2010 Year in Review

I'm copying our cousin Katie. :) I saw her do a year in review post on her blog, and since I didn't do the best with posting last year I figured it was a great idea for me to do as well. So here it goes...

In January we started the year out with some sledding with the cousins. It was a lot of fun. Of course, we won't mention the fact that I ran into a port-a-potty and we think I cracked a floating rib from it... Happy New Year to us. :)

In February, I began to really enjoy doing Ellie's hair. She was starting to get more of it and therefore I loved to put it in a pony tail.

March was Kaden's birthday. He got some cool lego stuff, so the kids put it together (with a little help from dad) and then they took turns playing with his lego car. Aren't they adorable?

April 10, Kaden got baptized. It was a beautiful day! Totally a day for him to remember.

In May we were getting packed up for the first move... Yep, we moved twice in two months! While I was busy packing, the kids liked to go on walks. Kaden was such a big helper with his brother and sister. He's such a good kid!!!

We celebrated my birthday in June and I wanted to have a video game party. :) We invited some friends over and played Dance, Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. It was tons of fun! Even Danny got into it.

July: Before moving (2nd move) to Boise, we got together with my family. We went skeet shooting and the cousins LOVED it. They even shot a rabbit. (poor rabbit)

August was the beginning of the new school year. We live right by the school so Kaden gets to walk with some friends every morning.

September 9th was Preston's birthday. He wanted to take one of his new friends to the movie. We went and saw "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3d. They loved it. They even got to eat happy meals before-hand.

October was full of monsters (and one sweet little frog).

In the beginning of November, we enjoyed a nice fall day at the zoo with Katie and her kids. It was super fun.

And finally, December brought Christmas into our home. I made the kids pajamas and they turned out pretty good (in my estimation).

Hope your 2010 was as fun-filled as ours. We miss the friends and family back in Utah, but so far we really love the Boise area. Here's to happy times ahead for 2011.

Christmas 2010

We had a lot of fun over the Christmas holiday. We got to spend time with my parents and my brother who all came to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us. We loved having them here. It was tons of fun! My parents even taught Danny and me how to play Pinochle. I can't wait til we can play with them again. My mom and I will TOTALLY beat the boys next time. Can't wait for the rematch. :)

We didn't get a lot of pictures, which I'm pretty sad about. We did get some of the kids opening their PJs on Xmas Eve, and then a few of Xmas morning. Ellie was so excited about the pajamas that she jumped up and down. She was also very funny about her presents Christmas morning. She would open one, hold on to it, open another, hold on to both of them, open another one, try to hold on to all three of them, etc. So funny.

Preston got some sea monkeys. He didn't quite know what they were at first, but now he loves them (so does Kaden). And Kaden got a pretty nice yoyo that Danny and I did some research for. We got one of the nicer ones that's for kids. He has been practicing it a lot. He loves to walk the dog and try other tricks with it.

For New Years Eve we stayed around the house and played lots of games. The kids loved it. We got Blokus, Farkel, and 2 other really fun games for Xmas. It was enjoyable to just stay around the house and play games with the kids. Then we watched some movies and wished each other a happy new year.

Again, we didn't get a ton of pictures... but HERE is what we did get.

Self-Sufficiency

Yesterday I was in the process of completing the big pajama pants sewathon for my kids. While I was doing this, my daughter apparently decided she was hungry. When I walked through the kitchen to show off my progress to Danny, I noticed Ellie sitting at the table with a pop tart on a plate... happy as a clam. Upon further inspection, I realized she had scooted the stool over to the counter (we have very high counters, so quite scary actually) climbed on top of the counter, grabbed herself a plate, got down, went into the pantry where she got herself a pop tart, put it onto the plate and sat up to eat.

Now, I know she loves pop tarts. She would eat them all day long if I let her... IF I let her! Now I have to keep my eyes on her, as she will just help herself whenever she wants. Sometimes I wish she was my little baby still. :)

PJs

For the first time I am actually making my children's Christmas pajamas this year instead of buying them. I just finished Ellie's and I love them! They turned out really cute! I even took the time to put a pocket in the back (something that I probably won't do for the boys). Anyway, check them out...

Front:

Back:

PS... To see them bigger (up close) just click on the picture.

It's Tiring To Be A Girl

Ever since Kayla was here and introduced my daughter to painting nails, Ellie is always wanting to have pretty nails. She sometimes gets confused and calls them pony tails instead of fingernails (silly girl). She loves to have them painted and she actually sits still while they are drying. This particular time, she actually fell asleep while her nails were drying. She was so cute, just sitting there with her fingers spread and her head on her arm. See for yourself... So cute!

Christmas Decor

I've been meaning to post pictures of our tree for a while now. We got a real tree this year. It is the first year we have gotten a real tree. And it's BEAUTIFUL! I love it. Danny says it's too big. :)

I was also able to put out my nice nativity set. I love that thing! I wish it was pertinent for me to keep it up year round!

Pictures

Fun In The Snow

After the big snowstorm earlier this month, the kids wanted to go play in it. Preston had the grand idea of making a snow "gum-ball machine", so he and his friend went to work on that. Kaden, on the other hand, wanted a really great snow fort. He invited a neighbor friend over to help him with it. They got about 1 foot of the walls up. Then it got dark. It was a good idea though. :) As for Ellie, she just wanted to be a part of the big kids' fun. And she just played with the fluffy white stuff.

Pictures!

From Thanksgiving To Christmas!

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving! Danny's family came and stayed. We had everyone together except Matt and Kim who are in Virginia (we miss you guys). We loved visiting with everyone and (I must say) had a really great Thanksgiving meal (turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, pretzel salad, spinach salad, rolls, honey butter, etc, etc. - I could keep going). It was awesome to see everyone. And we know what it took for them all to make it here. Between the many storms, it was amazing that they were here.

Anyway, Danny's mom gave each of us girls a project to complete. It is such a cute advent calendar (of sorts). I really wanted to finish it by today so that my kids could join in the fun of counting down to Christmas. Here is the final product:

Isn't it awesome. I just have to say that Ann thought of absolutely everything and I really appreciate the time she put in to this craft. The picture doesn't do it justice. It looks even better in person. And, if you can't tell, each of the little people, animals, buildings, etc hang on buttons. So from now until Christmas, the kids will get to hang up one picture each day.

Now all I have to do is get to the store and buy a hook for it to hang on. I was going to do that today, but from my earlier post, you might gather that it's just a little too snowy out for that kind of outing. Maybe tomorrow...

(Thanks again Ann!!! You're the best!!!)

What!?! No School???

One of the pros to us moving to the Boise area is that everyone we talked to said that the winters here are so mild. They all said that it might snow a little but that it usually melted by the next day.

Well yesterday it started to snow. And it snowed... and snowed... and snowed. I think it has only let up for a few minutes this afternoon and then started back up again.

So when we woke up to the announcement of "no school for Meridian School District", all I could say is, "mild, my bum." Oh well. I've lived with the snow my whole life, guess I'm just meant to live in the fluffy white stuff for the rest of it as well.

Our Back Yard:

Out The Front Door:

Recessionista

I know I've blogged about this before. But there is a contest going on at http://www.recessionistaparty.com/ and they are giving away 3 $50 gift cards. I really like their stuff (especially their hats and scarves)... Just wanted to let ya'll know.

Video Time

I have had a request to post more videos on my blog. So here we go... (mainly for grandparents; if you are not a grandparent and still watch them all - Good on ya) :)

(Preston had been pretending earlier about how when the blocks fell, they would go through a long process of falling down the stairs. This is Ellie copying him. "Cool trick! It fell off the wall, and on the step, and off the wall, and hit the wall, and hit the wall, and hit the wall, then down the stairs.")

(This was when Preston was doing the pretending. Ellie still wanted to be the one pretending)

(Ellie playing dead. So funny!)

(Ellie pouting.)

(We have started a tradition of playing a game on Sunday as a family. We have done Monopoly, Hide & Seek, and this last Sunday we played Yahtzee. It's been lots of fun and here is Preston rolling. He was on a team with Kaden. I loved how he would say, "I whoosh for a 6, I whoosh for a 6!")

(Kaden playing Yahtzee. He was so serious about rolling.)

(Ellie was being crazy! She got all wound up right before bed. And whenever she says that she loves someone, she'll say, "I like-a Mommy," etc. Funny.)

And as a side note... These videos took forever to upload so I hope there is somebody out there who is glad I posted them. :)

Reflections

Ok, so we all know that it's fairly unlikely that I will get caught up on the blog. I mean, I am 4 months behind on this thing. So I decided to just start anew.

Kaden has the opportunity to participate in Reflections. For those who don't know what this is... it challenges students to create art inspired by a specific theme. Each student can submit something in one of six arts areas - dance choreography, film production, literature, musical composition, photography, and visual arts. They are judged, receive prizes, and (if they continue winning) move up the levels, eventually to the national level.

Anyway, Kaden decided he wanted to participate in the photography category for this contest. He was very excited about it and wanted to use my "nice" camera. So yesterday (Saturday) Danny showed him the basics of taking pictures and we walked around the yard with him as he took some really nice nature photos. The theme this year is "Together We Can". And the title of his finished project is "Together We Can Discover Nature". I am super proud of him! He did an amazing job with his pictures.

And HERE they are.

For those who don't go through the slideshow of pictures, this is the final product...

June

We have a lot of pictures for June...

My birthday was in June (30 years to be exact - ugh) and Danny splurged and got me the nicest camera I have ever owned. It takes still shots as well as video, so I've been having a blast with it (when I can and when I'm not busy packing or unpacking another box.)

First, we have lots of pictures of my cute kids. While playing around with the settings on the camera, I figured that they're my greatest subjects to practice on. :)

For my bday, I decided that I wanted to try making homemade ravioli. It sounded yummy! :) It was actually delicious. Our only complaint was that we didn't have a pasta press so the pasta was a little thick, but other than that - YUMMM! Ellie just really loved the bread; which we happened to buy from Macaroni Grill. She ate more of that bread than she has ever eaten of anything in one setting.

We also had some friends come over for a "birthday party". (We miss you Angie and Chad.) Chad let my kids play with his iPhone and they had a hard time putting the thing down. What is it with kids and electronics these days?

Chad and Angie brought over Dance Dance Revolution. We played that and Guitar Hero for my birthday. I know, strange request... but we did do what I wanted. :) Even Danny danced for us. :)

In other pictures, Ellie the banana head was eating some yogurt and decided that it would look great on her nose. Then the next day, she decided to finger paint with her yogurt. Again, I had just gotten the camera and was a little picture-happy. :)

June was about the time when Ellie decided that she loved trying on other peoples shoes. She is still in that phase and still loves to wear others' shoes (whether it's mom's or dad's or her brothers', it does not matter).

When Danny and I were in the process of looking for a house in Boise, we had our computer set up with his laptop beside it and we went through hundreds of homes virtually in the matter of a weekend. We narrowed down our list to give to the realtor. Basically, we did a TON of the work in finding this place. It was actually at the top of our list before we even came to Boise to walk through homes. Anyway, Danny took a picture of our computer setup... we called it our command center. We spent a lot of hours at that command center!

When the kids woke up for Father's Day, they wanted to draw pictures and make cards for Danny. They all did a really great job and were so cute while making them.

In between moves, I tried to take the kids to the park as many times as possible. It was my way of trying to make up for the lack of fun this summer. That is also when Preston finally learned how to keep himself going on a swing. Now that's all he ever wants to do.

I also have a couple of videos that I recorded of Ellie. They are so cute that I can't help posting them. :) It's also one of the first videos I recorded with my new camera. It's not completely in focus, I'm still working out how to download it off my camera, etc. Just bear with me. In explanation of the first video, Ellie's favorite cartoon is Dora. There is a Dora episode with "super babies" and there's a song that they sing in the episode. She LOVES that episode and loves to sing that song. In the second video, Ellie was really starting to talk a lot and say different words.

I guess that sums up June. It was a busy month, and worth the post!

Pics

Video 1

Video 2

May

Ok... so, obviously I am way behind in my posting. It has been a CRAZY summer to say the least. With 2 moves in 2 months - well, that right there is worth the label of "crazy".

I decided that instead of giving each "event" a different post, I would give each month it's own post. So we will start with May since that's about where I left off.

I'll be honest, when we were still in Springville, we had a lot of packing to do. We organized everything into boxes that would stay packed after the move to Mapleton and boxes that we needed unpacked. We managed to keep a lot of stuff packed that some people would have thought of as necessities - like dishes. Instead of unpacking all of our dishes, we ate on plastic (which Danny absolutely hated - especially when a fork broke while trying to eat dinner and splattered him in the face with food.)

With all of the packing and sorting and cleaning and chucking (we threw away a lot of unneeded stuff!), our kids watched more cartoons and movies than I care to divulge. I felt pretty bad for them and I've been working on making it up to them lately; but that's for a different post.

So we have pictures of them watching tv, pictures of them eating licorice while watching tv, and even the pictures where you can't tell they're watching tv - they are. :(

Also included in our pictures this month is Ellie's first hair cut. She was beginning to have a mullet. One day I just couldn't stand it anymore and while she was in the bathtub I took the scissors to the back of her hair. It wasn't much, but it sure made her look more like a toddler than my little baby girl. Since then, she has definitely grown into the toddler stage; but I still call her my little baby girl.

And finally, Kaden is always such a big helper. He is always willing to be my little babysitter whenever I need him to. One of those days when I was busy packing, the kids were very bored. I finally suggested that Kaden take the other two on a walk around the neighborhood and he gladly accepted the task. They were so cute - all holding hands - and I had to take some pictures. They are so adorable!!!

Well, that was May. And HERE are pictures.

Sold!

I know I haven't updated this blog for a LONG time. And I know I have a lot to catch up on and a lot of pictures to post. A LOT has been going on around here! But I was too excited about this particular picture that I just have to post it. :)

That is our house!!! We went to Boise this last weekend, looked at house after house after house. We fell in love with 4 different houses. We chose the cheapest one of them. :) And we just finished signing the counter offer they sent us this morning. Now just to close on the loan and move all of our stuff. Exciting times!!!

For more pictures of our new home, click on this link...

Virtual Tour

Amen! :)

We had a super special day Saturday as we celebrated Kaden's baptism. He's such a special little boy. I continue to learn a lot from his sweet personality and the good choices he makes.

He actually was baptized twice. :) Danny forgot to say amen the first time until Kaden was already in the water and by that time it came out as AMEN!!! It almost sounded as enthusiastic as a baptist prayer. We all had a pretty good chuckle. :)

But, again, we are very proud of Kaden and the choice he made to get baptized. He didn't take the decision lightly. He was very serious in his prayers as to whether or not it was the right choice for him to make. I'm not convinced that I, at 8 years old, thought so diligently about the commitment to get baptized as much as he did.

We love you so much Kaden!

Pictures

Easter '10

Easter was a lot of fun this year. We got to enjoy the weekend with Danny's siblings. We had an Easter egg hunt at Justin and Megan's house on Saturday. Megan provided some egg hunting glasses to help the kids in their search. And we each supplied enough eggs for an entire army to have an easter egg hunt. The kids had such a fun time.

Then we all stayed the night for ping pong, games, and a super yummy dinner. Easter morning we woke up and read some Easter books that the kids got for Easter (Kaden and Kinley actually listened to the books - the other kids played). Then we enjoyed a delicious Easter lunch.

It was a lot of fun and we were very happy to be able to celebrate this sacred holiday with loved ones. Thanks to Justin and Megan for the use of their home. It was another successful party at the party house. :)

Pictures

Kaden's 8th Birthday

I'm finally able to catch up on some posts and one of the more recent events would be Kaden's 8th birthday. We celebrated for a complete 2 days. Thursday (his actual b-day) he wanted alfredo pasta for dinner and a Patrick (from spongebob) cake. He opened his presents - Legos, Legos, and more Legos - and then enjoyed putting together his new Lego race car.

On Friday, we did his favorite family activity - calzone and movie night. We have been doing this every Friday for quite a while and Kaden requested a special calzone and movie night where he would choose the movie. We got the new Ice Age movie and Aliens In The Attic.

All in all, it was a wonderful family celebration. (And I can't believe I have an eight year-old!!!)

Pictures

My Cute Kids

One evening (it happened to be Kaden's birthday) I sat down and took some pictures of my adorable children. I don't do this enough.

Click Here

Ellie's Hair

Finally having a little girl is kind of fun. I actually really enjoy doing her hair and making her look so pretty. I don't do it every day - I'm just not that dedicated. But when I do make her hair pretty, I enjoy it. :)

Pictures

PS. As you can see from the pictures, just cause I do Ellie's hair does not mean that I do Preston's hair. :)

Basketball Pics

I'm finally able to get Kaden's basketball pictures uploaded to our computer. (Yes, that was also clear back in January.) These were taken the day that Danny sub-coached. The pictures aren't the best quality and I haven't edited them yet. At least I'm finally getting them on the blog though. :)

Click Here

Baby Doll or Little Girl

For Christmas, we got Ellie a little baby doll that came with a stroller, high chair, and bassinet. We also got her a tinker bell chair. She loves the doll and stroller. And she loves the chair. But she didn't use them in the conventional way. :) Eventually she did start to actually push the doll around in the stroller; but for a couple of months she just wanted to set the doll in her chair and she wanted to sit in the stroller.

The stroller is meant for the doll; therefore, she doesn't fit in it all that well. It was quite difficult for her to wiggle into. She would put her hands on the floor, look between her legs, and back up 'til she could sit in it. Many times it would roll away while she did this move. She would get really mad and throw a tantrum. We finally learned to keep the stroller in front of the couch to keep it from rolling away from her.

She's such a funny girl!

Girl Talk

Back in January (yes, I'm that far behind on this blog) Ellie got a hold of my phone and "talked" and "talked" and "talked". She walked around for a full hour with the phone to her ear. Hope it's not a sign of things to come. :)

"I'm Starving"

This morning, at approximately 1:30 AM, Danny and I were awakened to Preston rushing down the stairs frantically. Of course, the first thing that I thought was that someone had an "accident" and we were gonna have a mess to clean up.

Danny beat me out of bed. I was in the process of climbing out of bed when I heard what Preston was so worked up about. This is what I heard:

(sounding panic-stricken) "I need food. I'm so hungry. I'm starving. I need to eat."

Apparently the 7 bites of chicken and pasta that I practically had to force him to eat last night was not quite enough to hold him out until morning. Either that or he was still asleep through this whole exchange. I have a tendency to think it's the latter. :)

Danny patiently told him that it was almost breakfast time so he could go back to sleep and he would eat when it was morning. He laid back down, went back to sleep, and this morning he had a toaster strudel and string cheese for breakfast. (Don't ask me - that was his choice for breakfast.)

And The Verdict Is...

I waited as long as I possibly could... :)

Danny received an email last night from ASU. It was a surprise to both of us since their website still said that his application was still in review. And the first word in the email was congratulations.

Yes, we are in! We are super excited. We stopped celebrating long enough last night to call parents to tell them. It is now official... We will be moving to Phoenix this summer and Danny will be attending ASU's Master's of Arts, Media, and Engineering program in the fall.

I am so proud of Danny. He has worked so hard throughout our marriage to support our family and to be the best he can be at everything. And he continues to work as hard as he can, in everything he does, to continue moving us up in life. I love that man so much and again, I'm SO proud of him.

Give Some Luv...

So Danny is participating in a contest in his GIS world. It is for a mapping application mashup. For those of you who do not know what that means (I would be one of you if I was not married to him) it is taking some general data and putting that info on a map to create a new application. Anywho... Danny has spent a lot of time on his application and he had to create a youtube video to introduce the app. The youtube video is shown on the right, so give him some love and rate him 5 stars. :) (not bad for being his first youtube video.)

Application posted on Danny's website

Stressful and Busy Life

Sometimes life gets frustratingly stressful to the point that you can feel every muscle in your body tense up and give you more aches and pains than you care to admit. I'm not saying that it has been so traumatic that I just want to sit down and cry (although tears are sometimes near the surface) :). It's just that I can definitely feel the muscles in my body protesting against the tension I have been feeling.

You all know that we have applied to graduate school and we are STILL anxiously waiting for the results for that little adventure. A couple of weeks ago Danny applied for a telecommuting job that would certainly be PERFECT for the "going to school full-time with an entire family to provide for" syndrome. It has been an extremely stressful couple of weeks since we can't remember a time when we applied for a job that we wanted as badly as this one.

It was an extremely arduous application and testing process. With resume round, 2 phone interviews including the "technical" interview, taking several complex technical tests on the computer, flying out to Alabama for personal interviews (4 to be exact), and security background checks... Let's just say that every step of the process consisted of us waiting somewhat impatiently. I am usually one who can just let go of the stress of the moment 'cause I know it won't help. I just couldn't find a way to do that this time.

Now let me just step back a moment and say that when Danny and I first decided to go back to school, I was willing (if it was the right thing to do) to go back to work to support our family as Danny worked on his education. It was a difficult decision, but I was willing to do it. However, as I earnestly prayed about becoming a working mother again, I was told in no uncertain terms by the spirit that I should continue as a stay-at-home mom. It was a very powerful answer to my prayers. Back to the job... Because I had had this experience, money has been a big concern of mine for when/if we go to school. (p.s. I still feel strongly that we will be accepted).

After Danny returned from Alabama, it was time for us to wait once again. After two days of waiting, we were offered the position. We are very excited about the prospects of what this job can bring and we feel so blessed.

Once again, Heavenly Father has shown me (personally and in a very real way) that He will bless us if we just leave it up to Him. I'm trying more than ever to just put our lives in His hands.

Team Player

Kaden has started basketball again. He had 2 practices and now he has a game each week. It is really fun to watch these kids play. Some of them are the "star players" and others run around chasing butterflies, as Danny would say. Kaden is somewhere in the middle - as a mother I like to think he's more on the side of star than butterfly chaser.

Danny got the chance to "coach" one of the practices as the real coach was out of town that week. I have pictures of that week but am unable to post them because we are going to be doing a system upgrade to our computer. I don't want to put any more pics on my computer that would just have to be backed up and then moved back over to our computer when the update is done. So I will post them later. But it was a lot of fun to watch Danny with the butterfly chasers - I could tell when he was getting a little frustrated. He tried to teach them some real defense and there were many who just kept saying, "when do we get to shoot?"

Danny has also been working with Kaden at home. Our seven year-old now understands the term "box out" and he has really been working on shooting one-handed. Last night at his game, Kaden was the one player that was always under the basket whether it was waiting for one of his teammates to pass him the ball so he could shoot, or waiting for the rebound. That doesn't necessarily mean he always got the ball, but he was really trying hard to be a team player.

He has said that basketball is a hard sport cause you have to keep your eye on the ball, know when you're on defense or offense, know where the guy is on the other team that you need to guard, and still try to steal the ball or make a basket. He is a very technically minded boy and therefore has to spell out exactly what he needs to do in order to play correctly. And he tries very hard to not be a ball hog. Sometimes that means he passes the ball as soon as he gets it. :)

He's doing really well and I'm excited for him to have the chance to learn more of this sport that his dad loves so much. Way to go Kaden!

(Oh, and they lost their first game but won the game last night. But, really, who's counting. :)

New Shoes For Haitians

Check out this post. I saw the first picture and was so saddened. This is a great little "fundraiser".

http://www.recessionistaparty.com/2010/02/free-shoes-for-everyonein-haiti.html

New Years Eve

We enjoyed New Years Eve and New Years Day with Danny's brothers and their families. We started out early the morning of the Eve and we played games all day at Justin and Megan's house. The kids LOVED playing with their cousins and the grown-ups LOVED playing ping pong. We spent the night there (after staying up 'til nearly 4 in the morning) and then went to Heber on New Years Day.

We went sledding on New Years day which was way fun. We went to Kim's (sister-in-law) parents unfinished cabin where they had a nice little hill for sledding. Her dad also had a fun little tracker on snowmobile tracks and we were pulled around behind that as well. Kaden loved the sledding and really loved playing with his cousin, Kinley. Preston really love playing on the "playground" with his cousin, Tanner and wouldn't stop eating the snow. It really was a blast until I ran into a port-a-potty. :)

Funny story, really. The hill was actually a road. On one side of the road was the edge of the hill which dropped with a steep decline - we stayed away from that. And on the right side at the bottom of the hill-road was a port-a-potty. Danny had built up a bank as to prevent anyone from hitting the thing. No one had hit it all day long and we were having a lot of fun.

The last run of the day, I took Preston up the road to go down one final time. On our way up, I said to Preston, "Should we go up higher so the ride lasts longer?" And, of course, he said, "Yes!" So we went up higher than we had all day long. Therefore, we went faster than we had all day long. Therefore, we jumped the bank that Danny had built and hit the port-a-potty going backwards (the tube always turned me around so I was going down backwards) going what seemed a million miles per hour.

I hurt my neck and back and had a pretty bad headache. Danny and his little bro, Matt, gave me a blessing a little later. Long story short, I've been recovering from what I think was a cracked floating rib for the past few weeks. But it seems much better now. :) And again, funny story now that I look back at it.

Here's some pics:

New Years Eve

New Years Day

Christmas 2009

Our Christmas was really great! We made cookies on Christmas Eve and the boys really enjoyed that. I told Kaden that he was allowed to wake up early on Christmas morning 'cause I was sick of being the first one out of bed. :) So when they got ready for bed, Kaden told me he was for sure going to wake up really early. We also put Ellie's baby monitor in their bedroom so they could let us know when they woke up. We wanted them to wait to come downstairs until we were able to be ready to take pictures of them.

They went to bed at around 8:00 and by 9:30 we heard Kaden in the monitor whispering, "Dad, is it midnight yet? Can we come down yet? Has Santa come yet?" Of course he was sent back to bed. :)

Kaden forgot all about the monitor and came downstairs at about 6:00 Christmas morning. We were lucky that we woke up and I was able to stop him and send him back upstairs so that we could wake up Preston and Ellie. We got the kids and they all came downstairs together. Ellie wasn't quite sure why we had woken her up so early. Preston was excited about everything he saw and would have started opening every present he saw (whether it had his name or not) if we hadn't stopped him. And Kaden was really excited about his spongebob spinning toothbrush. :0) They finally spotted the robots from Santa and were super excited to play with them as well as the Nerf guns that were from me and Danny.

We enjoyed opening presents, played with toys, made a nice dinner, and ate Christmas dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Hyde and Uncle Wes. Weston stayed the night and we played games, games, and more games. Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas.

Oh, and one funny story is that after we got Ellie dressed that day, she wanted to put her new shoes on. She walked around in her new shoes for about an hour and loved the sound they made on the kitchen tile. She also kept walking to the garage door while waving her hand. She was so excited that she could walk with these shoes on and she just wanted to go bye-bye.

Christmas Eve Cookies

Christmas Day

Ellie Walking

Yes, it has been forever since I posted. And yes, I have a ton of pictures to include in my updates. We'll start with Ellie. She is getting so big and so fun! I love this little sweetheart to pieces. She has the cutest little faces and she is totally a mommy's girl. She does love her daddy though. And she loves it when daddy comes home. Just last night when he came home, she ran around chasing him and laughing for about 5 minutes. She's so much fun.

I never posted pictures of her walking so here are some. Hope you enjoy...

Walking

One day Ellie grabbed my phone and walked around with it in her hand. She walked around and talked" on the phone for about a half hour. She wouldn't give me my phone back and she didn't want to stop. It was so cute!

Talking on the phone

One Step At A Time

Up until yesterday, Ellie took a very passive approach in learning the all important walking skill. She would walk 2 or 3 steps when it wasn't inconvenient. And if it was inconvenient (or it would take more than 2 or 3 steps to get where she needed to go), she would just as well crawl.

But yesterday? ... Yesterday she decided to try an active approach. I could hear it in her brain, "I AM going to walk today. No more of this lowly crawling business... today is the day!" :) She tried walking everywhere she went. If she fell, she would stand back up and keep going. At first there was a lot of falling. She would take 2 or 3 steps and then fall, BUT she would pick herself back up and try again. Finally, by about 5:00 in the afternoon, she walked TWENTY-THREE steps continuously from one end of our bedroom, out the door, and into the living room! She still had some falls after that, but they were farther between!

I have yet to take pictures of her walking... that is on my to-do list today. But she did it! I'm so excited for her to enjoy the beauty of this world while standing up and walking around. It's a lot different from that vantage point. :)

School

For those of you who may not know yet, Danny has decided to pursue his masters degree. We have researched schools throughout the U.S. There are a few different interests that Danny has found intriguing. Most of the schools required taking the GRE test in order to apply, and because Danny hasn't been in school for over six years, the GRE sounds overwhelming to him. But through our research we found ASU (Arizona State University) to have some very exciting programs, no requirements with the GRE, a lower tuition than most schools, it's one of the top design schools in the nation, and my sister lives in Phoenix (which is a plus)!

We fasted, prayed, and pleaded with the Lord for guidance in this decision. We have three kids to think about and just heading off to school isn't a decision that can be taken lightly. Basically, after all of the time spent on our knees, we have decided that this is definitely a road we feel we should take. It will take some sacrifice and frustration at times, but we are excited for this new route.

Danny has spent the last few weeks trying hard to get his application in to the ASU Arts, Media, and Engineering program. It is officially in and we are now taking part in the waiting game. We really feel like ASU is our #1 (and in some ways our only) choice for school. If we don't get accepted, we're not sure what step to take next. So we are putting our lives in the Lords hands and praying that everything will work out for the best. We know He knows what's best for our family.

We should find out if we are accepted by February. Keep us in mind in your prayers as we really would like this acceptance.

Surprise Visitor

Last night we were just getting ready to eat dinner when the doorbell rang. When I went to open the door, I heard some bells. I immediately thought we were going to have some carolers so I called to Danny to join me. When I opened the door, I was taken by surprise. There stood a jolly old Saint Nicholas with sleigh bells and all!

We invited the old guy in and he came in and talked to our boys. They were so excited! Kaden immediately went to stand by him. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and Kaden replied, "I don't really care what I get. I won't complain." I think Santa was a little surprised by the comment and couldn't think of what to say except, "Well, that's what Santa likes to hear!"

Preston was a little more hesitant. He was scared of Santa last year and then he figured out that he got presents from him on Christmas. So this whole year Preston has said many times that, "I can't wait to see Santa again." Of course, I knew that when the day finally came for him to see the big guy, he would be nervous. And he was. He wouldn't stand by Santa, but he was sure to let him know that he wanted a Transformer for Christmas. (We are done shopping and he is not getting a Transformer - Ellie might have to get him that as her present for him.) :)

Santa gave each of our boys (Ellie was already in bed) a candy-cane and he gave Danny and I each a carmel! Yummy - Homemade! Kaden was so excited to go tell his teacher today about our surprise visitor. (And we're still not sure exactly who it was in that big red coat... ???)

Pictures

SnowBound

The boys have been begging me to be able to go play in the snow. They were going to when the snow first fell, but we couldn't find their snow pants. I finally found all of their snow gear and they were extremely ready to go play in the fluffy white stuff.

They got all bundled, and I had to take some pictures. Then when they finally got outside, Kaden was so excited that he just dived into the snow face first. He had snow all over his face (I think he learned not to do that.) :)

Kaden tried to start a snowman. Preston watched. Kaden held up the start of his snowman for me. And the snowman didn't get any farther than that cause they saw a mound of snow to go play in.

They definitely had a lot of fun together playing in the snow!

Pictures

Pictures of Ellie

I haven't taken pictures of Ellie for a while. I guess I'm falling into the scene where the third child doesn't get as many pictures taken as the first or even the second. I never thought I'd become THAT person. :) But I had the camera out yesterday and had to take some of this little princess who has graced us with her presence in our family. :)

She has gotten so big and has so many expressions. She is so funny and I love spending my days with her.

Pictures

Happy Holidays!

It's been a very crazy couple of weeks in our house. After the last post, Preston and I did indeed get sick. It has been the worst cold! It started with a fever, went to an upset stomach, continued with a terrible sinus cold, and concluded by settling into my chest and throat and therefore giving me a cough for the last week. It's never fun to be sick, but to endure two full weeks of it is torture. But, alas, I am on the mend. (Preston didn't get it nearly as severely as I did.)

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were able to spend it with my WHOLE family. It was 30 people under one roof and it was a blast. We tried to pack everything we could into the weekend. We had crafts, paintball, a guitar hero competition, a poker tournament, and, of course, black friday shopping - although, I must say the black friday experience this year was definitely less enjoyable than usual. People seemed overly annoying - maybe it was my lack of sleep plus my cold symptoms that made me a little more irritable. :)

Now I am getting ready for Christmas and feeling very blessed. Between a wonderful Thanksgiving and some recent discussions in our home with our children, I feel a strong sense of gratitude for my life. And what a great opportunity Christmastime gives us to feel that joy and gratitude.

Happy belated Thanksgiving and a very merry Christmas to everyone! I hope you feel the spirit of Christmas this year as much as I have felt it in the last week. Love to all!

Seriously???

I am so done with illness in our family! Kaden had the swine flu about 4 weeks ago. Danny had the swine flu about 3 weeks ago. We had about 4 days of health and then Danny got really sick again with a really terrible cold. Last night Ellie acted like she wasn't feeling well and woke up a couple of times. Now this morning Kaden woke up with a 100 degree fever and a sore throat. Apparently, Preston and I have gotten by so far; but I'm not feeling optimistic for us and the next few days. All I can say is I better not get sick for Thanksgiving! I have to be healthy for Black Friday shopping. :)

I just want health to restore itself in our house!

Cutest Comment Award!

Danny and I don't quite know what to get Kaden for Christmas this year. So this evening I asked him.

Mom: "So, Kaden, what do you want for Christmas this year?"

Kaden: "I don't know. I don't really care what I get. I won't complain. Oh, and mom, I already wrote my letter to Santa at school. So I don't need to write another one."

Mom (Still dubious as to what to get him): "What did you write in your letter?"

Kaden: "It was a long letter. I wrote lots of stuff like 'is it cold in the North Pole' and 'how are the elves'. Stuff like that."

Mom (Let's try this one more time): "But what did you tell him you wanted for Christmas?"

Kaden: "Just what I told you. I told him that I don't care what he brings me. I won't complain. I just want a couple of presents, that's all."

What kind of a 7 year-old says that? What a sweetheart!!!

Recessionista

I love this blog! I found it from a friend of mine and they just keep giving things away. Check it out... http://www.recessionistaparty.com/

Things To Remember - Kaden

Kaden has grown up a lot. I can't believe he is going to be baptized in a few short months.

He likes to ask questions, especially when we are reading the scriptures. And we are now in Isaiah, so there are a lot of questions to be asked!

He also tries so hard to please us. He works really hard to make sure we are proud of him, even though it's hard to not be proud of such a good little boy. That's not to say he doesn't get in trouble sometimes though. :)

His favorite phrase is, "huh, mom..." or "huh, dad..." He says it over and over until we acknowledge that he is correct.

He talks a lot during movies. Whether it's questions about what's going on or making sure that he is correct about what's going on, you can count on him to ask the questions in the middle of a really important part of a movie.

Kaden is a little shy and very sensitive. He gets his feelings hurt rather easily, which is sometimes frustrating, but also heartbreaking. Most of the time he is very mellow, unless he is playing xbox. :) He is very caring and is always making sure that others are doing ok. He prays for things like his aunt Jill's feet - that they will be healthy - as well as little things like that Preston and Ellie will be good for me while he is at school. :) He is constantly seeking for approval and that is sometimes frustrating, but also very heartwarming. I love him so much and am so proud to be his mom. He teaches me more things than I can count and wish he knew how much I appreciate him.

Things To Remember - Preston

Preston has a certain look that he gives me to get what he wants. He looks at me and says, "Please, mom?" with an adorable look in his eyes. Whenever he does this, it melts my heart and I usually say yes. In fact, the other day he wanted to take a cup of water up to his room while he was watching a movie. I told him that he would spill it. He looked at me with that unbelievably sincere look and said, "Please, mom... I promise I won't spill it. I'll be super careful." Of course, I let him - and in fifteen minutes he came down crying and heartbroken, exclaiming, "I spilled it, mom!" :)

He also has a GREAT imagination. He loves to play imaginary games and he has to ask my permission every time. "Mom, can I play my new batman game - outside of the xbox?" He has to specify that he is not asking to play the xbox but is asking to pretend that he is batman. :)

He likes to just have my attention. He will stand there for five minutes saying, "Mom, mom, mom, mom..." if that's what it takes for me to say "what". And most of the time his reply is just, "I love you."

He adores his big brother but will stand up for himself when needed. He throws a lot of fits, but is getting so much better at refraining from his fit-throwing. For the past few months he has really figured out the word please, and he uses it to his advantage. The majority of the time he will accept my answer of no as long as an explanation of why is accompanied with the word. He is very sweet to Ellie, and also very overpowering to her at the same time. He will give her a kiss, but nock her down while doing so. He's loving, and sweet, and he tells me I'm so pretty.

I love the little guy so much!

Things To Remember - Ellie

One thing I never want to forget about Ellie is her "going to sleep" routine. Every time I lay her down to sleep, I have to give her the binkie and a corner of her blanket. She then proceeds to tickle her face (nose and eyes) with the corner of the blanket. It is so cute! And the other day, I went in to get her after a nap. She had the corner again, and when I held out my arms to pick her up she bent down for one last tickle on her nose. She does that every once in a while and I love it.

Another thing I don't want to ever forget is the way Ellie says "MOM!" Sometimes she yells it, sometimes she just says it quietly, and sometimes it's even annoying cause she says it over and over and over and over. But I still love it. It's not mommy, or mama, or ma... it's "mom" pronounced very accurately. :)

She has also begun to copy other words. This morning, for instance, she waved and said "bye" to Kaden when he was leaving for school.

Oh, and the way she nods or shakes her head whenever she is asked a question. This morning I asked her, "You want to get up and have some breakfast?" She replied with an emphatic nod of her head. I don't think she quite realizes the difference between a nod and shake, but I do think she understands that it is an answer. It's adorable!

She has almost figured out how to come back down the stairs by herself and is so proud when she does accomplish it. She started trying over the weekend to stand up by herself in the middle of the room. She will take 1 step but then get scared and fall down. She is so close to walking, which I am nervous about cause she already gets into everything. She is more grabby than either of our boys and will get into anything - especially the things we tell her not to. She hits the tv just to see a reaction from us and she will even turn the tv off, just to make us pick her up. She is such a joy in our lives and I love her so much!

Popinjayz Blog

Just wanted to put the word out there about the new blog for Popinjayz.

www.popinjayz.com/blog Check it out! There's a contest running right now to win a $50 shopping spree at our store!

Halloween 2009

This year our kids had the "Batman" theme for Halloween. Preston was Batman, Kaden was Joker, and Ellie was Batgirl. I have to say that I made Ellie's costume and was SO excited with how it turned out. Plus she even kept the mask on.

The boys, of course, had been looking forward to the festivities for a while. They were so anxious to get dressed up and go get candy. They loved wearing their costumes - they wore them almost all day long.

I've decided I have become a lot more lenient as a parent. I remember rationing Kaden's candy and letting him eat a couple pieces each day until it was gone. Now, having 3, I let them go for it as soon as we got in the door. They were allowed to eat as much candy they could until bedtime (which was only 15-20 minutes, but still.) I even gave Ellie some candy to eat. She LOVED it! And I really enjoyed watching them. I've learned to just enjoy the moment just a little more. :)

Pictures

Introducing... POPINJAYZ!

For the past few months Danny and I have been working hard at starting my new business. I would like to introduce you to www.popinjayz.com - my infant's/children's accessory store. Check it out! And feel totally free to order something if you'd like. :)

I am really excited about this opportunity and would appreciate your help in any way possible. I would like to offer a discount to anyone who would be willing to do some advertising. Advertising can include posting on a blog, facebook, etc. about Popinjayz, emailing friends who might have some little girls of their own, or anything else you can think of. If you'd like to take part in the advertising discount, just email me (mardie [at] popinjayz [dot] com) with the varieties of advertising you are doing, and I will send you a corresponding coupon code. I will say - the more advertisement the better!

One more thing. I am open to putting other people's products on my website. If you or anyone you know has products that you/they would like to distribute through a website, just let me know. If I approve of the product, I will only charge a small placement percentage of each product sold through my site.

Thanks for your support as I begin this new adventure. I hope you like it! :)

Family Scripture Study

There is something so very precious and sweet about watching Kaden carefully assist Preston in reading during our family scripture study. He would read a few words at a time and Preston would try his hardest to repeat what Kaden said. It was one of those precious moments that I will cherish to recall. I love those boys!

Blech!

All I can say is there are 4 sick people in our house (fever and all) and the only "healthy" one is still recovering from 2 surgeries. What terrible luck! Can't we just have 1 normal week to catch up on life?

Underwear

Preston: "Mom? Do grown-ups have underwear?"

Mom: ":) Yes"

Preston (incredulous): "They DO have underwear? hee hee"

Where Is Our Number

Preston was telling me how old he was when he got a little confused. He said, "Mom, where is our number?"

Mom - "What to you mean?"

Preston - "Where is the number that tells us how old we are? Where is it on our body?"

Mom - "We don't have a number on our body - we just have to keep track of how old we are in our minds."

:)

The Shoulder Surgery...

I have a little more time now to explain a little about the shoulder surgery Danny had on Friday. The doctor called it a "classic Bankart repair". Basically, Danny's labrum was torn. When surgery was performed, the torn labrum of the Bankart lesion was reattached to the socket of the shoulder. This was done arthroscopically; but that's pretty much all we know right now. I didn't get much of a chance to talk to the doctor after the surgery so we are anxious to talk to him tomorrow for Danny's post-op checkup.

As for my end of the surgery, I had been a little nervous since his knee surgery. Not only did EVERYONE tell us that the shoulder surgery was much, MUCH more painful than the knee. I was also worried about Danny going under with the anesthesia again. Last time it took him 50 minutes to wake up after he was taken to recovery. I know, for some that number doesn't sound like very long. But most people wake up almost instantaneously. Everyone called Danny a "light-weight" with the anesthesia. He is just SO sensitive to it. Plus, they (the doctors) have deduced that his fever (the one that lasted a whole week) last time was an effect of the anesthesia because he is so sensitive. Therefore, I was quite nervous of the post-op effects of the anesthesia.

This time I was waiting for over two hours while Danny was "in" recovery. And every second of that time made me more nervous of how his body was handling the anesthesia. When they finally called me back, they told me that it took him 30 minutes to wake up this time. Yes, that is less time than last time, but they also gave me one more lovely piece of information about what the anesthesia does to him. I found out that both times Danny came out of surgery, he was not breathing on his own and it took them the full time to get him to start breathing on his own. On top of everything, for the first 12 hours at home, Danny says he has to CONCENTRATE on breathing because if he lets himself relax, he catches himself not breathing.

Again, everything is fine and he is doing pretty well considering he has had two surgeries in three weeks. I have just wanted to record these experiences since Friday.

Danny does have another fever so we are trying to stay on top of it with tylenol and pain killers. I personally am hoping it doesn't last for a week like the last time - as I'm sure Danny feels the same. He is still doing physical therapy for his knee and he will start PT for his shoulder soon as well. His knee seems to be doing really well. He is able to walk slowly by himself if he has his knee-brace on. So I only have to be by his side when he doesn't have his brace on.

I am very grateful for everyone who has helped us out and supported us. Our neighbor was so amazing to bring us dinner on Friday and it somehow lasted all weekend long. It was such a good dinner for Danny too! Mashed potatoes and gravy tasted so good to him and it helped with his nausea on Friday. We feel so blessed with wonderful friends, family, and even fairly good health.

Danny's Surgery

Danny had his shoulder surgery today. He is doing fine. It took him forever (again!) to wake up from anesthesia. He is exhausted. And he can hardly walk with his knee yet. I am having to support him everywhere he goes right now. We'll see how long that will last.

A Morning at the Park

This morning I decided to let Preston ride his bike to the park. So we strapped Ellie in the stroller and took off. We had lots of fun swinging. And I love how sweet Preston is with Ellie. They are going to be such good friends!

Pictures

(ok, so Preston isn't always sweet with her - but he was this morning. Maybe if I mention it enough, he'll stop beating her up.) :)

Preston and His Bike

Preston has been doing extremely well with figuring out his bike. He can finally get on and off by himself, pedal by himself, and even get started by himself. He has only fallen once, and he just got back up to continue on his bike. What a trooper! Way to go Preston!

Pictures

Ellie's Growing Up So Fast!

Ellie has been reaching all sorts of milestones lately. In the past two days, she has mastered crawling. No more army-crawl around here! She is up on all fours.

She is also standing up against furniture, and then walking along the furniture. She's going to be taking off pretty soon!

I was doing the dishes today and realized that I didn't know where Ellie was. I looked up the stairs and could only see her feet dangling from the landing. What? When did she figure out how to crawl up the stairs? So here goes the "watch her very carefully" stage.

She has at least ten teeth now, that I am aware of. She talks everyone's ears off. She blabs, and laughs, and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. She also likes to show everyone her tongue- she is always sticking it out. She's getting so big and I feel like she's entering the toddler stage. No more little tiny baby!

I love this little girl and enjoy every single milestone she reaches. Even if she is reaching a new one every single day!

Pictures

If All Else Fails, Use Bribery

Preston needed a bath, and therefore was getting into the bathtub. As he sits down, he says, "Mom, if you wash me then I'll get a treat for me and for you."

Mom: "You can wash yourself now, Preston. You're a big boy."

Preston: "But don't you want a treat, Mom? If YOU wash me, I'll get us both a treat. Do you want a candy?"

Oh, the things he will come up with!

Halo Buddy

For the last week Kaden has come home and told me about his friend, Dylan, who wants to come over and play Halo. He has even been given little cards drawn by Dylan with Halo characters on it and talking about how fun it would be to play Halo together. I called Dylan's mom on Thursday night to see if he could come over Friday, but he wasn't able to come until today. It turned out that Kaden has been drawing "Halo cards" as well to give to his little friend.

So they walked home together today and they spent the evening playing video games. Kaden has never had a buddy with the same interests as himself, that he has been able to play with outside of school. We lived by so many girls in Mapleton; I think it's about time that he found a little boy to play with. It was fun to watch them together!

I Have A Brain

Preston climbed up on the counter to wash and dry his hands. As he was precariously walking along the counter top, the following conversation took place...

Mom: Preston, you be careful so you don't fall.

Preston: I won't fall mom. I will be careful.

Mom: Ok.

Then after he had gotten down and thought for a minute...

Preston: You know why I wouldn't fall, mom?

Mom: Why?

Preston: Because I have a brain.

Preston's Birthday

Preston had a birthday on the 9th. He was a little spoiled and had a lot of fun. A couple of times, out of nowhere, he has said, "Mom, my birthday was so much fun. Thanks for my birthday. It made me so happy."

He asked for a "Halo guy" cake this year. I think it has been my biggest challenge for cake decorating yet. But I managed to find a picture to copy and I was able to fake a Halo cake.

Thanks to both sets of grandparents for the presents. He loved all of them. He calls all his birthday presents his "cool toys" as opposed to his regular toys. :)

Pictures

What A Fun and Busy 2 Weeks!

My brother Wes came home from the Tokyo Japan Mission on September 2nd. It has been so fun to see him and we have really enjoyed some "Hyde family time" the last two weeks. He looks the same, but is totally grown up and we are all so proud of him.

The Saturday after he got home we went paint-balling. It was lots of fun! Then this last Friday we enjoyed a wonderful day together. We went to the courthouse with my sister Jill in the morning. Her little baby Noah is officially theirs! And Friday night we enjoyed going to the temple with my nephew Zack. He will be going to the Brazil Belo Horizante Mission in January. It was wonderful to see him go through the temple for the first time. And on Saturday we enjoyed seeing little Noah sealed to his parents. What an amazing experience that was! And then on Sunday we were able to listen as Weston reported his mission in sacrament meeting. What an awesome and emotional two weeks it has been. I'm so grateful I was able to participate in all of these events! All I can say is, "I love my family!"

Airport Pictures

Paint-balling Pictures

Noah's Sealing Pictures

Hyde Family Pictures

Update

It's been kind of crappy around here the last couple of days. Yesterday (Sunday) Danny woke up with a fever of 100.7. We were concerned about an infection so we called the doctor's office. The doctor on call assured me that it most likely was not an infection in his joint. It usually takes at least a week for an infection to present itself in the actual joint. He explained that he might have some kind of virus or an infection in his lungs from the percocet, etc. However, Danny hadn't taken many of his percocet and he didn't feel the need to cough or anything like the doctor had explained. He did however feel sick to his stomach.

By yesterday afternoon, I had a small fever and felt sick to my stomach. Yippee. So we figured there was a possibility that we both had the same illness. But by last night, Danny's foot and ankle was a little more swollen and it looked quite red. I called the doctor once again (just to be safe) and the doctor reassured me that it was very unlikely to be an infection in his joint. He did say there was a possibility of a blood clot and he asked a lot of other questions. By the end of the conversation, the doctor had somewhat ruled out a blood clot and basically said to loosen the wrap a little so his leg could have good circulation. He said the wrap might be too tight and that's what was causing the redness and swelling. He also told us to continue Danny's leg exercises to ensure good circulation.

So in review, we have 1 disabled Danny along with 2 ill parents and 3 young children that we would like to have entertain themselves while we lay out on our bed for 2 days. This equation equals a not so fun holiday weekend in the Bradshaw house. BLAH!

At least there is one good way to look at it - I've lost 3 lbs in the last 4 days! Gotta stay postitive. :)

Successful Surgery

I finally have a second to sit down and let everyone know that Danny's surgery was a success.

The medial meniscus had a very slight tear, so the doctor put a couple of stitches in it. The lateral meniscus had some tearing and damage and the doctor basically had to "trim" that torn portion of the meniscus. His ACL was completely torn through and therefore the doctor had to completely reconstruct his ACL.

Danny isn't in too much pain. He has to keep his leg elevated and iced. He is also on percocet and in his words, "it makes me loopy." He's pretty out of it and kind of tired. He will be on crutches for a couple of weeks and we will see the doctor again next week.

As for the other surgeries, because his right knee is asymptomatic we are waiting to see how it handles all this weight for the next few weeks to determine whether or not to have surgery on it as well. The doctor says that if it isn't bothering him, he probably shouldn't get it fixed (in fact we've had 2 doctors suggest that); so we are going to make sure the extra work for this knee - while he is on crutches - doesn't bother it at all, and then possibly forego the surgery on the right knee. We just want to get the surgery done this year (because of the deductible being met) if he is ultimately going to need the surgery anyway. We will be praying about it to make sure we do the right thing. The shoulder surgery is scheduled for 3 weeks away (we might move that date back, depending on how this knee recovers).

Anyway, thanks to all who have expressed their concern.

Gangsta

The boys decided to put their hats on and this is the picture we got... :)

(click on the picture to see it in full size)

My Big One-Year-Old

Ellie had her first birthday on Sunday! I can't believe it's already been a year!

I let her open a present before church (earrings and bracelets). And of course the boys had to help her with EVERY present. They simply couldn't just sit back and wait.

After church we were lucky to have Grandma and Grandpa Hyde come and help her celebrate. We enjoyed some grilled chicken and shrimp, twice-baked potatoes, corn, and rolls. Ellie REALLY enjoyed her meal. :) Then we opened the rest of her presents. All I can say is I am destined to have a girly girl when she grows up if I continue to buy dolls and jewelry for her birthdays. :) It is so fun to do girly stuff with her after having the two boys. I guess, hopefully, the boys can keep her from becoming too girly. :)

As for the cake and ice cream, well, she wasn't quite sure about using her fingers. It was pretty messy, and apparently she just didn't want to get her hands all dirty. So she started just putting her face directly into the bowl. It was hilarious! Finally, I got her a spoon and she actually did pretty good at trying to feed herself with the spoon. By the end, though, she just wanted a bite and she just couldn't stand waiting until she had the spoon thing figured out. She picked up the cake and munched it down.

Happy First Birthday to my little girl!

PICTURES!

Knee Surgery

Well, it's official. Danny is going to be having knee surgery next Thursday (the 3rd). He went to see the doctor yesterday and he has a torn ACL in both knees as well as a torn meniscus in his left knee. He also needs to visit the doctor for his shoulder to see what needs to be done to fix it. Yes, that is THREE possible surgeries that need to be done for his joints. He wants to be able to have all three surgeries in the same year for insurance purposes. We are starting with the left knee and then we'll see what we can do from there. But 3 surgeries in 4 months seems a little overwhelming to me! Just try to keep him in your prayers next week. Thanks!

Bradshaw Family Reunion - 2009

This last weekend we got to go to a cabin up in Ashton, Idaho. We enjoyed the whole weekend with the whole Bradshaw clan as we enjoyed the 2009 Family Reunion. It was a TON of fun. We enjoyed canoeing, games, hiking, games, 4 wheeling, games, Mesa Falls, and did I mention games? We enjoyed every minute of it and have to tell Grandma and Grandpa THANK YOU so much for the whole weekend. They planned it all and it was so enjoyable. Thank you and we love you!!!

Pictures

Summer 2009

This summer has been so extremely busy (as shown by previous posts), but we've enjoyed just a little down time.

But first there are pictures of a super fun camping trip we took at the beginning of August. We enjoyed sleeping outdoors in the tent and all the kids loved it. I was surprised at how well Ellie handled the whole camping trip. She's such a trooper. And then in the morning, as we were getting ready to leave, our car wouldn't start. We were nowhere near any other campers, up at the top of Heber Mountain, and we had no cell phone service. We decided to say a round of prayers. Preston started by saying his prayer that he was grateful we had not been eaten by bugs. :) Kaden continued with a wonderful prayer about being grateful we could spend time as a family and praying we could make it home.

After we said our prayers, Danny and Kaden walked down to the "main" road. Within a few minutes a very nice gentleman came and offered to take us all down the mountain and into Heber (he didn't have any jumper cables). We accepted his offer and found out that he was lost trying to find his stake's girls camp area. We also found out later that he was on the totally wrong road. I really believe he was on that road for a purpose - to help the Bradshaws find their way home.

Anyway, we ended up seeing a group gathered for a pioneer trek just a couple of miles down the road and they had some jumper cables. We didn't end up driving all the way back to Heber, so we were grateful for that as well. What a blessing prayer is in our lives!

During our "down-time" this summer, the boys enjoyed the xbox and computer games. I think I'm raising a couple of real "gamers". And for Ellie... She's just happy with eating, sleeping, and an occasional bath. :)

Here are some pictures

In Other News...

In other news, Ellie now has THREE teeth - with more on the way. Within a week or two she will probably have at least two more. Yay for milestones! Wow she's getting big!

Bradshaw Family Get-Together 7/11/09

Right after I got back from Phoenix, Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw came to visit. We ended up having a BBQ with Danny's brothers and their families. It was a lot of fun and the kids REALLY enjoyed jumping on the trampoline. Thanks for the good times!

Ellie Got Her Ears Pierced! 7/6/09

While we were in Phoenix, I decided to take Ellie and get her ears pierced. She did cry, but only for about 30 seconds... and then she laughed. She was such a trooper!

A funny (and somewhat annoying) story: Some random old lady tapped on the glass while we were preparing to pierce her ears. She asked me if I was getting her (she pointed to Ellie) ears pierced and I nodded yes. She gave me a dirty look like I was the worst mom on the planet! I tried to ignore her and we continued with the preparations. She meandered into the store to watch as we did the actual piercing. And as soon as Ellie started to cry, she said, "And those are real tears, too!" with a hugely annoyed tone. Then she walked away. Oh, how I wish she would have stayed for 25 more seconds to see Ellie giggle!

Here are the pictures of Ellie getting her ears pierced and then showing off the bling. :)

Phoenix - July, 2009

I was a brave mom and took all three kids to Phoenix for 2 weeks. My sister, Jodi, lives there and we put all the kids in swimming lessons. The teacher was AWESOME and by the end of the 6th and final lesson, Kaden was DIVING! and Preston was swimming without any sort of floatation device. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed spending the time with my sis and her family. We love you all very much and miss you!

Pictures of the Phoenix trip

Bradshaw Family Get-Together 6/20/2009

My sister-in-law, Kayla, had a baby this year. They had their beautiful baby girl (Tora) blessed on Father's Day. That gave us the opportunity to go up to Idaho again. We had a little get together with all the family and of course got some pictures with all the cousins together. It was a lot of fun!

Pictures!

10th Anniversary - Trip to the East Coast

Danny and I had the wonderful opportunity to go back east for our 10th anniversary. We went to DC, then NYC, then to Boston, then back to NYC and home. We had such a fun time and loved every minute of the trip. We went with some good friends and were grateful for the company. I split the pictures into three slideshows:

Washington DC

New York

Boston

Trip to Idaho - 5/31/09

Before Danny and I left on our trip to the east coast, I went to Idaho with the kids to pick up my awesome niece, Cassidy, who watched our children for us. While up in Idaho, we spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Bradshaw who made s'mores for the boys and gave them a horse ride. They absolutely loved every minute of it.

To view pictures of this event, click here.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

We are back from our vacation.  It was TONS of fun!  We really enjoyed ourselves and we REALLY appreciate everyone who helped with our kids while we were gone.  We had babysitters, dinners made, and, of course, a trip to the ER.  :-)   Again, we appreciate EVERYONE who helped us out!  

Pictures are on their way.  We have been SO busy trying to catch up to life back here that I don't know which way is up.  But I do promise to post some pictures.