Happy Birthday Elder Parker April 28

Elder Parker turned the big "65" on April 28, 2015 right here in Denmark!  We were actually traveling that day for missionary apartment checks and maintenance, so we had a birthday dinner (roast beef, of course) and birthday cake the night before with just the two of us.  But then, many of the things we do here are just the two of us, so it is a good thing we like being together.  In our small apartment, we are at the most 30 feet apart, and that is measuring corner to corner, the greatest distance available.  That distance is between his small desk in our bedroom, and the south end of our dining room table, which serves as my computer area and "office."

Marcipan around the outside of white cake filled with cream and raspberry jam, topped with chocolate, fruit, and more cream.  We gave part of it away due to high calories!

In P-day clothes as we had just finished doing laundry and work-jobs.

Pictured above is a bottle of Hyldeblomst saft, a sweet concentrate one mixes with water, and which is my celebration (or other?) drink of choice in Denmark.  I went on line to see where Hyldeblomst drink came from, and found the following:

Hyldeblomster (Elderflowers) has played a big role in Nordic mythology. It was believed that the goddess Freja lived by the Elderflowers and that the bushes provided protection from evil. The flowers were also thought to give relief from ailments such as toothaches, fevers, depression and insomnia. In today’s modern Denmark Elderflowers are still very popular but for different reasons. Today the mature flowers are used to make a wonderful tasty juice concentrate.

Sounds good to me, and tastes even better! I heard it might be available at IKEA when I get back home, but haven't had time to check that out...  It is very soothing just before bed - if you don't mix it too sweet.

In commemoration of Elder Parker's birthday, I thought I would post some missionary pictures, but pictures of his "first" mission as a much younger man:

He is just as handsome as ever, but he must have died his hair dark brown back in the late 60's!  His natural "white spot" that is so familiar to family and close friends has now spread to a much larger area...  Concerning the picture where he has a hat on, he actually showed that one to our district at our last meeting.  I'm not sure if he was advocating for hats in Denmark or just wanted them to see what they were missing in proper missionary attire.  I did notice he is not wearing his hat in the other pictures above...

Joakim, Elder Parker, Nickolai

At approximately the same time, he also demonstrated to our SUV current and returned missionaries how to be more creative in their tie-wearing, though I am sure this one is not missionary-dress-code-approved!  Of course he wore it the rest of the night, and I had to smooth out the creases before he could wear that tie again.  He has informed me that on our next mission he needs to bring more ties and less slacks.  Oh my!

Happy Birthday Elder Parker, Grandpa and Dad!