Spring Break and Final Four

Dear Elder Nielsen,

Another week has come and gone. And I look back and can't remember much about it. Monday night Summer had her basketball banquet. They did all three teams together. We had taco meat over chips kind of like tacos. It was cheap and easy but the best thing is it was free. Summer did not get recognized for any thing.  It did not last too long, so it was good.

Tuesday Mom had a relief society dinner, and Carly went to help run the nursery. Addie and I stayed home and Summer had Choraliers.

Wednesday, it was raining most of the day, and our warm weather went away. The kids had their parent teachers conferences, so mom and I went to those.

Thursday, Summer left for Los Angeles, with the Choraliers and they will get back on Tuesday. On Thursday evening, we had YMYW, and I was planning on going to that, but the sister missionaries called and said they were going to have a lesson with a lady that lives in the Cul de sac near our house. So we wanted to go to that. So I took Carly and dropped her off and then came back and we went and knocked on her door and no one answered the door. I don't know if any one was home or not. We knocked on the door of the neighbor but no one was home there either. So I came home and watched NCAA basketball games. After this weekend, we have the final 4. Gonzaga a 1 seed will play South Carolina a 7 seed, and North Carolina a 1 seed with play Oregon a 3 seed next weekend. So those should be good games.

On Friday I came home from work and worked on taxes and helped Carly finish her hunting safety booklet. Saturday, Carly and I spent all day in the hunting safety class and now she is legal to hunt. So I will be putting in for tags for her, Summer, me and you. It should be fun. You are not eligible for bull elk, but you are for cow elk.

After the class, I worked on taxes all night and mom and Carly went to the women's conference. 

Today, Sunday, I have been gone all day. I started my day at 7 am with ward council, church meetings, after church I went out with the spanish elders to make visits. We went to the Saenz home and Ozzy Moreno was there, so we talked with him. His parents have kicked him out of their home, so he is living with Robert's Saenz parents. I had read in the paper a few weeks back where he was arrested for drugs or something. So he is not making the best decisions. We invited him to church.  We visited another inactive family in the branch and tried to visit 2 others, but they were not home or did not answer the door. Then I had another meeting at the stake center and just got home about 7:30 pm. So it has been a great busy day.

The Elko baseball team is doing ok. They are young. Alec Wall hit a walk off home run last week to beat Dayton in one of their games. But on Friday, they gave up 10 runs in the top of the 7th to south tahoe to lose that game. 4 of the 10 runs was a grand slam. I have not watched them play yet, but will not have time until tax season is over.

We hope you have a great week. Keep working hard!  And do great things in that zone you are in. We love you and are happy you are serving the Lord.

Love

Dad

Dearest Elder Nielsen,

Well,  we are on Spring Break right now.  Summer is in Hollywood, CA for her Choralier trip.  She has called us a couple of times just to let us know how she is doing.  Today they are at Disneyland; she said she liked Lagoon better.  It sounds like they are having a good time and the girls got a first place in their competition.  She will be home on Tues. at 4am (you know the all night bus ride home)  We are just hanging our with just 2 "little girls".  It's kind of weird that our family is shrinking.  We have leftovers for days without more mouths to feed.  I guess I need to make less.

Carly had her Hunters's Safety class yesterday.  Dad went with her.  What a good girl to sacrifice 8 hours of her life to be instructed in something she really doesn't care about.  She worked hard on the book and finally got that completed before the class.  I can't imagine skinny Carly able to hold up a rifle, but she'll do her best.

Summer had her basketball banquet on Monday night.  It was a taco bar.  It was a good evening--meaning the food was yummy (and free)  and the awards didn't go on forever.  Chief, Summer's coach said she had the best defensive stance on the team.  Now, we just have to get her to make shots next year.

We had parent/teacher conferences last week and Adelaide had a great report.  She is doing really well, and is projected to be well above the minimum standard by the end of the year.  Carly's teachers said the same thing as last time.  She is exceptionally creative and good at the art stuff.  They have asked to keep all of her projects as an example to show their future classes.  She's happy that they like her stuff so much, but she said the next time they ask if they can keep something, she is going to tell them "no", because she hasn't gotten to keep anything this year.  She has been having a bit of a struggle in Math, but I think she will work hard and bring that grade up.  She has Mrs. Steuling for Reading and I  she remembers you and she always asks how you are doing so I am delivering her "Hi" to you, since she asked us to.

Adelaide and I went to Kelli Brough's baby shower when Dad and Carly were in Hunter Class.  They are having a boy in May.  She asked how you were doing to and wanted to know if I could forward your letters or put her on the email list.  I told her you just had a blog  with all your letters on it, so she immediately pulled it up on her phone and she said she would go home and catch up on it.  She is a really nice girl, and  they have always shown a lot of interest in our family.

We don't have any great, exciting plans for this week.  We are going to so some home organizing and Carly wants to "cutie-up" her room this week.  I mowed the lawn for the first time this year and it is greening up and feeling like spring outside.  Since we weren't going anywhere for spring break we were asked to doggy-sit Maybelle for the Simons.  Their whole family went to Germany for a trip.  Later in the week, Mel is coming (that's Dr. Smith's dog) to spend a few days at the Nielsen Kennel Club.  That's what we get for not booking it outta here!

I am interested in hearing about your new area.  The pictures you sent of the waterfall and pretty lagoon area were I believe the same place I went with my folkdance group.  You were right.  I have a picture of one guy in our group riding some kind of water buffalo (?)  and there was a little museum near by, as I recall.  We had a really good meal on banana leaves there too.  Hope you have fabulous week,  love you lots, Mom

PS I loved your last letter, how wonderful to see those people from Malalos at the temple!