Practice Makes Perfect

Preston asked me to wake him up an hour early so he could study his Chinese. He wanted to go and retake a test during advisory. Later that day he texted me and told me he was going to stay after school to retake the test again with the feedback he got from this morning. (It is a verbal test.) I'm glad Preston made the extra effort because he got 100% on the test after school. I'm also glad his Chinese teacher worked with him and allowed him to retake the test a few times. Preston basically didn't have a year of Chinese. Last year it was all online run from St. George. I know the teacher did the best she could, but it was such a weird year. I never heard him talking Chinese the entire year. I have been wondering if he is behind everyone else. I'm glad he is working so hard right now.

Once I brought Preston home, Maysen and I went out to eat at Zupas. She loves it and I wanted to take her there for her birthday. With her birthday being on a Sunday, today was the next best thing. We then went to Deseret Book so she could pick out a temple bag. Rachel made Maysen one that has worked okay. I asked her if she would do it and she modeled it after the one my grandma made me. The problem is, Maysen has really heavy temple shoes. We needed to get her ones with a heal so her dress would fit. The bag works great with slippers like I have, but the heaviness in the shoes throws everything off and makes carrying the bag awkward. Anyway, we found one that will hopefully work. The bag Rachel made was awesome because you can just hang the bag with the dress and everything ready to go in the closet. We couldn't find any bags like that. But, it is pretty and I think it will work better for Maysen.

Stockton texted me a picture of him with Alyssa. He has mentioned her a few times on his blog. He studies calculus with her. Yesterday I was teasing him and told him I thought Alyssa was imaginary because I had never seen a picture. He sent me this today. Hahaha

Stockton & Alyssa

Weston went to see Mike today. Mike ended up doing a root canal on him. Shannon couldn't believe that they were able to get Weston's pain fixed on a p-day without even calling the mission president. She says she has no idea what they would have done if Weston was in Chile. Mike was so awesome to do that for Weston. He has never even met him. He has heard about him from us, but this was the first time they met in person. Weston told his mom that my brother was 'dope'. Hahaha. I am so grateful I was able to call my brother and he was able to give Weston the help he needed. Crazy that out of all the places in the entire world Weston could be serving in, he was serving in the exact area where my brother is a dentist at the exact time Weston desperately needed a dentist. Weston and Shannon were both really happy. I am very thankful that my brother is indeed dope.

Maysen's 24th Birthday

Holy cow! Maysen is 24! That is hard to believe. And not hard. Time is weird. I got quite the surprise this morning. I woke up around 4:30 and immediately started wondering if my kids in Logan were safe. I grabbed my phone to check find my friends and noticed Stockton and Jorja weren't at their dorm room. I panicked as I searched my phone to find them. Where were they at 4:30 in the morning??? When my app updated it showed them in Alpine, Wyoming. It took me a few moments to register that they were coming here! I couldn't believe it! I hurried upstairs and waited for them to come. I only had to wait about five minutes for them. They were disappointed they didn't surprise me. (Although they did.) They had been talking about crawling through the dog door if they couldn't get in. Haha. I'm glad I was up when they arrived. Best surprise! Maysen heard us talking, so when Jorja went in to sleep in the other bed where Maysen was she was able to tell her happy birthday. What a great surprise for Maysen. My kids are awesome.

Stockton & Jorja at 4:30 in the morning

Stephanie, Stockton, Jorja

We had crepes for breakfast. I forgot to bring up the crepe makers though. Mike and I did pick up some pre-made crepes. They weren't as good as the homemade ones though. Whoops. We watched stake conference online, which was nice. We had cake and ice cream. Jorja brought Maysen cardinal salt and pepper shakers. I think it is awesome that every time Maysen looks at those she will remember how much Stockton and Jorja love her. I also got her salt and pepper shakers. Hahaha. Jorja and I think alike! We also got her a 5 minute dungeon add-on and a Pokemon black ds game. Hopefully she was happy with everything!

Maysen

Maysen's second birthday cake

Forgot to bring candles again. We had three 4 candles. Probably because I'm in my 40s and always have my birthday here.

Stockton & Maysen

Jorja's instagram post

Random picture of one of Maysen's favorite comics

We played games, ate and cleaned up. Stockton and Jorja headed back for Logan this evening and we headed out about an hour after they left. The story about them coming.... apparently Jorja texted Stockton at 1:00 am and asked if he was up. He had just gotten home. She asked him if he wanted to go to the cabin to surprise Maysen. He was up for the adventure and five minutes later they were on their way. Jorja had gotten Maysen the cardinal salt shakers that day. She wanted to give it to her. She remembered we were at the cabin and that it was Maysen's birthday. They decided to just send it and I'm so glad they did. Something that will always be remembered and appreciated. 

I drove the first third of the trip and traded places with Mike. He finished everything up. While Mike was driving I got a phone call from Shannon. They were on the phone with Weston, who was in a lot of pain. His tooth hurt. Like REALLY hurt. Shannon knew my brother is a dentist in Albuquerque, where Weston is serving. She called to ask for help. I was able to get Mike on the phone. He said he could see Weston at 7:30 in the morning. He doesn't need to make an appointment, just walk in. Yay! Hope Mike can help him! Anyway, we got home around 11:00. Not too shabby. Quick, fun trip. I hope Maysen enjoyed her birthday and I hope she has the best 24th year! I think it's going to be a good one!

Eagle Eyes

Last MTC day at the cabin. Weston has been doing so well. It is fun to hear him talking in Spanish, cracking jokes with the other missionaries, conducting meetings and learning how to be the best missionary. I am glad Stockton got to go to the regular MTC though. I think home MTC would be so hard.

Elder Weston Smith 

Mike and I took the jet ski out on the lake. Steve and Shannon took the boat with three of their kids. I wore my wet suit Mike got me for the first time today. I was a fan. I spent the entire time on the jet ski today. The first time I had been on it. I wasn't ever cold. The wet suit made a huge difference. Mike and I came back early while the rest finished wake boarding. On the way back the water looked much smoother than on the way out. Hope they had a great time! Sounds like they did. Brandon even rescued someone. They had fallen off their jet ski and were left behind. Brandon saw a tiny dot waving. They picked him up. The family said they were about to call search and rescue. Glad Brandon has eagle eyes!

Mike

Mike & Stephanie

Mike took Stockton, Jorja and Bear home. Stockton is going through the temple with Gavin on Wednesday. Jorja has school and work. Bear likes Mike. Mike will bring Stockton and hopefully Maysen back up with him. Maysen has still been feeling sick. She says she is doing a lot better and she is hopeful for the Wednesday drive. Steve and Shannon's family left a bit later. Weston told me this is his favorite place and that he loves it here. Awe. That's awesome. This place is the best.

Elder Weston

Elder Weston & Shannon

Preston and I are now at the cabin by ourselves. My brothers and their families will come tomorrow. I had Preston take a shower and hang out in Mike's bathrobe while I washed his clothes. Mike will bring up all the clothes Preston packed on Wednesday. Glad we have a washing machine here now!

MTC in Parrydise

We had crepes this morning and then spent a good six hours out on the lake. We had Steve's boat and Mike's jet ski. We had the tube behind the jet ski. Mike, Preston, Brandon and Jacob spent a lot of time on the tube/jet ski. We took turns surfing. I took a lot of pictures of Jorja. My family only spends one day a year with a motorboat traditionally, so we do not have the experience the cousins have. Jorja got lots of time to work on the surfer. She did great and had a lot of fun.

Jorja

Mike & Jorja

Jorja

Brothers ~ Mike & Steve

Looks like Brandon and Jacob threw Stockton and Preston

Preston

Stockton and Preston

Jorja had to go back earlier to do homework. She has an essay due. Her finals week is next week, so she has a lot of big things coming up. She has worked so, so hard this summer semester. I am incredibly proud of her. Mike and I took her back on the jet ski. She rode the tube. Mike dropped both of us off while I drove Jorja back. Mike drove the jet ski back to the boat, but it doesn't work with the tube behind very well. Mike tried lifting the rope up higher, but it ended up breaking something off of the jet ski. Rip. It was a handle the person riding backwards could hold. Mike says it is meant to break off and be replaced instead of doing big damage to the jet ski, so I guess that is good. Once I got back on the boat Mike and I both got the opportunity to surf. That was fun. The water wasn't to cold at all.

While the rest of us were on the lake, Weston was doing cabin MTC. He had zoom classes all day long. It is fun to listen to him speak Spanish and interact with the other missionaries. He is doing so well!

Elder Weston Smith

Steve, Shannon, Jorja and I played Trek to Zion tonight. Steve ended up winning. My long road got blocked by a measly two point wagon. Oh well, apparently I blocked Jorja's long train within the first five turns. Whoops. 

Weston's Farewell

Today was Weston's mission farewell. Maysen, Stockton and I went. Mike, Jorja and Preston were all sick. Jorja and Preston were regular sick. Mike is still in intense pain from his tooth. He has now lost 10 pounds. I finally texted my brother and asked him about it. He said it sounds like Mike had a dry socket. Of course, right after I finally texted my brother Mike, my Mike started feeling better. Thank goodness though! Hope he is done with tooth pain! He does have stitches in his mouth that are bothering him, but it is nothing compared to the pain. Luckily the three of them were all able to watch Weston's farewell online. One of the best things to come out of corona. Jorja and Preston took pictures of Bear dog, who got on the ping pong table for some reason.

Bear

Weston did a fantastic job on his farewell. Stockton was impressed. He really did good. I loved a CS Lewis quote he used. It is from Mere Christianity. "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of [an] army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness  -- they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means -- the only complete realist."