Tomorrow is May

Hello Elder Nielsen,

It was another busy week. Monday I had my class to teach. Tuesday I took my lunch and went and watched Elko play Spring Creek again. It was a close game until the 6th inning and Elko changed pitchers and the wheels came off the bus. We ended up losing 12-8 but it was 12-4 there for a while.

Wednesday, I went up to Owyhee with 4 other people from the college to present the regents scholar award to a girl attending GBC from the reservation. Her name was Shiara Holmes. She was a sweetie. The most grateful and humble girl I think I have ever met. She would get emotional and tear up any time any one would say something nice about her. She was an amazing young lady. She should be a member of the church. And she is very pretty. She looks like an indian princess. I think she is dating Joe Thomas. Come to find out I had worked with her grand mother when I use to go up and audit the indian reservation. And Her father recognized me. He had coached against me when I was coaching the Elko freshman team. So I felt like I knew the family already. They know Jacob Conklin and her father is 2nd cousins to Joey Navaro.

Thursday I had to go to a President's scholarship award ceremony and to young mens, which I got there late due to the GBC deal.

Friday, our GBC president is retiring and Tawny, mom and I went over to the president's house and look at all their furnishings. They are moving back to Michigan and are selling all their belongings. So we bought a bed, and some book cases and a few things for a song and dance. I went and watched Elko play Fernley and Elko lost by 1 run in 8 innings. Elko made some costly errors that cost them the game. The wind was blowing and it was freezing cold. It has been cold and raining all week here.

Saturday, I had signed mom, Carly and I up to go on a field trip out to Ruby valley to watch the Sage hens strut around on their lek. We got up at 3 am and did our paper route and had to be out to the BLM at 4:45 am. We let Addie sleep over at the simons as you had to be at least 12 years old. Summer had a track meet in Winnemucca and ran the open 400. So we started early and got out to the BLM and took a nice tour bus out to Ruby Valley. We got out there and it was 28 degrees in the morning when we left. But we got out and looked around and there were no sage hens to be seen. They said that was the first time they have every been skunked. They think a coyote of Eagle was in the area and the birds did not come out. But we now know the area, so we will have to go out and check it out ourselves. They said they were watching it last weekend and 15 roosters were there doing their dances. So we took the bus back in to Lamoille, and the FFA kids had made us breakfast and they had a few people talk to us about the sage hens and sage brush. We got a free t-shirt and ended up back home by noon.

We spent most of the afternoon going over to President Curtis' house to pick up the items we purchased from them. Today was a beautiful day here. "Its a good day for a coon hunt". We had good meetings, came home and prepared a meal and we had the Sister missionaries over for dinner. These two sisters are very sweet. They look very similar. Long dark hair and dark skin. The one being from the Philippines and the other from the Marshall islands. I took the sacrament over to the shut-ins after church. This evening mom and I went and did some home teaching. We are still tired from yesterday's short night.

We hope you have a great week. Keep working hard and give it all you got. We love you and pray for you daily. That hope things are working out for you with the 3-some. We were thinking that transfers are this week, so you will probably get a new companion this week.  Utah Jazz beat the clippers in the series and now face the Warriors, which will be a tough match.

Make sure to try and accomplish all that the Lord wanted you to accomplish there in the Philippines. We hope you can survive the heat.

Love,

Dad

Dearest Elder Nielsen,

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is May.  It has been a wet, cold spring and there has only been a handful of nice days.  Everyone I talk to is soooo ready for warm weather.  We had such a long, cold winter and it has yet to feel like it is really over, but tomorrow is May! and with it, I think it is finally going to turn sunshiney and nice.

Yesterday, Dad, Carly and I went on a field trip hosted by the BLM, Dept. of Forestry, and NV Wildlife to observe the Sage Grouse out doing their mating dance.  We had to get up at 3:30 am and get the papers done.  I requested that they be dropped off before 4am to give us time to get them done.  We needed to by out at the BLM office at 4:45am.  Summer had a track meet at Lowry that day, so she couldn't go and Adelaide was too young, because there was a 12 yr.old minimum.  She got to stay over at the Simons the night before.   We got on a big Coach Bus that was nearly full and headed out to Ruby Valley where there is a "lek".   That's the open area where the birds go to do their display.  They are generally on their leks between March and early May.  We all got off the bus and quietly walk to a place on the side of the road and everyone gets out their binos and spotting scopes.   Then we watch and wait and watch and wait some more.  It was windy and kind of cold (no surprise) Carly was cold and bored.  The Sage Grouse never came out of the brush, the biologist thinks that there was a coyote or a Golden Eagle in the area, which are their predators and they just stayed safe.  Just days before they had observed Grouse on this lek, and in all the years they have done this excursion they had never been skunked. #badlucklek.    Two years ago they had seen 50 male grouse on this lek.   After that we went to the Lamoille School house where the 4H kids from Lamoille made us breakfast and we watched a video of what we should have seen.  They are really cool birds strutting around with their tail feathers all fanned out and filling their air sacs with air.  I wish we could have seen the real deal.   I learned a lot, I think you would have liked it.

When we got home Dad and I went over to the President Curtis' house.   He is the out-going Pres. of GBC.  They are retiring and moving back to Michigan and were selling all their furnishings.  We were able to get a bunch of nice stuff for a really good deal.  We got a new mattress (long over-due) some endtable/shelf kind of things, and a desk.  We also have spoken for the flat screen TV and stand, which we will pick up right before they move.  So, then after getting them home,

we had to move out stuff, to move in stuff.

We had the Sister Missionaries for dinner, they are super nice.  

So, now that Elder Richards is an AP, who is your new comp.?  One transfer left, I think this is when Amber would say, "Sprint to the finish line!"  Do your best my dear boy.  

We love you lots, Mom