At the Argyles- Mon. & Tues, Nov. 16 & 17, 2009

The President told us where to find the password for the wireless internet. No one would ever be able to memorize it. It was a mixture of about 20 to 25 numbers and letters. But, it worked and we were able to use our computers at the mission home.

We arrived at the Argyles Sunday evening around 8:00 p.m. just in time for Seth to go to bed and Quinn to follow an hour later. The children do not do homework on Sunday, and since the eldest son, Austin, had been to Lima, Peru last week with the soccer team, he was really behind in some of his classes. So, he was going to sleep for an hour or so and get up at midnight and do some homework.

We are using the Argyles bedroom and sleeping in their king size bed. We have access to the master bath, and the vanity area has incredible lighting. It is so light and bright and putting makeup on was a breeze. I could actually see what I was doing without too much magnification.

We get up at 5:00 each day in order to shower and be ready for scripture study at 6:15. The children get up at 6:00. We told Sister Argyle that we would follow whatever schedule they had in place. They read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon in Spanish. Each person takes a turn reading a verse--including me. The two older children leave for Seminary at 6:50. Remises have been scheduled to transport the children to and from school every day while the parents are gone.

After Austin and Anika leave, then I make breakfast for the younger boys. I don't have to do it, but they like it and they don't turn it down. They are off to school at 7:30 in a remise.

We, then, finish getting ready and leave for the office. However, yesterday, we had to go back to our apartment before going to the office because I forgot to pack my curling iron. So, after fixing my hair, we were off to the office. It's always something!

It was a usual Monday with not much out of the ordinary happening in the office. We left at the end of the day trying to get to the mission home quickly so the younger boys wouldn't be home too long alone. When we arrived, they were involved in doing their homework. Such obedient children!!

One of the things I was looking forward to as we accepted this assignment was that Nancy, their housekeeper, was going to make dinner for us each night. What a treat for me! She called Rich during the day and told him that dinner was done and we would just have to cook rice to add to the meal. It was a saucy combination of chicken, brocolli, potatoes, red peppers, tomatoes, and a few other things that would be served over rice. It was good.

During the week, the TV is not turned on, and computer games are off limits. Usually this applies to the Wii games, but after homework is done, 45 minutes of reading completed, and the piano is practiced (they all take lessons except Austin) they had permission to play a game or two on the Wii with the Kroff's. That was our first exposure to this popular entertainment. Rich and I played a baseball game and I won. Quinn took pictures of us, but don't let me have the camera, because I somehow deleted everything that was taken last night.

This is Austin's hangout area. His computer and study area is off of the front room in the area where the grand piano is located. He has six AP classes. It is killing him now, but when college time comes around he'll be grateful, so he's told. He is 17 years old and is on the soccer team and basketball team. He's a bright young man, and a good example to his younger siblings.

From his computer, we gathered around for Family Home Evening. Anika had made up a Jeopardy game on the computer about the life of Joseph Smith. It was fun, and some questions and answers were informative to us all.

This morning, Tuesday, we woke up to the sound of rain. Rich tells me that rain is forecast all week long. Today we felt the humidity more than we have since winter ended. We didn't care if it rained, we have a car to get us to the office.

When we arrived at work, Elder Coria was taking missionaries up to immigrations to do their residency/visa things. He decided to take the car instead of the train today because he only had six missionaries and they would fit in the van.

The three of us in the office worked non stop at our desks. Elders Kroff and Paz found out through receiving many phone calls that some zone leaders have been delinquent in getting rents paid, and some utility bills are late also. The landlords are unhappy and it leaves them with a bad impression of the church. They are working to rectify this situation.

We left the office at 4:00 and after stopping at our apartment to take a few things and pick up a couple of things, we returned to the mission home to find all four of the kids there doing their homework. Well, Austin was asleep on the couch. Nancy had made a meatloaf filled with spinach which had a cream sauce to pour over it. Sounds really strange, but it was very tasty and delicious. The sauce was mildly sweet and complimented the meatloaf dish. Then she had creamy mashed potatoes (no gravy ever on potatoes, they don't do gravy here) and we added frozen corn. We thought it was a great meal. The kids eat anything and seemed to enjoy it too.

Quinn and Seth are showing Rich how to play golf on the Wii. Seth, of course, won.

We took on each other in a boxing match. We found that it is quite the workout with our arms playing this game. We were pooped after our match.

After dinner, Rich decided we needed an ice cream treat tonight. We were going to do it for FHE last night, but never got around to ordering it. So, he called their favorite place for an order to be delivered. The man on the other end of the phone after hearing the phone number, was totally confused as to who was calling. He didn't recognize Rich's voice, and wondered why Presidente Argyle wasn't calling from this number.

We ordered four flavors and each was wonderful. We will miss Argentina ice cream when we come home. Anika, Seth, Rich, and Quinn approve of this tasty treat.