Say What?

Help!

Little Lou has lost her hearing. I am getting so worried. I took her to the doctor 5 weeks ago because we noticed that she could not hear a thing. She had ear infections and tons of fluid behind her eardrums. Our pediatrician put her on an antibiotic and scheduled us to come back in a month for a follow up. A month later she still couldn't hear. We went to the follow up appointment and the doctor said she still had tons of fluid behind the eardrums. He said to bring her back in 6 weeks if she still couldn't hear. It is getting so frustrating. She misunderstands everything we say to her. For instance, I will say, "Lou, pick up your shoes". She will respond, "I'm not acting like I'm two". I will say, "Go brush your teeth". "No, I don't have mud on my feet". The other part of the problem is that she talks very loud! She screams when telling me a story. I have to keep saying, "I am right here. You do not need to yell at me". Anyway, we are praying she gets over this and that it really is just fluid behind the eardrums. Until then, anyone got any ear plugs for her mommy?

Demolition Derby

Our dear friends, Chris and Carie Homer, recently bought the beauty shop where Carie has worked for years. Carie has been anxiously waiting for spring break here in St. George so she could remodel her shop. Last week Russ called Chris to see if they needed any help. Chris told Russ that if he was serious they could use some help on Satuday. After Garrett's baseball games, I took the kids to the DSC conference championship basketball game and Russ went over to Fanci Hair to help the Homer's (He is such a good guy). After the basketball game, the kids and I stopped by the shop to see how things were going. They were just beginning the process of ripping down the partitions in the shop. I thought my boys had died and gone to heaven. Brad, one of Chris' assistant football coaches, was there helping as well. He would cut the walls in sections and then let Garrett push them over. Grant and Garrett were each given hammers and helped destroy, rip up, and break down various parts of the shop. Russ was on the muscle crew, removing furniture and shelving (which Carie was trying to sell to the church in the shopping plaza). I was on the clean up crew, and Gracie was the shop cheerleader (typical cheerleader... always in the way and cheering at the wrong times). After we got to a stopping point, we all went out to dinner at the Pizza Factory. It was such a fun night. We can't wait to see the finished product! It is going to look fabulous.

Who's your mama?

For the most part, I think I am an okay mom. My life revolves around my kids. I would rather be with my husband and kids than anyone else (my parents and sisters run a tight race with them). I have many faults as a mother. I do not like to be touched. I have very little patience. I am not that great at getting stains out of my kids clothes. I yell a lot in the mornings when we are late. I am not a good cook, and cook the same terrible meals each week because I have very little desire to look for new recipes. I could go on and on!

Garrett has turned 12 and I know the day is coming when he is not going to want me around. He will be entering those teenage years when he will think I know nothing. He will be embarassed if I walk next to him in public. He will ask me to drop him off at school several blocks away so that his friends won't see him with me. I am absolutely dreading these years. It is going to be very hard on me. But right now, he likes me. He is not yet embarassed of me. He doesn't mind if he is seen with me. So I try to take advantage of every second I can spend with him (and Grant and Gracie too, because they are not far behind him).

While we were in Mexico, Garrett missed two days of baseball practice. We got home really late on Monday night. On Tuesday, I took him over to the baseball fields right after school. He didn't have another practice until Wednesday, so we decided to do a little batting practice of our own. There are two fields where the little league games are held. They are popular and it is sometimes hard to practice there. One field was being used, but we were able to use the other. I began pitching to Garrett. I am not that good! Most of the time he is ducking to avoid my pitch nailing him in the head or jumping before it beans him in the feet. It is a great workout for him. We have a bucket of about 50 baseballs, and I MAYBE get 15 good throws across the plate. But, I try. I am there. I threw him about 8 buckets of balls.

As we were there, some of his teammates showed up and a couple of his coaches. The teammates were working with a batting coach, getting quality instruction. And Garrett was on the other field getting pitches thrown at him by his mom. His coaches would watch us occasionally, I am sure shaking their heads at my feeble attempts to coach my son. I was pretty embarassed, but Garrett didn't seem to be. He kept asking for just one more bucket. We batted for close to three hours (Grant and Gracie took turns as well). I could hardly lift my arm by the end. It felt like a wet noodle.

Well, Garrett had a tournament this weekend here in Washington. During their first game they had loaded the bases. Garrett was up with two outs. I get so nervous when this happens. First pitch he swung and missed. Next pitch he cracked the ball over the center fielder's head, to the fence. He got a double and two RBI's. All of the parents kept coming over to me saying, "I heard you were pitching to Garrett this week. I guess it is working". Garrett batted pretty good throughout the tournament. Maybe he will keep me around a little longer. All I know is that I will probably be having shoulder and elbow surgery in a couple of years, but I will have had some quality time with my kids while they still think I am cool to be around.

Life is good today...

There is a country song on the radio that became the theme song for our vacation. These are the words:
I've got my toes in the water
My [bum] in the sand
Not a worry in the world
A cold drink in my hand
Life is good today
Yeah, life is good today.



A quick shout out once again to Russ for working so hard for our family and earning this fabulous trip for our family. Here he is getting recognized as one of the top 7 service managers in North America who earned this vacation.

Russ' performance in this contest is based on the performance of his employees. He has some great men that work for him. Many of them worked their booties off during this contest, yet only two others from Russ plant earned the trip. Meet John and Tracy...


I am so grateful for these guys who make Russ' job easier (most of the time). Also a shout out to Mike who was 36th in the RSR contest- the top 35 RSR's got to go. We were absolutely heart broken for him. And also to Kurt. This is the first time in like 13 years he didn't earn the vacation, but he finished just behind Mike. Thanks guys! Our family truly appreciates your hard work!



We flew to Puerto Vallarta on Thursday. The kids were very excited for the flights. We flew to Phoenix, had an hour lay over, then flew on to Puerto Vallarta. We flew with one of Russ' co-workers (John) and his wife (Marissa). When we walked off of the plane in Mexico we were engulfed in warm temperatures, slight humidity, and lots of sunshine. I knew I had arrived in heaven. We were all so happy to be on the ground and on our way to the resort. Here we are in the airport.

A tour bus picked us up at the airport and shuttled us to the resort, Paradise Village. We got checked in, given our "all-inclusive" bracelets, and escorted to our condo. We had a small kitchen, two bedrooms with king size beds, two full baths, a huge living area, and a double balcony that over-looked the ocean. It was incredible.
There were basically three restaurants we could eat at. One of the three restaurants hosted a buffet each night with a theme (ie. BBQ, Italian, Neptune (fish), Tropical, etc.). We could eat from the buffet or order from the menu. Each restaurant was located right on the beach with a view of the ocean. The boys ordered rib-eye steaks (we are talking huge-cover the entire plate-steaks) three of the nights. They were in absolute bliss. I was able to have some type of fish everyday... I, too, was in bliss. We had omelets made fresh to order every morning as well as waffles and pancakes, oatmeal, doughnuts, muffins, mexican breakfast casserols, bacon, sausage, yogurt, hashbrowns, salsas and guacomole. They had the greatest fresh fruit juices and all kinds of fresh diced fruit (watermelon, papaya, honeydew, cantaloupe, and pineapple that was to die for). In the afternoon we were served lunch while lying out on the beach or lying by the pool. The staff was so attentive and we felt like royalty. The food was fantastic and I think we each gained about ten pounds.
We also made the mistake of introducing the kids to virgin pina coladas, strawberry daiquiris and our new found favorite- virgin Miami Vices (a mixture of pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris). The kids each drank at least three a day. Gracie's drink of choice was Shirley Temples. Every time we looked at Grant he had some kind of fruity drink in his hand. By the look of some of the pictures of him you would think some of his drinks were alcoholic.

We played in the ocean every morning while the tide was in. Boogie boarding was by far the favorite activity. We had free boogie board rentals each day and we made the most of that. The kids had rashes on their stomaches from the first day of boogie boarding, until their mom taught them to wear their compression shirts. After that you could hardly get them out of the waves. Russ took his two co-workers out on boogie boards the first morning we were there. They were having a hard time catching the hang of it. They kept going out further and further for the bigger waves. Next thing we knew, they were caught and were being pulled out and unable to get in. An Alsco employee from San Diego who is a big surfer helped John in, but poor Tracy had to be rescued on a jet ski. I don't think they liked boogie boarding... we never saw them near the ocean, except to eat, again. Gracie loved playing in the sand and looking for sea shells. I was impressed by her enthusiasm for boogie boarding as well. At first she didn't want to try, but once she did we could hardly get her off of it. I loved to listen to her as she would just giggle the entire ride to shore.

When the tide would go out, we would move to the pool. The pools were amazing. They had huge crocodile water slides, under water caves, perfect temperature water, wading areas, and an enormous hot tub. Little Gracie can finally swim. She has been able to for some time now, but panics very easily. She always insisted on wearing a life jacket, which was great by me because I didn't have to worry about her drowning. However, after spending so much time in the water on this trip, she is very confident and swimming like a fish. She loved the pool and the slides and floating around on her raft, but spent most of her time relaxing in the "hot pool", or jacuzzi.

By our condo they had some caged tigers and parrots. I couldn't believe how close you could get to the animals. The kids thought that was pretty cool. They also liked all of the vegetation around the place, palm trees with coconuts, banana trees, beautiful flowers, etc. They were fascinated by how lush it was. I guess when you grow up in the desert, you would find those things amazing.

It was an amazing vacation. One we will never forget. I don't think the kids thought about school one time. Nor did I think of work. I think this is what heaven will be like.
Thanks Dad! We had the time of our lives. Viva Mexico!!!!

Hasta la vista

If you need me... I will be here!
Hope you have a great week. I know I will!

Am I DEAD yet?

So Russ woke up this morning and started hugging me as soon as he got out of bed. "You're not dead", he said. Apparently he had a dream that I said I was going to bed and then NEVER WOKE UP. So the questions began...

Do you think you were receiving personal revelation preparing you for the near future?

Did you feel sad or elated in your dream?

Were you able to figure out how to do Gracie's hair on your own? (Cause if I do die, someone will have to come over every morning and help this little girl out)

Did I die before or after our trip to Mexico- did I look tan?

Do I have time to write my own obituary, take out a life insurance plan, and repent of all my sins (that one could take months)?

Turns out, Russ is out of Pepcid. I think he was just having heartburn.

Busy B's

We have been overwhelmed with Baseball, Basketball, Birthdays, Boy Scouts, and Balls (Valentine Balls) that I have had very little time to Blog. I hate bulking a ton of events into one post because I lose so much of the details. Yet, I hate really long posts as well. I will do my best to keep this simple and detailed.

Baseball Garrett's tournament baseball team is in FULL SWING (Ha Ha). They played in their first tournament the last Saturday in January. They played three games back-to-back (six and a half hours of baseball). It was FREEZING cold. They won their first game and then lost the next two. They had not had very many practices prior to the first tournament because of all the rain we are getting. It's beginning to feel like we live in Seattle. It was good to see what they need to work on. Here is a video of Garrett's first AT BAT...

Basketball Garrett and Grant have both been playing basketball. Garrett's season just ended (and boy are we glad!). Garrett played in the Snow Canyon JUNGLE- I mean league. It wasn't that great of an experience. There was no structure. Whichever kid brought the ball down the court, shot the ball. It didn't matter if it was from half court, that kid was not going to pass the ball! Garrett was so frustrated and beat up. In his last play of the season he went up for a rebound and had both feet swiped out from under him. He came down on the back of his head. I think he spent more time on the ground than he did on his feet! It was bad. Grant on the other hand is having a great season. He is playing in the City of St. George league. He is one of the littlest guys on the team, but he is by far the most aggressive on defense. He takes on anyone. As soon as someone picks up their dribble, Grant is right there grabbing the ball. He causes about 20 jumpballs each game. It has been fun to watch him actually being assertive. He doesn't shoot too often, but has now scored in each of his last two games. Hopefully that will encourage him to shoot more. He is on the same team as his cousin Gavin- who is by far the biggest kid on the team. They like being on the same team and are having a fun season.

Birthdays I celebrated my birthday on the 3rd. This, for some reason, was a particularly hard birthday for me. I just seem REALLY old. It didn't help that just four days later my son celebrated his 12th birthday. I HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD SON! That is hard to swallow. I had a great birthday anyway, despite my self pity. Thanks for the phone calls, e-mails, texts, posts, gifts, etc. Russ and the kids made me breakfast in bed. Russ brought me lunch at work and then took me to dinner. I swear I just ate all day. To top it off, Russ bought a cake and while I was visiting with his mom and Paul, he lit 3 dozen candles on top of that cake. Let me tell you, I turned around when he started singing to see my kitchen A BLAZE. It was an experience. Garrett's birthday was on Sunday the 7th. We celebrated it as a family on Saturday. On Sunday Russ ordained Garrett a Deacon. It was sad for me not to have Garrett in Primary. He is ready to move on and Russ is grateful to have him in Young Men's. Garrett will have his party this Saturday. He and his friends are going to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians- the Lightning Thief. We read that book series last year and have been very excited for the movie to come out.

Boy Scouts All of the boys in my house have been occupied with scouts. Garrett just completed his first class ranking and has received 9 Merit Badges. He works on his scouting requirements faithfully each week. Russ, as the Scout Master, helps him each week. Every Sunday they take time going over what Garrett needs to work on for the week. It has been a great bonding experience for them. Grant is working hard to earn his Bear ranking. We had his Blue and Gold Banquet. I- oops I mean- He had to make a cake that had to do something with Hawaii... they were having a luau. He put the Hawaiian state flower, the hibiscus, on his cake with a bear paw print. It was very cute. Ball Valentine Ball that is. Each year the 4th grade classes learn 6 dances- the waltz, the fox trot, the swing, a line dance, the bunny hop, and the swing twist (different from the swing). They perform each dance twice with a different partner each time. Grant had to ask 6 girls to be his partner and then he was asked by six girls to be partners. They had to dress up- girls in dresses, boys in slacks, shirts, and ties. The parents were invited to come and watch. Poor LITTLE Grant had 10 out of 12 partners that were an entire head taller than him... here are a few pictures to show the heighth differences.It was hysterical. Nana was laughing so hard she had tears. It was really funny. I am so happy I was able to be there. Grant was most excited to dance with Bryli. She is such a cute girl. She was wearing the cutest dress. But this was not why he was excited to dance with her. Bryli is the one girl that was shorter than him. Here is a video of the two of them doing the Swing.

Here is a video of our cousin, Gavin doing the Fox Trot. I love how he watches his feet to make sure he is not stepping on any toes.

Anyway if you ever want to have a good laugh you should attend one of these. Anyway, that covers all of the B- topics we have been busy with. I forgot to add in Braces. We basically live at the orthodontist with two kids in braces and a third beginning next month!!! Next week I will move to the C's- church callings, cardiac rehab, capstone project proposals, etc. Just kidding.