Yesterday

I feel like something of a failed blogger, because I didn't take one picture, but yesterday was a great day.  It was a jammed pack and exhausting day but also great.  In other words, I'm not doing a single thing in my housekeeping role.  How important is that anyway?  I mean maybe I truly can just stop doing laundry?  It's a theory I've never tested.

Since it was President's day, it's one of the holidays that we place flags in the neighborhood.  It was the YW turn so I took two sledgehammers, my daughter, my strong husband and my two strapping sons.  (These are tools every young women's president needs.)

I always get the worst route and it takes way longer than the other routes.  Also yesterday the other groups had more people.  Emma said, "Should we have someone else come with us?"  I compared the size of Braeden to some of the little 12 year old girls. 

"I think we're good," I said.

And we were.  Emma drove, Adam had one sledgehammer and drove stakes while I placed flags and the boys had the other hammer and they did same.  At one point Emma was driving a little lurchy (she's not the best driver in America and my strategy is to just not drive with her and hope for the best).  I cautioned her to drive less lurchy (because her brothers' long legs were dangling out the back end of the van.  She usually treats any kind of criticism with serious disdain and this time was no different.  I told her to stop being sassy or I would drive and she could put up flags.

What can I say?  It's good to have leverage.  She was as pleasant as a peach after that.

We finished well ahead of everyone which never happens.

Emma had to stay home and do homework but the rest of us headed to Salt Lake City.  We went to temple square:  the church history museum, the visitor's centers, the Joseph Smith building.  It was a nice time.  We also stopped by Maverik's "base camp" on the way home and Braeden hardly appreciated it enough.

Maybe we'd built it up too much.

We pretty much got home in enough time for flags.  Braeden and I took a preliminary walk beforehand and met the rest there.  Picking up flags with my crew was a breeze too.  Right after that we had a presidency meeting and right after that Braeden and I headed to Provo.  Phew!

Adam was refereeing, Emma and Mark were involved with "mini missions" which is a thing in our ward where the youth, with a companion, go visit a family in our ward who feeds them dinner and then the youth teach the family a lesson.  Mark's group got assigned to our bishop's family and Emma went to the stake president.  They both had a great time though, despite what could have been a little intimidating.

Braeden and I were going to meet David and Shari.  We got there a little early so we swung by the Creamery to see if Clarissa was working.  She wasn't, but her roommate was so we got to chat with her briefly.  We met David and Shari at the bowling alley in the basement of the Wilkinson Center.  Being on BYU campus made Braeden and me both excited for him to attend there in the fall. 

It was great to see the young Jorgensens.  When I was paying for bowling shoes, David said, sort of in jest, "Is there a discount for missionaries?"

The guy eyed Braeden (and the name tag) and said, "You're a full time missionary?"

Braeden said yes.

"Well then you can bowl for free."

David and Braeden speculated on all the free stuff he could possibly get on campus.  Ice cream?  I said, "Let's go bowl."

Shari confided that she was a terrible bowler and I told her I was too.  Then I bowled a strike and two spares.  Then David facetimed Janet and while I was chatting with her, I had Braeden bowl for me.  He only knocked down one pin and I guess that broke my will because after that I bowled terribly, which is my lot in life.

After bowling we went to Chom Burger which was delicious.  We had never been there before but we will go back.  It was comfortable and easy to be with David and Shari.  All those Jorgensen kids feel like beloved nephews and nieces.

As we were leaving the restaurant, we encountered a young couple whose front tire was stuck in one of the irrigation ditches that line the streets of Provo.  Tiny Shari marched over and offered help, then she gestured back at David and Braeden.  "We can help," she said.

David and Braeden went next door and borrowed a big rock from a yard.  They wedged it under the tire.  We pushed and zing!  The car was back on the street.  The grateful young man (who had been contemplating his jack when we approached) looked like he may cry or at the very least throw his arms around David and Braeden in gratitude.  Instead, he shook their hands.  It was dark but he noticed Braeden's name tag, "Wait!  Are you a missionary?"  Braeden said yes.  The guy just kind of shook his head wonderingly and we were off into the night.

You just never know what kind of adventures await when you swerve from your path.  Again, how important is laundry anyway?