these dresses for Linc's two oldest sisters when they were little.)

I got to spend more time with my youngest nephew Patrick...

Couldn't you just eat him up?!

We were so happy to be able to visit Da one more time. He is nearing the end of life & we were just praying that we would make it to Snowflake in time to see him. Kylee drove out to his house...

(She wore her new pink cowgirl boots for him & also a shirt that Linc's grandma made a long time ago.)

We love this man...

There is nothing like family.

More Fun In Snowflake

Here's some random pictures of the FUN that we had in Snowflake:

Kylee & Daddy read books...

We played with Cody the Goat, who lives next-door...

Kylee jumped on the trampoline (with some help)...

We fed the new calf...

And played in the creek...

Linc caught Kylee playing with the trucks outside...

(I love that she is SO girly, but loves "boy" things as well!)

We had a BBQ...

And Daisy found a cow bone...

We looked through photo albums & found priceless pictures...

(Linc's family has always told me about his cotton ball obsession. Here's the proof! Ha ha!)

Kylee got to sit at the "big kids table" for the first time...

And was introduced to chocolate chip pancakes, which she LOVED...

We laughed at Kylee's crazy pigtails...

And her even crazier bedhead...

Before I could even make fun of Lincoln for wearing these coveralls, he made this face at me...

(He knows me so well. :) )

Kylee [kind of] learned how to ride a scooter...

We all ate way too much sugar...

Kylee dressed up...

(It's always entertaining to see what she comes up with!)

I'm sure it is obvious that we had a very fun-filled vacation!!!

Outdoor Afternoon

On the actual 4th of July, we had a pretty low-key day. We decided to walk down to the creek to feed the horses, which Kylee was NOT excited about...

London was a little nervous to feed them at first...

But she quickly got the hang of it!

Kylee & I just watched, since she was afraid to go near them...

Then it was time to cool off in the creek. Daisy jumped right in...

We even took the canoe out...

We spent that night packing up our stuff & saying goodbye to everyone. The next morning we stopped by my family's house for breakfast & to say goodbye to them. My HILARIOUS Aunt Tricia stopped by to visit too. Then we began our trip back to Mexico! 

(I still have over 30 random pictures from our time in Snowflake that didn't go with my previous posts...so I'll share those soon. :) )

4th of July Celebration

The town of Snowflake celebrated the 4th of July on the 2nd, instead of on the actual holiday. We decided to drive out on the ranch, make tinfoil dinners & watch the fireworks from there. It was a fun night!

The kids loaded in the back of the truck...

Kylee helping Daddy drive...

Having fun!

Daisy loves spending time out on the ranch too!

By the end of the night, we were all pretty tired...

We stayed out way past Kylee's bedtime...

I was able to ride home on the 4-wheeler with Lincoln while Josh drove our truck back. We had a blast. It reminded us of our dating days. We definitely need to do things like that more often. Oh, and one of the best parts was that no matter how fast Lincoln drove that 4-wheeler, or how big the bumps were that we went over, it didn't hurt me at all. This was the first time that I'd ridden since recovering from my hysterectomy. It is still so neat to discover things that I can do now that aren't tainted by pain. I am truly SO blessed!!!