First Day of School

It's official. School is back in session. Jimmy was practically bouncing off the walls this morning. He claimed he was just excited to see friends again. Emma had her backpack on and was ready long before it was time for them to go.

I did laugh that Jimmy and Emma wanted to walk today even though I would be driving over for Molly's kindergarten orientation. I let them. Figured if they really wanted to walk, more power to them. Of course, I did have them wait for the annual first day of school picture.

Here's Jimmy's.
And Emma's.
And Molly's. I know Molly doesn't really start for another week, but since she did go today included her with the pictures.
I decided to take a couple of pictures at the kindergarten orientation.

Maddy and Molly. I think Molly is really going to like having her cousin in her class.

Last Day of Summer Vacation

It's official. Summer is over. School starts up again on Monday. Jimmy will be starting the 5th grade, Emma will be in the 2nd grade, Molly will (not really for another week though) be starting kindergarten and Lys will be starting preschool. The main thing I remember about preschool is doing the Hokey Pokey. I remember a few things about when I was in kindergarten. Stacey was in my class. We had Mrs. Kemp. She gave everyone a birthday "spanking" when it was their birthday. Something that would never be allowed today. I remember really liking the 2nd grade. Stacey wasn't in my class. For some reason they didn't like to put twins in the same class past kindergarten. My teacher was Mrs. Turpin. I remember thinking when the space shuttle Challenger exploded that the teacher who was on it looked a lot like her. I pretty much remember the most about 5th grade. Stacey was back in my class that year. Who knew that a short note on the back of the registration cards asking that we be in the same class would work? Okay, my main memory of the 5th grade is putting on a play for the school. Santa in Ozland. I played the Wicked Witch. Mostly because I could cackle. Stacey played the good witch. I spun off the stage and Stacey would spin back on. A friend's mom thought we were the same person and was totally amazed. At least until that friend told her that we weren't the same person. My teacher was Mr....um...W-something. Funny that I remember most of the grades my kids are starting that year and for some reason am totally blanking on his name. I'm sure Stacey will let me know what it is.

I realize that I was rambling a bit there. Obviously since the title of this post doesn't technically mention school starting. Just got caught up with reminiscing a little. That and I've had fun the past few days in changing some of the words to the theme song for Phineas and Ferb to tease the kids about school starting again. Jimmy joined in with making up new words to it today. Mostly because we ended a mostly lazy summer with a very busy day.

This morning the kids went to a surprise birthday party for their cousin, Rebecca. There were kiddie swimming pools involved. They had a blast. It looked like a fun party for the kids there.

As much as they were looking forward to going to the party, they were looking more forward to what we had planned after the party. So much so that they weren't really happy that we made them wait a little while.

Remember back in June when I made the cake for the Summer Picnic for IHH and won a prize? Well, to refresh your memory, that prize was 4 passes to Cherry Hill. We decided to finally use them today. The kids didn't want to leave when we finally made them leave. They were having fun. Dylan had gotten cold enough that he was shivering and his lips were blue. Emma's lips were blue too, but she hadn't started shivering yet. No, that started later when Russ headed to the car with Dylan and Lys while Jimmy, Emma, Molly and I went on the rapids float ride thing. Jimmy really wanted them to try it. Not so sure Emma enjoyed it. Jimmy didn't really either. Jimmy and Emma held onto each other's tubes so they would stay together. Only right at the top of a tunnel part, Emma's flipped over, sending her off into the water. The current pushed Jimmy and Emma's tube down the tunnel so he couldn't stop to help her. Someone did help her get out. I had been holding onto Molly's tube and we were ahead of them, so I couldn't help, either. As soon as we knew Emma was fine and out, we tried to get through it as quickly as possible. Jimmy felt bad. He thought it was somehow his fault. I told him I saw several people flip in their tubes with no one around, so it happens. Emma didn't seem bothered by it. But I doubt she will go on it again for a while. Other than that, the kids really did have a great time. I did take the camera there. Then decided I didn't want to risk dropping it in the water and left it in the locker with the diaper bag. Which is why I have no pictures.

After we left, we decided to go out to eat at the Dylan's restaurant by us. I like that they have English chips there. Decided I should have gotten a large order when I made the mistake of letting the kids try one. I'll have to remember that for next time. It was a nice way to end the day.

Heart Camp

Friday we went to a heart camp hosted by IHH and held at Camp Wapiti, a camp run by the Elks club for children with various health issues. (To view a pdf of a brochure for Camp Wapiti, click here.) This was the first heart camp that they held.

When we arrived at Camp Wapiti, we arrived to quite a thunderstorm. I left Russ with the kids in the car while I checked in and got our cabin assignment. They had a canopy in front of the lodge for the check-in. I will admit that I chuckled to myself as I stood under the canopy in the storm and noticed one of the orange cones that had been set up said, "Wet Floor." Luckily, the storm didn't last long and we were able to unload the car without getting really wet. Our cabin had 6 bunk beds. The kids each picked to sleep on the top bunk of the beds.

We had a lot of fun at the camp. After a good spaghetti dinner, the kids played at the playground until it got dark enough for the outdoor movie. (The group voted and the movie we watched was Race to Witch Mountain.) Having an outdoor movie was another nice thing that the storm didn't last long. I went back to the cabin before the movie ended with the girls and Dylan. They were all a little cold and tired. Of course, they got to the cabin and decided to play rather than go to bed. Emma eventually went back and finished watching the movie. Didn't take any of them very long to fall asleep once the movie ended.

After breakfast in the morning, they had activities for the kids to do while the parents went to a symposium. I found the symposium to be very interesting. The first speaker was one of the pediatric cardiologists who works in the cath lab at Primary Children's Medical Center. He talked about some of the things that will be able to be used in the future in the cath lab. He even brought along a balloon cath and showed how it works. (I am horrible at remembering names, which is why I haven't mentioned it here.) The next speaker was a lady who supervises some of the research and studies at Primary's. She told a little about what they do and some of the studies that are being done now. The next speaker works with genetic research. They really don't know much at all about the causes of chd's, but with enough participation will hopefully be able to know more. Last the doctor who had volunteered to help out at the camp in case anyone needed medical attention spoke about the camp and the future of the camp. They hope to be able to get it so that they can have things like a day camp for heart kids and siblings who are between like 4 and 7. Maybe an overnighter for kids 7 to 12 and a week long camp for teenagers. At Camp Wapiti there are a few groups that do things like that. Like one for kids with cancer. Obviously it won't be a camp just for members of Intermountain Healing Hearts, but will be open to all heart kids and families (this one was also open to all heart kids and families but only members actually went).

After lunch we went swimming in pool. It had been stormy in the morning but had cleared up nicely in time for swimming. The temperature was on the cool side so I expected the pool to feel very cold. I was surprised to find that it felt warmer than the pool in St. George did. We had a hard time getting the kids out of the pool. Jimmy and Molly were the very last ones in it. They got out very grudgingly.

After swimming we finished cleaning up our cabin and then it was time to check out. The kids were sad to go. Mostly because they wanted to play on the playground some more, I think. They are looking forward to going again.

Here are a few pictures I took. I really didn't take as many as I had planned to take. Just didn't. This first one is of Molly playing on the swings.
Lys was dancing in her chair as they played music while waiting for it to get dark enough for the movie.
Emma sitting and waiting for the movie. If you look in the background, you can see the tables that they were getting treats ready for the movie. They had rootbeer floats, nachos, ice cream sundaes, and popcorn.
Russ and Dylan.
Jimmy attempting to dodge out of the frame when I was taking his picture.
Doesn't really do it justice, but there was a really pretty sunset Friday night.
The next event IHH is having is the Heart Walk on Sept. 12th. This is their biggest fundraiser. Russ works the second Saturday of every month, so I'm not sure if we will be able to go. I'll have to see what we can do. If anyone else is interested you can pre-register by clicking here and following the directions or I believe you can register at the event. If you click on that link, it should have the information for the Heart Walk.

Kitchen Project

Our work in the kitchen is not quite finished, but it really is close. I like the change. Funny what some paint, a little tile and a little stain can do for the look of a kitchen. Here are a couple of pictures. Wish it showed it better. Maybe when it is totally done I will throw on some more pictures. Mostly because Russ complained that I haven't posted some pictures yet is why I'm doing it now instead of when it is totally done. At least with it being to the stage it is, my kitchen is mostly manageable. Compared to the upheaval it was before, this is very nice. At least you can see the countertops.

Dylan's 1 Year Checkup

I took Dylan in for his well check today. Which was good, because he's a little sick. Yes, I get the irony of taking a sick child to a well child check-up. I joked with his doctor a little about it and he smiled and said that it's better than taking them home and having them get sick right after the appointment. Anyway, he said he sounds a little like he's starting into croup so gave us a prescription to try to prevent him having a bad night. Said that if he has a good night that he won't need the medicine tomorrow. Here's hoping he has a good night tonight. He didn't have a very good night last night.

Other than that, he looks good. He is right about average for height and weight (30 inches, 22 lbs, 10 oz). His head size is just below the 90th percentile. Cracks me up because Jimmy had a big head when he was little, too.

Dylan, of course, was not happy with much of anything today. He smiled at the doctor, but really didn't want him to touch him. So cried all the while he was being examined. And cried some more for the shots he got. Was upset enough that he fought me getting him dressed again. Poor kid. You'd think with all that he has been to the doctor that he wouldn't mind getting examined. Ah well.

Dylan's 1st Birthday!

Today is obviously Dylan's 1st birthday. Man, has that year gone by quickly. I will freely admit that I am glad to be here rather than a year ago. There was a lot more worry a year ago. Dylan was born at 2:58 in the afternoon and I didn't get more than a quick glance at him for a couple of hours. This first picture is how he looked when I first saw him. He started out so much different than my other kids, but looks so much like his brother now. I found a picture of Jimmy when he was 2 and he looks almost exactly like Dylan. The other kids all started out with nearly black hair and he started out with hair that looked pretty red. Now his hair is the same color as Lyssa's.
This next picture is of Dylan just a day or two before he came home from the hospital. I really don't know why, but this one is my favorite of him when he was in the hospital.
This one he was about 5 months old. Almost doesn't look like the same baby.
Here he's about 8 moths old.
And this one was taken tonight. He sure has changed.
We had a few over tonight for cake and ice cream for Dylan. We had thought about inviting a ton of people as sort of a way to thank everyone for their support for us last year at this time, but with redoing the kitchen and going to St. George, just never did invite more. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Here are a few pictures from tonight. Russ only took video, so I had to splice them out of the video. But that's okay.


I must say that as I think back over the past year all I really see are the blessings that we have. As cheesy as it may sound, Dylan has been such a joy to us and we are very glad he is part of our family. We have never regretted our decision to have him, and I'm sure we never will.

August Birthdays

August is another busy month for birthdays. As today is Dylan's birthday, I will mention him here, but give him his own post shortly. So without further ado, Happy Birthday this month to Dylan, Isabel, Di, Mariah, Kelly, J.D., Rebecca, Keith, and Chris! Hope everyone has a great birthday this year!