We're Here!

We have arrived in Alabama!!! I really enjoyed our vacation and all of the friends and family we were able to stop and visit with. I have lots of pics and stories, of course, but I will have to spend a whole day to update everything properly. I just wanted to jump on and say that we made it safely, we are in our house and the kids start school in a week! As soon as things calm down a bit I will make sure to do real update. Until then....TTFN!

Yellowstone

This past weekend we made a trip up to Yellowstone and actually camped in a tent the whole time. Now I do not mind camping, but I do mind getting eaten by a bear. We did see a bear just down the river from our campsite, but as far as I know they didn't come closer than that. It was a fun trip, and it was also the first time Dallas had ever been there, so we tried to see everything. We watched Old Faithful erupt, and walked the trails by geysers, hot springs, and paint pots. We saw waterfalls, mud volcanoes, elk, bison, coyote, grizzly bears, black bears, bald eagles, and several chipmunks. We were almost hit by a black bear. We were driving down the road when suddenly this bear comes racing out of the woods right in front of us. If we had been going the other way we would have definitely hit him. For some reason, Dallas wouldn't stop for pictures.:)

Now we are even more excited for our trip/move to Alabama. We plan on camping at the Grand Canyon and also near Carlsbad Caverns. There will be lots to see, and I promise to take tons of pictures. This will be my last post until we get to Alabama. the packers and movers will be here starting on Monday, so I will have no computer. We will miss everyone here in Utah, but we are very excited to visit all of our friends and family in Texas. See you all soon!TTFN

Water Fun

These are a few pictures I took of the kids playing in the fountain at South Ogden Nature Center. We took a picnic lunch with us, and they played for about an hour. By the end of the day Savannah had most of the kids there attacking poor Mackenzie!

DJ's Birthday celebration

My baby boy has turned four years old, and he now informs me he is not my baby, he is a big boy. Fortunately he will still snuggle with me and give me hugs and kisses. We had a ton of fun for his birthday. The Saturday before his big day we drove down to Thanksgiving Point and spent the day at the dinosaur museum and Farm Country. If you have never been down there before , it is worth the drive. The museum has a ton of fossils and dinosaurs to see, and it also has several hands on exhibits that the kids really loved. They were able to build there own Dino, play in the erosion pool, and dig for dinosaurs.

At Farm Country DJ was able to help weave a piece of fabric, and all the kids were able to ride the ponies. The girls made wool soap and bracelets, and everyone got to pet the animals.

On the following Monday we met up with family at Chuck E. Cheese's for his actual party. He had fun playing games with his cousins and opening presents. It was a late night for him and he crashed as soon as we got home.

My musical children

DJ with his teachers, Miss Kim and Miss Mary, on the last day of school.

May welcomed several busy days, and included in them were the kids' various musical concerts. Mackenzie had her orchestra concert, Savannah her choir concert, in which she played the ukulele, and DJ had his singing program at preschool. I am adding videos of each to the blog. I hope you enjoy them.

Conversations in the car

Mackenzie: " DJ, look outside! It's a distraction!"

DJ: "And it's a big one too!"

Big Changes are on Their way!

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we will be moving this summer! Dallas has reenlisted and we will be going to FT. Rucker Alabama in July. We are excited about this move, some more than others. Mackenzie is having some issues with there not being a mall close by, but we are sure she will survive this hardship! Savannah is already planning what kind of creatures she will be able to find and study, and I find myself already making rules about no lizards, frogs, or snakes in the house! We don't have our exact exit date yet. We are waiting to talk with DJ's Doctors and get a better picture of what will need to be done before we leave. That will hopefully happen on Monday and then I can actually start planning our move and trip. Well, I have to go and get the grocery shopping done.TTFN

Holidays, Birthdays, and the chaos that ensues!

Here it is! My month in review!

Easter was alot of fun. The Easter bunny brought baskets for the kids full of chocolate, and then we headed of to church. We are breaking in a new Primary Presidency and they all got up and did sharing time together which was alot of fun. It was neat to see how each person was so different in their presentation, yet they fit together perfectly. I guess Heavenly Father really does know what He is doing. After church we headed to my sister-in-law's house where we had a big egg hunt for the kids and Easter dinner. Nena was gracious enough to invite my family over also, so I was still able to enjoy everyone without having to do all of the cooking!

The next weekend was Dallas' birthday. The weather was beautiful so we had a barbecue at the house. His sister Katy was able to stop by with her kids on the way home from Seattle, so we were able to catch up with her as well. The kids are just growing so quickly it is sometimes hard for me to believe!

The rest of the month has been filled with pretty normal stuff. Soccer practices and games, end of year testing, work, and DJ's treatments. His next dilation will be on the fourth of May, and hopefully things will be improving. We will be moving soon, although the date and place are still not set in stone Anytime between August and December and anywhere in the United States. We will not be able to go over seas until DJ gets cleared medically, and it doesn't look like that will be happening any time soon!

Next month will be a full one. I have parent teacher conferences for my class on the 12th, and then preschool graduation an the 21st. DJ will have his gymnastics exhibition sometime next month, and the girls will be going on their end of year field trips and having choir and orchestra concerts. We will also be holding a yard sale to get rid of stuff before our move. Anyway,I am adding pictures from Easter and Dallas' birthday. I hope you all enjoy them.TTFN.

Life as we know it

Last week was a crazy one. It started off fairly normal, getting the kids off to school and planning my day. However, I had a really bad earache that turned out to be a toothache and so Tuesday I went in for a root canal. Now I have never had any real trouble with my teeth other than needing braces so I was very nervous about this. It wasn't so bad though, and my dentist was very nice and made sure I had happy gas before he even started poking me with really long needles. The only problem is that now my chin is numb all of the time. I think he hit a nerve while giving me my shots, and now I just have to wait to see if it heals or not.

Wednesday we took DJ up to Primary Children's for an esophagram to see how he is healing. They tried having him drink it, which he was willing to do, but he was unable to swallow enough to do any good. So they had to stick a tube down his nose, which he loved, let me tell you, and pushed it through that way. Unfortunately, DJ has a serious stricture in his throat that wouldn't let the liquid through, so DJ just ended up coughing everything up. Not pretty at all. Then we go up to the Dr.'s office and wait for about 15 minutes for the results. Dr. Black comes in and says we will be doing a dilation in the morning and to cancel whatever plans we might have the next day. He also lets us know that the majority of DJ's esophagus has healed wonderfully, and they are going to do two or three more dilations on the small portion that doesn't want to heal. If they do not work they will have to go in and remove that portion of his esophagus, which of course is very major. We are hoping these next few dilations work, because I do not want DJ to have to go through such a major procedure.

Anyway, Thursday morning rolls around and we are back up at Primary Children's getting another dilation done. DJ did pretty well this time. He was still super cranky when he came out of anesthesia, but there wasn't as much blood this time, which I really appreciated. Dallas had to get back to work so I drove DJ home by myself, which I get nervous about because he still has all of those drugs in him and he tends to get sick while we are driving. As we are coming down Beck street he starts screaming and crying, and I ask him what is wrong while trying to hide the panic in my voice. This is his reply. " My dundaduh's (underwear) are in my butt and I can't get them out!" Nice. I am thinking he is in horrible pain or about to get sick and he just has a wedgie. I love kids.

Friday was pretty normal and Saturday was full of soccer. Sunday was conference and very peaceful. Hopefully things will be calmer this week. I can always dream, right?

One year older!

Well, it is official. I am now into my thirties, there is no going back. I remember thinking thirty-something was pretty old, but not so much now! I had a pretty fun weekend. Friday I coached Savannah's soccer team, because Dallas had to work. Afterwards, Savannah, DJ and I met up with Dallas at the rodeo and enjoyed some bull riding and calf roping. DJ loves the rodeo and was so excited to be there. We stopped for dinner on the way home, and then watched TV for awhile before hitting the sack.

Saturday was my big day and I started by taking Dallas into work for some Future Soldiers activity.Then I headed to Target for Mackenzie's Twilight movie, and got some Krispie Kreme's for everyone before heading home again. At about Two I went to pick up Dallas and we hit up Costco for some things for dinner that night, and I dropped Dallas at home and went shopping! By myself! With no children! I got to actually look at things without being bombarded with questions or having to say, "Put that down. Don't touch that!" a million times.I visited three different bookstores and picked up a book from each store. When I got home the house was picked up a little and Dallas was making Chinese food for dinner. Dallas' dad came by with my niece and nephew and brought some flowers and after dinner I took a bubble bath and read a book. It was a wonderful day.

Sunday we had shortened meetings at church because of the Draper Temple dedication. After church we dropped the kids off at Nena's house and headed to Layton to meet up with my family for my birthday dinner. It was a fun night and I enjoyed being able to sit and talk with everyone.

The big news however, is that Dallas made the E-7 promotion list,which means that sometime in the next year he will be promoted to Seargent First Class. We were not expecting this at all, because he has only been in the Army for seven years, and he wasn't able to finish his I Love Me book because of DJ's accident. not only that, but he may be released from recruiting duty early due to other jobs available and too many recruiters in the field, which means a move for us. We have no concrete information yet, so we are keeping with our plans as they are right now, but I am definitely starting to go through the house and get rid of things we don't need or want anymore. I only hope he gets the promotion before we move, because we need the extra weight allowance!

Someday when we're old and grayer

Dallas and I have always wanted to go to Ireland, and to live there and be able to explore everything whenever we wanted to would be absolutely fantastic!

TGIF

Today was DJ's treatment and things went pretty well. We were hoping to get rid of the lovely string, but he has a very severe stricture so they want to leave it in until his next dilation. Dr. Black said that the majority of his esophagus is looking great with the exception of the one stricture and he was able to stretch things a bit today. The down side is that we get a very cranky boy with a very sore throat who coughing up lots of ickiness. They did remove the long tube and replace it with a button, which is so much easier to deal with. No more tape and huge bandages wrapped around his midsection. Yeah!! He goes in for a barium swallow in three weeks after which we will meet with his doc and schedule his next dilation. If all goes well we will hopefully be done with all of this by summer! Well I am off to play Taxi for Mackenzie.TTFN

Savannah is a Princess!

Last Wednesday the Primary activity days held a Princess Party for all of the girls. There was a lovely program reminding the girls that they are daughters of God and that they should never feel like they weren't worth anything. We then went over the Faith in God program and how the goals would help them grow spiritually. Afterwards we had dinner and then the girls received letters from their mothers telling them why they loved them so much. I took quite a few pictures, as you can see, and of course Savannah doesn't have a straight face in any of them. Well maybe one...

The tables were decorated beautifully!

Savannah and Jessica posing for the camera.

My goofy girl.

I feel like Mary Poppins!

The things you can put in a purse!!

DJ's emergency kit
in case his feeding tube is pulled out of his stomach

billfold
I can't go anywhere without my money or cards!

book
Hey, we are an Army family and we are always stuck waiting somewhere.

Altoids creme de menthe
curiously strong chocolate

hand creme
There is no moisture in the air here!

Tide to Go
I have children who spill ( and me too occasionally)

Kleenex
It is cold season.

keys
for my car and house

Ipod
In case I am not in the mood to read while waiting.

reciepts
I cannot part with these precious pieces of paper!

camera
something exciting might happen!

The last day of the month

Today has been a pretty good day. It has had it's bittersweet moments, but all in all, pretty good. Today Riley would have been two years old. In celebration of her we went to visit her grave site and then went to lunch as a family. I am so thankful for my eternal family and that I will someday be able to see Riley Anne again and hold her again. What a wonderful Father in Heaven we have!

The upstairs bathroom is finally finished! Well, mostly. They still have to put baseboards in, but it is usable and that is the main thing. No more unhooking DJ from his feed and carrying him downstairs to the bathroom at three in the morning. Yeah!! Mackenzie is in Draper right now touring the temple there with the Young Women. I am so glad that she is able to participate in things that will help her grow spiritually. She is such a special girl and I love her so much. Savannah is hovering and wanting me to do something fun, so I am off to find something fun to do! TTFN

A Surprise Package

Dallas' Aunt Judy sent a care package to all of us and we received it yesterday. It was fun to get something in the mail that wasn't a bill or junk, and she sent some really cute things. My favorite is a Spiderman pillow with DJ's name embroidered on all the little circles on the front of the pillow. DJ put it right on his bed and slept with it last night. Thanks Aunt Judy!

DJ's day at PCMC

Today was DJ's second treatment, and he is reacting much better to it all than he did last time. The medications still left him a little funky, but he isn't as sick as he was before. They were not able to stretch his esophagus any larger because the scar tissue is constricting more rapidly than they had originally thought, so they stretched it to the size of a pencil, which is how much they had stretched it before. Dr. Black said that the lining is intact, but that it is very ragged and strictured and that hopefully with more treatments they will be able to smooth it out so that he will be able to eat normally again. His next treatment will be on March 13, and we will continue treatments every two to three weeks after that. Dr. Black was unable to give us a definite time frame for the treatments to be over with since DJ's scar tissue is not being very cooperative. It was a better day than expected though, and we thank all of you who had us in your prayers.

Update on DJ

Well, we finally got the call from the doc telling us when his procedure will be tomorrow. He will go in in the morning, so hopefully we will be home by late afternoon. If he starts to get sick and have the same problems he did last time though, we will most likely be staying a night or two. Please keep him in your prayers tonight. Thank you all.

Don't you hate it when...

Your kid wakes up in the middle of the night crying and sick, so you rush to their side and clean them up and give them medicine, and they get back into bed and instantly fall asleep. And there you are. Awake. At 2:00 A.M. And you go back to bed but sleep won't come and you start thinking things like," I really need to give those dishes back to my mother-n-law " or " Did I actually start that load of laundry?" Then finally sleep comes...and the alarm goes off. And people ask you all day long why you look like death warmed over.

10 Things I am greatful for...

1. A sense of humor
2. good books
3. my family
4. a good nights sleep
5. Tivo
6. snow tires
7. my friends
8. free long distance
9. The Church
10. my husband