3 March 2024
VOLUME 12 – NUMBER 545
Endia, Cougar, and Owen after blessing
Owen had a busy week. I took him with me to a ward party where I made a Lego car to race in a Lego Derby. We took first place three times and second place once. We also had one of the fastest cars there, of about 30 cars.
Owen also had his doctor's appointment, which meant shots and a couple not so good days afterwards.
He was also blessed on Sunday. I think it was incredible how many family members showed up to support him and us. It was neat to see so many men standing in the circle—all great examples that he will be able to look up to throughout his life. London and Hannah also did a great job with the food that they catered for us afterwards.
Owen ready for his blessing
Well, now that Luna is gone, I have to find alternative ways to get to work! Mom and Dad decided to sell her last week, and I was a little bit sad, because I drove her around so much.
So, as a new way to get to work at Swig, which is about five miles from home, I unpacked “Little Tim,” which is the name for the Honda Motocompacto electric scooter we got for Christmas. I rode him all the way down to the bus stop by Smith's, and then I took the bus to work!
Monte with Motocompacto scooter
My first actual shifts at work were super fun, but because I talked about work in my last article, I think I'll shake it up.
I had a youth committee meeting on Sunday, and we got to start planning for Camp Helaman, which is a camp for priest-age young men. I'm super excited for Camp Helaman this year, because last year was super fun and amazing.
It is a bit shorter this year, which is a bit of a bummer, but it’ll be fine anyway. We also talked about plans for some devotionals.
Monte with Motocompacto scooter
For our young women's activity we did ice skating, and it was really scary getting on the ice and balancing. I kept falling and it really hurt. Gloria was really ahead of me and my friend Shinel. We tried to catch up but it was really hard.
Afterwards we went to Neilson’s and got ice cream. I ordered a peanut butter and cookies ‘n cream mix, and it was delicious. Then we went home. I did not finish all of my ice cream, so I gave the rest to Mom.
We also had a dog named Lulu for training this week. Mom was training her and she was really cute, but also really nervous.
Young men river trip preparation activity
This week for our young mens activity, We planned a river trip lesson introducing the river trip, and ranks, and Gilligans and skippers, etc.
We had a lesson by Dad on how the fleet admiral, the skippers, and the Gilligans all related to the organization of the priesthood, and I also organized a matching game with the youth, to help them learn more about our river trip ranks.
At first I felt like it might have not gone as well as it could, but they seemed to all really like it and enjoy it. Overall it was a pretty good night, and I think it helped the young men to have more insight and knowledge about what the river trip is, and some components that go into it.
Young men river trip preparation activity
The young men in our ward want to go on a river trip this year, so to help get them ready, we planned out a preparation activity each month to help them become somewhat familiar with what things are going to be like on the river.
This week we taught them rankings and and fleet structure. We started off with a little introduction that Dad made. He showed one of our family river trip videos, and talked about the dates of the preparation activities and the actual trip.
Afterwards, we played a memory game with all of the ranks you can get on the river. Once the game was over, we handed out treats to everyone, and did some Q&A.
Once the activity was over, Monte and I dropped off some of our friends because they needed a ride home. We came back to the church to help Isaac and Dad clean up the activity, and talked about how it went. I think that the acitivity went rather well!
Young men river trip preparation activity
We had the in-person interviews for the six finalists for the MTC scholarship. Hearing their stories and experiences has been very inspiring, and that has made it quite challenging to make a decision.
One thing I have learned about since becoming a full-time employee, is that many times when a decision needs to be made, especially when it comes to deciding for people, you have to make a choice between many great options.
Any one of the candidates is totally deserving and would be a great choice. However, there are only two scholarships available. Choosing between right and wrong is challenging, but choosing between good and good can be even more challenging.
The reassuring part about these types of decisions is that no matter what you decide, things will be okay, and life will go on for those that aren’t selected.
Owen chilling at home
This week is Owens baby blessing at Endia's and Cougar's church. We left leave early in the morning to get there. Me, Caleb, and Kai started playing with the stopwatch on Caleb’s phone where we would try to click it faster than the person before us. Kai got 0.5 milliseconds and beat us!
When we came back to the house, we made our own pizza and helped practice an activity that Dad wanted to use in his BYU classes.
Jenny leaving on St. George trip
This week Utah Foster Care had an all-staff meeting in St. George. As a company, we decided to support one of our co-workers who wanted to run the 50-mile lake-to-lake relay. Brad ran the whole way by himself, and several of us took five- to seven-mile stretches to support him.
For the last 10 miles it was pouring rain and freezing cold. I’m thankful I didn’t run that portion! It did fell good to run again, and I surprised myself with how well I did, considering that I hadn’t trained for the run at all.
The drive home was treacherous! It was snowing really hard, and there were semi trucks and cars sliding off the road all over the place.
However, the Rivian was solid. Not once did we have an issue as we navigated around all the other sliding vehicles. It was a great maiden road trip for the Rivian.
It was also fun having Arkin along for a short getaway!
Jenny after Utah Foster Care fun run
This week I went to Institute for the first time since being home. It was pretty fun, and it was mostly nice to be off doing something on my own.
Also, Mom and Dad went down to St. George this week, so I was left behind to take care of all the kids at the house. I had a lot of fun with all of them. We had good food, played lots of games, and for the most part everyone got along. I had good time with my siblings, and I love them all.
Being there for Owen's baby blessing this week was super awesome! Owen's such a happy baby and I can't help but think he's so happy all the time because his little spirit knows how lucky he is to have Endia and Cougar as his parents.
Endia, Cougar, and Owen, I love you guys a lot! Socializing with family afterwards was a lot of fun as well and London and her friends made some delicious snacks. I'm blessed to be surrounded by such awesome and talented people.
Family eating Famous Dave’s from Aunt Amy
In November, Rivian let us know that the R1S we had reserved was available. Because of our lower income and high interest rates, the timing was bad, but since the price we locked in back in 2021 is about $20,000 lower than current retail, we decided to buy anyway, because if we need to sell it, we should still make money.
I’ve always loved Rivians, but now Jenny has fallen in love with “Oakley” too, so we are going to try and keep it and sell our van.
As I have mentioned before, the first couple months of this year have seen a drop in revenue from our MyPack dog training business, and we’ve struggled to pay the bills, so we sold “Luna” this week to help us catch up financially. Goodbye Luna, and thank you!”
2021 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid—”Luna”
This week I have be preparing for prom—just making sure I have everything I need.
On Tuesday, Dad, Monte, and I all had an eye appointment in the morning. It was running longer than we thought, and Monte needed to go to work, so he took the car which we came in. Then Mom came and got Dad, and I.
Every Thursday we have stake sports. I enjoy going. I like playing nine-square and talking to people there I that I have not meet before.
Gloria’s prom group
Mom and Dad were in St. George for Mom’s work on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Friday we went to the temple as a family. I really do enjoy going to the temple. It always makes me feel so happy knowing I am doing good for others.
Prom finally came! We had a fun group—Aiden with Ashley, Jace and (I forgot the girls name), and Riley and I. We went to the mall and did a scavenger hunt, and then we had lunch.
After the mall, we dropped off everyone and Riley and I went to his house for a few hours until it was time to get ready.
Gloria and Riley at prom
That night the weather was really bad, so we had to drive separately instead of having Brother Viehweger drive us to dinner and the dance at the capitol building. For dinner we went to The Pie, which is really good.
After we drove downtown, the weather started calming down a little. The dance was really fun. I really enjoy being crazy and dancing. After the dance we went to Aiden's house and watched some Psych.
Mud-covered Rivian after blizzard