Send Elder Reid some birthday love!!!

Yep..., this cowboy's turning 20! July 27th!!! And he's quite excited. Please please please send him a birthday wish, he'd would love it! There's a link to dearelder.com on the right hand of this blog page (it's free and super easy to use - just type in his name with Culiacan Mexico for the location). If you send it by Friday before noon he should get it rather quickly! I'm (momma Reid) in Denver this week, so I will blog about his last e-mails as soon as I get back to a normal schedule, but he's doing great! Quite tan these days - well, farmers tan of course - but he tells us he keeps getting asked if he's Spanish! ha ha! Hmmm, must look and sound like a true native already... Happy Birthday Elder Reidriguez!!! ha ha ha!

Hey there Delilah (I'm at the MTC)... a must see youtube link!

OK... Gotta blog twice this week! When Derek was in High School he found himself short on art credit. He has always been very artistic and has a huge imagination. For some reason the thought of basic art (drawing) sounded boring to him so signed up for Ceramics. The funny thing is, the teacher took an immediate interest in his talents. He was quite maticulous and creative and ended up really enjoying the class. Some of his work was entered into art shows by the teacher and won awards. Another of Derek's hidden talents, he could sing! (didn't inherit that from me). One of my favorite times to spend with my kids was in the car, talking and listening and singing to the radio. Derek was always hitting the buttons on the radio looking for songs he liked. He can make his voice go really low, it's pretty cool! He could be one of those movie announcer guys! He also could make his voice go high, especially when he was screwin around. One of the songs I liked to hear him sing was "Hey There Delilah" -- and, when he was in Ceramics he made a yacht and called it the Dalila! I ran down to his room and snapped these pics. Before he left for his mission I made sure to download the song to my phone and ipod because it reminds me of him and makes me smile! One of the MM's sent a link to this Youtube video clip, the title immediatly caught my eye. It's so good and I had to share!!!! Listen closely to the words... clever and funny! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xi4OsIdmn8

Great Mother of Peas!

Mmmmm, yummy peas... (hey, until I get Derek's promised pics, we are making due!) - His e-mail this week is below, I promise!



BFF & Bro Jared (blue tie) called to serve in Chili!

Awesome & hillarious buddy Jason (middle) called to Atlanta Georgia! (see Derek's comments about these calls below)

Fireman spraying the kids at July 4th neighborhood breakfast - the kids love this part! Awesome firemen!

Had to add the Mexi flag this year of course (notice we are still politically correct (USA & Utah are flying beside).

So, what does Elder Reid have to do with peas? Well, nothing... but, Derek’s email is in response to our 4th of July neighborhood breakfast being a success! (well, until Steven dragged Blythe under the water, ha ha! She still looks pretty wet by the way!) And to Jared’s mission call (woo-hoo!) And, our canning event at the Murray Cannery on the evening of July 4th – yes, PEAS came into harvest (not ours of course) but somewhere in Riverton. Truly awesome experience! I must say we have a very organized and cool church! 63,297 cans of peas were completed in one day! ONE DAY! From pod, to de-podded to cooked to canned to all boxed up and ready to ship! My arm muscles seriously hurt for three days after, Doh! Not that it toned up my RS flaps any, darn it (ha ha ha).

But, back to the good stuff - Elder Reid's e-mail from 7/07/09: ok so sounds like you guys had a great holiday and great pariade ha ha but so i am not going to lie, i did not even realize it was forth of july ah ha till now that you say something about it. so ya i am going to be here in el carrizo for another change with the same companion because well - 23 elders left to there houses today so it was like a huge hit in the mission areas but it is good. we had a investigator come to church this week and he is due for baptism the 25 of july so that is cool! and another cool inv so it should be a good month! so today I actually bought all the month of july food. i bought 3 big boxes of cereal and 12 milks and like a huge bag, huge of pancakes ha ha its awesome! and muffins and hot dogs i am set! and it all was 50 dollars cool huh? food is so cheep down here (he discovered a Sam's club nearby, $20 bucks for a two year membership!) so that is cool you did canning haha - ya in the liahona it talks about the food and stuff and how many tons of food they have and send out all over the world...

but, what? jared got his call to chili! serious serious? ha ha i knew he was going to a spanish speaking mission, i knew it! i was like he will go to a spanish mission - that is so cool ha ah i was right but ya, two that will know spanish - and jared like - my pal, my brother, serious?!....... and so ya so you are sending my packages ha ha yaaaaaa! (he’s turning 20 soon) i am so excited not going to lie i cant wait! i will look and wait for them and no i dont think i need anything more. i think i am good nothing in particular so ya and no i dont think i need more money and ya its way cool i keep hearing who is all going to where (mission calls). jason is going to ........altlanta goergia haha! what in the world? that is perfect for him! like perfect ha ha fried chicken.......ha! but i am good and have to run, there is lots of things i need to do but love you and take care and love you guys - Elder Reid

But wait, there’s more… he also answered a couple of questions from a different e-mail: "I really really miss you. But pictures would sustain me (HINT HINT) J/K! but soon, yes? Pictures in the mail? Yes?" yes mom soon very very soon like tommorrow i am sending the usb thing in the mail to you with pictures so soon love you too haha

"And, you mentioned getting sick again, holy cow! You've been sick more since January then you've been since you were born! Do you think you've had swine flu?? no!!!!!

"How many times (counting in your head) have you been sick?" like too many

"Is it just the difference in environments do you think? Cleanliness problem in Mexico maybe?"
yes i think it is just different things here and the weather and all that i dont know i think i was ammune to all the things in utah and now in two years i will be used to here and get sick in Utah, dang

Called to Serve!...

Two of Derek's best buddies just got their calls! Zac got called to serve in the Washington Seattle mission... and Jared got called to serve in Chili, Spanish speaking! Ah-oh! That makes three boys that will be having their own little private spanish conversations when they return! ha ha! (His friend Jake is also serving a Spanish speaking mission). Congrats and best wishes to Zac and Jared, they will be awesome missionaries!

Happy Father's Day!

Not a recent picture, but a good one!

We spent a few days in Mesquite. I was born on Father's day so it's kind of a special celebration with me and my dad. Unfortunately dad's health hasn't been the greatest lately and he ended up in the hospital for a couple of the days we were there. He recently got a new breast implant (defibulator) inserted -- three wires now plugged into his heart in case it stops trying to beat. The incision area probably got a little infected and was causing him to run high fevers. Mom had a little minor surgery on her foot that ended up being not as minor as she thought, so we stayed an extra day -- as luck would have it, dad got released from the hospital the same day she had her toe surgery. So we got up at O-dark thirty and drove to St. George to start rounding up the patients and drove them back home and got them nestled all snug in their ryclyners! Dad looked much better, had some color again and his fever seems to be gone. I've decided the hardest part about going to Mesquite is leaving! I've been blessed with such wonderful parents, and mom's cooking is wonderful! I gain five pounds every time we visit! ha ha! We also got to see Aunt Lee and her hubby for a little bit. Her laugh never changes! She has the most wonderful laugh! It was great seeing them! Let's keep our fingers crossed that dad will continue to recover...

As for Elder Reid, he continues to do great! I'm summarizing from memory what he's written to us lately. He loves his new area. The people are very kind and humble. Only problem, they have a problem going to church. His ward is very small and he calls the church a house of prayer, I'm hoping to get a better explanation of that Monday. He wrote his dad a nice long letter for Father's day thanking him for his example. Yes, Father Reid does know best! :-) He wrote how much he appreciates his dad's obedience and example - especially in always arriving to church early! He gets the importance now of how important Sundays are, not only Sacrament, but the spirit and strength it brings in getting you through another week. It was a nice long letter, but I don't have a copy with me right now.

Here's a portion of his e-mail to me while we were in Mesquite... hey from mexico! how is the old mesquite? ha ha, and talk about hot, this week we had to stand on the side of the highway for an hour and a half for a ride because we don't have money for buses so its stand there till someone gives you a ride and it is blazing hot out and windy here too! but its good and hard we don't have anyone that is progressing because they dont go to church, but its going and we just need to have faith and work hard but ya i am survivig being dehydrated all the time....hañ.......but that is funny that they are both in the hospitol at the same time -- but hopfully grandpa gets better. love you and hope you had a good birthday mom and ha ha speeding tickets are not the presents you want silly! love you tons and tons and tons - love you from mexico from your only son Elder Reid

Yes, I got a speeding ticket the week of my birthday... doh! I think we have pictures coming soon, I can't wait to post them! Life has been super dooper busy lately, keeping up with two jobs is tricky! However, it's true what they say about having a missionary out, things just work out smoothly and blessings come!

But wait, there's more!... (posting twice today)

Total Derek wack-i-ness! Baseball hat, red ryder bee bee gun, cowboy boots, bandit mask, and his favorite levis!
(click the picture for a closer look at Blythe, her face says it all!)

Giggly kisses

And yes, baby brother in the doll buggy! Blythe would tote him back and forth a billion times, up and down the hall. She only tipped him over a couple of times, ha ha! Sounds like we might be getting pictures soon! We're excited!

I’m posting some of Derek’s letter to Blythe first (which made me laugh, then cry - and is the reason I dug out these pictures to post)… Happy Birthday this week Blythe! And it’s OK that he’s trying to make you one year older than you are – ha ha! After all, apparently me and your dad are ancient – bless his heart! Tee-hee

hola mi hermana! how is it going this week for you? hope all is well with you guys. all is going good for me, in my new area now. its about the same - lots of dirt and really hot but its good. loving the work and learning everyday! but just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and what, now you are like 23 i think, no? ha ha but ya i told mom that her and dad are old - you are turning 23 and your baby brother that you used to push around in a doll cart and know exactly what i wanted without me saying anything is almost 20 ha ha crazy i don’t feel 20, i feel like i am still 16 just learning to drive - crazy how fast life hits you. its not a year to year thing, it’s a 5 year thing that things pass in, its crazy but i love you with tons of love you don’t even know about (how much) its so deep it will never show, but its there. love you and happy birthday and have fun - go to dinner and stuff but have fun and love life ha ha - love you sis! Elder Reid

And, some of our e-mail this week… one week into his new area (El Carrizo)

- On Ms. Boberg’s passing (wonderful teacher at RHS)… ya i had her, she was the teacher for AP history - she was cool and really nice so that is sad to hear

- Weather? it is like 100 degrees today ha ha and its hot as a pistol here! ha but ya i got a cool tan on my arms and face! nada mas..... (going to have to translate that one)

- How is the new place, and the people? Any interested investigators? How's your new Ward? And do you like your new companion? the new place is nice, its a house thats above another so less bugs which is good. its just me and my companion and it’s a pretty big place so its nice. it has tiny stairs to it and the first day i cracked my head on the corner Aaaa! i will send you a picture and yes it is the same house as elder baker and ya i know him ha its the second picture i will send pictures too but ya its good. my area has alot of little towns like 30 min away so lots of gordos or rides ha ha but it is cool and ya they have 11 fechas for bautismal but they have a problem of not coming to church so we will see and we have a house of prayer not a church. its nice though, small ward but good people......and my companion is one that was in la cruz - my first change so its cool, i knew him before but ya he is cool and ya just working hard!

- We need to send your birthday package out soon - do you have anything on your wish list? i dont think that i have anything as of right now but i will think and make a list of things and send it to you so you can send me a package for my birthday! ha ha! wow 20 years old mom. ha ha you and dad are old and blythes, wow - you are ancient now! but i am good and just getting used to the area and people. they all have weird names here and i can never remember them, but i am working on it. i just call them hermana y hermano (Brother & Sister), it works, but its good and i am liking it although its hot hot hot! but what can you do - they say just wait till july august, oh boy, can i just tell you i cant wait? ha ha my birhtday i am going to fry! i could bake me a cake on the cement outside ha ha but love you tons and tons and take care this week. love your son that’s almost 20 - Elder Reid

Not so happy bus ride... (1st Transfer!)

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Wow! Life has gotten so busy… work, Ward parties, work, family, work… There’s so much to tell you all, I just can’t seem to find time to get to the computer! Derek survived his first transfer! A wee 7-hour trek across Mexico by bus. He traveled from La Cruz to El Carrizo on June 1st.

ok so pues ya so i had one hecccccckkkk of a trip! so I went to culiacan with the one other (missionary) in la cruz that was leaving with me but was going to just culiacan and then on to another place. we got there at like 10 and then stayed there waiting for other people that are going to los mochis with me and no one showed up -- and its close to one now so they say you are solo and put me on a bus and i go for 3 hours to los mochis. so i am close to the bus stop and i see missionaries out there so i go to get off and get my bags and it is like 15 minutes and go in the front and no one is there and i ask in my half good spanish and they tell me that there was missionaries here and so i get out the card with numbers and the lady says she can't call the cell phone numbers so i wait some more and then go talk to her again and finally get her to call the president… and ya so i call him and tell him i am in the bus station and no one is there and so he calls them to see what the deal is and they forgot i was coming. forgot i was coming! how do you forget someone is coming? so i was in that bus station for like 4 hours waiting. i was there till 8! it was crazy and so we slept in los mochis and then came here. el carrizo is my new area and i am with elder navariz and the house is cool (hmmm... air or cool house?) and its good and I just put my stuff in there and now emailing you so ya ya but they do have air conditioning in the big busses ha ha and my hair cutting went well and ya like with a 3 and the whole thing but for the second try it broke but i took it back and got my money back so that was good ha ha but that is about it and i am tired and i will let you know more next week about my new area ah ha ha love you tons and tons and have a good week love Elder Reid

Now… as most of you know, missionaries aren’t ever supposed to be alone. His story made us laugh – kinda reminds you of the “Other Side of Heaven” movie? We are so glad he made it safely and is keeping his sense of humor. One of the MM’s was telling me that she thinks Derek is following the same route her son has been taking. I looked at her missionary web site and found some pictures that her son had sent. The first picture is the kitchen of the first apartment Derek was in in La Cruz – makes me laugh as it is pretty much just like he described it on the phone on Mother’s day! The 2nd picture is of his new place – I was able to verify that in his e-mail today. Now I understand his statement “the house is cool” – uh huh, mucho’s better-o’s! ;-)

In honor of memorial day...

In honor of Memorial Day, cheers to Derek's Grandpa -- Roy Reid! Come win or lose -- he was at almost every one of Derek's games (baseball, basketball, soccer -- Derek loved to play them all) and he came to Blythe's dance recitals ta boot! He was a wonderful grandpa and enjoyed spoiling everyone of his grand kids! He hoped to see one of his grandchildren serve, and I'm sure (if possible) he's with Elder Reid every step of the way! Here's to you Roy! We love you and miss you more!... (especially at Christmas!)

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As for our favorite Elder... he continues to do well. I'm not correcting his spelling this time... I think it's cute that - A) he doesn't care cause he's always hurrying or, B) his Spanish is progressing (which is cool, ha ha!). I'm so anxious to see a picture to see how skinny he's gotten though, hmmmm...!

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i got your packages, thank yuo so so much i loved them and all that was in them -- i loved it! thank you so so much......but that's cool, i miss golfing dad - wow! ha ha and your titalist hat in the picture, nice! Nothing much new this week and well, nothing wierd that i have ate but monday i got like a 24 hr bug thing. we were teaching and my head was spinning and got done and i ran outside and threw up ha ha and so we called the presidents wife and she said to buy gatrade and so we go and i get it and am standing in line and the lady in front of me just decideds to buy the whole store that day! i am just spinning in circles at this point and i just about threw the money at the counter and left but i pay and go out the doors and it comes out! and i throw up till there is nothing left and go to the house and get a bucket and take one of those super pills that i got from the doctor at home - but they make you so dizzy, but it worked and slept all night but in the morning i was so dizzy the pages of the Book of Mormon were spinning ha ha! but i just finished reading it a second time thru last Sunday which is cool! But i am good now and my companion got it on friday and the other companions on saturday ha ha so it was and interesting week, but i am good now... and with the sickness - yes, i think i have lost more wight ah ah but thats all i have and the work continues! this next monday i am transfering to el Carrizo, its like 7 hours from were i am and my email will probably be on tuesday ok? but love you guys tons and tons Elder Reid--

sí, señor!

It took a few tries, but alas we got through to Derek on Mother’s Day, it was so good to hear his voice!!! All four of us had phones attached to our ears and filled him full of questions. You could tell he was sometimes struggling to think of words in English and would answer “sí” instead of yes to some of our questions. I asked about the family that’s getting baptized this week and he rattled off their names in Spanish and I understood none of it but “husband and wife” (he got to baptize the wife on Saturday). The weirdest thing he’s eaten is horse and get this... dog (holy moly) – he says he usually doesn’t know what he’s eaten until after it’s swallowed. He told Blythe after one meal his stomach hurt and his companion laughed and told him “that’s because you ate pickled pig skin” – to which Derek replied “jerk!” Ha ha! (This is Derek’s sense of humor, he really loves his companion). Their apartment is really really small, and says he gets electrocuted every morning when he turns on the water heater to the shower which barely even gets warm. He’s taken pictures of the spiders and iguana outside the apartment (which he's sending). He’s in an upper level apartment so there aren’t too many critters up there and no cockroaches (or so he thinks). P-days are on Mondays in most parts of Mexico for a reason… seems people party so heartily that Monday is a day of recovery. It’s not uncommon to see men laying in the streets passed out! Ha ha ha. When asked about what he misses most about home he replied… the everyday luxuries and he would love to sink his teeth into a big juicy steak. He also misses COLD drinks such as milk and drinks with ice. He eats lots and lots of soups which he thinks is really weird because the weather is so HOT there. He misses us but hasn’t ever gotten “down in the dumps” homesick – too busy for that business. Of course dad, Derek and Steven talked weaponry, gun trade stuff and drug cartels. His sense of humor has stayed intact and he’s doing great. I can’t believe it’s already been 4-1/2 months (but who’s counting!). He sends congrats out to Jared who is getting ready to turn his papers in and is excited to hear where he will be going – so don’t forget to call us Jared! (Derek and Jared have been good friends and partners in crime since waaaay waaaay back -- 2nd grade maybe?). Jared will be an awesome missionary!
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In other news… about a week ago my dad snuck past mom while she was busy and went out and climbed up a ladder in the backyard of their house to make some repairs on their patio roof which has been leaking. Now if you’ve seen my dad lately, he’s getting pretty wobbly, not sure why he thought this was a good idea… but wobbling up the ladder with a drill in hand he did – and when he reached the top he lost his footing and came crashing down – wedging him into a tight little spot between the fence and the shed. He told me on the phone “I needed a front end loader, a back hoe and a tombstone at that point!” Mom couldn’t hear his cries for help and he somehow managed to wiggle his way out an hour later. This little event landed him in the hospital a few days later with internal bleeding – from the fall or Mom yelling at him for doing such a silly thing we’re not quite sure which yet! Ha ha ha! As she put it… they even warn him to be careful SHAVING and here he is climbing up a ladder with a drill! He’s getting released from the hospital today in St. George. We wish them BOTH luck! I’m pretty sure my dad has well over nine lives… more like a thousand and nine?
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Right under Elder Reid's addresses to the right, I've posted some fun stories from the MM's (missionary mom's) Mexico web-club I joined. There's even a couple stories from dads -- read through them if you have time, they are quite entertaining! :-)

Oh, this aint just any toilet!...

It just so happens to be the toilet that Derek parked his blue Van's (shoes) by at our house the night before he left for the MTC! I sent this picture to him today, as you can see they are still on the bathroom floor! Ha ha! Still brings me comfort to have them there (weird, I know). I'm just including a small portion of Derek's e-mail today. He continues to do well and is in good spirits. I asked him about his kitchen appliances as Blythe is sending him food. I also asked him about the swine flu that is taking center stage in the news right now...
He writes: i am glad you got my letter and it made it all the way from mexico. i am doing good, my new companion and i get along well. you are too funny, that's awesome that my shoes are still on the bathroom floor, ha ha! and, no i am not that skinny i am healthy skinny. we only have a little two top grill thing not a stove so i dont know but the church has one so ya ya brownie mix would be good... i haven't heard anything about that flu thing but i will be careful and see if it is down here, don't know though... i will always continue to pray for you guys and love you so much and am so thankful i have a home in the united states ha ha! but i am good and working hard this week, have a lot to do to help re-organize the area and get more investigators and all so i am working hard and walking a lot and doing well. learning more and more everyday esp. with another one that is (can speak) english and can explain things to me. i love you guys so much and maybe send peanut butter, like a little bottle of creamy... love you tons and tons take care till next week.....LOVE your dearest Elder, Elder Reid
We also received our first handwritten letter which he finished up around Conference weekend -- he writes in bits and pieces when he has time. Took a mere three weeks to get to us. It was quite a long one and we laughed, and cried (happy tears). His first trainer, who is now finished with his mission, was getting quite girl crazy. He says “The milk we get is boxed milk, it can sit up to a year on the shelf. But it’s like Leche (milk) light and it has (a picture of) a girl on it in work out clothes and so the word for like a hot fit girl is “pina” – so the missionaries call it our “Pina Milk” ha ha!" He also talks about how much he walks (between Portrillos and Tanques)and how dirty he gets on all the dirt roads – black pants and this dirt just don’t mix. One of his longest walks between towns he wrote "we walk walk walk walk, and no ride in site. Walk walk walk some more, no ride- wait! Car is coming, oh! Nope, wrong direction, walk walk walk some more. Then when we are about 200 yards away from our destination, we see a watering truck that waters down the dirt roads and my companion yells "Go! Go!" and we ran and jumped on the truck like we were in a movie and hitching a ride on a train! Ha ha!"

His spelling gets worse and worse as his Spanish progresses, so I have been tweaking his writing a tad so it makes sense to you all. Plus he throws in Spanish words a lot. He also talked about a family they were teaching. As they were teaching the mom who was nursing "she just drops it out and starts feeding her baby right in front of us -- awkward! How do you ask questions after that?! That’s pretty much the norm around here tho" (belly laughs) Oh, I love it! Made our whole weekend!

The chatter I get from the MM’s – the swine thing is being carefully watched by the Presidency of our church (no doubt). Derek is in a small po-dunkish town right now, because of that I’m not surprised he was unaware of it. However, some of the missionaries in other areas have been asked to stay inside for a week, or to not pass money and/or to wear masks. Keep praying for these missionaries and let’s all hope this flu thing passes soon. TTFN