~THRILLER~ 10/29/2008

I let Bailia walk around with my camera during intermission and these are a few of the shots that she got! Pretty good Sis! One of the other goblins took the camera to snap a shot with Bailia in it!

Last night we took the kids to Thriller out to Tuacahn and we all LOVED it! We actually had to leave early-being a school night with 3 acts left at 10:15 we figured it would be best to head home. We really wanted to stay to see the ending, but figured we wouldn't get home until midnight!

Crazy Hair and Star of the Week!! 10/29/2008

It is Red Ribbon Week at school this week. To make being drug free more exciting they have a different theme each day. Today was (as you can tell) Crazy Hair day! Jdog had a hard time at first, wondering if he should just take all of his ponies out, but decided it would be OK if people laughed! Bailia loved her wackiness! And Jada Mae looks very put together for being Crazy Hair!

So Matty has decided that the $100 Spaceman costume that he HAD TO HAVE is nothing compared to his AWESOME homemade $9 Super Fast Kid costume! So this Halloween as you see a SFK zoom by your house, know that there will be a BRAND NEW space costume on ebay for a great price!

The finished art work! 10/24/2008

Adam took the kids after school on Friday to pick up their finished pieces from Brushfire-I thought they turned out GREAT!!! Nice work kids!

San Fransisco!! 10/24/2008

I will post more when I get the pictures from Jen's camera too!

This is the view from our hotel room at the Four Seasons! Starting at 7am the church bell would ring every hour-I loved hearing it!

Jen and I on the Cable Car and on Fisherman's Wharf!

I was a little slow getting my camera out so I just got Gail's backside! But I did get a decent picture of Stacey!

So I decided to take my sister with me on the trip to San Fransisco that I won. I KNOW!! This is something that I never would have imagined myself doing. As most of you know I have NEVER left my kids and hubby-UNLESS I had to stay in the hospital overnight! Adam was the first to suggest taking my sis, then as the weeks went by I thought I might as well! So we went, we conquered, and we were SO glad to be home!!

San Fransisco is an interesting place-VERY dirty with a BAZILLION bums begging for money! Our first day there I had a man with no teeth, so drunk he could barley stand, grab my arm and ask me from the goodness of my heart to give him money! It is a city I really don't want to go back to, but I had a REALLY fun time and I am so thankful for the experience!

I must take a moment to THANK my awesome hubby! He was amazing this weekend! Taking care of the kids for three days is a LOT of work-especially if you are used to your wife doing most of the work. So thank you A for being such an AMAZING Daddy and WONDERFUL hubby! I would not have been able to leave our kids home without YOU! I love you!!

Koda Bear...10/23/2008

A hunting we will go...10/22/2008

We took the kids out in the hills the last day of the hunt-we didn't see much but we had a good time!!

Saving little bird....AGAIN! 10/23/2008

As the big kids were getting ready for school this morning Koda came in and said, "Mom come outside with me a bird just hit our window!"

A LOT of birds fly into our front window that is tinted, they must see the reflection behind them and it looks like nature then SMACK!!

Apparently the mind of a bird goes a little something like this-UUGGHH I just hit something hard, maybe if I lay here long enough the pain will go away, OOHH what is that beautiful light I see yes I must go toward the light. Then they die!

BUT, if you go out and pick them up and hold them for a few minutes they usually snap out of it and fly away! So this morning this little bird must have hit hard! Koda had held him long enough for J to shower and get dressed and he still didn't look like he was going to make it. We took him back outside to see what he would do and he just wanted to be held. Sweet J said a prayer for the little guy and Coop said now I know he will fly back to his family! Sure enough a few minutes later when we put him in the tree he flew to the next tree!!
Like they always say, to have the faith of a child....

BrushFire Fun 10/17/2008

With all of the kids out of school for Fall Break I told them we would have a "fun day" today. We started out with a yummy breakfast at Rise and Dine (their blueberry muffins are DELISH!!), then headed over to Brushfire to paint our own masterpieces! All three of them picked a dinner plate to paint, but Coop also wanted a little frog, so I painted his plate. Jaden went with a pirate theme for his plate, Bailia did stars and swirls, and I traced Koda's hand on his plate! We can't wait to see them finished (next week) to see the colors really pop!

Play-Dough 10/15/2008

Koda had the WHOLE week of school off for Fall Break, so we decided to make some play-dough! He love making it ALMOST as much as he loved playing with it!

Happy Birthday A!!! 10/14/2008

Happy Birthday to my sweet husband! I can't believe he is 36! Where does the time go?? I was excited that I FINALLY pulled off a gift that he had NO idea I had bought! I bought him a collectors edition John Wayne Winchester-and he was actually surprised! Every year he seems to find out what I try to keep secret and it drives me CRAZY! But not this year!! Happy Birthday Sweets!

Raptor Romp 2008

To PLAY the videos click on the big play button to blow it up then hit the Play button to start each video! :-)

SFK to the rescue! 10/10/2008

So, Koda informed me yesterday that he wished he had super powers like me. What kind of super powers do I have, I asked? He said I have great idea powers, and when I kiss an owie it makes it feel better. Although not the super powers I would want, I will take what I can get!
He continued to tell me that if he had powers like me he could go SUPER FAST and they would call him Super Fast Kid (SFK)!! He said his costume would be black with a lightening bolt on it with black gloves and a black mask! I was also informed that since I have super powers that he knew I could create a REAL super hero costume for him.
So today after I dropped him off at school I ran and bought a black top, black sweats, a black mask, and black gloves. Came home and used my super powers to create the "most amazing costume EVER" in the words of a four year old! The look on his face when he saw the costume was priceless! He put it on and said "NOTHING can stop me now!!", and continued to pose in "super hero" form!!

If only we were all so easy to please....

Bailia's First Oral Report! 10/9/2008

The Itsy Bitsy Spider....10/4/2008

We love going for walks in the canyon behind our house looking for golf balls. Through the years of walking we have seen many things-coyotes, snakes, a momma quail sitting on her nest, and now this is the second tarantula that we have found! I can't believe the kids were brave enough to hold it-YUCK!

Moving on up!! Way to go Sis! 10/6/2008

This past month has been a LONG one! Bailia has been tested, observed, and questioned over and over the last four weeks, and has now been moved to the 2nd grade!! It has been a LONG process, but I think it was all worth it! She is so excited she can't STAND it-A and I went into her classroom with the principal after our meeting with the district this morning to take her to her new classroom- Mrs. Turnbeaugh! We are all so excited and proud of Bailia-keep up the good work Sissy Doo!!

Thomas S Monson...

I sat with tears rolling down my checks as I listened to the Prophet speak in Conference this morning. What a wonderful man! You know when you hear some of the speakers and you say to yourself- WOW that was for me-I really needed to hear that-His talk today did that to me! I can't remember it word for word but it is one talk I will watch, read, and listen to over and over again. I know how fast time is going by, our kids are growing up much too quickly. I would like to make everything slow down-looking back at old photos this past week feeling like it was yesterday, knowing that it was YEARS ago! Then hearing President Monson's talk telling us that change is inevidible, but to ENJOY right now and find JOY in the JOURNEY-love, hug, and thank your kids, husband, parents! The laundry can wait (as I sat folding laundry) the toys scattered all over the house are unimportant. Love, cherish and be grateful for the most important things we have in our lives-our FAMILY!
The past two weeks recovering from surgery has left me with a lot of time to think. I know I do not tell my sweet husband nearly enough how much I LOVE and appreciate all that he does for me. I love the way he loves me UNCONDITIONALLY! He always tells me how hot I am, even when I look atrocious! He would do anything for me and without him in my life I would be lost. I love you A- THANK YOU for taking care of me, loving me, and being my best friend! Thank you for going through this journey that we call life with me! We have created many wonderful memories, have three happy, healthy children, and I could not have said I DO to a better person to travel through this joyful journey with!

Surgery...9/22/2008

I am sure you have all been waiting on the edge of your seat to hear how the surgery went. Honestly, just skip over this post because it really just is for journaling purposes (one of these days I am going to print this blog) .
The day before surgery is always tough, knowing what the diarrhea in a bottle holds in store makes it hard to eat anything. Saturday, I had one slice of pizza for lunch, then a bowl of cereal for dinner. The day of the surgery prep I had one slice of toast. Drinking the 10.5 ounces of the magnesium citrate is as bad as I remember, and although not eating much for two days before helps, it is still a nightmare!
Monday morning comes and as I am getting the kids kids ready for school Bailia says- Mom do you think you will finally feel better after this surgery? I sure hope so I tell her. She said so do I, but the other two surgeries didn't do anything, so I was just wondering. Being weak and nervous makes me extra emotional and I started to cry silently.
Just before getting to the kids school to drop them off Jaden breaks down crying. What is the matter, I ask. He said, I just get so scared when you have surgery. Trying to hold myself together (thank goodness for sunglasses) I tell him it will be ok-just make sure you bring me a treat when you come to visit after school! Which for some reason calmed him down.
Then I run to pick up A then we take Koda to school-as I am talking to Grandma Smith about not knowing who would pick him up -she starts crying and throws her arms around me. She said you are so lucky to have these three beautiful children! What if you would have waited to have kids? Would you only have the one or two? OR would you have been able to have any at all? That thought has gone through my mind many times-but having someone say it with so much love for all three of my children made me even more grateful for my babies!
The hospital was cold-why is it always so cold?? They took my blood, hooked me to an IV and we waited for what seemed like forever-although it was a two hour shorter wait than when I had my hysterectomy! I don't know why I had been so nervous this time? Knowing how my last surgery went, it being too soon after my last, or the fear of STILL not feeling good after? I don't know, maybe a combination of them all.
Soon it was time, and I was taken up to the OR. The anesthesiologist was AMAZING ( I get really sick and he gave me EXTRA anti-nausea medicine an dit helped SO much) Everything that I had feared from my last surgery didn't happen! I had been given a little shot of something right before going into the OR to help me relax-NICE! Then when they moved me on to the COLD operating table it was like being in the middle of a beehive-there were nurses EVERYWHERE-(just what one wants when they are about to be spread eagle, with their belly filled full of gas, and being sliced open-GREAT!) But honestly at that point I was so relaxed-I didn't care! Then they placed the mask over my face (which I HATED last time because of the bus exhaust gas they had given me before being knocked out last time)-they had to tell me to breath -it is just oxygen I remember them saying-I didn't even know I had been holding my breath!
Waking up was SO different than my hysterectomy-my insides didn't spasm-so far so good! The plan had been to stay overnight for observation because of my last recovery being so bad-but I did so well they sent me HOME! But before doing so I made a FOOL of myself saying whatever drunken thing came to mind! I remember bits and pieces, and that is enough for me! The recovery nurses kept saying come over and listen to her she is so nice and funny! At least I am good for a laugh when I come out of surgery :-)
I had three incisions in my belly-one to the left of my belly button about an inch long, one in my bellybutton, and one to the right of my belly button that is about two inches. They removed my right ovary which had my bowels and intestines scarred to it. They also removed a lot of scar tissue on my intestines and my left ovary, but they were able to save the left ovary.
The recovery from this surgery was HORRIBLE! I hate being waited on-I do the waiting-but this surgery I HAD to be waited on! It was actually really nice, but at the same time made me feel like I should be doing it. I am just now (two weeks tomorrow) starting to feel better! Thank you to everybody that helped me during this time (you know who you are) without you I don't know what I would have done!