A Few Fun Times

I was happy to be asked by my friend Lisa Jeffers to go to Rock in the vineyard, a FEAT (families' for early intervention of Autism) event. It was located at beautiful Young Vineyard. There was live music, yummy food, I had a spicy chicken taco salad and even little snicker doodle cupcakes. We talked to other parents, walked around the vineyards and lake. It was a beautiful rest from a hectic previous day. Young, our respite worker, made an extra effort to move things around to come and watch the kids.  Lisa won a raffle and received all kinds of great vouchers for various museums and activities in San Francisco, she was so happy. I was glad I could see the beauty of this area and that our "Local Honey" I purchased to help with the terrible allergy season this year came from Plymouth California, right where we were for this event.

Bri was out of town from Thursday to Monday in Utah for Logan's farewell, so I was happy to hear he had River Cats tickets for Tuesday Night. It was an unusual game. Joseph's favorite part was the concessioners. He talked about the food the entire time even when someone did something good, Joseph would holler "Hot Dog! then look at me smiling. Good thing hot dogs and desserts were only a dollar that night.

It was a somewhat uneventful game until a bat came whirling at our heads. I was pulling on Joseph's arm to put his head down and move to the left. He didn't see the bat, so he was resisting. It hit where no one was sitting on the first row maybe 5 feet from us. You just never know when accidents can happen and affect you. I was glad no one was hurt and we were unaffected. Bri put his finger in his nose for a picture I took on my phone and I posted it on Facebook. He was so proud. Tanya thought it was a unique family photo!

 Lately, I've been fighting off stress with trying to take time to do service, talk to friends(while out to lunch), and enjoy nature. It has been helping a little. This week I talked to my buddy Patty for hours, attended a session at the temple after having turned in my family file sheet to get family names printed. I went to lunch with my friends; Alex(Althea) and Shelley. We talked of how we met our husbands and that started me on this reminiscent journey. Through reading my journals I realized there really is a time and a season for every for everything. Those times at college or in my youth were wonderful and so are the times I am making now. Every time has it's challenges, but hopefully I can capture the memories of the fun, spiritual, meaningful times, and look back fondly on them later.

Sixth Grade Trip to Museums!

I  said I could possibly be a chaperone for Joseph's sixth grade class' field trip to an Egyptian museum in San Jose. I  was told they had enough parents and would call me if anything changed. Well, it did and I was able to move things around, get a respite worker for after school and embark on a 13 hour adventure with Joseph. I loved the gardens and Museums. the tech museum was so fun. We saw Under the sea at the IMAX theater, it was a little to relaxing a dozed for a minute.:) We were blessed to have our snack, our fun and great interesting sights throughout the day and I loved that I was there for free for watching out for 8 sixth graders hehe. Our transportation was a tour bus( T.V. and bathroom included) we took so we were higher up and I could really get a feel for Sacramento and the Bay area, how green it is and how beautiful the bridges are and the rivers. What a great time. We were toasted tired of course afterwards, but Joseph was excited for the next big thing which was traveling to Utah with Brian for Logan's mission farewell!

Pictures of me with my Family..Day

I couldn't think of anything for mother's day when Brian asked me what I wanted. I was pleasantly surprised when he came with a dozen and a half long stem purple roses. They're beautiful. Joe took some credit, he said it was Dad's idea, but Joseph picked the color.  I love my card which really is a book of stories on motherhood and beautiful illustrations inside. It really is like an art book and with great sentiments inside, I love it. I especially love how they all signed the front cover. It will be a keepsake.

 I have wanted family pictures lately. Those are bad words around here. My children are so beautiful on the inside and out, but group pictures are a challenge for us! I was happy Bri volunteered to snapped few in the morning before church.  Life went on as usual, but I love that my family made great efforts to show their love and appreciation for me. They're keepers and I'm glad we all still live together and have the time that we do to spend with one another. I wore my new outfit picked out by Brian(amazing how he can do that) and the jewelry my mom gave me for mother's day!

Nature Walk

A few days of rain has made it nice weather. I took a walk this morning near my house. It was a secluded area, full of great views of the skies, trees and nature. I saw a squirrel, a couple turkeys, and heard other critters around. I loved this tree with berry looking fruit on it. Yes, it was dusty and there were a few flies as I went off the beaten path, but I loved walking around.  I enjoyed an autism mothers' support group and some volunteering at Celia's school.  The hike was the highlight of my day though.

First Grade Fun Field Trip to The Hamburger Farm

I was a little choked up as the busses turned on the street in front of me and made their way to our field trip destination. I'm glad we had Celia. She is 5 years younger than Joseph and it seems I have another opportunity to do these elementary school field trips. I followed the bus on Highway 65 ever so slowly. I couldn't help thinking what precious cargo they were carrying!  It is sweet and I also feel her years in school will go by quicker and I should value our time together.  I'm glad I was there, Celia was my buddy. She played with the other kids, but wanted me around and I helped her get through the "farm" portion of the tour. It was hot and the tour guide spoke softly and slowly about how each part of our hamburger were grown.  Celia loved the marbles, the train, the slide and the animals to pet. She didn't think there was a real pig there, wasn't "pink" enough. We learned about tomatoes, cucumbers, Dill weed, milking cows, growing potatoes, mustard plants, and eggs being used to make mayo and much more. It was a great tour and time.

Spencer's sick day

I rarely write about sickness, but maybe I'll touch on it just a little. Poor Spencer didn't feel well last Monday. I sent him to school anyway thinking he is just suffering from his usual seasonal allergies. Nope, this flu masks itself in allergies then gets really violent! Joseph and Spence each missed two days of school and all in our family except Emmy seem to have experienced some symptoms. It does make you remember to appreciate your health. I have been spoon feeding Joseph's honey lemon to help with his cough and sore throat. We have the humidifier going with and surprisingly the Vicks on your feet at night and covering them with socks, has helped my kids to sleep through and breathe easier. Spencer's birthday was pretty low key, but he did check out his decorations and balloons. He liked the balloons and checked out each and every one. We did get a few smiles from him on his day, and times were pretty quiet around here this week, with sleepers and resting going on.

I took Joseph with me visiting teaching and going to get Spencer from school. He just stayed and watched the Lorax in the van. I hope this sickness runs its course a little more quickly now. Hopefully all will feel better by Monday and Emmy can avoid it altogether.  I was bummed Joseph wasn't well enough to go perform the National Anthem at the Rivercats game, but it was nice to get out of the "infirmary" and go to dinner with Brian and Emmy.~