May 2026

We took a quick overnight to Yosemite. Todd, Hazel, and Jack joined several friends from the stake to climb Half Dome. Gemma and I brought our bikes and rode around the valley floor. Todd and the kids camped; Gemma and I joined last minute and stayed the night at the Ahwahnee Hotel. Everyone enjoyed the experience. 

The views from the top of Half Dome are spectacular, but they also reminded me quite a bit of Taft Point. I'm happy there's a way to see all that stunning scenery without the difficult hike. But it seems like the crew were especially satisfied because of the effort they put into getting there. 

Hazel had her final club volleyball tournament. Her team was triumphant - again. She had a really great experience playing with these girls and her coach. I'm glad we went the local club route. It was a good fit for what we hoped to find. Hazel got a lot of play time and improved a bunch, and it wasn't too burdonsome of a time commitment. She was able to keep her grades up in all her classes, and we hope she'll have success this fall in the school volleyball season, too. 

Jack and his middle school friends finally found a day that worked for all of them to go to Great America together. They skipped the 8th grade day and had a party at Brooklyn's house instead, and it's taken them a literal year to find another day to all go. It was a fun adventure for them all, and I love that they've all stayed friends through their first year of high school. 

We enjoyed the ridiculous deliciousness of Kaylin Larson's cinnamon rolls we ordered from our youth auction win. They were so good - we're going to have a hard time ordering anything different for our remaining 11 months of treats. 

I spoke in church on Mother's Day and split my time 50/50 between celebrating Heavenly Mother and sharing examples of how Jesus ministered and what we can learn from Him. 

We've been enjoying artichokes from our backyard - a batch every week all month long. Our plants grew so many this year! It's sad they only last a month, but man, we sure enjoy them! 

I took Hazel to get her second ear piercings. She's been wanting them for years, and she impressed me with the way she studied Church teachings and prayed about it, and respectfully asked for permission. Todd and I could see this was something she really wanted, and preferred supporting her in it over turning it into something she might feel rebellious about later on. We made a girls trip out of it and went out for lunch afterward. 

We came home and found Gemma hard at work at her desk, writing a story, her homework completely neglected. I love it so much when she gets in a writing mood. She dreams a lot about working in a library, or becoming a writer or an editor. 

That night, Hazel had her spring concert at the Bankhead Theater. As always, they sounded fantastic. She sways as she plays, and it just looks like she's so caught up in the music. I love to see that. 

Jack went to driver's ed classes Friday after school, and Saturday and Sunday mornings. Now all he needs is to reach his half-birthday, and we can take him to the DMV to take the written test and get his driver's permit. He is so excited about driving! 

I helped with our primary service activity. Among other projects, I supported our crayon sort. I picked up boxes of crayons from The Crayon Initiative in Danville, supervised kids and parents sorting crayons by color, and then returned the sorted crayons to the program headquarters a few days later. They recycle old crayons and melt and shape them into fresh ones. We also made cards for kids in hospital, tied blankets, and ran a toy drive. 

While I was at the service project, Todd and Gemma went to Brentwood to pick cherries and came home with - I'm dead serious - 40 pounds! They are so dang good, but I had to give away gallon bags to basically everyone who came by our house over the following week. I said, "Todd, that's like expecting all five of us to eat a pound of cherries each every day for eight days!" It was absurd. But I sure loved every single one I ate! 

The kids threw a 6-7 birthday party for Ray Dimas. He and Bryce came over and we had burgers and cake. Then we had the youth to our house later that night for a bishop's youth fireside. 

Hazel had her music awards night at McGrail Winery. 

We gave away Jack's yarn. Sadly, he hasn't made anything with it for a couple of years and thinks he's done with his knitting and crocheting phase of life. 

Jack made this incredibly cool Odyssey board game for his final English project. He spent tons of time on it and it turned out so fantastic. Todd, Jack, and I were able to really play it. I wish you could see the details he put into it. There was a lot of salt dough baking and painting going on! It reminded me of when Emily and I made Barbie furniture and food out of salt dough. 

Jack had his tennis banquet to celebrate a fun season. We're looking forward to him having another great year next spring. In the meantime, Todd's been working hard finding people for Jack to practice with and doing all he can to support Jack's growth in the sport. 

Jack and Hazel promised me their finals week would be light (and it was) so we let them skip a day of school and go to Magic Mountain with Pete and Ella Andrus. The plan was for them to leave after school on Thursday and get back home around midnight on Friday after a day of riding coasters. Then we were all going to head up to the cabin for Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, nobody planned on Pete's car breaking down on the drive. After spending an extra two hours on the side of the freeway figuring things out and waiting for a tow truck and a rescue from Pete's cousin, everyone got to bed and still had an amazing day at Magic Mountain. 

They got home a day later than planned, so Gemma, Todd, and I went up to the cabin without them on Saturday morning, got all the winter stuff put away and made sure it was set up well for the group that's going to come up and use it for Grad Camp in a couple of weeks. Gemma was a serious trooper, doing plenty of work with no complaining. We tried to keep it balanced and spent a few hours on the lake and played all her favorite games in the evening. We slept over, went to church in Murpheys on Sunday, and then drove back to Livermore to reunite with Hazel and Jack. 

Since we came home a day early, we all went to Manressa Beach on Monday with a big group from our stake. It was a fun beach day with perfect weather, and thankfully, normal traffic there and back. 

Thursday was everyone's last day of school. Hazel headed back to the beach with Noah's family and a few other friends to camp for a couple of nights. The rest of us preferred to stay home. Jack hosted a big summer kickoff party at our place and had nearly 20 kids over for games, pizza, and a movie. 

Gemma had her friends from church over for a summer celebration on Friday. Otherwise, we all kicked back, slept in, and enjoyed a slower few days at home. 

We had Vlad, Luna, and Erika over for dinner on Sunday and enjoyed spending time with them. We've recently acquired a used ping pong table and we've been having a blast with it. It's just the thing to spend our new free time on. 

April 2026

April was busy with spring sports - tennis for Jack and volleyball for Gemma (and Todd, who coached her team, and Hazel, who is still attending club twice a week and helped out with Gemma's team when she could). 

Jack played with a few different tennis partners, but seemed to like playing doubles with Evry the most. He played singles a few times at the end of the season and discovered that each has pros and cons. 

We had a nice Easter Sunday. Todd did a masterful job hiding the kids' baskets, and we had Erika, Vlad, and Luna over for dinner and an egg hunt. 

It was General Conference weekend. I tried out my watercolor book and found it enjoyable. 

Then it was spring break - something everyone was thrilled about. We were all ready for a few days of rest. Hazel got an MRI done on her wrist; she's got a cyst from her repetitive volleyball and violin movements and it's been giving her some pain. 

Jack and I went to the Monet n Venice exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. There were a lot of sets, showing Monet's experiments with lighting side by side. We bought a 5x7 print of our favorite to bring home. 

Gemma and I went on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ciciv Center Library. Gemma is thinking about becoming a librarian when she grows up. 

Todd, Hazel, and Jack went on a three-day, 175-mile bike ride from Livermore to Yosemite. They've been training for it as best they could since January. There was a lot of weird energy the night before and the morning of: they'd worked so hard to prepare for this gigantic feat, and everyone was nervous for it, especially because the weather report warned of heavy rain, something that hadn't even crossed our minds during this dry, dry winter. But off they went! And it was epic. 

They rode 100 miles on Day 1 and made it into camp before the rain started. The night was rough. Like, there was hail, thunder, and lightning. And they were in tents. After biking one hundred miles! It was bad enough that Todd even ate a banana to help with the leg cramping. 

Day 2 had literal ups and downs - 50 miles with lots of hills. Hazel cried, thinking about how badly she'd slept and anticipating the next night. She got a flat tire, but Noah came to the rescue and patched it up for her. They raced the rain clouds and made it to camp just before it started to pour. Thankfully, they had a heated pool and a game room to escape to. And thankfully, Pete Andrus convinced Todd to share a hotel room with him, because when they went back out after swimming, the wind had blown Hazel's and Ella's tent away! 

By all accounts, Day 3 was the best of the week. They only had 25 miles left, and they finished in glorious Yosemite National Park with blue skies and stunning views. Everyone felt triumphant. It was an epic feat and they all came home worn out and grateful for God's help through difficult experiences. 

While they were out busting their buns on bikes, I took Gemma and her friend Lia up to our cabin. We also got caught in a hailstorm, and while we were there, it softly snowed nonstop and we ended up with about eight inches that were all not there when we first arrived. The girls loved it and played out in the snow for hours while I read in the window seat. 

Jack is almost as tall as Todd. It's close enough that we needed to pull out a cutting board and take a photo to check! 

No reason, but I loved this picture of Hazel and Jack getting ready for school that I got off Hazel's phone. I have to wake up early every morning to see them before they leave for seminary and long, busy days. 

Hazel did an awesome job organizing a friend group to all go to Junior Prom with her and Noah. Katherine asked Max to go as friends, and then they had several dateless boys also join them. They met at our house Thursday night to make boutonnieres and corsages. The energy was good! 

Gemma and Todd participated in the CMS Staff vs Student volleyball competition Friday night. Gemma was a part of two different teams, one of which beat the adults. It was very exciting! She earned a pass to not have to run the mile in PE because of her win. 

Saturday was Prom. Hazel and her group were busy all day long. They went out to the redwoods to take pictures and they turned out so amazing! 

This one is my absolute favorite. Hazel is so in her element and looks like a wood nymph to me, in her fancy dress with her bare feet. 

They went to the beach afterwards for a picnic lunch, and then then met up again at Concannon Vineyards for more pictures. 

The boys made dinner at Noah's house, and then it was off to the dance in Sunol. Afterward, they got shakes at In N Out and watched a movie. What a big day! Hazel said it was so much fun. 

That night, Todd and I picked up Katie and Ryan and we played bocce ball at the Bothwell until it got too dark to see well, and then we got ice cream at the new Meadowlark Dairy downtown. 

We had dinner at the Dix's. I got a massage and Stephanie gave me twenty extra minutes!!! I went to the movies with Elaine. Hazel and Todd went on a whale watching field trip for her Field Biology class. They were some of the only people in the group who did not throw up. They did not see any whales. Sad! 

We had our final spring sport games. Gemma's team ended triumphant - they won five of their eight games. They had a great team energy and I'm excited for her to get to continue playing with some of those girls over the next several years. Jack finished the tennis season with a few points under his belt. It was hard playing on Varsity against all upperclassmen. We're super proud of him for sticking with it! 

Jack, Gemma, and I have been playing Garbage with the beautiful Monet cards we bought at the museum. We've got our favorites and got carried away creating special wild cards - the Magic J! The Creepy Q! 

Hazel had another amazing, undefeated volleyball tournament. She really likes the girls on her club team. I wish her school team were as positive and fun to be with. It's been a good experience for her. 

Saturday night our ward held a potluck and service auction to fundraise for the youth high adventure activities this summer. We scored big with a year of monthly treats homemade by Kaylin Larsen - we've all looking forward to her cinnamon rolls first! We offered up a weekend at our cabin and breathed a sigh of relief when Susan Alger won the bid. She's a sweet woman Hazel and I have been ministering to. She'll take her adult daughter and her family up for her birthday in August, and we know they'll take good care of the place. 

Gemma was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting, and she wrote her talk, but she wasn't able to give it yet because she had an awful fever that knocked her out for several days. We're super grateful she was able to rest over the weekend and get back to business without missing out on too much fun, and so glad no one else caught whatever gross bug she had.