A little more . . . . .

My kids on the way to their Valentines Party.  The other pictures are of me, my aunt, and my cousins at my cousin Hiedi's vow renewal at a marriage chapel on the strip.  Complete with Elvis and all.  It was loads of fun.  Me and my friend Raelynn even had a good conversation with Elvis after the ceremony.  He was pretty excited to learn that we actually lived in Vegas and wanted to know what "lovely ladies" like ourselves did for fun.  He didn't seem too excited by our answer which included carpools, naptime, and coloring.  He did tell us to look him up when we were out on the town.

Ava getting all ready for her Valentine's Party at preschool.  I may be a bit prejudice, but I am super impressed with Ava's handwriting.  She wrote all of her invitations!

Kai spilled an entire pitcher of red punch on the kitchen floor.  I seriously wanted to just move out instead of cleaning it up.  BUT, I cleaned it up anyway, because the other option is ridiculous.  Red punch is fun because it dyes everything.  Like one of Kai's feet and the tile.  Luckily, I think Kai understood the gravity of the situation.  As you can tell in the bottom picture, he is simply torn up about it. 

Ava all ready for pajama day which she could not be any more thrilled for.  She said, "Mom!  My teacher said that we can just get out of bed and come straight to school!  I am so excited!"  Kai also gets really excited about weird things, like wearing my boots backwards and making it a goal to walk down the entire length of our hallway.  Ava's new passion is soccer.  In the house.  She can't wait for daddy to come home and as soon as he walks in the door she says, "Wanna play soccer?"  She always plays with her beautiful skirts or princess dresses on.  Don't let it fool you though.  She is quite the little athlete.  More to come on that later . . . .

And sometimes I just CANNOT get enough of how cute my kids are.  Even if it means I have to make my kids pose in the church parking lot when we're already late for church.  Ava being her always cooperative picture-taking self. Kai not so much. 

You knew it was coming . . . . .

I'm playing catch up for the last 2 months!  I've been neglecting my blog.  Not because I haven't wanted to update.  I'm actually a little obsessed about keeping my blog up to date, but with everything that's been going on I just haven't had the time or the go-git-er-done attitude that I need.  Even at the end of the day when the kids are in bed and I have a couple hours before I go to bed and I could definitely accomplish something, I find that I would much rather sit in my bed and stare at something dumb on tv.  I swear half the time I don't even know what's on, but it feels good to just sit.  ANYWAY, I'm back and to all of my loyal readers (or reader, I'm not really sure - ha ha), here it is . . . . . .

Remember me mentioning the scorpion sting a couple of months ago?  Well, here are the pictures of the traumatic event.  I can't believe I am even putting a picture on my blog because it gives me the creeps, but here it is anyway.  My Kai with his hospital band and happy face.  (Believe me when I say he was definitely not that happy the entire night).  Might I add that we went to the ER (under Poison Control's Direction), waited for a 1/2 hour or so, and saw a doctor for less than 30 seconds.  It was a quick trip and it gave me peace of mind to know that everything was okay  (although as I walked out of the room the doc told me to make sure and watch his breathing.  Of course I was up most of the night with my hand in front of his nose).  Oh, and apparently peace of mind runs you about $955.  :)  We're just grateful that everything turned out the way it did.

We went to the dinosaur museum with Ava's preschool.  She loved it, but wouldn't go in the dinosaur room where they all roared loudly and moved their heads.  I have to admit, it was a bit scary at first, but we never made it past the scary point because Ava wouldn't even venture in for a second glance.

We also took a little day trip to Red Rock Canyon to hike one of the shorter trails that has a waterfall the first few months of the year.  My kids had SOOOO much fun.  If you give them rocks, dirt, sticks, and a trail to run on, they are in heaven.  Add a little water in and we may as well have been in Disneyland.  It  was a great day.

The bottom 2 pictures crack me up.  Ava wanted to pose on every. single. rock. she could climb on.  Believe me when I tell you there are many pictures that didn't make this blog.  I told you this is Red ROCK canyon right?  Anyway, this particular picture of Ava, which I love, was immediately followed by the pic with the dog, where Ava was obviously terrified.  She was scared enough that she even forgot about the camera for a minute.  Very rare indeed.

Lastly, some cute kids that, if you read my blog, you have seen quite a bit of.  I love them so much!

Seriously?

Okay.  So I never want to be one of those buzzkill bloggers, but here I go anway.  I am putting this on here just so I can remember that I do indeed have trials sometimes.
   
January 20 - Kai got stung by a scorpion and we had to take him to the ER.  He was fine, but little did I know it was the start of a chain of not-so-fun events.
Feb. 18 - I came down with tonsillitis. It was, literally, the day before my entire family came into town.  It felt like the flu, but worse.  I was so sick.  Luckily I had my wonderful husband to take care of me. 
Feb. 22 - Kai gets sick.  He's burning up and wants to do NOTHING except lay on me or Randy.  Doc said it just needed to run it's course.  It took nearly a week for it to "run it's course."
Feb. 23 - I begin a miscarriage at 8 1/2 weeks along.  Not fun.  5 hours in the ER, bloodwork, rhogam shot.  Misery.  I've had my bloodwork done at least 5 times up to this point.  As of today, I am still waiting for the entire process to be over, which, honestly, has been far worse than I imagined. 
March 1  - Randy starts his new job which we are thrilled about.  He wakes up in the middle of the night with what I can only describe as violent food-poisoning.  Trooper that he is, he gets up 3 hours later and heads to his 2nd day on the job.  Ava comes down with a fever and wants me to "cuddle with her on the couch" all day.  She was really complaining that her belly hurt.  Saturday rolls around and I'm kicking myself for not taking her in to her ped on Fri. 
March 5 - So we head to Urgent Care.  She has to potty in a cup which took almost 25 minutes, but I hear it could be worse.  She freaked out about putting her finger in the little oxygen thing and it was an all-out battle to check her mouth and ears.  Then she had to do an x-ray to check her belly.  She was super nervous, but smiled cutely when they said "Say Cheese!"  Bottom Line - Constipation and a possible bladder infection which she got an antibiotic for.
March 7 - I hurt my back.  AGAIN!  Doing nothing, might I add.  Also, found out that I can't register Ava for kindergarten until she has her shots. 
March 8 - Registration is tomorrow so we headed to the doctor again today.  Believe me when I tell you that Ava is strong, stubborn, and hates shots.  Oy.  At least we all got doughnuts out of it.

Why am I relaying this sad chain of events?  Because I want to remember it.  I also want to remember how I've been feeling through it all.  I've always had this weird feeling that my life is going too well and something bad is always lurking right around the corner.  People bear their testimony in church and talk about learning from their trials and how they are grateful for them.  Don't get me wrong, we have certainly had our trials, but this last couple of months has taught me so much.  I can honestly say that everything we've gone through has humbled me and that I am truly grateful for my trials.

I am grateful for my wonderful husband that provides for us and my two healthy, beautiful children.  I love my family so much and am so grateful that I am lucky enough to be a part of their lives.  Sometimes it takes losing something, whether it's a miscarriage, good health, or anything else, to really see what we have.  I've always been grateful for my family, but right now I am extra grateful for my family.  Sounds lame, but it is what it is.  Which, by the way, has been my mantra over the last little while. 

I don't feel picked on or put out.  Life is life and you just take it as it comes and try to have the best attitude about doing it.  When I started my miscarriage I was pretty upset.  It's hard to understand it without actually going through it, but it is so hard.  It's unnerving, depressing, and something I wouldn't wish on anybody.  BUT, with that said, I'm fine.  Miscarriages happen a lot, to a lot of people, and while it's not fun, we make it through.  I hope it never happens again, but I am grateful for what I've learned throughout the process.

I am honestly not posting any of this to get sympathy.  I am truly fine.  I'm happy.  I'm grateful.  The point is that we all have trials and bad things happen, but we can get through it.  I've also decided to quit being afraid that things are going to good.  Heavenly Father doesn't look at your life and think, "Hmmmm . . . they seem to be doing well, I better knock them back a little."  I truly believe that He doesn't work that way.  While I can say that I am truly humbled and grateful for what I have learned over the last little while, I also hope that today is the day that I can put it all behind me.  That's what I've been thinking for two months though.  :)

PS - I have never wanted to be one of those people that complains and talks endlessly about their ailments, so I promise you this is the end of it.  :)   

Happy Valentines Day!



January . . . . .

I think it's about time to move on from my Christmas post. Especially since it is now February and we're coming up on Valentine's Day!  I always feel like my end of the year posts are themed.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.  January has no theme, which is actually pretty fun in itself.  Here's what we've been up to. 

Ava is obsessed with taking pictures with my camera.  I have hundreds.  I've chosen two of my favorites to share.  They crack me up.



From Random Blog

We had snow in Vegas.  Super exciting.  The kids were loving it and the whole thing had me laughing.

From Random Blog

Miss Ava has quite the attitude and imagination.  I went in to check on her after she'd fallen asleep and this is how I found her.  She had been going through her Strawberry Shortcake book and wanted to find an outfit just like Strawberry had on.  Well, Ava found her outfit and her closet became a disaster zone.  She also got a kitty hooded towel for Christmas and she's decided that it's fun to pretend to be a kitty and sleep in a kitty bed.  Don't ask me, but it sure keeps her entertained.

From Random Blog

We were able to get together with Randy's cousin Matt a few weeks ago.  Their little boy is about the same age as Kai and it was fun to see them play together.  This was the only picture out of I don't know many that both kids were looking at the camera.  The same night I was taking pictures of Ava sleeping, I decided to grab one of Kai.  Why is it that kids can sleep so soundly?  I know for a fact that if anyone tried to take my picture while I was sleeping, I would instantly wake up.  I think it's party of being a Mom. 

From Random Blog

Randy and I were downstairs one night when I heard giggling and water running.  This is what I found.  Ava kept telling me it was all Kai's idea.  Kai didn't realize he was being thrown under the bus so he didn't defend himself. :)  They definitely keep my laughing; and cleaning up messes.

From Random Blog