Christmas in August

I was doing the grocery shopping and also went to the library this morning. As I walked by the library, this blond lady walked up beside me and pulled down her pants and squatted to go pee right in front of the library. She looked totally normal, clean clothes, nice purse, high heels, etc., I have no idea why she didn't use the bathroom in the library or at least try and hide in the bushes. Weird!

We got two packages from April today full of candy, books, DVDs, toiletries and much needed shoes for Aidan. The kids were all really excited. Collin and I are very excited about the lush cottony Q-Tips and shaving gel. There are a few items that are better made in America. We all ate way too much candy and eventually I had to hide it from us for our own good.

The Ferrer family invited us over for FHE tonight. Loli picked us up by Palacio de Congresos at 7 pm. We stopped by the church to pick up her son, Esteban who was helping make empanadas. Miguel and a few of the young men were making and selling empanadas to raise money for a YM camping trip. They let me help. Each empanada cost 1E. The recipe was a combination of Colombian and Venezuelan empanadas. They were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Each one had black beans, chicken, cheese and fried banana in it. The dough was made of fine corn flour and then the whole thing was deep fried. We bought 15 of them as well as some hot sauce to go on top. I asked Miguel for the recipe.

After we picked up Esteban, we drove to the Ferrer's house in Gójar. Gójar is about 20 minutes away from Granada. They have a really nice house in a beautiful setting. The weather there is about 2 C degrees cooler than in Granada. After a very short FHE lesson and two songs and prayers, we ate some empanadas, ham and cheese sandwiches and an apple pudding which Loli made. She is going to give me the recipe on Sunday. We sat around and talked. Correction, I mostly listened because my brain can't think up sentences fast enough to make a real contribution to a conversation yet. They are a really nice family. Leonor took Aidan and Emma down the street to play with some neighborhood kids. Esteban held Ian up high so he could try and shoot some baskets. They have a little girl staying with them from the Sahara Desert in Africa. She comes to stay with them for a few months during the summer every year. She is like one of the family. Pepe has a scooter that he showed Collin and Collin was JEALOUS! He offered to let Collin take it for a spin around the neighborhood, but he didn't want to because it was dark and the streets were unfamiliar. (Next time, seize the day Collin!)

The members of the church here are so genuinely nice. I really like the ward here. I feel like we fit in pretty well in spite of the language difference.

I only walked 9,600 steps today. Not great!