Even more UT

We did so many things in UT, I am trying to remember them all. After the birthday and the train, we went to Lake Powell for a week. Well, it was almost a week...we had to cut the annual camping/boating trip a little short this year. My Grandma turned 90 this year and we had to have a party to celebrate. My wonderful cousin organized the first family reunion for Grandma's kids and their families. We went to Willard Bay again (I did not drive like a maniac to get there this time) and had pictures and dinner the night before.  We went boating and tubing and had a blast!! It was really great to see that side of the family, it was kind of nice that John finally got to meet most of them too.

After John came out, we decided to head to ID and go to Yellowstone. Oh yeah, my sister and her husband live in Rexburg so that was an added perk! We went to some fun places in Rexburg (hello gourmet cupcakes and hot chocolate, Porters is my all time favorite store... ever, and a couple really fun places to eat) and then headed to Yellowstone.  It was amazing! We saw buffalo and deer and elk. No bears...Jess was disappointed. I didn't realize that there are so many geysers there and they are all so different and cool. J called the Paint Pots "Gooey Geysers". There were seemingly dry ones that roared and steamed. There is a whole lake (Fire Lake - I think) of water that sizzles. There are stops where you get out and walk on a wooden path through mazes of steaming holes and boiling water and shooting water spouts. The falls and streams and pools of water make amazing colors on the rock and ground, and the water is crystal clear.

The day we went turned out to be pretty cold. It started just a little chilly and by the time we made it to Old Faithful it was downright cold. John even talked of calling it quits and watching it from the windows in the big lodge they have. I was not having that. We got outrageously over priced sweatshirts from the gift shop and made it in time to get front and center seats.Then we waited. John got us hot chocolate, and we waited. Then...it went. It was pretty darn cool. Because it was so cold you could see all the steam and that made for a neat effect. When we drove back after Old Faithful, you could see countless spirals of steam out in the distance that you wouldn't on a warmer day. Such a cool experience!!

The cute restaurant we ate at right before going into the park.

Us

The awesome buffalo that was taking a stroll down the side of the road. Later we saw one jog across the road. The kids thought that was silly, more silly were the 'jokes' they came up with about it.

Jess, A and J next to a gooey geyser.

crystal clear water

Muddy ones (Paint Pots)

Us in front of the Paint Pots

You can see Jess and the two older kids walking in the sulfur smelling steam.

Cool colors and patterns on the ground under the water's surface

(Most of) Us in front of Fire Lake (on the bridge over it actually...the kids LOVED that)

Nice and warm in their newly acquired apparel. They look happy don't they? It was COLD.

Old Faithful

Hoodies are not a good look for me- unfortunate...the man and I in front of the end of Old Faithful

P.S. I will have to get pictures from my Mother from the aforementioned activities. We also went to Antelope Island when we first arrived in UT. The kids were highly disappointed they didn't see any antelope. They enjoyed the drive "on the water" to get there and the visitors center with all the cool stuff and pictures in it. There were spider webs and their owners all over the windows and building...the kids thought that was equally amazing and creepy. They were super excited to see a buffalo taking a rest on a hillside. Then A could not stop worrying about that buffalo because he wasn't with his herd. Oh. My. Gosh. It would be nice if she could show the same concern for her brother J as she did that buffalo. That experience made the few close encounters with buffalo at Yellowstone a very exciting time for them.

About that toe...

On Thursday, J was trying to sit at the table. Innocent enough right? The problem arose when he didn't quite make it onto the bench at the table. Instead, he knocked it over right onto the big toe on his left foot. OUCH!!

His poor toe was immediately black and purple and swollen. There was actually a cut in the skin below the nail too and it was bleeding all over the place. I realized it was pretty bad when I noticed the blood all over his foot and the floor. I set him on the counter to inspect and clean, he noticed the blood and his crying turned into complete hysterics.  

It looked pretty bad but I was pretty sure the doc wouldn't do much for a smashed toe. (Not to mention the fact that his new insurance didn't pick up for another two days) We sat on the couch for two hours with crying and going back and forth with the ice: "It's too cold."-take the ice off, and, "Mom, it hurts."-put the ice back on. On Friday, it was still bleeding and Mommy got pretty concerned. Sooo, for the first time in our family,  Urgent Care here we come. 

It turns out that Jake hit his toe harder than anyone thought. He had a temperature and they were concerned about infection under the nail. There was a bunch of blood and fluid built up under neath it. They cauterized eight holes through his nail so the fluid could drain. The cut in his toe went down to the nail underneath. It wasn't deep enough for stitches but they cut back the skin for a clean wound. They took x-rays and his poor toe is broken. In two places!! He has to keep it in the splint until we hear more. One break is down at the growth plate and  the urgent care doc was concerned about it healing correctly. The radiologist person will take a look and either confirm or deny what the doc saw and we should hear back this week. If it is what the doc thought, we have to see an orthopedic specialist and possibly go through a re-break or surgery so his toe will heal and grow correctly.

A few funny things...A) the doc was highly impressed with J's pain tolerance, that's actually what lead to the splint. She was concerned he would injure it further with his lack of attention to it. B) When they gave him "shots" to numb the toe, I laid him down on the table and gave him my phone to play a game. He picked one that records like ten seconds of sound and plays it back in a squeaky cat voice. He noticed he was laying down and everyone was holding him down. He's no dummy. He started yelling, "Don't hold me down. I don't want shots Mom. I don't want you to hold me down." Then it was all played back in a high squeaky cat voice...as was all of the yelling and crying and shrieking. It was hard to see my son so unhappy, but kind of amusing to have all of his screaming played back in such a way. He was even smiling at it occasionally.

Look what I found...

I found this the other day as I walked into the dining room.

I found this in my bed the other night as I was trying to get in it.

I (it was really John in this case) found these shudders in the shed while cleaning it out a few weeks ago. I am super excited about them. I know with some work they would be so cute back on some of the windows in the house.

I found this boy hanging out in my backyard, on my playhouse.

I found that I CAN cook fish and it didn't taste half bad. Oh, and the kids even liked it.

And I found out today (after much crying, blood, anesthetics (aka shots), cauterizing, x-rays, and three and a half hours at urgent care) that a smashed toe is not always JUST a smashed toe.

Our trip to UT actually started with a boating trip. The kids and I pulled into town on a Saturday. My parents had taken Aaron, his family, and some friends to Willard Bay to boat so we were just going to meet them there. I am lucky we made it....

Apparently, the Utah Department of Transportation believes that there must be much road construction on I-15 at all times. Traffic was terrible !! On a Saturday!!! So I am headed up to Willard with my trusty GPS (I had never been there, it's actually not hard) and traffic comes to a stop. We sat there FOREVER. The kids have been in the car all day for two days and we are all so ready to see Grandma and Grandpa. So I decide, since the GPS has just told me that the exit is in .2 mile, that I will follow the van in front of me and go onto the shoulder up to the exit that was surely just out of reach.

 "This was such a bad decision," is all I can think and say as we continue for a mile and a half down the shoulder. Then, "Oh. My. Gosh. Please no, please no, " starts to escape my lips rather loudly as we pass a cop. Granted he was in the median, on the other side of stand still traffic, but you never know. Then those same words "Please No!! Please NO!!" come even more frequently, and loudly, as the brilliant mini van in front of me pulls over onto the newly developed shoulder of the off ramp with a flat tire.

Stressed I was. I have never done that before and I will NEVER do that again. How blessed I was not to suffer a major ticket or a flat tire. Both of which I surely deserved due to my total lapse in judgement. Don't worry though I did get a parking ticket picking Abbi up the second day of school!!! I guess I had it coming.

More UT

My parents live in Harrisville (north of Ogden) and my mother actually works down at the U. It's quite the commute and they pay for her to have a pass on the commute train. Since the second my kids found out that Grandma gets to ride a TRAIN to work, they have been dying to go for a ride.

One special day, with aunt, uncle and some cousins in tow, we rode the train. Grandma had the afternoon off so we were going take the train down and meet her down town Salt Lake. We woke up, got everyone dressed and ready and made it to the train station. The kids were so excited!!

The train ride was about an hour and the kids all loved looking out the window. They also found it kind of cool that the train would make stops and you didn't have to get off, you kept riding until you got to the right stop. Weird. Anyway, we made it to the downtown station. It was hot so, naturally, we decided to walk the couple blocks to the Gateway. I do love to shop!! Grandma met us there and we shopped, ate lunch, and shopped some more. FUN TIMES.

The purpose of meeting Grandma down town was to take the kids to Temple Square. So after the shopping at the outdoor mall, we walked to our destination (remember...it was hot and all persons two and up walked). They were troopers and we finally made it. After we drank enough water (from the courtesy drinking fountain) to float a whale, the kids thought it would be a good idea to try their hardest to get into one of the real water fountains. I, of course, disagreed. After that struggle, we were able to go into the tabernacle, walk around the grounds, and enjoy the temple.

As much fun as the walk was on the way there, we opted to take the bus back to the train station. Good idea, everyone was exhausted. A bus and a train all on the same day-madness!! It was a long hot day, but the kids enjoyed their train ride (bus ride too) and we all had a great time (and found some good deals!). The kids thought Temple Square was "pretty", "nice", "quiet" , and A said she was going to get married in the Salt Lake Temple because it looks the most like a castle. Logical really given her princess status. I was hot and tired and stressed trying to keep kids safe and hydrated and respectful while we were there, but it was wonderful to take my children somewhere they could appreciate the history of the church, and hopefully, between reprimands, the spirit.

Happy Birthday to my 6 year old!!

Can you believe it!?! I can't really. Today is her birthday, but she chose to have her party in UT with her "other" cousins. We went to Hill Air Museum early in the day, then we went to dinner at Chiles (her choice), and we went to see Despicable Me. Grandma and Grandpa, Manda and Terron and their kids, and the kids and I all went to dinner and movie. We met back up with Aaron and his family at Grandma's house for ice cream cake and presents.

The Air Force Museum was fun (and free!). The kids thought all of the manikins in uniforms were cool, A had like 20 favorites. They have two huge rooms full of planes, choppers and bombs and things, then the huge yard with more planes. The kids got to go into the back of one of them. I turned my back on I for a second (bad idea, I should know by now) and he was on the other side of the rope pushing all the buttons on one of the cockpit sections they had sitting there. This lady was standing there telling her kid that he couldn't cross the rope, and it doesn't matter what that kid was doing....then it hit me..."where's my toddler?" Fun stuff. Anyway, Jake found the whole thing absolutely fascinating. They even had this kids room there where kids could play simulators and dress up and get into a cockpit and play. It was a pretty fun time and after all of the walking the kids were ready for a good nap before the big night ahead.

Dressed in her birthday shirt we were off...Chiles is always good and we all loved the movie, it's really funny with a cute message. J giggled for a solid 90 minutes while he watched the minions fight and be silly, then he got up at the end and started shaking his stuff in the aisle. A picked a chocolate mint ice cream cake (which we drove 20 miles for the night before) and she is incredibly spoiled...as usual. I had brought a box of clothes and shoes with us to give to her and we got her other presents while we were out there. I should have gotten wrapping paper. I don't just carry spare wrapping paper in my van and with my parents move their supply was sad. It was slightly amusing that her gifts were all wrapped in wedding and Christmas bags that I could scrounge up at Grandmas. We are so glad to have had a wonderful time with our excellent relatives. She was so excited that Cousin Lin and the other Loves would be at her party.

A is such an amazing girl. She is now loving school and her teacher. I brought the birthday treat into her class yesterday and she thought that was pretty fun. She insisted on searching the school grounds after the bell for a "teacher" that she promised an ice cream sandwich to. It took us a while considering she doesn't know this teacher's name or where in the school she worked. We finally found the "teacher" who turned out to be the counselor in the office. A is getting bigger every day and I am having a hard time wrapping my head around this concept. I love her so much and while it's so fun to see her grow and learn new things, I really wish she would stay little and (mostly) innocent forever.

PS Thank you to my wonderful MIL. Grandma Kathi came up today to take A out for the afternoon. She was so excited for her surprise and had such a great time. G-ma asked A what she wanted for lunch and she promptly replied, "Chinese". She's a funny girl. They went to lunch and a movie and I know that it made A's day so special. Thanks again Kathi!!

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I have slept in my own bed, taken my dog out to do her business, cooked an actual meal in a kitchen (much less my own kitchen), dusted my living room and it's been a while since I have posted anything. All this is because we just got back from a month-long, multi-state road trip. The kids and I left for UT on July 16th and boy did we stay busy. We did so many different things out there...and then did even more when John joined us out there August 5th.

I will be posting pictures and accompanying stories but today the big news is that we have a first grader in our home!! We drove into town just in time to make it to A's school for their sneek peak on Monday evening. We dropped off  her supplies and met her teacher and saw her classroom. She even picked a desk (at the very front of the class). That night we got things together for her big day, her daddy gave her a blessing and she picked out her "first day" outfit. Then she cried. My poor little princess was very distraught. At first (when she is supposed to be in bed asleep, of course) she was just complaining that she was scared...we tried to calm her fears and reassure her and then sent her back to bed. Later, we heard her crying upstairs. I know that she was definitely hamming it up a bit...no doubt...but I do feel for the poor thing. If you count her preschools, she has been to four different schools...making this one the fifth. She was scared that she wouldn't know anyone-again, that she would have to make new friends-again, and that it was a new place all together-again. Who could blame a five year old for being upset about that? OH, how our hearts were aching for her. She calmed down and finally fell asleep.

Her first day of first grade...the alarm didn't go off. She was sleepy considering her late night. I apparently sprayed hair spray on her pancakes and she didn't finish them. She wouldn't stay put at the classroom when I walked her in to drop her off and cried when they got up to go into the classroom. She didn't sit at the desk she picked out the night before...she sat in the corner ( I am not sure why that is). Let's just say that it wasn't  the best of mornings for her, she did look awfully cute though...

Despite her terrible morning...you'll be happy to know, she was all smiles when Jake and I went to pick her up. She said she had a "really fun" day. She likes her teacher and her classmates. Best of all...no tears this morning!!