2 October 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 472
Yarima’s birthday party
Yarima
This week was my birthday! Selvin pulled off the sweetest surprise. We started the day off with Selvin’s soccer game early Sunday morning. It’s always fun to watch him play. We then went to support Aura at the fundraiser. We had also made plans to hang out at Aura’s. Little did I know when we got there, he had planned a surprise birthday party with all my favorite people! It was a great day.
Cutting Yarima’s birthday cake
Gloria
This week for activities in the 5th ward we had a family home evening. It was fun. I got to talk to a friend that I had not seen in a few weeks, and we were able to catch up on things. I was also able to go to the 2nd ward activity and I had a great time. We roasted some smores and talked.
Then it started to rain and there was some lighting, so we went home. We also began to go to the library so we could each pick out books to read. Work has been good. We still do not have a night supervisor, so we still have to do their route.
We also celebrated Rima's birthday party and I had fun over there. A lot of us playing with the volleyball most of the time. We were all able to hit the piñata. There were two of them, and I was able to hit it. I had a fun time because it reminded
Family at Aura’s fundraiser
Isaac
This week I got a book from the library that Endia and I are reading together. I have read so much of it already because it was so good. The book is called Dragonwatch: Return of the Dragon Slayers. It is the sequel series to the Fablehaven series.
I finished the first five, but I didn't know if I wanted to read the next series. Then I decided that I should, and they were so good! I told Endia she should read them, so she re-read all of the Fablehaven books, and then she caught up to me, and I was on the fourth book!
There are five books in each series. To put that in perspective, Endia caught up to me from Book 1 of the first series all the way to the Book 4 in the second series!
Endia read nine books in the time it took me to read one! I haven't read in a while, but when she told me she finished the fourth book, I started binge reading, and I finished the fourth book. Then I was just reading, reading, reading the final book! It ends so good. I hope you finish soon, Endia. It ends so good!
Yarima’s piñatas for birthday party
London
I absolutely love general conference, and I get so excited each time it comes around. This conference, I went into it with a lot of questions about decisions I will be making in the near future, hoping to get some guidance moving forward. One of the themes that really stuck out to me was the importance of putting God first.
I loved President Nelson's talk about finding rest in Christ and in the covenants I have made with him. I really love that I get to work in the temple each week, and I feel it is a great reminder to me that this life is more than what I am just experiencing right now. I know that God is aware of me, and I feel like I can move forward with a better perspective.
Visit with biological family
Monte
Happy Birthday Yarima! For the general conference we only watched three of the four sessions (I went back and watched a recording of the last one), and instead of watching the fourth, we went to Aura's house and celebrated Yarima's birthday.
The food there was incredible! The flavors just popped inside your mouth! It was pretty funny watching all the adults try to hit the piñata! Happy Birthday Yarima, love you so much!
Family at Aura’s cancer fundraiser
Natalie
This week was a bit all over the place and we were super busy. On Thursday we got to go to the BYU football game against Utah State. We went with some friends which was nice, because the game itself was a bit of a brawl!
Other than that, we have done a ton of food storage/processing. We've made apple chips, applesauce, and apple juice, along with pickling some berries. My kids (Mateo) were eating them faster than I could pick!
Also, on Sunday at Aura's fundraiser we had some GOOD Mexican food, and again, my kiddos were eating faster than we could supply. Ha ha!
Also, I just want to say how awesome Ashton is. He is literally the best ever! His basketball skills are unmatched, and he is the Spikeball king! Literally my favorite brother out of everyone J!
[Editor’s warning: Ashton transcribed this article from a recording from Natalie, so this last paragraph may or may not have actually been written by Natalie]
Yarima hitting the piñata
Ashton
On Friday we had a mission reunion with the Andrews (the former mission leaders of my mission), and let me tell you, it was awesome! It was so wild to see many people who were brand new when I was leaving Mesa, who are already home.
It almost felt like a zone conference, which was what he wanted to do for the first half. We had a little devotional where they both shared some thoughts and showed some videos, and then everyone just socialized for the next little while.
Then it got real though! We set up the volleyball net and played for a while! For those of you who don't know, President Andrews is a semi-pro beach volleyball player, so we played all the time as missionaries.
However, everyone knew he was taking it "easy" on us on the mission, so it was exciting to see him take it up a level. Really fun activity and great to remember the mission and the transformative experiences I had there.
Yarima’s birthday party
Jenny
What a packed weekend! We had Yarima’s surprise birthday party at Aura’s house. It was so fun to see everyone playing volleyball together in Aura’s yard. Everyone did an amazing job, but I was especially impressed with Yaretzie’s skills. Also, the food at Aura’s fundraiser was spectacular! I’m thankful for good friends that surround and support my children.
I also took Libby to the vet to be spayed and then back to our house for her recovery. She will be ready to go home in two weeks. She is such a sweet puppy. We have been incredibly blessed as my dog business continues to grow. I have had a steady stream of work which has blessed us significantly.
Family at Aura’s cancer fundraiser
Veidi
General conference was this week, and I really liked the talks. On Sunday, after the first general conference session, we decided to miss the second session so we could go and celebrate Rima's birthday party and I really enjoyed it.
Dad and some of the Olders also went to a fundraiser for Aura to help raise money for her cancer expenses. Mom and the rest of us stayed and waited for Yarima to come, and then everyone came back to the party.
When we were there, we did the letter game, and lots of different games. Then we got the volleyball, and we all stood in a big circle in Aura’s front yard and hit the ball to each other. Dad asked Gloria and I to invite another girl there to play with us, since she didn’t have any friends, and we did. Then she had a lot of fun with us!
Then we hit two piñatas. It was really funny to see some of the people do it. The little kids and also the adults played, and when they broke open all the children went running to get candy!
Children on trampoline at Yarima’s party
Kai
This week we played Chair soccer in the back yard with Ashton. Chair soccer is really cool. I don't really like soccer, but I do like chair soccer. We played for a long time.
After we played, we went inside and looked at the website that Dad was making for Mom's dog training business. After that, we decided what to watch, and we decided to watch the new Disney’ Star Wars series called Andor. It was pretty good, and Dad especially liked it. We decided we should watch the movie Rogue One next, since this series comes before that movie.
Yarima’s birthday party
Quinn
For Yarima's birthday party, some of us found bikes and one was really fast. I helped set up the string for the pinata. I was able to hit it without a blindfold. Also, there were so many bees, you would not believe it!
Joanna
On Yarima’s birthday we played on the trampoline, and then we played with Yaretzie’s doll house. We hit the piñata and I had a lot of fun. Then we had cake. It was so yummy! I got spicy candy, but it was too spicy, so I gave it to London.
Dad / Arkin
Happy Birthday Yarima! Sunday was an amazing day with family. We had a great time at Yarima’s party, and enjoyed some incredible tacos at Aura’s fundraiser. It was so awesome to see everyone playing, talking, and having fun together!
Family playing at Yarima’s party
Troy
This week was Yarima’s birthday and also it was general conference week. I really liked the talk about service. I like having the feeling of doing service, because it helps other people feel better.
On Yarima’s birthday, we jumped on the trampoline and hit the piñata. I really liked hitting the piñata because my eyes were open so I got to go crazy. We had cake and Selvin smeared cake in Yarima’s face. It was really funny.
Yariima and Selvin at her party