CARPET

Home! Preston and I made it home around two o'clock. Mike had the kitchen looking great. That was a nice surprise. My dad took us out to The Bear Paw in St. George. I can't wait to go back. I am very glad that I am done driving. I am going to bed early tonight.

We have carpet! Almost. One poor guy is carpeting our entire house. He works like a horse. Never takes a break, not even to eat. Mike keeps offering, but he says he's fine. He has the carpet laid in the basement, but only stretched in the main room. He will come tomorrow and finish stretching the basement, then on Wednesday to do the upstairs. The carpet is so soft. It will be so exciting when it is done!

My cousin, Tammi, wanted to see pictures of what we were working on. I told her the pictures would be very boring, but I will put them up anyway. The picture below is from the theater room looking out. Mike moved the door about seven inches so our TV cabinet would fit on the other side. You can see our carpet and where the wet bar use to be. I am SO glad we got rid of that. The room is much bigger and less creepy.

This is the closet my dad spent a week working on. It looks great. It use to be a door from the boys room to the bathroom. There were three doors going into the bathroom and we thought it would be annoying. We are going to use this closet for swimming things. At least that is what the plan is. We don't have nearly as much storage space in this house as we did in Georgia.

This is the door Mike added in the bathroom. It separates the toilet/sink from the tub. With only one bathroom in the basement, we thought this would be a good idea. We are really happy with how it turned out.

This is the backside of the closet my dad worked on. He worked on this side as well. Our plan is to put shelves up the entire way. Should look great when we are done. You can also see the carpet, but it is not cut. Soon.

And here is our lovely, lovely carpet. I wonder if we would have loved it as much if we didn't have to wait for it so long. Doesn't matter, I'm glad it is finally here!

Cheap Labor

My dad has been helping us out a ton lately. He has done a lot of drywalling and sanding. When Dad wants a break, he comes upstairs and gets a Nesquik Chocolate Push-Pop. The second he is finished with it, he drinks Ruby Red (grapefruit juice) as fast as he can. GROSS! Dad says it wakes him up. I bet it does.

Thanks Ange!

Three months ago, when Jorja had her birthday, Lincoln & Ella gave Jorja this craft/bead thingy. Jorja has been wanting to play with it, but I wouldn't let her until we had moved. Well, Jorja could wait no longer. She spent all day long with those beads. Preston was watching her most of the time. She made some for her friends, and gave some to Stockton, Preston and Max. It was pretty sweet that in a house full of boring boxes she was able to have so much fun.

At Christmas, the kids all got JCPenney gift cards. I immediately thought, "What am I going to do with those?" Now I know the smart thing would be to buy them some clothes. The only problem is, I hate shopping. Another point in my life I probably could have handled it, but I don't think I'll get back there for several months. Anyway, I was reading Stacie's blog and she was raving about sleeping on a heated mattress pad. I knew all of our mattress pads were pretty much in shreds, so I went searching online to see if JCPenney carried them. They did! I ordered them last week and have been so excited to get them. I ordered one for us, and for the girls. I wanted to see how well I liked them before I got more. They came today and I was so excited. When we got home and put them on, every one worked like a dream, except for mine. Mike's side worked but mine just flashes FF. After calling customer service and following all their steps, I need to return it. I guess I'll do that Monday. Until then, I'm sleeping on Mike's side.

Once again, my dad is down in the basement sanding away. Max came with him and played with the kids. When it was time for bed, we pulled out a mattress and Max fell right asleep. My dad can barely see because he had to take his eyes out. Hope he will get home okay tonight, maybe he will want to sleep here too.

Scruffy's Sick!

This morning, Preston was playing Webkinz when all of a sudden he ran away shrieking in terror. I ran after him and asked what was wrong. He had his hands over his ears and sobbed, "Scruffy is sick!" Poor Scruffy had an icepack on his head. Jorja sent him to the doctor and he is all better now. That is on my list of one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Here are some pictures of the outside of our house. Mike has been pulling out carpet and taking weird shelves off of walls. We also got the tags on our car so we can go through the gate without stopping at the guard shack thingy. Preston & Jorja came with me. They enjoyed raking leaves, it would be nice if that didn't change.

Front

Back Creepy looking fountain with spotlight Pool Preston & Jorja

Welcome to the 70's

We closed on our house today! Good news: our interest rate is 3.875%, Bad news: We now have a 30 year loan. Mike was able to have today off so we could do house stuff. The kids were really excited to go over there, but we wouldn't let them until Jorja came home from school. One problem, Jorja needed to get a shot or she couldn't come back to school. I picked Jorja up and told her we had an errand to run. She wanted to know what it was. I told her, "You're not going to like it." She said, "Is it the post office?" When I told her she needed to get her shot, she screamed like she was on fire! Oh boy. Mike had the day off, why didn't I have him take her? He's never had to go with the kids to get shots. It's quite the experience. At least with my kids. My brother Mike went with me when Jorja got her kindergarten shots. For such a shy girl, she doesn't hold back. She screamed so loud they had to shut the door. I had to pull her on my lap, but she was holding her shirt down, so we pulled her shirt down from the top. Once she had the shot, she immediately stopped screaming. It wasn't so bad.

Anyway, after that little joy, we went to our new old house! I called my dad and he and Max came over too. Cassie & Christen were wanting pictures, so brace yourselves!

This is what you see when you enter the house

Main floor bathroom...gotta love those light fixtures
Upstairs bedroom, that carpet will be the first thing to go
Master bedroom...someone loved blue
Panic button...there is also a deadbolt on the bedroom door
Pretty sure Mike & I are going to miss our two walk-in closets

Sinks in the master bathroom

Yes, that's a blue toilet

More lovely carpet

Why does every house have one of these? Annoying.

Downstairs fireplace

Skinny hallway

The room that had the mold problem

Mike wants to turn it into a theater room

Mike's workshop?

Downstairs bathroom

Boys room?

Girls room? Trying to convince them to share.

kitchen

Roasting marshmallows in the kitchen!

Stockton, Maysen, Jorja, Preston

I didn't get any pictures of the outside. It was too dark by the time I started taking pictures. But, this should do for today. This house is completely different than our one in Georgia. We bought this house for the area and the yard. Hopefully we can make the inside into what we want it to be. The downstairs is pretty torn up right now, but we are thinking of moving into just the upstairs at first. There are three bedrooms upstairs. It will be a tight fit, but it wouldn't last forever. The backyard is pretty cool. It is .6 of an acre, I think. It has a large flat grassy area in the back (something Stockton really wanted), it also has a swimming pool. Hope we don't regret that one. One cool thing about the area, it is close enough to our mom's graves that we could walk. It would probably take 15 minutes. Our house is just east of the cemetery.

It was really dark when we were leaving. As Mike was walking Stockton out to the car, someone yelled BOO! Haha! Scared Mike! Bryce had come over to say hello. I am really excited to have them live across the street. Should be fun.

After we put the kids to bed, Mike ordered a washer and dryer. Wow. Busy day for our bank account. Our poor bank account has shrunk significantly.

Mrs. Trombino's Class

Dear Mrs. Trombino's Class,

I have been having fun at Utah. It snowed one time. I have been staying with my grandparents while we look for a house. My teacher is Mrs. Walker. There are 25 students in my class. My number is 26. There is a boy gone for a few months. I had fun for my birthday. I share a birthday with my cousin Lincoln. We went ice-skating. I got my braces off. I take diving lessons now at the University of Utah. Today was my first lesson. I miss Mirror Lake. I will write again soon.

From,
Jorja

Oh Deer!

The absolutely coolest thing about staying where Mike grew up is the deer. They are always around. It is amazing! One day I ran downstairs and yelled, "Come see the deer!" Stockton replied, "Who cares. There's always deer in Utah." No Stockton, not everywhere....just here.



I can't remember if I ever wrote about when Mike tried to get "pet deer". One day we looked out back and two deer had wandered into the fenced garden. Obviously the door had been left open. Mike said he wanted pet deer, so he snuck up and shut the gate. Man did those deer go crazy! They started running back and forth trying to jump the fence. Mike snuck back up and opened the door then ran away like crazy. I wish I had that on video! Mike and I were watching, hoping that the deer would now see the door was opened, when we see Jorja walking up there from the other side of the house. Mike tears out of there to grab her...that was pretty scary.

Parry Family Dinner

So.....the other day we put an offer on a house. Yesterday they countered and we accepted. I guess with all the excitement at Cornbellys, I forgot a little detail like this. Anyway, if all goes well, the closing date is November 15th. We have a little over a week for due diligence. Basically we can pull out of the contract if we don't like something, like the schools, wards, the inspection....whatever. Our family went to sacrament meeting at our ward here, then we took the kids home and Mike and I went to sacrament meeting at what might become our new ward. We thought we would just sneak in the back and check things out (see if there were kids). We had been sitting down for about one minute when we hear, "Mike?" There was Bryce Johnson. I didn't expect to see him of all people. We talked to him for a bit. We told him we had an offer down on a house on Rollingwood. He said, "Rollingwood? I live on Rollingwood." He lives across the street from the house we have the offer on. He said his 10 year old boy had been praying for another 10 year old boy to move in on the street. There were so many people from high school there. Mike & I haven't kept in contact with very many people, so it was a bit overwhelming....but in a good way.

Later in the day we had a Parry Family dinner, Utah style. We figured if they can do it in Arizona, we can do it here. It was so nice to have family over. Chad & Elisa came, Heather & Zac, Nathan & Bobby, Matt, Bubs, Dad & Cathy and lots and lots of kids. Ange and kids stayed home and had a throwing up party, my guess is that was not as fun. Matt, Zac, Maysen, Mike and I played Ticket to Ride. Zac pretty much dominated. Sorry Matt, but he did. I ended the day talking to Rachel on Skype. Family, family, family. It is so good to be home! Or have technology to enjoy those away.

Weird Day

What a morning! I was in such a rush to get the kids ready today. I really wanted everyone in the car when I took Jorja to school, that way we could go straight to Steve & Shannon's. I was throwing in things as fast as I could. Preston was stinky, but I decided to change him when we got there. Jorja was late and I felt terrible. As we were driving away, I was thinking to myself, "How could I let this happen? School starts so much later here then it did in Georgia." I thought about that for awhile. When I got to Wasatch Boulevard, I realized that Jorja's school didn't start until 9. It was 8:05. Her school in Georgia started at 8. The good thing was Jorja wasn't late. The bad thing was I had all the kids in the car (one of them stinky) an hour early. I decided to take them to the grocery store to get milk. As we were walking in the store, I noticed an old, black lady standing in her nightgown. She was holding jumper cables. I asked her if she needed any help. She said her car wouldn't start. I put the boys back in the car, Maysen and Jorja stayed with the lady. I pulled my car around to help her . . . hoping I will figure out what I am suppose to do as I go. I needn't have worried. I couldn't get very far because I couldn't figure out how to open the hood of my car. I know where the button thing-a-ma-jig was in my old car, but I couldn't find it in this one. I did manage to cause such a commotion that others came over to help. Soon someone volunteered to use his truck, so I was off the hook. I then gathered my kids to go in the store. I changed Preston, but couldn't find his clothes I thought I packed. I had some shorts and we put Maysen's jacket on him. We survived and were able to drop off Jorja on time for school. I stopped by the house and put the milk in the fridge and changed my shirt. (Preston was very stinky.) We left for Steve & Shannon's house. When we got to the freeway overpass where you leave Draper and enter Riverton, the entire road was closed. We were forced onto State Street. I was stuck in a huge traffic jam, and I wasn't really sure where to go. It took over 45 minutes to get to their house. All so I could use the Internet! Ahhhhhhh! Luckily Scoop and Cori came back today. Just for an hour. Mike was able to move the Internet router out of the locked office. Hopefully we won't have that problem again.

One other thing that happened today. When I went to pick up Jorja from school, the road was closed. They had repaved the road where you enter for the car riders. I wasn't sure what to do, so I parked in the parking lot and waited outside the second grade doors. Here, when the bell rings, all the kids run out. The Kindergartners are led by their teacher, but everyone else just goes. Nothing like Georgia. Anyway, I was waiting by the second grade door and Jorja was taking forever. I noticed others coming out with a math box that I knew she would be bringing home, so I just thought she was still decorating the box. I started thinking, "I'm glad I wasn't in the car rider lane today, everyone would be frustrated because she still isn't here." Awhile later I looked up and there she was crying. She couldn't find me. She didn't see me, so I called to her. She had been headed toward another adult, I overheard that adult say, "Boy, that was scary." Jorja was in music when school let out. Her class went out a different door. Jorja was following some people in her class, but they were walking home. She was lost. Luckily they helped her find the way back to the school. I wish someone would have helped her know where she should go from the beginning. I guess it was just a weird day.

First Day of Diving

What a crazy day. We did homeschool at Steve & Shannon's. Rushed back to pick up Jorja in the pooring rain. Picked up Mike and work and he went with me to Stockton's first diving class at the University of Utah. Stockton has been so excited about taking diving lessons. We were going to have him take them at Georgia Tech, but we moved. Today was his first lesson and he loved it. Especially free time. His teacher is named Monica and she is very nice. There are three other kids around Stockton's age, then four high-school girls. Stockton was so happy when we left, he gets to do this twice a week. As soon as we got home, Stockton threw up all over the kitchen floor. That boy gets car sick so easy!

We were home for about five minutes before it was time to take Maysen to Young Women's. She had a calendar that said it was a Broom Hockey activity. I took Maysen, but I didn't recognize anybody . . . neither did Maysen. We wandered around for about fifteen to twenty minutes. Maysen kept laughing at me because I HATE to talk to people. She kept saying, just ask someone. I couldn't even remember the name of our ward, so I was completely embarrassed. I finally asked someone, but they weren't in our ward. I asked if they knew what other wards were in this building . . . they didn't. I found that very odd. In Georgia, not only did we know the other ward names, but we knew/recognized most of the people in the other wards.

We were finally guided to someone in our new ward. They were playing volleyball. Maysen was less than thrilled. She doesn't enjoy volleyball. The other people were nice and tried to make Maysen feel welcomed, but it was nice to get home.

Hopefully tomorrow won't be as hectic. The worst part of the day was when I read a message from Stockton's teacher saying the scantron didn't transfer and he would need to take it again. I am so frustrated. I wish I would have stayed with GCA until we found a house and then put the kids in school. There is no reason to make him take that test again. The test is going to be exactly the same as the one he took in Georgia. It is a test that keeps going and going until you start getting most of your answers wrong. Stockton went way too far. He is such a good guesser, even when he doesn't know what the question is asking. I'm not going to have him do that again. I called Kathy at UTVA, who assured me several times that this transfer would be easy and that he wouldn't have to take the scantron over again.....she hasn't called me back. Well . . . at least diving was fun.

Still House Hunting

If only we could combine the awesome yard, with the awesome view, the great floor plan and the good location . . . then we would be in business. Too bad it would then be out of our price range. Mike, Maysen and I looked at 9 houses. Nothing perfect. We'll keep trying.

We enjoyed listening to the first session of conference. We had to record the second session. I loved President Uchtdorf's comment about 'how does this relate to flying an airplane?' Nice.

Last ABF truck! Hooray!

Preston went shopping at Smith's with me today. He thought it was funny the store was named Smith's. He loved the little shopping cart to push, and the free balloon. I was worried he would want a free cookie, but he never asked about that. He loved pushing the cart super-fast down the isles. I'm glad he didn't crash into anybody, but he did come close a couple of times.

Preston

Our last ABF truck came today. Thanks to Steve, Matt, and my dad we were able to get it unloaded ten minutes before the gate to the storage area was shut for the night. Maybe we'll just leave all our stuff there....I don't want to move it again. When Cassie posted about her ABF moving experience, she had someone contact her to fix a problem she had. So, if the ABF blog looking lady is reading this....hello!

Before we headed home, Mike and I took dad and Matt to A&W for rootbeer floats. We wanted to go to Iceberg, but it was gone! Anyway, the floats were yummy and I got to enjoy FRY SAUCE again! (For the french fries, not the floats.) Oh, Utah I love you! We didn't get home until around 10:00. Maysen fed the kids and put them to bed. I LOVE having a twelve year old! Even more than fry sauce. Preston doesn't love me more than meat. He told me so, because he really likes meat.

Unloading - Take One

The first moving truck arrived today. Mike, my dad, Steve, Scoop, and Cori were able to get it unloaded and into the storage facility by four o'clock. There were a few casualties. The kids computer desks didn't make it. Our washer and dryer got pretty thrashed I hear...but they were on their last leg anyway. Mike's office desk is a goner. The one that hurt though was two of Maysen's pottery pieces broke. One was her blue vase that she loved. I'm going to show her in the morning to see if she wants to try to glue it back together.

Jorja was in agony again today. She didn't go to school. I ended up taking her back to the doctor. I hope she is feeling better tomorrow. It has been so sad to watch her. I can't even put into words how hard it is to watch her suffer like this. I am just so thankful that we know this will be over in a few days. I can't even imagine what it would be like if she had a something worse.

I realized that yesterday I didn't write about how much Maysen enjoyed The Lion King. She loved it. She especially loved the giraffes. I wish Jorja and Maysen could have loved it together. Several times during the show I caught myself watching Maysen watch the play. It was magical.

First Day

Mike had his first day at overstock.com today. He seemed to like it. When they showed him to his desk, they said, "Here's your brand new laptop and phone. It's top of the line stuff." They had a 1980's era laptop and an old brick style phone waiting for him at his desk. Mike seemed to really enjoy the people he was working with, so hopefully this will be a good job.

I got Jorja registered for school today. She starts tomorrow. Her teacher will be Mrs. Walker. She is excited, but a little nervous.

I'm pretty sure Preston drove Scoop crazy today. I spent the entire day doing laundry and unpacking. Preston spent the entire day coming up with mischief of one sort or another. Scoop walked into the front room to find Preston on top of the grand piano. He wanted to turn a light switch on. He wanted all the lights on. Scoop doesn't like all the lights on, never has. Preston is three. Oh boy.

Cori got a big kick out of Preston during family prayers tonight. Preston isn't known for being the most reverent child. Apparently Cori was peaking at him during prayers. He looked at her with one hand over one of his eyes and said, "I have one eye open." That's my reverent child.

In Your Face New Mexico!

We are finally here! I can not believe I drove the entire way, pulling a tent trailer with all four kids. Previously the farthest I have driven is from Sandy to Idaho Falls. After about two hours, I get really tired. I must have gained about ten pounds though, I was chomping on things non-stop. At least it worked and we are all here safe and sound.

Today we started off in Nebraska, went through Wyoming and then finally Utah! The kids slept through most of Nebraska last night. We only had about thirty minutes left. Wyoming seemed to take forever this time. Jorja said, "Wyoming is even longer than New Mexico." Preston then yelled, "In your face New Mexico!"

We got here about six o'clock. Scoop and Cori had a delicious dinner waiting for us. It felt so nice to eat real food. Steve & Shannon and their kids all came up to see us. Our kids were so happy! Now everyone is fast asleep, and I feel like I can sleep for a week....don't think I will though.

FOUND!

Jorja's blanket has been located. Life is good. The Super 8 Hotel in Tennessee is mailing it to Utah. Thank goodness! Porge has been much more reasonable/agreeable now.

We started off the day in Missouri. I thought that state would never end. Luckily it did. We had a quick 20 minutes in Iowa, then on to Nebraska. That is where we are now. We are so close to Wyoming....which means we are close to Utah! Tonight we are sleeping at a Days Inn. They have an indoor pool and hot tub. Mike took Stockton and Jorja for a quick dip. Preston fell asleep in the car and luckily stayed asleep. Hopefully he'll sleep all night and not have nightmares. Last night he woke up screaming that the silver controller wasn't working. Something about the circle not working. (Jorja said that was the C button) Anyway, it was three in the morning and he was very upset. Life can be hard for such a little boy.

Big Mistake!

We made a big mistake. A horrible, terrible, awful, devastating mistake. At least where a little Porge is concerned. Last night we stayed at the Super 8 in Tennessee. Tonight, right after dinner, we realized we left Jorja's blanket there. Her frog blanket. The one Grandma Parry made for her. The one she stitched Jorja loves frogs on. The one Jorja loves and sleeps with every night....and carries around a lot of the day. That would be the blanket that we think is in Tennessee. Jorja cried and cried. She is so sad. I called the motel tonight, but he said to call in the morning and ask the maids. I don't think he understood the gravity of the situation. This isn't a 'call in the morning' type of phone call.....this is a serious, I need to know now type of phone call. He didn't have the same opinion as I did. So, I guess I'll call in the morning and pray they have her blanket. Jorja wanted us to turn around and drive back to Tennessee. Sorry, I just couldn't do that.

Anyway, we started out in Tennessee, then back to Georgia, back to Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and now we are in Missouri. At least I think that's how it went.... Jorja threw up in Kentucky. I had a bag of snacks on the seat next to me, I dumped them out as quick as I could, handed the bag back to her, just in time. I guess a combination of car sickness and junk food for the last week caught up with her.

We also stopped at a Walmart and got oil changes for both the cars. One of the things we didn't quite get to before we left. Mike bought some clothes. His got packed. He fished them out of the truck, then they got packed again. I can't find the bag we had all our toothbrushes in either, so we restocked a little.

We are in Kingdom City, Missouri right now. We wanted to go further, but it was storming so hard. The lightning was pretty awesome, but we decided to call it quits for today. Plus, Mike is feeling really sick right now. We ate at Denny's, hopefully he didn't eat anything bad. Sure hope he's up to driving all day tomorrow.

Jerome Was Right

As much as I hate to say it, Jerome was right. Drat! He came over and helped Mike load the last few heavy things, and to close up the truck. Irene was over here for over five hours this morning. Stephanie also stopped by to help. Justin, from across the street, helped Mike load several things as well. What would I do without such amazing friends?

The kids were cute as they took a last walk through of the house. Maysen stopped in every room and remembered something about it. Stockton went through the entire house and closed every door. (Later, Mike went through the entire house and opened every door.) While I was walking through the house one last time, Chris & Wendye came to say good-bye. They live on our street. Cole came a few minutes later. My kids were all loaded in the car, but we weren't ready to leave yet. (They loaded themselves in about two hours early....they were pretty bored, and we had a movie on in the car.) Anyway, Stockton saw Cole, so he came out to say good-bye. When Stockton did that, Cole threw up all over the floor. Luckily it was on the kitchen floor and not the carpet. I thought that was so funny. You never can tell what is going to happen. Chris & Wendye helped me clean it up. They said he throws up when he gets emotional. He threw up for Stockton....isn't that sweet.

As we drove away, I said, "Take a last look at our house." Wil & Cole were also on their porch waving good-bye. A few minutes later, Stockton said, "That was hard, saying good-bye to our house and waving to Wil & Cole." But we did. And now we are on the road. We got on the freeway about 10:00 at night. We are now in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I'm very tired...so I will end.

Preston, Maysen, Stephanie, Mike, Stockton, Jorja

Maysen & Jaz

(Jaz lives across the street...Maysen is 3 days older.)

Yeah, We Have a Lot of Stuff

The plan was to leave at 6:30 this morning. Hopefully make it all the way to St. Louis. We did not follow the plan. We are still in Georgia. Will the packing never end? We are so thankful for our wonderful friends. Stephanie took Stockton, Jorja and Preston swimming, and then had them play at her house for a couple of hours. That was so nice....the kids were bored here. Teresa came with the sister missionaries this morning. She brought me five suckers. I had told her that I really wanted these specific suckers to help me stay awake as I drove. She let me know where I could find them, but I never got a chance. I was so excited when she brought them for me. That was so nice. She then added onto her niceness by helping me pack. Irene spent ALL DAY here. Maybe not all day, but at least eight hours. She was the very last one to leave. Darren helped load for a few hours this afternoon, then was back for several hours this evening. Stephanie, Kathryn & Rylee came tonight. They packed up my Santa Claus closet. I was dreading doing that. Tim and Jerome also came to help. When Jerome was leaving he said, "See you tomorrow Stephanie!" Hopefully NOT! That would be sad. I don't know what we would do if we didn't have so many people helping us. We are so very blessed.

Mike & Darren ~ 1 truckload done!

Good-Bye Mirror Lake

Today was Jorja's last day at school. She has loved it. She loved every year and every teacher. I have loved this school as well. Jorja's class ate in the classroom to celebrate Jorja. They made her a cute good-bye poster and gave her some flowers. They also had cupcakes. She has had a great school year and made a new favorite friend. Mason. Jorja collects friends. Every year she has one very special friend. This year it was Mason. I wonder who it will be when we get to Utah.

Jorja & Mason

Flowers from her class

Ms. Chambers (student teacher) & Jorja

Jorja & Mrs. Trombino

At the end of the day, I went to sign the withdrawal papers for Jorja. As I left the office, I noticed her talking to Mrs. Latham. We were talking for a bit when Mrs. Catlin and Emma found us. Emma was Jorja's favorite friend in Kindergarten. She is still a very, very favorite friend to Jorja. They don't have the same teacher, but they still get to have P.C. together. Anyway, Emma was so sad to say good-bye to Jorja. Jorja gave her a hug, but didn't say anything. Emma couldn't talk, she was too upset. As Emma walked away Jorja ran up and put a frog on her shoulder. I was tearing up just watching them. Jorja had spent her camp cash on the frog. She is going to miss Emma.

When I went to lunch for Jorja's party, I brought Stockton so he could eat with his friends. I don't think he liked all the attention he received from all the kids. It's "annoying". He has had a couple of very long, boring days.

Stockton & Mrs. Catlin ~ 4th grade

Mrs. Smith (White) & Stockton ~ 2nd grade

Mason & Stockton ~ a bunch of goons

Today Maysen had a combined activity. It was a scavenger hunt at the mall. Maysen had a pretty good time. After the activity, Jerome & Payton came over and helped load more boxes. Payton was the very first person Maysen met in Georgia. They were four. Wow.

Payton & Maysen

Irene also came over and helped me for several hours. Darren helped load more boxes and Stephanie came over in the morning and then at night. She stayed until past midnight. I really appreciate it. Our original plan was to be all packed up and ready to leave at 6 a.m. in the morning. That is not going to happen. Hopefully we can leave tomorrow....we have so much to do. It is 2:00 in the morning, so I better get some sleep.