Preschool Halloween Party

Today was Ally's preschool Halloween party. She has been soooo excited for it and talking about it for two weeks. Her teachers are super cute and always have the cutest ideas for activities and crafts. Today was no exception. They made their own trick-or-treat bags and got to go trick-or-treating around the preschool to fill it. They also made mummys out of cans. Super cute! She had a really fun time and is even more excited for Halloween and all the treats. Hmmm, I feel another dentist appointment coming.



She of course had to do many different poses for the pictures.

Dentist Appointment

Ally had to have a couple cavities filled on Monday. Because of how she acted when they were trying to clean her teeth, the dentist suggested she be sedated for the work. We got to the dentist office bright and early Monday morning. Since we had to do this with Andrew I knew what to expect. They have them drink their 'sleepy medicine' which Ally took very well. Then we went out to the waiting room to wait for it to work it's magic. She was playing with the trains when I noticed she started tripping a little bit. She then sat on my lap to read books and watch Monsters vs. Aliens. And then, she was out. We took her back in the room and they started on her teeth. The dentist filled the cavity on the one side and then left the room to give her jaw a break and see some other patients. When he came back he informed me that the other tooth that needed to be filled had infection so bad it had gone down into the bone so he would need to pull the tooth and put in a spacer. I was a little nervous because Ally had started to stir when the dentist was with the other patients. She did amazing! He pulled the tooth and put in the spacer and she didn't even budge. They gave her the tooth and put us in a recovery room. She was quite mean coming out of the sedation. She just wanted to go home but had to have some water and a Popsicle before we could leave. All in all it wasn't too bad. Much better then when we did it with Andrew. He never fully went out and kept trying to fight the work. It's so hard to see your kids 'drugged' up and out of it. Thankfully Ally mostly slept and didn't try to fight the medicine. She was really happy the next morning when she woke up and found that the tooth fairy had come and brought her $2.50. She was in our room before 7 a.m. telling us all about the two dollars and 'penny' the tooth fairy had left her. At least the tooth fairy visited, made it all worth it and better.

Pirate Island

For Fall Break I wanted to do something new and fun with the kids. We decided to try that new Pirate Island in Orem. My kids are HUGE Chuck-E-Cheese fans but I just couldn't gag down there pizza another time. Kelly and her kids, my parents, and Dorothy all joined us for this new adventure.

If you haven't yet been to Pirate Island I suggest you try it. The ambiance is sooo much fun! They did an amazing job decorating that place. The kids loved seeing all the piratey things but when the ship's cannons started shooting (just smoke shooting out of the cannons with background noise) Ally got a little scared. The food was really good and since we went for lunch, priced reasonably too. The service was a little slow but we just chalked it up to Fall Break and poor staff planning on their part. Even though it was slow service, our waiter was fabulous!! The staff is all dressed up and we even saw Captain Jack Sparrow wandering aimlessly around the place (seriously, the guy who was dressed up as Captain Jack did an amazing job! He played the part very well (at least I hope he was acting)).

After lunch we all went into the game room. It's not as large as Chuck-E-Cheese but it still offers plenty of games and activities to keep the kids entertained for a long, LONG time. They have a game that resembles the Price is Right wheel. Kelly and I, being so mature and all, had to try it, even though it cost six tokens each time we figured the kids had enough tokens to last for a little while. We each took a turn with little luck and then Ally wanted to try. After explaining how many tokens it took and trying to talk her out of it, I finally caved (those of you who really know Ally know that I really didn't have a chance to begin with). She put in her tokens and started the wheel. And then, JACKPOT!! She won 1,000 tickets - the most you can win on that game. The tickets kept coming and coming and coming. The staff even had to come refill the machine. All that kept running through my head was I'm taking this girl to Vegas (kidding) and Crap! I can imagine all the junk she is going to 'purchase' with those tickets - Jim is going to kill me.

Here she is with some of her tickets.



Notice that I said some, this is when the staff was refilling the machine.

She finally got tired of carrying them around and passed them off to grandpa to carry.



We decided that after that winning we were done. Grandpa started feeding the tickets into the machine



And here she is with all of her junk, oops, I mean loot.



She actually didn't do too bad in picking other than the slime she had to get. The good news about that is she opened it up at Grandma's house (thankfully outside) and it exploded all over her and the back patio. She was screaming because it was 'slimy' on her. We got her and the patio cleaned up and the slime went in the garbage.

It was a really fun place, one that I will be going back to visit soon. Oh, by the way, if you noticed that Andrew isn't in these pictures, it's because they were all taken after Ally's winnings and he was too busy pouting because she won more tickets then he did. Even though he had over 200 tickets himself. Way too competitive for me.

Corbelly's Fun

Kelly and I took the kids on our annual Cornbelly's outing. It was really windy and a little cold the day we went but the kids could do what they wanted, when they wanted so they had a lot of fun. The favorites were once again the slides, giant trampolines and princess stuff (Ally's favorite, Andrew got bored quickly in the princess area). The kids enjoyed running from activity to activity and wanted to try everything. It really was a lot of fun again this year.





The kids decided to bury Andrew with corn (like you do with sand) but got bored very quickly. This is as far as they got...



Even I went down the slide (with Phin)



I am laughing so hard because we flew right off the end of the slide and I smacked my bum on the ground. So fun!

And, you can't leave Cornbelly's without pictures in the GIANT rocking chair



The kids had fun getting creative in posing



(even Andrew which surprised me)



It was a really fun night. I hope we can keep it an annual tradition.

More Ally Modeling

Ally had her preschool pictures the other day so we got her all dolled up for school. I wanted to get a few pictures of her before she went to school which she of course loved. She once again had to pose and pose. Here are just a couple of the pictures we got. (I'm sure you are getting sick of my model Ally but as her mom and someone who hates getting pictures taken, it's fun to see her enjoy it so much - so bare with me).

Two Months Old

Wow! Where does time go? I can't believe that Vanessa is already two months old. It's amazing to me how quickly they grow. We had her two month check up on Monday and she is 11 lbs. and 21 1/2 in. long. She is healthy and growing and developing the way she is supposed to which makes her mom very happy.

Vanessa is such a fun, happy baby. She is sleeping 7-8 hours a night (yes, I know that I am very, VERY lucky). She has started smiling and loves to smile at everybody. She has started a cute smile where she smiles at you and turns her head slightly like she is being bashful. She is still overly loved by her brother and sister who are constantly giving her hugs and kisses. She loves them both very much and will just smile upon hearing their voices. Vanessa is a great baby. We are so grateful we are blessed and have her in our family.

Breast Cancer Awareness

I'm sure all of you know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Many of you may not know that it is near and dear to my heart because I lost one of my dearest friends to breast cancer five years ago.

Vickie was first diagnosed when she found a lump in her breast. She had it removed and biopsied and it was cancer. The doctors started her on chemotherapy. Chemo was extremely hard on her. They started giving her medication to help and she would "go to the Bahamas" for about 10 days. That was her way of saying that she would sleep straight through those days after chemo. After chemo she started radiation which was much easier on her. She even came back to work during radiation. In October she was given a clean bill of health. In February/March she started having back pain. They told her it was her sciatic and started her on physical therapy. Not much longer she started getting really tired and couldn't keep food down. They found an ulcerated tumor in her stomach. Once tested, it too proved to be cancerous. She went in for surgery and they found her stomach cavity was full of tumors. She decided then that she was not going to try and fight it, chemo was too much for her to face to only extend her life by a few months. She then had a seizure and they found tumors in her brain. Vickie passed away on June 9, 2004. She told me as she was going through all of this that if anything good came out of her situation it would be for all the women who knew her to get their yearly check ups. She had gone nine years without going to the doctor. And since with breast cancer early detection is best chances are if they had found it earlier, it wouldn't have spread so much. Vickie was an angel here on Earth. She was the sweetest person in the world who was willing to do anything for anybody! She is truly missed!

So, my plea to all my friends and family is to please, please, PLEASE go for your yearly check ups, etc. I really hope that no one else in my life is touched by this terrible disease but if they have to be that it's detected early.

Happy Birthday to the Love of my Life

Today is Jim's 35th birthday but since he is in the land down under, we don't get to celebrate it with him. Plus, he is convinced that since he flew over the international dateline and went from October 6 to October 8, he gets to stay 34 for one more year. Is that how it works???

Even though he is skipping out on his day, it is October 7 here in Utah so I still want to celebrate him. Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that he and I have been together for only 12 1/2 years. I really can't remember my life without him. We have had our share of ups and downs but we weather the storm and come out stronger together in the end.

Jim is such an amazing Dad who his kids love very much, which is evident every day when he comes home from work and they run (no matter where there are in the house or outside) yelling 'Daddy's home, Daddy's home. They love spending time with him whether it's at BYU games, playing, reading books, or just relaxing and watching TV. Last night Andrew was talking about the BYU/Florida State game and how much fun he had with his Dad and he said "it was the best day of my life so far." I know it was because of the way he acted after they got home. They stopped and got pizza on the way home and Jim let him go downstairs and eat with him (our rule is the kids don't eat anywhere except the kitchen). Andrew was so excited. He sat and grilled Jim with his many questions about sports, etc. The next day was Sunday and he sat and watched TV with Jim again and when it came time for lunch, he wanted to eat downstairs with his dad. Ally loves him so much too. Every day she has to give him a big hug and kiss before he can leave the house for work. She is very, very upset on the mornings he leaves before she wakes up. One morning she heard the front door close and came running out of her room and right out the front door. I found her in the driveway crying watching his carpool drive away. It's always sad for all of us when he has to go out of town, he is very missed.

He is an amazing man and I am grateful every day that I am so lucky to be married to him. I appreciate his patience, kindness and love. Happy birthday babe! I love you!

Happy Birthday Nana

Today was my Nana's 87th birthday and the six month anniversary of her passing. A part of me still can't believe she is gone. Most of the time I think that I just haven't seen her for a while like when she would go stay with my uncle in California but then when I am driving out to Provo it hits me that all that is there is her empty house. My Nana was such an amazing woman. She had the biggest heart!! She was more like a mom to me than a grandmother. I loved sleeping over at their house and every time we went to Lake Powell, etc. I always drove down with her and Papa. She was such a great example to me and taught me so many things but the thing I think she taught me most was unselfish love. She was always there for us, anytime we needed her and never, EVER complained about it. Whether it was to go to lunch or dinner or babysit or just sit and talk, she was always right there when needed. I love and miss her so much. It's times like this that make me so grateful for the gospel in my life and the knowledge that I will see her again and get to be with her for Eternity.

Nana started a tradition after my Papa died two years ago. On his birthday we got together for dinner and would let go of balloons. My kids always say that we are sending the balloons to him in heaven. Tonight we got together at the cemetery and sent balloons to Nana. Even though it was a little cold, it was still really nice to be there to celebrate this amazing woman who touched the loves of everyone who met her. We then went back to my mom's house for soup and the Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcakes (my mom even got candles for the kids to blow out). It was a great night!! I just wish Nana was there to celebrate with us.



Ally and Elle holding hands "with Jesus." I know I probably shouldn't have let them but it was just too cute, I had to get a picture.

Poor, Poor Dixie Take Two

Poor Dixie had to go in for surgery on her ear again because the hematoma filled back up. I took her to the vet yesterday. He was going to try and just drain it but decided it was going to be too painful so they ended up putting her under. It was just a couple hours surgery and we got to bring her back home yesterday. But, as you can see, the poor dog has to have the cone back on. We are all trying to adjust to her having it on again. This time the vet wants to wait three weeks before taking the stitches out and she has to wear the cone as long as she has the stitches. I feel so bad for the poor dog who just doesn't understand why we keep doing this to her. I really, really hope this is the last time. It's just too heartbreaking for me to see her like this especially when she looks at me with sad eyes like she did yesterday when I had to put the cone back on her. She is just too sweet and doesn't deserve this.

A Very Special Big Brother

The other night I was trying to hurry and get a few things done so I asked Andrew to entertain Vanessa for a little bit. I could hear him talking to her but didn't pay too much attention to what he was saying. Let's face it, I was just happy she was happy and not crying wanting to be held for a few minutes. I walked by the front room where they were and this is what I found...



It's hard to tell from the picture but he is reading to her. He came up with the idea all on his own and it really worked. He read probably 15-20 books to her that night. It was the sweetest thing!

She Really Should be a Model

Ally loves having her picture taken. It doesn't matter what we are doing, where we are, or who we are with, if she sees the camera she wants her picture taken. The other day she was talking and playing with Vanessa who was just smiling at her. I of course had to get pictures of that because you could see how much Vanessa loves Ally.



That led to Ally wanting more pictures taken of just her. She had me laughing so hard. She kept going from one pose to the next.



She really came up with all of her poses by herself. I just sat there and snapped the picture when she told me to. She had to view each and every one after it was taken to give me her approval. It was a lot of fun! I really hope she keeps the personality she has and doesn't one day become afraid of the camera like her mom.