It can still be done

A few years back my nephew Craig was showing us how strong he was by holding all my kids at the same time.  

 A few weeks ago we decided it was time to relive the event.  This time it was much harder.  I don't think Craig's muscles have deteriorated that much, but I do think my kids have grown.  So Craig tried, and dropped a few kids on the ground a few times . . .

Then Logan lost a shoe . . .

Then . . .

SUCCESS!!

How many years until it can't be done??

The Guest Room

Hallway to the Guest Room

 Most of you are aware of how much I enjoy company.  I like having friends and family come visit.  When we bought this house, we deemed one of the unfinished rooms in the basement our guest room, or Emily's room.  It had a lovely cement floor with some carpet remnants scattered about, and plenty of Harry Potter posters, old artwork and pictures adorning the walls.  I regret that I never took a picture of the room in its Harry Potter poster glory.  But, I remember it, and hopefully those who slept there will have fond memories as well.  Now, we offer the new and improved guest room.  There is real carpet, paint, and even a new window!

  

The old room had two tiny windows, but to bring it up to code we had one of the tiny windows made into a large window.  So now we invite you to come and visit and stay in a finished guest room.  We have had many come already, so we are glad we finished the room to make our home more enticing to visitors.  A guest room and a bathroom downstairs . . . what more could you ask for?

Lemonade

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade, right?  Well that's exactly what we did.  Last month life threw some lemons at us.  My dad unexpectedly died.  It was quite a shock, and happened so fast.  I walked around in a daze for a few days, not really believing it really happened.  Then we went to the funeral.  It made it a little more real, and a little more sad.

Some things my dad taught me:
- you are never too full for ice cream
- how to give a talk
- to be generous
- to like Mexican food
- to follow the rules (unless the rules are wrong)
- love for reading
- how to behave
- to stand up and balance on his knees
- to fulfill my church calling
- graham crackers and milk is a meal
- treats are delicious for breakfast
- to be responsible
- school is important
- respect for my mom

 While we were at Elizabeth's house, Easton started picking lemons.  Then they made lemonade.  

My mom and dad were sealed in the temple.  They are together, and I can be with them again.  That knowledge is my lemonade.

David is happy again

So long, farewell . . .

So, for those of you who know David, you know he likes cars. He likes to drive them, read about them, talk about them, etc. He recently started shopping for a car to replace his Nissan, in a few years. He was planning to buy used, so he started looking already at the cars coming out now. He reads Consumer Reports, Car & Driver, Motor Trend, etc. Occasionally he'll just go and test drive a car for fun to see if it's one to put on the list of possibilities. Well, a few weeks ago he found out that his beloved Nissan Sentra SE-R had a critical illness. The engine was eating the catalytic converter, which is not a healthy thing for an engine to do. The repair would be very pricey. So, we got rid of the car. The problem now was that David usually spends months (or years) researching and deciding which car he wants. So, last week he spent all of his free time looking at cars. I even spent time online finding cars for him to drive around. We got close to a Yaris or a Fit, but he really likes the way the Mazda3 drives. So, the Mazda3 it is.

HELLO!!

ZOOM-ZOOM

Aargh Matey!

A couple months ago we noticed something different with Easton's eyes. One of his eyes would kind of wander out to the side, not looking at the same thing as his other eye. He had recently smacked his head pretty hard, so we took him to the pediatrician to see if the eye thing was related. He said it wasn't, but that if that was happening we should take him to an ophthalmologist. We didn't make an appointment right away, not sure if we were really seeing a wandering eye. Then we started noticing it more often, and Logan noticed it, too. So we made an appointment. Today we went and it turns out, Easton has intermittent exotropia. It's not "lazy eye", but the opposite of cross-eyed (esotropia). They checked him to see if his depth perception was off, but it was great. His right eye tends to drift the most, and his vision is slightly worse in that eye, so the doctor recommended a patch for the left eye. He only has to wear it for 2 hours each day. Then, we'll go back in 8 weeks and see if it's changed at all. As soon as his depth perception gets affected, he could need surgery. They said it's a common out-patient surgery with no scars or bandages needed. 50-60% of people with intermittent exotropia eventually need surgery.

The best part about the whole experience was finding out how gullible Lauren is. We had Easton put his patch on before the kids came home from school. When Logan came home Easton showed him his patch and told him the doctor took his eye out. Logan laughed and asked how long he had to wear the patch, it didn't even phase him. Lauren, however, thought that was absolutely disgusting. She asked Easton if it hurt and he said yes. He told her that they were going to put it back in, but then they would take it out again. Then when he told her he was going to take off the patch, she begged him to please keep his eye closed because she thought that would really freak her out. She asked him where his eye was, and was told that, of course, it was still at the doctor's office. She came up to me and said that she thought it was all really creepy. Then, when Easton did take his patch off, she asked if he had a fake eye. Easton finally decided to fess up and told her that he was just kidding, he still had his eye, the doctor never took it out. She was SO relieved.

Easton was great at the doctor's office. We were there for an hour and a half and he didn't complain about any of it until the last few minutes when he was ready to leave.

Easton in his cool 3D glasses in the space chair. His favorite part was going up in the chair.

Easton with his 'missing' eye.

Attitude of Gratitude

I went to Activity Days with Lauren yesterday and we talked about gratitude. The girls all got to make little notebooks to write down the things they are grateful for. We talked about being specific, and not just saying "everything". So, it started me thinking about things I'm grateful for. Here are some, in no particular order:

bananas

contact lenses

blankets

Chapstick

my car

the atonement

the library

health

new jeans

brownies

too many people to name

education

David's job

music

cold cereal

the ability to play the piano

flowers

deodorant

our home, and that it's made of bricks so it won't blow down (we do Huff and puff a lot)

dishwasher

okay, you get the idea.

Our little buddy

I've been babysitting a little boy since 2009 for 2 days a week and now 1 day a week. He fits in pretty well, the kids all love him, and he calls me "Mommy". It's pretty funny, because everyone else in our house has a name: "Ennints" for Easton, David he says quite well, he's getting pretty good at Logan (sometimes more like "Wogan") and Lauren (a little like "Warren"). I'm still Mommy. He loves to play with Easton, and loves to play with Easton's toys. Lauren loves to mother him. Logan is great with him, and even gets to babysit him from time to time. It's been a quick few years having him around, he's been so easygoing.

Anyway, as this is my journal, I thought I should mention my little buddy who came to play today.

2009

2010

2011