Are you Lost?

Paul and I watched the finale of Lost last night and if you haven't been watching that show- I'm sorry but you are missing out! It is so good! It is one of the only shows that we always record and have watched every season. There was a major cliff hanger to end the season and it won't start again till next January- painful! You never really know where they are going with it but it is always exciting. Next year is the end of the whole thing and it will be so interesting to see how they wrap it up. A good one to rent the seasons on DVD and catch up. You have until January...

The infirmary

We have had an adventure this week. Kenzie got her tonsils out last Friday and has been recovering ever since. I think she is finally about done being miserable. The first couple days she was really doing great so we thought it was going to be a cakewalk, but I guess she had a delayed reaction to the pain. She probably would have been ok but she wouldn't take any pain meds and it started hurting her. She also wasn't eating much of anything so she also had zero energy. She has been a real trooper though. She's definitely eaten her share of ice cream this week. I just love her squeeky little voice. The doctor called it a Mickey Mouse voice. I think it is only temporary but it is cute.
The Before shot. Getting ready to go back. She was not scared at all. Made my life easier to send her off without any drama.


The After shot. She was afraid of throwing up (she never did) so she fell asleep with her face in the puke bowl. When she woke up she wasn't complaining about her throat but the IV. The nurse was nice and took it out fast. They let her keep her "Fluffy" thru the whole surgery so she had some comfort.


Going home. She was excited about the wheel chair ride. The nurses were so nice. We were at the hospital about 6 hours, and she slept most of it. It will be intersesting to see what memories she has of this when she gets older.

Where's that bunny?

Just some cute pics of the little girls in their Easter finery and the cousins after our yummy dinner. My two oldest no longer want to hunt for eggs- what?!

Spring Break (or was it winter?)

We went on a tour of southern Utah for spring break and had so much fun! We took the kids to see some sites that we haven't done in a long time and it was amazing. The weather was not exactly spring-like, but we made the best of it. We were glad to be in a hotel and not camping. (I am always happy for that!). It even snowed on us during one of our hikes but we were prepared with coats, hats, and gloves! We were lucky to get in all but one of the hikes that we were planning on doing. There are some wonderful things to see and do in this part of the country. We were just continuously amazed by the variety and beauty as were driving to all these different places.

Our first stop was this crazy hot spring pool in the middle of nowhere on the way to southern Utah. It is literally down a dirt road, in some farmers cow pasture and he lets people come and swim. It is the perfect temperature and you can dive down (probably 20 feet) and explore- we loved it. Paul's parents were with us and Dad thought it was the greatest!

So after our little dip we continued on to Bryce Canyon and went right on a hike down into the canyon. It was the Queens/Navajo loop and was about 3 miles in around and back out of the canyon. Wow! Bryce is amazing. The next morning we also got in another hike before the weather turned snowy in the afternoon, than it was swim time in the Ruby's Inn pool!

After Bryce we headed on to Torrey which is right by Capitol Reef national park. The drive between those parks was spectacular but we were glad to be in the car. That day was FREEZING! Luckily the next day was better and we were fine to explore around Capitol Reef. We hiked to a natural bridge, and along a wash with steep cliffs on each side. Beautiful! We also saw Indian petroglyphs, the tiny schoolhouse which Paul's grandma attended, and had yummy homemade pie and ice cream at an old homestead.

Our next stop was Goblin Valley. This was just a quick stop on the way to Moab where we got out and climbed around on some of the "goblins" for an hour. I had heard of Goblin Valley before but we had never been. It is definitely an experience! It is probably the weirdest place I have ever been. You honestly feel like you are on another planet. It's hard to describe- but it is this huge valley of sand with lots of freaky rock shapes unlike anything I have seen before.

Our final stop was Moab and Arches national park. We have been here lots but at the last minute decided to go once more. We were actually hoping it was going to be warmer but then the storm stuck around another day. It wasn't too bad and we didn't get rained on. The kids (and Paul) were just happy to go to our favorite pizza place- Zax. It's all about the food, baby! We went on the hike to Delicate Arch which we realized we hadn't done since I was pregnant with Maddie. It was about time and it was as great as I remember!
All in all it was a great trip with some great memories. We figured we probably hiked almost 15 miles and Kenzie did the majority of it so we were proud of her. Amazingly not too much complaining even! Now on to 6 more weeks of school till summer!

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this book in two late night marathon reads-I couldn't put it down even though the clock was saying,"you will regret this tomorrow"! This is a teen book based on a Norwegian fairy tale which I had never heard. If you don't like the idea of a talking bear and trolls than this is not the book for you. If, like me, getting lost in a fantasy land is a lot of fun, than I would fully recommend it. I can't wait for my 11 yr old to read it. She read this authors other dragon books and loved them. I'm getting those next!


View all my reviews.

Changes

We have had a few changes lately that are making me feel old as I realize how much my kids are growing up. Kylie got contacts about a month ago and I think I am finally getting used to seeing her without glasses on her face! She is doing great with them and feels like she can see so much better. I am the same way- I can't stand wearing glasses anymore.
Tanner finished up with his braces and he's got some nice straight teeth now. They look so good! He's glad to be back eating whatever he wants now without worrying about food in the braces!

Sick of being sick!

We have had a real run of sickness in our house this winter. Usually we are all really healthy so this has been a different couple of months! I keep hoping we have had our share and are done with all this and then something else pops up. Just this morning I was up at 3 am with Kenzie throwing up (we haven't had that yet) and then Tanner just came home from church all white and clammy. What is up with that?
Kenzie has had the worst of it. I think she has pretty much had it all in the last couple of months. She had strep twice in a row and then followed it with a cough/cold/ear infection, and now stomach flu. The pediatrician sent her to an ear, nose, throat doc and now she is scheduled to have her tonsils out at the end of the month. I am both dreading it and glad about it because I know it will be bad for a little while but better in the long run. She has some huge tonsils and she snores when she sleeps so it will help that too. My baby having surgery!
I think I'll go disinfect my house now!

A day in the life

I thought for the sake of all those who think that the life of a SAHM (stay at home mom) is all free time and play dates, I would post a break down of an actual day in my life. The following is a true unembellished account:

3:30 am- awoken by cat who needs to go outside. (I could set a clock based on Simba's bladder)
5 am- wake up way too early so I can get my workout in.
6- 7 am- spend quality sweaty time with 30+ strangers in a dark room full of spin bikes
7:10- read scriptures and have family prayers
7:20- send Tanner off to school
7:45- send Kylie and Maddie off to school
8- 9:20- clean up breakfast, dress and do hair of Kenzie, take a shower, get dressed, sweep floor, find Kenzie's books and rush out the door
9:30 am- drop off Kenzie at preschool
9:45 am- answer emails and make some phone calls about Relief Society activity the next day
10:15- 11:20- work on the computer on my job (yes, I actually do bookkeeping work for Paul's office)
11:25- Mel comes over to plan PTA lunches for teacher conferences next week- Yes, that is done!
11:50- Pick up Kenzie from preschool (wow that is short!)
12- feed Kenzie and her little buddy Chloe lunch and throw myself a few bites while I'm at it. (of course this lunch is completely organic, healthy, and sugar free- Ok maybe not)
1:15- Pick up Kylie early from school to take her to the eye doctor
2 pm- Kylie has her eye appointment and gets some contacts. I try to entertain little girls with candy and coloring books- so much for the sugar free thing
3 pm- Run over to get Tanner's final eagle project signature for his project- Yes, that is done!
3:45- get home pick up Maddie and take her and Kylie to piano lesson
4:30-6- Crazy time- homework, dinner making and general chaos
6- eat dinner fast and change clothes
6:30- leave later than we should to get to the temple for ward temple night at 7
7:05- miss the 7:00 session, but hey we still got to the temple
9:30- home to kiss sleeping girls and wait for Tanner to get home from his basketball game that started @ 9pm!
10:30- pretty much collapse in bed after hearing tales of crazy late game.
So that's how life is here at our house. Unfortunately this is not an unusal day as far as busyness is concerned. It's all good though!! Some day I will be wondering what to do with myself and it will probably be sad!

Where did January go?

So here it is February and I missed all of January with not a single post to the blog. Good thing I didn't make any resolutions or they would have already been broken!
Well, to catch up... Christmas break was great and very relaxing. We stayed around here and just spent time together as a family. We had the traditional Christmas Eve program at Blaine and Jen's house and Christmas morning here and then dinner at Paul's mom & dad's house. The kids got the Wii Fit and Mario Kart so they had a lot of fun with those. They did get to play more video games than usual and probably watch more movies too. But it was cold outside!
We did all go skiing one day. Even Kenzie took her first lesson and did great. Kylie took her first snowboard lesson. She did good but is still undecided about the skiing vs. boarding debate. Tanner has landed firmly on the side of boarding. He got a pass at Sundance for Christmas and has been going quite a bit. I managed to take virtually no pictures- I seemed to have forgot my camera at most events.

Holiday Happenings

First off, we got some snow and everyone is happy, except maybe me who has to drive in it. But it is pretty and makes things feel more Christmas-y!

Now on to lots of performances... Maddie's Ballet,

Kenzie's preschool (so cute, and short which was nice on a most crazy night),

and Kylie's orchestra. She just started playing the violin this fall and has enjoyed it.

I think this was our best effort yet on the decorating of the gingerbread house.

The lights on Temple Square with cousins Dustin and Abby. This was the warmest night ever for looking at the lights. Notice Tanner only has a sweatshirt on.

The Festival of Trees. This is taken at their gingerbread area. Behind them is the biggest gingerbread castle I have ever seen. The lady said it was all made entirely of gingerbread with no other internal supports. It was amazing! All the beautiful decorated trees, gingerbread houses, crafts and wreaths are donated and then auctioned off for Primary Children's hospital. It is a great event that we try to get to every year.