Let's jump in to 2023! On January 3rd, we decided to go skiing, very last minute. We went with the Krall cousins and grandpa Kevin. Rachael went skiing with some of the cousins while Dustin and Emma with aunt Carly stayed in the lodge. Emma had a blast as Dustin converted the bike trailer into a ski trailer by adding a pair of cheap skis on the bottom instead of wheels. We could push her around in the snow easily. It was awesome! 

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The following weekend was an emotional one. Emma was sitting at her chair and table and laughing, smiling, and "happy hands" while looking up at the ceiling above the fireplace. This happens frequently, and at that same spot. I asked her who she is talking to, and she said "person" in ASL. I overwhelmingly felt the Spirit affirming the truth of her answer. She is indeed talking and laughing with someone on the other side. I felt strongly that it was Bianca, Emma's late grandma, playing with her. She never got to meet grandma Krall. It was such a powerful feeling that it brought tears to my eyes. I wholeheartedly believe that children with special needs have a thinner veil into heaven. Especially Emma, as she can't talk and she's had lots of struggles. What a beautiful memory. 

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In mid-January, we had to make an urgent trip up to the Federal Way Seattle Children's. Emma needed her orthotics adjusted quickly. We had an easy in-and-out appointment last week to get her new AFO straps and tighten the curve of her upper plastic, by her shins. Everything looked fine until after we got home that day. She had two huge knots and pressure sores on each of her legs. She didn't act like it hurt at all. She even pinched it when she was feeling it on her leg. Thankfully, we got it all figured out and got some additional padding. Now that she was walking more, it was more urgent!​ Two days later, Emma got the "walking bug"! She wanted to walk non-stop, all day. She would get up off the floor to stand at the coffee table, walk/ cruise to the couch, end table, her toys, pick out a toy, and then walk back to her table and sit down. We would play with the learning toy (usually counting, letters, and reading words). After the toy, she would stand up and do it all over again. She gets so proud of herself! She's been doing this over and over, sometimes 4 or 5 times in a row. By the end, her legs are shaking, so we have to tell her to take a break. So proud of her! 

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On the 22nd, the Relief Society in church had me come give a quick thought- with Emma. The lesson was on "Faith in Every Footstep", so I talked about the faith needed to get through all of Emma's trials. Then the Relief Society president wanted me to demonstrate her walking. She did so well, with me holding her hands walking to the front row of chairs. To me, it didn't mean much as I see her walking all the time, but I guess there were tears from the women. They have been watching Emma her whole life and are so proud of how far she's come. This ward has been wonderful. 

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The next weekend, we wanted a break from all of our work, so we went to Tokeland, a beach town. There was a really old hotel and restaurant we went and ate lunch at. It was super neat as it was full of period antiques in this very old original building. The food was fantastic. The fun part is the owner had a very obese but very friendly yellow lab that walked around the restaurant. He would beg at each table. Emma loved Gus as she would give him food and laugh. We then went and walked along the beach. It was windy as usual, but a fun day trip!

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Later that week, Emma had a follow-up orthopedics appointment visit at Seattle Children's. They took x-rays of her spine and was pleased to hear how good she was doing with walking. They also told us, the orthopedic clinic is automatically sending the x-rays and visit summaries over to Dr. White (her previous doctor) in Denver. He would review them, and give them his recommendation. They are all doing this under the table, to give Emma a leg up on her care. It was fantastic, as we had planned to work with him anyway, if there was a question. Just a few days after, we went up to the Federal Way location to get Emma her new BAHA hearing device. Well, two devices- the main one and the back-up. It was a lot smaller! And more discreet too. We then drove up to Everett. Dustin had a work presentation later that evening. We drove to the lighthouse park there and walked on the trail on the beach. Then Emma wanted to be on the swing- for almost half an hour! She loved watching the other kids swinging beside her. We then went to Dustin's aunt & uncle's house and chatted for a bit, then to the Everett School Education building for the work presentation. Emma and I hung out in a separate room and she stood by a table and had fun looking at pictures on my laptop and playing with toys. Dustin did a great job on his presentation!

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In mid-February, Kevin (Emma's grandpa) wanted everyone to go clamming. So we drove to Pacific beach with the rest of the Krall family. It was a very cold and windy day, but thankfully not rainy. Emma hated walking down to the water, as the wind was whipping hard. Plus it was super crowded for the peak clamming season. We were shocked at how many people were there. We brought Baron and Luna and Carly's family brought their dog Rocco. Most of the time, the dogs had to be tied up because of the amount of people around. We made a U-shape out of our 3 cars and had some cover. The fire on the beach felt nice. Then the wind broke the wind shade and the park ranger told us our fire was too close to the grassy dunes. Even though it was February and wet. At least we all got food. We were there until dark, even though Emma and I didn't do any clamming. They actually didn't get many clams either. It wasn't the most fun trip, but it got us out of the house!

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On February 23rd, we got quite a bit of snow overnight. It was so beautiful! We went and took pictures as a family before it melted off. Then we went to Kevin's with Emma's cousins to sled on the small hill on his backyard. Emma went down once with Clark and loved it, but once was enough for her. The following week we went to the Point Defiance Zoo. Emma had fun as always. She loves the zoo- especially the penguins and the carousel. We had to take a break from life, as these last few weeks were really hard on all of us with family health diagnoses, deaths, grief, and stresses. I know Emma feels the tension in the air, and I hope she doesn't think it's because of her. Soon after, we had a family Easter egg hunt, even though it was 2 weeks before Easter (the only time everyone was able to get together). We had a nice ham dinner and a cute egg hunt. Emma walked all the way around Kevin's breezeway to find her eggs. She was so proud of herself!

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A few days later, Emma had a nutritionist appointment where we talked about her eating by mouth. Since she's eating so much, she's gained 2 pounds in 3 months- quite a bit for her. My formula for her eating by mouth was a little off. After much deliberation, I decided I needed to let go some of my need to count minutes, ounces, calories, etc. Her nutrition has always been so rigid, down to the mL and minute, which has been nice because se can ensure that she is getting everything she needs, every day, at the perfect amount. When she's eating more purees by mouth, it varies greatly. I'm happy she can do this and I want to help her any way I can.

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Now to our Mega Trip! Rachael's parents wanted to take all of us siblings on a cruise! We also did a pre-trip as well to Oklahoma City where Dustin served his mission. On April 7th, we woke up at 3:30 am and packed our last bags. Kevin picked us up at 4:15 am and drove to the SeaTac airport. After we checked in our bags, but before security, Dustin realized he left his phone in Kevin's car! He had to drive back and hand it to him. That was so stressful as we were cutting it VERY close. Thankfully, I had been in contact with the TSA cares agent so when we got to security, she pushed us and all our bags of equipment, and Emma in our wheelchair, through the lines up to the front! We would have missed our flight if it wasn't for that. TSA made it so easy on us with Emma's equipment. They even had a drug sniffing dog come out for her. Emma loved that. After we got to the terminal (with our 5 carry on bags, Emma's food bag and ventilator), we found out that the plane was delayed coming out of the cargo garage. Whew! We ended up leaving around 8:30 instead of 8 am. The airport let us board first, which was VERY helpful as we had so many equipment carry-ons. Emma was very excited and kept saying "plane". She didn't mind the take-off or touch-down and no ear pressure problems. She loved sitting on Dustin's lap to look out of the window. We thought she would be cranky, but she did fantastic. She fell asleep about half-way through for about an hour, sleeping on my lap. When she woke up, her lips were a little grey. We took her 02 at it was about 92% oxygen. We put her vent on and she perked right up. Sleeping will lower her oxygen a bit, especially on a plane. I am so happy at how well she did! We kept saying that we can't believe that we are on a plane with her. We landed around 2 pm in Oklahoma City. We were also the last ones off the plane so we could get all our medical bags out (and not hit anyone on the way out). It took us 2 hours to get a shuttle to the rental car place and get a car. The company was very badly run and because of the delay, we were upgraded to an expensive new car than what we reserved. We then drove to the Oklahoma City temple. It was a smaller temple, but very beautiful grounds. After a stop at a Harley Davidson store, we went to dinner at Ray's BBQ in Norman with the Wainner family. They are the family we are staying at here in Oklahoma. They were a family in the ward that Dustin served his mission at. They were so incredibly gracious and friendly. Emma LOVED all the cars and toys at their home for their grandson. She cried when we had to go to bed because she didn't want to stop playing. We slept in the guest bedroom upstairs while Emma slept on blankets on the floor- she prefers that to a bed. The next morning, we left at 8:30 to go to the Oklahoma City Zoo! It was fantastic! It had a bunch of things closed for remodeling, but even with that it was about double the size of the Seattle Zoo. I got to feed some flamingos too! Emma loved the carousel (as usual), she had fun watching the gorillas and tigers walk in front of the glass by her, and we even got to hear a tornado siren drill there. We actually got sunburnt because it was so intense, even though it was only 72 degrees. But it was fun to see. Afterwards, we went on Route 66 to a place called Pops 66. It was a fun stop with thousands of different kids of glass pop bottles. We bought some and had a HUGE ice cream sundae to share. It was amazing. Then we stopped at another member's house. This was a neat experience. On Dustin's mission, he got sent a letter from this lady that asked them to meet with her mom there in Oklahoma City. She was an older lady that didn't want to hear the gospel but invited the missionaries in for cookies and lemonade. She eventually took the lessons from Dustin and got baptized. After he was released, the husband was baptized years later. Dustin wasn't sure she would even remember him, but she did! We sat and talked for a while. It was neat to see Dustin and her talked about he conversion of Sister Reeves. We then went and walked around the University of Oklahoma. It had such beautiful ornate buildings. We had Hideaway Pizza for dinner- a place he remembered eating at on his mission. Then after talking with the Wainners some more that night, we went to bed. The next day, we left the Wainners at 8 am to drive to Galveston, Texas. On our drive we saw lots of oil rigs- something I've never seen before. We then made an impromptu stop at Turner Falls. Since it was Easter Sunday, lots of things were closed, especially here in the South. We stopped at the Dallas temple. The gates were closed so we couldn't walk around the grounds, but it was still neat. On our drive, we stopped at Buc-ee's gas station. This Texas store was HUGE! There were about 50 gas pumps and the store was the size of a small grocery store. And it was packed! It felt like Black Friday. But it was pretty fun. Lots of random products, food, drinks, food court, etc. They claim to have the cleanest gas station bathrooms and they were right. We bought some beef jerky and kettle corn and went on our way. For lunch, we stopped at Tucker Town BBQ- a small shack in the middle of no where off the highway. You had to order by knocking on the window of the adjacent food truck. This place got good reviews and I agree! It was the best BBQ I've ever had. I even got to try fried okra- not a huge fan, but not bad. There was a beautiful field of flowers next to it, so I went to take a picture. A couple of minutes down the road I found a tick on my leg- ew! After a bunch of inspecting my clothes, we were on the road again. We then dropped by the Houston temple gates and took more pictures. Then drove some more. We made another impromptu stop at Coopers Family Farm stand to eat some of their homemade fresh peach ice cream. It was SO good! We also bough some peach and blueberry fried hand pies for breakfast tomorrow. After 7 1/2 hours of driving, we made it to Galveston. It was a little dumpy in parts, but had the most beautiful historical buildings. We relaxed in our hotel the rest of the night at the Oleander Hotel. It was a fun place with modern/ funky rooms. It was comfy! We had the snacks we bought for our dinner. Oh, as a side note, we loved the people here in the South. The most friendly of them were in Oklahoma. Everyone rushed to get the door for us, to have a lighthearted conversation, to complement you- they were just wonderful. Texas people were not as friendly, but certainly not like Washingtonians, that's for sure. After a relaxing time in our hotel, we ate breakfast, packed up, and drove over to return our rental car, and took the shuttle to the port. The check-in process was a very organized chaos of 3 different steps. As usually, we got in a special handicap (and faster) line. And Emma loved watching everyone and loved the security dog even more. We finally got on the boat at 11:30 (one of the earliest times). That was nice, as we got to hang out in the main area with it being practically empty. Since we couldn't go to our room to drop off our bags just yet, we ate at the Blue Iguana Cantina (yummy Mexican) for lunch. Free too! Once we started moving and more people came aboard, we dropped off our bags and started to explore the ship. A trio of violinists played periodically though the cruise, and one really loved Emma. Emma would sit and watch them play from the balcony and when there was a break in her playing or a song change, the violinist would find Emma and give a big smile and they would wave hi to each other. This happened so many times. It was cute to watch. We finally were able to meet up with my family right before dinner, as they were doing their own things too.  We met at the main dining room and had a wonderful dinner with everyone. One thing we did every night was to watch the sunsets on the water. Every night the colors were different and uniquely beautiful. Also that first day I was pretty sea sick from all the rocking. We had some pretty bad waves that night too. Apparently the Gulf of Mexico is known to have some rough waves. We didn't sleep well that first night as we kept feeling the booms against the boat. We had one of the front most rooms too, so we got most of the movement. The next morning was a sea day, so we let Emma sleep in. After breakfast, we went to do a Harry Potter trivia that the boat was having. It was funny hearing the Jamaican crew member try to pronounce the names and a bunch of fellow Harry Potter nerds correcting him. I got 16/20 correct, and Dustin got 18/20. Three people tied for 19/20 so they all got lanyards with a Carnival boat pendant. Dustin was so close! While we were doing a trivia question, a lady sitting by us put a small rubber duck in the plant next to us. When asked what that was, she told us it's a fun tradition that families do on cruise ships is to leave small rubber ducks around for people to find, like a scavenger hunt. After she left, we let Emma find the duck. That was cute. For lunch, we had the Guy Ferraris' BBQ- very yummy but small portions, so we got an ice cream cone afterwards and sat in the sun for a while. Then we went to the theater to watch a fun raffle. They required the winners to be super excited, which was pretty funny. We didn't win anything, but got close! All the family decided to meet on the floor 3 lobby to take formal pictures at the boat photographer's stations. Then we went to dinner at the main restaurant, Sapphire. Emma got to eat ice cream for her "meal". That night was very restful and enjoyable. Emma slept under the desk on the floor on a bunch of blankets and was very comfy. The next morning was the Cozumel stop! I can't believe we are in Mexico. With Emma! Once we got off the ship, we were allowed to go around the Duty Free store/ walkway because of Emma in her wheelchair. Then we split into two groups- the walking group (with us) and the taxi group. We were to meet at the Bento Juarez Park. It was a lot longer walk than we thought- 3 miles in the heat was rough, but it was still pretty neat. We stopped by the Harley shop- but it was closed! Dustin was bummed, but we bought a shirt online later. We saw our first wild iguana at this small park. We saw a tourist woman crash her rented moped into a stop sign, and the locals all rushed in to help. The police with AR-15's came to the scene quickly too. On the walk, we passed some resorts, a house with glass and cactus glued to the top of a rock fence, the small local hospital, and the natural beach. We found a path to the natural rocky shore on the ocean and saw some urchins and some fish. It was exciting to Dustin as he recognized that it was wild and was the same as his tank. Then we got to the plaza and park and met with the taxi group. We did some shopping where I bought a dress and Dustin a Packer's bag and tiki face. Emma loved seeing things she recognized. It was an interesting experience to barter with the Mexican shop owners. They were ruthless too with chasing us out when we walked out to get us to buy more at a lower price. Then we walked to Colores y Sabres taco restaurant. We ordered a tropical smoothie that was so refreshing. We used the side of the glass to cool Emma's face too. My chicken tacos were good, even though the service was slow. It was nice sitting down in the shade. Then we got taxis to the Chaankanab beach resort. Becca and my mom went to swim with the dolphins while everyone else went to the tropical resort to go snorkeling. Wow, it was so beautiful! Perfect sandy beaches, grass cabanas, and pruned palm trees. Right out of a postcard. We went to change in our swimming suites then I went to go snorkeling with my brothers. The water felt so nice after being so hot. It was tough to learn at first, but I was able to relax and breathe in a rhythm in the snorkel. It was amazing to see all the fish swimming around, the coral, and being underwater in general too. After a while, I went to sit with Dustin and Emma under the cabana. She had fun playing on the table and in the sand. Then I took her out to sit on the stairs in the water. She actually loved kicking her feet in the waves. That excursion was so much fun! We packed up and finished by 3:30 so we could be on the boat by 4, as it leaves the port at 4:30, we got there at 4:20- whew! After a get together, I went to meet up with Dustin and Emma. There was an announcement over the speakers that the ship is turning around to Cozumel again as there is a medical emergency. My brain panicked as I thought that Emma was having an emergency with Dustin and I wasn't there. I full-on ran around, up and down floors to find them. In the room, in the halls, cafeteria, outside, and I decided to go to the medical floor on floor zero. I was so panicked and out of breath as I approached a team of 10-15 crew members outside the medical room. I asked them who it was for, and they told me it was a crew member. Wow- a huge relief. I still wandered  around until I found them. They were headed back to the room after eating dinner. We then all went to sit outside and watch the sunset. In the morning, we found most of the family eating breakfast at the buffet. The time change was confusing- we were delayed 1 hour to the port due to dropping off the crew member at Cozumel, and we went through a time change. We found out that we actually stay at ship time (Galveston time), not the time zone we are actually at. We then were able to get off on the port of Progresso, Mexico (on the main land). It took us a while to find our shuttle bus, but we finally found Fernando. He took us on the 1 1/2 hour drive to the Uxmal Mayan ruins. When we got through the gates, main ruin- the Pyramid of the Magician- was right in front. It was so huge and majestic! We then walked around all of the ruin grounds. It was amazing. So much history! It was a reverent and wonderful experience, although very hot a humid. It was about 95 degrees and so intense. We saw so many wild iguanas too. It was a huge challenge to get Emma and her wheelchair up all of the ancient stairs, but thank goodness for my brothers and dad helping us. On the way out, Dustin even got stung by a Mexican bee. Then we went back in the shuttle while Fernando took us on a 45 minute drive. We went through this small village with some of the most rural, destitute, poverty-stricken homes/ huts I've ever seen. The shuttle dropped us off at a local park with a cenote. This is a hole in the ground to make a cave, with water on the bottom, like an underground lake. There was a large staircase going down into the hole to the lake. The humidity was at 100% in there and we were already so sweaty and hot, so the water felt amazing. The lake was so clear and beautiful. The rocks in there were covered with fossils. Dustin and Emma hung out on the mid-landing on the stairs and watched us swim, even though they were sweaty. On the drive back to the boat, Fernando had to stop on the way to his favorite taco stand, but they were closed. So we bought Mexican sodas to try instead. Everyone wanted to go other places to eat for dinner, so Dustin, Emma and I went to the normal Sapphire restaurant. It was nice and romantic as we sat by the window and watched as the boat left the port. We even tried fried alligator meatballs- it was surprisingly yummy, especially with the Cajian spices mixed in. After dinner we watched our nightly sunset. The next day, Friday, was a sea day. We had to travel all the way back to Galveston. We all slept in, had breakfast at the buffet, then met my family for mini-golfing. Emma was so excited the entire time, exclaiming and pointing to every ball. She even did some holes too! Even though it was morning, it was still very hot and humid. Afterwards we walked around the ship and watched a crew member do an ice block carving to an eagle. We then met my family at a fancy Italian restaurant for lunch. Then a few of us did the ropes course. The harder of the path was more difficult than I thought it would be. Then we sat in the shade on the deck and relaxed by the waves until dinner. My brothers ordered a huge sushi boat for dinner, and Emma loved playing with the boat after they finished. For dessert, the crew members did a song and presentation with the baked Alaska on flames. It was actually pretty impressive. While we were eating dessert, Dustin asked everyone to name their favorite part of the trip. It was a good ending. After dinner and some relaxing, we saw one of the boat photographers that fell in love with Emma. She had seen her a couple of times and loved saying hi. I wish I had gotten her name! She said she found a cruise duck that reminded her of Emma (a duck holding a flower) and took a picture of Emma and her with the duck on her personal phone. It was so sweet. She gave Emma a hug and said goodbye. We walked down the hall about 5 minutes, and we noticed she dropped the duck! She's been doing that when she's' done with things recently, just dropping it. We looked for a bit, but couldn't find it. It took us a while to get to sleep that night as there was a big party with music and drinking. The next morning, we could sleep in as we booked in a later debark time. We had breakfast burritos at the Blue Iguana and laid out at the recliners in the main area. We watched people leave until it was pretty much empty- just like when we got on. Then we waited 2 hours outside the port building for our shuttle. We were super anxious as we weren't sure of who and if they were going to show up. They did eventually, and we made it to the Houston airport. It took us a while to get into the terminal, but we made in in time for a late lunch/ dinner on the plane. This time we flew with United Airlines. We got on the plane first again which was so nice with all her bags. The flight was easy! It was about 4 1/2 hours, and Emma just played at looked out the window. We put her on her vent this time, but she didn't sleep. Kevin picked us up at SeaTac at 8:30 pm and we got home around 9:45. It was a very long day. But we did it! We went on planes, a cruise ship, and to Mexico with Emma! We had no idea this was even possible. It was a stressful, but a VERY fun and memorable trip. I'm so glad we got the opportunity to do this.

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Now at home, we went with Grandpa and Sophie to an Old Timer's Fair in Winlock mid-May. It was actually pretty fun. Lots of fun vendors, old antique logging stuff, food, and demonstrations. There was a huge bumpy blow up slide that Emma and I went on. It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be! Emma liked it for the first few moments, then wasn't too sure after that. She did absolutely love the mini logging display. It was a trailer that was full of toy or mini logging industry trucks. They had a huge scene set up of how the logging process works. It was neat and Emma loved it! The next Sunday was Emma's first day back to primary since her RSV in November. It was so nice to take her back! 

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On June 2nd and 3rd, we went camping in the San Juan Islands with Carly's family, Sophie, and Kevin. It was a ton of fun! It was neat going on a ferry for the first time. After we got to our campsite, had lunch, and set up, we then went on a hike around Lime Kiln State Park. We saw a beautiful lighthouse, cliffs into the ocean, wild cucumbers, and played with the rocks on the beach. Emma loved throwing them in the water and hearing them splash. That night was a nice and relaxing one. We had a good dinner and some creative smores. Emma did really well sleeping in the tent. She didn't mind all the blankets at night. The next morning we went to the South end of the island to see if we could see the orcas. I guess there is a resident pod of orcas that swims by every now and then. We didn't get to see them, but it was still a nice walk on the rocky beach. After some lunch, painting, and packing up, we went home. Everyone else stayed an extra night, but we knew Emma probably wanted one night. It was a good experience camping on the Lakedale campground, even though it was packed with people. The island is neat too, although a little overrated. 

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In mid-June, my parents and grandpa VanGorkum came to visit. My dad had this bike race up Mt. St. Helens that Saturday. We drive up to Toutle to meet him when we finished then drove up to the 2 visitor centers. One was a privately owned gift shop/ museum full of artifacts found after the Mt St Helens eruption and lots of Sasquatch stuff. The second was an official visitors center that had an elk lookout. Emma liked the little coloring pages and activities that the visitors center had for the kids. 

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Now for Emma's 6th birthday! She had fun opening up her presents from us earlier that day. She also LOVED her theme- Bluey! The Blue Heeler Australian Shepherd dog kid's TV show. It's even fun for us to watch. She loved her Bluey- themed cake, signs, and tablecloth. When the family came over for her party, we had 4 different types of BBQ ribs and all the sides. Emma was so excited to open presents. She kept saying "open boxes" and "balloons" for days after that. She also thought the candles with flames on the cake was funny. Silly kid. I'm glad she's getting more excited about these things. 

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A week later, we went on a hike! We went on the Big Creek Trail hike in the Olympics. It started out a little strange walking through the campgrounds. Then it was a 2.5 mile hike straight up! The elevation gain was tough. We got to the top and took a break by the creek. At that point was a connecting trail back down hill. It was actually a tough hike. Emma got super cranky the last 1/3 of the hike, so we held her in our arms on the way down instead of the hiking backpack. It was rough, but still fun. A good workout for sure!​​​

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July 4th was a memorable Independence Day. The week before, I invited our neighbors, the Blannings, to our ward breakfast and flag raising. It was a nice morning and a good breakfast with great conversations. We were invited to their event later- a vendor/ music event at the military base. Aaron had to ride with us as we didn't have 2 forms of ID (he was military) so he could let us in. It was strange being on the base- it was like a mini enclosed city. We ate good food and talked on a park blanket in the grass. It was a nice evening. We didn't stay for fireworks, but I'm glad we did it! 

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We have noticed that Emma has developed some funny and interesting personality traits. She now gets embarrassed. When we sing her favorite songs or sayings, she will hide her face and say no. It's kind of funny. She also doesn't want to get her toys out. She has a meltdown when toys gets taken out without her permission or when something is just slightly off. Its' been tough to get her to do anything as she just wants things to be put away. Hopefully it's just a phase. 

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On July 14th, we went to the beach to celebrate my 32nd birthday. We decided to go to Long beach, as it's advertised as the longest beach and it's one of the last beaches in Washington we've never been to. The town is a fun and cute beach town. It had an interesting place called Marsh's Free Museum- a gift shop/ curiosity shop. Lots of strange things! Then we went to eat at a nice restaurant called the Lost Roo. The food was really good! We had a chocolate lava cake. Then we went on a hike at Leadbetter Point- boy that was interesting. The hike to the beach was through a forest for 2 miles, and it ranged from walking on sand (in the forest!), mossy tree roots, and LOTS of mosquitoes. They were the worst we've ever seen here in Washington. So bad that when we stopped to give Emma a suction, we would get swarmed. A lady even had 20 plus attached to her sweater! Emma was miserable as she was so hot under the mesh cover on the jogging stroller, but we couldn't open it up. There was lots of complaining from her. But we had to really walk fast to stay out of the mosquitoes. It was awful. When we finally got to the beach, it was a long walk on the deep sand to get to the water. It was really strange as most of the beach was off limits due to a snowy plover bird resting area. We sat on a blanket on the beach for a while, but couldn't stay for too long as the wind was rough. Emma just wanted to hide in our shoulder the entire time to get away from the wind. On the way back, we decided to go a different way. There wasn't much forest, but no sand, and most of the way was through the tall beach grasses, away from the wind. And no mosquitoes! It was beautiful to watch the grass in the breeze and see the water. I'm glad our trip ended on a good note! 

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At the end of July, we went to the pancake breakfast and Chehalis fest with Kevin and Sophie. We took it easy that day. Emma loved the mini train setup in the historical museum. The following week we went to Dosewallups State Park. It was mid-week and Carly's family, Kevin and Sophie were camping there, but we just went up for the day. We got to their campsite and hung out for a bit around lunch time. Then we went on a short walk to the river. It was beautiful! We stuck our feet in the water while Carly's family went swimming. Emma enjoyed throwing rocks in the river. On our walk back to the campsite, we stumbled on a huge herd of elk! They were mostly females with lots of babies. We were very close and they didn't seem to mind. It was a neat experience. After relaxing some more, we then went to the shoreline on the Puget Sound. Kevin, Dustin, me and Emma sat under shade while the rest of them went crabbing just off the shore. Emma thought it was so funny to see all the row boats and played with an ore for a while. Right before dinner we headed home, while others went to their campsite. I'm glad we could spend the day with family!

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In mid-August, Emma got to go swimming! Kevin was house sitting or one of his friends on vacation who had a pool. He said that Kevin's family could swim in it as it was around 90 degrees that week. At first, Emma cried and hated it. But eventually, she realized she could kick and have fun. And it was nice and cool. She sat in a floaty while I walked next to her. It was pretty stressful to make sure no water got near her trach, but she was okay. Next time I need to remember to sit in on a towel or something to raise her up out of the water a bit more. That night, Emma got to sleep in a new "big girl bed"! She was getting a little uncomfortable in her crib, so she has a twin bed now, even though she is still so small. We needed it to be a custom made as she doesn't need the bed to be super deep and it needs to be higher up off the ground for us to suction her. Lastly, it needs to have a space for her vent, suction machine, and lots of medical storage. So Dustin built one! It was painted pink with a storage shelf underneath and a removable shelf on top. It's perfect for her. She kept talking about her new "G" bed for days as we had given her some Green Bay Packers sheets. That mattress is so much more comfortable for her, and she loves it!

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The next day, we went to the Southwest Washington Fair in Centralia. We had fun walking around the vendors, seeing the model train, the bees, big races and good food/ snacks. Emma's favorite part was that a costume character of a dalmatian that walked around with the fire marshal. She got to say hi and give him a high-five, then got a sticker. She was talking about the high-five to the dog for a while after that.

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Later that week, we FINALLY got her new wheelchair! It took them 5 months to get approval and the order from insurance. It's smaller to fit her but doesn't fold up as easily as the older one we bought used. But she can easily maneuver it now! Talking about moving around, Emma walked a ton this Sunday during church. During sacrament meeting, she walked to the end of the pew and kept holding on the pews while walking down the isle, saying "going home". We tried to be reverent, but it was much too funny and she was walking really well. One member later texted me a picture of her walking too. What a silly kid,

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Since our 12th wedding anniversary is on the 26th, we went for a fun trip. We took a day vacation to Tillamook and Oregon beaches. The Tillamook cheese factory was fun, but definitely different than what we remember growing up. Not as much stuff to do, but more retail shopping. Emma really enjoyed "feeding" the calf model. After buying some cheese curds and eating some delicious ice cream, we walked down to Rockaway beach. We got our kite flying up high and Emma laughed and absolutely loved the kite. She had fun taking it down too a little later. She also did a great job at playing in the sand with a little shovel and pail. She kept trying to wipe the sand off her as she was playing, but at least she was willing to try it. After walking around the shops, we went for lunch at this very good Mexican restaurant. The drive back through the coast was nice. Plus we stopped by Clark's Restaurant for a really good milkshake. What a fun way to celebrate our marriage with our amazing Emma in tow!​​​

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The beginning of September had a crazy whirlwind trip. We wanted to do an Idaho trip this year, but we only had 4 days available. We did it anyway! On Thursday, we left at 6 am and got to my Aunt Nadine & Uncle Carl's house around 5:45. Emma did really well on the drive. We had dinner outside on their deck over the river. We got to talk and have a quiet evening for about 3/4 of the dinner, until all of my cousins (their kids) and their family came over unexpectedly. It was good to see them again and to finally meet their wives and kids, but it did get loud and crazy. They wanted to take the boat out for a while, so we went inside as it got cold anyway. We visited some more and ate some of my aunt's peach pie. It was a good evening, but it was nice to sleep! The next day, Friday, was our visiting day. We got up at 6 am and drove to Idaho Falls, about 2 hours away. On the way, we stopped to see how the Burley temple was doing in construction. Then our next step was the East Idaho Aquarium, as usual. Dustin's old work buddy and friend started and owns the aquarium and always offers us a free VIP tour before hours. We had a blast. Emma fed seaweed to the salt water fish, fish pellets to the salmon, shrimp to the stingrays, lettuce to the iguanas, threw eggs to the crocodiles, and  her favorite- the budgie birds. We were in the enclosure and they sure were hungry! There were SO MANY birds! They were all over our arms and heads. Emma didn't have food so they just flew around her. She thought that was so funny! She had "doctor" fish nibble her hands and got to see the baby sharks- just a few days old. The neatest experience was the up close encounter with the sloth. She was close enough for me to pet and Dustin to feed mango to. That was a lot of fun. Then we drove to Rexburg and took a drive around the city. Things have changed a lot but at the same time, not at all, if that makes sense. We stopped by the BYU-I bookstore and got a few shirts and the plant store in the greenhouse. After eating at the "Righteous Slice"- a new popular pizza place- we walked around campus and the town a bit. Then we met my brothers Michael and Daniel and G's Dairy for ice cream. Dustin and I used to go there frequently as students, so that was fun. It was good to talk to them and catch up. Then we drove a half hour to St. Anthony to see Veeanne, who was living at her daughter's house. I'm glad we got to see her. Then we went the 45 minute drive to Jessica's home in Blackfoot. It's a new home they just built, so that was fun to see! We talked for quite a bit and got to meet her 3 boys- one I haven't been able to meet yet! It was so good to catch up. We had a small hamburger dinner at their home then left for the 2 hour drive back to Burley. When we got to Nadine's and Carl's house at 8:30, they were gone to a grandkid's football game. But it sure wasn't quiet there! Some of the cousins took the boat out and was having a party. After a while, we were able to sleep. The next morning, my aunt and uncle were gone for a service project, so we made ourselves breakfast, packed up, and headed to see my grandma at the nursing home. It was a good visit with her, even though Emma got cranky the last half hour. My grandma seems to be doing well. Then we left to drive the 6 1/2 hours to Richland. We met my mom at my Grandma VanGorkum's gravesite, which I haven't been able to see yet. It was beautiful. Then we followed my mom to the park where the stake was having a carnival activity. Emma liked the water bucket activity, the magnet fishing, , and laughed the hardest when people were putting things away at the end and saying "all done". She was a little goofy from being tired too. Afterwards we went to Dairy Queen for ice cream then home. The next meeting we went to church, then home for lunch. After goodbye's we left for home, 4 hour drive. Whew! What a crazy fast trip! 

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At the end of September, we were able to go to the Washington State Fair (Emma likes her fairs!). Emma had fun seeing all of the animals, espeically the big steer and the 2 baby cows. She also had fun sitting in a demo bumper car in the museum area. And as always, she loves the "silly farm"- the interactive kid's tour for making food and filling a fake lunch box. We had some delicous food there too!

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On October 3rd, Emma had an Endocrine appointment to discuss her Increlex (the growth hormone). The doctor didn't' want to say either way if it was working or not, but left it up to us to decide. We knew for a couple of months that it wasn't working. Her measurements of height and weight have been unchanged for the last 4-5 months. So we asked to stop- and we did! Two weeks after, we made sure that she didn't have any withdrawl effects, then we got rid of it all- the meds, needles, and sharps container. Emma had a blast putting the capped and unused needles in the sharps container and said "all done" each time until they were all gone. I'm glad she could participate in ending it. It's been so wonderful not stabbing her every morning and night with the needle, giving her bruises, having to keep the medicaiton refrigerated when out and about, and just remembering to do it. We did the shots for 2 years! Now it's past us.

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On October 28th, we went to the ward Halloween chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat. It was a ton of fun! Carly's family and Kevin came too. We submitted a chili bowl, but didn't win any awards. I thought it was one of the best tasting though! Then it was Emma's favorite part- the trunk-or-treating! Emma's wheelchair was made to look like a construction vehicle- part excavator, part digger. We made the items out of cardboard, PVC, a little wood, and spray paint. Wheel covers, cab cover, digger on back, and a large bucket in front. We added some pink accents and a princess crown on top to girl it up a bit. Emma had on a construction shirt and a helmet. We too, had helmets and orange vests to complete the family costume. Easily one of Emma's most favorite Halloween costumes. And, as always, she was the center of attention in our ward. She loved going from car to car and having people put candy in her construction bucket. She did a good job saying "trunk-or-treat" and "thank you" too. She loved seeing all the other kid's costumes too. She had fun seeing others being silly and recognizing the costumes. Carly and Michael were dressed as Costco sample workers and Emma thought they were hilarious too. The next evening we went to the Veteran's Memorial Museum's trunk-or-treat. It was nuts! There were over 2,000 people that came. The parking lot was crazy and the lines were long. But it went fairly fast. They even had the military passing out candy in vintage war uniforms inside the museum. We noticed that most people left with about 3/4 full buckets, but Emma had about double the amount. It helps to be a cute little girl in a wheelchair! The costume design was perfect which gave us more candy too. We even had 2 separate people from the Chronical, the Centralia's newspaper, take our picture and info. We were later featured in the online articles. That was neat and a fun Halloween!

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On the 31st, Dustin didn't have any work appointments, so we drove the 3 hours to get to Sequim to visit the Olympic Game Farm. We were the first car, it was really cold, and car attendance was low as today was Halloween. So the animals were out and very hungry! We tried to prep Emma about what was about to happen. We told her lots of animals will be eating out of our hands in the car windows, so she knew what to expect and not shut down. We first saw the llamas, yaks, and even a zebra! Emma sat on my lap as we slowly drove through the park. The animals were very hungry and loved the park's special bread. Emma even fed a couple of animals too, getting slobbered by big tongues in the process. She kept feeding one, looking at her hand, then proceeding to wipe in on my leg- thanks Emma. She hates anything dirty on her. She giggled at the bears, as we had to throw the bread to them. They weren't allowed to get close to the car. The deer and elk were relentless. That was the most overwhelming part for her were the huge elk heads. They weren't afraid of sticking their entire head in the car windows. I started to run low on bread, so I just started to pet them instead. They didn't mind a good nose scratch either. It was a fun experience! The bison weren't super interested this morning, but that was okay. The drive though went pretty fast, so we asked Emma if she wanted to do it again. She said "all done" with a smile, so she was satisfied. So we then went for a chilly walk along the coastal cliffs on the Dungeness Spit. We then toured the Dungeness Wildlife Refuge building and saw a bunch of animal taxidermy. It was a long drive back, but we had a fun day vacation!

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In the beginning of November, we went to the Seattle Zoo. Dustin had no work appointments again (they were re-doing their computer system). Emma started out happy, but ended up being a grump. She really didn't want to be there anymore for some reason, but Dustin and I had fun anyway. It was gorgeous there with all the fall leaves, especially with the well landscaped zoo trees. The zoo was almost complete in installing their Christmas zoo lights and "float" type decor. It was so beautiful and colorful. Emma liked watching the rhinos in the building, then when they decided to leave for outside, the thought that was funny. The neatest part was that we got to see 2 grizzly bears wrestling and playing in the water, standing up. They were right up against the glass! 

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At the end of November, we got a call that Emma was officially approved for the Make-A-Wish program! Now we have to decide what she wants to wish for. We know she would love a trip- so it's either Disney World or a Disney cruise (she loves Disney). We have to wait until she is 7 years old in June (according to policy for the cruise at least), but that works because her almost-here-little-sister will be a few months old by then. Plus it will be before the RSV season. We have time to decide, but it's so exciting!

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On December 2nd, we drove to the Gifford Pinchot National Forest with Kevin and Sophie to pick out and chop Christmas trees. Last year we were tromping through the snow, but this year was pouring rain. It didn't take us long to pick out the trees we wanted. Emma and I sat in the back of the covered trunk and watched them cut them down. It ended up being a bigger tree than we thought! But more full than last year. The following day we decorated the tree and house for Christmas! Emma is REALLY excited for Christmas this year. She kept saying Christmas and open presents, socks (stocking) and exclaiming over all the different kids of ornaments. She also loved the HO train around the tree and kept asking Dustin to turn them on. Daily, she talks about how excited she is for Christmas. A week later, we went to the Hillside Farm venue to see Santa and Mrs. Clause. Emma was pointing everywhere- to the barn, lights, Christmas tree, stockings, trains, and everything! She did really well sitting and taking a picture with Santa. She had so much fun! The following day was our ward's Christmas party. Carly's family and Kevin came too. It was a nice and big buffet dinner and had our Christmas program. I played the violin for two songs, and we had a live Nativity play. The next day we made graham cracker "gingerbread" houses. Emma had a ton of fun and loved putting the candy on where she wanted. It was too funny. The next week, we went on two separate drives around the city looking at Christmas lights. Emma kept exclaiming and talked about it for days afterwards. Now for Christmas Eve! We made ribs and home made French fries. We invited Kevin over for dinner as Sophie was out of town. Then we all watched "The Santa Clause" and then "The Nativity". Then on Christmas morning, I got up early to make our new annual tradition of bread pudding for breakfast. It tasted amazing! After waiting for Emma to wake up, we opened presents. Emma was so hyper and was exclaiming a ton. She had so much fun and watching us open ours. It was pretty funny. We had a relaxing day then went over to Kevin's for dinner along with Carly's family. We had a nice roast dinner, then opened gifts. It was a nice evening. The following day we went to uncle Keith and Donna's house with the rest of the family for a fun traditional dinner. We did Christmas crackers- the English tradition. It was fun to try something new! Then after gifts to the kids, we did an adult white elephant gift exchange. Then a few days later, Emma got a last Christmas present. She got a personalized box of car related things from Toyota, since she couldn't have the car poster from the dealership when we bought our car last month. So the headquarters gave her 2 Toyota-branded blankets, a teddy bear with a Toyota shirt, a car puzzle, and a bunch of stickers. She absolutely loved it! What a kind gift!

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