Brasa Grill with Preston and The Porge

Mike, Jorja, Preston and I all went to Brasa Grill together. We had the best time and Jorja and Preston kept cracking us up. I am enjoying every second we get to spend with this girl. Home MTC is the best!

Preston & Jorja

Jorja went to the temple with her friend Kylie.

Kylie & Jorja

I think Jorja will miss the ducks more than they will miss Jorja.

I have a problem with emails.

Temple with Alyssa

I took Preston to the dermatologist this morning. That ended up going quicker than I expected. Stockton got an "A" Pin Award in the mail. It is for getting a 4.0 for two quarters in a row. (Minimum 15 credits) He does work SO HARD at school.

Stockton

Alyssa took her endowments out today. She picked the Jordan River Temple. Everyone in our family, except Preston, was able to be there. That was great. Mr. Packer was playing the piano in the chapel and Jorja thought that was pretty cool. The Jordan River temple is huge! So much bigger than Draper. It was great being in the Celestial Room with everyone. The wedding is coming up close! Can't believe Stockton is getting married! He is so excited. I'm happy for him.

Stockton & Alyssa

Mike and I were planning on going to the cabin today and coming back tomorrow. We want to get things set up for Stockton and Alyssa. We didn't get home from the temple until after 10:00. By that we were too tired. We are planning on waking up super early tomorrow and heading down there. It will be a LONG day. Hahaha

Last Minute Jazz Game

Today was a fun day. I spent the morning working on a book review Covenant sent me. About 1:30 Debie texted me and asked if I would like to go to the Jazz game with them tonight. She is going with Savannah and Katie. Wow! I didn't expect that! I had even planned on watching the BYU alumni game instead of the Jazz game. My plans instantly changed. So, this is how my day ended up turning out. I left about 2:15 and went to the mall to pick up Jorja's temple dress from being hemmed. I then met Jorja at her first eye therapy appointment. She didn't want me to come back with her. I waited up front, but had brought my book review I needed to work on. Jorja only showed me one thing when she came out. We were in the parking lot and didn't have a lot of time. She had this paper with letters and numbers that were two inches big. Some had a white background and some had a red. She said, "Mom, this is so weird. Put these glasses on and read what is in the red." The glasses had two different color lenses. I put them on and read them quickly. She was surprised that I didn't struggle at all. She said that when she puts the glasses on, everything in the red boxes disappears. Anyway, she is going to show me more when we are at the cabin this weekend.

Jorja wanted to do initiatories while she was down here. We both had appointments for 4:30. Right before she left Logan she changed hers to 5:00 because she was worried she wouldn't have enough time. I wasn't able to get mine changed. I gave her my credit card and told her to fill her car up with gas and she could meet me there. I went to the temple first and waited for her until she was finished. Jorja said this is the sixth time she went to the temple this month. She has been to the Logan Temple twice, the Draper Temple twice, and also to the Gilbert Temple and the Seattle Temple. Nicely done Porge!

Stephanie & Jorja

I hurried home, ate real quick and then headed to Salt Lake. I got there about ten minutes before I was supposed to meet my cousins, so that was great. Cell phones are awesome. We found each other pretty easily. I sent this picture to my brothers.

Stephanie, Debie, Katie, Savannah

I also sent this one. Savannah, Katie, Debie, Stephanie

The game ended nicely!

Tonight was so much fun. Spending time with Jorja in the temple, seeing my cousins which was awesome! And top it all off with a Jazz win. Just the best. I got home about 11:00. My plan had been to be all packed for the cabin tomorrow so we could leave right when I got home from work. That is not going to happen, but it will be okay. I'm glad I was able to see some of my Idaho cousins. It was a lot of fun. Crazy they are driving back tonight. Even crazier Katie is teaching first grade tomorrow. She is a trouper!

Logan Temple with Jorja

I woke up super early with my back just killing me. The beds were comfortable when I went to sleep. Story of my life. Anyway, I got up and roamed the hotel. I found out breakfast didn't start until 7:00, so I went to a corner on our floor and watched news reports about Ukraine. Praying hard for all the people there. Anyway, I had a delicious breakfast and then hurried to our room to get ready. I woke everyone else up in the process, but that's okay, it was time for them to get up anyway. I walked over to Jorja's room and waited while she got ready. I spent the time transferring her temple clothes to the bag I brought. While I was doing that it dawned on me that I didn't bring up garments. I asked Jorja is she had any. She said, "You said you were going to bring them up." I did say that. I just didn't follow through. I told her I forgot. I only had the bottoms I randomly bought at Deseret Book yesterday. Jorja thought for a second and she said, "I think I grabbed a top when I was home last time. I don't know why." She did! We were able to have everything she needed! When I bought the bottoms yesterday I had no clue I had forgotten them. It didn't even cross my mind. Same with Jorja. She doesn't know why she brought a top up. Heavenly Father was sure looking out for us on that one. Tender mercy. Anyway, I was worried we were going to be late. Jorja told me the temple was only five minutes away. I didn't think that was accurate. Nope. Jorja was right. We got there exactly on time. My dad was already there when we arrived. That was lucky because he gave me names when we dropped off Bear to be watched last night. I handed them back to him and he was able to give them to Mike and Stockton when he saw them. (I had forgotten to leave them with Mike.) Jorja had five friends come. Sami who came up from Sandy, she is going on a mission to Nauvoo. Clara who lives across the hall. Jorja is going to Seattle with her over spring break. Clara also is going on a mission to Paris. Annika, who we met when we were standing in line when we were waiting for ID cards when Jorja moved up here.... how cool is that! (She also changed her flight home so she could be there for Jorja. Wow!) Jorja's ambassador friend Alexa, who Jorja looks up to so much. And a girl from Jorja's ski class and Chinese class. Pretty awesome. When we came out of the temple it was snowing big flakes and was just beautiful!

Jorja & Stephanie 

Jorja

Sami, Jorja, Clara

Jorja

Stockton, Jorja, Maysen

Sami, Jorja, Clara

I told Jorja I wanted a picture where we did our pose. I kissed her forehead. Later when we were at lunch I looked at her and said, "That wasn't our pose! We were supposed to touch foreheads!" She laughed and said she was wondering what I was doing. Boooooo on me!

Jorja & Stephanie

Mike, Maysen, Jorja, Stockton, Stephanie, Dad

Mike, Maysen, Jorja, Stockton, Stephanie

Clara taking our picture

Mike took Maysen and Stockton back to the hotel to pick up Preston. The rest of us went to Jack's Wood Fired Oven. Then didn't open until 12:00, so we were 15 minutes early. The girls hopped in Clara's car and I got in my dad's. It was perfect because it gave Mike plenty of time to get back with the other kids. The pizza was really good. We had a cheese, a pepperoni, and some fun ones. Birds and the Bees was delicious. Chicken, honey and huckleberries. Jorja loved Cozumel which had shrimp and avocados on it. I only got a picture of Sunnyside which had eggs, bacon and potatoes. That was good.

After stuffing ourselves silly we drove back to Jorja's apartment while she packed. Stockton and Preston worked on Stockton's programming and played Battle Bots. We had to squish to take Stockton home. Then Jorja came back to Sandy with us. She went out with Paige later and I watched BYU lose to San Francisco. That was disappointing. Good thing the rest of the day was so great!

Preston's New Backpack

Brett and Rachel discovered yesterday that their left turn signal didn't work. Knowing that Rachel was going to be driving back across the country by herself, that was a big concern. Brett, Rachel and I drove to a NAPA auto parts store in Thayne. They were so nice. They ended up being able to order the entire thing Rachel needed. It will get here Friday morning. The store that is connected to it is a mechanic shop. They helped Brett and Rachel figure out what was wrong and said they would install it for them on Friday. Rachel said she had tried to get this fixed three times and every time they told her they couldn't get the parts. The blinker still worked though, it just went very fast. It wasn't until yesterday that it stopped working completely. Luckily we are staying here until Friday, so this will work for them.

My dad and Matt took a bunch of little kids on a 4 wheeler ride. They went to the beach and found the road that is usually covered in water. Brett and I were watching out the window and could see a huge dust storm. It started raining a bit. We could see the 4 wheelers coming back and crossing the big highway. Right as they got back it started pouring. I think most of the kids got inside, but I think it caught my dad and Matt. Talk about good timing! That would have been awful to be caught it. Especially with all the tiny kids!

We had Marie's cake after lunch. It was pretty funny. It is pure cotton candy. It was actually better than I thought it would be. Each layer was a different flavor. A small slice was more than enough. We only went through half of the cake at lunch.

Marie & Eve

Brett did a great job slicing. It's harder to do than it looks!

Preston, Mina, Greg

Amy, Greg

The girls loved playing with Preston. He came up from the basement and told me he got his new backpack from school. Hahaha - what an adorable backpack!

Eve & Preston

Eve, Preston, Anne

While we were having cabin fun, Stockton had the opportunity to go through the temple with Gavin. Gavin has been such a great friend to Stockton through the years. How cool that Stockton was invited and able to be there for this. Gavin invited Dani also. The session was small. It was Gavin, his parents, Stockton, Dani and Isaac. Isaac was randomly there. I remember him being friends with Gavin in high school, so that is funny. Gavin has a mission call to Japan. He got his call one week after Stockton got home from his mission. He doesn't leave for another month. About six months between his call and his departure. That's nuts!

Gavin & Stockton

Dani, Gavin, Shannon, Nate, Stockton

Mike brought Stockton back to the cabin. Maysen didn't feel well enough to come. She was quite disappointed when I talked to her on the phone. She wasn't looking forward to being alone. I told her Jorja was going to be there. She had no idea. That made her so happy. She wasn't looking forward to being alone again.

Mike brought the mugs up and I was so excited to give it to them. They were in individual boxes. I picked the first one up and it said Marie on the bottom. I handed it to Marie and she opened it. She said, "It's a cup that says Amy." Hahaha. Okay, the names didn't match what was written on the bottom. I was so happy with the cups. I love them. Sam told me that the cups I picked for her kids were perfect. She likes to joke that Anne's favorite game is Queen Anne. Anne's cup had a crown. I was worried Jeff wouldn't like his cup. It had a lego pattern. What if he didn't like legos? (I haven't been around Matt's kids for a year and a half because of corona, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to pick good ones.) Sam told me that Jeff loves legos and even saved up his money to buy a lego set that is about to be delivered. I wasn't worried about Greg's. He has always loved balls. Amy's just called to me. I didn't know why. It was ladybugs. Sam pointed out that her blanket she always sleeps with is ladybugs. Haha! I had forgotten! No wonder why that one seemed to fit her! Kaylee's is just simple, but I should have found a mountain goat one. That girl climbs on everything! I think Brett's kids worked out well too. I knew Marie loves Paris, so I got a cute one with an Eiffel Tower pattern. Mina had designed hers last year. She even told me on the phone about it a year ago. Luckily that pattern was saved on my account and I was able to use the same one. Grace loves dragons and Eve is such a dainty princess girl. I think they turned out perfect and I love seeing them hanging up at the cabin. I'll take a picture for tomorrow. I just love it.

Eve, Mina holding Amy, Rachel painting Amy's nails, Jeff watching

Attmepts at a cup family picture

Greg, Kaylee, Jeff, Amy, Anne

The little kids loved playing with Bear Dog. He is a favorite.

Eve & Bear

I played three games of Dominion today and won all three. I'm happy with that record. One game we played in the afternoon. We tried to get people together, but it didn't work out and we did all the cake things. We tried again. Brett wasn't able to play, so we just played with three. Right after we finished Mike texted and asked what we were doing. I told him we just finished playing Dominion. He asked if we played with cards or online. I told him online. He asked why we didn't ask him to play. Oh my gosh! That would have been perfect, why did I not think of that? That is the entire point of playing online. Mike had just been bored waiting for Stockton to finish at the temple. Whoops. I felt so bad. Other than that the rest of the day was great. I love being here with my family!