7 August 2022

VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 464

Mom and kiddos at family fun run

Mom / Jenny

I have always loved running, so I was very excited when Endia organized a family 5K/10K/half marathon! I decided that I would run the 5K, and it was so good for me. For the past little while, I have been walking at least an hour every morning.

Sincere there were three different groups running different distances, Endia asked those of us running shorter races to leave water in bags for the groups coming behind each of us.

I was about halfway through my 5K when Endia called and said she couldn’t find the water. It was a hot day, and I knew they would need water, so I began to run faster. I left Quinn with Vanessa and Alex so I could finish and take them water.

They were able to get to the next water pack before I could get to them, but it felt good to have been able to run like I did. I felt so good, that I felt impressed to head towards the 10K runners, and then the “halfers”, so I could run with them and encourage them as they finished. What a great activity! I hope that this can become an annual family tradition.

At temple at the end of the family fun run

Yarima

Aura and I had made last-minute plans to go to Bear Lake, but we didn’t think to check the weather before, and found out that there was going to be a thunderstorm. We didn’t end up going, but we decided that because we had everything ready and planned, we would just go somewhere different, so we ended up going to Trial Lake.

We had a carne asada, and we did some fishing. Aura and Selvin caught some fish. We hung out for a little while, and it was so relaxing and fun. Towards the end, it started to rain a little bit, but we stayed a little while longer, and then when it really started to come down, we left. 

Aura, Yarima, Selvin and group at Trial Lake

Monte

This week I went on a half marathon run with Cougar, Endia, London, and Ashton. The rest ran the 5K, or the 10K. It was super hard, but super worth it. I ran with Endia most of the way.

Endia was an awesome pacing buddy, and a great person to talk with. I had an amazing time, but I was super sore afterwards. Thank you to everyone who made that run possible.

I went on my first date this week. It was a total blast! My friend, Aiden Viehweger, and I had been planning a double date since I turned 15, and the day has finally come! My date was Elizabeth Lemon (works with me at Falcon Ridge Elementary).

First, we went to Café Rio for dinner, and we had an amazing time. After we finished eating and talking, we went to Aiden Viehweger's house to watch Murder on the Orient Express. It is such a good movie! After the movie, we sat, talked, played games, and had a great time.

Aura, Selvin, Itzel, others at Trial Lake

Gloria

This week we all moved into different rooms. It took a few hours to get everything where they were going. I share a room with Troy and Quinn. It's a little hard because Quinn is always up at like 6:00am, and he makes so much noise. That wakes me up and most of †he time, and I can't go back to sleep. 

Some of us went to summer seminary and the Zimmerman’s were our ride. We all went to Brother Hutton’s class (he is in our ward) about loving others and yourself.

On Friday morning we woke up at 6:00am for the family fun run. Isaac and I both watched the little kids and cheered the others on. On Sunday, Brother Hutton called me out of class and asked me to give a talk about Jesus Christ the shepherd.

Veidi, Gloria, and Vanessa bob boarding

Braden

Last week I started a new job! My original plan for work out here in NC has stalled a little bit, and I’ve needed to make a transition. The company I work for now is called AARC-360. They specialize in information and cybersecurity.

All their employees are remote workers, so I get to work from home. This last week Brooke and I went out to get a few things to set up my home office in our bedroom.

The transition has been interesting. This company says that they don’t place much emphasis on whether an applicant has experience in the field, but look for people who fit their culture, and train everyone from the ground up.

Braden in his new home office

I definitely fall in this category, and I have met a few others who also didn’t have an educational or job background in this field. There is so much to learn, and at times I feel like I’m hearing a foreign language.

As I’ve thought about this experience, I’ve been reminded about the early months of my mission in the Philippines. I’ve been reminded of feelings I had seeing older missionaries who could speak and do missionary work so confidently. I remembered the thoughts I had of feeling like I’d never be like them. But, over time I learned the language and could look back on how far I came.

That process on my mission has been a huge source of strength as I’m now in a new field learning another new “language” and work. I’m grateful I can fall back on my mission experience as a foundation and source of strength now in this time of transition.

Traveling to the family fun run

Troy

On Friday, we were planning on going on a run, which was really exciting. You would get three choices to either run a 5K, which was 3.5 miles, or a 10K, which was 6 miles, or a half marathon. I chose to go on the 10K with Kai, Natalie, Christian, and Veidi. It was so hard!

First, we would be put six miles away from the temple, and next we would get to a stopping point so then we could get a drink of water. Then, when we got to the temple, we would get treats, like Cliff bars, chocolate muffins, blueberry muffins, water and Gatorade. It was so fun.

Family after fun run

Caleb

We worked a lot with our friend Andrés this week, it's super amazing and completely ready to be baptized! He's going to be a great strength to this branch. We've got his baptism for the 13th of August, so this next week is going to be full of planning and getting everything to workout.

This week I've been thinking about joy. The purpose of our existence is that we might have joy! How amazing is that. I really just love joy. My life has been full of it, and I still just get overwhelmed with it!

All I really want is everyone, especially my loved ones, and the loved ones of my loved ones (ha ha!) to feel this same joy. It's real and it's powerful, and it's worth existing for!

Being that God created us to have joy—not just a little bit of joy, but the joy that He has—eternal joy, He created the plan of salvation. This plan has a lot of names, but I'd give it another one: The plan of joy!

Caleb and Elder Jones with Andrés

This life can be full of the joy of God, but for sure we have the promise of peace in this life and eternal joy in the next, if we follow the plan our loving Heavenly Father has made for us, and Jesus Christ has given us, and made it possible.

So, grow more faith in Christ. Having faith is a choice. Repent when you do something wrong. Just do what you have to do to fix it! Have faith that Christ has the power to clean your spirit!

When we fix something that we have done or are doing, he literally takes that weight out of our heart and fills it with joy instead! That’s the atonement of Jesus Christ! Do those things and you'll have the Holy Ghost with you! It's pretty amazing. I know it's true with all my heart! I love you guys a ton! Do those things so that you might have more joy (2 Nephi 2:25)!

Preparing Yarima and Selvin’s invitations

Isaac

This week was just super fun. Nate and Natalie asked if Vanessa and I could come to their house. We left after the half marathon activity.

Since Vanessa didn't have any clothes with her and since she just finished running, Natalie got some clothes for us and it was super nice. When we got back to her house, we went to the splash pad. Mateo really loved the water. He was having a lot of fun just splashing in the water.

Then after a couple of hours, Natalie and I went to the dump and emptied their trailer. It was pretty hard, because of all of the fiberglass and dust from the sheetrock and drywall. When we finished, it was super rewarding. Then we went to Midvale and grabbed their new cabinets that they are going to install. After that, we went back to Natalie’s home, and McDonalds was waiting for us!

Then Natalie introduced a TV show to us called The Rookie. I really like it. The main actor is the main actor for the Castle series. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for letting us go, and thank you, Natalie and Nate, for having us and making it such a great time.

Selvin, Aura, and others at Trial Lake

Dad / Arkin

It seems like I started working on the river trip ages ago, which is not far from the truth. In mid-June I started organizing and planning, and on the Fourth of July weekend, we did a lot of work as a family to get ready for the upcoming trip. The next week was full of more work to finish a new raft and get packed.

But that wasn’t all the work. As soon as we got home, we spend another day unpacking, organizing, and then storing everything away in an organized way so that next year’s trip preparations are easier.

Done? No! For the past two years, because we have run out of room in the garage, we have been storing our river rafts under a tarp along the side of the house.

Raising a raft on pulleys to new raft shelf

I have been wanting to find a better solution for a while, and after several weeks of planning, rejecting those plans, and planning again, I finally came up with a way to store our rafts on the ceiling of the garage, but I didn’t just have to plan how to set up raft shelves, but also how to get eight 100-pound rafts up there!

It has taken four weekends, a lot of trail and error, a scary incident where an unsecured shelf gave way and collapsed almost on top of me, and 12-hour Saturdays sweating in a hot garage, but this weekend, we finally completed the project.

Now all our rafts are secured on the ceiling of the garage, complete with safety straps (since Jenny and I are still a little skittish after the earlier raft shelf collapse!).

Completed raft shelf project in the garage

Kai

While Monte was gone on his first date, we ate some J Dawg style brats in hot dog buns. They are so delicious! After that, we watched some family videos and then I got a massage in Mom's massage chair, because I was feeling really sore after the 10K that I had just run with the family.

I am a little too small for the massage chair, but all in all, it did help me feel a little better. After the Littles went to bed, we went upstairs to Mom and Dad's room and watched Blue Bloods with them. 

Family after fun run