20 October 2024
VOLUME 12 – NUMBER 578
Gloria’s birthday celebration
This week has been really good. I turned 18! In some ways I feel like I have gotten older, but for the most part I feel the same. I'm grateful that I was able to celebrate my birthday. I had a party with friends on Friday. The party was super fun. There were about 15 people at the party.
We did lots of games, like Among Us, musical cups, and M&M mouth. We also talked for most of the time. I'm very glad I had Veidi to help with the food preparation.
On Sunday we had a visit with our biological family. I was very happy I was able to celebrate my birthday with my family, and we also celebrated Troy's and Quinn’s birthdays as well.
My family visit went really good. Riley was able to meet my biological mom, and she did like him. She has been wanting to meet him for a long time. Riley was very nervous to meet her. My family liked him very much.
Zuniga-Orozco family visit
This week there’s not a lot to report, but the weekend was awesome. Friday night was one to remember with the BYU game! If you didn’t see the Oklahoma State game highlights, you need to go see it. Braden, Caleb, and I were all doing our best to keep our excited celebrations as quiet as possible, because Charlie and Ellie were sleeping.
On Saturday we had our family temple trip, and I love those so much. We had some good pizza afterwards, where I shared my goal of trying to find the best pizza places in Provo. I even walked everyone through my own pizza-rating system!
Pizza for lunch after temple session
This week I took a whole day off of school because I was already ahead with everything. I took off the day and just relaxed.
I have also been doing a lot of dog duties in the morning, which has been pretty good. Me and Quinn have been waking up at 6:30am to go outside with the dogs, so they won’t bark in their crates.
I have also been getting some good PE hours for my school. I have been taking dogs on walks left and right, and it has been good temperature. We have had nice cool breezes and not a lot of sun, which is perfect for a walk.
It has been hard looking for a costume to wear, because Halloween has been sneaking up on me, and I might have to pull a stormtrooper if I can’t find anything.
Zuniga-Orozco family visit
This week was really fun. I went to the Fear Factory with some of the family, and I also went to Cornbelly's earlier in the day. During the morning, I babysat Ellie and Charlie. We watched Encanto, a little bit of Sing, and Aladdin.
After that, I went to Cornbelly's, and that was really fun. We went through some kind of spooky trailers, and Anh (exchange student) got really scared. We were worried that she wasn't going to be able to make it through, but luckily she did.
The Fear Factory was really fun, and I'd totally do it again. I screamed a lot! I was mostly in the front with Yaretzie, and I got scared a lot. There were some really scary moments, like when a guy with a chainsaw chased Yaretzie and I all the way into the next room! I had a really fun time, and can't wait to go next year to another haunted house.
Isaac, Gloria, Veidi repairing bike tube
For youth night, we went to the temple. It was the first time going to the temple with our youth group since we moved back to the 2nd Ward. It was a good experience. I like being in the chapel because I feel so peaceful, and I have time to think about things. I am away from the world, which is nice because I leave all my worries behind.
Gloria also had a birthday party on Friday, and I was the one who was in charge of making the food. When it was getting close to 6:00pm, I started to panic because the food was still not in the oven, but it all worked out good. I am glad that Troy, Quinn, and Joanna helped me, because we had them help with food and decorations, and it worked out well.
We did a musical cup game, and it was really fun and hard. We also did an M&M game where you get two M&M’s, and if they match, you can eat them, but if they don't, then you just keep them in your mouth. It goes around to everyone until someone chews when they aren’t supposed to, or until they spit any out.
It is super hard when you’re laughing, and Monte was not playing the game, so he was making all of us laugh. I had a great time, Happy Birthday, Gloria!
Jovita doing Veidi’s hair
Gloria had a birthday party this week with friends. I stayed downstairs with the Littles and Dad. We didn't do much downstairs. We just watched some movies till the party was over.
On Sunday night, we went to Aunt Amy's and talked about some things. We mainly talked about Dad's job, the St. George trip, and what to do for further vacations.
I like being in those kind of conversations, because you can learn a lot from them. Thanks, Uncle Keith and Aunt Amy for letting us stop by and have a great time with you!
Veidi and Gloria resting at Nelson’s house
Last week we watched Natalie’s kids while they went to get scared. We also got to watch a movie. We watched Hocus Pocus, but then it was too scary, so we watched Decendents: The Rise of Red.
We also played in the hobbit hole and played princesses. Then they went home.
I have been trying to find my book for school, and it has been hard. I have been behind in LA (language arts) for a long time. I was going to get caught up in LA, but then I lost my book.
On Friday, Gloria did a birthday party with her friends, and I was put downstairs with Troy, Joanna, Kai, and Dad. After we had dinner down there, which was delicious, we watched Incredibles. Then we went to bed.
Zuniga-Orozco family visit
Isaac and I have been working on a little film project this week. We went out and bought some of the props and costumes for it. It was a bit expensive, but I'm hoping that it turns out good.
On Wednesday night, we began filming some scenes for it. In order to film, we needed to set up for the actual shot, which meant putting on the costume, and makeup. I was the only actor in the shot, and the preparation took almost three hours!
We made me look all burnt and nasty looking, and then rapped parts of me up with bandages. Gloria and Isaac did a really good job on the makeup, because it looked pretty real. Even though it was really cool looking, over time it got more and more uncomfortable.
Once we finished filming for the day—at around 2:00am—I was able to slowly, and painfully remove all of the makeup. It felt like I was getting waxed wherever there was makeup. It hurt, but it was totally worth it.
Children eating pizza
Now all that needs to happen is for Isaac to go in and do his movie magic to add all the special effects. I can't wait to see the finished product.
Happy 18th Birthday Gloria! You have now joined me as an adult. For Gloria's birthday, she had a party with some of her friends. There were several games played, but I was more of an observer than a player.
On Sunday, Riley came over, and we worked on a puzzle. It was the Eric Dowdle’s BYU football stadium puzzle. It was pretty funny, because I've found that I am pretty good at puzzles, and whenever Riley couldn't find a piece, I'd just look over, and within seconds I would find the piece, along with several more.
Zuniga-Orozco family visit