Falling down or apart?

this picture is similar to what I had to have done to me yesterday. I almost fell out of a tree in September. I caught myself with my right arm and had to hang there in order to not crush Jaxon who was playing beneath me. Needless to say, it caused some damage to my right arm. I have been having pins and needles ever since. There has also been some numbness. I let it go because I thought that it would eventually get better. When I saw some blood on my hand about a month ago and discovered that I had smashed my finger but not felt it because my hand was numb. So after a month of visiting a variety of doctors, the final verdict is that I have 2 bulging disks in my neck that are pressing down on nerves and causing the pain. Yesterday I had a cervical nerve root block done. They insert a needle through your neck to the nerve root in your spine and put a steroid in it. This is similar to a cortisone shot, but a little more of a process. They have to use an xray machine to guide a needle to the right spot. A little scary especially when they told me to hold still so that they didn't hit the main artery that is right there. The procedure wasn't as bad as I expected, but once the numbing wore off I was miserable. Today I feel like someone has jumped up and down on my neck and head. I am told that it will get better, but today I think I would rather have the pins and needles. The bad news? I have one more disk that the doctor wants to do this to.

Never, never, never land!

I got to go away for a weekend with my friend. It was just us girls. After going the back way to get to our destination, we finally arrived in Never, never, never land. My first question was, " do you hear that?" I was referring to the silence. We brought movies and games, but spent 2 days watching tv as neither of us have ours hooked up to satellite or cable. We rearranged the furniture and then spread the table with all the spread so that we wouldn't have to get up except to use the facilities.

Our rearrangement of furniture.

some of the goodies we brought.

Our version of heaven. The reason for the title, we NEVER heard anyone say MOMMY!, NEVER had to tell anyone to be quiet, and NEVER had to do anything that we didn't want to except pack up and leave. We really appreciated the husbands who made this nice little get away possible. Next time we will take them with us so that they can enjoy NEVER, NEVER, NEVER land too!

Fruits of my labors!

It is definitely the harvest season. We have been busy at our house bottling and freezing and eating whatever fresh foods we can get our hands on. In this picture are the foods we have done in the last 2 days with the exception of the peaches in the back which were done a week ago. From left to right the contenders are: back row - applesauce, strawberry jam, chicken and sliced peaches. Front row - peach jam, salsa and bread. The good news is that it all tastes very good and we haven't gotten tired of it yet. We have pears, green peppers and more tomatoes and jalapenos in our garden that we need to do. We forgot to put the tomato sauce that we made last week up here. We have also shredded a bunch of zucchini and frozen it, plus used it as filler in our taco meat. Kids had no clue it was even in there. I am wondering if I could cube it like hashbrowns and use it that way. Think the kids would ever figure it out? If anyone has any fruits or veggies that they don't have time or energy to put up, let me know and we will gladly take them off your hands.

All tuckered out!

This was what the little man looked like 10 minutes after he got home from preschool. He loves it, but I guess stretching his brain muscles makes him extra tired because he asked me if he could lay down on my bed and take a nap.

I am Freddy Freeloader!

Some of my girlfriends, well okay, most of my girlfriends are trying to eat healthier and are working out. I am into the eating healthier, just not the working out so much. Give me a volleyball, basketball, softball or futsol (yes, Amy, I do like it) game any day. That is my kind of workout. I just have so much going on that I get tired just looking at my running shoes. I do wear them to play the above mentioned games. My girlfriends are getting together for lunch to support each other in their endeavor of this healthier eating habit, but they don't do sugar! I have started reading labels and everything that I like has sugar in it, even sour cream! I am all about eating more fruits and veggies plus having smaller portions, but I like my chocolate zucchini cookies and my corn tortillas. I have been invited to join them in this new challenge, but honestly I am having commitment issues. My biggest challenge is that I am a substitute teacher and never know when I might be working which would throw everybody off, plus I am going to eat a cookie if I want or a piece of pie. I don't over do the desserts, I never have. I just don't crave desserts like most people do. I am quite happy with a nice piece of ripe fruit. I don't crave chocolate and I have always eaten pretty healthy unless you stick a cream puff in front of me, then I crumble. So needless to say I have been enjoying lunch with my girlies but haven't hosted and I am starting to feel like a freeloader. Maybe I should give in and host a lunch. Taco soup anyone or are beans off limits too?

Garett's married!

My little brother, Garett Moore got married this past Saturday. After what he thinks was years of searching, he finally found the girl of his dreams. We left Thursday to head to his wedding in Spokane, WA. We spent about 24 hours in Boise with our friends, the Hulls before heading on to Moses Lake on Friday. We took family photos on Friday since we were all there. Each family wore a color so you could tell who belonged to whom. It took a bit since there were 15 grandkids to get to smile at one time. I think that the pictures turned out really good. It has been 4 1/2 years since we took the last family photo and we have added 5 grandchildren and 2 in-laws since then. Here is our family photo. Poor little Mason has some virus and had sores in and out of his mouth. He was in so much pain as the picture shows. The only thing that didn't hurt to eat was icecream.

Our family

The Moore family - extended version

The originals


Us with our spouses


The ones that Nana and Papa really want to see
l


The next generation of the Moore Family




The only picture that I have of the bride and groom as I forgot my camera when we went to the temple. Bo gave Steve a pair of hand cuffs which he quite expertly attached to the newly weds much to their shock.

It was fun to spend time with family, but a lot of driving. We spent 29 hours in the van over 3 days. Good thing that you are worth it Garett! We love you and congratulations!

Vacation time!

We just got back from a week at Powell. This lady is tired. We had good food, good times and lots of water. The kids discovered sleeping in hammocks. Jaxon woke me up the last night when he fell out of his hammock and then Sidnee kept me awake because she kept moving around. I read a book and a half. Now it is time to get back to reality. The kids cliff jumped, rappelled, road the knee board, jumped off the house boat, went down the water slide, road the wave runner, the Ion, the girls tried the wake board and skinny dipping. We figured out how to keep wet hair from going crazy and did a lot of fishing. It was a very busy but relaxing week. I actually got to hit some golf balls and hit one pretty far. Steve and I chased a school of fingerlings into a corner where they swam past us. That was a very strange feeling having hundreds of fish swim by my legs. I still feel like I am sitting on a boat that is rocking back and forth. Now I need a vacation from my kids. Anyone want to take them for me?

Steve jumping off a cliff that the older 3 kids did.

Raven finishing a 360 on the kneeboard. Had no clue she was even going to try it.

Sidnee on the knee board. Doesn't she look like she is having a bundle of fun?

Mason getting ready to start out on the knee board.

Jaxon is not strong enough to be towed by himself so Steve got to go with him.

The funniest thing about the whole trip was when we were emptying the toilets at the poopdock, a couple from our ward was on a house boat next to us doing the same thing. It was kind of wierd. Of all the places to see someone from home!

Summer Time

We recently discovered a lake close by with some friends. The kids have so much fun and I don't have to deal with fighting or tattling plus I get to swim so it is a win win situation. We have gone 5 times in the last 2 weeks. It is a great motivator for getting things done at home. We took Steve on Monday and he enjoyed himself too. The sandy beach is great for kids afraid of the water and the docks are great for the kids that love to jump off, plus they don't have to be the little ones for a while.

The boys on a mission.

What are they up too?

It isn't so easy trying to make a river. Good lesson on water absorption!

The girls playing off one of the docks!

More fun on the playground that is about 10 yards from the water. The poles are made of metal that doesn't get hot. It is really cool.

I'm a bad parent!

Jaxon woke up this morning saying that his tummy hurt. Steve and I both thought that it was a ploy to get out of going to primary. He was just told yesterday that if he cried in Primary he would be grounded. About 20 minutes after telling us that his tummy hurt, we were all snuggling in my bed, Jaxon got up walked to the door and puked. Of course, it was all over my bras, his hand and the floor. I quickly grabbed him, put him in front of the toilet and started to clean up. At least I could flush the toilet to get rid of the rest of his mess. He announced he was done and that he felt good. A few minutes later he told Steve that his mouth tasted "yucky". Steve gave him some water to rinse out the taste and he has been fine since. He is running a low fever but acts fine. We decided that the next time his tummy hurts that we will tell him that it is Saturday to see if he is faking. Nothing like feeling like a bad parent because you didn't believe your child when they told you the truth!

Sidnee's big adventure

Sidnee has been having a mysterious illness. The symptoms were sore throat, swollen tonsils, fever, aching body and fatigue which of course means a big case of irritability! After being tested for mono, strep and various other things, the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. It was a vicious cycle of symptoms, then antibiotics, then she would be fine for a week after finishing the meds. Then we would start all over again. The last time it happened she even complained of canker sores. After 2 doctors saying that it was just a virus and then five rounds of antibiotics, our doctor sent us to a specialist. She took one look at Sidnee and scheduled her for surgery. She said that it was a virus that can only be gotten rid of by removing the tonsils and that she has seen 100% success with her patients. Today was the big day.

Sidnee waiting to be called back to pre-op while complaining that she was dying of starvation!

Daddy had to stick his nose in the corner while Sidnee changed for surgery.

This is her surgery outfit. The surgical center gives these shirts to their adolescent patients. It made Sidnee feel special.

The anesthesiologist explaining to Sidnee what is going to happen.

Sidnee being wheeled into post-op.

Steve is telling her to lay down. She kept trying to sit up and take out her i.v.

She kept dozing in and out for about 20 minutes.

Sidnee was excited about doing two things, the ride in the wheel chair was one of them.

The culprit in hand!

Seeing these puppies was the other thing that Sidnee requested of the doctor. These are her tonsils and are about the size of chicken hearts. The only complication that Sidnee encountered was that she threw up twice after surgery so they had to keep her a little bit longer. What should have been a 3 hour venture ended up being a 5 1/2 hour one. Now she has 5 people to wait on her as she is supposed to stay in bed for at least 5 days and no real activity for 2 weeks. If you want to come see her and make her feel better, bring her some pudding or jello, but nothing red or acidic please. I hope that this solves the problem and that she won't miss 23 days of school next year because she feels sick.

Get Away!

I was privileged to be able to get away with some friends this weekend. We had planned it for awhile and have been so excited to go. I made crepes for breakfast our first morning and jokingly told the rest of them that they could serve me breakfast in bed the next morning. This is what I got for being mouthy and sleeping in (which by the way I rarely ever do!) The little gold thing on the plate is a mini peanut butter cup. It was actually really funny and cute.

Our second day there we went to Zion National Park. We got poured on before we ever entered the park, but it was a short lived rain and actually very refreshing. We had to ride the bus into the park because the parking lot was full.

The Park was gorgeous after the rain. I love being in the mountains and the natural beauty. It always seems to revitalize my soul.

We ate at Iggy's for dinner before going to Tuacahn for a show. We all ended up splitting sandwiches which happened to give all of us nasty gas, but the rest of that story won't be posted on here. The waitress was great. She split the sandwiches, split the bill correctly and took our picture.

The show we saw was Footloose. It was really good. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the theater. At intermission they had a bull ride machine set up and Kim was persuaded to ride it. Of course we were chanting her name and then the lady in front of us turned around and joined in our chanting. It was pretty funny.

It was a fantastic weekend with great friends, lots of laughs, tons of fun, some stinkiness and wonderful memories. It was nice to not be mom or wife for a few days. My favorite thing though was that my kids and husband didn't call me every five minutes asking what I was doing or when was I coming home. I really appreciated that. I can hardly wait for the next trip because it was definitely a good thing to get back in touch with my inner teenager and leave the cranky lady at home. Thanks ladies for a great time!

OOOOuuuch!

After being badgered by my friends for the last couple of months to go to bootcamp with them, I finally had nothing going on and could actually go. Of course I was also motivated by the snugness of my clothes, but we won't talk about that! You have to understand that working out has never been my thing. I love to play sports and go running or biking on my cruiser with my kids, but I have always detested working out or lifting weights. It is probably because I feel out of my element and think that I look retarded trying to do something that I don't know how to do. After being assured that I wouldn't be the only one that looked like a dork, I decided that I would give it a try. It actually wasn't too bad.

After the warm up, my legs were shaking so bad and it seemed like they had turned to jell-o. I was relieved that I didn't have to be on my feet for most of the remainder of the workout. However, there was a thing that we did at the end for warm down that had my legs shaking because they were so week. I was a little sore when things were over, but not too bad. Yesterday I was pretty sore, but could pretty much get around, with the exception of going up and down stairs. Today is a totally different story.

This would be an fairly accurate portrayal of how I feel now. Every step is a labor. I can't tell you how many times I have almost fallen because my leg gives out. It makes me cry to walk down stairs. I know, I am getting old. Go ahead, just say it, I am pathetic. I have to keep moving once I start because it hurts worse if I sit for awhile and then start moving again. Remind me again why people work out!

SCORE!

We went to the Walmart opening in Saratoga Springs because we heard that there was going to be a bunch of free stuff. We got a cup of chocolate milk, the boys made a lego thing and got to keep the legos, we got free Owlz tickets and the kids got their faces painted. The boys all knew that they wanted spider man so here they are modeling it.


The girls of course were girls and wanted the pretty flowers and butterfly.

Pretty good job, especially for free. The kids took great care of their faces and what a fun activity for free. Sidnee figured out how to make her flower bloom. If she scowled it looked like a rose bud and then she would smile and it would bloom.

EEEWWWWW!

The kids and I went out to the garden the other day to pull the weeds and get ready to rototill it. As we were pulling weeds we found some bonuses in the roots. Anyone need something for dinner? I could save a few for you. They are supposedly very high in protein! Now I get to take care of these little critters so that the skunks, moles and raccoons stay away. Can you say GROSS?

Waiting for Spring!

It seems like winter has been dragging it's feet on leaving this valley that I live in. I have been so anxious and now that we have had a few days of spring, I am not so anxious anymore.

My allergies have flared and I now remember what sinus headaches feel like. Not fun. I wish that the kenelog shot for allergies lasted longer than 3 months. If they did, I would go get one tomorrow. My problem is that my allergies are the worst between June and September. Yet here we are in the beginning of April. I get to wait 2 months before I can go get a shot! Anyone know any good home remedies? My nose is raw after only 12 hours of wiping!

I am anxiously awaiting any and all home remedies that could alleviate this problem for 2 months!

Team mates, friends, sisters!

On hearing that my ward may no longer have a sports program after we are done with basketball, I decided that rather than throwing a fit I would do something constructive for myself and share what I have learned about the women that I have come to know over the past year since we were made a ward.

Even though this picture does not do these beautiful women justice, I wanted to share to share my feelings about these wonderful ladies. I consider them not only my team mates, but my friends and sisters as well.

Dani Cousin: She has a wonderful laugh and has a great ability to see the positive in anyone. She is always building you up.

Melissa Hoffman: Always striving to be her best no matter how tired she is. She never gives less than 110%.

Sarah Cooper: Wonderful cook, shares my passion for cooking, will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Kim Laursen: Always positive with a capital P. Never quits trying her best.

Jamie Hokanson: Doesn't let life get her down. Stands up for herself.

Jaclyn Wiest: Loves life, the gospel and has a passion for literature.

Tami Hansen: A peacemaker. Looks for the silver lining in things.

Jen Bay: Passionate about all that she does. Doesn't shrink from opposition.

Nikki Kelley: World class teacher. Never makes you feel stupid when she teaches you something new. Very compassionate.

Amy Pratt: (not pictured) Builder of people, always cheers for everyone, even if they are on the other team.

JoAnne McArthur: (not pictured) Great ability to do the right thing, doesn't yield to peer pressure, can always make me laugh.

Abby Isaacson: (not pictured) indomitable spirit, concerned about those around her, awesome cake decorator!

There is so much more that I could say about each of these wonderful women, but it would never sufficiently express what they have come to mean to me. It never fails that when I am having a bad day at least 2 or 3 of them call me, or drop by with out me even asking for help. I look forward to the time that I can spend with them as they always lighten my load in one way or another. They inspire me to be a better person, mother and wife. They truly are amazing women and I feel so grateful to have been able to cross paths with each of them. I want them to know that no matter how this whole thing with the sports teams pans out, they will always be more than my team mates. I feel honored to call them friends and sisters!

Surprise doesn't say enough!

Yesterday as a family we deep cleaned our entire house because we were going to have a date night with our friends and play games at our house. When we finished at 3 with the cleaning we hurried off to do some errands in Orem. We were about 15 minutes from home when my friend Tami Hansen called me and asked if we would stop by her house before we went home because our daughters had an altercation and we needed to talk it out. She knew that we were in a hurry to get home so I figured that it must have been serious and we needed to go help the girls work things out. I had so many things run through my mind as to what the girls possibly had fought about. I knew that Raven's day had started off bad and she has been having problems with a girl at school, so I was thinking that it might have something to do with that or just be hormones for two preteen girls. I walked up to the door while Steve got the boys out of the car. The door opened with a bunch of red clothed people yelling surprise. I was indeed surprised. I had no clue whatsoever that there was a party waiting for me. Steve with the help of my friends had arranged a surprise birthday party for me. He had teased a while back about having a funeral for me when I turned 40. Being the smart mouth that I am, I told him that I wanted a red party. I wanted red food, red drinks, red decorations and I even wanted my friends to wear red. The closer that my birthday got, the more sure I was that it wasn't going to happen. Steve asked me just last week what I wanted to do to celebrate. I told him that I wanted a party like I had already told him and that he could talk to my friends about it. I really thought that he was going to do nothing and I was going to put him in the dog house. After all I was only going to turn 40 once. The party was even better than I had imagined.

These 2 lovely young ladies that I thought had been in a huge fight made the poster below.

This poster made by Raven and Mikah was by the front door when I walked in. Steve said that it was my funeral poster.

The lovely red decorations.

More red decorations and friends dressed in red. Gotta love it!

Notice that they took sympathy on me by only putting on one big candle.

The lovely candle that was on my birthday cake. I had a lot of fun, felt very loved and couldn't have been more surprised! Thanks to everyone for helping and coming. Thanks to all those who have extended birthday wishes. It has been great, but don't forget I really don't turn 40 until Tuesday!