Tyler's Appendectomy

Yesterday Tyler was at work when he called saying that he had a horrible pain in his abdomen. I knew something was really wrong because he sounded terrible and was sitting in his car in the parking garage resting during an important training. Within the hour he came home and I took him to the Urgent Care. They suspected Appendicitis there and sent us to the main hospital for a scan.
After about 5 hours of tests and waiting (THANK YOU to my dear friends who managed my kids all that time!) we found out that he did in fact need to go in for surgery! So about 8:30 they took him in for the first surgery of his life! He didn't seem too nervous, just anxious to get the pain to go away.

I waited for a couple hours in the empty waiting room, eating cheez-ITS and wishing I had a family member or friend there with me. I was very thankful to my cousin Chloe who was at my house staying the night so I didn't have to hurry home. About 10:30 they brought him back and he looked good. He was very woosey and sleepy, his voice hoarse from the tube in his throat, but he said he felt better!
I tried to stay the night with him there but that was a joke. Between nurse visits, the blood pressure machine and his snoring... I was making myself nuts. So I left around midnight.
Today he is good! His stomach hurts and it is hard for him to sit up and get around, but I think he will recover in no time. He was supposed to head out for a business trip to Germany on Sunday morning but we've cancelled that... and now his mom Shauna is flying in for the week to lighten the load. The kids and I are thrilled!!

To Eat or not to Eat

Sometimes feeding myself and children every meal every day can get old. At times I've wished for an IV drip that could just feed us at night while we sleep. This of course is because I have a couple picky eaters who take teensy bites... and it can all feel a bit tedious.

My Ashley is in a position now where she could stand to put on a few good pounds. I am working with her doctors to help her reach 30 pounds, but to do that I need to get LOTS of food into her! So I am writing with a request that you help me with some good kid food ideas. I am tired of our 'usuals' and I need healthy ideas that are high in calories, fat, whatever... just going to put the weight on.

I made bean burritos for us last night for dinner which was a no brainer, but I have never done that before and the kids (not Jake) loved them. That's a start. Hard boiled eggs, peanut butter spoons, pasta with LOTS of butter... that's what she's been eating.. and she LOVES fruits and vegetables, but that's not going to do it.

Anyway, Here's to her need to gain weight! - A problem many of us wish we had!

Jake's Morning

Ali told me that she hasn't seen Jake represented very well my blog recently, so I found some pictures on the computer to share of my baby. Here is a typical morning for Jacob.
Spiderman jammies, spiderman pillowcase (he's into spiderman)

A big "good morning!" from mommy and Ash

Pancakes! Yum.

Jakey is always happy to see us when he wakes up and brings lots of joy into our house! We love him so much!

I have a JOKE for you

I was just looking at my friend Jenna's blog and saw this picture on it which reminded me of my best joke, which I haven't told in a long while. I want to share it tonight:

There were two guys on the beach, a Pollock and a ripped guy. All day long the Pollock laid under the sun hoping to look good for the ladies, but the ripped guy was getting all the attention. When approached, the ripped guy surrounded by women said "Buddy, you just need to work out a little more." So the Pollock did.

The next day wasn't any better. "What else can I try?" he asked. "You need to work on your tan a little bit. You're WHITE!" he was told.

After tanning all afternoon the Pollock sat and watched as the ripped man enjoyed all the pretty ladies surrounding him. He was desperate, so he begged for anymore suggestions! In a quiet moment the ripped guy handed the Pollock a potato and whispered, "put this in your speedo!"

The next day the Pollock did just that but instead of women clamoring at him they screamed and ran away!

The ripped guy yelled, "No you idiot! The potato goes in the front, not the BACK!"

We're In

Family- Ty and I are officially registered now for the Freedom Run in Provo on the 4th. Just wanted to give you the heads up that we are already stretching out and looking forward to feeding you our dust. The link is on Chloe's website under her 'upcoming run's' section if you need it. See you there!

He's Got the BLUE!

Luke swam in his first swim meet this morning. Practice started last Tuesday, and he swims every single morning from 8:45-9:15 all summer long. Quite a commitment! Luke is enjoying it, eating much more than he usually does and even napped yesterday, so it is great!

This morning three teams met at the pool at 7am. There were lots of crowds and comotion and Luke was pretty quiet. It was all a lot to take in. He is swimming in the 5/6 year old boys heat and today was freestyle.

Short story short, my boy took first in his race!! He truly is a talented and natural little swimmer, it is so fun to watch him! Tyler and I were smiling as they gave him his blue ribbon. But the best part was when we got over to congratulate him, he was thrilled with his BLUE one... but told us that he wants to collect one of every color this summer! It was cute.

Last day of Kindergarten

This is Luke Dictating a message:
This is a picture of my school performance. The songs I sang were "The Kindergarten Class" (to the tune of the Adams Family) and A Kindergarten Poem. This is my class. Mrs. Cady was a great teacher.

Busy Boy

Typically this title would be best for a post about little Jake. This time though, it's Luke. One afternoon last week he was a very busy boy and found himself getting into a little bit of mischief!

In the first picture he is showing us the result of his efforts to shave with daddy's razor in the shower... luckily it wasn't too bad, he knicked the top corner of his lip a little bit, but he definately learned his lesson! When he came out of the shower to me with blood all over his mouth I freaked out and said "Luke! What happened!?" And he whimpered "Mommy...I did what you said never to do!"

The second picture is of some wall art he left me that same afternoon! I still have not said anything to him about it... my initial reaction was to be upset because he definately knows better than to do that.. but when I stopped to read it I sort-of appreciated it and the sweetness of his message to me. People always say kids grow up too fast so I guess I'm lucky to have a permanent little love note in the kitchen to enjoy for years to come.

Busy, busy Blogger

I have found a way to make my blog into a BOOK! Tyler's been wanting me to figure this out for a few months so that we can have a copy as a scrapbook/journal and I was surfing around some friends' blogs the other night when I went to Lizzies and found pictures of the Blog Book she just made. I linked over to BLURB.COM and downloaded their software and have been busy making my book ever since! I have completed last years...which was from August when I started my blog thru December. It takes some time to format it the way I want, but I am happy with the outcome. I still don't know what they are going to charge me when I go to order it, but I imagine it is about a dollar per page (mine is 54 pages long). That is worth it to me, not having to develop the pictures, etc... So, I will show you guys what it looks like on here when I get it. Hopefully in a few weeks. Talk to you later!

Ashley's Gymnastics Recital

Last Saturday Ashley participated in her first big on-stage performance. She was so cute in her costume and did a great job! Her class did a dance to the song "Don't wake the ladybug...sh..sh...sh!" and then showed off some of their tumbling skills. She was such a happy girl and Luke, Tyler and I had a fun night watching her! When we picked her up backstage after the show we found that our our little ladybug was very sleepy... but she was still up for ice- cream!

My Sweet Dad's Birthday

May 18 is my dad's birthday. He passed away just over three years ago now which is hard to believe. Today I have him on my mind and want to post a few of pictures of him. He was honestly one of the kindest, most friendly people I know; Always engaged in service to others and making people smile. I often tell my children how much they would have loved their grandpa and share stories of the many talents he had... magic tricks, juggling, writing in cursive backwards, hitting a golf ball straight up and catching it in his hat. He was always up for a hot bath and a popcorn party and he loved "canny" .... all of my kids' favorites!

He was also a great friend and father to me. Some of my fondest memories with him are during my high school years when we used to go running together at night. He always had interesting things to talk about and was a good listener too. I am lucky to have him as my father and also my amazingly strong, faithful and beautiful mother! Happy Birthday, Dad. We love & miss you!

Pregnant with Luke, his first grandson
His 49th Birthday party

Ashley's Preschool Graduation

Today Ashley graduated from Mrs. Daniel's fabulous preschool! What a year she had learning all about the alphabet and doing fun arts and crafts to go along with every letter! She loved taking her turn for show-and-tell and bringing snack, and especially loved when she got to take the class pet "Clifford the Big Red Dog" home! Mrs. Daniel is a very kind woman whom Ashley adores. A big Thank You goes out to her! And look at these cute graduation photos, it was very sweet.

Mother's Day - The Kids & Me

My Love is 30!

Today is Tyler's 30th Birthday! Wow! We've had a great weekend celebrating...
Friday night I had a party for him and all his friends and their families at a nearby park. We had lots of good BBQ catered in and my friend Jill made a delicious cake. Tyler loved it! He was able to reconnect with several old friends from PwC and just felt very loved, as he should!





Today, being Mother's Day and his actual birthday we had ourselves a quandary. Who gets breakfast in bed?! We had agreed upon getting some good breakfast food and making it for ourselves together, but he of course snuck out this morning and surprised me with the kids. Waffles, strawberries and whipped cream... homemade cards and wet kisses from Jakey (who also dumped the dirt from Ashley's potted flower all over in our sheets, how sweet...) Tonight we did presents and cake. It was a wonderful day!!



P.S. The reason I have "It's a Wonderful World" playing on the blog is because Tyler can do an amazing impersonation of Louis Armstrong! If you haven't heard it, ask him to do it for you next time you see him. Everytime I hear this on the radio I smile!

Dunked

Todd was in town again this weekend for work and got to spend a little time with us on Friday night and Saturday. Man I had some great laughs watching him and Tyler play pool basketball against each other! Whenever Ty and I play it, either one on one or against friends it turns into the funnest thing! Grabbing at any and all body parts you can find under the water, holding people back from the ball by their foot, it is always a good time. This time it was more fun to watch though! And, I did get in the water that day for the first time this season. Got tired of sitting in the heat so I surprised the kids with a "cannon ball!" They were thrilled!

The CiRcuS Family

I often think of my family as a circus family, with my children as the three rings of entertainment. Anyone who has sat behind us in church knows that we can be very amusing to watch, and I do try to keep a sense of humor by calling my kids "clowns" whenever I want to call them something worse!
Last night I was tired as usual when bedtime came and was doing the bath and jammies and teeth brush routine with the kids. I finshed Jakey up and went in to dress Ashley when all of a sudden I heard laughter from the bathroom. I knew instantly what had happened. I went for my camera before even looking in the bathtub, because I knew Jake was back in, fully clothed!
And that he was, happy as could be.

Once I started scolding him he looked down and realized what he had forgotten to do and climbed out. I really was frustrated but had to laugh when I skinned off his wet p.j.s and saw the fully loaded diaper. The fun never ends around here!

My Two Daughters (for 30 seconds)

Ashley caught Luke in a RARE and lucky moment willing to play something 'girly' with her! Usually she is the one always having to play boy stuff. And look at her face - she adores him!

My Sweet Boys

I love this picture from the Fathers and Sons campout -
how precious it will be as Luke gets older

Confessions of a Garage Saler

Since the kids were up bright and early this morning (6am) I decided to load them in the car and hit some garage sales. This is not something I do often, but we had a good time doing it! I spent only $27 and got a new wagon ($10 score), a cool toy for Jake ($5) and a doll house for Ashley ($2). My last find was the best, a Dora Talking Kitchen! This is exactly Ashley wants as a reward for not sucking her finger for ten days (we're on day five). They normally cost about $80 which would have been painful to pay since she already has a kitchen and plenty of play food, but we were going to do it in our effort to curb the habit. So I have been thinking about needing to buy that, and when I pulled up there the kitchen was. I did notice the Hispanic couple that was looking at it, seeming like they were going to get it so I got ugly. (and now I feel bad, and this is why I am writing about it...) I quickly saw that the sticker on it said $10, so I hurried to my wallet and right up to the owner and said "This is for the Dora kitchen". As she was getting my change I saw the couple pull a $5 sticker off another toy and switch it with the $10 sticker on the kitchen. I got my change. The transaction was done. Right at that moment the lady came up and said "I'd like the Dora kitchen" ... things unraveled and the lady got mad a me and said her husband had been standing by it and I just said "I didn't know", got it in the car and left.

Have I robbed the poor?? In hindsight I don't know if I would have done the same thing... I'll probably think of that couple every time Ashley plays with the dumb thing. I'm not sure it was worth it. Any thoughts?