Family

Bathroom Makeover

2011-07-09T22:52:00.004-06:00

Decided my bathroom needed a makeover, well the kids/guest bathroom. Here are a couple of before and afters. All done now except framing my mirror, which I haven't quite figured out how to do yet because I have a metal edging on it! Don't have anything to put on the walls yet so I didn't bother showing much of them.

And then there were three...

2011-06-03T16:43:00.004-06:00

Glad we have Andrew to always keep us laughing

I do own, and wear, other shirts. This is just my cutest one. :)

Dave and I have decided to go our separate ways so we are back down to a family of three.

Finally Did Some New Ones

2011-06-03T16:37:00.004-06:00

Grandpa says he is a bullfrog..hahaha

After more than 2 years we finally got around to getting some new pictures done. Ryan is deploying for Iraq again this month so we took the opportunity to get some of him with the kids as well. That way they will have recent pics of him and he will have recent ones of them.

Thanks Wayne Harding for doing the pics! They turned out great! If anyone needs a good, reasonably priced photographer let me know!

Time for a change...

2011-04-23T20:30:00.003-06:00

So I am sick of my same old long, drab hair and needed a change. Here is my before and after.

Sammy was taking to long taking the pics that is why the tired eyes, at least that is my excuse.

2010-10-02T19:12:00.001-06:00

Fall Leaves

2010-10-02T19:03:00.004-06:00

We had such a great day driving up through Zion, sharing our lunch with the ants and watching them try to take it back to their home, and then looking at all the beautful fall leaves as we came back across Mammoth Creek and down through Brian Head

Dave's Deer

2010-09-29T16:19:00.003-06:00

Just had to share! He is SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!

Field Trip 1st Grade

2010-04-09T15:43:00.003-06:00

Andrew at BrushFire Pottery

Whole class at the library

Judd's store and property

Andrew andFriends on the Bus

April Fools Day

2010-04-09T14:44:00.003-06:00

I never do anything for April Fool's Day. I think it is a dumb holiday. I don't like people playing tricks on me and I am not creative at all so I never play tricks on others. But last year my friend Jenn did the cutest dinner for her kids and I remembered it ALL year long!! So I decided to do the same thing for my kids this year, hope you don't mind that I am a copycat Jenn!! :) It was really funny. My kids didn't know what to think at all. Sammy was mad at first but then decided it was pretty fun. She did a post about it on her blog if you want to see the details there.

The Inside

2010-03-27T11:09:00.003-06:00

Nice Roomy Trunk

Center Console (only weird thing, there is no arm rest)

Dash

Front Seat

Back Seat

Mom's New Car

2010-03-27T11:04:00.004-06:00

You'll have to get details from Mom if you don't know them already but here is her new car!!
Side by side with her old one. They are just about the same size. I think the new one (2009 Nissan Versa) is actually a little more roomy inside.

Did You Know Wal-mart Sells Used Coats??

2010-03-25T21:29:00.002-06:00

Well I didn't. But I found out when we almost had to buy Andrew's coat that we accidentally left there yesterday! We were shirt shopping for picture day and set his coat on top of the rack while we were looking at shirts. We got busy and tired and forgot it when we left. We went back today, after we remember where we had left it. I asked at Customer Service and they didn't have it. Asked at the dressing rooms and they thought they'd seen it but couldn't find it. So we went back to the rack where I knew I had set it down, but it wasn't there either. As I was glancing around I was like haha, there it is. Someone must have picked it up and put it on a hanger and just hung it up. So I went over to grab it, only to find out it had a $10 price tag on it!!! Then I was confused and thought maybe it wasn't really his, his grandpa had just bought this coat for him a week ago and I didn't remember all the EXACT details of it. Andrew told me it was his, but I said no, see it has a price tag on it. We walked around for a while feeling bummed. He LOVED this coat. Finally, I thought well that other one looks a lot like it and it's only $10 for a nice heavy wool lined coat, maybe I will just buy it anyway so he won't feel so bad and Grandpa won't be mad that we lost it. So I convinced him to go back and try it on. Then the more we looked Andrew was telling me all these little things about it that he couldn't have known if it wasn't his and even told me there were little rocks in the bottom of the pocket!! lol Low and behold the pockets had a bunch of sandy dirt at the bottom. I took it back to customer service and told them the story, showed them the dirt, told them it OBVIOUSLY isn't a brand new coat. The guy was pretty flustered and didn't know what to do so he called another lady over. She looked at the brand name on it and said "we don't even sell this brand" then tore the tag off and said "here you go!" What a joke!!!

SO BUYER BEWARE!!! Next time you shop at Wal-mart your "clearance" items may just be something that someone left there and Wal-mart just stuck a price tag on to try and sell it!!!

Horse Fun

2010-03-20T20:10:00.003-06:00

This is Patches, the family horse that we bought for Christmas. The kids are having SO much fun with him. The warm weather has promted MAJOR shedding of his long, thick winter coat. It was such a beautiful day that he got a nice long bath today!

We got Sammy in 4-H and the weather finally dried up enough that they got to ride! We have lots of other fun pics of the kids riding but they are on Dave's camera and I don't have a cable to get them to my computer. One of these first days....weeks.....or months!!!

Crazy Hair Day

2010-03-20T20:07:00.002-06:00

Sammy's Crazy Hair for Dr. Seuss week

Drewski, he did finally get a hair cut today. I'll try and get a pic. He looks so different!

Slackin', I know!

2010-03-20T19:40:00.004-06:00

So I guess when you blog for a living, blogging for fun isn't so fun! haha!

Here are some pics from my 4 1/2 hour hike last week. This is a really awesome trail but I had no idea what I was getting into. Apparently I didn't take many of what it looked like on top. I just took pics looking off the edge! Silly me. I will have to get one of the mountain from a distance so you can see what it looks like.

To the North and East to Pine Valley. What a pretty combo.

From the top looking back towards my house

A sign about half way through the trail

From the third ridge top back toward Washington

Looking off the rim to the West toward Turkey farms

Click Here for more info on the trail and where it is.

Quick Update

2010-02-17T21:06:00.002-07:00

So the surgery FINALLY happened about 7 pm yesterday. He got back to his room around 10 pm. He had a HORRIBLE night. The main gallstone was HUGE and they had to cut the incision bigger just to get it out. He had so much pain all night that he couldn't stand it. The wound started bleeding a lot and the nurse ended up calling the docs in at 3 am. Finally around 8 they got him on some different meds and we got him another blessing and he felt a lot better after that. Tonight his stomach is really distended and he is in a lot of pain again. They have to pump gas in when they do the surgery and there is no way to expel it. He is going to have a rough go for a few days but they are hoping to release him on Friday. Will post a nasty pic when I get home to my computer. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes and all the wonderful help.

Dave in the Hosital

2010-02-15T22:51:00.002-07:00

So this is just an informational post. And it is going to be an abbreviated version cuz I don't want to type it all. Dave and I headed to the VA thurs afternoon. On the way he was having really bad "heartburn" type pains that tuned out to be gallstones (thanks to Kurt diagnosing it for us before we went to the ER, we were able to tell them what to look for). Long story short they sent us on our way and he went to his VA appt. (that was supposed to be for his back) on Friday morning. He has been in the hospital ever since. He ended up with gallstone pancreaitis and we had to wait for that to go away before they can do surgery and take out his gallbladder. As far as we know now the surgery will be tomorrow evening sometime and he will be released sometime a day or two after that. Thanks to mom, Tony, and Ryan for taking care of the kids that were planning on us only be one until Sat. We really appreciate all the help!

Lost Tooth

2010-01-03T20:01:00.003-07:00

Andrew is 6 1/2 and in the first grade. He lost his first tooth this morning when he bit into a candy bar for breakfast!!

Love is Wonderful

2009-11-20T17:00:00.001-07:00

Thanks Tracey! You did such a great job!!

Divorce and Marriage

2009-11-08T22:34:00.002-07:00

We so you all know I am recently divorced....now the good news, I am getting married! I know, I know...I must be insane! Well not exactly. Dave and I have known each other for 14 years and have been wonderful friends that entire time. We've spent the last couple of months just getting to know and love each other all over and we are SO excited to let everyone know that we will be joining our lives and families together. We got engaged Friday night, yes, he even got down on his knee and proposed. He is SO good to me and makes me happier than I have ever been in my life. I love him so much! More pictures and info to come when I'm not SO tired!!

Red Cliffs

2009-11-01T19:55:00.004-07:00

We had so much fun at Red Cliffs there were so many rocks to climb over and under and through.....

We also had a fun day at Red Cliffs just hiking and playing.

We carved pumpkins.....
This was a VERY cool tree we found at Red Cliffs

Grand Canyon!!

2009-11-01T19:23:00.002-07:00

I have NEVER been to the Grand Canyon, until now!! It was just as scary as I thought it would be, but it was SO incredible!! We had so much fun!

Another view of the Grand Canyon

Leaning over a rock to look down! I was SO SCARED!!

We went to Mt. Trumble and this is what Andrew found! You can't believe how exciting that was!

What a find!!

2009-11-01T19:14:00.002-07:00

Andrew in his Halloween Parade

Sammy in her parade

Andrew at the Raptor Romp

Sammy enjoying pizza at the Raptor Romp

Sammy and Kelly hanging out.

We've been having so much fun, I don't know where to start! First the annual Raptor Romp which is always SO much fun! Then Halloween at school!

Got My First Deer!

2009-10-04T22:36:00.004-06:00

So I was headed home from Salt Lake tonight and got just about to cove fort when I got myself a deer. Luckily I was in my mini-van and that thing is TUFF!! Broke the grill and left me some blood and guts, but other than that, it's no worse for the wear!

Donut Falls

2009-09-08T18:39:00.003-06:00

The kids had a great Labor Day weekend with Grandpa and Grandma Cluett. While they were there I had a great weekend in Salt Lake at my nephew's baptism and niece's blessing. Some of my family and I went hiking up to Donut Falls. It is up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and it is SO beautiful!

A Moose we saw on the way up the trail.

One of the small falls on the trail up.

Up behind the "donut hole" looking back down.

The beautiful scenery behind the fall.

The water falling through the Donut Hole into the pond that is inside a cave.

Happy Birthday Sammy!!

2009-08-30T10:00:00.003-06:00

Sammy is 9 today! We mostly celebrated yesterday since her birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Andrew and I decorated while she was at Grandma's. This is when she first came home, she got to walk through "happy birthday" streamers.

She LOVES green and Frogs right now. This is her homemade card that her mommy made her becauese I love her SO much!

She had to go on a treasure hunt to find her presents, Andrew's idea.

Probably her favorite present a "snow caterpillar"

With her froggy cake that we made. Happy Birthday Sweetie! We love you SO much!!

GLASS

2009-08-23T18:44:00.003-06:00

Apparently I am not responsible with glass ware. I don't know if you remember a preceeding post about "exploding pans" well I have to take a meal to a family in the ward tomorrow night and now that I'm working full time I decided to just prepare it today so I can come home, stick it in the oven and be done. I made lasagna. I decided to make two pans, one for the family in the ward and one for us for dinner tonight. We were eating at mom's so I had taken it over earlier and put it in the fridge. Well I heated the oven up and then went to put the lasagna in. Instead of just being a normal person and opening the oven and then picking up the pan and putting it in, I tried to open the oven while holding the pan. As you can see, the end result was a BIG mess!! I tell you. I'm just not meant to be a cook!

Outside fun

2009-08-07T10:47:00.003-06:00

So yesterday mom had the day off, a slight miracle in itself, and we decided to go to Cedar Mtn. and enjoy some cooler weather and some fun! It was MUCH cooler. Unfortunately it was quite windy. We did find some fun new places to explore though. This is the ice cave, look at the colors on the wall! It is SO dark you can't see them but when the flash on the camera went off, it was AMAZING!

We also went to the Mammoth Cave, I've never been here before. It is amazing. Looks like a hole in the ground from up top but it goes for about a 1/4 mile underground. It is PITCH black and our flashlights weren't very good. Andrew made it about half way through but then made me turn around. He did NOT like it. Mom and Samantha made it all the way though. They said it was really hard at the end and they had to crawl through on their bellies in the mud. I didn't get a picture of where they came out, it was a tiny hole in a grate. But they MADE it! We also say Clarissa and Josh there. There was a youth conference group and a cross country team there when we got there. We were glad to have them show us the way.

This is a view from the inside.

This is the metal grate that we had to go through to get in. The one where they came out is about a 16th of this size!

Rash, Rash, GO AWAY!

2009-07-15T09:45:00.003-06:00

Slapped cheek syndrome

Lacy disease

Fifth Disease

Whatever you want to call it.

It's been here for the last month, between the two kids! Sammy got it first and we never could decide for sure what it was. We thought maybe it was just really bad hives of some kind but it went on for a week or so and kept moving all down her body. Then about a week after her rash was completely gone Andrew stated with it. His has progressed and become much more typical of fifth disease. It is also lasting much longer. He's had it for over 10 days already.

Happy Birthday Andrew

2009-07-12T16:35:00.004-06:00

Yesterday was Andrew's birthday, he turned 6 not 8 as some people may have thought! As usual it fell duing Renaissance faire. Grandpa and Grandma Cluett always have a booth so we usually try and go celebrate his birthday at the fair.

Here he is with his jungle cake we made.

Grandpa and Grandma bought all the kids a camel ride.

Here he is in all his faire attire.

Homemade cards from Sammy and I

Opening presents at home before we went to faire.

Who Knew.....

2009-06-16T23:08:00.003-06:00

Zuccini could grow SO big!!

To the far left is my size 8 womans shoe, to give you some idea of how huge these things really are. Ryan has to use both hands to reach around one! These things must be on steroids or something!!

Inside pictures

2009-05-28T11:07:00.003-06:00

We didn't get a really good one of just Sammy and I

He was trying to do pictures of Ryan and I and Andrew was hiding behind us trying to get in the picture. SO CUTE!

There are several good ones of Ryan and Andrew

Ryan is a little cheesy in this one but it is a GREAT one of Andrew!

Sammy and I just aren't quite as photogenic as the boys!

Family Pictures

2009-05-28T10:58:00.002-06:00

Well after nearly 3 1/2 years we finally got some family pictures taken. Thanks Wayne from Wayne Photography http://waynephotography.com/ for taking them! We are SO happy with them. Here are a couple of other poses.

Hair Cut

2009-05-23T20:10:00.003-06:00

Summers here, we had our family pictures done so it was time for a haircut for Sammy this is the back side of her new A line cut.

This is a front/side view.

So much fun......

2009-05-19T10:15:00.004-06:00

Saturday was the Viracon work party at the Washington City Community Center. We had good food, fun swimming, a break for a t-ball game and just 4 hours FUN! Unfortunately we only won a windbreaker. They were giving away tvs, laptops, digital cameras, bbqs, and all kinds of good stuff!

Ryan was entered in a hot dog eating contest. They had 2 minutes to see who could eat the most. These pictures always load in opposite order so this is when they finished. He was about to gag here!

This was during it. He was dipping the dog in his lemonade to mositen the bun so he could chew it. He didn't win but the winner got a $50 visa gift card. He said he could have won if he'd started with smaller bites. The big bites were too hard to chew. The winner ate 4 1/2 dogs and buns and Ryan ate 3 1/2.

Also, Sammy's class put on a play! They've been working for the last month or so and did a GREAT job! They play was "A Mid Summer Night's Dream" it was a very difficult play but they did an EXCELLENT job! They did it in the auditorium at Pine View High so it was a little too big for their little voices and that made it very hard to hear them but overall it was GREAT! Sammy was one of the workmen. Here she is with a couple of her fairy friends just before the night performance they did for their parents.

Great job 3rd grade class!!

I just thought again and again that I was done. But I keep forgetting that there is just more and more exciting stuff to talk about.....

Just kidding!

2009-05-19T10:00:00.002-06:00

I thought I was done but I wasn't!! I forgot to tell about the other broken car incident and then one more funny thing from the kids. At the end of the camping trip we got all packed up and headed back down the hill for home and low and behold, POP--my tire blew! A very good samaritan stopped to help but I didn't even know IF I had a spare let alone a jack or where any of it was! So as I unloaded the trunk and attempted to find what I had, he waited patiently. I found the tire but didn't find a jack so he started looking for one in his car. Luckily for the good samaritan his job was done because Alex and Nicole pulled up just then. He quickly jumped in his car and was off and LUCKY, LUCKY Alex got to deal with the problems! Thanks Alex, we really LOVE you! Nicole very quickly found the jack, way to go smartie pants! And Alex got the blown tire off, I didn't think about pictures but it would have been a good one. We eventually figured out how to get the spare tire off and Alex got it on and let the car down, only to find out that the spare, that has apparently never been used, was flat!! So he jacked it back up and took off the flat spare and then took me in to town to get a new tire, which they had to pay for because I left my wallet in the broken down van--DUH!! Then drove me back out and put the new tire on! What an adventure!

Now a funny story. Andrew came in a couple of nights ago, after playing with a couple of the girls in the neighborhood, and informed me that Charity (see previous posts with the cute blonde sitting in the chair with him) LOVES him so much that she is going to marry him when they get big. But also, Delaney (another beautiful blonde that lives across the street) also loves him and is going to marry him TOO!! So this was pretty funny but then yesterday at the church cleaning Charity's mom was telling me about how Charity told her that she is going to marry Andrew because he is just so nice and has such a nice soft voice, I can't remember what all, and that she is going to write to him while he is on his mission. We thought that was pretty funny and wondered how a 5 year old even knows about such things.

So THEN, yes this story is getting long I know, last night I was asking Andrew if he was going to go on a mission. He says "what's a mission" I said that is when you go and teach people about the church, his response" "OH, I am DEFINITELY NOT signing up for that!!!!" His exact words. Of course I bust out laughing and then ask him why, I said don't you want to tell people about the church and Heavenly Father and Jesus so they can be happy like we are? His response: "I am NOT happy about that church! I don't want to go there anymore!!!" While this sounds kind of like a major dilemma, I just laughed again as I am pretty sure he just feels that 3 hours is too long to have to sit and be quiet!

Last but not Least....

2009-05-19T09:49:00.003-06:00

Or actually first because you are probably reading from the top down.....
Andrew graduated from KINDERGARTEN!!!
What a big boy! We are so proud of him and all he has learned this year!

Andrew and Mrs. Mathews, the best teacher EVER!

He wouldn't smile.

With his class at the end of their program.

Getting ready to start the program.

THEN we went camping!

2009-05-19T09:38:00.005-06:00

The kids were SO lucky! Dad was gone for the week and since it is the very end of school mom decided to be nice and take them camping on Monday night and they got to MISS school on Tuesday! They were SO excited! We had lots of fun with Alex and Nicole and Andrew and Sammy made new friends with Alex's sister's kids! Thanks for the fun fairy houses! The kids had a BLAST!

MY kids kept insisting on going for a walk so once we finally gave in and went they weren't too happy with the result. Alex led us straight up the mountain side for about a half hour before the kids were finally done and I took them and headed back. Alex and Nicole continued on for another half hour or so and finally came to "one of the tops" and could see clear over to Quail Lake and would have been able to see St. George if the others hills weren't in the way. This was the view back towards LaVerkin from where the kids and I turned around.

It was SO HOT but Zaylee would NOT let go of her sweater! This was when we tied it around her waist. That did NOT make her happy.

Nicole about died trying to carry her straight up the hillside on her shoulders.

This was Zaylee and I back at camp after the LONG HOT hike without any water! She still wouldn't let go of the sweater.

She was trying to hide from me because she wanted her MOMMY and her mommy wasn't there! What a cutie!

Oh NO, that's not all!

2009-05-19T09:28:00.003-06:00

Once I get around to doing something I have to do it ALL! So this is going to be a day of MANY posts!! :) First of all we had Alex and Nicole here for a visit and we had SO much fun!! Even if they did make all our cars break down!!! haha! Just Kidding. We were very glad they were here to FIX all our broken down cars!!

Alex had fun climbing the trees. Nicole really isn't hugging the tree it just looks like it. She was just giving Alex his shoes so he could get down.

Zaylee insisted someone help her down, which really meant up, so Ryan helped her up to her dad but she didn't think it was so much fun once she got up there.

We tried to go to the Enterprise reservoir for a picnic but only made it as far as the park on Main street because mom's car blew a radiator!

Thanks for the pizza guys!

We played at the water park for Gavin's birthday.

Mother's Day

2009-05-19T09:24:00.002-06:00

Flower made of cookies and candy. Yum, Yum!

The two wonderful kids that call me MOM!

Thanks to all you wonderful people that sent me lovely Mother's Day wishes. It was much appreciated! This is the wonderful Mother's Day that Andrew made in class for me. He has such a wonderful, creative teacher! We love her so much!!

T-ball

2009-05-19T09:05:00.003-06:00

Don't ask about the panda, I don't know what the deal is with it! These are their very COOL uniforms. Hats have been ordered but still not received!

Practicing outfield

It's a hit!

Somewhere around the end of April, again the time thing not working so well for me, Andrew started T-ball. He tells everyone he doesn't like it and that his mom "MADE" him sign-up. But I think he is secretly having fun. He's already had 4 games and is doing GREAT! He even hit the ball a couple of times WITHOUT the T and that was SO exciting!!

Bubbles, Bubbles

2009-05-19T09:00:00.002-06:00

Awhile ago, not sure exactly when as time just flies by and I can't keep track of it at all, the kids and I decided to have some bubble fun in the backyard. Before we were done we had about 6 different things of bubbles and most of the neighbor kids over joining in the fun. BUBBLES ARE SO FUN!!

SPRING is here! At least we hope!

2009-04-19T10:22:00.005-06:00

A couple of days ago it was snowing! But yesterday it was BEAUTIFUL!

Over Easter weekend we got some pretty flowers to plant in the yard. Ryan has some family that works at Milgro and we were able to get some beautiful flowers, THANKS!!

Hyacinth

Cala lilies, Easter lilies, Tulips, and Daffodils

Ryan had a whole week off work (not by choice) and we decided to do some cleaning!! So here are a couple of before and after pictures of our project in the garage. It basically took all week and we still aren't quite done. But you get the idea.

The AFTER

The BEFORE! YIKES!

Easter and Stuff

2009-04-19T10:13:00.004-06:00

We really did celebrate Easter, I just forgot my camera AGAIN! I guess a lot of this year will be going undocumented!! Bummer!! Thanks to my in-laws we had fun coloring eggs and had a big egg hunt at their house. Lots of yummy food and good company! Thanks for everything.

Yesterday was the Kite Festival. I don't really like it anymore! The kids had fun but we didn't even fly the kites. It wasn't very windy while we were there. Just HOT! We bought tickets for the bounce houses but at $1 a piece it was a RIP OFF!! The kids really didn't even want to use their tickets! SO NOT doing that again. Next year I think I'll tell them we'll go get the free kite and if they spend NO money there I will take them to Jumpin' Jacks and they can play as long as they want. I think it will still be cheaper than what I spent there for tickets, train rides, ice cream, and snow cones!!

Sammy enjoying her snow cone

Andrew enjoying his ice cream

Andrew on the train ride

50 +

2009-03-23T15:13:00.006-06:00

Here are a couple more pictures I took myself the end of Jan. I've lost another 5 lbs or so since then.

I started the South Beach Diet in Mid June last year. 9 months later I am down 53 lbs!! The first week was torture, but since then it really hasn't been that hard. I've had results I couldn't even imagine. I still hope to lose another 20-25 lbs! But this is a MAJOR milestone on my journey!! This is a picture taken last month, just for fun!

Ry and I joined the gym a year ago this month. This is a picture of me just after my BIG haircut 1 year ago.

It's time

2009-03-04T11:31:00.006-07:00

For some fun new pictures! Ryan has some free online games that he is ADDICTED to right now so I don't get much computer time anymore! Only if I have a day off and he is working and I don't have a million and one other things I have to do! :) So here we go!

Sammy had to do a book report for her 3rd grade class. She got a list of like 200 different ideas of fun ways to present a book report. We decided to make a collage/poster that went with her book. It turned out pretty cute.

I was going to use hot rollers for my hair for church one Sunday and Sammy wanted to try them. She kinda looks like a little old lady. Her hair is so straight though, within an hour you couldn't even tell she'd used them!

Ryan's big 30th birthday was on Feb. 21st. It is also his mom's birthday so we had a big party at Pirate Island pizza with 25 or so people. It was lots of fun. We had a big cake and put enough candles on for both of them (I forgot my camera and I'm still trying to get my niece to send me a picture). We also had lots of black balloons. He got lots of cards but not really any exciting presents. This is him playing with one of his little dollar nerf disc guns! I figured he could have some fun with it and he did! With the card I got him he had to take the "Old Guy Oath" it's funny! I have video of him reading it that I'll have to post someday, if I can ever figure out how to get video from my camera to here! :)

Two nights a week we tend a neighbors two little kids for an hour or two. Andrew and Charity are the same age and have so much fun playing together. They love to sit in our oversized rockers and they both fit so nicely. I love this one! She kept trying to lean back on him and he kept pushing her away and trying to get away from her.

She loves to attack him. She's got him just where she wants him!! haha :)

How to Make a Pan EXPLODE!!!

2009-02-08T21:55:00.003-07:00

Items needed:

1 8x8 glass baking dish

an electric stovetop range

a COLD granite countertop

1 spoon full of hot spaghetti sauce with meat

Cooking spray

Directions:

Spray glass baking dish with pam. Set on front burner of stovetop range while you finish cooking the meat and add the spaghetti sauce. Notice that when you sprayed the pan with Pam you got it on the back burner. Decide to turn the back burner on to "burn off" the Pam. Forget you turned it on and leave it on for a few minutes. Turn off the burner. You will now be ready to add the meat sauce to the baking dish. Notice the Pam in the dish is turning brown and the dish is HOT. Think that it is just because you have the oven turned on and the dish got "warm". Move the HOT baking dish to the COLD granite countertop and then immediately add a heaping spoon full of the HOT spaghetti sauce with meat! Then WHAMO!!! Watch your dish immediately EXPLODE into a hundred tiny shards! Give thanks that you were wearing a thick long sleeved sweatshirt that caught the flying pieces of glass and prevented them from being embedded into the skin. Watch as your kind husband cleans up the mess while your knees are shaking and your kids are laughing! Think over what just happened and finally realize that you turned on the FRONT burner that the glass baking dish was sitting on instead of the BACK one that you THOUGHT you turned on!! Just more proof that I should NOT be cooking!!

Eyes

2009-01-28T14:55:00.003-07:00

As we were eating dinner the other night I was noticing how both of our kids have their dad's eyes. I think Sammy's and Andrew's are a little bit more blue than Ryan's but they all sure look a lot a like! :) This was Ryan's TWO month growth of a goatee. He actually had that long between drills so he didn't HAVE to shave. He was pretty proud! You can see a lot more red in his facial hair than the hair on his head.

Out with the Old, In with the New

2009-01-28T14:53:00.001-07:00

I know I already talked about the new tv. Just thought I'd put a couple of pictures of what we went from to what we went to. :)

Nerds

2009-01-28T10:17:00.005-07:00

SO I was thinking about the funny discussion we had at our girls lunch, a bunch of girls from my high school class got together for lunch a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about Diana's post http://johnclarkfamily.blogspot.com/2008/12/never-dull-moment.html about her kids thinking she isn't a nerd.

I decided to ask my kids their opinion on the subject of whether or not I am a nerd. First Sammy says "No, you're not a nerd" then after thinking for a couple of minutes she says "Well, maybe you are a half nerd" I was thinking ok that is interesting so I asked "what do you mean?" she said "you are only a half nerd because nerds are smart and ugly" I thought hmmm...not sure I WANT her to elaborate on that one but alas she says "you are smart but not ugly". Ahhh! Sometimes kids can be nice to their parents.

I thought it was interesting that kids had the same interpretation of "Nerds are smart" I didn't tell her anything about nerds, I just asked if she thought I was one.

Some $800 Later!

2009-01-19T11:01:00.003-07:00

We don't have any more power problems, although we are still on a temporary fix right now. It turns out our main breaker was bad, which apparently "almost never happens" and will be $280 to replace. Unfortunately, because this is so rare, no one in town actually had the breaker that we need so it will be 10 days before they can get it in. They replaced it with a different one to get us by for the 10 days and then will come again and install the correct one once they get it.

So you say, $280 isn't close to $800 what is she thinking?! Well the power problems managed to ruin our TV so OF COURSE we had to replace the cheap $200 27" RCA with a $500 32" Vizio LCD HDTV! It is interesting, with a dark brown frame as opposed to the regular black or grey we normally see. The brown is so dark that if no one told you you'd probably just look at it and think it is black. The picture actually makes it look much more brown than it does in person.

Never Been Tagged Before

2009-01-09T16:18:00.003-07:00

Hubby Tagged
I was tagged by Shelly
1. Where did you meet your husband? We went to high school together. He always says he remembers me since 9th grade when we moved there but I don't really remember him until our senior year when we had seminary together.
2. How long did you date? A long time! We didn't really date until after we were out of school but then we dated off and on for about 3 years.
3. How long have you been married? We will be married 9 years in April!!
4. What does he do that surprises you? Hmm, that is a good question. He is pretty predictable so not a lot surprises me. Lately he has been getting up and doing dinner dishes and that was very surprising. He never used to do that.
5. What is your favorite feature of his? He is very tall and handsome.
6. What is his best quality? He is a hard worker. He works 1 full time job. 1 part-time job and is in the National Guard.
7. Does he have a nick name for you? Babe
8. What is his favorite food? Lasagna. Only my homemade though, nothing else is as good.
9. What is his favorite sport? Well if shooting guns is a sport then that would be it. He doesn't watch or follow any sports besides a little UFC once in a while.
10.When and where was your first kiss? Gads, who knows! We were in high school so probably about 12 years ago, give or take a few months.
11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? We love to work out. Going to the gym or doing workout videos at home. We also love to eat out and go to movies.
12. Do you have children? We have 2 kids: Sammy and Andrew.
13. Does he have hidden talents? If so they must be well hidden!! haha J/k. I don't really know. I think he has a talent for remember useless information. Especially if he heard it on TV.
.14. How old is he? 20, just ask him!! He will be 20 forever. Really he is going to hit the big 30 here in about a month. He is not too excited about it!
15. Who said I love you first? I don't know! Probably him.
16. His favorite music? Mostly Rock. He loves Metallica but listens to country when he is around me because that is about all I listen to.
17. What do you admire most about him? That he is such a hard worker and does what he has to to take care of our family.
18. What is his favorite color? I don't know. My kids asked him not too long ago but I don't remember what he said. I know he said Red was his favorite when he was a kid. I asked Sammy and she said he told her he doesn't have one!
19. Will he read this? No! He never reads any blogs unless he is waiting for me to get off the computer!
I tag……Cary Zwang. Nicole Gubler, Brittany Wallace, and Cindy Mechem. WOW that was the hardest part! I don't know very many people!

Electrician Needed

2009-01-09T15:27:00.002-07:00

If anyone knows any good, "cheap" electricians in the area, let me know! We've been having some power issues for the last week or so. We keep having power surges and the power goes off and on but only in half the house. I called the power company but they just told me I may have a "neutral" that's gone bad and I need to call an electrician. I've asked around got a couple of names and have a tentative appt. for someone to come out on Mon. They said we may have a ground that's loose or something. I just don't know anyone and don't want to get ripped off. We actually had a light blulb blow up last night. I was tending some neighbor kids and they turned the nightlight on in Andrew's room and the bulb just burst. It was a clear bulb but now looks silver. I decided we better do something about it before our house burns down!! I hate house problems!!

Fire and Snow

2009-01-05T22:12:00.003-07:00

We had a little hail storm this evening. The kids had fun making snow angels on the driveway.

It was also our neighbors annual Christmas Tree burning party. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and drank homemade Hot Chocolate! YUMMY!!

Sammy drew a Snowman in the hail on the driveway.

Ryan decided to make the party a "little" more exciting by throwing a whole bag of engineered powder that they use for the cannons into the fire. This was the result!

If you look close you can see the people standing next to the flames. There is an entire Christmas tree on top of a 6 foot barrell.

Surprise!

2008-12-29T23:40:00.001-07:00

Neither my husband or I are good gift givers and we don't really do much for Christmas because we just suck at it. I told Ry last year after Christmas to start saving his money because I wanted one of these awesome mixers like my mom's for Christmas this year. Unfortunately he does not remember that conversation!! Lucky for me he had a GREAT idea for Christmas this year and got me just what I had asked for! Thanks Babe!

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-29T23:34:00.003-07:00

Proof that great minds think alike. Alex and Nicole bought each other the same gift for Christmas! Boy were they BOTH surprised! We were happy, we got a Croquet set out of the deal!!

Alex and Nicole's mountain! ;)

Christmas morning, all our presents under the tree.

Zaylee thinks our house is LOTS of fun!

Nicole was our original Mary, this is her riding the "donkey" to Bethlehem. But Andrew refused to be her Joseph and wanted his sister to be Mary instead. Nicole is such a good sport! We had such a good laugh watching her play a big pregnant woman with an exercise ball as a donkey! Thanks for the fun guys!

Christmas Eve--A little Looney Style.

2008-12-29T23:28:00.003-07:00

Z loved her new jammies!

Kids opening their ONE traditional Christmas Eve gift.

The wise "men" see the star.

The shepherd and angel visting the baby Jesus.

Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethelem

Christmas Party

2008-12-20T11:40:00.004-07:00

x-treme Sour heads!

Kids got their Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Cindy and Uncle Mike

Oh what fun!

So excited to open presents.

Andrew was being very careful.

Family FUN!!

2008-12-20T11:27:00.004-07:00

We had a great family night with Grandpa and Grandma. First we went and did a whole bunch of canning. This is everyone helpingout! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma! We love you!

Andrew is ALWAYS hanging on someone!

This is just part of it.

The boys hard at work.

Cindy really got the dirty work.

And More Snow

2008-12-18T11:54:00.004-07:00

This is how much snow I used for my snowman

The neighbor's palm tree

Andrew with my snowman

Ryan's snowman a couple of years ago. Notice he used ALL the snow from our yard and part of the neighbors snow as well. I know, his snowman makes mine look LAME!! But he had a LOT of help. I swear the whole nieghborhood was here. You should have seen them putting it together! It was FUNNY!

This is the snowman I built. At least Sammy loves it! :)

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!

2008-12-18T11:37:00.003-07:00

Sammy built this snow fort all by herself.

This was early this morning

This was last night about 11

Ready to play in the snow!!!

I made them wait until 9 to go out. They were up at 7:00!

Poor palm trees. They aren't used to this kind of weather.

I think we ended up with maybe 3 or 4 inches at our house.

Snow Day!

2008-12-17T23:03:00.001-07:00

HA HA HA HA HA HA! Too funny.
I got word a couple of hours ago that Washington County school district will be closing all schools tomorrow.
It will be interesting to see how much snow we end up with. We have an inch or so now and it is still snowing so MAYBE it will be worth it. Sure to have pictures tomorrow! ;)

Baptism

2008-11-04T20:58:00.003-07:00

Thanks to everyone that came or sent well wishes for Sammy on her big day. We had a great day and everything was perfect. Thanks to everyone who brought or bought stuff for lunch.

Cake we had with lunch after the baptism

Family at the church ready for the baptism.

Sammy all ready to go.

Halloween

2008-11-04T20:51:00.003-07:00

A couple of fun pictures from the big day.

Iron Man

Renaissance Queen

Ready to Trick or Treat

Sammy's class party

Andrew's class party

Thanks for the Input

2008-10-26T13:27:00.003-06:00

Well we made it and it is over. You'll have to ignore the goofy looks on our faces. We were trying to teach Sammy how to use the camera :) Thanks for all your input.

One Last Thing.

2008-10-22T19:38:00.003-06:00

It's official! Sammy is ready for her baptism. She had her bishop interview tonight and he said she passed with flying colors. Her baptism is scheduled with the Stake baptisms on Sat. Nov. 1st at 10:00 AM. Anyone that lives close and wants to come is invited. It will be at our stake center, approximately 2 blocks due north of our house, call me if you need directions. If you live far away but still want to come that is great too! We will probably plan to have lunch or go somewhere for lunch after but I'll have to let you know more when we decide.

Red or Black?

2008-10-22T18:44:00.003-06:00

So we have a military social that we have to go to on Friday night. I'm supposed to dress semi-formal. These are the two dresses I bought but don't know which to wear. Sammy was my photographer so they are a little blurry but you get the basic idea. Tell me which you like.

Also, if you have any good, easy hairstyle ideas for me let me know. I'm terrible at hair!

2008-10-22T18:41:00.000-06:00

Just before the dances started. Andrew has pizza on his face and shirt already! :)

Raptor Romp

2008-10-22T18:34:00.002-06:00

Well, not much has been happening in our neck of the woods. The kids had their annual raptor romp. This is a school fund-raiser where every class does a dance and they have pizza and drinks for sale.

This is Andrew's class, he is third from the end.

Sammy is in the middle towards the back.

A few more camping pictures.

2008-09-30T22:10:00.002-06:00

Scary Night-time flashlight face--Andrew

Sammy took this one of me. Interesting.

Beautiful Fall Colors Everywhere

Sammy's idea of the perfectly roasted Marshmallow

Some of Sammy's leaf collection lining the benches.

Camping Trip

2008-09-30T21:51:00.005-06:00

We took the kids to Oak Grove for the long anticipated camping trip that we kept promising them but kept delaying. We all had a good time but were more than glad to be home to our own beds and a nice warm shower!

Ryan's idea of a "little campfire"

Roasted starburst--YUMMY

Yummy S'mores

Ryan made us gather ALL these pine cones to help with the fire builing. Can you say "Pyromaniac"!

I have NEVER seen Andrew's hands this dirty. He is the biggest freak about having clean hands. He spent the whole time playing in the fire (definitely his dad's kid) or chopping with the axe or hammer.

The rest of the Bulgaria story.

2008-09-26T17:12:00.002-06:00

Burgas (Bulgarian: Бургас, Greek: Πύργος, sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260.

Sunny Beach (Bulgarian: Слънчев бряг):is a major seaside resort on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, located approximately 35 km north of Burgas in Nessebar municipality, Burgas Province. It is the biggest and most popular holiday resort of the country, and is home to over 800 hotels with more than 300 000 beds. While here Ryan decided to go swimming and got stung by a jellyfish, right on his bottom! haha! He said there were a TON of jellyfish all over!

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

2008-09-26T16:39:00.001-06:00

Tsarevets (Bulgarian: Царевец) is a mediaeval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular tourist attraction.

Bulgaria Slideshow

2008-09-26T16:12:00.002-06:00

We'll see if this works. Sorry I can't give very good descriptions on the pictures. Ryan is asleep and I can't remember everything he told me and most of the time he didn't really know exactly what anything was or the name of the place he was at anyway! This first one all the picture in the city are in Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, with a population of 378,107

Feeling So Loved

2008-09-26T16:01:00.002-06:00

So just an update on my job. I actually really like it. I wish it was more money and more hours because the job itself is really not bad at all. The math is easy, for me, so it isn't stressful at all and it is fun to be able to help these kids understand something that they otherwise will probably never learn. Most of them work pretty hard and are doing really well. So today I got my "reward" by having kids in two different classes tell me that they wished I was the teacher! One girl wanted to know how long I would be working for the regular teacher. I told her all year. She said well when do you get your own class, cuz I wanna be in your class! I explained to her that I don't have a teaching degree but a business degree so I can help with the math but can't be a math teacher! Anyway, it made me feel good that they like me and can understand what I am trying to teach them! I guess teaching does have its rewards! Too bad it doesn't pay a WHOLE lot more!

Mom's New Furniture Minus the Ottoman

2008-09-25T18:18:00.003-06:00

This one where my flash hit it you can see the color really well.
Without the flash hitting it directly they just look dark brown.
Andrew was posing for us.
Andrew took this picture in so I snuck it in here.

Ok you impatient souls!! Here are some pictures of mom's lovely new furniture. She is already liking it more and more. She likes the added touch of the end tables and is almost ready to remove the tags. The ottoman should be here next Friday so I'll think about, maybe, putting up more pictures then! Enjoy! (did I make it in the hour time limit??)

Bulgaria

2008-09-23T21:34:00.003-06:00

Some of the buildings and a gas station.
A Hotel in Bulgaria
A statue in one of the malls.
Some ruins that were recently unearthed in the middle of a town.
Some random statues that are just in the middle of nowhere on the side of the road.

Ok, so some day soon I am going to have to figure out how to do a slide show on here because, amazingly, Ryan actually took quite a few pictures. So I will post a few tonight just to give you a sneak peak and then someday I'll get more of them onto a slide show. Ryan had a good time but was glad to be home. He is back to work and just got a promotion at Viracon to "lead" so that is good. More responsibility but more opportunity and of course more money as well! He'll also be working at Wal-mart in the evenings for a while and still hasn't made a definite decision on whether he is going to stay in the guard or not. He still has until Dec/Jan somewhere in there to decide.

Samantha and I went to the "Tailgate party" country concert here at the Sun Bowl on Sat. the 13th of Sept. Mark Wills is one of her favorite singers (I gave her one of my old CDs from 10 years or so ago and she has memorized every song and LOVES him) and he was one of the singers there. I got her tickets for her birthday. We had a lot of fun. There weren't really that many people and I have been to better concerts but she had a good time.

Then last week I won tickets to the Rodeo from the local news station. So Thurs. night we all went to the Rodeo. We all had a good time but were a little too tired to stay for the whole thing.

This weekend we went to Salt Lake for mom to look for new furniture (she bought some and it will be delivered tomorrow! I'll have to post some pictures later) and for Sammy's blessing. It was SO fun to see little Sammy (he is SO adorable and just the best little baby ever! Tracey is very blessed after all she had to go through with the pregnancy. I wish we lived closer so we could have fun cuddling and playing with him) it was also great to get to visit with all the family. Thanks for everything everyone! (Especially Kurt and Jill for letting us stay there and drag them and Nicole and Zaylee all over town looking at furniture and for the OH SO YUMMY peaches! They aren't going to last long around here!).

Ryan in Bulgaria

2008-09-12T23:02:00.002-06:00

Well Ry is still in Bulgaria. Apparently someone "forgot" to book the flight home so they will be there an extra couple of days. He should be home sometime this coming week. He's had a good time there with the National Guard. They have done a lot of training stuff and a little bit of site-seeing stuff. The kids miss him and ask everyday when he will be home. He took the camera and video camera but isn't known for being very good about taking a lot of pictures. Hopefully when he gets home I'll have a few pictures to post from his trip. Then I will have my camera back so I can take some more pictures as well! Work is going well so far. It is a challenge to teach 10-12th graders Algebra 1. But it is rewarding when someone actually figures something out!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!!

2008-08-30T19:55:00.003-06:00

Well my oldest baby is 8! I can hardly believe it. We have been celebrating for quite a while now. A couple of weeks ago we went to Grandpa and Grandma's for dinner and cake and ice cream. We had a great time!
On Wednesday we had another party with just mom, dad, Sammy, and Andrew. Ryan was leaving for Bulgaria and wouldn't be here on her birthday. Ry and the kids went to a local museum while I went to a job interview and then we all went black-light mini-golfing. Then finished the night having dinner at Golden Corral.
Here she is opening a couple of presents.

These are the "blendy pens" she got from Andrew.
This one she is trying to figure out what it is; I got tickets for her and I to go to a concert here in town. She really likes Mark Wills and he is one of the singers that will be there.

Then Friday she had a couple of friends over and we went swimming and then one of her friends spent the night. Today was her actual birthday and Mom and I took the kids and went to the movie "The Flyboys" a film that was filmed here in Southern Utah, it was actually a very good movie, not totally appropriate for kids (it is rated PG 13, and it got a little scary for them) but they really liked it and it kept even Sammy's attention for the whole 2 hours. That is really saying something because she is not much of a TV or movie person. After about an hour she is generally bored and ready to be done. Then Grandpa Barlow came to town and took us all out to dinner at Golden Corral, AGAIN!! She really got spoiled and she still has the concert to look forward to and her baptism, no set date on that yet. We didn't get any pictures today because Ry took the camera AND camcorder to Bulgaria! But we had a few from the previous fun.

So sad

2008-08-19T21:30:00.001-06:00

Just a quick note on life and death. It is so sad anytime you hear about anyone in an accident and especially when it involves kids. We learned today that a little boy that was in Sammy's first grade class was killed in a car accident yesterday morning. It really gets you thinking about life and death and how much we take life for granted. It is so hard and sad to try and explain to other kids why some people die when they are so young. It really does make you just want to take a little more time each day to love each other and be thankful for the many blessing we take for granted everyday.

Kids

2008-08-12T17:15:00.003-06:00

Here we are so excited and ready for our first day of school this year!

Andrew is in all-day Kindergarten and Sammy is in 3rd grade! Here is Andrew in his classroom. He only had a 30 min. appt. today but starting tomorrow he'll go until 12:45 Then on Sept. 2nd he'll start his full days.
This is the pirate ship that his teacher's husband built. They can climb up on it and read and have all kinds of fun! Andrew and I got to climb up top and read a book today during his Treasure Hunt!
Sammy has a teacher that is new at the school and new to teaching; thus her class got stuck outside in a portable classroom. Here she is going into class this morning.
Sammy and friends Icelyn and Anna just finishing up their first day at school! All in all they all had a great day! The bus ride home was a BIT long. It took them almost 50 mins for what should have been about 15 mins! OH MY GOODNESS!!

All is Well. Or at least mostly back to normal.

2008-08-10T21:37:00.004-06:00

So I haven't said much since we got home because we have just been busy. We went to Ryan's parents to pick up the kids and spent most of Thursday there. Friday I had a Dr. appt. and then went to the gym, the kids wanted to go swimming so mom and I took them. Then Danny and family was here so the kids went to moms to play with them and Ry and I went to a movie. Saturday we both went to the gym, yes Ryan was back on the treadmill already. I wouldn't let him lift weights but he walked and ran a little for over 30 mins. He really is feeling MUCH better. Then we took the kids to a movie and then did the grocery shopping that hadn't been done for a couple of weeks.

So these are just SOME of the battle wounds. I just took these pictures today so you have to realize that some of these happened over a week ago and most were at least 5 or 6 days ago. The first picture is really faint bruising on his hands where they drew blood and tried to do IVs.

This is where they did an IV on the back of his forearm. No it never did work, Yes it HURT like HE**!! I think this was a week ago. It actually looks a lot worse in person.
These are from multiple attempts at IV's as well as daily blood draws. The arm on the right where you can see the 3 red marks is where he had the mid-line (an IV that went clear up to his shoulder) The big hole on top is where it went in, the two smaller marks are where the had a little cover sewn over it. Most of the bruising came from bad phlebotomists that did not do their job well when they were drawing blood. POOR GUY!

We are HOME!!

2008-08-06T18:16:00.003-06:00

I don't think I've ever been more glad to be home in my life! Spending 6 days at the hospital is NOT fun! Ryan was released from captivity (the hospital) today at 1:30 pm. He had a HIDA scan today, to check the gall bladder, and they said it was normal. They did a Hepatitis panel to check for 5 different strains and they were all negative. They also checked for mono, meningitis, west nile virus, pretty much anything they could possibly think of that even MIGHT be similar to his symptoms. Dr. Pendleton came in this morning and told us that his liver enzymes were finally on their way back towards normal, one was at normal and the other two were about 3 times normal still but on the way down. The markers for inflammation they were watching had finally peaked and were heading down so as long as it was OK with Dr. Cobb and the HIDA scan was normal he said we could go home today. The HIDA scan took about 1.5 hours and he was done with that about 10:30 this morning. By noon Dr. Cobb was in saying everything was good with the gall bladder. They never have heard back from the state on the sub-strain for Salmonella and he will continue to watch for that. He basically said if the state already has a strain on file that this one matches they will let them know. If not they will send it to the CDC (center for disease control, I believe) in Atlanta, Georgia and then it will be weeks or months, if ever, that they will hear back from them. Dr. Cobb says it still doesn't all make since. The problems he had did not all fit with Salmonella so he is thinking he possibly just had two separate issues going on at the same time and they just never really figured out the other issue, but he really doesn't know. He will keep him on the antibiotic for another 10 days. We have to go in next week and have more blood work done (poor Ry has so many holes poked in him that we can't even possibly count all of them). They will just make sure everything is staying in the normal range. There we a couple of viral tests that they didn't have results on yet but they said even if they were positive it wasn't anything they would treat and it would just get better on it's own. So he knows a whole lot about what he doesn't have, he knows there are no tumors from his waist up because it has all been scanned, poked, prodded and tested in about every way possible. He knows he doesn't have mono, meningitis, west nile virus, any type of hepatitis, and who knows what else fits into all the tests they ran. As far as how he is feeling. He feels pretty good. He's still very tired! His back is pretty stiff from were seeing about 10 different holes in his spine where they did the spinal taps and the blood patch. But no more fever or chills or terrible headaches, just the normal kind now. As long as the fever doesn't come back and he stays feeling ok, he will hopefully just keep getting stronger and better. Thank you all so much for you kind thoughts, words, prayers, and offers of help. We appreciate all the love and support so much. There is thunder and it looks like a great big storm rolling in so that is all for now. I'll be checking my email and that more regularly so if you have any questions I'll get back to you. We are headed to New Castle tomorrow to pick up the kids. Thanks so much to their grandparents for taking such excellent care of them. We are all glad this whole ordeal will soon be behind us.

Day 5--a Roller Coaster Ride.

2008-08-05T22:52:00.002-06:00

Today started out with Ryan feeling SO good. He was walking all over, cracking jokes about breaking out of there. The dr. told us early on that we would not be going home today because his liver enzymes keep going up. Also he said they would be doing an MRI on the lower spine (that's 3 MRIs now, 2 CT Scans, 2 spinal taps and a blood patch that required a needle in the spine, one ultra -sound and way too many other blood draws, sticks, antibiotics and pain meds to count!). Dr. Cobb, the infectious disease dr. whom we lovingly consider our own Dr. House, came in for another visit (I missed this one because we didn't know he was coming, Ryan was napping so I was out taking a walk around the halls and talking to Ryan's sister just to get a change of scenery and some other company to talk to for a while). He said they still don't know the sub-strain of Salmonella and don't know if that is all that is going on or not so he has ordered a HIDA Scan, where they use radioactive tracers to go through his system and get a better idea of what is going on with the gall bladder (because that affects the liver enzymes). SO back to Ryan he was feeling great until after the MRI around 1 pm. He started to get a headache and it got progressively worse until they finally gave him some Hyrdacodon and Tylenol, these didn't help so they ended up giving him more morphine, which did finally kick the head ache and he got back to feeling MUCH better before I left. We played a game of Risk, which he won of course, and then I also brought the Xbox in for him so that is what he was doing when I left at 10 pm. I left strict instructions for the nurse that if he still had it on at Midnight they had orders from me to TAKE THE XBOX AWAY! He has has some really great nurses and CNAs while being there and we really appreciate all of them. The doctors all say his has been a "very interesting" case. Everyone is very sorry that they can't figure out what is wrong and that he's had to go through so much. Thankfully he doesn't have a problem with needles so that hasn't been an issue but he has still been put through A LOT! Thanks to Matt Lowe for the visit today. The visitors really break up the day a bit and we really appreciate them. Hopefully, again, we'll have more answers tomorrow and he can come home soon. That's all for now!

A New Man!

2008-08-04T23:01:00.003-06:00

At least it sure seems like he is a new man. We finally got some answers, or at least some hope of some answers today. The day started off pretty much the same, the doc came in about 8:30 am and basically told us all the tests looked pretty much normal, nothing to be concerned about. Said we can't go home because they had to send the Salmonella to a state lab for confirmation and they still haven't heard back on that so we still don't know "for sure" what we are dealing with. Then told us the Infectious disease doctor would be in later to see him. We did also talk about the REALLY bad headaches he has been having ever since the spinal tap so he also said he'd send the anesthesiologist up to talk to him about a blood patch over the hole where they did the spinal. So we met with the infectious disease Dr. about 12:30 or 1:00 and he gave us a lot more information about how the Salmonella infection could have actually been from 2 or 3 months ago and some of the bugs didn't get flushed out and eventually worked their way into the blood stream, which would have started the fever and Rigors (the really bad teeth chattering chills have their own special name--rigors). But that he still needed to find out the strain of Salmonella from the state lab and then probably do a bunch more tests to make sure it hasn't affected his gall bladder or anything else because his liver enzymes are significantly elevated. So, we can't go home. Still have a bunch of tests ahead and not any definite answers but at least a hope of some. Then about 2:30 the anesthesiologist came in and did the blood patch, this is very interesting--They take your own blood out of your arm and inject it into your back right in the area where they did the puncture in the spine and then when your blood clots it will cover the hole and stop the spinal fluid from leaking and thus stop the headaches. And amazingly IT WORKED!! It's the first time he's been able to sit up AT ALL without a headache. It is the first time he has been able to get out of bed and walk further than the 5 feet to the bathroom (he did make one lap around the floor last night but it almost killed him) and he made two whole laps around the floor without any headache! So we say Yea for some progress! Also he hasn't complained of any of the really, really bad shoulder pain that he has been having either. This had been one of his biggest complaints because the headaches he could control as long as he laid COMPLETELY flat but the back pain just never stopped; if I was constantly massaging it then it was bearable and about the only way he could fall asleep but a half hour later it was back just as bad. I think my arm and back will be sore for a while from 2 days of constant massaging! Things are looking better. Ryan is feeling better. Now if they can just get their answers and get us out of there life will be OK again! We love you all and appreciate all the calls, emails, goodies, and messages of love and support, thanks so much!!

No news is Good news?

2008-08-03T22:48:00.002-06:00

Well at least we hope that is the case. Today was one VERY long day! Just so you all know if you are going to ever have to stay in the hospital, DON'T do it over a weekend! You are basically just there and no one that can tell you anything is! Ryan had the ultrasound to check the gall bladder and an MRI and x-rays on his shoulder to check out the pain there but we never got any official word on that at all. Ryan saw the Doc about 7:30 this morning and really doesn't remember anything he said and that was the only time we heard anything from him. The fever is still gone and I think if he could just get out of the hospital he'd be feeling much better. We are hoping tomorrow will be a much more productive day and are hoping to find out a lot more information. Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers. and concern! We truly appreciate it SO much!

Day 2 at the Hospital

2008-08-02T23:14:00.002-06:00

So right now I'm just thinking today was a VERY long and unproductive day! They did finally get the CT scan this afternoon even though Ryan was too nauseated to get even half of the contrast down. We saw the Dr. once about 8:30 this morning and never saw him again and of course the nurses "can't tell you anything". So we basically still know NOTHING. They never did confirm the Salmonella, that is still just preliminary, but they have started him on treatment for it. He was having some pretty bad stomach pain yesterday, and some bad back pain today. They said he has elevated liver enzymes and so they have him scheduled to do an ultrasound tomorrow to look at his liver and gall bladder. So with pretty much no answers and still more tests ahead we are still just waiting! Ryan's fever hasn't been back since this morning so we are thinking that is at least one good thing, but he is still feeling pretty miserable. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers and offers for help. The kids are both being extremely well cared for/spoiled by the grandparents so I am able to spend all day with Ryan and while he is really miserable his biggest complaint is that he misses our tempurpedic bed and really HATES the lumpy hospital one!
Will keep you all updated as best as I can! Thanks again for all the love and support!

Please Pray

2008-08-02T07:59:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that Ryan is very sick. He has been running a high fever all week but doesn't have any other symptoms. He is in the hospital and they have been running one test after another and while we know a lot about what he doesn't have, we still do not know what he does have. They have found a gram negative bacteria in the blood which they say can be very bad, but that is all they really know. He has been treated with 3 different antibiotics so far and nothing has been helping. His name is on two prayer rolls here in Utah. Please add your faith and prayers to those of the many others that the doctors will be able to find the cause and the cure! Thanks for all your love and support!

A lot like WORK

2008-07-23T17:59:00.003-06:00

This is Andrew's room before we did any painting with just his new spread.
This is after we moved it all around and painted. It looks much different and is much darker but Andrew loves it! Now we just need Uncle Kurt to come replace the really old crappy carpet and put in some nice new laminate!
The new Transformer stickers Andrew got for his birthday.
Here is Sammy's new room. It is very purple but looks really good. We don't have any before pictures to compare hers with but it also makes her room much darker. We also rearranged all her furniture and it gives her much more room.
Painting their rooms is part of their birthday presents this year. We decided they have way too many toys and have all the clothes they need because we've been school shopping so this was something different. But boy is it a lot of work!! If you know anyone that wants this color of purple for their house we will sell them a gallon and a quart for a really good deal. Long story! :)

Birthday at home

2008-07-11T10:53:00.004-06:00

Since his birthday is actually today I saved a couple of presents for her to open today. His new sheetsHis new comforter, he has been sleeping in flowery sheets with a flowery bedspread so we decided it was time to give him some boy stuff.
He is So excited about the Army stuff.
My newest Rock star gammin' on his guitar
He also go the sword and shield at the fair yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!!!
We love you SO much!

Andrew is 5!

2008-07-11T10:36:00.003-06:00

Well we survived the fair. We were there for about 8 hours and Andrew and I got tired much more quickly than Ryan and Sam but we all had a great time.

Here is Ryan and Grandpa putting the candles in the cake. I bought him some cool sparkler candles but forgot them at home. duh!

Thanks for the awesome Dragon Grandpa and Grandma!
These are the presents he opened at the park: Hungry, Hungry Hippos
his cool guitar,
And these AWESOME books from Aunt Cindy
Thanks for the presents and for making it such a fun, great day for Andrew. He just couldn't blieve HOW MANY people were at his birthday. I think he thought everyone at the fair was there just for his birthday! haha!

Andrew's 5th birthday on Friday the 11th.

2008-07-09T17:53:00.003-06:00

I never have been creative or artsy and thus have never attempted to make a cute birthday cake for my kids on their birthdays. We always let them chose one from the book at Wal-mart and just buy it. Andrew decided he wanted a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake so I went and ordered it but was quite miffed by the hefty $20 price tag for a dumb 1/4 sheet cake. The half sheet cakes at Costco are only $15.99. SO after some thought I cancelled the order and decided to make my own. He wanted a TMNT toy so when we found this I decided to get it as a present and use it as the cake topper. These are the results of my efforts.
We had to make the cake today because we are celebrating tomorrow in Cedar during the Renaissance fair.

The fun continues...

2008-07-09T13:40:00.002-06:00

Zaylee and Samuel just relaxin' and havin' fun at Uncle Tony's on the 4thAndrew cheesing it and showing off some of his many new clothes from Ben! Thanks Ben!
Our new concrete just poured on Tues morning. July 8th. Thanks again Jared!
We all signed our names in it.
Another view. What a great end to a fun filled week.

4th of July fun

2008-07-09T12:49:00.005-06:00

So the fun started on Wednesday with our new French doors being installed! Thanks Jared!

View from inside the house. View from Outside the house. They have the built in mini-blinds between the glass so they can't get dirty and ruined! Yea! They tilt and raise and lower. I'm SO excited. We still have to paint and do the finishing touches.
Then Friday was the BBQ at Tony's this is my dessert I made.
Samuel was here and spent two days and nights with us while Derek and Kalistie went to Vegas.
Derek and Kalistie at the BBQ

New Pictures of the Kids

2008-06-26T19:18:00.004-06:00

While we were in Salt Lake for Zaylee's birthday party Nicole's sister-in-law took pictures of my kids for me! I was SOOOO happy with them. These are just a few of my favorites!

Washington City Community Center

2008-05-22T13:09:00.002-06:00

Baby swings in the water. The water in this area is only between 4-8 inches deep.
Slides in the baby area, Andrew LOVED these.
A palm tree that sprinkles water. In the background you can see the stairs going up to the Hydo-tube and then the opening underneath where you come out of the hydo-tube. Sammy LOVED this.
Huge playgound in the water.
Very large dump bucket above the playground. It dumps probably at least once a minute and supposedly hold 317 gallons of water.

This is the new community center that opened to the public Tues. They had free admittance for everyone on Tues. and Wed. so we took the kids and went yesterday. The entire facility is 110,000 sq. ft. It has 3 full size gyms, an indoor track, weight and cardio facilities and a spin room. It also has a huge rock climbing wall, day-care, pre-school, and the aquatic center which is supposedly the largest in-door aquatic center in the state. The whole thing cost $15.5 million to build. Now we don't have to go to the "dolly parton", Sand Hollow Aquatic Center, anymore and pay non-resident prices! :) This is where we are going to be playing all summer!

Viracon Family Day

2008-05-22T13:01:00.004-06:00

So, this isn't a great picture but you can see the lovely butterfly Sammy had the clowns paint on her face.
This is Andrew's Alien balloon hat the clowns made for him.

Viracon had their annual family day last Sat. Everything was free and it was quite an event. They had clowns, bounce houses, a free meal , drinks, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn, and gave a tour of the plant. They also had drawings for a lot of giveaways. Unfortunately we didn't win any of the kid stuff. Or any of the really awesome grown-up stuff. I know they gave away a laptop computer and were supposed to be giving away a 42 in. plasma screen tv but we left after we won our prize, a $30 gift certificate to Ruby River. At least it wasn't the free golf balls or a free t-shirt and ball cap! haha Overall we had a good time. It was very hot and everything was outside but the kids loved all the free candy and goodies and didn't want to leave.

Milestones

2008-05-15T17:49:00.003-06:00

Sammy helped Andrew get all ready for his big pre-school graduation yesteray, she shined his shoes, fingernails, face, ears...anything she could. I told her that he had a bath that morning and was clean but she wanted to make sure he would really shine! Their theme was "I am a Star" so she made sure he would really shine! We are hoping this is just the first of many graduations yet to come. Grandma Cluett says at least 4 more, Elementary, Jr. High, High School, and College. Grandpa Cluett and Dad said he has to have at least a Master Degree or preferably a PhD.
The whole class at the beginning of their program reciting the Pledge of Allegiance
His diploma, program, napkin, and graduation bear.
Class posing with their graduation caps and Teacher Jackie.

Sammy's Report

2008-05-14T11:49:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we wen to Sammy's class to listen to her give her report on Lemurs. She did such a great job! This is the picture she drew to go along with her report. We are so proud of her!

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T11:48:00.003-06:00

Mom thought it was a shame that she was the only one that would get to see the beautiful Mother's Day flowers that Danny sent her. So I figured I could post them on here and lots of people would get to see them.