Rachael will officially become a college student tomorrow. She is technically still in high school also though. She will be attending Austin Community College in their co-enrollment program for high school juniors and seniors. She is taking Spanish and US History. I think she is a little nervous. I know I am a little nervous for her. She has never been in a formal school setting except for seminary. She is a smart girl though and I know she will do fine.

I continue to be very frustrated by my weight loss efforts. I have been going to the gym regularly, every day but Sunday, for 3 weeks now and I have gained 2 1/2 pounds. My personal trainer said it is because I am eating more and exercising more and my body has to get used to it and realize it is going to get the food it needs consistently before it will start releasing the fat I have stored. I can understand the explanation, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. I'm going to stick with the program, because I know it has to work eventually. I also don't want the alternative which would be to continue at the same weight forever, or worse, gain this 50 pounds back.

I am so grateful that I got to go to Pennsylvania in March and that I got to see my grandmother while we were there. A few weeks ago, my mom told me that my grandma was having increased pressure on her brain from an age related problems. This is in addition to the cancer she has been dealing with. She was already on hospice for the cancer, but had several months to still live. With this new problem, she has gone down hill very quickly. She is now completely dependent on both my mom and Eugene to take care of her every need. She can't communicate any more and doesn't understand a lot of what people say to her. My mom is asked for us all to pray the end comes quickly for her as she is in a lot of pain and discomfort all the time. When she passes away, she will be sent to Utah to be buried. Her husband was buried in Utah when he died (my mom was only 9 when her dad died). I am assuming my grandma will be buried next to my grandpa. I am going to be flying to Utah for the funeral when the time comes. I'm glad to be able to go up there and see all of my family, I just wish it was for a better reason and that I had more time to spend up there. While I am there, I am going to go see my grandma Hess. This will probably be the last time I get to see her. She is 95 years old. She has had 2 major back surgeries this past summer. I was really impressed she did so well with the surgeries considering her age. I'm also looking forward to seeing my dad and step mom as well as seeing my mom and Eugene again. Like I said, I just wish it was for a better reason and that I had more time.