Email received May 3, 2010

Okay, my brain's still a little fuzzy, I don't really know what I did last week, besides walk enough to still be sore - being a missionary's great!! Last night was a bit of an adventure: we practiced teaching a lesson to a member family and when they dropped us off Sis Johnson realized she had forgotten the key again (she tries to say this has never happened before, but it has). We usually just knock on the Andrews' door and ask them if we can go through their house (it connects through the laundry room) but last night they weren't home. We tried calling but Bro Andrews was out of town and the oldest daughter was at a fireside so we had to go around the back and get the secret key. Luckily the people who dropped us off hadn't left yet and had a big flashlight we could use. Sis Johnson sent Sis Knuteson and I because she doesn't do dogs, so we had to climb fences and dig tunnels...just kidding, we just had to get through two fences and quiet two little dogs who could bark the head off a dead man while we found the key.

After much door jiggling and the retrieval of a second key, we finally got inside where the adventure continues. During this process the wife of one of our ward mission leaders came to bring bed #3 for Sis. Knuteson to try which involved rearranging half of the apartment and disturbing a rather large spider (did I tell you about the last one we found during our first week? Rather large, possibly a wolf spider) I fully intended to quietly carry it outside, but when one asks for a cup in a room full of 4 women at least one of them will start screaming and throwing shoes. Hail the conquering hero, we ended up with a rather large squished spider on the rug by my bed (to which I responded "I'm not cleaning that up!") Well, all said and done, Sis Knuteson now carries a door key, the bed is a hit, and our lovely WML's wife came and bug sprayed our apartment this morning.

In other news we are well on our way to becoming smoothie queens; we went to lunch with one of our members because her family is considering a move to Houston and she wanted to pick my brain (not much was found, but I told her I would ask if Mom and Dad still had any of their research, she does have one son left in high school, but is probably looking for a private school for him). We spent longer picking her brain about healthy eating (stevia vs. sucanut - have you ever heard of it Mom? It's pretty good) and the miracle of the magic bullet - it doesn't get much easier than that! She also treated us to grocery shopping this morning and bought us enough frozen fruit to last a while (have I mentioned how much I love our members?) So you don't need to worry about us eating healthy or dying of giant spider bites, the only question left is who should I call on Sunday? I didn't get Dad's cell # so I guess I'll call the house and leave the rest up to you. (Editor's note: This is in regards to the Mother's Day phone call.) Hope all is going at least okay, remember to suffer all afflictions cheerfully and with patience, if we endure it well, we shall be crowned with sheaves on our backs!!!

Poodles and poodles of love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Sis Cloward