Riley Principals Award

Need we say more.  Riley does it again, 4.000 for the third time this year.  We think that his classes are too easy, but maybe he is a genius too.  Great Job Riley!!!

Erika District Orchestra Concert

Erika had her annual District Orchestra Concert tonight.  They have all 13 elementary schools play together first for a couple of songs, and then the 2 middles schools play a couple of songs, and then the 2 high schools.  They progressively get better in sound and strength.  Erika is the section leader or the 2nd violins, so she was in the front this time, where we could see her.  They played the theme song to "Lord of the Rings".  It was amazing to listen to and hear how well they sound as a group.  If you ever get a change to come to a concert, you will be amazed and what the students can do and play.  Wish we could upload the video, but it is too long.  Great job Erika!!

New Washer & Dryer

Here they are, our new Washer & Dryer!!!  We decided that it was time, because our dryer was older than our house and was starting to leave brown stains and ripped and put holes in our clothes.  Of course, Brian couldn't just get the dryer.  We had to have the matching pair.  We were able to get them from the Sears outlet and get a pretty good price, because they were not in the box and had miss matched pedestals, but who cares, nobody looks at your wash room anyways.  They are so high tech, that we don't know what buttons to push to start the washer and dryer.  At some point, we will get used to it, but it is a little bit much right now to figure out.

Birthday & Easter Dinner

We had our monthly birthday dinner at the Evans tonight for FHE.  Because of General Conference on Easter weekend, we had to plan a different day to do the Easter Egg Hunt and dinner.  Riley and Kaden searched for eggs in the backyard, and Taylor, Addie and Easton hunted for eggs in the front yard.  The kids always have alot of fun.  Erika and Brandon decided that they were too old to hunt for eggs, so they helped hide them.  We have BBQ hamburgers and hotdogs and of course, birthday cake.  We sang to Riley, Addie and Cameron who all have birthdays during that week.  Riley was so cute about the card he received from Grandma.  He said to Grandma, "Did you make this card custom just for me?"  Grandma Holly was pleased to say, "Yes it is!"

General Young Women Broadcast

Erika and I and the McGriff girls were able to get tickets to go and watch the General Young Women Meeting at the Conference Center.  We left at 4:00 pm and parked in the Handicap parking, because Nancy had ankle surgery, so she was walking with a crutch and a boot on her foot.  The ushers were kind enough to let us go in the VIP door and up the elevator and sit in the back on the top.  Erika, Heather and Sara went ahead of us to get us seats, so they sat down closer to the front, but Nancy and I just stayed in the back on top.  It was easier to get in and out for her and not have to go down all the stairs and back up.  The meeting lasted for about 90 minutes, and then we had to wait to get out to the freeway.  We stopped at Apollo Burger for dinner and then headed home.  We arrived back at home at around 9:30 pm.  We had a great evening riding together and listening to the speakers.  Hopefully, next time, we can just enjoy it at home or the stake center.

Happy Birthday Riley!!

Today is Riley's 13th birthday.  We can't believe he is that old now, he was just 5 years old the other day.  He decided he wanted a birthday party and invite 10 friends.  I was a little reluctant at first, but I thought, what the heck, it will be fun.  We planned to go to Nickel City for a couple of hours, and then come back home for Pizza and Ice cream and cake.  Riley and all his friends had a great time at Nickel City, spending 40 nickels each.  It was hard for them to choose prizes with all their tickets they had won.  Then the pizza party with Ham and Pepperoni and Breadsticks and then opening presents and cake and ice cream.  4 hours of fun for Riley and his friends, but for me, I was exhausted, espeically since Brian was out of town.  At 8:00 I was ready to take them all home, but some of the boys stayed and played, but I was done.  I told Riley and myself, no more parties with 10 friends.  Seriously, he is getting old enough that he doesn't need parties anymore. RIGHT!!!  At least Riley had a great time and fun with his friends and family.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!

Elder Brown update

Well, thank you for your e-mails this past week and your letters. I received a letter from Andrew Wright, Erika, Grandma Holly and Bette this past week. I will be writing y'all back today. I know that I have been a bit lazy when it comes to writing letters back, but I will do better starting today. I know Erika wants me to write her back, and I will today.

It sounds very cold up there, but guess what, it isn't here. We had a crazy snow storm the first day of spring. Then it warmed up to 70 the next day. That was very wrong. We also had a crazy Lightning storm last night. The rain came down and came down. Good thing it came down last night while we were in teaching a lesson. Well, Michalynn is getting baptized this Saturday. We will be giving her a tour of the font and how the ordinance is to be performed Friday afternoon. I am so excited for her. We have taught her everything she needs to know and she is keeping all of the commitments and more that we left her. She is so ready to be baptized. I am so excited to be a witness of it. Well, an update about Cody Harper who was in the ICU that I told y'all to pray for last week. Well, he passed away Friday morning. As far as I know, he committed suicide. It was so sad to hear about his death, but there is only so much that we can do. He was baptized last November and he and his wife would have celebrated their 1st anniversary this week, but now he is gone. He was only 20 from what I understand. A young life, cut short.
Well, I am so excited for General Conference coming up. Oh, I wanted to tell you that our church building has a marquee out in front. We put up some words that relate to the fact that all visitors are welcome and invited. Well, I will be watching conference at the exact same time that you will be. I am so excited.
Well, nothing else is new in missionary work. I am also weirded out that I will be 20 in about 10 days. That is just wrong. I cannot believe that.
I hear that dad is really close to Nathan in Los Angeles. That is very cool. I hear the weather is very nice. Actually I was just thinking, Dad is going to miss Riley's and my Birthday, but y'all are going to miss mine because I am doing the lord's work. :)
Well, that is all I have for this week. Thank you so much for the pictures of Nathan. I know I need to send you some pictures, I just haven't had a minute to send some to you. I will work on it and you will have some soon. Thank y'all for all your support and help. I know that it isn't very easy to be away for so long, but I think that it builds character in realizing how much the people you love really mean to you when you can no longer just call them or text them anymore. I look forward to the upcoming week and continue to pray for your safety and protection.
I love y'all so much.

-Elder Brown

Brian to Los Angeles

Brian headed to Los Angeles today for some training at his work.  He will be there until friday evening.  He called us and said that one of the Delta Ticket Agents that checked him in was "Heidi Ho."  She was one of Sharri's brothers girlfriends from high school.  Heidi spent some time at Sharri's parents house during that time, so Brian knew who she was.  He went up and said hello to her and she recognized him.  Brian is going to be in some nice weather for the next week.  We are all so jealous, because he will have 75 degree weather and he gets to have some play time after his training.  No late night shifts at the newspaper.  He went with a co-worker he knows really well, so he will have some fun.  He is sure in need of some relaxation and rest.  He is also staying at a 5 star hotel in Aliso Vallejo, California.  For his company to be scrapping the money pit, why did they put him in an expensive hotel?  We don't get it, but at least he get some pampering.  We will report on Friday how well he did in the nice weather.

MORP for Erika

Erika and her friend, Rachel and their dates had the MORP dance date tonight.  They started out yesterday, spray painting matching white shirts with neon colors.  Then they started at 5 pm and went to Subway for Dinner.  They played some board games at our house and then played Disney Scene it a couple of times.  The walked down to the park and played there for a while, but the wind was blowing really cold, so they came back after 15 minutes.  They went to get pictures taken at the PHS Commons and then headed to Classic Skating for the dance (or should we say, skating).  They stayed until 11:20 pm and then went and picked up ice cream from Macey's.  They had a great time together.  Erika drove them to all the places they needed to be and she arrived home at 12:30 am.  Good thing she was able to sleep in the next morning.  Pictures will be coming soon. but here is a picture of her shirt.

Erika had her Spring Orchestra Concert tonight.  She has been appointed Section Leader for the 2nd Violin's.  Obviously, her teacher, Mr. Allred, saw how great of a player she is and wanted her to be the section leader.  Great job Erika and the Philharmonic Orchestra!!

Riley @ TSA Conference

Riley went to the TSA Conference with Dixon Middle School to Jordan Applied Tech Center in West Jordan.  He left the house at 5:30 am and returned home at 7:30 pm.  He built a couple of airplanes and had to fly them and write everything down in a portfolio to take to the conference.  His teacher gave him the red tie and oversized jacket to wear to the conference so they all match.  From what we understand, this is a quite a big deal.  While he is at the conference, he has to built his own bridge in a certain amount of time and then have weight put on it.  He competed with other 7th graders from 6 different middle schools in the state.  Then they have awards later in the evening. Riley received 3rd place for his bridge building.  Riley has been staying after school every Monday to work on this project and refine it.  He loves building things and making them work.  He has become our little engineer.

Mini Doll Cakes

Erika and I decided to make a doll cake for her friend, Rachel, for her birthday.  We had planned on make just one big doll cake, but we didn't have the doll pick, so then we decided since we had the mini doll picks, we would make 4 mini doll cakes instead.  What were we thinking?  This project ended up being a 4 hours project from baking the cakes to making all the different colors of frosting and then decorating them all different.  They ended up looking really cute and her friends, Peggy and Heather, took them to Rachel.  The dolls each represent their friendship.  The pink one is Erika, the Green and White is Peggy, the Blue and White is Rachel and the Blue and Green is Heather.  They also made a card for Rachel and took it all to Rachel at 10 pm tonight.  We should of just waited and done the big cake tomorrow, instead of the 4 hour project of the mini doll cakes.  It was fun and Erika and her friends enjoyed them and giving them to Rachel.

Utah Valley String Festival for Erika

Erika participated this morning at the Utah Valley String Festival in American Fork.  She played in a quartet and had a solo piece.  She has been practicing for a couple of months and memorizing her solo piece.  As usual, she played awesome.  She is so talented, even if she tells you she isn't.  We are so proud of her for her accomplishments.  Good Job Erika!!

Elder Brown update

Well, due to the amount of time that I have to e-mail you, I will be keeping this e-mail fairly short. My new companion Elder Call is from Star Valley, Wyoming. He has been out about a little over 16 months and me and him are doing well in the area that I am serving in. In fact, we even set a baptismal date with this Catholic Lady named Michalynn and she is really excited. We are praying and hoping she goes through with it. I actually was present when the baptismal date was set. My last 2 baptisms, I didn't set myself, I just got to help. Now, I get to do the whole thing! It is so awesome. This area is actually pretty hard, we tracted into a couple who "Bible Bashed" with us hard core. They were not willing to listen to our message. They even DENIED THE SPIRIT! I was like, "We need to get out of here". It was so horable to think that they would do that, but they did. Well, even though that experience happened, we still have that baptism for Michalynn coming up, which makes me very happy.

Well, yesterday I had the opportunity of going to the Dallas Texas Temple for a Session with President and his wife. It was so cool. The whole room was completely full. No available seats. It was very awesome. In order for us to go to the temple President had to get permission from an Apostle for us to leave and go, and we got permission. I was so happy. I had a really good time. I was able to put a bunch of names in the prayer list, and they were all my investigators and our baptismal date, and all of you. I especially put in Grandma Bette, because of her arm, and Aunt Kristi, which I am so happy for her to continue to move forward. That makes me so happy!
I have not received ANY letters from anyone, but Elder Call informs me that the Mission Office usually takes a couple of weeks to get my new address sorted out and start forwarding my mail to the right address. I hope you have not been sending any mail to my OLD address in Arlington, that would not be good.
Well, it is getting warmer and warmer each day, I already feel the Humidity getting to me and it's not even summer. I will melt like a Popsicle!
I have not ridden my Bike much since I bought it. It still looks unused. I am in a car and don't need it hardly at all.
My Sacrament Talk went well, and the ward really liked it. They said I got a little unsure in the middle of it, but at the beginning and end I was fine.
I have received NO Mail, so nothing there. I will e-mail you next week if I get them.
I am so happy to hear from y'all.
Love you tons and tons!
-Elder Brown

Kimber's Baptism

Kimber asked Brian to baptize her today.  It was at 1:00 pm at the Sandy Stake Center.  We arrived at 12:30 early to give Brian plenty of time to change and be ready.  We were the only ones at the church at this time and Kimber didn't show up until 5 minutes before 1 pm.  While we were waiting on the couch, an older couple walked by and I thought I recognized them.  As they turned around, I asked the sister, "Are you Sister Tenney?"  She said "Yes," and then I told her who I was and she said, "Of course, your face looks just like your mom."  Sister Tenney was my Mia Maid advisor growing up and her son's daughter was being baptized at the same time as Kimber.  It was good to see them and they said that they still live in the same place.  Sister Tenney was a great leader and fun to do activities with.  Of course, she was one of my favorite leaders.  She asked me how many kids I have and I pointed out Erika and Riley and that Cameron was on a mission in Texas.  It was fun to see them and reiminse with them.  The rest of Kimber's family came late, but they all made it in time for the baptism.  We then had lunch with all the family at the church.  It was great to be with family and spend time with them.  Erika had to leave early to practice for her violin festival, so we drove separte cars.  We stayed until 5 pm and then headed home.  Congrats to Kimber.  It was a great day.

Ward Talent Show

Our ward had a talent show for everyone to enjoy.  Erika decided to play her violin, instead of doing a skit with the Young Women.  She played Concert 2 and Sister Libutti accompanied her.  As always, she did a fabulous job.  She played loud and confident and didn't make any mistakes.  She has become quite the accomplised violinist.  We are so proud of her and her diligence and practicing to feel comfortable playing for entertainment to our ward members.  There were many singing and instruments played as well.  There were a couple of skits by the cub scouts, activity day girls and the Young Women.  It was an enjoyable evening with friends and neighbors.

The Packages sent home

Elder Brown sent two packages home, because he was being transferred to a new area.  He didn't want to have to pack it in his suitcase, so he sent alot of things in those two boxes.  Some of the things were, a nerf gun and the darts, a pair of pants to fix the zipper and return, a box of unopened Kleenex (not sure why he didn't leave them at the apartment), lots of letters from family and friends, some christmas presents and bags, new years horns, his MTC folder, the exercise booklet and the Texas Fort Worth Cookbook.  We had fun going through the boxes and laughing at some of the stuff he sent home and wondered why.  Now we have to start a box to put those things in until he gets home to sort through it all.  Cameron surprises us weekly on all the things he sends and tells us.  At least this makes the time go by for us and him to be able to laugh about it.

Elder Brown update and transfer

Hello from Lewisville Texas. I just got transferred here to the Lake Cities 2nd Ward in Lewisville and my new companion is Elder Call. Elder Call came out with Elder Young and so they are MTC buddies. Elder Call is a cool missionary. We have a car and the area I am in is a VERY rich area. The people are very rich and wealthy. It is such a change, let me tell you from Arlington to Lewisville. The people are actually pretty nice. I am very surprised at how nice they are. You would think that rich people would be mean, but not here for some reason

Well, I got here and ate dinner at the Poulter's home last night. The mom looked at me and said "Elder Brown, it looks like you need a hair cut". I said "yes, I probably do", and next thing I know she is cutting my hair! WOW! I was not expecting that. The members are really nice and fun. I can't wait to continue to serve here in this ward. The members are nice, the people in the area are nice. Although, I have heard that the Denton Bible Church teaches Anti-Mormon stuff every Sunday. So that should be fun to run into one of them.
Well, I am glad to hear from y'all back home. I am so happy that Erika is the President of the Laurel’s now. That is way cool. She will love it. I know that when I was president of the quorum's I was in, I learned a lot about being a leader. You have to be a leader every day out in the field. President would like baptisms and we have to be willing to do what is necessary to get it done. It is very hard sometimes to be a missionary, but you just have to endure and work hard. Plus, I am ALWAYS tired. I may sleep quite a bit when I get home in Oct of 2011.
Well, now onto Missionary Work, we have a investigator that should be getting baptized in a few weeks, depending on if she is ready or not. I hope when we extend the baptismal invitation, she will say yes. We have a couple of other investigators, but they are a ways off from baptism. I hope they will say yes too.
Well, that is all for this week. I always love to read your e-mails from home and to hear from you.
Look forward to next P-Day when I can hear from you. Please send all mail to the Mission Office.
Talk to you next week and love you tons and tons!
-Elder Brown

Erika's answer to MORP

Erika received her answer tonight at 10:30 pm with a knock at the door and this plate on the doorstep.  Erika was not home at the time, because she was with another girl friend, helping with her asking to the same dance.  I think it is pretty obvious what the answer is.

Erika asking to MORP

Erika and her friend, Rachel, decided to ask to MORP tonight.  They have been talking about it for a couple of weeks, but when Erika heard that another girl was going to ask Keith Eberhart, they jumped right on it.  Rachel bought some letter beads and put them on a wire and spelled out their names.  Then they went to Wal-mart and bought some jam and then stuck the wire with the beads into the jam and put a note on the front.  It said something like " I would be in a JAM if you didn't go to MORP with me!!( Look in the Jam)"  Then they decided to find their addresses and leave it at the door and knock and run.  They did the one for Rachel first, but when they went to Keith's house for Erika, he and his family were all in the front room with the blinds open and all the lights on.  They decided to just put it on the front porch and came home and Rachel called his house and told him there was something at his front door.  They were so giggly and funny after they did all the running around and putting it all together. Now they get to wait for the answer.