Peppa Pig

Jorja got all packed for her church history trip and mostly packed for EFY. That one is hard because she wants to wear some clothes to both. Moses came and picked her up this morning. He brought her ice-cream and a Kit-Kat and took her on a drive to talk about Spencer. He has been really nice to her. This made her happy.

Moses

Jorja, my dad, Cathy and Max left for their church history trip today. I picked my dad up at 1:00. The only problem was, Max had decided he didn't want to go. He even called his mom and asked to stay with her for the week. My dad was beside himself. He was so upset he couldn't function or think straight. Hunter was supposed to come and pick Max up. Turns out Hunter couldn't get there until around 5:00. So, my dad and Cathy were just supposed to leave Max here and assume Hunter will come and pick him up. That does not sound like a good idea at all. Max was on the front porch and I snapped at him. I wasn't awful, but I have never talked to Max that way before. Max got up and walked away. Like down the street. I ended up chasing him down. I got in front of him, looked him in the eyes and apologized. I hugged him and he started crying. He said he really didn't want to go on a church history trip. I told him that Jorja didn't want to go either. I can't remember everything I said to him, but I do remember saying that my dad loved him very much and it was hard on me. There was no way my dad would be able to leave him home alone. It might not be the funnest trip, but he will have a place to stay, food to eat and he will be safe. If he was with his mom my dad would worry the entire time about him being safe. Things like that. Anyways, Max walked to the car and got in. Hopefully he will have a good trip! Their flight was delayed and they got to Kansas City super late. Hopefully things go up from there. Anyway, on the way home I stopped by Matt and Sam's to let them know Max was with my dad. I didn't want them to worry about him. Anne was with friends outside and was wearing a Peppa Pig swimsuit. Jorja loves Peppa Pig. What a cutie!

Anne

Hailey's 16!

Jorja and Preston are now out of school! It is officially Christmas break for all of my kids! Jorja was so excited. She wore a mistletoe headband to school. She also had a bell that said, "Ring for a kiss" on the other side she crossed off a kiss and wrote mono, so it said, "Ring for mono." There was a Christmas assembly at school today. Student government usually cleans up for a bit after the assemblies are over. When the kids went back to Packer's room to get their bags, he wasn't there and the door was locked. This made them really late for their next class. Jorja had math. She walked in about twenty minutes late. Chad had just finished teaching and told Jorja she had the rest of the time. Jorja taught the rest of the class period. She had them meditate. They played, 'Are you smarter than Jorja?' They had an ask Jorja anything section. Things like that. I wonder what the rest of the class thinks about Jorja. I know Maysen would be annoyed with her shenanigans. During the 'Ask Jorja anything' time, Riley asked her how exactly she got mono. Jorja said that they weren't going to talk about that. Jorja missed a golden opportunity. Why didn't she say that the first day she got sick was the day after the Halloween dance? So.....maybe it was from her date? Riley was Jorja's date. Jorja said, "Mom! He would have been so mad! Then everyone would have thought we kissed!" Still, it would have been funny, plus he couldn't have gotten mad at her when he asked the question.

I watched Anne and Jeff today while Matt and Sam went to a Jazz game. The Jazz played the Warriors and they won. It was a really good game. I'm glad that worked out. There have been many disappointing games this year. Anne and Jeff helped me eat most of this bag of peas. I was so sick of them by the end of the day.

Jeff & Anne

Jorja had work today. She worked until after 10:00. She went straight to Hailey's house and waited for Hailey to come home. It was Hailey's birthday today. Jorja had asked several of their friends to write a nice note to Hailey. She compiled all of them into a cute jar for her. She also gave Hailey a picture frame. She wanted to put a picture of the two of them together in it, but we had trouble printing them out, even though we tried several different ways....it was not to be. Jorja did homework at Hailey's house while she was waiting. She got her English assignment finished and turned in, so that worked out well.

Jorja & Caleb (Hailey's brother)

Tea with Anne

I was able to go to Anne's preschool today and have tea with her. (Rolls with jam and lemonade) She is such a crack up. She kept pulling faces while I tried to get a picture.

Anne

I drove Matt's car here so we didn't need to move Anne's carseat. It took awhile, but I was able to figure out how to start the car and drive here. Leaving was a different story. I couldn't get the car started. It had a button instead of a key. I couldn't remember what I did to start it when I came. Finally I called Matt. I just needed to hold the brake while I pressed the button. Easy.

Jorja spent all day decorating for homecoming. I asked her to take me some pictures. This is what she sent me.

Brenton

I checked SLCC's website to see their baseball schedule. I knew Damion had a game today. This was their last home game for the fall and it started in 30 minutes. Jorja wasn't home yet, so I couldn't bring her with me. I did send her videos of Damion batting. He even got out of a pickle running home. I didn't get that on video though. It happened so fast.

Damion

I was sitting directly behind home plate when Whitley saw me. She came to say hi and showed me where here parents were sitting. I watched the rest of the game with them. It was much easier to see without the sun in my eyes. Damion had a great game. He went 4-5. Actually one of the hits didn't count because it was an error. Still, nicely done.

Stockton and Mike play ping pong a lot. This time they played Duck Season/Rabbit Season while they were playing ping pong. They said it was surprisingly difficult.

Mike & Stockton

Jorja called me while I was at the game and asked if she could go to Evan's house. She hung out with Evan and Isaac until about 10:30. Once she came home she went to sleep at Raina's house. She brought her stuff so she could go straight to softball practice tomorrow. Sounds like she had a fun day, she sure kept herself busy enough!

Lagoon in June

One of the reasons we stayed over in the Lagoon campground was so we could be first ones when Lagoon opened. I knew they opened at 11:00. It has always been that way every family reunion. Mike finally convinced me to look up the park times. I was shocked when I discovered that Lagoon opened at 10:00 today. This is the first time our family reunion has been on a Saturday. It didn't occur to me the time the park opened would be different. I discovered this at 9:50. We hurried as fast as we could, but we weren't the first ones in the park. My dad and Max left to buy tickets. I followed shortly after with Maysen, Stockton and Preston. We headed to Cannibal, because we figured that would have the longest line later in the day. My dad did not want to ride it. He said he would be sick the rest of the day if he did. I do remember that happening to me when I rode Maysen's horrible favorite ride, Air Race. There ended up being five of us riding Cannibal. Maysen decided to go on the single rider line and wait with grandpa. The single rider line was a ton shorter. We ended up getting on the ride faster than Maysen. That was weird. I wonder if that is always the case or if the workers just weren't letting single riders on. Mike and Jorja found my dad waiting for us. This is how Mike found him.

Dad

Maysen got on the ride right as we were getting off, so we didn't need to wait for her long. Stockton, Preston, Max and I rode together. We were in the front seat. Max didn't like it. He said he never wants to be in the front seat again. I had my arms raised the entire time. It was awesome. After Cannibal, we went to the flying jeep kid ride. Jorja was planning on sitting in the front with Stockton. The lady wouldn't let her, but she didn't say anything to me about sitting in the front. I got in the front of Mike's car. The lady didn't like it and said I had to get out. Mike ended up getting out, and then he rode the ride the next time with Preston. At least she let him ride it right away but it was kind of annoying.

Stockton

 Preston & Mike

We found our pavilion which I felt was in a great location. Much better than the last two years. Rozie and her family was there. Jackie came shortly after. I hung out at the pavilion and talked to my family while Mike took the kids on Rattlesnake Rapids. I talked with lots of different people. Heather and her family was there. Jackson and Chelsea. Jake and Jana. I had Jana talk to Sam about dairy allergies. Afton is allergic to dairy, although not as bad as Anne. Tammi and Frank came. It was really fun. I was worried that there wouldn't be very many family members this time, but there were still plenty to fill the pavilion. Mike brought games and the kids played there for awhile.

Mike, Maysen, Stockton & Jorja playing Tiki Topple

Preston had fun hanging out with Max. I let them roam the park together. I kept thinking we would run around with the cousins when we were that age...although there were a ton of us, not just two. They had a great time so it all worked out. Later they came back so they could go in Lagoon-a-beach. My kids ended up going back to the motorhome. I thought they would come back, but they didn't. Except Maysen. I was really glad she did. I hung out with Matt and Sam for a long time. We went to the jeep and not only did they let me be in the front of the jeep, they had me in the front with Anne. My legs were all scrunched up, it was hilarious. We were the last ones to get in, so there was only one jeep left. I told the lady I didn't think we could fit. She said we would be fine. I fit a ton better when I was by myself in the front. Where were you this morning?

Anne, Matt, Stephanie

 Anne & Stephanie, Jeff & Matt ~ Jeff did NOT like the jeeps

 See the guy behind Matt, that is what my legs looked like

 Anne LOVED the teacups. Jeff did not.

I rode the purple teacup (Anne's request) with Sam, Anne and Jeff

Anne then spent a LONG time on the ladybug and dinosaur rides. She rode them with her mom, her dad, and several times with me. Maysen came and met us there, then she rode them with Maysen. Sam took Jeff to the boats during this. The boat ride was more his speed. She said he loved it and rode it over and over. One time he was in the very front and was the only one riding. They started letting him just stay in instead of waking around to get in the ride when he was the only one riding it.

Anne & Sam

 Anne & Matt

 Anne on a spaceship

 Maysen & Anne ~ It was getting dark so my pictures are not very good.

Maysen and I brought Anne to Sam and then headed down to the Spider. We had wanted to ride the Spider earlier, but the line was SO long. Over an hour at least. The line wasn't too bad this late. Maysen asked if there was any ride I wanted to ride. I told her I would love to ride the Rocket with her. She doesn't like that ride, but she agreed to ride it with me anyway. We stopped at the bumper cars and watched for awhile. Anne was there. I don't have many pictures, but it was absolutely hilarious. The worker was falling asleep.

He didn't make sure the kids were buckled and he wouldn't say the traditional 'keep your arms and hands in etc. etc.' One of the mom's watching yelled, "The kid in the blue needs help with his seatbelt." He walked out to a kid in a purple car and buckled him then started the ride. Several kids had their seatbelts dragging. I wish I had a picture of that! Anyways, these two kids pinned the kid in the green car, then they got out while the ride was going and put his seatbelt on him! I couldn't believe it! Luckily no one got hurt. Maysen and I were laughing so hard. We watched about three rounds. In every one there were multiple kids not wearing seatbelts. I guess they don't protect them much on this ride, but it can't be great if they are dragging behind the cars.

Maysen and I then went on Blast-Off at the Rocket. I love that ride. Maysen hated it, but I'm glad she went on it with me. Our last stop was to the pavilion. Matt and Sam met us there. We were obviously the last people, so we cleaned up. I texted Mike and asked him to come help us. He did. Although the first thing he did was to empty my dad's crockpot that had the hotdogs in them. He was pouring the water into the bushes and dropped the crockpot. The crockpot shattered. Mike said, "Well, this is how my weekend is going." It took forever to get things ready to go. Mike and Maysen walked to the campground. The park was closed. A police officer stopped them and asked them where they were going. (There is a special entrance to the campground by some of the rides that is far from the exit.) I helped Matt and Sam out. Sam had a stroller, I pushed the other stroller and held one end of the heavy cooler. Matt had the other end. We were absolutely the last people out of the park. They had started closing all the exits. They closed the stroller exits, so we had to get the strollers through the turney thing. Matt had parked far away and couldn't figure out how to get to his car. Finally he followed some workers right as they were closing the gate and squeezed in. He then had to drive around until he could figure out how to make his way back to us. All the exits were closed out of the parking lot. Finally we saw that we could exit through one of the entrances. Matt and Sam dropped me off at the motorhome. Everyone was in bed and most were asleep when I got back. I was so tired. It was a really fun day.

Christmas Eve

I was surprised that I slept until 7:00.  I usually never sleep that late.  It was great.  I was still the first one up, but I wasn't by myself for long. We had a great day of sledding and games.  Poor Anne needs to take asthma medicine everyday.

Anne

Anne saw that Jorja had her toenails painted.  It about blew her mind. Soon she had her toenails painted too.

Jorja & Anne

 Anne's face ~ haha!

Mike, Maysen, Matt, Anne, John, Trevor and I all went to the springs. We were able to get four runs in.  Trevor loved riding on John's back on the way up.  I talked Trevor into sledding down with me when John was taking his turn driving.  Trevor wanted to sled with me and race John the next time.  We did pretty good but had a giant fall.  We flew in the air a little bit, at least the landing didn't hurt.  It was still fun. Maysen drove the 4-wheeler down on the last run.  She is an adult now. Weird.  It was funny when she was riding behind the 4-wheeler being pulled up.  She was laying down and you could just see her penguin hat. Haha!  She looked like a penguin!

Maysen

Earlier in the day Cassie lost her keys in the snow.  They packed their spare keys in their moving van.  It snowed a lot today and the chances of finding the keys are slim.  Cassie called Triple A and they came and unlocked her car.  She was hoping she had just lost her keys in them. Nope.  They weren't there.  We have no idea how she is going to get to Virginia.  Hopefully they will be able to figure something out.

Bubs and Ange went to family bowling.  They brought Mallory too. They seemed to have a great time.  I had no desire to go this year. First, John wasn't planning on going.  It might have had something to do with the car being unable to run.  Second, my foot hurt so bad!  All day long it hurt.  I think I hurt it doing dishes last night.  I stood by the sink without shoes for a couple of hours.  I have no idea how long I was there, but it was quite awhile.  Anyway, I couldn't put any pressure on my foot the entire day.  Ange convinced me to take ibuprofen.  That took the edge off, but it still hurt a ton.

Sam made cookies for the kids to decorate.  Anne was so excited to leave them out for Santa.  Anne and Sam also spread reindeer food outside.

Anne, Jorja, Preston

 Maysen

 Anne, Jorja, Preston

 We had a great laugh about Anne's face

John let Trevor decorate a cookie but not Brandon.  He told Brandon he could decorate one if he ate his dinner.  He was trying to get him to eat a couple of bites with no luck.  Later John was laying down with Trevor.  I think Trevor had hurt himself.  Cassie was in her room feeding Collin.  Brandon was really quiet.  All of a sudden Maysen noticed his face.  Haha!

Brandon

Mike and Matt changed the oil in the 4-wheelers and switched the wheels on one of the 4-wheelers.  I was glad I didn't have to be out there in the cold.  Mike was really glad to have it done.  It was nice of Matt to help.

Bubs and Ange got home around 10:00.  They seemed to have a great time.  I'm glad they were able to get back safely.

Fingernail

This morning I went to Nothing Bundt Cakes to buy a cake for the Mortensen funeral.  I signed up to bring a dessert, but realized I had no time to make one.  Stockton and I went early.  We dropped off the cake and then met in the primary room for choir practice.  We sang in the choir at the funeral.  When we came home, Matt was here with his family.  Anne wanted her nails painted.  This time she wanted to do some of it by herself.  Anne has been begging Stockton for months to paint his nails so they can be 'matching'.  Anne talked Stockton into letting her paint one nail.  She spent a lot of time painting it with clear polish, so no big deal.  She must have put thirty coats on it.

Stockton and Anne

Anne then wanted to stamp Stockton's nail.  She picked bright red polish.  Stockton's clear fingernail now turned into a bright red one. Anne was so happy.

Mike and I went to the ward Christmas party tonight.  It was only for the adults.  We were supposed to bring cookies to exchange.  Luckily I put 'make cookies for mom and dad's party tonight' on Jorja's chore list.  Mike, Preston and I were playing a game of Pandemic before we left.  It made us a little bit late.  There were tons of tables set up and it was hard to figure out where to sit.  Some chairs were leaning against the tables.  We wondered if that meant they were taken, or if the chairs not leaning against the tables were taken.  We finally decided that the chairs leaning against the table were not taken.  We picked two at a random table and sat down.  We were only there for a few minutes when someone came and said we were in their seat.  It was pretty awkward.  Leanne Perry saw the exchange and grabbed us to sit at their table.  That was really nice.  We were at the table with the Perrys, the Parks and the Larsens.  (Ange knows Brother Larsen.  He delivered all of her babies!)  Anyway, we had a great time.  The food was really good. Even though it was awkward, we were happy we ended up on the table we did.  The other three couples at the table are all empty nesters.  It's fun to listen to them.  The Perrys just got back from Thailand.  Sister Perry was my visiting teacher before they left on their mission to Vietnam.  Mike and I were the babies at the table.  I liked that.

Beautiful Ballerina

I got up pretty early and tossed and turned enough that I woke up Maysen.  We hung out in her bedroom while the other kids slept.  I peeked outside her door and saw Preston's eyes were open.  I motioned him to come to me.  He jumped into bed with Maysen and played his Pokemon game with her.  He was pretty happy about that.  We packed up once the other kids awoke.  The also drew Christmas names.  We had most of the things packed up when we headed out to lunch.  We went to Angie's.  I wanted to 'Clean the Sink' with the kids.  I thought they would like that.  It is a lot of ice-cream that comes out to you in a kitchen sink.  Lunch was delicious.  After lunch Preston was the only one that wanted to clean the sink.  The rest of us were stuffed.  Jorja didn't want the restaurants ice-cream, she wanted more of the Blue Mint we had yesterday.  We decided to clean the sink another day. Preston was okay after we promised him we wouldn't do it without him.  I stopped by the store and picked up another Blue Mint so we could finish the one we bought yesterday.  When we got back I opened the entire carton.  It reminded me of when my mom would make homemade ice-cream sandwiches.  Anyways, there was no going back after that!  There was also a lot more ice-cream in there than I had anticipated.  Whoops.

We left Maysen and headed home.  Preston does not like leaving her. At least we will get to see her in three weeks.  We watched Anne and Jeff while Matt and Sam went to the late BYU/Utah State game.  It was nice the game was in Provo so Maysen's street didn't get closed.  Anne was so cute.  She started looking for Jorja as soon as she arrived.  She said, "Jorja, my fingers are white!"  Anne loves it when Jorja paints her nails. Jorja's friend Hailey was over.  Jorja painted Anne's nails then Anne wanted Hailey to stamp her nails.  Anne really likes Hailey.  She has met her several times before.  Anne likes to call Hailey 'the Dolphin'.  I guess Hailey used a dolphin filter when she was talking to Jorja once. She talked to Anne as a dolphin for quite awhile.  Anne loves that Hailey is sometimes a dolphin.  Anne was spinning and Hailey told her she was just like a beautiful ballerina.  Anne said she couldn't be a ballerina because she didn't have a beautiful dress.  Mike helped me find this tutu for Anne.  Anne loved it and spun and spun and called herself the 'beautiful ballerina'.

Anne

I put Anne and Jeff to bed right as the BYU game was starting.  Anne kept coming out asking to go to the bathroom or for water.  Jeff didn't like going to sleep.  Anne told me Jeff always cries when they are going to sleep.  I wasn't sure how long to let him cry, but he fell asleep right after I texted Sam asking her how long he usually cries.  He woke up around 10:30, it was right as the 3rd quarter was starting.  I got him out of the playpen, found his binky and blanket and cuddled with him while watching the game.  He was so cozy.  He was like that for about 45 minutes when he looked up at me.  He did a double take and started wailing.  I think he thought his mom was holding him the entire time. Haha!  I got Jeff back in the playpen and was able to watch the rest of the football game.  I fell asleep while watching the post game show.  I wanted to be on the couch so I could hear Matt when he came home.  I did sleep through Hailey leaving.  Matt came around 1:30, I think. Can't quite remember.  He bundled up his cute little kids and took them home.  I crawled into bed and slept well.

Anne's 3rd Birthday

Stockton, Jorja and Preston all had diving today.  Stockton and his friends just messed around today.  Their coach even left at the beginning of practice, which is why they messed around.  They brought up a mat onto the five meter and were sliding off of it.  It's nice to have silly practices like that every once in awhile.

Preston had a super busy day.  He went to piano straight from school. Mike picked him up from piano and took him and Jorja to diving. Mike then took Stockton home.  Jorja and Preston had a great practice.  I got a short video of Jorja doing a dive off of the three meter. It's super quick because I didn't start it fast enough.  Jorja was over rotating on her three meter dives.  Her coach asked her to look at her hands while she was going in the water.  I couldn't believe the difference it made.

Jorja, Preston and I went straight to Anne's house from diving.  Mike and Stockton met us there.  My dad and Cathy were there along with Sam's best friend, Candace, and her kids.  We watched Anne open presents and had cake.  Anne was so excited about her presents this year.  Last year she was not.  Anne was happy about everything.  It was adorable.

Anne

 Anne with her pink cake and pink frosting

Sam is not a fan of pink.  Anne loves it.  So funny.  Now we start Thanksgiving break!  We are all ready for a little relaxation!

Jorja's 14th Birthday

Jorja is 14 years old today.  This is so weird.  She is not suppose to grow up.  Although I want her to grow up.  It's weird that she has been a part of our lives for fourteen years, although it is hard to remember life without her.  The leaders of the young women have been asking for baby pictures.  I finally took a picture of a picture and sent it to them. My little baby.  Isn't she beautiful?

Jorja ~ 6 months I think

She was a beauty then and she still is now.  She has always been kind and caring.  I remember having strep throat when she was 2 weeks old. I was so sick.  I had just fed her and was laying in bed holding her.  I looked down at her and she looked at me with such pity in her eyes. Like she thought she was responsible for how awful I felt.  All I could do was roll my head back and try not to move.  I remember when she was about six months old.  Just how she looks in the picture above.  I was holding her in the library of church and she started patting my back. Like she was taking care of me. It just melted my heart.

Jorja ~ 14 years

I have tried to take the kids a special lunch on their birthdays.  The older the kids get the less they like this tradition.  Jorja asked if I could take her friends to Jamba Juice this morning instead.  That sounded like a great idea to me.  Jorja's friends call her JJ.  Maybe that is why she likes Jamba Juice? Same initials.

Hailey, Kate, Katlyn, Jorja

 I tried for a better picture without weird shadows.

 Jorja, Katlyn, Hailey, Kate

 One of these friends is not like the other....

 My Jorja Instagram picture

I stopped by Matt and Sam's after dropping Jorja off at school.  Sam needed to borrow Matt's laptop cord.  I talked to Matt about the election.  He is outraged.  I went straight from Matt's to my visiting teaching appointment.  I talked to Javita for a LONG time!  It was great though.  She has only lived in North Carolina.  Her boy, Damian, is Maysen's age.  He is an excellent baseball player.  He has been drafted by BYU, but had surgery on his elbow I think.  Depending on how rehabilitation goes he might be in the major league draft this year.  If not he will play at BYU next year.  That is what the plan is now.  She was talking to me about different concerns.  I have never met anyone that completely follows promptings without question.  Months ago she told me how they had just finished their dream house when they were prompted to move.  They don't doubt, they just do it.  She talked about Damian's decision not to serve a mission.  He prayed and fasted and prayed.  He went to the temple many times.  One time he came home and said that he knew he wasn't supposed to serve a mission.  Right now that decision has cost him some relationships that have been painful.  For some reason, I immediately thought of Steve Young's new book.  I decided I needed to get that for them.

I was driving to the store and met Preston walking home from the bus stop.  He hopped in the car and we hurried and got the book I wanted. We were on our way to the grocery store when Jorja texted asking if we could pick her up.  That worked out perfect.  We picked her up and then headed to the store.  She got to pick out her own cake.  She had told me she wanted a mint ice-cream pie.  That is what I was going to look for.  It was nice with Jorja there because she changed her mind. She ended up with a chocolate mousse pie.

Jorja talked a lot about everyone saying 'happy birthday' to her.  First, they pronounced her name right on the announcements.  That hasn't happened for.  A couple of classes sang Happy Birthday to her.  The lunchroom sang to her and Mrs. Vosti sang to her.  Her friends decorated her locker.  Lots of confetti in her math book.  Fun day for a new fourteen year old.

Jorja's pie cake

Jorja asked for homemade spaghetti for dinner.  Then we watched the Goldbergs and Speechless.  Papa came over and gave Jorja a gift card to a clothes store.  Jorja is going to LOVE that!

Jorja and Papa

Anne came over with Matt to return Mike's charging cord for the laptop.  The kids loved playing with her.  A few weeks ago Jorja did Anne's nails.  Anne was trying to convince Stockton to get matching nails with her.  It was so funny!  When Anne came over today Stockton asked her about her fingernails.  She held them up and said 'they melted'.  Anne was walking around weird downstairs.  Stockton asked her if she was drunk.  Anne said, "No, the daddy was drunk.  He crawled like this."  Then she did a weird crawl.  So funny!  The kids were laughing.  When Matt came downstairs and was told the story he informed them she was talking about a movie.  Anne loves movies. Especially the bad guys.

Anne & Jorja

Jorja was given a lot of fingernail stuff for her birthday.  Jordyn helped me pick out a light machine for her.  Preston gave her these cute fingernail clippers and some lip balm.  Stockton made her a computer game.  My dad gave her a beautiful frog from Israel.  I think Jorja was pretty pleased with her birthday this year.