Pine Valley Picnic

Before school starts, we decided to have one last adventure so we headed to St. George for the weekend.  Saturday afternoon we headed up to Pine Valley to escape the heat and have a picnic.  Once we found a good stop to set up, it started to sprinkle.  I was concerned as the rain sprinkled us while we were eating and standing under trees, but then it stopped and we were able to explore while enjoying being outside.  It was a great afternoon. 

The kids discovered a small stream close to our picnic.  They spent time throwing sticks/ rocks in it and then building a bridge across.  Cord found one "bridge" and as he started crossing said, "I have feeling that it's not safe".  So we waited until we could find a "safe" place to cross. 

We also found a couple of structures that had been made with sticks that were pretty cool. 

I have spent a lot of time up in Pine valley as a child, and one thing I felt was like a rite of passage was going through the tunnel.  Mason was really excited to walk through this tunnel.  Cord wanted to as well but he was wearing his new school shoes and I didn't want them to get wet.  Maybe once he's a little older. 

We had a great time walking along the river trying to find a good way for the little boys to cross.  It was like our own high adventure.  We loved being up in Pine Valley and being together with family. 

Dentistry

I'm so grateful for dental insurance!!!  2 weeks ago it was the double wisdom-ectomy.  Yesterday the whole family was in to the dentist to get cleanings.  After Cord's cleaning, Dr. Hadley was inspecting his teeth.  While poking around he asked, "Does this hurt?".  Cord replied, "No, it's like your being hugged by a cat."  It was hard to contain the laughter.  It was so out of the blue, and as far as I know he's never been hugged by a cat. 

Today, Mason and Brianna got braces.  Mason was a little anxious but let me take some before and after pics.  Brianna on the other hand was not so excited about today.  She had a tougher time healing from the wisdom teeth and just barely started eating real food.  That was going to change today.  This is also her second time with braces because she didn't wear her retainer and her teeth moved.  She wasn't willling to let me take pics this morning. 

Here's Mason before.  He should be in braces about 18 months. 

She couldn't do much to stop me from taking pics when she was in the chair.  I am truly evil. 

We were able to put clear brackets on the top so it's not as noticable.

Happy smiles afterward from Mason.  He said it wasn't as bad as he expected.  Lets see how he feels over the next couple of days. 

Cord meets his teacher

I don't know if I have ever told my story about Cord getting into full day kindergarten but we have been so blessed.  We have 2 great elementary schools right next to each other.  Mason attended Twitchell when we first moved here and we loved it.  Cord had preschool in 2010-2011 at Vanderburg and we loved his teacher.  I had applied for Cord to be in all day kindergarten at Twitchell, but because so many kids applied for it the process became a lottery and we lost.  We ended up on a waiting list.  I was really depressed because I felt it was vital for my decision to go to day shift that he be in school all day.  Plus, I felt like he was ready for the challenge.  A friend of mine called me one day that I was leaving the temple and told me that she had heard from another person that Vanderburg had opened up another all day kindergarten class and had some openings.  I told myself that I would call when I got home, but had a strong impression that I needed to call right at that moment.  So I pulled over and called.  Turns out they had ONE spot available because someone had called to drop out that day.  I went over to the school to talk to them and found out that Mrs. Carnaby (Cord's old preschool teacher) was moving up to teach the kindergarten.  I emailed her and we were able to get into her class.  I'm so blessed and see the hand of the Lord in that placement. 

So today we went over for Cord to do his kindergarten assessment.  Mrs. Carnaby was talking to Cord and said "Your so cute.".  Cord responded, "No!  I'm AWESOME".  Well said.  I'm really excited about the new school year.  I'll have a senior and a kindergartener.  WOW. 

LVA spring recital

At Brianna's last dance concert at school there was an obnoxious lady sitting in the row in front of us taking pictures through the whole thing.  They have posted all over the program not to take pictures or video and they even announced it a couple times during the program, but that didn't stop her.  She wasn't using a flash but you could hear the shutter going off the whole time.  Brianna said she could even hear it from the stage.  Anyway, these pictures showed up on facebook.  Brianna noticed that she was in some of them so she tagged herself so I could get them.  I'm glad I at least got something out of that obnoxious lady who didn't think any of the rules applied to her.  So I hope you enjoy these pictures, I at least did.  Brianna had a solo through a lot of this piece. 

Boys just wanna have fun

As summer is coming quickly to a close, Riker came to spend another weekend with us.  They rotted their brains with video games and played in the pool.  It's fun to see them having fun together.  Riker is so good with Cord.  He is very patient with him and both boys were good to include him in the fun games they would play.  Mike and I did take the big boys to see the new Bourne movie.  We tried to prepare Riker for the serier by watching the first one together, but he was still lost.  At least it had some good action scenes in it. 

The next day

We made it through the night and the girls are feeling better, but more puffy today.  Keep them ice packs and Lortab coming.  The challenge now is to find foods they can eat since their appetite is coming back but their jaws are still pretty tight and sore.  Today someone brought the girls smoothies, but Mike and I were in town and Mason couldn't remember who it was.  We have so many great people in our ward that could have done it.  So glad we did this before school started. 

Wisdom teeth

Today I took both girls down to get their wisdom teeth pulled.  I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea to do both at once, but it made for an interesting day.  Brianna made Chelsea go first since she was the oldest.  They were most worried about the IV than anything else.  I thought it was interesting that Chelsea made sure she wore a red shirt "in case any blood got on her". 

Once they started her IV and put her out, I had to leave and go over to the next room where Brianna was waiting for me.  Once the doctor was done with Chelsea (which didn't take long to get all 4 teeth out), he came in to work on Brianna.  I had to leave and go wait in lobby. 

When both were done, I drove around back and they wheeled both girls out, giggling, and acting "silly". The assistants said Brianna kept yelling out "WHEW" and "Yippee" as she was waking up.  I got the girls loaded in the van and tried to listen to all the discharge instructions but kept laughing at the silly things coming from my van. 

Before we left Brianna kept saying that she was going to throw up, so I went back in to get a basin.  When I got back to the car, Brianna was hysterically crying, tears streaming down her face, and eyes beat red.  Chelsea (who was higher than a kite and kept talking in a high pitched, child-like voice) kept petting her and saying "It's OK, Brianna".  Brianna kept saying "I don't know why I'm crying.  I haven't cried in like 10 years".  I was laughing so hard on the way home at the silly things Chelsea was saying.  There were a lot of "I love you, mommy".  I even called Mike to have her talk to him on the way home.  Chelsea was waving at everyone we passed as well.  All the time that Brianna is crying. 

I managed to get the girls home and upstairs.  Brianna settled into her room and Chelsea took over the playroom.  At one point I had both girls in the bathroom trying to rinse blood out of their mouths.  Brianna was still upset that she felt like she was going to throw up so she was sitting by the toilet, pale as a ghost and crying.  I was trying to get her a cool rag and reassure her.  The Chelsea announced that she felt dizzy.  I watched her face turn white as I laid her on the bathroom floor knowing that she was about to pass out.  I put a cool cloth on her head as she was still giggling and acting goofy.  That was the moment I looked at both of them and thought I was crazy for doing them both.  I got them settled into their spots and went to get their pain meds, pudding, popcicles, etc.  I spent the afternoon running from room to room making sure they had ice packs, drinks, snacks, and anything they might need.

I wished I could have videoed Chelsea, she was so silly.  But I was too busy trying to get them settled in.  It was interesting to talk to them later in the afternoon to see what they remembered about when they were waking up and the ride home.

Just a box

I pulled a couple of boxes out from under the stairs and emptied them.  Turns out, it made great entertainment for the weekend.  The boys made "homes" and then their dad helped them make it into a mansion, complete with it's own light.  They (the boys and brianna) even had a sleepover in it a couple of nights.  When I went to clean it up I found boxes of cereal, poptarts, and all kinds of snacks that suggested that they had totally moved in.  It was great fun for "just a box". 

Diva in disguise

Chelsea had the opportunity to pick up a (boy) friend at the airport and was trying to plan a surprise.  So she showed up in this pink wig to try and throw him for a loop.  Didn't work.  One look at her sweet face and he knew who she was.  Funny girl!