Emily's Testimony at 6th Grade Graduation

This is Emily's testimony she gave at the 6th grade graduation ceremony.  She speaks of the trials of going through losing her Dad and how she got through them.  She did a great job and I am so proud of her.

Pictures:

I need to catch up on this blog once again but here is some recent news.  This was on Emily's Club Volleyball's website:

Team of the Week!

Week of April 29, 2013

Local Team of the Week: 12-Erin! A month and a half after their last tourney, Erin's 12 local took first in their 5 team pool! Every girl worked so hard and they worked as a team to come out and win 4 big matches! Coach Erin couldn't be more proud of her girls and thanks all her supportive parents. 

 

Emily is the second one from left next to her coach.  We finally found a sport that Emily really likes!

2012 In Review

Wow, it is going to be 2013 soon.  The world did not end in 2012.  We do not know the time or the place as it says in the Bible.  So what can I say about last year?  It was a good year.  I enjoyed time with family and friends.  I'm still running, biking, swimming and loving the Lord.  I know only have the bow business - http://www.justimaginethat.com.  Emily is 12 years old now.  She is such a good girl, very bright, very unique, confident and strong in her faith and beliefs and is playing volleyball.  Here is our year in review:

We started out the year at the sand dunes at Buttercup near Yuma, AZ. It is always a good time camping with Dave and Barb and friends.  Tony and the boys went with us.  They had so much fun that they came back in February.

Greg and Emily went ice skating in Temecula.  It was very enjoyable for me to watch them and Emily enjoyed her big brother spending time with her.

 



Emily had some friends over and we all went to Penny Pickles Museum.  We've been there several times and always find new things to look at.   June came to visit.  She is looking at moving here.  We went to the wineries and out to the ocean and visited.  Beth joined her for a few days also.

In February, we went back to the sand dunes.  I rented Emily a 4-wheeler.  Tony and Rikki bought Kru one.  It was so cute watching them.  Here is Tony, Kru, Emily and Rikki.  Also in February, I took the grandsons - Kru and Jax to the Wild Animal Park in Palm Springs.  They had a great time.  A few of my running friends did a 50 mile run around Malibu so I went to support them and site see.  It was a nice trip.

In March, I spent a lot of time at the park with the grandsons.  Emily had a speech meet and a band concert.  She also decided she was dressing all one color for a week - so one day would be gray, one would be pink, etc.  Here is her gray day.

In April, I took Emily and Greg snow boarding on the last day of the season for Mountain High.  I try to take her every year so we barely got it in.

 



Also in April we had a fun time at Easter Service at church.  The boys were all dressed up in their suites.  Emily and I went with friends to Knotts Berry Farm. 

Tony ran Baker to Vegas relay race so we all loaded up to support him and stayed at the Excalibur.

In May, Emily had a play at church.  I made these two poodle skirts.  It was actually kind of fun.  She is here with her two best friends.

 

Emily's class went to Catalina for 4 days.  We had so much fun.  She got to dissect a squid, we both went snorkeling (cold water), we went hiking, did fun skits, studied the tide pools and a host of other things.  It was a good experience.

 

Also in May, we visited the blueberry farm several times and I had a 60 mile bike ride in San Diego. Tony did an adventure race. He is so competitive and we had a blast watching him go through the obstacles.

 On June 16th, I celebrated my birthday by doing Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Michigan.  I have always wanted to do this one.  I had great accommodations, got a tour of the area and had a fun race.  Tony and Jax celebrated their birthdays on the 18th.  So nice for Jax to be born on his Dad's birthday.

In July, we got the privilege of going to visit Aunt Carla and family at San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington.  Bob, Jim's brother, was there as well as Lori, a long time friend.  I got to bike with my nephew, visit the Lavender farms, have drinks on a really cool boat, see whales and dolphins and eat at some great restaurants.  Emily did the zip line with Uncle Bob and her cousin Lindsey.  Carla and Chris are always gracious hosts.  We had fun playing card games, gathering drift wood, picking cherries, and more.  Also in July, we to Campland and visited Dave, Barb and company.  We met Joni and John Blackman from Owasso and visited with them on the beach.  Emily had a girl scout hike at Santa Rosa Plateau.  I enjoyed it as well.  We gave Rikki a baby shower.  Emily went camping with her friend and her family at a really pretty camping spot.  They took some great pics.

 

 

 

 

We also took a trip to Oklahoma to surprise Cody on his 30th birthday.  We had a great time and was able to see lots of friends that we had been missing. 

 

On August the 6th, my 3rd grandson was born.  Jet Russell Grisso.  I'm so excited and so were the boys.  Later in the month, Erika, my sister's daughter came for a visit and I was able to go to the beach with them.  She is such a delight!

 

September was very busy with a trip to Soak City and Knotts Berry Farm, Emily's school project and camping with Tony and Rikki.  We also went to the Apple Orchards with our life group.  Emily's school project was a 'how to' thing and she chose to build an archery set.  Here she is instructing the neighbor girls how to make their own.  Baby Jet is smiling.

 

 

In October, Emily turned 12 years old.  My goodness, she is growing way too fast.  We had a small gathering and it was a nice birthday.  I made her an owl cake and took her to eat sushi also.  She got a bow and arrow set from Tony and Rikki that she was quite proud of.  Greg got a great job in San Jose and moved there.  Kru was a knight, Jax was an astronaut and Emily was Catniss Eberdine for Halloween.  Granny and I took the boys to Knotts also.

 

 

November had a couple of birthday parties.  Rikki and I did a 50 mile bike ride - Bike the Coast starting at Oceanside.  I've done this the last three years.  For Thanksgiving, we went to June and Ben's place at Santee Lakes.  We all had a great time.  June moved to California!  She and Ben bought a travel trailer and are having a blast.  Emily, myself, Beth and Andrew did a 5K that morning. 

 



In December, I met June in Portland to watch her daughter's art presentation - absolutely incredible.  I am so proud of my niece.  She is so incredibly talented!  We took a trip to San Francisco right before Christmas, met up with Greg and did the tour bus thing.  It was great to see him and Shanna.  We ate at a Japanese restaurant.  It was fun watching the boys and Emily watch the show.  On Christmas Eve, everyone came to my house for present exchange and then Emily and I attended the church service at Calvary.  Whew!  I went through the whole year.  God has bless me in so many ways and I am so thankful that I had to good sense to know him and have a relationship with him and to trust in Jesus for guidance and salvation.  I would have to say that 2012 was a very good year.   Thanks for enjoying the year with me. 

 

 

 



Time

Ok, so it has been nearly six months since I updated this blog.  Where does the time go?  Life is busy; I can say that much.  We are doing well.  Emily is now in 5th grade and really enjoying school, her friends and life in general.  We still belong to the same wonderful church and love going there and being involved.  I still run, bike, swim.  I am training now for Grandma's marathon in Minnesota on June 16th, 2012.  It will be my birthday.
As for the last few months, I will summarize our events.  In July of 2011, we went to family camp with the church.  I borrowed Tony's camper and drove about an hour to the hills behind Irvine lake.  We had a great time.  In August, Emily and I drove up Pacific Coast Highway to San Francisco, Davis and Sacremento.  We are such good traveling buddies.  Along the way we saw beautiful untouched coastline, 3 missions, the Hurst Mansion, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Pier 51, did a trolley tour of San Francisco (that was the way to go), stopped at several beaches, visited my friends Jim and Zora Fowler (love those two).  We then went to Sacremento to visit the capitol building and see a historical fort.  It was a great vacation.  I can't tell you the beauty my eyes have seen here.  God is so magnificent and to think this is nothing compared to what is to come - just blows me away.
I did my first marathon in about 12 years at St. George Utah.  It was great.  I remembered why I liked them so much.  I also did several organized bike rides.  One of them was an all girls bike ride (the Goldilocks Ride) in Las Vegas.  Greg and Emily worked one of the sag stations.  It was so cool seeing them there.  They got a free shirt and they both rocked at their station.  I was diagnosed in November 2011 with stage 0 breast cancer - went through all that.  All is well.  My parents came to see us and June flew in.  I even spoke with my sister in Reno.  We had a great Christmas.  Tony and his family, Greg, Cody, Ben, Chris and his family, Nick, Dan and family, Dave and family were all over my house to celebrate.  Good times.    We ended and began the year with a trip to the dunes near Yuma to visit with Dave and Barb and their extended camp family.  Tony and Rikki went with us and had a blast.  So much so, they wanted to go in Feb. and meet the group again.  This time, they bought Kru a four-wheeler and I rented Emily one.  It was a great trip.  I always have fun with that group.  I did a half marathon in Surf City - Huntington Beach with a very good friend and her husband.  Fun times.  So after all that, I am going to try to keep this updated a little better.  It is already March.  God bless!!

Laughter

Yesterday, Emily wanted me to go swimming with her.  She said she would teach me how to swim underwater.  I can swim fine.  I do triathlons. I just cannot swim underwater.  My body just won't sink.  Anyway, I went along with her just to spend time with her.  It was so funny!  I was so pathetic.  And she is a little mermaid.  She has this funny underwater swim she calls the 'otter swim'.  She swims underwater on her back and crawling.  At one time she had me hold on to her arm like you would a 3-legged race so she could show me how to use my arms.  I laughed so hard.  I haven't laughed like that since Jim was around.  She made me quit looking like a blow fish when I went under.  It was so funny how she would react when I just didn't get it.  Anyway, yeah!!!, I learned to swim on the bottom of the pool.  It is so much fun!  We went again today.  I love my little girl.

Gardening 7/11/2011

I love to garden, love to grow things.  I find it very relaxing and fascinating.  I love the way growing things displays God's power and tender touch.  This year I planted oregano, thyme, basil, tomatoes (only 2 plants), okra and artichokes.  The okra was overpowered by the tomatoes.  I planted one heirloom and one roma.  We had so many tomatoes and they were very yummy.  I also planted cucumbers.  I harvested a couple of artichokes but decided they are too much work so I let the rest turn into flowers - beautiful purple flowers.  Anyway, here are some pictures.

Legoland 6/29/2011

Emily's friend Jessica and her family visited relatives here in California so we met them at Legoland and spent the day.  Emily adores Jessica who babysat her sometimes.  Jessica is a senior now and such a beautiful soul.  We love her and her family.  Her and Emily really click.

Here Emily is standing by a Lego replica of a woman with a baby carriage.

Emily and Jessica copying the display.

Lego owls on a branch.  Emily is all about owls.

Legoland has a wonderful display of Starwars!