St. George/Vegas Thanksgiving

We had a great little vacation down south for Thanksgiving~ We enjoyed being with some of our family and venturing out doing many fun things.  Thanks to Philip and Megan for the invite and for spending time with our little family. We loved being able to spend time with Jason and Jared's  families too. It was my kind of Thanksgiving. Food~ Family and Fun~

Back on the trail that took me down a year ago~ Bear Claw Poppy ~ St. George

 Hoover Dam~

 Impromptu Hokie Pokie in the Parking lot~

 Pawn Stars "As Seen on TV" on the History Channel

 Climbing Red Rocks~

 Group Hug before shopping the Mall~

 Game playing in St. George Condo~

 Pool in St. George~

 Philip and Megan's place~

 Visiting Vegas~

 Dancing around in the hotel~

 Playing at the park~ Henderson

Sneak Peak~

Family Pictures~ Only four of the over 70 taken. Can't wait to see the rest!

Halloween Piano Recital

Avery and Ada played in their Halloween Piano Recital tonight dressed in their army costumes. They did so awesome as usual.  I have video and when I figure 

out how to upload it on here, I hope to share it. 

Youth Leadership Conference @ BYU

Ada was able to participate in a Youth Leadership Conference  @ BYU yesterday. She has been involved with the Youth 2000 at Mountainside during fourth grade and now again in fifth grade.  She is such a great girl and we are proud of her willingness to be a good example and leader to others.

Just Horsin' Around

Ada and Annika took a turn riding "Cowboy" ( our neighbor's miniature horse) today.  Ada has been on horses before, but Annika was a bit nervous.  I reminded her that her feet were only a couple of inches from the ground if she needed to hop off.  She held on tight and enjoyed the little ride. Annika and Ada are good friends and cousins. They enjoyed spending a whole day together.

My sweet Ada

There is nothing worse than watching your child hurt and feel so sick. My sweet Ada~bug has been so sick all week. We finally took her in today for help. She has a severe Kidney Infection. My brave girl got her first IV to help her get hydrated and some antibiotics in her. We both wished that I had brought my camera to document her first IV.  She was so nervous and was crying in anticipation of getting the needle stuck in her.  It took some reassuring and calming, but she did so good.  She was so brave.  She kept saying that this was the most pain that she has gone through (the IV and she has been hurting on her left side since Friday night).   The side pain would come an go in severity, so it was hard to know what to do.  She hasn't had an appetite since Friday, so she hasn't eaten more than a few bites  and has been unable to keep any meds down. She would get better for a while and then boom it was like night and day.  She would be dizzy and throw up and then the last two days she has been fevering to 103-104.  I decided that the fevering and more throwing up with no food in her needed help. We wondered about appendicitis. The pain was on the wrong side, so they ruled it out, took a urine sample, drew blood and found that her white blood count was really high. They insisted on the IV since she was dehydrated and wouldn't be able to keep any of the antibiotics in.  Poor thing. We are hoping now that she can start improving. ♥ her

She has been sleeping the majority of the hours of the day for about four days now, unable to go to school.  She is not looking forward to making up all her homework that is stacked up waiting for her.  All I know is, I sure do love my daughter and I am glad that I get to be the one that gets to mother her and help her feel better.  The best job in the world!

She started having a reaction to the antibiotics that they gave her through the IV.  We noticed her face (mostly her eyes) were puffy and swollen, so we quickly got some Benadryl and by morning time, her eyes looked more normal.  The Oral antibiotic is in the same family so, we are going to have to watch her and make sure that she doesn't have a reaction to that too.  

My SWEET 10 year old

Ada's birthday was on the 10th.  It was a Monday , which meant that it was a busy day for us.  We had school, then I had a class, Ada had Youth 2000 after school , then I ran to pick Avery up and then back out to Mountainside to get Ada, then we ran to N. Logan for Piano lessons. Poor Ada felt like her birthday really wasn't like she thought it would be.
It really was a fun day for her regardless.  Christy, Wyatt and Shay put her name on the radio which made her morning.  She was very happy( she even cried. She is such a girl! ( Like her mama )). Thanks Christy, Wyatt and Shay!  We had made fun Tie-dye cupcakes the night before to bring to her class.  They were a hit. She did get to open some presents before school so that she could start the day feeling special.  After piano, we went to Costa Vita and brought home our dinner for everyone.  Following dinner, she opened more presents and ate her cake. She is such a sweet girl and was appreciative for everything. I could not ask for a better daughter.  I am the luckiest mother.  I hope that she and I will always be close and that I can continue to be involved with all that she is interested in.  We love being together and I hope that will continue. I am however, sad to think that she is already 10 years old.  That ten years flew by. She is a gift from God that I feel undeserving of.  I can't wait to see what this girl will become.  She is already so amazing.  I love you Ada Maria. Thank you for being who you are and for all the good you share in this world, especially in our home.

Weekend Fun with the Jones Cousins

We were lucky to have Logan and Ellie stay with us a couple of nights while Miriam and Darin enjoyed some alone time.  Avery and Ada were excited to have a buddy to hang out with for a couple days.  We picked them up in Brigham City on Friday and when we got home, the playing began. They were non-stop going and doing.  They had so much fun together.  

Avery and Logan spent some time playing computer games while the girls played with dolls and painted their nails.

The playhouse became home to many imaginative games.. They pretended to sell sand cookies, they played "Harry Potter"and they cleaned it, making it their pretend home.

We took a break from playing and made our own pizzas.  They shaped their dough however they wanted and then piled on the toppings.  The girls took more time working on theirs with their flower and heart.  The boys were content to just put the toppings on and call it good. 

Night time by the playhouse became a hit.  They had a blast playing on the tires and making shadow puppets on the shed wall.

 The second day, I took them to lunch and a movie (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), followed by a quick trip to Old Navy to help Addison get some school pants with a coupon that I needed to use that day.  ( Me and my coupons).  Anyway, I decided that was not a good idea..... I learned not to take five kids into a busy clothing store and expect to enjoy it.  We found what we needed and headed home.  Later that night after more playing, we roasted marshmallows around the pit.  That's always a hit at our house.

After a quick shower to get the smoke smell and dirt off of the rug rats, they settled into their beds and each read.  They all love to read.  I had them tell me the page they were on so that I could see how far they could get when it was time to turn lights out.  This helped, because they all were trying to read as much as they could. When lights out time came, Avery and Logan were conked out with their books still open.  CUTE BOYS!!!  The girls were about there too!  So, much playing wore them out.  The girls settled down so good after they read for a while.  Ada finished "Twilight" finally.  She started it a while back.  It is a HUGE book. I am so impressed that she can read something so big and complex.  

We were glad to have this time with Logan and Ellie.  Our kids seem to really enjoy each other.  They have a lot of the same personality traits, which helps.

Thanks for spending a couple days with us Logan and Ellie, we love you!!