January Letter

Dear Family & Friends,

Hello everyone! I have had a great first month of 2020! This month we had some awesome milestones for the people in my family. For one, Kyle got ordained to the office of deacon! The first Sunday he passed, Eric had prepared the sacrament and I blessed it! It was so cool having all three of us involved in such an important ordinance.

Living in Utah is great because we are always close to a temple. Moving from the biggest temple district in the world (Jordan River, about 17,000 youth) to the Payson temple is a really cool experience. Even though it is a smaller temple, it still seems to always be full. Due to Kyle turning 12 in a couple few months, he was able to go to the temple with Eric, Dad, Mom, and I for the first time. It was really cool for me and Eric to be witnesses for his ordinances as my dad performed them!

I love the beach! Me and Eric were going to be left behind for a trip to California, but our mom really wanted us to come, partly because this might be my last big family vacation as a kid. I love the ocean breeze and running on the sand. It's a lot different than the desert of my "homeland".

Another good thing about the coast is fresh seafood. This picture was outside one of the best seafood restaurants I've been to. My mom and I shared some shrimp tacos, and they were delicious! Also, Sam likes to ride on my shoulders so he can be taller than me.

After the beach, we went to Disneyland. It had been a while since I last went, so it was pretty fun to remember things that I had forgotten. I was really grateful that my parents agreed to take me at the last second.

Going to Disneyland as a teenager with your toddler brother is pretty fun. I got to take him on lots of rides, and it ended up looking like I had more fun. I make weird faces when I talk to Sam.

We got to see the new Star Wars land for the first time. The new ride (Rise of the Resistance) was the most cool and unique ride I've ever been on (but I won't give spoilers). The only not awesome thing was that technical difficulties caused us a wait of a little over an hour in the same spot in line.

I had a plan for the splash mountain picture, but I forgot when we started the fall. I guess it's better to have fun rather than look cool in pictures.

My life has been pretty good. I have maintained good grades, and high school soccer season starts at the end of February, so what else do I need? Anyways, I hope everyone has a great January and forgets the guilt of failing their New Year's Revolutions.
   Love,
        Brandon David Barnhisel