Caroling in a Winter Wonderland

For mutual we met at 7pm in the cold drizzle to go caroling… hayride style. The day had been damp and cold and we wondered if the weather would hinder our plans for the night. As we prepared to leave the rain turned to snow; a rare sight for this area. It turned out to be a magical night, an experience that I am not sure any of us will have again in Houston.

We sat on hay bales wrapped in blankets and coats singing Christmas carols through neighborhoods as a new layer of seamless snow blanketed the city. Several people were out in their yard enjoying the winter festivities as we passed. It felt like the authentic thing J If was a great to share the Sprit of Christmas and reflect on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Superfeast Thanksgiving Dinner

The gang debating if street parking was allowed at 4:30am or if we were going to get towed

Thanksgiving morning we got up at 3:30am and headed into Houston to help set up for the Annual Superfeast hosted by Waste Management. This was our first year volunteering with this organization and it was a great experience. Superfeast is an outdoor dinner held on the mall in front of Houston City Hall. They serve a free thanksgiving dinner to over 20,000 people.

Downtown Houston right before sunrise

We worked the 4:45-7:30am shift (early, I know!). I was really proud of them, all the girls were all up and dressed and standing in the parking lot by 4:15am. Superfeast is a huge operation with dozens of smokers and ovens. We set up tables, carried in food and beverages and helped put together silverware. I think we'll do it again next year, although we'll probably get there earlier, by 4:45am we were already #170 for volunteers and by 8am that had over a thousand volunteers sign in. It was a great morning and a great opportunity to reflect on how truly blessed we are.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Waiting to get the lovely "health code" hats

Auto Maintenance

A combined Baybrook/League City Laurel mutual night. We learned how to change the oil, check spark plugs, filters and so much more. A big thanks to Brother Smith for taking some time to teach us.

Galveston Work Crew

Women on a Mission!

After watching the aftermath of Ike unfold, the League City Laurels decided to form a work crew with hundreds of others. They spent two weekends in the trenches mucking out flooded houses in and around Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike ravished the Texas Coast. We thank them for their willingness to serve and their hard work!

General Conference Trip

Jess, Sister Renshaw, Cynthia & Christina at Temple Square

The Laurels and Priests went to see a session of General Conference in Salt Lake City. It was a whirlwind trip. We left Thursday night, drove 24 hours and stayed at an awesome residence in South Jordan Friday night.

Fun in the car... 48 hours of it....

Saturday morning, we braved the rain to tour temple square which houses the Salt Lake Temple, visitor center, and Tabernacle.

Laurels at Temple Square Visitor Center

We then attended the Saturday afternoon session. The conference was amazing and the speakers were wonderful (especially Elder Wirthlin). It was an experience to watch the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson come in and take his seat. As he did the atmosphere calmed and the spirit was strong.

LISTEN TO LDS GENERAL CONFERENCE

Chris in front of the Conference Center

Fall Dance

Fall Dance baby! We may not have had many decorations - okay, ANY decorations- but we had a good time. Did we not, girls? We had mohawk hair, the thriller dance routine, hot salsa moves, and breaker poses off in one corner. Did I forget to mention prizes??? Top all that off with some multi-colored doughnuts, and that's the dance. Sorry we missed some of you ladies. Maybe next time. . . .

Piñatas

We enjoyed a messy night together making piñatas for the 5 de Mayo dinner. We had to do this outside beacuse it was so messy.

Cinco De Mayo!

We held a Cinco de Mayo dinner and basket auction for our annual camp fundraiser. Sister Portillo came in and taught the girls (and us gringo leaders) how to make authentic homemade tortillas. It took a few batches to get the feel of it, but by the end of the night we had pressed almost 300 tortillas for the dinner.

Learning to Save a Life

The girls just completed their annual CPR training for camp. A big thanks to Marby for volunteering to certify them this year. The girls not only learned how to do manual CPR, but also how to properly use an AED.

4th year & JC Campout

Friday night we loaded up and prayed that the rain would hold off and headed out to Alvin for a night of sitting around the bonfire and attempting to dodge fire ant mounds in the dark. We arrived, set up tents and made tinfoil dinners. The JC (Junior Counselors) & 4th years will be leaders at Young Womens Camp in July. This was an opportunity for the girls to get to know one another and talk about their responsibilities for the summer camp.

We burned the midnight oil playing games and telling stories.