Smithsonians: Preston's 12th Birthday

Preston is TWELVE! My baby, twelve. I think I'm going to cry. Because it is an even year, Preston was allowed to have a birthday party. I had been asking him if he wanted one and giving him different ideas. All he wanted was to be with his brother and sisters and go to an escape room. We decided to drive up to Logan. Jorja drove the entire way up and did a great job.

Jorja

We parked in Stockton's parking garage which is free on Saturdays. We didn't want to stop by Maysen's house because there was a football game going on. Utah State is ranked 14th in the nation. That is awesome. Maysen lives across the street from the football stadium. She is very annoyed when her street gets blocked off for tailgating. Anyway, I texted Maysen and Stockton when we left. Then I texted them that they we were here. We walked up to Stockton's apartment, but had to wait outside until someone came out so we could sneak in. Meanwhile we kept calling Stockton, but he was not answering. After about five minutes a giant group left his building. We skidattled right inside. We knocked and knocked and knocked on his room. Nothing. Finally I sat on the floor. Jorja and Preston were waiting in the lobby. Mike had gone back to the car to get something. Anyway, finally one of Stockton's roommates came to the door. I looked up at him from where I was sitting on the floor and asked if Stockton was there. He yelled, "Stockton! Your mom is here!" That made me laugh. Stockton was still asleep! He had his phone on silent so he slept through the million phone calls and texts. You are probably thinking we got there at 6:00 in the morning for Stockton to sleep through that. You would be wrong. This was around 12:30 in the AFTERNOON! How is it even possible to sleep that long? Anyway, that was the only snag in the day. We walked over to the TSC to have lunch in the school cafeteria. Preston wanted to eat there. He had eaten here when he stayed with Stockton while we went to the temple with Maysen in September. Jorja saw some friends she knew. There was a student government thing and two people from Alta were there. Preston cleaned up in the present department. He got a Nintendo Switch, a game and his favorite present . . . a duck whistle. He loved blowing that in the cafeteria.

Preston

We went to an escape room that was nearby. Preston picked the room. It was something set in the 50s. It was the hardest room they had. It was also awesome! I don't know how anyone finishes that room in an hour if they haven't gone through it before. We started off with a bang. Jorja found a major clue right away. Jorja was crazy. Every lock she tried opened. It was hilarious. Stockton was excited to open the letter lock when we figured out what the code was. While he was trying that I said, "Stockton, just so you know. Jorja's trying another letter lock that is over here." Sure enough, Jorja's was the right one. The gamemaster was in the room with us. That ended up being great. He laughed every time Jorja opened a lock. It was ridiculous how many opened for her. The thing that slowed us down the most was this dancing record player thing. It was super sensitive for how it was done. Still, even if we had gotten that right away, I doubt we could have finished in time. There were so many puzzles! It was great though. I would rather have it that way. The room was big and it was decorated like a 50s diner. It was so much fun. I love these rooms. Too bad they are so expensive and you can really only do them once. We loved it though, it was a great choice for Preston.

Mike, Maysen, Preston, Stephanie, Jorja, Stockton

Preston was very clear that he didn't want a birthday cake. He wanted birthday eclairs. He has been on an eclair kick recently. I was able to get Maysen's 21st birthday candles to work for Preston's 12th birthday. How cool is that? This time we remembered the candles, but forgot the lighter down in the car. Preston didn't care that much, so we just pretended they were lit.

Preston

We stayed in Stockton's apartment for a little while. Mike and Preston fiddled around with the Switch. Maysen, Stockton, Jorja and I played Tiki Topple. We weren't able to finish the game before it was time to leave, but I think we can all agree that I would have pulled out a victory. Even though Stockton was far ahead when we ended, I'm sure I would have had an amazing comeback.

Jorja, Stockton, Preston, Mike, Maysen

Maysen, Stockton, Jorja and Preston

Maysen, Stockton, Preston

I love how much my kids love each other. It makes my heart so happy. I hope they are always close. I hope they marry people who the others like. I hope they always try to be together and always want to be together. My favorite place is when I have all my kids with me. Sad that happens less and less now. I have always been hyper aware of this. There were so many times when the kids were little that I would try to memorize the moment in my mind. I have just loved being their mom so much.

Jorja asked for today off work, but ended up being scheduled from 7-10. At least we were still able to go to Logan, we just had to hurry back. One of her friends wanted to hang out with her today. She told him that she was going to be in Logan for her brother's birthday. He was not nice about that. He told her something like, "Maybe people would be more willing to hang out with you if you didn't always have your 'brother's birthday' or 'family things'." Wow. I am so glad this kid is just a friend. If Jorja liked him I think I would lose my mind. He just seems very controlling.

My dad came over tonight. He gave Preston a funny birthday card with some money in it. The outside of the card said, "Here's your birthday card." The inside said, "Here's the inside." My dad wrote, "Have some money. Good talk." Hahahaha! Perfect for Preston. Scoop and Cori came over while my dad was still here. They brought Preston a few gifts. They got him a cool robot thing called Cozmo and a nano drone. That will be fun for Preston.

Preston