Thanksgiving 2009

It's a tradition with Andy's family that on Thanksgiving after we have stuffed ourselves till we hurt we sit around the table as adults and tell each other what we are thankful for in the past year. This year of course was no exception. So here is to my family and friends that couldn't sit at the table...

I have many things to be thankful for. This year has been one for our family to grow. We've learned a lot about our children, and taking care of their needs. Andy's job has been such a blessing and we are so glad that it allowed us to move to Nampa. We feel that we have settled in very well in our new home and neighborhood. We especially love our ward and all the good friends we have made. I am very grateful for the opportunity to run with Angela and find such an amazing friend in her. I enjoy all my time with her and don't know what I would do without her. Most of all this year I am thankful for my calling. We left our last ward kicking and screaming getting out of primary and swore it off! And after being in the 34th ward for six weeks I was called to be the second councilor in the primary presidency. I now know that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. He had a plan for me and I have learned to change my perspective. I have grown to love those children and appreciate them as individuals... even if I can't remember them all by name. It's still not the easiest calling, but at least I can say that I'm grateful for it this year.

Just for fun!

Not a whole lot is going on around here other than normal life. So just for fun I had to mention two things that I thought were knee slappers.

First, when our family was here for the race my mother-in-law had offered to help out with sharing time in primary. Shout for joy!!! Anyway, she was telling the senior primary about this touching story of a husband and wife that involved old fashioned ironing. It really was a very sweet story and some of the kids started asking questions. One little boy, whom I think is around 9 or 10, stood up and said with a very puzzled look, "What is ironing?" I don't think any of us could help but laugh!

Second, today I was watching Angela's boys for about an hour. During that time Preston said he needed to go to the bathroom. He didn't make it in time for some of it and ended up needing new underwear. Since I was only having them for a short time I didn't have extra stuff and so I sent Katie to get a pull-up. Our house is surrounded by girls... and we have pink, princess pull-ups. I'm sorry, Preston. Once Preston saw the pull-up he started crying, "I CAN'T wear pink!" I tried my best not to laugh and even told him that we can cover it up with his pants. That didn't seem to matter in his mind and had a melt down over a pink pull-up. Bryce will be so proud!

Another Race... I know!

I apologize for not having any pictures. Our computer crashed and we lost EVERYTHING! So I don't have anymore photos to post for probably at least a few weeks.

Anyway, this last weekend I ran the Zeitgeist half marathon. I know a lot of you are sick of me talking about running, but what can I say... I love it! A lot of Andy's side of the family came out to Nampa/Boise to run the race with Angela and I. We had already planned to run it and then Emily called and said she signed up along with Nate, Lisa, Amy, and Troy. Pressures on, baby! It was fun to run with all of them and I think a few of them are crazy! Emily had swine flu and ran the insane, hilly course while having a horrible cough and on meds. She coughed hard enough they did x-rays to see if she cracked any ribs! And Troy did Zeitgeist for his first half marathon! This course is so brutal my legs are still sore. The first 3 miles of it is uphill and then straight down for about a mile. From there it's mostly level for a couple miles and then it climbs again. At about mile 8 it was literally straight up! I never stop running for my races and this one I couldn't make it to the top without walking. We were told it was down hill from there and when I reached the top I wanted to cry. We were lied to... it was not all down hill. However, I finished and we had quite the cheering section. Not only did our family run, but a lot of the other family members came just to cheer us on. That part was fun, but I don't think I'll be running that course anytime soon. I need to let my feet heal from the huge blood blisters, first. If you would like to see pictures click HERE. Thanks for posting, Mindy. Thanks to all of you that came out to run. I look forward to running with all of you again! And thanks to all the other family members that came out to support us. It was nice to have you here.

Catch Up Part 2

Okay, so I played a little catch up on the previous post, but this is what we've been up to in the last 2 weeks.

We had our Wanda Witch Party on the 17th which was a success in many ways! The clues were great, the challenges were awesome, and the costumes were hilarious! Here is a group shot, minus Andy and I. I'm still waiting to get some of the pictures of the challenges from the team captains. But when I get them I will definitely post them. Funny! Thank you all for coming and making the hard work and effort pay off!(This is a picture of one of the challenges. The hallow egg is on the end of a spoon and they had to make it up the jungle gym and go down the big, twisty slide without dropping the egg.)
I did run the Barber to Boise 10k the morning before the party and was happy with our time. I finished in 57 minutes and Angela came in 35 seconds after me. Our Bishop, I mean our new Stake President, also ran the race. He finished a few minutes before us and he and his wife were kind enough to stick around and cheer us on!
This last Saturday I ran the Prison Break Half Marathon! This picture doesn't do justice for that BEAST of a hill! If you look across in the picture you can get an idea of what it looked like... and did I mention it was the last part of the race!?! I think it was about mile 12.
I was very proud of myself for running the whole thing. Lately my knee has been failing on me and shockingly I didn't hurt one bit after the race. It was definitely not my best time, but for my first half marathon since July I was pleased. Angela ran the half marathon as well and was an animal! She was way ahead of me for most of the race. The only reason I knew it was her was because of her bright jacket she was wearing. Nikki and Brook ran the 10k that morning and, again, they were kind enough to stick around and cheer us on. At our weak moment in the race they happened to pull up in Brook's car and she got out to take pictures and cheer us on. It was overall a great race!

This picture is coming up on the finish line and I only love it because both my feet are off the ground. Usually my pictures look like I'm walking... trust me, I run the whole time! If you would like to see the rest of my pictures click on this.

Catch up time!

I'm a slacker, this I know. Just a quick update on Ashley... she is doing just fine. Her mouth has healed completely and she doesn't complain about it hurting anymore.

We went to Spokane to visit Nate and Emily over Labor Day weekend and had a great time! Emily threw me back into running and I'm very thankful since I have two races coming up in the next couple months. We played games, went shopping, watched a movie, and made some wild cakes! We sort of celebrated Ashley and Lexi's birthdays on Sunday since they share one. The girls looked on http://www.familyfun.com/ and found some funky cakes. Lexi's cake was called Topsy-Turvy and Ashley of course picked out a princess castle. Making them was a bit of a challenge and I'm not sure if I'll attempt the disaster again, but at least it made Ashley's eyes light up. For her actual birthday we went to our favorite restaurant, Jalapenos, and had a combined birthday bash for Brandon and Brinton as well. Afterward we went back to our house for cake and ice cream. Opening the presents was a hoot! Ashley had been asking us for a couple weeks if she could get a bride barbie. We bought her a bride and groom set and a few other princess things. When she was opening one of the gifts she would squeal, "I know what it is! I know what it is! It's Diamond Castle!!!" It was totally worth it just to see the huge grin on her face. I love getting her presents because she is so grateful no matter what. What a sweet thing. Happy Birthday, Ashley! We love you and are so glad you were born!

This last Saturday was a busy day, but full of accomplishments. The best one was Sammy had her first race! She and I ran the Harvest Classic Fun Run to support her school. It was a one mile loop and she did pretty awesome! There were a few times where she had to stop and walk. At one point I carried her on my back and ran... she will tell you that was the hardest part of the race. Guess what? Mine too!!! And when we were at the last leg of the race she took off and ran the rest of the way. Andy said she finished in just under 15 minutes. I am so proud of her! And of course we had to wear matching tank tops that said, "Some girls chase boys. I pass 'em." It was fun and look forward to running more races with my girls!

1st ER Visit

We had our first emergency room visit with Ashley today. The girls from across the street were over playing when Ashley came running into the kitchen screaming! I tried to get her to calm down and within a few seconds her mouth was full of blood. I yelled for Sammy to grab a paper towel and then the doorbell rang. Thank goodness it was Gordon ready to pick up his girls. We took a closer look at Ashley and tried to get her to tell us what happened. Apparently she was trying to talk/blow into this... ... and fell with it in her mouth. It's a tent pole for her princess tent that goes over her bed. It's only plastic but it did quite a number in her mouth.
Gordon took Sammy to his house and I packed up Katie and Ashley and headed to the ER. I called Andy on my way and he met us there. The nurse and doctor saw us right away and told us there isn't much they can do. The doctor called an oral surgeon and discussed if they should give her a stitch. They didn't want to sedate her so opted not to do it. However, they thought we should take her in tomorrow to see the oral surgeon. They sent us home with instructions and prescriptions for pain medicine and antibiotics.

Katie was very sweet to her for a few minutes and hugged her very gently... even kissed her.

And this is what it looks like now... after the bleeding mostly stopped. (It's not the best picture, but she's been crying a lot since it happened and this was the most she would open her mouth.) The doctor said she was lucky it didn't hit her artery. It was close but it hit the bone just enough to stop it. She'll still be in quite a bit of pain, though.

1st Day of School!

Today was Sammy's first day of Kindergarten! She rode the bus there and back with a grin just like this one! She told me all about her teacher, friends, recess, and snack time. Apparently that was the best part because they got chocolate chip cookies... but not the girl next to her because she's allergic. What? (Poor girl doesn't get to enjoy the yumminess.) I thought I might get a little emotional because most mom's do when their first kid goes off to school. Nope! I sent her on her way and went shopping with only TWO girls. Yahoo! I'm glad she gets to ride the bus with a couple of her friends and it stops just across the street. (It'll be nice for those cold winter days when I can stay inside and watch from the window.) Okay, so I have to mention the outfit. Andy and I discussed whether or not to get her a new outfit for the first day of school. The child has more clothes than I do! (I love that we get all of Thueson's hand-me-downs!!!) Anyway, Andy convinced me since it was always a tradition in their family... and since he caved on the ear piercing I thought it was the least I could do. So I took Sammy to good ol' Target and had her try on different outfits. She chose this particular one all by herself and said, "Definitely this one! I love it!!!" It had the sparkles and the embroidery! Man, is she a girly-girl or what? The bad thing, those pants are a size 4! She is so skinny around that the next size up swallowed her whole and spit her out again! I even tried slims, but no luck. If any of you moms out there have that same problem when it comes to shopping for your petite girl do you have any suggestions? I'm afraid she's going to grow out of these jeans lengthwise and not have any other options. HELP!

And just a little side note... I think we, as parents, started off school badly. Sammy had an assignment due today. She was supposed to color a picture of a school bus and write her name on it. (It was sent in the mail among a few other things.) I lost the first copy and asked her teacher for a new one on Friday. Last night Andy and I searched the whole house to find her paper crumpled and torn in the garbage! I was not about to ask her teacher for a 3rd copy! I taped it back together, ironed it flat, photocopied it, used white out where you could tell the paper had been ripped or wrinkled, and photocopied it again. It actually looked brand new! Andy said, "I think this is a bad omen."

I almost can't believe it!

I checked Sammy's hair twice today and both times she was clear of pesky eggs. (I can't tell you how excited I am!!! Wahoo!!!) Andy and I discussed her reward for being so good and came upon an agreement. Sammy and I walked into the mall and she asked what we were doing. Guess! "Are we shopping for clothes? Are we getting new shoes? Give me a hint." As soon as we walked into Claire's she started jumping up and down, clapping her hands, and squealed, "I'm getting my ears pierced!"(Before picture. Still extremely excited!)
(Little nervous because she knows it's going to hurt for a second.)

She said, "Mom, I just have to close my eyes." Okay, you go right ahead.

There were two ladies doing it at the same time so she wouldn't change her mind after one. The right side didn't go through all the way and the lady wanted to pull it out and start over. Are you kidding me? I had her step aside and I pushed it through the tiny, tiny bit of skin. She was totally brave and barely whimpered but as you can see from above she loves them! She was so excited that she wanted to call everyone ranging from Hollie, Grandma, and Brigetta. And of course everyone she saw she had to show off her new bling!

Consumed...

I've been away from the blogging world and this is why... Any guesses?

Head lice! We have no idea when or where she got it, but it is so gross! She came down to breakfast and said, "Daddy, this is why my head itches. There are bugs in it." And she had a live louse on the tip of her finger! We immediately started looking through her hair and when we saw one move we were totally convinced she had lice. We sent Andy to Walmart and we started the Nix treatment right away. It took six hours to go through her hair and try and find those pesky eggs. The first couple days were the worst. I had to strip all the beds, do all the laundry (which I hate to do anyway), vacuum every inch in my house, all the beds, couches, and pillows that we didn't throw away! Sammy has been quarantined in her room since we started the treatment. Every morning and night we check her head for eggs/lice, wash bedding, and vacuum her room. I have made many phone calls to my SIL, Sarah, for questions. (Thanks SO much!) When Sammy is lucky enough to go out of her room this is the look she sports. I make her wear a shower cap underneath so that the lice are trapped and hopefully won't spread. Surprisingly no one else in the family has been infected with this disgusting, and highly contagious outbreak. Unfortunately, it's not gone yet. I still found two eggs this morning and we had such a battle to wash her hair that we almost shaved it all off. She starts school next week and if it's not gone by Thursday the hair is coming off! It's amazing how it has consumed our lives. It seems lately that is all we even think about. And when this is all done I'm going to try and convince Andy to let Sammy pierce her ears for a reward. She really has been very good through all the treatment, except this morning. She's been begging us for quite some time now and I think it would be really nice to let her do something big for all that she has gone through. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, that all happened after a long week of fun! We first went camping with my two younger siblings, my mom, and my step dad. We only spent one night and I didn't even hardly get my camera out, but we did have fun. As soon as we got back we finished last minute things before we had company. My brother, Nate, came to spend a few nights. And my SIL, Cindy, and my sister, Shiloam, flew in for our annual girls' retreat. It was my year to plan and we stayed at the Meadowood Lodge in McCall. It was such a great place!!! The whole time we were there it was rainy but we didn't care. 4 out of our 5 meals were provided for us as part of the package deal and it was so yummy! If you ever get a chance to go it's totally worth it.

Brigetta's birthday was on that Saturday so we of course celebrated! (I thought this card was pretty funny!

Here she is showing off her Cinnabar necklace from the girls. It was one that she wanted but didn't order. Happy birthday, B! We love you tons and are so glad we live close to you!

These were taken at a little 50's diner in town called, My Father's Place. Yummy! And oh, so much food! I ordered a banana split and it could have fed all of us!

Above: Mom, me, Brigetta

Below: Shiloam, Cindy, Ashana

Thanks for coming, girls!

Love Story meets Viva La Vida

If you haven't noticed already, I have a lot of Jon Schmidt's music on my playlist. I could listen to him all day! My sister, Shiloam, posted this on her blog I thought I would share, too. If you love listening to piano music as much as I do you will love this. And even if you don't care for classical music this is still a clever little arrangement/performance by Jon and Stephen. And I do really love what Jon has to say at the end. What a great thing for a dad to do for his daughter. So take a quick second to pause the playlist below and enjoy!

Saggy Tummy

Okay, so this was a little funny. The other day I was with my mom and sister waiting in a Dermatologists office and my mom starts looking through some books. One of the books showed a new type of treatment to help get rid of aging spots and wrinkles. It was funny to listen to my mom snickering at the before and after photos of people, especially when she got to the stomach section. She said, "Look at this one. It looks like it's her bum." At that point I had to see what was so funny. She showed me the picture and I said, "Hey, that's what my tummy looks like!" She didn't believe me. So I stood up (there wasn't anyone else around) and I pulled my shirt up so she could see what I was talking about. Ha, it really does! Not so funny now, huh? I guess that's what happens after having three kids... and losing a lot of weight since Christmas. We had to laugh about it for the rest of the day.

An Unexpected Friend

Today I had to make a run to Walmart on my way home. I was coming from Boise so I stopped at the Garrity Walmart... not my usual. I laugh that I always run into someone I know at Walmart. It doesn't matter if it's 2:00 AM and I'm looking "pretty." Today was no exception, but I was completely shocked as to whom I ran into. It was my friend Kerri Costley! She and her family lived across the hall from us in our first apartment. I haven't seen her since Ashley was born. They moved to Michigan and we moved to Colorado. Now they live in Texas and we live in Idaho and it's so crazy that we ran into each other at Walmart!!! I've thought about them so many times and tried to track them down. But since I dropped my phone in dish water I've lost touch with lots of friends. Their daughter Lorin used to sneak over to our apartment so I could paint her fingernails. The last month we were there was really fun. I wasn't working and I was itching to have my own baby girl. It just so happens that Kerri had their second daughter 2 days before I had Sammy. They also have a daughter just 7 months younger than Ashley. It was fun to laugh with Kerri and Cory about having all girls. We of course exchanged phone numbers and blog addresses. I got sucked into reading her blog all afternoon! I think they are my new heroes. Their daughter, Izzy, who is Sammy's age was diagnosed with Leukemia and she has gone through 2 1/2 years of therapy. I cried my eyes out reading Izzy's blog. Seeing pictures of Cory holding Izzy in his arms you can tell how much he loves that sweet little angel. I can't even imagine what Kerri goes through as a mother to see her child endure such pain. Izzy has more strength than I ever new a child could have. She's had to endure many, many spinal taps and blood transfusions that it makes my heart ache. The good news is she had her last treatment recently and is finally in remission. If you want to see her journey video click here. I'm so glad I ran into Kerri and I'm excited for future conversations! Good luck Izzy with your journey to come! I know your family loves you so much and so do we!!!

We're Back!

Okay, I know I've been a slacker on the blogging thing but we've been out of town. Since I last posted I ran my 4th half marathon race (Saturday the 11th). This one was called Fit For Life and the finish line was across home plate at the Boise Hawks Stadium. My official time was 2:03:14 and I think my face said it all. I was completely shocked since I only ran once in the previous two weeks and I still managed to cut another 6 minutes off my time. Who knew I had it in me?

Later that day we celebrated Andy's birthday at Tucano's with some friends... Yummy food, great atmosphere, and awesome company. He got spoiled once again and got Guitar Hero World Tour (new guitar included). Happy 30th, Andy! I love you so much and I'm glad you were born!

We left Sunday to go down to Utah. We stayed a couple nights at my brother's house and while there I did my second Lia Sophia show for my SIL, Cindy. It was a success and we had a good time. Andy I think would disagree. He took the girls to a movie while the show took place. He came back and said he was NEVER taking Katie to another movie.

Tuesday morning we headed up to Midway for the annual Wyne Family Reunion. We were the last ones to arrive and it seemed everyone was already having a ton of fun. Our girls played, ate, played, got wet, played, ate and slept... a little. They love being able to play with all their cousins for 3 whole days. And now they are big enough to do sleepovers with them.

Andy and I had to make the most of our room and tried to laugh about it. I asked Andy where our room was and he said, "We're in the fish bowl." Huh? That's right! We slept in a fish bowl.

It was a two story room in the middle of the cabin with windows on all sides. Andy's sisters, Dana and Mindy, were kind enough to find sheets to hang up, but they fell down shortly after. So, we changed in the bathrooms, put Katie down for naps in the Brown's room (thanks SO much for offering), and awoke to little faces pushed against the windows. Our family activity we planned was Family Jeopardy. Each category was a family and there were 6 questions in each. The last category was "Who Knows" which meant it could come from any family. One of the questions was, "Which cousin said, 'Jesus has eyeballs in his pocket.'?" (Sammy) Mindy made some comment on how it wasn't on my blog... Sally piped up and said, "Actually it is on her blog." Ha, ha. At least I know someone pays close attention to the funny things my girls say.

One of my favorite things while at the reunion: getting to know my SIL, Gwendolyn, better. She and Nate got married 2 years ago and they live in California. So we only see them about once a year. My not so favorite thing: running up hill for our last mile with Amy and Emily. The other 6 miles of the run was fun and I'm glad they (including Lisa) will run with me as slow as I am. You can check out Sarah's blog for more on the reunion.

Friday we headed back to Adam and Cindy's house. We layed the girls down for naps after all the playing on little sleep and they were OUT. I went to Amara... yahoo! And later that night our friends Kurtt and Marilyn came over for some games. It was so fun to see them again. It's been way too long.

Saturday we got up at the crack of 7:00 and went to Lagoon!!! That was part of the deal coming down to Utah and believe it or not Andy didn't disagree with me. Check out Cindy's blog for the awesome day we had.

Eye Infection Update

I saw my optometrist today and... my eyes are getting better! Wahoo! Now for the best party, I get to wear make-up and my contacts for about 8 hours a day. Plus, no more yucky eye drops. I know this sounds crazy, but they made me so nauseous. I know I'm not crazy though, the doctor told me he's had to use them before and they made him sick, too. The only other thing I have to do is put a damp, hot wash cloth over my eyes 3 times a day for about 5 minutes. Sure, I'll obey those doctor's orders. It gives me an excuse to lay down.

Eye-eye, sir!

About a week ago my left eye was bothering me and I decided to give it a few days before I saw a doctor. I threw out my old contact lenses and that helped. After a few days my eye seemed to be back to normal. Yesterday around 7 in the evening my eye started to bother me again. I had a hard time sleeping and by morning my pillow was drenched with tears. When I looked in the mirror I found my eye swollen almost completely shut. I visited my doctor and the verdict...

Double eye infection!!! What does that mean? No contacts, no make-up, and eye drops for about ten days! I hate not being able to wear my contacts but if it allows me to see I'll obey the doctor... and I guess it makes for easy clean up in the morning if I can't wear any make-up. Shaving, and drying my hair might be interesting because I am seriously blind without my contacts or glasses. Wish me luck my eyes get better fast! I'll see my doctor again on Friday to see if there's any progress.