How's it going Elder Lott

Making treats to send to Alex at the MTC.  Check out the huge zucchini we got from our garden.  Ethan called it his baby and was sad when I shredded it to make bread.  We did add some choc chips to the zucchini bread and hope Alex was brave and tried it.  He said all the other missionaries liked it but never commented on it himself.  Some day soon when he's eating something strange he'll be wishing he had some of my yummy zucchini bread.  Hee Hee    (We also made some cookies for him.)

 

 

 

 

Our first letters from Elder Lott    July 5, 2014

 

The MTC has been really crazy.  As soon as I got here I went to my room, dropped off my stuff, and met my companion and then went straight to class.  Yesterday was a hard day.  We barely have any Tagalog under our belt and yesterday all of the companionships in our branch had to teach and investigator separately in Tagalog!!  Me and my companion think that we did pretty well and we took up like 25 min.  Of course not all of that time was spent in tagalog we spoke english when we didn't know how to say what we were thinking in Tagalog, but the investigator only spoke tagalog the whole time.  Yesterday all the missionaries had a devotional and we watched a movie called 17 miracles.  After that we got to go outside and we saw about the last 30 minutes of the stadium of fire.  It has been really hard here but I know I can do it I love and miss you all.  Love, Elder Lott

 

 

 

 

July 12, 20014

 

Hey family!!  Life here at the MTC is good!! The food is not to bad but I swear it gives every missionary gas!!! So during class all the Elders are just letting them go.  My district is just elders with no sisters so there is no problem with doing that!!  I can't believe its already been 10 days!! It seems like it has went by so fast. So everyday we get like 1 hour of gym time and there is quite a few things that we can do like basketball!!  But sadly the gym is closed for 2 weeks because they are redoing the floor which really, really sucks!! They have a field that you can play soccer, frisbee,kickball, and beach volleyball courts.  Yesterday we had a zone soccer game and it was really fun.  I would say that I balled it up haha!!  They have a weight room it is not that impressive though it only has like bikes, pull-up machines, and free weights but i can still get a decent workout in!! I have been doing like 150 push ups a day so hopefully I don't loose all of this muscle haha!!!  So the first week we were here we found out that we had to teach an investigator in Tagalog and we barely even knew any tagalog.  It was a challenge but when I was teaching I just felt so happy.  Even though I couldn't understand anything that he was saying!!  Our last lesson was on monday and me and my companions lesson flowed really nicely.  We committed him to baptism!!  The next day in class I walk in and he was there and we found out that he would be our new teacher.  I knew he was just role playing for the lesson, but I was like I hope I didn't sound like an idiot in front of him.  He is actually way tight.  Last night we were in class and he was teaching us and he was telling us about the Philippines and his experiences there.  He said that when he hadn't been out there that long they killed about 3 rats in their apartment!!  I wouldn't be worried about killing them I would just be worried about them chewing on me!!  So as you could imagine all the elders were listening intently because we are all going to the philippines.  He told us that cockroaches come out at night and lay on you,he said that snakes like to lay on the road at night in the philippines.  So one night when they were walking back to their apartment and out of nowhere a cobra popped up.  The cobra was just laying on the road and he almost walked right over top of that so he said that you have to be careful about that!!! He ate balute in the philippines and he really likes it.  That makes me want to throw up!!!  He said that when he was in the philippines that he lost 35 pounds and he said that he isn't really that picky!!  So I am going to come home really skinny!!! I think it will be fun!! He said that he had a machete so that will be feaken sick!! I do need to ask some favors though!!  I need a new camera!!  I don't even know what happened to it! I turned it of and the lense didn't go back in and when I turn it on it says lense obstruction!!  I need to take pictures to have memories and my camera doesn't even work!!! Last night I wished I would have had it because our district had P-day eve and everyone pitched in with food so there was a whole bunch of food and we played games and stuff and joked around it was really fun!!!!!  Thanks for the brownies they are really good!  I wouldn't mind more care packages..haha!:)  I love you all and miss you!!

                                                                                                    Love, Elder Lott

 

 

 

                                                                 July 19, 2014

 

Hey Family!!! Another week has passed, I only have 2 and a half weeks left in the MTC!  I just want to get out to the Philippines, cause I think it will be so cool!!  So this week there was a couple unusual things that happened.  So you are probably wondering what is happening in that picture with all of the mattress's?  So we found out that if you get a ton of mattress's, that you can block people in their room, so that's what we were doing and it is super funny what happens!!  After we blocked they people in there rooms we were messing around with the mattress's and made like a human mattress sandwich and it was pretty funny!  I am glad that I wasn't on the bottom!! So there is an elder that has been feeling sick for awhile.  So yesterday me and my companion got chosen to go to the hospital with him.  It was weird we were sitting on a bench and I looked over to my companion I was like, It is weird that we haven't rode in a vehicle for 2 weeks and he was like that is way weird.  The elder that we went to the hospital with he had to get some dyes injected in him and then he got an MRI for an hour!!!!  So were there for about 3 hours total at the hospital!!  Did you get my letters yet?  Because I met a lady at the hospital and she said one of her best friends is named Loraine Lott and they live in Alpine, UT so I was just wondering if you know if we are related or not?  The food here is good but it is getting old.  They don't really have that big of a menu so we have the same kind of food quite a bit!!!   The other picture in this email is our P-day eve party!!  We have been doing them every Friday night!!  They are pretty fun!  We just eat food and chill!!! So things are going pretty well here. So keep sending letters cause I like getting them!!  Love you all!!

                                                                                                  Love, Elder Lott

 

 

He's the one in the middle.  He already looks older.

 

We are thrilled he is doing good.  It has been fun to send him messages almost daily via dearelder.com.   I am amazed he loves to hear from us so much.  He has even mailed us all individual letters which was very touching.  I didn't expect to get those.  His p day is on Saturday and we are always anxious to hear from him.  We have sent him a few packages and he loves them.  We are so proud of what he is doing.  He is in the Lord's hands and we have already seen little changes in him in just the few short weeks he has been gone.  We are pretty sure he flys out on Aug 8.  It will be wonderful to be able to talk to him on the phone while he's at the airport.  We love him so much and can't wait to hear about all of his adventures- spiritual and culture once he is in the Philippines.  Elder Lott is doing hard things with the help of the Lord and we couldn't be more pleased.

 

 

Where has the summer gone

Ethan wanted a suit so badly (I got Adam one as well).  Thank goodness for eBay.  He wants to wear it everywhere and show everyone.  He struts around so proudly in it.   He even asks if he can sleep in it.  He tells me, "I am going to preach the gospel."  Once he even went outside and ran the doorbell.  He was so happy when I opened the door and acted surprised to find him there tracking.  He also really wanted his own missionary badge.  He was thrilled when I came home with a 'Future Missionary' badge that I had gotten from Seagull Book.  Looks like Alex's example of serving a mission is already paying off. 

 

 

We found this little snake in our backyard.  The boys had so much fun playing with it.  Adam was crazy and even put it in his shirt and let it crawl around on him.  Gross.  The poor thing was probably scared to death and I bet was so happy when I finally made them let it go.

 

 

Mike and I were in need of a trip after months of preparing to get Alex ready for his mission-  shopping, packing, yard work in anticipation of guests for the farewell, paperwork....

 

We headed back east and did a multi-state tour.  We traveled through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont.  We had a wonderful time.  It was so beautiful to see the light houses in Maine and we took the back roads through most places to see the local scenery.  There are trees everywhere.  I loved it.  There were also beautiful white churches everywhere.  It became a joke of Mike and mine if we hadn't seen at least one church in every town.   

 

Here are a few pictures from our trip in no particular order.

 

The famous Cheers pub in downtown Boston.  We weren't able to go in due to the fact that Mike forgot his wallet and they didn't think he looked old enough (JK).  The lunch menu actually looked great but we had already eaten.

 

 

Seafood was abundant everywhere.  We were brave and tried these little guys.  Even with the heads attached they were actually quite good.  I am glad we went out of our comfort zone and tried something new.  Ha Ha

 

 

 

 

 

 

One day we took a ferry from Massachusetts to a small island called Nantucket.  We enjoyed the day there as we rode around on rented bikes.  We walked along the beach.  One of our favorite tv shows Wings was based from this island.  It was fun to go places that were mentioned in the show- The Club Car restaurant and the airport.

   Wearing orange for Ry

July 12, 2014

One of the light houses in Maine.  We saw about seven.  There are actually probably close to twenty of them.  Most of them that we saw don't function anymore but it was still fun to see them.

We went to Sharon, Vermont to see where the prophet Joseph Smith was born.  These stones mark the perimeter of the house and the stone Mike is sitting on is original and was the doorstep.  The church owns 300 acres and it is so beautifully kept.

The USS Constitution.  It is a war ship that was built in the 1790's.  It was neat to go on it and look around and see how people lived on it.  I can't believe that 500 men manned it at one time.  It didn't seem that big.

 

 one of the many white churches

Mike thinks I am nuts but I like to hold my breath when I cross a state line.  If I miss it we turn around and go back and try again (jk on that part).

 

 

 

 We had hoped to attend a session at the Boston Temple but found out before we left that it would be closed for cleaning.  We were disappointed but still enjoyed walking around the beautiful grounds.  It surprised us that it is a full sized temple.  It was huge.  You can't see how big it is from this angle.

 

 

 

 

 a light house

 

 

 

 

  We took a tour of the Ben and Jerry ice cream factory in Stowe, Vermont.  We got to sample some yummy ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

On a side note, if you carefully pack a bottle of Vermont maple syrup (wrapped up in many bags to catch leakage- just in case the pressure causes it to explode) in your luggage it will look suspicious and your bag will be searched.   

 

The big day has finally arrived...

Alex's farewell was on June 29.  He did a great job with his talk.  We were very proud of him.  Afterwards we held a luncheon at our house.  Thank you to all those who came to support us and for all those who couldn't come but were there in spirit. 

July 1, 2014  

Alex is officially a missionary.

Afterwards we went and got ice cream.  Later we played some basketball in the front yard in the dark with the porch lights on.  We had fun playing "lightning" and not keeping score so Ethan wouldn't be out right away.  The little boys found a big toad to play with.

The kids had one last slumber party together in Alex's room.  This was only possible because I made him clean his room before he left.  The little ones were happy to spend this special time with their big brother.  They are going to miss him so much.

 

July 2, 2014

The tears started as we pulled out of the driveway.  It was going to be a hard day for us all.

saying good-bye

I recently read something that Brigham Young said many years ago.  He said, "Every good Latter-Day Saint in the spirit world is busy.  What are they doing there?  They are preaching, preaching all the time, and preparing the way for us to hasten our work..."    So I have two missionaries- one on each side of the veil.  I know they will be working together.  What a comforting feeling it is to know that they are truly making a difference.  I am proud of both of my boys.  And I look forward to the day when I will be with them both again- one in two years and one in another lifetime.

 

 

 

One last meal together.  We had a delicious meal at Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Provo (it's better than Rodizio).  It was exciting to see a few other missionaries with their families as well.  Adam and Ethan loved being able to get all the meat they wanted.  We were all brave and tried the chicken hearts.  Yes, even Alex.  Poor Ethan gagged his down and I admit I needed some water to get mine down.  It was kind of chewy and it didn't help knowing what it actually was.

We all ate way too much.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem but with anticipating what was coming up (the goodbyes) on top of a full stomach, mine started to hurt a little.

We went to a park across from the Provo Temple to say our goodbyes.  There were many other families there as well, but we had no problem finding a private area.  The kids (including Alex and Mike) all played catch with the football to pass the time.  We only had about 30 minutes until Alex would be leaving.  We took many pictures and then it was time.  The tears flowed from us all.  Actually Ethan wasn't crying and that was a huge blessing.  Poor Adam sat on the ground and I went to console him.  This was much harder than I had ever imagined.  I felt like my heart was being ripped out for a second time.  I almost couldn't handle losing another son, even though this one would be coming home again.  It really takes faith to do hard things.  I know our family and many others will be blessed by Alex leaving.  So, yes it was hard, but it is so worth it.

 

 

 

 

The MTC is only a minute or so from the park.  We cried the entire drive there.  I was so proud of Alex.  He shed tears, but he was brave and kept it together.  Not once did he rethink his decision.  I am glad he couldn't read my mind.  I almost told Mike to just keep on driving.  The truth is, that had we brought Alex home I am sure we would have been arguing like mothers and teenagers do by the next day and then I would have wanted to send him back.

  We had a few more minutes as we unloaded his things at the MTC for the "final hugs" and more tears.  And then he was off.  He walked away and then looked back to smile and wave.  Someone had told us to tell him to do this and I am so glad.  I am so happy that the last thing I saw was a huge smile on his face.  He was in the Lord's hands now.  All would be ok and we would be reunited again in two years.

The Lotts can do hard things!!!

We will miss you Elder Lott.  We love you more than you can imagine.  We are so proud of you.

See you in TWO !!!!

Lotts going on

 

 

Mike worked in California the last week of May.  The kids and I joined him and had a blast soaking up the sun all week long.  This is the second year we have gone with him and it is truly the best vacation ever.  We sleep in, stay up late and swim all day long.  Poor Mike doesn't agree as he has to actually work.  I did remind him that he did get to see us at lunch a few times and at least he wasn't alone in the evenings.  Alex stayed back home and enjoying the place to himself.  He even took up a little fishing with his Grandpa while we were gone.

 

 

 

We pretty much had the pool to ourselves all week long and it was great.

 

 

 

I even enjoyed playing around in the water with the kids. 

Now that's a knife.  We went to the Bass Pro shop and Alex drooled when we sent him this picture.

Doing some fishing in Mantua.

 

 

Tuckered out after a long hard week of swimming.

 

 

 

This made me smile.  And it is so true.

 

 

I like to take pictures of things I read so I can find them later.  I came across these while reading the Ensign lately.  These words have given me much comfort and so I would like to share them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My cute turkeys.  (and no this isn't a new pet of ours)

 

We enjoyed our last family vacation together with Alex in Yellowstone.  It was a family reunion and we had a lot of fun with relatives.  It was very beautiful and the weather was great.  We did get poured on one day and that was a fun adventure. 

 

Mike and I and the trees

 

 

 

 

We had a huge snowball fight afterwards.  It was pretty fun and I am sure passing cars thought we had never seen the snow before.

 

 What a nice big brother.

 

 

 

We saw three bears.  It was very exciting.  This grizzly crossed the road and we were lucky to get a quick picture of it.  Boy was I glad we were in our car as we were only about 25 feet away from it.

 

 

 Jaime is an official teenager now.  She celebrated her 13th b-day while we were in Yellowstone. (Read the sign behind her.  It's pretty funny)

 

 

Can't believe it has been so long.  We love and miss you Ryan...  so much.

 

 June 12, 2014