End of school year finish line

It has been fun doing all the extra curricular activities with Celia near the end of school. celia kicked it into gear going to seminary and reading for attendance. She went to the temple with the ward andparticipated a lot! The grandparents came with us to Sea Quest and had a great time. Grandma didn't even like the snake stuffed andimals and I enjoyed feeding tortoiuse. Celia got a popsicle and fed the rays. They don't have teeth, but were aggresive getting that shrimp popsicle away from her! Celia finished well and got to go to senior activities and Prom with old friends. It was fun having all the kids from Utah come and celebrate Celia. Both sets of grandparents made it to the graduation ceremony and we had a grand time. We all went to Santa cruz, Salinas,and Monterey. It was beautiful and fun filled visit. Emmy went to a wedding of her friend's and had a lot of leftover food, so that was fun to try and finish while living out of a hotel. We made it to church and 17 mile drive and there were sooo many people visiting for Memmorial Day weekend, that we saw a lot of the sites from inside the van. It was still fun and a great time together. Mother's day was fun celebrating at my house. I'm glad we had so much time with the kids before they took off again. Can't wait to get together again in the end of June!

April in Utah

I spent many days in April In Utah. I love that our little family went to Visit Joseph for his birthday. We drove through the night which helped curb some winter weather, but we proved that we were young again and can have fun on only a few hours of sleep. Joe got a phone for his birthday and I loved seeing how excited he was about as it was a surprise to go and pick one out. I was surprised there was $200 difference between the two t-mobile stores for the same phone, but we weren't complaining. The kids and I went to a store nearby to check on getting a case and it snowed on us. I haven't had that experience in quite sometime, so it was a little magical. Cold, but magical. We had a great evening and enjoyed soo much brazillian BBQ and met up with Maddie and Kieran. They came back to the house and we played games toegther late into the night. It was greeat family time and we were making wonderful memories. Well, just a couple weeks later Celia and I were back in Utah with my sister and folks. We got to go to a wedding, see Kieran in concert, have more game nights and shoppoing fun. The weather was wild again and I did get hailed on going into Target, but over all spending time together was amazing. It is hard that half of my kids live so far away, but visiting them and them visiting us makes it all worth it. Celia had a great 18th birthday party at home then got to celebrate with everyone in Utah as well. Emmy decorated a Hello Kitty cake that turned out so good! They all know and love Celia so much, it makes me happy!

Learning to make it through

Someimes investigation is needed. I wondered how I could have an extremely itchy and burning part of one portion of my back on one side. For weeks I was trying to figure it out. After seeing a dermatologist, my results were conclusive. I do have a nerve that got pinched. Thankfully, I have resources that have helped relive the discomfort. There seemed to be one thing after another this month, but It gave me the appreciation for times when things are little more straight forward. I've found reserach and thinking about what has been true in my experience and pray have seemed to help find lost things, diagnoss sickness for Celia, as well and know how to proceed. Prevention and routines help, but if that can't be done then thinking on what is normal for me or the things that bother me physically.Then generally, I can come up with ways to exsist. I feel grateful for Brian's support through all this as well. I will say going out each weekend and now sometimes on Tuesdays for date night has helped in keeping me happy as things have been different or more complicated. Spencer's washer is out of commission again, but we have a system down to help get things cleaned for him while we wait fdor warranty parts. I've been reading so much with two book groups, it is so nice to keep thinking and seeing perspectives and its so funto be social and go out and talk about the books with friends.

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.