La Gran Aventura Day 30: Mesa Temple and Photos of Halle

Tuesday, January 9, 2024

This morning we all slept in. We were all totally exhausted.

When we finally did wake up, Betty and I went on a walk with Janie. And I saw a bird I’ve always wanted to see -- a roadrunner. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my good camera, but it was great just to see it.

After the run I got some more work done, and then I took the older four to the Mesa temple to do baptisms.

What a beautiful temple. I’m sorry not to have a great photo of it. (Seems to be a theme for today).

In the temple Ian had a couple of funny experiences. First of all, the people always ask us what size jumpsuit we need for baptisms. The problem is that it seems like no two temples have the same sizing system. So we never know. Anyway, the kind lady held up a jumpsuit to Ian, and it looked perfect, but something must have happened because when we got to the dressing room, his suit was suddenly comically big. The crotch was around his knees, and the short sleeves were like long ones. He had to cuff the pants about five times, and by the end he looked like an Umpa-Lumpa.

Then, when we were out at the font, waiting, a kind sister came out to walk us through the process. Well, Ian just looked at her and said “You smell like essential oils.” (Which she did). She told him, it’s this mint in my mouth, to which he responded: “Well, your breath smells really good.” She thanked him.

Ian’s got confidence, I’ll give him that.

On our way back out to the car, we saw this maintenance truck that we really liked.

Later, The kids were asking for a treat, and I saw a Mexican ice cream shop. I had to stop, and I’m glad I did. It was amazing. I had a chamoyada, which was a popsicle of frozen mango and chiles.

A few weeks ago, when I took pictures of Janie’s family, I had forgotten to get individual shots of baby Halle, so just before sunset we rushed over to a park to snap a few. The time was really short, and she was pretty cold, but we managed to get a few good ones.

BYU basketball played again tonight. This time against Baylor. We played much better, but we still lost.

I’m still exhausted.

La Gran Aventura Day 29: Goodbye to Hermosillo and Mexico

Monday, January 8, 2024

This morning we packed up again. We are getting pretty good at it by now. There is less lost stuff. Less complaining.

We said goodbye to Alma and Victor. They have been such great hosts. I feel really bad that I never got a good family photo of them. We will have to come back for that.

It took quite a while to get out of Hermosillo. We went to Walmart to get some new headphones. Some of the kids have had problems with theirs. While we were there a car-washer named Juan offered go fix out back bumper. We had hesitated to get it done in the states because of the price, but Juan fixed it and buffed the headlights for a great price.

Betty didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Yolanda’s mom, so we did that, and then we had to say goodbye to the Ayala’s. Both families. That was hard. Over the past couple of weeks they have become such dear friends to us and the kids. We will miss them all so much.

The drive to Nogales was pretty uneventful. The kids are used to these long trips, and today they did really well.

We decided to stop for one last meal in Mexico before crossing back into the US. We stopped at a little place just a block from the border. The food was good, and we got some food also for a guy who was in the parking lot and needed a meal. I got chilaquiles. The kids got quesadillas and tortas.

Today was the national championship game between Michigan and Washington. The kids and I had hoped to get to Janie’s house to watch it, but with all the stops on the way, we were only able to watch the tail end of the game with her.

Michigan won! It’s pretty awesome to cheer for the national champs.

By then it was pretty late, but we had a seminary class with the kids before bed. It was a busy day.

It’s been a busy month.

We all need some rest.

Hours in the car today: 7

Total travel hours in the car: 57.5

Miles Driven: 344

Total Miles Traveled: 3194

Distanced hiked today: 0

Total distanced hiked on trip: 2.84km/1.77mi

La Gran Aventura Day 28: Sunday and Alicia's Birthday

Sunday, January 7, 2024

This morning we woke up and went to church at the Cuautémoc ward in Hermosillo. I love visiting different congregations throughout the world. The church is the same everywhere -- and different everywhere.

Kimball had a classic Kimball moment at church. We got there a few minutes early, and we sat down to wait for the meeting to start. Kimball was sitting with his Ayala friends behind Betty and me, and he breathed out -- but loud enough for everyone to hear: “Estoy list para salir de este país (I’m ready to leave this country).”

Oh the honesty of autism.

It was fast Sunday, and that means testimony meeting. I especially love hearing people from all around the world testify of Christ.

River also had another great church moment.

This is our first Sunday of the new year, which means Ian has now aged out of primary, and River has aged into primary. She’s out of the nursery. And River loved the nursery. She loves the snacks and the toys. In primary, generally, there are no more snacks and no more toys. So she wasn’t thrilled about going. I decided to take her and sit in with her to see how she would do.

Well, right at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher pulled out a big gift bag that read: “De: Mi Padre Celestial. Para: Mí.” River looked at me and said: “Dad, it’s a present, for me!”

Oh boy.

I tried to explain to her that the present was probably a metaphor or some kind of pretend thing, but she just looked at me and said, “No. It says it’s a present for me.”

As expected, when the gift turned out to be the teacher’s personal copy of the Book of Mormon, River was not happy. Now she looked at me, and her eyes said: “Why would someone play a trick like that on children?!”

One of these days River is going to love primary. Today is not that day.

After church, I had to make a couple of calls for my bishop calling. And we took some pictures with the group as well.

After church we went -- you guessed it -- to the Ayala’s house. We really love hanging out with them. The kids went to the park for a bit, and we also played our new favorite game: spoons.

Then we went back to Alma’s house, where I snuck away from the group to go and take pictures of the Hermosillo Temple at sunset. I really want to get great pictures of as many temples and Catholic churches as possible on this trip. There is something so valuable in these sacred spaces. They are definitely becoming a theme on this trip.

In the night, everyone (Ayalas, Yolanda and her family, etc.) came over to say one last goodbye, and to celebrate Alicia’s birthday. Betty has a thing where she just celebrates people’s birthdays when it’s a good time to celebrate -- not necessarily on their birthday. Alicia does not like having this kind of attention. I told her it wasn’t really a birthday party, it was just us saying goodbye. I tried to tell Betty and the rest of the crew to NOT make a big deal about it. Then they lit the birthday cake, and I realized nobody had listened to me. The candle was like a 4th of July sparkler. I’m certain there is nowhere in the US that you can buy a candle like this.

We had such a great time visiting and eating, and we even did another piñata. River loves piñatas. Heck, everyone in Mexico loves them. In the parks they even have these poles for hanging piñatas that look like gallows. And these sweet and mild-mannered kids go after them with serious aggression.

Anyway, it all turned out to be a beautiful night and a perfect way to end our time in Hermosillo and Mexico.

La Gran Aventura Day 27: Birria, Carne Asada, and Good Friends

Saturday, January 6, 2024

This morning I woke up early and tried to get some work done. It’s been really hard to find a rhythm with my college and church work. Traveling is just difficult that way.

I also spent some time going over the budget -- and it’s looking pretty tight. I’m thinking a lot about our upcoming time in Europe, and just need to stabilize a bit. So Betty and I had a good talk, and I told her that I think we shouldn’t go to California for now. This trip to Mexico has been great -- and we have really been frugal, but it’s time to go back to Utah and re-group.

For breakfast today, Alma and Victor took us to the Birriería la Purísima in a little pueblo just outside Hermosillo called San Pedro el Saucito. It was much busier than the last birriería we went to. Ian was feeling frustrated because he’s just had about enough tacos on this trip. And now tacos for breakfast?! It reminded me of that great scene in The Three Amigos when Dusty asks the Mexican woman in Santa Poco if they have anything besides Mexican food.

Well, it turns out that Ian was pleasantly surprised by La Purísima. Not only did they have tacos de birria, but they also had something called a quesabirria -- it’s a quesadilla with birria meat in it. And it’s delicious. The tortilla is crunchy and the cheese that oozes out from the middle is toasted on the edges and gooey on the inside. When paired with jamaica or horchata or even Coca Cola, it’s just amazing!

After the birria, we drove out to the church of Nuestra Señora de Fátima again to see if we could find Betty’s father’s niche. Marco Antonio had given us very specific instructions, so we were pretty confident we could find it. Also, Alma’s sister Alicia works IN THAT CHURCH, and she met up with us to help us look. It was a tender mercy for us to have Alicia there to help us look and to find the niche. After a bit of searching, we found it! It is such a blessing for Betty to know where her father is buried, and for the kids to know where their grandfather is. And Fátima is a beautiful church. This is one of the great highlights of the trip so far.

I also took a little bit of time to learn about the Virgin of Fátima . It’s a fascinating story. There is also a shrine to Fátima in Empalme, where Betty grew up. In 1917, three shepherd children in Cova da Iria, in Fátima, Portugal said that Mary appeared to them. There were a number of prophecies and miracles associated with the event, and it’s a huge source of faith for many people throughout the world, and in this part of Mexico specifically.

In the evening, we had more friends over for a carne asada and another Rosca. This time it was Yolanda’s turn to visit us. We also had a visit from some of Victor’s family. It was just a pleasant night visiting and getting to know new people.

River and the other kids have really fallen in love with this neighborhood. There is a little park in the middle, and the kids are able to run around free and just have a good time. Tonight River met some pre-teen girls who just fell in love with her. She was leading them all over the playground like the pied piper.

While she played, I watched and listened to the broadcast of the BYU vs Cincinnati basketball game. I’ve loved watching and listening to the games this year. We have such a good team, and they play such an exciting style of basketball. Unfortunately, tonight was not our night. We’ll have some good nights and some hard ones this year.

I actually really enjoy listening to BYU’s coach, Mark Pope, talk after their losses. He is honest and direct, but he’s also really positive and totally focused on the process. I want to be like that with my family. We have good days and bad days -- good moments and bad ones. But as long as we stay focused on the process and excited about the challenges that we face, we are going to keep learning and growing, and that’s the point of this trip. It’s the point of life.

La Gran Aventura Day 26: The Temple, Fátima, and Reyes

Friday, January 5, 2024

This morning we got to go to the temple! We love, love, love going to the temple, and it’s always exciting for the kids to go to a new one -- and even better when it’s with the Ayalas. The work we do in them is so wonderful, and each one is so unique. Except, the curious thing is that the Hermosillo temple is identical in structure to our Detroit temple. They are both “small” temples. Today was especially important for us, because it was the first time that Ian was able to go in the temple. Along with the Ayala-Córdovas and the Ayala-Luna families, we got to share our session with a big group of youth from Culiacán. They had to travel many hours to get there, but they are excited because a temple has now been announced in their city. They have been the group of saints that has had to travel the furthest in Mexico to get to a temple. Not for long.

After we finished the baptisms, Betty and Brianda had to stay behind to do all of the laundry, so I just walked around the temple with the kids and we took some pictures.

After that we drove to the Ayala Luna’s house -- Brianda and Dani’s place -- and we had a delicious breakfast. Brianda’s mom, hermana Rosalva, introduced us to sweet squash (basically squash soaked in piloncillo [molasses]) and sweet and spicy jamaica (hibiscus flowers left over from making agua de jamaica, then soaked in sugar and Tajín). The kids had a ton of fun playing around with each other. As always, River was enthralled with “The Boys with the Hair.”

After that, we drove out to the church of Nuestra Señora de Fátima where Betty’s father and grandfather are buried (actually their ashes are in a niche). Unfortunately, the church was closed, but the kids played around in the park for a bit.

By that time, we were all really hungry and tired, so we drove to a little strip mall and found a nice cafe called Jung that sells smoothies. They were awesome.

In the evening, we went to Betty’s friend Yolanda’s house. Her husband, Eduardo, brought some special Hermosillo tacos called “Tacos de nada.” They are all the rage right now, and they are delicious. I mean, they are just simple potato tacos, but the salsa was good. And the company was even better. The kids enjoyed playing soccer on the front patio.

We finished dinner off with a Rosca de Reyes and some delicious homemade Mexican hot chocolate that Yolanda made. This is a big ring-shaped sweet bread that’s covered in dried fruits. Also, hidden inside the bread are a few tiny plastic baby Jesus figurines. The tradition is to eat the Rosca on the day of the Three Kings (January 6th). Whoever gets the piece with the baby Jesus has to host everyone at their house for tamales on Candelaria (Candlemas), which is when they celebrate when Jesus was presented at the temple.

Betty got one of the Jesus figures, so everyone is invited to our place on February 2 for tamales.

LDS Temples Visited on this Trip: 3

Catholic Churches Visited on This Trip: 1

La Gran Aventura Day 25: The Half-Brother and The High-School Friends

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Betty’s leg is still a bit sore, and she’s exhausted, so this morning I went for a little run on my own. Alma and her husband Víctor live in a beautiful and peaceful and safe gated neighborhood, so I just ran around it a few times. It was good to sweat off some of the calories from the past week or so.

While I was running, I listened to some podcasts -- including one of my favorites: Church History Matters. This morning they were talking with Dr. Keith Erekson , who wrote a book on how to distinguish truth from rumor in the church.

When I finished running, I ran into Betty and Ian — who were just heading out for a walk.

Today’s discussion was particularly interesting to me because one of the show’s hosts, Casey Griffiths, along with Mary Jane Woodger, has written a book called 50 Relics of the Restoration. It sounds interesting to me because we almost never think of relics in our church. They are for Catholics ;) And yet, here is a book about relics of the restoration. I’ll have to look into it.

After my run, I took the boys over to Vale and Martha’s house to help Vale with a project in his yard. It was good physical work, and it’s always good to work hard with friends.

The highlight of the day today was a visit from Betty’s half-brother Marco Antonio. He and his 10 brothers are children of Betty’s father and his wife. Betty had very limited contact with her father when she was young (he died when she was 8), and even less contact with this side of her family. Betty learned things she never knew -- including the burial place of her father and grandfather -- in a church right here in Hermosillo. We were so grateful that Marco Antonio would come by the house and tell her about her father and some of her other ancestors.

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting caught up on email and work.

In the evening Betty went out to eat with Alma and Yolanda, another dear friend from high school. These three, along with a fourth -- Olivia -- have been best friends since high school. Betty loves them dearly, and it’s always such a treat for her to see them.

These are photos of the four in high school, and then on Christmas Eve in 2003, when I met Yolanda, Olivia, and Alma — the night before I proposed to Betty.

Víctor and I hung out with the kids. I took them over to the park to play basketball. It’s fun to see my kinds interacting in Spanish with native Spanish-speakers. The other kids here call all of my kids “gringo” or “gringa.” Only when they got back did I realize that Betty and her friends had gone out for Mexican sushi -- one of my favorite foods. I should have gone with them :)

After that it was movie night (Willy Wonka), and then to bed.

La Gran Aventura Day 24: Guaymas to Hermosillo

Wednesday, January 3, 2023

The time has come to say goodbye to Guaymas and Empalme. We spent the morning packing, and it was ... miraculously ... better. The kids are all learning to take better care of their stuff and to pack more efficiently. It’s a huge relief for us.

Before we left town, we had to say goodbye to David and Irene. They have been so good to us here. We are super grateful for their hospitality.

We also had to say goodbye to tía Cháncali. She was sweet, and the kids were good with her as well. We will miss her for sure.

Betty also wanted to say hello and goodbye to her old stake president, presidente Palestino. He’s a pediatrician in Guaymas. By this time, the kids were in a pretty grumpy mood, and Betty was also feeling a lot of intense emotions for a number of different reasons.

One of the challenges of this trip for the kids is that we never really know what our plan will be. It causes them quite a bit of anxiety. This morning, since we are moving houses, they were curious to know where we would be sleeping tonight. Betty, frustrated with their tone and dealing with her own emotions, snapped back at them: “Maybe we should just go back to the US and sleep there.”

To which the kids responded: “No! You PROMISED us we would be in Mexico until January 8th!”

It was actually an awesome moment because you may remember that when we entered Mexico they were begging us to make it only a two-day visit. But they have really come to love it here -- despite some of the challenges.

After so many visits with friends and friends of friends, Betty and I felt like we needed some time with our family. So we drove up the coast to San Carlos to the mirador (overlook).

We did a little hike down to the beach, and Ian and Alicia enjoyed climbing around on the rocks while Kimball and River threw rocks into the sea. Anahi wasn’t feeling great.

We were able to get some delicious strawberries and cream and fruit with chile. Oh, and on the way out we got coconuts with fruit and Tostitos and shrimp.

Because the kids were pretty grumpy on the way back, we didn’t let them watch movies on their phones on the drive back to Hermosillo. They weren’t happy about that, but they were happy to be back in Hermosillo with their friends, the Ayalas.

It’s not surprising that we are all a bit allergic to each other. In the past three weeks we have spent over 53 hours in the car.

Tonight there was a fireside (youth chat) in Hermosillo. Sister J. Anette Dennis , a counselor in the church’s general relief society presidency, was here in town (her husband is from Hermosillo). She gave a beautiful talk to the youth about their eternal identity as children of God. She also told some amazing stories about experiences she and her husband had when they served as mission leaders in Guatemala. God really does look out for his children.

After dinner we went to an amazing restaurant in Hermosillo called Pollo Shilo. It’s in a pretty sketchy neighborhood, and it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the vibe inside is awesome. It’s owned by members of our church, so the place was packed with white shirts and dresses -- it looked like how the restaurants in Utah look after a Saturday evening conference session.

And the food at Pollo Shilo is amazing. Their specialty is chicken fingers. You can get them on their own or in a salad or on a hamburger. I got a hamburger called Hambur-GRUESA (fat-burger). If they opened one of these restaurants in Provo, they would be millionaires.

Instead of staying with the Ayalas again, for this little stint we’ll be staying with Betty’s friend Alma. She is the daughter of doña Lupita, whom we met in Empalme last night. She lives in a beautiful and super-secure subdivision on the outskirts of town.

Hours in the car today: 2

Total travel hours in the car: 50.5

Miles Driven: 93

Total Miles Traveled: 2,850

Distanced hiked today: .67km/.42mi

Total distanced hiked on trip: 2.84km/1.77mi

La Gran Aventura Day 23: The Osprey, The Rowboat, The Beach, and the Sunset

Tuesday, January 2, 2024

This morning Betty and I skipped our morning walk, and we just drove to a lookout point to take some pictures of the sunrise. The sunrise was beautiful, but a bit of a bust for photography, but I did manage to grab this photo of an osprey (which is Spanish is called águila pescadora -- the fishing eagle). It’s one of my favorite birds. It’s highly adaptable and what scientists call cosmopolitan, which means it can  (and does) live basically anywhere on earth. The osprey makes me think of one of my favorite quotes from the Roman stoic Séneca (born in Spain).

So eager and upright, let us hasten with bold steps wherever circumstances take us, and let us journey through any countries whatever: there can be no place of exile within the world since nothing within the world is alien to men. From whatever point on the earth's surface you look up to heaven the same distance lies between the realms of gods and men. Accordingly, provided my eyes are not withdrawn from that spectacle, of which they never tire; provided I may look upon the sun and the moon and gaze at the other planets [...] provided I can keep my mind always directed upwards, striving for a vision of kindred things -- what does it matter what ground I stand on?.

This has resonated with me since the first time I read it. It speaks to my wandering spirit.

After watching the sunrise, Betty and I went to Sergio’s bird lookout from last night to see how it looked in the morning light, and then into downtown Guaymas to see the port and the Parroquia de San Fernando.

In the port, there is a beautiful Monumento al Pescador (monument to the fisherman), with a plaque entitled “La Barca de Guaymas,” with a poem by Carlos Wenceslao López Portillo. The words of the poem really struck me. Maybe I’m still sensitive after Sunday Night’s poetry.

Al golpe del remo se agita en las olas ligera la barca. Y al ruido del agua se ahonda mi pena, solloza mi alma. Por tantos pesares, mi amor angustiado llorando te llama si te hallas muy lejos y sola, muy sola se encuentra mi alma. Cansado viajero que tornas al puerto de tierras lejanas, ¿Qué extraño piloto condujo tu barca sin vela y sin ancla? ¿De qué región vienes que has hecho pedazos tus velas tan blancas?

Te fuiste cantando y hoy vuelves trayendo la muerte en el alma. Yo soy el marino que alegre de Guaymas salió una mañana, llevando en mi barca como hábil piloto mi dulce esperanza. Por mares ignotos mis dulces anhelos hundió la borrasca. ¡Por eso están rotas las velas y traigo la muerte en el alma.

“The Rowboat of Guaymas”

To the rhythm of oars, the rowboat lightly beats on the waves. And to the sound of the water my sadness sinks ever deeper. For so many sorrows, my distressed love calls to you weeping if you are far away, and alone, so alone is my soul. Weary traveler who returns to port from far-off lands, what strange pilot directed your sail-less and anchor-less boat? From which region do you come, you who have torn to pieces your bright white sails?

You left singing and today you return bringing death in your soul. I am the sailor who happily left Guaymas one morning, carrying in my rowboat like a capable pilot my sweet hope. Through unknown seas the squall sank my sweet yearnings. That is why my sails are tattered, and I carry death in my soul.

On our way back to David and Irene’s house, Betty and I swung by and picked up Dayan -- Raymundo’s daughter and our kids’ first cousin. She’s really great, and she, Alicia, and Anahi had a good time hanging out.

Later, I took Ian and Kimball and River to the beach. The older girls have been fighting a cough for a few days, and the water is a bit chilly. Kimball isn’t really big on the water, but we had a good time just sitting on the beach and talking and watching Ian and River play. There were so many seagulls and pelicans. It was really fun just to watch the people and the wildlife.

In the afternoon, I went with David and the kids out on the highway between Guaymas and San Carlos to watch the sunset. At first we went to an overlook where there were a bunch of people. The panorama was good, but there wasn’t much else that was interesting going on, so we moved to a different place closer to the water.

Here it was rocky, and we had to hike a bit to get down close to the water, but the view there was spectacular. It takes quite a while to watch a full sunset. The colors brighten and intensify in unpredictable ways, so we stuck it all the way out. I put the camera on a tripod in the water and played around with the exposure to get these shots. I think it’s some of my best work.

When we got home it was night, and we still had to run over to Empalme to say goodbye to Betty’s mom and brother. So we loaded everyone (including Dayan) into the car and headed over to Empalme. It was hard for Betty to say goodbye to her mother, but we hope to see her again in the near-ish future. We also stopped by and saw a woman named doña Lupita. She is the mother of one of Betty’s best friends from high school. She’s 80 years old, and still spry and cheery. Her home is an oasis of order and beauty in Empalme. I was so impressed with the spirit in her home.

When we returned back to David and Irene’s, Betty’s friend Karla and her husband Arturo were there to visit. Karla and Betty have known each other since they were teenagers in church together. Like so many of Betty’s friends -- and friends of friends -- Karla is fun and energetic and has a zest for life that is contagious.

The visit with Karla and Arturo was great, but I’m feeling pretty exhausted now. Every day we wake up early and we go to bed late -- and we run from one thing to the next. This is definitely not a pilgrim’s pace.