4th of July

This year for the 4th of July we went down to my sister's house in Bountiful. First we went to the Centerville City Parade. It was very long and very hot, but the kids had a blast. They got tons of candy and treats and we adults just tried to stay cool in the shade of the vehicles and keep an eye on the kids. At the beginning of the parade the jets from Hill Air Force Base flew over, it was pretty cool!!

After the parade we went back to Becky and Randy's house where a few of their friends and families came over. We swam all afternoon and ate and ate and ate!! Of course the kids were in heaven. Lots of little ones to play with and in the water for hours on end, what an afternoon!



Once the sun went down and it was dark out, we did fireworks in the front yard. Zach, Emma and Zeke all took turns lighting the fireworks. Sam and Danni really wanted to try to help, but their overprotective and worry-freak of a mother would not let them. All I could see was blown up fingers and hands, so I made them just sit and watch.




What a great day we had. I'm so glad we have family close to celebrate with. For now, we are looking forward to next year!!

Happy Forth of July

Cousin Time

I am so glad that we live relatively close to some of my kids' cousins. The kids get to see Zach, Sarah and Audrey - and pretty soon, the new baby - pretty frequently. During the school year, it is not as frequent, just because everyone is so busy. But during the summer they get to visit a lot. Yesterday the kids and I drove the grand prix down to Bountiful and stayed the night and Becky's. We drove the car so that Randy and Becky's mechanic could look at the car. We were planning to give the care to Katie and Rodney and it needed a few things done to it.

So the kids were able to play with each other and most of all....SWIM. My girls were SOOOOOO excited to finally be able to swim this summer. They swam and swam and swam and swam until they were soooo tired. Rock got in with the girls for a little while, but cried the whole time. I really thought he would like the pool because he LOVES his bathtime. He and I later just sat on the edge of the pool and put our feet in. He did enjoy that.

On Tuesday, it was more swimming - of course!! They loved it!! We found out that day the car was dead. The head gasket (?) blew and the engine seized. It was a sad day. The car wasn't worth much, but we really wanted to help Katie and her family. Allen came down after work that night to pick the kids and I up and we brought Sarah home with us (Zach didn't want to come with all the girls!) We'll keep her with us the few days and then we are going back down to celebrate the 4th at Bec's house! It is GrEaT that we have cousins so close!!

P.S. I think the sickness is finally starting to catch up to me. I've had a tickle in my throat with a cough and I'm starting to lose my voice!!

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Grandpa Les

Five Years of Sobriety!!

Five years ago this month, our family went through a very trying time. At that time I had known about Allen's drug and alcohol use for about a year, and we had been working together to get him clean. After several relapses, he decided to check himself into a rehab center. On Monday, June 22, he celebrated FIVE YEARS of sobriety, what an amazing accomplishment. I witnessed the terrible things that addiction did to him, but I also have been able to see the wonderful changes that sobriety has made in him and to us. Addiction is an ugly disease, but with diligence and a constant effort, he has been able to overcome it. It is a daily effort and some days are more difficult than others, but he is doing it. I admire Allen for his dedication and perseverance to sobriety. I am so proud of him for being able to achieve all that he has and wanting to do more. As difficult as things were, we have grown closer and I have fallen in love with him over and over again. Congratulations Allen!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Allen! We had a great weekend and was able to spend some quality family time together. Allen's mom, Glenna, came down for the weekend and the kids love having Grandma visit. Luckily, I had the weekend off, which was great! We were able to do alot of family stuff.

I worked Thursday night, so Friday was one of those in and out of alertness days. Glenna got here Friday and she was so kind to let me go to lunch with friends without the kids!! It was so nice to have a little alone time. I understood that Allen had already asked her to sit with the kids while I met my friends, but later he said that he had told me that I should just ask Glenna if she would be willing to. So when she showed up I was under the impression that Allen had already talked to her and just started talking about what time I needed to leave. She was very nice about it and just asked, "what's going on?" I was rather embarrassed as we got it all sorted out, but she was great about the whole thing. She took the kids out on the town, which the girls absolutely love!! When Allen got off work, we went out to dinner. It was a nice day.

Saturday morning we went to breakfast and later that afternoon, we went to the Logan Art Festival. It rained on us the whole time, which made it not so much fun. They had some amazing things to see, but the rain just made it so hard to enjoy. We also had Allen open his gifts that day. We got him a two seater camping chair with umbrella and a new camera. I wasn't too sure how he would react to the camera. It is something we had talked about wanting, but I couldn't justify just getting it for no reason. I had bought quite a while ago and had just been hiding it for an occasion. He was actually really happy about it, which made me really happy.

Grandma Glenna left early Sunday morning. The kids were sad to see her go, but they had a lot of fun with her over the weekend and they were very spoiled by Grandma, as always. We were able to go to church as a family and after church we took a 4-wheeler ride up the canyon. We ended up getting rained on and had to turn around to come home. But it was alot of fun.

The girls are still enjoying summer school. Next week is their last week and they have liked having something to keep them busy. They are also helping me out with Rock so that I can get a little more sleep than usual. Allen and I are paying them and they think that is absolutely amazing!! We also are still enjoying our weekly missionary discussions. It is nice to have someone to answer our questions as they arise. Allen is doing well on his road of no smoking. He has difficult days, but he is doing awesome!! And no one has been sick for a few weeks!!

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Happy Birthday Grandpa Russ

Flag Day

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Cheeseburger without Cheese

So today has been an extremely busy day. I worked last night at the hospital (a 12-hour shift), my third shift in a row, got home this morning to find Rock with a rash all over and Sammi's "cold" getting worse. On top of that today was the first day of summer school, which both the girls are participating in. I called the doctor's office and made an appointment for Rock and Sam. We dropped Danni off at summer school and then went to the appointment.

After waiting for forever, we finally got out of there with a diagnosis of bronchitis for Sam and eczema for Rock. We had prescriptions to fill, but we were already running late to pick Danni up from school which was still 35 minutes away. We raced home to get Danni and then turned right around and headed back into town to pick up medicine. We also had to go to the eye doctor's office to get Bubba's glasses adjusted and Allen's contacts ordered. Then had to go the grocery store so that we had food in the house for dinner tonight. All of this remember with no sleep since 3:30 yesterday afternoon!!

On the way back into town I stopped through the McDonald's drive in to get the girls some lunch. I asked what they wanted and of course they both answer at once, so I was only able to half listen to either one. I heard Danni say "hamburger with no ketchup and yellow stuff, but with pickles". To make sure I understood her, I asked if she wanted cheese on her hamburger with just pickles. She looked at me, completely flabbergasted and with total Bubba attitude replied, "it wouldn't be a cheeseburger without cheese now, would it?" I just looked at her and started laughing and could not stop. I so wish I could have gotten that on video.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school, the girls are quite excited. A few weeks ago, Bubba told me she wasn't looking forward to summer because she wouldn't get to go to school anymore, but this morning she was rather happy about it being the last day of 1st grade. Sam has been counting down for summer since Spring Break, so of course she was overjoyed that today has finally come. Needless to say, they have both passed their current grades are moving on to 5th and 2nd grades!! (I am getting so old!!!)

 

 

 

 

School's Out

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The busy month of May

Wow, May was a crazy month. So much I wanted to write about, but never got the chance. The girls are busy with end-of-year activities and projects and Rock is just one BUSY little toddler man - so much harder than either of the girls at this age. Is it because I'm 10 yrs older or because he really is a handful?

I'm staying busy with both jobs still, but this month hasn't been quite as bad, only a few days at the nursing home. Allen is still doing well with his job and making alot of new friends. We also have the missionaries coming weekly to answer any questions and to teach us as a family. It has been great as we are trying to become active again. Also as we do family scripture study and don't know or understand something we read, we save it for our missionary visit. It has been really helpful.

Earlier this month I had to go to a recertification at the hospital. It was on a Friday midmorning, while the girls were at school and Allen at work. I had no idea what to do with Rock. I called my neighbor to see if she could help, but they were going out of town. So I called my wonderful visiting teacher, who was so eager and willing to help me out. She came over to our house and I was able to get Rock down for his nap before I left. I wasn't sure how he would handle it, I hadn't left him with anyone yet. He woke up before I got home, but Sister Thomas said he was great and just played with her. I can't tell you what a lifesaver she was. If I hadn't gone to the class at the hospital, I wouldn't have been able to work until I recertified. We are very lucky to have such great helpers around.

On May 14, I had to to take Rock in to Instacare. Of course, Thursday is the day he decides to get sick and that is the day Dr. Duke is out of the office. He ended up having croupe. He was really scary to listen to him struggling to breathe and not be able to do anything to help. The doctor at instacare said that if I hadn't been a nurse than he would have admitted him to the hospital, but because I knew "what to watch for and how to handle things", he would be okay at home. It was a little much pressure and quite a bit scary. I had to call in sick to work - doctor's orders! Luckily, after his breathing treatments he was breathing a lot better. The night went well and the awful "croupe" stridor was pretty well gone by the next evening.

We also were lucky enough to have Grandma Ruby visiting that weekend. Because Rock was so sick, he didn't warm up too quickly, but by the time mom left, he would willingly go to her and cuddle with her. I think that made her day. And of course the girls loved having Grandma here. They get to show off and get lots of attention. And they get Grandma to tickle their backs. They had their final dance review on the 16th while mom was visiting. And they were so excited to be able to show off their dance routines to Grandma Ruby. And as always, Becky and her family were there to support the girls. We can always count on them.

On THURSDAY (of course, again) the 21st, we ended up having to take Danni to instacare. She had been fevering, coughing and having runny nose. She ended up having had influenza that turned in to pneumonia. She missed almost two whole weeks of school. The awful illness just wouldn't let go. She was miserable! And then on the 28th (another Thursday) we had to take Rock back to instacare. This time he had pneumonia. He was miserable as well. So not fun having two sick kids to care for and working 12 hour night shifts with very little sleep in between. I was very surprised that I didn't catch anything. I was also very happy that Sammi didn't decide to get sick. Usually she catches everything that comes into the house!!

So now, the first week of June, everyone is feeling better - not 100%, but better. I am so looking forward to getting rid of all the sickness and get some normalcy back to life. What a CRAZY month!!!