Pool Day

Cori took Jorja school shopping today. She sure is spoiling that girl. Jorja had just enough time to grab something to eat before she headed to work for the rest of the day. This is her last day of work for three weeks. Her friend, Sam, texted me from her phone asking if she could go to In & Out with them after work because they wouldn't see her for three weeks. I texted back Hahahahahaha - no. The rest of us played all day. The kids got in the pool two different times, for quite a long time. They loved it. Matt, Bubs and their families were over as well. Rachel's childhood friend came over with her kids too. The weather was perfect. No one got hurt. It was such a great day.

Brett and Eve

 Matt & Jeff

Grace

 Abby

 Mina

 Anne

 Grace & Anne

 Marie

 Amelia

 Ella

 Eve

 Marie on the slide

 The pool is happy

Eve was a nut! She went off the diving board a million times and down the slide a ton more. She couldn't get enough! Amelia was a fish. She loved swimming under the water. Grace too! I love it when my family is here!

24th of July

Mike and I did a major fail today. Our family was assigned to put up the flags around the ward today. We were sent a reminder email on Sunday and a reminder text yesterday. Still, we forgot. I looked at the calendar around 9:00 and my heart just dropped. I ran in and woke up Mike. We felt soooo bad! We took the flags down though. Still. So embarrassing!

I hung out with Brett and Rachel for most of the day. I loved it. They went to Bountiful tonight, along with Matt and Sam. One of Rachel's cousins goes all out on fireworks for the 24th of July. It sounded super cool. Jorja had a date. She went with Moses. Brynlee went with Riley, Madison went with Josh and Chloee went on a blind date with Luke. Jorja set them up and they got along great. It was funny because Jorja hurried home from work. On her way to pick up Moses she grabbed the extra chicken and half a watermelon that was left over from our dinner and made a picnic out of it. Weirdo. They went to a place to watch fireworks. They stopped by a store to pick up ice-cream and then came to our house. They had their ice cream while they played Jackbox. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Jorja & Moses

 Madison & Josh, Chloee's knees and Luke, Riley & Brynlee, Jorja & Moses

Josh actually bought a shirt from the Jackbox games. I have never seen anyone do that before. I wonder if he will wear it. I don't know why it is so funny, but apparently Josh liked it.

Big Girl

I can't believe I didn't take any pictures. Today was such a fun day too! Jorja took Preston to get a haircut. He looks adorable. No pictures though. I loved that she took him. I loved that Preston let her pick out his haircut. I loved that I didn't have to do anything. It was great. I did take Maysen to the OBGYN. Maysen and Jorja have to take birth control pills while they are on Accutane. Jorja was able to get her perscription from the dermatologist, but because Maysen's periods are super weird he wanted her to see a big girl doctor. I set her up an appointment with Dr. Smith, who I love. Even though we aren't related. He was great talking to her. We just had an office visit with no examination. She got off easy!

The best part of the day was hanging out with my family. Brett and Rachel were here all day. We played lots of games. I taught them Five Minute Dungeon and they loved it. We played games most of the day. Matt and Bubs and their families came and played with us. My dad came and made us dinner. Then we all went swimming! Except my dad wouldn't get into the pool. I went swimming too, which is why I have no pictures. I even wore the mermaid tail Mike got me for Mother's Day for a weird one. Anyway, it was so so so so fun. We played for a long time. It was a great day.

Quests

Brett and Rachel came today! Yay! Yay! Yay! I was talking on the phone with Stockton (which was awesome) when they got here. They got to yell hi to him. Mike immediately showed the kids the wand stations he made. He programed them each a wand and they were off on their quests. They loved it! It was adorable.

Jorja was supposed to have a hangout/sleepover with the student government girls today. She asked work off for it and everything. Then at the last second it was cancelled. Jorja was disappointed. Mostly because she missed camp this year and is a bit worried about bonding. Plus, it would have been fun. She did make a quick run for yogurt with Emily and then was able to hang out with Brett and Rachel's girls. Grace saw the fruit bowl and started telling me all about the Studio C sketch. She had the entire thing memorized. I told her to point her wand at it. She laughed and laughed when the fruit bowl started doing the Studio C sketch!

It is soooo fun to have family here! I love it! I wish they lived next door. The house is up for sale right now. Twice the price we paid for ours. And Brett's job is in Ohio. Details.

Room

Jorja got her room almost clean. That is impressive because her room was a disaster. She has hardly had a second to breathe this summer and is still struggling to get over her jet lag. Maysen, Jorja and Preston have had fun playing Minecraft together. I love watching my kids enjoy being with each other. We sure miss Stockton, but we get to talk to him tomorrow!

Thank

Jorja slept over at Brynlee and Chloee's house last night. She went to the concert with Brynlee. She went straight from their house to a hair appointment. She wanted a trim and a touch up on her color. This is the picture she sent me after she was done.

Jorja

Jorja also got together with some of her friends from Taiwan. They had lunch together and she was so happy to see them again. She went straight from lunch to work. So, we didn't see her today. Mike and I went down to work and sat at our 'stalking table' so we could see her for a bit. She closed today, but came home and played Minecraft with Maysen and Preston.

I put together a missionary binder for Jorja. She is going to have lots of friends going on missions and their emails get buried. I printed out all the letters she has been sent. She has some great exchanges with Stockton. For example, one email she sent just said 'Hey'. Stockton wrote back, 'Johnny Johnny is a good meme." One email she just wrote 'Thank' and Stockton wrote back 'Sure.' Weirdos. They do have some longer ones too. Anyway, I made page dividers for Stockton and Mackie. This is what they look like.

The Head and the Heart

I think that is the name of the concert Jorja went to today. This is her first real concert, besides Backstreet Lovers. Hailey's brother Jonas is in that band, so I don't think it seemed real to Jorja. Even though it was pretty cool. Jorja had lunch with her friend Mallory, then hung out with Brynlee. She went to the concert with Brynlee and slept over at her house. Jorja texted me for awhile at 1:00 in the morning. She had a fun time and I was glad to know she was safe.

Lion King

Maysen, Preston and I met Jorja for lunch with some of her work friends. Jorja took a part of someone's shift this morning. She had a call in shift this evening. She was hoping to be able to work. She thought she was going to because when she left the manager said, "See you at five." Well, she called in and they told her not to come in. She was a little disappointed because she had been asked out on a date. She told him she wouldn't know until 4:00 if she could go. He said he would try and find someone else. He ended up asking her friend Madison. When Jorja didn't have to work she was disappointed because she could have gone on the date. They were going to see the Lion King. Jorja has been excited about that for a year. She has always loved that show. Too bad when I bought her third row tickets to see the live version she cut her cornea that same day. I'll always remember her sitting straight in the chair, trying to open her eyes with tears running down her face. It was heartbreaking. Anyway, Mike and I went to Anthony Covington's wedding reception. We then took the kids to a late night showing of Lion King. Mike drove Maysen and Preston to the theater and I drove Jorja to Inn and Out before the show. In the five minutes we were there she managed to see ten different people. Jorja liked the movie. I fell asleep. I tried to stay awake, but that didn't work out so well.

Sunset

Mike and I have been walking in the evenings lately. I thought the sunset was so beautiful today, especially with the church spire in the background.

Lazy Summer Day

Mike worked from home today. It was great. I worked on Mina's stocking a lot. I love it. Maysen and Jorja had a dentist appointment. It took longer than usual. Jorja needs to get her wisdom teeth out, so that will be fun. It was lunch time when we left, so we met Mike and Preston at IHOP. Jorja's friends, Ellie and Baylor, came in after us and were seated right behind Jorja. Jorja's and Ellie's backs were right next to each other. They thought this was funny because they had been planning on going to breakfast together, but Jorja had a dentist appointment. Jorja worked a long time today. That's about all the excitement that went on.

Made it to Ohio

Maysen took Preston to Lagoon today. I love that. I love that they go on adventures together. Preston is so lucky to have her. Jorja worked during the day today. That worked out well because there was a tailgate activity for Alta tonight. She was not excited to go to it. She does not like parties. She went with Madison and said it was okay. Audrey went too, which was great. Jorja saw her there and said she looked like she was having a good time. Jorja came home from work with a ton of vaseline on her work pants. Jorja's face has been so dry since she came home from Taiwan. It hurts her a lot. She opened up this giant tub of vaseline to put on her face while she was driving home. It was pure liquid inside and spilled everywhere. I tried to get it out while Jorja was gone. I scraped everything off of it, scrubbed it with dish soap, soaked it....still there is a stain. Oh well.

Madison & Jorja

I talked to Rachel today. They have made it to Ohio! They also have a house that fell into their lap. It is in a good school district and has a large backyard. It is a bit smaller than their Florida house, but Rachel is excited. They are staying in temporary housing on the base now. Rachel was able to get the girls registered for school and was thrilled about that. Brett has baseball tickets on Friday. After that they will start their drive to Utah. Yay! Rachel also apologized a million times for the stocking she picked out for Mina. She feels bad because it is a lot of work. Silly Rachel. I sent her a picture of how much I have done on it so far. It's going to be beautiful.

I got to talk to Stockton today! I love, love, love talking to him. He sounds so happy. The family from the Congo has picked August 10th to be baptized. I hope Stockton will still be there! Transfers come the week before. Greg is going to be baptized on July 27th. They have another baptism scheduled for the 27th, but Stockton said the ward mission leader was overzealous on that one and he doesn't know how that will pan out. I love Mondays!

Family Dinner

I woke my dad up early this morning and then we hit the road. We said goodbye to John and Renee last night. I didn't set an alarm, but I always wake up early. My dad wanted to stop by these statues on the way out of town. His friend Bruce Couch had told him about them. Bruce went on my dad's last church history trip with him. My dad has been their home teacher for years. My cousin Rozie is married to Bruce's brother. Anyway, we have never seen these statues before and they did look beautiful.

 My dad getting a closer picture

 Should I leave my dad and say I forgot he was taking a picture?

I was on a tour with my dad when he asked me to get out of the bus to take a picture of the new Kansas City Temple. I did what he asked and watched as the tour bus drove away. My dad claims he 'forgot' I was taking a picture.

I made it home in time for 10:30 church, which was great. We had dinner tonight at Steve and Shannon's house. All of Mike's siblings were there. Lisa is flying back to California tomorrow. Crazy Aunt Mona came, and it was great to see her. Her husband George is in the hospital right now. He had a really bad accident and they don't know if he will make it. He has hundreds of titanium plates in his face right now. Holly & Josh and their kids also came over. So fun to talk with them. One of her girls, I think one of her twins, was awesome at Code Names. She said 'revere' and got four picks. I can't remember what they all were. Things like revolution and horse. It was great.

Jorja hung out with Weston and Michael for a long time. Michael gave her a talking to about some of the boys she has liked in the past and it was awesome. Shannon wanted to take a serious picture of us posed the same.

Weston, Jorja, Michael, Stephanie

We were at Steve and Shannon's house until late. Such a great time! Sherry, Lisa and Michael were there pretty late too. Jacob and Weston are leaving on an HEFY trip on Tuesday. Jacob is going to Ecuador and Weston is going to Zimbabwe. Steve and Shannon will be empty nesters for a few weeks... so they are going to Hawaii.

Weston & Jorja

Paul & Amanda

I picked up my dad this morning to head up to Idaho. He got in around midnight last night from one of his tours. We made pretty good time and got to Idaho Falls a few hours early. We stopped at Target so we could get Paul and Amanda a wedding present. Because we are procrastinators. We picked out a griddle from their list and were trying to figure out what to do about the wrapping. As we stood in the wrapping paper isle wondering if we needed to buy scissors and tape, Larkin walked by! Talk about timing. Tammi was with her. They invited us to their house so we could hang out and use their stuff. It was perfect. I wore my dress up to Idaho, but with my flip flops. I had my shoes in my bag. I went to change into them and realized I brought two different shoes. Both for the right foot. Whoops. I ended up wearing flip flops to the wedding.

Dad sleeping, my two different shoes

We sat by John & Renee during the wedding. Amanda's twin girls walked her down the isle. The ceremony was short and sweet. Everything turned out perfect, except my shoes.

There was a luncheon right after the wedding. I hung out behind the table with Brooke and Courtney. It was so great to see them! I loved this kid table Amanda set up.

I stayed after the luncheon until the end of the reception. I told Brooke I would help her, but I ended up just talking to my cousins. It was so nice to be able to have long conversations with several of them. My dad was a trooper. After the wedding we headed to John & Renee's house. It started raining while we were driving there. Then it got worse and worse. It was a giant downpour when we were in the driveway. We sat in the car for awhile waiting for it to lighten up. After about five or ten minutes we decided to make a break for it. I was pretty fast, but my dad got soaked. He dropped the plate of cookies we were taking to John and Renee and tried to pick everything up. It was funny.

We stayed up until midnight talking to them. John and Renee are going on the trip to Israel with us in November. Renee was so excited that my dad brought her homework. I told my dad I was planning on just showing up. John said he had the same plan. I got to sleep in Jordyn's room. I texted her pictures while I was at her house.

 Renee was too busy playing hostess, but I caught John and my dad

Jorja texted me right before I fell asleep. She had a date with Spencer tonight and was pretty sad after the date. I called and talked to her for awhile. She will be fine, she was just disappointed. Wish I could have been there for her.

More Camp

I took Preston to his Chinese/Engineering camp again. He stayed up super late last night and for some reason got up at six in the morning. That made him a bit grumpy. He didn't realize it, but just some little things were off. We were the first ones to the camp, so I waited with him at the front. He was teasing me, but it had more of an edge than usual. I was embarrassed. Just cause it was a bit mean. But not really mean. I know it was just the lack of sleep. I couldn't get Maysen or Jorja to come with me today, so I wandered around downtown by myself for three hours. I was bored out of my mind at the stores. Finally I got the brilliant idea to walk around Temple Square. Why didn't I think of that before? Preston enjoyed the camp today, but not as much as yesterday. I think it was because he was tired. He had a super tall Chinese partner who was only twelve years old. I can't remember what they did. Something with magnets and races. I'm not sure.

Preston's selfie with his partner

Following Google Maps

 I got another random picture of Stockton. I LOVE it when people send these to me!

Jorja worked tonight. She was happy when she came home. She ran the closing today and they got out super fast. She was proud. Several of her student government friends also came into Chick-Fil-A today. Conner, Baylor, Ellie, Cade and Luke. Made the work day a little bit more fun. Because Jorja was at work she wasn't able to go to the pre-travel meeting for her upcoming trip with my dad. Mike and I went and picked up her binder and luggage tags. Although I lost the luggage tags before I got home. Jorja's roommate is named Olivia and she is 16 years old from Oregon. Hopefully they get along. If they do, Jorja will love this trip.

Chinese/Engineering Camp

That's right. Preston had a Chinese/Engineering camp today. It was at the Gateway. He was invited and didn't have to pay. He wasn't too excited about this. Maysen and I drove him there. It took forever to park, but after that it was smooth sailing. We dropped him off and then the two of us went shopping. We ended up driving to City Creek. We found Maysen a swimsuit that she really likes and we got her shoes. She picked out the same shoes Preston has. They fit great once they are on, but they are a bit of a struggle to get on. They are supposed to get easier as she wears them. Hope they do! Anyway, Preston ended up loving his camp. They made rockets. He was paired up with a Chinese boy. Preston said he understood him great. It was cool because lately anytime we ask him about Chinese he says he doesn't understand it. This was perfect for him.

Preston's selfie with his partner

Jorja went to lunch with Drew while we were gone. They also got slurpees for 7-11 day. Drew is such a great kid, I'm glad they were able to do this before Jorja had to head to work.

Drew

Bubs

Bubs is 47.

That is all.

Cow Day

I absolutely love it when people from Arizona send me pictures of Stockton. It is the coolest thing ever! I sent this picture to Jorja while she was at work and it made her happy. I don't know the story behind this. I don't know if Stockton made his costume, or if the family had it ready and took them there for dinner. Can't wait to hear about it on Monday! (Stockton was on splits today. That is why he is with Elder Williams and not Elder Alia.)

Elder Smith and Elder Williams

I took Maysen and Jorja to see a new dermatologist. The one we had been going to for a LONG time made me so angry the last time we were in. He told Jorja she had the bone structure of a 40 year old. Also told her she needed to shoot something just below her eyes every six months for the rest of her life to fix a defect. Plus, Jorja's acne has gotten worse and Maysen's hasn't seemed to change at all. Anyway, I went to a guy my friend recommended me to and loved him. He was so nice and explained things really well. He is also putting the girls on accutane. Jorja is really excited about that. I guess most of the girls have taken it and all of them have loved it. The dermatologist said it has a 100% success rate. The big problem is if you get pregnant on it then your baby has a 100% chance of having a birth defect. So, the girls had to take a pregnancy test, wait a month and take another one before they can start the medicine. Jorja is anxious. She has never had acne before and she wanted it to be clear before she started school. Oh well.

Jorja also went back to work today. Her first day back was cow day. She had a blast though. She got together with her friends and they made cow shirts to wear to work. Brynlee is chocolate milk and Jorja is strawberry milk. After work they went out to ice-cream at Leatherbys. Jorja was happy.

Brynlee, Chloee, Jorja

 Brynlee, Jorja, Chloee

 Jorja

 Spencer & Jorja & random head

 Jorja, Jordan, Chloee