Bad Timing

Maysen & Stockton had an appointment to get tested at the school district. I got a little lost getting there, so I had to turn around. When I turned into the parking lot, Stockton threw up everywhere! Man he gets car sick so easily! I asked why he didn't ask me for a bag. He said, "I was too sick to talk." He said he was feeling better, so we went inside. While we were waiting he started shivering. I ran out to the car and got his blanket, but he continued shivering pretty hard. I was wondering if he was sick or if this was left over from being car sick . . . he was fine when we left the house a few minutes before. When Piper, the lady who wanted to test them, finally came out Stockton looked pretty sick. I rescheduled for next week. Stockton fell asleep on the way home and then slept for an hour. Woke up and then went back to sleep again. He is feeling better now . . . let's hope it stays that way. Thanks Mike for steam cleaning the van!

Frog Poem

Bark

Amphibian

Really great hops

Kind and friendly

Insect eating

Near water

Green and white

Tree lovers

Rainforest

Entertaining

Excellent tree climbers

Fantastic

Ready to catch a meal

Only males bark

Great

Slimy when wet

--Jorja

Abbs is ONE

Today Abigail turned one! Wow that was fast. Bubs & Ange invited us to their house for chili and cake. Ange's family has a tradition to make this bear cake for the first birthday. Looks like a lot of work to me. It was delicious and I ate too much frosting.

Happy Birthday Abigail!

Abbs was too excited for the party and didn't want to take a nap. Who could blame her?

Angela & Abigal

Bubs and Ange cut one of our moving boxes and have Abbs highchair in it. Then they can dump out the mess. Genius!

Abbs

Ella, Bubs, Abigail, Angela

Bubs singing Happy Birthday to Abbs

Bubs tried to get Abby to blow out the candle by squishing it with her fingers. Don't worry, he really didn't let her.

Ella, Bubs & Abbs

Abigail

And now some random pictures of my children.

Stockton

Porgie-Porge-Porge

Maysen

Jorja and Preston got these marshmallow frogs from church. They were quite proud of them.

Jorja

Preston & Jorja

Swimming with Eden

There is a cute girl in our neighborhood named Eden. We went to school with her parents. Eden is a great swimmer. I asked her if she would teach Jorja a swimming lesson. Jorja had a friend, Ashley, come over. Eden taught the girls for an hour. Jorja learned a ton and had a great time. Hopefully Eden can come over a couple of times a week this summer. That would be great!

Mike went rafting with Steve down the Jordan River. Nothing like rafting with the Parrys, but they had a good time. While they were busy doing that we hung out at Steve & Shannon's house. Stockton loved doing backflips on the trampoline. It freaked me out when he fell off the tramp, but he just laughed. We picked up pizza on the way home & the cousins came over to swim. It was the first time they had been in our pool. They swam in the rain. It rained a lot! We ended the day with Bananagrams. I so hope it doesn't rain the next two Fridays!

Last Day of Homeschool

Today was a pretty great day. I finished homeschool with the kids. Bittersweet. I am going to miss all the time I was able to spend with them. I absolutely loved it. Hopefully Maysen and Stockton did too.

I got a call from the middle school today. Maysen was able to get into Honors English. I was worried for awhile because when I registered her, the class was full. Luckily the admissions lady, Kim, was my mom's best friend when they lived in the trailer park. She went to bat for me and got Maysen in. Kathy Leatherwood (my mom's best friend while I was growing up...aka my second mom) works at the school as well. She also talked to the teacher about Maysen. I am so thankful they were able to do this. It is nice knowing there are two adults that will look out for Maysen when she goes back to school.

Kim called and told me they squeezed Maysen into the English class. She also asked me if I would go to the school and pick up a packet that would be left up front for me. When I got there, they actually wanted me to go talk to the teacher. I was just in a t-shirt and sweats. When I got back to the car I realized I still had a random hair clip on the top of my head that I had put there while cleaning. It was on the counter in the kitchen, so my plan was to put it in the bathroom the next time I walked by. Seriously embarrassing. When I told Mike what happened he said, "That's my wife!" True.

We also got our new couch today! I'll have to take a picture tomorrow. The kids love it and it is so comfortable. We watched Prince of Egypt tonight. I was wondering if it was longer than the Ten Commandments. So hard to stay awake.

Stockton started his diving at our pool down the street. Needless to say, his coach was impressed. I think Stockton is going to have a lot of fun this summer.

Big Purchase

Today Mike and I bought a couch. The last couch we bought was before Maysen was born, so it has been awhile. We are still going to have the green-before-Maysen-was-born couches in the front room. This couch is for the movie room. Mike is really excited. I have to agree it is really comfortable. Our realtor gave us a gift card, so that was nice. Granted the couch was a lot more than the gift card. Our couch will be delivered tomorrow . . . hope it's perfect! We sure spent a lot of time looking.

Last Day Diving

Stockton had his last day diving today. He has loved it. Next month the pool will be closed. They will still have diving, but we would have to travel to Park City. I think we'll skip it. Good thing the neighborhood dive team started today! Stockton missed the first practice, but he will be able to go to an hour of diving a day right up the street! That will be great! Park City verses 3 minutes . . . I think that is a no brainer.

Frog Funeral

Jorja had a little funeral for her frog Emma. She put the frog in a little box and wanted to bury Emma by our tree in the back yard. Mike then put some flowers over the grave and Jorja had us all plant flower seeds around the tree. Jorja's having a hard time getting to sleep right now, so I'm just going put up some pictures so I can go cuddle with her.

Jorja

Preston, Jorja & Mike

Jorja & Mike

Jorja

Preston

Jorja & her frogs she brought to the funeral

Jorja & Hopper

Questions

Jorja wasn't feeling well today so she stayed home from school. Right before bed she discovered one of her water frogs had died. (These aren't the frogs that she always puts on her face. These are little frogs that she can't play with....only watch. She got them for her birthday when she turned seven.) Jorja was very sad. We watched the frog for awhile and then discovered it was actually still alive. Not for long I'm sure. Jorja watched that poor frog for quite awhile. She was so sad. She had named the frog Emma. She said, "Maybe Emma was sad that I didn't watch her as much once I got my other frogs." I assured her that was not the reason. Then she asked Mike all kinds of questions about pet heaven. "Do they have a separate heaven?" "Will I see Emma again?" Kind of hard to answer, but Mike did the best he could. We brought Jorja upstairs and she slept with the frog tank near her so she could be close by. I slept with Jorja until she fell asleep. Poor sweet little Porja.

Character Sketch

Dark green shirt, gray pants, laughter at every sentence. Who is this mysterious masked man?

Dun Dun Duh!

It is Brandon, the extremely stealthy Thief Warrior!

. . . . . . . . .

Okay, fine. You're right. I'm exaggerating this a bit. In all seriousness, he's an ordinary guy. Let's put it in more detail:

Every time you walk in the doorway, you'll see Brandon wearing his casual outfit; a dark green shirt and gray pants.

"What? What's so abnormal?"

If anything is said, Brandon's funny bone unleashes a swarm of giggles. Traveling up the chute, the mob escapes his mouth and a burst of laughter erupts from him.

If someone uses his stuff, he doesn't redo and he doesn't ensue another Revolutionary War. His life goes on, unlike some other greedy slobs somewhere who would rampage through the universe like King Kong.

Brandon and I have a fun time together. Sometimes we go boating, sometimes we trampoline in his backyard, and sometimes we just goof off. Brandon is a nice kid and I like to be around him.

---Stockton

I Love Saturdays

Today was nice and relaxing and busy and crazy. Preston had swim lessons, Jorja had a swim party. The kids swam in the backyard for awhile. Audrey, our next door neighbor, came and swam with Jorja. Mike & I cleaned and went furniture shopping. Just looking. We had dinner with the Batemans. They made delicious grilled chicken. Mike is with Maysen at their house right now playing Pirates. I took the other kids home and put them to bed. All in all a pretty great Saturday. As Stockton said today, "I love Saturdays."

Short Changed

Have you ever come across something that stopped you in your tracks? Something that broke your heart and filled you with such love at the same time? That happened to me five years ago. Fifteen years ago today my mom died. I still have a hard time with it. There are no words to express how incredibly hard it is not to have her experience this life with me. I miss her more than I can say. Five years ago today, on her tenth anniversary I went to her grave. The picture below is what I saw.

I cry just looking at that picture. I am so glad I have it though. Notice the flowers above my mom's grave. It is actually a boutonniere. It is my brother Brett's boutonniere to be exact. Brett was married the day before this picture was taken. When I saw those flowers I couldn't believe Brett & Rachel took the time to visit mom's grave after they were married. How wonderful. I could feel the love Brett has for her by looking at those precious flowers. How amazing of Rachel to let him come. How terribly awful that she wasn't able to be at his wedding. Brett, I'm pretty sure that was your boutonniere. Now that I think about it, I guess it could have been someone else. Other people did have flowers that day. It sure looks like the one you wore though. You did pick a wonderful bride.

Rachel & Brett

G'pa & G'ma Millburn, Rachel, Brett, G'ma & G'pa Parry

I got to talk to my brother John today. He is in Ohio and has a little baby I haven't even seen. He mentioned how mom died when he was 13. John has been alive more without a mom than with one. Matt mentioned the same thing. Matt said he was 14 years and 10 months old . . . exactly. While talking to John about this John said, "I was short changed." Isn't that the truth. We all have been short changed. Me, my brothers, my dad, my kids, my nieces and nephews . . . nothing is better with her gone. Life still is wonderful, but I wish I could enjoy it with her. I do tend to think that no one was short changed more than Matt & John. 13 & 14 is way too young to lose a mom.

Anyway, I wanted to spend the day with my family. Bubs & his family came over and so did Matt. My dad brought Max and pizza. I made a chocolate & lemon pie. (Two different pies) It was fun just to be around each other. We didn't do anything special, but it was really nice.

Ella & Jorja

After dinner and playing, we went down to Smith's so the kids could each pick out a balloon. Then we went to my mom's grave.

Maysen, Preston, Jorja, Lincoln, Abbs, Stockton, Ella

Abbs is trying to eat her balloon!

Abbs, Ange, Bubs, Lincoln, Ella

Maysen, Stephanie & Preston, Stockton, Mike, Jorja

Ella

Abigail

Matt

After visiting her grave, Bubs & Ange went home. Matt came and played a game of Pillage & Plunder with Maysen and I. I won. It was pretty awesome. I came out of nowhere and was able to pull a surprise victory. Oh the glory! Thanks to my dad and my brother's for spending the day with me. Thanks to my kids (older) for being great all day. We sure did miss Brett, Mike & John and their families. Matt & Bubs mapped out a wiffle ball field . . . hope we can all play one day. Mostly I would like to thank my wonderful mother for giving me such an amazing childhood. I would rather have her and lose her early than have someone else for my lifetime. I love you mom!

My mom & me (Stephanie)

Blog Right Now!

Happy anniversary Brett & Rachel.....doesn't Preston look like he should be going to Hawaii?

Preston wanted me to blog RIGHT NOW! Well, I think he just wanted pictures of himself up. It will be nice not to procrastinate my blog. I do have a Relief Society meeting tonight. I am suppose to bring my Parry Posts. I will just bring a few binders....I think they'll get the point.

Preston

Preston wanted me to take the next two pictures with the camera upside down. He was quite impressed with the results. Upside down Preston+upside down camera=right side up Preston. Right side up Preston+upside down camera=upside down Preston. Oh to be four again.

Knocked Out

I took Maysen to an orthodontist appointment this morning. I had Stockton reading a chapter of The Dark is Rising. He is not enjoying the book at all. It's funny asking him questions like, "How did Chapter 5 leave you in suspense?" His answer, "It didn't." Anyway I came back from Maysen's appointment and Stockton was sound asleep. He slept for quite a long time. I didn't want to wake him because he never takes naps. Maybe I should have him read The Dark is Rising every night before bed . . . that would help him fall asleep quickly.

No Further Standards

I had a conference with Stockton's teacher today. She had his results from his scantron tests. To say he did well is an understatement. He scored in the 99th percentile for both reading and math. His teacher said she would send me three areas he could work on. Then she paused and said, "It says no further standards are available for this student in this unit on everything. I have never seen that before." Stockton, you are amazing.

Stockton rode his bike to scouts today. We decided to watch Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows with Maysen. I unlocked the door upstairs so Stockton could get in. I kept going upstairs to check and see if he was home yet. At 8:20 he still wasn't home. This time I called out, "Stocky are you here?" I heard a little voice say, "Yes I am." He was outside in the back yard. He couldn't open the front door so he climbed over the fence and tried the back. He even tried to get in the window grates. My heart broke knowing he couldn't get inside. I feel horrible. He was so sweet when he got in. He wasn't angry with me at all. I can't believe that happened. I hope it never happens again.

Preston had his first swimming lesson and loved it. He was really scared to go without his life vest. He had a great time when he was there but wondered why they "didn't want them to have any fun." There were slides there, but they didn't get to go on them. I tried to explain that they were there to learn to swim, not to play on the equipment . . . . he didn't buy that.

It's almost 11 and Preston woke up. I brought him upstairs. Time to go cuddle with my little boy.

Stoplight

There was a stoplight on the way to diving that went from green to yellow to green. I found that disconcerting.

As I lay in my bed reading a book I could hear singing. I was confused for awhile. Then I realized that it was Preston. I ran downstairs and lay outside his door. He was singing nonsense. It was so cute. The last words he sang was, "And now I go to bed." Priceless.

Substitute

Today consisted of games, games, church, Phineas & Ferb and games. Pretty awesome. I have the best calling in the church. It is primary substitute. In Georgia this is a horrible calling. There is always at least one teacher that just doesn't show up . . . usually more. Here I rarely get called. The teachers always show up, if I am needed they give me several days notice. Only once have I been called the day before. Amazing. What Sister Shaw would give for a primary like that!

Family Linner

My family came over for a late lunch . . . or an early dinner. We wanted to get together on a Saturday so we could swim! Mike & I are planning not opening the pool on Sundays. The weather today wasn't as perfect as yesterday, put it was pleasant for about an hour. Lucky for us that is the hour we wanted to go swimming. My dad, Bubs & Ange and Matt all came over. We played Quelf after dinner. Matt had to write a fairy tale. That was when he decided he would go play Dominion with his friends. Today was a really fun day. I hope Rachel had a fun day. I do not envy her today.

My dad with Jorja

Abbs & Ange
Ella Bella

Lincoln & Bubs

Lincoln

Ella, Grandpa & Lincoln

Grandpa, Stockton & Jorja

Abbs, Ange & Bubs

Abigail & Angela

Preston!