Maui Wowie

Wow, Maui was different from the other Hawaiian Islands I've visited. It was much more windy which turned out to be my air conditioner. We had a great time at the Sands of Kahana and loved our beach access. We all swam in the ocean and some of us snorkled a lot! The shaved ice was a hit, but not as much as Joe Steak almost every night! Each of us got to do what they wanted on certain days and a lot of activities and relaxing happened. I love that we had a lovely trip with good weather and all made it home safely before Hurrican Hone swung by and hit the big Island. The road to Hana was met with mixed reviews, but theres no doubt the beaches and shoreline is the highlight of Maui. The church service was up there too in term of memorablity and strong impressions. This time on the island was louder and more humid than I am used to, but it gave me even more appreciation for where I live and the comforts of home. I will never forget the beautiful fish and turtles I saw, what a wonderful memory.

So Cal Retreat

Our little trip to Southern California turn into a 5 day vacation. We stopped by Tanya's house to lend her some blow up matresses for people coming to town. On Sunday, Joe and Emmy flew in from Utah and stayed with us in Manhatten Beach. We prepped El Pollo Loco for us and them and had a great time there. The area was surprisingly cute and nice! We walked the pier and saw all the shops and beautiful houses. Hermosa Beach was nice for a sunset walk as well. We visited Whiitter and had brunch at the orgoinal 1970's Lascari's. It was super yummy and Joe's order of calzonne was the yummiest plate there! We made out way down to Carlsbad to meet Tanya, Maddie and Addison by way of Laguna Beach and Dana Point. We had fun eating dinner with the group and seeing a gorgeous sunset. Tanya picked up Kieran earlier than 10pm which made it easier for all of us. On Monday, the group went to Disneyland. It was beautiful and hot and we did everything we wanted there. We even finally got into Rise of the Resistance and it was worth it. I was tired after walking 13 miles. I was in the park for 13 hours and saw 13 Disney characters. We made the best of it and had yummy slushes, Pretzels, a churro with marion berry jam to dip. We rode on all three mountains that were able to go on four boat rides and saw Fantasmic. Wonderful memories for sure. The last day Celia and I saw Newport and Brian joined with us and we went to Whitter, shopped and ate out at Taco Nazo that was so good and saw the sunset at Hunington beach and I loved it. It is so relaxing and the beach makes me happy. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to see our kids from Utah and enjoy family time.

Getting in to the groove

February came and went. As soon as school gets going, it seems we have so many things lined up surrounding Celia. She and I went to the musical High School Musical at the Harris theatre in Folsom and it was during a roll of activities. We broke up our schooling also with heading to Monterey with Brian. We stayed in between Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz. We loved seeing thebeaches a long the coast and eating at Pizza my Heart and of course on Cannery Row. THe aquarium was beautiful as always and we experienced the 17 mile drive in windy weather. The ocean was impressive with strong high waves and color. Capitola was a first for us and it was soo cute. We got out and walked and I fell in love all over again with the coast. Yes, Id love to be there as much as possible, but it is good to be in Roseville where we can have inland weather most of the time and be close to Spencer! I will go back in late May to that areaa, so its fine. Celia got a beautiful dress, it was so nice to see how happy she was about it. It reminded me of her pink princess dress she wore all the time for years to every Father Daughter Dance at Junction Elementary and to church every week. Celia was able to go to Winter formal. Celia really does love her fancy dresses. We'll see if she gets another chance to wear it.For Valentines day time, I got red roses from Bria nd we went out to pizza with the jones, They've shown us a new spot that is fantastic.I got to go have crepes for galentines day and hang out with friends all month. Even though things look like they've been rainbows and roses, I've been battling teeth and back stuff, but I feel supported and blessed beyond measure. I feel like out of these struggles, I will be stronger and more prepared for the future. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I feel healing in my life and its exciting.