Pretty in Pink!

Obviously, I am a little behind with the blog - but I decided to jump in and start where I am! This was a great week for several reasons.

One, we were actually home for an entire week.

Second, we were able to complete some major home repairs that should have been done years ago. (The builder replaced our carpet padding and insulated our attic and garage ceiling.)

Third, we actually painted two rooms: Kaleen's and Meghan's. They are the best workers and stayed on task until it was completed!

You will have to check back next week to see what great things I can do when I am home for TWO weeks!

Disneyland '08

The first weekend in March we made a trip to CA to go to Disneyland. Thank You Grandma and Uncle Curt for the tickets! :D We got to spend two days in both parks so we had a lot of time. We were able to go on pretty much everything that we wanted to. We had a great time and of course, it wouldn't be a trip to Disneyland without Rachel. So we were happy to bring her and Dana along!

A family pic as we enter the park

Mom and Grandma on the teacups

Lauren and Rachel seeing each other for the first time in 4 months! That is too long to be apart :)

Meghan, Lauren, Rachel and Kaleen on Soarin' Over California

Kaleen and Mom on Autopia

Mom and Dad going to the "It's tough to be a bug" show

Meghan and her snazzy bug glasses

Meghan and Kaleen on Jumpin Jellyfish

Meg, Mom and Dad on the Ferris Wheel, Swinging Gondola

Kaleen and Mom on Splash Mountain

Lauren and Rachel

Lauren on teacups

Kaleen on teacups

Kaleen and Lauren in line for Haunted Mansion

Sorry for so many pictures but I couldn't just pic out a few!

Under New Management

Well since Mom is so flippin amazing in everything that she does, she has found that she doesn't have much time to keep up on the blog so Lauren has kindly taken over the task of posting. Updates soon to come!

Elder Laj jutz' kar in the Polochick Valley

So, yeah, I actually did move.......kinda far away.....

Remember that place I told you about way back when? That Polochick Valley where if you go there you stay there your whole mission and get to learn indiginous Mayan and have to teach in it?

Yeah, I kinda got sent there. And so I stop learning spanish. and now I have to start learning kekchi. Its kinda of a hard language to learn...
So pretty much the study aids that I have to learn this thing are a grammer book, a dictionary, and the scriptures. and my comp who is actually a really good guy.

so, yeah, I will be in the same zone for the rest of my mission. and it reallyy is pretty beautiful out here. The people are really awesome and humble.But now, once again I have absolutely no Idea what anyone is saying. Its kinda hard. pray for me.

so what does the valley look like? well, throw in The Other Side of Heaven, take away the beach and sand, and put in mountains instead. and there you have it. I literaly will walk through the jungle every day of my mission. So yeah, it gets kinda humid around here. I have forgotten what it feels like to be dry. I havent stopped sweating since I got here. Its really kind of cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q'eqchi'_language

So yea, dont worry about where Im living, we have actually a really nice apartment that has a kitchen and hot water and everything to shower with. sIts actually the greatest place to be in the whole mission. It is the one place in the mission that everyone speaks of with envy in their eyes.

ok, new address


Mission Guatemala ciuduad Norte
Elder Dallin Trout
Apartado Postal # 951A
Guatemala, Guatemala, CA

So yea, I even get a new name when I get here. And a new name tag in kekchi. but more about the new name. People here cant pronounce english names at all, so to make it easier, the people will pick new names for the elders, and we introduce ourselves by these names. my new name is Laj jutz´ kar. it literaly means Mr Pointy Fish. dont ask. so, when we contact people, we dont say yo soy elder... we say lain Laj jutz´ kar. kinda of funny really... the idea with the new name is to make the people laugh. I dont know why we just do.

I apologize cuz I doubt that I will be able to email everyone back because the computers that we use to email are horrible (but im grateful that they exist!!!)

So yeah, in this one week I have done alot of really cool awesome things. and have eaten some really strange things too. and Im learning to cook.


yeah, got to see the funeral live. and in enlgish. really cool time.

-Elder Laj jutz` kar

Come to the Table

My fabulous, amazing husband refinished our kitchen table. The process started just after Christmas, but the end result is better than I ever hoped for. This is our nine-year old DI table that has been transformed into a brand 'new' table.

We invite you all to come to the table and join us for food, conversation, games and laughter!

MAMA MIA!

We sang our way through Mama Mia! The music was amazing, the talent stunning and it was so fun to know the words to all the songs. Our complimentary seats were on the third row! This was our first Las Vegas show and probably our last, unless I can manage free tickets to Blue Man Group or Phantom... Mama Mia here we go again!

Viva Las Vegas!

Lauren had so much fun on her Sadie’s Date! This is a traditional 'girl ask guy' date and there were 14 in the group. They started the afternoon at the park for pictures and a BBQ, then the 'party bus' picked them up and took them to the lions at the MGM Grand, to New York New York to ride the roller coaster (Lauren was one of only two girls who would ride it!), pictures in front of Treasure Island, the volcano at the Mirage (which didn't erupt) and the fountains at the Bellagio! They came back to Lacey's house for a dance, fondue and games. She came home with a big smile on her face! oh, and she took Jacob...go figure!

Crazy Hair Day

Meghan had crazy hair day at school. We tried to do a Pippi Longstocking look, but her hair was too long, so we went for the Mickey Mouse look instead. She was all smiles leaving for school!