Elder Thomas

We dropped Park off at the MTC in Provo yesterday. My sweet little brother is all grown up and truly will be an amazing missionary. A few weeks ago we went to Pocatello to hear him speak in church. It was sweet and tender and really so good. He is an excellent example and young man. He was supposed to go to the MTC in South Africa, but because of a visa issue he is here in Provo for a few weeks then he'll fly to Uganda. It is weird living so close to him but having him be in another world. I sure love that Elder Thomas and am excited to hear of all his adventures in Africa.

On our way to Pocatello, we stopped in Brigham City to go to dinner and the temple with my family. It is a beautiful temple. Lovely lovely.

so handsome. before church

our shrine to Park :)

I love this. What a good dad he will be.

We sure will miss him

Parker's last meal with us at Firehouse Grill. Yummy yummy sandwiches and of course great company. 

And so we dropped him off. It was sad but exciting. Go Elder Thomas.

Christmas and Tamales

After coming back from Mexico City, we celebrated Christmas in Hermosillo. We opened this game Qwirkle before Christmas. We actually bought the game and had it wrapped, so it wasn't too much of a surprise. We had fun playing it throughout the break. 

Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma's house for dinner. I am still needing to adjust to the eating schedule. We didn't eat until 9 or so at night. But it was a delicious meal of turkey and pork. I sure do love Abuelita and admire her so much.

 Christmas morning was splendid. Choco was the most excited and the first one up. He woke everyone else, and we opened gifts.

We gave Choco's dad Chencho (Lurky in English). It is a
character from a children's show. It is his nickname because he has
a big nose and is dark like the character. He loved it. 

a new camera for Kenia

the most exciting gift was a new car for Kenia!! She was
very surprised and clearly excited! It is a cute little car. 

It was a wonderful Christmas for us. I got Season 1 of Parks and Recreation, which I love. Choco also gave me new socks, headphones, and a subscription to the Food Network Magazine. Plus my new camera, which I already had.
I gave Choco new basketball shoes, Jazz tickets when they play the Thunder, and The Perfect Pushup. It was a wonderful Christmas morning.

Later in the day, we talked to Jair on the phone. (He's on his
mission in Oaxaca). He sounds great. 

 Every year, the Lopez family has a talent show on Christmas. Choco had the idea of creating our own version of Chopped (a Food Network show). We filmed and edited during the break. I think it turned out pretty well. We had a fun time being different characters and creating the movie. 

Kenia beautifully played the piano.

Amy and Jamir played "Away in a Manger." It was really
great. This was first time I had heard Amy play the violin,
and it was beautiful! 

Mama and Papa Lopez sang and dance. I
loved it!

After the talent show, we had our gift exchange. Everyone draws a name, and we exchange gifts. Choco's dad gave me a lovely dress. 

We went bowling a couple days after Christmas. It was fun, even though I am not very good. 

 One of my favorite things we did in Hermosillo is learning how to make tamales. It was a long long process. One of Choco's Mom's friends came over to show us the ways of the tamales. It was so fun to see her skills. I was a little nervous about eating them, not sure if I would love them. But, I was so wrong. They were so, so delicious! Yummy. They had pork, carrots, potatoes, and a green olive in them. I was in heaven. I want to practice because I want to be able to make them just like that.

we made a large batch: about 150 tamales