On Holiday (part III)

The Wedding
You may not believe it but I am at a loss for words, well maybe not a complete loss. Olivia was asked to be a flower girl in her Uncle Bob's wedding and it was great. We don't get to see Bill's extended step family all that often and whenever we do it surely isn't long enough. Bill's step-brother, Bobby Michiels (Tiger's son) was marrying his childhood sweetheart DeAnn Nesby. They have been together since the 6th grade and are now 26 years old! I have not known Bob without DeAnn. Two things stand out the most in my mind about the wedding ceremony. 1. in their vows they mentioned that they are marrying their best friend; with them this is not just talk. They are such great friends. 2. DeAnn was so excited and emotional that she could not stand still during the vows or the ring exchange. She was squirming like a little girl about to unwrap the biggest present under the Christmas tree. It was perfect!

The wedding was at Bob's grandpa and grandma's house down the street from Tiger and Susie's house, both beautifully set on the Sacramento River. Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner at Tiger and Susie's and then the wedding the following evening. Everything was just fantastic!

Friday, the Rehearsal Dinner

There was much to be done to get ready for the rehearsal dinner at Grandma Susie and Papa T.'s. Olivia has always enjoyed helping Grandma plant flowers. Grandma was gracious enough to keep a couple of pots unplanted so that Livi could help when we got there Friday. Aaron wanted to help instead of napping, who could blame him. Only creating memories!

While they were watering the flowers amidst the river rock, Grandma was startled, to say the least. Less than a foot in front of her toes was a 3-4 foot long king snake. Luckily, the bride's dad, Mark, was there to save the day. Livi and I touched it, Aaron, followed in his father's footsteps and squealed like a little girl at the site of it! I will admit, it's pretty gross, but it did have beautiful markings. We let it go in the field next door and hoped it wouldn't be joining us for dinner. If you ask Susie, she would swear it was at least 5 feet long!

Saturday was a day full of fun and anticipation. The kids and I spent the day with all the cousins, aunts and uncles having a blast. Livi, true to herself as always took a bit to warm up to everyone, whereas Aaron couldn't get enough of all the cute girls. (What a cutie he is...always loving every moment of everything!) They all played and laughed together for the entire afternoon. When it was time to start getting ready for the wedding Livi wanted to stay with the girls (who were some of the bridesmaids) and get ready with them. They even put makeup on her! Not too much though. As our friend Hailey says, "We don't want to cover up our natural beauty." I took Aaron with me back to my dad's to get ready for the ceremony.

Beforehand, pictures were taken of all the girls at Tiger and Susie's while the boys photographed at Grandma and Grandpa's. All the girls looked absolutely gorgeous with the bride looking absolutely stunning in a gown that Bob had bought for her a year ago. It was not the traditional white wedding gown but it was perfect for DeAnn and truly exquisite. Grandma Susie was so great and got a flowered wreath for Olivia's head which, I think, ended up making her the princess of the ball.

I don't have the typical pictures that the mother of a flower girl would have, for example, a picture of my daughter walking down the aisle, and there's a good explanation of that. Olivia, once again being true to herself, clammed up at the very last possible moment and started crying! She was crying so hard that her little feet were cemented to the ground. It was deja vu of the Father's Day primary program 1 year ago. (She was so rooted to the spot the primary president had to carry her off the stage.) She takes petrified to a literal experience. Thankfully the best man, Uncle Bryan and the maid of honor at the second to last minute were put with the ring bearer and flower girls and thus were able to coax Olivia along. It tugged at the heart strings of the entire standing audience as this beautifully bald flower girl made her way forward one baby step after another with tears pouring down her cheeks. (Even with all the drama, she was still very much a little lady and kept it pretty quiet, considering.) I know that hers weren't the only wet eyes at that moment. I could not control my emotions either and from that point until the end of the ceremony, which she made it through, all my pictures were out of focus. After the ceremony, which was administered by DeAnn's grandfather, Susie asked me what happened with Olivia. "What was wrong?" she inquired. I smiled and said, "Weren't you the one who told me about Billy's first soccer game and how you had to push him onto the field, and as the kids ran up and down the field chasing the ball he stood in the middle crying!" We both laughed a bit and agreed it's hard to be the mother of a child who feels so overwhelmed in those situations. (You want your kids to experience so much, you don't want their fears holding them back.)

As far as the weather was concerned it was a bit cooler than a typical August day in Redding, thanks to a slight last minute cloud cover, probably hovering just below 100. As quickly as possible Livi changed into something a bit more cool and then got on with the evening. The reception afterwards was as great as the ceremony itself. We all enjoyed dancing along with the music and chilling by the pool. The kids were having such a great time dancing that they didn't want to go home. At 10:30 we said our goodbye's and made our departure. Congratulations Uncle Bob and Aunt DeAnn! We love you and are grateful that we were able to be a part of your very special day!

Aaron really turned up the heat on the dance floor!

Vegas Baby!

Thankfully Aaron finally fell asleep on the drive down to the airport on Sunday. Dad and I were getting pretty tired of hearing him parrot, "Ai'pane, ai'pane" incessantly. Needless to say both of them were excited to fly and thrilled to see Daddy again!

I've got your back

Not to break up the whole flow of things with my "Holiday" blogs (yes I still have one left...it was a long vacation!) but I wanted to put this down before the freshness of it wore off.
Tonight, our family was able to join in the celebration of Ben McMillan's 3rd birthday. I was granted the pleasure of decorating a little cake for Benny and we joined their family and some other friends of theirs for dinner and dessert. It was great company and an enjoyable evening had by all, especially the birthday boy who loved his new bike, "WOW!". Upon our departure Stephanie McMillan (mom) shared a little experience with Bill and I. Apparently at some point in the evening the three older kids were all upstairs conjouring up a bit of dialogue between themselves.
Sophie (friend of McMillan's, age 6)to Olivia, as nice as possible considering the topic:"It's really too bad that you don't have more hair."
Olivia, age 4, while rubbing her head, with curiosity upon her face states: "I have some."
Todd, age 7, and Livi's personal knight in shining armor, defensively protests: "SHE HAS LEUKEMIA!"

I love it! Do people in America do arranged marriages anymore??!

On Holiday (part II)

Sacramento

While we were sad to leave the cold weather of the coast behind we welcomed the Redding heat and smoke, from surrounding fires, with grace and departed Monday afternoon for Sacramento. I wanted the kids, and myself to beable to visit with loved ones that we'd left behind when we moved, so we planned for 3 nights in the "City of Trees". Let me start by thanking my selfless father for letting us use his more fuel efficient car for the week.

I had forgotten how much I loved our old home. We lived just north of the Elk Grove city limits but that's what we called home and it is so beautiful. Trees everywhere and green grass...oh how I miss landscaping! The first two nights we stayed at our friends the Dresser's house. It was great to catch up with them, learn of Jennifer's pregnancy (congrats again) and see Olivia and Aaron playing with their old friends. With the three of us adults loving the Olympics, the kids got to stay up way past bedtimes and enjoy playing with one another. Juliana (their 4 year old girl) and Olivia had become great friends before our move, so it was fun to see her having so much fun with her friend again. Tuesday morning I treated myself, along with my girlfriend Jennifer to an awesome workout at my old gym, California Family Fitness. It was great. We joined in with a body sculpt class being taught by Barbara (possibly the most fun instructor EVER!) that I had attended 3 times a week prior to Las Vegas. It was great to have some reminders of great excercises to really make you sore, and as always, Barbara delivered. (Now I have more things to use at the gym with my neighbor Karen, she's thrilled I'm sure!) The kids loved it every bit as much as me if not more. The gals in the playroom are great with the kids and adore Livi and Aaron. They were so suprised to see them and grateful to see Livi doing so great after having heard the scary news and seeing the blog. It was great to catch up with them. One of the women has recently lost her mom to pancreatic cancer so it was nice to talk to and empathize with her about what she had gone through. Also, another of the women there had battled leukemia when she was a child, thank you Tracy for sharing your experiences with us. Driving back to the Dresser's we passed mine and Bill's favorite deli, "Mr. Pickle's". Jenn and I got the kids settled with their lunch and then I went and picked up a more "mature" sandwich from only the best deli...ever! It was a blast to beable to catch up with the whole Dresser clan and stay the night like we had several times before while Bill was in training. They're definately like another family to us.

We also had the opportunity to visit with our old neighbors and stop in to see our house. We have great renters in it and when I walked in I was a little sad. They have done a great job decorating and have really kept everything very nice. I asked the lady of the house how she liked the area, she said she loved it and hoped we wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. I wanted to tell her right then and there that they could sign a 5 year lease as far as I'm concerned, or at least until the market turns around, but I can save that for another time. Some dear friends that we had wanted to visit were AWOL, they had more than a few missed calls and messages left from me, but we were able to catch up with the Hall's. Josie Hall (age 4) is the first self made friend Olivia ever had. Livi met Josie at the gym where they had started hanging out. After a while they introduced eachother to thier mom's and the rest is history. Josie has an older brother Isaac (age 6) and a younger brother Owen (age 2). Josie and Owen are each barely older than Olivia and Aaron so it is really nice to all get together and play. Owen was such a cutie and kept reffering to Aaron as his "best friend" even when Aaron wasn't being such a great friend. For example, Owen would say, "Mom, my best friend hit me" or my favorite, and soooo Aaron, "my best friend's eating my food!" We unfortunately didn't get any pictures of these blossiming bossom buddies but it was fun nevertheless. Isaac was great as always but found himself as the awkward 5th wheel at times. He did do a great job at getting the kids involved in fun activities like play-doh, dress up and puzzles. The kids enjoyed a full afternoon of play together while Tamara and I were able to catch up on eachother's busy lives. For dinner we made waffles while the girls enjoyed eating them in matching p.j.'s. (By far, the best way to do a sleep over without having to do the whole through the night thing. It was a fantastic time had by all and one that won't soon be forgotten. Thank you Hall family for all the fun.

Our last stop on our Capital City journey was to Uncle Sam and Aunt Nikki's new house in Natomas. It was so great to see them on so many levels. I finally got to meet, hold, kiss, my new nephew Cody who was born in March! What a cutie. It was such a great unexperienced dynamic to be staying with them as before we never had becuase we lived by them. Their oldest son, Joshua, who I still think needs to go into modeling was so fun to be with. The kids had such a blast. Nikki said it ws the first time she had ever seen Josh play "with" someone as opposed to alongside of someone. The two boys are only 6 months apart and such peas in a pod. Both wild and crazy. They were flailing their bodies over the couch and jumping off of the coffee table, (why have rules when there's so much funto be had?) and racing cars across the kitchen floor. Josh would say, "You ready?" and Aaron would answer with as much annunciation has he could muster, "Ya!" This would repeat 4 or 5 times before the cars would actually get pushed and they would chase after them. So many smiles!!!

Because it was that time of the week for Livi's needle to be changed, we were able to be needless for the day and go swimming in thier club's pool. She also was able to enjoy an oversized bath with her cousins before her Aunt and Uncle helped me reaccess her. She did sooo great and even made me cry with how brave and strong she has become with the whole ordeal. Aunt Nikki is always so great with Olivia. They've always had a great bond with eachother and in true Aunt Nikki style Livi was pampered as no other niece could be. An actual mani/pedi-cure complete with a soak and two coats of paint!!! "For the wedding." (Two coats definately cannot be an everyday routine in our house. Special occasions are just fine!) And to top it all off the kids were over exuberant with the cooking demonstration put on, our second night there, before our drive home. Despite the air conditioning being down and indoor temperatures reaching a cool 90 degrees at night, we all had a great time.

On Holiday (part I)

This is a phrase I've heard over the years but recently adopted as my own. I don't like saying vacation all that much because to me it implies rest. All us moms/parents know that a vacation is not restful, most of the time, nor do I particularly think it should be. I like the term "holiday" because it implies something to celebrate. And that's what we do. We celebrate that we are away from normal life, dad doesn't have to be at work and we can be with loved ones that we don't normally see...all of this is much cause for a CELEBRATION! And that's just what we did.

The car trip

Not much to report on this one except Bill and I were once again reminded at how unique our situation is. We left Friday after Bill got off work, (you know the whole routine. Everything's supposed to be ready when daddy gets home so we can throw the last couple items in and hit the road...Why do the last couple of items always take a couple of hours to pack?!) We were successful at getting on the road and just 3 hours outside of Vegas it was past dinner time and time to hook Livi up to her meds. How odd I know we look drawing drugs out of tiny vials with needles, parked in the shadows of a gas station/rest stop somewhere between nowhere. We've just gotta laugh. We arrived in Redding at 6am Saturday morning with two very excited kids. Thankfully Gee and Papa took them off our hands for a while so we could catch up on some z's.

Blessings of the Gospel

What a wonderful opportunity to have been able to be a part of our oldest nephew's baptism, Evan Reasbeck, and his baby brother's blessing, Chase. Evan, who turned 8 in July was gracious enough to postpone his baptism until this Saturday so we could all be a part of his special day, and it was great. It was so much fun to see all the younger cousins so excited for Evan. All of them scrunched in around the baptismal font to see Evan's sins being "washed away". "Just like Jesus Mom!" was Olivia's reaction. After Chase's baby blessing on Sunday we had a great family lunch back at Gretchen's house and then it was off to our respective dwellings to prepare for the camping trip.

This is after Chase's blessing. Bill and I are on the left with Garrett and Kristi to the right. Then my dad, sister Angela, brother Adam, Gretchen's in-law's in the back and Ryan holding Chase on the end. Oldest to youngest of cousins are also visible in size: Evan R., Cody C. Chandler R., Olivia E., Logan C., Ethan R., Aaron E., baby Emily C., and baby Chase R. What a great looking family!

Camping in the Redwoods
Aaahhh! What more can I say. The sights, the smells the cold, crisp, clean air...aaahhh! It was a lot of fun. We camped at Mill Creek campground which is just south of Crescent City on the 101. We do this every year and have since I was Aaron's age. My whole side of the family goes, which as of date includes 16 people plus 2 newborns! This was the first year without my mom which put a new dynamic into things. It was hard to watch dad keenly aware of being alone as he drifted off to his tent at night. Mom's most favorite place in the world was the ocean and camping with her family. My sister-in-law Kristi said, that as she had been thinking much about mom, she and Garrett had noticed the similarities that Olivia has to her. The way she walks, the way she talks to the other kids, even her facial expressions. I miss my mom terribly but am greatly comforted daily with my unwavering knowledge that we will be together again, as a family, just like on this earth. These simple truths of eternal family, what my mother taught me, make me strong and help me to endure.

When my family goes camping we really do a great job. Each family takes a night to prepare a meal for everyone. This year, like always, everyone did a superb job. Gretchen and Ryan kicked it off with their classic chile rellano dish (dutch oven style, yum) with a new dish added this year of pineapple chicken teryakki with grilled zucchini as a side!!! Garrett and Kristi went above and beyond the realm of simple dutch oven cooking and prepared an excellent Prime Rib Roast, complete with carrots and red potatoes. I was thrilled with how our meal turned out as we prepared Chicken Enchiladas in dutch ovens with sides of spanish rice and beans...YUMMM-O! And thank goodness for Dad, Adam and Angie and traditions that will never die. Everyone enjoyed their classic "firehouse chili" and dutch oven baked cornbread!!!

Our days are spent climbing the stumps of Redwood trees, exploring the nearby creek beds and hiking trails, racing up and down the camp roads with bikes/scooters, or driving down to the pier/beach. This year we tried being a little more adventuresome and treked up into Brookings, Oregon. A short 40 min drive north with beautiful scenery all around (and quite a few retirement options for Bill and I) we arrived at a great beach. We spent a fabulous afternoon playing in the sand with the more courageous boys braving the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest! My oldest sister, Gretchen, in her true style stayed at the car to stay clean...in her defense she did have a newborn with her. heehee! Anyways, her husband Ryan and I turned our backs to the cars and suggested to the 3 older boys (lft to rt) Cody, Chandler, and Evan, "Do you want to be buried in the sand?" We didn't turn back until it was too late and we got the disappointed head shake, like we knew we would, but that's okay, it was worth it. The boys had to be washed off in the freezing cold water, it just made the sand stick more. Aaron might as well have been buried, he was just as dirty as the other 3 and so out to the ocean he went as well. All of the cousins and some of us adults had a great time playing in the sand while other went to little shops in the area or kept the babies happy. (Just what I mean, not quite a vacation, but definitely a celebration of being together...a Holiday!)

Back at the camp, the kids were able to participate in a Junior Ranger program, so Olivia joined some of her cousins on a hike down to a creek bed where they were to collect a living creature of any sort and draw it in their booklet. Livi had a great time as did her other cousins that went. Aaron is definitely starting to feel that "big kid" separation and so he joined us as well.

And this year, like every year, we visited the tide pools. Olivia was having a tough time differentiating between this and the tie-died t-shirts we had made a few days before. She still mixes us the tie-died and tide but it was great. Lots of great sea creatures to look at and hold. We walked out a little further this year than normal and saw a bed of mussels. The kids were even able to walk on it, Bill did too. It was incredible.

Tie-died t- shirts and Tide pools
Now that's what I call "mussel"!

The pictures could go on forever so, for camping I'll end with these.

We came on Monday and left on Saturday. We came back one day early so Bill could get home, someone could take my brother to the airport, and Olivia was out of her meds. She was so great with her meds. Every night she wanted her cousins to "help" or at least watch as she did her meds and we hooked her up to her TPN. Three of the cousins, Evan, Logan and Chandler, even helped when I reaccessed her port one night in the back of our car. That picture would have been priceless...complete with all 5 of us huddled in the back around a sterile field. Classic!
Thank you to all my family for yet another great week in the Redwoods!