HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017!!

Dear Elder Nielsen,

We hope you had a wonderful New Year!! We hope you are enjoying your new area with your new companion. We expect great things from you in this new area. Be exactly obedient and seek the Lord's help and we know you and your companion can do it.

We had another wonderful week with all the kids home. Chelsea and Brian left Monday afternoon to head back to New Mexico. We had planned on going to the Star with everyone for lunch that day, but the Star was closed. So they got on the road without any lunch. I felt badly about that.

On Monday or Tuesday, Kevin helped me fix the Suburban's power outlets in the front. I had two computers plugged into an adapter and it must have burned them out. So we got them replaced and they work great now. I still have to work on the van's brakes and perhaps the shocks or struts. There always seems to be something to fix on these old vehicles.

I worked on your room and got the insulation partially up in your room. I thought I could at least finish the ceilings as they will not be damaged through water in the basement.

Kevin and Amber left on Wednesday. Erin and Landon left today to head back. We have been extremely cold this past week. I believe it was -12 on Monday and -6 on Tuesday. We were suppose to go to Utah for a family party on Tuesday, but it was soooo cold, that I do not like to travel. If we every broke down, we would freeze to death. Erin did not want to travel, so we decided to stay at home and enjoy time with the kids while they were still here. I went back to work on Wednesday and worked through Friday.

We did not do too much, but we enjoyed each others company. On Friday night our family went to the Holiday Inn Express here in town to stay. The Simon's had a free nights stay at the Holiday Inn and the Best Western that expired at the end of the year, and they gave them to us to use for watching their dog. I loved the decor at the Holiday Inn, it has an outdoor rustic decor with moose horn chandeliers, etc. We did not get there until about 9 pm, Uncle Ken was coming through and we wanted to wait to see if he would use it. But he wanted to keep on going. We basically just slept there. Mom and I got up at 6 and came home to do the paper route and then we went back to pick up the kids and eat breakfast. They had a good continental breakfast.

On Saturday, we went and spent the night at the best western. They had a pool and the kids wanted to swim. We got there about 5:30 pm. We went swimming, but there were 3 young guys in the Jacuzzi who had each consumed at least 3 bottles of beer each. So the girls did not feel too comfortable. We went swimming but the water was cool. If you were swimming you would be warm, but I wanted to sit in the Jacuzzi and watch the bowl game. We only spent about 45 minutes in the pool, but Addie did not want to leave. She loved it there and we had to drag her out.

Clemson beat Ohio State and Alabama beat Washington, so those two teams will be playing for the National Championship. Summer had practice each day this week for 2-3 hours. They will play Lowry on Tuesday in Elko, so we are excited for that.

We did not do any thing for the New Years eve party. We just stayed in our room and watched TV and fell asleep by 9:30 pm. HAPPY NEW YEAR any way right?

We ate at the continental breakfast at the hotel and showered there. Then we came home and got ready for church. Our meetings start at 9 am now. So we really like that. We had good meetings and came home and ate left overs from all the meals mom had made during the week. It was quick and easy.

Lavell Edwards the retired BYU football coach died this past week at 86 years old. He was a great coach and even a greater person. He was also the one who invented the passing game as a way the team could win, not running the ball like all the other schools did.

We look forward to getting our life back to normal and getting back on schedule.  Work as hard as you can and give the Lord every thing you have. Enjoy these next few months. We love you and are happy you are serving as a missionary. Keep up the wonderful work you are doing.

2017 will be a great year for all of us.

Love,

Dad

My Dearest Elder Nielsen,

What a week!  It seems like all a blur, but we had a really wonderful Post-Christmas week.  Our home bulged with fun, food, and family for about 5 days, and then the departures started.  First with Brian and Chelsea and Darling David.  They had plans to leave at 12 noon on Monday, so we had planned to go to The Star for lunch before they left.  We wanted to get there right at 11 am when they opened so that they could be on the road by their goal.  Amazingly we achieved that.  Erin and Landon got down there first to put in the request for seating of a party of 12.  When they arrived there was a sign on the door that said they were closed all that day (since Christmas had been on Sunday)  That was disappointing, we tried to think of another place or something else we could feed everyone, but the Deckers thought they would just get on the road, since David had started to nod off.  We gave them Adelaide's old car seat, so now David is a big front facing car rider.  It was hard to say goodbye.  We just ate some leftovers from the fridge and then we played the Newlywed Game with the Welches and the Bergquists, then Carly and Adelaide joined in when we played Telestrations.  It was fun, one of the things to draw was a gorilla and somehow that got morphed into "Big Foot", and when it was Ads turn to draw, that is exactly what she drew... a big foot. Ha!  I read my favorite Christmas story-- The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey for Family Home Evening.

Tuesday, we tried lunch again at The Star.  Kevin had never eaten there, so we wanted him to experience that.  It was good, but, we thought maybe next time we will try Toki Ono's.  A lot of people like it better, and say its just like The Star, only not as expensive.  Kevin wanted to go out on the four wheeler, so he and Amber took Erin, Carly and Ads with them and went out in the truck out North Fifth.  They went through a shallow wash area that was frozen over.  They broke through the ice and the back end got stuck.  It took them about an hour to get unstuck and by then the sun was down, so they went to Angel Park for a few sled runs.  Adelaide went down lying flat on her back and went all the way across where the tennis courts had been.

Wednesday morning, the Bergquists departed.  They went to Salt Lake to attend a sealing of one of Amber's former roommates, and then from there, they headed back to Idaho.  We had a good time with them, they were good sports and ended up sleeping on the mattresses in the family room most of the time.  Erin and Landon bounced back and forth for the next few days.  There was a New Years's Eve youth dance that Summer attended on Friday night and Erin did her hair and make-up and she looked really cute.  Erin had cut off 10 inches of her hair and gave her some highlights earlier in the week.  The Simons had come and picked up Maybelle that day and to say thank you for watching her they gave us two coupons that were going to expire by the end of the year for two different hotels in Elko.  So, Friday night we stayed in the Holiday Inn Express and then got to eat the breakfast buffet.  The next night on New Years Eve we stayed at the Best Western.  The kids were excited about that, because it had a pool and a Jacuzzi.  Unfortunately, there were 3 twenty- something guys in the Jacuzzi and they had there empty beer bottles around the edge, so we didn't crash their party, but just swam in the pool.  That was New Year's Eve, so we just went back to the room and went to bed.  We got to have that free breakfast the next morning.

Erin was given a baby shower on Saturday and she got a lot of cute things.  She went through the clothes I had saved from Ads and found some that she could also use.  Our ward changed times today; we now go at 9am.  Erin and Landon went to our Sacrament Mtg. and then got on their way to head back home.  The last of the kids to leave.  Now, it's back to our regular life.  Adelaide took down the Christmas tree all by herself, and now all traces of Christmas are put away.  It was wonderful, but now it's over and everyone has returned to their own homes.

I am curious to hear about your new area and companion.  Even though I have talked a lot about family,  keep focused, we will all be here when you get home; we're not going anywhere, but your time in the Philippines is getting scarce, so give it your all, do your best in this area and make a difference.  You are a wonderful son, love you lots, Mom