Spring Snow??

I wish Mother Nature would make up her mind!!!

Carter's got problems

Well today was actually 80 degrees. Yeah! But that caused a wardrobe problem for Carter. I was in the process of doing laundry and all his favorite pants where wet in the washer. Mind you he did have "trendy" jeans in his drawer but would not wear them because they have holes and show his thighs. (yes they are dirty wash and worn, but extremely cute and trendy) I explained that they are popular and everyone wears them. This did not have any effect on the tears. Then I showed him the shorts. I explained it was hot outside and he would be sweaty in pants. That was even worse. Niagara falls was flowing and I explained there was nothing I could do. He proceed to the laundry room and sat by the dryer for 30 minutes until it went off and his pants were dry. DRAMA! This day did not include his other issues: button shirts having to be done up all the way to the top - very nerd alert. Wrinkles in his socks (got this from me but I did grow out of it) Cannot have "spikey" hair. It has to be flat to his head combed forward (thank you Peter on Chronicles of Narnia) Cries every Sunday because he wants new brown church shoes that tie tight. Hates lotion and has a ton of eczema. Yes this was Carter "the boy" not his sisters. Good Luck Dude!

Sunday Bike Ride

We decided to be adventurous and take a family bike ride down at the river bottoms. We started at 78th and rode to Winchester Park. We ate snacks, played on the play ground, and watched the ducks. It was a lot of fun and everyone did great until the way back. Of course Carter started complaining and whining. I did my best to hold his handle bars and pull him along. Considering we rode a total of 3 miles he did pretty good. It is a lot of fun and we are going to try it again.

Miraculous Recovery

It has only been 3 weeks and Madison's burn is all but completely gone. The first week we visited the burn center she did not show much recovery in a week that they were worried. But our visited last week was amazing, they could not believe the difference in just one week. No more wraps but we still have to do the stretches. They upgraded our appointments to monthly - yes!

LOOK AT THESE PICS!!!

Can you believe it?

I hate these cleats!

Carter has started playing t-ball and loves it. But getting him on the field is a challenge. He cries all the way to the field because he wants to wear his "blue suede's" (crocks) because his cleats are too lose and his socks fill funny inside. Hopefully next time he will not cry about his shoes before the game and he will get to play on the playground afterwards.

Bath Time

Not sure who has more fun at bath time - Dad (hair stylist) or the kids.

Looking at these pictures I can actually hear Jaiden and Carter laughing. Jason actually names his hair-dos.

We love our dad.

"Devil Horns"

"Jimmy Newtron"

Not as young as I used to be

I became a walking bruise while Jason was out of town.

When he got home he started noticing all the bruises and said, "what happened to you?"

While teaching dance I forgot that I am 12 years older and 30lbs. heavier. I wanted them to hit an ending pose on their knees and of course I showed it to them.

Afterwords I realized, "that's going to leave a mark"

Gross picture I know. But it hurts a lot worse than it looks. This is the results of a podiatrist trying to get rid of a stubborn planters wart. This will be my 7th treatment. I consider myself pretty tough but when he shoved the needle in my toe without numbing I grabbed the table and screamed. Carter was with me (He loves to come to doctors appointments. Usually they have to ask him to move his head so they can see what they are doing - hopefully he will be a doctor.) and I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head. I have never screamed or groaned before. Usually I can just grit my teeth. Lets hope the 7th treatment is the charm.

Bruised thigh - picture was a little late and doesn't do justice. Not sure where I got it from?

Birthdays All Around!!

We celebrated Jason and Jaiden's birthday with family on Sunday. It is always crazy but we love them. We were happy to have good weather and send the kids outside. Here are a few pictures from the party.

Happy Birthday Jaiden and Jason!!!

Thank Heavens for Sinus Infections

Never thought I would be greatful for a sinus infection but in this case I am. The story goes like this - Last week while camping Madison reached up to the camp chef and burned her hands. We immediately put her hands in cold water and wrapped them. One really blistered but then popped a couple of days later and look at lot better. The other hand did look worse but I thought it was fine as long as I kept it wrapped and moist with antibiotic ointment. She also didn't seem to be in any pain. About a week went by and she seemed to be fine but developed a sinus infection. I took her to the doctor and she received the necessary antibiotics and as a percausion I had them take a look at her burns. I was confident that they were fine but thought I was there so I should atleast double check. I unwrapped her hand and the doctor immediately said it was bad and I needed to take her to the University of Utah burn center. I felt like the worst mom in the world. The doctor must have noticed because she was nice enough to comment on how well I had it bandaged and cleaned. It still didn't help with the guilt I felt in my stomach. Well we headed to the burn center the next day and I was thinking maybe it wasn't that bad and our doctor was just sending us as a precaution. Well the burn unit didn't agree. They were nice but preceded to tell me that the reason she wasn't in pain is because it was 3rd degree which means that the nerve endings have been damaged. The were concerned of the location and her range of motion being affected. They cleaned the burn and re-wrapped it and then showed me some stretches that need to be done 3 times a day to keep the range of motion. We have a weekly appointment until further notice. Hopefully only 3 weeks until the wound is closed and then they will determine what physical therapy needs to be done and how often we will have to return. They did warn me that the pain will increase as the nerves/skin regenerates. She is a tough cookie and hopefully it won't be to bad. They were optimistic that she will have a full recovery due to the fact of the burn being deep but narrow and small. Things could have been worse and I am actually surprised something hasn't happened to her sooner. She is so fast and has a determination. We are blessed to have a burn center in our state and I am grateful we went to the doctor for a sinus infection. I have attached some pictures but of course they don't do justice.

Can you believe she smiled at the doctor and never even winced when they cleaned and wrapped her hand. We call it her pretty. Keeping it clean will be a challenge.

The Walk of Shame

We received a phone call from a family friend a couple of weeks ago regarding baby guinea pigs. They were trying to give one to Jaiden for her birthday. My answer was of course, "no we are fine." We went camping with the family friends and of course they brought the guinea pigs with them. Our kids went crazy! Jaiden asked all weekend, "What about squeakers? Can I keep him?" Look at these pictures - how could we resist. As Jason carried the cage to the car, Keith yelled out "walk of shame!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh because we had already said no.

Camping at Green River

We celebrated Jaiden's birthday while camping. It is hard to light candles in the wind hence the paper plate guards.

(Thanks for the help Rich)

Nana, Madison and Pa relaxing at camp.

The first day we headed into Moab and hit the trails. I tied Madison to me for a seat belt, Carter rode with Daddy and Jaiden drove Keith (family friend) around or at least she thought.

Sexy shades and hat Madison.

Cool Dude!

I am in control here!

Handsome dudes!

Is it child abuse to strap a 1 year old to your waist with a tie down rope?

The race is on.

We stopped over the ridge for lunch.



After FINALLY reaching the end of the trail we turned around to head back.

Madison did great on the ride but after 6+ hours she was wasted and gave up on the last stretch.

When everyone started pulling off their glasses we couldn't believe the dirt. Can you imagine how much ended up in our lungs? I think we should invest in motorcycle helmets - what do you think?

The second day we headed into Goblin Valley. For those of you who have not been there it is on your way to Lake Powell but it is roasting in the summer. It is a full valley full of cut out rocks that look like "goblins". We used to go there as kids and play hide and seek. We loved it and now are passing the tradition onto our kids. They love to play there. We usually stay until dark and play hide and seek but the weather was too cold. Maybe next year.