Letter from Elder Morrison

well, not much to update since Christmas. as for the questions:i didnt get ahold of Ashlie. it was the wrong number, but i did get to talk to grandma burch. she basically told me the same things as in her letter this week. i am calling today to set up a dr. appointment. my teeth are doing the same for now, but i have an appointment tomorrow to get a filling re-done. then i should be done. i bought some Sensodyne toothpaste, which should help with the sensitivity. the teeth are doing a lot better than 3 weeks ago though for sure. i heard from Lex and Penni a week or so ago. if you get the chance can you say thank you to them for me? today, we're planning on doing some shopping to get me some clothes. i'm pretty excited about that. i have a couple pictures for you. i'll send them through gmail to tyler's email account.it flash flooded the other day. there were road closures and stuff. there are acouple pictures of that. well, i guess that's about all since Christmas.Love you much!Elder Morrison

On The First Day of Christmas vacation...

Coach Petersen gave to me..... a loss to TCU 17-16. That was a big bowl of Purple soup.
The good news was the company. We cheered the Broncos on with Aunt Sherie, Michael, Shane, Steven, Dew Drop, Kara Joy and all of their families. It was wall to wall people, wonderful food and couldn't have been more fun. Well, if BSU would have won it would have been more fun.
This morning Aunt Sherie cooked pancakes, sausage and eggs for breakfast. THANK YOU AUNT SHERIE!
After a good nights sleep now we are headed to Oakley, where we will have the traditional Christmas Eve salad bar and listen to the "bedtime record".
It's supposed to start snowing here in the next 2 hours so we are headed out!

Letter from Elder Morrison

well, things are going pretty good this week. i've been pretty homesick, with a lot of people coming and going to be with family. i know i only have
5 more months, but that's still 5 months away. anyway, the dentists name is Jeff Johnson, and his office is on St. Charles Rock Rd. but i dont know what city. i'm sure you could find him on google or something. i have been to the dentist here in crystal city, and he's done some work already. he said a lot of the new fillings had chipped or broken, and that's what could be causing some of the sensitivity. he replaced 2 of them, one with a sedative medicine filling. that one has kinda been worn down a bit, so i dont know what will happen with that. on the other hand, because some of them have broken, there is space between the surfaces of of my teeth. this makes it so that when i eat, food gets jammed in there and really makes the gums sore. one of the gums is very very sore, and i have an appointment tomorrow to the that one worked on. i dont know what exactly will happen, but brother parkin, the dentist says if replacement doesnt work, i'll probably need one or more root canals. not liking that at all. the problem is that i didnt have any of the sensitivity or any pain before i got them worked on the first time, so i dont know what happened.
as for court this week, there were 149 dollars worth of fines and court fees. the mission will pay for 49 of that, and i paid the 98 i had in cash there, so i'll just have to pay 2 more. the mission will pick up the rest because of the out of date insurance and the expired plates. after we went to court, elder dandoy said that the weather was going to get bad, so we stayed the night. the weather didnt actually get bad, but it turned out that they needed our help with a zone conference car check and some office work.
so it didnt work out too bad.
yesterday, the warmest i think it got was 20 degrees. after church we had a late lunch with the Higinbotham family. they're really a fun family. they took us to Belleville, IL to see this Christmas exhibit called 'the way of lights' it is at a catholic shrine and was really a good thing. they had tons of lights and you drove through this 'journey to bethlehem'. then they had buildings and stuff made of lights and a manger scene in a cave thing that is on the grounds there. it was really neat. we're going to the Higinbothams for lunch on Christmas.
as for the phone call, i dont really know what to tell you. things are going to be pretty hectic that day. we've also been told that we cant use the cel phones. so i'll probably either get to talk to you less, or it will be in shorter calls but a few of them throughout the day. so i dont really know what to expect. i'll definitely make sure i call though. i'll just call on dad's cel phone just in case you decide to go to oakley anyway.
on saturday, the Taylor family took us to the temple, and then to dinner and a concert put on by a youth choir from a few stakes in the st. louis area.
it was really good. they sang a lot of Christmas songs, and they had a little story along with it. it was loosely based on 'a Christmas Carol'.
i think that's about all this week. cant wait to talk to you in a few days!
love you
Elder Morrison

Tyler's Eggsiting Christmas Time

The Kids and Their Snow Zamboni

Letter from Elder Morrison

wow, you really make me miss playing hockey. i'm way stoked to come back and play. i may even have to go to the tri-cities to practice my skating. well, this week has been a pretty good one. we had our christmas party this week. elder goudie and i did a musical number for the program. we combined 'silent night' with 'samuel tells of the baby jesus' or something like that, from the childrens song book. the piano was too loud, my mic was too low, and it just didnt work very well. so we're going to re-record it, and then i'll send you a cd or something with that on it. when we went to play volleyball, elder goudie hurt his knee again. he's been in pain for the whole week. i dont know what's going to happen, but me and brother stokes gave him a blessing. it was getting better yesterday, but today it's still hurting pretty bad i guess. if it's not really getting better by thursday, he'll get an appointment with the doctor. i talked to a dentist in the branch about my teeth being really sensitive. i didnt like his answer. he said i may have to have a root canal. problem is, is that the pain is in 4 different places. i'm going to schedule an appointment with him, and he'll take a look and see what needs to happen. i really hope i dont need to do that. with elder goudie's knee, we havent been doing much walking, so we havent been tracting really at all. apparently it is kinda hard to get new investigators here. goudie says there hasnt been a new one in like 6 weeks. i hope things get better. last night we had dinner at the stake president's house. they are a great family. he said he was going to call you, and by reading the blog, it sounds like he did. he had a ton of questions for me and i didnt have any clue as to who the mission president was, or who was in the mission or whatever. so he wanted to call and get his info. too bad he wouldnt do it while i was there. oh well. i got the packages. thanks. i did open them, and figured i didnt want to wait until christmas, so i just opened them all. thanks for all the stuff. it's really going to help. the fudge is really good too. i do love your fudge mom. i've determined that since you always send me sugary things that will make me more fat, i've decided what i want for my birthday. i just want some of your chocolate chip cookies. you know the ones. the weather has been pretty bad. yesterday, we were supposed to go to a zone meeting, but it was cancelled due to the weather. so our p-day is today. yesterday, we couldnt really go anywhere, so we played some games with the stokes' and did some cleaning. it's pretty bad today, too, but we'll see what happens. they told us to use judgment on the driving. i'll be going to the post office today though, to mail your package. i packed it different, so it's going to be your christmas present in the bottom, with my mail all around it. you can just throw the mail into a box or something, whatever you've done with my other stuff. i guess that's about it for this week. love you much!Elder Morrisonby they way, i didnt open my presents but one was torn. i may know about a pair of socks.

Elder Morrison Report

We just receive a phone call from Mackenzie’s Stake President, in Herculaneum, Missouri. They had the missionaries over for dinner tonight and said all was well. Sunday they had sunny 60 degree weather and today the high was 19 degrees. The Mission President had them switch their P-Day this week because they were to attend a zone conference today. Because of the ice storm and all around bad weather, the conference was canceled. Anyway he did not get a letter off to us so there is no update this week except to know that he is alive and well in Herculaneum, Missouri and President Sylvester helped add a few pounds to his already stout frame.

Tri-Cities Hockey

Wow, what a weekend... Hockey, Hockey and More Hockey. The video that I have uploaded is one of Kevakin's Pre-game warmups. Kevakin "dirtying up the crease" was just too cute not to post.

Neither of the kids won a game and a total of two points were scored the entire weekend by Tyler's Moses Lake team. Aside from a couple of small injures, the kids (and parents) had a great time. Tyler received the MVP award for 2 of the 4 games he played in. That alone was worth the trip.

For my information (and anyone else who would care) I'm posting a few stats here, just so I can go back and relive this weekend war.

Kevakin had 127 saves in 3 games (42, 35 and 50) and let 38 shots in.

Tyler had 181 saves in 3 games (50, 66 and 65) and let 28 shots in. Tyler's 4th game ended after 2 periods of play when members of the opposing team collided mid-ice. The game was called early because of this injury. No stats were taken.

As a comparison of "Shots on Goal" ... we attended a semi-pro game in Kennewick where the Americans and the Giants played. After 3 periods of play, Each team had 22 shots of goal. Tyler and Kevakin have that many in the first period.

Wild Time In Moses Lake

http://www.wenatcheewild.com/news/headline/index.html?article_id=78

Letter from Elder Morrison

well, the transfer went well. everything went smooth. i'm now with elder goudie, from murray, ut. he is a pretty cool guy. we have a lot in common.
he has been out about 15 months. he had to go home for 3 weeks a while ago because of his knees, and he had to get surgery. then he came back out. i really like the new area. the people here are nice. from what i can tell, most of the members like me. there was one family that commented to elder goudie that they really like me. they are a really cool family. we went to the choir concert for their daughter, who is 15. they did well. we live with the Stokes family, who have 3 kids, ages 4, 3, and 8 months. they're pretty cool.
for my court summons, i have to drive about an hour or 1:15 and we will take the mission car. president told me that he'd take the miles off for that, because otherwise "we'd have to hide you some place in Africa if you dont go". i love president turley. i dont know what i have to do, except that i have to take the updated insurance card for the car, and then show up. they didnt tell me anything else. i would probably expect a ticket though. the mission will pay for the expired plates. everything has been fine as far as that goes. the sister who got in a wreck a few weeks ago also lost her driving priveleges. when that happens, you get a black dot next to your picture in president's office. we both got black dots so we call ourselves 'black dot buddies'. i have a picture of us giving our keys to elder dandoy, my last companion, who is now the vehicle coordinator. i'll send that with gmail.
today we're going to go play some volleyball with the zone leaders and some sisters. it should be pretty fun. i like to play volleyball.
i dont know what's going on with christmas yet as far as a phone call. we're going to stay the night at a members house, and have christmas morning with them. then we're going to a couple other members houses. i dont know when that will happen. i'll let you know when i have more details.
as for christmas, really all i can think of is some t-shirts that are tall, and underwear. i cant remember what i may have told you, but that's about it. i dont really need anything else. i'm going to be sending a package home with all my mail for the last year, plus a few things that i just dont have room for. it will also contain the family christmas present from me. it is in some pretty crude packaging, but you gotta do what you can with what you have.
well, i guess that's about it. i may get to email a little later today, so you can write back. if i dont answer, then i will next week.
love you!
Elder Morrison

Hockey Night With The Pros

Last night the Moses Lake Hockey Association hosted a Hockey Festival for the community. The biggest part of the festival was that the Wenatchee Wild (the newest pro team in the northwest) came to town and helped kick it off. The Wild posed for pictures, played ice games with the youth and had shootout competitions. One of the highlights of the night for Kevakin was that he got to take shots from some of the pro hockey players.

The biggest highlight for Tyler was his amazing score and some pretty cool blocks.

Tyler was chosen as goalie while the Wenatchee Wild took turns showing off their "trick shots" to the fans. Tyler was very happy with his 100% blocked record! Not even the pros could get past him!

The shot of the night came toward the end. Mac Carruth (Wenatchee Wild Goalie) took his place in the net and let everyone shoot on him. He was also 100%. At least until it came to the "Goalie on Goalie" shot. Tyler skated down the ice toward the net. Just about 3 feet from the goalie crease he shoots... deflected of Mac's trapper and the puck goes top shelf into the net. Tyler threw his stick down, did a belly flop on the ice and swam a few strokes in victory. The crowd erupted in cheers and Tyler went home with a signed puck from team and a pretty big head. We just hope it goes down by next weekend so it will fit in his helmet for the tournament in tri-cities.

We won an autographed hockey jersey, 2 tickets to a game in January and went home a happy hockey family.... the end.

Brotherly Love

Tyler 89% in Tri-City American Game

Depressing Letter from Zac Matthews

Dear Friends and Fans of Hot Buttered Rum,
I am writing to let you know of my recent decision to part ways with HBR. This decision was by no means an easy one, nor a sudden one. After a great deal of introspection and band discussion, our separation emerged as the only viable way for everyone involved to move forward.
I want to take this moment to express deepest gratitude to you, the Butter Community, for your infinite love and support. This incredible community has always been as important to me as the music itself. You, more than anything, have allowed and encouraged me to pour my heart and soul into HBR, and you have given me great hope that people can make the world a better place. For this I offer sincere thanks.
If you feel sadness, I empathize with you over what is being lost -- the unique synergy between the five of us was indeed magic. But certainly music and magic live on. I hope you will share in a feeling of excitement for me and for HBR as we journey forward along separate paths. I continue to be an advocate for HBR's success, and eagerly await the new songs that my brothers and their future collaborations will yield.
I also expect this time of change to recharge my own creative reservoir for music and other endeavors. I look forward to channeling many incredible connections into fruitful collaborations.
Further down the road we'll meet again. But for now, this is it, high times...
Zachary Matthews
November 30, 2008
I should love to satisfy all, if I possibly can; but in trying to satisfy all, I may be able to satisfy none. I have, therefore, arrived at the conclusion that the best course is to satisfy one's own conscience and leave the world to form its own judgment, favorable or otherwise.
Mohandas K. Gandhi

Computer is Back

Thanks to Mr. Donovan (Again!) our computer is up and running great. We got a virus and things went bad. Anyway, long story short... It's back and now I can do some catchup posting.
TTFN, Craig.

Letter from Elder Morrison

hey, just letting you know that i got in a car accident today. i'm fine, and so is everyone else, but i may have to be paying for a ticket.
i was in an older car taking it to get looked at. this was one of our cars for sale and had expired plates by 11 months. the car has been sitting in the lot for i think over a year. i got the ice off the window as best i could, but some was still on there as we were going. then i found the windshield wiper on the drivers side didnt work, so i couldnt get the ice/water off the windshield. i was trying to figure out how i was going to get it off, and then i saw a stopped car in front of me. i hit the brakes just before i hit the car in front of me. our car had relatively little damage, but the airbag in the steering wheel deployed. the car in front of me was in bad shape though, and the 2 front airbags deployed. as far as i can tell, nobody was hurt. i went to bed early last night, around 9:00. i can no longer drive on my mission, so i dont know if they'll be transferring me or not. transfers are tomorrow, but it may be a late transfer. i got ticketed for 'failure to keep proper lookout', 'expired plates', and 'expired insurance'. the mission will cover the fees for expired things, but i may have to pay for my ticket.
i didnt get anything telling me the amount of the fee, if there is one, but i have a court summons on the 17th at 7 pm.
as for me, i'm doing fine. i havent had any effects, other than just being in low spirits and being a little paranoid when i get in a car. i'm sure these will clear up soon enough.
also just so you know, i went to the dentist last week, and had 9 cavities.
i got 5 of them filled this morning, and have an appointment for tomorrow for the rest
Love Elder Morrison
PS - I'm being transferred tomorrow.
here's my new address:
Elder Morrison
c/o Eric Stokes
527 santschi dr.
Herculaneum, MO 63048