FUNNY THINGS!

This morning the kids were out swinging and Carly started counting as she swung. One, two, three, four . . . you get the idea. As she got to nine Jonathon jumped in and said "Ten". I looked at him astonished. I didn't know he knew how to count to ten. I thought maybe it was a fluke. I looked at my friend who was over for verification and yep, she heard it too. Carly didn't stop there, she went on. Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen . . . yep, you guessed it, Jonathon intervened with "Fifteen." I was really shocked this time. He's not even two yet and I haven't been working on his numbers with him. I didn't think Grandma and Grandpa had either. None of his sisters had been. I double checked on all of those later and no one had been.

This cute little smarty pants just picked it up from either Carly or one of his learning cartoons. Julie wanted to hear him do it tonight and on his own he counted to twenty for her. Funny things happen sometimes when you aren't looking!

TODAY'S PLAY

Today was fairly low key. The kids played out back for awhile this morning and then, of course, we had to go over and play with the new puppy. When we got there the puppy was already worn out from the three kids who live with him having been mauling him all morning. That, however didn't stop my two from joining in. We moms finally saved the puppy by locking him in his kennel so they couldn't get to him. After a lunch of macaroni and cheese and hotdogs we came home and took some great naps.

Not much happened the rest of the day. It's too hot to do much of anything. Can't wait for a cool break!

A LONG RIDE

Took a really long ride today with a friend, her kids and my youngest two. She had to drive four hours one way to pick up a new puppy she bought for her family and needed a travel companion or three. Lol! It was a fairly last minute decision but we hopped in and went for the ride. It wasn't too bad considering we had five young children with us (and a puppy) on the way back! Eight hours of driving and talking, refereeing was maybe just what we needed today! Night all.

RANDOM PICTURES

Here are some family photos taken recently. Just thought I'd share.

ME AND MY LITTLE ONES

Just a couple of cute photos my Uncle Seth took while they were visiting. I love these pictures but I love these little cuties much, much more!

HAPPY PIONEER DAY

Today is the 24th of July, the day the saints first entered the Salt Lake Valley. Utah celebrates it as a state holiday called Pioneer Day. Since it fell on a Sunday this year the big celebration will be tomorrow. There will be a parade and fireworks. Most businesses are closed or the ones that are opened are having big sales.

We had a few friends and some family members over tonight for treats and we set off some fireworks in our backyard. The kids loved them. The dogs loved them even more. We have these 2 incredibly crazy dogs who love to chase and bite at fireworks. They are half the entertainment.

It's still outrageously hot here--and everywhere I guess. I sure hope it cools down soon. Have a nice week everyone!

SWIMMER KIDS

Julie and I took Carly and Jono swimming at Megan's apartment pool this morning. They had a really good time and I was surprised at how brave they both were about getting in the water. They both got in, stayed in and even tried paddling in the water with their sister holding them up. I can't believe how fast they are growing up.

Rob spent the day working on his shed and got quite a bit done. Grandma and Grandpa just hung out at the house. I think they were working some kind of project. It's really too hot to be outside for very long unless you are in water. But then I'm sure you know that!

That's all folks! :)

GAH!

I've been trying to load a video I want to show you for two days now and it won't load! I hate that. I'm going to have to get someone more technical than me to help figure it out!

Today was a good day. I got my hair permed which only took 3 hours (yikes!)since I chose to have it done at a beauty school. Of course it cost only a third of what it would have had I gone to a salon. Guess it's a trade off.

We had a fun time tonight with some friends over. We have set up our area behind the house with a firepit near the creek. (We waited until later in the evening when it had cooled off a bit.) We roasted hot dogs and had s'mores. It was relaxing and just nice to have some time with friends.

Well, not much else happened today. Hoping to get a little more done tomorrow.

MY LITTLE FLOUR GIRL

While Seth and Sally were visiting us, I decided to make bread one day. Carly decided she needed to help. She actually was a pretty good little helper but I'm not sure if we ended up with more flour in the dough or more flour on Carly. What do you think? Lol! 

MY CUTIE PIES

My Uncle Seth took these pictures of Julie and Jonathon and I just think these are adorable. Of course, it's hard for them not to be when the subjects are so cute! I totally love these two cutie pies!                 

MY HEART TOOK A PICTURE

Today I took Julie to have her Senior pictures taken and I was just sitting and watching as they posed her and took the pictures when a wave of emotion came over me. I just looked at Julie and she was so beautiful sitting there. I had a million emotions going on. It's her last year at home before college and it's going to be so hard to have her go but honestly, she just looked more beautiful than I had ever seen her and my heart took a picture. My first little girl is almost all grown up and I love her more than I can say!

HOT AS HAITI!

We are having a heat wave! It got to nearly 100 degrees today! Even around 7:00 p.m. tonight it was still 95 degrees. Although, I guess this is happening all over the country so I shouldn't complain too much.Besides going to church all we did all day was try to stay cool! Not much else going on.

Grandma made a really nice dinner of meatloaf, baked potatoes, and broccoli casserole. It was a good thing she decided to cook because all I had on my mind were chocolate chip cookies and I'm pretty sure that's what everyone would have gotten for dinner and not just dessert!

Julie is getting her Senior pictures taken tomorrow. It's all going way too fast. But then, I've told you that before. I caught her making a list of things she needed to take with her to college tonight. I think she's a little ahead of herself. I told her she needed to be finding and filling out scholarship apps first. Probably the next step would be to apply to different colleges, huh? Anyway, someone is getting very excited to be all grown up!

Well, better get myself to bed. Have a great Monday!

TODAY

The highlight of the day today was Rob and Julie getting free passes to the new Harry Potter movie. Our insurance agent bought out the theatre and gave his best customers free seats and treats. I only RSVP'd for two because I am not into Harry. They had a great time, although they really hated the ending where Harry commits suicide. KIDDING. JUST KIDDING. I don't know anything about the movie at all. Lol! Just trying to get your goat!

I lost my patient today. I've been taking care of Steve, Rob's brother the last couple days. He had hernia surgery on Thursday but he felt like he could go home today.

Julie finally started actually working her new job. They had her waiting for her uniform to come for a couple of weeks. So during that time they weren't even training her or anything. She is actually working hours now and doing on the job training. She likes it but is nervous at the same time.

Grandma and Grandpa are doing fine. Nothing new going on. More later.

JONO AND HIS BEST FRIEND, TASHIE

We have this wonderfully sweet black lab named Tashie (short for Natasha) that the kids adore. She puts up with all kinds of abuse from them. By abuse, I mean they love to climb on her, sit on her and most of all they love to ride her. She is unbelievably patient and loving with them. She never ceases to amaze me. These are the most recent pictures of her being patient with Jonathon. Yep, he's actually riding her, holding onto her collar like it's bridle. She didn't act like she was bothered by it at all. Although, I don't let him do it often or for long. He is a character for sure!

Julie watching as Jonathon rides Tashie

T*H*U*R*S*D*A*Y

Spent the morning taking my brother-in-law in for planned hernia surgery. His surgery went well and we now have him recuperating in our home, along with his 7 and 10 year old. Carly and Jonathon are definitely enjoying having their cousins here.

I think I've seen the inside of enough hospitals now to last me for quite a while. Rob is still doing well, although he chose to remove his remaining stent himself. Gah! Sounds too painful to me--(and actually, I think it was a lot more painful than he expected.)

Had a nice evening with family tonight. Grandma and Grandpa are doing great. Nothing else much is happening here. Take care.

SHE'S GROWING UP SO FAST

My serious girl

My quiet girl

My dancing girl

My shy girl

My baby girl, my heart

THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Can't remember if I told you about our trip to a kid's clothing store the other day. It was a consignment store and they were having a sale. Julie, Carly and Jono were with me so I thought we would make a quick stop and look at what was on sale. Unfortunately, I forgot they had toys in there, too. We were handling the kids pretty well until they found this set of rocking horses. They were for sale and they didn't really want kids riding them. There was a sign in the toy area not to leave your children unattended. Julie and I were trying hard to watch them and when they got on these we immediately started trying to get them off. NO GO. They started throwing fits. It was easier to let them ride for a minute than to fight. When we insisted and tried pulling them off, Carly got off, but Jono held on so tight we ended up lifting the rocking horse in the air with him. We finally peeled him off and Julie headed for the car with the kids and I headed for the cash register to pay for the clothes I'd picked up.

It's going to be quite some time before these two kiddos get to go bye-bye again. What a day! Yikes!

UNBELIEVABLE!

We were awakened by a phone call from the doctor's office telling us that Rob's procedure had to be put off until Wednesday because the Tech who had to run the machine for the Lithotripsy (sp) wasn't available until then. Rob questioned the Dr. and was told this was the only tech in the state. It wasn't until Rob told the doctor he was going to call the hospital and see what he could set up on his own that the doctor decided he might be able to do something.

Funny thing, within about fifteen minutes both the hospital and the doctor found another tech to run the machine. The really frustrating part is that this tech has his own machine. This could have happened LAST WEEK!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

Really not happy with this doctor!

The good news is that the stones have now been blasted to smithereens. Hoping and praying they will now pass quickly. Thanks for the prayers.

OUR SUNDAY

Rob is still pretty miserable with his kidney stones. I'm so glad they are going to obliterate them tomorrow. Hopefully they will pass quickly after that. Poor guy has been doing this for more than a week now. He goes in at noon tomorrow and his procedure is at one. Prayers are invited and welcomed!

Julie, Carly and I went to church. Rob and Jono hung out at home with Grandpa and Grandma.

Grandma made us Hot Chicken Salad for dinner. It was yummy! Carly even asked for seconds. I think she is having a growth spurt because she seems to be eating more the last couple weeks. Seems like she goes forever on nothing and then all the sudden has the appetite of a moose! Lol!

Well, not much else going on. I will keep you posted on Rob's kidneys. Night all.

SCENES FROM JONO'S TIE SHOOT

Mom helping me work out my last minute nerves . . .

Hanging with the group . . .

Hey, what you doin'?

A LITTLE PROGRESS

Rob has felt a little better today, not a whole lot but enough to tell a little difference. We'll take it. He does have a Sonic Disruption procedure set for Monday. Hopefully that will help him get rid of these huge stones. Poor Rob has just been so miserable. I can't wait until he feels better.

Grandpa and Grandma did some running around today. I think it always does Dad good to get out, although, it does tire him.

Well, not much else going on here. Night all.

AS THE STOMACH TURNS . . .

Or something like that . . .

Rob is still feeling pretty miserable today. Sure hoping he will pass these stones and start feeling better soon. They are really large and he will most likely have to have a Sound Distruption but that isn't available until Monday. So, we wait. No fun, quite frustrating and extremely uncomfortable for Rob!

Not much else going on here. Night all.

SOME CRAZY DAYS

Well, the last three days have been kind of crazy. On the fourth of July Rob woke up vomiting around 4 a.m and was sick like that for several hours. He seemed to snap out of it around noon and other than not having much of an appetite seemed to be better. That is until around 7 p.m. when it started all over again but with rib and back pain. It finally hit him what was going on. He realized he was passing a kidney stone. So, instead of shooting off fireworks as planned, we headed to the ER just as Seth and Sally headed back to their hotel for their last night here. We had planned to take them to the airport early the next morning but had to have Mom and Dad take them instead.

As it turned out, Rob didn't have "a" kidney stone. He had given birth to twin stones. As the ER doc told him: "You have Gi-NORMOUS Bilateral  Kidney stones--one on each kidney. I've never seen anything like it!" Unfortunately, he also had a high white cell count and an infection that was making the whole situation more dangerous so the docs felt they needed to admit him so they could keep a close eye on him to insure he didn't have any complications that would cause him to go into renal failure. (Just a little scary!) Thank Heaven he didn't.

Funny side note, though. While we were waiting in the ER for a Urologist to decide whether or not to keep Rob they sent an intern in to give him a pain shot. When he came in and saw Rob laying and not writhing in pain he couldn't believe it. (Rob had already had a pain shot a few hours earlier and it was just starting to wear off.) Anyway, I guess stones as large as the ones Rob has (the medical people were all referring to them as boulders) normally cause unbearable pain, the kind some medications won't even touch. Luckily for Rob, his pain tolerance was fairly high that day.

This intern could not believe Rob was being so calm and quiet and kept going on about it to Rob and me. After he left the room we could hear him talking with the docs and nurses in the outer area about this HE-MAN in one of the rooms that had the highest pain tolerance he'd ever seen. He just kept going on about it like Rob was the Incredible Hulk or Super Man. Finally, we heard him tell them: "Seriously, this guy is my new Hero!" Lol! We got a pretty good laugh out of it and I think it did cheer Rob up a little. :)

Oh, he is home now. Getting the infection under control . Still has the stones for the moment but he is going to have a sound disruption on them in a couple days. Pain is much less. I will keep you posted.

A LOT OF FUN CATCHING UP

Here are several pictures of the last few days spent with my Aunt Sally and Uncle Seth (my dad's sister and brother-in-law) as they visited for my dad's birthday. We've had a great time with them!

 Mom and Sally at SaltAir

 Dad and Sally

 Dad, Mom, Nancy, Sally and Susan (clockwise)

 Dad and Sally

Dad, Mom, Seth and Sally (clockwise)

Mom, Dad, Sally and Seth at Promontory Point, UT

AND SO IT BEGINS . . .

It's that time of year! It's Johnny Carson's birthday again! We start celebrating early and we keep going and going and going . . . you know -- like the energizer bunny! His actual birthday is July 5th but I don't think his Mom ever told him that. So, we usually start on the 3rd or 4th and just make it one big 4th of July weekend celebration! So far so good! Let him eat cake! That's always a good start! Lol!

FUN DAY

Spent the day with my aunt and uncle and the rest of the family. Mom and Dad took them sight-seeing. They went and saw the copper mine and the Great Salt Lake. Made shredded beef barbecue and au jus sandwiches for dinner. The guys are building a shed in the back yard so that kept them busy. Sally and I went out and played with the kids after dinner. They wanted to swing. Felt like we had half the neighborhood here. It was a fun day--just tiring. Guess we should all sleep well. Yawn. Night all.

MOST ADORABLE TIE MODEL EVER!

Isn't he just one handsome little boy? O.K., I admit to being a bit biased on the subject, but I just can't back down from my position! I LOVE this little boy! He didn't really love modeling for the camera but she did get a few good shots!

My aunt and uncle got here without any problems today. We have had a great time today visiting and will have a few days with them to catch up and have some fun! The kids are having a blast with them.

I'm so glad we get to spend some time together. It's a great treat for Dad's birthday, too! Well, night! :)