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.