Tahoe, relaxation time

We had a spontaneous trip to Tahoe. Spence had not been feeling well and  I mentioned it to  friend. She offered to let us use the rest of their time at their condo in Tahoe. It was absolute big, beautiful, and clean. It was very relaxing and even though not all the family could be up there at the same time with is it was a reprieve that I appreciate. We were able to go for walks rest inside and watch movies. Isn't that what vacation is all about? Well, the fire alarm did go off and we had to exit the building for a while. We did make one of our  walks a hike that was longer than expected, but both were great adventures and memory builders. Even the drive back was long, but beautiful I wanted to go around the lake and take the 50 home from North Star. The view made it worth the time in the car, the stop at McDonald's and a u turn were fine, and singing to keep myself awake. There is always a silver lining to our clouds. Life is good, our relationships mean the most and I will cherish these times with fail, with friends, alone or some combination thereof.

Great day with the girls then the Zoo

Celia has been coming home early from school lately. She has had some trouble lately with some mean girls, but we have been spoiling her. The other day we went to park days at the pool and had a fun time and today we went and saw Pitch Perfect 2 the movie. it was really funny. Even Celia and I laughed out loud. It definitely wasn't my typical type of movie, but I was happy to be there with the girls. We sent Emmy off to  Youth conference to sleep under the stars and headed to the Sacramento zoo for Dream Night. We got little stuffed animals and saw old friends there.We had two tutors with us:Alyssa and Allie. Spence seemed to enjoy sitting around on the various benches. He called a duck over once and we got to see glimpses on animals doing their thing. Spence was too tall for the typical place to take a picture, but for the most part, He was pretty happy. There were many more people there then I remember last year, It was too bad since there was a lot of waiting. The carousel seemed to be worth the wait for Spence and we were all so pleased we made it through successfully.
On the way home we saw an amazing lightning storm and the clouds were so cool looking. I'm grateful for rain and the wonderful time we had today.

Primary Temple Visit

I didn't realize how often Celia had visited the temple with me. As we attended a Primary temple day, I heard from her how much she had remembered about our visits. I am happy that she knows the House of the Lord is an important part of my life and so is she. There is so much peace and beauty there. Celia did great on the tour listening and holding still. I know it was hard for her, but what a great job she did! We learned about the symbolism and the architecture and most of all how touching the temple can touch our lives.

I want so much peace for her right now as she goes through school and social situations  that are less than ideal. I wan her to know she is loved and protected and can have the spirit to be with her. I'm sure the Lord was happy to have so many little ones visiting today. Celia is a precious daughter and I'm so glad she is an affectionate sweetheart to me. She plays with her little toys (Lalaloopsey and Shopkins) and uses her imagination and creativity to play and sketch like an artist.  Having one daughter grown up makes me want to take time and enjoy my next little young woman in the making. I hope for many more opportunities for mommy daughter time like this.

Graduation

 My first born's High School Graduation. It was surreal. It was hot outside and pretty entertaining. There were interesting folks, beetles, nice musical number, one of which Emmy was a part of. Her choir sang Imagine by John Lennon. It was beautiful. Emmy was able to be one of the firs called to receive her diploma because she was performing. After she received her diploma someone said wait and she didn't go off the stage right away. My family got a kick out of it and we enjoyed seeing her up there a while. I was hoping to get more pictures and kept missing her, but it worked out in the end. They had a string of lights that helped with taking pictures as it was getting darker. We couldn't find some of Emmy's friends and I'm glad it as a family moment and we got a picture of Joseph with his arm around Emmy.:) I did pretty well holding in my emotions although right when they called her full name. I cheered with a crack in my voice and wished others had been louder. It was so formal and official. So real an yet I couldn't believe My baby was big enough for this. She was beaming and very grateful for everyone around her. She will have a great time at Disneyland celebrating graduation. She has a wonderful memory and will be able to relive these fun days. I'm happy for her to have a plan to go off to college and experience more and make even more great memories. She'll always be our little "bundle"of joy and will always welcome her home forever and ever.

Holiday and fun times

We had a great Veteran's Day this last weekend. I'm glad that Brian could have the day off to spend with the family. We went for family rides of course and were quite happy finding ourselves at Dickie's BBQ for lunch. We all felt a little sleepy except Celia after that and we woke up to her water mess in the bathroom. these children we have are precious and we have to teach them all the time to be careful. We try to take care of our bodies, our house, and our belongings. It is so easy to be careless, but it is more worthwhile to prevent heartache and accidents if possible. I've been feeling lately that I want to repair and fix up anything that needs attention. We fixed Emmy's car that was with out a grill and dented for 8 months. It turned out nice! There were hiccups and frustrations of course, but the end product was worth it. Emmy, her friend Kaitlyn and I even ventured to pick and pull and found a Mazda just like hers and got a grill with the emblem already on it. It happened to be half off day because f the holiday weekend and it felt so good to get that done! Now we can keep that care car a bit longer and use it as an incentive for Emmy to do great in school her first semester of college to get to drive it her second semester.

Emmy graduate from High School Tomorrow. I'm excited for the next phase of her life, she is a little hesitant. I'm happy with the woman she is becoming and all the great things she has accomplished. I'm excited to see her graduate from seminary as well. Joseph promotes to high school soon too. I like having older kids, they are helpers and understand so much. There is so much life to live and learn and experience. I really value our family time together. Lately we have been around the fire and making smores. We walk around the mall together, we got o concerts, and we eat out. We garden together and do chores. We finish projects and got for road trips. We read scriptures together and talk about important things in life. We play card games and board games and learn about scouting and tithing and budgets. I'm pretty pleased with our lives however imperfect they may be. I'm grateful for these memories made and the fondness I will feel later having persevered through the hard times and made the most of the good times.