The Wedding

The reason we went to Mexico when we did was for Dalena's cousin's wedding. Magdalena was already down there, and Dalena probably could have just flown down by herself, but when she found out we wanted to go, she and Danny both decided to go with us. Most of the family was busy on Saturday, getting ready for the wedding. Magdalena made the wedding cake and Dalena helped decorate the salon, where the wedding was held. In Mexico, temple ceremonies are not recognized as legal marriages, so the couples have to be married by a government magistrate (or a Catholic Priest) in addition to the temple sealing.

Magdalena fixed us this yummy breakfast before she left to go decorate the cake. She made chiloquiles, scrambled eggs with ham, bacon and queso, and papaya. So good!

After breakfast, Dalena and her mom took off to help and Danny took us to a Saturday Flea Market a few blocks away.

As we left the house, the trash man was out in front and I got a picture of him. They pick up trash every day of the week in San Blas. Magdalena hangs hers on the fence, right before pick-up time. No dogs in trash cans here!

I should have taken a picture of the market, but all I got was this shot of a dog. What I was really going for was a shot of the bumpy road! It's one of the main roads in town and it used to be quite smooth - until they got hit with a hurricane about 8 years ago!

I had to get a photo of some of the cute little girls. They were all dressed up to party and they loved every minute of it! I heard that Dalena did some of the little girls' hair for the occasion.


Yes! Danny is a dork! He folded his valentine tie into a bow tie. Guess it turned out pretty well.


There were lots of kids at the wedding. Most of them were children of Dalena's cousins - probably some from the grooms family also. They all had a blast all night!


I was taking some pictures of this cute little guy who was playing with a balloon. He saw me and wondered what the heck I was doing taking his picture!

I don't know why Dalena was so giddy! Maybe he just gave her a wet willy!

Here's a photo of Dalena and her mom with some of the wedding family.

The beautiful wedding cake! And more importantly, the delicious wedding cake! It was wonderful!

I had to get a picture of the kids' table. Actually, I think there were several. These kids just had so much fun at the wedding!

Dancing

This is Liseth, the daughter of one of Dalena's cousins. She really took to David Schellenberg and spent a lot of time at our table. She was so cute! Such a cute personality!

Day Two

We ate at a place in the market. It is like big food court, kind of. Besides freshly prepared food, you can buy fresh poultry, fish, meat, vegetables, feed for your pets or farm animals, and a lot of other stuff. Jack and I ordered gorditas and they were very tasty.

After breakfast, we walked over to the plaza. There is always music of some kind there, so Danny and Dalena decided to do a little dancing in the daylight.

From the plaza, we walked down past Dalena's father's old hardware store. She says it is pretty much just like it used to be when he owned it, right down to the rubber cover on the counter-top.

Back at the house, Dalena started assembling Mary Kay for her cousins. I think a cousin in the states sells Mary Kay and had a lot of extra samples that she sent down with Dalena. So, she assembled cute little packs of makeup and wrapped them in nylon netting and tied them with pink bows. They looked very festive! I think she passed them out at the wedding the next night.

We drove over to the beach in the afternoon. Here's a shot of Jack, relaxing in the shade on the beach.

Sipping from a coconut

A couple of guys were serenading everyone in this pavilion. When they finished singing, they walked around and collected donations.

Here's a cute shot of Danny and Dalena at the beach.

Jack said, "What? You think I can't suck it up?" haha Well, almost!

Jack waded out into the water to get a shot of the beach. It was really beautiful and relaxing. I loved the feel of the ocean air!

Early evening, we went down to the church for a missionary fireside. Magdalena took us into the chapel and told us how her husband (Dalena's dad) chose the site for the chapel a few years before he died. He and some other church leaders there petitioned Salt Lake City for a chapel in San Blas. Dalena's dad surveyed the city and picked out a spot that he thought would be perfect for a chapel. But, the petition was denied. Two or three years after he died, Magdalena's sister called her from San Blas. She said, "You'll never guess! We're getting a chapel in San Blas!" When Magdalena asked where it was going to be built, her sister told her that it was going to be in the exact spot her husband had chosen. Needless to say, she was overcome with that news.

This is one of two floral arrangements that Magdalena made for the chapel. If you look closely, you can see the flowers are made of plastic coke bottles.

After the fireside, we drove over to a neighboring city that was having a festival.

I was a carnival atmosphere. Games were set up all along the streets and there was dancing at the plaza. Lots of people and loud music! Fun times!

David wanted to go over to the festival because they were going to have fireworks and he wanted us to see a fireworks tower. Unfortunately, we got there just as the fireworks ended. I've heard from students that these towers are very popular in Mexico - they knew exactly what it was when they saw this picture, even though it was the tail end of the display.

Danny and Dalena started dancing at the festival - there was loud Latin music playing - and someone came around and asked them if they had paid. I think everyone who danced had to pitch in - maybe for the band. If you didn't have a receipt - you didn't get to dance! These Mexicans really know how to party! We left to go home around 11 PM, but I'm sure they were there half the night. That's how they roll!

San Blas, Nayarit, Mexico

The first thing we did when we got to San Blas was walk to the market. All along the streets are people selling all kinds of fresh food, clothes, toys - you name it. This is their life. Everyone is town buys fresh every day - breads, fruits, vegetables, meats, etc.

Danny and Dalena stopped in front of a fish "shop" for a picture. Dalena had just finished off a cup of fresh cut fruit she bought along the street. We bought a lot of food on the street and never worried for a minute about it. It was all delicious and FRESH!

Back at Magdalena's, Jack is in the street, playing with a little neighbor boy (who turned out to belong to one of Dalena's cousins). Jack had brought some toy rockets down, and the kids (and Jack) loved playing with them.

Danny cut this bouquet of flowers in a vacant lot across the street. Check out that knife! It reminds me of the one in Crocodile Dundee.

This is the view from the top of the hill where there is a fort - overlooking the city and the port of San Blas. Puerto San Blas was the first port built on the west coast of North America.

Someone must have said something funny!

Here's Jack, standing in front of the fort.

There was a singer in a pavilion nearby. A few people were gathered, listening to him sing. He sang quite a few songs that he had composed. One I remember was San Blas, Nayarit. I didn't understand the words, but I really loved that song. It made me think of how much Dalena loved this little town that she grew up in. I was so glad to be there and share it with her.

After the guy finished his songs, he started picking people who were there listening and making up songs about them. Here, he is singing to Dalena. He asked her name and Danny's - and he made up a song about both of them.

I saw this painting in the pavilion where the guy was singing. It tells the story of the crazy lady of San Blas. Legend has it that every day, you could see her wandering along the beach in her wedding dress. She was waiting for her husband's ship to return. He was presumed lost at sea.

Danny and Dalena were posing for David when I took this picture. They are in front of the ruins of the first church in San Blas. It was built in the 1500s.

Bananas grew pretty much wild. We saw them everywhere! These were just growing at the side of the road.

David and Dalena were selecting some smoked fish for our dinner. Seems like EVERYTHING is sold open-air, along the streets.

Dalena's aunt, Magdalena's sister-in-law, has a bakery in her home. She has a lot of regular customers. Good stuff!

The beach at San Blas

David got a picture of the four of us with the sunset in the background. It was just about dark when we left the beach.

When we got back from the beach, Magdalena's sister was there. Her name is Teresa (Tere). she is hilarious! Magdalena has lots of family in San Blas. I think a couple of her brothers have moved to the states, but the rest of her siblings are still in Mexico.

We walked down to the plaza that night and bought a bag of churros on the way. Hot and crispy! Yum!!!

We loved the plaza! It was a place where the adults could sit and visit and the kids could pretty much run. There weren't many people there that first night.

Cousins

Dad's "buzzin'" cousin, Florence Child, died this week and I went with him to her funeral. We were able to get a picture of him and a couple of his cousins after the services. Next to Dad is Aunt Edith's daughter, Venice - Uncle Frank's son, Jack and his wife - Uncle Adam's wife, Alta and her granddaughter. I think some of the other cousins came earlier, for the viewing, but didn't stay for the funeral. It would have been nice to get a picture of all of them. Maybe next time.

Jack's Sworn into Office

Jack ran for North View Fire Board in November. He was sworn into office January 20th. He was top vote getter, which actually gave him a 4-year term. He opted to pass that on to another new board member, however, because he doesn't figure he'll be in North Ogden for four more years. (Mission)

Mesa in January

This is what you get when you visit Mesa in January! ROSES! Ahhhh, sweet!We got into Mesa Friday night, and Saturday morning, Dalena took us to experience what Danny calls, "Her new religion." We attended a cooking class at Shar's Kitchen. Boy does this woman have a business going! Using pricey, imported Swiss pressure cookers and all kinds of kitchen gadgets, she cooks up all this yummy stuff and passes out samples. All the while, the women who come to watch and eat, are marking off their "shopping lists." She specifically caters to "empty nesters," and boy, do they eat it up! It's almost like a revival, only at the end, instead of coming forward to confess Jesus, it was coming to the checkout with your cartload of stuff!I love how Dalena has labeled things throughout the house - to help Danny with his Spanish vocabulary. We played some Wii and I had to laugh at the whole family of Wii players - Rigo, Danny, David, Dalena, Alan and Nacha. We went to Magdalena's one night, for supper and games. Love that cute lady! And, we went to B&B Farms for a case of fresh oranges. Yum!Before we came home, we drove over to the Mesa Mission Offices and visited with Jeff and Nancy Livingston. It was good to see them! They both work in the office - Jeff is in charge of mission funds and Nancy is a secretary to the President.

Lisa's Donation

Lisa's been growing her hair for a long time and was ready for a change. She waited until it was long enough to donate, then got it whacked off. I love it! I think it makes her look very mature!

Happy New Year!

We reserved Lisa's church this year because another family had reserved ours. We had quite a few people show up for food and games. (Photos coming soon.)

Merry Christmas!

Caroling at Crestwood

The Bolos kids have had a tradition of going caroling at the hospital every year at Christmas Time. This year, because of the H1N1 scare, they were not allowed. They were very disappointed - until they remembered Grandpa Grose at Crestwood. They went up one night and sang to the residents there. They loved it and their Great grandpa loved it!Kendrick, Katelyn, Reagan, Jackson, London and Lex and their Gread-Grandpa Grose

Christmas Eve Eve (12/23/09)

Gingerbread Day

Happy Birthday, Jack!

Took Jack to Texas Roadhouse for his birthday. Kind of hard riding with one arm in a sling! Happy 67th, Jack!!!

Dad's Surgery

Dad started having health issues shortly after Thanksgiving. He had some tests run, and an MRI and the doc found a baseball sized tumor in hi colon. It was removed and tested - it was malignant. The good news is that it seemed to be self contained. The doctor feels that he was able to remove all the bad tissue and said that Dad was clean! He went from the hospital to Crestwood Care Center so he could recover from his surgery. The BEST thing about Crestwood was STEPHANIE! Dad was so excited and proud to have his sweet and beautiful granddaughter take care of him! Doesn't he look proud?!?