15 May 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 452
Children making pies
Vanessa
On Saturday Dad had us all make pies! Alex and I made a key lime pie. Everyone else was on a team too, and made their own. and they were really good. It was a really fun activity.
Veidi
School ended so we could do summer break. Also, since Mable is about to have puppies, she left to stay at the breeder’s house, until four weeks after they are born. I miss her!
Children making pies
Troy
This week I played basketball, and I also played Amerigo (Dad and Uncle Keric’s game) with Isaac. Isaac won. He went for me first and took out my ship, so then I can't travel with my ship. I also played Exploding Kittens with Quinn, and it was really fun.
Braden’s seminary class
Braden
This week was the last week of early morning seminary for the year. The school year has gone by so fast, and it’s crazy to me that it’s already time for summer!
Teaching seminary has been my favorite calling so far. It is difficult to prep two or three lessons every week (sometimes late the night before) and to wake up at 5:00am, but teaching has brought me so many blessings.
Since our lessons match up with Come Follow Me, I have been more prepared than ever before for Sunday School, and it makes that second hour of church much more meaningful for me. I have also had great morning routine of getting up early, teaching, scripture study, and then working out right after.
Gloria at Isaac’s birthday party
It sounds like usually they have the seminary teachers in this calling for two years at a time, and they asked us all if we would still be interested in teaching this fall. I told them I for sure would be, so I’m expecting to resume when school starts again.
Until then, I’m looking forward to having the summer off from a calling responsibility as well as not having to be up quite so early in the mornings.
Family making pies
London
Unfortunately, I was in a minor car accident this week. I was pulling out of a parking lot, getting ready to turn right. There was a car on my left side, turning left onto the street, and they decided to turn right at the last second without looking over. They didn't see me and ran into the front corner of my car.
Luckily no one got hurt, and the lady was super nice and apologetic, but my car still needed some repairs. I took it in to get fixed, and the insurance set me up with a rental car in the meantime. When I went to pick that up, they let me know that they only had a Charger available, so they gave me a free upgrade.
London’s car accident
It's actually been a lot of fun driving the Charger, which has made it easier to deal with not having my car. I'm just glad that my car wasn't totaled, which made this accident a lot easier than the past ones I've been in.
Sunday, I planned on going down to Salt Lake for President Nelson's devotional. Ashton, my friend Kate, and two of her sisters joined me. There were so many people there that we didn't end up getting into the conference center or the overflow options.
Line for President Nelson’s devotional
There were thousands of us who never got in, which was too bad. Kate's sisters were pretty exhausted from standing in line waiting, so we decided to just head back down to Provo, and we listened to the devotional in the car.
I'm so grateful for President and Sister Nelson. I sometimes forget how blessed I am to be able to listen to a prophet of God. Their messages were very relevant to me and where I'm at in my life right now.
I was grateful for the reminder to focus on my discipleship. I have a lot of big decisions to make coming up, and it brings me a lot of peace to know that as long as I focus on following Christ, everything else will work out.
Mable, Misha, Max in a dog pile
Isaac
This week for my birthday, Mom and Dad had a birthday party for me and we went to Aunt Amy's. She has a 10-foot-deep pool that is heated at about 98 degrees or something. It was so fun because there was a slide and a diving board, and it was super warm.
For my birthday, I wanted an electric Razor dirt bike, but they cost a lot of money, so I am going to try to save up for one. Aunt Amy and Uncle Keith were really nice, and they let me ride one of theirs. They are so fun! I can't wait until I save the money up until I can actually get one.
Isaac’s birthday party
Kai
Isaac’s birthday was this week, so we went to Aunt Amy’s to celebrate it. One thing you should know is that Aunt Amy has a built-in pool in her backyard that is as hot as a hot tub. It is very big and has a slide too, plus there is a basketball/pickleball court! It was so fun, after we swam around, a few of us got out and played some basketball on the court on her backyard.
After everyone got to Aunt Amy’s and played, we had some cake, pie, and ice cream. We each made our own pies, but we decided to only take one pie (because Cougar is lactose intolerant) because we had cake. Happy Birthday Isaac!
James playing with his friends
Gloria
This week I went on a hike for a combined youth activity. It was pretty easy to do. It was a 0.7 mile hike. When we made it to the top, we talked about following the prophet. After the hike we went home.
Later this week I was not able to pass my knowledge test for my permit but that is okay. I will try harder to practice more next week. We also celebrated Isaac's birthday at Aunt Amy’s house and swam and played games.
Isaac’s birthday party
Caleb
Hola everyone! J To be completely straight, this week was kind of hard because lots of our friends we're teaching just aren't really doing anything. Worse than that is that we can't even get a hold of them to even teach them a good lesson! We're kinda stumped with that a bit.
But we did find some pretty cool people this week between walking to citas and all that. On Saturday we were sitting down resting a bit by a park playground, because Elder Jones has been more or less sick. Then this family came by, and the dad stopped, and started talking to us. I'm not sure how interested they really are, but they attentively said we could visit them the next week on Wednesday!
Dad and Quinn making pies
Also, after that (or maybe it was before), we were walking and we stopped at a corner, to cross the street, and there was a girl just waiting. We said hi, and got to know her a bit. Her name is Jelin. We shared a message with her, and our testimonies.
She couldn't go to the sacrament meeting because of studying, but she asked about other activities and said she'd like to talk again sometime. Right now, we've got planned to maybe have a lesson in the chapel this next week! So, there's a bit of hope with those! And we're continuing to try to help our other friends, but we'll see.
Isaac’s birthday party
I know that God is real! I know Jesus Christ is our Savior! He is the way to have eternal happiness in this life, and eternally in the next! We just have to listen to his teachings (¡study!) and apply them to our lives. He will help us if we just start!
He came to earth and established his church and teachings! Because he loves us, he suffered every pain we've felt. He paid the price so we can be clean and happy! We have prophets and apostles today that are his! I'm sure they've seen him! Listen to them as well! They know exactly what they are talking about!
I love you guys! Look for ways to share this light and truth, that we are so blessed to have! More blessed than we can possibly imagine! I'm grateful that I have it, and that my family has it! I pray that everyone holds onto it, because it's not easy! But it's possible, and worth the struggle that we feel at times! Les amo!
Caleb at multi-zona conference
Ashton
Last week I got to go home, after what felt like a while, for Mother's Day. I know I'm a week late with that, but I still figured I'd share a little bit about what Mom means to me!
Every time I try to put myself in Mom's shoes, I really don't know how she does what she does. It's hard not to think of all the different clichés that are used, but I'll try to express best I can, avoiding some of those typical things I might say that don't come close to describing who she really is.
Isaac’s birthday party
The way that she has opened herself up to all of us allows her to feel things I'm sure I will never quite fully understand. I don't just mean the struggle that comes with being a mom, or the struggle that comes from trying to raise 23 children, but also I'll never fully understand all the struggle that she often faces because of how we treat her.
Beyond her opening up herself to those struggles, and not understanding what she feels, I also want to point out how she has opened herself up to feel a love that somehow goes out equally to everyone she meets.
That love, and courage to open up, for good and bad, is something I can only hope to be able to emulate one day. I feel so humbled to be able to tell others that this woman is my mom. I love you, Mom!
Children’s homemade pies
Monte
Finished with school! This Friday, I took my final test for Drivers Ed. I passed, and by that time, I was ready to be done being a sophomore, so hello junior year! I have so much more free time, and it always feels good to have summer break. Just for fun, I bought a really nice Spider-Man suit (because I'm a total fanatic), and it was so worth the money.
On Isaac's Birthday, Dad grouped us into teams to make pies. Veidi, Quinn, and I chose to make a raspberry pie, and it turned out amazing. I want to make a blueberry pie next. I think it's a really cool talent, knowing how to cook, especially culinary recipes. Thank you, Dad, for having us do that, and Happy Birthday, Isaac!
Isaac’s birthday party
Alex
We made pies this week! We all teamed up into divided groups and we all had an idea for pies. Me and Vanessa made a key lime pie. Kai, Christian and Troy made a peanut butter and chocolate pie. Then Monte, Veidi, and Joanna made a raspberry pie. Finally, Isaac, Gloria and Quinn made a strawberry pie. They were super delicious!
Also, Issac made up a game this week, and it is so fun. It’s kinda like four square and ping pong mixed. We haven't come up with a name, since we just made it up, but this week has been really fun!
Alex and Vanessa making pies