Christmas Tree at the Mormon Battalion

   Tuesday December 11th we got a live tree for the Battalion.  Sister Evans and I put the lights on the tree.  It took us two days there were so many of them.  We also put gingerbread soldiers, wagons painted blue and red (like the wagon in front of the Battalion), cornhusk dolls made by the sisters, bells, straw stars and gold bows with gold filled  balls.  Later that evening a man came in and sat in the theater.  He said it was the most beautiful tree he had seen.  I thought about his comment and realized there are people who come into the Battalion who live in small apartments.  I imagine they are grateful to see a beautifully lit up Christmas tree in such a serene setting.

My Aunt Dianne

Aunt Dianne Hickey

This is a picture of my dad's family.  From left to right at the top: Aunt Dorothy, my dad, Irma (my grandmother), Bill Ham, Charlotte Ham
Bottom row:  Marne with Esther in his lap, Emily Snyman, Charles Snyman
and Jackie Ham

Aunt Dororthy with my grandfather. She is holding Dianne and Marne is holding Donna.

    It was a exciting, but also a little scary going to meet my Aunt Dianne.  We couldn't get in touch with her before the Jinglebell Horse Show, but I knew she would be there so we decided to go and see if we could find her.  We left Saturday morning and got there about 11:00.  After asking several people where I could find her son, Scott, who was in charge of the event, we were told where she was.  I walked up to her and said, "Hello Dianne, I am Cheryl." and she replied "I knew who you were when you walked up - you look like your mom."  Then we had a great two days together talking about the Snymans.

My Aunt Dianne

The Jinglebell horse show is an equestrian event.  The horses perform in all kinds of events.  One of them is pulling a chariot as they perform the steps.

They had people dressed in costume singing Christmas carols

My aunt Dianne, her husband Jim and myself.
She looks a lot like my Aunt Dorothy

This is one of their champion horses.  Look how long the tail is.

    Genealogy has been on our list of things to do while in San Diego.  I have four aunts who live in California where my father grew up.  I had heard about them as I grew up, but I hadn't met them in over 50 years.  Last December one of them, Esther, sent me a Christmas Card with her phone number in it.  As we were on our way to our mission in January I called her thinking she lived in southern Nevada.  I found she lived in northern Nevada in a town called Gardnerville; but, she gave me the addresses and phone numbers of the rest of her sisters.  Two of them live in southern California.  She told me Dianne would be in Del Mar sometime because her son hosted a horse show there in the winter. 
    I called Dianne in September and we decided to meet at the Jinglebell horse show in Del Mar in December.  It was perfect because we visited while Richard watched the events.

A Stall for the Horses of the Battalion

After the tour at the Mormon Battalion you go to the courtyard where there are all kinds of activities.  There is panning for gold,  building with bricks, washing on a washboard and even an old fashioned pump for getting water.  We have some horses for small Battalion members to ride and they needed a place to reside so Elder Brenchley made them a stall.  It has made the horses much easier for little hands to reach and they have been ridden around the courtyard often.  The grey one and brown and white ones on the bottom even neigh and move their heads when you press their ear.  

Thanksgiving

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Sister Evans, Sister Stallings, Sister Woodbury, Sister Johnson and I after the feast had begun.  

We decorated, baked, carved and ate.  We had all the sisters, all the senior couples and some of their family at the Battalion for Thanksgiving.

We were on duty at the Battalion - yes, we are open 365 days a year (even Thanksgiving and Christmas) so Elder Brenchley was out greeting those who came to see the presentation.  Many people added it to their activities on Thanksgiving - some brought families after they had eaten at their homes.  Some were warming up in sunny San Diego while it was cold at home.  They came from as far away as Wisconsin and China.  

The sisters enjoyed Thanksgiving together.

Carving the turkey

Some of the sisters couldn't find their keys after the celebration.  They thought they may have fallen into a garbage can so they were "dumpster diving" to make sure they hadn't been thrown away.  Later they found them in a coat pocket.

Fall

   Fall is my favorite season.  The air is crisp the leaves change, gardens and fruit trees share their abundance.  It's a beautiful time of year.  We have learned that fall in San Diego is much different than Utah.  The air is a little more crisp, the trees stay the same beautiful green and the flowers start to bloom again.

Utah in the Fall

Fall leaves up Fairview Canyon

Roxane took this picture of Alpine as the leaves changed

San Diego in the Fall

Beautiful sunsets

This was taken from the balcony in our Apartment

Birds of Paradise
 start to bloom again

Pampas grass on Coronado Island

Rain from the window at the Battalion

Another Beautiful Sunset at the Battalion

      Someone came into the Mormon Battalion on a beautiful sunny day and said "Another day in paradise."   I have to agree that the weather in San Diego is so enjoyable.  It is seldom too cold or too hot.  The sun can be seen most days and it is perfect for walks, bike rides or just sitting on the porch of the Battalion in the chairs.

Halloween

    Neccos are one of my favorite candies.  In fact, our whole family likes them.  When the kids were small, I would give them neccos to eat because they were so easy for them to handle.  We found that Neccos were made by a candy company that started in the United States in 1847 - the year the Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego.  In fact, NECCO stands for New England Confectionery Company.  We gave out Neccos in the outfitting room during Halloween and for the "Day of the Dead" a celebration from South America.

The missionaries are finished with their assignments by 5:30 on Halloween.  We had a talent show at the Battalion because it was a short day for them.   

Sister Kunz is enjoying the goodies everyone brought,
especially Sister Stallings homemade donuts.

Sister Evans suspended a pitcher of water
 between three glasses and three knives!
It was so ingenious we all had to know how to do it, too.

Sister Smith recited a poem she had composed 

Piano duets
Sister Stevens and Sister Tardiff 
are part of the talent at the Battalion.

Then, the fun began.  
Have you ever heard Church Hymns played on the Kazoo?

Sisters Mendoza and Ortez were the taco twins  
and Elder Woodbury was Senior Burrito.
They lip-synched to the song, "Speedy Gonzales".

There was also a shaving demonstration 
by Elder and Sister Stallings and Us.
The Sisters were the hands 
and the Elders told how to do it.
Such fun!