Minivan Gone!

Hola, my son!  How are you today? How was your week? Were there any changes in your zone this week?  We are excited to hear your news.

Well, we had a good week. A few weeks ago we started having troubles with the van. It was leaking oil and fluids really bad, then the heater went out. We knew it needed some repairs, but we did not want to spend any money repairing it.  So Saturday we went car shopping and guess what we found???  Meet MY NEW CAR!  We are no longer a minivan family.

At first I was really happy and excited, but then I started thinking about all the fun family adventures we had had in our minivan and I got a little nostalgic. We got our first minivan in the year 2000 when you were about five years old, and went straight to Zion's National Park the next weekend. And we've had a minivan ever since for the last 15 years. I'm actually going to miss it a little bit!

In other news, Dad's JV winning streak is over, his team lost to Herriman on Friday. But on the bright side, the varsity team finally got a region win! So dad came home happy and sad.  But mostly happy.  The season is winding up, there are only six games left!

I have been busy in primary lately, earlier this month was our "Priesthood Preview" meeting for all the boys in our ward turning 12 this year.  Tonight was our "Great to Be 8" meeting for all the children in our ward getting baptized this year.  We have 16 baptisms coming up this year!  It will be a great year in primary, although I wonder how much longer I might serve in this calling!  I just passed my four year mark, and I am the longest serving member of the Ward Council! But I love my calling and will gladly serve as long as I am needed.

Rachel and George were over for a visit this evening, they are excited that they were invited to play in an indoor coed soccer league with some other couples from their ward.  They will play seven games at Soccer City in Sandy. George had a few questions he wanted to ask you...he was wondering if they should buy cleats or indoor soccer shoes? Also, how much smaller is an indoor soccer field? Are the rules much different? And do you have any tips for them? Their first game is February 9th.

Well, that is all our news for this week.  We love you!  We pray for you many times every single day.  Love all the pictures you've been sending lately, keep 'em coming!  Hope you have an awesome week.  

Love, Mom

Martin Luther King Day

Hola, my son.  Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! No school, hooray!  Although I doubt anyone in Honduras has even heard of the guy!  We will celebrate by sleeping in, going out to lunch and then to the Body World exhibit--you know, with the actual human bodies in different poses.  Dad took his Human Anatomy classes to the exhibit last week for a field trip and loved it, he said it was really cool, and we all need to go.  So that is where we will go tomorrow, Rachel and George are coming with us too.

How was your week?  Sounds like you had an awesome week last week with Consejo, your 20th birthday, your visit to Villa Vieja, and a temple trip.  I love hearing all about your amazing experiences in Honduras!  It warms my heart to hear you share your testimony and all the things you are learning as you serve the Lord.  I hope you had another good week, can't wait to read about it.

As for us, Dad had two basketball games this week--Riverton and Pleasant Grove--and his JV team is still undefeated!  The only undefeated JV team in the district!  But unfortunately, the varsity team is not doing so well.  They lost both games this week, but played really hard!  The loss to PG was by one point in overtime, ugh, heart breaker!  Two more games coming up this week, we absolutely have to win to have a chance to go to the playoffs.

The highlight of our week was this...

What do you think?  We ripped out the carpet and tile in the front room and replaced it with wood.  George offered to do it for us, and he did an awesome job, this picture doesn't even do it justice! It looks and feels so different!  We all love it except for Holly, she hates it! She can no longer jump up onto the couch to stare out the window all day, haha. 

Speaking of George, we are finding out that he is a man of many talents!  He was asked to sing a solo in Sacrament Meeting, so he and Rachel invited us to come to their ward this morning to hear him sing.  Oh my goodness, it was amazing.  His voice is just beautiful. He sang a song called "The Man From Galilee."  We were all very impressed, and we felt the spirit as he sang. 

Well, that is all our news for this week.  I am so grateful to have a son serving a full time mission. Our family has been greatly blessed in the time you have been gone.  We feel much love and harmony in our home, we are healthy, we have prospered in our careers, finances and schooling.  Our testimonies have grown and even though it has been really hard for us to not have you around and we all miss you so much, we know you are exactly where Heavenly Father wants you to be.  We love you! Keep working hard!   Love, Mom

Third Semester

Hola my son!  How was your birthday? How does it feel to be 20 years old?  I was a little bit sad on Tuesday, because I really wanted to help you celebrate, and make your day special for you.  I hope someone did that job for me!  And I hope you had a great week.

We are doing good, the third semester begins this week! That means we are half way through the school year! Stefanie's grades were awesome again, all As and Bs, hooray!  She is excited about her new classes, especially Drivers Ed.

Lehi Varsity Basketball had a rough week, the first week of region play, two games this week and they lost BOTH of them to American Fork and Lone Peak.  But the good news is that Dad's JV team is still undefeated!  They are on fire! This week they will take on Pleasant Grove and Riverton. Dad says if they want to make the playoffs they must win at least ONE of those games.  Good luck, Lehi! 

We have had a few neighbors move away!  I have lots of new primary kids in the ward. Just in the last few months the Drakes, Whatcotts, Shavers and Sindts all moved away. Stefanie and I went this week to meet our new neighbors across the street, the Cardells. We took over some brownies and visited with them for awhile. Nice young family, they have two cute little kids. 

Lehi is growing fast…many new housing developments going up around us.  We were recently listed as the 5th fastest growing city in the nation!  We also found out that property has been purchased for a THIRD high school.  Wow!  The second high school is under construction, looking very nice, it will be completed in 18 months.  It is near where Rachel and George live. 

So how would you like to play college soccer in Iowa?  We were surprised to get a message from Coach MacRae this week.  Also, we heard back from the UVA (Virginia) coach, he wanted to come meet with us last Saturday but Dad told him you were not interested.  We hear from Coach Atkinson every so often, we need to get some paperwork started there, but we are waiting until the end of February to see if you get accepted to BYU.  If so, you will have a tough decision to make! Going to BYU would mean you could extend your mission an extra transfer if you decide to do that.  But going to Western Wyoming would mean you would need to return home as scheduled.  Coach Atkinson wrote...

"We start our training camp on August 2nd.  Braden would be required to move up to his dorm in Rock Springs at that time.  We run this training camp until school begins on August 26th." 

Well, that is all our news for this week!  We love you so much! Keep working hard!  Love, Mom

20th Birthday

Hola, my birthday boy!  Wow, can't believe you are 20 years old. Your teenage years are behind you!  Glad you got your birthday package from the Glassetts last week, did you already open it?  Or are you waiting until Tuesday? I will be thinking of you even more than usual this week, and remembering the day 20 years ago when I first met my sweet baby boy.

So how was your New Year's Eve?  How do they celebrate in Honduras?  Ours was very quiet, Dad and I were planning to go to Preston, but Dad had a Christmas basketball tournament that didn't end until late afternoon on the 31st.  So Rachel, George and Stefanie drove up to Preston, and Dad and I celebrated here at home!  We went out to dinner, played games, and watched the ball drop on Times Square. Stefanie said she had fun in Preston, Bryan's family was there too, so she liked hanging out with Collin and Austin. 

Tomorrow is the first day back to school. The Christmas break is officially over!  It has been a nice two week break, but I am excited to see my little first graders and get back to a routine. We are ready to begin the second half of the school year. 

It has been a busy week for me in primary, getting ready for the first Sunday of the New Year. It takes a lot of time to get it organized--with new teachers, new classrooms, new class lists, new seating in Sharing Time.  Saturday we had a little "Meet & Greet" activity for all the primary children to meet their new teachers.  It was cute, and Sunday went as smooth as could be.  Our ward was just moved to the 1:00-4:00 block.  I love having lots of time in the morning to get ready for church, but Dad and Stefanie would rather have more time in the afternoon for a long Sunday nap!  

Lehi basketball update…Dad's JV team is 10-0. They won all four games in the Christmas tournament.  The Sophomores are 9-1, and varsity is 9-2.  They went 2-2 in the Christmas tournament.  The pre-season is now over, and region play begins this week against American Fork on Tuesday (your birthday). Go Lehi!

So that is all our news for this week.  We love you!  We are so proud of you!  We will be thinking of you on Tuesday and hoping you are having a great birthday.  Love, Mom