THE LAKE-memorial day weekend

THE DETROIT ZOO

GLIMMERS July 2011(camping)

A camping we a went and did we have SOOO much fun!!! We camped with my Aunts and some of my cousins and their children. Here are the GLIMMERS of our adventure:

*Lake Michigan had big waves and warm water for 2 days in a row and did the kids and adults have fun jumping over, under and into those waves. Some of them were so big they went right over your head!

*Unfortunately 2 days of big waves also means the lake turned and was oh so cold. 56 degrees to be exact and who do you think decided it was a good idea to go out and touch the bouy...ME...I honestly did not think I was going to make it, luckily I had my husband to push me through the pain literally..he pushed me from behind the last 50 yards..when I got back to shore I couldn't even feel the sand beneath my feet and had lost the feeling in my legs from about 3 inches above the knee down..it was great to be a kid again with my cousin with our kids cheering us on from the SHORE!!!

*We cooked every dinner over the fire for a week and we have a new favorite walking tacos..the kids were even trying to figure out how I could pack them in their lunches.

*The kids went to a class about snakes and even got to see one eat a frog!

*We went on a one hour hike down the creek always a kid favorite and it was so fun seeing the kids being so brave crossing fallen trees and jump off them into the water. They also were determined to catch a fish in their bug net which never did happen but boy did they try.

*We played Boochie at the open field and freeze tag..it is fun to run around and be a kid again.

*Jensen loved sleeping in the hammock..he was so cute you would look over and there he would be sleeping.

*We had lots of campfire hijinx..do you know what happens when you blow coffee creamer or baby powder over a fire? Stand back is all I can say!

*We had magical fires with our pine cones and my Aunt Carol gave all the kids magic fire packets which were so cool.

*A nature scavenger hunt occupied most of the cousins for an afternoon. It was so fun to see them and all of their collections when they came to pick up their treat for finishing it! Apparently the beetle was the hardest to find!

*One night we all ate together..boy was that a big circle and a Happy Birthday to Zachary!!!

*Playing Rummy with the teen until we were all delirously tired and boy when we get tired do we come up with some ridiculous stuff we could do! No we really wouldn't send our children around banging on a pot with a spoon and have them count down quiet every 15 minutes for the 2 hours leading up to quiet time but boy when tired it was a funny thought and we could not quit laughing this is when we knew we needed to goto bed to "curb our exuberance".

*Reading Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing around the fire every night!

*Building sandcastles, burying each other in the sand, and running up and down the dunes!

There is a glimmer into our week of CAMPING, next on our list MOVING!!!

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GLIMMERS July 2011

I totally forgot that when I got busy I used to do GLIMMERS so I could journal quickly about the goings on in our life so here is a GLIMMER into our life:

*went to California and visited Disneyland, California Adventure, Legoland, SeaLife Aquarium, San Diego Zoo Safari Park and had FUN FUN FUN and now we are tired tired tired but there is no rest for the weary around here

*Got to hug on Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Tinker Belle, Avidica, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Chip, Dale, Terk, the Bears from Brother Bear, Mickey, and Pluto and the actor from the Blindside did I have a happy teen!!!

*We were 1 foot away from a cheetah also made the teeneagers day!

*Picked out flooring for the new house and LOVE IT!!!

*Spent the 3rd and 4th at the lake. The kids went fishing and swimming and I was trying to get over jet lag and for some reason I went in reverse instead of wanting to sleep in I would stay up late and then get up ridiculously early...I was all out of whack but am feeling fine now and the kids are back on schedule

*Packing for camping...how I love camping and the beach!

*Prepped Pinecones for our magical fire while camping

*Jensen helped me make his birthday cakes(since we were in CA on his birthday)

*Christian toured SVSU and loves it now we will see if he impresses the coach there this weekend

*Painters come to new house tomorrow to fix and paint ceiling so I got a key to the new house today....it still seems a little surreal we are moving

*It is a busy time but I have this spirit of peace about myself and I am enjoying the calm I feel even though logically I think I should be running around like a nut

There is a quick glimmer into our lives!!!

Kids Say

Me: Jensen, are you too cute?

Jensen: Yes I am too cute for words (long dramatic pause) but not too cute for questions!!!!

Have you noticed:

I have been MIA lately, well it has been a bit of crazy around here and I will tell you that trend is probably going to continue. We leave on the 25th for CA for a week ...Disneyland, Legoland, Sealife and San Diego Wildlife Park here we come!!! We come back on the 2nd and leave on the 3rd for an overnight trip and come back on the 4th late. Then it is time to get ready for our next adventure: camping for a week, we leave on July 9th and return home the 16th. Take a breath(I am saying that to myself) that was all part of the plan because our oldest son has youth conference this weekend and my husband has a business trip starting July 23rd for the week and then High School sports start Aug 1st. This left us little time to go on vacation and so 2 trips virtually on top of each other was a must and now on to why it has been a bit of crazy around here and why it is going to continue is we are:

MOVING

This was not part of our plan this summer but here we are. Heavenly Father works in miraculous ways sometimes and this is one of those times. If you note the schedule above we close on the house July 20th!!! Thus the crazy and the deep breathes. It is going to be a great thing but the timing of it all is a bit stressful to be honest . Luckily for us we are in a position were we can buy, move, and then sell our current home which I am trying to refer to more and more of as the house. So this is why I have been MIA!!!

PROM 2011

Prom has arrived yet again and here is the most gorgeous couple..yes I am biased but Kendra and Christian are cuties!!!

They started off by going to the local gardens in one of the only times it was not raining that day(yahoo for timing)!!!

After the pictures they loaded onto a bus for untold adventures. A local church put together a clean prom which I am grateful for their efforts in providing a good wholesome time for my teen...thank you thank you!!!

Since I had no idea where or what they were doing this is the report I received when he arrived home. They first went to Bay City to Jacks and had a fabulous dinner of steak or chicken. Then piled back onto the bus and were driven to Frankenmuth to Barvarian Inn where there was a boat waiting for them on the river and this is where they had the dance portion of their night. After a couple of hours of dancing and having a good time they changed from their fancy clothes and returned to the bus. Once on the bus they were taken to Saginaw to a local arcade called Kokomos and they played laser tag as a group and then games. Then you guessed it back to the bus for their final destination back to the church where they played Sardines and other games wrapping up the night. They really did have a fun night and one more prom under my belt with untold amounts of future proms to look forward too!!!

I am FINE!!!

* don't read if you don't want to hear about feminine issues

Starting in July of 2009 I missed a period and then another month went by no period and not pregnant either. Then surprise right on my normal schedule it arrived and then October was the same. Then a no show again in November and December with an on time appearance in January and February. I was starting to sense a pattern and then by sudden surprise on the 1st day of Spring Break I passed possibly 2 of the largest and reddest blood clots I had ever seen. It was kind of scary to be honest but nothing more followed really a bit of spotting until a few days later when blood was dripping off my feet. Of course it was a Friday night and the on call doctor seemed less than concerned so the weekend was spent running to the bathroom with my more than helpful husband following behind cleaning up my trail of blood. It was frustrating but David kept it light and humorous with such comments as, "I hope no one gets murdered here because a CSI team is going to have a heck of a time figuring it all out." This continued through the next week and on Thursday I started to keep track of how many tampons and pads I went through in 12 hours(7-7). By noon I quit wearing tampons because they were falling out about every 10 minutes so by noon I went through roughly 25 tampons and 10 pads and that was 5 hours in. At 7pm I called and left a message for my doctors nurse saying how many tampons and pads I went through in 12 hours...25 tampons and 40 pads. I of course was called back first thing in the morning and was seen that day. I was sent to the lab so they could run a bunch of tests and was sent to get an ultrasound. I was put on some meds for 10 days to stop the bleeding(it never did but it wasn't as bad)and after the 10 days I was supposed to have what they call a withdrawal bleed and it wasn't so bad the first few days and then with blood dripping off my feet I called the doctor again and was seen immediately my test were not so great and so I was given some different medication and referred to a ob specialist and off for another ultrasound. By the time I had an appt with a specialist my gums and nails were almost completely white..not good! The new medicine along with an almost liver killing dose of ibuprofen the bleeding finally stopped after 37 days.... woohoo!!!

So my summer started out by meeting with the specialist and that went fine and I was sent for more tests and another ultrasound( a quick note ultrasounds are fun if you are looking at a baby). I came back a few weeks later so they were sure I was not pregnant and they did a biopsy(this was not too bad) and pap smear..all the results came back fine(it is not fun to wait for test results to see if you have cancer not fun at all) and I was scheduled for a 6 month follow up and a 4 month dose of a lovely drug that causes you to have a withdrawal bleed every month. Th's medicine is horrible!!! You take it for 10 days and then not for 14. I works like this you get addicted to it and then you quit taking it and the withdrawal from it causes you to bleed..sounds fun huh? This was taken over 4 months and that last month I honestly didn't think I would make it through..because every month before after 14 days I would take it again ahhhh drugs! The last month however was the end of the cycle so we are talking shakes, sweats, cramps..anything you have read about a drug addict getting clean this was me and it was Christmas time..I can say this our tree was up and eventually decorated!

I had my 6 month check up a few weeks ago and there was a spot!!! All my other tests had come back fine. I even after a year started my period all on my own with no drugs and now there is a SPOT GAK!!! It was decided to have it removed right then!!! I was ill prepared to have a surgery right then but it was happening. They don't put you out for this type of surgery nor do they numb you. I had no one there to hold my hand or drive me home so I was a bit taken aback but put on my game face and prepared in the roughly 15 minutes(this included prep time) I had for an operation. I go into a very happy place during medical procedures even when I am in labor and it is a very serene calm place and so I took a deep breath and went there. The prep was quick..but not quick enough and then I was ripped quite quickly out of my serene little world by the most incredible pain. They had accidental cut the entire length of my vaginal wall on their way up to remove the spot. Now the removal of the spot was painless but the cut of the vaginal wall not so painless. After that was all done...I went home and I went to bed and that is just were I stayed for the day! I have finally healed up from all of that mess and am feeling great I even started my second period on my very own YAHOO!!! My test results came in the mail yesterday and everything came back normal. I have a checkup in 3 months but I am free and clear from any type of biopsy or pap smear for a year and NO CANCER.

Why do I share all of this you ask? I think we too often go around and act like everything in our lives is perfect...I know even during this time I did...when someone would ask how I was doing the answer was always fine. I would sit in Ward Council and hear of the needs in the ward and say nothing because I was fine. Did I sit around and mope or cry during this time not one tear..there was some worry at first but no tears no fretting because I was fine. It wasn't until a few days after my last biopsy I realized I am not fine! Why did I keep doing everything I was doing? Why didn't I delegate more? Why didn't I take help that was offered? Why didn't I ask for help when I needed it? And why did I always say FINE? Why do I always say fine? Why do WE always say fine? Did you know the number one lie women tell is saying they are fine!!!

What I have learned through this experience is... I guess I want to start off by saying we should not start going around and complain all the time not at all...but when someone asks with sincerity how are you the answer does not have to be fine if it isn't. We can be honest without divulging our life story. We can ask for help when we need it and when we do ask for help be clear why you need help again you don't have to divulge your life story but sometimes when you need help it is necessary to say why or just might not get it(I have learned through experience). Take help that is offered EVERYTIME even if your house is a mess!!! Our lives for the most part are fine but when they aren't it is okay to slow your life down. Take a real look at your life and figure out what your priorities are and what makes you happiest and do those things with help, delegate what you can(it isn't going to fall apart if you don't do it, now it might not be done how you wanted but it got done and that is what is important),and it is okay to not be FINE because how many of us are fine all the time!

Picky Eater NO MORE

I have read so many times it is the parents that make picky eaters and I am here to say this is NOT true. Every other one of my children has been a picky eater...and I can say this is not a fun thing to deal with as a parent. You try to decide what road to take..do you insist they try everything or cater to their favorites, do you let them sit at the table until they fall asleep so they will just try something...... do you battle or not.

I decided to give my children one bite of everything and they had to eat the one bite and then they could eat more of whatever they wanted. This worked fabulously for my older picky eater but the younger one not so much but I am a persistent type so we kept pushing forward with the plan and somedays dinner would go untouched, I would be frustrated, he would be crying..you can picture the whole scene LOVE AT HOME right?!?

Well my persistence paid off..YAHOO! This week we had salad and he grabbed the salad tongs and grabbed himself some without me even asking him too. Today for lunch he ate celery, carrots, broccoli, raisins, strawberries, and a cheesestick. So for all you parents out there with picky eaters...the battle can end, just be persistant!

I FInished I Finished!!!!!

Currently I am the Primary President at church and I had challenged all the children to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I knew this would be difficult but a doable task and when they accomplished their goal they could write their name on the brass plates. I of course wanted to be a good example and have it read first so I came up with a 6 month plan to accomplish my reading surely finishing before any of the children.

2 weeks went by and I start hearing reports of children being in Jacob...AHHHHHHHHHH..I am still in 1Nephi I thought. I knew I needed to step up my game quite a bit. I started staying up late at night, getting up early in the morning, if all my children were at school I was reading. Somedays up to 6 hours.

This past Sunday I asked the children how they were doing on their scripture reading and then I made a huge mistake and didn't realize it until later. I told them I would have it read by the next Sunday(tomorrow)and I was in Alma chapter 20 to be exact. It is by far the hardest book for me to get through and roughly half way through the Book of Mormon. Now I could have went back to them and said I mispoke but that would not be me, I dug in staying up even later and getting up even earlier and on Thursday I decide I was going to finish it. I was up and read for 3 hours before getting the children ready for school. I came home and read for over 2 hours. I picked up Jensen from preschool and got him lunch and read. He went to Snoozeyville(this is what we call naptime, yes he loves to go to Snoozeyville not every day and he is going to be 6 in June)and I read. I read until the other children came home from school and picked up the teen and I read some more and 10 minutes after my David came home from work I had finished!!!! It felt great!

The spirit of the last few weeks has been a sweet experience I would not trade for anything. I however am now ready to go back to the more casual study of scriptures. I am grateful for the scriptures and the great blessing they are in our life!

Pinewood Derby 2011

Semester Break 2011

For semester break we(the teenager)drove to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days of rest. We had a blast staying in the Wolf Den and playing and playing and playing. I of course took no pictures of any of that but on our way out we always stop at the Bear Claw for a treat and I snapped a picture:



It was winterfest there and so it was all decorated like a winter wonderland and actually snowed a few times a day there in the lobby.


My children love Great Wolf Lodge and one of the things they love to do there is play Magiquest(look closely at the picture you can see magic wands in hand). They run around the hotel finding hidden treasure, talking with knights and fairies, and fighting dragons. David loves how much the kids love this activity and wish we had one closer to home!

Christmas Morning 2011

It was a great day and we stayed in these jammies all day, even for our Christmas Dinner...I am sensing a new tradition!

Our Littlest Chirstmas Tree

David's Play:

Making of a Gingerbread House

At my childrens school all of the 2nd graders gather inthe gym and make gingerbread houses. Her is david's creation: