Determination

 Kellisa's Bedroom

Roseville, CA
December 14,2024

When we enter Kellisa's bedroom in the morning, we usually find her basically the same way we left her the night before. She might move around a little, but for the most part, she moves very little during her sleeping hours. 

Every once in awhile, Kellisa surprises us and this morning was one of those days. I heard she was awake and entered her room to help start her day and the picture to the right is what I saw. 

Kellisa on the floor, back against her bed with her mattress moved from its base, reading a book about reptiles with a giant smile on her face.

Kellisa spent the previous day looking through this book and at bedtime, I left it on her dresser. Kellisa's determination is inspiring. She had to get out of bed, scoot across the floor, reach up and probably knock the large, heavy book off her dresser before scooting back to her bed. I'm not sure why the mattress and blankets were so disheveled. 

Maybe we need a nocturnal camera to see what goes on in her bedroom after we leave for the night. 

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Thanksgiving on the Bay - 2024

California Hornblower

San Francisco, CA

November 28, 2024

We've lived far from any family since December 1999 and we've never really established a Thanksgiving tradition other than it will probably be something new and unique.  

We spent a few years enjoying the holiday in The Woodlands with the Buckinghams in the early 2000s, and one each with Lisa's family in Richfield, OH and Northbrook IL. We've done a little of everything from Thanksgiving in a state park in Florida, to a ski resort in Alaska, to a vineyard in Santa Rosa, and even an oceanside hotel in Monterrey.  Lisa has gone all out at home on occasion, and we've ordered a feast from a local restaurant a few times. Oh yeah, we ate hot dogs in Las Vegas one year.

So, we had no idea what we were going to do this year, but Lisa and I knew we wanted an experience instead of figuring something out at home. After some online research, we came across a boat excursion in the San Francisco Bay serving a full traditional Thanksgiving feast. Boom, it was decided in September and we booked our table with a window view.

The boat and entire experience was fully accessible for Kellisa and we were treated like royalty. We were greeted and walked to our table. I let them know Kellisa was in a wheelchair and we had the perfect table for our family. Did I mention we boarded first? Thanks Kellisa and crew of the California Hornblower. 

We were barely at our table when like so often happens when Kellisa is extremely excited, she had a seizure. It was a rough one that lasted 3 minutes and she spent the next hour partially paralyzed. Kellisa did not let it ruin her evening, so we didn't allow it to ruin ours either. We always follow Kellisa's lead. 

We enjoyed beverages: 

Amazing food:

Spectacular views:

And of course, some excellent dessert: 

And there was plenty of time for exploring, dancing, and just having some quality family time:

The evening ended with Kellisa taking over the DJ table and playing Miley Cyrus:

BOAT RIDES

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