Okay, so contrary to the title of this post, I haven't really forgotten about this blog and I really don't have a good excuse for not maintaining it, so let's see if we can get back on track. I know most of you have most likely seen my Facebook updates, but here's what has been going on for the Niederhausers since I last updated in February. Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will have to try and get some from Emily to add later.
- Washington DC: One of the places my parents have always intended to take Emily was Washington DC. They took the rest of us kids there when Emily was pretty young so they wanted to get to take her during a time when she could appreciate everything and understand the significance. Over Spring Break my parents and Emily and Trevor went and spent a week there. They were nervous about the logistics of my mom being able to travel, but overall things went pretty smoothly.
- Retirement Party: About a month before school got out my mom's school decided to throw a nice retirement party open house for her. They showed a video that the kids had put together for it and had some of the teachers get up and talk about how much they had enjoyed working with her. She was really nervous that nobody would show up, but there was a huge turnout and a long line of people waiting to talk to her. All my siblings were there except for Mandy who wasn't able to get work off, so it was neat to be there in person and meet all the people we've heard so many stories about.
- Grandma's Funeral: A day or two before my parents left for Washington DC my grandma Niederhauser tripped and fell in her bedroom. It was her second fall in a short period of time, but this time she broke her arm and found out she would need surgery. Without going into too much detail, they discovered at that time she had some other health issues as well. They went ahead with the surgery and then she went to a rehab facility. Unfortunately she never really gained enough strength to recover from everything she had going on and passed away in May. I am so grateful that I happened to be up at my parents' house a lot during that time and was able to visit her multiple times both at the hospital and the rehab facility. We will all miss her more than we can say, but we know that it was her time to go.
- Last Day of School: My mom was able to reach her goal of finishing the school year. It was not an easy feat, especially toward the end, but she did it. We are so grateful for all those who helped her be able to make that happen since it was so important to her.
- Trevor and Misty's Wedding: Trevor and Misty got married on June 10. Their wedding turned out really nice and we are so grateful to all of those who traveled to Lindon to show their support. We also had so many people make food for the reception which took a huge burden off of my dad, so thank you so much for that.
- Disneyland Trip: My mom decided that she needed to try and fit in one last trip to one of her favorite places...Disneyland! So in June she and my dad took Emily and Scott's family to the happiest place on Earth. My parents even splurged and spent a couple of nights in the Disneyland hotel. Although there were a lot of rides my mom couldn't go on, they were pleasantly surprised that she could wheel her chair right onto some of her favorites like It's a Small World and the Little Mermaid ride in DCA. They had a great time watching the parade and the World of Color show and being a part of the Disneyland Diamond celebration.
- Visits From Family Members: My mom comes from a very large family. Many of them have made an extra effort over the past few months to get to Utah and see my mom. I know she loves the visits, so thanks for all who have stopped in.
- Lake Tahoe: As I type this my parents, Emily, Scott's family, and a lot of my extended family are at their annual family reunion at Lake Tahoe. Yes, they camp. Yes, my mom is camping. I have talked to them a couple of times this week and they did end up spending one night in a hotel due to major rain and hail storms, but other than that my mom has managed to sleep in a tent. My Aunt Mary actually brought a bed for her to put in the tent, and I can't imagine it's been easy, but my mom was determined to make it happen and sounds like she has.
I know this is really long, but hopefully not too boring. They still have one more big thing planned in about a week, but I will post more on that later. As always thanks to everyone for their love and support.
