Last Sunday I called in my friend Aleeta&Chucks wedding and then drove out to Fresno again to see Morgan on his 24 hours off. We had lunch and hung out at the hotel for awhile and got coffees. The fire guys were all eating supper together so I left for home when they went for supper. I went and stayed night at folks’ house again where it was cool.

Monday I got my students supply list sent out and worked on sorting tests and quizzes at school. I mostly worked there and tried to finish stuff up so I could relax when I go to teachers prep.

Tuesday morning I worked outside feeding the chickens and watering the yard. We run water on our orange trees a lot and try to water around the house every other day at least. I’m still picking tomatoes and peppers from the garden but the zucchini plants overwhelmed and annoyed me equally so I let them die a slow death. In the afternoon Alicia and I went swimming at Hanna’s for a couple hours.

Wednesday I cleaned the house and bought a few groceries. Got a few more things finished up at school. It was a 24 off for Morgan so I could relax all day and know he was just sleeping and not in danger. On his last shift he had been sleeping on the ground and Tony Neese was in the fire truck and Tony had looked out and saw a skunk sniffing Morgan. He didn’t want Morgan to roll over or move suddenly so he tried waving his flashlight through the window but also he didn’t want to alarm the skunk either. So eventually the skunk had enough and wandered off much to everyone’s relief. Morgan was oblivious so it didn’t affect him at all! Folks got home late Tues night so I went there for supper Wednesday night with Joes and Calvin Dyck.

Thursday I spent the first part of the morning dealing with the bank because our account got hacked for the second time in a month! They said it was my card so they ordered a new one and I used it a couple times and suddenly our account was drained. So hopefully we’ll get refunded and I have anotherrrr card ordered. Such a pain. I worked at school again with a cherry limeade from Sonic to guide me and I got quite a lot done. In the evening I stopped at folks.

Friday morning I got stuff done quite early and left to go see Morgan. We were hoping he could take Friday to come home but he’s not allowed to leave. We went out for lunch to Doghouse Grille in Fresno which happens to have the best ranch ever to dip fries in. Spent awhile hanging out at the hotel and being with Trent, the guy from Merced Morgan is bunking with. He met his girlfriend through a free ice cream she gave him which is so cute. We had supper with Trent and Lane down in the hotel restaurant and then it was another goodbye to Morgan. I stopped at Dutch Bros and headed home. I went to folks’ for abit because Uncle Jon & Auntie Cynthias family is here visiting on a road trip so I stopped to say hi to them.

Saturday I did laundry and did last minute things at home. Then I went to folks’ because they had a Jamaican meal ticket supper so Joes and I helped with that. I went to James and jenns for alittle after I left folks and it was good therapy for my heart. I got home and packed and organized so the house would be ready for Morgan when he got home. Folks picked me up at 3 and took me to Oakland airport and I flew home to Detroit where mom and Madi picked me up and we went home for night. The breakfast club came over for cy’s pizza that is so yum. And we had dr pepper provided by bruce. Plus a honey torte madi made. Had such a fun evening back with my darling family.

This morning we left early to eat breakfast at the Hearthstone and then to the bank and now we are off and driving our way to Belleville Pennsylvania. Mom and I are teaching teacher prep there this week and madi is attending the middle class. It looks like it could rain and I want a coffee. We will get there tonite around 6 and have supper with everyone before we go to the teacher house for night.

Morgan got home this morning at 8 am which was 2 hours after I flew away so I’m without him another week due to unfortunate timing of fires and teacher duties. But he’s safe and home and I am so thankful for that and your prayers. Another firefighter died on that fire yesterday so the danger is too real. Time is short. Love your people hard and don’t forget Jesus. Xo chey

what an odd week this has been. Alicia and i went swimming at Stephs last Friday afternoon. In the evening we went out for supper with Jon&Alicia to Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock. It is the yummest. Then we all went to the volleyball game for awhile.

Saturday was pretty relaxing. We met Brent&Katie and Donovan&Keri at Jantz Cafe for breakfast first thing.. We caught up at home and went for supper to Benny&Sharilees which was absolutely so fun. Unfortunately we had to leave early because Morgan was car usher for a wedding Sunday morning so Saturday night there was a meeting at church so we went over to that.

Sunday was Marcus&Megans wedding at Winton so I went late and brought my appointed chocolate cake and sat in the social hall where i listented because it was wonderfully cool in there. We had lunch there on the first setting even. Go us. Sunday afternoon Morgan was called on a strike team to go fight fires at the Ferguson Fire near Mariposa and Yosemite National Park. So within 15 minutes we had packed him up with gear and clothes and he was off. Sunday night Brents had some people over there for the evening so i went there and it was also a good time.

Monday morning I went to Teresa’s and picked out some fabric and took it to Mom in law’s. Aunt Theresa & Cheyenne and Aunt Maxine came and we cut out dresses for school for me and then they worked on sewing them. Got pizza here for lunch. I was at home in the afternoon.

Tuesday was ish. It was the FIVE year anniversary of Dad dying so of course I was sad. Morgan felt so bad he wasn’t home but hey it couldn’t be helped. I did hate being all alone tho. So Instead of sitting at home and being meepy i decided to drive up to Mariposa and check the fire situation out. I drove as far as I could past Mariposa until the road closed for the fire and then went out to the evacuation center the Red Cross had set up at a church. I helped do laundry there for awhile and then drove farther up to Awhanee which is where the base camp for the firefighters is. I didn’t think they’d let me in but i just asked directions to the kitchen and they waved me through so I drove back and then walked around and explored camp a little bit just to see what it was like. I filled up with gas and when i got back in the car my hair was full of ash and my head went into full stuffed sinus mode. The visibility up there was maybe 1/4 mile because of the smoke and everyone drove with headlights on. I cant imagine just living up in that! I came home and Joe’s and I went to folks for supper.

Wednesday i cleaned and watered gardens and talked to my chickens for lack of anything better to do. Then Morgan called and said they were able to get a hotel in Fresno for night instead of on the ground at camp. Morgan is up there with Lane Koehn and Tony Neese so Tony’s wife Chayla and I drove to Fresno and had an early supper with the guys at Cheesecake Factory! I was so excited to see Morgan alive. We spent a couple hours with them and then drove back home alone again. wahhhhh.

Thursday i was just at home. I went to Shenda’s in the evening for supper and then we went to Asip for some coffee. Pretty relaxing day.

Friday I paid bills. wee. In the evening we were invited to Chance&Charity for supper but since Morgan was gone I went by myself. It was such good food and company and we sang for awhile so i was super glad i’d decided to go.

This morning Hanna, Alicia, and I went out for breakfast. Then we decided to go to the Merced County Pound which was a huge mistake. The cutest cats and dogs possible were just waiting for me to adopt them. We spent awhile there eyeing the prospects and left empty handed sadly. I’m scared to get a dog because we don’t really have the schedule to train one right now and also if i got a couple cats I worry they’ll get eaten so hence no pets. Ja and I got tacos for supper since folks are gone over the weekend. I’ve been hanging out at folks’ house in the evenings because my house is so hot. So Morgan is working 24 hours on, 24 off. Usually it ends up being 30ish hours on though by the time they’ve refueled and ate and drove back to camp. Then its laundry and eating real food that isn’t tuna and crackers from a can and he sleeps and is up and back on the truck at 430 am. As of tonight, Saturday night, the fire was around 30,000 acres and 6% contained, down from 7% earlier this morning. One firefighter has died and four others injured. So keep Morgan in your prayers! I’m hoping i can see him again tomorrow but we’ll see. He doesn’t have cell service for the 24 hours he’s up in the mountains so that makes a long day for me. Anyways, hug your hubby and enjoy having him home:) xoxo

Getaways are the best. They give you a place and a time with no chores or work or things you feel you should be doing. They boost happiness levels and make everything feel like its ok again. I think they’re extremely good for your health too. Also for the cool memories.

July 4 morning we watched the parade in Atwater. Not as cool as they were when I was 7 but fun anyways. We went to the fire station after lunch so Morgan spent the afternoon running calls and I worked on some school stuff there. Morgan and Jon were on the engine for fireworks in the evening so alicia and I went to watch the fireworks together.

Friday night we went and helped folks and Randy&Tammys family sing at Grace Home. Then we went out for supper to villas in Livingston.

Saturday morning was a work and cleaning day at church so we went and helped there in the morning. Ryan&becca and Rachelle are home visiting so we had a family deal at Uncle Todd&Aunt Vals in the evening.

Sunday we went to folks for lunch and tried to stay cool in the afternoon. Bible study in the evening and went to Applebees after where Ryan&Becca who are visiting from deridder and mikail and ashton came and sat with us so it was a very jolly time.

Tuesday morning i picked up Abby and Jemma and had them help me with art projects at school in the morning. Went out for pizza lunch after.

Wednesday morning we went to folks at 5 and us and jalen drove up to Sonora Pass to do a day hike. We made breakfast at the trailhead from out of the vehicle and watched the sun come over the mountains. The trail was about a 3 mile loop. I guess I was car or altitude sick because I threw breakfast up halfway there so I decided to go back cuz I felt pretty crummy. I was super disappointed. So the guys went up and swam in the lake which still had ice in it and were back at the car in decent time and we drove to the top of Sonora Pass where the Pacific Crest Trail goes through. There are hikers who need rides down to bridgeport so we picked up a guy from florida and hauled him down to town. He did stuff in town while we ate burgers at Rhinos Grille. Then we headed back up the pass and picked up another guy who was from Israel and brought him up to the top too which was cool. The israeli guy had just finished the mandatory three years serving in Israel’s army and now that he’s free he is hiking the PCT. Interesting day. Drove home and grabbed pizza to bring home for supper. After supper Morgan and I went and visited Johnny and Bertha for awhile.

Thursday I was just home. Morgan worked in San Jose.. Had shrimp pasta for supper and then we went to basketball.

Its sposed to be between 100* and 104* the next 10 days so I’m guessing ill be in a pool most of the time. Our chickies are doing good. We think they’ll start laying in August! The garden is wilty because its so hot. Its hard to keep up with watering when you dont feel like beimg outside. Have a good week..go on a getaway😉

I haven’t written for two weeks cuz we’ve been b.u.s.y. but ill hit the highlights. The afternoon of the Thursday the 21st we had two more couch surfers arrive at our house. We previously hosted two guys from Hungary several months ago. The people that came now were a 30 year old couple from Germany. Had good conversations and breakfast the next morning. Morgan headed for work at 8 and the couch surfers left around 11 so had a fun time getting to know them! Friday evening i went and helped make supper and serve at Vacation Bible School at Winton.

The 25th through 27th Morgan and Dad Kevin worked in LA so I spent those days cleaning house and working outside. On Wednesday afternoon my Grandpa Gary’s came from Edmonton to visit! Grandma Cathy is my mom’s birth mom. We have known them since 2000 and they are just part of our family. They spent a few days in San Francisco and then came down to spend some time with us. We relaxed Wednesday and caught up!

Grandpa Gary is an avid golfer so Thursday morning we had breakfast at Jantz Cafe and then drove out to Pebble Beach. We drove the 17 mile drive along the coast and it was beautiful as always. Then we drove to Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey and sampled clam chowder until we found the perfect spot for supper which was clam chowder in a bread bowl and calamari.

Friday Morgan worked so I drove Grandpas around and showed them the church and different spots of coolness. We had taco truck for lunch and went out to Applebees with the family for supper.

Saturday morning we left early ish and drove up to Yosemite to show Grandpa’s the sights. It was so. full. of. people. But we had good views at glacier point and had a good drive. In the evening we had some of our friends over to Dad Kevin’s for salmon supper so Grandpa’s could get to meet some of the people we are with here.

Sunday morning we went to Crust and Crumb in Turlock for brunch before telling Grandpa’s goodbye. We had such a good time and it was too short as usual. In the evening we went to Ballico for their Bible School program.

Monday I stopped at dear jenns house for a little and ran errands and cleaned after neglecting my house all week. We went at 530 to school and helped folks fry catfish and hushpuppies for Joes birthday. The guys had a basketball game after supper and i unloaded a load of stuff at school. Today I spent working there and organizing my classroom. I think I’m getting new carpet so that’s awesome. We had lunch with Lenny and boys at La Sonrisa which was unplanned so that was cool. Morgan had fire meeting tonight so I was at school late too. Have a happy 4th!

So last week was busy for us. Wednesday was HOT. I made zucchini bread, ice cream dessert, and our Rockin K bbq sauce. After Morgan got home we went to folks and borrowed some stuff for our meal ticket supper. Got the babyback ribs out to thaw. Mom Yolanda left Tuesday for Manitoba to visit Kandis a week. Dad Kevin and Kellie will leave Friday and then the 3 of them will all fly home next Tuesday.

Thursday I made potato salad and cleaned house. I spent awhile outside moving sprinklers around the yard and working in the garden. In the evening we went to our best mexican place for supper and then finished getting groceries. Morgan worked outside when we got home and i got the ribs ready to go for in the morning.

Friday morning i got the ribs on the smoker. Spent the rest of the day setting up tables and finishing up food. Tickets for our meal ticket supper were sold at Grace Home Gift Day. We sold 16 tickets and had 3 people as well so we were 21 people. I had never done a supper for that many people so I’m really glad it turned out well.

Saturday Morgan made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. I finished cleaning up the kitchen from the supper and then relaxed. Morgan spent the day at the fire station running calls.

Sunday morning was church and we went to Uncle Todd & Aunt Val May’s house for lunch with some family. Father’s Day isn’t fun anymore and so far it hasn’t got any easier. I missed my family and home all day of course. And i thought lots about my Dad. He was so cool. I was so proud that he was part Navajo. He could play any sport and be good at it and would never get tired of fishing. I often wander what he would think of now, almost five years later. It makes me incredibly sad he will never know who we married or know Morgan or Renae. I miss him lots but on days where he should be celebrated it’s much harder. In the afternoon we left and drove through Sonoma Valley and decided to spend night in Petaluma. Our Airbnb didn’t end as planned so we spent night in a hotel there. For supper we went to this really cool food truck place. It has umbrellas over picnic tables and yard games for kids and string lights. The main place is wood fired pizza out of a sea can restaurant. There are two other food trucks that come and they vary every evening. This time there were wings and another truck serving some Caribbean type of food. We had pizza and it was delish.

Monday morning we found Acre Coffee which was in a minimalist building with insane breakfast sandwiches and REAL hot chocolate. Then we stopped at The Seed Bank which is essentially hundreds of kinds of odd or unique vegetable or flower seeds. Like multicolored popcorn. Or weird kinds of cantaloupe. It was really cool. Then we drove out to Bodega Bay. It’s really good for whale watching in season supposedly. It was sort of gray and cool but we walked out on the beach for abit. Left there and drove along the coast on the 1 and it was beautiful! Windy road with cliffs and sudden views of the ocean crashing on the rocks. We walked around in Reyes Station, a tiny cute town full of bicyclists and organic people. Ate lunch in Sausalito at Napa Valley Burger Co. which i previously mentioned in a post but will rave about again because its so good!! We left there and drove to downtown San Fran so Morgan could show me where he and Dad have been working. A tiny lot of pavement, 80×25, flanked on all sides by streets and tall apartments and buildings. They estimate it could sell for 4 million!! I believed it until i saw what a tiny spot of land it is haha. Then we drove around through ChinaTown and looked at the odd things in the windows and watched the homeless people sleep. Got home late and it was a wonderful weekend.

Today we slept in and then Morgan worked at Winton Cemetery on a job. I did laundry and organized the stuff we borrowed for our supper that we need to return to people! Made bbq chicken quesadillas for lunch since Morgan was close enough to come home. I always like those days:) This afternoon I got groceries at Target and came home and harvested 3 more big zuchinni and another bunch of tomatoes from our garden. John and Jo came for hamburgers and Settlers of Catan tonight and I made a cucumber tomato salad with all our tomatoes so that made me pretty happy.

I hope that all of you have a good week. I am so happy each of you are in my life and take care of my like you do. xoxoxo

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. ” Recent events have brought this verse to me several times the past few days. I decided to write what was on my heart rather than my normal weekly update.

Several times in my life saw my family going through different valleys. As I look back at those terribly hard times I always feel the same thing. I feel the absolute love and support of a group of friends that I can never describe. The group of friends that has become family to us. The group of friends that never left us in the darkest valleys.

They were there when my dad was expelled and moved away from home. They thanked God for bringing him home to us later. They worried with us when he had his brain aneurysm and held us as we told him goodbye. They rejoiced as we spread the news of the miracle that God had worked in dads life through the aneurysm. They sat many times at our table for evenings of friendship and food. They wept with us through the long long day when Dad died. They held us as we said goodbye and carefully sealed off part of our hearts. They carried us through each valley with love and prayer and understanding hearts. There was never a time that this special group of family deserted us. They didn’t judge us for his actions. They didn’t disown us and leave. And if they did judge him for what he’d done, they did it silently. Our support group never left us.

It has become a burden to me this week as I think of our failings and shortcomings. The last part of verse 1 is so important; “considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” If we haven’t been in the different situations we hear of, it’s easy to say “oh I would never do that!” Or “well they aren’t welcome at our weekly suppers anymore!” It is tempting to feel superior because YOUR family hasn’t stumbled in that area or it is easy to cast blame on the situation. If all members of our congregation would have treated us with that spirit, (and some did, believe me) I can say with certainty that I would not be a part of this church today. The support and encouragement of our friends helped my family see hope. They helped us know that everything was going to be ok no matter the outcome because they were standing behind us to help. The song “There Go I” has been close to me all week. The chorus “without God’s mercy and love daily sent from above, the most wretched of sinners would be I.” How true for each one of us. Only by God’s grace am I not in a similar situation to those around me. Please. Find love for those in any situation. Be the struggling person’s support group. We as Christians are here to bear each other’s burdens and help one another get to Heaven.

Wednesday morning mom, madi and I left for kansas city. I hated to leave Michigan for any amount of time. Its a 10 hour drive from there to KC but it took us longer because we definitely made some stops. We hit a couple teacher stores and I got the rest of my stuff bought there. We got to KC in time for quick supper and then to the hotel. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express that is located right across from the University of Kansas hospital which is where Madi’s appointment was. Its a big hospital of course and it made me lonesome for my Edmonton unit days.

Thursday morning we were up early and went across to Madison’s appointment at 8. She first had labs done with 12 tubes of blood drawn and from there we sat in a room and several different involved people took turns coming in and visiting with madi. This day of appointments was made up of tests and talks with these different people to see if Madi is eligible to give her kidney. There are lots of criteria to meet in order to give so she met with the dietician, surgeon, nephrologist, and social worker. It was a long tedious process. They basically make sure she’s healthy with all levels good and that she has a support group and that she isnt being forced into giving her kidney. We had lunch partway through and madi finished up with CT scan and Xrays. We were through at the hospital by 4 and they will be letting madi know in 2 weeks if she is able to give. Please continue praying that things will work out for it all to go through. There are hurdles on both sides of the process! In the evening we did a little thrift shopping which is my favorite and had supper at Joe’s Kansas City BBQ which is in an old gas station and suchhhh good pulled pork. We were all super tired so we stayed another night there.

Friday morning we slept in a bit and then headed for I80 home. We had a pretty slow day. All of us were sort of drained from Thursday so we took it easy. We stopped in Des Moines and watched the D-Day Normandy imax which was something I’d really wanted to do since we had gone to Normandy on our trip to Europe! One of the most interesting and history filled things ive seen. It was so so cool to see places we had been and I was so impressed once again at the courage and complete acceptance those young boys had to fight on those beaches. You’ll probably keep hearing about europe because it was amazing. We left des moines and drove to Coralville and shopped for awhile and then met Grandpa Pete’s and Aunt Nada and boys for supper. Aunt Nada is driving grandpas out to Colorado so they can spend a couple weeks there. We were excited it worked out to meet them. After supper we had great intentions of driving the rest of the way home but we stopped and spend night outside of Chicago.

Saturday we finished driving home and spent the afternoon doing laundry and going through school stuff. I brought the rest of my school things back with me so I repacked too. In the evening we met Dillons at a lake and kayaked awhile and made supper over the fire. It was the perfect Michigan evening. Later we all went to Carson City for ice cream and to watch the Frontier Day fireworks which is always a big hit with the mennos. Haha.

Sunday we made dessert for lunch and I finished packing. We had lunch at Bryce&Shars with 45 other people to celebrate my cousin Amber Litwillers engagement to Quinton Isaac. Mom and Madi and I left around 3 and they took me to the airport. I hate goodbyes. I was tempted to miss my plane but I miss Morgan too much. He picked me up in Oakland in the evening. and I did have the happiest and best time with my family❤❤

Monday I slept and recuperated and did laundry and sweated to death in my house. We picked two 18-inch zucchinis from our garden and now that stuff is actually growing and we didn’t kill it I don’t even know what to do. Our tomato plants are huge and have good size green tomatoes on them as well.

Some days I may write something sad and dark because I feel that way when I’m lonely. I may write something optimistic and rosy. Some of you have said “oh chey. im reading your blog you have such a perfect life.” Oh my dear humans. I write positive things because i like to think I’m a positive person. I don’t write of the many days I am home by myself and wish for friends close. I don’t write of how I miss the safety of being with people who adore me and my humor. I dont write of all the times I feel alone while I sit in the pews of a new congregation where nobody really knows me. I don’t write of the terrible fear that comes to me sometimes that what if something happens to my family and I’m not there. As I fly away back to California I think of all these things. I love Morgan. And my house. And the people who are starting to love me in California. I’m thankful that we can travel and I can see my family sometimes. For each of YOU who text me and encourage me. “It takes awhile to fit in a new place chey”. Or “hey can you come for a fire later?” I like to think my loneliness will get better. Maybe you have advice those of you who marry and move far away to a new place. I want to hear it. I’ll make tea for myself and sit on my favorite chair while I read your wisdom.

A happy week to each of you darlings. Xo.

Last week Sunday I woke up sick with something so I was out of touch until Wednesday evening. I felt pretty good by then except for my coughing. Which it was good I felt a little better because….we had actually bought tickets a couple weeks ago to come to Michigan to surprise mom and Madi for their end of school program! So we packed up and had supper at folks before driving to Oakland and flying out at 11 pm. Ross picked us up in Detroit at 7 in the morning and we walked into moms classroom at around 10! We got a good scream out of her and happy tears from Madi. Spent the day around at school and the breakfast club came over for supper around the fire. I am so happy to be back in the land of lakes and green trees crowding the roads and the sunsets you can only find here in pure Michigan.

Friday morning we went with mom, Madi,and Ann garage saling and had mexican for lunch. Dillon&Nae had to work. Went to the program in the evening which was all about Michigan history and Michigan today. The best part was the moving assembly line for model t’s they had set up! After the program went to my cousin brennens grad party at Carson church fellowship hall.

Saturday morning we went to the Hearthstone for breakfast to see Renae cuz she had to work and then went to school for playday. Watched some games and had lunch. In the afternoon we went to the youth softball game. Cy made us pizza for supper on his grill at his place which was so good.

Sunday was our only whole day to spend together as a family so we went away to Lansing to a place called Creole for lunch which was amazing and you must go to if you get there. So we went to a pond and swam later and the guys fished awhile. We drove the Ranger around and maybe upset the neighbor. We’re not sure. In the evening we grilled burgers at Dillons and had supper with Shane and Kris while we called in the youth song service. The guys flew their drones and rc planes to entertain us.

Yesterday morning dillons hosted a Memorial Day breakfast at their house so everyone brought their food and cooked over fires and discs and we had such a good time with old friends. The breakfast club went swimming back at miningers pond for awhile later..then relaxed most of the day. Breakfast club brought pizza and we all had supper there at Dillons and Cy brought paper lanterns to set off. The guys had a trap shoot later that we watched. Great way to end the weekend❤

Today mom Madi and I brought Morgan to the airport in Detroit. We did some shopping on the way and then went to the Henry Ford museum. The limo that President JFK was assassinated in is the museum and the bus Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and sparked the civil rights movement is as well. We also saw the chair that President Lincoln was shot in.

Now my love is flying away home to California and I will stay here this week until Sunday. My sister is donating a kidney so we are leaving in the morning for Kansas City for a day of doctoring on Thursday. Please pray that they approve Madi and are able to go ahead and set a surgery date! I’m happy I’m able to spend a couple more days with my family before heading to Cali for the summer. Cheers!

Hi everyone. Its been a fun week filled with good things. Happy Mothers Day to all my moms out there as well.

So Tuesday was sewing at Winton. Mom Yolanda was working in the kitchen so I went and helped her. Awhile back id made crockpot chicken tacos and had forgot about them but we had them for lunch at sewing and they were tops! Recipe here🙌 so easy. http://pinterest.com/pin/557461260117489881/?source_app=android

Wednesday was good. I went through some stuff at home for garage sale items. Worked outside abit. The garden is rocking this 85 degree weather. It cools off to 55ish at night so perfect weather. Also we had teriyaki chicken with garlic quinoa for supper so our first quinoa try was a success. Thanks for all your ideas everyone!

Thursday. Hmm. I worked on laminating school stuff like my calendar and numbers. Mom sent me two boxes of our decorations for my future classroom theme so I went through all the things and got super enthused. Its handy having taught several years and having to not buy a lot of stuff. In the evening we took our garage sale items to folks (they had a garage sale saturday) and I priced things while Morgan and Ja worked on the vanagon and bought some groceries. Then we headed home and packed a backpack.

Friday morning we left at 8. Ja, Morgan and I in the van with our ice chest, swim gear, and definitely not enough warm clothes. We drove away east for awhile. I was cozy with my blanket and moccasins and The Long Winter which is quite a good book I’m reading. The mountains were beauty and the van made it to the top of Sonora Pass surprisingly. (elev. 9600) we had lunch in bridgeport at an odd cafe with local folks. Drove off into the mountain foothills after lunch and found Bodie which is a 100ish building ghost town.

Read about it here👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodie,_California. If you look this up you can also see a little map of where we were located in California. We walked around the town for awhile. It was eerie and cold and blowy and was so odd to think of this place once being the 3rd largest city in Cali. The town is preserved completely how it was left and there are signs of everyday life in the houses. It was really cool. Left there and drove to Mammoth Lakes to a thrift store because we were all freezing and it was cold and snowy. The guys bought jackets and we got some toques. Then drove out to Wild Willies Hot Springs where we camped. Its high desert with scrubby low plants and yucca and surrounded by mountains which I didn’t see when we arrived because of the driving snow.haha. David & Paul & Justin & Shenda met us there and we managed to set up camp a bit and get sausage and potatoes frying for supper.

After supper in the dark in swim stuff in snow we walked 1/2 mile to the hot springs which are just random holes steaming in the ground. Its a geothermal area with minerals staining the ground and coloring some of the grasses. We sat in the hot pots and watched falling stars. Perfect. Morgan, Ja and I slept on our bed in the vanagon. It was cold but we managed fine.

Saturday we had breaky over the fire and the guys went to the springs again. My suit was frozen so I laid in the sun by the van and thawed our items. We left and drove to Bishop and had lunch before heading out of town to a place where the guys did some bouldering and rock climbing. Went back to our site and cooked steaks over the fire..the clouds were low over the mountains and it started misting a bit. After supper we drove a couple miles farther out in the middle of the desert to another spring that was unfortunately full of people so we saw another steaming pot farther away and walked to that. I feel it wasnt necessarily set up for human habitation like the others were. It was more of a deep swamp that bubbled and the water was murky but warm. When we stepped in we sank to our knees in loam/mud/clay or something. And we hunkered over the vents in the mist in this swamp of weeds and bushes and it was so fun. Got back to the van smelling of hard boiled eggs and full of odd silty sand. Headed home away over the pass with poor visibility and bad roads full of snow but got home at 2 and slept in a warm bed. Yay.

Sunday I missed my mom and grandmas. Went to uncle evans for lunch with the koehn side. C.E. service in the evening and our friends perrin&nikki after church.

Today I tried to wash our camping things which took awhile. Went for groceries and to the bank. Worked on some watercolor prints for awhile and watered gardens of course! We met some of Morgan’s pals for supper and the guys played basketball later. Spending some time with my amazing husband and my best brother in law in the mountains and high desert over the weekend improved my mental health I think. I loved it. Cheers to a good week for each of you.❤

Funny thing. Last week after I posted, Morgan and dad had to be away in L.A. for several days. So right after I posted that afternoon I quick packed 2 blankets and a pillow, stuff for chicken salad sandwiches in a cooler, and my swimsuit and drove the 2 hour drive to Capitola, which is right beside Santa Cruz. I parked on the public beach and slept with my windows cracked so I could hear the ocean 20 feet away. It was glorious. Tuesday morning I found this place called The Buttery that has delightful scones and quiche so I sat in front of the fireplace munching and reading on my kindle. Then I spent some time walking through shops in Capitola before driving through Santa Cruz. I spent awhile watching whales spouting from several places in town and then drove North on the 1 along the coast to a little beach that I had all to myself. Got home before supper and got stuff back in order.

My cousin arianna was here for a few days so thursday I met them at school for hot lunch. In the afternoon Ari and I went to merced and got drinks at Coffee Bandits. In the evening Morgan and I went to plan CE at Matt&Camis hoose.

Friday afternoon the Winton fire department that Morgan works on gave a presentation at school for the children. They had a fire truck and ambulance there, and got to watch the Riggs Air helicopter land. Then they divided into groups and all took turns going through each vehicle. Morgan put on his full outfit so they could see what itd look like if someone was coming to get them in a burning building At the end of the afternoon they watched the helicopter take off and then they all stood on the football field while the guys sprayed them with water from the truck. The kids absolutely loved it! Ari and I went swimming for awhile after that which was so beautiful.

Saturday we worked outside and relaxed. Got stuff and had 10 people for a cinco de mayo taco supper outside. Fun times per usual. Sunday we listened in to our cousin Jackie and Davons wedding..folks for lunch. The youth rally was this weekend at Ballico so church was slim Sunday eve.

This morning we went to a funeral at Ballico of our friends grandma. Morgan worked this afternoon and I got supper around. I tried this recipe for tomato spinach shrimp & other stuff pasta http://pinterest.com/pin/289215607310739358/?source_app=android and it turned out really good. Served it with a tomato and cucumber mix in vinegar&oil. What are some quick healthy meals for your family? I got my little deals done to move around the job chart for next school year so that’s one thing accomplished!🎉

Cheers to another week friends🙌 c.b.