Little Things...

I'm Back!

2009-08-20T11:31:00.007-06:00

I'm Back!

Update

I haven't blogged in a long time! Life has been busy and good. We had a fun summer and spent a lot of time at Seven Peaks. I also had a good time exercising several mornings a week with some gals in my ward hiking to the Mount Timpanogos Cave. I don't believe I've ever had better exercise for my heart and lungs! It is a strenuous but fulfilling hike! We hope to take our kids soon, and actually tour the cave!

We did, however, take our kids to hike Y mountain in Provo a few weeks ago. That also was a strenuous hike, but our kids did great! Of course we did give them the motivation of donuts once they got to the top.

Alyssa went to Clear Creek Summer Camp for a week this summer and Kayla, Kyle and Rilyn went to Grandma Vala's in Montana for a week with Grandma and some cousins. Tyler got to stay home with Mom and Dad.

Laren is working as busy as ever with his job, which he has now been at just shy of a year! That is hard to believe!! He still enjoys it very much. He works with good people and the work is interesting and intense. He has lots of meetings, in fact I can rarely get him on the phone or cell phone most days so I've pretty much quit trying until he comes home. And last night he didn't get home until about 8:30 or so!

Aside from Girls Camp, I also went with the Youth to Youth Conference up to Camp Williams North of Lehi for 3 days. These youth in our ward are a fantastic bunch of kids! I enjoy all of the time that I spend with them!!

A couple of weeks ago we had a Mother/Daughter Enrichment Activity up at Mutual Dell, a campground/Lodge that our stake owns up American Fork Canyon. I have been busy attending BYU Education Week this week, and I finally got my Utah Drivers License (had to take a written test for that, even though I've been driving 20 years - pretty crazy!), and today our kids started back to school!!

I cannot say enough GOOD about Education Week! It beats out Women's Conference by a mile. The classes are more diversified (different subjects) and very informative and educational, unlike Women's Conference where many of the talks are about being a wife and mother and not to belittle it, because it is great, but almost every class has the same topic with just different stories and a different presenter(s).

So far here is a list of the classes I've taken at Education Week:

Mental Wellness: What is it, How to get it and How to Keep it (No matter what hits you!) by: Carrie Wrigley

Coping With Adversity Through Prayer
by: Barbara Barrington Jones

Filling Your Heart & Home with the Irresistible Light of Christlike Love: Enriching Your Marriage
by: Gary and Joy Lundberg

The Plan of Salvation: The Great Plan of Happiness
by: David J. Ridges - the guy who wrote The Book of Mormon Made Easier, one of my favorite books!

Helping Your Husband Preside in Love and Righteousness
by: John Bytheway

Kitchen Organization: Help Your Kitchen Help You
by: Marie C. Ricks

Listen to a Prophet's Voice: The Process of Personal Progression
by: Scott Anderson

Coping With Clutter
by: Marie Ricks ...LOVE these classes by Sister Ricks. She has a great website on helping with all sorts of housekeeping chores, menu planning, budgeting, etc... Her website can be found here.

And a few pictures...

Our puppy Molly, who is now caught up on her immunizations until she is a year old! She has brought a refreshing joy to our family!!

Laren and I at the "Y" on Y Mountain a few weeks ago.

The kids and I resting on the "Y", the kids eating their donuts and me, my rice crispy treats. (Love those Creamery Rice Crispy Treats!)

At the top of the hike to Timp Cave with my hiking buddies!

Laren finally replaced his wrecked Camry with a Nissan Maxima.

Alyssa and Tyler at Temple Square this summer.

Kyle, Rilyn and Kayla at the airport headed to Grandma and Grandpa's!

Alyssa returning from Summer Camp at Clear Creek.

Citrus Chicken Teriyaki, a newfound dinner. Our dinner Sunday night.

This summer I started doing Deals to Meals, a program where recipes are created for you based on the grocery store items that are on sale. It has been fun for our family to try new recipes and get out of our eating rut!

Smothered Chicken, a dinner we had last week.

Me going to get my Utah Drivers License.

Most of the kids and I attempting to hike to the Timpangogos Cave, but we were too early - the trail doesn't open on the weekend until 7:30 am. It opens during the weekdays by 6:00 am. So this is us about 1/4 of the way up, before the gate.

(Front-Back, l-r) Alyssa, Rilyn, Cara, Kayla My daughters and a friend at Mutual Dell a couple of weeks ago.

And finally me helping Rilyn to paint her block up at Mutual Dell.

I hope you all had a great summer too!!

Our new little pet

2009-07-06T16:29:00.002-06:00

Meet Molly!

Our new little Shih Tzu pooch.

My second oldest daughter Alyssa and I were going to the store to get a few essentials for our Fourth of July festivities the next day and took the opportunity to peer at the pooches for sale. We shouldn't have because we fell instantly in love. Alyssa called Laren pleading. He asked me what I thought, of course my opinion was biased toward the dog. (Which is unusual because I am not a huge animal person.) Then we decided no. We hung up and started to do the shopping. Alyssa was in tears. Laren called back, back peddaling. Even he was thinking twice and he had not seen her. That was all it took. We went in the store and bought a can of pet food, got some cash back and went to see about getting us a new puppy!

Now my house is filled with all the neighbor kids on our cul-d-sac, all wanting to hold and play with her. We are trying to potty train her and train her to her kennel at night - doing all those things that dog owners have to go through to have the joyful, cute little pet! We really think pink is Molly's color! After waiting quite a few years, my kids finally have a pet other than a bunny and fish.

5 Temples in 4 Days

2009-07-02T20:29:00.007-06:00

Five Temples in Four Days

On our trip to and from Idaho for Laren's Class Reunion, we stopped at all the temples along the way that are North of Salt Lake, since we are a short distance from the temples South of Salt Lake. It was a fun little excursion, and hopefully memorable (in a good way!) for our children.

Our family in front of the Logan Temple.

The temple where Laren took out his endowments. Right before Laren's mission he lived in Nibley, UT - just outside of Logan, with his Mom. He got a job there working for a farmer. And so he took us around to where he lived and worked at that time in his life. It was interesting to see where he'd been. And I had only been to Logan once before, but wow! what a beautiful place and surrounding area that is!!

Our family in front of the Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple (acrossed the river from it, actually).

We took this picture on Saturday Morning, just after the evening part of his Reunion. We stayed the night at the Red Lion Inn since that is where the Reunion was the night before and it is just right next to the river and the temple in Idaho Falls. So when we checked out of the hotel, we got a photo op, with all of the ducks, in front of the temple.

Laren and the kids in front of the Rexburg, Idaho Temple.

What a special place this is for me because when I was a student at Ricks College (back when it was called that), I would go up to a church building not far from the temple and sit in my car overlooking all of Rexburg and pray. It was my "secret" place of prayer. And this temple is just acrossed the street and up the hill a little from the apartments (Hillcrest) that I lived in at Ricks College/BYU Idaho.

The kids and I in front of the Ogden, Utah Temple.

There is a picture somewhere of my Mom and Dad in front of this temple, close to the time I was born (early 1970's). So I had an interest in seeing this temple. My parents were never sealed in the Temple, they had just stopped to visit the grounds and pose for a picture. I was quite surprised by this temple, as it is in the middle of downtown Ogden (or so it seemed) and the area around it was deteriorating with some newer buildings there. The temple has a fence that goes all the way around it and busy streets on every side except for one, where a church building stands. Because of that, we took this picture in the parking lot of a vacant building across the street.

Us in front of the Bountiful Utah Temple

The last temple on our way home (before we got to the Salt Lake Temple) was the Bountiful, Utah Temple. I see it from the freeway as I go and visit my sister in Kaysville. It has the same outside architecture as the Mount Timpanogos Temple (our temple, now). But the Bountiful Temple sits high on the hillside/mountainside in Bountiful. And you will notice, it even sits pretty high above this sidewalk that runs in front of it. As we pulled up to get this picture, a man dressed in a suit approached us and told us they were doing a fireside for the primary children but that we were more than welcome to stay. I think it was his kind way of letting us know they wanted us to park elsewhere or something like that. :) Our kids kind of wanted to stay, after they heard they were serving refreshments, but we got our picture and headed for home.

400th post!

2009-06-28T21:14:00.004-06:00

Wow!

I cannot believe this is my 400th post! I need to turn my blog into a book one of these days!!

We just got back from Laren's 20 year High School Class Reunion. It was fun to go and see some of the people that I knew long ago when I went to Ricks College and worked at Arctic Circle, because those were some of the same people who grew up and graduated with my future husband even though I didn't know it at the time! It was also fun to see so many that Laren has talked about through the years.

Laren (in the striped shirt on the right) and some of his old high school buddies at the park in Sugar City yesterday. Not too surprising to learn that many of them became engineers like him.

Laren and I at the reunion yesterday.

While I was in town I got in touch with one of my dear friends, Kris, and we had a nice little visit! (Thanks, Kris, for obliging me and my girls!)

Kris brought her 2 daughters and I brought my 3 and the 5 of them became fast friends playing hide and seek and sardines at the BYU-Idaho Botanical Gardens while us moms visited!

Us in front of the Rexburg, Idaho Temple. I cannot believe there is a temple there now, just a short distance (literally) from where I lived when I was a student there 16 years ago! It is a beautiful temple, I'm bummed we didn't have time to do a session there!

And Jaci, this is for you! This is Brother Mike Rasmussen, a counselor from our Bishopric in the student ward when we were students there. (Jaci and I were roommates.) I did not know this, but he is from Laren's home ward in Plano. So when we went to Church today and I saw him, even after all these years I knew it was him. We had a nice conversation. Our old Bishop, Bishop Puzey is a mission president in the Phillipines now. And I specifically asked Brother Rasmussen if he remembered you Jaci and he did! He said he remembered going with his wife and taking you to the doctor and hospital in Idaho Falls. Such a fun reunion!!

Overall it was a great trip, short but sweet. We filled each day with a ton of stuff. Looking back at the 300 plus pictures we took surprises me that we fit everything in that we did! I will say this, Idaho is COLD!! Brrrr, I had forgotten how chilly it gets there - even when it's "warm"!! LOL

Girls Camp 2009

2009-06-19T14:26:00.003-06:00

Back from Girls Camp

It was a lot of fun, but exhausting! I loved being there with Kayla, my daughter, especially, even though we were sleeping in different cabins. We went to the new camp the Church has built southeast of Heber City, Heber Valley Camp. It is nice, with a pavillion, 2 fridges (with freezers on top), a sink with hot and cold water, camp stoves already there, a locking kitchen area, 3 cabins per campsite with built in bunkbeds, bathrooms with flushing toliets and HOT showers! It was great!

Inside my cabin, the leaders bunks were behind that wall where the white board is.

Outside my cabin. I was assigned a different cabin than my daughter, so that was a bummer for me - but she was probably happy about that!

The drawbacks: Rain, Rain, RAIN!!! And swine flu. Yes, our camp cook came down with it the first night we were there. We ended up getting quarantined and were unable to do the Challenge Course (zip line, etc...). The girls were SO bummed!

Last night one of our Laurel Adviser's brought us all up masks, after hearing about the swine flu dilemna. So this morning we posed for a few pictures with our masks on. I am in that picture, can you find me? (Hint: I am next to my daughter.)

Kayla and I atop Lookout Point on one of our hikes. That is Legacy Lake, where we went canoeing in the background.

But we did get in a couple of good hikes and some canoeing on Legacy Lake. Last night was the testimony meeting and value walk. It was freezing cold, but the rain held off. I am SO tired! Somehow, it still felt like camping even though we were in cabins. We have the most wonderful group of girls in our ward! I just love them all!!

Canoeing on the Lake.

My friend's Wedding

2009-06-11T22:23:00.005-06:00

Tonight was a fun Wedding Reception for my friend Elissa (pronounced Alyssa, like our daughter). When we first moved here, Elissa and I hit it off because her oldest daughter is Kayla just like my oldest daughter and her name is pronounced the same as my second oldest daughter. Anyway, she's so happy and I'm so happy for her!! Congratulations, guys!!!

Elissa and Duane

The beautiful bride and her groom. Funny face!!

Their beautiful cake. Her colors were blue and chocolate brown.

Our little Rilyn posing on the bench outside.

Daddy and his youngest daughter, dancing! Rilyn was SO excited to dance and was just cuttin' a rug on the dance floor!!

Kayla reluctantly dancing with her Daddy. (Alyssa, Kyle and Tyler didn't attend.)

Laren, I and Rilyn in front of the scenic background at the reception.

A New Temple!

2009-06-08T10:18:00.006-06:00

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

On Saturday, our family went to the Open House at the new Oquirrh Mtn. Temple. Laren was reluctant to go, because we went to the Draper Temple Open House just 3 months ago. But I was determined that we HAD to go, because there are so FEW perfect opportunities to get all your family inside the temple (especially when they are the ages of our young children), and to teach them FIRST HAND about the temple!!

Our family in front of the temple afterward. Yeah, it's nearly impossible to get all seven us looking the right direction and smiling!! :)

After the Open House, there were cookies and water inside the tent adjacent to the temple. My kids were fascinated by this Grand "player" Piano.

Alyssa and Rilyn in the tent eating their grub. You would never know this is inside a TENT, would you?! It was SO nice in there!

Afterwards we took our kids out to dinner.

And yesterday, I taught the combined Young Women's lesson on Temple marriage. So thanks to a website (http://www.mormonshare.com/node/7009) I came up with this handout, made out of cardstock and a white handkerchief. And I put a poem on the back. It was a big hit with the girls. It was my first time ever giving a lesson in YW, not to mention a combined lesson in there. I think it turned out okay.

YW Handout.

Summer Fun!

2009-06-05T11:20:00.003-06:00

@ seVen peAks!

Rilyn - love this picture of her!

Alyssa

Kyle and Mom

Tyler cautiously going down the slide

Kayla and Tyler in the wave pool

Ahh, still recovering from the sunburns we got 2 days ago! But we had a great time!! I'm working on my Young Womens lesson for Sunday (I'm teaching the combined lesson on Temple Marriage).

And we've been looking and looking (for many, many hours) for a home for our family. It is such a frustrating endeavor! Either they are too small with too much $$ per square foot, or they are too big with a better price per square foot - but overall they are too much $$$. And I cannot believe all the tiny kitchens! This is Utah - I thought most people had large families here! How can you accomodate 7 people around a table if your kitchen is tiny?

Of course we have narrowed our search to be that just in the areas that are within the boundaries of our kids' schools. I'm hoping we find something before school starts. Despite feeling like sardines, we are in a great area here with a fantastic ward!! :)

Kyle

2009-05-25T21:07:00.002-06:00

Kyle's Falling Numbers

Kyle at Alyssa's Choir concert a couple of weeks ago.

I took Kyle into the hospital today to have his liver enzymes and blood levels checked again. This was the first time I have had him in, in a month. Now his ALT is normal, but his AST is still high, but falling. All other numbers were normal, including his bilirubin at 0.3, except for his platelet count which was 429 which is 29 points higher than the normal range.

It is so nice to see my son feeling better and doing better and then to get the confirmation of that with the bloodtest results too. This has been such a frightening and uncertain experience and I cannot express the gratitude I feel for Kyle's improving health!!

It is still interesting for me to look at him now compared to how he looked before this ordeal (there is a picture of him on my sidebar that was taken in December, before all of this happened) and see how he has aged. But aside from the change in his physical appearance, his ever even-temperedness has been tempered even more. He is more patient, more quick to be obedient, etc... Out of all of our children, he is the one who does what he is supposed to more than any of the others. Not that they all aren't good children though.

SOLD!

2009-05-22T22:28:00.002-06:00

Finally!!!

(Singing) CEL-A-BRATION NIGHT, COME ON!!! After more than 9 months on the market, our house is finally sold!! It has been a long ordeal. Because of the length of time it took us to sell both of the houses we owned in Colorado, I don't know if I can bring myself to buy another one any time soon. Selling them is way too much of a headache!

So glad just to have it d.o.n.e!!!

School Winding Down

2009-05-18T09:23:00.003-06:00

Me after church yesterday.
Life is Good!!!!!

I think I have blogging blah's lately. I haven't really had much to blog about. School is winding down. We went to Colorado and got the rest of our stuff, I cannot believe I was brave enough to drive one of those big moving trucks. It was scary as we came down Parleys Canyon in the wind, the pouring rain and the dark. But thankfully we survived!

The moving truck I drove 2 weeks ago. Boy do those things catch the wind while driving down the freeway!!

I am fighting to keep on a good eating plan as it seems so many things have gotten in the way. I feel sick whenever I don't eat on my plan. I haven't been able to exercise lately because I pulled a muscle during the move and exacerbated it on Saturday during a family bike ride.

Kyle bowling with our family last month.

Kyle has not felt too great the last week. We go back in for more blood tests next week. We still think he is getting better, but I think the meds are getting to him.

We are looking forward to Summer, we got season passes to Seven Peaks from the Easter Bunny. We are hoping for lots of fun in the sun! Also, I'm gearing up to go to Girls Camp next month and then Laren's 20 year High School Class Reunion.

Alyssa and Rilyn with some of the flower "hair bows" we made a couple of weeks ago.

In the Junkyard and other stuff...

2009-04-17T22:40:00.002-06:00

Spring Break and Stuff...

My kids have been out of school all week for Spring Break. And for the most part we have had lazy days! It has been so nice for a change. It has been a much needed decompression time given all the stresses that we've had recently.

On Wednesday though, our stresses were added to when Laren got in another accident! Yes, it was his second accident in 15 days! Even though neither accident was his fault, I'm kind of paranoid to let him drive now!

Laren's car in the junkyard!

Smashed!

The first accident was not nearly as serious as the second. The second accident happened around 10:30 Weds. night when Laren was taking our taxes to the mailman so he could deliver them to Uncle Sam. We had a nasty Spring Snow Storm that brought a foot of snow to our little town alone. The storm was rolling in, as Laren drove down the freeway to the only Post Office somewhat close to us open late to mail the taxes. (We don't usually wait until the last day, but we did have to file in 3 states this year plus Federal taxes - and did I mention how crazy the recent months have been for us?)

Laren was in the far right lane traveling S. on I-15 and a Honda Accord traveling S. in the HOV lane lost control, almost went into the center barrier and then went acrossed all the lanes striking Laren. Laren was unable to stop - he was going about 50 mph at the time, and it happened all at once.

I went to go and get the taxes and take them to the Post Office. A normally 20 minute drive took a good hour! I've never personally driven on roads so slippery and hazardous in my life! I never even remember the windy slick mountainous roads in my little Montana hometown being that slick. The thing is that not only were the roads slick but they were not plowed and the visibility was very low. The snow was coming down fast and furious. Somehow I safely delivered the taxes and got back to where the Police Officer was waiting with Laren. By that time, his car had already been towed away. I think we made it home just before 1:00 am. But I didn't care how long it took, as long as we got there safe! I took State Street (instead of the freeway) all the way home.

Today, our previously yucky weather started to turn nice. So we salvaged a bit more of our Spring Break and I took the kids to the petting Zoo at Thanksgiving Point.

Riding the ponies.

And then we went to the Tulip Festival. Let me tell you, the Gardens at Thanksgiving point are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! If you've never been, I highly recommend it!!

My 5 kids today at the Gardens. If you look close, you can see a gorgeous waterfall back behind them. This picture doesn't even come close to doing it justice!

And then tonight, Laren and I took the kids bowling at BYU. It was a lot of fun! I can honestly say the good times seem so much better given all the hard times we've been through lately. I am counting on many more good days to come!! :)

Good Number News!

2009-04-13T14:48:00.002-06:00

Good News!!

Today Kyle's numbers (liver enzymes) came back the best so far, since this began! Not normal yet, but getting close. It is rather surprising to me after the devastating setback with his numbers going up last week.

I am cautiously optimistic. But just wanted to share the good news!

Pinewood Derby!

2009-04-08T11:47:00.001-06:00

Pinewood Derby!

All of the cars before the race. Kyle's is the shiny red one near the center.

Kyle and his car. (They did the hole in the middle because when they took it for weigh-in his was slightly over weight.)

Kyle and the scouts putting their cars on the track. Kyle's is the red one in the middle.

Laren sweating bullets!
Right before the race started Laren leaned over to me, telling me he hoped Kyle's car made it off the starting blocks. He thought it might have been too low, or that the tires would rub on the center thing on the track.

We realized right away that Kyle had a fast one! He ended up winning every race except for one, and he finished third place in that one. (There was something wrong with lane 5 on the track - every car that took that lane had problems.)

So Kyle WON the entire DERBY!!!!
I was happy for Kyle in that he has gone through SO much lately with his life threatening liver problems and being in and out of the hospital - and most especially that he could enjoy racing cars like boys do and that he had something positive happen on his 9th Birthday since he had been so sick earlier in the day!!

Kyle and Dad with the winning car, first place blue ribbon and Kyle's "Ring of Fire" award. All boys got a certificate and candy for racing. The top 3 finishers got ribbons. I was glad they didn't put too much emphasis on place because not all boys had a Dad to help them, etc... But especially so the boys didn't feel bad if their car didn't do well.

I am not sure all that they did to make Kyle's car fast, but I know with Laren being an Engineer he was thinking about speed through the whole design process. They moved the tires back, and put the weight in the back, rubbed graphite on the axels and I'm not sure what else.

**And just a little aside - Kyle does look different than he did before his liver problems. His primary teacher told me he did not recognize him the first time he came back to class and sat down. Most of the change is caused by the steroids (prednisone) making his face swell and making him gain weight. As for his sickness and his numbers going up - I guess, at this point the doctor thinks his numbers going up is directly related to him having had the flu this past week. Crossing my fingers that is the reason!

Happy Birthday and Hurry up and get Better Son!

2009-04-07T13:48:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Kyle this morning before school. He is 9 years old today!

Kyle was feeling well enough to get up and go to school this morning. Only to have the school call me after an hour or so later and tell me that Kyle is feeling sick and had been in the nurse's office for the past 30 - 40 minutes. He was shivering, even with a blanket on. His temperature was 99.5.

I went and got him, brought him home and he is back in bed. His temperature is now 100. We are hoping he is feeling well enough to have Ice Cream Cake tonight for his Birthday Celebration - and the Strawberry Crepes he requested for his birthday dinner. And if he is feeling well enough, the Pinewood Derby tonight - to race his "Phantom Racer" (the name he gave his little four wheeled red race car that he and Laren built together.

Yesterday we got some disappointing news, his numbers that had been coming down are now going back up. I don't know why for sure, but it may have something to do with the doctor cutting his prednisone in half last week because he was getting "close enough" to normal to do that.

In the meantime, the school called and now Rilyn, our youngest daughter is sick with a sore throat, cough and tossing her cookies. So once Kayla and Alyssa come home from school I will have them watch my sick littles and Tyler who is napping and dash to the store to get what I need for Kyle's Hopeful Birthday Celebration!

Hoping for a Happy Post really soon!

2009-04-06T09:55:00.014-06:00

Up with the

SuN

I'm long overdue for an update. There are many reasons to my not having blogged lately, mainly though life has just been overwhelming. I just have not been able to accomplish even the little things in the past month. I think all the stress of moving and having Kyle so ill finally caught up with me.

On my mind right now:

-Kyle getting better, he went back to school full time this past week, was at school a full two days and he came home after getting "sick" at school on Friday morning.

Kyle, a little while ago. He has spent the better part of the past 3 days in bed. So sad for me to see. But his liver enzymes are coming close to being back to normal.

-Kyle's 9th Birthday tomorrow and how grateful I am that he is alive to celebrate it, hoping he is better by tomorrow! Flu bug, I think?

-The wonderful General Conference this past weekend. President Monson, I know he is the Prophet of God. I had the opportunity to attend the General Young Women's Meeting last Saturday with Kayla (who is now 13!) and when the Prophet came in the room, I felt a spiritual electricity run through my body. I felt so blessed that Kayla and I had that special opportunity!

-Young Women, I've been serving in my new Utah ward in the Young Women's Presidency and what a blessing that has been. I can honestly say I love these Young Women that I'm working with (including my own daughter). And the other gals in the Presidency are amazing, inspiring women. It was so wonderful to attend the YW Open House training meeting this past week with the Presidency after a delicious lunch out!

-Laren's job stability. I can happily say that Laren's job was saved by the Utah State Legislature last month. That had been such a worry and caused a lot of sleep deprived nights. That same job is, however, keeping him very busy.

-Our house in Colorado is still for sale.

-I miss old friends in Colorado, and the warmer weather in Colorado (yes, even with your Spring Storms Utah Girls you are still warmer than Utah this year!)!!

-I need to get Kyle's patches put on his scout uniform today. His pinewood derby is tomorrow. I hope he will be able to attend!

-I found these new great jeans thanks to my new-found friend, and meterologist, Debbie Worthen. They are Calvin Klein flap pocket, stretch, boot cut jeans in two different washes from Costco for only $24.99 - hurry they are selling fast! I thought they were hundred dollar jeans for sure, because they look like they are (with the hiney lift and all).

Debbie, the gal who told me the tip about the great Calvin Klein jeans at Costco. (I got 3 pair, because good jeans are hard to find!)

Me on the treadmill today, for the first time in at least six weeks. (Photo courtesy of my cute little Tyler!)

-You may recall me blogging about my desire to work on my waist a couple of months ago. ...And then all that happened with Kyle and I have done nothing, absolutely nothing exercise wise, until today. Hope I can keep it up.

-My baby is no longer in nursery. All of my kids are in Primary or above now. Sad.

-Laren and I are speaking in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday. Topic=atonement. I have not yet started my preparations for that.

-Laren got in a car accident last week. His car was totalled. Now we're either trying to find a new car or maybe have him keep the totalled one (it is still driveable), for now.

Laren, on his birthday last month.

-I have the world's most upbeat husband who has buoyed me up through all of our trial and turmoil! I heart you even and especially on my down days, Laren!

-My kids make my world go 'round! What a blessing they are to me!

5 for Friday

2009-03-06T15:21:00.005-07:00

5 for Friday

Scentsability or something like that.

1.) Scentsy knockoff. I love this thing! Walmart sells these here for $12 .88 each; much cheaper than Scentsy. My favorite scent is a pineapple one. The only downside is Walmart only carried 3 different styles of these 'wax melters' and they sold out super quick. And all the fruity scented (my favorites) waxes are sold out too. The wax is $1.88 per package of 6-8 "chunks."

Kallie and Me.

2.) Today I got away for a fun lunch with my Sister, Kallie, at Temple Square. What a nice break, to get away for lunch. And our boys had a good time entertaining each other.

We ate at the Nauvoo Cafe. I ordered a salad that was super delish with baby greens, chicken, raspberries, caramelized walnuts and feta cheese. She got a chicken salad sandwich with cheddar cheese on the most buttery delicious white bread - YUM (she gave me a taste)!! The picture above is the Salt Lake Temple as I was driving away.

My Tyler (L) and her Zach (R). Kyle was crashed on the bench we were visiting at.

Kayla's magnet board from Young Womens.

3.) These are those magnet boards I mentioned that we gave the Girls for New Beginnings. You can also use a dry erase marker on them. I think they are super cute - we found them at The Wood Connection.

4.) My Mom and my Mother-in-Law are coming for visits next week.

5.) Being new to Utah, I wanted to check out IKEA. I finally made it over there (right before Kyle ended up in the hospital, ironically) and this is one of the great "finds" I found. It is perfect for all of Tyler's Preschool Art!

This little hanging display thing, I got at IKEA with Tyler's artwork inside.

Thursday 3

2009-03-05T14:24:00.002-07:00

Thursday 3

1.) After about 5 hours spent between being at Kyle's doctor appt. and traveling to and from the hospital, we were exhausted. But we got some informative news. They are referring to his condition as "Marker Negative Auto Immune Hepatitis." It is NOT, however, the type of Hepatitis that is infectuous. It is not a communicable disease. In this case, Hepatitis means swelling of the liver. (itis = swelling, hepa = liver). They cautioned us about even using the term hepatitis with anyone, because so many only think of it as a communicable disease.

On Monday Kyle's blood tests came down very little from the Thurs. before that. But they were still trending downward (though one of the numbers, his AST, actually went up a little). The doctor said most patients she see's in Kyle's condition would have responded better to the medication by now and their numbers would be back to normal already. That was frustrating to hear. Anyway, because of that he was put on another medication - one that he will have to take for the rest of his life. And I guess in 1-2% of patients they can actually contract a cancer of the bloodcells. I'm not excited about any of that. But we are between a rock and a hard place on getting his liver functioning again. And apparently the benefits are greater than the risks.

On a brighter note, I took Kyle in this morning for more blood work and his numbers have made significant progress since Monday (with the addition of this new medication, and many, many prayers). The doctors told us on Tuesday that they think it will take Kyle about 4-6 weeks for his numbers to be back to "normal." I am thinking it may happen faster than they are thinking!

2.) Yesterday was New Beginnings for Young Women. Our theme was "Everything we need to know we are learning in Young Women's." It was a busy time getting everything ready, but I think it turned out really well! Kayla was super excited about the cute magnet boards we made for the girls, along with a magnet that had each girls' initial on it. (I'll have to take a pic. and post it.)

3.) Kyle's faith amazes me. Today, as we were pulling out of the garage to go to the hospital for yet another blood draw (something he detests more than anything) he said, "Mom maybe we should say a prayer that it won't hurt so bad this time." I told him it was a great idea and asked him if he'd like me to say, or if he wanted to. He said he'd do it. So he said the sweetest, most humble prayer.

After an almost hour wait, they called him back. This time the phlebotomist got a collegue to help hold his arm (I was so relieved I did not have to do it this time - it's hard to have to submit my child to that). She got his vein the first time. On the way out Kyle told me that that was his "easiest time of getting a poke." He said he did not even feel the needle go in.

So we talked about how that must have been an answer to his prayer. He was sure it was. So I suggested he say a prayer of thanks, which he did. It was such a tender, tear filled moment. On the way home I asked him if he would like to drive past the temple. It is on our way, but it is faster to go another way, so we don't usually go that way. But he said yes, that he'd like to so we did. As we approached the temple Kyle said, "Mom the temple is so beautiful, don't you think?" Again it was just so touching!

Though this is a difficult trial to be sure, it is filled with so many sweet blessings. I definitely feel my Heavenly Father close as Laren and I try to work our way through all of this.

* Oh and a little sidenote, after all of that our house contract fell through - so no buyer afterall!

...

2009-03-03T09:00:00.002-07:00

Today we have another appointment with the specialists at Primary Childrens Hospital. Yesterday I took Kyle to our local hospital for more bloodwork (it's weird you go to the hospital lab for bloodwork, in CO we always went to places like LabCorp, etc...).

Kyle's poor little arms are so bruised up. The phlebotimist tried to find a vein that was not so bruised. She found one, but couldn't get to it and had to dig. Ugh! The digging is always so painful. I had to cover Kyle's eyes. She called for help, but finally got it.

I'm hoping for good news at the doctor today. Kyle is hoping his blood sugars will get back to normal so he can get off his low carb diet. It really is hard to find things he can/will eat that are low carb. He is tired of beef jerky and string cheese.

And, crossing our fingers, we have our house under contract. Wouldn't you know we got the call on the way home from the hospital with Kyle last week. It is definitely a bad market to sell, so I wouldn't recommend unless you have to. But grateful, if this works out, that we can move on and get a house here for our family.

My Hometown

2009-03-02T17:16:00.003-07:00

My Hometown

Most places have some claim to fame. Some are more famous than others. Some are known for their movie stars, their landmarks or their leaders. My hometown is known for this. The vermiculite was contaminated with tremolite asbestos -- a particularly toxic form linked to numerous illnesses including mesothelioma, a cancer that can attack the lining of the lungs, abdomen, or heart.

It is such a beautiful place that has housed a deadly poison in the soil of the WR Grace baseball fields that my brother played on in Little League, on the track at the High School where I cheered at many games and events, and in the garden soils of so many local homes.

I have a brother that has major lung trouble in which this asbestos filled vermiculite has adversly affected his lungs.

Such a crazy thing to be known for, especially for such a beautiful place. But when I saw this article on cnn.com, about a place I know well, I had to say a little something about it.

Libby, Montana

Pictures and Blessings

2009-02-28T23:00:00.008-07:00

Some pictures of our last 2 weeks

Kyle after we first started noticing he was jaundiced. (It is hard to tell in this picture, but it was very obvious in real life.) Before we knew just how sick he was.

Kyle in the hospital resting and a Fruit Bouquet sent to us by my Sista's.

Thank you so much - it was such an upbeat and yummy surprise to our week!

Kyle and I in his hospital bed. Sometimes a Mother has to lay down next to her child and give them the touch and closeness of a Mother's Love. I did this a few times when times were tough. Kyle makes life happy, even if it isn't!

The steroids Kyle is on sometimes makes his cheeks all puffy and rosy at the same time. He really dislike the hospital pj's, so he tried to put on one of his shirts almost all the time.

Kyle painting at the hospital. This picture depicts his jaundice better. He is painting a wood car that they brought him to glue together and paint. He usually wanted one of these cars for a reward for all the daily "pokes" he was getting.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

And some miracles that occured...

The past couple of weeks have taken a toll on Laren and I. We are both super tired. As most can imagine, the chair/bed in the hospital is not the greatest place to get sleep. I stayed with Kyle in the hospital every night until the last 2, when Laren slept there to give me a break. The emotional rollercoaster has been another factor in our ability to sleep and rest. We had been waiting on pins and needles to get the biopsy results and finally we got them last night. More than anything, I was so glad to hear that they found no cancer! They did find extensive liver damage. We will hopefully find out more about that when we go back to Primary Children's on Tuesday.

In the meantime Kyle is slowly recovering at home. He is SO glad he is not getting a bunch of "pokes" all the time and he has matured beyond his years in the past 2 weeks. I really am amazed by this huge trial, a trial that has surely been one of my most difficult. And of course, trials are a process and we are still in the midst of this process, but things are beginning to look up. We hope and pray that we have rounded that corner now, heading towards healing and good liver health for Kyle.

I know that the doctors who have been caring for him have been guided in their care. They told me on Wednesday that they do not know why, medically speaking, they are giving Kyle the treatment (medications) that they are because in all of their testing they have no physical evidence of Kyle having an auto immune problem. But what they do know, and me too, is that the medication is working. And so we are continuing it. And what I also know, is that Kyle's healing is miraculous, really and truly.

It is a modern day miracle just like what one would read in the New Testament of the Bible, only it is a miracle for our time. I know his healing so far has come about because of the Priesthood Blessing that Laren and my BIL, Doug, gave to Kyle, (and again 2 other blessings, with Laren and our home teacher Brother Bishop; and Laren and Trav, another BIL) that said the doctors would be guided as they go about trying to find a treatment for Kyle.

I saw this unfold before my very eyes as Dr. Jackson (a pediatric GI specialist caring for Kyle) struggled to find a treatment and couldn't find one and released us from the hospital. And then as Kyle's numbers were rising he called me at nearly 10:00 last Friday night to tell me he was concerned. Actually he left me an "urgent" message at 8:00 pm and I called him back at 10pm (Laren and I were out for a little bit when the message was left). And then again he called me back first thing in the morning around 8:15 am on a Saturday, his day off, to tell me he still was not satisfied and had already (since 10 pm the night before) went back through Kyle's records again, with a fine tooth comb, looking for something he might have missed; and he had consulted with 2 of his colleagues.

He decided Kyle needed to have some more bloodwork that morning and to be examined by him. He wanted to know how soon we could get there. So as soon as we were showered and dressed we were on our way back up to Primary Childrens. As we were there, he told me about Kyle's blood tests not really revealing too much - just ruling a bunch of stuff out. But his thyroid levels were slightly elevated. The thyroid can be considered part of the auto immune system of the body. But in order for the doctor to really say that it was auto immune attacking Kyle's liver, there needed to not only be an elevated thyroid, but also elevated ANA's (anti-nuclear antibodies). And Kyle's ANA's were not elevated. And we later learned his thyroid was not really elevated enough to consider it a threat.

And then the doctor got Kyle's blood clotting factor numbers back. His blood clotting factor had risen considerably. Meaning his blood was not clotting very much, a sign of his liver failing. So the doctor at THAT moment decided to re-admit Kyle to the hospital and at the same time decided to treat him as if it were something auto immune (like his thyroid) attacking his liver. We did that and we spent the next 2 hours in his office at the hospital while he made the necessary phone calls and did the necessary paperwork for Kyle to be admitted.

By that night, Kyle was receiving his first dose of Solumedrol - a type of Prednisone steroid. We were praying, along with many, many family, friends and strangers. The next day we had a family fast. Kyle's lab results came back on Sunday with significant improvement over Saturday. The doctors thought we were headed in the right direction, but I knew it. I knew it because of my Motherly intuition, I knew it because of our fasting and prayers, I knew it because of Laren's Priesthood blessing for our son.

The doctors anxiously awaited for Monday to see what Kyle's lab results would bring. Before they came, I knew Kyle's liver enzymes were falling. How? I felt it. I felt, literally the blessings that come from fasting and prayer. Prayers not just sent up for Kyle, but for Laren and I and the rest of our children. I felt the hope and assurance that can only come through the Savior's Healing Balm. And when the results came, again it was a decent improvement over the day before.

We do not know why this great trial had to come to Kyle or the rest of our family. But we do know we have learned so much in such a short amount of time and we have felt an increase of our faith. We have felt the love of so many. I have come to realize the existence, the true existence of angels on earth. It is through each of us that the Lord carries forth his purposes on earth. So many have went about helping us, watching Tyler for us each day so Laren could go to work while the kids were at school and I was at the hospital with Kyle; bringing in dinners to our family; bringing us groceries "just because they figured I had not had a chance to make it to the store yet..." (they were right); cards, flowers, balloons, phone calls, prayers, visits, fasting and expressions of love and concern.

Each day since last Saturday we have witnessed a physical improvement in Kyle with his liver enzymes dropping from over 7000 to 677 and 1400; with his bilirubin levels getting lower (from 17 to 7, so far), his color getting better and him not looking so jaundiced, etc... I know without a doubt that those doctors were guided. I know when Laren gives a blessing he will often tell me, "I don't know if it was my will or the Lord's but I think it was the Lord's will that I said that." He says that especially when he blesses someone that they will get better (as he did Kyle).

And though he blessed Kyle that he would get better and the doctors would be guided, it did also indicate that the healing might not come quickly. I want my sweet Husband to know that the Power of the Priesthood definitely works in him. And I am so grateful for that great Power in our home, that Laren is worthy to hold it and willing to exercise it. Kyle still has a road of recovery ahead of him, we are hoping it is not as long as it could be. In the meantime, we are counting our many, many blessings! And hopefully we will also be able to get some sleep!

Sigh

2009-02-28T09:15:00.003-07:00

Well the good news is that no cancer was found in Kyle's biopsy. They did, however; find that his liver has suffered pretty extensive damage. They figure this has been going on where his liver has been being attacked for 2 months now. They determined that based on the scar tissue they found on the biopsy. That would have been right around the time we moved here.

They are still going along the lines that it is something Auto Immune related attacking his liver. Kyle doesn't like taking his meds, but he is a good sport and takes them anyway. He has always been a patient and mild mannered boy and this illness has made him that way even moreso!

I know we still have a long road of recovery, but I'm just so grateful there was no cancer. I was worried to the point I couldn't function, yet I was too nervous to call and get the results myself. Thankfully Laren did that for me.

Uncertainty

2009-02-25T09:40:00.002-07:00

Uncertainty

I guess this is a true rollercoaster. Today, I found out that they indeed have not ruled out liver cancer. It does scare me. He will go in for his biopsy somewhere around noon. Any and all prayers appreciated. He is scared of the needle.

They tell us we won't have results for a week or so. But his numbers have come down some more today. Not really enough to make it so he won't have to get a blood/plasma transfusion, but at least the numbers are trending downward with this type of prednisone they have him on.

I have a faith in the Lord that He knows us and knows our situation and that He has a plan for us. It might not be the course we hope for, but it will be the course that is His will. I know we are not forgotten in Him.

Last night Laren and Trav (our BIL) came and gave Kyle another blessing for his biopsy today. Since Laren was already up there and he would stay home today to be at the hospital for Kyle's biopsy, he suggested I come home for the night for a break and he could stay there with Kyle.

So that is what we did. It was nice to sleep in my own bed and get a shower from our own shower this morning. The hospital shower is just a trickle. Plus I had forgotten my razor and had been unable to shave and it is so nice to not feel like an Orangutan with hairy pits! :)

Kayla had a preschool clinical today at school and she had to bring a preschooler, so she brought her preschooler brother, Tyler. I had to be here to take him to and from the Jr. High for Kayla.

Numbers going down again!

2009-02-23T14:56:00.003-07:00

Just a Quick Update

We are still here at the hospital. Thank you for your fasting and prayers. It has been a very spiritual and humbling experience to have so many fasting and praying on behalf of our son, who we love so much! After a very dark feeling all week, I felt like the light started to break through on Saturday and especially Sunday with the fasting.

Kyle's numbers are starting to come down. His liver enzymes were lowered yesterday and even more today - one of the levels is 2000, and the other is 2800. That is a good sign! His bilirubin was down for the first time since all this started, yesterday! It was down again today - it reached a high on Saturday of 17 and it is down to 12 today. By the way, a normal bilirubin count is less than 1.

His blood clotting factors have come down just 1 point (nothing yesterday and 1 point today). But it is progress in the right direction! The doctor is waiting for that to come down to do the biopsy. The thought is still that this is caused by Auto Immune attacking his liver. Likely something to do with the thyroid.

We got to attend Church yesterday here at the hospital - they had a short, but very wonderful, 30 minute Sacrament Meeting. It was so refreshing! (Only in Utah could you get SM in the hospital!) Then afterward, at my request, 2 women from a hospital branch primary presidency came and gave Kyle a short little primary lesson. (They offered this during the SM - that anyone who wanted it could just let them know and they'd send them to your child's room.)

My 2 favorite parts of the day were hearing Kyle sing "I am a Child of God" with the 2 impromptu Primary Teachers and having Laren and the kids come for the afternoon. I think this fast was the easiest one I've ever done, ironically. Even though I've never fasted for a more serious purpose, and I didn't think it would be hardly possible here in the hospital. But again, your prayers, I believe pulled me through.

Off to take a nap!

Back in Hospital

2009-02-21T15:59:00.002-07:00

We are back in the hospital with Kyle. The labs yesterday showed his liver enzymes and bilirubin going up. The doctor called me last night telling me he was not liking the fact Kyle's numbers were rising. We had a rough night last night, Kyle threw up and we didn't get much sleep due to that and worry.

The doctor (GI Specialist here at Primary Children's Hospital) had me on the phone again first thing this morning. He said he had checked with his 2 colleagues and decided to check his numbers again today and do another exam rather than waiting for Monday. So we drove back up to Salt Lake to Primary Children's this morning. He wanted us here as soon as we could get here.

He gave me his cell phone number and told the ER to page him when we came in. As luck would have it, he was right there as we were rounding the corner towards Emergency. He helped us get through quickly and up to the Lab for more bloodwork. Then he did an exam. Kyle has had A LOT of tenderness all around his liver today (under his ribs on the right side).

The doctor was not going to keep us, but then Kyle's labs started coming back even higher than yesterday and his clotting factor was the straw that broke the camels back. So the doctor quickly decided to readmit him. So here we are, again. We don't know how long we are here for. Hopefully we will get resolution more quickly.

The doctor, Dr. Jackson, thinks this time that it is something Auto Immune attacking his liver. They are running some more bloodwork in that nature. And Kyle is getting steroids to help combat it. Apparently they prescribe steroids to help heal the liver if it is an auto immune problem. He said his levels for something to do with his thyroid came back elevated -so that is what tipped him in the direction of the auto immune course of treatment.

The doctor may do a biopsy on Monday still if the other bloodwork shows nothing. And he said he didn't want to scare me, but they are still not ruling out a transplant if things don't start improving. He said that is, of course, a last resort and he is hopeful it will not come to that. But he just wanted me to be aware. Of course, I was shocked - I thought we had averted that hurdle.

Thank you so much for your prayers! Please keep them coming!!

Levels aren't going down as hoped...

2009-02-20T22:19:00.003-07:00

Levels not looking too good

I guess it was wishful thinking on my part to go back to regularly scheduled life... I took Kyle into the hospital this morning to have his liver enzymes rechecked and then followed up with a visit to the Pediatrician this afternoon.

His levels are not going down as hoped. One level went down and the other is up, enough to concern the doctor. One level went from from 4093 to 4800, the other level went from 4100 to 3900, so the change is negligable for the positive on the second one. His bilirubin went up from 13.1 to 14.8 and the conjugated bilirubin went from 10.1 to 9.1, again a negligible for the positive on the second one and quite a bit worse on the first one.

You know it is not good news when the specialist calls you and wants you to call him back on his cell phone at 8:00 at night and says he wants to see Kyle first thing again Monday and to come with Kyle prepared to have a biopsy - after his levels are checked on Monday morning.

It appears at the moment that we are a long ways from being out of the woods on this with Kyle. I'm supposed to watch for lethargy, bloody noses and unconsciousness over the weekend. Please keep praying! On Sunday, we are going to have a special fast for Kyle if anyone wants to join us.

Home!

2009-02-19T13:41:00.002-07:00

Home!

We are home! Kyle was totally exhausted yesterday, but is rebounding a bit today. He will have to go in for blood draws every other day to check his levels for awhile. He is still very yellow. Maybe now that we are home I can post a picture or two.

Words cannot express my gratitude for all of your love and concern. You guys are all wonderful! Thank you for your prayers. The doctor expects it to take a month or so for Kyle to completely recover.

We have a great ward and friends here (even though we just moved here 6 weeks ago)! Everyone wants to help, and I am grateful for that! I'm kind of embarrassed that they are bringing us dinner tonight - we don't need it, I'm here to do that!! I'm so glad to be back home and that Kyle is too. I realized just how much I miss my kids (all of them) when I can't be with them.

Now, hopefully we are back to regularly scheduled life!! :)

Possibly Going Home

2009-02-18T13:39:00.002-07:00

Kyle is gradually improving. So we may be going home tonight or tomorrow. His liver enzymes are now around 4000, the normal is 40! So even though his numbers have dropped from the 7000's, they are still more than 100x higher than normal!! 800 would be a normal number for high liver enzymes, so Kyle's numbers have been way beyond high!

His doctor says that whatever this is it is caused by a virus (like a cold virus) that affected his liver adversely. Obviously, it's rare. They still do not know exactly what virus has caused it. I just hope it never happens again! He will have a slow recovery at home. The doctor said it will take a month or maybe more. But we are just so happy that it appears he will recover, because just a couple of days ago that was in question.

He will be out of school until his jaundice goes away. The doctor thinks it will take 2-3 weeks for that to happen. In the meantime, we are hoping his liver enzymes continue to drop, that his bilirubin quits climbing and starts to drop, and that his liver inflammation goes down. Presently, his liver is still just as swollen as it was when this all started.

Today he is pretty sapped of energy and has napped all afternoon, so far. I'm just very grateful I get to bring my boy back home with me!

Kyle Update

2009-02-17T18:11:00.002-07:00

Thank you for your prayers. They are being felt! Kyle's liver enzymes are starting to fall. At last check they were around 5000, instead of 7000. So that is good they are dropping. If they dropped too low too quick that could signify another set of problems but so far so good.

In the meantime other bloodwork is coming back too. Kyle tested negative for the alpha I anti-trypson, which is a genetic liver disorder. Our nephew on Laren's side actually had this and had to have a liver transplant when he was 7. So this was a big concern of the doctors because of the genetics, but it appears to have been averted!

The ultrasound showed an enlarged liver (one doctor told me two times the size of what is normal!), and an especially thick gall bladder wall. They do not know why the gall bladder wall would be thick other than the fact that it is so close to the liver.

So far, Kyle has tested negative on all of the major problems (like liver cancer or a disease requiring a liver transplant). And I'm sighing a HUGE sigh of relief over that! (Can you hear my sighing?! LOL)

Still no answers on what has caused this. We are still getting results from blood work and will continue to for the next couple of days. Kyle's tummy has been upset and not feeling too great today. But to me, his coloring is looking a little better (even though his bilirubin count is actually higher).

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and thoughts! Kyle is playing Lego's and we are waiting for Laren and the rest of the kids to show up so we can celebrate Alyssa's birthday at the hospital!! I thought it was so sweet that with his dinner, Kyle ordered a "rainbow cupcake," aka cupcake with rainbow sprinkles so he could have something to give Alyssa for her birthday!

Very Sick; Prayers needed

2009-02-16T16:07:00.003-07:00

Hospitalized

Kyle (8) is in the hospital and any prayers for him will be much appreciated. He is in Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I am staying here with him.

It all started on Friday of last week when Kyle came home from school the whites of his eyes were yellowing. I called Laren at work. We assessed Kyle as soon as Laren got home and decided Kyle would be fine for the night and we'd take him to Urgent Care in the morning.

First thing Saturday morning we took Kyle to Urgent Care. They ran bloodwork and the tests came back this morning. We kept Kyle home from Church yesterday. It was kind of hectic because I was getting sustained and set apart on my new calling, YW Secretary, and dealing with everything else. We had been having Kyle get lots of rest and trying to keep him well hydrated.

This morning I was waiting until the doctors office opened to call and get an appointment to get Kyle in. Before the doctors office even opened, the doctor that saw Kyle in the Urgent Care on Saturday called me and said that Kyle's bloodwork came back and it was awful! He said in all of his years of practice he's never seen numbers this high (for liver stuff). Kyle's numbers were over 7000 and a 'normal' high number would be around 800. And that numbers that high are an indication of liver failure.

He told me he had already called Primary Childrens Hospital and told me I needed to take Kyle in ASAP. He said the quickest way to get in was to take him to the Emergency Room. So that is what I did. They took a bunch of bloodwork and then admitted Kyle. At this point we don't know what is wrong with Kyle's liver. But something is. He is very jaundiced. Not just his eyes but his torso too. His energy level is low, he has diarrhea and is tired a lot and a little nauseated.

Kyle doesn't like the Hep Lock/IV but he's kind of excited to find out the Hospital has Playstation, so he might be able to play some video games. He does not want to be here, but he's being a good sport. Laren is trying to figure out a place for Tyler to stay and play for the next 5 days or so - either with one of our sisters or someone from our ward...we were told Kyle will likely be here at least 3 days or more, possibly even the week or more.

They are going to run a bunch of tests and see what is going on and then give him some treatments and see how he responds and they won't release him until after that. Tomorrow they are going to do a biopsy on Kyle's liver. So far, after retesting his liver numbers, his levels are still super high but maintaining in the over 7000 range.

Tomorrow is Alyssa's 11th Birthday, so I feel bad I'm not going to be there to celebrate that with her. And we were supposed to attend the Draper Temple Open House today, and a bunch of other stuff going on this week, but all of that pales in comparison to getting Kyle well.

More than anything, I'm just praying and hoping Kyle will get better soon - that whatever is making his liver not function properly that he can be healed of it. I want my Boy back! My brother in law was able to come to the hospital and help Laren give Kyle a Priesthood blessing.

I am so grateful for the Power of the Priesthood!

Courage Persistance and Perserverance

2009-02-09T16:50:00.004-07:00

The Value of Courage, Persistance and Perserverance:

It has rarely been illustrated more convincingly than in the life story of this man, his age is in the ( ).

-Failed in business (22)
-Ran for Legislature - defeated (23)
-Again failed in business (24)
-Elected to Legislature (25)
-Sweetheart died (26)
-Had a nervous breakdown (27)
-Defeated for Speaker (29)
-Defeated for Elector (31)
-Defeated for Congress (34)
-Elected to Congress (37)
-Defeated for Congress (39)
-Defeated for Senate (46)
-Defeated for Vice President (47)
-Defeated for Senate (49)
-Elected President of the United States (51)

That's the record of Abraham Linclon - one of the greatest Presidents of the United States.

Thomas Edison spent 50 years and had thousands of failures before he revolutionized the world by inventing and patenting the incandescent light bulb. Because of his desire to created the incandescent light bulb, he was one of the most persistent people in history.

The invention, in which Edison had the most failures, was one of his most famous. His persistence also led to many other great inventions. Edison had thousands of attempts and thousands of failures. He once said, "Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless." Edison did amazing things simply by persevering.

I love this message, especially in honor of the upcoming President's Day. And as a Mom, I feel like I have way more failures than successes, but this tells me to just keep at it, there is hope! :)

Five

2009-02-06T13:03:00.002-07:00

Five for Friday

1.) We are finding lots of things we like about Utah. Far more than I imagined I would. I love Laren's short commute. I love being near more family than we were in Colorado. I love having the mountains so close. I love having so many family oriented activities to do here. I love having the temple and church building close, [and the schools].

2.) We recently discovered the Dinosaur Museum and my kids love it. We have been there several times already and plan on going often!

3.) We were able to go to a BYU Basketball game recently and it was a lot of fun to go and be in the Marriott Center (with decent seats, even) with my husband and kids. I also should add, I enjoy living closer to the BYU Bookstore, I recently hit a great sale there (70% off) - but even if there is no sale I love to go and look...and I love BYU rice crispy treats! Very tasty!! :)

4.) Yesterday I finally went to a Shop that I've been dying to go into for a year now! It was Hapari, a swimwear store. I actually live fairly close to it and my daughter and I had a good time looking at and trying on swimsuits - made us more hungry for summer though! And speaking of shops, American Fork and Lehi have some great little Boutiques, that I've been discovering! You never see things like this (boutiques) in Colorado!

5. This morning Tyler and I ventured out to Shade's sale at the Warehouse in Pleasant Grove. They had tons of Shade shirts, jackets, etc... for $3, $5, $7, and $9!!! I got some stuff for my girls and I. But I totally thought of you Jenny (and Angie) and wished I had thought to ask your size, etc... so I could have gotten you something! And not only were the prices great at this sale, but everyone there (there were hoardes of shoppers!) seemed to be very polite, not too grabby! :)

Tagged

2009-02-05T09:17:00.007-07:00

Tagged

I was tagged by Donna to find the 6th picture from my 6th folder, post it, and describe it.

This a picture of my cute Girly Girl Alyssa, taken a couple of years ago. I can't remember why we were taking this picture, but it was probably because she did her hair and then wanted a photo shoot. Anyone else have Girls like this? Gotta love it!!

Anyway, it's appropriate the 6th picture was of Alyssa because her birthday is coming right up and I've recently been pondering my pregnancy, delivery and her birth. What a blessing she has been in our lives. Quite literally she saved me in so many ways, ways that are too private to post. But suffice it to say, she was born a ray of sunshine with a gorgeous dimple on her right cheek and she was the most beautiful pink coloring I have ever seen on a baby!

She was the perfect antidote to my life's difficulties at the time she came. And she is still that same bright personality today. She is happy, talkative and fun!

Now I'm tagging anyone who reads this to go and find the 6th picture from your 6th folder and blog it! :)

Things are looking up

2009-02-02T21:33:00.002-07:00

Looking Up

On the job front, things are starting to look up. Some good news came about yesterday in regards to Laren's work project. Nothing is definite, yet. But things are definitely moving in the right direction! Yay!!

Now we just need our house to sell. We have had a lot more interest in it recently. Even though I go through times where I have wondered, I know that the Lord has not forgotten us and that at some point our house will sell. In the meantime, we will keep trying to be patient.

2009-01-29T12:43:00.002-07:00

Holding my Breath

Laren's job permanency is being determined by the Utah State Legislature. And currently all of the project's have been reinstated except for his. Here is the link to the article. Oh boy is it ever a roller coaster.

But I do have to say that in this economy, with everything being as bad as it is. I'm glad that Laren is into roads since President Obama seems inclined to improve that sector particularly. And in my opinion, roads are important for commerce. If the roads aren't taken care of , it takes a toll on pretty much anyone who works outside of the their homes. We all get frustrated by not being able to get from point A to point B in a reasonable amount of time.

Laren seems optimistic about his job. I am hopefully optimistic too, despite hearing that all of the roadway jobs in the state have been refunded except for his! Here's to HOPE!!

ABS

2009-01-26T10:54:00.002-07:00

I have long had the goal to get my abs in shape, especially after having 5 babies. But I've never done it. So along with my treadmill workout, I've been adding some abs in. I'm not really bold enough to make a committment and say this is the year. And I definitely won't be posting a before picture. If I do a good job, I may be brave enough to post an after picture but I doubt it. I can say I'm more motivated than ever. And I have done more than I usually do with them this year.

I actually asked my husband for one of these gizmo's for Christmas this year. And I love it! It's great if you have weak lower back muscles and need that extra little umph when coming up out of your situps, like I do.

And most recently I came upon this great pilates ab workout from the mandjshow.com. But be forewarned, it is much harder than it looks. I'm hoping to incorporate this workout into my routine too.

Christmas Cards -

2009-01-22T10:54:00.004-07:00

I just wanted to let our friends know that we are pathetic on the Christmas Card front this year. We didn't get them out due to our move. But we loved each and every one that we received! Thank you so much for thinking of us and next year we will not disappoint!

PS LeAnn C - it was so great to see you blogging. Please email me so I can get permissions on your blog! :) livingston 93 AT hotmail DOT com

Some Random Thoughts

2009-01-22T10:35:00.003-07:00

*I'm really hoping this fogginess in Utah County lifts soon. You really can't beat the Colorado Sunshine!

*I loved the dress that Michelle Obama wore to the Inauguration Ball (s). Although, as my daughters have pointed out, it is not modest. So it would need sleeves if any of us wore it. But it was beautiful and I love that she chose a lesser known designer.

*I found this cute little desk at DI and gave it a coat of paint in the color my daughters' requested. I think it was a great find and it is perfect for their bedroom!

*I am sure loving our new washer and dryer and not just for the convenience they provide - front-loaders are much better than the old top loaders! And how sweet it is that we got this set for only $899! And thanks to my handsome Hubby for installing them and making them purr :)

Inauguration Day

2009-01-20T18:12:00.005-07:00

Inauguration Day

I did not vote for Obama - mainly because of his views on issues like Partial Birth Abortion, I take huge issue with things like that. But, I like Obama. He is smart, level-headed, he doesn't rush to judgement. He has not come from wealth or prosperity. He has had to work for everything. He is a hard worker and I believe he is going to do his level best to do what he can to help the economy. He acknowledged that his administration "WILL make mistakes".

He seems humble to me. He is crazy enough to house his MIL in the White House! lol He is a family man. Religously he is different than me. But then again I don't know what kind of views I would have had I not been born into the gospel. I am happy and excited for our Country and having Obama for President. I think for as much flack as he has gotten by the right, I think he will surprise many for the good when it is all said and done. Even if I didn't feel this way, what is done is done, and like it (for me) or not - he IS our President.

I feel optimistic about him as our President! I am actually glad he won!! A year ago, there was NO way I would have ever thought I could say that. But, I have since opened my mind and my heart. And - I'm not saying this to intentionally oppose nor agree with anyone. It's just my thoughts. And a little side note - Obama is a lefty like my dh and he has the same build as well, and if nothing else, how could I not like that about him. I enjoyed watching the ceremonies today. And I'm looking forward to some positive changes for our country. I'm also really hoping he puts a lot of economic stimulus money into roadway design since that is our bread and butter! LOL

I am optimistic about the future of America. I remember back in August Laren and I toured the Pepsi Center in Denver right before the Democratic National Convention took place. I had a strong feeling at that time that Barack Obama would be our next President.

2009-01-16T10:04:00.007-07:00

Our new house and some adjusting.

Some of you have asked for pictures. It's nothing special but it is to us, because it's the place where we can be together as a family. It is our house that we are renting while we wait for our house in Colorado to sell. My two oldest don't like having to share a bedroom. Well, I think Alyssa, our second oldest, secretly likes it while Kayla despises it.

The family room/study/gym. (Notice the multiple functions this room serves as - with my treadmill, our computer and our tv and bookcase in there! It is also our spare bedroom as that couch is a hide-a-bed and recently hosted my brother for a night there.)

The huge backyard with my boys playing there. And we love this view of the mountains!

We are still getting settled both physically and emotionally. Most of the kids are adjusting well. But Kayla, 12, is having a particularly hard adjustment with being in Jr. High and everything. I won't share the details but let's just say it's been a long week. Very long!

We have pretty much unpacked everything that we are going to unpack for now, until it's time to pull out our summer clothes! LOL There is just not room in this house to unpack everything. It is actually kind of nice to have a simpler lifestyle with fewer things to have around cluttering it up!

We got our dishwasher installed last night and I can't tell you how joyful it was to have one of those for the first time since our move here! My kids were especially joyous, since they are primarily the ones who do the dishes around here.

Additionally we left our washer and dryer in Colorado, and we ordered a new Washer and Dryer about 2 months ago and it's been on backorder and it's finally supposed to come in tomorrow. I could not be happier about that because I have reluctantly made friends with a couple of laundromats nearby and let's say I don't like them so well and I would rather befriend my own set, in my own house! ;)

Also, I have discovered the local library and I'm enjoying some great books. Most of what I am reading right now is LDS non-fiction. Stuff I like to read, but couldn't read it without buying it when I lived outside of the Beehive State. I'm enjoying reading without having to invest in the book!

Finally, today I'm so excited that Nienie (Stephanie Nielsen) is back to posting on her own blog. You must go and read her first post back, posted today! It was like a ray of sunshine in this smog-covered valley this morning. Go and check her out!

Favorite Thing

2009-01-13T20:45:00.003-07:00

One of my new favorite things:

I recently was watching an episode of the M and J Show on Fox. And they had a guy on that had lost a ton of weight (like half his body weight or something). When asked how he did it, his response was not getting surgery like so many do these days. And for the record, I believe that surgery has a place and I have a friend whom I love who had that surgery and it has turned her life around completely!

But when asked how this young man lost his weight he replied that he invested in a George Foreman Grill and started eating grilled chicken, turkey, veggies and even buffalo (it is supposed to have a low fat content).

The George Foreman Grill--and it's even in RED!

His main emphasis was on eating right. He didn't follow a "diet plan" other than just eating healthy, portion control and not snacking unhealthily. His results were amazing!

I feel that I have been in my own slump, eating/weight wise. And so after thinking about it for a few days I decided to bite the bullet and try out a George Foreman Grill. More than anything, I need variety in my healthy eating.

My dinner last night, along with a piece of no fat cornbread.

As a result, I've been having lots of this

for dinner and veggie sandwiches for lunch. And it's especially nice when I make something like this:

for my family (notice the cheese), that I have something else to eat that is appetizing and healthy!

And I recommend the Sunflower Market for a great place to buy great veggies and produce at great prices with lots of variety. [And most of their stuff is organic.] In Colorado there is one near Deseret Book in Littleton and other places too; and in Utah there is one in Orem and Murray (I believe).

Additonally, another thing about the grill is that it is also a waffle maker and has a shallow pan insert too, so you can make eggs, etc... in it--including pizza! I have used this thing almost every day since I bought it.

Nienie Benefit Concert

2009-01-12T21:01:00.002-07:00

Here is a great fundraiser for Stephanie and Christian Nielsen.

Nie Nie and her beloved Mr. Nielson are currently recovering from critical burns sustained in an airplane crash August 16, 2008.

Everyone PLEASE come and give your support to this wonderful family in need!

Poking my head out of the hole...

2009-01-07T19:06:00.002-07:00

Some Random Thoughts Since our Move:

I just wanted to post and say that we made it here safely. I cannot believe I went so long without blogging. Oddly, I haven't thought much about blogging in the recent busy weeks. Or maybe that isn't so odd?! Hmmm.

We are here and getting settled. The three middle children started school on Monday. Kayla, the oldest, starts school next Monday because they are doing testing this week here. Finals, to be exact. In Colorado, we had finals before Christmas break. So this is a little unusual for us. Tonight is Kayla's first night at YW in the new ward. She was so nervous to go, so I'm praying she has a good time!

The weather here has primarily been cold and snowy. We have about 1.5 - 2 feet of snow in the yard. It's crazy! But my kids have enjoyed sledding and playing in it. We live at the end of a Cul-d-sac and I'm converted to this way of life! I love being able to let my kids, including and particularly the youngest ones, wander in and out without fear of them running right into the street. And I love the huge, triangle shaped yard!

I love being with Laren again and having us all together. I love that Laren actually gets home about 10 minutes or so after he leaves the office! In Colorado, it took him nearly an hour to get home after work.

We have a Church just a half a block away from us, but that is a different Stake. So we attend one down the street and around the corner and around another corner - like maybe 5 or 6 blocks, way too far away! Ha ha!!

I've gotten lost way too many times already, even with the Garmin. Apparently, these small neighborhood streets are just too hard for a college educated mother of 5 to navigate!! I'm getting used to parking out nearly to the main street every time I go to Walmart or Costco. And Colorado has never seen a long line compared to Utah. It's crazy!!! But, I love having lots of kids around here for my kids to play with; and to think we had a lot on our street in Colorado!

So far we are liking it, but it is not without lots of adjustments, including this small, but sufficient-sized house. I'm still missing so many things, so I'm just relenting and replacing some of the less-expensive things, either that or just accepting it and trying not to be frustrated!

My kids say school is a lot easier over here. They cannot believe how easy their homework is and how little time it takes them to do it, but we are not complaining!! ;)

Moving

2008-12-17T11:49:00.003-07:00

Moving

As you know, a few months ago Laren took a job in Utah. The kids and I have stayed here in Colorado with Laren coming home just every other weekend. We have been trying to sell our house, to no avail. Laren and I recently made the decision to move the kids and I to Utah to be all together as a family and we will continue to try and sell our house in this crazy market.

So, I've been busy, busy, busy with getting things ready for Christmas, mailing packages, getting the kids withdrawn from school here and getting ready to move. We are scrambling to find a rental over there. Blogging has taken a backseat to all of the above, but I just wanted you to know that I haven't given up on it or you, I just haven't had time for it!

Hopefully I can sit down and do a more detailed post soon. But in the meantime, MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!

Coming Home

2008-12-11T12:21:00.003-07:00

After 3 sick kids and another with pink eye this last week. Look who's coming home tonight!

The House

2008-12-04T17:52:00.004-07:00

The House

So many of my friends and family have been asking us if we have had any "bites" on the house yet. The answer is, unfortunately, no, we haven't! We have went for long periods of time where we have no showings at all and then the showings seem to crop up in clusters.

So, I've been trying to ignore the fact that the house hasn't sold yet, and I'm trying to focus on other stuff. Stuff that I can have control over. One of those things has been Christmas shopping. It brightens everything to think about this special time of year that we have to celebrate our Savior and participate in giving to others.

Another thing I've been doing here and there is staging my house. Yes, we've had it decorated, etc... but some things I've just let be because of time and money (my excuse for almost anything!). So I've kind allowed myself some fun and time and expense lately of buying a few more things to stage our house.

One of those things was this little nightstand I got on Craigslist for $10. For the almost 15 years of our marriage, most of our furniture has been made up of stuff like

this white dresser that we got that is basically junk furniture. But that is all we could afford at the time. And when we could start affording more, we got another vehicle, or moved into a bigger house or added another child to the family, instead of upgrading the furniture. Not all of the furniture we have is "junk" furniture. It's mainly just the dressers now.

And today, after some painting projects the past 2 days, I spent the morning and early afternoon baking cookies for our Card Group cookie exchange tonight. After I was done baking, I cleaned up my cookie mess. But I didn't bother with the aftermath of the hurricane that builds when you don't focus on cleaning the house for 2 days to paint furniture.

And this morning we awoke to a steady and accumulating snowfall. The first real one we've had so far this year in Denver. And I thought to myself that I really needed to clean my house, mainly taking care of all that laundry and vacuuming . But I decided after all my cookie work I would sit down and check my Facebook for a few minutes.

I did that and then my oldest daughter came home from school. We chatted and then I headed out to get my 3 middle children from school. The roads were slippery and the unshoveled sidewalks at the school made a quick trip into a lengthier one. We were all home and sitting in the family room. I was attempting to read some books to Tyler after assigning chores to those who didn't have homework and was receiving lots of backlash about it.

Just a few moments later the doorbell rang. Kyle went to get it and someone started to open the door. I heard a lady asking, "If your Mom is here, so I can show the house?" I put the books down and ran to the door. I told her that I was unaware a showing was scheduled and that I would be happy to show my house but that I needed some time. I asked if they had any other homes they wanted to see nearby so they could come back to ours.

She said, "No, that she didn't mind the mess." That was the "Looker," not the agent. I said if you could just give me five minutes to tidy up then they could come and see it. They finally agreed to wait in their cars for 5 minutes.

In the meantime I had all the kids but Tyler quick at work cleaning and bickering. After 5 minutes, the doorbell rang again. It was the "looker". She said they would look at a couple of other houses and come back. Relieved I closed the door. My kids and I spun through the house like we've never done before, placing all sorts of things in all the wrong places, like a pair of gloves in the kitchen cupboard. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

We didn't have it perfect, but it would have to do. The Agent and her Lookers came just as we were leaving. I'm sure that nothing will come of the showing, because that just seems to be the market right now. But I'm proud of the kids and the way they helped me in a pinch!

And as for why I didn't know about the showing sooner, I'm debating getting rid of T-mobile asap, because all of the showings go to my cell phone and it doesn't ring half the time in the house. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out why all the Lookers want to come on the days you least expect them, like the day after Thanksgiving, or the snowiest day of the year so far?

Decorating the Tree

2008-12-01T21:29:00.002-07:00

Decorating the Tree

Tonight the kids and I put on the Christmas Music and got out the ornaments and decorated the tree. Oh the fun memories brought about by Christmases past when we found an ornament Kayla painted in Joy School 8 years ago, or an ornament Kyle's nursery teacher made and gave to him 6 years ago, or that Rilyn or Alyssa made at school. Tyler was cute enough to come and ask me if his cute paper ornament could go on the tree - of course it could!

Rilyn was sad that Dad could not be there to decorate the tree with us. She wanted to know if it was okay to do it without him. I assured her that he gave us special permission. While we decorated, we did our part in adding to the holiday cheer by consuming our share and then some of sugar cookies and Jelly Belly flavored candy canes. Unfortunately, I didn' t get any pictures of us decorating because I was videoing it for Dad. Maybe one of these days I will figure out how to upload the video from the video camera to the blog?

Decorating the tree, what a great start to a fun month!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2008-11-26T21:24:00.005-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We are home from our trip to visit Laren in Utah. We spent pretty much the entire past week there! Despite us all cramming into a tiny studio apartment in Orem, the kids were so much more settled than they have been for the past 2.5 months. It goes to show that it does not matter what kind/size of house we live in as long as we're together as family. It was hard to keep them quiet so as not to disturb the neighboring apartments though.

The night before we left, we got some bad news about Laren's project: that it may come to a standstill due to less sales tax revenue for roads (and just about everything else) in Utah. I will admit I spent a few hours silently weeping over that. Usually being a civil engineer is a pretty stable line of employment, but this bad economy can even affect stable jobs, apparently. It was hard for me to have the energy to get my house in perfect condition and get everything packed and loaded for the trip we had previously planned. But my 12 year old daughter came to the rescue and helped immensely with anything and everything and away we went!!

While we were away we looked at a ton of houses to buy or rent. Most definitely we will be renting until we have job certainty, one way or another, and until this house sells. We also got together with Laren's sister's family in Payson a couple of times. And what would be a trip for us to Utah without a game of bowling at the Wilkinson Center? Afterall, our favorite University houses it! And equally satisfying was some good, cool sweet treats courtesy of the Creamery!!

We rolled in tonight, right before Costco was closing. I had Laren stop in hopes that I could find some Pumpkin Pies, but no such luck! They were completely cleaned out. So I sucked it up and came home and baked my own instead of falling straight into bed. But the smell wafting through my house right now while they bake, is quite a reward for my efforts already!

I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Something Fun!

2008-11-20T10:38:00.004-07:00

Something Fun!

When I went on my Girls' Weekend a couple of months ago, we not only stayed up late gabbing, went shopping, ate a bunch of junk food, and played games, but we also went to Park City and checked out the Olympic Venues.

We rode the Zip Line down the mountain, after the ski lift took us up. It was exhilerating! I would do it again in a heartbeat! Lots of fun!!

Me in front of the Ski Jump pool.

When we were there, they had some time trials going on for Professional Ski Jumping. This is at their facility in Park City. They actually practice going down these slopes during the warm months since there is no snow in the warm months.

It was actually quite fun to watch. They do all sorts of twists and acrobatics before they fall cleanly and perfectly into the water. They have bleachers that you can sit on and see the whole thing. We were on our way to the Zip line so we didn't stay for more than a few minutes, but I could have stayed and watched for a long time. It was fascinating! Much better to be there in person, rather than just watching on tv.

Blessings

2008-11-18T23:33:00.003-07:00

Blessings

In counting my blessings, today I added the following two.

First, this little guy was saved from drowning in a pond while I was visit teaching. He went out into her backyard with a friend, and unbeknownced to me there was a pond there. I was worried from the beginning about his safety, especially once he was outside and out of earshot. This guy is H-E double toothpicks on wheels.

So, after I couldn't hear them for about 10 minutes I interrupt my visit teachee mid-sentence and tell her I must check on the boys. She is muttering something about not looking at her messy house, my only focus was on my son. As I approach the sliding glass door I see the other boy, but not my Tyler. Then I see him. He is drenched, head to water-filled shoes. In a panic, I run to him and immediately see the pond where he got soaked.

I still do not know exactly how it happened, but he said he was reaching for a rock. I suspect he just fell head first into the water. He had a gash on his head and a big red mark on his right shoulder and 2 big red marks on his back. Poor guy, he was freezing despite our warm 78 degree day today here in Denver, in mid November no less!!

I count it as a great blessing that he didn't drowned by getting knocked unconscious by a rock on his way into the water. His friend didn't seem concerned at all about Tyler falling into the water. I don't think he had any intentions of letting us know. But, what can you expect from a 3 year old? After the incident, I took Tyler's clothes off and wrapped him in a borrowed, much-oversized robe. We came home and I put him in the bath. I think I remember her saying her teenager had a dead fish in that pond, ewwww!
---

And the second blessing of the day came tonight. We are Black Friday shoppers, much to Laren's aversion to it. I had read late last week that one of the best deals this year on Black Friday would be a Kenmore Front Loading washer/dryer pair for $599.

So I researched it and I found a "pre-black Friday Sale" at Sears on a great front loading Samsung washer/dryer pair on sale on Saturday for $899.00 at Sears. It was a much better model than the Kenmore set. And, as luck would have it, our current washer/dryer is 13 years old and have been threatening going out for the past few months.

The only problem was the sale was on Sunday only, a day we don't shop. So, we found a kind sales clerk who made it work for us and we didn't find out until tonight that we got what we wanted - only better! They sold out of the Samsung model that was on sale so they are going to upgrade us to the Samsung model with ionization or the #1 ranked LG model.

Thankful Heart

2008-11-16T21:49:00.004-07:00

Today I have a Thankful Heart -

Specifically for my great big, little family. They are just special little munchkins. When I went to blow out my candles on my birthday cake over the weekend, Kyle (8) said, "Mom, I bet you are going to wish for a Forever Family." Rilyn said, "I bet you are going to wish our house will sell." Though I reminded them both I couldn't share my wishes or they wouldn't come true; I will share with you that these sweet little kids know me perfectly well!

And my Prince Charming Husband did so many kind deeds for me over the weekend, like chauffeuring our kids around for me, coloring my hair, making my birthday cake from scratch (substituting applesauce for the oil), doing yard work, cleaning the carpet where Tyler melted a fudge bar, changing the brakes and rotating the tires on the van, and obliging me by standing in line early in the morning with 16 degree temps to get free flu shots.

Update

2008-11-10T12:42:00.002-07:00

And the very day I posted that last post my little child #4 started coming down with a temperature. It was very mild at first. Then the weekend came and it was much higher. Then she got pink eye on top of that! So maybe she wasn't making all of that up in the nurses office last week?

My Sister, who is also trying to sell her house to move out of state, sold her house over the weekend! I'm so happy for her. A little depressed for myself. But I am glad to know that there are houses selling out there in this terrible economy!

It's Monday and after my kids being, well kids - for the sake of terms that I probably shouldn't call them, I woke up this morning after a bad nights sleep to a messy house. That is usually my welcome to a new week, even though I always hope for more! And the cherry on top was my unwelcome monthly visitor arriving to herald in this new week too. She chose to present herself on a day I chose to wear my whitest of whites. Lovely.

So, I'm turning this week around! My house is almost put back together. I need to mop still. And I have a major trip to the Goodwill planned to get rid of all the excess stuff I am getting rid of after going through my basement clutter over the weekend. Speaking of the weekend, I did manage to read a good parenting book while I referreed the kids yesterday. It is called Screamfree Parenting. I'm hoping it sinks in by osmosis! My kids are hoping too.

2008-11-06T11:59:00.003-07:00

"Hi, this is Mrs. School Nurse calling and I just wanted to let you know that I've had your #4 child in the nurses office every other day for the last 2 weeks."

"Okay."

"This time she said she was sick, that her side hurt and when I asked her to show me, she pointed to her thigh."

"Her thigh?"

"Yeah, her thigh."

Then I was given a laundry list of reasons why she has come to the nurses office in the past few weeks - a rash on her throat (never any evidence of that), a non-existent fever, overall not feeling well, a headache, etc...

Mrs. School Nurse said that none of Child #4's visits have been consistent with a certain time of day, etc... So she is not avoiding math everyday, or something like that.

I then asked her why Child #4's teacher kept letting her go to the office if they all seemed to be "phantom symptoms." She had no explanation. It is a seasoned, mature late 50 something teacher.

I then tell her this is my #4 child out of 5 and that I had another daughter do this about the same age and that really, sometimes this goes with the age and a child wanting more attention. I told her "Thank You" and that I will talk to child #4 about this when she gets home after school.

What I didn't say, but was tempted to, was that her Father is working out of town and she is likely acting out because of the un-normal home circumstances for us. But for the time being, we are here, he is there and none of us like it but that is the way it must be!

We are doing good. Really. Except for these little things that crop up more often than I would like.

Just a little randomness

2008-10-29T12:53:00.006-06:00

My 8 year old son has been going to early morning practices for his school Halloween Program for the past month or so. Kyle has enjoyed every minute of it. Today, we got to go and enjoy it! It was great!!

He is in the middle there, with his head turned, wearing a yellow shirt.

On the way home from the Halloween Program we were out of milk so we made a detour through the store. Every time we go to our local Kroger grocery store, my little Tyler wants to ride on this horse.

Tyler riding the horsey.

And I always let him, because it only costs $.01. There isn't anything that only costs a penny anymore! I remember when I was a child all of the grocery stores having these horses and carousels next to the door going out. It always beckoned me to ride, everytime I walked by it, but my Mom rarely obliged. You don't see these around much anymore, and certainly not for a penny!

And on our way home, I happen to look over and notice my favorite cheap gas station and the price was only, $2.33 per gallon!!!

My favorite gas station.

I had to hurry and snap a picture, but it was not a good one thanks to driving and having my window rolled up.

Lastly, our weather here has been the BEST weather lately! I couldn't ask for better weather at the end of October. We are supposed to hit 75 degrees F today!

Since I was getting a little camera happy, I snapped this picture out my car window on my way home from the store. Gorgeous Fall weather that I will take any day!!

I should be cleaning, but I'm blogging instead...

2008-10-27T10:43:00.006-06:00

I should be cleaning, but I'm blogging instead. I woke up at 2:00 am last night and couldn't go back to sleep...until time to get up - of course! So I'm sitting here at the computer to keep me awake. I don't dare try to snooze with my active little Tyler running around and besides I doubt I would be able to nap anyway. I just can't be productive if that makes sense!

This past FRIDAY my SISTER Kallie and I went to a CRAFT FAIR in her "hometown". It was lots of fun, we shopped until her baby, my cute little nephew Zach, about made both of our arms fall off by passing him back and forth and so then we stopped and went to LUNCH. Then we had to immerse ourselves into more craft fair goodness!

When I was there I came upon this amazing booth that I will attempt to post some pictures of, which trust me - do not do it justice! The booth was one in which they sell those pre-made mixes that we've all had before and that many of us have probably made ourselves. The difference between hers, mine, yours and any others I've seen? PRESENTATION. Oh my! Her stuff is a feast for the eyes. And then she let us sample several of her items, it was heaven to my taste buds too!

Sorry my pictures don't do these things justice, my cell phone camera and me just do not make a good picture taking pair! But I did buy some of these as gifts and my kids keep asking if they are for us. I think my favorite feast for the eyes is that one in the glass candle holder above with the green taffeta bag. But my favorite feast for the mouth was the PUMPKIN BREAD- YUM-MY!!

2008-10-25T14:46:00.002-06:00

I have to give a big shout out to my friend Kris who made my cute blog template. In fact she made my last blog template too. She makes lots of cute templates and they are free!

She says on her site that she will also make you a header for your blog if you'd like. She also has a link on her sidebar that has links to other site with cute templates if you're interested. I think that is so nice of her to list the other sites.

I'm going to try and get a button put on my sidebar of her One Cute Blog site, but in the meantime you can follow this link.

Thanks Kris, you do such a great job!!

What do I love

2008-10-23T18:04:00.008-06:00

Have you ever been out and about, maybe going into the Post Office or walking in the mall and you happen to feel that force pulling your glance downwards? It's like a magnetic force that steels your eyes and they are affixed and can't look away.

I have found that it's happening more and more often to me. I am trying to figure out if it's getting worse with age or what. I've never really been one to be impulsive. But lately, I have this new found love affair that I just can't seem to shrug off.

I found myself on Sunday feeling that magnetic force when I should have been listening to the Sunday School lesson. (Don't worry Tara, it wasn't you teaching!) My eyes couldn't hardly look up and it wasn't because I was sleepy.

What were they doing? They were looking and lusting after all the cute shoes. Have you ever noticed? Why, I've never before paid much attention to shoes prior to the last 12 months, I will never understand. Because lately, I pay more attention to shoes than I do someone's outfit.

Now that I've pretty much admitted to coveting, in church nonetheless, I will show you what has caught my eye.

These were some of the ones I saw and loved at Church, though she had them in a different color (chocolate). And in case you're wondering, this picture does not do them justice, at all. (Thanks Kim, for sharing!)

And when I went to buy the aforementioned pair, I found these and just had to have them.

Even the insides say, "Put me on and wear me!"

The problem is, before I found either of those 2 pair, I had already found these red ones online and purchased them. They just weren't here yet.

My new favorite shoes.

They kind of remind me of the Naughty Monkey red pumps that Sarah Palin wore that got so much press recently. Only these, of mine, came from the lovely Target, for a whole lot less $$.

And since I'm spilling my shoe loving guts, here is another pair I've been coveting:

Five for Friday...

2008-10-17T22:30:00.005-06:00

Us at the Zoo, Kayla was taking the picture so that is why she is missing.

Five for Friday...

1. I had 3 parent-teacher conferences this week. I will admit they are not my favorite thing, and I don't know exactly why. For the most part, my kids are good students. There is just something about them I don't like.

2. On Sunday, we found out our ward (at Church) is getting split - again. We have lived here in our little suburb for over 6.5 years and this is the 3rd split since then! I've never enjoyed ward splits!

3. I took the opportunity to go and browse in Barnes and Noble this week, something I haven't done in over a year! It was a fun excursion, minus having to chase Tyler around the aisles and keep him content while I browsed.

4. Our weather has really taken a turn for the worse (meaning cold) this week! I had to turn our heat on. But, on the brighter side we have warmed up for the weekend back into the 70's!!

5. Laren came home last night! We have all loved having him home. Today we took a trip to the Zoo with him and then he and Alyssa went to the Daddy-Daughter Sock Hop!

The Monkey's who live in our "Monkey House" (notice the sign).

This pretty much sums up my feelings

2008-10-13T12:54:00.001-06:00

Sums up my feelings on the Mortgage Crisis. Any comments?

Making Bread

2008-10-11T13:15:00.004-06:00

Making Bread

The other day as I was wiping the counters and sweeping the floor, decluttering papers and washing my sink I came across some overly ripe bananas that had been gracing my kitchen island for a few more days than I appreciate. I'm no fan of overipe fruit, particularly bananas.

As I was about to toss them into the trash, I stopped and thought better of it. 'I really should make some banana bread,' I told myself. But I didn't want to take the time, nor did I want the temptation of any scrumptious carbs lying around to tempt me.

I have a weakness for carbs, particularly breads. Though cinnamon rolls are my favorite type of 'bread,' I like pretty much any type as long as it's not rye or pumpernickel. But sweet breads are an especial favorite of mine. Banana bread is in that classification.

It would make a good snack for my children, I thought, as I argued with myself. I decided that was reason enough to do the baking. Tyler had wandered in from making a few messes of his own, both inside and outside of the house. I decided maybe I could distract him from that and he and I could have some bonding time while the other kids were in school.

When I asked him if he wanted to make some bread, the answer was an immediate, "YES!" As I got out the mixer, a large mixing bowl and some ingredients Tyler scooted over a chair from the table.

After the eggs, sugar, flour and a few other ingredients were out I turned around to see Tyler doing this:

When I asked what he was doing, he said he was "Making Bread." Apparently his idea of what type of bread to make was different than mine?

Up and Down

2008-10-08T19:08:00.005-06:00

The Up and Down in our lives...

Life is so full and busy for us lately. I haven't made my computer time a priority since having Laren gone, I have felt a greater pull to be with my kids - wherever they are - even if it's in the other/same room! I have a whole new appreciation for single Mom's.

The Ups: Listening to General Conference
Watching Kayla play Volleyball
Saying prayers and reading scriptures with my kids

Listening to my Girls practice their piano
Playing in the yard with Tyler
Reading to Rilyn and Tyler

Watching Kyle be a great big brother, to Tyler
My morning walks and talks with Tara
My personal nightly scripture study in "The Book of Mormon Made Easier" (I still
highly recommend this book - it keeps my mind engaged in what I'm reading!)

Following the Presidential Election (just a little hobby of mine)
Going to Kayla's Choir Concert
Making Cards for my Card Group

The Downs: Missing Laren
Getting the kids to do their homework, reading done, etc...
Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning

Breaking up sibling squabbles - 'nuff said!
Figuring out little things that Laren has always done - like changing the battery
out on smoke alarm after it beeped all through the night (and we didn't have any extra 9 volts). Those things are tricky to change, at least in our house (no laughing! I'm being serious here!!)

Having to attend parent-teacher conferences by myself
No back and foot massages, ala Laren
Less sleep

Knowing my Numbers

2008-10-02T13:21:00.004-06:00

HEALTH

I've never paid a whole lot of attention to my numbers, really. I just figured if I was eating "decent" and getting exercise 5ish days a week, on the average, that I was fine. But having turned 35 this past year, and being on the verge of turning 36 soon, I decided I better pay closer attention.

I recently had a conversation with my brother, Rob, about health after another Aunt of ours died a "young" 57. Of course, for her, she had other health problems too that were contributing factors, probably not related to genetics. But Rob and I both agreed that we need to pay better attention to our numbers.

So, before Laren quit his job here and started his new job I got us all in for all of our appointments. When I saw Laren's LDL levels at 115, I told him that though it wasn't "bad," it certainly could be improved upon. In my mind, I attributed it to his, almost nightly, dish of ice cream or his love of BLT's.

I never took a second thought to consider that my own cholesterol might be similar, or exactly the same! So after reading and researching my own results, I was astonished that my "attempts" at being healthy weren't as successful, based on my cholesterol numbers, as I had thought.

I eat oatmeal for breakfast, almost every morning. Though, this morning I had some delicious high fiber toast with a little butter on it and some diet hot chocolate. (Yeah, where is my protein and where is my fruit? Hey, we all need a break every once in awhile!! :) ) Isn't eating oatmeal or cheerios supposed to take care of all of a person's cholesterol problems? (ha ha! That seems to be the message these days on some of the commercials on tv).

I had some steamed summer squash and tomatoes from my garden for lunch, along with a few pieces of Halloween licorice and tootsie rolls from the stash that has already turned up around here. (It is only the beginning of October and we already have the candy around - I guess I passed my sweet tooth onto my kids!)

And for dinner, since I haven't eaten yet tonight I will tell you about last nights dinner. I ate a veggie burger sandwiched between 2 slices of my delicious high fiber bread with a little ketchup and relish in there. That was before we had a dinner appointment at my daughter's middle school for one of the program's she is in. There they served pizza. I picked at the pizza, eating only a few bites and declined the soda and cake. Aside from the candy, I have snacked on some pecan pieces that I keep around for baking, and some homemade, wholewheat banana bread that I made.

Some days are better with my eating and some days are worse. But I think it's a pretty good "snapshot" into my eating habits. So, I'm wondering how all of this translates into my cholesterol levels: HDL 47, LDL 115, Total Cholesterol 173. So, I'm on a mission to find out. I know for some people, if they had these numbers they might be satisfied. But it makes me nervous to see these numbers at my "relatively young" age. I'm wondering if there is a genetic factor that comes into play here, because of course I can't take ALL the responsibility for my health now can I? ;)

So if anyone has suggestions for how to help my cholesterol (and my husbands), I'm open to them. And do you know your numbers?

I Love to See the Temple

2008-09-24T08:11:00.004-06:00

This morning my little 6 year old, Rilyn, was singing this song all morning - so I decided to capture it on video.

Today I'm Tired!

2008-09-17T13:33:00.003-06:00

The Day in a Life of a Crazy Mother of Five...

We are crazy busy around here. I'm so tired! My "Girlfriend Getaway" set me back on sleep and then yesterday I just woke up at 4am thinking of stuff I had to do. And this morning when the alarm sounded at 5:30 I was SOOO sleepy - but I meet my girlfriend, Tara, to walk every morning and so I had to get up, that's probably a good thing! I feel like I'm dragging today, though.

This keeping the house clean is good and bad, it's a pain with 5 kids, but it's nice to have everything spiffy all the time! It is good until we have to do something like make and eat dinner, breakfast or lunch, or do laundry. Or if the kids want to do anything slightly messy, like play Legos, a game, or Pet Shop. In other words, it's clean except for when we have to actually live in here! We'll see how long it lasts! I just got back from Michael's and Costco.

Tyler LOVES Costco! I am not completely sure why, but I think it's all the food samples they have in there! But I hate that I can't get out of there without spending at least $100!!

I did manage to make this Crockpot Cake Recipe today. It is done baking and I tasted it and it is rich! If you really like Chocolate, it is for you! (Ahem, Denise.)

Officially on the Market

2008-09-16T14:42:00.005-06:00

For Sale

Yesterday the Realtor came over and put up the sign in our yard. The photographer also came over and took pictures of our home. I'm so sad to sell it. It has been such a great place to call home for the past (almost) 2 years! And we, most especially Laren, have put in A LOT of work to make this place what it is.

But I just keep reminding myself it is a "moth and rust corruptible". It is just a thing, what I love about it more than anything else is that my favorite people in the world reside here and that's what makes it what it really is!

Back Home!!

2008-09-14T18:59:00.005-06:00

Over the weekend, some girlfriends and I got together and rented a huge house in Heber City, Utah (outside Park City) and had a fun girls get together!! No husbands, no kids (except nursing babies) = fun!!

I took quite a few pictures - but after trying to upload them and having blogger mess up and lose all my pictures, here are just a few!

Alisa and I taking a self portrait.

Me and Krista.

The house we stayed in.

We played games, had a gift exchange, ate out, went to Olympic Park and went down the Zip line (that was a RUSH!), we went shopping at the Outlet Mall in Park City, stayed up late and did what girls do best: chat and eat!! We were concerned for our friends, Tamara and Mel, who had to survive the Hurricane in Houston.

And the day before I left for Utah, one of my favorite friends of all time came to Denver to visit me - all the way from Houston, Texas!

Me and Julie taking a self-portrait at lunch at Qdoba.

Julie and I were neighbors when we lived at Wymount Terrace at BYU. She and I would go walking together in the Smith Fieldhouse and push our babies, who are now 12 years old, in their strollers. She is the type of friend who inspires me to be better and every time we talk or get together we can chat just like we never missed a beat!! I'm glad you guys are safe after Hurricane, Ike, Julie!!

Lucky!

2008-09-08T17:56:00.004-06:00

Lucky!

The Loot!

I'm not usually one to win anything. In fact, the only time I remember winning anything was at my Senior Graduation Party. We had our party in the bowling alley. All through the night they had raffles and drawings going on to win various different things.

The top prize was $500 cash. The second prize to the top was $250 cash. The other prizes were things like boom boxes (some of you young'uns probably don't know what those are ;) ), gift cards and stuff like that. I remember sitting there chatting with my fellow cheerleader and girlfriend, Tami, and we were both commiserating how neither of us win anything - so we let go of any hopes of it!

Wouldn't you know it, just a minute later - they drew my name for the $250 cash prize and hers for the $500 cash prize. My money went towards a down payment on my first car (a 1972 Toyota Celica - woohoo!). I don't know what Tami spent her $ on.

Rilyn, our loot and me!

So all of that to say, that I don't usually win stuff! But I recently did win the "grand" prize on my cute blogging friend, Mary's blog. I won make-up, card/scrapbooking making stuff, a cute polk-a-dotted notebook, sharpies (who doesn't love sharpies?), nail polish, some fat quarters, and a whole boat load of stuff! (She had some "smaller" contests and then one person could win everything from all the smaller contests - and that was me!)

It arrived today when I was at my daughter's volleyball game. Alyssa called me on my cell phone to tell me there was a big box at the door with my name on it! It was cute how she got so excited for me. After I got home, my 3 girls helped me open it up.

We cannot wait to put this stuff to good use!! Thanks Mary!!!

Our House

2008-09-06T21:36:00.010-06:00

Our House,

is a very, very fine house....

The family room - My favorite room in the house.

The Study.

Because I've never posted video here before, I'm an amateur. But here's a little tour of the formal living and dining rooms.

And this is our Family Room and Kitchen.

Kitchen

We love our house -- and we're going to miss it! Anyone know any buyers? Laren accepted a job in Utah, being a project manager on the I-15 reconstruction project in Utah County. He leaves in a couple of weeks and the kids and I will stay here until our house sells.

4 things

2008-08-23T21:35:00.003-06:00

4 Happenings

My little cutie pie nephew, Zack, is growing up! He is 10 months old already, where has time gone? I love to hold this little guy, and love on him! Too bad I was sick with a headcold this week, so I didn't dare pick him up. But I wanted to, darn it, because he is moving with his family to Utah soon and I'm going to miss them all!!

I can't say this is a regular occurence at our house, but only because it was a half gallon of milk instead of just a cup!! What can I say, my 3 year old likes to be "Bigger" and pour his own milk. (And his Mama didn't even yell! :) ) And please don't tell me this sort of thing never happens at your house!

The waterfall, without water. This project has been my husband's baby this summer. Trust me, it looks a lot cooler in real life, especially with water running over it!

My GIGANTIC tomato plant! I planted 3 tomato plants this spring. 2 of them were the same brand and one was different. This was one of the ones that was the same brand, and for some reason the other plants didn't follow suit - but this plant has produced 99% of our tomatoes this summer! It's producing like rabbits in bunny hutches!!

Democratic National Convention

2008-08-22T17:19:00.006-06:00

Denver

Democratic National Convention

I am a self-professed news junkie. I believe I've admitted to that on my blog before. So lately, I've not only been following the Olympics, but the Democratic National Convention (especially since it's happening in my city!), and all things politics. So when I read in the paper a couple of weeks ago that you could get tickets to tour the Pepsi Center before the DNC, I was all over it! I wanted to see history, before it happens.

The Pepsi Center today, all decorated for the Democratic National Convention. It's looking quite different than it does for Nuggets and Av's games!

I am a registered Republican, so I can vote in the primaries. But in truth, I'm an Independent. I do not yet know who I will vote for in the 2008 Presidential Election. It is no secret, I do not really love either candidate (McCain, or Obama). But I'm listening to them both. I, obviously, have conservative views when it comes to moral issues. And I do not want socialized medicine, ahem Barrack, are you listening? But I do not want to stay in Iraq nor do I want a 72 year old President. What I do want? An improved economy (supermarket and gas prices to go down), a united Nation, who is strong and Trusting in God. Hmmm....it will be interesting to see who this Mother of 5 votes for. Maybe I will have to write in a candidate? In past presidential elections, I have voted Democrat, Republican, and Independent. So, I am not a party Loyal.

The CNN Grill. There are news podiums all over downtown and around the Pepsi Center and Invesco at Mile High (where Obama will make his acceptance speech next Thursday).

THE Stage at the Pepsi Center/DNC. And I have to say, they did a beautiful job of transforming this sports arena into an auditorium!

A sign inside the Pepsi Center.

This Fox News Station inside the Pepsi Center. I was intrigued by those "power cycles" there that will really create power! They are trying everything they can to make sure the GREEN can be seen!!

Tyler, Me and my supportive Hubby! In front of the Pepsi Center.

Laren was not super thrilled about going, but I met him on his lunch break today and he came along for the ride. Politics is not his thing, he's an engineer and unless it's technical or something to do with nature or cars, he's not much into the news. But we did manage to have a good time and it was quite an intriguing sight!

Bounteous Harvest

2008-08-21T19:05:00.004-06:00

Bounteous Harvest

When we put in our garden this spring, we had no idea what kind of harvest we would reap. We have pretty much planted a garden every year for the past 9-10 years or so. But we never really know how the plants will grow. Some years do better than others. This year is proving to be a great year for harvest!

Tomatoes I picked just today. Too bad I don't make salsa, huh?

Zuchinni Squash

My payload from just today's harvest, and there are more tomatoes and zuchinni and summer squash coming - quick! If anyone wants to get some veggies of this sort, call me or come over and we will gladly share!

Getting Lucky in Vegas

2008-08-13T10:41:00.005-06:00

With all the back to school stuff we've had to do, I haven't taken the time to post about our good luck! School starts tomorrow for my Elementary kids and then on Friday for Kayla. Whoever's bright idea it was to start on a Friday, I don't know! But I think it was a pretty pathetic idea!!!

Getting Lucky in Vegas

In the Casinos not many people were gambling, and I heard one street vendor say to another vendor that nobody was buying anything. I think it is because of the economy being so bad right now.

The "dancing" water in front of The Bellagio.

On our second night there as we stood and watched the water dancing to music in front of The Bellagio, (which was one of my favorite things that we did there), a lady from Virginia was talking to us asking us if we had "gotten Lucky?" Afterall it is Vegas. We told her we don't gamble. She said neither does she. We were talking about the beautiful architecture and she recommended to us Caesars Palace, The Venetian and The Wynn. It was 9:00pm by then (10:00 our time) and we were exhausted but decided to just quickly make our way up there to check them out since we were so 'close.'

This is the inside of the Venetian. Can you see why we loved it so much? It was like being on the streets of Venice, Italy!>

To rewind a little bit, we decided, before we went, to stay at two different hotels on our short stay, just to experience more of Vegas. On our second day we checked into our second hotel, it was the MGM Grand. Right before checking in, Laren leaned over to me and said 'it would be great if they upgraded our room for free.'

The next thing we know the guy at the desk is telling Laren that the hotel had given us a "Complimentary Upgrade" on our room, to a suite!! The only problem was - it was in Tower I - aways behind the main section of the hotel, so they offered us a free taxi to get there. We opted to walk, as we knew how slow the traffic was moving.

The kitchen inside our Suite at the MGM Grand. The room was GREAT! It had a separate living/desk area, it had a huge bathroom with a jacuzzi tub and granite counters. Both of the hotels we stayed in had flat screen tv's next to the bathroom mirrors. It was nice to watch the "pre Olympic" broadcasting while soaking in the jacuzzi when Laren had to finish up some work up the next morning!

We got checked in and went to find a good deal on some tickets to a "show". Laren and I wanted The Blue Man Group or tickets to Wayne Brady or maybe Cirque Du Soleil. By the time we got to the half price ticket counter we found that most of the shows were sold out! Even if there had been more show availabilities, they were all very expensive. Each ticket was nearly $100 or more! The only thing available was tickets to the Blue Man Group for 10pm that night and the discounted price was $104.50. We opted out of a show.

Instead we got dinner and walked up the Strip going in and out of the Hotel Resorts/Casinos. There were tons of tourists, we could hardly go fast at all up the street.

Our final stop was The Venetian. When we were there we happened upon the Theatre where The Blue Man Group was performing. I told Laren I wanted a picture, at least, since we couldn't go in. He handed the camera to me to take the picture.

The ticket booth outside the entrance to The Blue Man Group.

As I was taking the picture a couple came up to him and asked him if he wanted tickets for him and me. They had won 4 free tickets from a Radio Station in San Diego - to see The Blue Man Group in Vegas on that particular night, at 10:00 pm and they didn't want the tickets to go to waste!

Our free tickets!

We couldn't believe it! We excitedly took the tickets and got in line to see the Show!! The show was fantastic, made better by our free tickets, we laughed the entire hour and a half.

Us, just after receiving our free tickets!

It was another one of our favorite things we did there! So in answer to the lady from Virginia's question, yes - we did get Lucky in Vegas! We got a beautiful room upgrade, we paid $65 for our Suite and we got free tickets to The Blue Man Group.

And just a little aside, I cannot say enough good about Hotwire.com. We have had a good experience, so far, every time we've tried them out. We ended up with a fantastic room in Vegas for only $65 - it was supposed to be $190 otherwise and it was a 4 star place. We were only one step "beneath" a Penthouse, on the 21st floor. Even if we hadn't "gotten lucky" we still would have had a great room! Hotwire will let you pick which part of town you want to stay in, it will let you pick however many stars and it will let you see all the amenities that are available and then it will pick the hotel. For the strip, we could have picked quite a few different options but we wanted the more Southern part of The Strip.

Vegas, Baby!!

2008-08-09T00:04:00.002-06:00

Viva Las Vegas!

Swimming at Great Pools!

Please ignore my white legs, lest you forget I'm a MOM!! :)

Yummy Food!

(This was my breakfast on one day. It was at the House of Blues cafe inside of Mandalay Bay.) Way more than one can eat!!

Seeing the architecture and lights of the Casino's

This Casino is called, the Paris Hotel. I'm sure I'm the only one who did not know about Las Vegas and how so many of the Casino's have a theme to them. They seem to characterize the architecture and atmosphere of each particular style very accurately!

The water fountains and lights at the Bellagio.

This was one of my favorite things to see in Vegas. It is in front of the The Bellagio and the water dances to the music and lights. It happens every 15 minutes day and night. They have many different songs, water 'dances'. The one we watched was choreographed to Celine Dion's, My Heart will Go On. Thanks for the tip, Amy!

Another Casino.

Me and Caesar, in Caesar's Palace. If I don't look overly enthused, it's because it was waaay past my bedtime and I was tired!! It really was exciting! :)

I thought Las Vegas was so much more than Casino's and smoke. I did not realize that it has great food, great swimming, great shows, and so much more! While there, I was also able to meet up with a friend, while Laren was at work, for lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. We also drove up to see the Temple, went shopping on The Strip, saw a Show and we even got Lucky...more on that later!!

Gas Prices and 6 Quirks

2008-07-29T08:28:00.006-06:00

Gas prices -

Saturday I was at Costco to pick up a few things like the laundry detergent that we had run completely out of. While I was there I realized I was nearly out of gas and went to fuel up. The gas attendant came over to talk to me. (I always hate the random conversation with those attendants and tend to avoid them at all costs - I don't know why that is?).

He asked me if anyone had told me that gas had gone down the day before by 6 cents a gallon. I told him no one mentioned it, but any price drop was a good thing!! So I paid $3.81 per gallon. It cost me nearly $58. Usually it is about $65 to fill up the van if I'm completely on empty. This time I was just under a quarter of a tank.

I keep hoping that some auto maker will either hurry up with the electric car inventions or the algae fuel alternative for gasoline (an article that was in Time Magazine) or something else to reduce the soaring fuel prices.

But on the other hand, when I think about what gas prices could be ($5, $6, or even $10 per gallon - as they are some places around the world), I will just be happy with almost $4 per gallon gasoline!!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been tagged by my friend Tracy and I'm supposed to share

6 Quirky things about me:

1. I cannot stand to have my kids laying around in the morning. I have to have them get up and dressed and ready for their day. Just a little pet peeve of mine!

2. I would rather drive my old van that is paid for than buy a new vehicle and have payments.

3. My youngest daughter has really fine, wispy hair. I have to put it up in a scrunchy every day or I go crazy!

4. After years of being a night owl, I have learned to love mornings! I love the quiet and the birds singing and just having time to think. One of my favorite places to do this is on my front porch swing that the kids and Laren got me for Mother's Day.

5. I do not coupon shop, it drives me crazy because I clip the coupons (not anymore) and then forget to use them at the store - or my kids are distracting me and I forget to use them. So I decided to rid myself of the guilt and just not clip them in the first place.

6. I am a light sleeper and I have trouble falling to sleep at night. I would like to blame it on all my pregnancies and babies who were fussy, but I can't because I remember having the same problem in high school.

Husband Tag

2008-07-26T19:44:00.003-06:00

Husband tag...

So my friend and neighbor Jen tagged me. I never participated last time around so here goes...

1. What is his name?
Laren

2. Who eats more?
Him.

3. Who said I love you first?
He did.

4. Who is taller?
He is, by a mile! Actually by nearly a foot! I'm 5'3 and a half and he's 6' 2".

5. Who is smarter?
Laren is, hands down!!

6. Who is more sensitive?
Me, I'm a girl, I guess it comes with the territory! :)

7. Who does the laundry?
We both do. Laren helps me out whenever he has a chance, he's good like that! Laundry is my least favorite chore! And with 5 kids, you can imagine how it adds up quick!!

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
If you're looking at the bed, it's him. But if you're laying in the bed, it's me. Although we just switched a few months ago when Laren hurt his knee, it was too hard for him to get into bed on his side...or so he says! LOL

9. Who pays the bill?
He does. I did them up until about 2 years ago. It became a real tedious task for me and so after 12 or so years of me doing them, he took over! I've never been happier! ;)

10. Who cooks more?
I do, because uh...he never cooks! But he will help me clean up after!!

11. Who is more stubborn?
He is. Although he may dispute that?

12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong?
Laren.

13. Who has more siblings?
Me - I have 9 and he has 2.

14. Who wears the pants in the family?
We both do!

15. What do you like to do together?
We almost always go on a Sunday walk together. We like to stay up and chat after the kids are in bed, yeah, interesting people we are!

16. Who eats more sweets?
That would be me.

17. Guilty Pleasures?
Hmmm, for him it's a bowl of ice cream almost every single night, and for me I like to take the time to read the newspaper almost every day.

18. How did you meet?
A blind date, but I had to get a sneak peak at him first - just in case I should need to cancel the date! But after seeing him, I knew I was keeping that date!!

19. Who purposed?
Laren did, 2 times. One time informally, and a second time with the ring. I can't believe it was 15 years ago!!

20. What is his best feature?
He helps me out on pretty much anything I endeavor to do! Of course he is incredibly handsome to me as well!!

21. What is his best quality?
See the first part of my answer to #20.

Other Church sites

2008-07-18T10:01:00.012-06:00

Other Church Sites...

Carthage Jail. That window at the top is the one that Joseph Smith fell out of when he was shot by the mob.

On our last day in Nauvoo, we took a short trip over to Carthage, IL to see where the Prophet Joseph was martyred. Carthage is just a short 35 miles or so away. We watched a short movie and then took a tour of the jail, which was also living quarters for a husband and wife and their 6 kids. I could not imagine living in the jail especially with my kids!!

You can still see the bullet holes in the door and windowsill, where the mob came in and attacked. I walked away with kind of a bluesy feeling.

After we left Nauvoo we drove to Adam-ondi-Ahman. This is a beautiful location in Northwest Missouri. A lot of it is farm fields. It is green and lush there. This was one of my favorite parts of our trip because of the history of that place (that is where the Garden of Eden was located) and the future of that place. That is where Adam will meet with the leaders of each dispensation and get an accounting. That is also where the Saints will gather in the last days.

Adam-ondi-Ahman

Tower Hill is located there, and it is called Tower Hill because Joseph Smith and some others found an old Nephite Altar/Tower there made of rocks. The tower is no longer there, but that is where it gets it's name.

There is a great valley there, that Laren said he had heard has some of the best acoustics of anywhere - there is no echo. He told me this as we hiked down a trail part way towards the Valley. So of course upon his telling me that I had to holler, "Hel-lo-o-o!" just to try it out! There was no echo, but I don't know if it was a very scientific test! :)

While we were there, at Adam-ondi-Ahman, there were 3 busloads of Youth there from Kansas City, Missouri for a Youth Conference. They were wearing matching blue shirts, so they were easy to spot.

Far West Monument.

Our next stop was Far West, Missouri. The cornerstones for the Temple are still there and there is a memorial/monument there. The Saints were driven out and were not able to build their temple there afterall, but it was neat to see anyhow.

Then we went to the Liberty Jail Visitors Center in Liberty, MO. The tour guide gave us a little talk about the History of the Prophet Joseph Smith's time in Liberty Jail and then we got to see the Jail. This was a basement jail.

Liberty Jail.

The original foundation was there and they built a replica right over the top of it. This jail had a ceiling of only 6 ft. high, so some of the prisoners were not even able to stand upright in it. The jail was very dark. This is where Joseph wrote sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Though it was time spent in jail, it was a time when the Prophet Joseph was especially close to the Lord and able to receive much revelation.

After that we ended our Church History Tour in Independence, Missouri - just E. of Kansas City. We toured the LDS Visitor's Center there which just 2 years ago was made into a Temple Visitors Center. There is no LDS Temple there and there are 2 other Churches that own the other part of the land that the Prophet Joseph Smith dedicated for the Temple so long ago. We don't know what may happen, but the belief is that someday the Church will have that land back.

LDS Visitor's Center in Independence, MO

At the Visitor's Center they gave me a sheet entailing what that Temple is to look like, that it will be different than all of the other temples built to that point. That it will have more than one building and that it will be very large with arches, etc... I thought that was pretty neat to read.

Laren made the executive decision to drive straight home after Independence. Our original plan was to spend the night there. But the kids were getting on each other's nerves (and on our nerves - just keeping it real) and so we drove on. Just after crossing into nowhere, somewhere in Eastern Kansas, we stopped to gas up and Kyle was complaining of something on his back.

Tick.

Laren took a peek while I was in Flying J with the rest of the brood taking a bathroom break. He showed me his back and identified the source of discomfort as being a wood tick. Great! So I was going to buy some petroleum jelly and we were going to try to smother the darned thing. But as I went to check out the clerk suggested burning it out and then tweezing it.

So a hillbilly truck driver did the burning part with his ever ready pack of matches. For some reason the tick was stubborn and would not back out! Eventually it quit moving it's legs and we determined it was dead. So another clerk came over with a first aid kit and removed the tick. I was holding my breath the tick's head would come out with the body - and it did!

After almost an hour long stop, we were on our way and had a pleasant, non-bickering ride home with Laren laughing away as he listened to Laugh USA on our XM Radio! He did have to take a little no-doze and eat a bunch of junk food too. But we made it home before 5am!

Nauvoo

2008-07-17T11:24:00.008-06:00

Nauvoo

One of the first things we did upon arriving in Nauvoo is we drove down Parley street straight to the Mississippi River. I think it is the boy in my husband and the fascination with water! Tyler and Kyle had a good time throwing rocks into the water and Laren quickly joined them skipping stones acrossed the river.

That is one wide river! I think it's around a half a mile wide, and that is not an exaggeration!! It is extra wide right now because of all the recent flooding. We had noticed quite a few places where there were sandbags when the water was cresting a couple of weeks before we arrived. We could see water lines on telephone poles and other things indicating to us just how high that river got in places! There were several messages on signs around the towns along the Mississippi thanking volunteers for their help.

Here are some of the things we did in Nauvoo:

*Went on 2 different wagon rides, one to "show us around" and one that was more a spiritual ride through the rural parts to the North. I especially enjoyed 'Dan Jones Hollow' where we sang I am a Child of God and being up on a grassy overlook above the Mississippi, a place they figure that Joseph Smith often went to think and ponder.

*Ate a really yummy lunch at the Nauvoo Bakery. They had the best sandwiches on homemade bread!

*We went to the Scovil Bakery, Blacksmith Shop, Gunsmith Shop, Brickyard, Family Living Center, the Print Shop, and toured the homes of Heber C. Kimball, Willford Woodruff, and Brigham Young. And we went and played at the Pioneer Games venue one day before lunch.

Tyler in front of a statue of Joseph Smith in the Visitors Center.

*We visited the gravesites of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Emma Smith (these 3 graves are next to each other) and also Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith.

*We attended the Nauvoo Temple - Laren and I each did an endowment session, but had to do it separately so that one of us could stay with our kids. That is a beautiful edifice, both inside and out!! I loved all of the dark wood in it's interior and the murals on the walls.

The Beautiful Nauvoo Temple.

But more than anything, I just stood in awe of that beautiful building that was erected by those early Saints who sacrificed everything they had to build that temple and religious freedom. They had finally built their "House of the Lord" and then soon thereafter had to abandon it because they were again being pursued by their enemies.

*We went to the Nauvoo Pagaent, which was excellent! We actually went to the full dress rehearsal the night before the official opening and there were fewer people, though most of the chairs were still full. I highly recommend this pageant!

*We went to see 3 other shows in Nauvoo. They are kind of like musicals, my favorite was called High Hopes and Riverboats performed by the young performing arts missionaries in Nauvoo who are 18-21 years old and it is just a 4 month mission. This one was somewhat of a love story, which is probably why I liked it :)

The Annie Amanda Show.

*The other shows we saw were Annie Amanda, geared towards children. My kids loved it! This one and Rendevous in Old Nauvoo - which is geared toward an older audience, are both performed in the Cultural Hall. The tickets for these shows were not easy to come by, even though they are free - it is just limited space! Both of them were good!!

*And then we went to Sunset on the Mississippi which is performed by the missionaries. It is kind of like a variety show on an outdoor stage - that had to be moved right before we came to up by the visitors center because of all the flooding they've had this year, the old stage for it had been under water!

Our kids in front of one of the wagon's we rode on. Please excuse the poor quality of pictures that my cell phone takes! Our regular camera's batteries lost it's juice and so we had to rely on other means!!

This program was my daughter, Kayla's favorite. At one point in the program, Kyle said, "Where's Tyler?" I looked at Laren's lap where he'd last been and he was gone! I looked at Laren and he said he didn't even realize he had gotten up! I looked high and low, it was dark at this point. It didn't take long before I found him behind us, quite a ways, off in a field chasing fireflies!!

I panic every time we have lost a child since we lost Rilyn when I was pregnant with Tyler, 4 years ago, and I had to call 911. You may recall that we found her at the school behind our house playing with some other kids under the slide.

*We drove along the highway South to Keokuk along the beautiful Mississippi a few times to get dinner, what a beautiful drive that is!! I was quite impressed by the gorgeous Sunsets over the mighty Mississippi. They were breathtaking, some of the prettier sunsets I've seen!

A sunset over the Mississippi.

*Laren ran into Mr. Ramrell in the temple. This was his high school principal in Sugar City, Idaho where he grew up. It was so fun for him to see him and catch up on his life. Later that night we ran into Brother and Sister Ramrell again, they were just leaving the Temple and we were there taking pictures with our kids. They said they were serving their 5th mission. I had told them I have long had the dream to serve 5 missions, one for each of our 5 kids. So it was inspiring to see them there and fulfilling that dream for them.

Parley Street. This used to be known as the Trail of Tears, the path the pioneers walked as they left Nauvoo and crossed the Mississippi to travel West. But know it is referred to as the 'Trail of Hope'.

At the end of our Nauvoo visit, we did as our former Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley had admonished those who attended the Temple Dedication to take a walk down Parley Street and read the journal entries of those early Saints on the signs posted along the way. And then turn back and look at the beautiful white Temple, standing on the hill, and imagine how those Saints must have felt. I tear up just rethinking it in my mind as I type this.

Those Saints taught me a lot about perserverance, sacrifice, obedience, and most of all Faith. It was a very moving experience.

Joseph Smith.

In conclusion, I add my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith that he was truly the Prophet of the Restoration who was only a boy of 14 years old when he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It was through Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon was translated and that we have a living prophet on this earth today, Thomas S. Monson.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is our Savior, he gave his life so that I could overcome sin and death. I'm so grateful for those Pioneers who suffered much through persecution, sickness and countless other trials who made it possible for me to have the Gospel in my life today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

This was such a great vacation for our family! There is really, so much to do in Nauvoo. And all of the Church sites are free. It is all geared toward families. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat!!

Fountain Park

2008-07-16T16:09:00.003-06:00

HOT!

It is hot here these days! We are trying to beat the heat around here the best we can. Today I took my kids to a nearby park that has one of those fountains that they can play in. (similar to the one above.)

The kids played for an hour while I read my book. It was a nice little break. Usually when they play in water it is a pool and I have to play lifeguard and cannot have the relaxation of reading.

We've had the neighbor kids in and out all week and now the house is quiet as the kids have gone over to our neighbors to have a squirt gun fight and swim in their pool!

Winter Quarters and Chicago

2008-07-14T08:14:00.012-06:00

The Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha, Nebraska.

Winter Quarters

This is in North Omaha, Nebraska - I think the little town (just west of the Missouri River) is called Florence. The Winter Quarters Temple is there and right adjacent to it, on the same piece of land is a cemetary where many early pioneers are buried. Some have headstones, but not all and only 1 headstone is an original. It is really a beautiful cemetary with a very special spirit there.

This is the one headstone that is an original, at the cemetary in Winter Quarters.

Acrossed the street there is a visitors center. We went through the drive through at a nearby fastfood place and along with our fruit, homemade bread, and string cheese we had us a picnic dinner at a picturesque little park behind the Visitor's Center.

To me, I could feel a very powerful spirit while at Winter Quarters. It sits up on a hill. We walked through the Visitors Center. Kayla especially like conducting music, leading the Tabernacle Choir in a little interactive display they have set up there.

Sister Tonga, a very nice young missionary, gave us a tour and memorized each of our kids names upon hearing them one time! For the rest of the tour she called them by name. We watched a 15 minute movie about the pioneers and their efforts to move Westward. Then we went to a series of displays while Sister Tonga told us about each one.

One display was some minature covered wagons and there were some miniature items laying out and the kids had 15 seconds to pack their covered wagons. In that amount of time, they had to decide what was important to take as there was not enough room to take everything. And they had to do it quickly. This represented the task the Pioneers had to do.

At another display we got to see what the inside of one of their cabins might have looked like, it was a replica. It was very small with 2 beds and a kitchen. 12-15 people would have stayed in that cabin. It would have likely been 2 families or more that would have stayed there. At another place we put on bonnets and hats and aprons and vests like the pioneers would have worn. And at another station we pulled a handcart and then she put rocks (2 small ones, one under each wheel) and experienced how difficult that would have been! It was really difficult with the rocks under there, and that was with an empty wagon!

We stayed that night in nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa. We had reservations at a Super 8 but when we got there they had reserved us a Smoking Room when we had specifically asked for Non-Smoking. They recommended a Motel next door, called the American Inn or something like that and the place was not very clean (it was cheap though). We then had a tough time of getting out of our reservation with Super 8, but after about 5 phone calls they told Laren they would cancel the reservation and not charge us. Crazy, after they told him if we didn't want the smoking room we could just get a room at the neighboring hotel!

The banks of the Missouri River on the Council Bluffs, IA side.

CHICAGO

The next day was on to Chicago. But before we left we went to Sacrament Meeting. It was no easy task to find the Church. And then we finally found it and the sign on the door said Church didn't start until 10:00am and this was about 5 minutes to 9:00am. So we drove around for a bit and came back. It was Fast and Testimony Sunday and so it was interesting. The ward members seemed to be a mix of "Back Woodsy" type people and young marrieds, in dental school, law school, etc... One gal introduced herself to me, Angie, she and her husband had one little girl and her husband was in Law School and they were looking at moving to Denver when he graduates. They live in Omaha, but their Ward Boundary is such that they attend Church in Council Bluffs.

I wanted to make note of all of the rest areas through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois that said they had Vending Machines and Wireless Internet. I thought it was so amazing you can go and connect to the internet at a rest area! Also, it was SO green and beautiful through Nebraska, Iowa and Illinois! Much prettier than I had imagined.

Church caused us to get a late start on our journey to Chicago. And shortly after we got on our way it started to rain. The rain got quite heavy at times. And then on top of that we ran into terrible traffic (it was only 2 days after the 4th of July, so I'm sure most of them were coming home from their holiday weekend) and road construction. We traveled about 10 miles in one hour. So it took us a little bit longer to get to Chicago than we had anticipated.

Marble bathrooms, and brass faucets and fixtures at the Hilton Hotel where we stayed in Chicago.

We had reserved a really nice place in Chicago, just off from Lake Shore Drive which goes right next to Lake Michigan (one of the 5 Great Lakes) on Michigan Avenue. It is in an upscale area of the city, but we got our reservation on Hotwire.com and got our room for only $85 per night! The going rate for our room would have otherwise been around $269. The only glitch was parking for that hotel was $41 per night, reminisicent of our stay the weekend before in San Francisco where hotel parking was $43 per night.

Our spacious room at the Hilton on Michigan Avenue, right off Lake Shore Dr.

Laren solved the parking dilemna by finding a spot on the street. It is free to park on the street in Chicago overnight. Then at 8:00 the next morning he went out, a block or two away from our hotel and fed the meter where our van was parked. It worked, without a problem! The next night was a different story. He parked at a different meter, not realizing it was a Tow Zone!!

He went out at 8:00 the next morning to fee the meter and the van was gone!!

This picture turned out dark, but it is part of the inside of the Hilton, then entrance to the Grand Ballroom.

What he didn't see the night before was that that particular meter needs to start being "fed" at 7:00 am and that it was a tow zone after 7:30 or something like that. Needless to say, he came back to the room and told me, "There is something interesting going on with our van." That was his way of telling me the van was gone!! I have learned that whenever Laren says "interesting" that it is usually not a good thing!

The Five Best Kids in the World!

Laren then spent the next 30 minutes on the phone trying to track down our van and finding out the fee. He spent the next 2 hours walking around, first in one direction and then another trying to find the hidden impound spot where the city of Chicago had the van. He finally found it, and there was a $160 fee to retrieve it. Ouch. And on top of that, we had a $60 ticket for parking it where it shouldn't have been. So much for trying to save $41 per night to park it!! It was a tough lesson to learn. Laren got lost a half a dozen times or more trying to find his way back to our hotel; the roads change to one way and things like that in downtown Chicago.

A polar bear swimming at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

In the meantime I got everything packed up and the kids and I were waiting for him when he finally did make it back to the Hotel. But to back up a little, aside from that, we actually had a very nice stay in Chicago!

The camels at the Zoo.

On our first morning there, we got great showers and it was so nice to have a clean and roomy space to rest and get ready in! We were up on the 11th floor, in a corner room. Out one of the windows we could see Lake Michigan to the East. The kids took turns as to who would sleep in the beds. The first night, Kayla, Alyssa and Rilyn got a bed and the second night it was Kyle and Tyler's turn. Of course, Laren and I got a bed every night!

A Snowy Owl at the Zoo.

We went to Lincoln Park Zoo there in downtown Chicago. The parking there is very expensive, it was something like $14 for the first 30 minutes. So again, we found a free place on the street. And it is actually a very nice Zoo, with free admission as well! After the Zoo, we found a drive-through place for lunch and it was actually a miniscule amount of food. The burgers were served on little dinner rolls! So Laren and the kids were still hungry (I had eaten a nectarine and string cheese - trying to stay on a healthy diet that I blew too many times on the trip on other occassions!). Laren found a McDonald's and we dropped another small fortune for them to get more food there.

Next we wanted to go to the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. It took us about 30 minutes of driving to figure out all the parking was very expensive and the more convenietly located it was the more it cost to park! So, again we found a free place to park on one of city side streets and walked about 2 miles (with all the kids) to the Navy Pier. Thankfully we found a tunnel to get acrossed Lake Shore Drive safely.

Leaving the Zoo. One thing is for sure, we got in a lot of walking on this vacation!

Some buildings in downtown Chicago.

I was told Lake Michigan only had a "concrete" beach, but that is not the case it has quite a few sandy beaches along it. We stopped at one of them on our way to the Navy Pier and splashed around a bit. Then we walked along the Navy Pier checking out all the prices for Boat rides along the way. We finally settled on one particular boating company with reasonable prices and we boarded almost immediately. It was fun after taking a boat ride or two in San Francisco to be on a different body of water in an entirely different part of the US to ride another boat.

Splashing around at a beach on Lake Michigan.

Again they gave us an overview of some of the major landmarks in downtown Chicago, with a pre-recorded tour guide. This included telling us about the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the US. We had been told you could take a glass elevator up to the top - but I was seriously not interested in doing that! And there are quite a few antennae's on top of Chicago's tallest buildings and I can't help but think they put them there to "add to their height" to help them in their attempts at having taller buildings than other cities. But that is my opinion. I'm sure the antennae have other functions as well.

On the Navy Pier in Chicago.

After the boat ride, we had some great laughs looking in these funky mirrors that made us either look ridiculously long and lanky or hilariously short and squatty!! We also took a ride on a BIG Ferris Wheel that overlooks the Pier and Chicago. Only 6 people could ride in each "car" so Laren and I split up and Kayla, Rilyn and Tyler came with me and Laren took Kyle and Alyssa with him.

Tyler, Laren and Kyle looking into the "Squatty" funny mirror on the Pier.

Then Alyssa went on a "swing" ride and I took Tyler and Rilyn on a Carousel. Kyle tried his hand at running a remote controlled boat. We got dinner at an Italian Place on the Pier. And after that we looked in a bunch of little shops and stores they have there. The kids each got a souvenir.

A view of Chicago from our boat ride.

The 5 Best Kids in the World in front of the Boat that took them on a ride on Lake Michigan.

My Boys on the Boat ride.

Us before boarding the Ferris Wheel on the Navy Pier.

There was a great fountain outside where the kids had a good time getting themselves soaked while we waited for a Trolley ride through the streets of downtown and onto the famous Magnificent Mile in Chicago's trendiest shopping district. The girls wanted to go to the American Girl Doll Store, but it was getting late and we just couldn't fit it in. Laren rode the Trolley a short ways and then walked to get the van. We met back up with him at the Pier and we went back to our hotel for the night.

Alyssa on the Swing Ride she took.

The Carousel ride Tyler, Rilyn and Mom took.

All of us on the Navy Pier.

Kyle, Kayla and Rilyn in the restaurant.

Alyssa and Tyler in the restaurant.

The next morning was when we found out the van had been towed. It kind of put a damper on things. But after getting the van back we went to one of the beaches on Lake Michigan for a couple of hours and went swimming. This time we paid for parking, $9 for 2 hours! :) It was actually a really nice beach and the water was pleasantly comfortable. For the most part, it was a decent crowd there. But I was disturbed by 2 heavy-set darker skinned (one looked hispanic) ladies who were obviously an item. They put on quite a display of public affections for each other both in and out of the water.

The kids getting wet in the fountain.

The kids riding the Trolley in Chicago.

Then we drove through Chicago's Chinatown, which is no where in comparison to San Francisco's Chinatown. The kids were hoping to find some cheap shops there to buy some more souvenirs, but we never did. We then headed to see the Chicago Temple. We hadn't printed off directions ahead of time and thankfully we were able to use Laren's Blackberry to Google directions. But it was a long 1 plus hour drive to the North in heavy Chicago traffic. We finally found it! It was beautiful!!

Kayla in front of the Chicago Temple.

It looked like it was during it's 2 week summer closure and they were doing some construction work. There are big beautiful trees all around the land surrounding the temple and there is one house that is just on the other side of the fence from the temple, no road or anything in between - which I thought was interesting. And there are apartments acrossed the street.

Waiting outside our hotel for Dad to come with the van.

It was rush hour by this time and it took us forever to get out of Chicago. And we had to drive on a few toll roads as well. But they were cheap compared to E-470 here in Denver. I think we only had to pay around $1.80 for all the tolls total in Chicago. I had tried to get a hold of my cousin Terri M. while in Chicago - she lives there, but somehow I ended up with the wrong number and could never reach her. I think she was on vacation then anyway - I had gotten an automated email sent from her office emai saying she would be away until the same day or so that we were leaving. This is my cousin that got brain cancer a few years ago, and so far has been successful at staving the cancer off. She is married with 2 teenage boys.

Swimming in Lake Michigan.

We headed off for Nauvoo, IL. It was a long drive but we finally made it around 10pm. We ran into more road construction and had to take a detour to get to our hotel in Fort Madison, Iowa - a short drive from Nauvoo. In order to cross the Mississippi River into Iowa we had to cross a drawbridge. At the time we entered, it was pouring down rain and had been for miles, it was dark and we had to wait 30 minutes at the draw bridge for a tug boat and a barge to pass underneath before they could put the bridge back and we could cross.

Swimming in Lake Michigan, July 2008.

Then we had to drive to the far end of town to our hotel. But we finally got there and got settled!

Back Home!

2008-07-13T15:36:00.004-06:00

We just got back home (around 5 am this morning) from our vacation to the Midwest! We toured a lot of Church Sites in Nebraska, Nauvoo, IL and Missouri.

It was a lot of fun!! I learned so much and we had a great time!!

Us at the Winter Quarters Temple Visitors center, standing in front of a replica of the Salt Lake Temple.

Then we went on to Chicago.

Us after a Boat Ride on the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan.

My kids at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

After Chicago, our camera lost it's charge and the plug in charger wouldn't work. We bought a disposable camera but we have to wait to get those pictures developed!! LOL So this is a picture of the Nauvoo Temple taken with my cell phone camera and it does not do this temple justice!!

Our kids in Nauvoo before a wagon ride that we went on.

San Francisco

2008-07-03T06:14:00.018-06:00

Laren had to go to San Francisco for work and so we got Grandma to watch the kids and I tagged along with Laren for a mini-vacation. It was lots of fun!! It was the first time Laren and I have ever gotten alone together since we have had kids. Ever. We need to do it more often!!

Inasmuch as I wanted to put these pictures in a particular order, I ran out of time doing the post and it just didn't happen!

A trolley that we rode in San Francisco. The trolley's are really lots of fun to ride! I just cannot believe how many people they pack on these. Even when you think it is fuller than a can of sardines, they let more people on! And the bus is the same way.

San Francisco is such an old city with gorgeous architecture. This is me standing in the entryway of one of the many, many beautiful buildings.

A ship parked in the San Francisco Harbor that is no longer in use, it can be toured though. This ship was actually used in wartime, but I can't remember which one.

Me and the Warm Brownie Hot Fudge Sundae Laren and I shared at the Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory ice cream shop. It was heavenly! (So much for watching what I ate in San Francisco, this was the first the night we were there.) And it was expensive, $8.50 for one sundae. Everything in San Francisco is expensive!!

The Famous Golden Gate Bridge with the infamous San Francisco Fog. We got to walk over about 1/3rd of the bridge and then drove acrossed it as well.

Another self portrait, notice our warm coats that we bought and wore the entire time, except on Sunday when it warmed into the 60's.

The Beach.

We left Denver early, early Friday morning. We barely made our flight. We seriously arrived 30 minutes before it was to take off! We ran through the airport like we were competitors on Amazing Race. I still cannot believe we made it! Of course after we got on the plane, we had to wait on the tarmac for 30 minutes before take off. Crazy.

We got to our hotel and Laren took off for work acrossed the street. We were staying in the Marriot Courtyard in the Financial District.

One of the many homeless people we saw there.

Every part of San Francisco is divided into "sections", like Chinatown, Financial District, Union Square, Pacific Heights, etc... I was hungry and ready for lunch but more than anything I was tired. So I laid down and took a 2 hour nap. I was nervous to brave the streets of a foreign city by myself but I did it to walk a couple of blocks to get some lunch. I debated going back out by myself on that day, but opted to stay in my room and read. It was nice and relaxing!

I loved this pretty archway entrance.

A scultpure next to the Museum in the 3 mile long City Park.

One of the many sailboats we saw out on the Bay.

After Laren got off from work we headed to get our MUNI Passes. I did not know that Muni was a separate system from BART (the subway/light rail which is the Bay area rapid transit). The Muni is short for municipality and is only good on buses and trolley's in San Francisco and BART is good for the entire Bay Area. We got our Muni Passes and took the Trolley to the Wharf.

A beautiful view. That is Alcatraz Island out in the distance on the left.

We could NOT believe how COLD it was in San Francisco. I did not check the weather and had brought only shorts and capri's. The weather got into the 50's every day except Sunday when it reached a balmy 65! So that first night we bought fleece jackets from a street vendor for $10. I am wearing my jacket in the ice cream sundae picture.

We then headed to Ghiradelli's for ice cream! I had eaten the other half of my sandwich from lunch for dinner and Laren had yet to eat. The ice cream really, was SO good!! We decide to walk Jefferson street down by the Wharf. It has lots of fun shops. We stopped in another shop after realizing the fleece was warm but that it didn't stop the wind. So we each bought another jacket in a little shop. They are actually really nice jackets and only cost $14.95 each. I guess some things are cheap in San Francisco!!

There are quite a few people that stand out on the street selling stuff. We decided to stop at one of the street corners and we had a cartoon picture drawn of the two of us. Of course neither of us thought the picture looked very much like us, but it was fun. And we had quite a Gospel Discussion with the guy as he drew our likenesses!

Laren ate at In and Out Burger for dinner. Yeah, it's not a real authentic food taste, but it is one of my personal favorites! I wish we had it here!! Then we went into more shops. I finally got to go in Steve and Barry's. I have wanted to go in that store forever and finally had my chance!! I bought a pair of jeans, a pair of slacks and a pair of capri's. They were only $8.98 each. That is the price of everything in the store, practically.

We stopped in quite a few more shops and took a bus back to our hotel. We had to wait forever for the bus and while we were waiting a limosine stopped and offered us a ride back to our hotel for only $5 a piece. Laren and I regretted not doing that! We did meet some other tourists while we waited for the bus. Once the bus finally came, we had to stand up the entire way back it was so crowded.

The next morning we had to get up bright and early in the morning. A bus met us outside of our hotel for a City tour. It was 3.5 hours long, but really quite interesting!! We were able to go and see all the major sites in the City. The only problem was the bus driver had quite an accent and he was a bit hard to understand!

We did learn quite a few things about San Francisco in that tour. I didn't realize that San Francisco will no longer allow anyone to build anything brick, because in the recent earthquakes more people have been killed by falling bricks than anything else. The city is 49 square miles, 7 miles long by 7 miles wide.

The city is mostly concrete, they have very few parks. But they do have one big, really big, park that is 3 miles long. It is a beautiful park. The water in the bay is always 56 degrees, but yet there are people that go out and swim in it every day of the year. But at the beach, people are wiser and no one there had a a swimsuit on and the only one's in the water were surfer's and they had wet suits on.

After the City tour, we took a Cruise on a boat around the Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. They gave us headsets and there was a "pre-recorded" tour telling us all the major sites along the San Francisco Skyline and Bay, like the TransAmerica Pyramid being the tallest building, the Presidio, Fort Mason being an old military base, Sausalito, Alcatraz and places like that. It was really a lot of fun to be out in the water. While we were out we saw a little row boat out there with all the big boats and ship and it was all but getting inundated by the waves. We couldn't believe the audacity of the boater who was onboard rowing it!!

The little row boat in the Bay.

After our cruise we took a tour of the The Pompanito, a submarine that was used during WWI - I think, but is no longer in use.

Laren in the submarine.

On Sunday we went to Church over in Pacific Heights and attended the Bay Ward Sacrament Meeting. I didn't think there would be anything more than a branch in the entire city (because of the worldliness and it mostly being apartments, etc...). But, I guess there are 3 stakes!! The ward was mostly younger couples with either no kids or 1 or 2 children. I don't think any family had more than 2 kids. And there were a few Asian people, but most everyone was white.

A cool looking windmill we saw down on the West side of the city between the Beach and the Park.

Around the city though, most everyone is Asian. I would've expected mostly hispanics like the rest of California but in San Francisco the population seemed to be over 70% Asian. After Sacrament we talked to some people at Church and got directions on how to get to the Oakland Temple using public transportation. So we went there and on our way down to BART saw lots of people with alternative lifestyles watching a certain parade going down the street. Most of the people we saw were scantily clad and proudly displaying their affections.

A freak going to a freak show aka parade! Not sure if it was a he or she?

Looking down Market Street in San Francisco.

An interesting looking bus we saw going down the street.

Laren and I, one of many self portraits.

Many boats that are parked at the Pier.

I was so glad to leave and get out of there! I told Laren as we pulled away on the subway that it felt as though we were leaving Sodom and Gomorrah! The Oakland Temple is beautiful! It was nice to hear the beautiful hymns being played on the loud speaker while we walked the temple grounds. I was impressed that we could actually walk up on the roof of the building, much like you can on the Conference Center in Salt Lake. We also got to go in the Visitors Center and see a Book of Mormon that was an Original published in 1830. The views from the temple are spectacular, you can see the entire Bay. And Oakland was SO much warmer than SF!

We got back to SF and tried to catch a bus to the Wharf for our tour to Alcatraz, but it seemed that there were no buses when and where we needed them so we ended up running the entire way from The Embarcadero Station to Pier 35. One thing is for sure, we got in tons of walking on this trip! Alcatraz was pretty interesting. I didn't realize there were some uprisings where prisoners got killed there. It was interesting to see just how small those cells really are and to see that they had a library and special housing just for the guards and their families.

After Alcatraz we ate at the Pier Market on Pier 39 and went to Lombard Street, the crookedest street! We started off waiting for a trolley, but again the wait was going to be 40 minutes or more so we decided to walk it. It wouldn't be so bad to walk 6 blocks from the Wharf to Lombard St. but considering it is all walking up steep hills, it was quite a workout! We were able to catch the trolley the rest of the way to our hotel, thankfully!

Lombard Street, the crookedest street. Also, notice how "hilly" SF is!

The Oakland Temple.

I love the spires on the Oakland Temple.

This is an Original Copy of a Book of Mormon published orginally in 1830.

We got back to our hotel the earliest we did of any night on Sunday. We got back around 8pm. And because we were back so early we went and relaxed in the hotel hot tub.

On Alcatraz.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Meetinghouse we went to in San Francisco.

Laren outside of Pompei's Grotto, another good seafood place we ate at on the Wharf.

A jail cell in Alcatraz.

The drawing of Laren and I that the guy on the street did of us.

The next day Laren had to work again. I was feeling much braver on this day to go out by myself. I went and walked Chinatown for 2 hours and then went on a Victorian Home Walk tour, which was very cool!

Chinatown Entrance.

In Chinatown all of the locals are Chinese. They hardly speak any English. The shop owners are anxious to sell their wares. Some of their prices are really good (like the t-shirt I got for Kyle for $1.88) and other stuff is not so cheap. It was interesting to look up to their apartments above all the little shops and see their clothes hanging out on the fire escapes to dry.

On the Victorian Home Walk Tour we learned the history behind the Victorian Homes in San Francisco. The Victorian Era was during the life and reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901) in England who had a great influence on architecture during that time.

There were 3 types of Victorians built in San Francisco, the Italianate, the Stick, and the Queen Anne. My favorite is the Italianate because I like the arched windows, the brackets at the roof line and angle bay windows. Although the Queen Anne are nice because of their triangle rooflines and turrets. We got to see the $15k home of Jessica McClintock and the house where Mrs. Doubtfire and Party of Five were filmed. We also (on the City Bus tour) saw the house where they filmed Full House.

The Stick Style Victorian Houses.

The Italianate Victorian Homes.

The Queen Anne Victorian Homes we saw on our Victorian Home Walk tour.

After the tour of the Victorian Houses I walked around Union Square. I was creeped out to find a guy in the girls bathroom in Old Navy! Yikes!! I flew out of there so fast!! Then I got on bus route 5 to go to Ocean Beach. It was a long bus ride and we rode through some of the "projects" in San Francisco. One teenage boy that got on the bus was blasting his boom box super loud with rap music and singing along to it. I got the clear sense that the bus driver was afraid to say anything to him about it, along with everyone else. So we all tolerated it for a matter of about 15 minutes until he got off the bus.

The reversible Coach Bag I bought and got a bargain for on the Wharf. The gal that owned this shop told us her rent is $20k per month for her little business.

The upscale elderly lady sitting next to me told me that that particular area was where a lot of recent murders have taken place in SF lately. But it had calmed down in the last 3 months or so. She said they just flooded the area with police on every street corner.

One of the amazing things about SF is how the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the Chinese and the Caucasian, the alternative lifestyle and the straight all seem to blend and live together in their amazing city. This upscale elderly lady had told me how she had just had lunch at the Palace Hotel, a hamburger for $24.50 with a salad and water. She was retired and she owned her place on Laguna St.

She usually shopped for groceries in Bloomingdales on the bottom floor in Union Square, but on this particular day because it was so nice, she was taking the bus way out to the Ocean Safeway. Nice is a relative term in SF. It wasn't foggy, there was sunshine therefore making it a "nice" day to get out!

After my trip to the beach I met Laren back by Union Square and we walked back up to Chinatown with our suitcases in tow and found a nice little Chinese restaurant to eat dinner at before we caught our flight back to Denver.

I do want to say all the food we ate in San Francisco was fantastic! We ate Seafood down on the Wharf a few times, we ate in Chinatown, we ate at a Deli around town, we shared a crepe in Oakland at a little shop, we tried to have a little here and a little there just to taste what it is like. It was ALL wonderful!! Our bus driver said there is over 3000 restaurants in SF! It did seem like they were everywhere!!

Fun

2008-06-24T18:39:00.002-06:00

FUN

Warm days and Cool nights

DOg Days of Summer with less of a schedule to keep!

Hearing the laughter of my Children

Planning a getaway to San Francisco with just my Sweetie

Those early morning walks

That hour after my kids go to bed

Weight Watchers Chocolate Fudge Bars

Finding a great bargain on something I've been wanting

Having Girlfriends to empathize with

I'm crazy about him

2008-06-23T14:54:00.005-06:00

W H Y I

LOVE

this M A N

Laren

*He gets up in middle of the night, 3 nights in a row, to help me with sick kids, cleaning up vomit and diarrhea with our carpet cleaner.

*He's my best friend.

*Oh yeah, he's handsome too!