Logan Temple with Jorja

I woke up super early with my back just killing me. The beds were comfortable when I went to sleep. Story of my life. Anyway, I got up and roamed the hotel. I found out breakfast didn't start until 7:00, so I went to a corner on our floor and watched news reports about Ukraine. Praying hard for all the people there. Anyway, I had a delicious breakfast and then hurried to our room to get ready. I woke everyone else up in the process, but that's okay, it was time for them to get up anyway. I walked over to Jorja's room and waited while she got ready. I spent the time transferring her temple clothes to the bag I brought. While I was doing that it dawned on me that I didn't bring up garments. I asked Jorja is she had any. She said, "You said you were going to bring them up." I did say that. I just didn't follow through. I told her I forgot. I only had the bottoms I randomly bought at Deseret Book yesterday. Jorja thought for a second and she said, "I think I grabbed a top when I was home last time. I don't know why." She did! We were able to have everything she needed! When I bought the bottoms yesterday I had no clue I had forgotten them. It didn't even cross my mind. Same with Jorja. She doesn't know why she brought a top up. Heavenly Father was sure looking out for us on that one. Tender mercy. Anyway, I was worried we were going to be late. Jorja told me the temple was only five minutes away. I didn't think that was accurate. Nope. Jorja was right. We got there exactly on time. My dad was already there when we arrived. That was lucky because he gave me names when we dropped off Bear to be watched last night. I handed them back to him and he was able to give them to Mike and Stockton when he saw them. (I had forgotten to leave them with Mike.) Jorja had five friends come. Sami who came up from Sandy, she is going on a mission to Nauvoo. Clara who lives across the hall. Jorja is going to Seattle with her over spring break. Clara also is going on a mission to Paris. Annika, who we met when we were standing in line when we were waiting for ID cards when Jorja moved up here.... how cool is that! (She also changed her flight home so she could be there for Jorja. Wow!) Jorja's ambassador friend Alexa, who Jorja looks up to so much. And a girl from Jorja's ski class and Chinese class. Pretty awesome. When we came out of the temple it was snowing big flakes and was just beautiful!

Jorja & Stephanie 

Jorja

Sami, Jorja, Clara

Jorja

Stockton, Jorja, Maysen

Sami, Jorja, Clara

I told Jorja I wanted a picture where we did our pose. I kissed her forehead. Later when we were at lunch I looked at her and said, "That wasn't our pose! We were supposed to touch foreheads!" She laughed and said she was wondering what I was doing. Boooooo on me!

Jorja & Stephanie

Mike, Maysen, Jorja, Stockton, Stephanie, Dad

Mike, Maysen, Jorja, Stockton, Stephanie

Clara taking our picture

Mike took Maysen and Stockton back to the hotel to pick up Preston. The rest of us went to Jack's Wood Fired Oven. Then didn't open until 12:00, so we were 15 minutes early. The girls hopped in Clara's car and I got in my dad's. It was perfect because it gave Mike plenty of time to get back with the other kids. The pizza was really good. We had a cheese, a pepperoni, and some fun ones. Birds and the Bees was delicious. Chicken, honey and huckleberries. Jorja loved Cozumel which had shrimp and avocados on it. I only got a picture of Sunnyside which had eggs, bacon and potatoes. That was good.

After stuffing ourselves silly we drove back to Jorja's apartment while she packed. Stockton and Preston worked on Stockton's programming and played Battle Bots. We had to squish to take Stockton home. Then Jorja came back to Sandy with us. She went out with Paige later and I watched BYU lose to San Francisco. That was disappointing. Good thing the rest of the day was so great!

Preston's 12th Birthday

Preston is TWELVE! My baby, twelve. I think I'm going to cry. Because it is an even year, Preston was allowed to have a birthday party. I had been asking him if he wanted one and giving him different ideas. All he wanted was to be with his brother and sisters and go to an escape room. We decided to drive up to Logan. Jorja drove the entire way up and did a great job.

Jorja

We parked in Stockton's parking garage which is free on Saturdays. We didn't want to stop by Maysen's house because there was a football game going on. Utah State is ranked 14th in the nation. That is awesome. Maysen lives across the street from the football stadium. She is very annoyed when her street gets blocked off for tailgating. Anyway, I texted Maysen and Stockton when we left. Then I texted them that they we were here. We walked up to Stockton's apartment, but had to wait outside until someone came out so we could sneak in. Meanwhile we kept calling Stockton, but he was not answering. After about five minutes a giant group left his building. We skidattled right inside. We knocked and knocked and knocked on his room. Nothing. Finally I sat on the floor. Jorja and Preston were waiting in the lobby. Mike had gone back to the car to get something. Anyway, finally one of Stockton's roommates came to the door. I looked up at him from where I was sitting on the floor and asked if Stockton was there. He yelled, "Stockton! Your mom is here!" That made me laugh. Stockton was still asleep! He had his phone on silent so he slept through the million phone calls and texts. You are probably thinking we got there at 6:00 in the morning for Stockton to sleep through that. You would be wrong. This was around 12:30 in the AFTERNOON! How is it even possible to sleep that long? Anyway, that was the only snag in the day. We walked over to the TSC to have lunch in the school cafeteria. Preston wanted to eat there. He had eaten here when he stayed with Stockton while we went to the temple with Maysen in September. Jorja saw some friends she knew. There was a student government thing and two people from Alta were there. Preston cleaned up in the present department. He got a Nintendo Switch, a game and his favorite present . . . a duck whistle. He loved blowing that in the cafeteria.

Preston

We went to an escape room that was nearby. Preston picked the room. It was something set in the 50s. It was the hardest room they had. It was also awesome! I don't know how anyone finishes that room in an hour if they haven't gone through it before. We started off with a bang. Jorja found a major clue right away. Jorja was crazy. Every lock she tried opened. It was hilarious. Stockton was excited to open the letter lock when we figured out what the code was. While he was trying that I said, "Stockton, just so you know. Jorja's trying another letter lock that is over here." Sure enough, Jorja's was the right one. The gamemaster was in the room with us. That ended up being great. He laughed every time Jorja opened a lock. It was ridiculous how many opened for her. The thing that slowed us down the most was this dancing record player thing. It was super sensitive for how it was done. Still, even if we had gotten that right away, I doubt we could have finished in time. There were so many puzzles! It was great though. I would rather have it that way. The room was big and it was decorated like a 50s diner. It was so much fun. I love these rooms. Too bad they are so expensive and you can really only do them once. We loved it though, it was a great choice for Preston.

Mike, Maysen, Preston, Stephanie, Jorja, Stockton

Preston was very clear that he didn't want a birthday cake. He wanted birthday eclairs. He has been on an eclair kick recently. I was able to get Maysen's 21st birthday candles to work for Preston's 12th birthday. How cool is that? This time we remembered the candles, but forgot the lighter down in the car. Preston didn't care that much, so we just pretended they were lit.

Preston

We stayed in Stockton's apartment for a little while. Mike and Preston fiddled around with the Switch. Maysen, Stockton, Jorja and I played Tiki Topple. We weren't able to finish the game before it was time to leave, but I think we can all agree that I would have pulled out a victory. Even though Stockton was far ahead when we ended, I'm sure I would have had an amazing comeback.

Jorja, Stockton, Preston, Mike, Maysen

 Maysen, Stockton, Jorja and Preston

 Maysen, Stockton, Preston

I love how much my kids love each other. It makes my heart so happy. I hope they are always close. I hope they marry people who the others like. I hope they always try to be together and always want to be together. My favorite place is when I have all my kids with me. Sad that happens less and less now. I have always been hyper aware of this. There were so many times when the kids were little that I would try to memorize the moment in my mind. I have just loved being their mom so much.

Jorja asked for today off work, but ended up being scheduled from 7-10. At least we were still able to go to Logan, we just had to hurry back. One of her friends wanted to hang out with her today. She told him that she was going to be in Logan for her brother's birthday. He was not nice about that. He told her something like, "Maybe people would be more willing to hang out with you if you didn't always have your 'brother's birthday' or 'family things'." Wow. I am so glad this kid is just a friend. If Jorja liked him I think I would lose my mind. He just seems very controlling.

My dad came over tonight. He gave Preston a funny birthday card with some money in it. The outside of the card said, "Here's your birthday card." The inside said, "Here's the inside." My dad wrote, "Have some money. Good talk." Hahahaha! Perfect for Preston. Scoop and Cori came over while my dad was still here. They brought Preston a few gifts. They got him a cool robot thing called Cozmo and a nano drone. That will be fun for Preston.

Preston

 Preston and Mike

 Preston ~ finally able to blow out his candles

 Cori, Scoop, Ron (my dad), Preston, Mike with ducks

 This picture one more time, because I love it. Maysen, Stockton, Jorja, Preston

What a great birthday! I hope he loves being twelve!

Quick Trip

I didn't take any pictures today, but I should have! Today I went up to Logan. Maysen and I went through the Logan Temple. It was great. It was nice to spend so much time with her. We were able to talk in the Celestial room and it was just perfect. I felt sick through the session though. I'm glad I didn't have to leave. Before we went to the temple we went to Noodles and Company. My food was pretty gross and I paid for it during the session. Besides that, it was a perfect day. Maysen and I stopped by Logan High School on the way home. We were hoping to get tickets to Singing in the Rain. They need to see that as part of their arts class. Too bad we just missed their office hours. That would have been nice to get taken care of. We did stop by the bank and order checks for Maysen, then we stopped by the store. We bought milk and eggnog for Stockton. We tried to drive up to his place, but I couldn't find any parking. Finally we went back down to the football stadium and took the bus up. When we were getting off we ran into one of Maysen's friends named Quinton. It was fun to see Stockton. We stayed and talked to him for awhile. It's hard to say goodbye though. I did want to make it through the canyon before it got too dark, it had been snowing off and on throughout the day. I made it home just fine. I just wish I had taken some pictures with my babies.

Temple with Maysen

Mike and I have now been married 23 years! What better way to celebrate than to go through the temple with Maysen for the first time. It was the best day. The weather was perfect. Maysen was so sweet. I just loved it so much. Mike and I took Maysen for breakfast at the Waffle Iron before heading to the temple for our afternoon session. I was Maysen's escort. I have never been in the Logan Temple before. It definitely was built a long time ago. It was cool. The locker rooms were huge too! I was separated from Maysen in the locker room and waited for her in the instruction room. The assistant to the matron talked to us for awhile. She was really nice and kind. Maysen's temple escort was super nice. She took us down a different hallway to the endowment room. "Only brides and people going through the temple for the first time get to come down here." It was really cool to be in the celestial room with Maysen. My dad, Mike, Bubs, Ange, Matt and Sam were also there. Maysen's temple escort asked us if we would want to get our picture taken in our white clothes. I had never thought about that. We had to change into church shoes and were supposed to meet her in front of the bridal door. She wanted to take us out that door because 'the flowers were just beautiful.' Well, two other temple workers did not like her idea at all. Finally one of the said, "Might I suggest that you go back and change into your regular clothes. This is highly unusual what you are asking to do." By this time I was really excited about the idea. I love Maysen's temple dress and I wanted a picture of her in it. I said sounding disappointed, "Really, we can't do it?" The other lady said, "Well, I can't stop you . . ." She started to say something else but I interrupted with 'Great!' We were told we needed to go out the front door. No worries there. We did make sure everyone had their recommend so they could get back in the temple. It did make us laugh and I love the pictures. The temple escort whispered to me as she was walking us out, "I don't know why you wouldn't want to take your pictures in your temple clothes, I thought it was a great idea." Haha. She was great.

Maysen

Maysen's wearing a necklace Jorja gave her before she left for college.

 Mike, Maysen, Stephanie

 Dad, Mike, Ange, Maysen, Bubs, Stephanie, Matt, Sam

Sam had asked someone to take our picture. After we got the picture in front of the flowers the girl asked if we wanted one with the temple in the background. Hahahaha! I would have been so annoyed if I had forgotten to do that! We are kind of in shadows, but still!

Sam, Matt, Dad, Mike, Maysen,Stephanie, Ange, Bubs

Once all the group pictures were done I asked my dad to take some pictures Mike and I with Maysen. That way the lady Sam got didn't have to stay. Matt and Sam had to take off to get back home. Logan is a ways away. After my dad took some pictures I asked Ange if she could take some. When my dad asked why I wanted more when he just took some. Mike said, "She's hoping Ange won't have her finger over the lens." Haha! Here is my dad's picture.

Maysen, Stephanie, Mike

Ange got some great pictures. She kept going back in the shadows. She said she always things pictures taken with the camera in the shadows turns out better. I never knew that. She also was crouched super low on the ground to get the top of the temple in. She was great.

Maysen, Stephanie, Mike

 My dad, Maysen, Stephanie, Mike

 Stephanie, Maysen, Mike

 Maysen

My dad had brought up Jorja and Preston when he came. He dropped them off with Stockton before heading to the temple. We all drove to Stockton's apartment, except Matt and Sam who had already left. Stockton had taken the kids to lunch at the Marketplace. They spent most of the rest of the time playing Super Mario I think. Stockton showed everyone around his room. Bubs and Ange had to take off and get back to their kids. They were being watched at President Back's house by his daughter who is one of Ange's good friends. My dad went with my family to Olive Garden before he headed home. We stopped by Maysen's apartment so Mike could look at her tablet that had stopped working. Luckily the plug had just been knocked loose and she hadn't noticed. We like fixes like that. We were glad we were able to get into Maysen's parking lot. She lives across the street from the football field. There was a game today, and the road gets shut down. They had just started opening it up when we arrived. We were able to drive Stockton back to his apartment before we made the long drive home. Utah State had a giant win, so that was good. I drove home and made it just in time to watch the BYU game. Too bad they lost. Oh well. The rest of the day was perfect.