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August 23, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

So I'm anxious to hear about your weekend-to see if you had Steve's baptism, etc. I hope all went well. We loved all your videos and pics from last week.

Well, we got home late last night and all of us were soooo tired, but the good news was that our ward was not meeting until 3pm today because Star Stake was having their Stake Conference, so we took advantage and slept in. Alex and Savannah flew home with us and we all had brunch this morning, then they left for Utah afterwards. The others all flew home to Utah yesterday afternoon on a separate flight.

I felt a little down this morning, that after-the-vacation feeling. I wanted to be back at the beach and not in real life, but dad had a shift this evening and the girls have school starting tomorrow so we all had to get back to real life pretty quick. We had a great time, missed you terribly, but we will definitely plan another family reunion when you're home!!

Everyone except Kirk, Sarah, Addie and dad and I went to Knott's Berry Farm on Friday. They had a great time. At first Alex and Nikki were holding off on going on the roller coasters, but then Nikki decided to go so Alex said he had to go if Nikki was going. haha From then on all of them went on every single ride and even went back for seconds, so I'm glad they had a fun day for themselves. While they were gone we went to Fashion Island, saw Heidi and her little boys there, walked a couple crazy dogs, had lunch, played at the beach and went for walks around the island. I just can't get enough of Addie especially now that she's walking. Soooo cute! And she never stops moving except when I hold her and read books to her. 

At the beach house dad and I had our own room, Nikki and Leah had a room and Alex and Savannah had their room. Then when the rest of them got there, Blair joined Nikki in one room, Sarah and Kirk and Addie took over Alex and Savannah's room. So out in the living room on blow up mattresses was Leah, Alex and Savannah and Sean. One big sleepover and laugh fest. Alex and Savannah used our walkin closet as their personal little changing room. haha It was tight in the house, but no one complained. We all shared two bathrooms.

Some of our highlights were visiting grandpa, swimming in his pool, having Toni and Cami over for dinner, renting a little boat and taking it around the island, using the ferry constantly, going to the Sawdust Festival and Pageant of the Masters (Toni babysat Addie for us at our house), laying in the sun at the beach, riding the ferris wheel, and going to the swap meet. I think if everyone voted, they'd go back to that same place again another time. We were talking about doing a family vacation the December after your mission. :)

Today at church Emily Hill had her farewell. She gave a wonderful talk about getting rid of fear and turning it into faith. She said she's had to do that a lot in her life and deciding to serve a mission was one of those times. She goes into the MTC this Wednesday. When I went up to talk with her afterwards, Braden Shaw was there talking with her. Also Courtney Dittman-she's going to Utah State next month and Sarah Woods who is going to BYU-Idaho in September. Emily is very excited to start her mission. She will be a great missionary.

Dad gave back to school blessings after church and we're trying to get back into our school year routine. I'll be so happy to have that routine. There's a lot of benefits to having order and routine in your life. You probably feel that way with your mission. Nikki will be back at Taekwondo also and both are still taking piano lessons. Also it looks like Nikki and I will be starting weight watchers too. Nikki says she's game, so I think it will be really beneficial for her to learn healthy eating from someone else. You get weighed in once a week, keep track of what you eat and attend one class a week where you learn food nutrition.

Now we're in full wedding mode since we only have about 2 1/2 weeks until Sean and Blair's wedding. I need to meet with Debbie this week to go into all the little details of the reception and open house. We've been getting quite a few wedding announcements lately-Krysta Jensen, Phillip Stafford, Colette Leifson, Jacob Rozsa, Taylor Bluth, Cameron Ray, McKenna Caudill, Dakota Trumbo. Alex's friend Jeff is marrying a girl from Boise, so they will be back up here next week for that. It seems like we get announcements about every other day now. haha It's a lot of fun.

Well, that's about it for around here. Oh yah, Sean and Blair were wondering what you thought about their big news of moving to Chicago? Dad and I need to plan a trip now to go visit them. I've never been there. Well, I need to start making the lunches. I hope you are enjoying your threesome companionship. Have a miraculous week!

Love you always,

Mom xxoo

Balboa!

August 16,2015
Dear Sister Kristina,
How are you doing this week? First off, I'll apologize for my letter since I'm writing from my phone. Not exactly ideal. But I'm sitting in the living room of our beach house where all the windows look out into the balboa bay. The middle window opens up and let's the cool breeze from the ocean flow through the house. It's beautiful. We look across the water and can see the Ferris wheel at balboa, the ferry making it's crossing and boats coming and going right in front of us all day.

We flew down here on Friday and will stay till next Saturday. Kirk, Sarah and Addie and Sean and Blair will fly in on Wednesday.

The smell of the ocean is wonderful, my hair is curly and big and even Alex's hair is curly. The air and this vacation is good for all of us. Leah is using a scooter now that she kneels on which she likes so much better than the crutches, but there are lots of things she wishes she could do. The girls start school right when we get back, so this is their last hurrah.

Personally I can't wait for school because both girls do so much better with a set schedule. It will be great having them both at the high school.

Grandpa said to say hi. It's been so hot these last couple of days and grandpa's house is so hot. It makes him tired. Looks like it will cool off quite a bit this week, so I'm really happy about that. You know me and heat. I'm pretty sure I would love the weather you get to have up there.

Toni and Cami came over here tonight, had dinner with us and we went for a walk around the island. Toni's such a good sister and I'm so happy to have her in my life.

I hope you had a good week. We think of you often and with Savannah here we always remember you and kade in our prayers.

When I think of you and where you are and what you're doing, it brings me such peace, such joy. It means more than you know and I hope you can feel that same joy when you think of us. Family and the plan of happiness are everything. Everything else pales in comparison. I see so much wealth here, but I wouldn't trade the riches I have in my family. Keep working hard to help those you're teaching gain that understanding of what's really important here on earth. Share your testimony often.

Love you!!
Mom
Xoxo

Vacation Prep

Aug. 9, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

So how was your week? It was so fun hearing about your investigators last week and how many of them came to church. That was awesome and just so you know, extremely rare! I hope your Sunday this week was great too.

I had to visit a couple different wards today and the Hullingers were in the 3rd ward. That's the ward they moved into. So their Ali is coming home in two days and they are so excited. They also wanted to know if you've talked with their relatives in Petaluma yet.

I went to different wards today for a presentation from the Stake about the Justserve.org we are trying to get up and running here in this area. It's been in your area for a couple years now and we hear it's going great. We're really hoping to get it going here too and that it catches on with the community. It's such a great idea to find ideas for volunteer work.

Marcela facetimed me today. She's always so fun to talk to. She was wearing the Bronco's t-shirt that we had given to Bruno. They're waiting for Mara's mission call to come. They can see that it's been assigned, so they're expecting it within the next couple weeks. Can't wait to hear. There are lots of people coming and going on missions in our stake. It's hard for me to keep track. Today I heard that Chandler Phillips gave his farewell. I also heard that he mentioned you in his talk and said something about your positive attitude. Myles told me but couldn't remember exactly. Anyway, he said it was very nice.

Dad is working tonight in Emmett. I hope he gets to sleep a bit tonight. He needs the rest. He's working hard so he can take off next week so we can go to So Cal on vacation. Alex and Savannah are coming here this Wed. She's doing a camp in Twin Falls and Alex will pick her up Wed then keep coming here. They'll fly out with us on Friday to Calif. Right when we get back from vacation, the girls start school. They're not too happy about that. It's going to be so weird having both girls at the high school. I hope Nikki likes high school and starts making some good friends.

I'm getting everything done this week to prepare for the start of school. The girls have dentist appointments, dr. appointments, getting backpacks, registering at school, etc. Leah's leg is healing more and more. At least it seems like it.

Saw this at Albertsons

I was really hoping that she'd be almost walking by the time school started, but I'm not sure if that's going to happen now. At her doctor's appointment this week she will get an x-ray and that will tell us if the bone has started to heal. If it's healing, the Dr. will tell her to start putting more weight on it and using it, which will be wonderful. She is so tired of the crutches. Last week we had to give back the wheel chair, which she loved especially if we were walking anywhere far. She can always use more prayers though. :)

We also facetimed with all the brothers at grandma and grandpa's and Addie is really walking a lot now. She's no longer a baby, she's a toddler! I told Kirk to send you videos. I hope you can get those. Grandpa has been in the hospital with pneumonia. He's getting better each day, but has been in for a week now. The boys go over to grandma's to help her with things. Hopefully, grandpa will be coming home this week.

So I noticed that your old facebook page is no longer around. I went to tag you in a post last week so I could link your most recent letter and you're no longer one of my friends-that just doesn't sound right. haha But is it because you started a new facebook page? I just thought your old one would still be there. When Alex had a mission facebook page, he still had his old facebook too. anyway, I'm at least sending your letters out to everyone each week.

Hey, did you ever get a postcard from us? It's a new app that takes your cell phone pics and lets you convert it to a postcard. I just wanted to see if it actually worked.

Yesterday was Alex and Savannah's first year anniversary. Can you believe it's been a year? It went by so fast. I ran into the Cameron's in the mall. They said Tori is thinking of going to med school in the military (that doesn't make Melanie feel very good), Claire is still going to school-hasn't really mentioned anything about a mission at this point. She's not sure if she's supposed to go. They said to say hi.

Our yard is looking gorgeous like it always does every summer. I love just walking around our yard, picking the tomatoes and eating them, picking the raspberries, and watching the beautiful sunsets just about every night. In fact, I'll send you a pic of our front walkway. The plants there have grown so much that it looks like you're walking through a jungle to get to our front door. I love it! haha When Myles came over today he asked what we're feeding our plants. Maybe I just want it to look as pretty as northern Cal. ;)

Here are a few missionary tips for the week:

1.Upon arriving in a new area, find a good bakery.

2.Cook bacon weekly, just for the smell of it.

3.Read to and talk with all children--in homes, on the street and at church.

4.Take a copy of an old talk to sacrament meetings; if the bishop calls on you without warning, you'll be prepared.

5. Get to know the missionary couples well.

6.Read the Book of Mormon every day of your mission.

May you have a week full of tender mercies!!

Love you very much,

Mom xxoo

Finally Home!!

Aug. 2, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

We got home from Salt Lake just a few hours ago. Leah and I have been gone for two weeks and it seemed so long. I'm still kind of out of it trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing. Debbie drove Nikki down on Friday so she could go to the shower yesterday. Blair's cousin hosted the shower and it was fun. I gave her a present in your behalf, it was a cute short robe made like a sweatshirt. I'll send you a picture so you can she what you gave her. haha

I got to see dad for a few hours before he had to take off for a night shift in Emmett. I missed him and sure like my vacations better when he's with me. Nikki went to girl's camp this last week. I'm going to tell her to write you because she has so many stories and had such a fun time. She said it was awesome!!

Leah and I babysat Addie while Sarah went to her girls' camp. Sarah said her camp was so much fun. Sarah loves to camp so she was right in her element and I can see why she got called as camp director. She can't wait til next year. Addie is so fun to be around and it's so fun to see her trying to walk now. She doesn't look like a baby any more when she's walking, she's definitely a toddler now. So sad, but fun at the same time.

Leah's leg seems to be getting better each day. She's actually putting a little weight on it now and doesn't complain about it. She only uses Tylenol or Motrin as pain medicine which is excellent. But it won't be fully healed for another five months. Ughh. It's really hard work helping her with everything, clothing, bathing, walking, getting her wheelchair in and out of the car, etc. I was so tired some days, but I'm sure it was an excellent work out for me. :)

We've moved the girls to the big room downstairs. Both of them will sleep in there. We still have a lot of work to do to get it ready for them, but at least their beds are there. We painted Alex's bed white so it will match Leah's bed. Dad took all the weapons off the wall and we'll probably paint the one wall a different, fun color. I told the girls they are now responsible for getting themselves up in the morning, etc because I can't just yell like I used to. All the counselors tell me I need to let them be more responsible for things they should be doing on their own. If they don't get up and out the door on time for school, they will just be walking and Leah really doesn't want to have to walk all the way to school with her crutches. We'll see how it goes.

Dad has been working super hard these past few months and I'm so excited for him to have a real vacation. Sean and Blair are in full wedding swing now and moving mode. They're looking for places to live in Chicago. I'm not going to lie, it will be really odd not having them in Utah. I'm excited for them, but sad at the same time. On all these trips to Utah, I haven't been to Provo once. You're not there and the boys work in Draper, so there's no need to go down there. Very strange in a way. 

My Uncle Marv passed away last week. Remember him? The bass player. His funeral was yesterday and I couldn't go to it because I was going through the temple with Blair(she loved the temple by the way), so instead I went to their house on Friday night with Leah and visited my cousins and Aunt Jerrie. It was a lot of fun talking with my cousins. I hadn't seen some of them in years! Steve and Carolina showed up there too so we got to visit with them too. They're busy moving into their new old house down the street and getting things ready for Dakota's wedding.

Everyone asked about you and said to tell you hello. 

I'm anxious to hear about your week in your new area. I want to hear more stories about the people you meet with during the week, their trials, their families, your trials and what you do with your companion, how you work together, people you're praying for, etc. If there's ever anyone you'd like us to pray for too, let us know.

This will be a busy week for us getting back into real life. We have dentist appointments, laser appointments (haha), RS luncheons, Taekwondo, room re-arranging, mutual, shopping, paying bills and all the usual. But it's so good to be back in my own room in my own bed! No more hotel living, although it was really nice having a handicap room, because they're so big and roomy. Roxy and Eddy are happy to have us back too.

We went to the Samoan ward again today. I'm beginning to feel right at home there and I love singing the songs in Samoan. Nikki got to go with us today and she loved it too. Dad told me that Ammon (Beyond 5) got his mission call to Apia Samoa! How fun is that! 

Well, that's about it for last week. It's a bit hard for me to think so I might be leaving something wonderful out, but if I think of it, I'll email you during the week. Have you started using Facebook yet? Let us know what you do there too. 

Thank you for being such a sweet, wonderful, loving daughter. Words can't possibly explain how much that means to me and what a blessing that is in my life. Have a great week.

Love you so much,

Mom xxoo

Addie at a water park by Kirk and Sarah's house.

I'm happy she loves her new quilt and bike.

Me with my cousin Jean and his wife Spring, my cousin Ellen and my aunt Jerrie.

Sean and Blair after she went through the temple.

Blair holding the present you gave her.

Addie playing with the toys at the shower.

Playing in the backyard at the shower.

Leah absolutely loved holding the little kittens.