Grandparents' Day with Camden

Today I got to go Grandparents' Day at Lindon Elementary School with Camden--my first Grandparents' Day as a grandparent. (I've always been the parent in the past.) It was so much fun! Grandpa and Grandma Barrett were there as well, so Camden got her share of attention and help making her gingerbread house. Grandpa Taylor wished he could have been there, too, but he needed to do some catching up at work from everything that stacked up while we were in South Carolina.

I was already there in the classroom when Camden came in and she was happy to see me. She hung up her coat and bag and then we found a spot to sit and do our gingerbread house. Her teacher really had everything set up well with an empty milk carton, graham crackers, frosting, gumdrops, jelly beans, marshmellows, candy canes and cereal squares--everything we needed to make our house. We were well underway when Grandpa and Grandma Barrett arrived. They sat down by us and started to help decorate the house. I was sitting by two kids, Jacob and Vanessa, who didn't have anyone there to help them. Vanessa said she was waiting for her mom, but Jacob said he could use some help. So I started helping him and we were getting things going by the time his grandma came to help him. He was happy to see her. Vanessa still had no one to help her, so when I offered, she said okay. Their teacher had already started helping her a little bit. She was having fun just sticking stuff on the milk carton with frosting. She's a little Down Syndrome girl and didn't say much, but she was having a lot of fun. She wanted to use all the candy canes she could find. Then we put jelly beans and gumdrop everywhere. When she would stick something on, I'd say, "Good job!" and she'd look up with this big smile. I was glad I could help her. Camden and the Barretts were doing a great job with her house, and she seemed happy that I was helping Vanessa. After the houses were completed, we got to eat a cinnamon roll and then the grandparents left. It was a lot of fun. Grandma Barrett said this was her first Grandparents' Day, as well, even though Camden isn't her oldest grandchild. It's surely fun being a grandma.

Tonight Steven and I went to the MTC. We went off our usual schedule and had dinner here at home with Richard (since he's off work), and then Steven and I went in to the devotional together. The speaker this evening was Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy. His wife was with him, but she didn't speak. He gave a good talk on 10 Way to Be a Good Missionary. Afterward, we met with District B for their district meeting. They are some of the new missionaries that came in two weeks ago tomorrow. There's a chance that three of them will be transferring to an intermediate branch, but they didn't know for sure yet. After that meeting was over, we went in with District A for a few minutes for their closing hymn and prayer. Steven offered the prayer in Spanish, and the missionaries seemed to appreciate it. They are leaving tomorrow for their respective missions: Elders Blake, Piggott and Garcia and Sisters Perry and Tupou to the Texas Houston East mission; and Elder Porter to Washington DC South. Elder Romney and Sister Huffaker left yesterday for Oklahoma. Elder Turner's visa to Spain hasn't come yet so he doesn't know when he's leaving for sure or where he's going.

(Well, it's kind of late, so I'm going to head to bed after such a fun day. Buenas Noches.)