Kite Festival

  Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween.  I have to tell you about Dad and his costume. Last Monday afternoon the water went off in the Clinic, (not unusual) so Dad told Ellen, the front desk lady, that he was going to check on it and see how long it would be off.  But really he went outside and put on his costume, teeth and all.  He had a Future Missionary form with him and a card saying that he couldn't speak much.  He went to the front door and rang the bell.  Ellen greeted him and found that he had the correct paperwork for a pre-mission exam even though he was much older than any other future missionaries we have ever seen before.  She came in the back and found me and told me she had no idea what to do with this old guy that had just come in.  He was too old for a mission, wasn't he? And what was he going to do...use sign language on his mission? She said she didn't know how she was going to communicate with him so I gave her my phone to use as a translator.  There was a full time missionary waiting in the waiting room that Dad sat next to, who Dad took into his confidence.  He offered to help Ellen communicate with Dad.  I had to go back into the Lab because I couldn't keep a straight face.

  Ellen left Dad out there for a while trying to figure out what to do with him.  Dad would keep looking through the glass window at her and she would smile then slide over so the computer screen was between them.  Finally, she went out and communicated to Dad that because he came without an appointment he would have to wait perhaps a couple of hours, but she could make an appointment for a later date.  Dad agreed to that and took the appointment card and left.  Ellen never had a clue it was Dad.  Later that night we had our Halloween party on the roof.  When Ellen first saw him he wasn't with me and she thought she was being stalked.  Then Dad took his teeth out and she about died, but after she got use to the idea she laughed and said they would be talking about that one for a long time.

   We went to the Kite Festival on Wednesday and were gone from 7-6.  There were a lot of people there, but not a lot of wind so the large kites were never flown.  There were several small ones up, but we were a little disappointed to not see any of the larger ones in the air.  They were fun to see but I think I enjoyed the cemetery a little more.  

This is the day they go to the cemeteries and clean everything up, paint the mausoleums or graves and bring music and food to share with their deceased relatives.  So, there was a lot going on there. There were flowers everywhere and all the weeds had been chopped down.

 We saw a little Mariachi Band that played for quite a while at one mausoleum, and someone playing a small harp at another.  

   Our group did have a negative experience there. Three of the men were pic pocketed.  One man lost his wallet with drivers license and credit card in it and that was a little surprising because it was in a zippered pocket.  The thief was able to unzip the pocket and lift the wallet without Mark knowing until he looked down and saw the zipper open.  The second man lost a phone and some money out of a buttoned pocket.  The third man had put a wad of Kleenex in his back pocket as bait.  It worked and he felt someone in his pocket, so reached around to grab his arm.  He got the person and it was just a young boy.  I think the thieves did pretty well that day.

   There were lots of people selling their wares on the street on the way to and from the kite area, so we took our time making our way up and down. The meat market and marimba pictures are from there.   All in all it was a fun day.  

   At the CCM today we said goodbye to our District Pablo. They have been with us six weeks and head out in the morning for their individual missions. We are so excited for them, but will certainly miss them.   

I just had to throw the sunset picture in at the last moment.  It is out our window looking at one of the volcanos.  Beautiful colors.

   It was Uncle Steven's birthday last Wednesday and Wesley's today.    Happy Birthday!!     We love you all!   MOM, Grammy