Dallin's Funeral

Dallin's funeral was today. I checked Jorja out of school and the two of us went. The funeral was by invitation only. There was something about being in a room where every single person loved Dallin that made everything so heartbreakingly beautiful. Dallin's brother spoke and it was so sweet. His mom and dad both spoke. They were amazing. They were articulate and powerful. Devastation was written upon their faces. If Jorja ever doubts how much she is loved, I hope she remembers what she witnessed at Dallin's funeral. Man I wish this didn't happen. 

I brought Jorja back to school just as lunch was starting. The second she got out of the car she saw Bode, that was perfect. I'm glad she is able to be surrounded by friends on this hard day for her.

Mike and I did some errands for the Amazing Race. We stopped by my mom's grave so we could get the exact gps coordinates. Today is my mom's and dad's 52nd wedding anniversary. It made me so happy to see these flowers my dad had left there. I sure do miss her. 

Chips

Jorja has been worried that her frog isn't eating. All of the frogs she had in the past loved to eat crickets. Chips just sat with a cricket on his back for a long time. Not sure what she is supposed to do.

Riley answered Jorja to Sweethearts today

 

We spent some time today making posters for Stockton. It was so much fun! Two more days!!! Jorja made a poster and then Preston accidentally made his poster on the back. Haha. It was so funny! Preston's poster makes me laugh. The kids sang songs on the way to drop Stockton off at the MTC. The last song they sang had the phrase 'too bad Daisy time' in it. So I laughed at Preston's poster.

Preston

Back of Preston's poster

Jorja

Mike

Stockton's 21st Birthday

I got to talk to Stockton today! He had a great day! Yesterday he was out of the district doing an exchange. He missed his regular district meeting and went to a different one. While he was gone the other missionaries planned a surprise birthday breakfast for him. How awesome is that! Stockton won a piñata at the Christmas white elephant. He brought it this morning. Looks like they had fun, but also looks like none of them know how a piñata works! Why is all the candy still on the floor?

Stockton had dinner with Nikki and her family. I got some pictures from both of them. Yay! There is a Cold Stone nearby, so I was able to order Stockton's traditional birthday cake and Nikki picked it up. I was so excited for this surprise! It was really the only surprise he had. Nikki also called me earlier and asked what his favorite meal was. I gave her a few options. They ended up making Chungus Burgers for him. Hahaha. Basically a hamburger with a fried egg on it. I loved having Nikki there to take care of him. It was so fun!

"Happy birthday"

Stockton with the Kenningtons

I loved talking to Stockton today. He sounded so happy. I'm so excited that I get to see him in less than a week! It's going to be great!

Okay, funny Jorja story. Jorja ordered some shoes for the dance next week. They were supposed to come last night. I was sleeping and I heard the door open. My first thought was someone was breaking into our house. I jumped out of bed and ran to the door. It was unlocked. I looked outside and then called for Jorja. I was wondering if it was her. She came around the bushes. She said sorry and that she didn't mean to scare me. She got a notification that her shoes had arrived so she was trying to find them. Sometimes the delivery people leave packages by the garage. It wasn't there. Sometimes we get notifications that our package has been delivered when it ends up coming the next day, so that is what I thought was going to happen. Nope. That is not what happened. Here is my text thread with Jorja....

Jorja sent me a screenshot of the order. The address had our street name, but not the number.

J: Do you think it's bad it doesn't say 24?

M: Yes

J: I put it in when I ordered it (side note: totally don't think she did....)

J: Uh oh

J: Who do you think they would give it to?

M: No idea. There are three Smiths on our street alone.

J: What should I do

M: Not like the UPS guy is going to know which ones.

M: I have no idea.

J: I'm so sad

J: I don't know how I messed it up

M: Details are important

M: life lesson

M: Sorry though

J: There's no way I wouldn't have put that on

M: I don't think they would have taken it off. Check the confirmation and see if it is there.

J: That is the confirmation

M: Dang it. Not sure what to tell you.

J: Do you think they'll come?? Should I order new ones??

J: Do you have the other smiths numbers so I can contact them?

M: I don't know.

J: Or whoever lives on #1??

M: I don't think it will necessarily be delivered to a Smith. The UPS guy won't know there are other Smiths on the street. Has it been delivered? Is this what you were looking for last night?

J: Yes

M: Absolutely no idea what you should do.

J: I'm so sad

M: Maybe wear your black shoes.

M: Sorry

J: I'm so stupid

M: Just need to slow down to go fast (I have been talking to her a lot about this concept)

M: And notice details.

M: Double check everything

J: Do you think they delivered it though??

J: There has to be something I can do

M: I don't know.

J: Ok well I might buy new ones

M: No

M: You don't have money

M: I don't think you should and it might not come in time anyway.

M: Chalk it up to a life lesson.

J: Everything is going wrong right now

J: I'm sick of it

M: No it isn't.

M: Some things are going wrong, but not everything.

J: Do you have the umber of who lives on 1

M: No

J: I will txt everyone on the street

M: Good luck

J: You don't have anyone's number?

J: Can you look in lds tools???

M: I have Becky's, Karen's and Yolanda's. I'm a terrible neighbor.

M: Do you think they would have left it at the gate?

J: Maybe

J: I don't know

M: I have that number

J: Could you call them?

M: No

J: Or maybe I could after school

J: Send me the number

I ended up thinking that if the driver just had the street address they might just drop it off at the first house. So, I went on a walk and this is what I found. I tried knocking, but no one answered. I wonder what Larry Smith would have thought when he saw a Nasty Gal package on his porch.

I sent Jorja this picture

M: You owe me so much, you have no idea.

J: Where'd you find it???

J: Yayyyy

M: I took it off of the porch at the first house

M: Like a thief.

J: I was going to check there after school

M: You have made me a criminal.

J: The Pepperwood guards will come arrest you

M: I knocked, but no one answered

M: I hope no one saw me and I hope there are no cameras.

J: I'm sure you're fine

M: Don't ever think I don't love you

J: Larry Smith is fine without a package from nasty gal at his door

J: I love you too!

Anyway, that was that. Jorja and the other sbos went to visit Brighton highschool and meet with their sbos. One of the students at Brighton killed himself a few days ago, so they were going to show their support to the Brighton community. 

Jorja & Layla

Sadler, Dallin, Jorja, Joe, Bode, Layla, Brenton, Marshall

I texted Dallin's mom today. I didn't know what to say, but I wanted to let her know how much Jorja cared about Dallin. We also saw that Dallin's dad started a scholarship for Dallin and they wanted that instead of flowers. Jorja donated to that. Cassie texted me back and asked if I got the direct message she sent on instagram. Whoops, I never checked those. She sent me a message Monday. I didn't even find out about Dallin until the next day, this would have blown my mind. The message said, "I wanted to reach out to you and Jorja about Dallin's passing. It isn't real to us yet and we are still in the depths of despair. Jorja was one of Dallin's bestest childhood friends and we want you both to know that we love you and will keep you posted on funeral arrangements." Can you believe that? I was shocked at that message. Here Cassie is facing the worst moment of her life and she is reaching out to me to let Jorja know she is loved. I know Dallin's parents loved him so much. They were always there. Both of them. So involved. I can't even fathom what they are going through right now. They will always be in my prayers.

On a happier note....here are pictures of Jorja's new frog....

Chips

Chips and Jorja

Jorja and her friends went to watch their friends play basketball. They decided they wanted to dress up like skiers. Don't know why.

Jorja

I knew Jorja was with Ella and sent her this picture of the two of them at the end of sixth grade

Jorja & Riley

Mike sent me a picture of Maysen and Bear

I spent today getting Jorja's end of the yearbook think ready. The other years they just had you send pictures and your caption. This year they had us put the pictures in a template. I accidentally sent the wrong picture for Stockton. I wrote to them and asked if they could use the new picture instead, they didn't. Oh well. Anyway, this is what Jorja's is going to look like.

Stockton's

Maysen's

Dallin's Obituary

Mike took Maysen and Preston skiing today. It was not crowded at all. Lots different than last time! Mike said they had a great time. I mostly worked on Jorja's dress today. Hope it turns out!

Dallin's obituary is up now. It is heart breaking. "Pain and grief this intense and dark can only be a reflection of the amazing love and light Dallin brought into our lives for nearly 18 years." He had so many accomplishments. Dallin was so smart. 35 on the act his first try, just like Jacob. He was so creative. I remember that about him. It is so sad that his parents aren't going to be able to watch him become an adult and see what he would have been able to accomplish. I can't even imagine. Dallin's parents wrote to him at the end of his obituary. I don't think I have ever seen that before, but I loved it. This is what they wrote...

"Lastly, to our son Dallin, we thank you for blessing our lives for the time you were here. Your broad amazing smile. Your infectious laugh. Your exclamations of "I did a thing" whenever you finished your most recent amazing creation. Your treats. Your mentoring of your younger siblings and cousins. Your kind, generous heart. Your wit. Your intelligence. Watching movies with you. Your desire to organize fun. The late-night talks about life. We will see you again, but until then, we will miss you dearly."

Dallin

I have been procrastinating writing this post. I don't really have words to describe what happened. Over the weekend Jorja found out that a student at Corner Canyon had died. The student body officers made a banner to show support for their school and brought it to them yesterday morning. Jorja couldn't go because she hadn't been cleared from quarantine. Anyway, this morning while Jorja was in class she was talking with Ella. Ella told her the boy who died was Dallin Walker. Jorja's heart dropped. She texted me immediately and my heart dropped. Dallin was Jorja's best friend in elementary school. They were always together. They played together every recess. Jorja was always with Jazzie and Dallin. Dallin was over here many times, Jorja was at Dallin's even more. Dallin and Jazzie went to a different middle school and high school. Jorja and Dallin emailed a bit in sixth grade, but eventually they grew apart. Just because they didn't see each other. I'm sure it would have been different if they had cell phones and an easy way to keep in contact when they started going to different schools. (Glad they didn't have cell phones that young though.) Anyway this has been a rough week for Jorja, I can't even imagine what Dallin's family is going through. I'm so thankful Dallin was a part of Jorja's life. Middle school was hard and she had a hard time figuring out where she belonged. I'm glad she didn't have to worry about that in elementary school. Jorja told me that Jazzie had other friends too but "Dallin and I just had each other." This boy was the sweetest and I'm grateful Jorja was able to know him.

Dallin & Jorja ~ last day of elementary school

Dallin, Jazzie and Jorja swimming in our backyard

Dallin at Jorja's 12th birthday party

Dallin swimming at our house again

The last time Jorja saw Dallin was in 9th grade. You would think it would be easier to keep in touch once they got older, but life gets in the way. Although Jorja and Dallin went to the same elementary school, the way the boundary's worked was kind of weird. He actually lived quite a ways from us. Not terrible, but he didn't live close enough to just drop by. Anyway, the three of them got together at Bahama Bucks around Christmas time their 9th grade year. Man I wish they would have done this more. I am so very thankful for these two great friends.

Jazzie, Jorja, Dallin

Fishes, Diving, and EFY

Today was a crazy busy day. Lots of things happening at the same time. I will break things up into three different sections. First, Maysen and Preston. Maysen is taking an Oceanography class at Utah State. They had a field trip at the aquarium by our house. Maysen asked if Preston would want to meet her here and go with her. He was SO EXCITED! Preston is the most vocal about missing Maysen and jumps at every chance to see her. Maysen told them they would have to be at the aquarium at 9:45 at the latest or Preston might not be able to in with her. Mike was there right on time. Maysen was driving through Bountiful. Oh boy. Once the bus arrived they wouldn't let anyone off of it because one more bus was still coming. Preston could see Maysen, but couldn't get to her.

Preston waiting for Maysen

 Maysen and Preston! Preston's much happier now!

 Preston eating lunch.

Mike picked up Preston around 2:00. He said Preston loved the field trip. Maysen headed back on the bus to Logan. How fun that he got to see her for a few hours. I wish I did! I couldn't see Maysen because Stockton had his regional diving competition. It was held at the U, so I needed to volunteer. Gavin's dad picked up Stockton at 6:30 this morning. Warm ups started at 7:00. Stockton and Gavin weren't scheduled to dive for a few hours, so Gavin's dad took them to breakfast. I was assigned to put the scores in the computer. It is an easy job, but I got soaked. The computer got soaked. Too bad for me, my cross stitch bag got soaked. I forgot it was under my chair. Once I realized I hurried and pulled everything out. I had all the papers and the fabric drying on the giant foam square thing behind me. So glad the red didn't bleed! Stockton did great on one meter. He placed high enough to go to Nationals in Florida. Yay! He actually wanted to go this year. Stockton has earned a spot to go to Nationals on other years, it just never worked out. Regionals are usually on Saturday and Sunday. They will have 3 meter on Saturday and 1 meter on Sunday. Then Nationals will have 1 meter on Saturday and 3 meter on Sunday. It is quite annoying. Anyway, this time they had one and three meter both on Saturday. It made for a really long day, but yay! 1 meter will be on Saturday at Nationals. 3 meter will be on Sunday, so Stockton will only compete in 1 meter. Here are a few of his dives.

Front 1 1/2

Front 2 1/2

Back 1 1/2

Inward 1 1/2

Mike dropped off Preston at the aquarium and then hurried up to the U to watch Stockton. He was able to watch him dive most of 1 meter. He had to leave to go back and pick up Preston and take Jorja up to Orem. He dropped Jorja off in Orem and raced back to Salt Lake to watch Stockton. He got to see the end of his 3 meter competition. Yikes! That's a lot of driving! Stockton also earned a spot to go to Nationals in 3 meter, but he is going to decline it because of the Sunday thing. I also worked the computer during this event. Stockton texted me after one of his dives and said that Gavin wasn't going to do his 205 (back 2 1/2). I showed the text to Gavin's dad who was announcing next to me.  Then Gavin failed his 107 (front 3 1/2). You can't fail two dives and make it to Nationals. He had to do it and land it, but he did not want to. His mom wasn't very happy with him. They had already bought tickets and everything. Stockton got Mickey to talk to him. I watched Mickey try to calm Gavin down, which raised my opinion of Mickey. Gavin went up on the board. He turned around like he was going to go for it, then he turned back around like he was just going to jump off, then he turned around again. He threw it and landed it. That was a lot of pressure. He was so scared. I don't know why he signed up for that dive. He hadn't even tried it for six months I guess. He was always too scared to do it in practice. Anyway, he made it to Nationals too, so that is great. Now we just have to find some cheap plane tickets!

Stockton ~ reverse tuck ~ there is a maximum degree of difficulty,

so Stockton had to lower some of his dives to meet that qualification.

Inward 1 1/2

Front 2 1/2

The dreaded back 2 1/2 ~ Stockton landed it!

Inward 2 1/2

Jorja got to go to a mini EFY today. It was held in Orem. Mike dropped her off, but she ended up hanging out with several boys. She loved that!

Evan, my favorite, and Jorja

 Isaac and Jorja

 Evan, Shafer, Jaren, Jorja, Dallin, Isaac

Jaren moved here from California at the start of the year. Jorja was so excited he was able to come. His family just bought a house in our neighborhood, although they won't be in our ward. They are staying in a rental house at the moment. I drove up to Orem to pick up Jorja. She tried to get some of the boys to ride home with us. They weren't allowed to. She found out later they went to In and Out. She was a bit sad. She says that sometimes she wishes she was a boy so she could hang out with them. She has more close friends that are boys than girls. Jorja would not enjoy being a boy. She is way too girly for that!

Escape Room Christmas

I made an egg free/dairy free gingerbread house this morning! It turned out better than the dairy free one. I'm so excited! Once I was finished with gingerbread, Jorja drove us to the store. She was looking for a few presents. While we were out Darby texted Jorja. He had asked her a week or so ago if she would dance in front of the whole school in the diversity assembly. She would be assigned a partner from the Latinos in Action club and they would be taught some kind of dance. Jorja was really excited about this. Well, Darby texted her today and told her they didn't need her anymore. That was disappointing. Oh well. Next, we then went and picked up J-A-Z-Z-I-E! Jorja met up with Jazzie and Dallin at Bahama Bucks. These guys were some of her best friends when she was in elementary school. They went to different middle schools and now go to different high schools. I was so happy to see them together!

Jazzie, Jorja, Dallin

 I can't believe Jazzie is taller than Jorja now!

 Still just as goofy!

Jorja, Jazzie, Dallin

Mike and I went to a Japanese hibachi restaurant while we waited to pick up Jorja. She was pretty jealous. She has wanted me to take her to one of those again for quite awhile. Mike and I decided to take the kids to an escape room tonight. Mike bought tickets and we texted the kids to be ready to go at 8:30. They thought we were taking them to see Star Wars and were pleasantly surprised when we ended up here. On the way down we stopped at Hallie and Gavin's house for Jorja and Stockton to drop off gifts. Mike picked a Harry Potter themed escape room. Before we went in they showed us how the locks worked. They told us not to pick up anything that was glued down. We were instructed to find six horcruxes and place them on their labeled spot. That was it. They left and locked us in. We had an hour to escape the room. This room had a 44% escape rate. We were able to do it with then minutes to spare. Most of the room is filled with logic puzzles. We were all working on different things at the same time. Everyone found something to help. It was pretty cool. It was also awesome because ten people can be in the room at one time. No one signed up with us so we were able to go by ourselves. Jorja loved it. She said it made her feel so smart. She wants to work there now. I want to write about it in detail, but I don't want to give away any spoilers . . . just in case.

Maysen, Stephanie, Jorja, Preston, Mike, Stockton

 Maysen and Jorja ~ she is blowing out her wand

 Maysen, Jorja, Stockton, Preston

 Jorja

 Maysen

 Stockton

 Preston

The kids were saying we should do this every Christmas Eve. I wonder if they would have liked it as much if we weren't able to escape. Everyone was so happy on the way home. When Jorja walked into the house she yelled, "Guess who is no longer suffering from crippling depression!" Haha! Welcome back Porge! We have missed you!

The kids all slept in the boys room and listened to Shrek sing the 12 Days of Christmas all night long. They said it was tradition. Mike and I were up until 1:30 in the morning putting together gingerbread houses. I was able to figure out egg free icing - and it worked!!! I'm so happy! I did a bag of powdered sugar, half a cup of water and 2 Tablespoons of Karo syrup. Who knew? Mike and I were completely exhausted when we were finally able to go to bed. Today was a very good day.