Love, Leena

To Cole from Leena:

Hi Cole.  I’m Leena.  I love you being my brother.  Can you play with me when you get home and can you go to the zoo with me even you are my best brother in the whole wide world.  What do you do in Texas?  Give me something in Texas like something fun.  I miss you.  That’s all!  Love, Leena

To Leena from Cole:

Hi Leena, I'm Cole. I love being your brother. I can totally play with you when I go home. Remember when we used to go on car rides? When I'm in Texas I ride my bike and talk about Jesus to people. I'll get you a fun Texas thing. Remember when we went to the zoo?

Coal

Happy L-Day Leena

Dear Leena,

Happy birthday, I am speaking this to you from my iPad with a cool headset. I love you. You are so old now. I have seen pictures of you and you look really tall and big. Stop growing! What did you get for your birthday?

Do you want anything from Texas? I hope you had a great day.

Love,

Cole

Love, Leena

Dear Coleman:

I love you being my brother.

Love, Leena

Hi leena,

I bet you don't remember me that much. You're a good dancer though. 

Love,

Cole

Dear Leena

**To Coleman from Leena**

I miss you very much Coleman!  I wish you could bring me something in the mail.  I wish you could come back right now.  Send me a picture of your friends and you and your home.  Do you see any animals?  Take a picture and send it to me.  The end. 

Love, Leena

**To Leena from Coleman**

I cut my hair this week Leener, check it out-

​Before (ignore the double chin)

During (I only shaved the side like the kids are doing these days)

​after woo yay

heart, Cole

Surprises and Firesides

Editor's Note:  Last week Coleman sent me a letter for my Birthday and surprised me with a BAPTISM that he and his companion had!  The baptism was the Saturday before, and was from someone he placed a Book of Mormon with the very first day of his mission.  What an awesome Birthday present!!

I never know how to start these letters and it always looks way stupid when I do. Haha, but whatever. Haha, I hope you liked the birthday present Mom. Haha, the real story is that I never really knew what Maria was up to at all, until like a week before she was baptized. More about her later. 

Anywiggle, this week was pretty weird. Haha, Elder Long went home, I got a new companion, and some other cool stuff. Haha, it was way weird to send Elder Long home, because I am about as far away from going home as it could be. I barely hit 4 months haha. My new Comp. is named Elder Henderson, he is from Lehi, Utah, he loves poetry, long walks on the beach, a nice glass of scotch, and of course his dog Baxter. He goes home after this transfer. He spent the last few transfers as an AP, so he knows what's up with all this missionary witchcraft. He is a cool guy, and I'm excited to work with him. 

That is way cool that G. Ma & G. Pa are done/going to Antarctica haha, pretty crazy. But awesome as usual haha. Hahah Mom, always talking about me/ things having to do with me. It sounds like you had a good Birthday month this year Mom! Haha, sounds like a real busy week for everyone as well.

It was way cool, last night they had a little fireside dealy-do where they asked some recent converts to talk, and Maria was one of the 3. She talked last, and she stood up and said "They didn't tell me I was gonna talk in English, so I wrote everything in Spanish." Hahaha, whoops my bad. But she stood up and told everyone her story and it was way cool haha. President Ames was there and he talked a little bit too, it was pretty cool. It was a pretty sweet week for sure haha. 

Anywhey, haha I hope you have a good week and whatnot!

Love, Cole

**Coleman and Leena's Letters to each other:

Leena says:  "Tickle me, tickle me. And I love you so much being my brother forever. Today I have dance and school. I really miss you. You miss Liza and our family?  I love you so much".

From Coleman:   "Hahah, Leena Leena Leena. Haha I am your brother forevers. Today I have shopping and dance haha jk I have basketball not dance. I do miss you too, even though you forget me a little bit. Haha love you too Leeners."

To Leena

A Letter From Leena:

“Coleman, what did you get for Christmas?  And I LOVE you!  Thanks for the Monster High doll.  It’s fun to play with.  Do you miss me so much?  I lost a tooth and the Fairy gave me a silver dollar and 2 quarters.  I miss you very much dear Coleman.  Dear Coleman, do you know how to bike ride over there?  And Coleman, do you know something new?  Tell me what you look at.  A farm, or a pig?  What does the butterfly look like?  What did you name her?  Dear Coleman, you miss Mom and Dad right?  I am sick and I have an ear infection.  Love, Leena”  

Leena,

I got a printer thingy and some PJ's and some candies and stuffs. Love you too and you are welcome, I picked that doll out special just for you (because it looked like you). Stop loosing teeth you crazy girl how are you supposed to eat? Leena guess what? (What Coleman?) I can ride my bike and I don't even have to hold on with my hands (Wow you're so cool Coleman!). I look at another dude all day, me and my friend drive in a car and look at cows with big horns. The butterfly is still in his cocoon. His name is Heimlich (like from bug's life). Ha ha, sometimes I miss mom and dad hahaha, jk all the time. Don't get sick Leen, feel better.

Love,

Cole

There's a new Sherriff in Town at the Mexico CCM

Ummm, hi guyys.

This week was pretty fun. I got the package the day after P-Day last week, so it was absolutely NUTZ! Thank you so much haha, I can't begin to describe how crazy everyone went, we were absolutely going ape. I got the pictures and they are great! Haha everyone was jealous of Leena's apple thing. Well, lets see... wild fun adventurous things this week, there are a few. I threw up this week, but we will get to that later.

T- 1 1/2 weeks till I get to Texas. I am gonna be kinda sad when I leave this place, because I basically run it. Pretty much, there is a new sheriff in town. But, when I get to Texas, I might actually be a sheriff, so that would be cool too.

I am learning a lot of stuff about teaching and how to ask the right kind of questions, and all that mischief. It is interesting because everything I learn about the gospel is in Spanish, so that is pretty cool. For the last 2 days, I haven't spoken any English, so it is kinda hard to write this right now haha. The CCM is pretty cool, it is huge and pretty and whatnot. I don't know what is the most surprising thing about it though. Every day just blends into each other, so I don't really have a ton to say about individual days here.

The weather is good here, it reminds me of spring in Utah. It is pretty cold in the mornings, and Hot in the afternoons always. It doesn't rain anymore here, I guess that ended with hurricane season. I have been making a list in my head of things I will want when I get to Texas, and I will send it to you  later probably haha. Probably don't send anything here anymore, even letters. The mail is way too slow haha. I started a big group email with all the mission buds, it is pretty great to hear from everyone so I am happy with that. Probably start giving people my Texas address i think.

Tell G-Pa happy B-day for me, I'm sad I missed it. But it sounds like the U gave him a present by beating Stanford haha that is insane, it is sucky that I missed that too.

I realized this week that I am gonna be in Texas for Halloween, so that will be great I think. I am so excited to get back into the States.

Alright, now for the wild fun adventurous things:

We fashioned a slingshot out of some old banana peels and garbage scraps. JK they gave us exercise bands, but we launch some fruits almost everyday. Pics later.

We play a game called what are the odds, basically people have to do dumb stuff: 

Elder Lunt had to eat only peanut butter for a whole day,

Elder Samuelson had to wear mismatched everything, suit with pants, 2 different shoes, the whole deal

Elder Cude had to eat as much peanut butter as he could in 1 minute so then he threw up, also he had to eat a spider, and he has to bark at the Hermanas whenever they talk to him

Elder Shirley has to talk in Spanish only for 2 days, and shave his head.

Elder Murphey has to email his ex and say romintical things.

Elder Shill has to shave his head.

Elder Jorganson had to dance through every door on Sunday.

I had to drink 10 cups of milk for breakfast. I made it through 9 1/2 in like 20 minutes, and then 9 1/2 made it out my my mouth in roughly 8 seconds. It was funnot.

Well, until next week you guys, peace on the streetz.

Love,

Cole

 This must be Elder Cude - poor guy!

Cole's district. They are becoming good friends!!

 They are playing the game "Mafia" - not having a spiritual moment.

I wonder where Cole got the idea to do this?

Week 3 Y'alls

Hey guys. It's crazy, I can't believe that it is already the third week. I swear I was in here writing home to you guys just yesterday. I guess the saying is true, days are weeks and weeks are days. I went to the temple again, and it was cool, hard in Spanish but cool haha.

 I don't really know what to say about my week, it was the same as last week I guess. Just pretty average haha. My teachers are really cool, I like them a lot. My morning teacher is this huge poly guy that lived in Utah and used to climb a lot, so I talk about that with him sometimes, and our afternoon teacher is a guy from Mexico that is way fun but super strict. I am not making life long friends with anyone here haha, but the guys in my district are cool. They are a bunch of high school grads, so I am the mature one sometimes (definitely not all the time. Or even most of the time.)

 I am learning a lot of Spanish and I can pretty much go a whole day saying no English words, so that's cool I guess. I always forget to take pics, but fair's fair because you don't send me any either haha. Tuesday was my exact halfway point in the CCM, so that was really crazy to think of. My comp is the same, but I guess it is whatever. I am becoming patienter, little by little by little.

 I miss America a lot every day, and I can't wait to make it into Texas. The first thing I'm going to do is get as much American crap fast food and shove it all into my face. That is cool that you guys are in San Diego, I bet it is fun there. I remember when I was the "oldest" after Nate moved out. Tell Liza not to worry, you will re-ignore her soon enough haha. 

Conference was really cool haha, I never thought I would write that sentence. I liked it a lot and took notes and whatnot. I am the only person in my district going to Fort Worth. In fact, I am the only person I know of in the entire CCM (800+ people) that is going there. My comp is going to Dallas, there are 3 going to El Salvador, 2 to St. George, and 1 to Cali. It was super weird to not go to priesthood with Dad, it didn't feel real haha. I definitely miss the Outback tradition, that was the best. 

Well, until next week, do good and keep the famdamily together.

Love,

Cole

His favorite place!  Ha ha!!

This is the "butterfly" for Leena!

Leena and D-Train

Leena, I almost forgot to respond to your letter! I miss you babe! How is playing with your friends? When I get home, I am going to hug you so tight your eyes will pop out of your head! Haha i do a lot of learning here, its kinda like your school except no fun runs haha. I love you too little squirt!

D-train, you won a game for me I heard. Good work, howd ya do? Youve gotta keep me updated on all the scores and stuff so I can know whats going on.

Love, Cole