Monday, July 27, 2009

July 20 - 26, 2009

































































































































































Fortie Family Flyer,
July 20 – 26, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,
Week of July 24th, and a hearty salute to the pioneers - people willing to come to a place where there were no fast food joints so they could live free (high calorie free that is). I suppose we all need a trek some time in our lives to get away from the world and be what we came here to be – a peculiar people (my kids always tell me I’m peculiar but I don’t think it means what they think it means).
What a week, we had our last Music Man performance on Monday night and it was a packed house, (or open air pavilion) with almost 500 people showing up to watch us act like we are crazy people from a small town in Iowa in 1912). I was able to relax a bit and had no problems with lines. There was a bit of a controversy over me adding my local jokes in 3 or 4 places in the play. The producer wanted me to put them in (as well as most of the cast and the stage manager) but the assistant director said the director (who wasn’t there the last night) didn’t want me to. We went with what she said but halfway through she changed her mind and said go ahead. I missed the family home evening joke and it disappointed several people; guess I don’t belong with this batch of directors. We stayed for quite some time after the show talking and dealing with mixed feelings as we were glad it was over, (because of the time commitment) but sad that it was over because it was fun hanging around with new friends and putting on a show that people enjoyed so; It does get in your blood. Artists and their fickle personalities… we’ll be signing up for another one next year only to be beaten up by busy overwhelming schedules again. Were we all dropped on our heads as babies or something?
Speaking of artist personalities, there was another problem the last night. A 24 year old guy in the play was always flirting with all the women and teenage girls and one dad got real mad on Saturday night about him flirting with his 18 year old daughter (I can see getting mad at him flirting with 12 and 13 year olds but an 18 year old should be able to take care of herself). They almost got into a fist fight. I thought he might not show up on Monday, he did but hardly said a word to any of us the whole night. The air was rather thick in the dressing room all night which hampered the fun of the last night performance. Once again artists are quite the fickle, emotional creatures; I pity those who marry us.
The week was near 100 degrees or just over for much of the week. We had one rainy night which was badly needed. I am still just in survival mode with my yard. I got a new peach tree and planted it last week but still don’t have the means or the time to really put in a nice yard with flowers, trees, beautiful garden, green weed-free grass (about half of mine needs better soil), etc. Wish I could be focused enough to get that done. I have great ideas in my head that I would love to try but I am busy with so many things that it seems like an impossible dream. Perhaps it’s my attitude… must try to believe and focus to get everything done in this life. There are books to write, poems and songs to compose, inventions to make into reality and community activities to be in and help create, pictures to take, genealogy to do and I bounce around from one thought to another hardly able to stay focused on one thing long enough to make something happen. I need a magic A.D.D. pill that will make everything better without all the side affects.
Well anyway, we got a call from Chad and Alicia who said they wanted to go downtown to mark a spot for the parade. I thought they meant they wanted to camp out overnight. I told the girls and they got all excited to go. I called Brian and told him then sent him down early because we had to wait for Jennifer to get off work. Chad and Alicia just meant they wanted to put a blanket down so they weren’t going to come. Then as the girls got to thinking about having to use the outhouse a block away in the middle of the night and there would be lots of strange people downtown they started to change their minds. I called Brian and told him to just mark a spot because the girls changed their minds and he was not too happy. We told him we were just going to camp out in grandpa and grandma’s back yard instead so he marked a spot with his pillow and left. We got there late and everyone there was in bed. We put our sleeping bags out and Brian was in the purple room sleeping, I asked him if he wanted to come out and join us as it was hot in the house. It was very hot that night period (south wind) so he joined us and we all just laid on top of our sleeping bags in our pj’s. We all were tires so we quickly went to sleep without a word. A few hours later I was slightly awakened with some sprinkles on my face and I thought it must be starting to rain. I couldn’t believe it with the heat and there were only a few drops so I thought I would wait to see how bad it got. It would sprinkle then stop, sprinkle then stop and finally Brian got up and came over to tell us the sprinklers were on (hence the sprinkle then stop thing). A new line came on right under us so we all jumped up and I dragged the tarp, with our sleeping bags on it, to another part of the lawn. Since we didn’t know how often the different lines would come on and when, we decided to go in the house for the rest of the night so we took what wasn’t wet in and sacked out in the living room at about 2:30. We were all tired when it was time to get up to go to the parade at about 8 in the morning. We came alive as Spencer came up to great us. We had breakfast then headed out. We went where Brian had his pillow and it was on the corner of the street where the parade turned so there were rows and rows of people in front of us on the street. I was on my bike (so I could drop everyone off and park the truck then ride my bike back to the parade) and I went looking for a better spot. I found one on a little side street that was in the shade most of the time and behind one row of people. It was a pretty good place for arriving so late. We got there just after the parade was supposed to start but we were so far down the route that it took another half hour for them to get to us. Spencer was fascinated with the motorcycle cops and horses. There was one time I took him for a walk so he wouldn’t get too bored in one place. We only went about 50 feet away as he kept turning and wandering in every direction but that was fine, he got to explore a bit and meet new people. We had fun and then after the parade Chad and Alicia headed home for Spencer’s nap and Brian, Michelle, Jennifer and I went over to Liberty Park to wander around the booths and see what was going on. We first came to the karaoke booth and saw Alex Boye get up and sing one of his songs. We talked with him afterwards and I got a picture of him with the girls. We got a funnel cake to share and looked at all the booths then headed back to grandpa and grandmas. I have to say here and hope it doesn’t sound racist (it is not), but I was surprised at how many Hispanics were at the park. In fact it was a majority, which made us feel a bit like we were in a foreign country with all the Spanish being spoken around us (almost no English). Interesting how countries evolve through history, sometimes by violence but also sometimes a change in how one culture does things and another moves in and changes things gradually (like when the Nephites moved into Zerahemla). European Americans are having very few kids and others are having large families. It doesn’t take too many generations to change a country completely with that kind of program. It will be interesting to see what America is like in 50 years; certainly not the same country the Founding Fathers established. I suspect the culture of these other groups will move toward socialism (that’s what they are used to and in fact we discuss this in the Republican Committee meetings how Salt Lake is changing one precinct at a time gradually changing toward government control starting downtown and moving south) and it wouldn’t surprise me if, somewhere down the road, something sparks a rather violent division. with those who cling to the old freedoms of the original America, gathering in a small central location (like the Nephites did on occasion when they had dissention and war with enemies) and the rest breaking up into smaller states or countries (like the Lamanites did before Christ came and after they destroyed the Nephites) because they will not be united enough to sustain a strong central government (then they might almost become satellites countries of Mexico). That’s what I see as a possibility anyway (based on a few observations and a few things some of our prophets have told us). Hard to know after that. Depends on natural disasters, etc. Will our country look so good for the taking that places like China, Russia, or the Arabs decide they would like to have this land for themselves since we are no longer able to defend it? Hard to say indeed. That would explain some prophecies of our future. All would look hopeless (as most of the prophesies seem to indicate) and we would suddenly be saved from an inevitable takeover by a miracle (kind of a Moses trapped at the Red Sea situation, requiring faith on our part). Who knows? Anyway, such tangents I get on.
After the parade we went back to grandpa and grandma’s to get a few things and head over to Mike and Linda’s for swimming and dinner. Brian needed his medicine and had a migraine, so I offered to take his scooter and go to his place for his medicine while he went with Tami so he could rest. I decided to take the scenic route but was blocked by the Butlerville Parade. I watched for a few minutes then got right in the parade and acted like I was supposed to be in it waving to everyone on the sidelines riding behind an old fashioned car with a politician waving also (so I could get down the road). I got to the Butler middle school where they were going to have a carnival of sorts. It hadn’t started yet so I headed for Brian’s place. My experimenting with a fun route took me past his place so I had to backtrack a bit but not far. I didn’t get to Mike and Linda’s until about 5:00 but they were not quite ready to start yet so I was OK. I do enjoy riding that thing. One of these days I would like to get a bigger one and get out and travel around the country (before it collapses that is, (nervous laugh)). (I say that stuff realizing that there have been several times in history when people have decided things were so bad that the country was about to cease to exist (John Adam’s presidency, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet and others), so who knows what is going to happen. Oops, off on that tangent again. Well, we had a nice meal and visit at Mike and Linda’s then had some noisy fireworks before dark for the very young kids before their bedtime (which they didn’t like at all) then we headed to grandpa and grandma’s for the real fireworks. We could see the Butlerville fireworks just over the trees but Chad had some great stuff from his work so we had fun watching those. Everyone told him he had to work this same job next summer so he could get the fireworks again. He built some new fireworks from broken pieces of others and they really went wild, some tipping over and went shooting across the street; it was fun. Brian insisted that some may not have gone off and he kept trying to light the burnt up tubes then while they were lighting another fountain right next to the old home built one it started shooting again scaring Brian into jumping out of the way before his rear end got lit up. It was quite the funny thing to watch as he kept saying I told you so, I told you it had more in it. We all laughed pretty hard. We got home late and were tired from a long day.
Saturday was an early day as the girls went with me to help keep kids in line as we took pictures of Jen Arnold’s extended family. There were 6 adults and 8 kids. I took them to the International Peace Gardens at 900 W. and 1000 So. (her family was staying in a hotel downtown and she wanted to take them near their hotel). It had rained most of the night and I was worried about rain that day. We had a few drops on the windshield on our way there and then right when we got out of our cars but then it stopped and the light was perfect with the cloud cover (at 8:00 a.m.). We took some pictures and I wanted to get some candid shots as the kids were wandering through the park but they didn’t stay long enough to really get some good shots. I got a few and they seemed to be OK with everything. It is a beautiful area. We need something like that in the south end of the valley. I went home and took a nap then worked on pictures while the girls got paid to go with the Arnolds through the temple then to the new water park then to Chuck-A-Rama where they got a free meal and got paid to be there taking care of kids. I should get a job with them. We were all tired again and got to bed late.
Sunday we dragged ourselves out of bed and got to church (except Michelle who skipped Sacrament Meeting since she was going to one at 1:00 pm for a friends farewell). After church we had choir practice, meetings and home teaching. Michelle was called by the Stake to be in the Special Needs Mutual. She will be assigned a special needs girl and go to mutual with her every Thursday night (besides going to her own on Tuesday) and go to a Special Needs Sacrament Meeting once a month with her. Brian did that and loved it. We took small naps between meetings and then headed for grandpa and grandma’s for Jennifer’s birthday dinner. Alicia and Tami created a great meal and a good time was had by all. We talked of our ancestors and played games until Whitney got there from Montana at about 8:30 (for Youth Conference the next day) and then we had ice-cream and cake. Once again a late night and we were all on the tired side. Nathan called as we were climbing into bed so we talked to him while all of us laid down on our bed with the lights out. It was good to hear from him and it sounds like he had a very rough training session that he had just returned from Sunday morning. It was one of those where they only get a few hours of sleep a night over several days and have to jump from planes and perform mock missions. He said because of a strange wind just as they were landing there were about 70 of the solders (out of around 500) who broke legs or other bones upon landing and several others who were knocked out. Some of those kids were so bad they will be mending for a year or so. One broke every bone in one leg and foot and his femur break was a compound fracture. One of the guys in Nathan’s group was knocked out and when he came to he didn’t know what was going on and it took Nathan about a half an hour on the radio to get him over to where they were and get him oriented as to what was going on so they could continue their mission. Nathan said that even he hit so hard that in spite of his helmet he got an instant headache when he landed that took a long time to go away. All this was of course at night and they had to continue with their missions in spite of the injuries. That’s a costly training mission, WOW!!!
Well, that’s it for our week. Hope your mission this week was not as hard as Nathan’s,
Love Ken and clan



Nathan:
Nathan is in serious training for his next deployment (as I have mentioned above).



Chad and Alicia:
Chad is finishing up his job with the fireworks company and getting ready to start his teaching job with a middle school down in Alpine.



Brian:
Brian is a poor man trying to find work and get ready for school this fall. He goes to Harmon’s around the corner from his little apartment to eat their free samples since he has no food for lunch. The life of a poor student.



From Elder Fortie:
EH! Somewhere around the past few weeks I lost my mind... I'm not sure exactly where, but with all the running about at mach 671 I think it popped out and left me clean senseless... The mission president and the Lord are both working me to the bone! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE IT!!! I'm so much happier when I'm busy then when I'm not, but good grief... I've forgotten what breathing means! My days are spent running around doing so much that I no longer think I am a missionary, I've become the stooge, that lost his mind, so they just keep me so busy that I don't realize it! But truly I am loving it, the Lord is doing some wonderful things for the people here and I am loving being a part of it. My only regret is that there is only one of me and that time does not slow down for that one me! I could spend so much time working with these people but often have to cut short and fly between the many responsibilities I have been given. What amazes me the most is how they keep dumping all these extra jobs on me but keep skipping all the trainings I'm supposed to get! That's not very fair! I'm gettin gypped! haha! When I became district leader they told me "we always train district leaders on how to do their job, but we need you to just jump into it and do it, we'll train you eventually but for now, you can handle it" (that was 4 months ago! I still haven't been trained... and I run 3 stinkin districts...) I'm the only district leader who's never been trained, then when I got called as a greenie trainer, twice, they again told me the same thing, "sorry you'll get trained "eventually" but for now we trust you." And once again... I have never received the training... are we seeing a pattern of denying me my trainings!??? YES??? Am I able to do the job without them? Well, I guess so, I'm not terribly worried about it I can do the job it just would be beneficial I'm sure to have the training or else they wouldn't do it. But oh well, I fill whatever boots I can. Any how! I'm loving my greenie, he is a blast and is one of my favorite companions, so I'm not really complaining, it's just fun to joke about really that they keep abandoning me.
So this Friday the 31st I will be baptizing Jean! He is a 12 year old kid that has made a 180 turn around. He is stoked for his baptism and so are we. He is pure evidence of the spirit working in someone, because I had challenged him to baptism like 5 times and he always said he wasn't ready, then one day we had a lesson and the spirit there was so strong, and he just straight up on his own with no help from me or effort on my part asked to be baptized. Goes to show you who does the real teaching and who really changes hearts, it sure isn’t us missionaries, it's the Spirit. His mom, a recent convert since April is ecstatic, and the two of them are amazing, they have become one of my favorite families of my mission! The poor woman devotes her life to her son, they moved here from Brazil 2 years ago, her husband left them for some Mexican girl because he is a creep and we aren't going to get started on the conversation I would like to have with him some day after my mission... but anyhow, she now works around the clock to provide for him, and any free time she has she devotes to 3 things, 1st being her son Jean, second being us missionaries, and 3rd the church. She truly loves the missionaries because she says because of us she found the church which has changed her life. She will do anything for us and she does more missionary work then some of the missionaries do! She is always talking to people about the gospel and inviting them to listen to us teach. She is a young mother, only 29, and she just is fun loving and outgoing and crazy, the other day she chased me down the streets of Burlingame (a very ritzy rich area) with a large tree branch trying to beat me with it while we both tried to run while laughing so hard we almost fell over because I had locked her out of her house, every time we go there half the time we are just overwhelmed by the wonderful spiritual lessons we have there, and the other half we are doubled over laughing, if she spoke English I'd tell you you'd all have to meet her some day, but I don't think you'd understand much, we communicate in Spanish and Portuguese, So Chad and Steven I guess could meet her and know what's going on. By the way, this is a random question, but Steve, you Brazilian R.M you... Do you know any Portuguese speaking types, who are in their late 20's or early 30's who are single haha? We need to find this woman a good husband! She spends so much time between the church and her son that she has no time for herself so her finding a husband is next to impossible, so we are hunting for her (as a side job you know haha). Let me know if there's any- "referrals" you could give us haha. But it has been a true blessing working with them. Last Saturday, we had a Pioneer picnic in the park for the stake, they had hand cart races and sack races and stick ball etc. it was a BLAST and Joana and Jean came and since Jean has a baptismal date for this week I spent most of my time with them, and by the end, the two of them, had begun a water fight against my companion and me. IT WAS A BLAST!!! (We destroyed them... poor things... don't ever start water fights with the Elders, we don't lose, we have sneaky ninja moves). But after the picnic I was driving home and she called and thanked me, telling me that that day with us at the park was the best day she has had since her and Jean came to the United states 2 years ago, and it was because of us. I don't think anyone's said anything on my mission that struck me more powerfully then that. I was overwhelmed with joy for the blessing of being a part of their lives. Ah... I'll be terribly honest and admit my eyes are watering as I type this that is such a powerful memory for me. Making a difference in people's lives is one of my main motivators out here, and as she said that, I felt like I had made more of a difference then I ever thought I could make on my mission. I love this work... I truly do, I love these people, I'll be torn in half when I have to leave here. I am so blessed that my mission is not far from home, so that I can return to visit all these wonderful people. The Lord is so merciful and loving and he gives us all so many wonderful opportunities to laugh, to have joy and happiness and feel loved and appreciated, let us all spend more time loving the good times then worrying over the bad ones.
I have to go, we're headed over to the national cemetery here for some patriotic time, we're a few weeks behind, but as a missionary you kinda gotta do stuff on a when you got a free p-day basis. I love you all and may you all continue to grow in this glorious gospel. Take a minute this week, to thank someone for something they have done for you. For you never know, like with the moment when Joana told me we gave her the happiest day she has had in her 2 years in the U.S, how much that gratitude will touch someone’s heart, then go out and try and do something, that someone else can be grateful for to you. I love you all and take care. Happy Birthday to Jennifer, Daniel and Greg, and anyone else... I'm sorry I get so bad at keeping track of time out here... I still can't decide if it's 2009 or 2008 still some days... Let your light shine.

Love Elder Fortie.



From Michelle:
Bonjourno!
Well this week brought a lot to the table. There was a lot going on, and I’ll try to figure out the best way to put it. I hope your week is going great and this letter finds you all happy and still pressing forward!
Monday was just your average day. I worked starting at 3 and helped the boys clean the house. Then we took them to a pizza buffet for dinner, which was an interesting event, and quite the brave thing to try! All four boys had to be cornered in the booth, and we had to have systems going in order to get them pizza, drinks, and other food because we couldn’t risk sending them out on their own! We got some pretty good giggles that night though. Then when I got home around 7, I headed up to the pavilion to help out with Jennifer and Dad’s play for the last night that it was going. I became the photographer for the night and sat with a few friends. I think I know that play word for word by now! :]
Tuesday, Courtney and I did our final work for our friend Dallin’s eagle project. We have been making blankets, and we finally got to go to Primary Children’s Hospital to deliver them. We had a tour of the hospital, and got to see everything and learn about volunteer work. She and I decided that we will have to try to do some! We think it would be fun, but an amazing experience as well! Then we started home. Dallin’s mom got all of us dinner at Wingers, so we all ate together and then grabbed some ice cream on our way home as well! It was delicious! Then I got back to Riverton and headed straight to Young Women’s. We had a Christmas in July activity, which was really nice. It was good to get our focus back on Christ even though we are so far away from the real Christmas season. Afterwards, a big group of us walked home together. They insisted on walking me back to my house and then backtracking to head home, but I didn’t mind. Some of the kids in my ward are a lot of fun, and really great to chat with! After about 15 minutes of being home, a bunch of us got together for night games at my friend Ryley’s house. We had tons of fun and I got to know some of them a lot better!
Wednesday I can’t really remember what happened. I know that I worked around the house for a while, and then headed over to Courtney’s house. We hung out for a while and watched some video’s before heading over to Ryley’s house again for more night games.
Thursday was nothing to report. Just more cleaning and getting ready for the 24th of July! We went over to Grandma and Grandpa’s late that night to sleep in the backyard, (kinda like camping) but we got sprinklered on at about 2:30! So we ran inside the house and hunkered down in the front room for the night.
Friday we woke up early and headed downtown to watch the parade! We went with Chad, Alicia, and little Spencer! Spencer is such a little ball of fun, he kept all of us entertained during the parade even more than any of the floats did! :] He was walking, laughing, growling, and just being his cute little self! :] After the parade, we had a BBQ at Mounteer’s house. A bunch of us got in their pool, and goofed around for quite a while and just had fun together! Even Spencer joined in on the splashing pool party! Then we had dinner, and played some games while we waited for it to get dark. When the sun finally set, we gathered in front of Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a lovely fireworks display, courtesy of Chad! He put together a few of his own, (Frankenstein fireworks) and they were the best ones! They were a menagerie of different types all together to make a great show!
Saturday was a rough day. We woke up early in the morning to go with Dad to take the Arnolds to take pictures. Jennifer and I were in charge of keeping the boys in line and making them smile for the pictures. We were in the International Peace Gardens, and it was a very beautiful place! Jennifer and I had to make all sorts of faces and noises to keep them entertained. After we finished up, we headed home to get a quick nap and change. Then we went with the Arnolds to the temple open house. We walked around with them and kept them from climbing on the banisters and swinging from chandeliers! Haha. Seeing the temple again was so amazing, and I’m glad we got to go. Then we took the kids and went to Kowabunga Bay, which is a big water park near our house. There are tons of water slides, a lazy river, and a small pool! We had fun with the little kids and had fun in the water! Then we all went out to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama and stuffed ourselves beyond full! It was so delicious! But after we got home is when things really got rough. My best friends called me and told me to get to Courtney’s house as quick as I could. When I got there, my best friend Ashley had learned that night that her parents were getting a divorce. It came out of nowhere, and none of us saw it coming. We all sat in Courtney’s backyard, ate gallons of ice cream, and just cried. Court’s dad gave Ash a priesthood blessing, which was really amazing, and after that, we spent our night trying to help her out. She slept at Court’s house that night, and we all went to church together on Sunday. She’s doing a little bit better, and hopefully we can get her mind off of things over the next few days.
Well, that was my week. I hope you are all doing fantastic! I love ya’ll and wish you a great week! Best of luck in all your endeavors! :]
Love,
~Michelle Fortie~




From Jennifer:
Hello! This needs to be short but I will try to fit everything in! Well I'm Quite Play Sick, like home sick but not. :) It feels weird to have all this time on my hands! I don't know what to do with it all! Accept Celebrate my Birthday! I’m finally a teenager and my dad thinks its dooms day. Ha Ha, and I get a Facebook! HOORAY!!!! I have been looking forward to that forever! Anyways on Sunday we went over to Grandma and Grandpas for a birthday dinner, we had Keish, It was delicious! We (of course) had tons of fun with Spencer. He is getting so big! He is running ALL over and he still Growls and Claps too! It’s the cutest thing! He is almost one! I can’t believe how fast that came! Oh! And when we were playing in the front room he started to put dad’s keys in his mouth and Michelle, Dad and I all said no at the same time, well he looked up and got the saddest look you will ever see on a face, he had the biggest frown ever and he just bent completely over and started balling. It was the saddest thing! It was like it was the end of his world that of all people, us three had said no! Then Sunday night Nathan called around 12 (of course we were still up HaHa) and we talked to him for about an hour and a half then headed off to bed!
Saturday was a fun work day! Sister Arnold hired dad to take their family pictures and paid Michelle and I to come along and make the boys sit still and smile! Then Michelle and I went to the Temple open house with them to keep the kids reverent, then we went to this really awesome new water park with them and finished it off with dinner at Chuck-a-Ramas where Adam tried to climb on the table and Sam stuck his straws up his nose! So we were with them from 7A.M. until around 8:30 P.M. and got paid for it all, it was so fun!
Well I really need to send this off! So good luck to you all!
-JENNIFER F.

Monday, July 20, 2009

July 13 - 19, 2009














































































































































































































































































































Fortie Family Flyer
July 13 – 19, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,
Week after week I keep writing this letter to my great-great-grandkids and I never get a letter back from them. What’s up with that? Perhaps, when I am long gone, all of you could take the time to write me a letter or two about what is going on in your lives. I’ll try to stop by and read it over your shoulder. If you sense someone is there don’t worry it’s only your great-great-grandpa reading about what is going on in your lives.
Well, this week has been a focus on The Music Man (of course), taking care of sick people, work and other less interesting things.
We had our third performance Monday night and all went well. I keep adding a line or two to each night to see how the audience reacts to some local jokes. When Mayor Shinn says, “ya wild kid ya, taggin down main street after my oldest girl last Sunday night.” I don’t get much reaction but when I change it to “…taggin down main street after my oldest girl last Monday (pause) when we was trying to have Family Home Evening.” I get a pretty good laugh. Once I say, “I couldn’t be plainer if I’s a Quaker on his day off.” It gets a little smile, but when I say, “I couldn’t be plainer if I’s a teenager on trek.” I get some fairly good laughter. The biggest laugh I get is when I change, “And the rest of you standing there like a cot a’ shropshire sheep.” (no reaction from the audience) to “…standing there like a bunch a’ pineapple chunks stuck in green Jell-O” (more laughter than I expected from that one). I’m thinking of changing “couldn’t be clearer if I’s a buttonhook in the well water” to “couldn’t be clearer if I’s a cricket in a flock a seagulls.” We’ll see how I feel when the time comes. I didn’t tell anyone in the cast about my green Jell-O joke and they are all supposed to be serious at the time so some of them said they had to look away from the audience to avoid having them see their laughter. One of the actors who does a lot of theater doesn’t like me changing the lines, he wants to keep the integrity of the original show (I do see his point), but I get sooo much reaction from the audience after the show, when I am down talking to them, that I can’t resist. The people want a good laugh at the end of a long hard day, and the producer and director like it/expect it, so I do it. A few people who are coming every night say it’s like coming to a new play when I add a new joke or two every night, they look forward to it. In fact, after I did it last year and got some good reaction it is sort of expected of me now (I think I have talked about this in a few letters now so sorry about the repetition – bad memory). Anyway, I am finally able to relax a bit and enjoy conversation backstage instead of studying my lines in sheer panic of going blank on stage. I have so many that are strange or similar to each other that (me with my bad memory) I have to go over them constantly or I am lost.
I did get a chance, on Thursday, to dash on the scooter to get a few things from D.I. (books and clothes for the play are great there) and then head up to City Creek Park (east of the capital) to check it out for pictures this Saturday with Arnolds. I stopped by the International Peace Gardens on 900 So. and 1000 W. along the way and I think I like those grounds better for pictures. Their family is staying downtown and want to take pictures somewhere close. When I got home I used about 1 gallon of gas in the scooter to go clear down town and back, much less than the car or truck would have taken.
Well, as I said at the beginning, Jennifer got very sick (Thursday) and was throwing up so bad that she couldn’t eat a thing for two days (she came downstairs on Monday morning as I was writing this letter to tell me she lost 18 pounds, I’ll have to try that diet – NOT). She got so weak that she could hardly stand up on Friday so she was not able to be there for the play. Luckily none of the dances she is in have a partner so they were just short one person in the group.
Tami then got sick on Friday night and she had things running out the other end so I was washing sheets and blankets most of the day (sorry for the graphic writing).
After the play on Friday, 63 of us headed over to IHOP at 10:30. I thought someone who had planned it would warn IHOP but they didn’t. They only had two waiters (usually) handling only like 6 to 10 or people coming in at a time at that time of night. We completely overwhelmed them and it took a few hours to get through us all. We were ok as we were all just sitting and talking (rather loudly) as we could finally relaxing as a group the whole time rather than trying to get through a practice or a performance. Several people said they wanted a speech from the mayor, and that they would finally let me finish my Four Score speech. I started it and went a little ways into Abraham Lincoln’s speech but pretended like someone was interrupting me as always. A good time was had by all. During the celebration I got a call from the sick people at the house asking me to stop by the store on my way home for some medicine and wet wipes, etc. so I didn’t get home until about 2 in the morning.
Michelle has had a cough since trek and it took a turn for the worse on Saturday, she also got a stomach ache at about 3 in the morning that she could hardly stand, so there was one more person to help. However, she didn’t need much help as she just lay on the couch and coughed, moaned or slept. I was worried about how contagious this thing seemed to be (I had been trying to keep germ free to avoid this thing during the play). I then started to have the same problems Tami was having but a much milder version. I just made sure I didn’t eat or drink anything for several hours before the play so I would have fewer problems during the play. It seemed to work but I was very dehydrated after the play. I drank a ton of water and still didn’t have to go to the bathroom the next morning. On Saturday I ate bread and yogurt (stuff that normally stops me up) and my body didn’t seem to know if I should be constipated or have to run to the bathroom every few minutes by Sunday (again, sorry for the gross images but that’s life). I seemed to have such a mild version that it didn’t really affect me health wise; I felt fine.
Saturday’s performance was perhaps my worst at stumbling through lines (just a little bit right at the beginning, I loosened up after a few scenes). Luckily Mayor Shinn does a lot of stumbling so nobody noticed. I also didn’t get a call to be ready for the last scene and I am the first to talk as the lights came up as everyone is gathered at the gym to listen to my speech. Luckily I heard the music just before my speech and dashed out there. They had only been waiting for a half a minute or so when I came running in, oops. The bad thing about it was my family was all there to see us; Chad, Alicia, Brian, grandpa, grandma, Curt and Mary Kay. They said they didn’t notice so I guess it was ok. They also said they liked the play and thought I did a good job.
Sunday morning we all slept in. I was the only one who went to church and I was so late that I missed sacrament meeting and had to stay for another wards meeting at 1:00 pm after choir practice. When I got home I ate a lunch and went down for a nap. I slept for 3 hours which made it so I wasn’t tired at bedtime. Crazy mixed up schedule. Jennifer was feeling better on Sunday and Tami has improved quite a bit so things are looking up. Michelle is still just sleeping or wishing she was sleeping. I’m wondering if we should take her in to see if she has some kind of bronchitis or something. It’s hard to tell because most of the time they just say, ya you are sick and charge you for that. We’ll see what Monday brings.
Well, I think that covers more than you want to know so I’ll say goodbye.
Break a leg,
Ken and clan




From Elder Fortie:
Dear people of the world... Well here I am, training, running multiple districts, jumping between missions, hopping across the bay from time to time to work things out with the new president and myself as one of the mission leaders, working two different wards at the same time because one of our companionships got dissolved because one of the sisters got sick and had to go home to Korea, and dealing with 5 investigators preparing for baptism, 2 Elders that just got in a car wreck, my companion that I had (who I follow up trained) before my trainee, went home a few days after being transferred away from me, the companion of the sister who went home is in depression, I'm working to get the ward back where it's supposed to be because the leaders all went haywire on the ward a few months before I got here, dealing with having to move a baptism 5 TIMES in ONE WEEK because the scouts suddenly decided to go on a week long camp, right OVER his baptism, and he wants to go with them... which hey that's really good and it will be good for him, but can you pick a worse time?... and trying to figure out how to do all my exchanges without killing my poor greenie! Stress... just a little, discouragement? I Think NOT!!! It's total madness, complete insanity and I'm flying off the wall and the zone leaders, A.P.'s and the president all have told me they pity me with all I've had to deal with lately, and yet, I love it. Don't get my wrong I am sure waiting for my day off, but I work really well under pressure, and that's when I push the hardest, so I'm excited. Also since I started the new program I am running here on this side of the bay, the baptismal rate of this ward has shot up with unprecedented growth, and we have so far this month had 3 baptisms with 11 more up to bat! BAM!!! It's about to blow my mind how busy this program I am running is keeping me... I am usually on the phone until 10:25 at night, 5 minutes before we're supposed to be in bed, every night, dealing with a million things and taking care of a million arrangements, and contacting all kinds of people and getting on people who aren't doing their job and my poor yet amazing greenie just is jumping along with me without missing a beat, he is great and I love working with him, we have a blast and we get so much done. The mission president has asked me as the leader over here to contact EVERY SINGLE MEMBER HOUSEHOLD!!! So my teaching time has gone way down as I am running from San Francisco to San Mateo visiting every member on record... so I've lost a lot of time to that, but none the less things are going well, I will be baptizing Jean (he's 12, from Brazil, he's a smart kid, speaks English Portuguese and Spanish, which because of teaching him I can now read the scriptures in Portuguese! That was really exciting, I only know how to say a few fraises, but I can read it decently, and understand some of it). on the 31'st of July, so I am excited for that, he was a total surprise and his mom (a recent convert in April) is ecstatic and We just have a blast at their house every time we go, they are amazing people. Yesterday I sneakily locked her out of her own house, and she proceeded to chase me down the street with a tree branch smacking me with it while she and I tried to run while falling over from laughing so hard. It was hilarious... yeah, I'm a nut case I know. But I am really excited about that. We also have Oti and Mariaita with a baptismal date for Aug 23, and Carlos is thinking of joining them on that date to be baptized, and Jennifer who is in New York on vacation said she wants to get baptized when she gets back and is going to try to go to the temple there while she is there! Also as the leader here, I go on exchanges to all the other areas that I am in charge of, and I have apparently developed a bit of a reputation as being quite bold and straight forward, and so when I got there they told me "if you feel like doing anything bold like we hear you doing some times, go ahead and do it." So with that in mind, we went through the day, and at their last appointment, we were teaching a guy that they have only taught 2 times and were no where near challenging him to baptism, and I got the thought, this man should be baptized, so I took over the lesson, started throwing down some of my analogies that I have developed, and at the end challenged him to baptism. The Elders who were with me looked at me in shock amazed I had just thrown all that out, and that I had challenged him to be baptized that quickly, but he looked at me for a second nodded his head and said, yes, you are right Elder Fortie, I must be baptized, I will be baptized, the look of shock on the Elders faces doubled, they were so surprised. We finished up the lesson and as we left they were jumping up and down (and on top of me) cheering, neither of them have ever had a baptism so they were ecstatic, that's was the 5th baptismal date I had set in a week haha, I have really become quite impatient with all the beating about the bush as of late and have begun to just really throw things down, and be very direct and it's starting to pay off, sometimes it's not the most friendly way to do things, but friendly is not why I am here, I am here to call people unto repentance, and I've found that sometimes has to be done with some force or they don't take it seriously. But anyways, things are going well despite the neck breaking pace at which life is going. I hope you all are doing well and I have to get going, I have to jump up to China town, my greenie wants to see it, he's never seen it before.
Take care everyone, and keep on keeping on!Love Elder Fortie


Date: Monday, July 20, 2009, 12:10 PM
Sorry, my mission pres. is President Wade. As for me, yeah the nightmares have gone down, I still get one here and there, but it's not bad, I'm fully recovered health wise, I still get people coming up to me now and then asking me " some one told me your the guy that pulled that lady out of the ocean and went back in after the daughter, is that true?" So I've developed a little bit of a reputation I suppose you could say around here, but I mostly keep it to myself, I've never told anyone the full story... it was pretty gruesome, I've seen blood and injuries, I've watched people die, tried to save lives when I was a bystander for car accidents and other things, but nothings ever been quite so personnel before... I think it's because in all the other occasions if it was possible to save the person I did, if they died, it was because there was just no way on earth I or anyone else could have saved them, but with this one, this was the first time where they actually had a chance, where I possibly could have saved them and they could have made it, but they didn't, so it's just been hard because I keep questioning my actions, re-thinking the whole thing wondering if I'd done something differently could I have succeeded. But I just keep telling myself, "If God had wanted them to live, I would have succeeded, God had to have decided it was their time, thus he kept me from saving them". As I came back onto the shore and they had raised a slight pulse in the woman but she was not responding, I had the thought I could give her a blessing and save her, but then the spirit told me "her little baby is dead, she's gone, do not bring her back, let her stay with her child, she will be happier there with her baby on the other side." It was a strange sensation, but I followed the prompting and let her slip away. Anyways... you don't need all that. I hope you all get feeling better, I am doing just fine so don't worry about me. talk to you all later!
Love Elder Fortie

P.S. Speaking of your pictures, as the district leader and as a trainer I have to go on a lot of exchanges (if you don't remember, or if that's a new term, that means I leave my companion and area and go into another area and send one of them back to my area for a few days to monitor how their area's are going and help teach them to be better missionaries) and one time I was down in San Mateo and Elder Stoddard was staying up at my apartment, while he was studying in the morning he looked up and saw your picture of the Oakland Temple at night by the tree with the city and the bridge in the background and he told me the next day it was the most amazing and beautiful picture of the Oakland temple he has ever seen and he loved it. I told him you took it and he said to pass the compliment on to you and tell you it is incredible and he has never seen better. So congratulations!
I'm glad you've been having such good studies lately, it's always a wonder what you can learn from the scriptures. I hope all goes well with Moms surgery, she has been in my prayers. There is a lesson I teach from the scriptures to people that are having a rough time that has become well known throughout our mission because one of the A.P's saw me give it once and loved it and has been asking me to teach people how to do it, I will have to share it with you some day when I get home. But like me with the Mother and child at the beach, if it had been within the will and purpose of the Lord for them to live that day, I would have done it, I did everything I could for them, I gave all that could be given, and in the end, despite my efforts, it was not so. God has his own time table, and his own purposes, do your best, and to him leave the rest. Good luck with all you are doing, I pray for you daily.Love elder Fortie.



From Michelle:
Heidi Ho!
So I’ve gotten a little behind… again. I’ve also discovered that that is a dangerous thing for me to do, seeing as I can hardly remember what happened the past 2 days… so remembering the past 2 WEEKS should be tricky.
I’m gonna work backwards and hope that helps refresh things… yesterday I was sick. Not much to talk about there. It was just an unhappy day altogether. I was on the couch with the whole day… okay, that’s all to report there… moving on.
Saturday I worked. That was eventful.
The day before (Friday) I worked and took care of Jennifer and Mom who were sick. And that’s all… wow, this is making my summer sound quite dull.
Thursday, my best friend Courtney and I went to see Harry Potter! (yeah, that’s right, we’re geeks and proud of it!) It was really good and we had fun doing a little shopping afterwards!
Wednesday proves that I do have a life! Yay! I worked at the temple open house from 10:30-4. Now that isn’t the part that proves that I have a life. Although I can’t complain because standing and walking in heels for 5+ hours did give a great workout to my calves! And not to mention, blessing will come. Later that night though, I headed to the Riverton city pool! My friend rented it out for her Sweet 16, so everybody got together for food, fun, and a sweet pool party! We had fun messing with the lifeguards (half of them are guys that we know from school, so they were joking with us) and having a water volleyball game against our guy friends! I even went off the high diving board for my friend. That was a great feat for me, seeing as I’ve never been a very big fan of water! After we finished up at the pool, we headed back to the birthday girl’s house to just hang out, jump on the tramp, and mess around!
Tuesday I went to the new Herriman Lake with my friend Courtney, and we met up with our friends Tyson and Garrett who were also there! It was REALLY cold that day, but we had lots of fun anyways! Tys and Garrett were both champs on the swim team, so Court and I felt a little ridiculous trying to keep up with them, but they eventually learned to slow up for us! :] We had fun, and I got another tan line on my back (I now have about 6 different, very defined tan lines on my back). Then Court and I went back to her place and we played with sidewalk chalk for the first time in forever! It was so much fun and we got some pretty interesting drawings! Then I rushed home, changed, and headed to mutual. We went to the temple open house as a group, and I can’t tell you how beautiful that building is! It is more open than any other temple I’ve seen, and I think it’s the most beautiful. (Maybe that’s just ‘cause I’m a little prejudiced because it’s our temple :] ) Then we headed back to the church and ate pizza! We’ve been in the ward for like 3 years or more, but even still, the people are shocked at how much I eat. Haha! What can I say? I’m a growing girl!
Monday I did Jennifer’s hair and make-up for the play, and I also did Dad’s make-up. I’ve become their official hair stylist/make-up artist and I’ve been having a lot of fun with it! Then I went to the play with them, helped my best friend Ashley with her hair and make-up backstage, and headed into the audience to watch! I sat by Mom and her family, and by my friend Jeff. He and I were laughing and taking pictures the whole time, it was actually a ton of fun!
Sunday I went to a farewell for a friend of mine, Josh Knowles! He’s going to California, and he’s gonna be a great missionary! Then we went out to Grandma and Grandpa’s to have dinner, and play with little (I can’t say baby any more, he’s getting too big!!) Spencer who just learned to walk! He’s so cute, and always sticks out his little tongue as he’s going! He’s so adorable! I pretty much have the cutest little nephew in the history of the world… that’s all!
The previous week, I only remember a few things. I remember going to the play with my friends Nikki, Dallin, Javier, Evan, and Courtney. That was awesome and we were all laughing pretty hard, especially when some of them finally figured out that Mayor Shin was my Dad at the end. I also remember that we finished helping Dallin make the blankets for his eagle project! And as far as I remember… that’s about it!!
Hope ya’ll have a great week! Love ya! Remember, God doesn't give you the people you want; he gives you the people you need to help you, to hurt you, to have you, to love you, and to make you into the person you were meant to be. So just have a little faith and live life the best you can!
Love,
Michelle Fortie!




From Jennifer:

Hi!
Everyone here has been sick with some mystery illness that seems to be highly contagious! I even had to miss one of the play nights for it! But I think I’m finally over mine, let’s just hope that everyone else gets over there’s now!
Well I have successfully broken yet another phone, and I am looking into the possibly wise investment of 1-Phone insurance or 2-a phone cover. This will be my fourth phone in about a year and a half, wow that sounds bad! Accept none of them but this one has been my fault! And even on this one all I did was drop it from my hand to the ground at Smith’s and now the screen doesn’t work! So we went to T-Mobile’s and the guy there agreed that was lame and it shouldn’t have stopped working, it didn’t even put a crack in it! So he pretended like I never told him I dropped it and there sending me a free new phone. How nice!
The play is going fantabulous! Were all having fun with it and dad is once again throwing in his comic relief lines. I’m sure he will put them in his letter! I have made lots of friends in the play and we have all been sharing much laughter together. At least once every night my friend Makell (don’t know how to spell) and I get laughing so hard our stomachs start to hurt and no noise is actually coming out. Have you ever had that happen? When you laugh SO HARD that you’re actually not making any noise! It’s great fun!
On Tuesday for young women’s (and I actually got to go! There was no play practice!) We went to the temple open house, it was so beautiful! If you haven’t gone yet GO! The spirit there is amazing and the inside and out is just astonishing! Then after that we went back to the church and had pizza it was great fun and we were all laughing our heads off. Then I got a call from a friend so I went out in the halls to talk to them and my other friend Jarvis wanted to know who it was so he hid behind a corner and when I came up to it he jumped out and scared the devil out of me and on natural instincts I turned to run and in the two steps I took I got fast, then I came to realize there was a wall there, smacked right into it. He will never let that one go, of course I don’t blame him it was hilarious! At least he never did find out who I was talking to!
Well I’m gonna sign off! Adios one and all! Best wishes! And remember, life is not measured by the number of breath’s we take, but the moments that take our breath away!
Jennifer

Monday, July 13, 2009

July 6 - 12, 2009





















































Fortie Family Flyer
July 6 – 12, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,
Well, the cool rainy June is gone and July is hot – hot – hot. Actually that’s a bit of an exaggeration; it has been in the 90’s but no 100’s yet. Its felt hot mostly ‘cause of the cool June we had. Anyway, how the heck are ya. It’s been a rather busy week this week. Evenings have been spent at the pavilion practicing our play in a bit of a panic. Several things seemed to go wrong until we were quite worried about what was going to happen opening night (or if it was going to happen). But by some miracle (I’m sure prayers were involved here) it all came together and opening night went well. It was the first time we actually performed with all the scenery (it was still being painted the day of the play). It all looks good and though I was nervous through the whole thing (I drew a blank in one spot in the dress rehearsal) everything went well for me the first 2 nights. The part I am playing (Mayor Shinn) is way over my head and I have worried the whole time that I would forget a few lines and not be able to recover. It’s crazy how I get myself into such messes. I first took the girls to tryouts last year for the Sound of Music and they said they needed men in the show so I should try out. I did and they gave me the part of the butler. That was scary enough with about 6 lines. Now this year I thought I would join Jennifer in the play again and was hoping for about the same level of participation so I tried out for the constable, which only has a few lines. Instead they put me in as mayor and I had no idea what I was getting myself into. His lines are so strange that they are hard to memorize and some scenes he says something very similar to a section of another scene so it is hard to keep them separate. I think I will be nervous until it is done. I don’t know if this will help improve my bad memory or scar me for life. I have also had people constantly say they were expecting me to do the same thing this year that I did last year, which was to throw in a crazy line or two for some laughs. All through practices I have not been able to come up with anything until Saturday afternoon. I was going through my lines and came to the part where I tell Tommy that he was “taggin’ down Main Street after my oldest daughter last Sunday.” I got the idea that I should change that to Monday and then say “and we were trying to have family home evening.” I told Landon (Tommy) I was going to try it and see what the audience’s reaction to it was. If they laughed we would keep it, if not I would be embarrassed and leave it out and get out of town before the director shot me for taking such chances. I put it in and we got such laughter that we both started snickering and I lost track of what should come next for a few seconds. The audience didn’t notice but a few of the people on stage with me did and ribbed me about it after. L. D. (Professor Harold Hill) rolled his eyes and said “family home evening?” every time he passed me back stage for the rest of the night. Everyone thought it was great so I guess I will be using that for the rest of the performances. It’s funny how you never know what is going to happen. Now some of the pressure is off to come up with something crazy, (unless they are expecting more than one funny line). I think the favorites for the show are Marian (her voice is amazing), the Pick-A-Little ladies, and the quartet. Someone from the audience came up to me after the performance and asked how I memorized the lines for the mayor because he says such strange things. I told him it was not fun. We had lots of favorable comments from people; they all seemed to love it. We could tell that this was not as popular as the Sound of Music last year because our audience seemed to me to be a little over half of what it was then. Perhaps it’s the economy, perhaps because of a few other activities going on around this corner of the valley, I don’t know. I hope it isn’t because people would rather support the movie theater rather than the local community activities. It is interesting how we can’t resist giving money to the people in Hollywood who seem to hate us, which gives them more power to hate us (Mormons) all over the media. I guess that’s one of the interesting things we have to learn here. It doesn’t work to say we love God without offending the devil. Well, once again I find myself on my little soapbox.
Anyway, not much else going on for this week. Speaking of supporting the enemy, on Monday we went to see Monsters vs. Aliens. It was pretty funny but didn’t quite have us rolling in the aisles. The rest of the week has been work on photography or work in the yard and house (nothing newsworthy).
Hope all is going well for you.
See you at the theatre,
Ken and clan




From Brian:
July 5-12
Dear family,
This week was normal. On Monday we had family home evening in my ward. Bishop did the lesson. He had two places set at a table. One was a nice plate and silverware, with a big U of U mug, and nice folded napkin. The other was a grungy plate with a huge knife for cutting lettuce, a broken salad fork and a big blue cup. With a newspaper folded up for a napkin. He picked me and a girl as the people to sit at the table. He told her she got to pick which seat. She picked the nice set one. He asked her why she picked that, she told him that it looked nice. He asked me which one I would have picked (I got the other by default) I said the one I had anyway because it had a blue cup instead of the U mug. hehe.
He asked her which of two desserts she wanted, a frosted brownie and some ice cream or a cinnamon role with frosting. She chose the brownie. He brought it to her and promptly picked it up in his hands, and smashed it together, letting the ice cream ooze through his fingers. Then he threw it on her plate. Then he nicely brought me my cinnamon role and gave it to me unaltered. He told me to eat it. I started, and he went on about appearances and how what something looks like on the outside (all nice) is not always what you will get. I ended up cutting mine in half, (which was way good by the way) and giving her half.
It was a good lesson. Then we went to a park and some played Frisbee, but I swung on the swings with two girls.
Tuesday my scooter was fixed, there was a problem with the spark plug, so that was good to get transportation again. I went to Greg’s and we watched support your local sheriff. There is a sequel called "support your local gunfighter" so I checked it out at the library.
I went back to the apartment late that night. I live with my friend Jonathan in a tiny apartment for a little over a month. He is getting married in August and wanted someone to be his roommate until his wife moves in.
I spent Wednesday going to pharmacy's and asking if they had tech training programs, to hire me and train on the job as a pharmacy tech. I did some reading too. I am studying in depth, the apostasy. I also went to a seminar for some network marketing with the maintenance guy of our apartment. That was interesting.
Thursday my singles ward had an activity. we went on a hike to doughnut falls. (or not so doughnut falls now, since it fell.) A night hike, in the dark, it was fun. But one girl fell in the stream a bit and got her pants wet.
I went with the Elders Quorum President, Tyson. He got so lost getting there, and was getting so mad. I ended up calling grandpa and asking where big cottonwood canyon was. Tyson was going crazy. We've got pretty close because we talk a lot about the efforts of the Elders in missionary work for the ward. He offered me a job since I need work bad. He is starting his own business, so I will be doing over the phone commission sales, selling self-help, or business classes to business owners who can afford to learn to make their business better. Not my cup of tea so much, but it's work for a while till I can find something.
I got sick on Friday and stayed at mom and dad's. Chad and Greg came over and we watched "support your local gunfighter" It was sort of funny, but no where near the original. It really isn't a sequel either. The same actors play different characters.
Saturday I studied a lot, and went through the BYU education week catalog, seeing what classes I want to take.
On Sunday at church one of my investigators came. I asked if he wanted to meet with the missionaries, but he said not yet, but that he wanted to study with me for a while. So I will be teaching him until he is ready for them. Bishop had an extra quad sitting in his office, so he gave it to me for Sean, during PEC.
We had an amazing lesson on the creation in gospel essentials, with little paper bags with stuff in them for each day of the creation, and some amazing quotes. And in Priesthood the lesson was way strong on why we keep commandments. The teacher Cody, is an excellent teacher. He had everyone single file, walk past the white board and make a tally mark under one of the numbers 1-7 for how happy they were with their life. Most people were under 5, one was a 2. but it was a good wake up call. Tom, who is the second councilor in the Elders quorum, is a big guy with a big voice. He is so sarcastic, and has the driest sense of humor I've ever seen. It is so funny, you never know when he's serious. He walked out and someone said "what did you put down Tom?" "Eight!... (there was only 1-7) I mean, I am 29 years old and still single, who could be happier!? Forgive me, almost 30, I'm almost 30 and still single!" and then Tyson said "I bet your so happy cause you have a great roommate huh?" (Tyson, the EQP is his room mate) then Tom said "no he's kind of a jerk, but I have other friends to make up for it." and just kept a straight face like he was totally serious. Then Tyson said "I'm gonna go change my score." And got up as if to go back and put his tally on a lower number.
But the spirit was way strong there.
Well, I love you all so much. Jason, I remember when a boy drowned in a river on my mission and we came to the people waiting for him to be found and pulled out. That was way hard to come onto. We ended up praying with and teaching a little of the plan of salvation to the youth group who were waiting for his finding. It was very sad.
Love
Brian



From Jennifer:
HEY!
I’m not really sure what to say this week but um oh! The play! Dad and I have done that most of this week… ok correction ALL of this week! We had dress rehearsal on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday then Friday was the performance! And Saturday and then on Monday and then Friday And Saturday and Monday… again! For now the little River City is my home and the year is 1912!
Because of the play I haven’t been able to work and I already miss my 4 little boys! I think this break was good though, I was getting stressed and being less fun than usual. So I will come back with a creative mind again to keep them out of trouble! We are Potty training Adam still but I think he has got it down! There are still a few accidents here and there but most of all he knows when to run to the toilet! He just turned three and I can’t believe how fast he is growing up! My first day there he was barely one! There were only a few words he knew and now all that has changed! He talks in sentences and he isn’t a little baby anymore! And the 4 year old Sam too! He will be starting Kindergarten! HOLY COW! Time flies when your raising boys!
LITTLE BABY SPENCER WALKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He took his first three steps from Alicia into Chad’s arms, now he is walking everywhere! We are going to head out to Grandma and Grandpas to see him for dinner! I’m so excited! Well I have a meeting with the bishop DUN DUN DUN! (We Got trouble) yah he found out about my master drug dealing skills, no it’s my annual checkup you get every year! Anyways I’m done talking now! Bye!!! Oh. P.S. Elder Fortie- the cats are going bye bye!
-JENNIFER