November 2012

Waiting for C's meet to begin.

November was filled with lots of ups and downs.  The first weekend of the month J-rod's sister C qualified to run in her State Cross-Country meet, so with just a couple of days notice…off we went to cheer her on!  Yay-we LOVE it when we get to visit with family! Luckily the meet was in only about a three and a half hour drive for us (minus any necessary stops). We drove up Friday night, spent almost all of Saturday with family, and then returned home Saturday night.  

Run like the wind Aunt C!

O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge

The meet was Saturday morning and then that afternoon we all went to see and walk along the “new” Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge that spans across AZ and NV.  It was completed in the Fall of 2010.  We had so much fun together and learned a lot about how bridges are built.

On the Bridge Plaza

Even though Mom, Dad, C, and N were staying one more day, we had to get back home Saturday night because J-rod had a plane to catch the next afternoon for a business trip to the California Coast.  He had asked me to go with him and I wanted to go SO badly, but it just wasn’t to be this time around!  J-rod left Sunday, then very early Wednesday morning I dropped M off at school so he and the entire 6^th grade could board a bus headed to the mountains outside of L.A.  They spent the next three days at AstroCamp where it hailed and even snowed on them for a bit.  M had such a blast zip lining, being challenged in team building experiences, science labs, and taught in the great outdoors!

There were a couple of highlights the following week too.  First, I attended my final opening night party for a Twilight movie. I again went with my friend H to the theater her co-worker D rents out for the premiere of every Twilight movie—always such fun!  Next, we began our Thanksgiving Day celebration about a week early with two Thanksgiving Feasts—one for C-sta's class and one for Li'l J’s class.  They were both on the same day, but thank goodness there were a couple hours in between the two!

The following week we packed up the car with what little “winter wear” we have left from our days in NY and headed north to spend the week with family, lots and lots of J-rod’s family.  Fortunately the week of Thanksgiving is also a week long “Fall Break” for M and Li'l J, so they didn’t even have to miss any school for our travels—yay!

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Dad and Mom S’s house.  We had a great time visiting with them and watching Christmas movies.  Everything went well until…Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday afternoon while out riding ATV’s, M had a bad accident (that could have been a lot worse), and ultimately broke his arm.  M and Li'l J went out riding with their favorite 15 year old Uncle N.  M was riding an ATV on his own while Li'l J rode on one with N.  The blessings poured out upon us during this entire experience are undeniable and I’m so grateful Heavenly Father saw fit to bless us so! 

First, where the boys were riding was on a hill directly in front of Dad and Mom S’s house.  Because of where they were riding when the accident happened, N was able to carefully and quickly get M home to us.  Next, the way the accident happened itself was a BIG blessing as it meant that M’s life was spared.  N and Li'l J rode up the front-side of the hill to the top and waited as M tried to maneuver his way up what turned out to be a very steep side of the hill.  Because N and Li'l J reached the top first, N saw exactly what happened to M and (relying on his first aid/Scout training) knew how to best help him immediately once it had happened.

M’s ATV got stuck, rolled back, hit a rock, flipped (which is when M got thrown off and landed on his right arm).  Then the ATV rolled over and past M, rather than onto him.  Once the boys got home and told us what happened, our minds went directly to a family Dad and Mom S know that just the weekend before lost their 31 year old son in an ATV accident that did not turn out as well.

We were also very fortunate that Dad S had just returned home from work for the day.  He was able to look at M’s arm, recognize that it was indeed broken, and directed us to take M immediately to the hospital which is literally right around the corner from their house.  We spent a few minutes in the waiting room, then a few more in triage before they were able to take us back and have M seen.

The ER doctor said that if you were going to pick a spot to break your upper arm, the spot where M’s break occurred was the perfect spot to pick because: 1. he just barely missed the growth plate and 2. had the break occurred any higher or lower he likely could have sustained major and lasting nerve damage.  Um, wow!  The ER staff was impressed at how tough M was, all said they couldn’t believe that with the kind of break he had that he was able to walk into the ER of his own accord and that he wasn’t crying.  After reviewing the x-rays, the orthopedic surgeon at the hospital suggested that because of where the break occurred, the kind of break it was, and because of M’s young age, that all he would need was a splint and a sling.  A splint to help keep it immobile while the swelling went down and then we could follow-up with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon once we returned home.  The doctor we saw here at the children’s hospital concurred with that diagnosis, and then cut the splint off before our visit was done.  He instructed us to have M keep his arm in the sling while out and about, especially at school, but other than that to slowly begin using his arm as normally as possible until M's follow up appointment after Christmas.  I am SO grateful that our M is still here with us and that he is healing well!

Thanksgiving morning we caravanned with J-rod’s family (parents and all his siblings that had arrived the night before and early that morning) “over the river and through the woods” and up the mountain to California where we gathered with more family at J-rod’s Grandpa and Grandma S’s house.  The scenery on the drive to their mountain home was amazing! Crystal clear lakes reflecting snow capped mountains, blue-blue skies, deliciously crisp fresh air, lots of deer roaming about, beautiful pine trees, trees ablaze with color as the leaves changed over from one season to another.  All of that, plus we got to be with lots of loved ones?  We couldn’t have asked for more! (Well, maybe M without a broken arm and a reaction to his pain meds, but…overall, things were good up there).

Thanksgiving at Grandpa and Grandma S's

While most everyone travelled back to Dad and Mom S's house after Thanksgiving dinner, we stayed and visited with Grandpa and Grandma until Saturday morning when we began our drive home via California.  Because of the direction we choose to travel in, we were able to meet up with my Mom and A for a late lunch/early dinner outside of L.A.  While our lunch stop took a number of hours out of our travel time and delayed us getting home, it was totally worth it as we realized we hadn’t gotten to see them in over a year and boy did we enjoy those few short hours together!

As we were traveling home that day we noted that the brakes on my car didn’t sound good and decided we’d take it to be looked at first thing Monday morning.  Good thing we did, as it turned out we were very fortunate my brakes and my steering system didn’t give out on us somewhere along a lonely stretch along of one of the many roads we had just travelled over throughout the previous week!  Sheesh, when it rains it pours right? Well, I wish that was the end of it, but…NO!  Add to M’s arm and my car, a few more challenges with J-rod’s truck just for good measure.  Monday morning one of the rear passenger windows on the truck would not roll back up…the motor had gone out!  Then after we picked C-sta up from school and were heading home to put away all the groceries we bought on our “date” while she was at school, we were rear-ended in Jrod’s truck as we were slowing down to a four-way stop that had a number of cars ahead of us!  Just what we needed while we were already down to one car for the week, awesome, just awesome.

Fortunately we were all okay (as was the very scared 18 year old girl who hit us) and were able to avoid a chain reaction by not hitting any of the cars ahead of us.

So ya, I spent much of the last week of November arranging rides for the kids and I to get every where we need to be while J-rod drove his “smooshed” truck with his hazard lights on since the tail-lights wouldn't work after being rear-ended.  All of this because we were still waiting for my car to come out of the shop and were dealing with insurance companies and our claim so that we could get estimates on the repairs necessary for the truck.

Guess what preferred to be doing the last week of November?  Putting up our Christmas tree and outside lights; decorating said tree and the inside of our house for Christmas; finishing up our Christmas shopping; wrapping gifts; mailing out packages to family; and baking!  But no, life had other plans for us that week.  I kept my fingers crossed and stayed optimistic that we could get a start on all that by the end of the first week in December until we got word that J-rod was needed back on night shift because someone retired early/unexpectedly. J-rod got pulled off of his day job indefinitely.  Added to the change in his work schedule, the first Saturday in December J-rod was scheduled to be at the church all day doing tithing settlement and a wedding that night, so, I was once again reminded that my plans aren't always the ones that we end up living our life by.  It’s okay though because if nothing else, the last two week of November helped me keep things in perspective.  I know we are loved and I’m grateful we are all safe and together!

Thanksgiving decorations

At the end of November we attended M and Li'l J's Fall piano recital. M of course was unable to play, but Li'l J did a fantastic job!  Li'l J played "Luke's Theme" from Star Wars and the Primary Song "Families Can Be Together Forever".

Fall piano recital

October 2012

October was busy, fun, and still HOT!  With all the heat I had a difficult time getting into the right mood to decorate and prepare for Halloween, but I eventually got it done.

Some fun crafts I worked on in October.

I'm grateful that we could start the month with General Conference as it was a good way to recharge my batteries from the previous six months and prepare for the upcoming weeks while J-rod would be working night shift and I would have to take on my least favorite role, that of "single mom."  It had been forever since J-rod had to work nights and as such we were all dreadfully out of practice, but fortunately we managed to muddle along.  I was very grateful when his night shift rotation came to an end!

Even Jeffrey agrees: Night shift stinks!

(Did you notice how much Jeffrey has grown?)

C-sta helps to make General Conference treats: 

homemade "quick" donuts--YUM!

Listening to and watching General Conference.

Part-way through the month I was able to chaperon a field trip for M and the sixth grade to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.  I'm usually not a huge fan of museums, especially when having to keep an eye on a bunch of tweens, but this museum far exceeded my expectations. Plus, the kids all behaved very well so it made for an enjoyable day!  With the short amount of time we got to spend in the museum--because of the travel time there and back, not long enough--we only got to see about a quarter of all that is available but what we did get to see was awesome!  I'd love to go back with our family and finish taking in the rest.  

The MIM

The highlights of the day included a short interactive concert in the museum theater by a Panamanian pianist/composer and his band. The audience got to participate by singing and dancing throughout the performance as prompted by the pianist, at one point he even picked two students from the audience to join him on stage and one of them was from M's school. After the concert the pianist and band held a question and answer session.  

Danilo Perez Trio

Instruments of Eastern Europe

The Czech Republic and Russia

Iceland, Denmark, and Liechtenstein

Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France

The United States

Our group really enjoyed the hands-on/experience room where they could play instruments from all over the world.  The GIANT gong was an especially fun one to play.  I especially enjoyed watching and listening to M and others (students, teachers, and even a few parent chaperons) play on the Steinway grand piano set out on the main concourse.  The piano was beautiful and I LOVE that there is a sign next to the piano encouraging anyone to sit and play it!

The Experience Room

Steinway

C-sta's preschool had a field trip to the zoo a few days after M's field trip, and since it was on a Friday (when the boys don't have school) we all got to go. It was so cute how excited A was about riding a school bus, especially since the boys and I had to drive up separately and she got to ride it with just her teacher's and friends.  

Riding the bus

The boys rode almost all the rides available and we all enjoyed our time there.  We learned that this particular zoo has many rare albino animals because the owner loves to collect them and seeks far and wide for them. We even got to see a rare albino wallaby that peeked out for a bit--that was a fun treat!

Happy Faces!

What we saw

Penguins in the AZ desert--

Li'l J was thrilled! 

Our Primary held their Sacrament Meeting program during October.  This was the first and last time all three of our kids would get to be in the program together, it was a bitter-sweet day for me as their mama.  All three did a good job, though Li'l J definitely stole the show with his antics (showing/goofing off when he shouldn't have and then not performing when he should)! Both J-rod and I were told a few times throughout that day by different ward members that Li'l J is a "rock star" in the making--awesome!?!?

Primary Program Day

As is the custom, our kids got numerous opportunities to wear their Halloween costumes: to school, then at the school Fall Festival, the pumpkin patch (on one of J-rod's rare days off when we were finally able to go pick out pumpkins), our ward trunk-or-treat, and then FINALLY on Halloween.  

Halloween Fun!

Continuing the trend from his understated Clark Kent costume last year, this year M chose to go as Peter Parker.  Li'l J begged me to make him a "Gravity Guy" costume.  "Gravity Guy" is a character from a video game Li'l J likes to play on my iPod, "Jetpack Joyride".  Putting together a costume from a computer graphic was kind of a challenge especially since I'm not very good at costume making, but fortunately what I pieced together worked well.  C-sta wanted to be Pinkalicious (from the books that she loves).  I searched high and low in the stores for this costume, but the only thing I found was online and it was priced wa-ay higher than I'm willing to pay for a costume.  So what to do? I turned to an amazing seamstress in our ward for help.  I was thinking she could teach me a few things and help me put together a simple costume, but when I met up with her she had already made C-sta a beautiful dress and then wouldn't let me pay her!  I was very grateful for this sister's talent and her willingness to share it with us and help make C-sta's Halloween dreams come true.

Carving pumpkins

My favorite Halloween costume?  There isn't one that I can recall from my own childhood, but in my adulthood I have LOVED when I can get my family on board to dress in a family theme.  As the kids are getting older the opportunities to get them to humor me on themed costumes are getting fewer and fewer.  I didn't really push for it this year; doing it all on my own I got to the point where I was just happy to have a costume for each of them by the time Halloween rolled around.  Maybe next year?

C-sta and her darling friend B having fun

Fun with C-sta

September 2012

When Fall arrives everywhere else in the country, it just barely begins to dip below the 100 degree mark here.  It's during this time of year where I feel like we'll NEVER cool off, and I really begin to miss the beauty of the Fall in New York.  The silver lining is that this is when the pool cools off from temps in the high 90's to the low 80's--perfect for swimming and cooling off!

AZ: the land of eternal summer.

Alright, September 2012.  What is there to report?  Not as much as usual.  Everyone settled right into the school routine, including me.  Once a week while C-sta attended preschool I spent the morning helping in in Li'l J's and M's classrooms.  The other mornings I would spent getting caught up on things at home and sometimes would even sneak in a craft or two, which of course I LOVE!

One special occasion that J-rod, myself, and our ward choir director prepared for for months finally took place this month.  For the first time ever, I sang a duet in Sacrament Meeting (with our ward choir director).  I'm still not sure what possessed me to say "yes" when she asked me I would, but now I'm glad I did and that I didn't give up when I was struggling to learn the song.  It was a good learning and growth experience for me, and I'm not just talking about the physical learning of piece.  

I've never really had the confidence to do something like that, but after having done it and survived (I was fully expecting for my nerves to take over once I got in front of everyone and that my voice wouldn't work, plus I was sick that week), I think I could do it again. We sang a beautifully arranged "paraphrase of the 23rd Psalm" (as it says on the music) by Henry Smart called simply, "The Lord is My Shepard".  I sang the soprano part and learned that, even after all these far removed years since the basic vocal "training" I was lucky to enough to receive through my middle school and high school choirs, I have a pretty high range.  I went home after Sacrament Meeting because the kids and I were all sick, but J-rod reported that throughout the block of meetings ward members kept coming to him and asking where I was so they could congratulate me.  One sister that has PERFECT pitch (our Primary chorister) even told him I should be singing in the opera--wow! What a nice compliment! I'm very grateful that J-rod worked so hard with me at home to prepare for it and that we could perform together.

Early on in the month M got his first rank advancement in Scouts so we got to attended our first Court of Honor.  A few weeks later he and all the Scouts in our ward (and two other wards) got to spend a Saturday out at the power plant that J-rod and a few other Scout leaders work at, learning all about how it works in order to earn there Nuclear Engineering Merit Badge--it was such a neat experience for them!

Such good YM!

While out hiking with some friends one weekend, Li'l J lost another tooth and now looks like a cute Jack-O-Lantern, just in time for Halloween. : )  

Probably the biggest news is that towards the end of the month, C-sta and I had our hair chopped off!  C-sta had been begging since June to have her hair cut to her shoulders.  We kept asking her to wait until I cut mine in November for my biennial cut for donation.  C-sta just couldn't wait that much longer! Then I found out that with highlights I wouldn't be able to donate my hair until the highlights had grown out, so we made it happen in September.  Even though the cut had to be above C-sta's shoulders to get the required 10 inches for donation, it looked absolutely darling on her and we were all very happy with it.  It sure makes her look so grown up though, I guess that isn't too bad since she has been acting grown up for quite some time now. : )  

Before: Just like Rapunzel.

During: Excited, but a little nervous too!

After: We LOVE it!

October 2011

Let's review the craziness that was October 2011, shall we?  October was filled with the usual: soccer and baseball practices and games for M and Li'l J; a few pretty involved projects for various classes for M; piano lessons, allergy shots, and Cub Scouts as well.

~Campfire inspired Cub Scout Pack Meeting~

Keepin' Real

The first Saturday in October, I discovered too late in the morning that I hadn't written down something important in my calendar and Li'l J missed out on being in his baseball team picture but was still able to have his individual pictures taken (M's were at a different time so he didn't miss out on either of his).  I may have mentioned this last Fall but, having our boys involved in Fall sports (as opposed to playing sports during any other season) really stresses me out and this was just one of those moments that really overwhelmed me.  Thank goodness J-rod was not working that day and was able to help get the boys where they needed to be!  He did have to work the next day in preparation for the month long outage at work (shut-down and maintenance on one of the reactors), so the kids and I stayed home, stayed in our jammies, enjoyed watching General Conference and some of the great shows that followed it on BYUTV, and just basically regrouped for the coming week.

~So true~

The first week of October I scheduled in some fun time for me: I hosted the monthly gathering for the Card Swap group I have been a part of for the last three years.  I also began attending a monthly craft night with a group of ladies in the area, I came home with two neat vinyl "subway art" canvases: one for Halloween and one for Thanksgiving.  I am definitely looking forward to future fun nights with both groups.

The Kids

The second weekend of October, it was Li'l J's turn to bring home his calls "mascot": Mr. Moo, a plush cow.  Mr. Moo came to us in his overnight bag that was complete with two books to read ("Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type"--a favorite of ours!--and "Two Cool Cows") and a journal.  In the journal Li'l J had to add a page to where he told all about Mr. Moo's weekend stay with us, as well as a page of pictures.  Mr. Moo sat on the piano with Li'l J during his piano lesson, went with us to In N' Out for lunch (though he didn't eat with us since he isn't a cannibal!), held Li'l J's hand during his allergy shots, cheered Li'l J on during his baseball game the next morning, kept watch on our house while we went to church, and listened intently as we read the two stories for bedtime.  Li'l J was SO happy to have had Mr. Moo home for that weekend and was really excited to write the journal entry, print out the pictures we took, and then share it with his class the next day!

~C-sta with Lucky and M, always with a book.~

~We sure had fun with Mr. Moo~

The second week of the month I took C-sta in to have some portraits done at JC Penney and the boys brought home their school pictures.  It's good to have updated photos of all three kids on the walls!  At the end of that week I also finally got all three kids in to see their pediatrician for their annual well-checks...a bit over due for the boys, but better late than never.  M had been having back pain for a long while which we've always attributed to growing pains, but his pediatrician wanted to rule out the possibility of scoliosis (as he detected a slight curve in M's back) so at the end of October we took M in for x-rays.  It breaks my heart how M's body presents him with so many challenges and has never quite done what it should, but I am grateful that overall M is healthy and happy.

Family News

It was also during the second week of October that we got some sad news.  My half-sister J, who had been in remission for about a year from breast cancer, began having unbearable headaches so she went in to see her doctor.  As it turned out, she had a brain tumor that he doctors felt could be surgically removed and then she would be treated with chemo and radiation.  Her surgery was scheduled and the weekend before her surgery she began having seizures, difficulties maintaining her balance, and began needing help to do things for herself.  That same weekend she also ended up in the ER for a night because she couldn't keep anything down and was quite dehydrated.  While in the ER an MRI was done to check the condition of her tumor.  Her condition was deemed stable but another tumor was discovered on her back.  My brother-in-law and my three nephews were like warriors by her side helping her through all of this.

~J and N~

The morning of her surgery, the seizures continued so things were delayed for a couple hours until she was deemed stable again.  During J's surgery when her doctors when to remove the tumor, they discovered that it was not solid as they had thought but a tumor filled with hundreds of little tumors and that a portion of it had attached itself to her soft tissues making it impossible to remove the tumor completely.  When J was in recovery it became apparent that she has lost her hearing.  Her eyesight was unaffected and by the next morning she had regained movement of all her limbs.  At first he doctors were hopeful they could still help her with chemo and radiation, but once she stopped responding well during rehab she was sent home earlier than anticipated and she spent the remainder of October at home quickly deteriorating.

All my siblings were able to visit with her and her family, but since it all happened so quickly, we were unable to do so.  Going through this has been more difficult for all of us than when we went through it with our Dad.  Partially because our Dad had the blessing of living such a long and full life and partially because we had three years to get used to the idea of not having him around and to prepare for the day when his time came to leave us.  With J being so young (44) and with such a young family, this has been very difficult for me personally because it out right scares me!  The cancer-prone genes on my Dad's side of the family seem run strong.  We lost one of my Dad's younger brother's at the end of August to same type of cancer that my Dad battled.  My uncle M was diagnosed three months before he passed away, while my Dad lived for three years following his original diagnosis.  That brings the total of the C family members affected by cancer from 2007 to 2011 to five (a cousin, two sisters, my dad, and my uncle) plus my Dad's mom who passed away years ago, also from cancer.  *Sigh*  

Okay, time for the rest of our news from October.  

Family Fun/Traditions

One week before Halloween we made our traditional trip to pick pumpkins at the local pumpkin.  M, Li'l J, and C-sta all went in their costumes.  We had fun taking lots of pictures, picking our pumpkins, and watching Li'l J enjoy himself on the little train ride.  After we picked our pumpkins we kept with tradition and took the kids to dinner at Carraba's--yum, yum!!  Everyone in the restaurant LOVED that they were dining near "Mario" and "Rapunzel".  M made a quick change out of his costume as soon as we left the pumpkin patch because well of course he's now too grown up for that kind of stuff...sniff, sniff.  At least M was willing to humor me by going to the pumpkin patch in costume this year, who knows if he'll want to do it again next year.

~Getting ready for Halloween~

The Boys

The three week of October was Spirit Week at school for M and Li'l J.  On Hero Day, M went as Clark Kent/Superman (so did his Social Studies teacher) and Li'l J went as Batman; both boys accessorized their costumes with capes I made them from an idea I saw on Pinterest (I LOVE that site!).  On Nerd Day M dressed up and Li'l J decided he didn't want to dress up this time around.  On Jersey Day both boys were happy to wear their BYU Jimmer shirts.

~Spirit Week Fall 2011~

~C-sta is excited for Halloween!~

Mom's Thoughts

Also the third week of October, we had to get our four years young dishwasher repaired.  The previous week it quit working and despite J-rod's best effort to get it going again, it was done.  Fortunately it was repairable for a reasonable fee and though all the J-rod had tried to get it working turned out to be correct, the repairman said the problem was ultimately in the wiring behind a panel J-rod couldn't access.  It was nice to get it going again and be able to use it for more than just a giant drying rack!

Along with Spirit Week and dishwasher repairs, during the third week I attended for the second time a "blanket bee" started last month by a really neat gal in our ward.  When we gather for the "blanket bee" we teach each other different blanket making techniques, help one another finish projects started and abandoned long ago, as well as encourage each other to try new things.  I'm so glad to be a part of this group as I'm finally making progress on a quillow I started for Li'l J shortly after C-sta was born, um three years ago!  Once I finish off Li'l J's quillow I have a rag blanket for me that I started wa-ay back in NY and haven't touched since then.

~A monkey quillow for "our little monkey", Li'l J~

Date Night

The third weekend J-rod and I attended our ward temple night as our date night.  It was so nice to go together again, it had been a while since we were able to do that.  We didn't know if it was the State Fair, the Taylor Swift concert, or ward Halloween activities going on around town, or just what but we were very surprised that the temple was so unusually empty for a Friday night!  A special treat for us was getting meet up with our friend K for a few minutes.  We passed along C-sta's toddler bed for K's daughter R to use and in exchange K surprised us with a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts for our long drive home--nom, nom, nom!

The morning after our date to the temple, bright and early our Stake participated in the National Make-a-Difference Day.  J-rod and many members of our ward worked hard all morning long to help clean up our town.  C-sta and I took Li'l J to baseball while M stayed home to recover from having spent 5 HOURS the day before at the allergist.

Fall
Yes, you read that correctly, 5 LO-ONG hours with an hour in the middle for lunch and to break up the day.  We went in the morning for M to have what we expected to be a simple skin test done to see if he finally qualifies to have a flu shot (after having been told all his life that flu shots are out of the question for him).  The skin test went well and the good news was that he does now qualify for a flu shot.  The bad news was that the asthma he had been seen and treated for two weeks earlier began to worsen so once the skin test was done, the doctor wanted to address the asthma and tried a number of different in-office tactics to get M some relief.  We were glad we didn't end up in the ER that day!  As much as I like our allergist and the staff at the office, hanging out there for that long with 3 kids was not how we had planned to spend the day!  Monday after school we went back for a follow-up to be sure the course that finally provided some relief had continued to work throughout the weekend.  All of this to help M stay healthy so he could enjoy the last weekend in October in...Catalina Island with the entire 5th grade!

Thursday night/Friday at 1:30 am, all the 5th grade students and teachers going to Catalina had to report to the school and check in baggage and any meds.  Any meds?  After what we had just been through with M?  The mother in line ahead of me lamented, "I feel like such a dork because everyone else ahead of me in line is turning meds in a little sandwich sized zip baggie and here I am turning in my son's meds in a gallon sized baggie."  I tapped her on the shoulder and held up the Hefty JUMBO sized zip bag that contained ALL of M's necessary allergy and asthma meds, the nebulizer, and a letter form the allergist detailing the unfortunate regimen he had to follow while on the trip.  I asked her, "how do you think I feel?"  She apologized for her earlier lament when she realized how bad poor M has it!

~M and his buds, I and J on the bus, ready for adventure!~

By 2:15 am the three busses full of excited students and trepidatious teachers finally pulled away from the school and made their way towards California.  Later that morning they arrived at the port of Long Beach, boarded the boat and headed off for a weekend full of adventure, amazing and positive ways to challenge themselves, and lots of fun on a beautiful island.  While on the island, they stayed at Toyon Bay in dorms at the Catalina Island Marine Institute where they snorkeled in 60 degree water, dissected squids, climbed rock walls, received lots of instruction in oceanography and marine biology labs, and were kept very well fed by an amazing staff of chefs that worked well with us beforehand in regards to M's food allergies.  The school did a good job of keeping up parents informed by posting pictures and regular updates on their Facebook page throughout the weekend.  What an amazing experience for them all.  I'm so grateful J-rod and I looked past our fears and allowed M to go on this trip!  M returned late Sunday night and we were so happy to see him again and hear all about his wonderful adventures.

~Pictures courtesy of M's school FB page~

More Traditions

While M was gone, J enjoyed play dates with friends and also attended a birthday party.  As a family, we carved pumpkins while watching the demise of BYU at the hands of TCU, made new Fall pillow cases for the kids, dressed up and attended our ward Halloween Trunk-or-Treat activity where we had lots of fun.  Li'l J went as Mario his favorite character from his favorite video game, Mario Kart Wii.  C-sta went as her favorite Disney princess, Rapunzel, complete with a Pascal at her side (a chameleon puppet we've had for years).  J-rod was a dressed-down clown (curly-rainbow wig and a BIG colorful bow tie) and I went as a blue bath scrubbie/loofah.  I carried a shower caddie filled with bottles of shampoo, conditioner, a bar of soap, a wash cloth, and a shower cap.  Much to my surprise, I won "Most Creative Costume!"  Woo-hoo! 

~Pumpkin Carving~

~Boo!, from us to you!~

~Trunk-or-treat games~

Since Halloween 2011 happened to be on a Monday, the boys got to wear their costumes to school (C-sta wore her costume to her preschool party the week before).  As soon as the boys got home from school, Li'l J changed into his third costume of the season (a Jedi Padawan) and was ready to start Trick-or-Treating immediately.  Yes, that boy was lucky enough to have three costumes available to him...all which he received as gifts from his many adoring fans.  

~C-sta and her school friend B: Rapunzel and Aurora.~

Anyway...even though Li'l J was ready to head out the door, we had to wait for some friends to arrive and then wait some more for J-rod to get home from work.  Usually trick-or-treating in our neighborhood begins around 5:30, but this time we didn't get our first knock until almost 7pm and after that it took another half-hour before the steady stream we are used to finally began.  The kids had lots of fun passing out candy while waiting for their turn to trick-or-treat, though Li'l J was chomping at the bit the entire time!  Between the birthday party Li'l J went to the previous Saturday, the ward trunk-or-treat activity, and Halloween, by the end of October we had WAY too much candy in our house!  Good thing our thoughtful Bishop keeps two bowls full of candy (chocolate and non-chocolate) stocked on his desk for the youth and Primary children that come looking for candy each Sunday as soon as church is over!  Hee, hee, hee.

~Excited to go trick-or-treat~

~Happy Halloween!~

Li'l Sis

While getting C-sta ready for bed Halloween night, I noticed C-sta felt warm.  Taking temperature revealed she had a very high fever.  Then in the middle of the night C-sta climbed into our bed and I noticed she had a croupy cough.  She stayed home from school the few days to rest and get feeling better.  Poor little one!  What a way to end October and begin November, huh?