Saturday, September 30, 2017

Softball Friends

We spent the day listening to conference. It was great. Mike went and got Jorja from softball practice after the first session. She was so tired she fell asleep during the second session. I'm going to watch those with her later. I did find this picture on Jorja's phone. She loves her softball friends.
Raina, Jorja, Shay
Hailey came over tonight. After the priesthood session Isaac showed up too. He rode his scooter down. They made cookies. They all seemed to have a great time. Jorja sure was busy this weekend. I get tired just thinking about it.

Friday, September 29, 2017

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!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Feathers

I had Preston's parent teacher conference today. That kid is adorable. He has already reached all his benchmarks for where he should be at the end of this year. His teacher said that the Chinese program was meant for kids like him. Yep. Preston loves Chinese. It makes me happy. I love the end of parent teacher conferences in elementary school where they have the kids come out and the teacher talks to them in Chinese. I love listening to their conversations. It's the best. Preston's teachers asked if there was anything he would like them to know. He said that he can't see in the back of the class when they put him behind tall people. I feel his pain.

The art teacher at the elementary school is awesome. It is Dallin's mom. Jorja's friend from elementary school. This is her second year and she does such a great job. The kids made feathers that were decorated with their hobbies. Preston's is orange. They look pretty cool all together.
Preston
Jorja had to stay after school to decorate for homecoming. I was hoping to make it to Aimee Roth's wedding, but I wasn't sure when Jorja needed to be picked up. By the time she finished it was too late to make it to the wedding. (It was down in Springville.) Stockton took Gavin and Preston to diving. Jorja missed her first softball game, but was able to make it to the second one. The weather was great and the sunset was beautiful.
Jorja at catch
The third baseman got hit in the face. It was awful.
I just liked the catch by Jorja. She looks like a frog.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Hike and Lunch

Today was a fun day. I went to Gavin's mom's house this morning for a workout. His mom got really into aerials awhile ago. They moved so they could have their own aerial silks in their house. She has it in their front room. I have never seen anyone get so completely involved in a hobby so quickly. Pretty funny. I went to a core, flexibility class she was teaching at her house. I am not flexible at all, but it was still fun.

I hurried to Kneaders and bought some loafs of bread. I decided I wanted to leave a plate of goodies at our neighbors house. I left a note that said, "To Whitney and Elizabeth Love Mike and Stephanie Smith and family." I think just by acknowledging the name Whitney would mean a lot to them.

We had a relief society hike and lunch at the park. I hiked with Jacqui to the bridge. We were the only ones that made it there. I loved walking with her. It is nice to hear about Ashley and Olivia, it really helps me to understand Jorja better. The lunch was amazing. I have never eaten so much for lunch. I talked with Annalise Xiao and Laura Longhurst. Annalise served her mission in Australia and Laura goes there all the time. They were telling me things that I should do when I'm there. All I remember now is the Night Market and something about bridges. Yep, my memory is awesome.

Jorja had softball practice and a better day today, so that's a win. Stockton went to bowling. It was at a different alley. He texted me that his phone was almost out of batteries and he wasn't sure exactly the way home. I told him to just drive to the mountains until something was familiar. I love the mountains in Utah. Jorja commented that the mountains didn't look different to her. What? That's weird.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Arrow of Light

Today was the last day of parent teacher conferences at the high school. I managed to see everyone except Mrs. Struiksma. Both Stockton and Jorja are doing really well. The foods teacher had no idea they are related. Jorja is really liking foods. She asked me if she would be able to switch her schedule to get her into foods 2 next semester. I hope a spot will open for her. It would be easy to switch, she has digital photography the period foods 2 is offered. Jorja also asked if I could get her out of theater. She hates it. I asked, but if she dropped the class now it would be an automatic F. Welp, she will need to stick it out at least until the end of the quarter. When I was waiting to talk to Jorja's seminary teacher I ran into an old high school friend. Her name was Rachelle Bodell. Mike knew her better than I did. It was fun to chat with her. Jorja's seminary teacher is a woman. She is going to have a baby soon. I asked her if she was allowed to teach once her baby was born. She is. That surprised me. It hasn't always been the case. She told me that they just recently changed the policy. Nice!

I took a quick picture of Jorja's picture hanging up in the school.
I went straight to the church from the school. Stockton was at Young Mens and Jorja was at softball practice. Preston received his Arrow of Light today. They told us to send him to 11 year old scouts next week. My last pack meeting ever. Well, except next month is the pinewood derby and Preston is still invited to participate in that. Mike and Preston are excited they can still do it.
 Judy with the boys
 Judy and Preston
The guy that does the Arrow of Light ceremony always lights the boys neckerchiefs on fire. He asks each of the boys if they did their best while working on the Arrow of Light. He says only the boys that are honest will have their neckerchief light on fire and not burn up. The boys think this is so cool. I wonder how he gets away with a live flame in a church building.
Preston crossing the bridge
Mike had to do it too because he is an eagle scout
Eight boys got their Arrow of Light today. There are three wards combined together now. I don't know the names of some of the boys. I'll have to ask Preston. Hopefully he knows.
Matthew, ?, ?, ?, Preston, Brian, Braxton, ?
Mike high tailed it out of there as soon as he crossed the bridge. They did the ceremony two different times, four boys each. Preston was the last boy on the last ceremony. Mike was late getting Jorja from softball practice. Thank goodness for cell phones. Jorja had a hard day today. She was really sad when she came home from school. She was able to pull it together and was happy at softball, but then got really sad when she was home. Some texts came in that really upset her. I was holding her on a beanbag while the texts were coming in. She was bawling. One made her really upset she started having a panic attack. I hate it when she has those. I feel so powerless. I was already holding her, so I just squeezed tighter and forcefully said, "Jorja, stop! Jorja, stop! Jorja, stop!" She was able to slow her breathing down before it got out of control. I was so thankful. Sometimes it is really hard to be fourteen.

Monday, September 25, 2017

Best High Fives

Jorja sent Mike and I a text saying Mr. Packer asked if we would judge the homecoming pageant on Monday. Mike was thinking of working from the cabin that week. I told Jorja that dad would do a better job than me. Jorja said Mr. Packer wanted both of us, he took her out in the hall and specifically asked for the two of us. Okay. If Mike is next to me I won't be so nervous, but it would be terrible to do it by myself. Stockton said hi to Mr. Packer today. There was another teacher next to him that said, "Hi Stockton. I don't know you, but hi." Mr. Packer said, "You don't know who he is? Let me show you." Then he took her to Mike's picture hanging in the hall from when he was a student body officer and talked to the teacher about how Mike is amazing while Stockton stood awkwardly by. Haha.

I checked Jorja out today after lunch because she wasn't feeling well. Her back has been hurting her a lot lately. I hope she doesn't end up with the same back problems as me. That would be sad. She came home and took some medicine and had some rest. When the medicine kicked in she started feeling better and I took her back to school. I also took Stockton and Preston to diving today. I drove Gavin and a girl named Janelle as well. Janelle is in Jorja's biology class. They recognized each other when she walked into our house. The pool was pretty cold today. The showers weren't working either. That's never fun.

It was parent teacher conference today at the high school. I called Mike and asked if he could meet me there so he could take the boys home. Gavin lives near the high school. I was able to be there for thirty minutes and see four teachers. Hopefully I can get the rest tomorrow. Jorja's theater teacher was there. This is the class that gives Jorja the most anxiety. I sat at her table and told her who I was there for and what period she had Jorja. The teacher just looked at me. I was kind of taken aback, because usually they look up their grades and talk about how they are doing. After a few seconds of awkward silence she just said, "Do you need anything?" Or something like that. I told her how Jorja was feeling a lot of anxiety in her class, but I felt super uncomfortable talking to her. I wish she had her grade book out so I could ask her why Jorja got the lowest grade in the class on the 'Why did you take theater' paragraph they had to write. Jorja wrote that she had a spot in her schedule. Jorja has complained since the beginning of school that the teacher doesn't like her. I don't know if that is the case, but I definitely felt more concerned after talking to the teacher than before. I came home and talked to Jorja about it. She said she wishes she had transferred out of that class. She wanted me to find out if it was too late to transfer now. I wrote an email to Jorja's counselor asking what Jorja's options would be. Would Jorja be able to just take an online health class so she wouldn't be behind? (I wanted her to take the health class during the summer anyway.) Who knows what will happen. I guess we'll just wait and see.

I only talked to one of Stockton's teachers today. His government teacher. When I said Stockton's' name he said, "I know who he is. He gives the best high fives." Ha! Stockton is quite proud of that, but man do his high fives hurt! His teacher had only complimentary things to say about him. He is always engaged in the discussions and does an awesome job in class. Jorja's math teacher also said she was doing great. Jorja has a 98% in math right now. This is amazing because she has struggled with math the last few years. Jorja has told me that her math teacher now is a great teacher and she understands everything she presents. Love it.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

Rocked It!

Maysen was teaching her first lesson during relief society today. As I was leaving sacrament meeting I got a text from her that said, 'Rocked it'. That made me so happy! I tried to call her several times after church, but I think she had her phone turned off because every time I called it went straight to voicemail. I'm so glad she had a successful lesson. It doesn't surprise me, she is an excellent teacher.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Rainy Day at the Field

I spent the morning moving sticks to the front yard so they could be picked up next week. I saw my neighbor Paul leave his house and I waved to him. We live on a cul de sac, so he usually wouldn't pass my house. When he turned my way, I knew he was coming to talk to me and I knew what he was going to talk about. I walked up to him when he stopped and we talked for a long time. Paul is Audrey's dad. He has decided to be a woman. He has had the surgeries done to become a woman. He told me his name is now Whitney. We talked and talked. I told him that I would do my best to call him Whitney, but to not be offended if I accidentally call him Paul. Sue and Jim walked by why I was talking to him. I introduced them to Whitney. It was a little awkward because I wasn't sure what to call him. I said, "This is Audrey's ____" I looked at Paul/Whitney. He said, "Mom". When they walked away I told him I was sorry if that was awkward, but I'm a big believer in getting the elephant out of the room. I asked how Audrey and Elizabeth were doing. Elizabeth is his wife. I told him that all three of them would always be welcomed at our house. He seemed very relieved when he drove away. I called Sue up afterwords to explain who Whitney was. She was super nice about it and was completely shocked. She had no idea that she was talking to someone who used to be a man, he looked so much like a woman. I know she will be super nice to Paul/Whitney, because that is the kind of person she is. I figure that I don't have to agree with this, but I want Paul/Whitney to know that if Audrey is ever over at our house that this is a safe place for her. He won't need to worry about us saying bad things to his daughter. She is safe and she is loved.

Jorja met some friends at a park for a late breakfast. This is good. She needs to be around lots of different friends right now. I picked her up from the park at about 12:30. She has a softball tournament today. She was a little sad before the game. Luckily Raina came to the rescue. Raina brought a loud speaker where the girls were able to dance to music. Jorja lit up. She can be so silly. One time she was was dancing and singing on the way up to the plate. She is freaking adorable.
Raina & Jorja
 Jorja waiting to do the coin toss
 Joe tying Jorja's shoe
It started raining hard for the third game. Shannon called me and I was talking to her under my blanket. Jorja took a picture and sent it to me. It was hard to watch the game with the umbrellas in front of me, but I didn't want to move because I knew I would get sopping wet if I did. I was able to see Jorja get an awesome hit though. Then she stole second. Then she scored from second when the girl behind her got a base hit. Jorja also did an awesome bunt earlier that got an RBI and she made it to first. Perfect!
Later tonight I dropped Jorja off at the bowling alley where she bowled with Raina, Shay and Taylee. They also played laser tag. Jorja had a lot of fun. I texted her after 10:00 and said I was tired and was picking her up. I brought her home and then she got sad again. We laid on my bed for awhile listening to old music. Jorja does great when she is busy, it is just when things slow down that she gets sad. It will be a rough few days, but then I think she will be able to handle things and be back to her regular self again. I sure love that super sensitive girl.

Friday, September 22, 2017

Maysen and the Zoo

Maysen had her first real day of volunteering at the zoo. It went better than she had hoped for. They asked her to do some e-papers. I honestly can't remember what they are called, but she was able to observe four different animals and write down what they did for 15 minutes. She will definitely be able to relate this to studying animal behavior. I am so impressed with the zoo. They are asking Maysen to do things that will be best for her, not necessarily what they need done. Although my neighbor Kristen told Maysen that they must trust her if they asked her to do the e things. Anyways, I am so excited for Maysen! She sounded so happy too.

Stockton went bowling today. He needed to bowl four games to qualify for a chance to be on the competitive bowling team. He had done two games earlier, so the total is six. Stockton's average ended up being 123.5. He had one poor game with 101, but he did have a game that was 149. Hopefully he makes it, he would love it. The teacher in charge of the bowling is his statistics teacher. Stockton keeps talking about how he can't believe the statistics teacher is using such an incredibly small sample size. Ha!

Mike came home and packed things up for him and Preston to go to the cabin. A few days ago we noticed how cold it was getting up there, and we haven't winterized it yet. Mike decided to stop by and say hi to Maysen on the way to the cabin. It is about an extra hour to do that, but then he gets to see Maysen. I packed up some things to have him bring her. Shoes, boots, gloves and ear warmers that would be great for the zoo. Mike took Maysen and Preston out to eat. Preston looks excited.
Preston and Maysen
The theater was having a fundraiser at a dessert place called Create. Jorja wanted to go. She was able to convince Stockton and Evan to go with her. Evan is my favorite. Well, now he is tied with Drew as my favorite because he lost points when he admitted he used to like the song Set Fire to the Rain. I hate that song. It makes no sense. How can you set fire to rain? Why does she keep repeating that phrase over and over? So annoying. Anyways, Evan makes Jorja happy and that makes me happy. Evan is one of Isaac's (and Jorja's) best friends and is super nice to everyone. It was nice for Jorja to get out of the house with a friend. I'm glad Evan was willing to come along.
Evan my favorite

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Hike with My Friends - Yay!

I woke up Jorja early to go to the temple. She had already planned on going before Isaac broke up with her last night. The problem was, we couldn't find her temple recommend this morning. She went to the temple with Dessa on Saturday, and we had no idea where her recommend ended up. We decided to go to the temple anyway. Mike was waiting for us there and when Isaac forgot his recommend, they just looked it up. When Jorja and I got there the temple was packed! She filled out the paper to have her recommend looked up, but the guy ended up calling Bishop Waddoups anyway. Whoops. But, she got in. There were two different church groups that came from American Fork. Lots and lots of people. Last week when we went Jorja was done by 6:08. This time she finished at 7:15. Which made her late for school. We were in the waiting room and Jorja had been confirmed. I asked her if she would just like to go, but she adamantly shook her head. Well, we'll hope for the best. This was also the first time Jorja didn't bring her stuff so I could take her straight to school. Lesson noted. Mike left the temple the same time as us. Jorja looked at her phone when she got home. There was a message from Isaac that said something like, "We did not break up last night". Drat. When Jorja came upstairs Mike had a song playing and was dancing. It was Katy Perry's 'Hot and Cold' song. That made Jorja laugh. Mike has told her several times that this song describes Isaac, so Mike was lip syncing the song to her. Specifically "You change your mind like a girl changes clothes...and you over think always speak cryptically......cause you're hot then your cold, you're yes then you're no, you're in then you're out, you're up then you're down......You don't really want to stay, but you don't really want to go...." Anyways, it was super funny to see Mike dancing and it made Jorja laugh, so that's a win.

Jorja was nervous about walking late into Chinese. I guess when you are late you have to go in, salute and bow. She had fun with it though. She was pretty happy when she went to school, even though she knew it was going to be a hard day. I told her to just hold her head high, be kind and to not force things.

I went hiking today with Becky, Stephanie and Jacqui. It was really nice. I'm so glad they asked me to come. I was able to talk to Jacqui a lot, which was very needed. I wore shorts and Becky was worried I would be cold. I told her my legs are usually fine, but I had a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt and Stockton's warm jacket on. It ended up being perfect. It was also very beautiful up the canyon.
Becky, Stephanie and Jacqui taking a picture
I was anxious to hear how Jorja's day had been. Isaac officially broke up with her at lunch. Isaac is not mean. It would almost be easier for her if he was, then she could just move on. He told her that he knows he is hurting her with his indecisiveness, which is true. He didn't want to hurt her anymore. He wants to get back to being best friends, even though it will be hard. Jorja was sad, but she knows he is right. The thing is, both of them have been super nice to each other, so she is hurting, but it is a different kind of hurt. It might be awkward, but I really believe it is for the best. I'm proud of them for being kind to each other and I'm proud of Isaac for letting go of Jorja. I really hope this breakup sticks. At least for a few years, they are just way too young to be getting so attached to one person.

Jorja had her softball game today. I really wanted to see it because she doesn't have many more games left. She ages out at the end of this year and probably won't play again. I'm hoping she tries out for the high school team. If she doesn't make it, then she will have no regrets. If she does make it, she might love it. Or not, but then she wouldn't need to try out next year and again would have no regrets.  Because of this, Stockton drove to diving at the U for the first time. He took Gavin and Preston with him. I was so nervous! I had Stockton text me with the parking stall number so I could pay for parking. For some reason the app doesn't work on his phone. As an added bonus, it let me know he was there. Stockton and Preston are both happy with the decision to switch to diving at the U. That makes me happy.

Back to Jorja's game. It was freaking cold out there! I was still in my shorts, but this time it was not okay! We even had two blankets around us, and we were both shivering. Jorja's team won their first game. I think the score was 4-8 going into the last inning. Jorja's team was losing, but ended up winning when someone stole home. The girls were so happy and it made sitting through the freezing cold much more tolerable. The girls played one inning of the second game. Jorja had just gotten into her catcher gear and settled into her crouch when the game was called. Yay! I have never been so happy! Well, I'm sure I have, but I was so glad to go home. It was so cold!!! Plus, it was funny because it looked like Jorja called the game.
Jorja & Raina with the ump and their coach.
They are the two captains waiting to do the coin toss.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Errands and Sadness

I spent most of the day running errands. Shannon called me and I talked to her for awhile. I also talked to Maysen for a bit, that was nice. I went to a baby shower for a lady in our ward. Jorja goes to her house every Tuesday to play with her kids. I'm glad I went. I almost didn't go, because I don't know this lady well. I decided I needed to interact with other people in my ward more, even though it makes me feel uncomfortable. Most of the time I was fine. It was anxious for some of it, but not the majority, so I call that a win.

I came home from the baby shower and everybody was super happy. I went downstairs and was getting Preston tucked in when Mike came down and let me know that Jorja was crying upstairs because Isaac was breaking up with her. I just looked at him and said, "Again?" Yep. That boy can't make up his mind. I came upstairs and she was sitting on the floor in the kitchen talking on the phone with tears running down her face. Jorja asked me if I would sleep in the guest room with her tonight. I lay with my arms around her while she cried. We talked for a long time though. I was glad she opened up to me. I kept trying to point out all the good things that will come out of this break up. I secretly hope this break up sticks. I like Isaac. I like him a lot, but Jorja can't go through this every two weeks. It's crazy. Anyways, it was a long sad night for her, but I hope it makes her stronger and even more compassionate then she already is.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

CCR

I had Stockton's last CCR today. I don't like hearing about graduation and college applications. I don't want to do this again. Although, I don't want him not to graduate. It's weird. I took Stockton and Preston to diving today. The problem was, I still had Jorja's softball stuff in the van. She went to practice and borrowed someone's mitt. I came straight from diving, but it took forever to get there. I arrived about thirty minutes before practice was over. I took the boys to Chick-Fil-A while we waited to pick up Jorja. Man, I better not do that again!

I talked to Maysen today. This Tuesday was much better than last Tuesday. She did a great job on her measurements test that she was worried about. She only missed four. The most missed question was number 2. Only 14% (or something like that) of people answered it correctly, and Maysen was one of them. Maysen loved the zoo again. Today was her last orientation day. She will be doing her internship on Friday mornings. That will be perfect.

Monday, September 18, 2017

Giant Spider

I went around the house this morning gathering laundry. Jorja did her laundry yesterday, so all that was there was her clothes from Sunday. I picked up her dress and noticed there was a giant spider on it. I hurried to the bathroom and shook the spider into the toilet. As soon as the spider landed about fifty spider babies scurried off of the spider. It was so gross! I have no idea if there are spider babies hanging around Jorja's hamper or not. I'm afraid to find out.
Preston had his last Webelos today. He has now earned everything for his Arrow of Light. We were told to send him to 11 year old scouts after this because everything they do from now on will be review. Stockton stayed after school to take a physics pretest. He took the first pretest last week at Corner Canyon. He did really well and was able to skip the first third of the physics unit. Today he took the second pretest and again did really well and is able to skip the second third of the physics unit. I'm not sure when he will be able to take the third test, hopefully he will see the same success.

Sunday, September 17, 2017

Bowline

Scouts has started up again, and of course I forgot to send Preston. He could have gone, I just completely forgot. So annoying! They were tying knots. Luckily Preston had already passed off everything except for the bowline. Mike helped him with that before church.
Preston's bowline leash for Shiver
Mike helped me with my primary class today. I have really been struggling the last few weeks. Only two kids were there today, so it was a lot easier than it has been. It was still nice to have Mike there though.

Mike took Maysen back up to Logan. I went to a fireside with Stockton and Jorja. The Back's were speaking. I loved Sister Back's talk about Friends. I think that was great for Jorja to hear. She talked about choosing friends wisely and how she decided to change friends before her sophomore year. It was really hard especially because she had no friends. She talked about how hard this was. This was great for Jorja to hear. Jorja didn't change friends because they were bad influences, just she lost some of her good friends and it was really hard. It was nice for her to hear about other people who have struggled along those lines. Sister Back talked about how people are always watching and you can be a great influence. Circles can be widened to fit an infinite amount of people. That's why they call it a circle of friends and not a square of friends. Anyways, it was a great talk.

Saturday, September 16, 2017

Temple, Softball, Frisbee

Jorja got up early this morning and went to the temple with Dessa. That's twice this week she has gone to the temple. I took Maysen to her doctor appointment and then tried to find Jorja to take her to softball practice. She was at Chick-Fil-A with her friends. She had a few hours after practice to rest before she went to her Ultimate Frisbee meet and greet. There were about 40 people there. Jorja was expecting about 10. Some of the kids were really good. I think Jorja was intimidated. Maysen, Jorja and I started watching a show called The Good Life. At one point Maysen was cracking up. I love seeing her laugh! Stockton spent the day being sick. Because it is a weekend. Sometimes his body just shuts down when it knows it doesn't have to be anywhere. Poor guy.

Friday, September 15, 2017

Bear on Motorcycle

I picked up Maysen from Logan today and brought her home for the weekend. We ate at Noodles and Company before coming home. I was proud of myself for not taking forever to figure out what to eat. The people in front of us were slow and said we could pass them. Done! Only problem was my meal was so spicy! Whoops.

Mike sent us this picture on our way home. He was driving home from work and heard a loud motorcycle behind him. He looked over and it was the Jazz bear! Driving down the street!
My brothers and I were texting tonight. Mostly about baseball and football. My dad asked Brett if his house got damaged during Hurricane Irma. They had a couple of wet walls and some roof damage, but not too much. Here are some of Brett's texts: "My suitcase full of clothes got soaking wet though." "They first told us we were staying on the base hotel but then the General made a last-minute decision that we would all sleep in the command post. So my suitcase was in the hotel room and it got soaking wet." "They are pretty sure three tornadoes touched down on the base.""We were in the safest building on the base instead of being on the second floor of a hotel. The phone was blaring tornado alerts all night so I don't think I would've felt very safe there." "The fire alarm went off at 1:30 and woke us up. And the power was out. So we were walking around this dark building checking for fires in the middle of the hurricane." "It was a memorable night for sure."

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Jorja's Team Won!

Stockton and Preston had their first diving at the U today. It was fantastic! Preston was not happy about the switch. Ted ended up coaching Preston and two other kids. Preston LOVED it! Yay! Stockton had a great time as well, even though Gavin couldn't make it. I am so glad Stockton decided to switch. It will be closer, easier times and better emotionally for the kids.

Mike took Jorja to her softball game. I missed the first game while I was at diving with the boys. Mike was texting me updates. The girls had their best game so far. They didn't get blown out! They were so excited! I made it for the last game that started at 8:10. The girls actually won! Hannah hit a three run homerun. It was the first time someone on our team has hit the ball over the fence. They ended up winning the game 6-4 I think. It was getting close in the last inning. The tying run was up when they got the third out. I'm so happy for them! They have worked really hard. This was great.
Jorja putting on her catcher gear
 Jorja ~ she's getting good at knowing which signals to send to the pitcher.
Jorja caught someone stealing 3rd. You can't really see it, but she got them. Her coach made a big deal out of it when the inning was over. Awesome.
Last out!
Yay! What a fun game!
 Zilla, Jorja, Raina


 Shay & Jorja

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Jeff & Greg

I watched Jeff and Greg today while Matt and Sam went and picked out granite and floors for the condo they are redoing. I actually got them both asleep at the same time. Jeff was so cute to watch sleep. He was quite cozy.
Jeff
Stockton went to the first bowling activity for the bowling club. I can't remember if I wrote about this, but Alta is starting a bowling club. They will bowl every Wednesday. Stockton couldn't be more thrilled. The only problem was diving with BYU is Wednesdays and Saturdays. Stockton decided to move to the U for diving, which I think will be better in so many ways. Plus, now I won't have to check Preston out of school every Wednesday. I'm really happy about that. Stockton loved the bowling today. This looks like it is going to be a very good thing.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Making Bricks

I snapped a picture of Jorja with her other student government shirt. All the freshman class officers are wearing them today.
Jorja
I went on a field trip with Preston today. Isaac's mom was also there with Ben. I texted Jorja that I was on a field trip with Isaac's mom. Jorja texted me back this picture. They were in biology.
Jorja & Isaac
I was assigned to the brick making station with one other mom. She switched to the candle making station though. I made bricks all day. It got kind of lonely, despite the many 5th graders surrounding me. I was so happy when I finally saw Preston. I didn't get great pictures of him, mostly because my fingers were covered in mud and I was a little bit worried about ruining my phone.
Preston
I sat by Isaac's mom and another lady named Stephanie at lunch. I texted this picture back to Jorja. This is from the bus ride home.
Mindy (Isaac's mom) and Stephanie
 Preston and Stephanie
I was pretty tired by the time I got home. Which wasn't good because when I'm tired my memory is worse than usual. Jorja and I both forgot about her standing babysitting appointment. They called when we were fifteen minutes late. Whoops! We hurried her over there as fast as possible. I talked to Maysen today. She was sad. She had a hard day. She had her orientation at the zoo tonight. I talked to her before orientation. I called her after to find out how she was doing. She sounded so happy afterwords. I guess she enjoys being around animals. I have a hard time relating to that.

I had an upsetting phone call tonight. Actually it is now a week later. For some reason I let this phone call get to me and it has been bothering me for a long time. I haven't wanted to write about it, which is why I'm so far behind. I thought about making this blog private so I could write all my feelings, but for some reason making this blog private will make me feel even more isolated from the world. I know that's weird because not many people read it, which I'm 100% okay with. This is here for my children, it just makes me sad to block it. I might have to do it in the future though. Anyways, a lady I have never met was mad at me. She accused me of doing things I have no recollection of doing. The frustrating thing is I struggle with my memory, mostly my short term memory. I struggle a lot. The lady wouldn't give me information that I needed so I could explain myself or defend myself. Basically I was told I was a horrible person and that one of my children did bad things. I tried to explain that what they thought my child did never happened, but this lady wouldn't believe me. I know I need to just let this go. I know people are going to hate me, lots of people do. I just have been so lonely lately. The worst thing was I wracked and wracked my brain to try to figure out what this lady was talking about and it became clearer and clearer that I have no friends. Some people like me, but I have no one I can call when I am struggling. I have no mom. No mother-in-law. My kids don't need me anymore. I teach little kids in primary without a team teacher. I feel so alone. I tried reaching out to a couple of people around here awhile ago asking if I could go on a walk with them. I never heard back from the one person. The other person was out of town, so hopefully I'll be able to go interact with someone next week. This Sunday the husband of the lady that called me came up to talk to me at a fireside. I had purposely avoided him, but he sought me out. He asked how I was doing and I just started crying. I ended up leaving and hiding on the stage. After I thought my eyes weren't so red I came and sat on the couch in the foyer. Anyways, sorry about my sadness. I am going to try to hurry and post a lot of things so this gets buried, but it was just a hard day and has been a hard week.

Monday, September 11, 2017

Shirts

Jorja came home with two shirts from student government. She was quite happy about that. She wore one to bed, and the other the freshman government people are wearing tomorrow.
Jorja
She learned the second verse to the school song over the weekend. I guess on Friday, the first day the freshman people were in the student government class, they were asked to sing the school song. Both verses. Jorja wanted to be prepared. Plus, she knew Bode learned the second verse over the weekend. I guess at the end of every advisory they sing the school song. Who knew? (Not all the classes, just the student government class.)

Preston was so funny. He had all of us laughing at family home evening. We recently finished the Book of Mormon, so Mike wants to read For the Strength of Youth together as a family. When Mike mentioned that today we were going to learn about dating, Preston responded, "Are we going to make a Tinder account?" Haha! Then he tried to convince everyone to sign up on Tinder as a family. Like make one imaginary person and sign up. How does he even know what Tinder is?

Sunday, September 10, 2017

My Dad's 74

Church was hard today. I thought everything would be fine and I had a fun lesson, but it was still hard. Granted for six months it was super easy with three sweet girls. I have one boy that just moved in. He is supposed to be in the class older than me, but he wants to come to my class. That's fine and all, but he talks about Minecraft non-stop. It is really hard to get him to pay attention to me. There is also another girl that just started coming. She has never been to church before, so by the time I get her she is done. I can't blame her. We have 1:00 church and I have her from 3:00-4:00. Anyways, I have had a rough time the last few weeks.

My dad's birthday is today. Mike made homemade lasagna yesterday. Stockton and Jorja made garlic monkey bread. I tried to get a picture of them working on it, but I couldn't get any good ones.
Jorja & Stockton
 Stockton & Jorja
 Happy 74th birthday Dad!
Cathy left cake for us to have today. She was up at Brittney's house because Ashley is in town. Anne saw the cake and begged Sam to make her one just like it. I applaud Sam's effort.
Dad's cake
 Anne's cake
Anne was super happy with it. Bubs told Jorja a story about being in Nauvoo with Dad on the last tour. Some guy came up to him and asked who his tour guide was. Bubs said, "Ron Millburn". The guy said, "Wow! He is a legend in the seminary circles. He wouldn't know who I was though." Or something like that. Later Bubs saw someone in their group that put a picture on Instagram with the guy. It was Hank Smith. Jorja LOVES Hank Smith. She loves listening to his talks and reading his books. I asked Dad if he knew who he was. He did not. So, Hank Smith was right. Sam said, "Jorja, I know who Hank Smith is and he knows who I am. I am his editor." W-O-W. Jorja was impressed.

Jorja Facetimed Evan for a long time tonight. They were working pretty hard on their Chinese. Their teacher said she didn't think anyone would be able to pass the AP Chinese test. Hopefully they can prove her wrong. Bubs said he finally had a non-native speaker pass the AP Spanish test. The first non-native speaker to pass any language test at Hunter High School. Yikes!