Nativities

Bryce could not leave the Nativities that were placed around our house during Christmas alone.  He was always rearranging them.  One day I stopped to look at one that was in the entrance way of our front door.  I noticed Baby Jesus was under his nativity set and that everyone above him was in peculiar groupings.  They were all wondering where Baby Jesus was.  I had to take a picture.  Later, I found Bryce had gone around and taken all the animals from the different sets and placed them in a circle surrounding one of the Baby Jesus.  I was wishing he would just leave the sets alone but now I am wishing I had taken more pictures of his arrangements.  He had too much time on his hands!

Missionaries Who I have Given a Hair Cut

Just some trivia:  Bryce gave at least 48 haircuts while on his mission.  He kept meticulous notes of who they were, where they were from and how many times he cut their hair.  Here are some of the places they were from:

 

Goals and Skateboarding

11 April 2008
Since we can hear the conversation of our landlords constantly I decided to listen to them while I brushed my teeth.  They were talking about what they would do if they could start over.  I decided too.  I don’t want to have any regrets.  If I want to do something, I’m going to do it so I don’t feel like I didn’t live up to my potential.  When I set a goal I’m going to accomplish it.  I’m going to eat better and less, work harder and smarter. 
Today we tracted into this home.  This guy skateboarded so I talked to him about skateboarding and then got his sister involved and they were so happy to hear about the restoration.  It was cool. 

Oatis the Board

Bryce had a love of boards as you know.  He decided he wanted to make his own longboard because he has a lot of Fife blood in him and wanted to save money and make it his.  He had a few rough starts and failures but he persisted and finally had some boards that he really liked.  We had a home teacher that was wonderful to always visit us and encourage Bryce and Dallin to get their Eagles.  He took them flying in their first plane rides for aviation merit badges, etc.  When Bryce showed Dave ( our home teacher) the long board, he offered to spray the board with the lacquer because he owns a woodworking shop.  It turned out really nice and they were both happy with the results.  Bryce promptly gave it the name Oatis which was his nick name that he gave himself and used for a lot of things ...he liked to name things.  He loved that board.   Bryce went to South Africa and his longboard, Oatis was left in his spot in the garage.  I loved seeing it there and being reminded of Bryce.  When Bryce got home, all the things that happen with family and get togethers, etc. happened and Oatis continued to hang.  Then came the snow and snowboarding.  Bryce never got to ride Oatis again, as far as I know.  We continued to leave it hanging.  One day, I got an impression that I needed to give Oatis to Willy.  I knew he already had one of Bryce's boards so I dismissed it.  The thought continued.  I could hear Bryce saying to me...Mom! Give Oatis to Willy.  I told Willy I would give him the board in the spring...or summer.  I guess that wasn't good enough because one evening Willy came to visit and I knew I had to give it to him then.  I cried after he left but I knew that I needed to do it.  Willy has never said anything but one day not too long ago when the weather was good, I saw on Willy's facebook a message to one of Bryce's friends ..."Hey Weston...how about us going longboarding?" It made me smile and I think of Bryce when I see guys zooming down the street on a long board with their hair flying behind them. 

Soda Pop From Mexico

When Brooke came home from a trip to Peru,  she brought pop for the boys.  Bryce’s bottle sat on the shelf over his bed unopened.  He didn’t like pop. 
 He finally gave it to his younger brother but Dallin had already drunk it and put colored water in the bottle.  Dallin said it took a while to match the color of the pop.  Bryce never caught on and the bottle sat there for a long time before he finally decided to give the "pop" to the kid. 

College--BYU Late Night Surprise

Bryce’s application to BYU  Dec. 2008

I have had a unique educational opportunity in film and broadcasting by working at a local television station and at the Nebo School District's television station. I also had the opportunity to teach other students in the broadcasting class while serving as a teacher's assistant. I am an Eagle Scout. I served an honorable full time mission in Cape Town, South Africa. Through leadership experiences on my mission I learned to communicate and work successfully with others from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds.  I am the fifth of six children. All have served missions and are pursuing their college education.  All of us have supported ourselves in school through scholarships and part time employment. Three have graduated from BYU and three (including me) are BYU students. Throughout my life I have been able to achieve near perfect attendance in all of my school classes. I graduated from high school with high honors. I have also placed three times in the top three for films that I produced for the Utah High School Film Festival.

The reasons why I want to attend an institution within the LDS Church Educational System are simple. I want to go to a school where others will encourage me to be the best that I can be. I want to live the highest standards of conduct and accountability. I also know that BYU has one of the best film programs in the country. I plan on pursuing a career in the film industry and I want to maintain the standards of the gospel. BYU provides the best opportunity to obtain this balance. I know that the decisions I make now will have a great impact on the rest of my life. In order to make the best decisions I know that I need to be in the best places.

The value I will add to BYU will be seen through my hard work and diligence in keeping the school standards. I will help others do the same by leading by example.  When I do this I know that I will have the help of the Holy Ghost. I will feel good and will have opportunities to serve and help those around me and to be a positive influence in their lives.

CES Admissions to "Christensen, Bryce K" date Tue, Jan 6, 2009 at 9:53 PM subject CES Application

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A decision has been reached on your application for BYU.  Please go to the BYU Decision Notification page where you can view the decision and related information.  Remember, if you have applied to other CES schools you will receive a separate notification when they have made their decision.

 

Birthday Boy...some last emails home from South Africa

9-08-09
We have to always wake up extra early church starts at 8 and we need to be there at 7 so we have to wake up extra early for that as well.... basically I am about short of 10 or so hours of sleep. I am trying to figure out a way to get it back... but I think they're lost forever.

...whatever can be thrown at me these last 5 weeks now and I will just take and do my best, I'll take anything... maybe I will be able to sleep on the plane ride home then... yeah so these last weeks will be hard but I'
m just going to do it. some extra prayers might help as well. Kwa-no is nice... the ward seems pretty cool... there was about 120 at church....well let me know if you want to know anything in specific... o and brooke thank you soo much for the birthday package it was great.... the tie looked like our couch though... so I am afraid I wont be able to wear it... but it will look good on some african. Well I hope everyone has a good week. Elder Christensen