2.14.2016

Hello! Happy Heart Day!
How's it going?? What was your week like? I would love to see some pictures!! Your new area? New companion? Snow?  Your face!  We miss it!! ;)
We are keeping very busy around here! We had baseball sign ups Thursday and Friday. We then spent the day Saturday in coach meetings. We were filling in spaces and  splitting teams. Tonight I'm trying to eek out the team rosters but I've caught a virus, it seems, and my energy level is zero!!  I'm achy and Blah! :(  but never fear! I'll get it done...
Preston hasn't felt well this weekend either and had a fever today. He will stay home from school tomorrow since  he still felt pretty bad when he went to sleep tonight. Poor guy!
The beginning of last week was busy too! Softball, basketball, cub scouts ... The usual. Brenna was invited to young womens on Wednesday to attend "New Beginnings!!  I can't believe she is almost 12!! She is so excited! There are 7 girls that will go into YW this year. Brenna is the only one that doesn't have a sister already in YW. The leaders made a big deal that she had 30 new sisters automatically in YW!! :)  So fun to watch her in that setting!! Brenna is ready!
I went on a field trip with Bryant's 3rd grade class to the Sonoran Desert Museum this week. I had the best time with Bryant and his friends!! It was a beautiful day. Even a little warm! Mid 80's. ;)  We learned a lot about the plants and animals of the desert. The favorite part for our group was the cave. I let them run around in there at the end of the day while we were waiting to meet back at the bus and they got a little crazy... Haha. I gave them the "cool it" speech as we were exiting the cave and I said, "do you guys want to hold hands while we calmly walk back to the bus?"  ;)  (because they were running in all sorts of directions). I guess I didn't realize how silly of a question that is when you are a 9 year old boy!  Well, that just sparked a whole lot of giggles and loud laughter... It was pretty funny and it was fun to be with such energetic boys for the day!! :)
Love you!! I really do hope you know how much you are loved on this Valentine's Day! :) We think and pray for you every day!!!
Love, mom

11.16.2015

Hi!
How's it going?! I got a picture via text last night from Sis. Hickey. She sure loves you!! What's new in RI? In the mission? With your companion? With you?? Love you!! Tell me details of your day! You know what? I don't think you have sent me pics of where you are living in RI. ...
Last week was a good one for us. Preston has been doing more driving lately as we have had some errands after school.  (he needed a new retainer made from the orthodontist) A retainer requires a few trips for making the mold and then making sure the fit is right.... So he had an opportunity for some extra "in town" driving. He is doing a great job but I am definitely not comfortable as the Drivers Ed teacher ... Haha.
Preston had his cross country banquet on Tuesday.  He had a good season!  He has great coaches that go the extra mile for their team! It's a pretty great group of kids too!  One of the runners on his team could only be a manager this year because he is one year out from a bone marrow transplant because of a diagnosis of aml in 2014. His name is Brice. He was a freshman when you were a senior. He was diagnosed the summer you left on your mission. He has heard much about you and would love to chat with you when you return. He is doing well and it was nice to visit with him at the banquet.
Wyatt and Brenna are loving the middle school athletics this season. They are having fun and working / playing hard!!
Preston and Wyatt had a youth camp out Friday night at the Post Pumpkin Patch Farm. They slept in tents in the middle of the corn maze and played football on those big trampoline pillows. They had a fireside speaker and great food. It sounded like a lot of fun!!
We had playoffs Saturday for RRA. We got the day going and then I had to break away to pick up the boys from the camp out. Just in time for Wyatt to change and then get to his game. His game came down to the wire!! It was 1-0 until the very end when Wyatt scored the tying goal. It then went into overtime play and finally ended in a shootout! Wyatt scored in the shootout as well to put his team ahead!! It was an awesome game to watch.
Preston, dad and I then went to the U of A game against the University of Utah. Wyatt was going to come but didn't feel well. Can you believe that after playing such an awesome soccer game he says (after) that he didn't even feel well throughout the game!! Wow!  Poor guy!! He took it easy and watched at home and we took Emelia Stueck in his place. It was an awesome game!!  (We won in overtime!)
Sunday was a busy day for me (hence my writing you this morning!:). I had my last ward council meeting at 7:00am and then was released from my primary calling in sacrament. A new sister in our ward, Sister Hancock, (they moved in 2 months ago) was called as primary president and she kept my same presidency. She will enjoy those women as I came to love them as we worked together in primary, I know she will too! They are amazing and I will miss working with them tremendously!!  I will miss those kiddos too!!  You do love those you serve! I know you know what I'm taking about!! ... Even though I was released I had sharing time and soaked up every second. The kids sang to me at the end and I couldn't keep back the tears. My heart was so full of love for them and all those I served with in primary!!  After church I met with the new primary president and passed on all of my "stuff". My church bag was so light as I headed home. ...  After returning home to find that Vince and the kids had managed to find something to eat without me ... Haha, I had some lunch and then took a 30 minute nap.  I woke up in time to get ready to go to  the regional single adult committee meeting that l'm now a part of.  It was interesting. I did make some connections though and will enjoy getting to know a new group of people serving in the church.  Change is good. A new challenge ahead is good. This is the missionary life. Right!? :)
I love you Riley and your good example to all of us!! Keep up the great work!
Love,
Mom

Dads latest buy...  Who does this??

140 pairs of Nike cleats. He got them at an auction for $3 a pair.

For FHE we "helped" sort sizes and styles.  It was actually pretty fun. :)

We then had our real FHE activity. Playing with the drone... FUN!

Preston's cross country banquet. Proud of his efforts this season as a determined runner and captain of his team!

Bryant had to "disguise" a turkey so it wouldn't be eaten for thanksgiving. ... I remember Brenna and Wyatt doing this homework assignment too. Fun.

Wyatt is doing great in soccer for the school this season!

Having fun too!

Checking out our new "tucson premium outlets" right off the freeway at Twin Peaks Rd.

Pretty cool!

A Saturday of Soccer 

Haha! (Kurt, Brenna and Tanner)

We went to the U of A game Saturday Night. It was a good one!! We won in overtime against University of Utah

My church bag... Saturday Night

Monday Morning

8.23.2015

How's it going?  So I read your letter to the kids and after the part about how you get people to video chat with you after following them on Twitter, Brenna said, "stranger danger!!" Haha!!  It does sound a little  stranger danger-ish. Especially since I tell the kids that they shouldn't chat to people they don't know on the Internet. But... I know you aren't 12. ;) lol. Sounds very exciting and I can't wait to hear more about what's going on with Twitter and the digital mission. Do you still Skype people who want to learn English? Do you use Facebook at all?
We had a good week. We are getting busy with soccer coming up and with the middle school kids in volleyball and flag football.  They had their first games last week and even though they both lost, they did well and really enjoyed it.  I had a school board meeting that lasted longer than usual because of some issues we are having with the building.  I'm so thankful to work with such a great administration and our outstanding teachers at Red Rock!  They are such dedicated people and love our kids!!
Dad and I went up to Phoenix on Friday and had a great day of errands and capped it off with a date at the temple. We were able to do sealings with family names from Nana. It was awesome. We love to spend time there. The feeling of peace in the temple is unknown anywhere else!!
Saturday was a work day. We helped clean the church in the morning and then washed and vacuumed our cars and then I cut everybody's hair since I was already sweaty. Haha. There is so much work to do in the yard right now but we can't bring ourselves to be out there too long. It's just too hot!! Dad says he is DONE with these Arizona summers!! I hate to break it to him but it's not over. Still summer and hot around here for quite awhile!! :)
Hope you are doing well!! Thinking of you and your busy days right now! Enjoy it and work hard!!
Love,
Mom

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Elder Heflin:  Facebook is being experimented with, but across the mission it's not running at the moment... Doubt I'll ever use it. And I hope not too. We're ditching the idea of using our current profiles due to the distraction from friends back home, and creating new ones from scratch. At least that's what a few missionaries are trying right now. So far Twitter's had more success than Facebook, so we'll see how it goes.

And it seems like strangers are the only people I talk to nowadays haha. :)

Hey, quick heads up, too. Monday the 7th (Labor Day) We're going to the temple in the morning and my comp, the sisters and I wanna go to the Red Sox game at 3:00 that day afterwards!!! Can I go can I go can I go??? Boston's awful this year so i imagine tix will be cheap, and plus we're gonna scalp :)

Also, Boston fun fact No. 2: I have a doctors appointment tomorrow just so ya know. Everything's going well, but I feel like my hairs falling out still haha. My skin and muscles are getting better though thanks to those insanity workouts. Shaun T. (the trainer who does the videos) likes yoga and stretching, so I've been stretching those deep muscle tissues and getting good results!

Mom:  I love Shaun T. I have the T-25 series he does.  Pretty intense workouts but only for 25 minutes. :)  How is your skin getting better? Your hair looks great in photos!  A Sox game sounds fun!

Elder Heflin:  My skin is ehhh, not 100% clear and perfect. It hasn't really changed TOO much, but I consider it an improvement because I feel like it's less thick/tight. Ya know what I mean? So, doesn't look much better, but feels better :)

And hey, I'm glad we can bond over our love for Shaun T. He's basically my best friend by now hahah. We hang out every morning at 6 o'clock sharp!

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Pics of the week:

I helped with the Lions Club Eye testing at school today. (That's Brenna down there getting her eyes tested)

Soccer is around the bend. Sign ups are next week. Getting ready for all that brings.

I spy a lemon :)

Brenna is getting pretty good at volleyball!

Wyatt is loving flag football

View from my walk

Our Friday night date.

Saturday morning cleaning the church at 7am reward. -McDonald's pancake breakfast-  Preston was at cross country and Wyatt was at a camp out.

Laundry

My view from Sunday :)  Primary kids are cute.  (Sister Hancock presenting sharing time)

8.16.2015

Hi !!

What's the scoop? 

Please tell me you got some new shoes. ... (One of your recent pictures looked like you still are wearing worn out shoes. ... ?)

We have had a good week.  Staying busy and happy. 

We have been keeping an eye out for a car to replace the corolla. It's just getting old ... But instead we found a car 3 years older ... A 1995 Volvo 850. A classic really. I wasn't interested until we got inside. Even though it is 20 years old, it is in good shape and drives great. Less miles than our corolla and obviously owned by an older lady, (from the looks of the maintenance records) who kept it in the garage. It even has a sunroof. So we won it at an auction on Saturday for a great price and will be selling the Corolla soon. It looks like a good, safe car for Preston to drive. 

Dad continues to stay way too busy with his auction buying and eBay selling. It is pretty great to have a hobby that makes money tho. He works incredibly hard (Hardest worker I know!!) and if I ever need anything, he finds it for me ... In a pallet size.  We will never need to buy swim goggles or earbuds again. Haha. Love him. 

Saturday night was our Ward Party. A potluck and pinewood derby. It was pretty fun. There were no real rules for weight requirements for the cars and the Moore's car weighed about 10 + pounds. Bishop Lamoreaux made a car that was powered and zoomed down the track with a remote control. Pretty fun overall. Many Ward members ask about you often... But you will hardly recognize our ward. We have had many new families move in this past summer. 

It was SO HOT this past week!!  Ridiculous really. It was 112 degrees as we were headed to the auction Saturday. Right now it is 9pm and I just checked my weather app and it says it is 99 degrees. This week we are forecasted with 108 most of the week. Ugh. Enjoy the fall you have coming. Our nice weather is a long way off still. :(

Details from your week?

Question from a comment you made last week...

Why is it weird to be with a companion on their last transfer?

Sure love you!! Have an awesome week! Smile and work hard!! You are loved by so many!  

Love, mom

Bryant had an accident on his bike and busted up his arm / elbow a bit. Band aids weren't staying on, but we needed it to stay clean at school. So dad came up with this sweat band idea (gauze underneath) and Bryant felt so cool going to school. Dad is brilliant. :)

Bryant's favorite breakfast. He insists on putting on the syrup because I apparently do not put on enough.

The red rock kids had open house on Thursday. We met all the teachers and heard about the daily routines. Some art / projects were already gracing the halls. Check out who Brenna's hero is ...

Bryant's invite for the open house

1995 Volvo 850 - bought at an auction Saturday.  Preston likes it.

8.9.2015

Elder Heflin,
How was your week?

We had a good one getting used to the daily schedule for Preston and the kids are all pretty happy to have a routine again. Preston likes his teachers and will have a good but challenging year. Cross country officially starts tomorrow and Preston is a bit nervous. He says it is that feeling before a race that makes him nervous, but it's a good nervous ... I think he is just excited!  It should be a good year.
This week:
Bryant fell off his bike and got a big scrape on his arm. He was very brave but it was quite an ouchy.
This week I finally had enough and I put the kids in charge of washing their own clothes. For years, and I mean years, I have asked the kids to pick up their clothes from the bathroom floor after a shower or to NOT leave wet towels on the floor of their closets... Or my favorite ... I've told them that they can wear pajamas for more than one night.  But I have failed ... Apparently. So I figure they will learn the hard way ... Or the best way.   -By doing it themselves-.  They each are in charge of their own laundry and it is a work in progress, but they are learning. Brenna and Bryant are the least of the offenders but they have taken a liking to laundry and don't mind. P and W are figuring it out. ;)
Any advice for these guys now that you are on your own?
Anyway...
This week we had a meeting for Red Rock Athletics. We were setting the calendar for the upcoming year and getting the details of soccer worked out.
I had a very busy week for primary. A lot of changes in nursery (with 40 nursery kiddos - yikes) and many new families have moved into the ward. We are also preparing to hand out program parts to the primary kids and coordinate all those details. Fun stuff. :)

How was your big, busy week of training and meetings? Can't wait to hear about your time with President Miller. What were you most touched by this week? Good counsel from your new president? Good interactions with other missionaries?
Best thing this week?  Toughest thing this week?
Love you so much!! Proud of you!
Mom

Preston begins 10th grade -MHS

Brenna has organized her closet so she can set out her outfits for the week!  Cute girl!

Brenna getting her laundry done

Going Solar

Dad bought these tubes at an auction and of course had to test them out in the pool to make sure they didn't have any leaks.  Bryant approved!

Bryant and his buddies, Preston and Brice Lozinsky

30 solar panels installed

My Sunday cookie baking helper :)  Snickerdoodles.

8.2.2015

Hi!!  How's it going?
How was the week? Did you have a wonderful time at the temple with your recent converts? Sounds like you had a busy week planned.
We had a great week. Getting back to regular stuff and school for the little kids.  Preston starts school tomorrow.  He is ready for a schedule. I had to keep him busy with a job or two around the house or he was sleeping in until mid day!!  I know, crazy. He realized it was a waste of a day and really was bored. He did run everyday of course. He really enjoys groups runs with his team.
Preston drove on the highway for the first time on Saturday morning. It was on the way to his group run at the high school.  

Later Saturday we traveled to Phoenix for Kayla's baptism. It was very nice. Papa gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. He did a great job! It was nice to hang out with the heflins on such a special day!  Nana and Papa just got back from Logan last week so it was good to see them.
I love you very much! You are in my thoughts and prayers! Keep up the hard work and ENJOY your days! :)
Love, mom

Riley,

School started a week and a half ago and sports is already starting. We are doing flag football first and our first game is on the 20th. I'm trying out for running back and corner back. Red Rock is also doing electives this year. There weren't very many choices so I'm doing drama.  We are going to do a play before fall break. How is it in Rhode Island? How many baptisms have you gotten so far? How many investigators are you teaching right now?

Wyatt

Hi Riley its Brenna so I've been in middle school for a week and a half.  I'm enjoying it! I can't believe you've been serving for a year! I started volleyball I'm pretty bad 😜  Kayla's baptism was yesterday!! I miss you.
Love, Brenna

Hi Riley!
We have been in school for a week and a half now. My teacher is Mr. Thatcher. He is a member of our church too. I saw him at church today. He is nice. School is fun (when it comes to recess).
Dad got me a new bike from DI in Logan. It is so fast. It was like faster than my friend who was running and I was barely pedaling. I like to ride it to school and back. It is black and green. My favorite colors.
We went to Kayla's baptism yesterday. After we had a BBQ and swim in their new pool. My fingertips were red and burning after because of all of the times I was pulling myself out of the water to go on the diving board. (Mom said it was the rough flagstone they had as the cool deck). It was fun though.
How are you doing?  What is your favorite thing about Rhode Island ?
Love, Bryant

Dads good deed. He saved this dog from the highway. He brought it home until animal control could come and pick it up (right before that happened the owner called animal control and they gave him dads number).
We had a dog from about 7 am to 2 pm. He was cute, but that was good enough.  :)

I put Preston to work this week. He has been a little bored. (Last week of summer).

Preston drove on the highway for the first time on Saturday.

Bryant's cool bike

Patrolling pics this week

Lunch with Bryant.  1.5 weeks of school down ...  :) 

Had a fun afternoon and evening shopping and running errands with my Brenna.  As she put it, "we shopped till we dropped!"  Costco, Big 5, Target, Nike outlet... and to break it all up we HAD to stop at Claire's.  Fun girl :)

Kayla's baptism day

BBQ and pool party after the baptism in the Whitmer's new pool. FUN