Panama - Day 2

We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel and then took an Uber to the Panama City temple grounds.

Breakfast included desserts so we just had to try a bite or two.

I got an idea the other day from a friend in our ward who was able to get the new style of garments in Singapore when she visited. I checked to see how close the Panama City Temple was from our hotel—about 20 minutes by Uber. Doable.

The temple grounds and the housing annex nearby was packed with adults and youth. So cool to see. We took pictures, walked around the grounds, and then visited the distribution center. Unfortunately for me the medium sizes weren’t available in Panama either, but I took a chance and picked up some small sizes. They worked. Chris had no problem finding his size.

After leaving the temple grounds, we walked down the hill to the Corozal American Cemetery and walked around before catching another Uber back to our hotel. The two flags and a plaque create a memorial to the Americans who served in the Mexican-American war, the Civil War, World Wars I & II, and other conflicts, as well as Americans who contributed to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Panama Canal.

The Old Town was calling to us, so we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and set out to explore. We saw a few cathedrals, ruins next to totally renovated buildings, and plazas full of locals and tourists. 

We stopped for fish tacos at the restaurant, “Mahalo” and then spent a couple of hours at the Museo del Canal that focused on the building of the canal, the challenges, the help from the US and other countries but also documented the intrusion by the US and the transfer of control from the US back to Panama finally in 1999. The US was instrumental in introducing racism in Panama.

We enjoyed dinner at Hari’s in Hyatt’s complex (Mexican food). One of our favorite tastes was the fried plantation chips. 

An after dinner walk at just the right moment in the Plaza Mayor next to the hotel had a newly married couple exiting the cathedral to sparklers, cheers, and applause.

Flight to Panama City

Wednesday night (January 21st), United sent an email encouraging passengers traveling on Friday afternoon to change their flights without any fees to earlier in the day on Friday or even Thursday evening ahead of a cold snap and winter storm working its way across the country. 

It would have potentially delayed our flight in Denver and/or Houston. We had originally planned to leave Monument on Friday evening at 5 pm. Instead, we were up at 4 am on Friday morning to leave at 5 am.

The snow that wasn’t supposed to start until mid-afternoon had just started falling as we left the house. Good choice to leave early, but it made for a very long day and early start. 

We parked at the Parking Spot. It is a lot more convenient to our itinerary coming from Monument and not as out of the way as it was when we lived in Firestone.

Maybe we would regret the decision to leave our puffy jackets in the car and not pack them with us to Panama where we surely would NOT need them. Parking Spot is great because they pick you up by your car and drop you off at the terminal. We didn’t think we would have to be in the cold too long and hopefully the weather will be nice on our return home on Sunday, February 1st. 

Once we arrived at the airport, we checked bags, went through security, and arrive at our gate about 5 minutes before boarding. 

Deicing

It took forever for people to board, and then we waited to be de-iced. We were supposed to have left about 20 minutes early but left about 30 minutes late instead. 

No worries, we had almost three hours layover in Houston. But… at least we missed the worst of the weather. 

We spent a few hours in the lounge in Houston between flights, grabbed some food, and caught up on email. Instead of staying over night in Houston (as originally planned), we flew directly to Panama City.

Our original itinerary with the overnight in Houston at a hotel had stated that the hotel points were non-refundable if we had to make changes. A customer service agent with our Sapphire credit card called the hotel personally and told them about the change we made due to the impending storm. Our hotel points were restored.

Chris booked a suite for our first night at the Hyatt La Campania Hotel in the Old Town—Casca Viejo—of Panama City. As we checked in, Chris noted that we had two separate reservations and asked to have them combined. 

We were upgraded to three nights in the Presidential Suite. It was lovely with a great view of the cathedral next door, rooftops, and intermingled with ruins.

Organizing the Garage

Chris spent most of Saturday organizing and cleaning his garage. He purchased a garage system from Costco that should arrive this next Thursday.

The first pic below is the back wall of the garage where the garage system will go. The heater is above in the corner.

Chris loves having a heater in the garage. It makes working out there when it is 20° outside quite comfy.

Misha Selling her Subaru

The reason Chris and Misha drove the Mazda back from Utah is because Misha planned to sell her Subaru and save up to buy a new car in May.

She listed her car on the Facebook Marketplace and got quite a bit of interest. She had a lady in Woodland Park that was interested last Monday. Since Woodland Park is closer to Monument than Denver, Misha met the lady to let her test drive it. She hadn't driven a manual in years and ultimately decided on another car.

Misha drove the Subaru back to Denver and had two or three more showings this past week. The person that eventually closed the deal on January 17th lived in Durango. She was in Denver for just a few short days but flew back to Denver this past weekend and finalized the sale on Saturday morning.

Denver Stock Show

Misha and her friend Tracie went to the Denver Stock Show to watch Professional Bull Riding. They had some trouble finding parking, but eventually found some (that was free!). They took the shuttle to the Stock Show grounds, (which happen to be where Misha graduated last May). 

They took some time to grab some food, and they still had a few minutes to wander around the exhibits before they made it to their seats. 

The event itself was about 2 hours long and consisted of bull riding, herding competitions, and some horse and carriage demonstrations. 

One of the riders got stuck on his bull's bindings and had a hard time releasing. He finally got untangled without being too much worse for the wear.

There was a rodeo clown that would chase around and run from the bulls. How do you get into that line of work?

No Heat in Misha's Apartment

The heat in Misha’s apartment has been iffy all winter. Thankfully it’s been warm enough that she hasn’t suffered, but she has had to call maintenance 3 separate times to get it fixed. She had a malfunction this past week on some of the colder days that we have had this winter. 

Misha came up with a clever solution to turn on her oven and then put a fan in front of it to blow the warm air into her studio apartment. It worked for a bit but not something that she could do non-stop. Fortunately, she had a friend down the hall who still had heat and Misha could hang out there if she got too cold.

It might be better for now, but no telling until it gets cold again.

Gun Shots in Denver

Misha heard 3 gunshots in her neighborhood around 8:30 pm. Her best friend, Tracie, lives down the hall, so they got to sleuthing via the internet and looking out of windows. 

Turns out it was a police standoff with someone and the police shut down Misha's whole block for hours. 

Denver Police were not the best at communicating what was happening to residents, but Misha and Tracie later found out that one person had been shot in the leg and taken to the hospital. 

Thankfully Misha and Tracie were safe in their apartment, but they both surely got a scare out of it.

New Living Room Chair

I bought two new chairs for the living room. They were easy enough for Chris and I to put together. After arranging them in the living room, we decided that two was too many and have the second chair in the dining room for now. 

The result

Misha's First Day

After applying for over 250 jobs, Misha finally accepted an offer from Gibbons-White, Inc., a commercial real estate firm in Boulder, CO. 

At Gibbons-White, she will be making their brochures and updating the real estate databases as most of her job, but she hopes to refresh their social media to enhance existing relationships in the community. She started January 7th and will be working 20 hours a week until they can afford to have her work more. 

She is excited to start this new journey, but will certainly miss all the friends that she made at her last job.

Misha’s first day started with an hour of traffic driving down to Boulder. Turns out everyone is also driving to work then. 

She made it in the nick of time to her office, where she got started on the usual new-hire paperwork. That took her about an hour, and then she got into the office tour and design aspect of it all. 

It was a lot of sitting and watching and trying to remember how everything was organized, but it went by rather quickly. She gets her own office space that she can decorate however she wants, but no windows to the outside sadly. She does have a glass wall that looks out into the office space, so at least she isn't completely shut off. 

Her space does come with a standing desk though! 

The rest of her first two weeks consisted of making brochures, editing those brochures with anything that the brokers want, making email blasts about properties, editing and uploading video tours to YouTube, and updating the online databases for any current listings. 

All in all, she is very busy while she is there, but there is always more to do! Fingers crossed they will increase her hours soon. She does get a pay bump at the first of February—January was her trial period.

Allergy Testing

I saw an allergy specialist on January 6, 2026 about the constant itching I have been experiencing since November 2024 when I had the huge allergic reaction and had to go to urgent care. In addition to sharing my history and coming up with a reason for the itching, I also had an allergy scratch test to see what foods I am allergic to.

So, I have "idiopathica urticaria" or an "itch cycle" that was activated by the reaction back in 2024. It causes an internal itch originating in the blood stream and which is not eased at all by itching. In order to solve the issue, I am on intense antihistamines that block the histamine reaction for the next 6 weeks to reset the cycle.

The scratch test involved primary foods along with a positive and negative control. You can see the + at the bottom of the picture which they used to judge the remaining reactions next to each number on my back.

Turns out I have a mild sensitivity to salmon, almonds, and onions and a larger reaction to whole wheat and walnuts. I did not have a reaction to milk, eggs, shrimp, corn, rice, cashews, peanuts, soybeans, garlic, potatoes, or tomatoes. 

Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria (CSU), is a persistent skin condition causing recurring, intensely itchy hives (welts) and sometimes swelling (angioedema) for over six weeks, with no identifiable external trigger or cause, often linked to internal immune system issues like autoimmunity. The body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, potentially involving autoantibodies against the IgE receptor.

New RoboVac

Chris and I bought a new robovac for Christmas. I wasn't so sure about the mopping feature on it, but after seeing Mitch's in action, I decided to give it a try.

Chris named it George. 

Kristen said, "He finally has a son".

Mom: In that case, I would have named it something different.

Misha: Do you love him more than us?

Chris: We'll see how obedient he is.

Mom: He's cleaning, so there's that.

Misha: If he gets more presents than us at Christmas, I'm throwing him off the porch.

Chris: So far he's more compliant. On his way to favorite child status.

Misha: Yeah, but he's not nearly as funny as us.

Driving Home from Utah

Chris and Misha left Kevin's early Saturday morning for the long drive to Colorado over I-70. Fortunately, the roads were clear most of the way. That is, except for a rock slide—it was cleared by the time Chris and Misha reached it.

Chris dropped Misha off and picked up her Subaru to drive it to our house. Misha will be using the Mazda until May and plans to sell her Subaru.

They did get pulled over. Dunh Dunh Dunh. Actually it was because their fog lights had not come on and they needed to be on for the conditions. Whew. They got a warning.

Misha was sad to say goodbye to her Subaru, but hopefully she will be able to find a more reliable car in the next 4-5 months.

Mom Flying Back to Colorado

I hugged Amy and Kristen goodbye as we left Kristen's new apartment—I would be flying out just after 4 pm. Chris and I dropped a few things off at DI before leaving Provo. 

Misha was on her way to Provo (just for one night) as she and Chris would be driving the Mazda back to Colorado on Saturday morning. Misha exited the airport as I was ready to go in. Perfect timing.

I lucked out and had an empty middle seat next to me.

Chris and the girls spent the evening together. Actually, the girls went out to get a few more things for Kristen, and Chris stayed at Amy’s for a little downtime (and he was kind enough of to work on some laundry for Kristen.)

The girls came back to Amy's where they made breakfast for dinner, Amy hung her new artwork, Misha and Amy put together Amy's new TV console, and Chris gave all of the girls blessings. 

According to Misha, it was a bit of a cry-fest.

Kristen's Move-In Day

Move-in day.

It was also Ashley’s move-in day, so Kevin, Candace, and Ashley were all up early. Chris and I got ready, got some breakfast, and were on our way. 

Since I was flying home later in the afternoon, I packed up all of my stuff. We made a quick stop at DI in Springville, arriving a few minutes before 9 am when it opened. There were people outside lined up waiting to get in. At least 30 people waited outside the front door. 

We were able to find a few plates, cups, and a muffin tin. By the time we reached Kristen’s apartment, she and Amy were starting to unload Amy’s car, Brad had arrived with the bulk of stuff that Kristen had left at his house, and we had a few things from Kevin’s house.

We spent time getting everything loaded in the house and then Chris and I went in search of some more things at Walmart, then Costco. We bought Kristen some towels and a black plastic shelving unit for the kitchen. 

When we were finished, it was close to lunch time. Amy and Kristen had already taken off, but we asked them to come back so we could drop stuff off and then meet up with Kevin, Candace, and Ashley for lunch at an Italian place. 

As we returned to Kristen’s place after lunch, one of her roommates finally emerged from her room. She introduced herself and promptly announced that she had an emotional support rabbit and hoped Kristen was ok with it. She wasn’t very friendly. Kristen wasn’t very happy about it. 

We went over to the office and asked why it hadn’t been disclosed about the rabbit in the apartment. Laws don't require them to alert new roommates apparently.

We are hoping that her second year of college will not be a repeat of a bad roommate like Kristen’s first year. Fortunately, Kristen will be living with one of her mission friends so at least she knows she has at least one friendly face in the apartment.

Rainy Day in Utah

Sadly, it was raining in Provo today. Better than snow, but it made for a soggy day. Kristen wanted to tour campus to check out the buildings where her classes would be held. The only building that was open was the Wilkinson Center and mostly just the main hallways. 

We walked around campus with umbrellas. I’m not sure Kristen remembered the names of all of the buildings, but she is at least a little more aware. 

Our dinner plans included meeting up with my brothers in Lehi. After spending oodles of money at Walmart to get Kristen set up with kitchen supplies, groceries, and toiletries, we returned to Amy’s to fill her fridge up until the next day. We ordered dinner and thought we were being helpful picking up Shane and Mitch's order. Even though I asked, the restaurant told me that was all. Unfortunately, Brad’s order was separate and he had to drive back to pick it up. We chatted for a couple hours. 

Mitch has a robot vacuum which he showed us. I think I am convinced that it will work for our house. We drove back to Amy’s to make sure her new sound bar was set up correctly and Chris showed her the new tools and drill that she had received for Christmas. 

Unfortunately, the next door neighbor thought the sound from the tv was too loud and promptly came over to Amy’s to let her know. 

Chris and I drove back to Kevin’s for the night.

Fly to Utah

Chris, Kristen, and I flew to SLC on New Year’s Eve. We got the closest parking spot possible to the terminal. Woohoo. 

We were planning to get Kristen settled into her new apartment on the 2nd, get groceries, find some kitchen things at DI, and pick up whatever else she might be missing. It was a bit of a whirlwind trip.

Kevin and Amy came to pick us up at the airport. We needed both cars to fit the three of us, our two bags,  and the 4 bags Kristen had packed to begin college life in Utah. Chris drove with Kevin and all of the luggage to Amy’s apartment. We unloaded the luggage into Amy’s garage. Kevin drove to his house in Springville, and we stayed to check out Amy’s new place and car. Pretty snazzy. 

Amy showed us around her office building.

We planned to spend New Year’s Eve with Kevin and his family. Chris and I would spend the night there, while Kristen would stay with Amy. 

Amy, Kristen, and Joseph playing Candy Land at dinner.

We went out for pizza, played games, and had fun with cousins.

Hair Cuts and Massages

Chris made appointments for us to get hair cuts and massages with our favorite hair stylist and massage therapist in Frederick (next to Firestone). 

I have looked for a new stylist in Monument, and prices for just a cut are so much higher. A cut and color are even more. I’m sure we’ll have to bite the bullet at some point, but for now, when we both go back together, the drive and time isn’t too bad.

Quiet House on Monday Morning

Amy returned home on Monday morning. Misha and Kristen were driving to Longmont so that Kristen could have brunch with a couple of high school friends and Misha was taking her car back to Subaru in Longmont to check on some work they had done previously on her car. 

Misha dropped Amy off at the Park n' Ride for her 9 am shuttle ride back to the airport.

Misha had her car appointment for a couple of hours and found that things were ok with her car. She and Kristen drove around Firestone a little reminiscing and then drove back to Denver where Misha put Kristen on the Bustang for a ride back to Monument.

Julie Visits for Kristen's Homecoming

Julie arrived on Saturday evening to see Kristen and attend Sacrament Meeting with us for Kristen’s homecoming talk. 

We were definitely hoping that Kristen had more than 5 minutes this time! Julie came without her family but we appreciated that she made the effort. She has been a great “Aunt Julie" to our girls over the years, and our girls are now “aunts” to her 3 girls. 

She stayed with us until Monday afternoon. I dropped her off at the Park n' Ride at noon for her shuttle ride back to the airport.

Kristen's Second Homecoming Talk

I suppose it was a good opportunity that Kristen had a second chance at giving a homecoming talk for her mission. 

When she talked in our old Longmont ward, she was left with 5 minutes and there wasn’t time to share much. She gave a great talk, sharing about the Flores family that she had helped to teach and who were baptized two weeks before Kristen came home.

Four Course Meal of Almost Nothing

Chris had a credit on his credit card for a fancy meal. He found a restaurant in Colorado Springs that was included in the promotion. It was called “Four by Brother Lucky” and was supposed to represent local foods in the four seasons of Colorado. 

I kid you not, I left this four course meal hungry. My first two courses could have fit into the palm of my hand. My third course was a little more substantial and our dessert course was a very thin slice of chocolate cheesecake.

Kristen to Temple & Meet Up with Paige

Kristen had her last temple assignment on Friday, December 26th. (She hopes that she will be able to continue working in the temple in Provo.) 

She was up early and out of the house by 6:20 am. She was excited to meet up with her friend, Paige, who had just returned from her mission to Brazil right before Christmas. 

After Kristen finished her shift at the temple, she and Paige went for lunch. 

Chris and I met both of them girls at the temple for the 3 pm endowment session. So nice to be in the temple with Kristen. Kristen planned to meet up with Paige again on Monday, so they said a quick goodbye. 

Paige returned to Longmont, and the three of us drove back to Monument. It takes about 45 minutes to get home from the temple in good traffic.

Sister Missionaries for Christmas Dinner

We invited the sister missionaries for dinner on Christmas evening. The girls wanted our traditional gnocchi with meat sauce. 

It takes awhile to make the gnocchi, so I started boiling the potatoes around 3 pm. Dinner was at 5 pm, and once the gnocchi dough was made, Amy and I worked non-stop on dinner until 5.

The other girls helped with drinks and setting the table. 

The sister missionaries were only allowed to stay for an hour and a half. We shared our Christmas cracker tradition with them and Kristen had fun making them personalized to each of us.

We had dinner and then Sister Romeril (in back) and Sister Sotela (in front on the right) went downstairs to sing and play the piano with Kristen. They all sounded great together. Chris recorded a short video and sent it to the sisters’ parents.