Stockings

Elizabeth and Audrey came with us to church again. That was great. It was the fifth Sunday, so the second hour we had a random combined lesson. It was on not falling for scams from others, especially church members. Just the kind of lesson you want to bring an investigator to.

Today was also Ian Valentine's mission farewell. He did a great job. He talked about prayer. That talk was perfect for Elizabeth. My favorite story he told was silly. He wanted to get Isaac Johnson a present for his 13th birthday, but he didn't have a lot of money. At the time Isaac loved Buster Posey, a baseball player for the San Francisco Giants. Ian bought a pack of baseball cards, then he went home and prayed that Buster Posey would be in that pack. When Isaac opened the present, the card on top was Buster Posey. Haha. That's so funny! I loved that.

Ian is also going to Arizona. Pheonix Arizona speaking Spanish. Another boy from our ward, Dylan Heaton is there. That would be cool if they were able to cross paths. Three missionaries from our ward are in Arizona right now. Julie is amazing and got Ian this crazy Arizona cake. Sorry Stockton that your mom doesn't pull things off like this!

Ian's cake ~ after

 Ian's cake ~ before

I spent a lot of time texting Rachel today. I have made stockings for three of her girls. She has had a hard time deciding which stocking to pick for Mina. I sent her several choices today. It's hard, because there are so many cool ones. And this is the last stocking. While I have been waiting for her decision, I have been working on Rachel's stocking. She bought a nativity stocking years ago, but never had the time to work on it. I told her I would do it for her. My dad brought the stocking back after he visited them for Mina's baptism. I'm hoping to get Mina's finished before Christmas. I can't stand the thought of all the kids having a stocking from me except her. It's not like she is a baby and has no idea. Anyway, this is how far I am on Rachel's stocking. I'm getting old. It is MUCH harder to see the fabric now! I always thought that was crazy when people couldn't see close up. Welp, I get it now and it is not fun.

I sent Rachel pictures of my family's stockings while she was trying to make a decision. I love them, so I'm going to put them on here. (Except I don't love Mike's. He likes it though, so I guess that is all that matters.)

 My stocking when I was growing up

 The stocking I made for my mom

 Mina's future stocking

Harry Potter and Toy Story

Mike downloaded the new Harry Potter game on my phone and his. It is similar to Pokemon Go. We had fun playing that today. Maysen and Preston weren't interested. We did go see Toy Story 4 today. Yesterday we watched all three Toy Story movies to prepare. I worked on Rachel's stocking as we did that. I liked Toy Story 4 okay. Jorja saw it yesterday in Taiwan. She said it was okay, but they should have stopped at 3. She said this movie felt unnecessary. I agreed with her. It was fun to get out with the kids though.

Mike and Preston

 Preston & Maysen at IHOP

 I love how well these two get along, even though they are nine years apart.

 This is the only photo I found from Jorja today.

I didn't hear a thing from her today. I'm sure she is okay. She doesn't have WiFi very often, so it is unpredictable when she is able to send me a message. She is loving Taiwan. I miss her, but I am thankful she was able to have this opportunity. Experience of a lifetime!

Taiwan Temple

Jorja got to go to the Taiwan temple yesterday with a few friends. She said it was her favorite experience so far, which is saying a lot because she has LOVED this trip. She said it was so cool to hear everything in Mandarin. This makes me so happy! I'm also thrilled she has had an opportunity to use the language she has been studying since 2nd grade. Hopefully she will love it even more now.

Old Faithful

Mike had everything ready to go in the motorhome last night, so this morning we were able to just drive away. Bubs had warned us that parking gets crazy at Old Faithful. Because we were in a motorhome, we wanted to get there really early. They didn't have people outside the gates taking payments, so we just drove on through. There was hardly anyone waiting on the benches at Old Faithful this early. The benches were covered in dew, so we should have brought something to wipe them off with, but it wasn't too bad.

Mike, Preston, Maysen ~ sometimes it is really hard for Mike to take pictures

 Waiting for Old Faithful

There she goes!

We walked around some of the paths in the morning. That was pretty cool. We didn't go too far though.

Maysen, Preston, Mike

 This looks so fragile ~ hard to tell with the picture, but it is really beautiful

We got such a kick out of this little critter. We watched him for a long time.

We were about to leave when we noticed Old Faithful was about to erupt again. There were A LOT more people this time! We walked right up and were able to have a fantastic view. The benches were full, but there was space in between. The last time it erupted there was steam everywhere. This time it was easier to see. I guess it was just that much colder in the morning. The sky was so beautiful today. 

Old Faithful

 Preston & Maysen

 Maysen & Preston ~ that kid adores his big sister

 Preston on the drive to the Lower Falls

Bubs told us to go to the Lower Falls. The Lower Falls and Upper Falls are pretty close together, but he said if we only had time for one to choose the Lower Falls. Good thing too, because the Upper Falls was closed. I'm glad we stopped here. It was a bit tricky to find a place for the motorhome to park, but Mike is amazing and got us a spot. There was a perfect little hike. Maysen loved it. She said it was exactly what she wanted to do. It was so pretty too.

 Mike, Maysen, Preston

 Maysen

 Maysen & Preston

 Stephanie & Mike

 Lower Falls

 Hard to tell how big it is from this top view

 Mike & Stephanie

 Maysen

 Mike, Preston, Maysen

We drove North to the top of Yellowstone because the guy at the information desk told us that was the best place to see animals. Well, it was a SCARY drive in the motorhome and we didn't see any animals. I wish we didn't do that. I was sure glad when that was over. We took a big loop and headed back to Montana to do the rope course again. We could have cut across Yellowstone and saved us a couple of hours and several scary moments. Anyway, because we got rained out yesterday they let us go on the course again. This time Mike followed Preston and I followed Maysen. This was so much fun! Of course Mike has been trying to figure out how he could build one in our backyard. Oh boy.

Stephanie, Maysen, Preston

 The lower part of the spider web is pretty easy, but the upper part is scary! It's all in the angles.

The lower part you are able to lean into the rope, the upper part you lean away from it.

 Preston

 Nice spot for a nap

The kids loved this frozen yogurt place we found. We had dinner there tonight. Maysen and Preston shared a crepe.

 Maysen & Preston

We stopped by the stores one more time. Preston wanted a jacket like Maysen. We found a perfect one for him and he loves it. Last stop...home. Mike drove all the way home tonight. We got home about midnight. Maysen and Preston both wanted to stay sleeping in the motorhome, but Mike and I were able to enjoy our own bed. What a quick, fun trip! The kids loved it!