Sweet Campout-Smith & Morehouse

Magically Delicious!

We arrived at the camp out on Thursday afternoon. It was pouring buckets of rain when we got there. The twins forgot their rain fly, so we improvised.


We had to bring Molly because we were afraid she would "freak out" if we left her home alone for a couple days. She was in dog heaven! She wouldn't sit still for more than two seconds. Unfortunately, all the burrs found their way to her fur. We had a time cutting them all out. She was chained to a tree close to our table when she saw a varmint running through our camp. She took off at full speed to chase it and went flying into the air doing a 360 spin at the end of her chain. I wish I had my video running on that one. It was hilarious!



We spent time at the lake on Friday. The boys enjoyed canoing and trying to catch tiny fish that swam around shore. It was great to have Elizabeth and Mel there with us, before they go off to school. They were quite entertaining with their canoe dancing!


Here is Belva and Scott just hanging out at the beach. Shauna stopped and bought a new puppy on the way to the camp out and the dog that Scott is holding is the mother, that came with it.










This is mom in her funny purple hat!

A big thanks to Fern for planning the camp out. I think it was a great success! Cindy did an awesome job of the camp skits and games and we really enjoyed the testimonies and comments at the end. It really did help me to feel closer to our family and I appreciate that from you guys!

Those who could not make it this year, you were really missed. Family get-togethers are just not the same without you. We love and miss you! Rod, Jean, James and Zack...our prayers are with you!

When Pigs Fly!

These pics were from a week ago. Sometimes on the weekend, I'll go out side early in the morning and see these balloons flying around. These came down very close to our house. The pig was so close I could talk to the guy in the basket.

Zackly

Zackly,

Sorry my package missed you. I sent with J.C. and he promised it would get to you, but he didn't do it in time. I sent you some brownies and the jam.
You won't get those now, but I'll send the letters that were in there. I don't know when your P-day is, so I'm sending you this e-mail, just in case it's tomorrow.

So how was your flight? Pretty long huh! I hope you could weigh your bags before you left the MTC, and I hope you could fit all your stuff in your bags. Did you send anything home?

I was having a hard day today, you know, missing you. I knew you were on your way to a land far, far way. I was out in Joyce's yard doing yard work, singing Families can be together, forever and making my self cry. lol I went and helped grandma for a while, then she took me to lunch at Red Lobster. The food was delicious! I think grandma really enjoyed getting out of the house and going out to eat. She wants to go out to breakfast on Thursday morning, before we go on the campout. I choked up a little at the restaurant and a little when I talked to Angie on the phone, but I'm ok now.

I feel really bad you didn't get my package and letter before you went, but hopefully you got Aunt Joyce's cookies.

Grandma Holladay sent $60 to help pay for your mission.

Dad and Mike went on their backpacking trip on Monday. My last words to dad were, "Don't lose Michael!" I'm afraid he won't be thinking and get lost.
I told Angie I was afraid he would get lost and she said she was too. (That didn't make me feel any better!) She told Craig to keep an eye on him, even though Dad was there with him. You never know if Michael won't take off and do his own thing. I'm going to worry all week until they come home safe.
I'll be dreading each phone call. Blah!

Sorry! I had better go to bed. I have to get up early and mow the lawn before I go to the temple, get a present for Arianne's baby, meet with the insurance guy and pack for our trip. Emily Heaps started chemo therapy today so keep her in your prayers.

Love you!

Mom

P days are now on Wednesdays so its today lool. also they told me to stop shortening stuff like that so now I have to call them preperation days. I got my new companion-trainer today. Elder Palmer is his name, and he's from Spokane, Washington. He's a pretty cool guy. His family is into hunting and so far he's helped me a lot! oh and he's the driver. I have to be the navigator, even though I don't know where we're going. Yeah it was a very long flight. I actually sent you a letter about it last night LOL! so expect that in the next few days. I somehow managed to get everything to fit. so everything is good there. oh and there was an extra pillow in the apartment where I'm at so I don't have to buy a pillow quite yet. Everything is really green. and its usually overcast or raining, luckily. I'm not used to the humidity, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would be like Baja, Mexico, but its not. today was actually quite sunny and hot. I kind of miss the mountains though... they helped me to know where I'm at. I look for land markers when I'm navigating, and there isn't many of those around here. :/ I kinda miss you too, but Jake and John can help out. they better help out anyways... *shakes fist in their general direction- which ever it is-* they've got some big shoes to fill. literally. I haven't received any mail while I've been here. and that includes packages. oh yeah I still have to write those thank you notes. I haven't found the time to do those, but I might have some time later tonight so I'll work on them. I haven't gotten Aunt Joyce's cookies, so I'll make another note for her. I think I'll just send the notes to you, and then you can pass them on for me, because I don't know anyone's address except for your address, and Erika's address and Heather's address, but I only know the last two because I wrote them down. so I need to write 1 to the hardingers, 1 to grandama, and 2 two joyce? maybe I can combine those two into a long one... Erika said that she got her laptop taken away, so she won't be emailing for a while. She sends hugs and kisses and says she misses talking to you. LOL! yeah michael does kind of do his own thing sometimes. meh I wouldn't worry about it. if he gets lost, he'll eventually get hungry and find his way back. well gotta go! Love Elder Holladay

Letters from Zack

7/24/08

Dear Mom and Family,

Thank you for the krispy kremes and the cookie! they were delicious!They were gone within 5 minutes. I'm glad things are going well! It's not so easy, being the "man" of the house, you thought it would be, eh John? you've got big shoes to fill bro! literally!lolololol Oh and Michael, there's a reason why you can't find my gaming stuff. It's because I hid it in my special hiding spot. However, since you seem to really want to play on it, I give everyone in the room, and within a 50 foot radius, to poke you as much as they want. (If Dad's not there, then Jake and John, you'll have to give him some pokes from me. like at least a hundred. each).
So today is my first P-day. We were Kind of excited to sleep in, but we found out that its easier to do emails in the morning, so we can write letters during laundry time. Oh, and sorry but I kind of forgot the camera and stuff, so you'll have to wait till next week. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures to make up for it.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were THE longest days of my life. the reason being is because we had tons of classes and meetings all day long. it was BRUTAL! but then Sunday rolled around, and after that it got WAY better! cuz by then I had gotten used to the schedule, and we FINALLY had gym on monday. its so nice to be able to work out (never thought I'd say that...) It sucks having to sit in a chair all day. its nice to move around a bit.
Tuesday we had a devotional with Brother Gene R. Cook (Quorum of the Seventy) it was pretty good! It was pretty motivational. He talked about having faith in christ.
Oh I guess I should tell you who is in my District eh?
Well we have Elder Holladay(me), Elder Marchant(my companion), Elder Howell(Elder Johnson's companion), Elder Johnson(Elder Howell's companion), Sister Bates(Sister Burnside's companion), Sister Burnside(Sister Bates's companion), Sister Nelson(Sister Matheson's companion), and Sister Matheson(Sister Nelson's companion). Elder Marchant is from colorado springs, Colorado. He speaks spanish better than I ever did, and he's really good at the piano. He's also easy to get along with (which is good). Elder Howell is from some town in Arizona (it starts with a "g" I think) he has a license in massage therapy (lucky for his companion) and he likes to talk a lot and he goes off on tangents all the time.
Well I'll have to tell you about everyone else next week. My time is almost up on the computer.
Oh and by the way, I'm not homesick at all. its REALLY nice not having to worry about stuff like making money or paying bills. and they feed us really good. but anyways...

I'll talk to you next week!
Love,
Elder Holladay

From: "Rose Holladay"
To: "'Zachary Holladay'"
Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 19:45:59 -0600
Subject: hey Zack!

Hey Zackerdoodle!

I was so excited to get your e-mail! I could hardly wait for Thursday to come. I kept checking my gmail account, but nothing. You said you would probably send it in the morning, but nothing.Finally around 2 p.m. I decided to check my yahoo account, just in case you sent it there. It sounds like you are very busy! I sent a copy of your e-mail to Erika. We have been e-mailing back and forth quite a bit. We have given each other challenges to keep for a week. She challenged me to eat 6 small meals a day and drink lots of water (to help me lose weight) and I challenged her to say her prayers every night and read the scriptures for at least one minute a day. We'll see how this challenge thing goes.

Did you find out what a District Leader does yet? lol

You get to miss out on the stinky hair (perm)..Lucky! I'll send you another package, but I've got to get another letter (hand written) to get one from you.

Wasn't sure if you were giving Michael permission to play on your game stuff or not. You might want to clarify that better.

Still trying to learn how to use your phone. I just spent an hour getting grandma Holladay hooked up with Qwest internet and phone service.

I'm glad you're not Homesick yet. I hope you miss me a little, though.
I'll write more later in the week.

Love you!

Mom

Hey mom-er-doodle!
yeah sorry about sending it to your yahoo account. I couldn't remember which one you wanted me to send mail to. I almost did the Networld one, but I wasn't sure if you still checked that one, so I went with yahoo. Thats good that you challenged each other. I think I might participate lol. you challenged me that for every book of mormon, I placed, you would loose one pound right? well you might want to start on that, cuz I will place one this week before I leave the MTC.

I found out what a district leader does. I'm basically the leader of the District lol! I conduct the beginning and end of class, and sometimes I have to teach lessons for an hour or so. its not too hard. I have more meetings than everyone else though, so I'm not too excited about that part.

lol no perm, but I have to put up with 3 stinky guys! (not rly) I'll try to write you a hand written letter, but It might be REALLY short for lack of time. if you do send me a package, send it to the mission home because I leave tuesday august 5th morning on the plane.

The answer is no. no one can play on it. They've destroyed them enough as it is. Mike, if you want to play your games, I know that Andrew West has a gamecube so you can go over to his house and play with him.

So how is G-ma doing? what do you have left to do at her house?

Ok, I'll admit, I do miss you a little... your cooking was/is much better than the mtc food. I mean the stuff here is edible, but it makes me really gassy... :/ Your cooking just seems more filling too!

Love you!
Elder Holladay

From: "Rose Holladay"
To: "'Zachary Holladay'"
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:25:06 -0600
Subject: Hey Elder!

How's my favorite missionary? Have you seen Ryan Struthers yet? Did you get my box of crackers...I mean cookies? JC said he saw you a few times. I had him drop the last box off for you. I hope you got it the same day.

I went to the temple today with Aunt Belva and Uncle Bob. I just barely made it in the session. I had to figure out which room they were going into and hustle over there before they started.

All the girls in the ward are at Girls Camp this week, so they asked the mother's of the boys to go with them to the Developmental Center. I pushed a guy named Jesse around for a while. It was so hot there; sweat was dripping down my back. I got Karen Buchanan to take a turn and I took a rest. Colton even came. Austin said that Colton told him if he were living there, he would want me to be the one to push his wheel chair. I guess he thought I was the best dancer! LOL

Well, I don't want to make this too long, because I want you to have time to write back. I'm just dieing to hear from you! LOL I spent yesterday working for Joyce and helping grandma with some finance stuff. Dad made me mad when he told me he had to pay $75 for his hiking trip. They are spending over $1000 just to hike for a week! They are eating trail mix, oatmeal with no milk, some beef jerky and freeze-dried food. I'm thinking..$1000-condo with steaks and drinks! That's what I'm talking about! LOL

I hope you are getting used to the missionary life. Remember, my email address is roseholladay@gmail.com

I love ya man! You are so precious!

Mom


Hey Mom!
Your favorite missionary is doing pretty well. I've pretty much adjusted to missionary life here at the MTC.(though I know that its way different from the REAL missionary work) Yeah I've seen ryan in the cafeterian and sometimes in the halls. I've also seen some other people that I know from High school. I did get your crackas! Thanks! I gave everyone the no bake cookies, and then I ate some of the cc cookies and then shared some. I put the candybars on the AC because they were melted. I'm not sure which box JC dropped off or when he dropped it off, but the last package I got was the crackas. I'm glad you got to have that experience at the developmental center.
well I gotta go! i'm not done with emails and I have 3 minutes left on here!

Love ya! (no YOU'RE precious)

Elder Holladay

I am doing Fine!- Miss. Update

First letter from MTCZack and Me in 89

Zack writes "Everything is good." His companion is Elder Marchant and his head is swimming with orientation info. His P-Day is on Thursday and they let them e-mail now from the MTC, starting on the 24th. He was made District Leader, but doesn't know exactly what that means.

Zack's MTC Address

This is the address you can write to Zack (or send goodies).

Elder Zack Holladay
MTC Mailbox #171
NJ-CHL 0805
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Farewell Zack

We were up until 1:30 a.m. getting Zack's stuff together and packing.

Grandma took us to TGI Fridays for breakfast!

We took Zack to the MTC on July 16th. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Last chance for hug pics.

Here's the mom helping him with his official tag for the next two years.
Here's my new missionary, Elder Holladay! Love you Zack!
God be with you till we meet again!

Last trip with Zack

Joyce and Joe let us come up to their cabin near Strawberry Res. and Joe
took us 4-wheeling. Michael was on a camp out. The Rhino was the 4-wheeler of choice for Jake, John and Spencer.




























Here's Dave trying to throw Jake in the water. I don't think Jake wanted to go!

The wild flowers were the most beautiful I have every seen. These are just the yellow ones, but there were lots of different colors up and down the trail. It was an awesome trip! Thanks Joyce and Joe!!! We had a blast!

Jack's funeral

Jack Holladay died on July 10th. He was a great inspiration and example to all of us.































From right to left, Jake, Spencer, Mike, John, cousin Rob, and Zack.

















Jack had full military honors and these guys added such a special touch to the funeral.

Trip to Jerusalem

Just one week left before Zack leaves! I am feeling a little braver and I think I will not just drop him off at the MTC, but go in and do the whole program with him (MTC torture farewell). Zack and I went to the temple last week and did baptisms. I got to be there for his first baptism and it was me! It was way cool! (Sorry, no pics) There was a cute lady in the dressing room whom I talked to about not wanting to take part in the "bawl fest" at the MTC. She said that I had to go with him and wouldn't let me leave until I promised to do so. I think I can handle it now ;) .


This is cute, I mean handsome John chillin at Uncle Jack's cabin. We rented some 4-wheelers for our last family outing with Zack and he wanted to go down and see Uncle Jack. The boys had a blast! I was watering Jeanene's garden for her and bonked my head on the tin roof when I turned around to turn on the water. I had a nice gash on my head; and you know how those head wounds bleed. I was pretty proud of myself for not saying any "farm words"! We tried to find some super glue to patch me back together, but after I washed the blood out of my hair, Uncle Jack said it probably wouldn't need to be glued. The mosquitoes got me while I was helping him move sprinklers and I got a bloody nose while I was riding the 4-wheeler back out of the field (have you ever tried to drive a 4-wheeler, swat mosquitoes and hold your nose at the same time?)

Ross Bailey came over with his dad put shoes on Jack's horse so he could ride her up the mountain on Monday. They had me take her for a test drive when they were finished so I took Spencer for a ride around the pond. Jake took some pics, but they didn't turn out good enough to share (cause I looked awful in them). Aint gunna happen!




Here's a pic of Jake. He and Kyle decided it was best to ride close behind Zack's 4-wheeler up Maple Canyon (maybe they were afraid they would get lost). They both came back filthy and sweaty.

It was a great weekend for the trip because it wasn't too hot (hardly any flies to bug us). I went with Uncle Jack to feed the few cows he has left and he took me past these Alpacas that had been shorn to look like very large poodles. We had a good laugh! I wish I would have had my camera with me.

We tried to mow the grass but we couldn't keep the lawn mower running long enough. Spencer and Zack got a few stripes cut in the front, then it wouldn't run anymore.

I think this is when the boys got back from Maple Canyon and they were unloading the 4 wheelers, again.







This is "dirty Kyle" and his side-kick Spencer.


Last, but not least, this is the only pic I got of Michael. He talked Uncle Jack into playing Kings on the Corner. We could not get him out of the cabin and he did not get on a 4 wheeler once. He is still afraid of them from the time I took him for a wild ride up the mountain, bounced him off the back end, he did a flip, landed on his feet, then fell backwards on his bottom. Let's say the ride was a little bumpy!

Except for the blood, we made some great memories!