Red Rock Climbing Center

This weekend was our March family activity from our Christmas list of family outings. I was in charge and I had wrapped a box of rocks for the kids to open on Christmas morning - with the destination being ROCK CLIMBING at the Red Rock Climbing Center. Neither of the kids had ever done anything like this before, but they were both so willing to attempt it. At first Cason was hesitant, so Kaitlyn had to go first and he became more confident as he watched her. She was ready to scale any wall in front of her and would keep going until she reached the top. Not a surprise with her personality. Cason started a bit more slowly and was content to not go too high. It ultimately took Rich offering (bribing) Cason with pizza to get him to go past his comfort level and I was so proud of him for sticking to it until he mastered the kids wall. Kaitlyn went beyond the kids wall and went into the main climbing area and nearly reached the top on one of the walls there. All in all it was very impressive and lots of fun to watch.

Spring Break in Utah

The kids and I spent March 16th thru March 24th in Utah for the kids Spring Break. We had such a great time. There is always more to do than there is time to do it, but we tried our best to fit as much in as we could. Some of the trips highlights were:

* Enjoying a game of Fox and Goose in Grandma's snow (yes that is grandma playing)

* Going to cousin Austyn's house to celebrate her 5th birthday and St. Patrick's Day

* Going to lunch at Kim Fillmore's home with Becca Burt and the chance for all our kids to play together

* Watching cartoons in bed with grandma each moring

* Visiting Ashley, Ellie and Alivia and seeing their beautiful new home

* Mailing daddy an easter care package to let him know we missed him

* (me) Going to lunch with Melanie Bingham, Andrea Soper and Heather Oswald - no kids!

* Eating out every single day

* Going to the Discovery Gateway Museum with grandma

* Having the car die in the Gateway Museum parking lot and getting dad and Mark out of work early to rescue us

* Attending Mike and Brandy's ward Easter Egg Hunt

* Reading stories with Boppa and playing the game of Sorry

* Coloring Easter Eggs

* Going to see the new baby calves

* Enjoying grandma and grandpa's annual Easter Egg Hunt at Mike and Brandy's

* Easter dinner with all our family

* Mom driving home to Las Vegas with us

And one more laugh.....

Today was fast Sunday at church. Part way through the bearing of testimonies, Cason came to me and said "mom, you know why I can't go up there and bear my testimony? Because all those people keep saying 'I know this Church is true' and if I go up there I would say 'I know this Church is boring'. So I won't go up there until I'm bigger, don't worry."

A Couple of Good Laughs

Yesterday was Kaitlyn's school "Sock Hop" and so the students were allowed to wear 50's attire to class rather than school uniforms. Unfortunatly it was my day to drive to school, which equates to us running late, which is why there was no photo taken of Kaitlyn dressed up to post :( I think the whole 50's thing got Kaitlyn thinking about how old I was and I had to tell her more than once that I wasn't alive during the 50's, as I answered questions about the 50's.
Then later after school she asked me, "mom, were books invented when you were my age?" Ouch! The reality that my daughter thinks I'm REALLY OLD hit me kind of hard!

Last night Kaitlyn had soccer practice and Cason frequently joins her team in their exercises. Prior to going Cason had asked if he could take the movie player instead of practicing with K's team and I had told him "no". So he practiced and had a great time. Driving home he told me that he was glad that he had practiced and that it was much better than "watching movies that make your brain not work and make you have to poop". I was a bit stumped by his comment and asked him about it, which he explained that dad had told him.
So this morning I had to clarify with Rich. Turns out Rich had told him that watching too many movies make your "brain turn to poop". Isn't it funny how Cason interpreted that concept?

Scary Night

I really do intend to post a run-down of our trip to Utah. We were so busy and did so much...but as a result I still have a lot of photos I need to upload and edit and it's been really hectic since getting home and I just haven't done it. I'll get to it soon...I hope.

I'm posting tonight as more of a journaling for myself I guess . Last night Jake spiked a fever that put him into a prolonged seizure. Every medical person will tell you that febrile seizures are not uncommon in children and that they have no long term effects - I dare say that any doctor, EMT or nurse who has ever held their own child as they convulsed for minutes that seemed to never end, would never downplay such an event. Instead they would take you in your arms and cry with you. I'm a nurse and I'm a mom of three children, who have each experienced a febrile seizure, and I've been scared out of my mind with each one. No amount of education or experience can ever prepare you to feel so helpless and no amount of logic can convince you in that moment that your child isn't dying in front of your eyes.
It is not my intent to create more of this than it was. Jake is doing fine now. He was assessed by an ambulance team shortly after his seizure ended and then I took him directly to the ER to have his source of fever treated. We are grateful that all is well. But today has been a very emotional day for both Rich and I as we have each replayed over and over the events of last night and the emotions the events invoked.
I also would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the loving Heavenly Father that watched over our Jacob last night. I put Jake to bed at 8 p.m. and he did not have a discernible fever at that time and I thought nothing of the low grade fever he had had earlier in the day. Right before I went to bed myself I went in to check on each of the kids and I could tell Jake needed to have his diaper changed - I don't think he has ever had a dirty diaper at night before. A blessing. It wasn't until I actually removed his jammies to change him that I became aware of how hot he was. I took his temperature, which read 103.9 and called to Rich, asking him to get into the shower with Jake to begin to cool him while I went downstairs for some tylenol. It was then that Jake went into his seizure. I firmly believe that Heavenly Father knows who Jake is and that the diaper was dirty so that I would pick him up from his bed, so that I would be aware of his fever, so that I would be with him when his seizure began, so that we could keep his airway clear of all the mucus during the seizure, so that we could then follow-up with medical care.
It's so remarkable to me that everything played out as it did and it's humbling to even begin to think that our family can call on the Lord in our time of need and be known and receive His loving care and guidance. I'm grateful for my sweet husband using his priesthood power to bless our baby in his time of need and for that blessing being honored and answered. And I'm so grateful for my sweet Jake.

52 Blessing Project Week 12 ~ PARENTS

I just returned from spending the past week in Utah with the kids at my PARENTS home. So, of course, the blessing I want to highlight this week is the great blessing that I have of AMAZING PARENTS! I've always felt that I had remarkable PARENTS and have been grateful for the home that I grew up in. But those feelings are even deeper as I am now a parent myself, not only because I can now more fully appreciate what they have gone through as parents, but I watch my PARENTS be grandparents to my own children and my love and appreciation for them only grows. Let's start with MOM. My MOM is such a good person. She was raised by great parents herself, who taught her to be kind and generous and she truly sets an example of being thoughtful and considerate in all her actions. I don't remember my MOM ever raising her voice to us as children. MOM loved to read and encouraged it in each of us - she would take us to lunch, just the two of us, whenever we met our reading goals. MOM would buy us a treat just for accompanying her to the grocery store and even as I got older I wanted to go on errands just to be with mom. MOM took us swimming once a week all summer long and would get in the pool and play right alongside us - no lounging on the sidelines just watching like I'm sometimes guilty of. MOM was always home after school to greet us as we walked in the door at the end of our day. MOM opened our home to all of our friends and would provide dessert to the multitudes that descended each Sunday night. MOM could be found often reading her scriptures or praying, even in the middle of the day. MOM has taught through her quiet example and the lessons were louder than anything she could have preached.

And now to DAD.

My DAD has always been such a constant in my life. I have always cherished opportunities to talk to him and to receive his wisdom and advice. When I was younger, I would go outside and sit next to him as he weeded on Saturday mornings and I would follow him around the yard, talking about whatever was on my mind. As I've grown older we talk less, but whenever I have something really important on my mind and need guidance, I go to DAD.

I remember DAD on the baseball field - the best left handed hitter you have ever seen - when he was up to bat all the kids left the stands to go retrieve the home run ball that would soon be hit and up for grabs!

DAD has always been such a hard worker - he always had his pink list of "to do" for the day and Saturdays would be spent checking one chore off at a time. I don't think DAD ever told us how to work hard, he showed us.

DAD is the outdoors man - most of our family outings growing up involved camping. Whether hiking together, setting up camp or sitting around the fire we were together and I have such great memories of those times together as a family.

It was so fun this past week to watch my kids with my parents and watch that relationship.

Each morning the kids would wake and head directly to Diyah's room where they would all snuggle together to watch "Backyardigans" before breakfast. Mornings in bed with Diyah are a tradition whenever we are in Utah.

Each evening the kids would be anxious to see Boppa arrive home from work. Whether it was playing another game of Sorry, reading stories or even going outside to plant flowers, the kids crowded around Boppa and just wanted to be a part of whatever he was doing.

My PARENTS are truly the greatest and I feel so fortunate to call them MOM and DAD and am glad that my kids are fortunate enough to call them Diyah and Boppa!

Thank you both....I love you!

52 Blessing Project Week 11 ~ SCHOOL BREAK

This posting is a few days late, because we have been out of town. It has been a wonderful break from routine and thus my appreciation for the blessing of SCHOOL BREAKS.

Isn't it funny how, as moms, we spend all summer awaiting the beginning of school again, ready to get the kids out of our house. Then by spring we are anxiously awaiting summer break, ready to have lazy mornings without packing lunches or cramming in last minute homework? I've reached the spring fever and this week OFF OF SCHOOL was just what this mommy ordered.

I took the kids up to Utah to enjoy the WEEK OFF with grandma and grandpa. Along with having the BREAK FROM SCHOOL, I enjoyed the break from all things homemaking - no cooking, no cleaning, no bills, etc. It may have been my vacation more than anyone elses.

Thanks mom and dad for hosting my idleness. Thanks schools everywhere for knowing that moms need a week off in March/April to get them through the end of the school year.

Our 100th Post!

(PHOTO TO COME)

When I began this blog, I was worried that it would be like so many of my projects - a good intention that eventually dwindled with time. But here we are, 5 months later we are still posting. And today is POST #100!

I thought that I could celebrate by writing 100 things about myself that you didn't know - but I'm not sure I could even come up with 100 things and not sure anyone would read past #12 or 13 (I'm a fairly simple person and don't hide much).

So instead, I asked my family a couple of questions, involving "100" and here are the results...

* If you had to eat the same food for 100 days straight, what would you want it to be?

• Cason: "Pizza"
• Kaitlyn: "Pizza"
• Rich: "are you kidding me? Pizza!" (those were his exact words)

* If you had 100 dollars to spend on anything you wanted to, what would you buy?

• Cason: "I would buy a gumball machine, but that wouldn't cost 100 dollars, so I would probably buy a car too."
• Kaitlyn: "I would go shopping and buy all the things that I ask you for when we go shopping that you don't buy for me."
• Rich: "books"

So there you go - a little insight into our family (and our obsession with pizza) as we celebrate 100 :)

St. Patrick's Day Treat

I originally found the recipe for these yummy truffles at Kraft Food & Family. I tore out the recipe, but never got around to making them.

Then I watched Bakerella use this recipe over and over as she turned it from regular truffles into little footballs for the superbowl, kisses for Valentines and, most recently, green truffles for St. Patrick's Day. She even created a peanut butter twist. So I determined that it was time for me to finally try them and they were delicious (and ridiculously easy).

So now I'm passing along the recipe for all to enjoy (recipe courtesy of Bakerella, photo courtesy of Kraft foods)

Mint Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. Double Stuf Oreos - Cool Mint Flavor - (1 lb. , 1 oz. pkg.)

• use 22 cookies with cream centers included

• use 10 cookies with cream centers discarded

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature

chocolate bark or candy coating

Finely crush the cookies in a food processor or a ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
Stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together completely ** (I used my pastry cutter)
Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
Place, covered, in freezer or refrigerator for a few minutes to help retain shape when dipping in melted chocolate.
Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry.
Refrigerate and enjoy!

Mr. Incredible

Cason and his movies.... Cason will watch a movie once and then become just infatuated with it. Not in that he will watch the movie over and over, but he will carry the case around with him, he will request that I find coloring pages on the internet for the movie, and he will assign us all characters based on the movie. Last week he watched the Chronicles of Narnia at my OB appointment - all weekend he was making swords with his tinker toys (I have sword remnants in my car and purse as proof) and battling the white witch. At church, he was drawing a very impressive picture of men with swords and shields. I leaned over and asked if he was drawing the Stripling Warriors or the Army of Helaman - he looked at me like I was loopy and replied, "it's Narnia mom!" So on to this week (and posted photo). Cason received an "Incredibles" valentine at school on Valentines Day and promptly called my mom and asked her to bring "The Incredibles" movie with her when she came to visit next. Mom and dad came down this week for the Mountain West tournament and mom brought the movie. Cason has only watched it once, but the infatuation has begun. This morning I was in charge of cutting out masks, until I got it just right. He found the gloves on his own and expressed frustration when I told him that PAINTING HIS SHIRT RED was out of the question (he really was convinced I would say yes). So for now, just call Cason "Dash" Incredible - which makes Kaitlyn "Violet", Jake "JackJack", Rich "Bob" and me "Helen".

Jake the DJ

Jake cracks me up!

He can't see the top of the keyboard, but he knows how to turn it on! And he loves to have it on and dance! Just this past week he has learned to turn it on and then turn on the automatic songs/beats that it will play. So multiple times a day he will turn it on.

Here is the challenge - the keyboard automatically turns on in the LOUD mode. So after he turns it on and gets dancing, I will go over and turn it down. Jake has noticed and has actually figured out that if he turns the keyboard off and then back on, that the music will be loud again. So guess what he did all three times I attempted to turn it down today? You got it....he walked over, turned it off, turned it back on and went back to his dancing.

What a stink! Man they get too smart, too fast :)

Why Men Are Never Depressed...

Rich forwarded me this email - I had to post it because it made me smile and there is a lot of truth to it. Enjoy :) 

Men Are Just Happier People-- What do you expect from such simple creatures? 

Your last name stays put. 

The garage is all yours. 

Wedding plans take care of themselves. 

Chocolate is just another snack. 

You can be President. 

You can never be pregnant. 

You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. 

You can wear NO shirt to a water park. 

Car mechanics tell you the truth. 

You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. 

You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. 

Same work, more pay. 

Wrinkles add character. 

Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. 

People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. 

New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. 

One mood all the time. 

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. 

You know stuff about tanks. 

A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. 

You can open all your own jars. 

You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. 

If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. 

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three- pack. 

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. 

You almost never have strap problems in public. 

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. 

Everything on your face stays its original color. 

The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. 

You only have to shave your face and neck. 

You can play with toys all your life. 

One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. 

You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. 

You can "do" your nails with a pocket knife. 

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. 

You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.

You men are so lucky!

Daylight Savings Redeemed

Last fall I had quite the gripe about the "fall back" when Daylight Savings time ended. Every adult knows that the fall change is delightful because it gives us an additional hour to slumber. But all mothers of infants know that our babies don't relish in those extra hours and their bodies don't automatically adjust like our cell phones or our computers. As a result the 5 a.m. (to his body it was 6) wake-ups with Jake was reason for me to curse the time change. Fast forward 6 months to this weekend when Daylight Savings returned. Every adult knows that springing ahead is the evil twin of the fall back, but as a mother to a toddler (who is still lacking that automatic adjustment feature) the spring ahead just redeemed itself. Jake just kept sleeping and sleeping this morning and I was enjoying it enough to stay in bed myself. Look at that clock reading....I don't recall the last time I was still in bed with those numbers displayed (maybe in a different order - 5:27 maybe?) Yea for this week which will probably continue to delight me with Jake's late morning snoozing :)

52 Blessing Project Week 10 ~ SLEEPING CHILDREN

What a blessing SLEEPING CHILDREN are.

Children are so sweet and innocent as they sleep.

No matter what the day may have held, watching our little ones sleep has a way of erasing any misdeeds that the day may have held.

As a mom you look at their sweet little faces and you are just overwhelmed with love and wish to swoop them up in your arms and just hold them while they are peaceful and breathing so softly.

I think that CHILDREN need to SLEEP, not just to recharge their own little bodies, but to recharge the mommy.

So each night before I go to bed, I look in on each of my children and give thanks for the blessing of my SLEEPING CHILDREN as I am reminded why I do what I do and I'm ready to start again the following day.

Welcome Rachel & Jordyn

Rich's sister and brother-in-law are the proud new parents to TWO new daughters as of this afternoon. We are so excited for them and glad that the babies arrived healthy and well.

When I told Kaitlyn that her cousins now have two new sisters she said "lucky!"

(can you guess what she is hoping for come June?)

Congratulations Matt and Heather!

Our Teddy Bear Jake

Jake wins as yesterday's most patient brother - aren't all little siblings contenders in that race? Yesterday the kids were all playing in Cason's room and out came Jake in Kaitlyn's arms, wearing the teddy bear's sweater. The kids thought it was so funny and Jake was laughing right along. He loves to be in on the joke, even when he is the joke :)

My Little Protege

Kaitlyn wanted to "scrapbook" this afternoon while the boys were taking naps. I was busy in the kitchen so she brought all of her supplies down to the kitchen table to be near me. She began, but as she got further and further into what she was doing, she declared that she couldn't scrapbook until she "organized her supplies".

She spent the next hour or so sorting papers and stickers and the like, all by category/season/etc. I think we have a true scrapbooker in the making - she is very wise already to know that the first step to a successful scrapbook is organized supplies!

(I'm just beaming with pride!)

52 Blessing Project Week 9 ~ MEDICINE

So I guess I'm guilty of bragging about our beautiful weather here in Vegas, so now I will complain. 70 degree temps, multiple trips to the park, open windows = ALLERGIES! So I'm going to pay tribute this week to the blessing of modern MEDICINE. I take prescription allergy medication and have never been pregnant in the spring to deter my medicating of my allergies. This week I was hit with terrible allergies and, with being pregnant, was unsure what medication I could use. My neti pot just wasn't cutting it (that's for you Gail). Luckily I was steered toward Claritan-D and the pharmacist reassured me that it was safe for my pregnancy. Although I avoid medications as much as I can, I was DYING and had to do something. It's not as good as my Rx, but at least I have been able to function as mommy (after my 2 hour nap today! - thanks Rich).
My other appreciation for the blessing of MEDICINE is for Jake. He has had such a rough winter with coughs and the junky lungs - expected I guess after his RSV last spring, but miserable none-the-less. His latest cough has continued to get worse and we finally went back to the doctor on Monday to make sure we weren't dealing with anything more than his winter cough. He did have a bit of an ear infection (thanks to MEDICINE for clearing that up very quickly) but the doctor also added one more MEDICATION to his asthmatic lung regimen. He is now up to one oral med and two nebulizer meds. I wish it weren't so, but his cough had us so worried and it's wonderful to have had so much improvement in just one week.
I will still continue to tout all my non-pharmaceutical options and warn of the dangers and side effects of the MEDS being pushed by money greedy pharmaceutical companies - but I will also give MEDICINE it's credit and realize that we are blessed to have MEDICINE available to us when we need it.

Baby Name Results...

So the baby name poll results are in...

For a baby girl, Macilyn won favor, with 60% of the vote, over Aspen. Macy led the poll the entire polling time. I'll admit that we have had Macy in the wings for a number of years so it's been Macy in my mind for a long time. Then out of the blue, Rich called one morning from the soccer field to tell me that he had our baby girl name; Aspen. I was caught off guard, but also immediatiely loved the name. So I have been torn with two names I really love. Rich has suggested combining the names, I think it's just a sign that we are meant to have two more daughters :)

For a baby boy, we really aren't any further ahead than when we started. Results were a three way 22% for Cannon, Grant and "Keep Looking" (a verb, not a name). Luke won favor with 34%, but there was just no landslide winner and the winner never was consistent through the polling time. Grant is a name that Rich suggested on the way to the hospital to deliver Jake - I didn't like it at the time, but it's grown on me. I really want a name with some meaning behind it and so I came up with Cannon because Rich and I celebrated our 1st anniversary at Cannon Beach in Oregon (it's only a made up name until I use it, right?) and I really like it except for the "C" sound at the beginning that leaves Jake the only non "C/K". And Luke, well we just like Luke - but no ties to the name. So ultimately I think we will continue to look and see what happens.

Thanks for the votes!