January 2015 -- Our Last Month on our mission

In January, we packed in as much as we possibly could.  We first met with some of the CES missionaries for dinner and a short tour of San Diego State University.  It was beautiful and we were very impressed with the grounds.

L-R:  Sister and Elder Todd, Elder and Sister Scott, Sister and Elder Dalebout

We pulled in Elder Baker on the right.  His wife had gone back to the San Diego State Institute of Religion to  fix some dessert for us.  We really loved associating with these nice people.  We will miss them.

The branch members had a farewell party for Buddy Langton, who moved to Utah to go to school.  Buddy is just behind Alex (the young man in the red shirt).

Sister and Elder Dalebout with our mission leader, Buddy Langton.  He was a great mission leader.

Elder and Sister Dalebout with our Mongolian friend, Odko, Okonkhuu Nyamjaw.  What a great young man, who wants to become an airline pilot.  This picture was taken at the "Linger Longer" after church.

"Linger Longer"  

Sister Serrato and Sister Stakkeland with Elder and Sister Dalebout at FHE

Brent Sadlier, Alexis Black, Sister Dalebout and Wade Edwards

Elder Dalebout, Odko, Alexis, Brent and Wade

President and Sister Little with Odko and William Johnston

Elder Dalebout with Alex Katzensen, our genealogist.  Alex found many of his family names, and with the help of the branch, much of the work was done.

Elder and Sister Dalebout with Leslie Cardenas, the Branch Relief Society President.

The sisters with Chelsea Nyuyen (a non-member whom we worked with and taught an institute class to, who is from Vietnam) and Elder and Sister Dalebout

It was great to have Jenny and Milly come visit us just before we left to go home.  We enjoyed going to Point Loma and the tide pools.

After Jenny and Milly came, we were invited to President and Sister Schmitt's home for dinner.  We had such a delightful dinner with them.

Our trip to the Mormon Battalion and Old Town brought us a pleasant surprise.  There was a parade and re-enactments of when the Mormon Battalion came into Old Town on January 29, 1846.  We had a pleasant surprise when Elder Holland came to visit.  His brother was getting an award, so he came to see his brother receive that honor.  

Part of the Parade

Milly wanted a picture with Elder Holland, but by the time we got through the line, he was sitting down on the platform.  So, we got a close-up picture of Milly with Elder Holland clear in the background.

Milly, Jenny, Elder Rasmussen and Elder Dalebout

We got to dress up in pioneer clothing, which was fun.

We got the opportunity to go to Sea World with Milly and Jenny.  It was a slow day, fairly warm, and was a lot of fun.

The whales perform.  It was quite a show.

A dolphin poses.

The day that Jenny and Milly left, Jenny and I went to the temple to go through a session.  Guess who came on that very session?  Chris Packard.  What a coincidence.  It was fun talking to her.  Then, Milly and Jenny were on their way home.  We had a great time with them.

Our last night in San Diego, the branch had a going away party for us and a welcoming party for the Monks, who took our place.  It was held during the institute hour.  We played the "Newly Wed," Nearly Dead" game in competition with the Monks.  We won by 1 point.  It was fun.  Then, we had ice cream sundaes and took lots of pictures.  What a great evening.  We were given a beautiful book that Sister Little and Sister Cooper put together for us.  Sister Little was our branch photographer and took all of the pictures, and Sister Cooper put those pictures in a book for us.  They also gave us a couple of discs of branch activities during 2014 and wrote in another book for us.  What special memories we will have of this wonder little Santee YSA Branch.  We will cherish our experiences with such wonderful people.

Dallin Abernathy, our great musician,  and us.

Mazen, our Christian Iraqi investigator, and us.

Our friend, Chloe Bothwell.

Colin Henderson, our dear friend.  I taught Colin piano lessons.

Front:  Odko, Bree Ritchie, Sister D, Lovisa Ricks.  

Second:  Elder Dalebout, Colin, Mike Agular, 

Back:  Lucy and Stanley

A collage of YSA activities during 2014 that was one the bulletin board in the church.

GOODBYE, SWEET SAN DIEGO.  WE HAVE LOVED YOU AND YOUR WEATHER.

BUT, MOST OF ALL, WE HAVE LOVED THE PEOPLE WE WORKED WITH AND LIVED NEAR.  WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE FOND  MEMORIES  OF OUR EXPERIENCE THERE.

Matt and Stacie and their family came to enjoy the beautiful San Diego Christmas with us.  We were so delighted to have family here.  It makes life happier with cute little kids around, plus their parents.  We had a great time together.

Billy and Amy gave Matt and Stacie a surrey ride on Coronado Island for a Christmas gift.  So, we got to go along for the ride also.  We did get off a couple of times to look at the ocean.  Above, Jacob and Owen pose for a picture.

We got all seven of us on the surrey.  It was really fun and the kids had a great time.

We stopped at a park to let the kids play for a few minutes.  The boys went to the baseball diamond, and Stacie and Evie watched Anna play on the slides.

What a gorgeous view.  That's mighty fine weather for December 23rd.

Matt and Stacie and their kids.  Love this picture and this family.

Enjoying a little lunch together.

Here we all are on the surrey.  Fun, fun, fun.

We took a little detour to Coronado Beach because the kids had never been to the ocean.  The water was cold but Matt and the boys enjoyed wading around in it.  Anna was not happy to go in the water and stayed with Grandma.  Stacie went out a bit and grandpa went on a walk along the beach.

That night, we went to the Mormon Battalion and watched a musical Christmas program put on by some of the missionaries. They did a really fine job, and it was fun to see some of our missionaries that have served in the Santee YSA branch--Sister McKee in particular, front row, fourth from the left.

President Schmitt and his cute family perform a Christmas Primary song.

After the performance, Dick took the kids out to the covered wagon at the Battalion and let them sit in the front of the wagon.

Christmas Eve day was spent preparing food for Christmas Eve.  Stacie, Anna, and Grandma cooked food all day, while the boys went to see the carrier ship Midway.

In the evening, we had a nice dinner with the sister missionaries (Sister Stakkeland and Sister Serrato) who sang a nice Christmas song for us.  We had also invited two of our branch members (Colin Henderson and Odko) over, as well as a senior couple (Elder and Sister Barlow).

After dinner, we had a talent show.  The children sang a Christmas song and Jacob played the piano.  

Then, we had the nativity, with Owen as "Joseph" and Anna as "Mary."

Stacie was the angel.

Jacob was a shepherd.

Colin and Odko were wisemen.

Grandpa Dick was the innkeeper.  Here is the whole group.  Elder Barlow entertained the boys with a glow- in -the -dark soccer ball.

The lineup on Christmas morning.

Owen surveys his goods.

Anna seems pleased with her gifts.

Jacob loved his electric circuit kit.

Matt enjoyed everything.

Stacie had fun with Anna.

The day after Christmas is the busiest day at the San Diego Zoo, so we went that day.  We didn't know it was the busiest day.  It was very crowded, but we still had a fun time.  

Anna's happy.

This baboon was very entertaining.

This pretty colored bird was fun to watch.

Not sure what this is.  Maybe an Owen baboon.

Four gorillas.

Anna and Grandma had fun making a family out of playdough.

Matt and Stacie were able to go to a session at the San Diego Temple.  We brought the kids later so we could have pictures taken. This is a great little family we love.

What a fun Christmas holiday we had together.