Maysen's New Car

Well, Steve was right. The car he picked out for Maysen was perfect. It is a Ford Escape and it is awesome. Maysen can see perfect. It also has every single feature on our wish list, including memory seats. Didn't think we would get that one. I'm also sure Steve gave us a great price. Anyway, I think it will be a perfect car for Maysen. We are actually going to share it with her. Maysen only needs to drive to work on Friday. We are both paying for it, but Maysen is paying most. Matt Hardy helped us set up a loan for Maysen. She has been asking for a long time to get a credit card so she can start building her credit. We never got around to getting her a card, but this car loan will be perfect. 

Maysen & Steve

Mike, Maysen, Steve

Maysen

I watched BYU lose to Baylor, which was sad. I also watched Grace get baptized, which was awesome! Best thing to come out of the pandemic is being allowed to watch family get baptized when they live across the country. Grace is adorable. I'm so glad I was able to 'kind of' be there. Haha

Jorja sent me a ton of pictures from this weekend. (At my request, of course.) I know she went to Jackson Hole today. Looks like they are having tons of fun. Also, Stockton didn't risk his life today, so that was good too. 

I thought the live photo on the last picture was funny

We will end the day with Mike and his dog. Bear is obsessed with him. No idea why he is on the couch though.

Mail

Jorja mailed the first batch of her letters today

 Maysen and Bear are friends

We got to talk to Stockton today. He sounds so happy! They had another successful baptism on Saturday. His name is Austin. Stockton says the best thing to do during the coronavirus pandemic is to be on a mission. I am so happy he is able to see the good. He has a virtual lesson planned with a family of 12 tomorrow that he is really excited about. Hope it works out for him! They have also spent many hours doing service. He has learned so much. I am so proud of him!

Stockton, Austin, Elder Jenson

 Stockton

Baptism!

Stockton did have a baptism on Saturday! I think this is the first baptism in this area in over two years A 17 year old girl named Victoria got baptized. Only ten people were allowed to come because of social distancing. But, they were able to live stream the baptism and something like 150 people tuned in to watch! Victoria had been going to seminary and a lot of her seminary class watched. Her Grandma who lives in California watched. She is not a member. She called Victoria's parents and told them she felt the spirit so strong during the baptism that she would like a Book of Mormon and to meet with the missionaries. The mom called up Stockton and said this needs to happen ASAP! Haha. The mom didn't want to risk her changing her mind. Stockton figured out what mission she was in and called the mission office. They got a recording that said they would be back in the office on Monday at 10. Stockton didn't like that. He did some more digging and found a phone number for the ward she lives in. Stockton thought he was calling the bishop, but the missionaries answered! Stockton was super happy to give them a referral and they were equally happy to receive it.

Stockton, Victoria, Elder Jenson

Maysen and I ventured out and went to Harmons. There is a post office there. She was able to mail her final project to her teacher. One week early and she is done with that class. So close to finishing!

Jorja worked today. We talked for a long time after work. Until about one in the morning. It went really well. Hopefully things will be better from now on. I love her so much.

Hidden Email

Stockton was supposed to have a baptism today. I kept checking google photos all day to see if a new picture had shown up. It never did. I did get this picture from a lady who said Stockton helped them build a wall for their trampoline and their kids love his puppet. Haha. Hopefully the baptism happened too.

Stockton

This morning when I went to see if there was a picture from Stockton I stumbled onto something. I have to switch to Chrome to see this. Jorja's email is there in a file as well. When I switched to Chrome a message popped up saying something about Ivan. What? I switched over to her email to see and there was no message there. I went to her sent items and there were 28 messages between her and Ivan. TWENTY-EIGHT! I went to her deleted folder and they were all there. What the??? Didn't she just get in trouble for deleting messages? And she knows she isn't allowed to contact him right now because of it. So... today didn't go well. What is annoying is she still thinks we are the strictest parents and all of her friends get to have adventures and no one wants to be her friend after they find out how strict her parents are; yet we STILL let her have the Chick-Fil-A get together for the A team that she had planned. Yep, we sure are horrible. Anyway, only Madi and Riley showed up. They ended up watching Toy Story in the movie room. Riley had to watch that for his film studies class, so two birds...

Jorja trying to look like a boy

 Madi & Riley enjoying grilled cheese after the movie

Hutch Sighting

Mike and I got up at 5:30 this morning to fill the font for a convert baptism. It takes about three hours to fill the font. The baptism was scheduled for 9:00. It's weird, because in our stake center, the baptismal font is in the hallway. There is also 9:00 church. I was worried about this. The missionaries said it would be fine. And it was. Once Mike got the font going, we had to sit there for three hours. Mike brought his laptop and we watched The Force Awakens. Well, we only were able to watch the first part, because it was awkward to watch Star Wars once people started coming to church.

Mike

 The plug likes to float up, it is annoying.

 Mike is a master improviser

I went home and picked up Jorja. She was asked to lead the music at the baptism. Sister Hutchinson was allowed to come back for this one. Jorja was so excited to see her again. You would think she had been gone forever, instead of less than a week!

Jorja & Hutch

 I snuck in their selfie

Mike went straight from the baptism to ward council. I finished working on my lesson. I only had two kids today. The lesson went great, so that was a win. Mike and I finished watching The Force Awakens while Stockton was at mission prep. Mike dressed up for the occasion.

Mike

 Jorja working on her scrapbook

Today was the last day of our vacation. Too bad we spent most of it being sick. Hopefully Christmas vacation is better to us. Mike talked to the kids about The Living Christ. We are going to go through that a little at a time now that we just finished the Book of Mormon. We also are going to watch bible videos during scripture study.

Mike, Preston and I played a game of Pandemic. We barely won that game. Preston is a walking rule book. It is so funny. When Mike and Preston are having a disagreement about a rule, Preston is always right. Plus, he will quote exactly what the rule says. He's awesome.

Baptisms and Weddings

Mike and I went to a baptism today. Harry Waddoups wife was baptized. It was beautiful. Harry and Anna teach my old primary class. They invited them to the baptism. What a cool thing for them to experience. The missionaries came over to our house after the baptism. I think one of them had a migraine. They told Mike they liked being at our house. Mike said, "Really? No one chooses us." Or something more witty to that effect. They did their companion study over here.

Mike and I left to Idaho today. We towed the lawnmower that was just fixed. We went straight to Taylor's wedding. They had it in his parent's backyard. It was beautiful and the treats were delicious. We were waiting in line and Jason & Emily came up behind us, with David & Mandy and John & Renee. That was fun! We sat at a table with David & Mandy and their kids. Tyler came and chatted with us too. I went inside and hung out with Tammi for a bit before we left.

Mike and I went to the cabin and got there about 10:00. The heating element on the water heater had broken and the fuse had blown. Luckily Mike had bought extra supplies to fix it when that happened. Brad and his youth group took down a broken tree that badly needed to be taken care of. The view out of the window is so much better! I'm so thankful for them for doing that.

It was weird being at the cabin just the two of us. I'm not sure that has ever happened before. It was very peaceful. Wish we could have stayed just a bit longer.

Preparing

I took Jorja to the orthodontist today. Her teeth look so beautiful. Her orthodontist wants her to wear her retainer for at least six more months. She also has a permanent retainer on her top and bottom teeth. I asked Dr. Watson if the night retainer was a new thing he was doing or if Jorja's teeth were different from Maysen's and Stockton's. He said that it was a new thing. Hopefully Maysen's and Stockton's teeth don't move.

Jorja and I went shopping after her appointment. First we stopped at Jamba Juice for breakfast. Jorja got an acai bowl and I got oatmeal. Then we grabbed a few shirts at DownEast. The lady ringing me up said one of the shirts wasn't on sale. I told her that was not what the people in the back had said. She said, "Okay, I'll give you the sale price then, but I haven't been giving it to anyone else." I did ask about that shirt, so I was good with that. Jorja and I then went to Dick's Sporting Goods and got her a new catchers bag. It's a little smaller than the one she has now, but at least it doesn't have a giant hole in it and it has two working wheels. Jorja likes it a lot.

The missionaries came over this afternoon. They were stressed out of their minds. They haven't been able to find a key to the closet with the baptism clothes. We called everyone we could think of. Just got answering machines everywhere. On the last person they were going to try we got someone to answer. They knew where the clothes were and had a key! She agreed to drop it off at my house because the missionaries had to leave for another appointment. 

After I got possession of the key, I went down to Matt and Sam's. Sam helped me make a program for Anna's baptism. And by help, I mean she did the entire thing. It turned out great though. We could have done a better job if we had the information earlier. Because it was so late, I told Sam I only wanted it black and white. I got home a little before ten. Mike is going to print them out at the stake center while he fills up the font.

While I was gone, the missionaries came and so did Melissa. Melissa is borrowing our dinner train for Leo's birthday party. I got to bed after midnight today. It was a long day.

Planning a Baptism

The missionaries came over tonight. We met with them to talk about Anna's baptism. Anna is about twenty years old, and because Mike is the ward mission leader he needs to head things up. I agreed to do the program, Mike is going to conduct. The missionaries are supposed to get the clothes and send me the program information in the coming days.

Stockton and Jorja went to the youth activity tonight. It was a drive-in movie . . . kind of. They brought blankets and pillows and watched The Incredibles at the pavilion by the church. It started pretty late, so they got back pretty late. I think they had fun. Jorja hasn't been able to go to any young women activities for a long time because of softball. I'm not sure what I think about that.

Jorja spent most of the day with her friends. They went 'hiking', played at a park then went back to Isaac's house. One of the things they did was play Monopoly. Isaac couldn't believe she has never played that before. When he asked me about it I told him there were so many great games around, why waste time playing Monopoly? Jorja said she didn't really understand what was going on during the game. Isaac would usually get excited and take her turn for her. I think she had a great time today. Jorja seems to need to be around peers. I'm glad she has found a few good friends.

Marie's Baptism

I thought I heard my name early this morning so I bolted out of bed.  I looked out of our motorhome and saw Cassie and Brandon!  What a great surprise!  I went on a walk with them around the lake.  Steve and Sharon's new place sure is beautiful!  I was excited to see things that looked familiar.  It was so cool to see Grandma's bench sitting by the lake.  Perfect place for it!  I also loved seeing the tiny kids table in the kitchen.  So many memories of that!  They also found a perfect spot for Grandma's front room cabinet.  So great!

 Anne & Brandon

Marie was baptized this morning.  We pulled up to the church right at 10:00.  I couldn't believe how full the room was.  My eyes started to water as I saw so many of my Idaho Falls family there.  It was great! Rachel's dad and my dad both gave talks.  My dad used something he learned from Larkin's baptism.  He had Brett look in two different bags and had Marie pick a bag to get a prize out of....with her dad's help. One bag had a chocolate bar.  Her dad helped her know that was the right decision.  The other bag had a loaded rat trap!  Yikes!  My dad set it off with a pencil and boy that would have been disastrous if she insisted on picking that bag!  I also liked how my dad dropped a $20 bill and Marie gave it back to him.  He then dropped the $20 bill next to Eve.  She did not give it back.  He dropped it next to Grace, again she did not give it back.  He dropped it next to Mina.  She thought about it for awhile before she decided to give it back.  Was Eve and Grace sinning because they kept the money?  My dad talked about how you are born of the water and of the spirit.  He had Cassie stand up and pointed out how pregnant she is.  He talked about how the baby has been protected with water for almost nine months.  When Marie was baptized, she was born again of the water.  Then he said that for eight years your spirit is protected from evil.  When the eight years are up, you are given the holy ghost to help you.  I liked that.  Anyways, the baptism went great.  Marie sang a song called The Miracle.  I recorded it and wanted to put it here, but apparently it was too big of a file to do that.

Anne & Grace

Let's see if I can remember who was there.  My family, Bubs' family, Brett's family (of course), Matt's family and John's family.  My dad, Cathy and Max.  Terry & Debie, Savannah, Addi and Jacoby were there. Terry officiated and filled up the font.  That was so nice of him.  Terry has helped us out with selfless service many times.  John & Renee, Chad and Jeff were there.  Wow!  Brett and Chad were super close growing up!  Jackie and Courtney were there.  Steve and Sharon were there.  I know Tammi was there and I think Rozie was.  Lots of Rachel's family.  I know I missed people, this is what happens when you get a week behind on the blog, have no short term memory and mostly paid attention to watching babies.  Needless to say, the baptism was amazing and I love all of my family.

Brett & Chad

After the baptism we went to Big Jud's with some of my family.  Brett, my dad, Matt, and John's family.  The waitress was pretty scary.  The food was good.  Next was back to Steve and Sharon's lodge.  Ella had a craft that she helped the kids make.  It was a temple and turned out cute.

Mina

 Brett & Mina

I wanted to get a video of Eve crawling because it is hilarious.  I can't believe how fast she can crawl using this technique!

We played frisbee golf, paddle boats, horseshoe balls (not sure what that game is called), played with frogs and ate Rachel's delicious dinner.

Jorja, Beth

Max, Brandon, Grace

Mina, Marie (holding frog), Mallory

 Marie

 Mina with the frog!

Jorja sure played well with the little kids.  She brought out Horizon and let them watch her eat crickets.  That was a hit!  I stayed up really late playing Dominion with Brett, Matt and John.  I can't remember who won, so let's just assume I did.

Larkin's Baptism

Larkin was baptized today!  Mike came over early to fill the font.  If we would have thought about it in advance, he could have left the keys with us and not worried about it at all.  I came and relieved him.  I brought Jeff's stocking to work on while I waited.  That font takes awhile to fill!  We made sure it was nice and warm for Larkin.  They had two other baptisms later in the day, so we didn't have to drain it.

The baptism was great.  I was able to lead the music.  My dad gave a talk on baptism and Christen's sister gave a talk on the Holy Ghost.  My dad poured water from the place where Jesus was baptized into the font.  He made a big deal about how Jesus was baptized in yucky water at the lowest point on earth.  I was worried he was doing too good of a job describing that and Larkin wouldn't want to get in the water!  She was brave though.

Larkin was baptized in the same dress Skye was.  Christen was also baptized in this dress.  Christen was the first one baptized in this dress. All of her little sisters and their daughters were baptized in this as well. Christen's mom made this dress.  I wish I had that kind of talent!  It's beautiful and Larkin looked so sweet and pretty in it.

Mike & Larkin

 Mike, Larkin & Christen

 Larkin & Mike

 Stephanie & Mike

 Stephanie & Larkin

I didn't take a picture with my phone of the tables Christen set up.  She, of course, had everything looking spectacular.  She set out muffins, fruit and water along with pictures of Larkin and books for people to sign.  She also had allergy free muffins she made for Larkin and Blake. She wanted them to be able to pick something up off of the table.  I asked her what she did for the sacrament.  They have a special bag for them.  There are some other people with allergies in the ward as well. Once when Blake took his wafer she didn't think it looked right.  Blake took a bite and immediately threw up.  They had gotten Blake's allergy bag mixed up with another.  That poor kid!  Christen said Larkin sits at the allergy table at school.  They have it up high.  She used to be able to pick a friend to eat with her, but now one of her best friends has allergies too.  Blake will be sitting up there next year.  That is one trial I am grateful not to be blessed with!

We went to Skye's soccer game this afternoon.  It was windy!  Skye's team won.  I sat and watched it next to Mike.  My Mike and Jorja played catch.  Preston had my phone and took random pictures and videos.  Larkin and some of her other cousins played in the motorhome during the game.  Stockton was in there too, so I wasn't worried.  They sure love that!  I'm glad!

You can kind of see Mike (in brown) & kind of see Stephanie (in black)

Mike bought pizza for everyone at a nearby restaurant.  We filled our bellies before it was time to head back home.  I would have stayed later, but I'm anxious to get back to Maysen.  I don't want her to spend her entire Easter alone!

Mike, Preston, Stephanie, Jorja, Stockton

 Mike, Preston & Stephanie

Sure miss that brother of mine!  I wish he lived closer, but I'm glad he has found a place he loves.