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?