Up On the Housetop

I sent this message to Jorja yesterday. She sent me back a heart today. I love her.

Jorja was very tired today. She slept until it was time to go to Preston's piano recital. I'm glad she was able to make it there. Preston played Up On the Housetop and was stinking adorable.

 Preston

 I don't know the names of all the kids....

Taggart, Ava, Hadley-Kate, Preston, and Eli is by his grandma

My dad came over today to do laundry. They have been having problems with their washing machine. Hopefully everything will be solved on Monday.

Jorja rested up so she could go to her student government activity. They were going Christmas caroling. Jorja has a C- in student government right now because she missed a week and a major activity last Saturday. She went caroling today. They even came to our house. Luckily I had looked frantically for a few dollars after she left, so we were prepared. After the singing they went to Brooklyn's house to have hot chocolate and celebrate her birthday. Jorja had all the money they earned. $700. She said it scared her so much, so she handed it over as soon as she got to Brooklyn's. Mr. Packer came over while she was there. He asked her to come and talk to him. He wanted to know why she was caroling when she had been so sick. She told him she didn't want to fail his class. Then he started asking her about perfume. He was planning on buying a gift for someone in his family I think. Anyway, Jorja came home at a decent hour. Way before her curfew. Maybe mono is good for something? She was soooooo tired when she got home.

Jorja & Stephanie

I spent the evening putting together gingerbread houses. I have ten houses done for tomorrow. I have all the frosting made too. That should make the morning less stressful.

First Date

Preston had his piano recital today. He is my fourth child and is parented like it. I can honestly say I have never heard him practice either of the pieces he played in his recital. He either practiced while I was gone, practiced on Stockton's piano downstairs or is an excellent sight-reader!

Preston

Preston's first song was too long to upload, but here is his second one.

Preston, Taggart, Hadley-Kate, Liam's brother, pretty girl, boy, Liam, Sister Newman, Liam's other brother

Ava, two boys, three pretty girls

Today was Jorja's first official date. Technically she went out with Mackie yesterday as part of the date today; but yesterday I wanted to put the title as Engineering Project, so I'm claiming her first date as today. Jorja spent all day getting ready. I would never have the patience to spend that much time on hair/makeup. She was trying to get her hair in a weird 50s updo. She got frustrated. I think she looks great like this. Clair picked her up first. I snapped a few quick pictures before she walked out the door.

Jorja

 For some reason I snapped a picture of the car as it drove away.

Fifteen minutes after Jorja left we got a call from her. She had been in a car accident. Claire, Jorja and Mackie were in the car. They were driving to pick up Claire's date. A lady ran a red light. She was also speeding. The car was totaled. We are so lucky that the three kids in the car were just bruised. This could have been so bad. The lady wasn't hurt either. Jorja said she was acting pretty mad at them. Jorja was looking down at her phone. When she looked up the car was right there. She said everything went in slow motion. She vividly remembers watching the car hood crumple up. They spun around. She felt like she was in a movie. All three kids were super quiet while this was happening. Mackie threw out his arm to hold Jorja in. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt, so glad he stayed in the car! Claire's leg started bruising up right away. Jorja has had chest and neck pain for a few days since the accident. Mackie's back was pretty sore by the end of the day. Still, so lucky! To think, I had been so worried about her being in a car accident the night before when they were driving up the canyon in the dark. I didn't worry about it in the dry daytime!

Jorja said Claire was crying. She felt so bad. She kept apologizing for ruining Jorja's first date. Claire's parents came down and were with them while they dealt with the aftermath. They had to stay at the crash site for a good hour. I am so glad that Jorja called us. One of our neighbors called us and asked if Jorja was in an accident. They had driven by. So glad we found out from Jorja and already knew she was okay! Claire has a twin sister, Sydney, she went and picked up Claire's date. The group was meeting at the football field. The other kids waited there for Jorja and her group to arrive. They were able to snap a few pictures before they hurried off to dinner.

Jorja and Mackie

 Maggie & Maggie's date, Jorja & Mackie, Liz & Darby, Sydney & Max, Hasti, Finn & Ellie, Christian & Brinley, Jared & Kenzie, Griffin & Claire

Hasti is by herself because her date got sick. At least she was able to go with him last night. She was a pretty good sport to go to the dance and not let that spoil her night.

 Jorja, Sydney, Kenzie, Brinley, Liz, Claire, Ellie, Hasti, Maggie

The kids then went and ate at Sonic and were able to be at the dance for about an hour. Claire's parents took them to the football field. They were split into different cars after that, so Jorja and Mackie were no longer driving together. Jorja had fun being there at the end of the dance. They do this weird circle/cheer thing. The student body and class officers all get to lead the cheer from the middle of the circle. She loved it. After the dance everyone went to Kenzie's house. They wrestled and played games and then came home. I was so happy to have her home! Overall, Jorja had a great first date. She could have done without the car accident though. She'll never be able to say her first date wasn't memorable!

Liz, Jorja, Ellie, Hasti

Stockton meanwhile had a fun time of his own. He went downtown and hung out with his diving friends. They played Mario Kart, ping pong and one other game. Stockton never lost a game. He got home shortly after Jorja did. Stockton, Jorja and I stayed up talking until 1:30 in the morning. We are going to be tired tomorrow!

Chaperones

Jorja helped me get the day 5 and 6 packages ready. We chose 'five golden oranges'. We had a nativity ornament on the package as well. For day six we did 'six hugs and kisses'. We put the hugs and kisses candies on a bag. There was a book called "I Will Not Leave You Comfortless" on the inside. I hope they like it.

Preston had his piano recital today. It was a small crowd this time. Preston did great! I was disappointed that I forgot to video him. He didn't mind though.

Taggert, Preston, Hall kids (Eli is in blue), Ava, Sister Newman

 Preston with Sister Newman's Christmas treat

Mike and I were assigned to chaperone the Christmas dance. It is a boys choice dance. We tried to get Stockton to take Jorja. We tried to convince him that it would be fun. We would be there chaperoning. Stockton said, "You're really selling this mom. Come on Stockton, take your sister! It will be fun ~ I'll be there." Haha. I guess that's not the best tactic. Mike and I turned out to be the only chaperones that showed up. Mr. Packer was so mad. He said this has never happened before. He sent out a mean text and got someone else to come, but no where near the number he needed. It's weird because everything is laid out in the student government book that is passed out at the beginning of the year. I've had this on my calendar. Under Christmas dance it said, "Freshman Public Relations', along with the names of the other people who needed their parents to come as chaperones. Mike and I had a great time. We were in charge of the hall by the drama room. Our job was not to let anyone past the doors. We literally spent three hours playing on rolling chairs. It was so much fun. We kept sending videos to the kids. They didn't think we were half as amusing as we thought we were. We were supposed to be there for only the first half of the dance, but no other chaperones showed up to take our place. At least we had fun while we were there. By the end we were pretty good. Mike and I were dancing with the chairs when Mr. Packer walked by. I said, "Can we chaperone Morp?" Nope. I guess one dance of dealing with our antics is enough.

Mike

Mike's chair dance

Partner dance a.k.a. what we did for three hours

Life is good.

Mike's 43rd Birthday

I dropped Maysen off at Sam's so she could take her down to Provo for the Storymakers conference. That is so nice of Sam! It sure made my day a lot easier. Today is Mike's 43rd birthday. Mike, Preston and I have been playing this game called Seafall. It takes awhile to figure out, but then it is fun. We have been playing it for a few months now. Well, Preston didn't adhere to birthday rules and he stomped us today. He also managed to get himself crowned Emperor which triggered a whole different set of rules. We'll have to figure out how to play that now. Jorja made Mike Churro French Toast while we were playing. Shea came over this morning before softball practice. I picked up Jorja from practice and we stopped at a game store called Mystic that is by our house. Jorja was a little creeped out. Lots of people were in the back playing Dungeons and Dragons. Some were painting little figurines or building their worlds. We did find two games that we think Mike will like. Actually there were a lot of games we thought he would like, but we limited ourselves to two. That gift is going to be from the kids.

Preston had a piano recital today. He did great. I recorded his last song. He is so cute!

Preston

The piano kids. The Christensens are next to Preston. I see the Halls and the Willes. Audrey is wearing the hat. Sister Newman is their teacher.

 I like Preston and Ava in this picture.

We made it back home and I had just enough time to finish Mike's cake before it was time to pick up Maysen. Sam was super, super, super nice and drove Maysen home when she was finished. Then Sam went back to Provo for the dinner she needed to attend. Talk about going above and beyond in helping me out! Once Maysen was home it was present time! Not a lot of presents, but still fun.

Mike ~ 43 years old

 Gifts from the kids

 I got Mike an air fryer. I hope he likes it and I hope it works!

 Mike's beautiful cake. Lemon everything.

 Stockton looks concerned about the way Mike is blowing out his candles.

We went out to eat at Mulan's. It is a small Chinese restaurant near Jordan High School. We were the only ones in there for awhile. The people working had two small children. The mom was trying to help her young son learn to count. She kept saying, "Eleven, twelve . . ." Jorja could understand her when she talked to her boy in Chinese. Jorja whispered to us saying, "She's telling him he can get a treat if he says his numbers." How cool is that? I begged Jorja to come with me and talk to the lady in Chinese. She doesn't get a lot of practice outside of the classroom. Jorja did not want to go, but she did anyway. She spoke in Chinese to tell the lady her food was very good. They had a conversation in Chinese, which I didn't understand at all. I loved it though. The mom called the little boy over. Jorja said, in Chinese, "Your English is very well." Or something like that. The little kids eyes about popped out of his head. It was almost like he was thinking, "How do you know our secret language?" So fun!

Mike got a birthday card from his dad with a gift card inside. The gift card was to Chuck-E-Cheese. We laughed and laughed. That was fun to tease him about. We used to go to Chuck-E-Cheese a lot when our kids were little. We haven't been there for years. Although I bet Preston would love to go there sometime. Too bad the Chuck-E-Cheese by our house closed a few years ago. I wonder where one is. Surely they still exist or they wouldn't be selling gift cards.

We came home from dinner and played a few rounds of Code Names Pictures. That was fun. I hope Mike had a great birthday. At least I hope it was nice. Or okay. I don't think it was horrible, so that's good.

Diving and Piano

Stockton had his first high school meet of the season.  It was at the University of Utah.  Stockton did really well.  He got high marks on his first four dives.  His fifth dive is a twist, which he hates.  He landed it, but not with high marks.  His last dive he usually nails, his front 2 1/2 tuck.  It was not his best.  It was closer to the board than usual, which is good; he just didn't get it as straight as he normally does when he enters the water.  Anyway, he placed third.  I think he was only .5 behind second place.

Mike playing with the camera on his new phone

Mike took the pictures, but for some reason not I couldn't pull them all up.  That's okay, at least I got two.

 Stockton

 Stockton ~ back 1/2 ~ 203B

Stockton has gotten a lot better at this dive!  This is the dive that tripped him up at State the first time.

Mike, Stockton and I went to Red Robin after the meet.  Yummy.  We hurried home and headed out the door to Preston's piano recital.  I was texting him on the way home asking him to get dressed.  He dressed himself in a church shirt, black sweat pants that are too big and black tennis shoes.  I do need to get him new church shoes.....Anyway, Mike and I were really nervous for this recital.  Preston did not practice as much as he should have.  For example, yesterday when I asked him to practice he said in a robot voice "Does not compute...avoiding confrontation."  Whatever.  Sometimes he plays his pieces okay, and other times it is a train wreck.  We had no idea what this would be. Luckily for us he did a nice job.  It wasn't perfect, but it could have been awful!

Preston

 Audrey, Preston and others with Sister Newman

 One with Audrey smiling at me

Jorja went to the Harry Potter movie with Leah and Natalie.  Leah's mom dropped them off and I picked them up.  We stopped at Iceburg. They ate their shakes while I listened to the last of the BYU/Colorado basketball game.  BYU won.  Yay!  Jorja, Leah and Natalie want to try and go to a movie once a month so they can bond.  All three of them are in the Chinese program, so who knows what will happen to them next year.  It will be great if they became good friends before the unknown happens.

Preston's Piano

Preston has gotten pretty good at the piano.  The great thing is, he does it all by himself with his teacher.  I don't help him at all.  He had a piano recital today at the library.  He played four pieces.  I tried to upload them, but the file was too big.

Preston

Preston, his piano teacher Sister Newman, some of her other students

We stopped and looked for a book Preston wanted.  He put it on hold. We then went to see what other books that author had that was available.  Low and behold, the book Preston wanted was there! He was pretty excited about that.

Stockton & Preston

Maysen spent the day at the zoo with some people from vet class.  She would send us random pictures of animals during the day.  That was fun.  She got home just in time to go to Preston's recital.  He was happy about that.  Preston tells me all the time how much he is going to miss Maysen when she is gone.  He has been helping her give Zeke his medicine.  Maysen is going to ask Preston to take care of Zeke for her while she is away.  I think he will be excited about that.

Forgetful

All day long I remembered Preston had piano and Maysen had statistics.  All day long.  Until I forgot to send Preston to piano!  Last week Preston forgot, this week I did!  Rediculous!  Maybe it wasn't last week, but it seems like it was.  I am getting so forgetful, I hate it.  I did remember to take Maysen to statistics though.  When I got back Stockton and Jorja were at Young Mens and Young Womens.  Jorja seemed to have fun.  She has had a rough time lately.  Just doesn't feel like she fits in, which is crazy!  There are a lot of girls, and they all seem to really like her.  She just doesn't believe it.  There might be too many girls that she feels lost in the crowd.  Anyway, today she was happy when she came home.  That is great because I couldn't even get her to go last week.

Recital

Maysen, Stockton and Preston had a recital today.  I hope they practiced.  I was not good about reminding them.  We are so close to the end of the school year.  I can make it!  Anyway, the kids sounded good and we are done with piano/voice until the fall.  Yay!

You can kind of see Maysen and Stockton in the back.

Preston is in the front with Annabelle's hand on him.

We went to a pizza place afterwards.  I think it is called Smokey Mountain Pizza.  Preston got to make his own pizza.  How cute is that?

Preston

Stockton drove us both ways and we lived to tell the tale.  Just kidding. He did a really good job.  He is not as hard to convince to drive as Maysen is!  Hopefully he will like it and feel comfortable doing it.  It would be a hard life to not have this skill!

Recital

I took my last group of girls to Kneaders today.  This is what we did for the Young Women birthdays this year.  I loved this birthday idea, but it proved to be a little more complicated than we anticipated. There were four girls that were never able to go.  Becky bought them a little hummingbird cake there and I dropped them off later today.

Maysen, Stockton and Preston had a recital today.  Maysen sang two songs and the boys played the piano.  They even played a duet and I loved it!  We brought Max because my dad had a wedding to go to.  My kids went first at the recital because we had to leave right away.  The recital started at 11:00.  Stockton had a diving competition at the UofU. Warm ups started at 11:00.  Yikes!

Preston & Stockton

We made it, but Stockton wasn't able to warm up at all.  He was nervous about his reverse 1 1/2, but was able to pull it off.

Reverse 1 1/2

Inward 1 1/2

Becky invited the Young Women presidency and their husbands to dinner.  I was asked to bring a dessert.  I made a chocolate peppermint bundt cake.  It kind of stuck to the pan so it didn't look pretty, but it was delicious.  Once I put the crushed candy canes on top you couldn't notice the dent as much. Anyway, we had such a great time!  At the end of the night we played Telestrations.  It is a mix of pictionary and telephone.  We laughed and laughed.  This was my favorite.

Started with snowplow and ended with satan sacrificing a person.  Oh man, we laughed and laughed.  I was so tired when we got home, but it was a lot of fun!