We're Ready!

Tomorrow we leave a place that we have called home for three years.

So many memories of missionaries we love

of experiences and adventures that have changed us

A country of beauty

and turmoil.

A little more wise, a lot more grateful.

We'll never be the same.

Tomorrow we return to the home and family we love!

Going, going, .......

Everything was packed up and loaded on June 14th for our move back home. We got everything out and put it in the living room. We were surprised at how much stuff we brought. And now three years of memories are on a truck heading for the border. Hope it all arrives in one piece!

The last cycle is here

We held the final Zone Leader's Council here at the mission home a couple of weeks ago. Some of the best Elders in the mission. It's great to have them here, even though they do eat a LOT! We'll really miss them, but know they are great hands with Pres. and Sis. Hicken.

We are in the middle of the last round of interviews right now - we'll have the final zone conferences on the 22nd and 23rd. Our final group of departing missionaries (26!) will be on two days, then we'll receive the last group on Monday June 28th. Even though we are close to the finish line there is still a lot to do. We'll keep going!!!

Updates

Well, I think Ryan's package arrived just fine, and today we got the news that Presidente and Hermana Hicken have received their Visas to Mexico! So no more worry about staying a little longer.

New Address for Elder Bulloch

Well, we sent Ryan a package last week with the new Spanish Bible he requested, the only trouble is - the mission office has moved and he didn't tell us! I was tracking the package through FedEx and saw that the business had closed or moved.

So - after I had a little meltdown, I got the new address and forwarded it to FedEx. I am really hoping that they forward his package instead of returning it back here.

Here is the new address: (I also fixed it on the right side of the blog)

Elder Ryan Bulloch
Uruguay Montevideo Mission
Dalmiro Costa 4635 Bis
Malvin, Montevideo
Uruguay 11400


This address is only for packages and letters in an envelope. The pouch address is the same for single sheet letters.

I'll let you know what happens with the package!

Mission Presidency

This week we had the wonderful opportunity to go to dinner with the Parra's and the Torres'. President Parra and President Torres are the counselor's in the mission presidency. We went to La Vid Argentina for dinner last Tuesday night. It was probably the last time we'll get together with them. Both counselor's have served for about 5 years, and have done a wonderful job. President and Sister Parra - 1st Counselor

President and Sister Torres - 2nd Counselor

We had a really nice time together and a wonderful meal. They have been so kind and supportive and have done a wonderful job. We'll miss them a lot.

We went to dinner at about 6 pm - There were hardly any people there, most everyone eats quite a bit later than that. We've loved going to lunch and dinner at the "off hours" - everyone eats their lunch from about 2 pm to 3:30 pm, and dinner is usually not until about 7 or 8 pm.
It's worked out great for us! :)

New Score Card

So here are the latest statistics on the uninvited "guests"

we've had in the the mission home in the past three years:

7 lizards

4 mice

2 birds

I hope there are no more in the next 8 weeks.

Someone please tell me there won't be anymore!

Pictures from Uruguay

We received some pictures from Ryan this week. They were in a format that was a little hard for me to open, but I finally figured out how to convert them into a format that the blog will accept. Here they are: This is the baptism of a man named Guillermo

These are some missionaries that Ryan was with in the MTC in Argentina. Elder Solano is from Veracruz, Mexico and Elder Gonzalez is from Chile.

This is a recent picture with President and Sis. Da Silva and also Ryan's new companion, Elder Izaguirre from Texas.

It's great to see how happy he looks, we know he is loving his mission and working hard.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I hope you have a great birthday today, Dad. I've enjoyed sharing the day with you for 49 years! Happy Cinco de Mayo too! I love you!

P.S. Blaine, I hope you don't mind that I copied this picture from your blog - my pictures are all frozen in time in the hard drive of our dead computer. Hopefully I can retrieve them when we get back :)

Happy Birthday Mom!

"Happy, happy birthday Mother, dear!

Happy days will come to you all year.

If I had one wish then it would be,

A happy, happy birthday to you from me!"

I hope you have a great day!

I love you!

Anderson's in Mexico

Russ and I were downtown yesterday, walking down the famous street "Paseo de la Reforma" and I saw something I had never noticed before:

There's a store or an office called "Anderson's" right on Reforma. Maybe my Dad has opened a new business and he didn't tell me about it! What kind of business do you think this is?

Caleb is Here!

Our new grandson has arrived! Caleb weighs 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 20 inches long. He has some dark hair on his head, and I hear he looks a lot like his dad did a few decades ago :)

We are so thrilled and excited to have him here. Congratulations to all!!!!!!!

A New Countdown

So since we are now into double digits on our countdown to return home, I decided to put a little countdown gadget up. 96 days to go!

Precious Little Miracles

Maybe you can already tell

from the color of my blog title, but: Grandchild #3 will be a granddaughter!

We are so excited and can't wait to see her.

And in only a few more days we'll get to have grandchild #2

join the family - and this is a grandson!

I can hardly contain my excitement and joy to have

these precious little people with us.

a

"Having someone to love is Family.

Having somewhere to go is Home.

Having both is a Blessing."

a

SO TRUE!

One of my favorite times in Mexico

This picture is from last June when we all went to a restaurant called Rincon Argentino. It was really good food and great company. I love looking at this picture and thinking about what's coming up this summer! :)

Zone Leaders Council in March

We had the Zone Leaders Council this past week, and one of the activities that two Elders taught involved a "Guess Who" type of game. They brought several things for the Elders to wear to make them different from each other. They brought some mustaches for some of the Elders to wear, and then gave everyone a mustache to wear for the picture! How could we resist? Here's the result:

And here's how we all really look :) What a great group of Zone Leaders we have! They do a great job in keeping their zone running smoothly and moving the missionary work forward.

My Favorite Temple

This is the Mount Timpanogos Temple in American Fork. It's my favorite. Our family got to be a part of the activities when they held the Open House and the dedication in 1996. It feels like "our" temple. I love where it is located, I love how it looks and I love the beautiful Spirit there. We are so excited that we will be heading back to this area in a few short months.

New Mission Presidents announced

We received the news that Robert and Patricia Hicken from Gilbert, Arizona are coming in July to take our place here. We got to talk to them on the phone for a little while last Saturday and they are so nice and super excited! They have six children - they are all married and out of the house. They also have 32 grandchildren with 1 more due in June (the day before the new mission president's seminar begins) We are anxious to help them make a good transition, and hope that they can make all their preparations smoothly. The Church News has all the new assignments online at ldschurchnews.com. The Hicken's biography hasn't been published yet, but hopefully it will be soon. We're so happy for them. They'll have a great experience.

I'm Going To Be A WHAT?.........

Luke is going to be a big brother!

Brandon and Camille gave me the green light to let the world know,

so this is a good way to do it. :)

Camille made this little sign for Luke's shirt to announce

their new baby coming in August! YAY!

We are very excited and can't wait to welcome grandchild #3.

Congratulations you guys, we are so happy for all of you!!!

Fifty Years Ago

Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! Fifty years ago today they were sealed in the Manti Temple. Now there are four kids, four in-laws, fifteen grandchildren, one great grandchild and one more on the way (maybe more). Wow, they started something BIG :)

What a blessing it has been in my life to have you as my parents and teachers. Thanks so much for the many, many ways you support me in all that I do.

Sorry I can't be with you to celebrate today, but next year we'll have a party, OK? (I keep saying that :)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Birthday Boy :)

It's Ty's birthday today! I hope it's a great one. Here are some facts from his birth year that I posted last year on his birthday, but since he was in Italy, he didn't see them:

President of the U.S.: Ronald Reagan
Vice President: George H.W. Bush
U.S. Population: 244,498,982
World Population: 5.104 billion
Average cost of a new home: $91,600.00
Average income: $24,450.00
Cost of a first class stamp: .22
Cost of a movie ticket: $3.50
Cost of a gallon of gas: .91
World Series Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers
Superbowl Champions: Washington Redskins
NBA Champions: Los Angeles Lakers
Wimbledon Champs: Stefan Edberg & Steffi Graf
Kentucky Derby Winner: Winning Colors
Best Film Oscar Winner: Rain Man
Doppler Radar was invented by Christin A. Doppler
Singing duo Milli Vanilli exposed as lip syncers
Hubble Telescope goes into operation
CD's outsell vinyl records for the first time


I hope you have a great day today Tyler; next year we'll have a big party, OK?
We love you!

A few Q&A's from Uruguay

I wrote and asked Ryan a few questions this past week and also about 3 weeks ago. Here are the questions with his answers......

Do you ride a bike, or how do you get around mostly?
I ride a bike and walk. We have some sweet bikes that are flyers and we get around quick.

Did your whole mission meet together for Christmas zone conference, or half
at a time, or how?
Whole mission at the same time...it was pretty killer

Does your church building have a baptismal font?
Yup :) We have a very nice chapel here in Trinidad. It isn’t too old either. Very classy

When you went to the temple, how many missionaries were there at the same
time? Did you listen in English or Spanish?
Still haven’t gone but it will be on the 20th and it will be in Spanish which will be awesome

Do they have eggnog in Uruguay, and if they do, have you had any? :)
Not in this neck of the woods they don’t :) I always just think of that priceless movie line in Home Alone when Marv says ¨American Airlines don’t fly to the promised land little buddy.¨ Not too much happenin down here with the Eggnog... (I don't really get this, can someone enlighten me?)

Do you know what kind of food is traditional for Christmas in Uruguay?
A beautifully cooked cordero (lamb)...Gaucho country :)

What is the policy for temple attendance in your mission?
If you are in Montevideo and are close, you can go...but being out in Rocha we can’t. If you’re close, you can do a zone activity. But with Argentina closed, the Argentines are coming over so its a little tough to make it, sadly.

Do you and Elder Fitzgerald mostly speak English together, or Spanish?
English in the house, Spanish in the streets. When we really need to communicate with each other we will speak in english, or if we have to get out of a lesson quick, and so forth :)

How are your shoes holding up? Which ones do you like the best?
Can I say all of them? and they are all holding up great. My hems of my pants have been coming out lately, thanks to the rain, but luckily I am a knifty knitter and can sew them back so it holds well.