Maysen the Editor

I got a lot of pictures from Mike today. Sounds like he is having a great time at the cabin. He has worked a lot on his boat. He added a fishing pole holder, a gear hammock and a sink drying rack. These are pictures from the last two days of work. Mike said Bear did really well on the boat and the auto pilot is so cool.

Bear

Jorja is still pretty sick. At 10:00 this morning she sent me texts about how she still feels dizzy. She's not feeling good. Her throat isn't hurting but she feels so dizzy, like she is about to pass out. The FSY people are letting her take naps during class now, even though she isn't on break. She has been going outside and sleeping on the grass. I hope she starts feeling better soon. Too bad she can't fully enjoy her last week at FSY.

Stockton texted us about he was conducting a class where the general YM president and wife were in attendance. He got to shake President Lund's hand. Stockton is really liking his group of boys this week. I'm so glad he got a great group after the rough time he had last week.

I got locked out of the house today while I was running to the mailbox. The door shut behind me and for some reason the handle doesn't work. Preston was still asleep and Maysen was on a work call. I had to hop the fence and find a way inside. Preston and I both had eye appointments later today. Nice to get that done.

Maysen is being moved to the editing team at her job. She is super excited about this. A few weeks ago they asked the content writers to turn in 3,000 words a day. Maysen was asked to try to turn in 2,000 when she was hired. Trying to get to 3,000 has been so hard for her. Mostly because she turns in quality work and it takes awhile to research about whatever topic she needs to write about. Somehow she doesn't know the banking or real estate practice in Malta at the top of her head. She has been working almost non stop during the week. From the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed. It is just not sustainable to keep doing this. When one of the editors left Maysen reached out and asked if she could become an editor. Well, she had a training this morning and she is starting today. She is really excited about it. I think this will be a much better job for her. Hope it is!

Parrydise and Provo

Today was a nice relaxing day on the lake. Mike, Matt, Tage and Dallin went out in the morning. They did wake boarding with the jet ski and Mike got his boat out onto the water. Around lunchtime Sherry, Miah, Xander, Scoop, Cori and I went out to the boat for lunch. Tage and Dallin came back and watched the dogs. We had lunch on the boat and that was nice. Xander spent a lot of time on the jet ski and loved it. I don't enjoy the sailboat aspect of being on the water. I do not like it when the boat lurches to one side. I went down below and read a book. Miah had a great time hanging out on the top, front of the boat. She was happy as could be. Down below she would feel sick. Xander and I bonded reading below. After everyone had turns doing whatever they wanted we headed back around 5:30. Xander said he has decided everyone was right, the cabin is a lot of fun. He declared he would come up in the winter! Xander hasn't come up for the last few years. He is an indoor boy and likes to say he hates the sun. That will be great to have him come! It's been fun getting to know Xander better this trip.

I love this picture of Miah & Xander reading

Miah

The rest of the day was dinner and games. Sherry made a delicious dinner of potstickers, spring rolls and salad. There were also hamburgers for whoever wanted them. Sherry and Cori went to the store to get a few things for Scoop's birthday tomorrow. They also got Mike and I some things for the cabin as a thank you. A camper napkin holder and hot pad, a s'mores cooker and a cute bag for me for when I start my new job. That was nice! We played the tree game on the oculus and I played Canadian Salad with Scoop, Cori & Matt. I won by a lot so that was very productive. Haha (Usually I blow it with the last hand.) Today was a really good day.

Today also looked like it was a good day in Provo. Jorja sent me these pictures of Preston. She said he looked very happy and even did a dance for her. I am so glad the two of them are up there together! I'm glad Preston is having a fun week. Not going to lie, I was pretty worried. So glad it's been great.

Preston & Jorja

Fun and Disappointing

I love these mugs. I like how they all are similar, but all are unique. I love how their name shows in the perfect place. I love that they are plastic and light so they are perfect for the kids. Here are a few of the cups hung up.

My dad made crepes this morning. Delicious. The kids were so cute reading Calvin and Hobbs this morning. Anne was reading it out loud and it was adorable.

Mina, Grace, Matt, Anne, Stephanie, Jeff 

We spent the day on the lake. It was a lot of fun, and also disappointing. There were a lot of kids. Stockton and Preston were so great. They took the kids around on a jet ski. The kids loved it. Stockton had each of them pick their favorite song and he would blast it as they rode. Mike got his boat into the lake and was calling out to Brett about how to hook the tube on. We had never started the tube this close to the shore and were unprepared for how fast the rope could get sucked in. Right as Mike took off in his boat that happened. At first we thought we could get the rope untangled, but we couldn't. Brett spent so long working on it. Mike brought the boat back and helped. I held the boat on the dock and we thought it would be fast. It wasn't. Finally Mike brought the boat back and took the jet ski back to the parking lot. Jet ski was done for the day. The most disappointing thing was my dad didn't get to ride in the boat. He was in it for a few minutes before Mike had to come back. My dad and Brett worked on the jet ski while Mike took some kids around. Once Mike got back it was time for my dad to leave to go back to Utah. He took Stockton and Preston back to the cabin on his way. Mike took another load on the boat. I was in it with Brett and a few of the girls. Bear was also with us. (Bear was great the entire day. I'm glad we brought him.) Matt played with Jeff and Greg on the tube at the shore. Rachel had come back with Eve and rode the kayak. Even though it was disappointing that we lost the jet ski, we still had a great time.

Stockton & Preston 

Broken jet ski... Matt, Marie, Brett, Preston

Grace, Amy, Anne in the boat

Grace

Jeff

Mina, Preston, Marie ~ they played on this for a LONG time

Brett working on the jet ski with Greg supervising

Eve, Anne, Rachel, Grace, Marie

Sam made delicious enchiladas. I was very glad I had Bear at the lake with me. She had all these enchiladas laid out on the table as she was working on them. It would have been so hard to do with Bear. The rest of the night was spent playing games with the Olympics in the background. This trip is going way too fast.

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.