We only have 7 weeks of summer break which is 2 more than we had last year, but for some reason this year I feel like we've crammed a lot into our 7 week break, maybe it's because the baby adds a different dynamic or the two little boys together make things a bit more difficult. Whatever, we're having fun and enjoying a break from school. Although with the heat wave this week, I'm wondering why we can't wait for school to end so we can all hover together inside the air conditioned house to stay cool. ;) I am going to miss year-round school when the breaks allowed times for the kids to just go outside and play in the nice weather. . . thus I digress. Here is what we've been up to the last 3 weeks, really has it only be 3 weeks since school let out.
Ellie had music camp the 5th and 6th. Her piano teacher does this every July instead of regular lessons--it's so nice to have the break from regular lessons and practicing. She's working on a duet piece for August lessons.
The girls have been taking tennis lesson on Mon/Wed evenings. They enjoy tennis and I really could see us playing tennis together as a family as soon as Marcus can run and shag balls with Andrew ;) so it's a good skill I like them to keep up on.
Ellie has been doing some clinics for the mini-triathlon she is registered for the first weekend in August. We've never done the clinics before and thought we'd try it this year. When I went to register her I got $5 off the cost, a free bike helmet and the transition clinic is at Pizza Pie cafe where she can eat for free so we thought we'd try it and well we probably won't do the clinics again, but she is learning and getting excited for her event.
Russ and Carole were in Salt Lake working on one of their rental homes and came and spent a weekend with us. They brought Katie and Lexie which the kids loved spending the time with them, seriously they just played and played. It is always nice to spend time with Grandpa and Grandma Moore. The night they stayed with us Marcus slept until 4:30 am, but Andrew, bless him, woke up 2 times screaming so we finally moved Lila in with Ellie so Steve could sleep with Andrew. That kid really doesn't like to sleep any where but his crib (another story about this to come later).
The Stake put on an all day super hero camp for the Activity Day girls which I am currently a leader for. So the girls and I spent a half-a-day there and Steve was nice enough to watch the boys which was a much needed reprieve for me since Marcus was super fussy the day before and refused to nap or anything.
We left the next morning, Thursday for Idaho. We went by the Golden Spike National Park on our way. In Ellie's 4th grade program she sang a song about the two railroads and so we thought it would be fun to go see them and she also has a free park pass with the every kid in a park program this year. We got there in time to see the trains come out which Andrew thought was awesome.
We walked around the exhibits a bit and then went out to the Chinese arch dedicated to all the Chinese who worked on the railroads. Lila even read a little of the Chinese for us on the sign. :)
While in Idaho the kids enjoyed fishing, rowing, riding in Panca's boat (Andrew for some reason has decided that's Grandpa Buckley's name--he can say Grandpa, but always refers to him as Panca). Andrew got to drive the boat and when we got home he declared he was going to have his own boat to drive. ;) Saturday evening we went out to Oakley to see the Bump and Rub. It's a dirt road race with old cars where they bump and rub each other off the track. Panca road it in a couple of years ago. It was a lot of fun to watch, but it did not hold Andrew's attention (we thought it would be very entertaining for him). I think the dirt from the races irritated his throat more and he coughed himself into a fizzy that night, throwing up and barely sleeping. Andrew did not sleep well on this trip at all . . . out of his bed and who knows what will happen, but most likely not sleep. We took it easy on Sunday and when we got home I gave Andrew a breathing treatment, cough medicine and rubbed his feet with Vicks in hopes that he would sleep a bit. He woke up crying after a few minutes so Steve went up and laid with him on the queen bed in his room. He left him sleeping on that bed and then Andrew came out and said, "Dad I want to sleep in my own bed." So Steve went up and put him back in his crib. Crazy kid loves his bed. I took him to the doctor the next day who put him on antibiotic, he said after the bronchonoscopy and carrot in his lung it may just be a bit irritated and the dirt inflamed the situation. He's been sleeping like a champ in his own bed since then.
Oh--I forgot to mention that Steve managed to jump in the river in Idaho with his phone in his pocket--oops. He was meaning to get his phone replaced under warranty any way so he just had to use a temporary phone for a bit, which happened to be the phone we let Andrew play on a bit so Andrew kept saying, "Dad, I want my white phone back."
The girls did radkids this week (ressist and aggresssively defend r.a.d.). This is a crazy world we live in and the city provides this great program to teach the kids safety and how to resist and defend. It is good and even we as parents learn some extra things we can do to help protect our kids. Here they are on the graduation day getting certificates and wristbands. On this day they defended themselves against the redsuit guy (one of the officers geared up).
Andrew playing with Marcus and the legos while the girls were gone one morning. He also declared that Marcus is his best friend (it may be we just don't get out much with the two of them).
This week the kids are also doing swim lessons. In June I had debated put Andrew in a mommy and me class, but by the time I paid for the lesson and a sitter for Marcus it was as much as private lessons so I decided to just sign him up with the girls. . . it's been torture. The instructor has been awesome and working with him on back floating on his own, but Andrew screams, cries, and refuses to do it even though we all know he can. Finally yesterday he floated by himself for 15 seconds. One of the moms for the kids after us walked in and was like, "He's doing it. That's great." That's what a stink he has been putting up--the other moms notice.
After Andrew putting up such a stink about swim lessons I decided we needed to take the kid swimming this weekend to make sure Andrew remembers how fun swimming is. And it so happens that my friend, April who moved to Japan last year is in town and invited us down to her parents house to swim this afternoon so we took the opportunity. She lives about 5 minutes away from Stephanie so we stopped in and visited with them for an hour and then headed over to swim. The kids had a blast playing and even Marcus got in to swim for his first time-didn't get a picture :(. Then we hurried home to get off to tennis lessons. The teacher moved one of the classes to this week so this week has really been insane, but there have been a few tender mercies with a few things getting shuffled, moved, etc and Steve taking today off--we love spending time with him! Summer fun keep on rolling!
We celebrated our independence from school on Friday, yes we made it. Andrew and I had planned to surprise all of the girls, Ellie, Lila, Maddie, and Cecily (our carpool friends) after school with silly string, but alas Andrew was still tired from his all nighter so he was sleeping when they got home. Everyone enjoyed a nice cold treat while we visited and then Andrew and I sprayed Ellie and Lila and then sent them outside with their own cans to spray and have fun.
Sunday we had a family home evening lesson about the 4th of July and gave just a quick synopsis of what took place at beginning of this great nation and we sang some patriotic songs--it was touching. That evening the Olenslagers invited us down to play a lawn game and have dessert so the girls made festive cupcakes to take. And we had a good time chatting and watching the kids play. Andrew came home talking about his friends and the teeter totter plane they played on. ;)
Monday we got up enjoyed red, white, and blue muffins and some eggs for breakfast before heading out to the Clearfield parade. I also was able to weed the garden and RVpad area--it has needed it bad, but I wanted to get out there in the morning while it's shaded and cool so I managed to sneak that in.
The kids decorated visors while we waited for the parade (the wait was not long, we got there right in time--we're figuring out the system for saving a spot, storing stuff in Steve's office, and parking right across the street at the Church). Lila was a little sad we wouldn't be hanging out with cousins this year (first time we haven't done that, but Mommy and Daddy are still recovering from a crazy week and we needed a little chill time). They passed out Madbrook Donuts at the beginning again
which is always a hit. Andrew was so excited to have his bag for candy. He wasn't
so good at the
gathering because he would get distracted by the eating, but the girls
were really good to share with him and look out for him
(last year he sat in the stroller and enjoyed the parade--occasionally
people would give him a handful of candy). There was also this cool little fire truck driving around squirting the crowd.
Andrew got a little bored in the middle so I pulled out the bubbles and he tried to get his sisters with them. :)
After the parade I fed Marcus in the office while the kids drew on the white boards in Steve's office (Ellie got to wear USA earrings--changing her earrings is new she just got to start doing that and she needs some practice and patience that's a whole other story).
Then we went to Habit Burger to use the kids certificates for free kids meals they got for perfect attendance. Then we went home let the kids watch a movie while we relaxed. Then we had a yummy piece of cheesecake (also festive).
Then Andrew and Lila took a nap (necessary since we were planning on going back for the firework show). Steve worked on the sprinklers while I whipped up dinner. After a late nap we had pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, grapes and chips (I love me a good bbq meal although we had a lot of food--leftovers the rest of the week ;). Then the kids went out and played in the bike car wash, swing, jump on the trampoline oh and Andrew helped himself to the raspberries. We bathed them put them in pajamas then went back to Steve's office to chill and wait for the fireworks. They watched a Phineas and Ferb episode (we thought it was fitting since our summer just started) then we went out to the lawn area we had reserved. Marcus was a little fussy before the fireworks, but as soon as they started he just sat there watching. :)
It was a late night, but we had fun together, celebrating the way we wanted to, which is definitely something to celebrate--freedom.
Last night I put out some carrots, celery and peppers for the kids to eat, as I often do, while Steve and I finished making dinner. Yes, he was home in time for dinner because I called him and said that Andrew hadn't napped and Marcus hadn't taken more than a 45 minute nap and I thought I might lose my mind so he came home to help with dinner. Andrew was devouring the carrots and he got down without us realizing that he hadn't finished eating them. And as he does he went and climbed on something and fell down. He made a kind of crying noise, but as soon he stood up where I could see him I could tell something was wrong and I turned the stove off and Steve and I both rushed over and he started coughing bits of carrots out. He couldn't quite get the coughing under control, we gave him a drink and then kind of moved on with dinner. Towards the end of dinner I could hear him wheezing and it made me nervous so I started googling, "wheezing after choking" and everything I read said to seek medical help. I talked with Steve about it and he didn't think it was that big of a deal, but I couldn't let it go and I definitely didn't want to put him to bed wheezing thinking that he might stop breathing without us noticing. So at 7:40pm I decided to take him to the Tanner Clinic Urgent Care that closed at 8pm. We snuck in and the doctor walked in the room and could hear the wheezing and said, "has he ever had any asthma symptoms before?" I explained he choked on a carrot earlier that evening and the doctor got real serious, looked in his mouth and said I can't see anything and a carrot is not going to dissolve, you need to go straight to the ER, no running, no jumping we don't want that to dislodge and cause more problems. I recommend you go to McKay Dee or Primary because they're better equipped for these young ones. He said I won't call you an ambulance, but if he stops breathing or loses consciousness while you are driving, pull over and call 911. I was a little in shock and called Steve and said what do I do. He said, "well if that's what the doctor says then you should go." Keep in mind he has some clients who were on their last night in China and he was trying to help them get things running and it was supposed to be a long night for him with them so he had a full plate.
In the back of my mind I thought I should go to Primary because they are just awesome, but then a part of me thought this was still not a big deal and Lila has had a few procedures done at McKay Dee that went well I'll just go there. So we headed there. The nurse who took his vitals and checked us in got a kick out of all the questions Andrew was asking and enjoyed visiting with him. The nurse asked all the normal questions including the one about smoking that Andrew answered yes too. So the nurse laughed and asked him how many packs a day and Andrew without hesitating said, "4". Good times.
After waiting 45 minutes they called us back and the doctor came right in, he was the first one in our room. He listened to his right lung and then the left and I could see the concern on his face as he moved it around the left side more. He said I'm pretty sure there's something in the left side so I want to do an x-ray. We went and did that which takes 30 minutes to develop so more waiting. While that was happening the Child Life Specialist came and checked on us and gave Andrew a car, blew bubbles with him and he honestly was so wound up, talking everyone's ear off and asking all sorts of questions like, "what this? what's that? what does that do". He learned so much that later that night he pointed up to the monitor and said, "that's my heartbeat." He had every nurse and doctor push their walkie talkie buttons and they all obliged him and said things like, "Beam me up Scottie" and the walkie talkie would respond with appropriate noises.
The doctor assigned to us came back with another doctor and said the x-ray didn't show anything, but I want to get a second opinion and I just want him to listen to your son without me explaining what's going on and see what he says. The new doctor did the same thing, listened to the right then moved to the left got concerned and moved it around. He concurred that there was definitely something stuck in there. They decieded to send us to Primary because they are just better equipped to deal with this in such young kids (ugh--kick myself for not just going there). Then the doctor went on to say, "now the great medical question of the night, do I let you drive, do I send you in ambulance or by helicopter." I got emotional. It was almost 10:30pm, my phone was dead and to hear we might be sent by ambulance or helicopter to primary. I asked what they would do there and he said they will sedate him and go in and retrieve the carrot. I called Steve from the hospital phone while a social worker brought me a charger to borrow for my cell phone. I knew Steve was still busy with work and the girls still had school in the morning and Marcus . . . so I said, I'll just call someone to come get us when we're done, but I should call them now to give them a warning so I'm not disturbing someone at 3:30am. We talked about who to call and so many names to came to us, we knew my Mom & Dad would drive down in a heartbeat, my sister, Steve's sister in salt lake, my cousin down the street and a lots of loving friends in the neighborhood. Steve said, let's call your sister, "Nessa". So I did. I could tell I woke her up, but I explained what was going on and she said, "I'm gonna head down to your house. I'll stay with the kids and do what you need so Steve can come be with you." And in that moment I knew she was right, that was what I needed. So I called Steve and told him my sister was on her way, gave him a list of things I needed him to bring: Andrew's blanket and stuffed animal, diapers and wipes, charger, nursing pads and the pump etc. Then I told him I would text him when we left in the ambulance so he could meet us at Primary Children's Hospital. So he frantically worked hard on the China stuff hoping to wrap things up before he had to go. I managed to get Andrew to fall asleep for almost an hour while we waited.
Then the EMT and Ambulance driver arrived and asked if I could go get his carseat so I did (miracle I could unlatch that thing). He was not happy to be awakened and I was glad he could be in his own carseat and I could ride with him to comfort him.
I sent Steve a text saying we were in the ambulance. He beat us to Primary by about 10 minutes. I told Andrew that Daddy was at the hospital waiting so he kept looking out the back windows saying, "that's not my daddy" (One of his favorite books is "That's not my tractor"). They were ready for us when we arrived and started taking vitals and stuff. Andrew was so happy to see Daddy when he came back.
Andrew was so tired it was past 1am, he hadn't napped that day and he only slept an hour at McKay Dee. The nurse checked him, the doctor came in and then the NP of the surgeon came in and they determined that he was stable (his oxygen levels had been fine all night) and they would sedate him and do a bronchoscopy to retrieve the carrot. They said he can't eat or drink so they wanted to do an IV which was torture--he was so tired and it freaked him out, but once that was done and all of the paperwork they finally transferred us into a rapid release unit at 2:30am with beds so we could try and sleep. Andrew finally conked out on Steve and didn't even wake when they came in and out taking his vitals. Steve and I were lucky if we got 1.5 hours of sleep. I woke up at 5am when Andrew cried a little and couldn't really go back to sleep so I plugged my phone in, said another prayer, many had been going through my mind all night, but this was the first quiet chance I had to really pray. Then I sent my Mom and Dad the following text "Andrew
took a ride in an ambulance last night to primary children's hospital
and is having a broncho procedure this morning at 6:30. He choked on
some carrots at dinner and then was wheezing so I took him to urgent
care who sent me to McKay Dee ER who called the ambulance to take us to Primary. There is some carrot in his left lung- Oxygen levels are fine
so they waited until this morning to do the procedure. Venessa's at the
house with the other kids. It's been a long emotional night a few extra
prayers would be appreciated." They managed to send back notes of love right before Andrew was wheeled down to the surgery area at 6am (they let Steve stay on the bed with him so we would be comfortable).
The doctor and anesthesiologist came in and spoke with us which made me nervous and emotional again. The risks were minimal, but with any anesthesia there is risk. They sedated him a little so he wouldn't panic to be leaving us and then they showed us to the waiting room where we waited for what felt like an eternity. A little before 7 am the surgeon came in and said everything went well, Andrew is doing good and they'll come get us soon. He showed us the pesky little piece of carrot that caused the whole adventure and I couldn't believe how small it was, I was kind of expecting a half of a carrot or at least 5-6 of those small pieces, but the surgeon assured me he made sure his airway was clear and all was well.
It felt even longer to wait another 15 minutes for them to come get us and finally the desk phone rang and I had noticed the sign before that said please answer the phone if receptionist isn't present. So I sent Steve to answer the phone and was surprised to hear him say, "This is he." They said Andrew was awake and we could come back (I was a little upset we weren't there when he woke up). He was crying and very upset. The nurse was trying to unhook him from all of the monitors.
I asked the nurse some questions I forgot to ask the surgeon, like if he needed a special diet and if he could take tylenol/advil for pain. She said no special diet, but they wouldn't release him until he was drinking and feeling better. She offered to give him some pain meds through his IV and I said let's wait. After another 15 minutes I asked if we could give him some tylenol so she got some oral tylenol that I gave him because at that point he had asked if I would hold him. I carried him back to our room (which I'm glad I did because the lady driving the bed this time kept running into walls). Once we were settled back in the room I tried to relax on the bed with him and he screamed, "no laying on the bed. I want to sit in that chair." I think he was afraid of what might happen in that bed again. So I held and rocked him in the chair while he slept for 30 minutes. He woke-up we turned on a show and he started to come back to life. He downed a whole cup of milk and then moved onto the juice they gave him after surgery. I ordered him up some breakfast which he insisted have blueberries so they were nice enough to put some blueberries in his pancakes and may I add the food came fast. After I ordered I went and told the nurse he was doing well and we were ready to start the discharge process and the food was there when I got back.
The nurse came in gave us our paperwork and said whenever he was done eating and ready to go we could take off. Andrew was so excited to be going home. He told the tech, "I'm going home. My Dad's going home. And my Mom's going home." He wanted to make sure we were all leaving. I carried out the carseat we had taken for the ambulance ride, but Steve had put one in his car too (we didn't know he would be using one in the ambulance) so when we got to the car I put the carseat in the trunk and Andrew kind of panicked and said, "I don't want to ride back there." We laughed and said there's a different carseat in the car buddy. . . poor guy just didn't know what to expect any more. I was glad he fell asleep pretty quickly in the car to get some more rest.
Steve drove straight to McKay Dee where I got the van and then headed to pickup Marcus from Venessa's house (she took him back there after getting the girls off to school). When I got home I found them like this.
We kept it low key this evening because we are so tired. We ate mac&cheese and leftovers, watched Kung Fu Panda 3 and chilled together. Andrew is definitely back to his crazy self for better or worse. ;) This evening the Urgent Care doctor called to check on Andrew. It was so kind of him--he said he saw us right at the end of the day yesterday and was worried about Andrew and wanted to see how it all turned out. Steve said, "my wife was right to be concerned and stick with it. We're thankful it all worked out"
I remember going to the Mountain Home Airshow as a kid. I remember how amazing it was to watch the Blue Angels fly. We've lived near a military base are whole married life. As a matter of fact when we moved from Tucson to Layton lots of people asked if we were transferring with the military. We had talked about going to an airshow in Tucson, but the year the Blue Angels came Ellie was a baby and it was super hot and then, as life gets, we just never went. Two years ago we were driving to Idaho when we happened to see the planes in the air. We pulled over and watched a few of the shows and the kids thought it was great so I put it on my calendar to checkout the show in two years when it came back and so this event has been on the calendar for two years and we've been talking about. The week was super hot and we are a little tired with school still going, Steve's been working crazy long hours again, and all of our super Saturday activities so we weren't for sure if we were really going to make it up. We woke up slow and got breakfast going. Lila was dressed and ready when Steve and I came out of our room and said, "Are we going to the airshow." I downloaded the airshow app and we looked at the schedule. The weather cooled off quite a bit and was only going to get up in to the 80s so we decided to go. We decided to ride the UTA bus in so we didn't have to worry about parking and exiting etc. It was smooth getting onto base and went quickly. I knew there would be security measures, but did not expect lines and lines of hundreds of people waiting to get in. To be completely honest a part of me thought turn around and go home or just sit out here and watch what you can, but we persevered.
I sent a picture to my parents saying, "Post 9-11 security measures. We didn't do this as kids, right?" Dad, "Nope. We walked right onto base and went right up to the airstrip." I remember standing right next to the strip and looking up to see the planes. Today we waited and the kids were good. We could see the planes flying around while we waited and that was fun. Andrew kept clapping and getting excited.
Right as we got through security the Breitling Jet Team was performing and it was the show I was aiming to be there to see so we enjoyed it as we walked closer and closer to the air strip. The firework finale was great.
They walked through a plane and sat in cockpit replica.
Picture for memory sake.
Once we got around the hanger, I noticed the front side of it had a few feet of shade so we squeezed in between a few people. The shade continued to grow as the sun moved so we really enjoyed our little haven to watch the show (if only we had brought in chairs, but with the stroller and baby gear we had enough to carry so we chilaxed on the cement). If you look to the far background on the right of the picture with Marcus you can see the Thunderbirds parked.
It was a mass exodus after the show (I knew it would be--why they don't put the Thunderbirds in the middle of the day so people can come and go at different times--I don't know). So Steve took the girls shopping for a bit (Ellie had been begging to keep looking around, but with the little boys we just wanted to stay put while it was crowded). They came back with their treasures and we decided to leave. We turned down the wrong street and ran into the shuttle lines--nightmare trying to navigate with the stroller we eventually folded it up, crossed the street and then began our journey back to UTA pick-up only to find a mile long line--seriously took us a 1.5 hours to get back on the bus. It was frustrating and disappointing that it would take that long. Steve pointed out that if we drove in to park even though we would be in a long line to get out (they did give priority to the buses getting in and out of there) we would be in AC and the kids could watch a movie. It's all good though, the kids were really patient and good and the baby was a trooper. They can't stopping talking about how awesome it was and zooming their planes around. Steve and I are a little worn out--this event produced the longest lines and wait out of any of our Super Saturday activities.
Ellie says her favorite was the two bi-planes that did a show together called Dog-Fight. Lila said the Thunderbirds were her favorite. Andrew's favorite was the show with pyrotechnics because it made a sound like a gun (crazy boy). I tease him because it was the show with the female pilot. ;) He was super excited after that performance and was talking excitedly about the planes and the lady sitting next to us smiled and said, "I love the excitement." So I guess the point is as parents we know the work it takes to get to and from the event, the kids they just remember the fun . . .so here's to another FUN Super Saturday! Peace out.
Doug & Joddy came to Provo for summer camps with their kids and they are always so nice to carve out some time to get together with us. This year we had planned to go to Snowbird to do the Alpine Slide and the Coaster and other summer activities they have there and were really looking forward to it, but as I was coordinating with the group ticket salesman I came to realize that day was also "Brewfest" and it would be quite crowded which bummed us out a little bit we were excited about doing something new, but adjusted our plans and still had a wonderful time. We ended up at 7 Peaks in Salt Lake with Doug, Stephanie, & Steve and their families. We setup chairs and tents in a shaded area and the older kids took off to play. Andrew and Steve did a slide together then Lila and Ellie went down a slide with Steve. We took Andrew over to the little tot pool to see what it was like while Ellie & Lila did the wave pool while we waited for Doug and his family to arrive. Then Sydney, Ellie, & Lila took off together and had a great time.
Lila came back and relaxed for a bit while the other two kept playing. The oldest cousin Ethan was nice and asked Andrew what he wanted to do and they soon became fast friend. There was lots of sliding and trips around the lazy river--even in double tubes.
Marcus and I stayed in the shaded area most of the day and he was quite the trooper, eating and napping. I laid him on a towel at one point so I could reapply sunscreen on the kids and he loved all the people coming by and talking with him.
After we stopped and grabbed a hamburger at Apollo Burger and Doug & Joddy and their family did too. Andrew was so excited to see Ethan again, he said, "you here too, yay!" The girls sat at a table chatting and eating and all of the boys sat at a table doing boy things (they were really well behaved considering there was 5 of them) and eating. Then the adults sat at one table chatting a bit. It was a fun day. I remember loving to spend time with my cousins as a kid and admiring my older cousins so I really enjoyed seeing my children interact with their cousins and even some of the cousin stardum happening for Andrew.
