the fun days of summer continue...

playing at a cool new park in Syracuse 

 the boys got into the Halloween things

 

 

 

 

golfing at Swan Lakes in Syracuse

I am surprised we didn't get kicked out as the boys ran around doing cart wheels and acting like crazy boys.  Actually, it was pretty funny and we really didn't bother anyone so we just let them be kids and have fun.  We started to keep score but decided it wasn't worth the effort on the first hole.  Ethan would just hit it a few times and then use his putter to guide the ball in the hole.  Adam and Ethan keep telling Mike he needs to take them to a real golf course.  I don't think so.  That's a disaster just waiting to happen. 

 

 

 

 

 

July 12, 2015

We love you Ry !!!!

 

I bought around 15 balloons the night before to let off.   They were all flat by the next day but one.  So Ethan had fun decorating it and letting it off for his brother.  His cute little picture is priceless and so are the words he wrote.  It's adorable he accidentally spelled Ryan wrong.

 

Yes, his eyes are shut.  The sun was in them.

 

 

 

 

Mike worked in Phoenix during the middle of July.  It worked out and I was finally able to go on a business trip with him alone.  We had a very nice time together even though it was 110 degrees.  His cousin Tiffani lives in Phoenix and we had to force ourselves to have pedicures and go shopping together while our husbands worked.  Thanks Mike for taking one for the team again.  I even had a nap one day.  It was wonderful

 

 

 

 

Child labor....  we knew there was a reason we had so many kids.

We are finally finished with our back yard.  It's wonderful to be done  Too bad it only took 5 years.

We have been enjoying food from our garden this summer.  Before Ethan bit into his corn he said,  "Get that corn out of my face !!!"  Way to go Eth for this one liner!!!   (It's a line from our families favorite movie Nacho Libre.  Ok, the whole family doesn't like it.  Mike hasn't got on board with it yet.)

 

So Ethan has been complaining about his eyes and saying he needs glasses.  He is also telling us he has heart burn.  Where does he come up with these things??  He's nuts and to be honest he has a little problem telling the truth lately.  I took him in for his yearly well check up and he didn't do great on the eye test.  The doctor and I agree it's hard to tell at this age if they are faking it or not.  I will just watch him once school starts.  Later that day we were in the dollar store and we found a quick solution to our problem.  Yep, they only cost a dollar.  He looked so cute in them and right away said he could see better.  We all tried them on and couldn't wear them because they were very strong.  By the end of the day he fessed up that they hurt his eyes as well.  He's only wore them a few more times for a few minutes and he doesn't complain about his eyes anymore.  Silly boy.  I tried to tell him that having glasses is really not that fun.  I am glad it only took him a few hours to figure it out.  (FYI  We tried to break the lenses out so he could just wear the frames.  They are indestructible and we couldn't get them out.)

24th of July Parade in Newton, Utah

My dad, along with the other Veterans from Newton, were honored with a ceremony and monument and were in the Newton town parade.  We are proud of him and all those who serve and served our country.  It was fun to see my dad in the parade and he even threw us a few pieces of candy. 

 

 

 

 

The Lott Family

7-24-15

We joined Mike on another business trip at the beginning of August.  He worked in Colorado Springs, Co.  The kids had fun swimming in the pool and watching Disney shows for endless hours.  I even got some sun this time.  Yeah.  Thanks for taking us again Mike.  We had a blast.

 

 

 

 

The boys and I and a kid we met played a little basketball.  Ethan and I were on the same team and we surprised the other boys by holding our own.  It was actually pretty fun even though I am so out of shape and felt like I was going to have a heart attack. 

 

Believe it or not Ethan actually got his head stuck and I had to help him get it out.  Hopefully now he will listen to my advice not to stick his body parts into places they don't belong.  A few weeks ago he got his arm stuck in the back of a chair and totally panicked when he couldn't get it out.  It was all the kids and I could do not to bust up laughing. (Ok we did bust up laughing.  We later had to apologize to him.)   Both times he really wasn't stuck too badly.  He just needed to relax and turn his arm and his head.

 

The boys were so happy to get to see the Broncos stadium.  Ethan was disappointed he couldn't go in and play catch on the field. 

 Mike did take Alex to a game for his graduation present .  So Ethan only has to wait 13 years to go.  He wasn't happy with that arrangement to say the least.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My niece is on a mission in NY City.  She sent this in her email this week.  It was very inspiring and I wanted to share. 

 

 

This week I was sitting at the table thinking about cookies and I thought how gross it sounds that one of the ingredients for cookies is salt.  Why would we put salt in something we want to make sweet?  Because we need opposition.   If we didn't put salt into the recipe, the sweetness wouldn't be the same.  The same is in our lives.  We need challenges in our lives because opposition is what we need to grow and be happy and enjoy every moment.

 

In doctrine and covenants 122: 7&9;  "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee;  if thou be cast into the deep;  if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good...  Therefore, hold on..."

I know no one has it easy in life.  I know sometimes things seem like more than we can bear, but I also know that we need our trials.  We cannot hope to become what God wants us to be, by getting through life without the challenges.  I know we can grow from them.  Make the challenges a part of your life.  Accept the trials you face.  Do what God asks, because He is making you stronger.  I know that as we embrace the surprises we face, God will help us and always be there to say 'hold on'.


So, long story-short:

 

I know that sometimes God puts salt in our
lives, so we can better taste the sweetness.

 

Elder Lott we love you

 Jul 13, 2015

So this week is transfer week.  Last week we found out that my companion will be training this next cycle.  So I found out that I will be transferred a week early.  Which is fine with me.  I also figured it would happen because I have been in this are for 6 months.  So on tuesday we had splits with the zl's because my companion had to go to a new trainers meeting on wednseday.  Then on wednseday I was on splits with one of the zl's while he was is cauayan.  In the van on the way back to the apartment a drunk guy fell asleep on my companion.  It was pretty funny so I had to get a picture.  On sunday I didn't even have to speak in church which was a big bonus because I didn't want to.  So since I am transfered that means that I get to pack...again ya!  Thats alright at least I will have a new apartment.  I really can't take this apartment anymore so I am glad that I will get a new one.  I am also excited to transfer just because I have been here for 6 months in the same area.  So I want to see new places and meet new people.  I am anxious to see where I am going to transfer.  I got some pictures with some members and some investigators during church on sunday.  So I wonder if I will get an american companion or a filipino.  I am guessing a filipino.  He will be my 7th comp and I have only been out a year.  I am excited and ready!  Love you guys have a great week!

Love Elder Lott

Santiago South zone

 

7-20-15

 

So it is pretty crazy how transfer day went down!  So we got to cauayan and the zl's read the list.  Elder Lott your companion with be elder reyes...tuguegarao north zone!  So my new area is tuao.  It is in the same zone as alcala!  I was pretty excited when I heard it.  Get to go back to tugue!  Apartment wise...well I was only there like and hour or 2 and I already liked it better than my last apartment!  We have a working shower head, its not as hot, its pretty big, but there are some bugs.  It has been raining the past couple of days so we get the big spiders in our house.   they are big and fast!  There is also more mosquitoes in our apartment!  they aren't to bad.  I just wish that there wasn't any.  So my companions name is elder reyes.  I am following him up.  He has only been in the field for 3 months.  He just finished his training.  I am liking my new area so far.  The are a lot of calasa's which are like horse wagons.  They are like little ponies though.  I think that it is animal abuse.  A lot of the horses are pretty skinny, but it still reminds me of riding horses back home.  They are pretty cool.  I am in a branch now.  My first two areas were wards    now I am in a branch.  Less than 50 people were at church on sunday so it is pretty small.  I had to bare my testimony last sunday and then my companion told me that we have to speak in sacrament every fifth sunday.  So we have to speak next week...yes not looking forward to it!  Tomorrow we have an elders conference so we are going to cauayan.  So there is a sister in my district.  She is from mendon.  She went to mountain crest and utah state for a little bit.  I told her I used to live there when I was little.  She said nobody ever knows where that is.  She is cool.  I am excited to be back in tugue!  I love and miss you guys!  Have a great week!

Love Elder Lott

 

 

horse wagon

 

 

fhe in my new area with a lot of little kids

 

 

July 21, 2015

Alex and his first companion met up again at elder's conference

 

 

 

 

7-27-15

This past tuesday we had an elders conference in cauayan.  We rented a van as transportation.  It turns out it was my bishop from my first area.  Anyways on the ride down everyone was pretty tired.  So they were all asleep.  I was sitting in the front seat and I decided to get a little rest to since we were up early.  So I hadn't had my eyes closed long when I felt that we were slowing down.  So I opened my eyes and I see the car in front of us getting closer by the second.  Our driver didn't slow down fast enough so I just braced for impact.  We weren't going that fast and its a good thing because none of the vans have seats belts...that work.  I don't know fast we were going but we rear ended the van in front of us.  It for sure woke everyone up.  It wasn't even that bad.  We just had to follow the van to the police station and our driver had to pay for the damages.  They said that he couldn't leave until it was done so we took a bus the rest of the way to cauayan.  So that was the first wreck I have ever been in.  If you could call that a wreck,  It wasn't even bad.  I got to see elder arorong at the elders conference.  Turns out he is now a zone leader, I would have never guessed that.  Our week went pretty good.  I have been living off of pancit canton pretty much this whole week and it is really getting old.  We were supposed to have a missionary fireside type thing on saturday.  I figured that nobody would show up, since it was so unorganized and....I was right.  Hey that's fine with me they had us speaking, but I think it will probably happen this week or something.  My talk went pretty good in sacrament meeting.  My topic was the millennium.  I don't really know a whole lot of vocab on that topic so it was a lot in english.  And since I am in a small province, they don't understand english.  So it was pretty much like talking to the wall or something.  In my talk I said that satan would be bound during the millennium.  In priesthood somehow they got on the topic of the millennium for a minute and somebody said that satan would be unbound during the millennium.  We corrected him.  So that is proof that probably nobody listened to my talk, and that guy is in the branch presidency.  I have been removing a lot of mice this past week.  I have killed 5 and I just keep seeing more.  Oh I also saw a frog in our apartment,  so there are definitely a lot of critters.  The work is going good.  It has been raining a lot lately so that is keeping the temperature down so that is good.  I love you guys have a great week

Love Elder Lott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8-3-15

 

Finally we got support.  Phew I really needed that.  I had like no money.  So to answer your question my companions name is elder reyes and he is a filipino.  He is from somewhere around manila.  The work is going really good.  We got a couple new investigators yesterday.  Our branch president fellow shipped with us and he brought his tricycle.  So I finally got those pictures of me in a tricy.  They are very small and the ones here in tugue are like the biggest ones out of all the areas in the mission.  I wasn't feeling that great this past week, my nose was all congested for a few days.  I had a cold.  I feel good now though.  I am still trying to get the area down.  I have only been here for 2 and a half weeks and I am trying to get to know the members and the area.  I like tuao...its good.  It is not the strongest branch but that can change.  Well my letter is a little short this week.  Love you guys have a great week

Love Elder Lott

 

tricycle

 

 

 

 

 

 

8-3-15

Hey mom.  It sure sounds like you have been staying busy babysitting.  The answer to your question about the cooked vegetables...I ate them but I don't like cooked vegetables.  It was just at a zone conference.  Oh ya I got the garments and the package.  I thought I told you.  Thank you.  I was so happy to get the garments.  It makes it so much easier.  Also I was excited to get the package...cause it was good and it is gone.  I did get the shirt.  I wish I could have went there.  That would have been a paradise.  So something for sure I know I would like is a football.  I was supposed to get one from another elder that was going home but it got ruined.  Oh ya and some protein.  Like chocolate powder for a drink or they come in protein bars.   My companions name is elder reyes and he is a filipino and I think he lives close to manila.  I think my tagalog is going good.  I still have a lot of room to improve.  I just hope I can get it all down.  So how are your riding lessons going?  Can you ride backwards?  I love you mom have a great week

Love Alex 

 

 

 

 

pictures from his mission blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so thankful Alex's mission has a blog and we get to see extra pictures of him.

summer.... where has it gone ???

 

We love our family/work vacations with Mike to California !!!!

(Mike still doesn't consider this a vacation.)

 

 

 

 

We started the trip off right.  It was actually very quite except we kept hearing banging coming from the trunk.  JK

 

 

We love to go to the Bass Pro Shop.  It's always an adventure.  When we walked in Ethan told Mike, "Alex would love this place."  And he is right.  There are guns and knifes and camo and dead animals everywhere.  Someday we will have to take him there.  He'd be in heaven.

 

The kids have a blast swimming.  We practically had the pool to ourselves.  It was great.  No tan for me and my white legs as it was indoors.   Darn.

 

 

 

 

We went bowling for Family Home Evening.  Ethan was on fire and was so happy he didn't lose.  Poor Jaime, she should have used the bumpers this time.

We went to a lake for a few hours.  Jaime and I had fun kayaking with a little old man.  Just kidding.  It's my dad.  My niece graduated from high school and so my parents came out for a few days as well. 

Yep, Ethan is on the roof.  I don't watch him for 5 minutes and look what happens.  Luckily he could get down.  And yes Adam joined him as well.  Thank goodness no one got hurt or called the cops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam trying out the new lawn mower.  Yep, it's another push mower.  I couldn't see spending the money to get a riding lawn mower when I have two healthy little boys who love to mow...  and I have Jaime. 

 

 

Ethan was so excited to mow that he offered me 50 cents to let him mow.  Of course I took it and went and bought myself a candy bar and watched some tv.  JK

 

Our beautiful daughter who is growing up before our eyes.  We love her very much, even though she doesn't like to mow the lawn and thinks our idea of another push mower is dumb.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a family camping trip up Logan Canyon in June.  Of course it rained on us.  It always does.  So, if it ever needs to rain, just send us on a camping trip.  Problem solved.  We did have a blast and made great memories.

 

 

We told Ethan not to climb up in the tree because he would get stuck.  Sure enough he didn't listen and couldn't get down.  We had to call the fire department to come and get him down.  JK  It's a good thing Mike is tall and we talked him down to where Mike could reach him.

 

Jaime turned 14 while we were up camping.  We were all awake at 12am on her birthday and sang to her and let her open her presents.  It was fun.  But the most fun was that we sang happy birthday to her all day long at random times and in different voices and we drove her nuts.  It was great.

 

We hiked China Wall (Crimson Wall) up Logan Canyon.  And yes I did it.  I was the one taking the picture.  It was a beautiful hike.  The weather was great and no one fell to their death.  Luckily it was a pretty safe hike unless you decided to look over the cliffs, which they all did.  And on another positive note we didn't run into the angry baby rattlesnake that some other hikers had warned us about.

 

 

Yummy breakfast...   and the best part was we slept in and cooked it for lunch!!!!

  

 

There was snow still up at Tony Grove.  Sure enough the boys had to try it out.

 Adam skiing.    Ethan went down on his bum.

 

 

 

 

The boys went for a swim in the cold water. 

We made the mistake of telling Ethan there were leaches in the water. (I have no idea if there are.)  And that's all he could talk about the whole time.  Go figure.  Why can't he ever remember anything else I tell him??  For example : clean your room, don't hit your brother, flush the toilet, don't climb that tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam is a natural at swimming.  Maybe we can buy a riding lawn mower someday with all the money he will make as an Olympic gold medalist.

 

So Adam and Ethan found an air soft gun in a friend's yard.  I was told that Adam pointed it at his bike tire and it didn't shoot.  So then he pointed it at Ethan's leg and of course it did shoot.  Ethan said it hurt and Adam didn't believe him and so he pointed it at his own stomach and pulled the trigger, thus leaving that mark.  This all happened while I was standing 20 feet away from them talking to someone.  The only reason I finally figured out something was going on was that I heard Ethan whining.  And not because Adam had shot him.  Ethan trying to shoot the gun and got his finger stuck in the trigger.  Will the Lott boys ever learn??  I guess it's in their blood.  Their older brothers were always grounded from their air soft guns for doing dumb things with them as well. 

 

 

Manti Pageant

 

 

 

 

We went to the Manti Pageant on June 19, 2015.  While walking to the concessions we noticed this piano in the middle of the street.  I bet Jaime $5 to play a song.  She was nervous but really wanted the money.  I was really proud of her for playing.  It sounded beautiful.  I wish I had the talent she does.

 

 

While waiting for the pageant to begin, the boys had fun playing catch with Mike and Jaime and I had fun hitting the concessions and a craft boutique.

 

 
 
 
 
Jaime's piano recital

June 27, 2015

The boys love to swim.  Ethan really wanted to go off the high dive.  I had Adam go first to try it out.  He didn't want to do it until I offered him a dollar.  (It's looking like my kids will do anything for money.)  They both loved it.

 

Our little cowboys.  Then they went outside to catch grasshoppers.  They also like to get a rope and try to lasso the goats, even though I have told them many times they aren't allowed to do that.

 

July 2, 2015 

The boys have really wanted to set up a lemonade stand for a long time.  We finally let them.  I was amazed they actually earned $14.  I am sure most of the money was from our neighbors who felt sorry for them, however, I did see the FedX lady stop and buy some stuff.


 

 

 

For the past five years or so we take a picture of Adam with a dragonfly on his face.  He calls them teddies (we have no clue why).  He's pretty brave to do this and only has gotten bit a few times.  Sadly that happened this time.  Poor guy.  To be honest it's really hard not to laugh when you think about it.  Poor dragonfly.  It's probably scared to death.

6-30-15

We enjoyed a night at the drive-in movie with cousins on July2.  It happened to be the year make of Alex leaving on his mission.  We all signed this poster board for him.  We love you Alex.  We are so proud of you can can't wait to see you next year.

 

 

 

Groupon offered season passes to 7 Peaks in Salt Lake and our family, along with practically every other family in Utah, partook of the cheap $10 a person deal.  It was very busy when we went and the water was super cold but we did have a fun time.

7-3-15

We spent the 4th of July in Malad, Idaho with Mike's Grandpa Moon.  We enjoyed the parade in the morning and then had a picnic.  The boys were so thrilled to get a ton of candy.  It was a great day to visit with Mike's 92 year old grandpa and Mike's mom was there as well.  We are so thankful to know this great man.  We all adore him so much and are so thankful for all he has done for his posterity.

 

 

 

 We have had a Happy Happy Happy summer thus far!!!

 

 

Elder L Tom Perry tells us in  2008, "Perhaps when difficulties and challenges strike, we should have these hopeful words of Robert Browning etched in our minds: The best is yet to be."  We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life... but as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true and the best is yet to come."

 

Elder Perry also tells us, "The Lord is very kind.  Even though some experiences are hard, he floods your mind with memories and gives you other opportunities.  Life doesn't end just because you have a tragedy.   There's a new mountain to climb.  Don't spend a lot of time sulking over what you've lost.  Get on climbing the next mountain."

 

I am so thankful for these inspired words.  Elder Perry has known heartache.  He lost his wife and daughter and two grandchildren.  His example gives me strength.  We will miss you Elder Perry.