Dear Elder Nielsen,
This week was trek week and mom decided to stay home with me and the kids. It was actually a good thing as I worked long days, 9+ hours on Saturday and still have things to do before the auditors get here tomorrow. Our system was down on saturday at work so all I did was clean my office and go through old paper work that I have been needing to do for the past 11 years. I had not thrown any thing away from the old director as I did not know if I would need it or not. But now after 10+ years in this position, I know what I might need and don't need, so I was cleaning out everything. There is not a paper on my desk.
We had to take Summer down to the church at 5:45 am and that was getting mom all bummed out as it was making her wanting to go. All the kids were excited and were bouncing off the walls.
I basically worked the entire week with no break. I can't believe we are on the 20th of June already and I have worked non stop for the past month except for Sundays.
The NBA finals was on tonight and Cleveland came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat Golden State 4-3. We were really disappointed as we do not care much for Labron James. Curry fouled out on Thursday's game and was ejected from the game for throwing his mouth piece. But he was getting some horrible calls against him. Both he and Steven Kerr their coach got fined $25,000 each for criticizing the refs.
Summer got home Saturday about 6 pm. She enjoyed trek. I guess it was really windy and cold during the evenings. They slept under the stars the last night as their tent would not hold up and she caught a cold. The river crossing was also up so high that she was holding the rope swimming across as it washed her feet out from under her and it was up above the brethren's waist to chess area. I guess they had 4 brethren, Bishop Talbot, and a few other tall guys in the river making sure the kids did not get washed down stream. Summer's favorite time was the testimony meeting and being with her family. She was with Bishop and Sister Howard from the 4th ward.
All the youth spoke in sacrament meeting today and then they all went around to the different wards to hear the others speak. So that was fun for them. Mom and I went home teaching tonight. I had a good father's day. I heard from all my kids and mom made Lasagna. So I had a great day and tomorrow I meet the auditors. I have been waking up at 3 am thinking about all that I need to do or finish and have not been able to go back to sleep. So I will be glad when this week is over. Hopefully, we will come out ok.
Keep working hard. We love you. You have almost been out 1 year. The 2nd year is the most productive as you now know the language and you have your teaching skills down. So now you can focus on the spirit and just follow it where ever you should go. Keep whipping your district into shape. It is going to get hot here this week, we should be getting into the 100's.
Have a super week.
Love
DAD
Dearest Elder Nielsen,
We took Summer to the stk. center at 5:45 on Monday morning to be dropped off for trekkin'. The chartered yellow school buses were there and everyone was all excited. Watching those old trek videos last Sunday and then seeing and feeling the excitement of the kids getting set to go, made it hard to not run home and pack my bag. They called everyone to go into the gym for the final role call and prayer, so Dad and I went in. I told him we should go in for the meeting because I don't think we ever made it on time the previous years to ever know what went on in there. I felt like I was a "trek groupie". All the other parents had left, and we were just hanging around. I thought to myself, 'these kids will come back changed, and what a wonderful thing that is.' When I got home I went out on my usual mon. morning run, with "Old Blue". She sure loves that. I feel bad if I don't take her now. I felt much better after I got back. Dad said, "you probably could have gone, we could have handled things." It made me think of that story, "The Gift of the Magi". Pres. Monson or some other General Authority reads that story every Christmas. It taked place back East during the early 1900s and it's about a young couple who get married and they are really poor, but they want to get each other a gift for Christmas. The Young woman has beautiful long hair and she sells her hair to buy a chain for his pocket watch. He in turn sold his pocket watch to buy combs for her hair. Dad's gift to me was that he would have let me go, but my gift to him is that I stayed. I am sure glad I did. He ended up working really late every night and I am glad he didn't have to worry about home when he had worries enough at work.
I think Carly missed Summer, but Adelaide kept her company by sleeping in her bed. We worked on Ads room this past week, it was deep-messy. the kind of messy, that you don't know where to step or worry what might be under your feet. It had been bad for a while and we all got in there and got it cleaned out, now that I finally had time to dive in. We ordered a new trampoline mat and pad. Carly had been bugging me for weeks, maybe months to replace it. She will have a lot of fun on it. Has it been 5 years since Chelsea torpedoed the last one?
I thought about Summer a lot this week. Imagining what she might be doing on each particular day. Then before I knew it the week was over and she was home. She said she had a great time. The water was really high during the river crossings and since she was one of the shortest people, it went up to her armpits and she was literally floating along the rope. Her Ma and Pa were the Bishop and Sister Howard. They called her the baby of the family since she was the youngest. All the kids spoke in Church today about their experience. Summer liked the Nielsen Pull reenactment that the Coopers did this time around. Jerry Harris , (Jer-bear) seemed like he really had a life changing experience. The Trek is a lot of planning, organization and money to put together, but so worth it when the kids "get" what is intended for them to get out of it. Summer also had 3 bloody noses on the trek. It was dry and windy and she thinks that dried out her nostrils. "Medic!" They made her ride in the rickshaw for about a mile, and she didn't want to at all. I guess since she had lost so much blood.
PS Golden State lost in game 7 to Cleveland by 4 pts. Steph just didn't have the Stuff to beat LaBron ....ugh!
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