June 2023 continued

Father's Day we hosted a get together at our house. Our ward was in charge of feeding the homeless that day so the Oleson's met up with us to help with service first and then we came back to the house and enjoyed a meal and some time together. 

By this time next year Taylor will be a Da Da so Taylor Rose got him a shirt to commemorate him.

We were able to have the Zook's over to enjoy the pool this month and I got to drive out and watch a play with my family. 

The Taylor's and Ashley and Conute met up for a sibling camping trip in Yellowstone. They had a great time together even though I'm sure that sleeping on the hard ground wasn't the most comfortable for Taylor Rose. 

Jacob was at EFY this year as a director and some of the participants set up an Instagram account with pictures of Jacob sightings. This year was a struggle since he was hit but a bus in the cross walk the first day of EFY. He was battling symptoms of a concussion the entire time but decided he wanted to continue with his responsibilities. 

My days on my own have been filled with walks, sewing some (I sewed a couple of shirts for myself) and some crafting. The crochet turtles were a commission job that I made for someone. 

The Oleson's got to go up to Loyalton to visit with Mom, Jim and Walter. They enjoyed hiking and visiting together. 

Lucky me I got jury duty and then was put on a 2 week trial right before our trip about of the country. (Not lucky me). It was very hard to sit still during all the courtroom testimony knowing that my summer time is slipping away and you just have to sit in silence and your schedule is not your own. Since I am a teacher and considered a government employee I didn't even get the $15 a day....I got mileage only which ended up being $45 dollars for two weeks. 

This was one of the projects that I am working on to prepare for the Taylor's baby shower at the end of the summer. I got this diaper cake off of a Buy nothing Facebook group and redecorated it to match the theme of the Baby Shower. It's fun that we can plan for a girl and can decorate with fun things like strawberries. 

 

The end of the school year and June 2023

The end of the school year this year I got to chaperone the 8th grade field trip which ended up being more enjoyable than I thought it would be. We went to Castle Park and I got to spend the day with some of my teacher friends and played golf and rode rides. One of the teachers I am working with won't be there next year so it was the last time we would be hanging out. 

The last week of school is promotion practice, promotion and then the end of the year staff party. It was a good year and now I'm ready for summer. 

  

One of my first summer activities was meeting up with my sisters and nephew at the Huntington Gardens. Its one of my favorite places to go to. The art museums, the house and the gardens are beautiful and we went early enough in the summer we weren't dying of heat. It was a good day. 

I June I got to meet up with Virginia and her family to do a beach day. It's not super hot at the beach yet but the sun was out and it was a nice day. 

One weekend Jeff and I stayed in San Diego and my family went to Sea World. We spent the day together and then had a meal at the end of the day. Jeff and I enjoyed a nice breakfast and time in San Diego before we returned home. 

Now that I'm home for the summer I always enjoy doing projects that I normally don't have time for. This summer I organized all of my fabric (officially taking over Ashley's closet) as well as all my yarn. It's nice having it more organized. I also organized all the of the kids school papers and finished their scrapbooks to the time they graduated from high school. When the kids are ready all of their memorabilia will be in one spot. I also organized the closets in 3 of the kids rooms which is something that I've wanted to do for awhile. 

Taylor Rose's pregnancy is progressing nicely. We got to spend the day with the Taylor's going to an Angel's game. It was a late Birthday present for Taylor. It was nice to get the full baseball experience and it was a good night together. 

 

April and May 2023

In April we got to celebrate Tahna as she turned 60. Steve hosted a nice party for her and had pictures of Tahna growing up. He did a good job!

For Easter we hosted a family gathering at our house. We were excited to learn that the Taylor's are having a girl! We are so excited for them. 

We had an egg hunt, food and of course played games. Jenae and Ben and their daughter Hallie was able to come as well. 

In May Jeff and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. Jeff surprised me with flowers and balloons at work.  Some  of the students thought it was my 30th birthday, ha ha. That was nice of them to think so ha ha. 

After 3 weeks of state testing at school I was ready to pull my hair out so I decided to take a day off to play hooky. I met up with Sharla for breakfast at a great spot in Murrieta and then drove to Oceanside to spend the day with Virginia. 

We went to the flower fields and enjoyed the flowers and the beautiful spring weather. We then went and walked on the beach and then had some food. It was the perfect day and just what I needed!

This Spring we hosted a Relief Society Women's Conference at church. Instead of buying real flowers I spend time making dried flower and silk flower arrangements to put on the tables with the thought that they could be  used in the future for events. The day of the conference we had a number of classes, service project opportunities and a guest speaker followed by lunch. It's always a lot of work but the attendees always seem to like it. 

Inspired by my time in the flower fields I painted a picture of a bouquet of flowers that I had received. I don't paint all the time but when I feel inspired I enjoy pulling out the paints. 

Sadly we lost Maddie this spring. She had been bleeding off and on and after we did tests we were pretty sure she had cancer.  She was aging, sleeping a lot and had lost a lot of weight and had trouble getting around but was still the sweetest dog. 

When we realized it was time to say goodbye to her we spent the next few days showering her with attention and affection. The kids said their goodbyes (Ashley and Conute from facetime) and Jeff and I took her to the vet where we were with her until the end. 

I was not prepared for the sadness that I felt when I returned home and there felt like a hole in my heart and our house. She was definitely part of the family and she will be missed. We enjoyed looking at pictures of our time with her and remembering what a good girl she was.