Elder Peterson Week 80

 I had an interesting week for sure. There were two days specifically that were just crazy. Because I was blind.

     So, last Thursday we were getting everything ready to do our mail run (we take all the Zone mail to the respective district leaders so they can distribute it within their districts). Elder Nestripke and I were outside waiting for President Ross. He takes us in his car so we save miles. I don't know if I've ever explained that before, though I'm sure all returned missionaries reading this know what I mean. Missionaries have a certain amount of miles alloted to them each month, so we appreciate the ride from President Ross. As we were waiting outside some wind blew dust in my eye and then started a huge mess. I could not get it out of my eye. After several minutes of blinking and flushing out my eye, we kind of just assumed that my eye had gotten scratched. It was still hurting, but no one could see anything in my eye. So, to keep myself from opening that eye (because it really hurt to do so) I wore an eye patch. It wasn't a cool one or anything, but I wore an eye patch for a couple hours.

     Later that night we had a lesson with Jon Ward again. I had taken off the eye patch and I got a blessing from President Ross and Elder Nestripke before going. My eye looked terrible, but I made it through the lesson. We talked about why we have the Book of Mormon. We explained that yes, a lot of the principles taught in the Book of Mormon can be found in the Bible (not all though), but, a huge reason for the Book of Mormon is that it is a keystone. If the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God. If Joseph Smith was a prophet, then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the Earth. Simple as that. Jon had read a little bit of it, but he said he hasn't gotten an answer yet. The problem I see is that he isn't willing to change. I don't think he wants to know it is true. Because of that, he will not receive an answer. We have to be willing to submit to God's will before he gives us answers to our questions. That's the way it has always worked. So if someone doesn't want to know, they won't. 

     After that lesson my head hurt very bad and I still couldn't see very well. I pretty much went to bed right when we got home, in hopes that sleep would help.

     It didn't.

     The next day we went to a doctor and after peeling my eyelid off (or at least that's what it felt like) he found a tiny grain of sand on the back of my eyelid. It was stuck, so he had to use a needle to dislodge it and then he flushed out my eye. My eye feels just fine now, but it was sore for a day or two after that. The whole thing was a weird experience .

     Last night we had a huge bonfire. We had a pile of sticks, logs, boxes, etc. that had been growing all transfer. Last night I got to burn it! President Ross let me light it, which made me very happy. I haven't lit a fire in SO LONG. It was awesome, AND BIG. AH! I forgot how much I love fire...

So much!

     Today is transfer day and Elder Nestripke is in a new area. My new companion, Elder Gale, will probably get here after lunch. I'm really excited, I've served around him several times and we've been wanting to be companions for a while. He is a very hardworking and obedient missionary, so I'm excited to work with him. We are the Zone Leaders for the Orange Zone. He was just a Zone Leader, so luckily he already knows what to do. It's gonna be great. I am going to miss Elder Nestripke though, he's a great friend that I'm totally going to hangout with after all this.

     Anyway, I hope you're all doing well! Have a great week!

-Elder Peterson

Oh yeah, we stopped by the Gulf on the mail run and got a couple pictures. My eye really hurt in those pictures. You can totally tell how fake my smile is on the picture of just me 

Rylee is Sweet 16!

Not only is it Rylee's Sweet 16 but it is also her Golden birthday which makes it extra special! After much debate and back and forth with herself Rylee decided she did not want a birthday party, she says maybe next year. For her birthday breakfast I made Rylee pancakes, I added pink heart sprinkles but they melted and just turned the pancakes pink. Rylee had a Lacrosse game after school and because of the game she  had to wear a dress to school. She was not on board with that because she said people were going to think she dressed up for her birthday, but she is a team player and obeys the rules and wore a dress to school.

After school Kefford, Avynlea and I went to the High School to watch Rylee play Lacrosse. She played for a little bit of the game and did really well, she is good at defending. Avynlea had to work but she was able to get off early so she could come to the last part of Rylee's game which was fun.

After we got home and cleaned up we went out to eat for Rylee's birthday dinner. Rylee had a hard time choosing a place to eat but finally decided on Red Robin. We had fun at the restaurant hanging out and eating good food.

Back at home Rylee was super excited to open her presents, she got...

a cropped puffy vest, The Selection book set, two new pairs of jeans, a Phineas and Ferb phone case...

money from Grandma Bonnie, The Lunar Chronicles book set and a workout jacket. 

I found a wallet that I had bought online but I could not remember who I got it for. Rylee's birthday was the next upcoming day for gift giving so I wrapped it up to give to her but was not entirely sure it was for her. When she opened it she started laughing and looked at Avynlea, I asked if that was supposed to be for Avynlea and she said yes and tossed it over to her. When Avy did not get it on her birthday she mentioned to Rylee later how bummed she was that she did not receive that gift so when Rylee opened it she knew who it was for. We all had a good laugh about that mistake and Avynlea got something she had really wanted a month and a half late.

Rylee requested a chocolate Costco cake with sprinkles on it for her Birthday treat and I was happy to oblige. I found some really cool purple and silver sprinkles and after buying the cake covered it with the sprinkles, it was pretty cute and Rylee loved it.

 

5 things I love about Rylee

1. Her kindness to others. I love that Rylee has a kind and inclusive heart. She is willing to puts others needs above her own like with the Lacrosse uniform and is naturally a kind person. I have seen many times her extending friendship to those who have been excluded by others and am so proud of her for not listening to the opinion of others. She has an ability to make others feel loved and included and is naturally an inclusive person. 

2. Her dry wit. Rylee is so funny and is constantly making me laugh with the things she says. She is such a fun person to be around and tells me all the time how funny her teammates think she is, I believe it. Rylee is good at the one liners and finding the humor in situations. 

3. Her Faith and Testimony. Rylee loves her Heavenly Father and Savior and does what she can to stay close to them. She attends seminary willingly and is an active participant in Young Womens and Sunday school. I was lucky to teach her Sunday school class for the past two years and was often impressed with her insight and comments she would make in class. She is not one to always have her voice heard in class but when she did speak she blew me away with her knowledge of what we were discussing. 

4. How hard she works in school. I have never had to get after Rylee to do better in school. She has always done her assignments and kept her grades up on her own. She is taking mostly honors and AP classes and is on track to graduate High School with her Associates degree and that is so impressive to me. She doesn't always love the work but she does the work and cares about her grades and wants to keep them up and does a great job of it. 

5. Her Artistic Side. I love how artistic and talented Rylee is. She has been doing a lot of water color and turns out the coolest artwork. I love that she got an artistic gene from my Dad and that she finds creating relaxing and a good use of her time. She has turned Rykers room into her drawing studio and it makes me laugh, I like it when I go in there to put something away or get it ready for a guest and I find her artwork out on the desk. 

Rylee's Favorites:

1. Dinner: Beef Stroganoff
2. Dessert: Popsicles
3. Candy: Skittles
4. Color: Pink
5. Scripture Story: Jesus Blesses the Children
6. Primary Song: A Child's Prayer
7. Radio Song: Golden Hour
8. Book: Percy Jackson Series
9. Movie: Tangled
10. TV Show: Phones and Ferb
11. Thing to do: Lacrosse, Read and Water Color
12. Place to go: Beach
13. School Subject: English
14. Store: Target
15. Drink: Lemonade

Pi Day 3.14 and Lacrosse

Costumes have come in for my Kinderstar class ad I took pictures of them dancing abound in their "Great Balls of Fire" costume. Costume Tyron day is one of my favorite dance days, the girls are always so excited to see and they their costumes on and they are always so cute about it. They loved their Tap costumes and I let them wear the tutu all through our tap part of class and they loved that so much! 

Ashleigh screen grabbed this shot of Rylee celebrating that it is game day for lacrosse! I think she looks so funny but that is because it is a screen grab from a moving shot and Rylee is wearing her mouth guard and her goggles. I love that Ashleigh takes an interest in my kids and their activities to a point that she follows the MHS Lacrosse account so she can hopefully see pics and video of Rylee. She has also followed the MHS Cheer instagram page and is following Fierce Idaho so she can see Avynlea when she is featured, I love her support!

The girls were getting ready for their game but it was so cold and so they took a moment to huddle together for some warmth. Rylee is wearing the red sweat pants in the huddle.

March 14th is special because it is 3.14 which is also Pi and so that means March 14th is Pi day! I made a pizza pie for dinner and a chocolate pie for dessert to celebrate the day.

Tonight Rylee had a lacrosse game in Middleton and it was raining hard. I was not excited to sit out in the rain to watch the game in the cold but I went to support Rylee and sheer her team on. She had to get their early again dn so I dropped her off, parked and then sat in the car reading while I waited for the time to get closer to the start of the game. I wore snow pants and a sweatshirt, a fleece jacket and my coat so I was pretty warm and protected enough form the rain. My snow pants and coat were soaked but they protected me enough that I did not get wet which was awesome. I was not expecting Rylee to play again but a couple of minutes before halftime I saw Rylee running down to the field and I heard her teammates on the sidelines cheering for her...Rylee was put in the game!!!! I was so excited for her and so excited to watch her play! Halftime was 2 minutes and then they played 15 minutes into the second half before the refs called the game on account of the field being too wet and it was too dangerous to continue playing. I was not bummed at all that the game ended early and was happy to get out of the rain and into my warm car.

After the game Rylee talked about how excited she was that she got to play and how much fun she had! She said when her coaches called her in she was confused at first but then realized what was going on. Her teammates on the sideline were so happy for her and she said she was their Beacon of Hope that they could get called in also! I think one or two other girls got called in before the game ended early which is exciting for them. I told Rylee I got pictures and video of her playing and she was happy to have proof that she played in the game..lol. I was so proud of her and so happy that she got to play, I think she has a positive attitude and her coaches know she is willing and wanting to improve so she could play and all of that possibly helped get her in the game. It was a good night!

Abo9ut a week ago I got letters and pictures from Joshua's kids which was so fun to receive. I love those kids and miss them so much and the letter in the mail made me happy. I wrote them each a letter back and I also sent a picture of me with each of them to them. Joshua sent me pictures of the kids with the pictures of us and sent me this...The kids were delighted by your letter. 

Amos stuck the picture in the wall. Fredrick put the picture and the letter in his drawer because "that's where he keeps his treasures" and Leona propped it up on her crib and then made me tape it to the wall. Amos and Fredrick have already started writing another letter!

 

Elder Peterson Week 79

 I had two exchanges this past week.

   The first exchange was in my last area, I got to go back to Moss Bluff for a bit! I was a little disappointed though because the apartment was very messy. I take a little pride in my cleanliness. So going back to a place I just lived at and seeing it in a mess was weird. Other than that though, it was a great exchange. I got to be companions with the Elders who are finishing Elder Woodhouse's training (one of my last companions). We didn't do anything super interesting, but we did find a leak in their place. So that's getting fixed. I'm glad it didn't happen when I lived there .

     For the second exchange I stayed Vidor and Elder Wood came with me. This guy is 25 years old. A bit old for a missionary, but really interesting! Honestly I probably wouldn't have guessed he was that much older than me had he not said anything. He is still in his first transfer of training, so we are more experienced than each other in different ways . It was a fun exchange though, he is a really positive guy and he absolutely loves missionary work. He also helped me remember to pray a bit slower. He prays pretty slow, but it reminded me that I shouldn't rush prayers.

     We've been working really hard with the people we have, but none of them are keeping commitments very well. So we are also trying to find more people. Vidor is amazing in every aspect except for two (in my opinion). One, the work is pretty slow. Everyone is pretty spread out, we don't have any neighborhoods really. And two, there's still no mountains. But those aren't even big deals, we'll just continue to press forward and work hard. There's a lot of less active members that we minister to with members. I really enjoy doing that.

     I've been studying light a lot recently and I've learned a lot about it. It's interesting that Jesus Christ is our spiritual light and he is also the source of physical light. One big thing I've learned is that we must not EVER let anything come between us and Christ. This includes family. The first great commandment is to love God. Then, we must love our neighbors. As important as it is to love our families with everything we have, we cannot let even them keep us from Christ. This my very difficult for a lot of people, but God always makes everything work out in the end. The light of Christ is our source of life and spiritual energy. If we let anything disconnect us we will lose the safety and direction that comes from His light.

It's been a good week, I've learned a lot.

 I hope all ya'll have a great week!

     -Elder Peterson

President Ross took us to get frozen yogurt.

That house belongs to a member in our ward. I think it's really cool.

Kenedy's Bridal Shower

My friend Abby Eaton wanted to throw Kenedy a bridal shower and I thought that was a fun idea. We decided to make it an open house shower because Kenedy had a bigger list of people to invite. Kenedy needed to come home again so she could try on her wedding dress that was being altered and we decided the weekend that worked for that and the shower was March 11. Emily came down with Kenedy which was super fun nd I am so glad she came. While Kenedy was in Oregon with her Dad getting her dress Emily and I went to a craft fair and then to Zurchers and we had a lot of fun hanging out and shopping together.

When we got home we got ready for the shower and Kenedy, Emily, Avynlea, Rylee and I headed over to Abby's a few minutes early. She had it decorated so beautiful and the food looked delicious. She did a costa vida dupe taco bar and had cupcakes and brownies for treats. She did a fabulous job and helped Kenedy to feel really special and loved. I did not get very many pictures at all but Abby took a few and I was happy she did.

The guests who came were..

Emily, Brit and her girls Tayvia, Brielle and Qiana, Michelle, Kylie and Amelia, Whitney, Deena Warner and her girls Meghan and Lauryn, Arin Lamb, Jessica Heslop, Katie Williams, Erica Lish, Nikki Lyons, Addie Lewis, Amy Little, Ashlee Olson, Becky Eberhard, Becky Larson, Elaine and Kelli Josi, Mindy Anderson and Kirsten Chidester. 

 

 

Lacrosse First Game

Rylee had her first lacrosse game coming up but before that she and some of the other girls on the team went to go watch the boys in their first lacrosse game. Rylee had fun being with her friends and watching the game but it was freezing and that was not so much fun.

Avery, Esther, Clara, Brinleigh, Rylee

The girls had media day where they dress in their uniforms and then get pictures taken for the coaches to use for social media and anything else they would need the pictures for. One of the girls brought her goat to use in some of the pictures for fun and when it peed on the floor Rylee really had fun with that, gross.

back row: Reece, Emmerson, Brinleigh, Esther, Carly, AJ,

middle row: Rylee, Clara, Jocelyn

front row: Shay, Kinsey

I took a picture of Rylee before she left for her first game. 

Rylee had to be there earlier then I needed/wanted to be there so I dropped her off and then came back home to get things done before I had to leave to watch the game. I was really excited to watch Rylee play but she was not put in the game at all. Nobody other than the girls who started were put in the game and that was a little sad to see. On our way home I asked Rylee how she was feeling and she said she was really disappointed she didn't get to play but she talked to the Coaches about things she can do at home to get better and is determined to work hard so eventually she will be put in. She is worried that she won't be able to play at all this year and said their Coaches told them they have to play in a game in order to earn their Varsity letter and that makes her extra nervous. Overall she had a good attitude about it and is ready to do what it takes to get better and get put in. She is so great, I just love her attitude!

 

Cheer Banquet

Tuesday March 7th was the end of year cheer banquet for Avynlea's 2022/2023 season. Avynlea and I were both ready for this season to be done. I have absolutely loved watching her cheer and seeing her get better and better each year has been my favorite. I have not enjoyed dealing with narcissistic coaches, mean parents and drama. It is crazy how mean adults can be and I saw a lot of bad behavior through these past 4 years of cheer and I am glad to wash my hands of it. Avynlea has put up with a lot as well and I am so proud of her for sticking through the hard times and rising above the bad behavior to be a shining example of goodness and forgiveness. I look up to her so much for how she has dealt with everything thrown at her and how she has come out the other end a better all around person.

The boosters had Goodwood BBQ cater the banquet and that was a nice change from the previous three years of chick-fil-a. Rylee and Kefford came to the banquet and Rylee sat with Avynlea, Natalie and Paige while Kefford and I sat with Amy and Diana and her husband Sami. I had a good time visiting with my friends and for me they are the second best part of the past four years. Obviously Avynlea cheering and me getting to support her is the first best thing but getting to know these ladies and all of the fun and bonding times we have had has been such a blessing. They have loved me and Avynlea just as much as I have loved them and their girls and that is what got us through the hard times of the past 4 years. Good friends who love and support you make all the difference.

After the dinner the girls who maintained a 3.5 and above GPA were called up to receive their Academic Award. Avynlea was one of those recipients and has been every year that she has done cheer and I am so proud of her for all of her hard work in the classroom to keep her grades up. 

Next the Varsity girls got their letter awards and then the JV girls who competed in the Varsity Show routine for competition got awarded as well.

That was basically it for awards and then it was time to take pictures and leave. As Kefford and I were looking at the coaches gifts Natalie, Paige and Avynlea came over to give him one last cheer hug. Natalie and Paige love Kefford and his often curmudgeon attitude and they love giving him hugs so here was one last time to give him a group hug.

Avynlea, Natalie and Paige all dressed very similar for the banquet and they looked super cute in their outfits. As they were lined up being obnoxious for pictures Amy came over and smacked them all on the bum, well deserved to these sassy girls.

Avynlea, Natalie and Paige

Avynlea and Elizabeth

The boosters had the food court decorated pretty cute with the favorite decor for Avynlea being the streamers in the doorway. Avynlea used them as her model entrance.

Then we got pictures of Sami and Kefford exiting the door while the rest of us cheered for them. One got into it a little bit more than the other, lol.

Elizabeth, Avynlea and Kefford

Elizabeth and Avynlea, Diana and Natalie and Amy and Paige

Cheer Mom Besties

Elizabeth, Diana and Amy

Avynlea, Natalie, Katie and Paige

Dreya and Avynlea

Dreya, Paige, Avynlea and Natalie

Avynlea and Rylee

Avynlea with her 22/23 cheer season letter awards

Avynlea and Alyssa, Paige and Alyssa, Alyssa and Natalie

There was a photo booth set up at the banquet and the girls were able to get pictures with their coach Alyssa. After the banquet I gave Alyssa a hug and told her how much I appreciated her being such a good coach and advocate for Avynlea and the rest of the team. I told her that she was a big reason why Avynlea decided to stick with cheer and not quit when she wanted to. Alyssa really rallied for the girls and was a big reason for whatever success they had during competition season. She was a highlight of the year for Avynlea and I appreciate that about her.