6 August 2023
VOLUME 11 – NUMBER 515
Children headed to FSY
FSY! FSY! FSY! I’m just gonna start off by saying that FSY was kind of insane. It was absolutely amazing. When we got there, we got checked in and went straight to our dorms. Gloria went to go find Hazel, while Riley, Aiden and I walked to our building.
It was so good seeing all of the boys from camp Helaman again, and turns out, Holden Cornia (in my zone during Camp Helaman) was in my company, along with a few other people that I wish I had gotten to know better at Camp Helaman. What a coincidence!
The rest of my company was also super cool. We had two Holdens (both in our stake), but because Holden Davis had an easier last name, we just called him Davis, which then morphed into Davy, which we then found out that he played the organ, and swam competitively, so we called him Davy Jones.
Our counselors were so awesome! Their names were TJ, and Sydney. After we met our company, we attended an orientation devotional, and it was wild! It was kind of just one big party.
Monte and friends at FSY
On the second day, after a morning devotional Riley and I found Gloria and Hazel, and joined the rest of the fam for the first two classes, and the family kinda separated for the last two.
My favorite class was taught on Wednesday by Brother Kjar (pronounced Car). He taught about the lower lights of a light house, and shared the song Brightly Beams our Fathers Mercy. We then had a dance, where we just had fun like crazy!
On Thursday we had our spiritual day. We got dressed up in our Sunday clothes, had some insanely spiritual lessons. But the thing that got me right in the heart was the FSY medley, where the girls sing As Sisters in Zion, and the boys sing We Will Bring the World His Truth.
We also did the Talent show, and some of the guys from the stake got up and sang a sea shanty called Bones in the Ocean. It was so cool singing with them.
Monte and Riley on spiritual day
The last day was definitely the best day of the week. It was super fun, but still very spiritual. We recapped what happened throughout the week, and just had fun.
My company also won the cheer competition, because we’re that good. Then we had one last dance, and after the dance we sang the medley again, and boy was the room emotional.
We then closed the day out with our companies. We had a testimony meeting with them, and said our first goodbyes. I kinda sad that we had to leave in the morning.
In the morning, we checked out, said our final goodbyes to everyone, and shipped out. It was so worth going, and I my testimony in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ is so much stronger because of it.
Isaac at FSY
FSY was great! I had a really fun time at the dances, and in the classes that they taught us, and the free time we had at the institute.
One time a group of friends gathered together with a volleyball, and we tried to count how many times we could hit the volleyball without letting it touch the ground. I think we got to one hundred and thirty something! it was really fun.
I definitely felt the spirit, and it helped to build my testimony, I loved the personal study that we had every morning, it really helped to set the day off in a good direction with a personal scripture study. I love FSY and I can't wait to go again.
Gloria at her FSY room
This week has been the best part of my summer. FSY went by so fast. I made a lot new friends in my company. I really loved the counselors I had. Their names were Salma and Zachary.
Most of my company were from the stake, but I was able to get to know them more. I liked the classes they taught because I learned a lot how I can be myself.
The dances they had were so fun because we all learned the PB&J FSY line dance. That was really fun. They also had a dance off and a performance by "OneDirection" which was really some of the guy counselors.
On Thursday we had a spiritual day. That was the best part about my FSY experience, because I haven't felt the spirt in so long, and that helped me a lot to grow my testimony, and learning about Christ and what he has done for me.
I loved singing the FSY medley and how it sounded. I cried so much this week! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go.
Riley, Sophie, Veidi, Gloria at FSY
So I had the opportunity to go to FSY. Sophie Zimmermen was my my roommate. I didn't really want to talk to anyone there. A lot of the boys in my company were crazy.
I was very glad that I had Sophie because I probably would not talk to anyone if she was not there. She got me out of my comfort zone. We did a lot of activities with our company and a lot of devotionals that I really liked. We did sports and get-to-know-your-company games. We also tried to set company and personal goals.
Every now and then we would see people we know as we were walking by during certain devotionals. When they let us go with friends, we'd go with Gloria, Monte, Isaac and Riley.
For lunch we would sit by Isaac, Kai, and Jacob Arslanian, and then we'd just talk for a little while before going back to our spots where we would meet up with our companies again and wait for the next thing. Sometimes I would go to The church institute building and play 9-square with people there.
Children with friends at FSY Dance
On Thursday we all got on our Sunday clothes, and it was our spiritual day. A lot of people shared their testimonies after we separated into groups and a lot of them started crying. I almost did but I didn't then.
They had dances, but there was no slow dance and I don't know why. One Direction were really leaders dressed up as them, but when they sang, people went crazy.
The last day we started to get to know people more, and I just wanted to stay longer but couldn’t because FSY was over. We're going to try to keep in contact with some people we met at FSY.
It was a very fun experience, and I am glad I went. I got to be good roommates with Sophie and I got to know her better. Tucker and Tyson both got their mission calls at FSY. It was cool, really cool to see them open them.
Crew Horner, Monte, Kai at FSY
When we got back from FSY, Mom and Dad surprised us with new bikes! We each have our own bikes! Troy and I got mountain bikes, Isaac and Monte each got more of a racing style of bike, Gloria and Veidi got cruising bikes, while Quinn and Joanna got normal bikes. My bike is mostly black, with some red words on it. It’s pretty neat!
At first I was scared to ride my bike, because of my incident on the new electric bike during Christmas break last year, but once I got on my bike and started pedaling I felt much, much better.
We usually go on bike rides to the school and play games at the park, but if we're feeling like it, we sometimes go to the trail just past the church. I like the trail, cause its mainly just flat, and there are no hard hills to go over. It’s just a smooth flat trail.
I love my new bike! Thank you so much Mom and Dad for getting all of us our new bikes!
Isaac and roommate at FSY
This week has been a light dog training week. I had a little pup named Lilah. I guess it was good that we didn't have a lot of dogs since my helpers were gone all week. However, it makes me worry a little about how we are going to survive without Arkin's Atlas income. His last week is next week.
It has been so fun to have Braden, Brooke, Ellie and Charlie here for the summer. I love that they come here so often, and I get to soak up the time that I have with them. Charlie is at a stage where she is wary of some people, so I am glad when I have time with her to help her be more comfortable with me.
Joanna on her new bike
At work, a generous donation of some pretty awesome mountain bikes and beach cruisers was made to families who have done foster care. So, on Thursday I up eight brand new bikes.
I am amazed by what my wonderful little mini-van can do. I was able to get all of the bikes home in just two trips! I took Quinn and Joanna and Troy with me so that they could pick out their own bikes, but the older children were going to be surprised.
When they got home from FSY, there were new bikes in each of their rooms. I consider it an early Christmas since I have a feeling that this Christmas is going to be lean. Thank you to Braden and Brooke for taking all the kiddos while I did some shuttling of bikes.
Monte, Veidi, Gloria on new bikes
I also got a call from Dennis this week. He was in a pinch and needed someone to watch his little boy, Namari. I had never met Namari before since Dennis has not had much communication with us since moving out.
Namari is such a cute, sweet, and adorable little guy. Natalie said that he looks a lot like Dennis when he was a baby. I am thankful for family, and I am thankful that I got to meet this sweet little guy.
Mom and Namari
I also got to meet Aura's new boyfriend Antonio. He seems like a supportive and nice young man. I hope we get to know him better.
All the older kiddos were at FSY this week. I am so excited for the experiences that they had this week. I transported them all up to Weber State and then traveled back up there to pick them all up Saturday morning at 7:00am.
I had a fun time having a bit of a kid's week with Troy, Quinn, and Joanna. We will have our official kid's week when all the olders go on the river trip later on this month.
Monte with sea shanty brothers at FSY
When the Older's were gone to FSY, me, Quinn, and Joanna played an adventure game that we made up where we had to go look for gold and a gem piece to save our people from raiders. We each wore our backpacks with all our gear inside.
Throughout the game, the seasons changed and we would moved through deserts, plains, and canyons. There were dangers, so we had to survive, and it was very fun. I also kept a log of our adventures in a nice and cool adventure book.
Also while the Older's were gone, me, Quinn, Joanna, and Mom got new bikes for us all. On the first trip, we were able to get only three bikes because Namari and Itzel we visiting. Namari is Dennis’ baby. He is so cute.
On the next trip, we dropped off everyone but me and Mom at Braden and Brooke's house while we got the rest of the bikes. We also hauled them up the stairs by ourselves.
Then they came home, and me and Itzel played a game of Monopoly, but we weren't able to finish because she had to go home.
Troy, Quinn, Joanna’s adventure game
When the older's left to FSY the first night, Troy, Joanna, and I did some adventure at home. The adventures were that we had survive all of the lands and the weathers and find gold for our people. Every floor would would be a different challenge adventure.
Every night we would set up in a a different room. The piano room was the first night in the dessert. Next, there was the deep dome, where there was quick sand.
After that, we did a different adventure. We did snow. The last time we did a jungle, and we had to survive. Then I built a tree house that led to other trees.
Mom was an eagle, and she gave us the challenges. After we finished the challenges, we would get a treat like cookies. One of the challenges was to wash Max and clean him up. That one was a FULL cookie!
Troy, Quinn, Joanna’s adventure game
Ellie came over. She used the panda backpack and we packed up the kitchen, got a sleeping bag, and we got the stool and used it as our stove. I cooked dinner every night, and then they would say that my food was delicious.
Then we would pack up. There were bats. If you shined your light to the ceiling the bats would come after us. We used Monte's and Quinn's room to sleep in, and then we packed up. There was a giant eagle stuck in a tree, and it was really funny.
We watched the Amazing Race and we ate dinosaur chicken nuggets. We watched Max. We slept in different places in the house. We had a blast and we made cookies. When the Olders came home, we cheered!
Dennis’ little boy, Namari
The church is putting on a huge YSA conference this month and they kicked it off with a concert. Jordan Smith, Jordin Sparks and OneRepublic performed and I actually got to sing in the background choir with the two Jordin Sparks numbers.
It was honestly super fun, even though no one could really hear us. I guess they needed to mic us better, but oh well!
OneRepublic was so much fun to sing along with and we were going crazy. I feel like the goal of creating a fun experience and unifying so many YSA was definitely achieved. They balanced perfectly uplifting messages with the awesome music, and everyone who went seemed to really enjoy it.
London singing in choir for YSA conference
This week at the MTC, the main director of all MTC’s got a new assignment, so we had a goodbye party and devotional for him. For that, we gathered some donations to get him a present. I was the one in charge of collecting pictures of each of the nine MTC’s around the world, getting them put together in a collage, and framing it as well.
It was a lot of work but it was really fun! I went to Michael’s several times, learning more and more each time about what is offered there that would have been helpful to know on the previous runs to the store.
The other main highlight of the week was going to the YSA conference concert with Jordan Smith, Jordin Sparks, and OneRepublic. I went with a couple co-workers and we had a blast!
When Jordin Sparks was singing, we were up and dancing as one does at an awesome concert, but no one else was really up and doing anything around us.
One of our friends across the arena even took a video where you can see the three of us (coincidentally all wearing white shirts) jumping and dancing while no one around us was. It was so awesome—One of the highlights of summer for sure!
Ashton at YSA conference concert
Cougar’s grandparents up in Idaho try to do a family reunion every year. Cougar hasn’t been able to go in a while, so he got to see his dad’s hometown and grandparent’s house for the first time in 19 years!
It was so much fun, and I got to meet a lot of new people. It was also nice to see Cougar’s aunt and uncle who let me stay with them when he was doing school in Idaho.
One of my favorite parts was putting together a game of volleyball that almost everyone joined in to play!
Dad and Namari
What a week! It was so great to hear about all of the amazing experiences that the children had at FSY. It was also fun to see Troy, Quinn, and Joanna have fun with their extra freedom from older siblings, and come up their own amazing make-believe adventures.
A highlight of the week for Mom and I was to meet our grandson Namari for the first time, and spend a little time with him. He is such a cutey!
Mom snuggling her grandbaby