Autumn colors at the park

Today is the 31st of October and I wanted to take pictures of the trees in the park with their beautiful fall colors. It is supposed to rain all next week, so this might have been my last chance to capture the gorgeous sights.

Autumn pictures of the zoo at Parc Tête D'Or

Today is Halloween and I took a walk in the park to take some pictures of the wonderful animals found there. The first picture is of the African plain where the deer roam free. The second picture is of the giraffes that were waiting to be let into their house for dinner. (It was about five o'clock at the time.) The third picture is of the giant pelicans and the bird refuge. The last picture is of the lion. He was roaring as I approached but then sat down facing the other direction so I did not get a picture of his gorgeous face.

Transfer Week in October 2009

It is transfer week again and we are losing two of our favorites. Sister Allred is in the first picture. She started her mission in Lyon and we have seen her grow into a remarkable missionary who is able to testify with love and strength. Her French has improved over the months and she has a darling French accent.

Elder Howell is in the second picture along with Clément Kanuma, an investigator. This elder has been the zone leader and has worked with us with Outreach since May. He is a born leader and we will miss his spiritual influence.

Halloween Activity- Family Home Evening Oct. 26, 2009

On October 26th, we had a Halloween party for Family Home Evening. I fixed a huge pot of chili and some apple crisp for dessert. We found some pumpkins and had a pumpkin carving activity. The first picture shows the preparation with the pumpkins. Many of these young adults had never felt inside a gooey pumpkin. Their creations were wonderful. You can see the result of their works in the last photo.

The Serrano Family

On Sunday afternoon, October 4th, we were able to meet the parents of Xavier, one of our young adults and Regis, his brother, who was a missionary with us in Cameroon. From left to right: Ama, Xavier's new wife, Xavier, Sister Badger, Xavier's sister, his father and mother. They were ready to have a picnic on the lawn at the Ecully Stake Center between conference sessions.

Young adults in the Ecully Ward

These are some of the young adults from the Ecully Ward. Sarah Georges, the lovely young lady on the far right in the orange sweater, is leaving for a mission to Sacramento, California in the middle of October.

The senior couples' trip to Luxembourg

On September 23rd, we met at the mission home in Geneva to embark on a four day trip to Luxembourg. We traveled together in the mission van, which made the trip very enjoyable. Four of us sisters sat in the far back and spent much of the time sharing our experiences and recipes. Since we now live in Lyon, it was great to be with our friends again. From the top of the stairs down are the Hansens, the Doyles, the Hinmans, the Joneses and finally the Badgers.

Lurdes, France-Our hotel for the first night of our trip

After leaving Geneva, the GPS took us to our hotel in Lurdes, France on the scenic route that added two hours to our journey. It would have been a great ride but it was dark and all we could tell was that the road was twisting and turning. We were very happy to finally make it to the hotel. These pictures were taken the next morning as we prepared to depart for Luxembourg, which was about two hours away.

World War I Memorial at Verdun

Our first stop after leaving the hotel was Verdun. We visited the memorial and saw the artillery and uniforms of World War I. We walked to the cemetery and saw the many graves of the men who died during that war.

The city of Luxembourg

When we finally arrived in the city of Luxembourg, we were very impressed. It is a clean, beautiful city that moves at a slower pace than the other European cities. Even the traffic moves slower. We enjoyed walking around viewing the sights. We saw the ducal palace with its guards but the duke was not in because his flag was not flying above the palace. The square with the horse and rider was the place where a demonstration was going on by the dairy farmers, who were demanding higher prices for their milk. It was a peaceful demonstration. They parked their huge farm equipment all around the square.

The Casemates

The main attraction in the city of Luxembourg is the Casemates. This is a huge fortress built above and below ground as a barracks that could house thousands of men, their horses and supplies. There are tunnels that go forever. During the two world wars, more than 35,000 people found shelter in the Casemates during air raids.

Night time in Luxembourg

After a full day of sightseeing, we found a little restaurant in the center of the city called Restaurant Rabelais. Sister Hinman had the special, mussels. As for myself and Frank, we stayed with a steak and fries. The dessert was magnificent. We had a scoop of ice cream with lots of strawberries, whipped cream and a crunchy cookie. As we walked back to the parking garage, we passed an interesting scupture of a woman. It was too pretty to pass up so I took the picture at the bottom.

The American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg

Our first stop today was the American Military Cemetery outside the city of Luxembourg. There are more than five thousand soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of the Bulge who are buried here. The last picture is the grave of General Patton who wanted to be buried with his men. We felt like we were walking on sacred ground as we read the names of the men on the crosses and on the huge wall that lists those whose bodies were not identified.