5/25/08

Hey there,

I got your e-mails lately and it is much appreciated. Even though they are like 2 or 3 paragraphs long, its WAY WAY better than nothing. So thanks for dropping me a note. It will be great to get those pictures and have some blog updates to last for quite a while. The newsletter things are great too. Anything you can send, it will be great for you to always have just to remember right there on your blog, but it’s so awesome for all of us to who read it to live vicariously that kind of awesome spiritual life you are living. So keep at it. I’ll look forward to getting the DVD soon. Did you send it to ma and pa’s or to my address? If you sent it to ma and pa’s just make sure they know to get it to me right away. Well, let’s see, what can I update you on this week? The sprinkler system is going in and the pipes are pretty much ready to connect in the yard. The curbing should be going in this week too. So things are still taking shape, just took a while to get things actually rolling. You had people all kinds of excited about your article on LDS.org. Here’s a comment from Aunt Sue on that particular post… Amazing....you remind me of your Dad when he was on his mission...except he was a little thinner...HA! I've enjoyed your Blog all this time. I am so proud of your excellent work...see you in a few months :) !!! Among others. You will get all of the comments that get dropped on there when you get home and take a look at it. Sounds like you had a great ZLC. Pretty powerful huh? So you threw down the gauntlet for the ZL’s to step up and start baptizing a little more huh? The newsletter was good. Good articles, but I’m sure that there was much more to it with the actual conference and talks given. Sounds like you have a huge loss of leaders coming up and a lot of Nubes will have to step up and show what they’ve got now too. That’s always a fun time. As much as you lose with the seasoned veterans, you always get guys hungry to prove themselves and out of their comfort zones for a while that can really rip it up and hit the bricks running. So with a little guidance, they will be awesome. Good times ahead! What’s the update on the tests? Who do I have to get after around here to get the results back on that bad boy already?

Pretty funny message your investigator left about what’s going on, Jesus, that’s what’s going on. Ha ha. So you haven’t bitten your fingernails for a while and they are growing long now? Maybe you should let your tie do the same thing and let it grow longer as well! What say you? Check this comment left on your blog by Rod’s wife: Mike, you need to get a big boy tie!!!! At least one that is a little longer. Go back to the tie tying posts. It was great to see your mug smiling out of my computer at work. Keep up the good work, and be safe!

Did I talk about the bike that Dad gave Brinlee on Mother’s day while we were down there? She loves it! I put training wheels on it for her yesterday and she couldn’t get enough of cruising around on it. She is getting pretty cruisy. We’ll have to work on actually teaching her the fundamentals and balance and stuff soon so she can really start riding it for real. We went to the lake just by our house here (stansbury lake) and fed the ducks and the carp. I think I’m going to go down there and see if I can catch me a big carp just for the fight of it. There’s bass in this lake too and I’m not sure what other kind of fish, but you can take a bass boat out on there which would be cool. Oh, the bad news is… John sold his boat. That sucks pretty bad right about now. But it was fun hanging out over there. The lake is just a block away, so that’s pretty cool. The golf course is just a block away too and I need to get out there and play it soon. But Brinlee’s friend Anna came with us and they played on the playground right there by the lake too. So that was fun for her. We had some seagulls come over to see what all the ducks commotion was about and so I started luring them in with a piece of bread in my hand. They would swoop over and hover right above my head and I could toss them a piece of bread and they’d catch it in their beaks and fly off. It was pretty cool. Suzanne and Anna were a little freaked out at the swooping and hovering gulls though. It was funny. Did I tell you too that I started running 2 miles a day? I seriously am and I’m pretty staunch about it too. I need to do 2 miles in the morning and 2 miles at night and I’d be golden. But so far all I can muster is 2 miles at night. I’ve been tracking my progress though and I’ll up it more and more as I can handle it. Hopefully by the time you get home I’ll be back in game shape for some hard core tennis, hiking, hunting, football, whatever you got!

Let’s jump to your quote of the week right now…

“A leader is someone who dreams dreams and has visions and can communicate those to others in such a way that they say “yes.”

- Michael Murray

I can’t remember what you said in a letter a week or two back, but it made me find this quote because the best leaders I know have a way of relaying their message and having everyone get on board and not only agree with what was said, but they are motivated to action and want to get out there and do it. I think it was actually your message in the newsletter for that ZLC. So I thought you might like this quote since that is the main goal of that meeting it seemed like, to motivate those ZLs to step up their game and get it done.

Well, we just got back in from hanging out at the Hills with another couple from the neighborhood. It’s kind of a cool social type neighborhood like that. Brinlee was out riding her bike again and can’t get enough of it. We talked to Dad on the phone tonight and Brinlee thanked him again for the bike and couldn’t talk enough about her riding skills. Ha ha.

So now it’s almost 11:00 PM and I better call it a night. Not sure what we’ll do for the holiday tomorrow, other than stain my deck, repot some plants, and take it easy. Maybe BBQ some stuff, we’ll see. What are you doing? Oh yeah, probably some proselyting and some AP stuff. Your days are far more structured and pre arranged. That’s nice though sometimes. I could use a little more structure honestly. While talking to pops on the phone I told him that he and Ma need to get their tests done and sent back to you right away. I don’t think you are going to get one from Stosh, maybe you will, but they are so busy with new baby that I wouldn’t expect it. And I really doubt you’ll get one from Shelby. So once you have ma’s and pa’s just correct them and send us back the results, unless you want to follow up with Stosh yourself. What else is happening out there in the missionfield? How’s the business of running a mission? Are you learning a ton from working side by side with Pres. Hobbs? Do you think you’d like to go back out in many years from now and become a mission president? Well, I’m getting sidetracked again. I better just call it quits and head to bed. It is always good hearing from you though. Thanks for the e-mail today. I’ll watch for those pics soon on the DVD. Talk to you again soon. Keep up the hard work.

Love ya,

Trav