California 2015 part 1 (Friday- Sunday)

Last year when I went to California with the kids and left Daniel at home he felt rather left out of things, so he came with us this year!  We found an awesome deal on plane tickets so we decided to fly instead of drive- it was the best decision!

Jane was excited to go on her first airplane ride and Seth was excited to go on an airplane ride now that he is old enough to remember it (he was 18 months old on his last flight).  

So Friday June 5th my parents drove us to the airport and we were on our way for another California Adventure!

 Our first stop was to see Grandpa and Grandma Taylor and then we all went to see Ben, Mieren and Alys.  We drove down to the beach that is a few minutes away from Ben's apartment.  Even though it was chilly and windy, the kids played in the water a bit.  Janet and I stayed up at the top and visited.  I was able to see a pod of whales blowing water out in the distance.  Super cool!

 Saturday we went to visit Janet's brother Steve and sister-in-law Pam at Pam's workplace.  She works at a preserve called McClellan Ranch Preserve in Cupertino California.  It was a lot of fun to visit with them and to see the animals and creatures that she works with.

Pam showing Jane a silk worm

Jane feeding a lizard

Jane using magnifying glass to view silk worms

Les and Seth holding a snake

Pam Daniel Paul Steve Seth Jane Mark

Seth feeding lizard  

That afternoon we went to a beach the girls call Horse Beach.

It was really quite cold but it didn't keep the kids out of the water at all.  Ben had a few wet suits for the older boys to wear, but Seth went into the water to use the boogie board with no reservations.  He is one tough kid! 

Sunday we took things easy- I wasn't feeling great.  Sunday afternoon Ben and the girls came over for lunch.  After lunch we went to the park to play Frisbee.

Me and Jane returning from the park

Just for fun- a picture of me and Jane returning from the park last year

Ben lifted Seth over some bushes to retrieve a Frisbee

Daniel, Jane and I went to Sunset Beach that evening.  Mark, Paul, and Seth went with Ben to spend the night with him.

Our plan was to spend time at the beach every day because it is something that we just can't do in Utah.  Even though it wasn't sunny it was delightful to experience time at the beach!

A Quick Idaho Visit

This weekend Mark, Paul, Jane and I went to Idaho to visit my brother Kelly and his family. We had a tv and stand to bring up to him.  It was a good thing that Seth wasn't planning on coming up because there wasn't room for him in the van!  We traveled in a crazy rainstorm for a good part of the trip there and back.  The weather while we were there was quite pleasant- warm and mostly sunny with just a touch of chill in the air.

This was a short visit but it is always great to see Kelly and get a hug from him.  He seriously gives the best hugs!

Jane and Uncle Kelly

Jane showing Aunt Jenn her newly painted fingernails

We went for a walk along the Snake river that is next to Kelly and Jenn's house. Jane wanted to hold Eric's hand!

Tyler provided transportation for Jane when she got tired.

Paul provided transportation for Mark when he got  tired! Jane thought it was hilarious!

The cousins played card games and had a great time.

Next time we go to visit we'll stay longer so the boys can play together longer.  Tyler was not pleased that we were taking off so soon!  (We got there at 7pm on Friday and left 1pm on Saturday).  Hopefully the new tv setup will console him until we make it up there again!  Haha!

A Nature Walk

The other night the weather was beautiful.  There was a touch of chill in the warm spring air. We had finished cleaning up dinner and the outdoors were beckoning me.  I felt driven to play outside.  I gathered those who were willing to join me (Jane and Seth) and we went for a walk along the Jordan River.   

The first stop was at the bridge.  And then played on the playground for a few minutes.

Then it was time for some silly selfies.  

There was a pleasant calm in the air. We only passed a few people the entire night, so it felt like we had the world to ourselves.  We strolled around just playing and observing. Our old house in Draper is behind us in this photo about a mile away.  Seth was too young to remember living there.  But I felt that somehow I was visiting a former part of my life blended in with my current life.   a

Seth and me- pretty son he'll be taller than me!

Jane and me

Seth and Jane

I love this picture of Seth and Jane.  They are good together- such a beautiful thing to watch!  I love how Jane lifted up her foot when she posed for the picture.  I sure love these two wonderful people!

We walked as we watched the sun go down.  As the tips of the mountains were being covered by the night shadow, we walked back to the van and watched the sun sink behind the mountain on our drive home.  We stayed out much later than I had planned.  Bedtime was delayed that night, but it was a magical night- one where we allowed nature to lead us where we needed to be and we were able to just be present in the moment.  

March

Weather here in Utah can be unpredictable.  All winter long Jane wanted to make a snowman and a snow angel.  We only had two snowstorms this winter and the snow wasn't good packing snow to play with (really powdery).  

With nice warm weather to play in at the beginning of March we headed to the park to play!

We had a snowstorm a few days later that produced a good, but wet snow. Jane and I got our snow gear on and went outside to make a snow man and a snow angel.  I almost decided to wait until after lunch to go out, but we went out before and it was a good thing that we didn't wait!  The snow had melted only a few hours after it fell!  Can you see that there is no snow around the snowman in the top corner picture?  That was right after lunch!  

Our snowman was the only snow left in the neighborhood for a few days!  We watched him melt and it was neat to record how much it melted each day.  

Day 2

A few days later we were back at the park!  We went with my sister Denise and her daughter Hailey.  We discovered that the girls were wearing clothes with the same pattern!  (Jane's pants and Hailey's shirt) 

Seth has been off-track from school for the entire month of March.  We have been getting together with a family to do things.  We went on a tour to Mrs. Cavanaugh's Chocolate factory, went to the park, and visited a Lego exhibit at the mall. It has been great to have a family to hang out with during our long breaks!

Seth went swimming with a friend.  They were there for three hours!  I finished one book and nearly finished another book while 'watching' them swim!

March 21st was my 2nd annual Music Recital. I was really excited for it and I'm glad to have this tradition.  I decided to learn a rag time song because I love the music but I've always been intimidated by it.  It took me a while to get it down, but I got it figured out!  I remember learning a part and thinking to myself that I'd never be able to play that series of notes and keep the time right, but after practicing (over and over) it became so easy to do!  I think that working on things and remembering  how difficult it was at the beginning makes performing it really satisfying! 

Daniel has bee super busy with his jobs, but he made time to practice and learn a new song.  I am very proud of him for working on the cello and not being afraid to try things.  I really appreciate his attitude about learning to play the cello.  He knows that he has areas that he can improve in but is willing to showcase what he has learned so far.  He isn't embarrassed to play like a beginner- because he is a beginner!  

At the recital I talked about why I think that performing in a recital is important.  I think that being playing in front of other people helps you to identify where you are in your musical journey. I know that I can play my first recital piece from when I was 8 years old much better now than I did then.  I think that it is fantastic to look back at benchmarks like a recitals and know that I have made improvements in my talent!

I have been working on a house project and my wrists weren't happy with the action they were receiving between the project and the piano practicing.  My right wrist was really bad with tendinitis. Reluctantly, I let my project sit undone for yet another few weeks to let my wrists heal.  I still practiced the piano, but only a few minutes a day. Thankfully I had prepared my piece well in advance so I only had to play it through to keep it fresh. It was rather trying on me to be patient.  

After the recital I was on a high.  I felt great, I had a good performance, and I felt adventurous!

I decided to try making some fish.  I have only eaten salmon one time and that was a few years ago, so I bought some salmon and grilled it!  (One of the reasons I don't cook fish is because I can't handle the smell it leaves in the house. But I realized that if I grill it, the smell is outside!) The dinner was delicious and I'm proud of myself for trying it!  Much to Mark and Paul's dismay I am planning on incorporating more fish into our diets!

Jane had kindergarten orientation this month. She is really excited about going to school.  Perhaps I should have waited to tell her about the orientation until right before we needed to go. She was so excited that the day had arrived that she got ready in record time.  She was quite sad when I told her that we still had 6 hours before it was time to go!  After the orientation we went out for an ice cream cone to celebrate her willingness to be patient all day!

We decided to go out for dinner and Jane had to go put her fancy clothes on to go to the restaurant.  She put on a fancy jacket, a fancy scarf, a fancy necklace and her moon boots!  She loves to get dressed up! That scarf is one that I used when I was a little girl!

We had an Easter party at my parent's house.  The night before, Jane asked me if we could get her a new dress to wear to the party.  I had been looking at dresses at Costco but didn't get one because she didn't really need one.   However, the next morning we went and picked one out!  She was so thrilled to be buying a fancy dress!  We bought tights with pink flowers, a new headband with a flower on it and some new shoes.  She was on cloud nine!  She was dressed and ready to go to the party before anyone else! It was pretty fun shopping with Jane!

Jane and her Aunt Wendy