DANCER.

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by Sister Whitney Morris, currently serving in Samara, Russia, after a particularly stressful week out in the field:

• "This past week I've felt like a human, which isn't ok. This next week I'm going to try harder to feel like dancer. It's a much better life."

Press on, my dear friend. You inspire me more than you know.

I'll watch this for you, since you can't:

And I miss you.

LOOORRST!

Coming Soon...

...LOST Season 6 Premiere Pictures

Starring:

Adam Purcell as Benjamin Linus

Andrew Henry Pieper as Hugo "Hurley" Reyes

Andy Hartshorn as James "Sawyer" Ford

Brooke Nelson as Sayid Jarrah

Camille Butler as Kate Austen

Christian Pieper as Frank Lapidus

Emily Lloyd as Juliet Burke

Jeffrey Knight as Charlie Pace

Katie and Joe Nibley as Sun and Jin Kwon

Kenton Pieper as Desmond Hume

Kiera George as Claire Littleton

Kubo as Richard Alpert

Lauren Pieper as Jacob

Michael Brandley as Charlotte Lewis

Nick Anderson as Boone Carlyle

Paige Nelson as Shannon Rutherford

Trex Wood as Daniel Faraday

With Special Guest Appearance:

Baby as Aaron Littleton

02.02.10

Pihrjjj.

I never knew how lucky I was until I would talk to my friends about their siblings. Some siblings don't get along or didn't like each other or can't even stand each other. Isn't that depressing? I've never been able to comprehend that. Our parents have always told us: "You can have friends, but your siblings are your BEST friends." And all seven of us Nelson kids really are best friends, even with the 20-year age range from Joel to Nina. I'm completely blessed when it comes to who I get to spend forever with.

My sibling closest in age to me (three years younger) is Paige. We're complete opposites; but we love each other a lot.

My niece, Lily,

says my sister's name in the funniest way. She says, "Pihrjjj". Dang it. It's hard to write out how she says it. She gets this low voice that's kind of froggy-throat-ish and sticks out her lower jaw as she says it. I wish I had it recorded for you. It's hilarious. Anyways, Pihrjjj recently moved up to Provo, and I've already had my best semester of college because of her. I'm so grateful that I have her here with me and that I get to experience life away from home in a less-lonely way.

I look up to Paige in a lot of ways. She's organized and on top of things. She can make me laugh harder than practically anyone I know. She has the most tender heart, which makes her very approachable. I know moving up to Provo was the toughest choice she's made in her life, so far. But, from the bottom of my heart, I'm grateful that she did.

I love you, Pihrjjj!

Isn't she GORGEOUS?

PS- HAYLEY, Sis and I can't wait for you to get up here, too! SFL!

My Growing Garden

A Lily...

... and a Violet.

No, I'm not a gardener. (My allergies would never stand for it.) But I am an aunt; which is my favorite thing to be. My brother Joel, sister-in-law Valerie and niece Lily

welcomed

Violet Jane Nelson

into their family on Thursday, January 21, 2010, and I couldn't be happier. Joel and Val were going to name her Sophia Belle, but when they actually saw her, they couldn't help but call her Violet. (I like "Violet" better anyway, don't you?) So, raise up your glasses ...of cranberry juice... and join me in a toast to my gorgeous, growing garden.

SKOMPS!

Bucket List

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."

~Abraham Lincoln

I've done a lot of living in my 23 years, but I have even more to do in the next 23 (or so). Realizing this, I made a bucket list back in October. I recently ran across someone else's bucket list and he had looked online for the top things that people should do before they die. So I decided to take some of his and mix it with the one I already had to create a respectably full (long) list. I was pretty proud to discover that I've already checked off quite a few of the items. While the list is pretty lengthy, I want to post it so that I can have some sort of accountability with it. If you don't want to read through the whole thing, I don't blame you. First is my Bucket List and second is my Checked Off List. If you do read the whole thing, help me remember anything that I might need to add. Thanks!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot: I'm checking off one of my items tomorrow! I'm going to an opera! I can't wait. Seriously, I'm so excited. I've been wanting to go to one for about five years now and I finally am. I'll be seeing Carmen at the Capitol Theatre. I think I might wet myself.

Brooke's Bucket List:

• Attend a Black Tie Event in NYC
• Attend the Olympics
• Attend an Opera
• Be a Lead in a Musical
• Be in a Protest
• Become Fluent in a Second Language
• Cook a Thanksgiving Dinner
• Drive From One Coast of the US to the Other

• Experience Weightlessness
• Explore the Louvre
• Fly in a Helicopter
• Fly on the Trapeze
• Get Paid to Pull Someone’s Tooth

• Get a Motorcycle License
• Go to Disneyworld
• Go to Europe (Italy& Scotland at Highest Priority)
• Go Fishing and Catch a Fish
• Go to a Gay Bar
• Go Hang Gliding
• Go to Harry Potter World

• Go to a Monster Truck Rally
• Go Sailing
• Go Sky Diving
• Go Snowmobiling
• Go Whitewater Rafting
• Have a Pet Snake

• Have a Pet Sugar Glider
• Have a Porch Swing
• Jump Off a High-Dive
• Learn the Guitar
• Live above the Magic Shop on Mainstreet in Disneyland
• Look at the Stars Through a Telescope

• Meditate with Monks
• Perform Stand-Up
• Perform on the Street for Money
• Punch Someone in the Face
• Ride an Elephant
• Ride a Mechanical Bull
• Ride a Unicycle

• Run a Marathon
• See Mt. Rushmore
• See the Northern Lights
• See the Pyramids
• See the Taj Mahal
• See Wayne Newton in Vegas

• Sew Myself an Article of Clothing
• Sleep in a Hammock for an Extended Period
• Swim with Dolphins
• Visit All 50 States
• Visit Graceland

• Visit the Holy Land
• Watch a Rocket Blast Off
• Write a Book
• Write My Grandfather’s Biography
• Write a Screenplay
• Write a Song

Brooke's Checked-Off List:

• Attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
• Be the Lead in a Play
• Be Put Under for Surgery
• Break a Bone
• Climb a Mountain
• Eat Alligator

• Eat Caviar
• Eat Dog
• Eat Escargot
• Eat Frog
• Eat Rocky Mountain Oysters
• Eat Snake

• Eat Sushi
• Eat Turtle
• Float a River
• Fly in a Private Plane
• Go Bungee Jumping
• Go on a Cruise
• Go to a Demolition Derby

• Go to Disneyland
• Go Four-Wheeling
• Go Horseback Riding
• Go Kayaking
• Go Off-Roading
• Go Parasailing

• Go Scuba Diving
• Go Skiing
• Go Skinny Dipping
• Go Snorkeling
• Go Snowboarding
• Go Surfing
• Go Waterskiing
• Hike the Great Wall of China

• Kiss Under a Mistletoe
• Learn to Juggle
• Live in a Foreign Country
• Master Chopsticks
• Participate in a Motorcycle Rally
• Ride a Bus
• Ride a Camel
• Ride a Hot Air Balloon

• Ride a Motorcycle
• Ride a San Francisco Cable Car
• Ride on a Subway
• Ride in a Taxi
• Ride a Train
• Ride a Zip-Line (This Particular Time was Off of the Great Wall)

• Sing Karaoke
• Swim in the Ocean
• Swim with Sea-Turtles
• Try Water Sports
• Use Crutches Out of Necessity
• Visit the Grand Canyon
• Visit Niagra Falls
• Visit the Sacred Grove
• Visit the Statue of Liberty (I'm not in this one, but I took the picture.)

• Watch My Meal Be Slaughtered
• Witness a Birth
• Write a Play that is Produced