Dad at TOFW

Not Your Average Thanksgiving Dinner

Sumaia invited Jake and me over to her friend's place for a feast with food from various parts of the Middle East. This is the first time the three of us have been together since we were in the desert in 2004/2005. The food was amazing and the company was even better.

Let's see......we had the yummy cheese that is popular in the ME, some hard-boiled eggs, rice, hummus, chips and salsa, garbanzo beans, stuffing, turkey, lamb, mashed potatoes, falafel, bread, and something else (the name escapes me). Dessert was apple pie, pumpkin pie, a dessert from the ME (another name has escaped!), and fruit. Twas a feast, indeed. After dinner we talked politics and religion.......until I had had enough of politics and religion, and then I played with the kids.

The master chefs. Sumaia (on the right), Nada (in the middle), and I have the worst memory in the world. The End. Let's talk about Christmas!

Veteran's Day in Kentucky

Driving down the freeway at 1:00AM......75mph.......bambi met Chuck Norris' vehicle. There were no winners. Luckily, we were only 80 miles from Lexington, KY, and the car was not disabled.

Veteran's Day Parade in Louisville, KY. This lady wanted a photo with a couple of vets for her community newsletter.

Louisville Slugger Museum

This is my kind of bill. We ate a free breakfast at Denny's, a free lunch at the Texas Roadhouse, and a free dinner at Applebees.

Mr. Mchugh came into the restaurant alone, so we invited him to eat with us. Good conversation and great food. The place was full of veterans.

Churchill Downs - Home of the Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs

Louisville Temple

What better way to end Veteran's Day than by doing the only work that will bring lasting peace to the earth.

Doing some shooting near Lexington, KY.

Near Lexington

Our amazing hosts in Kentucky. Thank you, Drew and Edith, for making us feel at home. And thank you for asking me to participate in the blessing of your baby. That was a neat experience.

And their cute little girls!

Arizona, California, and #40

Friday evening I flew to Phoenix to meet up with Dad and Lizzie. While they were participating in the Time Out For Women conference (Dad was a guest speaker at the conference) all day Saturday, I drove three hours east to the Gila Valley temple.

30 minutes into the drive I realized that the 2012 Ford Focus I rented did not have cruise control. Lovely. I didn't know they made cars without cruise control these days.

And what a beautiful drive it was! Mostly cloudy, perfect temperature, and a rainstorm had passed through the night before, which made everything fresh and green.......Arizona green, but still, it was pretty.

Neighborhood in Gilbert, Arizona.

Saturday night I drove back to San Diego with Lizzie and her friend, Megan, and I spent the last four days having a great time with Lizzie, Dan, and the boys.

We ate at one of the best sushi restaurants I've ever visited.

Yep, I'm an American. I eat sushi with a fork.

After sushi we visited the Mormon Battalion Historic Site. I was impressed with the high-tech displays they have inside. Definitely something I recommend seeing, and it's great for the kids.

Can you find the two heads?

Anders and Soren dressed up as soldiers from the Mormon Battalion.

Panning for gold

I'm not sure I could march the 2000 miles like they did. I'm satisfied with my honorary membership and this nice postcard.

Tuesday morning I woke up at 3:00AM and drove to the Los Angeles temple.

"...till the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard."

Love and service......forever!

Then I drove over to the Redlands temple.

If only righteousness were measured according to the number of temples you visit. :) This was number 40 for me.

Tuesday night I took Soren and Anders to the rattlesnake-infested park. Due to our sufficiently-reasonable watchfulness, we were able to avoid snakebites.

There was a group of mothers doing various exercises at the park. The last one they did consisted of hanging as long as they could from the monkey bars. Soren decided to join them. See the expression on his face? He waited patiently as they dropped like.......umm......people who don't weigh 50 pounds.

Sunset over San Diego

Veteran's Day is coming up. Oh how I love that flag. Thank you, Lizzie, Dan, and your cute boys, for another fantastic trip.

We all got our heads shaved. Lizzie likes to put a movie on during the haircuts to keep the boys from wiggling too much. It worked. I didn't move at all.