Earrings and Santa

This weekend we went down to the Layton Mall and Lillian and baby Violet got their ears pierced. Lillian has been wanting to get her ears pierced ever since she heard Daniel and Bertha were going to pierce Violet's ears. Isabelle wanted to get hers done too, but when I told her it was going to hurt, she wasn't okay with it. We figured she has definitely had enough hurt for a while so maybe she should wait.
Violet went first and Lillian still wanted to get hers done. She was scared when they cleaned her ears so we told her she didn't have to go through with it if she didn't want to. But she kept saying she wanted to. She picked out some pink diamond earrings and was ready to go. They put one in and before she could say no, they put the other one in. It was sad, she was crying. But after she calmed down she loved them.

We also took the girls to see Santa. Before they have been a little wary of the guy but Lillian was ready to sit on his lap this time. She told him what she wanted, a pink camera and a jewelry set, and hopped off. Then it was Isabelle's turn and she wasn't so sure anymore. Santa offered her a coloring book, which she wouldn't take, so I took it for her. Then she walked a little closer to him and yelled, "I want babies! I want babies!"

It was adorable. I don't want to sit on your lap but this is what I want and I know your the person to get it for me - Babies Santa, Babies.

After the mall we headed to my parents. Everyone in my family except for my dad, Lillian, Isabelle, and Violet went to the U of U to see my grandma sing in the Messiah. That is right, my dad watched 3 little girls including a baby. Apparently my mom's attempts at putting a little culture into my dad have failed. What are you gonna do?

I wonder if he would still choose to babysit instead of going to the concert. It sounded wild. Abby, the dog, tried to sit really close to Lillian who tried to push her away and yelling at her, "I just got my ears pierced! I have to go to Primary!" Then Isabelle came over and started hitting Abby to protect Lillian.

Then my Dad couldn't find a diaper for Violet, so he used one of Isabelle's. It was huge on her as you can imagine. In her prayer on the food the next day, Isabelle prayed that Violet would give her back her diaper. We are really trying to work on the sharing thing.

We had a good time at the concert, at least I did. I think Kevin did too. He takes me fishing, I take him to classical music concerts - we compromise that is what makes us work, right?

Isabelle's Surgery

Isabelle had surgery at Primary Children's Hospital to repair kidney reflux. If you don't know what kidney reflux is, it is when the ureters (the tubes between your kidneys and your bladder) allow urine to pass freely between the kidneys and bladder. This causes urinary tract infections. If left untreated the infections will damage the kidneys.



We were hoping that we could treat the kidney reflux with a daily antibiotic and that eventually she would grow out of it. This is the approach most people take to treat it. Isabelle had two breakout urinary tract infections while on the antibiotics. As a result the doctors recommended that we repair it to prevent damage to her kidneys. We were wary of surgery but felt that Isabelle would be in good hands at Primary Children's (which she was) and that she would recover quickly (which she didn't).

After we arrived at the hospital they examined Isabelle and then we went to wait in the Pre-Op playroom. We waited with other parents and children who were waiting for their surgery. Soon after we arrived we realized how blessed we really were. Many of the children were there for their 6th and 7th surgery and most were under 5 years old. Our hearts ached for them. We were terrified as we contemplated what our child was going to go through. I can't imagine having to subject your child to multiple surgeries. We were very thankful that our child was there for her first and hopefully only surgery.

We waited in the Pre-Op room for about 2 1/2 hours. She didn't go into surgery until 2:30 PM, without any food. She was such a trooper. I was hungry and I had had breakfast!

Before they took her into surgery, they gave her some medicine to help her relax; and relax she did. We had some good laughs before her surgery. Our wild child became very relaxed and loopy.

As we had to hand her off to the anesthesiologists I couldn't hold back my tears. I felt like I was abandoning her. I knew that they would take good care of her, but I still wanted to be with her. After she came out of surgery they told me that after we handed her off she put up quite a fight, even with the meds to help her relax. That's my Isabelle.
Her surgery took 2 1/2 hours. They let me go into recovery to see her shortly after. When I saw her, the nurse said she definitely had spunk. When she first woke up she was very mad and put up quite a fight. But can you blame her? Waking up from surgery is the worst. While I was with her I was standing and I think I had my knees bent, or the stress of it all came crashing down, but I got super hot and sweaty and nauseous and I almost passed out. I seriously never do that. I felt so stupid. They got me some juice and after I walked around a bit I felt better, but seriously how embarrassing is that? I am sure strong under pressure aren't I?
My parents came to see Isabelle that night. I was disappointed Lillian couldn't come but they only allowed visitors over the age of 14. They brought us some dinner and a little emotional support after a long and emotional day.

After a rough night, Isabelle seemed to be doing better the next morning. She ate pancakes for breakfast and had her catheter taken out. They have a cute playroom at P.C. that children can go and play in when they feel okay. The nurses mentioned it and so she wanted to play in it. Looking back I think she definitely over did it. After the playroom she started to go down hill a little bit. She quit eating and she just became irritable and tired. Can you blame her?
Trying to put on a happy face. She is holding her doll affectionately named, 'blue baby'. They let her take blue baby into surgery with her to help her out.
One good thing about being the hospital is that you get to eat whatever you want and you get to watch whatever you want on TV.
We brought her home the day after her surgery and on the way home she threw up in the car. She had a tough night and threw up again before she fell asleep. The next day was like a roller coaster. She would feel good, and then she would crash, then she would feel a little better, and then crash again. That night she threw up and had super bad bladder spasms. Bladder spasms are like a muscle spasm but with your bladder. They were painful because her bladder had just been operated on. The doctor said she would have a few but she would have them constantly for 2 hours.
In the morning we took her home and she just struggled. She threw up a few times and she kept having spasms. We tried different meds but they didn't work for her. Finally the doctors at Primary told us to come back into the hospital but we were back in Cache Valley so we went to Logan Regional.

They admitted her into the hospital because she was dehydrated and she was still having bad bladder spasms. After the surgery she had blood in her urine, but at L.R.H. she was peeing almost straight blood.
I spent the night in the hospital with her and it was one of the hardest nights of my life. She was so miserable, nauseous, in pain, having bladder spasms. My heart was just breaking for her. She didn't settle down until 2 AM, then she woke up at 5 AM with more spasms, and couldn't sleep until 6:30 AM, and then woke up about 9. You feel so helpless as a parent when you can't comfort your child; I felt completely helpless.

Kevin stayed home with Lillian that night. Then a great friend watched her so he could come back the next day. Jim and Mary came to help us with Lillian that night and they ended up staying the week. They were a big help and Lillian, who was feeling a little left out, had a great time with them.

During all of this we felt such an out pouring of love and support from friends and family. Calls of reassurance and love and offers to help. That meant a lot of us. Thank you, thank you to those who showed us so much love.

She spent one more day and one more night in the hospital. The next night I asked if there was something they could give her to help her sleep. They gave her some, but about 1 hour and a half later when she was jumping on her bed I asked the nurse if it could make her hyper. Which, we found out was one of the side effects. So it took her a while to calm back down and sleep, but I could tell she felt better.

The next morning we went back home and she was doing so much better. She still had spasms at home and we just had to do our best to comfort her to get her through them; which, as you can imagine, was so hard. She spent a lot of time in the tub, because that was one thing that seemed to help her.

When we got home we felt more love and support from family and friends. We have such good friends and family. You guys are the best! There were meals brought it, calls, and visits to see how we were doing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

She is doing so much better now. She is still having a hard time with bladder control and her incision hurts a little at times, but overall she is doing great. We go back to Primary in a few weeks where we will find out if the surgery was a success. Hopefully it was and we can close the book on our experience with kidney reflux.

Disney On Ice

The day before Isabelle had surgery at Primary Children's Hospital we took the girl's to see Disney on Ice for a little fun before the hurt.

We surprised them and didn't tell them we were going until right before. They didn't believe us at first and then when they realized we were serious they were super excited.

It was a great night. Have I mentioned how much fun girls can be? Since I grew up with all brothers it is fun to do super girly stuff with my girls. I don't know if Kevin would agree but he really has no choice; he has girls what is he going to do? Thankfully he is a good sport and loves to spoil them as much as I do.

Kevin's Graduation Party

I love an excuse to celebrate. Birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, the first day of Spring, you name it; I love to celebrate. So Kevin finishing his MBA was no exception. I started planning his Graduation Party months ago. I knew it had to be a surprise because he would never let me throw him a party. It's better to ask for forgiveness than for permission right? I am so proud of him and all he has accomplished. He deserved a night to be celebrated.

To add even more fun to the planning of the party I sprained my ankle the day before the party. I was freaking out a little bit. I kept saying I have so much to do today I can't believe I did this and Kevin kept saying, you have nothing to do today, what do you have to do today? I kept thinking if he only knew!

Thankfully I have some of the best friends in the world and an amazing family who helped me make the party a success. Thanks you guys!
I lied and told Kevin my sister in law, Mick and I were going shopping and to meet us at dinner that night. I told him Mick was craving a good steak so could he meet us at Hamilton's.

It was a great surprise. I think he got a little suspicious when he walked in the restaurant but overall I think it was a shock to him to see all those people together in one room to celebrate him.

My friend Chanelle helped me make the table look beautiful.

Kevin thanked everyone for coming and I wish I had recorded his little speech because he said some very nice things about our journey together. What can I say, he is the best!

My parents wanted the girls to be there too. I was a little hesitant but in the end I was glad they were there. I dressed them up cute and did their hair because I knew they would be coming to the party. My brother Michael went and picked them up after Kevin left and they showed up in their pj's with their hair all undone. Oh well they were still cute.
Here are some pics of our family and friends who were at the party.
Thank you to all who came that night. We had a great time and I hope all you guys had fun too.
Again thank you to all who helped me make the party a great success; you are the best.

And finally CONGRATULATIONS KEVIN!!!

Halloween '09

This year our kids got plenty of use out of their Halloween costumes. First we had the Ward Halloween Carnival, then Lillian had her dance Halloween party, school Halloween party, trick-or-treating at Kevin's work, trick-or-treating downtown and at Lee's, then the trick-or-treating Halloween Night. I love love love Halloween but when it actually came to Halloween night I was a little Halloweened out.

On top of all of this I do not have any pictures of it because I lost my camera. Yes, I am that irresponsible. I have no idea where it is, so if any of you do, let me know. It is a black Canon camera that Kevin gave to me for our anniversary and I lost it. Not only am I irresponsible but I am a bad wife because I lost my anniversary gift. Kevin, because he is the best husband, went out and bought me another camera, that I will not lose this time. He keeps asking me where it is and I freak out as I frantically look for it only to find it where I left it.

Needless to say here are our Halloween pictures of the girls. Aren't they adorable?

Our cute friend Harrison, a.k.a. Super Why came to do a little trick-or-treating with us.

Isabelle decided to pad her bucket with the candy we had to pass out to the trick-or-treaters. She put one in her bucket and one in her mouth. What can I say? That's my girl.
Ready to hit the neighborhood. It was a beautiful night perfect for trick-or-treating. They sure cleaned up, we have so much candy!

He's Done, He's Done, He's Finally Done!

Kevin is done with school at last! Hooray! I want to shout it from the rooftops! I am so happy and it wasn't even me in school, you can only imagine how happy Kevin is. He just finished his MBA program; his 3rd college degree. His fellow classmates asked him what was next, a PhD or law school perhaps? Um, no, I don't think so. Sure love you hon, but we're done right?

To put it into perspective: we figured out that he has been in school from the time he was 5 until now and he is 29, with only the exception of his mission. Seriously?

I am so proud of Kevin and all he has done. We completed our Bachelor's Degrees together in '04. Then he went on to earn his Master's of Biological Engineering in '06, while working full time, being a husband, and new father. He decided to earn his MBA next, but he had to take undergraduate business courses in order to get into the program. Now in '09 he has earned his MBA!

Kevin has been in school the entire time I have known him. I don't know what life will be like without homework, essays, and finals, but I am excited to find out! Kevin we are so proud of you and we love you!!!

I Pee Outside?

Isabelle has had quite a month. In the course of this month Isabelle has gotten rid of her binky, or we have gotten rid of it for her...Then this last week she made the momentous move from the diapers to the potty. Yea!

While we were in the midst of the potty training she reminded me that Lillian peed outside while we were camping and she wanted to pee outside also. She kept saying "I pee outside?" So I kept saying, No we only pee outside when we are camping and there are no bathrooms. In true Isabelle style she chose not to listen to me and I found her outside pulling her panties up. She proudly told me that she peed outside and showed me the wet spot on the driveway. I thought, having girls, we would not have to worry about them peeing outside. I guess I was wrong. I have to apologize to my neighbors if they saw a little girl peeing on her driveway, sorry we usually aren't that gross at our house.

Top of Utah Half Marathon

It all began in February...my aerobics instructor, Leigh, told us she wanted us all to do the Smithfield 10K in May. Well, while I was training for that race I caught the running bug. It really is a love/hate relationship actually. Running a half marathon was on my bucket list so I decided this was the year to run one. Mick also caught the running bug and we decided to run the Top of Utah Half Marathon together. I convinced my neighbor Katie to run the race with me and thankfully she became my training partner.

We woke up bright and early on the day of the race. I was sooo nervous!

It was really so great to run the race with Mick and Katie. They helped push me at different times in the race! Plus they helped keep my mind on other things besides just running.
Our cheering section!!! Kevin, the girls and my parents met us at mile 7 and mile 10.5. It was great to see them - they made me so happy and really gave me a burst of energy.

We finished the race in 2:01!!!

We set a goal for ourselves to run the race, all 13.1 miles of it, in 2 hours, 15 minutes. Almost at the end of the race, Mick looked at her Garmin watch and told us we had to hurry and finish strong. When she said that I thought, "oh great, we are not going to make our goal." I pushed it as hard as I could and we all crossed the finish line together. When we crossed I saw the clock and it said:
2 hours 1 minute!!
We beat our goal by 14 minutes. I was so proud and excited!

I was so glad to finish the race. I just kept thinking as soon as I cross the finish line I can walk all I want!

Do we look great or what? It meant so much to complete my goal with two awesome girls. It wouldn't have been as fun without them! My wonderful family got up so early to come and cheer us on - they are the best!! Isabelle kept saying Mommy you run? You run fast? It meant the world to me to have them there to share in this accomplishment.

After some water, a roll, and some fruit we were all smiles. What a great day!

I loved this picture of the girls. They really are the best!

The Logan Temple and Minnetonka Cave

My parents and Michael and his girlfriend Sarah came up to visit us after we got home from Island Park. We were planning on going boating in Bear Lake but the weather got cold and rainy so we decided to go to the Minnetonka Cave instead. Our first stop was the Logan Temple. Sarah is from Buffalo, New York and had never seen the Logan Temple before so we took her to see it.

I love that the kids can go and touch the temple. Even though they are young they know that it is a special place.

We headed up Logan Canyon to the Minnetonka Cave. Sarah had never been to Idaho either; there were a lot of firsts for her on this trip.

The girls sure love their Papa Dave.

Sarah and Lillian waiting to go into the cave.

The cave was fun, even with all those steps, 888 to be exact!