La Gran Aventura Day 33: Saints, Birding, and the Museum of Natural Curiosity

Friday, January 12, 2024

This morning I woke up early to study my scriptures. As part of my daily study, I always read a bit from Saints, the history of the church. Today I read about the sacrifices that the Guatemalan saints in the 1940s made to attend the temple in Mesa, Arizona -- where we went with the kids just a few days ago. The temple is definitely becoming a strong theme of this trip. It’s the sacred journey to the mountain of the Lord. For some, the journey is short. There are six temples within a 30 min drive of my parents’ house in Orem. We plan to visit them all in the next few weeks. In Michigan, our closest temple is in Detroit -- two hours away. Even when the newly announced Grand Rapids temple is completed, it won’t be any closer. There, we are happy to get to the temple once per month. And yet here I was reading about saints who spent their entire lives saving so that they could attend the temple just once in their life.

It’s inspiring.

Also today, the older kids were able to attend seminary at the Orem High School, and they had a good time. I’m grateful that they are able to experience what that is like. I have such awesome memories of my time in seminary.

In the afternoon, I went birding with Kimball, Ian, and my brother Lamon. He expressed some interest when I posted about it at the beginning of this trip. So we went up the canyon. It was freezing cold, and we didn’t see a ton of birds, but we did see this downy woodpecker.

In the evening, the older kids went to a gymnastics meet to watch their cousin Brooklyn, and Betty, River, Ian, and I went with my sister Annie and her kids to the Museum of Natural Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point. It was perfect for them. The only bad part was leaving. Ian really hopes we can go back.

When we got back from that, we dropped off the kids, and Annie, Betty, and I went to La Fruitería, which is a new Mexican ice cream place here in Orem. The food was delicious!

La Gran Aventura Day 32: A New Chapter

Thursday, January 11, 2024

This morning Betty and I went for a walk in the snow, and we talked our goals for these next few weeks in Utah.

First of all, we need to get in shape. After all the tacos in Mexico, we need to buckle down and get to walking. Europe is going to be physically demanding, and we want to be ready. So we are going to be hiking a lot with the kids.

We also need to just stabilize the financial boat a bit. Preparation for this trip was quite expensive, and we’ve got three months in Europe coming up. So we are going to get back to selling granola. It was successful in Michigan, and we think it can be successful here as well. We would also like to try selling homemade salsa. Betty’s is exceptional.

Part of stabilizing financially is selling the old Sequoia. But we don’t have the title for it yet (we left it in Michigan), so we will hold off on pushing too hard on that for a week or so.

Finally, this is a good time for the kids to learn some stuff. We hope they can do some reading and learning while we are here.

After our walk, we talked with the kids about our plans, and I think they are on board -- although they aren’t super excited about reading.

We fell behind a couple of days of seminary this week, so we did two classes today to make up for it. The first one was on Nephi’s response to Lehi’s decision to take his family into the wilderness. I think we often assume it was easy for Nephi to follow his dad, but 1 Nephi 2 talks about how Nephi prayed to the Lord for understanding and that the Lord visited him and softened his heart. So his heart must have been hard before. The Lord doesn’t always expect us to immediately accept everything, but He does want us to be like Nephi and to pray for understanding.

Later, we did our second seminary lesson on 1 Nephi 3:7 -- “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded ...”

It’s a classic for a reason.

In the evening, Betty and Dad and I had a really good talk about some mixed feelings Betty has been having about the trip. She is concerned about some things in Mexico, and she wonders if she should stay in the US so she can be closer to that situation.

In the end, however, there is just not much she can do but pray for God to help, and that conversation led us to a discussion of pilgrimage. We talked about how the whole point of pilgrimage is to draw closer to God and to ask Him for help with our most difficult burdens. On one level, it makes no sense. What does my walking to Santiago have to do with problems in Mexico. In that regard, it makes me think about fasting. What does my not eating have to do with anything? And yet, we know that fasting is a powerful way to focus our attention and faith. So pilgrimage is like fasting in that the physical effort allows us to focus on the purpose of the journey, and that focuses our faith.  In a very real way, this pilgrimage to Santiago maybe exactly what Betty needs in order to help focus her faith and allow her to trust that God will take care of things when she can’t be there.

La Gran Aventura Day 31: Drive back to Utah

Wednesday, January 10, 2024

This morning we packed up and headed out. Most of the drive from Phoenix to  Orem was stunning, but uneventful.

We stopped for a few minutes at the Glen Canyon Dam, and Ian and Kimball walked across it while I snagged a few photos.

I love driving through the day and watching the sunset as I drive. Today it was especially beautiful.

The kids are definitely getting used to being in the car. And they have done really well.

My dad kept checking in with us to see how the weather was holding up. I kept telling him to at everything was great. Not a cloud in the sky.

We stopped for dinner in Beaver, and when we started up again, the snowflakes started coming. At first it was just a flurry, but soon it turned into a massive snowstorm, and we slowed to a crawl. It was really dicey for about 3-4 hours until we got to Mom and Dad’s house. I was so grateful to make it.

As we pulled in front of their house, I checked through trip timer on the car. Since leaving Orem with this new Sequoia, we have driven for over 84 hours and covered 3098 miles. That’s not counting the 26 hours or 1600 miles from Michigan to Utah. We’ve definitely covered some ground :)

Hours in the car today: 12

Total travel hours in the car: 84

Miles Driven: 658

Total Miles Traveled: 3852

Distanced hiked today: 0

Total distanced hiked on trip: 2.84km/1.77mi

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