Last Meal

Stockton and Alyssa had their early morning photo shoot. Glad I didn't have to wake up that early. We had a fun day with family here! So cool that Rachel, Matt and Sam were all able to come. Mike and Christen couldn't come because Blake is playing in the Little League World Series in Waco, Texas. We watched his game on ESPN again. It was sooooooo awesome. Blake got a hit and then he got hit. He was on first and the catcher threw the ball to first to try and get Blake. Blake dove back to first and the ball hit him right on the elbow. Scary. It was fun to watch Blake, but his team lost and they are out of the tournament. What an incredible experience.

Aubrey and Blake

The ball left seams in Blake's elbow

The kids had so much fun with Bear. Bear was a good sport. Although I wonder if he was signaling help with his eyes.

We left this afternoon to check into our hotel. We had booked a hotel close to the temple before I knew my family was coming. They stayed at our house and had a great time. We went for a last family meal with the original six. We went to Kitchen 88 and it was delicious. Jorja wasn't feeling well though.

Jorja, Maysen, Stockton, Preston, Mike, Stephanie

Mike spent the rest of the night working on a wedding slide show. Maysen told him to use 'Mario Love Song' It ended up being perfect. I forgot my steamer and was annoyed at myself. I tried to use the hotel iron for the dresses, but it seemed like the iron was going to ruin them. I decided to just go home and get the iron. Lame. I did get to talk with Rachel and Sam for a bit when I was there. I hurried back. The kids were all asleep. Going to be a busy, fun day tomorrow!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l5pTbtGT3vw&feature=youtu.be

Blake's on ESPN

Today was a LONG day. Mike and I got up around 4:00 in the morning and headed to the cabin. There was a lot of construction right before we got there. I was getting antsy because I had a game I wanted to watch. We ended up arriving at the cabin just in time for Mike to start work and for me to watch Blake play in the Little League World Series on ESPN. It was AWESOME! Blake's team lost, but Blake was amazing. He got a lot of screen time. It was incredible watching him. So so so so fun.

Mike and I bought food for Stockton and Alyssa. They are going to spend there honeymoon here at the cabin. We stocked up the fridge and left them with a $50 gift card to the grocery store. We also left them a few gifts.

Once Mike was finished with work and we had everything ready at the cabin we headed home. We arrived home to find Alyssa's parents in the driveway. They had taken Stockton and Alyssa to dinner and Leatherbys. Stockton was gathering a few things and is going to stay the night at Alyssa's house. They are getting bridal pictures taken super early tomorrow morning. Stockton is planning on getting up at 4:15 and Alyssa is planning on getting up at 2:45. So...... I'm glad I am not them.

Matt and his family are staying at our house this weekend. They got here while we were gone. Rachel got here tonight. She brought Mina, Grace and Eve. So we have a houseful this weekend! It's going to be great!

WORLD SERIES!!!

Jorja and Audrey on their way to school

So.....Game 7 of the World Series was today. Mike and Blake flew out to Texas to go see it. One of Christen's sisters lives five minutes away from the stadium, so that's convenient. Mattress Mack met Mike and Blake outside the stadium to personally give them their tickets. He said, "Sorry I was late, I was talking to Bregman." Haha. Mike thanked him and told him good luck. He said that two great teams were playing today. This guy has to be one of the coolest guys on the planet. He made Mike's dream come true. Mike was a total stranger a week ago, and he cheers for the opposite team. Who randomly does this? To top it all off, the Nationals ended up winning to World Series, and Mike was there to see it! Amazing!

Blake, Mattress Mack, Mike

We got to text Mike throughout the game. That was so fun. Mike was soooo pumped when the Astros took Grinke out. He told all the Astros fans around him that it was a huge mistake. I'm sure they all agreed. What a game!

 Blake

Scoop and Cori came by to drop off a birthday present for Jorja. She was at work when they came. They got her some air pods and she is pretty excited with that present.

Jorja

Jorja dressed up in Preston's Halloween costume to do her last red ribbon week video. It was funny, but I can't find the recording. So, here are some low quality pictures of Jorja in Preston's costume.

Luigi Jorja

Jorja Called!

I was able to talk to Jorja today! She called me on the Line app. It worked! She sounded so happy...and tired. They went to a carnival today. I am kicking myself for not setting up google photos on her new phone. I can only see what she sends or posts. It makes me happy to see her happy, even if she is so far away.

Trevor & Jorja

 Ethan, Jorja, Trevor

 Abby & Jorja

 Jorja

Blake had his championship game today. His team won 22-2. They left no doubt in that game! It was fun to follow along on the app when I could. It didn't work for me the first part of the game, so Mike had to keep me updated. Glad he gets to have this experience. How fun!

Puppet Plaque

We finally sent in the information to get Stockton's mission plaque done. For the last few years this has been part of my calling. Stockton's been out almost five months and we finally got it done. The hard part was finding a picture. Stockton didn't shave until right before he got set apart. Most of the pictures he sends home are of sunsets. This picture though... this is Stockton. Totally his personality. He told me that if he is going to be doing this for two years he might as well have fun with it. The puppet Stockton is holding was given to him by a member in Safford. He had dinner at her house and she made him a puppet. Stockton loves it.

 It will be nice to see Stockton's plaque move up! I sure do miss my boy.

We had a ward parent missionary dinner tonight at the Clark's house. It was so much fun. I think all the parents were able to come except Severine's and Jordan's. Landon comes home in six weeks. Wow! Soon the Maxfield's will be kicked out of our club! Jaxson is the next one coming home. Suzanne said, "No worries about me! I'm circling around!" Haha! She also has Dylan out who comes home in January and Noah has his call and will be leaving this summer. Noah actually leaves one week before Jaxson gets home. Wow. She had three missionaries out earlier too, when Indy was out. I guess that is what happens when you have lots of boys and two of them are twins.

Blake had his championship All Star game today. They came through the loser bracket, so they have to win this team twice. Mike gave us his login and password for the Game Changer app and we were able go get updates on his game. Blake's team won, so they will play tomorrow for the official championship. Fun!

Skype Interview

I picked up Jorja from school and we drove to Provo with Flat Stanley. I wanted to get a picture of him in front of the Y since he has a Y on his shirt. Too bad the Y is really hard to see.

Flat Stanley

 Flat Stanley pointing at the Y

We tried to make last minute plans with Michael while we were here, but he was at work. Jorja and I went to Bowl of Heaven and had some açaí bowls. They were delicious. Jorja's was better than mine.

Jorja

We swung by the Provo City Temple on the way to the freeway and decided to take Flat Stanley there for a bit. I wanted to go into the visitor center thing and get a picture of him in front of the Christus Statue, but Jorja said that was weird. There were a lot of people in there dressed in their church clothes, so I decided not to push it.

Flat Stanley

 Jorja and Flat Stanley

Jorja had her Taiwan interview today. It was over Skype. She is hoping to be picked to go to Taiwan this summer. It would be for three weeks. She would go to ten different high schools and meet with the kids there. She would stay with a host family. That is what she would do the first week. Two high schools a day. The second week she would be trained on whatever service project they are planning and the third week they would do the service project. This would be such a great opportunity for her and an amazing experience. She would be so good it too. She definitely isn't shy. Most of the interview was done in English, but a little was in Chinese. Jorja told them a little about herself in Chinese. One of the things she told them was she loved frogs. They laughed and told her that she would love Taiwan then. Hopefully that is a good sign! Jorja will find out next week if she is chosen.

Jorja spent the rest of the night doing homework and making a poster to answer Gavin to prom. She gathered pictures she had of them for it. It was funny looking for the pictures. She has known Gavin for years, but most of the pictures are of Gavin and Stockton. We were able to find plenty of the two of them though.

Jorja

 Finished

I laughed way too hard when I saw what Jorja sent for her streaks. Boom cow. That thing cracks me up. Jorja taking a picture of him being thrown in the air made me laugh and laugh. Little things amuse me I guess.

Jorja & Boom Cow

Flat Stanley

Blake sent us his Flat Stanley. This was the first day we were able to go out and get some pictures. I think Blake's class is doing Flat Stanley a little bit different, but I'm not sure. I think he is supposed to do a report on Utah with the pictures we come up with. I don't know for sure if that is the case, but I thought getting pictures with mountains in the background would be a good start. Also, we took pictures of Flat Stanley with Kiki.

Jorja & Flat Stanley

 Flat Stanley

Jorja, Kiki & Flat Stanley

 Flat Stanley & Mike

 Mike, Flat Stanley, Jorja, Kiki

 Kiki & Jorja

Jorja worked from 5-9:30 today. Right before she headed to work Noah asked if she could hang out. She told him she had work. He went to Chick-Fil-A but didn't see her. That was because she was working the window. If he had gone drive thru he would have seen her. Traven got back from his soccer tournament in St. George and called to see if she could hang out. She had just walked in the door. She told him she had to write a talk for tomorrow. I'm glad that even though she didn't get to go on any dates this weekend she has to know that people still enjoy hanging out with her. Also, I'm glad she started working on her talk today, even if it was at 10:00 at night!

Mike at Lagoon

Preston had scout camp today.  We got him up and out the door by 7:30.  Today is also my family reunion at Lagoon.  That is why I'm skipping scout camp today.  Preston seemed to like it.  It was a construction camp and they had a lot of building activities.  Preston made a Minecraft bead thing.  It was really cute.  I thought he must have used a pattern that was available.  Nope.  He made up the design himself.  Mike left Lagoon and picked him up.  He got here close to 5. It is nice having season passes.  Max was so excited to see him and they were off.  I didn't see him hardly at all.  Poor Maysen had also been waiting for Preston to ride some rides with her.  She waited a long time at the pavilion for Preston to come back.  I don't think he had any clue Maysen wanted to be with him.  Maysen doesn't really know my family at all.  We only see each other twice a year if I'm lucky.  She is a lot older than the first cousins on my side.  I wish she had a good cousin friend she could be with on my side of the family.  Stockton is in the same boat.  The difference with Stockton is he is obsessed with Anne. He took Anne off by himself for a long time.  Mike found him and snapped some pictures.  I think Anne was in heaven!

Stockton & Anne

Why is this post titled Mike at Lagoon?  Well.....I'm not talking about my husband Mike, I'm talking about my brother Mike.  I was getting everything ready to leave when my brother Mike called.  He said, "What are you doing today?"  "Ummm....going to Lagoon....what are you doing....you aren't in town are you?"  "Not yet"  "WHAT!!!  Did you know it is Lagoon day?"  This is the point where I panic and think I need to make a decision.  Should I go to Lagoon and see my extended family or stay with Mike.  I was trying to think fast to see if I could change plans that quick.  Mike laughed and said he was coming to Lagoon too.  I don't know why that wasn't my first thought.  He decided yesterday to come.  He brought Skye, Larkin and Blake.  I was so excited!  It was so much fun to see him!  Mike arrived a little after 1:00. I kept checking my phone so I wouldn't miss it when he texted me.  I was sitting with Tammi when I said, "Mike is at In-and-Out in Draper, so he will be here in about an hour probably."  About thirty minutes later Tammi noticed my husband playing with Jorja.  She said, "Wait! Mike's back there...do you mean your brother Mike is coming?"  Yep. She was pretty excited to see him.  I can't remember if she had to leave to get the twins back to Idaho before Mike got here or not.

Mike said the one ride Skye really wants to go on is Cliffhanger. Maysen wanted to go on that too because that is the only ride at Lagoon she has never ridden.  I told Skye she would get really wet.  She looked confused.  Maysen, Skye, Larkin, Heather, Max, my dad and Cathy headed down there.  Larkin was too short so my dad waited with her. He was so excited about getting out of this!  My brother's usually call this ride the Dishwasher.  This time the ride really scared me.  I didn't feel like I was held in well.  I was holding on tight in case the seatbelt popped open.  A lot of good that would have done.  I don't think I have ever felt like that on a ride before.  Anyways, when we were finished Skye told me she thought we were going on Cannibal.  That is the ride she really wanted to go on.  Oops!  My dad took Larkin on Wild Mouse while we were waiting.  Then Larkin, Skye, my dad and I rode it again. I was with Larkin and Skye, Mike was with Blake.  We switched later in the day so Mike could ride some big kid rides too.  Mike was able to take Skye and Larkin on both Wicked and Cannibal.  I'm sure other rides as well.  I had fun hanging out with Blake.  He is adorable.  Blake and Anne had so much fun together.  When it was pretty late we took them to the little kid bumper cars.  Blake loved it right off the bat.  The first time Anne went she was stuck the entire time.  We decided to give it a try.  I would walk in with her and straighten her car out.  Oh man! She spun and spun in circles with the biggest smile on her face.  Blake and Anne rode that ride for over an hour . . . until the park closed.  As soon as the ride would end Blake would run off it and back into the line.  They never had to wait, so it was pretty cool.  I remember doing that when I was little.

Blake

 Blake & Anne

 Anne

 Blake

Mike and I took two separate cars to Lagoon.  I drove up Maysen, Jorja and Preston.  Stockton drove the jeep with Mike.  Mike and Stockton left Lagoon early and drove up to the cabin.  Stockton had four more night hours of driving he needed, so they decided to do this.  Nice that he has learned how to drive a stick shift too.  Mike didn't call me when they got there, but the door alerted me, so I know they were safe.  My brother Mike is staying here with three of his kids.  I'm so happy!