“Oh My Son, Remember…” – Letters to Calder on His Mission

How is it Wednesday?!? So excited to talk to you.... It's been a great week. You'd be so proud of me...I went mountain biking a ton. Today I went on BST and I am so proud of myself. There were hairy moments but I made it. Did I tell you that I volunteered to be a ride leader for the DPMS mountain bike team? I'm doing it for Gwen. It's making me face my fears BIG TIME! I have a lot of work to do...but maybe...just maybe...when you get home, I can ride the BST with you? Jane lost her other front tooth. It's a big deal. Do you remember when losts tooths were big deals? She wrote the tooth fairy a note and asked her to bring a barbie instead of money. That girl knows what she wants and she goes for it. Sorry to report the tooth fairy only brought money... I had the opportunity to go to the Provo City Center Temple on Friday and it was amazing. So much fun to be in that type of pioneer temple. It really reminded me of the Salt Lake Temple. We took the YW a...

Dear Calder, I hope you had a great Easter weekend! We missed you, but I'm sure the opportunities you had to share the gospel on Easter Sunday will be a memorable one. When I think back on my favorite Easter memories, the Easter I spent in Zurich Switzerland will always come to mind as the most memorable. I only spent one easter as a missionary. I just happened to be with my very favorite of all companions, Sister Pocock, and we were working so hard and in sync with each other and the Lord. It was really a beautiful time on my mission. I felt like I understood the purpose of Easter and had so much love for my Savior that day. It was a great feeling. I hope you wrote in your journal about your Easter...I'm sure you did! Our girls trip in St. George was a lot of fun. We had a great time celebrating my Mom's birthday and being together. The house was awesome. It belongs to Tara Lewis. One of the funnest things we did while we were there was to go to this foot spa....

That was the quote I was trying to remember from Shawshank Redemption....so it literally had nothing to do with anything - hah! I have such a great memory for movie quotes...it's like me and Ty are on the same level. It was so super great to talk to you on Thursday, I hope you were able to let go of some of the pent up feelings inside and that your week has been fabulous! We've been praying for you guys. If nothing else, remember that the Lord loves effort. I was thinking about you so much on Monday. I've been trying to go on more hikes lately because our girls camp and trek are going to be quite physical. I knew it was going to snow this week in Draper (which it did...it seriously dumped) and I wanted to get my hike in. So, although it was cold and windy, I put on some warm clothes and grabbed my earphones. I quickly hiked to the suspension bridge and loved listening to conference along the way. My favorite talk was Elder Ballard. I'm sure you heard this bu...

Here’s some pics from the cruise that I think you’ll like. We talk about you all the time. I made dad stand in front of the Hot Dog place. I remember you liking the food and stopping in often. The cruise has way exceeded my expectations. We really struggle with so many ages and varying interests that it seems like everyone is pretty happy on this cruise. It brings back a ton of memories from our first cruise with Gma and Gpa horsley in 2014. Same cruise line. We’ve met all sorts of hard core cruisers. Today we met a couple who have been on 51 cruises together. Whoa! That’s insane. They go for multiple weeks at a time. While this has been a great experience, you’ll never find me going on 51 cruises with Dad! Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. Gwen has warmed up to the flow rider and loves laying out. Jane wants to visit the kids club every day and gets an ice cream cone every time we pass. Henry and McKay have been having a great time together. It’s been fun to watch their relat...