Gray's Journey Continues...

Gray has always sounded "junkie" as the doctors like to put it. We thought it was reflux but each time he gets the slightest cold he sounds worse. We are so worried about this little guy! So today we went back to see Dr. Pheffer. What a sweet lady she is. I just love her bedside manner. Gray was trying to grab at her when she was listening to him breathe and she just kisses his hand. So she checked him again today and is certain that the problem has to do with abnormally large tonsils. She suggested this before and we went to see Dr. Park, an ear nose and throat doctor. He agreed they were large but wanted to just wait and see if they caused any real issues. I felt a bit brushed off by him and according to Dr. Pheffer today, she was furious with his lack of concern. So we are going on Monday to meet with Dr. Child. He must be good- just check out his name! She is thinking that due to his large tonsils, that she said look almost embedded in his throat, he is aspirating on his own saliva. Then when he gets sick and has more mucous to deal with, he sounds worse. Poor poor guy! I am just praying that Monday brings some answers. I will keep you posted.

Fourth of July 2011

Love my family! What a great relaxing weekend we had! And what better way to end the long weekend than a fun Fourth of July! We relaxed all morning, sat out in the backyard in our PJ's and let the kids play. Then we got ready to go out to lunch. Joey is seriously the best when he suggested Sweet Tomatoes. My fav and probably his least fav! Way to sacrifice for your wife! So we went to lunch and came home to relax some more. We had a nice BBQ for dinner and then went to Iceberg for some treats. We came home and got ready for the fireworks. We celebrated by keeping the tradition of meeting Jamie's family for a BBQ. They drove up to the street below us and we roasted hot dogs awaiting the fireworks. It was so much fun. The kids loved just being together and did not watch too much of the show. Then we came back to our house for smores! What a fun night. I am so grateful for freedom and so grateful for such a blessed family.

Cascade Springs

We got up early and went to Jamie and Mindi's ward. Once we got home, we changed, packed a lunch, and headed off to Cascade Springs. What better way to enjoy the Sabbath than in nature! The kids were so excited. On the way up Harlee only asked about 20 times how long until we were going to be there. Joey joked that while we were there he was going to dig out a tree to take home. I totally thought he was kidding until I saw the shovel in the back. Who does that? We made it to Cascade Springs and hiked around. On the way back we found a spot to have our picnic lunch. The kids loved hiking around while eating their sandwiches. Joey tried to dig up a tree but they were all rooted together. Seems like they knew about guys like him! What a fun day. How lucky are we to be so close to nature. I told the kids on the way home that we need to do this more often.

Gray vs. the Plum

His purple clothes tell the whole story. My neighbor Cami came over for one of our lunch dates and she brought us some plums for dessert. I got one bite before Gray claimed it as his own. He loved it and I loved watching him enjoy it. He is still super cute even when he is purple! Good luck to me getting all the stains out!

Nash Dresses Himself

Nash was so excited to get himself dressed after his bath. I helped him with the shirt but he insisted (and let's be honest, you do not argue with Nash when he wants to do something himself! Impossible to win!) on doing his shorts himself. Here are the results. Both legs in one leg hole. I love the first picture. It is as if he knows something is not right but can't figure it out! What a fun little independent boy we have!

Basement Contamination

How come everything seems to happen when Joey is out of town? He left on Tuesday for Philadelphia and Wednesday morning is when our first flood happened. I got Gray down for a nap, the others situated playing together, and I went to do the treadmill. When I finished, 40 minutes later, I walked out to the kitchen and heard a weird noise. It sounded like running water in the hallway vent. So I opened the bathroom door and the floor was covered in inches of water. Luke had gone to the bathroom, clogged the toilet, and the water had been running for who knows how long. So while I was up cleaning the poop water, the kids went down to the basement to find water dripping from the ceiling. So they thought it was fun to play in the water. Guess they did not realize that was poop water from Luke's accident. Wow- what a way to start the day. Silver lining... at least the basement is not finished yet!

Splash Park

Today we found a new splash park in Alpine. After quite the search we were so glad that we did not give up. What a cute park! The kids loved it! They have a splash park with lots of fun water sprayers. They also have two really nice playgrounds and I am sure the kids would have stayed all night. We went around 4pm so it was not very crowded. It was perfect! Riley and Erika came with us too. It is so great to have a best friend for Luke who also has one of my closest friends as a mom! What a fun end to the day!

Love these kids!

Almost daily I am reminded of just how blessed I am. I am so grateful for all of the little things that add up to this beautiful, blessed life I am living! I am so grateful for my family. Joey is the most loving husband and father. My four little ones I could not love more! They keep me on my toes and I am exhausted by the end of the day. But the truth is, I feel so lucky. I really would not have it any other way. I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father. I KNOW He loves me because he has surrounded me with all this love.

What a great brother!

Almost every night this summer the kids have asked to sleep downstairs. They have their nightly ritual of throwing down their blankets from upstairs and then making their beds on the couch. Last night Nash fell asleep first because he did not have a nap (he is usually the last one to fall asleep!). Luke and Harlee got their blankets together and they fell asleep also. After Joey and I had gotten into bed I asked him if he covered up Nash who was on the floor. He said he did not, so I went to check on him. He was laying on a pillow and covered up with his football blanket and blue blanket at his side. If Joey did not do that, and I did not cover him up, who did? I asked Luke today and it was him! What a great brother! He said that Nash looked cold so he covered him up. I love that he is looking out for his little brother. This is the kind of stuff that I just pray continues throughout their lives together. Harlee, Nash and Gray are so lucky to have such a caring big brother who will always look out for them. So proud of you Luke!

Monkey Island- a Mom's Dream

Yesterday Erika and I took the kids to Monkey Island. It is a large room full of bounce houses and the kids loved it! I loved the fact that there were probably only 7other kids there. It was so clean and not crowded. Besides the fact that Nash and Gray both had dirty diapers within 5 minutes of our arrival, it was a blast. We stayed for a couple of hours and the babies came home ready for a long nap. I can guarantee we will be making a few more trips to Monkey Island this summer.

Big Boy Seat

I am not sure if I have mentioned it once or twice, but Gray is super opinionated. He is pretty quick to let you know how he is feeling about something. He has always disliked being in his highchair. Unfortunately we lost the buckle for the chair so keeping him in there is sort of a nightmare. The poor guy has fallen out a time or two. So for $3 at a garage sale I found a little booster seat complete with a buckle. Once we convinced Nash it was not for him, even though it had Toy Story on it, Gray was allowed to try it. It is the best $3 I ever spent. It has changed meal time for all of us. Gray is loving it and so are we! He feels like one of the big kids! Thanks lady by Thanksgiving Point for the bargain chair that is worth a million bucks! Well maybe not a million but close!