Raise your hand if you LOVE Elder Hales

For those of you who don't know my brother, just know that if you did know him, you'd probably be raising both hands right now.

To be completely honest, my brother has got to be the best guy, and once he gets home from his LDS mission to London, he'll be the most wanted bachelor around. You see, he has got a lot of things going for him.

1-He grew up with three adoring sisters, thus he understands the crucial aspects of women: we cry alot, we are generally as hungry as men (even though we'll rarely admit it), and we love being treated well.

2-My dad has always been one to build/fix/take care of things himself. And, since Dan was the lone male child, he participated in all of those events, and became quite the handyman.

3-He probably has the best personality of anyone I've ever met. He's trustworthy, absolutely hilarious, hard working, and spontaneous. Case in point:

A) In highschool, when my parents gave him the option of driving a toyota camry or an old ghetto (BROWN) Astro van that our neighbor had nicknamed "the Toaster", he chose the latter. He took out the seats, recarpeted the interior and hung up a hammock. Day after day he brought home girls in that van for lunch.

B) He shaved his eyebrows one week before prom to raise money for charity.

C) He is so creative. He loves playing with photoshop...

D) He is instantly your best friend and can make anybody laugh.

I could go on and on.

So I just thought I would share a portion of a recent letter and a few pictures he's sent to us lately of his work in England. He is seriously an amazing missionary and is loving the work.


I'm glad you all had fun at Powell last week, but to be honest, I didn't really miss Lake powell too much. Elder Turner and I were up to much better things....... DOM DOM DOM,  Elder turner had his first Baptism this week. Oh my what an amazing event that was, I was able to baptise Livi and Elder turner baptised Ovi. We held the baptism on Sunday rather than Saturday, due to scheduling problems, but I am quite a fan of Sunday baptisms. There were so many people in attendance, the spirit was so strong! It was perfect most of our ward was crammed into this little primary room. Priya (there mother)  was in tears the whole time, what a miracle this whole event was. I happened so perfectly, the lord has really blessed Elder Turner and I.  Too add a cherry on top a member went up to watford and bought at Costco Cake..... So good. It was quite an eventful day.

But there is some other news..... As some of you have mentioned move calls have came.... unfortunately this will be my last email from Wembley. Elder turner is taking over the area, serving with another English Gent named Elder Doyle. I am sure that elder Turner will keep things going- As for me...... I have been sent up north, the most north you can go in our mission boundaries. I have been called to serve as a Zone leader up in Norwitch, What crazy news that was. I am really excited though because Norwitch is a big city and we will cover 2 wards. Also it is really cool because I was reading some of our family history and some of our ancestors i think are buried there. This was quite a shock, I have only been a DL for one transfer, it was not expected at all.  All of the other Zone Leaders are well older then me. I guess we will see how it goes.

It has been hard to say goodbye to all of my friends here in wembley, The ward here is fantastic, We have an appointment with Ruben and Kofie tonight to say good bye, It kind of stinks to leave these guys.

Oh well, I guess I am off to a new adventure, I will be serving with an elder from Sweden (Another Country in my European tour) ... I sure do love you all a lot. Thanks for all of the love and support.
Elder Hales

Needless to say, I love my brother. London is lucky to have him.

Its hot in here...

The thermostat in my apartment currently reads 87 degrees.

HOT right?

Now, you're probably assuming that I live in a ghetto apartment with a mini swamp cooler and I survive on otterpops. But, only two of the three statements are true: ghetto apartment and otter pops.

We actually just got a brand new air conditioning system installed at our apartment that works like a DREAM. But, somehow I have an anxiety problem when it comes to spending money, even when it comes to the gas and electric bills. Usually Brent enjoys my inabilitly to buy things at the mall or furniture store, but when it comes to staying cool, he gets a bit ticked at my penny pinching.

So, I give in and let him turn on the air. Sometimes...

Anyway, another aspect of my spending anxiety hits hard with decorating my apartment. I basically fall in love with all the cute things I see and have a hundred ideas of what i'd do with my place but I can't ever make a purchase. So I just buy random things at the DI that cost $1 and feel great about myself.

Maybe one day i'll grow out of it, but until then, decorating is slow and steady. Here is my kitchen wall that cost me about $25 including my photo prints.

Here is my free kitchen table (still need to paint my chairs) +$8 for the stuff underneath the glass.

And look at this cute shelf I found for $2 at the DI the other day. I'm not allowed to paint my white walls so I'm going to paint it a tan color and put on some cute new hardware. Pictures to come...

And, because I forgot to post this earlier, it has to come now. I was able to meet up with all of my best girl friends from high school recently. We were pretty much inseperable in high school, but husbands, missions, and hawaii lifestyles have taken us in various directions.

It was so good to see B and her cute baby. We missed Lynz and Rach who are both out serving mission for our church.   Love all you girls!