May 18, 2014

May 18, 2014

Well, this is it……….tomorrow is our half-way point!  Wow!  This time is going fast!

This past week has been Zone Conferences, so I was alone in the office for a part of each day Tuesday through Friday while the others headed to the conferences to do their things…..well, when I say alone, there was actually only a short time of being totally alone, as missionaries drop in each day off and on.

The weather was hot this week, which made it hard on Gary and Sister Nedreberg and those that also helped with the car inspections.  At least they got done by 11 a.m. each day, before it got way hot.

Saturday we had a branch picnic at Kelley Park.  It is a large park, they have picnic areas, the zoo is there, a Japanese Friendship Garden, and a History Park.  We just did the picnic area…….and ate and visited.

The last 2 nights have been rough.  We are hoping that security around these apartments do what they are supposed to be doing.  We had been told that they lock up the pool area at 9 pm at night, but they haven’t been doing it yet, and we hope they get things under control before summer really hits.  The last 2 nights there have been kids in the pool later than 9, yelling and screaming.  We live right next to the pool, as do another couple, so it makes it hard to relax and get to bed early.  And I know that most apartments really enforce their quiet time rules just for that reason…so people can relax and go to bed.  We have had apartment managers call us before to complain about our missionaries being too loud, or doing laundry after the quiet time and disturbing their neighbors.  You can be evicted from apartments for breaking the quiet time rules, so we sure hope they enforce them here, or it will be a long summer!  We can see the apartment that caused the problems the last 2 nights….they are across from our bedroom window.  I counted about 15 people going back and forth between their apartment and the pool, and we know they don’t all live there, because when it gets about 10, some of them head out.  I heard one kid say last night, “this is cool, it’s like your own private pool”……and I know why no one else would be in the pool, they were loud and pretty much taking up the whole pool area with their playing.  Another lady who has lived here for some time said that during the summers in the past they also enforced the rule that you have to wear your wristbands to prove you live here, because that stops things like last night from happening….someone just inviting tons of friends to a swimming party.

Well, enough complaining! 

Good news!  We have 2 cherry tomatoes that will be ready probably tomorrow!  And, we can see some cucumbers growing now.  Bad news--the heat we have had this week and a couple of weeks ago didn’t do so good for our radishes and beets…..they look a little sad.  The radishes are just going to seed, no radish under the dirt.  Our tomato plants are taller than they used to get in the green house---it is just crazy!  They got above the tomato cages, and so Gary had to rig up some yarn to help them stay upright.

Today, Gary taught in Priesthood and I taught in Relief Society.  Plus I led the music in Sacrament Meeting.  I pick up Ly Le every Sunday morning to take her to church…she lives near us.  Gary is already at church, he goes early for meetings and rides with the Vietnamese Elders.

Tonight, we are going to a musical production in the Saratoga Stake.  The Michie’s invited us to attend with them.  That is their stake.

Next Sunday will be the farewell to Elder Bruggeman in the Bayshore Branch.  After church we will have a little social for the branch members to say good-bye.  That night is the Outgoing Devotional……the start to another transfer week…..number 7 of 13 for us.  It will be the first for Sister Wilks and Sister Nedreberg on their own……last one they were in training.

I have got to get some pictures taken and put on here…..I have actually seen several trees with purple flowers on them!  And I need to put pics of some of the other unusual flowers and trees I have seen.

Well, I guess I better close…..I can’t think of anything else to put here.  Have a good week, all of you!!