Friday, February 1, 2008

What?! No Gum?!!

Grandma got a letter from Rachel today. Here's a part of it:

"So what makes me sad is that we're not suppose to chew gum when we leave our dorms as a missionary so that we can look more professional. I love gum!! - I chew it all the time. But I want to be 100% obedient. I had a pack of mentos and passed it around my district (10 missionaries going to Germany) during a fireside and told them about our tradition :) . I love my district! The Elders are fantastic and so much fun. Sister Stewart and I are the only sisters in district - so we get a lot of attention. haha I've seen some of my friends here - some girls from BYU-I that I danced with and others. It's great to see a friendly face."

No gum?! I know that is going to be a major disappointment for Rachel. That girl can chew gum like no other! (It makes my jaw hurt just thinking about it!) But I'm so pleased that she wants to follow the rules.

For those of you who don't know about the Mentos tradition... it started years ago with Grandma. We sit with her and Gramper each Sunday during church. Well, eventually during the meeting, the teenagers get a little restless. At this point, Grandma pulls out a roll of Mentos and passes them down the row. Everyone takes a few and it helps us get through the meeting. When Grandma and Gramper went on their mission to Nauvoo, they left us with a 6-month supply of Mentos so that we wouldn't get kicked out of church for disruptive behavior. It worked! Mentos are magic! Not one of us has been kicked out of church yet! It helps to know the bishop though...

3 comments:

ashley said...

Grandmas and Mentos must go hand in hand? My grandmother introduced me to Mentos like 25 years ago, the pink ones and multi-colored. She always had them in her car. I might have to try the church trick with my kids, although Rollin might need a whole pack just for himself.

Helen said...

I'm going to share a 'mentos' story - not about Rachel but about her brother, Adam. Like Michelle said, mentos are readily available but I have required them to ask by saying: "Dear Sweet Grandma That I Love So Much" and I must admit that gets them almost anything! Anyway, one day during sacrament meeting Adam passed me a note that read: "Dear Sweet Grandma That I Love So Much: I need mentos in order to get the full meaning of this talk. Please, Thank you -Adam"

I wish I could give you all hope that Mentos will make the difference in Sacrament Meeting attention. It's a fun tradition for us and I'm happy that Rachel is promoting it in the MTC. She is a funny wonderful granddaughter and I love her sooooo much!

SDoty said...

While the kids were young the Mentos kept them quite. Now that they are teenagers it keeps them awake.

We're not above bribery.
- Shayne