May 2014

 Happy May from Elk Grove. The sever drought in California is still the big news around here. It looks like we are in for a very hot summer. This month has been beautiful and we have had lots of opportunity for some fun and travel
 Darryl has been extremely busy at work. His company is creating a software system for 5 different California government agencies and he has been heading up "dry run". It is a chance to see if the system is working the way they need it to before giving it to the state. The whole system is scheduled to go live in July. Due to the busy nature of the job, he has had many challenges balancing work, church, family and fun. Luckily we have had a few moments to celebrate. As a teacher of the kids at church, Darryl invited his class over for an ice cream social. We made sundaes with our fun ice cream dishes and the kids tried out all the flavors and toppings.
 Darryl's management team decided to do some celebrating at a restaurant called "The Kitchen". It is an amazing place from the outside you would never be able to tell it's a restaurant. The only sign is on the glass front doors and it says, "open at 6:30 pm". When we arrived we were seated with our group and we had at least 5 waiters for our group of 13. They asked what Darryl and I wanted to drink and because we don't do alcohol, I asked for lemonade. They didn't have it but said they would make some for us. Sure enough I had fresh lemonade all night long. It was wonderful. The meal was an event. There were 5 courses and everything was made right in front of us. Only 50 people are there for dinner each evening and the meal lasted 5 hours. They have a menu of the courses they have prepared and the portions are small, but you can have as many servings as you like. My favorite parts were the fresh Alaskan halibut and the french toast dessert. The patio had a beautiful fire place and a fountain. The chefs were amazing and we could visit every part of the kitchen area and food preparation areas. Unfortunately while we were at dinner I got news that my dad was in the hospital having emergency surgery. He had pressure on his spine from 3 abscesses that were cutting off his spinal fluid circulation. Thankfully the surgeon was able to relieve the pressure in time and avoid paralysis. Dad is recovering well and will be on IV antibiotics for 5 weeks. Hopefully this means an end to much of his back pain.
 For Mother's Day we had several fun events. We went to a cute shop called Color Me Mine and painted ceramic cups and jewelry boxes to send to our grandmas. Alyssa loved painting her butterfly mug for Nana, because she loves hot chocolate. Parker made a special jewelry box for Grandma Seely and he picked all the colors because they are her favorites. He also loves special boxes because you can put so many treasures inside. Tanner made a jewelry box as well and was sure to carefully make polka dots in several colors to make it extra special.

 Parker's preschool hosted a tea party for all the moms. It was fun to have it be just he and I for the morning. The kids sang some songs for us. We had snacks and drinks, then he made a special hat for me. He gave me a beautiful manicure and a back massage. Then he made a beautiful bracelet with beads. He was so careful to make a perfect pattern. I was happy to get such great gifts. On Mother's Day, we had a nice time at church and I enjoyed the chocolate, muffins, fruit and time to spend with the other ladies to be very fun and a great way to spend the day.

Tanner has been a busy guy. He just lost his 3rd tooth. He's loving baseball and finished the season this month. He had a chance to pitch several times this season and did a great job playing at second base, third base and outfield. His coach was fantastic and very encouraging. Tanner had a great time at the end of the season party. We went out for pizza as a team and all the boys got trophies for participating. 

Parker, Alyssa and I had some fun playing together. Parker's best friend is named Anthony. They are in preschool and gymnastics together. Anthony's dad is the gymnastics coach so we see their family a lot. Anthony turned 5 this month so they had a party in the park with lots of games and pizza. Parker was thrilled and the boys teamed up for many of the games. On a beautiful but hot day, we ventured out to see big truck day. Many of the local utilities and businesses that use large vehicles to work, came and parked their trucks in a shopping center. The kids had a chance to climb on the trucks or use the buttons to make things move. Parker and Alyssa especially liked the Electric Company truck. They had a giant weight attached to a moving arm and the kids had a chance to move the levers and buttons in order to get the big weight into a 55 gallon drum. Wearing a hard had was also pretty awesome.

 To end this wonderful month we headed down to the beach during Memorial Day. We went to Newport Beach for the wedding of Darryl's cousin Courtney. The event was awesome. We enjoyed spending time with the family for 4 days. We stayed at a condo near Disneyland, so our kids were a bit upset when we we're going to see Mickey Mouse. We did spend lots of time in the pool and at beach with the kids. We rode the ferry to Balboa Island and played in the big ocean water. The kids loved being chased by the waves. In the evening Darryl and I went to a family dinner at Lucille's BBQ restaurant. That was amazing because we had time to really chat and with Darryl's family and meet the grooms family from the mid-west.

On Saturday we spent the day on Duffy boats. We motored around Newport Bay and saw the beautiful boats and homes. Tanner loved driving the boat and Alyssa was all over the boat, including almost going overboard. We saw some big sea lions making themselves comfortable on the back of one of the boats. We had lunch then found this wonderful playground in Anaheim. The park had a WWII plane that had been donated to the park and resurfaced to make it safe for the kids to climb on. That evening was the big wedding event. Courtney married a wonderful guy named Josh. The ceremony was sweet and venue beautiful. We toasted the bride and groom and had a lovely dinner then danced the night away. To send off the cute couple we blew bubbles and brought a few home for the kids to try too. Alyssa can't get enough of the bubbles. On Sunday morning we all met for brunch and one last chance to say goodbye to the family. We drove home happy and delighted for the new couple and it was so fun to spend time with all of the Stingam/Seely/Neilson family.