75 Years Old

Today was my mom's birthday. She would have been 75 years old. Crazy. I can't even imagine. I worked today, but my dad and I went to lunch at Zao's. I had book club tonight at Becky Johnson's house. That was a fun way to end the day. It looks like Jorja has been having a lot of fun at her ambassador retreat. She won't be here next year along with a few other people that are going on missions. When the ambassadors have their classes, Jorja and these future missionaries get to hang out. I think she has really enjoyed that.

Jorja & Maya

Hannah, Jorja, Emily

Housing Secured!

We got up early this morning and made it to Steve & Sharon's cabin by 7:45. Sharon got us all geared up and we headed to the river. We had two great runs. Two rafts on the first one and one on the second. Mike was able to go on the first one. We both used our wetsuits and I ended up being so grateful for that! Sharon had Tage and Dallin each have a turn on the stick. That was great! Mike went back to the cabin after the first run. Sherry was going to be there before the second run was over. I decided to keep my wetsuit on for the second run even though multiple people told me I would be too hot. Usually the second run is pretty hot and I just wasn't sure what I should do. Well, it wasn't today. It was colder than the first run. (That rarely happens!) I was very thankful I kept it on because I was cozy the entire time! We hit some good waves the second run and we were covered! It was also fun to see Sharon enjoying the raft. The second run had a lot of people since we only had one boat and only two less people from the previous run. Sharon just got to ride and she enjoyed every second of it!

When we finished the runs and finished cleaning up, Tage, Dallin and I watched a video with Steve, Sharon and Ruby. (Ruby is a 12 year old girl that was at the cabin with Sharon's brother and sis-in-law. They were planning on staying until Friday, but their daughter called early in the morning to tell them that her water broke and she would be having her baby, five weeks early. Stockton style.) Ruby also LOVED Tage. She thought Tage was the coolest person she ever met. Tage was also super nice to her. It was really cute. After the rafting video, Steve took us back to our cabin. I ran in and got rafting pictures that had my mom in it. This was taken on her birthday in 1993. The last birthday she had before she got cancer. She probably had cancer in these pictures and just didn't know it. I snapped some pictures before handing them to Steve. It is hard giving up pieces of my mom, even though giving them to Steve & Sharon will be so much better than having them stuffed in a drawer. One of my favorite things about these pictures is my mom's handwriting on the back. It's awesome. I love looking at her name. She wrote the best cursive rs. Anyway, I gave them to Steve and Sharon for their collection. Crazy this was her birthday. I miss her. 

Mike was gone when we got back. He was at the lake with the Hardys. They had fun playing with the jet ski. Xander and Miah loved it! The Hardys also brought their dog Nagi. Bear and Nagi had fun playing on the beach. Luckily they are getting along.

Scoop and Cori arrived shortly after Mike got back from the beach. Perfect timing. This is the first time Mike's dad has been here and Mike loved showing him around.

We had hamburgers and played games. We had a giant Canadian Salad game. I thought I had tied Mike with 20 points (which is an excellent score on that game) but I missed a trick and ended up taking second with 30 points. Everyone else was in the 100s I think, but I still lost by 10. Fun that Mike won that though.

The best thing that happened today was Stockton and Alyssa secured housing! Alyssa noticed that housing was being opened again on July 6th at 9:00. Ten spots were available. They got everything ready and decided to send two emails. Stockton sent his right at 9:00 and Alyssa sent hers at 9:00 and 20 seconds. Stockton got an email saying he got in if the forms were filled out and the deposit paid in the next 24 hours. Alyssa got one saying that they were sorry, they got over 100 applications in 10 minutes. Wow! So thankful they will have a place to stay in the fall! They put a 1 bedroom as their first choice and a 2 bedroom as their second. They will find out in a couple of weeks which one they get. So relieved and thankful they were able to get in!!!!!

Feels Like Georgia

I got Preston off to school this morning. He has been great at getting up at 6:00 and taking a shower every morning. Considering the last year he stayed in his pajamas and showered a couple times a week this is amazing. Haha. I hurried to the store and bought sunscreen for Jorja. I got home right as she was leaving. Shelby was already there. They are going up to Bear Lake for an ambassador retreat. I'm excited for her. I think she will love it. Today felt like Georgia. I was so lucky to be able to go with Janet and Teresa to breakfast. Janet was in town from Georgia because of Tracy's 40th high school reunion up in Idaho. She stayed for education week. I found out that on Friday Tracy and Janet were jet skiing at Palisade Reservoir. Ahhhh! How funny would it have been if we happened to run into them up there? Teresa was in town from Texas because she drove Weston up to BYU. Anyway, the stars aligned perfectly and we were able to have breakfast together in Orem. On Janet's birthday. How cool is that? The other reason it felt like Georgia was because it rained like it does in Georgia. It was pouring buckets and buckets. I drove so slow and was nervous for Jorja. Luckily she and Shelby made it there just fine. I did love listening to the rain all day though.

Teresa, Stephanie, Janet   

We were talking about how Teresa keeps going lighter and lighter with her hair. I told them that Jorja kept going darker and darker. I texted Jorja and asked her to send me a picture. I got these back. Haha. Love that girl!

Jorja

Teresa is going to help Payton and Kinsie move into their new apartment later today. Their apartment is attached to the place we ate breakfast. TruReligion. Kind of fun!

Mike and Stockton made dinner today. They made omelets in the waffle iron. I just had a lazy rest of the day. Today would have been my mom's 74th birthday. It's crazy that her mom lived 43 years longer than she did. I'm jealous. My dad sent us a message on our family group chat. I loved it. I sure do miss her.

25 Years is a Long Time

Jorja got two more graduation cords today. The yellow one if for having a high gpa and the blue one if a bi-literacy cord. Didn't expect that but it's pretty cool. Jorja also got her second covid shot today, so she is fully vaccinated now.

Jorja

There was a duck on our house today

Today was a hard day. I expected that, but I didn't expect how hurt I would get. Jorja had a busy day. School, test after school, youth activity and senior sunset. I got a text from her around 3:00 that said she was going to dutch bros but would be back in time to take her test then go to the youth activity. I have no idea why, but I thought she was going to Dutch Bros for me. I didn't expect it and thought it was really sweet. I have no idea why I thought she would go for me, but I did. She knows I love hot chocolate and this is exactly the kind of thing Jorja does. She likes to drop off Dutch Bros or Swig if people are sad or have had a hard day. Well, I waited and waited and was getting anxious that I wouldn't get the things I wanted to done, but I didn't want to miss Jorja. I wanted to run to the store and pick up flowers and spend some time at my mom's grave before the youth activity. I was running out of time so I checked Find My Friends. It showed she was at Riley's house. My heart sank and I was so sad. She had forgotten about me and was just with Riley for the millionth time. I just felt so alone. I saw Jorja at the youth event, but she didn't even spend one single second of her day with me. I was unbelievably hurt. My other kids didn't go bring me something, but they were at least here during the day, plus that isn't something they generally do. Jorja does it for everybody.... except me. I left the house, picked up flowers and stopped at my mom's grave. I laid down there, cried and fell asleep. I had my alarm set, but I got a call from my dad waking me up. He said, "I'm at the dog park, where are you?" I told him I was at Mom's grave. Anyway, I left the cemetery in time to get to the activity Preston and Mike had put together.  

Preston and Mike have been working on a real life Among Us game. They had several different tasks, ways to make people imposters or crew members, video cameras, all sorts of things. The kids were in pairs with a rubber band around their ankles. I was in the medic room where we had operation and golf. I have only heard good things about this activity, the kids seemed to really like it. It's hard to tell how it is going when you are stuck in one room. I'm glad this activity is over and that everyone had a fun time. Preston's activity was a hit! Jorja left the activity and went to her senior sunset activity. She finished playing games at Luke Hillstead's house.

Dead crew members...Eliza & Georgia... I think some Horoba boys

Georgia operating

These girls were funny walking home. Not sure who everybody is, but I think the Bingham twins are on the right.

We cleaned up and headed home. There was a package waiting for me on our porch. I couldn't believe it. It was perfect. It made me feel much better. I have no idea who did this. My best guess right now is Jack's mom. I don't think many people knew about my day, but his mom did. Anyway, it was super sweet and I loved it.

Preston

Stockton and I stayed up late to figure out his schedule. He gets to register tomorrow. We have kind of a plan, but we don't know if it will work. Jorja came home at 12:30, we let her have a later curfew today. She saw Stockton and I working on his schedule. She asked when she gets to register. I kind of paused and said that it would be in a few days. We asked her if she was still planning on going on a mission and she said she didn't know. She thought for sure she was going to go until she talked to us and had Dad give her a blessing. So, we will see what she ends up doing.

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

My Mom's 73rd Birthday

Today would have been my mom's 73rd birthday. I can't even imagine. My dad put a bunch of pictures of her life together and wanted to have it here too. He gave me permission. I love it. Thank you Dad. 

Happy Birthday, Harriett!!  She would be 73 years old today.  I wonder if they celebrate birthdays in the spirit world.  If so, I guess her birthday would be May 20th and she would be 24.  

I thought I would share a few snapshots of her 48 years of life on this earth, beginning with the Wymount Village announcement of her birth (Wymount Village was a married housing complex at BYU):

Here is the first picture taken of her in the Utah Valley Hospital:

 

 This was her blessing day (being held by her dad):

 Being held by her mom:

 And then being held by her older sister, Sue:

 There were just the two at first.  Mom took them for wagon rides...

 ...and dad took them for sleigh rides:

Harriett would hold Sue's hand if she felt insecure...

...until she could stand on her own two feet:

Proud parents of two pretty girls...

...in two pretty dresses.

In this picture, Sue's mad and Harriett's glad.

 A twosome becomes a threesome, with the addition of Kris (Harriett is the sassy one.)

l to r: Grandma Lovell, Kris, Sue, Harriett, and Lois (mom)

Same group with a dog added in. (Harriett is in the foreground.)

l to r:  Sue, Kris, and Harriett

And then along came John (l to r: Harriett, Sue, John, and Kris)

tallest to shortest:  Sue, Harriett, Kris, and John

l to r: Sue, Harriett, Kris, and John

Mom and Dad, Harriett, Kris, and John

Jackie is added to the family.  Here is a photo at Christmas time.  Harriett is laughing because Santa Claus is taking the picture.

Take two:  Harriett's fine, but Sue frowns, Kris decides to poke out her eye, John holds his nose, and dad can't hold his smile any longer.  Santa gives up.

And Steve brings up the rear. Back row, l to r: Harriett, Sue, Kris.

Front row, l to r: Steve, Jackie, John

Harriett's on the right.

Harriett's on the left.

 

School Pictures of Harriett:

In 7th grade Harriett had to write an autobiography of her life up to that point (obviously):

After Harriett graduated from High School she went to BYU.  Here are her roommates.  Harriett is in the lower right.

This is the dorm she stayed in her Freshman year.

Here are some of her roommates later on in front of our house on Columbine Way:

Harriett waited for Bryan on his mission, then gave him a "Dear John" personally when I showed up on the scene.

 The sign says, "Danger! Single Girl"

Harriett was going to stay for the summer in Idaho Falls.  I had just met her and had to talk long and hard to get her to stay in Provo and go to summer school while I worked at the smelter in Tooele.  I volunteered to take her to Idaho Falls to see her parents.  I was successful in convincing her to go to summer school.  This picture was taken in her backyard.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her that I took that summer:

 This was taken that summer in front of the Seville Apartments where she stayed that summer.

Here's a couple of phone booth photos.  It cost me a whole quarter.

And then I asked her to marry me.  For full details see Blog #47, August 2, 2014; also found in Three Score Ten and Counting, Vol. 2, p.87-97.

Harriett would give out this high-pitched squeal when she was excited.  If the picture below had sound to it, you would hear that high-pitched squeal.  She was having a bridal shower.

This was our wedding picture:

This was one of Harriett's wedding pictures:

Here is the wedding announcement in the local paper.  I like the caption at the bottom:

We got married in the Idaho Falls Temple on Feb. 1, 1969.  The temperature never got above zero.

The reception that night was in the cultural hall of the church.

I finished out the school year in Vernal.  Harriett decided to come live with me there.  We lived in this house: (That's my 1968 Mustang in front.)

As soon as school was out, Harriett's family drove to Vernal in their camper and picked up Harriett and me, and we drove to Indiana to see Sue.  Here is a picture taken in Sue and Chuck's house:

Back row, l to r: Sue, Tammy, Harriett, Kris, and John.  Front row, l to r: Terry, Steve, Lois, Jack holding Rozie, and Jackie.

Jack, Harriett's father, made me promise to let Harriett graduate from BYU.  She just needed a summer, so after finishing the school year in Vernal, we went to Provo for summer school.  She graduated in August.

The next school year she and I taught in Vernal--Harriett taught English in the Jr. High and I taught English, Speech, and Drama in the High School.

Then we moved to Provo and lived in a mobile home which we purchased while I was getting my Master's Degree in Communicative Habilitation.  After I graduated, I got a job teaching Speech Therapy in the Granite School District.  We moved our mobile home to a new trailer park in Salt Lake.

This is a picture taken on a camping trip with my parents:

We went on a little vacation to southern Utah and the Grand Canyon.  We had been married for three years and had never had a honeymoon, so we called this trip our honeymoon (at least I did).  For details see Blog #46, July 27, 2014; also found in Three Score Ten and Counting, Vol. 2, pp.79-87.  The start of the trip should not be termed "honeymoon" but "honey bucket."  Pretty gross way to begin your honeymoon.  Here is a picture of Harriett at the Grand Canyon:

We were carefree and happy in those days...

...and then came the kids.  (just kidding)

Here are some random photos, not necessarily in chronological order:

Harriett and Stephanie

Brett's blessing day:

Harriett and Michael:

Harriett and John:

Brett feeding Matt:

Spencer and Stephanie:

Spencer and Stephanie:

Spencer, Stephanie, and Brett:

Spencer, Stephanie, and Brett (again):

Stephanie and Michael:

Harriett and Stephanie:

Us with Stephanie:

Spencer and Stephanie with bubbles:

Michael's blessing day:

Spencer, Stephanie, and Brett:

Spencer, Stephanie, Brett, and Michael

Spencer, Brett, and Mike

Steph's 2nd birthday:

My parents on the left, Hank and Gayle on the right, Harriett and I in the middle:

All six kids:

Random shots of Harriett and me:

Sue and Harriett at Lagoon:

Harriett:

Harriett:

Harriett:

Harriett:

At Mike's Eagle Court of Honor:

At Stephanie's wedding reception:

My favorite--we lived happily-ever-after:

The End