6 Boys and 1 Mom

Dropping Off Branden at BYU

2026-08-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

The time had come. We've talked about this day just about since Devin was born. And now it was time to take Branden to college, the last of our first four boys. Branden is ready. We had Craig to drive up with us. And we had rented a VW Atlas since the new ID.4 electric vehicle would cause a lot of stops to recharge. And the van is super expensive to fill with gas, and since we're trying to sell it, we didn't want to add a lot of miles to it.

We took off that Wednesday morning. It was a tough goodbye to Devin, leaving him home as the last child. It'll be a change, but there will be more on that as we adjust to that normal.

It was a pretty uneventful drive up. We stopped at Craig's house first and got to check out his new digs. He moved here just recently to this house east of campus near Kiwanis Park. He has his own room, and it's cheaper than his apartment was. It's a beautiful area with lots of trees. We're excited for him.

After we dropped some things off at Craig's and ate our Costco pizza, we headed over to Ken's. We sat outside and chatted with them for awhile. Dehn and Catherine arrived with Anna.

The next morning we moved Branden into Helaman Halls at Merrill Hall. The same exact room and bedspace Zach lived in. The guys across the hall helped us carry Branden's boxes up. I helped Branden unpack and get settled in his room. Met his roommate, Abe.

Craig met up with us when we went to get some lunch. We hung out eating at Cubby's, then dropped Craig back off before Branden and I headed out to run some errnads. We went to Costco first to get him some snacks. After we loaded the car, Branden was putting the cart away when a guy came up to him and asked if he was Jesse Blankenbiller's son. Yes.... They came over where I was in the car, and the man introduced himself as Aaron Zappe. He was roommates with Jesse at BYU and recognized Branden from my Facebook posts! Crazy!

We went to Target for a few more things, and then I dropped Branden off at his dorm to start hanging out and doing the college thing. I drove up to Vineyard and met Jared and Carman for dinner. It was a fun three-hour visit with them.

Friday was orientation. I met up with my friend, Jen Hunsaker, at the Marriott Center and saved seats for Dehn and Catherine. It was a fun Cougar Rally with the BYU Dunk Team, Yo-Yo club, International Folk Dance team, music and Cosmo, and more. The devotional was also good with great speakers. The freshman left the Marriott Center for lunch and then campus tours. Parents had lunch then stayed for a speaker just for the parents. They had breakout sessions for the parents next. And once we arrived at the JKB where the sessions were, they had containers of creamery ice cream. Yes! BYU knows how to take care of its parents. I ended up having two.

I met up with my SF roommate, Michelle Hilton. We walked over by the Wilk and ran into the BYU president, Shane Reese. We talked to him for a few minutes. I had a session I wanted to get to, so I met up with Dehn and went to it while Catherine went to a different session.

We met up with Branden and Anna after that.

Anna and her parents were headed out, so Branden and I went to Helaman to grab his water bottle while we waited for Craig to finish up work, so we could meet up with him. On our way back onto campus from Helaman, we saw our friend from San Diego, Emma Lopez. While talking to her, her new friend's mom and brother came up to us. While chatting with them, I discovered the brother had just returned home from his mission to Denmark! I asked him if he ever met a Brett Craig. His mind was blown. Yes, he had served sounds like about a year ago in Brett's ward. He said the missionaries loved Brother Craig! He said they all said they thought he was top 10 most likely to work for the FBI haha. He just kept stepping back in shock that I was someone from his mission's sister. He then asked if he'd heard right that Aizhan was pregnant, which I told him she'd had her baby and showed him a picture of Arlan. Such a chance encounter.

We met up with Craig when he finished work at the Engineering Building. We went to the Creamery for dinner. Craig was going to help someone move. Branden and I hung out at Ken's for a little bit then headed to the Stadium for the evening's events. I waited for Dehn and Catherine. We watched the new freshman form the Y. Then the program started with the marching band, new football players introduced by Bear Bachmeier, and more. Including some rain. Ya, the heavens opened and the rain came down. Just for a little. Hard for a bit. Then lighter. It got us pretty good. But it was warm enough out to not make it miserable. And then the fun continued. They had a drone show to wrap up the night.

Saturday morning came all too quickly. I had so much fun being on campus again and at the orientation. It was fun to get Branden settled in and seeing him take on the college life. It was fun to spend tim with Ken's family and Dehn and Catherine. I wasn't ready to leave. But the time had come. I knew Devin needed me home again. So I packed up and said my goodbyes. That's the hardest part. I was already crying before even giving the hugs. Craig hugged me a good long time, comforting me during my sad time. And Branden made me feel like he'll miss me. And then it was time to go. Drive home by myself, leaving pieces of my heart behind in Utah. Have a great semester, my boys!

San Diego Temple Dedication and Opening; Branden's Endowment

2026-08-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

The San Diego Temple has been rededicated! On August 23, 2026, the temple was rededicated by President D. Todd Christofferson. We attended at our stake center which acted as an extension of the temple. We showed our recommends to get in and were able to sit in about the 5th row from the front thanks to Jesse who was running all the tech for the broadcast and got there early. We were there just over an hour early and had lots of time to sit, read, write, listen to the music as we prepared for the dedication.

During the dedicatory session, they had two youth speakers who both did a great job. The temple president and matron spoke. A general authority seventy on the temple committee spoke. And Pres. Christofferson spoke before offering the dedicatory prayer. A small choir also sang in between some of the speakers. They were all in the Celestial Room for the dedication.

I felt the spirit so strongly as I listened and thought about how grateful I am for our temple to be open once again. Jesse and I have had many sweet experiences in that temple together as we've talked about and prayed for our lives together, for our kids, for blessings we needed. It is wonderful to hear from our prophets and apostles at conference and the messages they share with the world. But there is also something really special about hearing them speak in your local area to that particular group of saints. I really felt that during this dedication about the work, the faith, the hope, the goodness of us, the saints here in San Diego.

Here are just some of the words from the dedicatory prayer:

"In accepting thy gospel we have become a covenant people. We have taken upon ourselves the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have promised to keep His commandments. Strengthen us in our resolutions and guard us against failure in observing the obligations we have accepted. In thy sacred temples we make further covenants with thee. Give us the will to live above sin and selfishness. Save us from pride and arrogance. Smile with favor upon us we humbly pray thee. Bless us with a spirit of benevolence toward all who are in distress wherever they may be or whatever their circumstances."

The stake purchased white handkerchiefs for everyone who attended the temple dedication which was very special to have our own embroidered temple handkerchiefs to remember this day.

Craig and Sam came into town that evening to be here for Branden's endowment that Tuesday. The first endowment session open again after more than three years. Branden was able to go through and receive his own endowment. What a special day it was. Quite a few people from our ward were working their temple shift that morning. As we walked through our newly opened temple, it was so fun to hug this sister and that sister and then another sister as we walked through to the endowment room. It felt like we were really home again.

Branden was well-prepared for his temple experience. There are always questions and things to learn, but he had read and prepared and went to stake temple prep and asked us questions. He had a great experience and really loved it.

While we were with Branden, Devin was able to do baptisms for the dead. His first time in the San Diego temple. I walked him in and got him settled. He waited a while for friends we heard were going to be there at the same time as us. They did show up, but he waited a while for them. It worked out okay though since we took a while. He had a good experience and was happy to be there.

We had lunch at Urban Plates after the temple. Such a beautiful, wonderful day.

First Day of School 2026-2027 Year

2026-08-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

And then there was ONE! One homeschooler! Devin and I kicked off our 2026-2027 school year with Devin as a 7th grader. We took some photos as is tradition. Lucky to have Craig and Branden still here to take a first-day photo with.

I introduced this year's theme, which I chose because Devin spent the summer reading The Lord of the Rings series and loved it.

This year Devin will be taking some classes from a new place - 10X Learning Center - on Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoons. He is taking Engineering and Life Sciences for middle school. His friend, Davis Solano, is taking them with him. He will be starting at MSA this year as well taking Key of Liberty and Shakespeare. That will keep him busy all day on Thursdays. We'll be doing pre-algebra, spelling, some English reading and second half of world history at home as well as piano and whatever else interests us. Looking forward to a great year.

Other Summer Happenings

2026-08-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Camps were done, the temple open house was done, and the family reunion was done. Those were the major events of our summer. But what else did we do? Here are some summer hpapenings.

We went to free Chick-fil-a day. Branden worked that day, so we went at the end of his shift and ate dinner.

Devin took on some fun cooking projects. He asked me to help him make an apple pie. So we used the apples from our tree and made a pie one Sunday. He used the extra crust scraps to cut out little people shapes and put them around the top of the pie. He said it represented our family. Then when it was time to cut up the pie, he started crying how that represents our family because it shows how we are all cut up and separated and apart from each other. He is feeling sad about being the only one left at home. Branden came in and cheered him up with talking about eating up the family member pieces and pooping them out and something about how that makes them always a part of us. I'm not sure. But I do know it made Devin laugh, and it was just what was needed. We're really going to miss Branden when he goes to college.

Another day, Devin had his friend Drew over. I had to leave for a while, but Devin said he and Drew wanted to make these rolls from his Fablehaven cookbook. I asked Branden to keep an eye on them if they needed any help. When I got home, they had these delicious pretzel rolls ready to eat. Branden said he only helped them know how warm the water should be to go with the east. Wow! So impressed!

I wanted to get out and do something San Diego-y on a weekend. I looked through some options and found a park about 15-20 minute drive in Sorrento Valley playing 80's music. I love concerts in the park. We took our chairs and plopped down in the grass. It was actually in a space inside of a cemetery which was interesting. They had free nachos and sodas and some games to play. Jesse and Devin played corn hole for a while. The music was great. Lots of great 80's music. It was a fun night.

Another night we went down to the Rady Shell to listen to the San Diego Symphony play the music of John Williams. We didn't buy tickets. We parked near Seaport Village and walked over and just sat out on the rocks around the outside of the venue. It was great. For sure they played some songs we had not ever heard before. But they played music from Indiana Jones, ET, Superman, Star Wars, Schindler's List. We loved it. And while wewere listening, SpaceX launched a rocket that we watched go through the sky.

Devin and I had an art day and worked on some paintings. He was doing really well on his but at one point had some black paint in his brush that swiped across his painting. He'd had it by then and decided to make a galaxy painting instead.

Branden and Devin had a trip to the dentist for their 6-month cleaning. It was Branden's last visit to our pediatric dentist. We were talking with Dr. Ambrosio and the assistant at the front desk, Brenda, that we have been with them since their SECOND day being open!! I remember those days when the actual dentist pretty much did everything, and they could only take one kid at a time. We'd be there for like 2 hours! I'd load up school work to do with kids while we waited. It's grown so much, and they have taken such good care of us. When Jesse was out of a job, and we didn't have insurance, I called them to cancel our appointment til we got insurance again. They called us back and said they'd see all of our kids at no cost since we'd been long-time customers. I cried on the phone. And I still cry to this day thinking of their kindness. They have been awesome. They gave Branden a water bottle and put the sign up about him going away to school. Such a great office.

Devin read the whole The Lord of the Rings series. And then we watched the movies. Zach was so proud.

Of course we spent a lot of time at the beach. We made it to every Monday beach day this summer. It was awesome. Plus some other beach time with friends. Aaron Olsen did his traditional night of tacos on the beach the second to last Monday of the summer. Branden's friend, Jack, opened his mission call that night with friends. He's going to Nashville, Tennessee!

The very last ward beach day, Jesse came down and had dinner with us. The sunset was INCREDIBLE. Then we had Handel's. Sad to see our beach days end. Love this time of year.

Goodbye, School Room

2026-08-20T13:45:14.887-07:00

Early on in the summer, I started thinking about the changes coming to our family. Next school year, we will only have one child at home. ONE! We do not need a whole room dedicated to school with just one child. Especially as he'll be taking more classes out of the home, so I won't be teaching him every single subject. So I wanted to change up that room. But I had no idea how I wanted it. I asked my friend to come over and talk through some ideas with me, which she did. I'm just so bad at home decorating!

Well, just after the reunion, I found a single sofa chair on Facebook marketplace that I really liked. Devin and I drove down to Spring Valley and picked it up. The first piece of furniture for the changing space. I realized I didn't just want to store furniture in the garage until I had everything, so we started making the changes right then. I figured if I sort of moved things around in that room so that as one piece of furniture was purchased, it could just replace that one item. Thus began the big shuffle.

I started putting all of the homeschool stuff that I really didn't need anymore into a box, so I could start trying to sell it on Facebook marketplace. We moved the big bookshelves around, got rid of the old tables in the middle of the room. We started looking for a different computer desk to use in that room. Early on, I started getting a little frustrated because although my heart and mind was willing to serve as RS president, I just felt frustrated how much time it was taking and that after 4 years of seminary, I was really hoping to have a bit of a break to focus on some things at home. And I felt like that just wasn't possible. But as we were driving home from picking up a lamp from someone, we drove past our stake center and Jesse noticed someone dropping off a desk they didn't want that seemed like it would be exactly what we needed! We drove back over there an hour or so later and sure enough, the desk was perfect. And free! I felt like Heavenly Father was telling me, "Don't worry. Go ahead and serve. I will help you with your other needs."

So we had a few pieces going into the new space...and then, I didn't know what to do with it after that. Luckily, I have a daughter-in-law who is every good at decorating! She created an AI image using our actual room and changing some things out based on her suggestions. I loved it! It had left out the desk and a bookshelf we would still need, but it gave us some great ideas to move forward.

We got a small sofa and a coffee table on Facebook marketplace. And the final furniture pieces were a different bookshelf and a closed cabinet that would hold Devin's school stuff behind closed doors. It was all coming together! And bonus that I've been selling a bunch of school stuff and the furniture we don't want anymore to mostly offset the costs of what I've bought. All that's left are little decorative pieces that will probably take some time to collect but aren't as urgent. It's a functional room now that is also pleasing. I love it! I'm excited for the change in the space.

5-Car Accident

2026-08-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

We had a ward activity in South Mission Beach one Saturday. Branden was surfing in Encinitas and would drive down to join us later. So Jesse, Devin, and I were headed down to the beach. As we drove on the I-8 West approaching the W Mission Bay Drive exit, traffic in the exit lane slowed down. Jesse was slowing down and then suddenly the car in front of us stopped. So had to put on the brakes faster and get to a stop. We were fully stopped. The car behind us fully stopped. And the car behind them full stopped. The delay felt like we'd be fine. And then we heard it. The crushing sound of metal as a car slammed into two cars behind us which then pushed that car into the car behind us which then pushed forward into us, pushing us into the car in front of us. And that's where it ended. We sat there for a second processing it all, and looking in front of us at our hood smashed upward toward the front window. But we were okay. All three of us were okay. At that moment, we heard Devin cry out, "What just happened?!" He was pretty scared. Which is totally understandable. A 5-car crash is a big deal.

Jesse got out and started checking on all the other cars. I got out and talked to the lady in front of us for just a minute. Then looked around. What a mess. There were car parts and glass all over the road as well as liquids from the car and smashed cars this way and that way. A couple of people had crawled out of their car and were lying on the ground. I felt like I wanted to go help, but Devin was pretty upset, and I knew my priority was him. So I let Jesse help the others while I stayed and comforted Devin. He was sad about our car, but we talked about how lucky we were that we were okay and that was the most important thing.

The car that hit us all

The ambulance showed up, the police showed up, and the fire truck showed up. They checked on us - yes, we're okay. Then they went to help others. One guy whose air bags had gone off was bleeding from his face. Jesse said the two people in the back of the first car that was hit, one of them said, "I can't feel my legs." So they needed to be left in the car. It was so scary.

The police took a testimony from both Jesse and I of our review of what happened. I had texted the Bishop and Elder's Quorum president to let them know we might not make it to the beach activity because we had been in a major accident. They offered to pick us up, but at the time we were still needing to give our report to the police. I also was texting and trying to call Branden that we would need him to pick us up. No answer yet from him.

Eventually the police were done with us and wanted to start clearing the freeway. They had called in some tow trucks to clear the area, but Jesse didn't want to use their tow because they would decide where to tow the car and it would be far from our house. So we were going to call our own tow. The police offered an escort if we could limp the Civic off of the freeway and find a safe place to park it and wait for the tow. Unfortunately once we limped off the freeway exit, we had to still get it over the Mission Bay Bridge. Then the next exit was to Sea World, so we had to go another exit. We got to Dana Point and turned right down the street and parked.

Jesse was on the phone with the tow service and then was calling the insurance. I felt like I needed to get Devin out of the car and away from the situation a little bit. So I asked him if he wanted to walk to the buildings we had passed and see if we could find a bathroom. He said okay, so we got out and started walking. We didn't get far when a family in our ward was driving towards us in their van. What?! How did they know where we were? They pulled over and asked if that was where the ward activity was?? Uh no! They said they must have taken a wrong turn, but it was the right turn because the Spirit had led them to us! They were our angels sent to care for us in our hour of need.

The family took me and Devin over to the ward activity while Jesse waited for the tow. We had gotten a hold of Branden, and he would come down and pick up Jesse. It was just perfect. Devin got involved running around and boogie boarding with friends which took his mind off of the accident. Jesse and Branden eventually joined us at the activity as well. It was nice to be with our ward family and just have a relaxing time at the beach since there really wasn't anything else to do. Jesse had the Civic towed to our house, and our neighbor accepted the key for it to give back to us.

We rode home with Branden and arrived to see our smashed up car sitting in front of our house. Sad. But as we reflected on the day, we were so grateful for all of the little miracles of that day. Our car was totaled, but we were totally fine. We thought we might be sore the next day, but none of us were! We have been totally fine through the whole incident. We realized too that the car that was behind us had been turned to the right. So when the car behind it pushed into it, it moved forward but to the right. So it didn't hit us straight on but hit at the right side of the car and then it rolled down into the fence by the bike path. Still pushed us forward and still totaled our car, but it could have been worse if we'd been hit straight on.

That evening, we were not up to making dinner. So we took our summer library rewards certificate for Wings-n-Things and went out to grab some food. Devin insisted he was too scared to ride in a car. But we got to the heart of his concerns and talked about being resiliant and how many times he'd ridden in a car without a problem. And he relented and rode with us.

Our insurance has offered $11,000+ for the car which we felt pretty good about. So now it's on to figuring out what we want to get. And what we are going to drive to Utah to take Branden up to BYU next week. It's a hassle. Jesse is having to deal with most of it. But again, we are grateful for our lives and safety and that all is well for us.

Las Vegas Wedding

2026-08-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Madelyn's wedding was the second Saturday in August. In Las Vegas. Which is hot usually. And just happened to be 115 degrees that Saturday we were there. Toasty! But it was a lovely weekend to celebrate Madelyn and Sean and spend time with our family.

We drove up early Friday to avoid much traffic and got into town around 1 pm. We headed straight to the Deseret Book and went shopping for Branden's temple clothes and garments to prepare for his endowment later this month. Our distribution center won't open til the day the San Diego temple opens, which is the day Branden is going through. We got everything but his temple pants, which we can rent, and I can buy a pair for him when we go up to Utah for school.

We stopped into the nearby Yogurtland for a cool treat then drove over to the construction site for the newest Las Vegas temple. I just love seeing new temples in their building phase.

Finally we could check into our hotel. We got settled there and then headed down to the pool for an hour or so to cool off. It wasn't that cooling, but it was something. We mostly had the pool to ourselves right up til the last little bit. We changed and left for dinner. We went to a pizza spot and met up with Jesse's sister, Clara. Double bonus - it was her birthday! So we got to treat her. It was good to catch up wtih her.

The temple sealing was at 12:30 pm Saturday. We got ready at the hotel and went to a Kohl's nearby to get Branden a couple new white church shirts. Devin wanted a new tie. And while there, Kendra texted asking if we could pick up about 14 AA batteries for the reception that night. We were right by Target, so I grabbed some, and then we headed over to the Las Vegas temple.

The sealing was very sweet. We stayed in the temple lobby for a while til the couple was ready to exit. The noise level kept rising with so many people waiting in the temple, but it was too hot to wait outside! We made our way out there and tried not to overheat as the couple exited the temple, and we all cheered. We took pictures and provided some support for Kendra and family.

They held a luncheon at their stake center. More pizza haha and some salads. We visited with family. It was nice to be back together again just a month after the reunion.

Marlise and I went with Kendra to help set up the last things for the reception. Even just putting on tablecloths it was ridiculously hot. We got it all set up and enjoyed the evening. Under the balcony the house has misters that definitely made it feel cooler. It was fun watching the cousins hang out and have fun together.

We cleaned up the reception and even at 10 pm it was 104 degrees. So crazy hot! This year the cousins came prepared with swimsuits to jump in the pool after the reception. Such a fun time.

The next day, we slept in and then lounged at the hotel. We went to Kendra's ward and were able to be there for Rhys's mission farewell talk. He is going to Peru. It was great to be there to support him. After church, we went to Kendra's house for snacks and such and continued visiting with family. Zach called for his p-day, and it was fun to pass him around and have him talk to cousins, aunts/uncles, and Grandma. We talked with him for a while more for part of our drive home. It was a good trip.

2+ Years of Chick-fil-a Comes to an End

2026-07-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Branden had his last day working for Chick-fil-a. He has been working in back-of-house for a little over two years. It's been a great job for him. He started at the Del Sur restaurant and worked 5-10 hours a week for most of the first year or so. He sometimes started getting more hours that second year. And in February of this year when he turned 18, it made a huge difference. He no longer had to have a work permit, so he wasn't constrained in the number of hours he could work. He started getting a lot more hours at that point.

About the same time, he had a big decision to make. The manager of the Del Sur Chick-fil-a was asked to move over to the Carmel Mountain restaurant because that manager was moving to Florida. The manager offered some staff of Del Sur to go with him to Carmel Mountain. Branden was offered to go and would get paid $1 more per hour if he went. So he was tempted. But he had a few friends who had recently been hired to work at Del Sur that he sort of felt like he wanted to stay with. Plus it's what he'd known for the last year.

One night I stayed up to wait for him to get home from work. He came home pretty wired about making a decision. He was talking through the pros and cons of moving versus staying. He said that a lot of the shift leads and people he'd liked working with were moving to Carmel Mountain. Ultimately he decided to move.

It ended up being the right choice. A lot of the Carmel Mountain staff moved over to Del Sur. And word was that they were pretty lazy and things were pretty bad at Del Sur for a while. Corporate was running the store til a new manager came in. It was a good move for Branden. Carmel Mountain was busier as well. And now that he was 18, he was working 30-40 hours a week. He was making good money.

During the summer, he worked about 35 hours per week. He decided to put his two-week notice in to finish at the end of July. He wanted to have time to hang out with friends before leaving for college. So on his last day, Jesse, Devin, and I went over to Chick-fil-a to greet him at the end of his shift and celebrate him. He had made over $20,000 plus gotten a $2500 scholarship for college. We are super proud of him and his hard work. He talked the on-site manager into giving us all free milkshakes to enjoy. It's cool to have a kid who is so respected and beloved at his work place. Great job, Branden.

That night, he and a bunch of co-workers went to Coronado and had a bonfire to say goodbye.

STEM Camp

2026-07-28T12:14:00.000-07:00

Devin is signed up this next year to take a couple of classes from a place called 10X Learning Center. He'll take life sciences and engineering on Mondays and Wednesdays in the afternoon. Because we signed him up with them, we got a notification that they had partnered with Cal State San Marcos providing free signup to attend one of their STEM camps this summer. Score! I spoke with a friend who was thinking about signing her son up for the same classes as Devin. I told her if she's signing him up, then she should do it now, so they could go to the STEM camp together. So she did.

A couple weeks after the family reunion was the week for the STEM camp. It meant I had to drive up to San Marcos everyday to take him, but it was a fun place for him to be. Being the youngest at home, and with Branden working a lot this summer, it was great for Devin to have something to fill some of his time. And especially to have it for free! I spent a few of the days just staying up in San Marcos at the local institute building or the community library working on my classes for the fall that I'll be touching plus Relief Society stuff since I was just called to be the RS president. Another day I came home and was able to help someone in the ward clean her place that she's moving into and some other work at home.

Devin had a fun time at the camp and was glad to have his friend, Davis, there with him. It was sort of Avengers-themed. They made things like Tony Stark's "Arc Reactor", Spider-man's "webslinger", a Minecraft torch, the "food machine" from Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie. they visited different scientists on campus each day. He talked with one of the counselors a lot about 3D printing as he's trying to work on 3D printing an Ironman mask for Halloween. He had a good week!

Craig Family Beach Camping Reunion

2026-07-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

This was our year to plan the Craig family reunion. We keep driving 13-15 hours to the middle of nowhere Utah or Idaho where it's hot and there isn't a lot to do. Don't get me wrong. As a family, we just love being together. But when it came our turn, I wanted to do something different. Beach camping in San Diego!! That was my dream. It started back in January when we were trying to get campsites. It is SO hard. We spent days trying to get lots of people on at 8 am to get sites. We got a couple of single sites, but we weren't getting much. My dream felt like it was slipping. My friend, Sunshine, who has gone beach camping for years offered to get on and see if she could help us. She got the group campsite! It was a miracle and such a blessing. We were a little worried if we could fit everyone on it, but we thought we'd just start planning and see how it would go.

There was a lot of planning. Jesse was awesome helping me work on it. I talked to a lot of friends who have beach camped getting their advice and tips for a great experience. Once seminary and school ended, we really got serious about the planning. We would have 70 people. Some were staying in homes instead of camping. Some of our cousins who we haven't seen and who have estranged families and count our family as their close family and wanted to spend time with us would also be a part of the reunion. We had to figure out tents - sizes and placements - and meals (trying to keep it simple). And we borrowed so much stuff - trailer, chairs, tents, pop-ups boogie boards, cooking stuff. It was such a project. But we hoped by planning it out well, it would be a fun, relaxing time at the actual reunion. And it was. It really, really was.

Dehn came over the day before, and we prepped all of the ice cream ingredients. I had made 4 batches already too, so ice cream night would be pretty easy. I had also pre-cooked all the pulled pork and made up the coleslaw so our dinner night would be easy. It was all coming together. Craig was a great help once he got into town and through the reunion. It was awesome.

The reunion began on a Wednesday afternoon and would go til Sunday morning. Everything was amazing. The weather was perfect. Warm but not hot. Sunshine with some clouds in the morning. The ocean water is warmer than normal for this time of year. The space on the group site worked out great. We had the big tents with the cousins and a couple families on one side. The small couples' tents were on the other side. In the middle, we put the picnic tables in a circle around the firepit and put the pop-ups over the tables. We had a cooking area set up. I thought it would use all the space and feel crowded, but it really didn't. There was a lot of space to move about and hang out together. It was so great to just have a space to be together and have fun.

The first morning, we all went to the San Diego temple open house together. That was really special to be there together. Brett was excite to take Aizhan through. My cousin, Lisa, and her husband came with us. They aren't members. It was great to share it with them.

After the temple, a group went with my cousin, Lisa, and her husband, out on their sailboat. They did a couple hour cruise through the bay down to Coronado and back. It was so cool of them to take them, and they had such a fun time. The next morning, another group was able to go. They all loved the experience.

The beach was right down the steps. We'd take all of our gear down for the day - chairs, other pop-ups, boogie boards and surf boards. People could come and go as they pleased. It was awesome to just chill on the beach, talking, catching up, napping, whatever. We watched the cousins out in the water together. Branden took cousins out to try surfing. And no one got stung by a sting ray! That was my only concern.

Another morning, we hiked Annie's Canyon. It was a nice little something to do in the morning before the sun came out. It's a cool hike and was doable for eveyrone who wanted to go.

One evening, we had a special night having Branden ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek priesthood. Watching my brothers stand together with Jesse and my older boys, plus my brothers-in-law, I could see my dad in there with them. I just love that Branden chose to wait to have them all be a part of his ordination. My boy is grown up. It was a beautiful sunset that night.

Another night, Jesse set up a projector and screen. We watched some World Cup soccer for a bit. Then they watched Surf's Up. Saturday was 7-11 day, and a 7-11 was within walking distance of the campgrounds, so cousins walked together to get their free slurpees. It really was magical.

Everyone said it was the best reunion ever and that we should beach camp every year. It was everything I had dreamed of. I loved sharing San Diego and the beach with my family. It could not have gone better, and I am so grateful. And grateful to all the friends who shared tips and their stuff with us so we could make this happen. We know really great people.

San Diego Temple Open House!

2026-07-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

And then it was finally time. The San Diego temple open house was ready to start! I had 7 different shfits over about two weeks that I would be volunteering since the last week was our family reunion. I would be volunteering on the first shift the first day the temple was open to the public. But Devin actually was the first to get to volunteer! He was invited to serve with some other people from our ward to do shoe coverings for some of the VIP tours!

He was pretty excited and had a great experience. He said it was kind of slow actually doing the shoe coverings. But people were nice. And Patriarch Stapley who was in charge during Devin's shift took all the kids on a tour of the temple. So Devin got to see it all first! He said the VIP tours weren't supposed to see them, so they would be walking through areas and then Patriarch Stapley would say, "Oh, hurry, come over here." And they would hide under the stairs or in a small room and be quiet until the VIP passed by. Kind of a fun, secret stealth tour of the temple, haha.

The first day the temple was open to the public, I went down with my friend, Niki. We would be serving in the front lobby area that morning. We drove to the stake center on Governor Dr. where we caught the bus shuttle to the temple. Walking onto the temple grounds was so exciting. We checked in, got our name badges and scripts, put on our shoe coverings, and headed to the lobby to prepare for the first group.

Niki was really nervous about speaking, so she asked me to do the first few groups. They had shortened the script quite a bit for the lobby, having part of it said outside, to try to keep the flow going. We had to figure out where to stand, how to get groups far in enough in that the doors would close, keep the groups going. It was a little chaotic especially because the baptistry would sometimes get backed up, and the assisted tours (with people using wheelchairs or walkers) would pass back through, and as the tours ended they would also exit through that lobby. There was definitely a lot going on down there. Niki ended up not feeling comfortable speaking for the first 3 hours! I was tired by then, so I told her I needed a break and she needed to take her turn. Plus she'd be volunteering other times and needed to get over her nerves. So she did. Whew!

It was exciting to welcome people into the temple. To tell them how happy we were to have them. To tell them about the artwork depicting Jesus Christ throughout the temple reminded us of how much He loves all of His children. I enjoyed sharing with people my testimony of the temple through the words that we were asked to say. And also answering people's questions they had. It was fun to see some people I knew come through the tour.

That evening, we went on our own tour of the temple as a family. I couldn't wait to see the whole inside of it. It was interesting to go into the temple to the lobby on our tour and basically hear the person speaking, speaking the part I had spent 4 hours saying, not follow the script at all. Even though all of our training asked us not to create our own speech, to not embellish, etc. that's basically all he did. And he would make promises like, "I promise you will feel... " I was just appalled. Why?! You can't be saying stuff like that. It was a bit of a bummer for me. But I still loved walking through the temple. As we sat in the Celestial Room, I thought of all the talks and prayers and moments Jesse and I had there together. What a sacred place for us. So good to be back. It was awesome to walk through with Branden who will be going for his endowment in a couple of months, and talk about some of the things he will experience there.

I didn't work again til the following week, but I was there Tuesday and Wednesday mornings 9am-1pm, and Thursday evening 5-9pm. I spoke in the endowment room twice and the sealing room once. I loved the endowment room. Originally they were going to use 2 endowment rooms with 2 speakers in each. But to keep the flow going, they ended up using all 4 endowment rooms. So that means as speakers, we were in the room by ourselves. But it worked out just fine. I loved the words shared. I loved being able to answer questions. It was funny how some members would give me a big thumbs up as they exited. Or tell me that I did a really nice job. It was really important to me to have it memorized and speak right to the people there. And I did it.

One of the shift managers took a group through my room. When I checked out at the end of my shift, he was in the room and told people in there that I was so impressive. How following the script brought the spirit in and was so powerful. It really meant a lot to me because that is what I wanted to be able to do as a representative of the church and teach them about the temple.

The sealing room was also sweet to serve in. That one I had another sister serve with me. She was from Temecula and also taught seminary. We had some sweet conversations in between groups coming in. The next week I served in a sealing room another day and was matched with her again. It was like connecting with an old friend. It was cool because I had just received my call to be a Relief Society president and was able to talk to her about it because she isn't in my stake, so it didn't matter that I hadn't been sustained and set apart. When we went through the tour for my family reunion, she was there in the front lobby speaking. I gave her a big hug. So cool sometimes how the church just connects us so quickly.

The sealing room was interesting to see how people responded to the idea of eternal families and how they interacted with the mirrors facing each other. I would talk about how the reflection in the mirriors went on forever and were symbolic of the eternal family bonds made possible in the House of the Lord. People afterwards would look in the mirrors and be surprised that the reflection did go on forever. So funny. They thought we had done something magical to them. Some people wanted to kneel at the altar. Kids for sure wanted to climb on it. When people would look in the mirrors, many put in a lot of effort to see themselves go on forever. I would talk to them about how it's not seeing ourselves but those we love. When we focus on ourselves, we don't see forever. Only when we focus on others. I had one little girl ask me if we saw angels in the temple. A woman had lost her husband recently and sat in the sealing room just crying. I sat with her for a few minutes and told her many tears get shed in the temple. It's a comforting place to be. So many couples came through with their kids showing them where they had gotten married. It was a beautiful place to be.

I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning the next week too. I think there is more I know about the San Diego temple than I ever have. Things I never noticed. It was really wonderful to have time to just be in the temple. When I'd have breaks between groups, I could just think and pray. Especially once I got my new calling. I appreciated the time in the temple to just be. I had many more experiences I wish I could write them all down. But it was really special to be a part of this open house. There were thousands of people going through each day. So many people wanted to see inside the temple. It was amazing.

Branden was asked to speak at the baptistry one day. And then another day he did the first part of the lobby speaking part outside. I had so many compliments from people who heard him speak that he presented himself so well and did such a great job. It was awesome. Branden and Jesse helped with parking another day. And Devin was able to do shoe coverings another day. That time was much busier than the first time. It was a special experience for all of us to be part of the San Diego temple open house. Now we can't wait for temple to be dedicated!

The Miracle of the Tooth

2026-06-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Last year was Devin's accident at the park during Discovery where he smacked into a solid bar and broke his bottom teeth. We took him to the endodontist then, and he said Devin was doing okay and we'd just keep an eye on it. When we took Devin in for orthodontic care, the x-rays showed that there was an abcess under one of the teeth. The tooth was dead from the accident. So the ortho gave us the option to pull the tooth and with orthodontic care, he could close the gap by pulling the teeth together to close the space. He showed us pictures of what it would look like. And we just didn't feel right about it. Pulling a tooth is permanent. And he's so young, it seemed like a huge decision to do something so permanent on someone so young.

We took him back to the endodontist to see what he thought. He said he would need to go in and clean out the abcess, and while he was in there, he said he could try a procedure to "stir" the stem cells and see if they could regrow. It might not work. But Jesse and I talked about it and felt good about it, much better than pulling the tooth. We decided to go for it.

We took him in last summer for the procedure. Six months later, in December, we took him back in, and the miracle had happened. The abcess was still clean, the nerve had grown and Devin had feeling again in that tooth! He wanted us to wait for a while to give the bone time to strengthen and the nerve to grow before starting ortho care. So we waited a few more months and got Devin started on straightening those teeth! Everything seems to be going well, and we are so thankful.

Happy Birthday and Father's Day, Jesse!

2026-06-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

We told Jesse to get of a little early from work for his birthday this year because we had plans. Branden told me a while back that Jesse had been talking about wanting to go to Hodad's again since it's been a few years. So we drove down to Ocean Beach for dinner. It's a fun place with some good burgers.

Since we were going down that far, we figured we should make more plans than just dinner. We took down firewood and s'mores supplies and planned to go over to Mission Beach to use a firepit for the night. Of course the fire pits were all taken when we got there. So we headed to the inland bay where I knew there were some fire pits as well. Sure enough, we found one. We had to hang out with some homeless people haha but they mostly just wandered around.

It was a lovely evening and a nice slow pace welcoming in summer as we celebrated Jesse's birthday. He wanted a French silk pie, so I made that for Sunday. He said he didn't really want anything for his birthday, so we just got him some BYU socks and some mountain biking socks that Devin picked out.

For Father's Day, Branden and I made breakfast sandwiches. We made jambalaya and corn bread for dinner. And a fruit tart for dessert which was what Jesse had asked for but wasn't that good unfortunately. We gave him a couple of biking t-shirts that didn't come in for his birthday.

Priest High Adventure: Catalina

2026-06-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

The week after public school got out, the priest quorum had their High Adventure camp to Catalina Island. Branden had been preparing and excited for this trip for a while. His former deacon leader who is now the Elder's Quorum president, Gus Zanini, was going with them. He's a very adventurous, fun guy and had been preparing the boys for snorkeling and spear fishing. Branden was all over it, going to the activities to practice, getting with Gus to borrow gear he would need. Gus told him just before the trip that the Bishop had tasked them with catching enough fish for the night they would have fish tacos. Branden was ready for the challenge.

They left early Monday morning, drove up to Long Beach, and caught the boat out to Catalina. They stayed til Thursday. Branden had a great time. And all of his leaders were thankful for his great attitude, his fun attitude, how helpful he was, and he was the hero of catching fish for the camp to eat. He caught the most fish. A couple other boys caught eel, a crab, and a stingray. Fish taco night was a hit. They had so much food!

Branden and some of the boys also did some night hikes, star gazing, and sometimes even got some sleep. It was a great last high adventure for Branden.

Deacon Summer Adventure

2026-06-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

The same week Branden had high adventure, that Wednesday, Devin went with the deacons on a bike ride down the PQ canyon to the beach. They had to go out of the canyon onto the road for part of it because there had been a fire the week before at the west end of the canyon and some areas were still burning off and getting cleaned up. Of course for Devin, a bike ride is no big deal these days having done the RAC.

Thursday to Saturday, they did a backpacking trip to San Jacinto. They drove to the Palm Springs area, took the tram up the mountain, and then hiked a few miles to the campground. The next day they did an up and back to the peak and camped another night at the campground. Apparently the hike was a bit harder than the leaders had anticipated. But the boys were troopers and made it.

Devin had a lot of fun, and it was a good experience for him to be out hiking, camping, independent of us and gaining confidence and experiences for growth. Looks like it wore him out pretty good.

Preparing for the San Diego Temple Open House

2026-06-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

I met up with my friend, Ginger, who I hadn't seen in like a year. When the school and seminary year wrap up, I am able to come up for air and reach out to people and do things that I struggle to have time for during the year. So Ginger and I planned our favorite thing to do - take a walk on the beach.

While driving down, she got a call from a friend who is in charge of all of the shoe coverings for the San Diego temple open house. They had thousands of boxes they needed to have the coverings paired together. They were giving them to youth groups and trying to find ways to get them paired up. Ginger asked if I would be willing to take some boxes. I was happy to help, but I was thinking with just 4 of us at home, how many boxes could we actually do? 5? 10? So I told her to let me see what I could do. I started texting groups of women in my ward letting them know about the project and that I would be at our church building that coming Monday from 9 am to 1 pm. If they had time to come help for just an hour or the whole time or whatever worked, or if they wanted to take some home and bring them back to me the next morning, that would be great.

It was the last week of school, so I wasn't sure how many people I could get. But I started getting texts back immediately. So I told Ginger that we would take 100 boxes and see what we could do with them. Of course they got delivered to our stake center Sunday evening right during seminary graduation. I had not anticipated that. But the stake presidency just made an announcement at the end of seminary graduation and people helped carry the boxes from the drop-off point to the primary room where we'd be working. It all worked out.

I went early Monday and set up some tables and chairs for us to work at. I started opening boxes and people started arriving. I had about 25 people either how up to work or take some boxes and bring them back. It was incredible. It was so fun to spend those hours sitting with friends, doing service for the temple. It was the kind of work that you could just sit and chat with others while working. Some groups would make friendly competitions to see which team could finish a box first. Some of the older sisters shared how much they missed the service - like making quilts - that used to get done where you could work and serve together but also talk and strengthen friendships. They felt like this was similar to that and were grateful for the opportunity.

I was so grateful and inspired by all who came and helped and how much we were able to contribute to the temple. It's exciting to be a part of this upcoming event.

And because of our involvement, Devin and I got to have an unexpected blessing. We met Ginger and her friend down at the temple to bring down all of the bags of finished coverings to be stored there for the open house. We got to drive onto the temple grounds! And go into the underside of the temple to the "garage" type area. It was so exciting to be on the grounds and so close to our beloved temple again. It was such a gift!! We went to Handel's on our way home because that's what Jesse and I often did after a temple visit. Time to get those traditions going again.

The other part I've been preparing for is memorizing the parts I will be saying when I volunteer. I was asked to be a speaking usher. I can't volunteer the last week of the open house because it's when our family reunion is. So in the 2 weeks I can volunteer, I will volunteer 7 different shifts. I will be speaking in either the front lobby, the endowment room, or the sealing room. We don't have to memorize the parts, but I feel like I'll be better able to speak to the guests if I have it memorized. At the Yorba Linda temple open house, some people spoke well, and others just read the paper with no connection or eye contact. I want to be the first.

Celebrating the End of Another School Year

2026-06-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

And then it was SUMMER!! We finished another school year. It seemed to go really quickly. So crazy. We have been doing this homeschooling thing for FIFTEEN years! What a life. And we graduated our fourth child. Only one more homeschooler to go!

We celebrated by doing some new things at some old favorites. We started off going to the Safari Park to see the newly opened Elephant Valley. It's a nice addition and gives better access to the elephants than what it was previously.

We ate our packed lunch then stopped at the Ko-Li Bar in Clairemont Mesa. It's a shaved ice place that makes the most adorable shaved ice. We got two flavors and shared them between the three of us. They were bigger than we thought! They were delicious and lots of fun to eat.

After our treat, we headed down to Sea World to see the newly updated Shark Encounter. I think it's been closed almost a year. We were excited to see the changes. Except there hardly were any. It was basically the same thing with maybe some extra signage. That's it. We were sorely disappointed. What is that about? Why all the hype about it opening? Come on, Sea World.

We stayed for the dolphin show since it's reopened as well. I always love the dolphin show.

We made a couple of other quick stops before going home. We went to Old Town so Branden and I could look for San Diego sweatshirts. Branden found one; I did not. We checked out the adobe house as we passed through the area back to the car.

And we made a quick stop at the San Diego temple. We are almost to the open house, and we are so excited!

That night we made homemade strawberry ice cream in the new Kitchen Aid attachment bowl I bought to make smaller batches of ice cream. It worked great!

It was a great day of celebrating a great year. We learned a lot, had a lot of fun, and didn't let PCA boss us around too much in our homeschooling.

End of Seminary and a Release

2026-06-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

I finished up my fourth year of teaching seminary. I "graduated" again, haha. It has been cool though to go through all four books of scripture. I've learned so much from this experience. This was a harder year for me since my co-teacher wasn't as co-teaching as what I've had in the past. I really do love collaborating with another sister, working together to meet the needs of these youth. It's been fun to become friends with someone else in the stake that I taught with. It's been fun to love and teach these youth together. This year wasn't quite like that. I still went everyday like I have, but she only rarely made it when I was teaching. And we had different ideas about a lot of things. I still learned and had good experiences. Just not my favorite.

I knew this might be the last year for me. I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about the year and if I should keep teaching or not. I didn't really get a strong answer either way. So when I met with the stake, that's what I told them. There are pros and cons either way. I really love teaching seminary and have learned so much. In some ways, I'd keep doing it. But I'm also at a turning point. I won't have any kids in seminary next year. I'm only going to have one child at home who will need more of my attention in some ways. And as much as I love it, it really does take a lot of time.

So when the stake called to let me know they felt like it was time to release me, that they are trying to get away from keeping teachers in for a lot of years, I thought I'd be really sad about it. And I actually felt fine about it. Almost unusually fine about it. I felt like Heavenly Father was letting me know I did what He needed me to do, and I was done. And that's okay. It felt good.

I had one week left of seminary after I found out I'd be released. It was a good week, finishing up, and coming to the finish line. This was definitely a growing calling for me. I learned so much about how much the Lord blesses us as we willingly sacrifice and do what He asks of us. The things I was able to get done with my busy schedule, the miracles that I saw, the joy I felt. It was an incredibly hard calling and an incredibly rewarding calling. I am so grateful for the opportunity and experiences I had.

Branden's High School Graduation

2026-06-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you our 2026 high school graduate, Branden Jesse Blankenbiller!

We had a lot of celebrating to do! We first started with his actual graduation with PCA since our charter finished school earlier than the public school. The graduation ceremony took place at the Spreckles Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park just like Jared's and Zach's. No matter how much we know about May Gray and June Gloom in San Diego, somehow it is always bright sun beating down on us during graduation, haha!

Branden was able to participate in graduation with his best friend, Jack Johnson. So fun to watch them celebrate this milestone together. The ceremony itself was fairly brief. We cheered for Branden as he crossed the stage. He walked through the line of teachers, shaking their hands. And we took a lot of pictures with family and friends. It was great to have my mom here to celebrate Branden as well since his brothers couldn't make it home for this one.

After the ceremony, we went to the traditional lunch of The Taco Stand. Mmmm, nothing better.

That evening we had a graduation open house to celebrate Branden. Sam Thomas came down to be at the open house that evening. She was so helpful with setting up and helping me arrange food. She's so awesome. It was a fun night celebrating Branden. We had lots of friends come and support him. People that even live a ways away came down. It was so touching to see so much support.

One family in our ward with a graduate hosted a dinner for all the graduates in our ward and their parents. Devin came with us and hung out with their son who is also a deacon. It was a fun gathering to celebrate these young men (there are no young women graduating from our ward this year). They've been good friends and a great priest quorum for Branden.

Lastly was the official seminary graduation. It's so nice having been a seminary teacher to stand up there as the graduates get their diplomas and give them a hug as they come through the line. So many great kids. And I always cry when they sing the EFY Medley. It was a good night.

La Jolla Half Marathon

2026-05-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

For years, I have run 4-5 miles twice a week. I don't really consider myself a big runner. I enjoy getting out in the fresh air, listening to books while I get some exercise. A few months ago, Craig asked me if I had ever considered running a long race like a half or full marathon. I told him I wasn't really interested. I enjoy my runs each week, but that's it. A few weeks later, one evening, Jesse out of the blue said to me, "There's a half-marathon in La Jolla." I told him it was probably on a Sunday, which he told me it was actually on a Saturday. I said I'd take a look at the website.

There was my mistake haha. I opened up the website and the picture on the front page was my favorite view in all of San Diego - the road descending from Del Mar into Torrey Pines. It is peace to my soul. And there it is. Part of the La Jolla Half Marathon. I guess I better check it out a little more. I read through the site, looking at the 13.1-mile course. Running up the Torrey Pines hill was part of the course. Yikes. I texted a friend of mine that does a lot of half-marathons, marathons, ultra-marathons and asked her if she thought I could do it. She said if I can run 6 miles, then I can totally do 13.1. I also texted my sister-in-law Catherine who has run a bunch of half-marathons with Dehn's company. She said I could do it too. Especially if I just went to enjoy myself and wasn't trying to beat any records or some heroic act.

That night when Branden came home from work, I told him about it. He said, "If you do it, I'll do it with you." WHAT?! Branden doesn't run. He's very active but doesn't enjoy running. The event was three days before Branden would be graduating high school. And I would have a buddy to run with. Okay, I was sold. I found a 20% off coupon, and we bought our entrance to the race.

Now I had to figure out how to train for it. My friend said I just needed to get in a 10-mile training ride at some point, and I should be good. She talked about electrolytes. I talked to a few other friends doing some research. And I started running an extra mile each week. So I ran 6, 7, 8, and then I was going to run 9 but felt like I could keep going and id 10 miles. That's when I felt wobbly on my legs. And then over spring break, I got so sick that I had to skip training for like 2 weeks. That didn't leave me a lot of time. Plus I went to women's conference. But having done 10 miles once, I knew I could do it again. I just had to figure out how to keep from getting wobbly.

The half-marathon came up with my seminary class one day. One of my students said his mom runs a lot of marathons, and I should talk to her. So I had a call with her. She was the best at helping me get prepared. She walked me through what she did and ate/drank the day before the run. She told me that my wobbly legs were likely due to not fueling and how I needed to get gels and/or chews to fuel every 30 minutes of the run. If I burned through my fuel, I wouldn't recover. She recommended a running store to purchase some gels and chews and try out ones and figure out what I liked. So Branden and I went down one day and bought a bunch.

Branden and I did a few runs together. We took some gels with us to try and pretty much gagged them down. A thick goo when you've been running hard is not easy! We realized taking them at the top of a hill isn't a good idea. It's better to use them before the hills. We tried the chews, and they were much better.

The day before the race, we drove down to La Jolla where the finish would be to pick up our gear. We also sampled the electrolytes they would have along the course. Oh ya, they were nasty. We decided we would take our own electrolyte powder and dump it in water cups to drink.

Race day arrived. I had no expectations other than I didn't want to be crawling across the finish line. I had no demands on myself on beating a certain time. I was hoping to be under about 2 1/2 hours, but I was fine with whatever. I just wanted to enjoy the experience and not be hating the experience or feeling like I never wanted to do it again. I trained on some hills going up Black Mountain Rd. from Park Village. I was fine with running and walking up the Torrey Pines hill as needed. Branden said he planned to stay with me. So we'd just go for it and have the experience. I decided to listen to The Boys in the Boat for my run. Something I'd read several times before and was familiar with, so it was okay if I missed parts of the story. And something that woul inspire me to keep going. I listened to a lot of it the days leading up to the race so I'd be close to the end for the actual race. It was a good choice.

We were up early on race day to get some food in us and get to the starting point early. The race began at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. It was a party. Lots of people. Music was playing. People were stretching. And the announcer was hyping us up although he spoke an awful lot about the Torrey Pines hill. Okay, already, we know it's there! Don't make it sound worse than needful!

They started us in waves. Branden and I were a few groups in. It was our turn, and away we went. I would say almost the whole race was pretty full of people. There wasn't ever a time that it really opened up and let us have space. Sometimes we would weave around people. Sometimes we just kept trotting along with all the other people. The course was great. There was something cool about running in our own backyard so to speak. Places that are familiar. Especially along the sea. We kept getting glimpses of our beautiful ocean as we ran. It was overcast but not foggy. We had the breeze of the sea. It was a comfortable, lovely day to be running. About every mile of the course had an aid station with water.

Some things I did not anticipate... all of the people lining the course, cheering not just those they knew, but all of us on. Some were just sitting outside their homes as we ran past in Del Mar. Drinking their morning coffee and wishing us best of luck. Some were along the major roads with posters and smiles telling us we were doing a great job, to keep going. Especially as the miles went by, I did not realize how much their eye contact, looking right at me, and telling me that I could do it would mean to me. It made me want to show up to races to just cheer for people. The people at the aid stations were so kind and helpful. They would smile and hand us cups as we tried to hurry on by. They were really great volunteers.

Jesse and Devin showed up at our favorite part of the course, along that road coming down from Del Mar into Torrey Pines. They were there cheering us on. It was good to see them. Especially right before the big Torrey Pines hill. We fueled, we drank, we charged up that hill. We'd walk a little once in a awhile, but then we'd get right back to running. I really thought I'd have to stop and catch my breath going up that hill. But I was able to keep moving. And soon enough, we were at the top. It wasn't as bad as we thought! The harder part was when we got to the top, it actually still steadily kept climbing. Ahhh! But it was okay. We felt pretty good and kept on going.

that view!

almost to the top of the Torrey Pines hill

As we were approaching the UCSD area, Branden had to take a dump. He promised he'd be quick and catch up to me. So he stopped at the port-a-potty, and I took the opportunity to just walk for a little bit and get a little break, so I wouldn't get too far ahead of him. We were a little over mile 8 at that point. It was a good rest for us both, and when he quickly caught up to me, we took off again.

loved the views

Running down into La Jolla Shores felt like finally a nice long decent. Running across the walkway of La Jolla Shores, we could feel we were getting close to the end. The final hill up to the road that goes around to the Cove was the last brutal up hill. And the smell going down into the Cove of the sea lions was a horrible shock to the system 12.5 miles or so in. But we kept going on. And as approached the path to the finish line, Branden said, "Let's pick it up and end strong!" So we did. He had more oomph left than I did, but I tried to keep up with him. We were running to the finish. We had done it! I felt tired, but I still felt pretty good. I was so happy and thankful! I felt better than I thought would! And Branden did a fun little heel click as we crossed the finish line. Jesse and Devin were waiting for us after the finish.

The place was packed with people. They had snacks and juice for us to pick up and fuel. We took photos. It was a beautiful day. I was full of excitement for this accomplishment. Now I know I can run 13.1 miles!

It was really fun to do this with Branden. It was fun not to be on my own. It was fun to have this experience with him. And it made my heart tender thinking of this experience we will always share as he is about to graduate and leave home. He was so sweet to stay with me. I think it was a good pace for us overall. We finished in under 2 hours 10 minutes. We beat our "goal"! I loved when we were running through Del Mar and as we got close to the descent into Torrey Pines, Branden said, "Are you ready for your favorite view?" It was just awesome having him along.

Now I have run a half-marathon. It was the perfect mix of a challenge, but something I didn't have to train that hard for since I do run regularly. I was sore the rest of the day. And tired. I took a nap. Rested. My mom came into town for Branden's graduationg, and she and Jesse and I went out to dinner at my favorite Gelati & Pecatti for pizza and gelato that I had dreamed of having after the race. People have asked if I now want to run a whole marathon. I hadn't ever planned on doing a half! And here I am in my 50's doing my first one. Would I do it again? Probably. If I had a reason. Like if Zach wants to do one when he comes home from his mission, I'd do it with him. But I'm not searching for races to do. And I wouldn't do one on my own. I liked doing it with Branden. And I think a full marathon would take a lot of work to train for and fuel for and all of that. I'm not really interested. I really loved the race - the ups and downs of the hills, the beautiful views, the breeze of the ocean. I don't think I'd want to run a half in very many other places. It was a great race for me first - and maybe last. I am so happy with the experience.

Other Spring Happenings

2026-05-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

The spring was full of all kinds of other adventures and celebrations I'll try to cover here.

Only Devin and I were able to make it down for Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's this year. So we did our best to enjoy it in behalf of all those who couldn't make it. I sent Craig and Jared/Carman some money to go buy themselves a pint of Ben & Jerry's to celebrate the day with us.

There was a high school exhibition of all-star basketball players at Sea World. It was the 12th annual "Ball is Life" All-American Game. And one of the players was from Orem, Utah and is committed to playing for BYU next year! So we thought we'd go down and check it out! Friday afternoon, they had a slam dunk contest, a 3-point contest, and a 1-on-1 competition. During a break, Branden and Devin went down to meet Dean Rueckert who will play for BYU. He was super nice to them and took pictures.

The next day, Branden had left for Reno for the prom, but Devin and I went back to Sea World to watch the 5-on-5 game. It was just okay to watch. But Devin did have fun going on stage during half time and got to participate in a competition of a game like "bump". Dean came up to him and was chatting it up with Devin up there. Devin asked him to come see him after the game to sign his BYU hat, which he did. So cute. Such a nice guy.

On the theme of BYU, we went to the San Diego chapter of the BYU Alumni for the Freshmen sendoff. They had a little dinner and shared lots of information for the upcoming freshmen. And they had some discussion for the parents. Not really much we didn't already know, having had 3 kids go to BYU already. But it's always nice to connect with other parents. Devin had a great time picking up all the free merch no one else was taking.

I reserved tickets for us to go to the Yorba Linda temple open house. Craig's girlfriend, Sam, reserved tickets for the same time with her family. The temple is right between us. It definitely got us excited for the San Diego temple open house. This temple is much smaller, but very bright inside. It has a lot of colorful touches that were very pretty. It is a beautiful temple, and we enjoyed visiting. It was nice to see Sam and her family again.

Jesse and Devin have been raising a baby praying mantis. They caught it and made a little home for it. They catch and breed fruit flies to feed it. They named him Mangrove. Well, I think Devin named him that. Jesse can't keep track and calls him all kinds of things like Mangold and Mancala. Jesse is quite attached and loves to check on him, watch Mangrove follow Jesse's movements when he's bringing food, and gets so excited when he has molted. It's been quite an experience.

My sweet boys took care of me for Mother's Day. Yummy breakfast. Delicious dinner. Some pretty flowers. And lots of love. It was a lovely day.

Women's Conference

2026-05-13T21:51:00.000-07:00

I came into some money a little while back from a class action settlement. Branden and I were going to try and take a little trip together while Jesse and Devin were on the RAC. But nothing was working out, and then we realized that Branden really couldn't take off work because he'd be going the very next week on the high school Catalina trip and would miss work all week. So I had the sudden idea to go to Women's Conference at BYU. I hadn't been to Women's Conference since the year I graduated from BYU... in 1996! But Devin would be at 6th grade for the days I was going, so it was a perfect opportunity. I bought a plane ticket and a ticket to the conference, lined up staying with Ken, and was all set to go. I was so excited!

My flight was pretty early Wednesday morning. Craig picked me up at the airport, and we headed to Jared's place. We checked out his and Carman's little apartment. And I took them to lunch at Gandolfo's. It was fun to meet up with my big boys and hang out for a bit. Then Craig and I went to Orson Gygi's for me to pick up some cinnamon chips. We had fun exploring the store and seeing all the fun kitchen gadgets they had.

When we got down to Provo, Craig took me to Smith's to get some groceries for the time I'd be at the conference. I didn't want Ken and Katie to have to feed me all the time, and I didn't want to have to stand in lines for lunch with the thousands of women there at the conference. And it really was thousands, like 12,000+. It was the 50th anniversary of BYU Women's Conference, so there were even more people than normal. The hallways passing to classes were insanely crowded.

I had a whole schedule for each day with different speakers and topics I wanted to attend. It was so good. I especially loved Sheri Dew, Camille Johnson, Noelle Pikus Pace, Elder and Sister Bednar, the musical concert Thursday night, and some of the mini sessions. It was fun to be on campus. I took tons of notes in the classes.

I loved that I was on my own schedule. I knew some other women there at the conference, but I really liked just going where and when I wanted to. And having some time to meet up with other women and chat with them. But I liked being on my own too. And it was a cool opportunity to just talk to all sorts of other women I met while waiting for classes to start. I had some great conversations. It was so fun.

I went to one class with Ken because he left work to support his friend who was speaking. She lives in NYC and plays Eve in one of the temple videos. It was fun to spend time with him.

One special experience I had was at the musical concert Thursday night. They had some great musicians like the Bonner family, a guy who sings on Broadway, a fun tribute to different decades by Mercy River, and Michael McLean. At one point Hillary Weeks came out. I first heard her when I attended the Time Out for Women weekends they had around the country when my kids were little. I first heard her sing the song, "He Hears Me" and it became the song I turned to when my kids were little, and I had a hard day and wasn't sure if I was doing this whole motherhood thing right. I would sit and cry and listen to that song, praying for strength to raise my boys. And here I was, almost 20 years later, listening to her sing that very song again. Only this time, my kids are mostly grown, and have turned into amazing young men. He did hear me, and he helped me, and I was so grateful. My heart was just bursting listening to her sing. I had come full circle.

At the end of the second day, I met up with Ken and his family to watch a special practice session of Studio C. I invited Craig to go along with us. It was a fun time. I hadn't eaten dinner yet, and I wanted to check out the newly built and larger Creamery. So Craig and I were headed over there to grab some dinner and ice cream. Ken and his kids joined us. We had some good talks about life and jobs as Craig is trying to figure things out.

The next morning, I flew home. It was a great treat to spend a few days filling my cup, my soul with spiritual teachings, time with family, restoring and strengthening learning. I really enjoyed my time and hope to go again sometime.

Last Day of Discovery

2026-05-11T21:03:00.000-07:00

Our final year of Discovery came to an end. Zach and Branden were both in Discovery for a few years. Devin has probably been in it the longest. I just helped with it for the last two years. And now we are done. Devin will start at MSA next year.

For the very last day, we were talking about doing a pool party. But the person we knew with a pool was out of town that day. We really didn't want to plan out something difficult, so Devin suggested we just go to the beach. The weather looked iffy, but we are so glad we did it. The weather turned out to be comfortable and the kids had so much fun playing at the beach.

It was a great ending. No hassle. Lots of fun. Farewell, Discovery!

6th Grade Camp

2026-05-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Our charter school offered a 6th grade camp that Devin signed up to attend. Back in the fall, he had been asking me for some kind of class or something where he can learn outdoor skills. When I showed him the video for this camp, he was excited and said he definitely wanted to attend. His friend, Kate, from Discovery was also interested. And we talked our neighbor, Sam, into going as well. So it would be fun for him to have some friends at the camp as well.

I drove the three kids up to camp that Monday. The camp was at the YMCA Raintree camp near Julian. When we got up there, it was FREEZING! Wow, ya, it was so cold. I had a sweatshirt, knowing it would be chilly, but it was colder than I thought. The kids all seemed fine though! It was supposed to get warmer as the week went on, so I figured they'd be okay.

Making sure they were situated, I gave Devin a hug and headed home. Since he hasn't been part of 11-year-old scouts, when our older boys started doing camping overnights, this was really the first time leaving him overnight without family. He wasn't nervous. And I wasn't nervous. Just excited for him and realizing how grown up he is.

He had a great week. Lots of fun activities. Met some new kids. They did activities like archery, geology, forest ecology, outdoor skills, guided night hikes, and more. It was a great experience for him.

Prom Season

2026-05-07T20:39:00.000-07:00

Dating has been a little tricky for Branden. Some how there is a big lack of girls his age. Our ward doesn't have any. His seminary class has only 3 with like 16 boys. So the first year he was old enough to go to prom, some of the girls he was friends with in our homeschool group weren't 16 yet. There weren't any in our ward or seminary for him to go with, so he went with a blind date. The second year, he was dating a girl from our homeschool group, but she had a cousin's wedding to go to, so he just went to prom with a group of guy friends.

This year was his year. He went to the local prom with one of the girls from seminary. It was girls ask, but Branden had hinted he was open for a date, so Brooklyn asked him. They were super cute together. I missed it because I went to women's conference at BYU that weekend. Branden said he was okay with that, and I got sent a bunch of pictures, so it was all good. And he also got to double with his BFF Jack.

He was also invited to be a prom date with a friend of his cousin Annabelle up in Reno. He bought his own plane ticket up to Reno and had a great time. They went up to Tahoe for some fun. And went to the prom just for a bit but also went to the church to play ball and hung out. Their cousin Seth also flew up from Vegas. Such a fun thing to have these cousins hanging out making memories together.

A group of friends in San Diego put on a "rodeo prom" or something like that. The kids were even making matches of who should take who. So Branden got set up to take a girl that lives up in San Marcos - Ava. He made a creative way to ask and had a fun time going to that prom too.

Branden is usually up for just about anything and has really made the most of his senior year.