09/17/2012

From the Family to Nick

Dear Nick;
I turned off the caps lock, so if it happens again you'll know that I
do know how to turn it off and on. guess that makes me computer
literate. just been to funerals this week, that's what you get when
you live in a senior citizen community. however they do keep the pool
at 90 degrees to keep us happy so I guess it evens out. I just cannot
think of anything to write about, Cindy and I rode around on the golf
cart this morning and picked out the color we want to paint the mobile
home, so your dad has set things up to paint on the 19 of Oct.
Between that we have the women's conference and general conference so
maybe I will have more to say next week. Love you, grandma
Nick,
Life has continued on.  Matt's been training still and is starting to
get bored just listening to others phone calls.  I've been working ten
hour days at the daycare.  Pretty busy.  We planted corn and it's just
starting to shoot up.  It’s a sweet bicolor variety and a sweet red
variety.  Should be interesting.  You know how Matt likes to find
funky vegetable colors (YEAH, the way nature made it. Silly people
think food has to be a specific color).
Matt and Sam
Coramoor ,
        I know where the tab button is at unlike sam and matt. The uncouth
hooligans… I have been doing good things. Les Miserables was
awesome!!!! Except some bits and pieces. I like my own made up version
better. But the music and the voice was nothing short of incredible. I
have paid off my slave dues. Mowed the yard weed-eated it used the
blower to make it all beautiful and dishes unloaded and reloaded and
then I made waffles and set the table. Just kinda busy around home.
when I get back from my mission the first thing I want to do with you
is play supersmash brothers on the wii though. I really don't have
much of a challenge with a pathetic level 9 comp anymore. Anywho life
rolls on like a steam roller. The wheel weaves as the wheel wills.
-paladin
My dearest Nicholas,
This is your greatest admirer Kevin "Came From" Hale. I'm sorry we
haven't mailed you anything, But I guess we haven't really haven't
mailed anything to Bryce either. Anyway, how's mission life? I've been
going to mission prep and have been getting super excited and I want
to hear some of your awesome stories so that I can get even more
excited! And I'm also interested to see how much you have changed.
Alex is still a big weirdo and still doesn't like to follow any of the
rules. For example, we were playing cities and knights and I was
starting to look up some rule until Alex ripped the rules out of my
hands and tore them in half…. Just like he would…. And also, SCBG
isn't the same without you. Also, college is crazy!!! Nothing like
High School. How did you manage? Anyway, I would love to hear some of
your awesome stories and did you also know that Jeanette is married??
Crazy huh? Yeah that's what I thought too. Best of luck and may the
spirit always be with you.
With my deepest admiration and love, Kevin
Good Morning Nicholas,
I'm sending this on Monday morning because Alex thought Kevin should
write and I was in bed before he even came over to play games.  It was
a busy week.  Found out that my abscessed tooth in actually fractured
and they need to take it out and put in 2 implants since it's part of
a bridge.  Yeah. great fun.  Lots of money.  Haven't even seen that
specialist yet.  See him on Weds.  Les Mis was really fun.  Alex and I
dressed up a bit.   Love people watching at these things.  Some of
them in all out evening wear, and others in church clothes, still
others in casual and others in grungy shorts.  Only in Arizona.
Taught my lesson yesterday.  Went over really well.   After women were
hugging me and making comments that I didn't even know.  Unfortunately
Dad is having lots of back pain.  Came home from church and has been
taking percocet since.  I think it might be kidney stones, but he
won't go to the hospital yet.  Thinks if it's not better by Tuesday he
might.  I don't get thinking like that.  Why suffer if you can get it
taken care of.  Why postpone the inevitable.  Maybe he thinks it will
just go away.  I give up.
Grandma O's email is hansonmary@cableone.net.  Her snail mail is 794
Dickson, Idaho Falls, ID, 83402 It would be good if you wrote her.
You still have an adequate amount of $$$ in your account should you
run short on occasion.
To make French Toast for about 4 guys, crack 4 eggs, beat them up, add
about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of milk, cinnamon to taste. Mix it all up and dip
for french toast.
To make potato soup,  chop and boil about 5 potatoes (skins or not) ,
add in 1 chopped onion.  In separate pan melt 1/2 cube of butter,
quickly stir in 5 tablespoons of flour, then about 4 cups of milk.
Cook it until it comes to a boil and gets thick, stirring constantly.
Add potatoes and onions, about 2-3 tsp of salt, bacon or ham bits if
you have them, and I like to add cheese.  American slices melt the
best, but whatever usually works.  To make clam chowder, drain the
clams and add them to the end (without the bacon).  You get the
picture.
Do you still want any more old pictures?  What specifically?  I don't
know what Dad send because I was in Idaho.  Is there anything else you
would like from here?  Let me know.  Love you lots, hope you are
improving your Spanish tons with the native comps.  Be good.  Mom

From Nick to the Family:

I feel like I start these letters out the same way sometimes.  So by starting it out this way I have successfully avoided that.  Wahaha.  That isn't the crying noise, if you were wondering.  The crying one is waaaa.  But either way.  This week has been going pretty swell.  It is so interesting having companions.  It changes so many things.  You want to do one thing when they want the other, they think different.  I'm figuring out how to better comunicate, that's for sure.  And not just in Spanish, though that is an added benefit.  Good experience.  Something funny about here, but also about some other places, is recent converts.  Where I'm at, the people are usually Catholics or Evangelists.  Evangelicals.  La iglesia evangelica.  But because of this, the recent converts usually keep some of their old customs that aren't necessarily bad, just a bit weird.  The prayers are always fun.  I hadn't been in the situation before where someone is whispering their own prayer or repeating mine as I'm praying.  Then just some of their thoughts.  It's good.  We have to help them correct the ideas that are a bit askew, like thinking we are all prophets.  I'm learning to enjoy all the different kinds of people there are.  Because oh boy is there a lot.

Grandma - I know you're computer literate.  You're pretty smart like that.  I also feel like I'll start missing swimming pools.  Summer is coming along here.  It will get pretty hot, from what I'm told.  Really humid, to boot.  Gotta wish you luck with painting.  And also with conference.  It snuck up on me.  I better get preparing for it.

Matt & Sam - They only have the most effective training, I see.  Corn sounds pretty cool.  Reminds me of Secondhand Lions, even though no one seems to like that quote as much as me, or really even think it was funny.  It would be interesting eating red corn.

Dander - You weird choir kid.  You gotta enjoy the story as well, eh.  And I think once you are on your mission you'll be able to better determine that that will be what you do when you get back.  One thing you're not allowed to do on the mission is not change.  That is when you know something is wrong.  But yeah, I will be looking forward to playing it when I get back and refining my skills in such a way to be able to subdue any abilities you might still have after two years of unuse.  Tell Kevin it's nice he wrote.  Apparently when I wear my glasses I look older.  In the big event we had for the rededication of the temple I met with Devin Carroll.  The Clouses' cousin.  He was in school the same year as me, a wrestler.  He looked different.  I think he got some kind of bug though because it looked like he'd lost 30 pounds.  Really cool though.  Too bad we could only talk for like 5 minutes.  He's been out for about 14 months or so.  And I can imagine the SCBG is a far cry from what it could be lacking the key element of me.  Super crazy that Jeanette got married.  But looking back I can see that it was pretty probable.  Cool beans.

Mom - Your teeth seem to be having some small issues.  But they'll pass.  I can verify for sure that I have met several people with teeth that are in worse shape though.  Good to know you're rocking the lessons still.  There's a guy in our ward who was the Area Seventy for Argentina down here at one point, and he gave an impromptu lesson on Sunday.  It was really good.  Stay on the Lord's side.  There are commandments we should follow.  And if we cross the line, Satan will make it seem like we didn't really cross the line.  It was a good lesson.  Hmmnnggh.  Back pain.  Not a fun type of pain.  Kidney stones don't sound fun either. Also, thank you very much for the recipes.  I'll be utilizing them this week, for sure.

To terminate, I would love to share one of the inspirational quotes I read some days past.  It reads, in the context of serving your fellow man, "Life is like a game of tennis; the player who serves well seldom loses."  Ain't that right.

So, family, that is that.  Happy belated birthday to Dad, which slipped my mind.  I also missed Ty in August, but he already knows.  Matt is coming up in October.  Alex is easy to remember.  Now I feel bad because I don't remember the birthday of either of the female members of the family.  Mom is in one of those beginning to middle months.  March to May.  Sam is in...  A mystery.  But she'll have a good birthday when it comes around, for sure.  So keep doing well, family.

With love,
Elder Hansen-