End of Seminary and a Release

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

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

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

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.