Summer Olympics have started

Hello Elder Nielsen,

We got a kick out of your rat hunting story. That was pretty funny. We told Erin that she should send that story to Hermana Bott to compare to their rat hunting experience.

We had a good week. I left Monday morning to drive down to Pahrump and spent the week down their meeting with students. I wasn't as busy as I have been in past years. Usually, I don't have time to breath, but it was a nice change. Summer had a small birthday party with 3 or 4 of her LDS friends on Monday.

I was talking to a student lady on the phone from Henderson Nevada, and she just sounded like she was LDS, and I asked her and she was. She said she thought by talking to me that I was LDS as well. I thought that was interesting thing, that we could tell we were LDS just by talking to each other on the phone. Other than that it was pretty uneventful down in Pahrump. 

I got home home Friday night around 7 pm. The opening ceremonies of the Olympics started on Friday night.  We are excited to watch that for the next 2 weeks. Erin and Landon were here in Elko this weekend for Whitney Welch's wedding.  They had her reception on Saturday night. They had a popcorn bar which I enjoyed. I love pop corn. Her husband has a guide service in Idaho, right along the Wyoming border where I went that one year to hunt for elk. His name is Cody and seems like a really nice guy. It was good to have Erin and Landon here for the weekend. They stayed with us. On Saturday, we worked around the house. I finished the trim around the door to my office. Then we went to the reception Sat. evening. 

Sunday was fast Sunday and we had some good meetings. Sundays are always nice. We love them.

We hope you have a great week. Keep working hard. Alex Jordan comes home this week. He has sure changed a ton for the better by his mission. It seems like he was sure a good missionary. We love you and pray for your success daily. How did the umbrella hold up with the line drive? Those rats are usually pretty big. I imagine that it did a number on your umbrella. Has the rainy season started over there yet?

We are happy you are serving a the Lord as a missionary. Enjoy every minute!

Love,

Dad

Dearest Elder Nielsen,

The Rio Olympics have begun in Brazil.  I love to watch the Olympics!  The US mens' volleyball team  lost to Canada in 3 straight.  The Americans were the favorite, but they will play again against another team since its a tournament.  We will be pretty much glued to the TV this week.  

Summer had her birthday party last mon. afternoon.   She just had a few friends over (the Goulding girls, Tara Welch, and Carly Nisbet)  The nice thing about birthday parties for 14 year olds is that I don't really have to plan a lot of activities, they just like hanging out and talking.  We made it kind of a 70's theme, so we ate chocolate and cheese fondue and played Twister and watched a little bit of "The Donny and Marie Osmond show" on YouTube through the Roku.  They also had fun throwing water balloons and launching some over the house with the sling shot thing.  She will going to her first stake dance this month.  My little girls are growing up and I'm not quite ready for it.  Erin gave her some make up for her birthday and she wore some to church today, it really made her pretty green eyes stand out.  I thought it was cute how you said she was a blessing to our family, she definitely is. 

Dad went to Pahrump this week, for work, so we had a pretty layed back week.  I didn't cook all week, we just ate whatever we could find in the fridge.  Tues.  we went to the Republican Party headquarters kick off open house for free pizza.  Then I had a RS activity later that night; we had a salad pot luck and then watched an movie outside.  We only had 3 sisters come that weren't part of the presidency.  Our attendance at RS Activities has really fallen off.  Its kind of deflating.

We have really been trying to get our house in a more orderly way.  Dad cleaned off the bathroom vanity a couple of weeks ago and is now going through boxes that have been in the basement since there was a basement.  Its kind of slow going, but its happening.  I cleaned out the pantry this week.  I thought it would be a good week to do it since Dad was gone and there were cans of food covering every counter in the kitchen.  I cleared every shelf and then repainted them with white oil based paint.  I have the paint in my hair to prove it.  It looks a lot better.  The edge of the shelves were chipping and grungy, and there were a lot of old things in there that were buggy.  It took about 5 hrs total, and no one would probably walk in and say "that looks amazing", but Carly said it looked a lot better, and I agree!

Erin and Landon bopped in on Friday evening.   They had come over from Utah, because they went to Whitney Welch's sealing in the Bountiful Temple earlier in the day.  They stayed the night at our house this time.  They rotate each visit between the Welches and our place.  We went to the reception on Sat. night, and it was really nice.  They did the trees with lights look and it looked great.  They had a popcorn bar.  Whitney's husband is a hunter.  So, Dad had a chat with him.  His family has a guide service business in the area where Dad hunts on the ID/WY border.  He's family now kinda right?

The girls and I are leaving tomorrow morning to head over to CA for a visit to Grams.  Dad will stay and hold down the fort,  and then he has to go to Winnemuccca on tues. for work.   I hope Ads will be a swimmer before we come home.

Well, watch out for those crazy rats!  How big are they?  Sounds like fun times!  Have a great week, love you lots.  Do your best. Love, mom