"Why I Believe"

Jul 10, 2011

Hello Jared,

What a week! Last Sunday we picked up Ana and Maria from the airport. They are super cute girls, very outgoing and eager to experience America. We fell in love with them instantly. They are a lot of fun and are excited to try everything new.

We took them to Vernal with us over the weekend. It was our annual trip with friends. Maxwell's,  Burt's, Wheeler's, De Vries, Gibson's, Olea's, Johnson's, McKenzie Lundy and Mikayla's friend, Maya, all went with us. As we were driving out there, Friday afternoon, it was pouring rain all the way. We got into Vernal and Main Street was completely flooded. I was really nervous because we had brought all these people to camp with us and it was pretty miserable. The sky was dark in every direction. It looked pretty hopeless. We fixed dinner and hung out for an hour or so on the patio and the sky slowly cleared. It ended up being a perfect evening. It was a comfortable 68 degrees. Saturday was hot and sunny. Six of us went on a fun bike ride around the valley. The kids rode the train, ate shave ice, played on the monkey bars and the adults played games and visited.

Ana and Maria said over and over again how much they loved that place. They said it was like a dream, or it was like being in the movies. I think it must be very different than the life they live. They have big tall fences around their homes to keep out the criminals. The crime rate is very high there.

Anyway, it was really fun although I came home exhausted from cooking and cleaning. Not to mention the fact that we stayed up half the night Friday night and didn't get home until almost midnight on Saturday night.

Mikayla started voice lessons last week and loves it so much. She has wanted to do this for a really long time. Its kind of funny how it came about. A couple of months ago, Grandma Mott came out and took all of the girls to the play, Annie, in the new Centerville theatre. I was reading the bio's in the playbill and noticed that Daddy Warbucks, Chuck Gillmore, was a voice teacher and had a studio. Becca told me a while back that her dad owns a voice studio in Bountiful. After the show I waited until he came out and met him. Sure enough that was her dad.

Not too long after that, he offered an online coupon for super cheap lessons. I bought a whole bunch to get her through the summer and to see how she likes it.

He says she's a natural and has great potential. I love that it makes her so happy and that she is so passionate about it.

Ana and Maria both play the guitar, so we got mine out and dusted it off. That made Hallie interested in learning, then Mikayla wanted to learn. I taught them both a couple of cords and they have been fiddling around on it all week. Mikayla has already learned a few songs. Her goal was one new song a day.

Taylor is working full time for Ryan and he really likes staying busy. But he really LOVES the money. Grandpa Wise gave him a welder and he has really enjoyed it too. He is practicing all the time. They other day, Cole asked if he could help Taylor weld. I looked out, and there was Cole, out in the garage welding. Hahaha He is so cute. He's a lot like Taylor.

Sorry to ramble on. It's been a fun week. Life is good here. We are all healthy and happy. Thank you for serving the Lord. I am so proud of you!

Thanks for sending Hallie pictures. That made her day!

I love you, Jared.

Mom

Hello,

Not a lot of new stuff is happening right now. It seems like this week we've been the replacement for the moving company this week. We helped two families move. It's a bit of a bummer, because one of the moves was for a family of investigators and it may have moved them out of our ward. We're not completely sure yet.

Yesterday we took Bob to a fireside called "Why I Believe". It's a testimony meeting for new converts to the church to tell their story and why they believe. It was a neat experience hearing all the testimonies, and I think it really helped him out.

I really can't think of anything else to write about.

Hope you're having a nice week.

Jared