17 April 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 448
Road trip with Endia and Cougar
Endia
One of the members of the bishopric in our ward is leaving on a mission to Brazil with his wife, so they invited the ward to come to their house. They also brought a taco truck and let everyone eat unlimited tacos! It was so fun, and then it started snowing, and the snow has been coming off and on all week.
On Wednesday, I went to an indoor rock-climbing gym with Cougar, and I learned that I actually really enjoy rock climbing. I’m not a huge fan of the heights and the hardest part is always letting go of the wall. Afterwards, we went back to his aunt’s house and had some of the best chicken enchiladas I’ve ever had! We also watched a movie together.
On Friday, we planned a trip to Meadow, where we explored lava tubes and then went to a hot springs. The lava tubes were so cool! It was so much fun to scramble up and down all of the rocks and explore the caves and valleys.
Family exploring lava tubes
The hot springs were so nice, and there was a rope that went across the middle that we tried to stand up on, and it was fun to try and watch others try— and fall. Cougar is headed up to school in Idaho for a little while, so it was hard to say goodbye to him. He drove up on Saturday.
On Easter I sang in church with a few other women in my ward. The song we sang is called “I Have Not Seen Yet I Believe.” I did not see my Savior’s life or ministry, but He is such a real part of my life!
The spirt was so strong in that sacrament meeting and while we were singing. It was an amazing Easter devotional and I really love my Savior Jesus Christ!
Playing pickleball in North Carolina
Vanessa
For the last week in North Carolina, Braden and Brooke wanted to make it really fun for us. They said that we were going on a hike and then the next day Greg came down and said to me and Isaac, "Are you going to get sick of rides?" We kind of knew what he was talking about because I told Isaac that there was an amusement park that Brooke was talking to me about.
We went to Carowinds and had so much fun. We went on a lot of Crazy rides. My favorite was Intimidator. It was so much fun, and at the end of the ride there was a medal roof thing that had a lot of stretchies on it, and me and Livia threw ours on there, so I am forever in North Carolina! For lunch we Had Chick-fil-A and it was delightful. Thanks, Braden and Brooke for taking us.
Braden, Isaac, and Vanessa bowling
Gloria
This has been a fun week. Wednesday, I had dinner with Mom and Dad at Olive Garden. Then we went to Petco, and I got a betta butterfly male fish. The person who helped us really knew what she was talking about, and gave us some tips about the fish.
On Friday, we went with Endia and Cougar, the guy she likes. We went swimming at Endia’s place and then we went to the park and passed the volleyball around to each other. Later, we met up with London, Ashton, Hannah, and her sister, and went to the Meadow lava tubes. The caves were really cool.
Afterwards, we went to the hot springs, and it was so nice and relaxing, but it was also really scary, because I was not able to feel the ground unless I was on my tippy toes. On Sunday, my fish Eddy died around 9:00pm. It was super sad for us, but it was fun having him as a pet. I would like to get a new fish.
Gloria, Veidi, Vanessa with Easter baskets
Arkin
I am listening to a book to help me in my new position at work. In it, I came across a quote that I have heard before, but that really resonated with me again. When I find myself in a position where I know I will make many mistakes, and when the criticism and complaining of others seems especially strong, these words bring great comfort:
THE MAN IN THE ARENA
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Teddy Roosevelt
Citizenship in a Republic speech
April 23, 1910 – Paris, France
Children eating Easter treats
Alex
Me, Gloria, and Kai went with Endia and Cougar to the hot springs. Cougar was really nice and fun. First, we went to Arctic Circle. Then we went driving for quite a while and went to caves that were formed by lava. It was so cool! We saw a bat! Then we went into the hot springs in the nighttime.
Monte
Tessie pulled a trailer! It was so funny seeing all the looks we got as a Tesla pulled a trailer through the neighborhood. It was almost like having Zeus all over again... (quiet sobs L). When we got to the dump, we first tossed the bikes, and then we went to the green dump, and threw away all the tree branches we chopped. Then we drove home, still getting the funny looks!
Tessie (Model Y) with trailer attached
Quinn
We had a Nerf gun war. Me, Ashton, and Troy won the first game, and then everybody else in the Nerf war won the two other games. Kai shredded with his gun!
Troy couldn't use Caleb's anymore because it was out of bullets, so Kai tricked him with his gun and then won. I should have ran to Troy's place to get the guns, because they had bullets. We couldn't destroy them. I died, Ashton died, and Troy died.
Monte in Nerf gun war
Ashton
I hadn't been home for quite a while before this week, but I was down in West Jordan for a good chunk of the week! I didn't have any work or classes on Tuesday, so I went back home.
Me and the kids did a big Nerf war, and it had been a long time since I had done one of those, so it was a lot of fun. The guns they have now are much stronger and hurt more than the ones we used to play with, so that added a whole dimension to it beyond the "old days"!
On Wednesday, it was the last day of classes at BYU, and finals start this weekend and go through the next week!
Kai in Nerf gun war
I went home on Wednesday evening to go to the School of Rock play with Alex, Monte, Veidi, and Troy. We smuggled in some snacks and had a great time! The play was almost exactly like the movie, with more musical numbers, so it was hilarious.
When we got home, I had to submit a couple assignments before the end of the night, because you can't turn anything in after the last day of classes. I worked right up until 11:59pm, but I got everything I needed to get turned in all done, which was a big relief.
It's crazy that by the end of next week the school year will be over. I'll get to enjoy my first spring/summer vacation since before my mission. I did spring and summer classes last time, so it will be nice to have a break this time!
Brooke, Vanessa, Isaac, Braden
Caleb
Things here are still going. Really just continuing to work and look for ways to find new people that want to allow the light and blessings of Christ into their lives!
It's hard and really, we don't have too many people, but I know without a doubt that our trials don’t matter as long as we know who is in charge, and I know Heavenly Father is in charge.
I know he loves us, and that his love is more infinite than we can wrap our minds around. And his wisdom is perfect. So that's an amazing blessing to have had experiences so powerful to be able to say I have no doubt of that.
Vanessa and Isaac paddling
It's still hard to not see any apparent effectiveness happening through all my efforts. I'll continue to hope and strive every second of every day to do what God wants me to do.
But there's my short testimony! Just remember that if you know who is in charge, and you know you're on his side, then you have zero reason to be afraid, because one day all of our trials will pass and we'll see the grand picture of who we have become and what God has done for us throughout all of it.
Christian and Ginger at youth conference
Christian
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were youth conference. It was really fun. On Thursday we went to a church that was kind of far away. There were a lot of people that went. It was cool meeting new people and hanging out with the other youth in the ward. We played some icebreaker games in the church, and then they had dinner outside, which was really good.
Outside they had more games, like musical chairs, but that was pretty intense. I didn’t play but JJ told me how intense it was. It was kind of funny too. One activity that we did on a different day was making ti leafs. I wasn’t that good, but I still made some. The last day we played a lot of carnival games, which were pretty fun. If we won any of the games, we would get
tickets that we could use to get cotton candy and popcorn and things like that. Reiden, Reid, and I used the tickets mainly on cotton candy.
They also had a dance on the last day, which was really fun and crazy too. It was super loud, and a lot of people were dancing, but it was still super fun.
Last meal with Isaac and Vanessa
Isaac
For the last week at Braden and Brooke’s they did a lot of fun things with us. One of the things we did was go to an Amusement Park called Carowinds. My favorite ride was a ride that goes up 300 feet in the air and goes at a max of 95 mph.
We also played pickleball, and it was fun because Vanessa, Braden, Brooke, and I all played, and Brooke and I barely lost. Braden and Brooke said that if we got up to 15 hits, they would buy us ice cream. We did it after a couple of tries!
We also went to the lake, and that was really fun because Vanessa and I got to both paddle on a stand-up paddleboard. One of the times I was in the front of the paddleboard, and I wanted to be in the back, so that if we fell, Vanessa wouldn’t fall on me. She said the only way to switch was to stand up and switch, so I did.
When I stood up and turned around Vanessa pushed me in, and I grabbed her arm and she fell in too! Thank you, Braden and Brooke, for making it such a great time while Vanessa and I were there!
Isaac, Ellie, and Vanessa