Happy 28th Birthday Baby Girl!!!

Our first baby girl was born on September 25, 1980. This was before ultrasound, so we didn't know "what" we were getting. While I was in labor, Rick took me to the mall to buy a football. Haha. We got our darling Jordan that evening weighing in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. The cord was wrapped around her neck very tightly. It was a scary delivery and we were so fortunate she survived since her breathing was so difficult. To this day she hates turtlenecks.



















Rick was a law student and I was working full-time at BYU supporting our family. I returned to work six weeks after she was born. We hired baby sitters who were college age women who weren't in school to come to our home and tend her. She had great care.















We made many trips to Rupert to visit Mom and Dad. This treasured picture shows her with Grandpa Earl. Mom and Dad bought her her first walking shoes.



















Jordan was a happy, sweet little girl who was very easy to care for her. She could say about 125 words when she was 18 months old. I have all the words written down on a paper in her baby book!















Rick always loved this picture of his daughter. He had it taped to his cubicle at the law school.























I think this picture particularly looks like Lauren. Don't you? Jordan could be a somber little girl who took childhood quiet seriously.

This is how old she was the year dad died. Oh the good old days of flood irrigating in Rupert!

She was a darling little baby who grew into an adorable little girl who never gave us any grief.

Here are some highlights over the last 28 years of our Jordan (a girls name we got from the book - the Great Gatsby) Patricia (named after Rick's mom Pat) life:

• she attended Joy School (pre-school) taught by her mother and other neighborhood moms. She also attended Cheryl Lant's Learning Dynamics in her home. She was one of the first students Cheryl taught. (she is now the general primary president and Todd's aunt)
• she played with Claire for hours and hours, since they are so close in age (18 months apart) they have always been close sisters and they haven't fought or had any real issues.
• she marched off to OES for kindergarten were she excelled at reading. She later attended the Accelerated Learning Lab (ALL) at Cherry Hill for 5-6 and came back to OJH for 7-9. Those transitions were difficult, having to make new friends and "break in" to groups of friends. She served on student council for 9th grade.
• she has a take charge personality and she was a great older sister to Claire, Dave and Andy. She was eight years old when Andy was born and she was a great helper. She set a very high water mark for the others to follow.
• she played softball, soccer and basketball and settled on running cross country and track in high school. She ran in the state high school finals in the 800 meter. She received the academic all state award in track at MVHS her senior year
• she organized a cleaning crew along with Claire called the BCJJ cleaning crew (with friends Becky and Jana.) They went around cleaning windows and cars to earn enough money to go to the Chuck-a-ramma buffet and Seven Peaks during the summer. She had a lot of friends and did a bunch of fun stuff with them.
• she graduated from seminary and served on the seminary council her senior year
• she earned her Young Womanhood recognition award
• she got accepted to BYU and lived at Heritage Halls her freshman year. One of her roomates was Kim Poulsen (Courtney's sister.) She maintained her academic scholarship all four years at BYU. She graduated magna cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Business.
• she worked at Timp Bookstore all through high school to earn money for her own wants. She worked as a janitor at BYU one summer and also worked for Eclipse marketing and for a home security company. She has an impressive resume.
• she did an internship in Washington DC her junior year at the Heart of America foundation. She met Jake in DC during this time. She opened her mission call on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. She was in DC on 9-11-01.
• she served an LDS mission to the Venezuela, Valencia mission and had many amazing experiences. She did a lot of good on her mission and was an extraordinary missionary. She learned many, many things and taught Spanish at the MTC when she came home. She was robbed at gun point the first day of her mission and lost all of her personal belongings and had to start over again.
• Jake was pretty much on the door step waiting for her when she got home. They were married in the SLC temple in May 2004. We loved having Jake join our family
• she started graduate school at the U of U and attended for 2 years, receiving a Master's of Public Administration degree. She and Jake graduated together, he receiving his law degree. She was recognized for her writing and research skills with a special award, she worked in the MPA office at the U and she only paid one semester of tuition, receiving a scholarship for the other three semesters
• and her best accomplishment of all - she is the mother of two beautiful daughters Lauren and Ellie. She is a wonderful, conscientious mother who loves motherhood and taking care of hearth and home.

We love you very much dear Jord. We're proud of the woman you've become and look forward to many more years sharing your life with you. Her blog Enjoy the Ride can be found here.