30 April 2023
VOLUME 11 – NUMBER 501
Endia, Cougar, London, Troy on road trip
New Mexico! I planned this trip a few months ago and we finally got to go! I have a goal to see every national park, and recently I noticed there were three pretty close to each other down near where Dad grew up. Here were the highlights.
Carlsbad: The caves were out of this world! I was amazed by how unique and incredible everything was, and it blew my mind to think about how it all formed over time.
White Sands: Snow-white White Sands. It was hard to see with the sun reflecting everywhere, but I loved rolling and jumping around like maniacs!
Las Cruces tour: Seeing where Dad grew up and went to school was fun. It was also cool that he met someone he knew at church when we went. Brother Thurston was the only person he recognized there, after not living there for 30 years, and not visiting in over 25 years.
Thanks to everyone who made that trip so amazing!
Visiting Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
I couldn’t wait to go to New Mexico with Endia and Cougar and London and Dad. We left on Wednesday night and came back early in the morning on Monday.
We drove all night, and the next morning we were going to Carlsbad Caverns, which was a giant cave. It looked so fake but I kept reminding myself that it was real. I also got a shirt. After that we went to our place that we were staying at with was a KOA place.
Then next day we went to the Guadelupe Mountains. It was a fun hike we got two see two springs. Each was like an oasis. The hike was tiering but fun.
The next day we went to White Sands, and it was so cool because the sand was so white. We all went to a high place and just jumped down into the sands. Then we went to the place that we were staying at and the next morning we went home after going to church. It was an awesome experience.
Visiting White Sands in New Mexico
New Mexico was so much fun! It’s been several months since my last national park, so it was awesome to see three in one trip! I was so glad when Endia and Cougar invited me to join them.
My mind was completely blown by the beauty of Carlsbad Caverns. I couldn’t believe that back in the 30’s they were able to explore as much as they did! It felt like we were hiking down into the caverns for an eternity!
Having Troy go with us was honestly perfect. I feel like I’m pretty much a 10-year-old boy with how silly I can be, so we were really just having a blast together. I loved doing all the crazy jumps at white sands with him.
It was also neat to reminisce with Dad in his hometown, and kind of crazy to picture him as a little munchkin. Basically this was the perfect trip to kick off my summer of adventuring!
Hiking in Guadalupe Mountains in Texas
I am almost done with school! I'm done with history and Spanish, and I just finished a big project in language arts.
I also was able to go to Natalie's to help her out with her kids while she went to the Saratoga Springs temple open house. I had a lot of fun, and I was also able to do school there, and hopefully help the kids.
We played a game on the tramp called Poison Apple. I couldn't remember the real name so I just made one up, but it is a game where you get a couple of balls, and put them on the tramp.
Then you shout “Poison Apple!” and if the ball touches you, you have to sit down. Then the people that sit down try to tap the balls toward other people to get them out.
Emma won a lot of times, and Mac and Brigham got really close. The truth is, I was actually trying pretty hard, and I still lost and got like third every time! Super fun.
Frijole Springs in Guadalupe Mountains
We went to stake conference this week with a girl we're teaching, and it was one of the best stake conferences I've been to. It was literally a miracle because all of the talks seemed perfect for the girl we're teaching! Afterwards she told us that the two sessions we attended were a huge highlight for her week.
It was pretty cool because there was a session Saturday night and Sunday morning, so we headed to her house with a member, who at first didn't want to come, but then we taught the member an awesome lesson and convinced her to come with us.
In the stake conference the spirit was so strong, I think for more than half of the two hour session I was just praying that our friend would forget why she hasn't wanted to be baptized yet!
Then, the next day she returned to stake conference with her Mom, who we baptized about two months ago.
Caleb, Elder Miranda, and missionaries
Honestly it's was so good for all of our members and friends that came! Because the branch in Los Sauces (the little town we are working in) is super small, when they come to stake conference, they get more of a glimpse of what the Church is like in other places.
Don't miss opportunities just because it's something new, or you're not too excited at first, or it's a little difficult, because usually and especially, if it's something inspiring good, it will probably be one of your best experiences. There are millions of things like that, and I've learned that more than ever out here serving a mission!
London and Troy at Las Cruces KOA
This week I got my braces brackets on, and I am getting my wires a little bit later, because I need to get my teeth pulled out first, and Monday was the only day that Signature Smiles was available.
This Saturday we had a ward BBQ, and it was really good food. Mom had to leave early because she had a work meeting. She took everyone who wanted to leave with her, so it was just me and Monte who wanted to stay for a little longer. We just hung out with friends, and Monte was racing a lot of people.
Hiking in Guadalupe Mountains in Texas
After that, we invited our ward friends to the regional dance the same day. Hazel and Herbert were the only ones who went with me and Monte.
When we got there we saw Aiden Viehweger and Elizabeth Lemon, and we were confused because they were supposed to be on their date with Gloria and Riley, but they told us that they were there because the dance started at 8:00pm instead of 7:00pm.
They stayed there for an hour, and then they kept FaceTiming us, but we could not hear them so Monte just hung up. It was a fun night.
Lunch at Aguirre Spring in New Mexico
This Saturday was jam-packed with all sorts of activities going on. First we had to super clean the house before 11:00am, because we had a 5th Ward activity—a Cafe-Rio-style BBQ.
I was debating wether or not I should wear my Dwight Schrute (from the TV series The Office) hoodie that Gloria and Riley got me for an early birthday present, but I thought better of it, with a little help from Mom, because the temperature was scorching hot.
The food at the BBQ was delicious! I am so glad that we go to the 5th Ward now, and I'm so happy for all the friends I have there.
After a few races with Dominic and Aaron, Veidi and I, being the only ones from the fam still there, walked home. Ashton then came over, and we played some 21 outside on the basketball court.
Endia at Frijole Springs
After that we went to the region dance, and that's when I donned my hoodie. The region dance was super fun, and I had a great time. Gloria, Riley, Aiden, and Elizabeth were all there for the first hour of the dance, before they went to Morp. I was happy to have them there for a little bit. I just hung out around Herbert, Veidi, and Hazel the whole night.
I danced with Hazel once, and then someone asked me to dance like right as the song ended so I guess that also counted as a dance.
For some reason I don't have the mojo that I used to have when asking people to dance, but it was still a great night.
Cooking dinner at Las Cruces KOA
Mom, Ashton, Isaac, Quinn, Joanna, and I went to Aunt Amy's house to swim, play, and babysit. I didn't have to really babysit much, because Aunt Amy already found a babysitter.
Ashton and I played a game of 21 in the pool, and I stubbed my toe...It hurt. Ashton was trying to figure out how to dive, and Isaac thought he didn’t know how to swim so Isaac tried to teach Ashton how to swim. It was funny, because neither of them knew how to dive.
After awhile, we got out and played some pickleball. I am doing better at pickleball, but I don't know if I'm too good yet.
I also got to check out the other house that Uncle Keith and Aunt Amy are remodeling. Mom told me what they are going to do with the house, and it sounds really sweet. I also got to play on their Pac-Man arcade machine. I’m not very good at playing Pac-Man.
Cooking dinner at Las Cruces KOA
This week has been a pretty relaxing one for us. Last week Brooke was very busy and had stuff going on pretty much every day, and this week is balancing things out with not a whole lot planned.
We've been doing a pretty good job not eating out as much over the last month or so, but this week we decided that we wanted to get burritos one day from a place called Burrito Loco, and then Chic-fil-A and pizza another day (made multiple stops because we both were wanting different food). We also took Ellie to the park and she had a great time as always.
Family at White Sands in New Mexico
On Thursday Riley and I went shopping for Morp. His mom drove us to Jordan Landing. We went to Famous Footwear to see if they had the shoes we wanted. After looking for them we decided not to buy shoes.
Then we went to Old Navy to find some Hawaiian shirts, white shirts and shorts. Riley could not find a good white shirt so we went to Kohls. He found one and then he pointed out a hoodie that had Dwight from The Office. We decided to each get one, and one for Monte as an early birthday present.
Morp finally came! We started the date a 10:00am. Elizabeths dad came to pick us up. I was the first to be picked up so I could pick up Riley. Then Elizabeth picked up Aiden.
We went to the Cat Cafe up in Salt Lake. We stayed for about an hour. There we not too many cats, and some if them did not like Riley, and kept scratching him.
Visiting Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico
After that, we headed to Elizabeth’s house for lunch. We played the old Mario Party and Aiden won. Then we made some chocolate-covered strawberries.
Then we all went home so we could get ready for the dance. We picked everyone up and took some pictures at the school. Then we went to Fiiz and the DI to looked around for a few things that Elizabeth and Aiden were looking for. Afterwards, we went to Target and got some candy.
The dance started at 8:00pm. It was around 6:45pm, so we decided to crash the region dance and surprise monte.
At 8:00pm, we left the region dance and headed to Copper Hills. We didn't stay too long. We left around 9:00pm. Then we went back to Elizabeth’s house and talked and ate our chocolate-covered strawberries.
Breakfast at Las Cruces KOA
School is over! I took both of my finals this week, which marks the official beginning of spring. On one of my tests for accounting, I needed a 64% in order to not drop down to the next letter grade. I figured I could do that pretty easily, especially since I did better about studying the last third of the semester than any others.
So, I went to take it, and got a 62.9%! With the way the questions were valued, that means I was one question away from getting above my mark. Luckily, that class lets us retake the test with a possible max of 80%.
So I went and studied one of the units that I was the least familiar with on the test, and then went to retake it.
When I finished, I tried checking my score right away (usually they post it within five minutes of taking the test), but this time it took almost seven hours before they posted it! But my score finally came back at 68.8% which was more than enough to end with a decent grade in the class. It was a relieving feeling.
Endia and Cougar at Las Cruces KOA
I forgot to mention that last week we had some training meetings at work that took the place of our normal schedule. The meetings were for all of the new teachers that were just hired, but they asked us to come and help out as supervisors. It was revitalizing to be around all the energy of new teachers who you can tell are just so excited for the chance to be at the MTC. I am really looking forward to this new semester!
Last week, I also went home with the boys to start building a Lego city. We only got our houses and speeders done, but it's coming along nicely.
Family at entrance to Carlsbad Caverns
What a fun trip with the chillies! It was great being with them, and I really enjoyed visiting my hometown again after so many years.
All of the national parks were beautiful, and while we were at Carlsbad Caverns, I reminisced about the last time I was there—during Jenny’s and my honeymoon. It was so crazy to think that the last time I was in the caverns, we were just starting out, and now I was there with two of my girls that were all grown up!
What would the young me have thought if the present day me could traveled back in time and told him about some of the adventures he was about to have!
Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico