Where is the dash button on the phone?

Don't you just love spring? The blooming bulbs and budding trees, the mild and beautiful weather, the birds singing and the grass greening. "Ahhh!" I exhale after taking a deep breath of fresh air and then head into sit on hard chair at desk where I will finally update my blog. Who wants to sit in a semi-dark room and type away when there is so much beauty to be enjoyed out of doors right now? This is my sorry excuse for a 2 month sabbatical I have taken from any lengthy computer sessions.

I don't know if I can catch up completely with all the details of our life in the last 60 days, but here it is in a nutshell. I got a call from my mother on February 6th proclaiming the news of her mother's death. We changed our plans from heading to Mexico for a family vacation, to trekking up to Utah for a wonderful funeral service in my grandmother's behalf. She was such an amazing woman and she'll be greatly missed. I have regrets that my children did not know her well as we have been divided by a state line and many, many miles. I was able to take Shipley and Wickman up to Brighton Ski Resort for an afternoon of skiing while we were there. Paul then brought up the younger ones to play in the snow and enjoy some hot chocolate afterwards. It was coooooold and snowing, but we had so much fun. I believe I took picture, but I left my camera in Utah. My mom just sent it in the mail, so maybe I can post some pics of the trip in a few days.



Paul left me for the first week in March to go and serve the homeless in L.A. through a program called "Door". He took a group of about 15 girls from the school and was able to rake leaves, serve food, clean kitchens and interact with homeless children and adults. He said it was an incredible experience. He came home for a few days, picked up the family headed straight back to California, but a little bit south to Oceanside where were able to spend 6 days at the beach. Yikes! It was sooo cold, but fun. ( I think I used that exact phrase to describe our last venture). You may think I am a wimp to the cold... and you are right, but it really was really cold. No sunbathing on this trip. I found a wet suit at a thrift store so I could at least boogie board. Shipley got in right beside me with just her swim suit! She was so brave. Wickman and Paul got in for a while too, but couldn't stay in for long due to the frigid temperature of the water. We rented wet suits for Wickman and Shipley one day so that they could spend a little more time boogie boarding and playing in the waves. (slide show below). Our first day at the beach there was a baby seal that was hiding in the rocks right next to where we were building sand castles. It came out and sunbathed right next to us for a while until the lifeguards chased it back into the water. Shark bait. It was really neat to be so close to a seal "in the wild" . Despite the cold, we still enjoyed sea shell collecting, walks on the beach ( in our coats) , our traditional night out at Ruby's Diner on the pier, a trip to the San Diego temple where Paul and I took turns, and just being together as a family. We attempted to take a family picture on our last day, but the wind was super crazy and it was the coldest day. It was a flop. Oh well, maybe next year. Last night, we treated the kids to pizza at Crusty's to celebrate their excellent grades. We are very proud of all of them. Paul left town again today for a couple of days, but when he gets back, I am going to keep him here for a while. Just a side note, I had to giggle this morning when Cecelia was dialing a phone number and asked me, "Mom, where is dash button that comes after 567?"