One more shot from Red Rocks

Denver

We went out to Denver a few weeks ago to see Doug put in as the President of the Heart Rhythm Society.  We really enjoyed being in Denver and hanging out with the Packers.

Passing the gavel

At the President's Reception

The Blue Bear at the Convention Center

Brad and I took at walk around downtown Denver and found this tour bus as we were walking around.  You can't see them, but the inside is lit by colored Christmas lights.  And yes, there was banjo music blaring.

We took a drive out to Red Rocks on Saturday.  It was beautiful!

While hiking around we found this owl hiding out in the rocks.

On Sunday, we visited Arvada, one area where Brad served on his mission.  We went to the ward there and a lot of people actually remembered "Elder Packer".  It was really nice to meet the people that Brad has told me about.  We also got to see Aurora, another of Brad's area's.  We didn't really have time to look up people, but we did get to see where the dental school is.

I loved getting a little taste of Colorado.  Who knows, we may be living there in a year.  It's weird not knowing where we will be living in a year, but if we do end up in Colorado, I think we'd be happy there.  Thanks Doug and Janet for bringing us along for a great weekend!

Houston

On Brad's way home from Nicaragua, he had a 5 hour layover in Houston.  So, Brad got to hangout with Greg and Lauren and the twins.

Aren't they just the cutest twins?

Nicaragua Dental Clinic

The dental clinic was set up in the stake center in Managua.  It was quite a huge undertaking to set this up. Workers spent days setting up giant air compressors and rewiring the building. We had 20 dentists, 3 endodontists, 3 oral surgeons, and physicians there to get nearly 500 pre-missionaries ready to serve. They came in the morning with blank mission papers and had them turned in by the end of the day.

While in the clinic, I assisted the dentists. I suctioned, prepared filling material, etc.

Taking digital x-rays.

He's only smiling because I told him to. He just got his wisdom teeth out.

Paradise

This shot is from Montelimar Beach in Nicaragua. After working 6 long days in the dental clinic, this was the perfect place to relax.

Smiles for Nicaragua

Nicaragua is an amazing place. While I was there, I felt like I was in a completely different world. Most of the people there live on nothing. Many live in shacks, and for some, that's an overstatement. Some areas are nicer than others, but corrugated tin was common to almost every home. We visited several of these homes and delivered bags of rice, beans, and flour and gave toys and school supplies to the children. These families were so grateful and it was a life changing experience for me to meet them.

The baker's home and bakery

"Thanks for the candy, take our picture"

The village water boy

They won't go fast, but they will go anywhere

Door to the roofless house

Window shutters

Nursery wall

The tree from Endor