28 July 2008, Monday. Dear Devan,

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1 28 July 2008, Monday Dear Devan, Another week has come and gone. How was your week? Did you have baptisms this past week? How is your toe? Did you have the nail removed again? Do you think you can get it fixed after your mission? So do you want to be a podiatrist like Dad suggested? With your toe you might have some pretty good experience already. Just kidding. Has the weather started to cool off yet? When does it? We ve had a pretty full week and weekend. Here s the scoop on what we ve been doing. We left Monday afternoon and drove to Las Vegas. I think I told you that Jared had a business trip and we decided to tag along. The construction at Hoover Dam is something to see. Dad saw it on his way to Havasupi Falls and I guess you did to when you went. Did you see the new overpass/bridge that they are building? I think it s pretty impressive. We stayed at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. It s located on the Vegas Strip across the street from Caesar s Palace and the Paris hotel. The kids thought it was cool that there was an Eifel Tower and Statue of Liberty in Las Vegas. We went swimming most of the time. The kids loved it. Madison tried the arm

2 floaties for the first time and was so proud of herself for swimming on her own. Drew and Carley are becoming fish themselves. Drew has a mask and snorkel and Carley has swim goggles. They loves diving in the water for their toys. Katelyn and Avery enjoyed swimming a lot too. Avery loves to splash the water with her hands and legs. Jared ended up having the evenings free so he was able to swim with us a couple of times. We drove home Thursday morning and Jared went into work that afternoon. Thursday night, Jared and I went to the Stake Center to get our Temple Recommends renewed. We loaded the kids up and took them with us. Drew was just playing around with the girls and pushed Carley and Madison off of the stage in the gym. I didn t see it, but that s what the girls claim. He was just being a boy. Later, Drew went to pick Avery up from behind and she fell forward and smacked her face on the wood floor. She started crying and was bleeding in her mouth. Drew felt pretty bad about it, especially since Carley and Madison were getting after him. I tried to tell them that it was an accident and that I would handle it. I bring this up because later that night Drew said that he wasn t a good boy and that he was going to leave. I asked him where he

3 was going to go. He said he was going to go to the Lasley s home (Drew got to sleep over at their house a couple of weeks ago). Oh, boy my only son was threatening to run away. Carley was a basket case. She was bawling because Drew was leaving. I told her he wasn t going to leave and that it was bedtime and she needed to go to bed. She was so scared that he would leave while everyone was asleep. I told her that he wasn t going to leave, but that didn t pacify her. I finally got all of the kids to bed (Jared was of course gone for his Elder s Quorum Presidency meeting). I went into Drew s room and talked with him for a little while. He was just down because he doesn t have a brother. I told him to pray for one. He said that things won t change. I told him that Scott, Aiden, and Ross don t have any brothers and that it took Uncle Ben 12 years before he got a brother, which was you. I don t think it made him feel any better. I ended up saying a prayer with Drew and telling him how much I loved him and wanted him to stay and be a part of our family. I think it worked because he hasn t talked about leaving since. Looking back at it makes me laugh a little. It is quite funny. I m sure hoping we can have a baby boy soon. We ll see what the Lord has in store for us. Friday was spent recovering and getting unpacked. We went and saw Nancy Drew at the movie theatre. It was our last summer movie since we ll be gone this coming Friday. Carley loved the movie and wants to dress like Nancy Drew old fashion style. Saturday morning Jared and Drew went to help a family move out of our ward. They were gone for over three hours. Ben and Holly arrived Saturday afternoon. Scott and Emma seemed about the same to me, but Gracie and Caytie sure have grown. Actually, this was the first time I ve seen

4 Caytie. We enjoyed sitting and talking with them all. That night we ate dinner outside and enjoyed the weather. The kids got a lot of jumping in on the trampoline. (Ben and Holly don t have a trampoline). Holly and I did baths that night. It s quite an accomplishment to bathe nine kids. Drew and Scott took a bath together in my bathtub. They had a blast. Jared and Ben took apart our weight set and loaded it up in Ben and Holly s trailer. They re going to take it up to Mom and Dad s. We ll see what their gas mileage is going to be - hee, hee, hee. I stayed up late and talked with Ben and Holly. It was nice to just sit and talk about whatever. Scott slept with Drew on the bottom bunk. They had a lot of fun playing together. Scott played a little bit more with Drew rather than Carley which is to be expected. Overall, all of the kids got along quite well. We walked to Church on Sunday. Ben and Holly had their limousine, aka a triple stroller. They say that they get asked often if they have triplets or if Emma and Gracie are twins. Holly filled in on the piano for Relief Society. She said she enjoyed the chance to play again. She s in Primary so she doesn t always get the chance to attend Relief Society or to play the piano. After Church we walked home again it was uphill this time. We grilled some chicken, had mashed potatoes, salad, and fruit for dinner, and we ate outside again. Ben and Holly really enjoyed the weather. It wasn t hot or muggy and there were no bugs. They left this morning around 7:00 a.m. It was fun having them come and visit, even if it was short. They re on their way right now to Holly s family reunion. It s located by Beaver, Utah. They ll be there until Thursday, and then I ll drive up and meet them on the way to Mom and Dad s. Well, I hope you get this letter. Shauna called me this morning and we talked about our camping trip for Labor Day weekend. We also ended up talking about a whole bunch of other things. It was fun. I m not motivated to work on the yard today. I ve been kind of drained from the last week or two. We ll see if I get out there or not. I hope you re doing well. We sure miss you. I m so glad that you are serving a mission. It s been a wonderful thing to talk about with my kids. Drew s planning on serving a mission just like his Dad and his Uncles. Take care and I look forward to hearing from you. Love you tonz, Liz.

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