Viva Mexico!

This will be a long blog. We just returned from our trip to visit the Colonies in Mexico. We visited my favorite Aunt Karen and this is also where my Dad and Grandma were born and where Richard's Grandpa was born. Our trip to Mexico looked pretty much like this from the back seat, coming and going. The boys stayed up until 3 am both nights before travel to allow for some quality car sleeping.

We are almost there! Here are a few pictures of the countryside

Our first view of Colonia Juarez. If you look hard you can see the angel Moroni on top of the temple.

We took the trip with 2 of the boys, Kyle and Tyler.

Aunt Karen and Uncle Meredith.

Pool sharking was a fav for the boys and their dad.

Watch out Dad, Kyle is out to get you!

We BBQ'd a couple of times. The backyard was so pleasant in the evening (except for the flies). A welcome change from the heat.

Karen and Camden, Derrick and Laurice's little boy. He had just finished a sucker and he had this green fluorescent glow around his mouth. I brought some of these suckers home for my grandkids to enjoy!

The first morning there, Richard and I took a little walk down to the barn. Here is the house and the view from the front porch. It was breathtaking.

Richard, Tyler, Karen and I did a session one night in their temple. Lucky for me it was in English. It wouldn't matter to the others because they all speak Spanish. Later Meredith, Karen, Richard and I did a sealing for a baby that my Granny had had before my mother was born but died after only 3 days. She had never told any of us that this baby existed. One day I was looking through birth and death records for the state and found a death certificate for a child that was clearly Mom and Karen's sister. I was a shock to everyone but what a wonderful experience it was to be able to seal this family together. I know that it was not a coincidence that I found this information on the internet.

Swimming was a fun time at Kelly's house. The boys took turns jumping off of the rock fence. I guess the diving board and the diving wall just weren't high enough.

Kyle standing on his head in water.

All fun has to include a noodle fight.....doesn't it?

The life of the party?

Is Tyler levitating over the pool?

We had a lot of fun four wheeling around on Karen and Mered's motos (quads).

One time while we were riding up the river Tyler decided to climb this gigantic tree.

The town sports a swinging bridge that we took a little time to check out.

My great grandparents and a couple of uncles are buried in the town cemetery. We took a little time to spruce up their plots. Thanks guys, you are the best. This meant a lot to me and made a huge difference in how the plot looked.

This is the Mexican Catholic side of the cemetery and looked so different from the American side of the cemetery. It was very interesting and is obvious the people think very highly of those that have passed on.

Here are a few shots from around the area. This is downtown Nueves Casas Grandes.

This truck was full of baskets. This was not an unusual sight.

An adobe house in Colonia Juarez.

The house my great grandparents lived in and where my Grandma and Dad were born and where my Great Grandpa and Grandma died. A lot of family history here. My dad almost burned the house down when he was a teenager by lighting matches and flicking them at a rooster whose tail feathers caught on fire and it ran under the house. Yikes!

The Academy. This is a church run secondary school and has been an institution in the area for over 100 years. My Grandma and Dad attended here.

Out to dinner with Karen and Mered in Old Casas Grandes. A very interesting restaurant.

We had so much fun. Other activities that we did that I did not get pictures of are walks, skateboarding, shopping, July 4th fireworks (my cousins Todd and Derrick gave us the show on the driveway of my Aunt and Uncles home), watching movies and visiting. It was a wonderful trip and we want to do it again. Thanks Karen and Mered, you are the best!