Teeny Tiny Tyler

My best friend from high school had her cute little baby yesterday. Meet Tyler Raymond, 6 lbs 7 oz., and so cute. He looks a lot like his older sister McKenna to me. Jennie looks great and both mom and baby are doing well.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Yesterday we went to Logan for our niece's baptism. I, like the idiot, didn't even get a picture of Megan, BUT congratulations anyway!!

Yesterday was also my sister-in-law Emily's birthday. (Happy LATE birthday Emily!) So after we celebrated the baptism we all went out for dinner to celebrate the birthday. We enjoyed a YUMMY dinner at Cafe Sabore where we stuffed ourselves until not one more bite could fit in our stomachs.

On our way home, Chris's (my brother-in-law) truck ran out of gas, so we jumped out and pushed it about 1/2 mile to the gas station. Let me just tell you that a gut full of food, a 1/2 ton truck, and a very out of shape body make for a pretty pitiful person.

We tried to talk Katie (sister-in-law) into working extra hard and putting herself into labor so that we could have a baptism, a birthday, and a new baby all in one day, but she wasn't as on board as we all were. So we'll all be returning soon to see the new arrival when she comes.

Spring Break Fun

A picnic at Daddy's office, complete with watching trailers from funny movies.

The cup is bigger than she is, but that doesn't stop her from taking a swig or two.

What fun would a restaurant be without hanging spoons from your nose? We had breakfast with Mimi at IHOP (and I must say the who-cakes are really quite good).

A trip to the pet store is always fun.

Of course, we had to come home with something. Meet Alyssa's new fish, Rockstar.

Carter watched Transformers and has fallen in LOVE with it. Thank goodness we had a Toys-R-Us gift card from Uncle Quin and Aunt Natalie to buy Carter his first transformer, Smokescreen.

Family Funnies

Just a few family funnies to add today.

A few days ago we were reading scriptures and it was Alyssa's turn to read. She borrowed my set and began to read. All of a sudden I heard her say (without skipping a beat) "donkey" and then she just kept on a reading. As I was thinking, "I don't remember donkey being in there", Alyssa began to giggle uncontrollably. Apparently the word was "ass" but the good girl she is, couldn't bring herself to say it. Then we all had a good giggle.

Kate is a VERY independent soul. She wants zero help when it comes to just about anything, but especially dressing. Lately though she's had trouble getting shirts or dresses on. She'll get it over her head and then start screaming, "It's dark in here!"

My parent's have a herd of deer that frequent their yard. We get a big kick out of watching them. The other night we were watching them and it was very obvious that one in particular was in charge. Halle said, "The herd director is telling everyone what to do." That one is now named Herd Director.

I gave Carter a big hug and squeeze and told him I loved him. Then I asked him if he loved me, to which he replied, "Yes". Then I asked how much and he said, "Uhhhh, a little bit." SQUIRT!!

Whenever I tell Carter to get his tennis shoes on he always looks at me funny and says "You mean my soccer shoes." We bought this particular pair of shoes last fall when he was in a city soccer class. I have just thought that he called them his soccer shoes because of that class. I FINALLY (I know, I am an idiot) figured out he really thought I was saying "tennis" shoes as in tennis class and these shoes were "soccer" shoes.

Easter Weekend

Friday night Grammy and Grampy came and enjoyed the Easter egg dying with us. I let my kids dye a dozen a piece because they love it so much, but I only did 6 for Kate. However, I should have done the full dozen for her because she was VERY into it this year. I love dying eggs, it's what really kicks off the holiday for me.




After the egg dying, we all settled down to watch Enchanted. You might say Kate was "enchanted" by the movie. She laid in this position and didn't move for a very long time.

Saturday we went to Horton Hears a Who (which is really quite cute) and then had dinner at Jarom's parent's. The boys got crazy and got their testosterone aggression out by ramming heads while wearing toy buckets. They looked like young male elk. It was pretty hilarious and I think they each came out of it with a battle wound or two to brag about.

After the kids went to bed I wentto Applebees to enjoy some quality time with my girl friends (Becky, Elise, and Elise's sister Caitlan). When the evening too quickly came to a close (at 11:30 pm) Becky and I made a run to Walmart to get a few last minute Easter dinner items. I could NOT believe the amount of people actually doing their full on Easter shopping at midnight BEFORE Easter. It blew my mind.

Easter Morning! The Easter Bunny left our baskets filled, eggs hidden, and candy galore. After a quick check of the goods, we left for church to celebrate the true meaning of the holiday. (And by the way, my sharing time went very well. I used the scripture eggs, along with pictures of Christ to tell the Easter story. Thanks for all the ideas.)


Wearing our Sunday bests; we're ready for an Easter Parade!

Happy Birthday Quin!

Happy Birthday to my younger brother Quin. Quin has always been the goof ball of the family and has a very contagious laugh. I hope you have a nice birthday and that your ride to the coast is enjoyable.

Nothing???

We called the hospital today to get the results from Jarom's culture and they told him that it is showing nothing. No strep, no MRSA, no staph, nada. Of couse it is "still culturing" so something could show up, but is that just the weirdest thing you've ever heard? Who knows, Jennifer, maybe it was a spider bite. He looks completely better as far as swelling goes, his "wound site" (or zit as I like to call it), still looks like a large zit with a hole carved out of the middle where they lanced it. But, it seems as if the drugs are killing whatever he has. Or who knows, maybe we all imagined the entire thing and he never had anything. (NOT!) But, the good news is that he's getting better and not worse.

Easter Sharing Time

I have to...uh, I mean get to do sharing time this Sunday. So.....if you have any interesting/fun ways to present the Easter story to children PLEASE send them my way!!! THANKS

*Any and ALL ideas welcome.

Chick Days at CAL Ranch

Is there anything cuter or more springy than a baby chick? (I know I don't need to use baby in front of chick, but it just sounds sweeter that way.)


Update on Jarom: Last night the infection moved down his face and he looked like he had giant bags under his eyes, but this morning he looks much better and the swelling on the bridge of his nose is pretty much gone. I think he's on the mend, it's just very strange how it keeps moving lower and lower.

He's HOME!

Well, we are very excited that our Dad is home for good. No going back to Boise. We are even more excited that his infection seems to be going down. Hooray! He's still swollen between the eyes and on the forehead, but it looks better than last night. Hopefully this new antibiotic will continue to make him better. We still don't have the results from the culture to know for sure what he's got, but the drugs seem to be working for now. Thanks for all your concern!

Update

I've talked to Jarom and it isn't getting any better. If anything it spread a little more, he said he could barely open his eyes this morning. So he is stepping out early from his month long stay and coming home today. He said that by noon, his left eye was starting to look a little bit better, but his co-workers gave him the okay to leave a few days early. The antibiotics are making him nauseous and he threw some of them up earlier, but other than a queasy tummy and a tender, swollen head, he feels okay. We'll see what he looks like tomorrow and he'll be home so we can all keep a better eye on him.

I told Halle that he was on his way, but that his face was going to look kind of funny when he got here. She said, "I don't care what his face looks like. I only care that he's home with us and able to work so that we don't have to sell our house and live in a cardboard box." It really was so sweet. She loves her daddy.

MRSA Dream

I forgot to say that all night I dreamed about him having MRSA.

I dreamed that we were having a family function (eating sloppy joes) and Jarom's cousin Jonathan, who is a doctor, showed up with his little family. As soon as he saw Jarom's head he wouldn't let his family eat anything and he kept his hands in the air so he wouldn't touch anything. He ended up letting me serve him a glass of milk, but that's it.

Such bizarre stuff, but I woke up and chuckled to myself. So Rachel and fam, don't come visit for a while cause you might starve to death. :)

It Got Ugly

Last night I made Jarom send me a picture of his head so that I could see if it was getting worse or not. Well, when I got the picture I audibly gasped at how much worse it had gotten. Suddenly it was no longer a laughing matter. I won't post the picture to save his dignity (but I am sure if you come over and ask nicely he'll let you see it), but the swelling had spread clear down the bridge of his nose and over one eye.

We both decided that he better take a trip to the ER just to be safe. I was freaking out that maybe the infection could spread into his brain or his blood stream. (Before you laugh at me, it DOES rarely happen and my Grandpa died from a staph infection in his blood stream.) So, my good husband obeyed his wife and dutifully went to the emergency room.

There, they lanced his "wound", drained a BUNCH of junk out of it (I am sad I missed out on that part. You all know how much I love a good zit popping.), gave it a good scrub, put some ointment on it, gave him yet ANOTHER antibiotic to take, took a culture, and gave him a tetanus shot.

When he got back to the hotel (at 2am) he sent another picture to me and it had now spread over both eyes. Poor guy, but since I knew he was on as much medication as possible, I lovingly nicknamed him Quasimodo. It really is the craziest thing I've seen.

I haven't talked to him yet today, so I don't know if it is getting better yet, but we are praying for his face to return to normal and the infection to stop spreading.

Weekend in McCall

Our weekend getaway with our friends the Petersons proved to be exactly what we needed. It was great to sit and know that the only thing on the agenda was more sitting. Our kids played great together and the only fighting I heard came from the two two-year-olds. And, even those fights were just noise, no hitting, biting, or knocking down this time around. Whew!

JArom caught up on some much needed rest.

Games, play station, and wii entertained these kids almost 8 hours a day. It was great! (Now it's back to reality for all of them, no more rotting their brains away.)

Time for a soak. Watch out for those intake jets though; they leave giant hickeys on your back. Just ask Jarom. LOL!

A little pool, but make sure you play alone, cause fingers whacked by pool balls hurt!

A bunch of good friends. Seriously, I don't think my kids have ever played better than they did with these cute boys this weekend. At one point I heard someone ask, "Are we cousins or just friends?" When it was time to leave, Ethan asked if Halle could come home with him. He said, "She's a Peterson now." We asked if they had gotten married (which I thought would bring a giggle or a "gross"), but they both said, "YEAH!) Uh-oh...

Zane and Alyssa had such a great time together. They are a lot alike, so it makes spending time together effortless.

Thank heavens for wireless internet. Don't worry world, we still knew what you were up too.

The kids had lots of fun in the snow! The cabin is on a hill and the driveway made the best sledding hill. Even I went down (once).

Sometimes those snow clothes can be a little difficult to remove.

Jarom and Brad waiting to eat. We decided to make a trek into town for dinner one night. The kids were really quite well behaved. Oh and by the way, "Hey Jennifer? Ha, ha, you got the word!"

Mommies and their boys waiting for dinner. (Well, one of Jennifer's boys anyway.)

And a trip isn't complete without a visit to the doctor. It was Jarom's turn this time. He had what we thought was a BIG zit on his forehead, but after his ENTIRE forehead swelled we realized that it wasn't a zit. The doc told him he has a staff infection and gave him some antibiotics. Here's hoping they work and he doesn't have MRSA like some other people we know have had in the past. (Brandon, the two of you could be in Horton Hears a Who with your Whoville nose and his Whoville head!)

We had left Jarom's Mustang parked at the Farnsworth's house so we stopped in for a short visit on our way home. David was ELATED when JArom offered to let him drive it to the corner and back. (He's only 14, remember how much fun driving was when you weren't allowed to do it yet?)
Look at the sheer bliss on his face.

Enjoying a little sun after the snow. (Now we're back home in the snow. Boo...but it's melting!!)

THANKS for such a nice weekend guys!!!!!!!

Finally! It's out!

I couldn't stand it any longer. Tonight (on our way to Boise) at dinner Halle kept doing her Nanny McPhee tooth and grossing everyone out. (Especially Alyssa, she doesn't handle these things well.) So when we got back in the car I asked Halle to let me wiggle her tooth one more time. I promised to only use one finger. Little did she know, I used the finger with a finger nail.
She was NOT happy about the one finger flick that just occurred. It took only 1/10 of a second and the tooth FLEW out. Hallelujah! We're done with it.
We're much happier about it now! I was trying to get a picture of her with her cute new smile, but I think she is related to her Uncle Quin; she can't keep her eyes open if she thinks about the flash going off. They just water like crazy, it was pretty funny.
Doesn't she look like a grown up 7 year old with that cute toothless grin? Sure hope the tooth fairy knows how to track us down in the hotel tonight!

Happy Birthday Brylee!

 

Happy second birthday to my little niece! She's always my buddy and will climb into my lap for a snuggle and I love that. Kate also loves to play with Brylee and its so cute to see these two VERY opposite cousins together. Happy Brithday, we hope you have a really fun day!

Halle's Loose Tooth

WARNING!!! This video contains graphic material. If you are grossed out by loose teeth DON'T watch, otherwise enjoy Halle and her loose tooth.

Halle's tooth has been this loose for about a month. I was hoping that by having her twist it, it would pop out, but as you can see, it's still hanging on. She bawls every time we talk about pulling it out, so I am leaving it alone for a few more days. I don't know how much longer I can take it though. It's starting to discolor; it's so gross.
I changed my mind, I decided to add Halle's Nanny McPhee tooth shot even though it's kind of gross. I want to print my blog as a journal/scrapbook and this is a picture I definitely want in it.

Then later in the day, we were walking through the grocery store and Halle said, "When I eat normal food on this tooth (pointing to a molar) it hurts it. But if I eat treats it makes it feel good. So, do you think I have a sweet tooth?"

Yes, oh yes, my Halle has a genuine sweet tooth!

I Will Go, I Will Do

Tonight Alyssa was just being her silly self singing and running around. I heard her humming the tune to Nephi's Courage. The chorus should say, "I will go, I will do the thing the Lord commands. I know the Lord provides a way, He wants me to obey."
But she sang, "I will go, I will do, I don't know the words. But that's okay, I'll sing anyway, because I want to."

I just busted up laughing. It's so something I would do. I NEVER know the words to songs.

American Idol Top 12

Man, I have been in a blogging rut for a few days, so I decided to shake things up with continuing my American Idol chat. I know that most of us discuss this on Becky's weekly AI blog, but I just can't help myself tonight.

How about tonight's show, eh?!! FINALLY some great performances and a lot of competition for my little Archuleta. Who, by the way, I think was VERY humbled tonight. Poor kid. It was still a nice performance (when he remembered his words) but it just wasn't comfortable for him. I think he was VERY nervous and it got the best of him big time.

As far as other great performances of the night, Chekizie came out of nowhere tonight. WOW! Good for him, although he's still not my favorite.

And how about David Cook! Whoo-hoo, he was great! Loved the lights and the whole rocker spin and everything.

And more and more I am falling in love with Jason Castro. He's moving more to the cute side of my scale and less from the creepy. I really like his guitar and quiet style. At first it bugged me when his voice would crack, but I am liking it more and more. And I think he seems like a fun, decent kid.

I am still not a huge fan of any of the girls.
I thought Amanda's performance was good, but I really hate her voice.
And Carly.....I just can't figure it out with her. She's good and I can't stand her all at the same time.

My pick for going home tomorrow is between Ramiele and Kristy. (But it wouldn't hurt my feelings any if David Hernandez took a hike.)
It was pretty but a bit predictable. Just not rock star quality, but nothing bad to say.
Was that not the worst version of a Beatles song ever? I really didn't like it. And those last high notes could have broken glass!
Cheesy, cheesy, and aside from last week's performance, I have never liked him.

Listen to me thinking I am Simon Cowell. (LOL!!)

It's a Pirate Party!

My great big 4 year old with his awesome pirate cake. (I was pretty proud of it myself.)



Time for games, first up "Walk the Plank". They each loved walking on this several times, but look out for that shark!

What do you do with a scurvy pirate who wears her pants backwards?

Cannon ball toss. I tried to find black rubber balls, but the dollar store only had colored ones, the kids didn't seem to mind at all.

Hey, I can't see anything!

Can't go on a pirate expedition without a suitcase. She loved playing pirates, but had a cell phone, suitcase, or doll in one hand and a sword in another.

We found buried treasure! I had them do a little treasure hunt and the pinata was the prize. It was really fun.

Pinata time! (If Ogden comes to your party, make sure you give him a soft bat. Man that kid has an arm!) I divided all the candy and goods up into separate baggies and that worked out really well so that no one had hurt feelings about not getting enough candy.

The best time of all PRESENTS!!

Hugs for gifts! This little girl was so funny while Carter opened the present from her. She just stood there and did the hand gesture like "come on, come on" waiting to hug him. It was hilarious.

This is what you get when your uncle is a Marine sniper. (Carter loves it.)

Blow out the candles!

(We also played "Pirate Says", "My Pirate Has a Sword" (like I have a little doggy and he won't bit you), and we watched a part of a pirate cartoon (Sinbad), but honestly they just loved sword fighting (swim noodles cut in thirds work perfectly and no one gets hurt) and playing with the balls the most.