Strep Face

Last week, Haley got a cold. I didn't think anything of it. She just had a runny nose. No sore throat, no fever, nothing. The only thing a little weird was she had these dots on her nose and face. I talked to Cherice about it and she told me that Kinlee had just gotten that with a cold. Well, Thursday night, Jake had a fever and sore throat. I barely got him into the doctor and he had strep. He was actually so excited about it. Jake is the only one of my kids with tonsils in his throat. Jake also never gets sick. I think he loved the attention of taking him to the doctor, getting medicine, the whole bit. Kinda funny, really. When I got home from taking him to the doctor, Haley had a fever. Naturally - I had just gone to the doctor, and now they were closed. I gave her motrin and sent her to bed. The next morning, she woke up with dots everywhere! Her face was red, swollen, and there were dots everywhere! I debated taking her to the ER but decided to wait a few hours for the doctors office to open. When we got there, the doc told me that this was bad. She too, had strep. But it had settled in her nose, not her throat, which caused sores to go all over her face. She has horrible sores in her nose and all over her face. Her nose would literally bleed just from being so runny. We put baby oil on it to try to protect the skin, but nothing helped. Since it was so bad, she had to get 2 shots of antibiotics in her legs and an oral antibiotic for 10 days! She about died with the shots and wouldn't walk for the rest of the day. She also didn't dare to pull her pants down to go to the bathroom. She was really being ridiculous. Apparently the shots were really thick and very painful. A week later, the scabs have fallen off, but the skin is still really tender and pink. The doctor told me she will have a full recovery and I really hope so! The kids have been saying that Haley has 'strep face' instead of strep throat. It's really funny. Haley also calls the sores on her face her 'dots'.

Cheerleaders...

I heard about a little Cheer camp for the girls put on by Herriman High School Cheerleaders. They went to a day long camp, and then the next Friday, they performed at half time during the Boys Varsity Basketball Game. The girls were so excited, especially Kristin. Friday afternoon, they both got their hair cut and Becca styled it just for their debut at the basketball game! Alexandra, their cousin, did the cheer camp to. All brothers were there to cheer them on! Before their perfomance, I was sitting at the half court line, the girls sat across from me, and I was waiting for them to run out and do their cheer. I was watching Haley, and I could tell she was starting to cry. The older girls were so nice, and tried to calm her down. When it was time, they both ran out! It was so exciting for them, especially Kristin. This is like one of her dreams come true! Go Herriman Mustangs!

Buggy Program

The second grade put on a 'Buggy Play' at school. All the kids had a speaking part and there was lots of singing! Jake's part was: We believe that every month of May should be a National Buggy Holiday!
It was a short, 30 minute program - the best kind - and Jake did really good!



Jake is a good kid. He struggles in reading, but otherwise does great in school. I am not worried about his reading, I know that at one point, it will just click with him. I spoke with Jake's teacher, Mrs. Craven, the other day. She told me what a great student Jake is. One day, during the middle of lunch, due to weather the school changed outside recess to an inside day. Jake's teacher was making copies, and didn't hear the announcement. When she realized it, she was worried to think that all of her kids were running wild in her classroom. She hurried to the classroom to find her whole class playing 'Heads up 7 up'. She asked who had gotten it started and organized it, and the class told her that Jake did it. I am so happy to know that he is a leader and he will do what he knows he is supposed to. I am so proud of him! I hope he continues to do well in school!

Outtakes

Here are some of the other photos we got of our family in our BYU gear. I blew up the first photo and it's up on the shelf. LOVE IT!

California or Bust!

I just created a blog book for 2010 and was so sad at how much I slacked last year, so I am DETERMINED to be better! Starting in 2011! Here goes...

We got a new 2011 Honda Odyssey a few days before Christmas. Our 2001 Honda Odyssey's transmission was starting to die. I won't lie...I have been wanting a new car for years. I have been drivingor the old van since Kyle was 5 months old! I was hoping our van would last until we got back from Hawaii in April - but that didn't happen. So - we got a new one. Why mess with something that has been so great for us for 10 years and 1 month? It has all the bells and whistles, and we are in love with it. We promptly planned a road trip - to where else - California. For a few reasons:
1. To visit my brothers
2. My parents had been there a few days before us and had taken my brothers and a friend to Disneyland and had purchased 2 day passes that they only used for 1 day and they desperately needed 5 people to use the other day. (We just bought an extra ticket)
3. David has a friend from China (can't spell her name, sorry - Jarene, we called her Jay) and we really wanted Kristin to meet her and speak with her in Chinese
4. We wanted to visit our friends, The Fonnesbeck's in Las Vegas for the kids to play and to start off our six people twelve times project.
5. I had quick commercial photo shoot in Las Vegas




We were able to go to the beach for about 20 minutes. It was a gorgeous day and 80 degrees and wished we could have spent more time there.
Can you believe she can sleep like this? The booster is totally moved from where it's supposed to be!


Horrible photo, I know, but this was Haleys first time she could ride on Soarin'. She was terrified!


Disneyland was really fun for us this year! Haley has finally hit the mark where she can ride almost every ride. She went on Tower of Terror, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn, and Soarin' over California. It was fun for our whole family to be on a ride together with nobody sitting off with a small kid! We had so much fun. The weather was amazing! I wished I would have packed shorts! Who knew...January? We saw the new World of Color which is naturally - out of this world. It lasted about 30-40 minutes and the boys were awestruck the entire time (the girls couldn't stay awake late enough for it to even start!). It was a super fun day in Disneyland!

Chinese

Here is Kristin and her friend Karsen singing a song they learned for the Chinese New Year. Kristin gets very shy and doesn't like to sing in front of us, so I was so excited when I conned her into singing for this video! I have no clue what she is singing. By the time Kristin is in 8th grade, she will have passed the AP Chinese test. In High School, she will learn another language, and by the time she graduates high school, she will be more marketable than any returned missionary. That is what we have been told. At the rate she has gone in less than a school year, I am no longer surprised by those promises. This is truly amazing.

Six People | Twelve Times

This is my new project for the year. Other people have done this - it's definitely not my idea - but I am in love with it. To document my family with a photo for every month. It is not going to be posey posey, I am sure my hair will not be done, and our clothes won't perfectly coordinate. It will be us being us.

This photo speaks volumes about my family. We are avid BYU fans. It's true. You can see our whole family at football games. We are all there about 2 hours early and do not leave until the boys have given 'high fives' to the entire football team. There are also basketball games, soccer games, and my favorite - volleyball! It took awhile to grow on me - the insaneness of it all. Although, it didn't take me long to realize that doing this is something that our whole family does together. The 45 minute car ride to Provo, game time, half time, and the ride home. We do this six Saturday's in the fall for football. What family can say they spend that much time together? My hope and wish is that my kids will continue to enjoy this time spent with their parents and siblings - time spent traveling will be time spent talking about life, answering questions, and getting to know my children - more than they will want me to know at certain times in their lives. Letting them invite friends, so we can get to know who they hang out with, and what kind of kids they are. What I didn't expect was to actually care about the games, the teams, and the wins and losses.

Onto the details of the photo...Kyle is pestering Kristin...she has a look on her face that screams, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jake is being a goofball and trying to get attention. I am giving Jake an exasperated look. Haley is clinging to my leg - never wanting me away from her side. Troy is looking down at Jake, about to tell him to be careful how he treats his mother. This is us. Our family. We are not perfect, nor do we claim to be. But I couldn't be more proud, or love the people in this photo more than I do right now...and as a final note...GO COUGARS!

Jake gets baptised!

Along with turning 8, Jake was able to be baptised a member of our church. It is a fun and exciting moment in our family when a child turns 8. First of all, I make them a video slideshow of ALL (let's get real, some) of the photos of them from birth to age 8. This year, because I was crazy busy, Allisun helped me organize the order of the slideshow. I put a few finishing touches and some music, and there you have it, Jakes life summed up into 18 minutes. He LOVES it. I LOVE it. I play it on the TV while we had family over for a big brunch (this allows everyone to watch Jake, but does NOT allow TV watching). Second, family shows up for some food. I made a yummy breakfast, and thanks to friends and family who baked cinnamon rolls, casseroles, and chocolate milk! Later that day, we took in a BYU basketball game at Energy Solutions Arena, and saw the lights at temple square. It was a fun filled LONG day! (I also had a photo shoot this day as well.) Jake is the best kid. Really. He has his moments, but I know that it is because he needs/wants attention. I wish I could convey to him, that I would give him MORE attention if he would stop the pestering...too bad it doesn't work that way. Jake is a sweet kid. He is a big hugger, and likes to spend time with his family. Here are his baptism photos! Enjoy!

Jake turns 8!

Now that my busy season is over, it's time to get back to blogging! Jake turned 8! On November 13 - but I still want to document it. He wanted to have a 'movie' party which was kind of a joke, cause the kids did NOT want to watch movies. Jake was so excited for this party! I had a friend make an awesome cake - we decorated the house a bit, had a table for movie treats, and the kids all came! He got 3 footballs, which he loved, and his favorite gift was a pack of gum - go figure. Here are a few of my favorite photos from his big day.


Jake is a pretty good kid. He loves to pester, but I know it's just to get attention. He is a great student, and has no behavior problems at school. THANK HEAVENS! I took him on a trip to Oregon with me (more on that later) and he was so great! It was really fun to have one on one time with him. I just can't believe he's already 8!

Something is seriously wrong...

BYU lost against Utah today. NOW...normally - I would say...big deal. It's just a game, blah, blah, blah. I am truly upset at the outcome. For a few weeks, I have been telling everyone that I think it's going to be a good game - a close game, and that BYU can hold their own. (We have season tickets and I've been to most of the home games.) The first game when BYU had 2 quarterbacks - Heaps was my favorite and I was rooting for him. People have laughed in my face (because let's be honest, what on EARTH do I know about football?). But, I have to say, I am so disappointed they lost. I am so irritated with the refs. Why on EARTH do they have automatic review if they can't even get that right? What on earth is wrong with me? What is happening? What did Troy do to me? Well, I will walk away knowing BYU was definitely the better team today - regardless of the score - and look forward to next year. Seriously? Did I really just say that? Oy...

{No BYU haters OR UTE lovers are allowed to post comments about the game - or I will delete them. This post is strictly to document my feelings for the day. Keep your comments to facebook...I am trying REALLY hard to not read or comment on facebook anymore about the game...}

Busy...Busy...Busy...

It's always this time of year that my blog gets put on the back-burner...I thought I would update and show you a few of my favorite photos from Halloween...it was a 'spooktacular' year for us in the costume department, and super cheap. My kids had a blast, and I have tons of candy to put in school lunches (as a snack only - of course).







As you can see - the boys were hilarious. We went to the school to watch the parade, and EVERYONE was in awe of my boys...asking if I would REALLY shave their heads? As if hair is some sacred thing...The boys actually tied in a costume contest at a yogurt shop in town. The only thing I regret is Kristin probably felt like a 'middle child'. Nobody paid attention to her costume - even though it is an ACTUAL cheerleader costume I purchased at the BYU Sports Kick-off. It is used and has been worn by cheerleaders (yeah, don't ask my how I feel that it fits my 6 year old). Anyways - like always, she was a good sport. We had a great Halloween...that's all that counts, right?

Happy Day...

I picked up my new jeans last night. I bought them at the Buckle. I love that store because they hem FOR FREE...and it looks good. The jeans are a bit pricey - for this pair they cost $75 - but it's worth every penny. My last pair lasted me 2 years.

The other happy moment is that Troy and I booked a condo for our Hawaii trip we are planning this spring. I am SO excited. Now that it's booked - there is NO going back. That makes me super happy!

Kyle played great in his flag football game tonight. Caught a sweet pass and pulled some flags.

Fed my kids 60 cent hamburgers/corn dogs at Artic Circle. Not my best 'mom' moment - but when you're sick - that's heaven.

I went to bed feeling pretty sick last night - and felt even worse this morning. So I was really sad I couldn't wake up and put my new jeans on. I cancelled my morning plans, and stayed in bed. Troy came home for lunch and instructed Haley to 'please put mom down for a nap'. She did and we both slept for 3 hours. HEAVEN. I hope I am perfectly better by Friday. I am headed to Portland and have 11 photo shoots scheduled! I am willing my body to get better! Luckily - I just have YW tomorrow, so I'm hoping I can sleep again all day tomorrow.

Even though I'm sick...it's been a happy day.

Utah State Fair

Our family went to the Utah State Fair a few weeks ago. We met Brad, Missy and Abby there(my cousin and his family). Missy is the creator of: So You Think You're Crafty. She took some photos of me and I took some photos of them! I edited my photos and watermarked them with my logo even though she took them, just to protect the pictures, but it's obvious, I did NOT take them.



Here's my favorite one I got of their cute little family... It was great being able to hang out for a few hours! We must do it again sometime...let's not wait for the fair!