I hope that ya’ll enjoy these sporadic letters. I enjoy telling about the life that we are living here in Texas and all of the changes that are occurring. Matt will post my update letters here on our website, hopefully you will enjoy reading about our adventures.

Matt and I have both experienced fire ants since we have moved here. I have been bit twice, but that is two times too many. I was in the backyard pushing Kalani on the swing when I felt a sting on my foot. It started as a small bit, then it quickly became more painful. The pain subsided for a couple of days, but then I got a small blister on my foot that itched. Aren’t there enough ants in the world? Why do we need fire ants? Matt was standing on a small ant mound on Sunday, so I don’t know what his take on the experience is.

Since we drove from California to Texas, a 12 hour road trip doesn’t seem that bad. For spring break my aunt Anna and I took the kids to Manhattan, Kansas to visit my uncle Robert and aunt Annette and their 7 children. It was a really easy drive, going directly north, just kind of a boring scenery. We left on March 14 and came back on March 19. In Oklahoma we stopped at Braum’s. It is a hamburger/creamery/grocery store all together. The ice cream was really yummy and the food was decent. Kansas was very chilly while we were there. Especially since we were coming from Houston. We didn’t pack properly, but luckily Rob and Net have a child about the same age/size as all of the kids that we brought. The day after we arrived (Thursday) we went to the elementary school while Annette had a parent teacher conference. The kids played on the playground for a while, until it got too cold. There was a book fair going on inside the school so the kids had fun checking out all of the different books. Then Annette treated all of the children to a book. Kalani got a scratch and sniff Strawberry Shortcake book that she wants me to read to her daily. Later in the afternoon we went to a “ranch.” A lady in Annette’s church offered to have the kids come over and ride her horses and help with the chores. The kids loved it. They learned how to measure a horse and pony, brush them, and clean between the horses toes! The kids also were grossed out but laughed when the horse went pooh. I guess when you don’t grow up on a farm or in the country you are not use to seeing things like that. Kalani was scared of the horses of course since there was no fence between us. She wanted to sit in the car while the kids rode the animals. I did eventually get her out of the car and we watched the kids ride the pony by themselves.

On Friday Robert took everyone over to the church building to play some basketball, soccer and play with the nursery toys. It was fun to see all of the cousins/siblings play together. It reminded me of my youth and trying to play sports with the uncles. When we got back to the house the ladies got ready for an afternoon together. Anna, Annette, Kalli and myself went to lunch and then to Hobby Lobby (it is somewhat like a Michael’s or JoAnn’s but with more home decor). Later everyone got ready to go bowling, but I opted to stay home with the 3 little girls so we could have a “Princess Party.” I had Kalani and Hannah (both 3 and then I had baby Jadyn 1) watched Cinderella 3 while I combed their hair and curled it. Then I put some make-up on them and got them dressed in dresses they wanted to wear and took their pictures. I had a great time and I think they did as well.

Our plan for Saturday was to go to Independence, Missouri to see the church visitor’s center and other church historical sites. We had a late start and about an hour into the drive Robert pulled over and asked if we noticed his car shaking. Anna and I hadn’t noticed, but once he brought it to our attention I noticed that the wheel on the passenger side was shaking so bad it looked as if it would fall off. We pulled into a gas station and noticed the the tire was splitting a the seems in two seperate locations. The rear driver side tire was also splitting and the driver tire was not in that great of condition either. So, while we were stopped, I made peanut butter and honey sandwiches and the kids saw how to change a tire. The spare was flat, but it wasn’t a problem to put air into it since we were at a gas station. We made a detour to Walmart for some new tires. The first Walmart we went to had a horindous long wait, so we left for another Walmart that wasn’t very far. While new tires were put on the van and realigned I bought a variety pack of ice cream to entertain the kids. The only rule was that each person had to eat at least 2 ice cream sandwiches/cones/popsicles. All of the kids were up for the challenge. The kids also discovered a man made tunnel used for storms, or something like that. After our detour of a couple of hours, we headed to Independence. The visitor’s center is huge and a lot of fun. We watched the new Joseph Smith movie and it made me remember all of the hardships he went through in order to restore the gospel. It was very touching and some of the older children felt the spirit from the movie. Robert took the younger kids out to play in a small area designed for children. It was a small cabin that kids can play in as well as plastic toys and a wagon to ride on. I highly recommend everyone to visit that visitors center.

Daylight was quickly coming to an end so we started back towards Kansas. We took another small detour to Cabela’s (a hunting, backpacking store). There were many “stuffed” wild life on display along with some live coi fish and ducks. Kalani did pretty well looking at the animals until we got to the Africa section with a huge elephant and other Afican animals. What really freaked her out was when a hippo head and lion head started to talk electronically. From then on she only wanted me to hold her and was done at looking at the animals. We soon left for the house but the kids said that that day was, “the best day ever!” Just goes to show you that with good people, lots of food and a good attitude, any day can be the best day ever.

Sunday was spent going to church and hanging out at the house and Monday we woke up early to come back to Texas. One of the funniest things that I heard from the trip was said by Nick (10 years old). Nick is autistic, but has a good memory. When he saw me he said, “I’m scared of Big Black Jeff!” I just laughed since I knew he was refering to my dad. Nick would say this almost everytime that he saw me. Just an hour ago Kalani said to me, “Big Black Jeff is my grandpa.” So the saying has stuck. Dad you are now known as Big Black Jeff!

Since our Kansas trip not a whole lot has happened. I taught a lesson for our church enrichment on TIPS. Thank you to all that gave me helpful tip information. After the meeting I met with the Bishop and he extended the calling of Enrichment leader out to me. Of course I said yes, but I am very much out of my comfort zone. I enjoy enrichment meetings, but I have never planned one. I would much rather be a counselor in any organization than a president or leader. I don’t want all of the reponsibility! So, if you have any good ideas or things that you have done in the past that you enjoyed, PLEASE send the ideas my way. Matt still has not received a calling although he has expressed interest in being in the nursery with Kalani.

Last Sunday we drove to Austin, Texas for my college roommate, Angela DeLong, baby’s blessing. It was great to see her and her family again. Plus her parents and in-laws were also there. I haven’t seen them a few years so I had a blast talking with them and showing off Matt and Kalani. I know that if I ever go to Hawaii or Utah I have a place to stay with the Welling or DeLong family. While we were there I mentioned to Angela that was is going to California for a week and she quickly asked if I was going to stay with her. It is just so much fun to be in the same state as Angela again and to have her girls there to play with Kalani. It is about a 2 1/2 hour drive, but it isn’t a hard drive and really that is almost like driving from Sacramento to the bay. Not that big of a deal.

In a couple of days Matt leaves for California and will be gone for a week. He likes to bring up the fact that he gets to go to church in Antelope and eat Sunday dinner at the farm. He needs to be in California for work, but arranged his flight to leave a few days early so he could see friends and family. When he gets back there will be a lot of changes on our house. They just poured the foundation last Friday, March 30. Tomorrow they will start framing the house. Our builder still says that it will be done by the end of May. We will see how close to that date they come. If they get one bad storm that will push them back. And boy do they get some crazy thunder storms. Kalani was sitting at the window watching our first lightening and thunder storm here a few weeks back. She got pretty scared from the noise and how the whole sky lights up.

We hope that everyone is doing well this Easter Season. We love you and miss you.