casey and her boys

Catching up

2011-07-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

Ok so it has been a really long time since I have posted any pictures so I thought I would post a bunch of some of the things we have been doing the past few months. Unfortunately most of the time we have gone to do fun things I have forgotten my camera. Anyway here are a few random ones. Here is a picture of Jones and his second grade teacher on the last day of school. He LOVED her!! He cried for two days about not having her as a teacher and was worried that he would never see her again, even though she lives just down the street. At first I thought it was cute that he was sad but by the end of the first day it was pretty annoying. She gave them all a DVD with pictures of things they had done throughout the year and he would watch it over and over. And now that school is a month away he is upset and doesn't want to go. Typical kid I guess.

Here is Jaimin and his Kindergarten teacher who he loved as well. He was pretty sad about not having her anymore but never cried about it. She was perfect for Jaimin, very patient and understanding. If only all teachers could be that way.

And of course soccer. Jones got put on this comp team back in October/November and has been loving it ever since. It surprised me how exciting their games have been, definitely not like the city leagues. I love seeing him play!

Jaimin turned 6!! I still can't believe it. Here he is with the gift Jones gave him. If you know Jaimin he is obsessed with Lego's. Anytime I would ask him what he wanted to do for his birthday he would respond by saying "I just want to follow the instructions on Lego's. So for his birthday he got lots of Lego's.

Here he is holding one of the smallest gifts. The funny thing is he had been begging all day to open that one because he knew it was the shape of one of the small Lego's he wanted.

For his birthday we went swimming (yes we forgot the camera), went out to lunch, went miniature golfing, another one of his favorite activities, and then came back home and has a small party and did fireworks. I have to say it was one of the best firework shows yet. The whole time we had been dealing with our grumpy neighbors turning on their sprinklers and coming out acting annoyed or saying stuff. Well it was time for the final fireworks which was one of the areal ones that are now legal. Well in the middle of them going off it tipped over and was aimed right for the two houses that had been jerks the whole night. Their front yards looked like a war zone. It was awesome!! Everyone clapped and laughed when it was over. All of the other neighbors that were out there with us told us that it had made their night. Of course the grumpy ones had to come out. One laughed about it and the other one just kept cursing.

The next few are pictures of the boys out in Grouse Creek. If you have never heard of it, it is a small town in the north west corner of Utah, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Anyway it is where my great grandparents lived my family has kept the house and has a lot of property out there. So many time during the summer my dad heads out there, this time he took my niece and nephew and Jones. Jaimin decided to go so Mark took him as well. While they were there my they rode 4 wheelers, horses, learned how to drive the old truck, and had bon fires. They had a ton of fun. My dad said they rode the 4 wheelers for hours. Jones now wants to live there.

So Mark made a last minute decision to take the boys up camping and fishing. And of course this is the only picture we got. I took it before they left and then Mark forgot to take the camera with him. They ended up taking one of my older my sisters and her kids and my little sister and her husband. They had so much fun they decided to leave all their stuff up in the mountains so that I could come back up with them the next night. I was thrilled, not! I just haven't been in the mood to camp lately. Not feeling good and sleeping in a tent just doesn't sound very relaxing to me. But I went anyway and ended up having fun. It is always fun to watch my boys have fun. So in the end I was glad I went.

The rest are just some random pictures of the boys having some fun this summer.

2011-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well I finally decided to update my post but of course blogger won't allow me to upload any pictures at the moment. So hopefully later I will be able to get them done.
Anyway I thought I will still give a bit of an update of what has gone on with Jones since that last post. Well luckily that whole walking problem went away pretty quickly and he was back to being normal, thank heavens. But a month or so later I noticed that he has suddenly started to walk with his toes pointed in and it had become hard and painful for him to run. He could barely make it through a soccer game without walking/running like he was miserable. As you can imagine this freaked me out. So once again I took him to the doctor and without surprise she told me this was not normal. She looked at him at told me she thought he was flat footed and that he had a pronation and his tibia's were curving out. She referred me to two different doctors. One was a surgeon to determine weather or not it needed to be fixed through surgery or another doctor who was a specialist in dealing with this problem and said he would probably have to wear braces on his legs for awhile. So I decided to wait to go to a surgeon and just go to the other doctor. Well this new doctor looked him over and decided he wasn't flat footed but he did have a slight pronation and curved tibia's. She also said that it really wasn't a bad case and because it had just started and I noticed it early enough she thinks that if he wears some orthodics and does physical therapy it will be fixed within a year. Yay!! This was good news obviously. He has been wearing the inserts and doing exercises for about a month and it has already made a big difference. Hopefully it will be all taken care of and he will be back to normal soon.
Also while we were at his original doctor she was looking up some of his blood work and had noticed that when Jones had some blood work done back when he was sick and couldn't walk his white blood cell level had dropped to his lowest point. So every two weeks we have been going in for routine blood work to try and figure out what is going on. His levels have been going up but still not where they need to be. The doctor has been in touch with Primary Children's Hematology department and they don't seem too worried especially where he feels pretty good. So for now we will keep paying a ton of money for routine blood work just to be safe. Poor kid is always being poked, good thing it doesn't bother him to have it done.

Another Scare

2011-02-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

Well we unfortunately had another health scare this week. On Sunday in the middle of our Superbowl party mt mom mentioned that Jones had another headache. On occasion he gets migraines but lately it seems like he has been getting them a lot more. I went to find Jones and he had locked himself in the toy room with the lights off and was laying down, so I did what I normally do when he gets migraines and a little bit later he said is wasn't as bad. Well that night when he went to go to bed he said "please pray for me mom I am very sick." I asked what was wrong and said he thought he was going to throw up which I of course thought was just from the migraine. Well a few hours later he came into my bed crying because he was so sick and he was burning up. At that point I knew it wasn't a migraine and it was more than likely the flu. So I let him sleep in and not go to school. All day he just laid in bed with a sick stomach, a headache, and a fever. Latter that day I went in to get his homework and the teacher who was sick herself informed me that she had 13 of her 25 students out sick and that almost half the school had checked out because they were sick. After 2 days of dealing with Jones being sick Jaimin became ill with a sore throat and a fever as well. So needless to say we have spent our whole week laying in bed being lazy. Well Jones seemed fine on Wednesday so we were sending him back to school the next day. When I went to get Jones out of bed Thursday morning, he made a comment about how his legs hurt really bad. So thinking it was just growing pains I helped him from the top bunk and set him down only for him to collapse and yell in pain. The poor kid had so much pain in his lower legs he couldn't walk or even touch them. We ended up giving him some meds and getting him in a warm bath and finally after an hour he was able to walk but not very easily. Because he had improved from when he woke up I still figured it was growing pains and because he wanted to go I took him to school. I decided to call him after he had been there for 2 hours and he told me that he was still having a lot of problems so we went and checked him out. The poor kid was still in so much pain he walked like he was crippled we ended up having to carry him around. At this point we were really freaked out I couldn't imagine what it could be and couldn't stand the thought of something really serious being wrong to where he couldn't walk. We called the doctor and they told us to get in immediately. The nurse also told me that I was the second person to call with this problem. We all were pretty nervous as to what it could especially because of all the illness that had been going around the school and because we have had some scares with Jones before. Anyway the doctor informed me that sometimes this can happen after having the flu. He told us to just wait a few days and see if it gets better and didn't seem too worried. He also told us of things to look out for, one being really dark urine. Well Jones heard that and told the doctor that it had been really dark. So they decide to take a urine sample and go from there. The results showed that he had way too much protein and that it was highly concentrated. So the doctor ordered some blood work to be done as well and said he would call us later with the results. And once again I was freaking out ( even though I told Jones that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about) and impatiently waited for the doctor to call. Finally after a few hours he called and told me that the blood work showed that his ck (creatine kinase) levels that should be below 300 were well over 1200 which meant it was an inflammation that goes into your calf muscles after having the flu or a few other things. Whew what a relief!! Now we just pray and hope it goes away on it's own without any complications. (crossing my fingers) Today he woke up and was still in a lot of pain and had a really hard time walking. But luckily it seems like it is getting better he does have a lot of pain medicine in him so we will see how he does when it wears off. Anyway I took a video of him a few hours after he woke up to give you an idea of how he has been walking and even in the video it is a ton better that it was all day yesterday.

And They Are Off

2011-02-04T07:27:00.000-08:00

Well the newlyweds are officially off to Sweden where they will live for a few years. Ana and Jonathan got married on Friday the 28th at the Bountiful temple here in Utah. We are so happy for the both of them but will really miss them. Luckily his parents were able to come and stay for a few weeks so we could get to know them. I must say they are very nice people and it is good to know that Ana will be in good hands while living there.
Congrats to you both!!

2011-01-25T11:04:00.000-08:00

So I just signed up for the dirty dash and to be honest I am a bit nervous. I am just hoping that with it being in September it will give me plenty of time to get in shape, which is part of the reason I did it. I need some more motivation to get back into shape. Anyway I have heard it is a blast and my team should be pretty fun to do it with so I am excited. Jones has decided he wants to do the kids one, now we just need to convince Mark to do it with him.

www.thedirtydash.com/

Sledding

2011-01-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Ok so I am a little behind on my blog but I have been pretty busy and to be honest my blog is at the bottom of my list of things to worry about. Anyway here are some pictures of our annual New Years Day sledding. I wasn't sure it was actually going to happen this year due to both Jaimin and me being in a boot and the lack of good snow. Anyway we decided to give it a try, it was fun for most everyone that went but way too icy for the two of us in boots. I actually think there was more ice that snow. Here is a picture of poor Jaimin trying to get back up the hill after going down, ya it didn't work so well.

So this is how he got up the rest of the time. It's a good thing that I never went down I don't think Mark would have been able to carry me up the hill too.

Jones with his snowboard. He is actually pretty good. I really need to take him up to the resorts so he can really get good at it.

Jones and Mark getting ready to go down the ice hill.

Jones and his cousin Max.

Jaimin and his cousin Haley. I think Jaimin went down maybe 2 times and decided it was too cold and not so much fun in a boot, so the both of us spent most of the time sitting in a warm car watching everyone.

Nice and warm.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-03T07:56:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our Christmas 2010. This Christmas was a lot of fun, but also seemed to be really busy. It seems like every year it gets busier and busier even though I try and have all my shopping done earlier and earlier every year. The boys are both at the point where they really get excited for Christmas which makes it more exciting for us. Jaimin would pray at night that he would be able to open presents in how ever many days were left till the big day. I think they got everything they wanted. We spent most of the Christmas break building Lego's that Marks parents gave them, it;s amazing how long Lego's keep them entertained.
Here are two pictures of the boys while at my parents house on Christmas night. Jaimin was really excited about his remote control Iron Man and Jones loved his new night vision binoculars. He will definitely be putting those to use in the summer during night games.

The presents before the boys came in and destroyed it all.

Jaimin with his Lincoln logs and Jones with his Erector set (one of the 2 things he asked for).

Goggles for snowboarding.

Jones gave Jaimin a Harry Potter set that came with glasses and a wand. Jaimin is really into Harry Potter lately so he was thrilled with it.

Here is the other thing that both of them requested. I am not sure why they wanted them but all I heard them say they wanted was a ninja zhu zhu pet.

Here is Jaimin with his new golf set, he got a golf bag, clubs, Spongebob balls, and a putting green. He loves to golf.

Half way through opening presents. He had a smile on his face all morning.

And here is our early Christmas gift. My oldest sister had her baby boy Jace on December 21.
Here is a picture of Jones holding him, he just can't get enough of him. He keeps telling me that he wants to keep him.

There first picture as a new family.

Here is Jaimin holding him. He only seems interested when the baby is awake.

It is really weird for me to see Mark holding a dark baby boy, it brings back many memories of when my boys were little. It seems so long ago.

And this is how he is 90 percent of the time. He is adorable and such a calm little guy.

Results

2010-12-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Well we took Jaimin back in on Monday to have more x-rays done. And he has a fractured growth plate and a crack in his heel, which is exactly what Jones did when he jumped off the stairs a few years ago. So it looks like 2 more weeks in his boot. Luckily he likes wearing it. Maybe one day they will learn to not jump off the stairs.

The story of my life

2010-12-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

Last week I had to go in and have some tendons repaired, excess fluid drained, and excessive scare tissue removed from my ankle. This was something I had been dealing with for almost a year but the pain got to the point where I couldn't take it anymore so it was time to have it fixed. So this was something I had plenty of time to prepare for. What I didn't have time to plan for was another one of my kids jumping off the stairs. I don't know if you remember but a few years ago Jones jumped off the stairs and broke his heel and growth plate in his ankle. Anyway about a week ago Jaimin was over at his friends house and they were jumping off the stairs onto a bean bag. Well apparently he missed and landed on a cement floor. The neighbor said he cried for a very short time and just got up and kept playing so she figured he was fine. Well a few minutes later he said he needed to go home. When he got home he slowly walked in the door and said very calmly "mom I broke a bone I need to go to the hospital". Well he didn't act like he was in pain and he couldn't even tell me where he was hurt (If you know Jaimin at all you know he isn't one to explain things). Anyway I notice he was limping a little but didn't think much of it. Well a few minutes later his friend came over to play and he got up to play with him and could hardly walk or run, he would just fall down and say I don't know how to walk. After watching him for a few hours we decided to take him to the doctor just to play it safe. Well the Doctor took x-rays and said there is definitely something wrong and he at least needed to be in a splint but he wanted the x-ray technician to look over the x-rays. Apparently there was too much swelling to tell anything so they told us to come back in a few days if it was still bothering him and sent him home with nothing. After almost a week he was still walking funny so yesterday when I went to have my stitches taken out I asked my doctor his opinion of Jai and he examined it and said he should have never been sent home in a tennis shoe and that there was definitely some soft tissue damage at the least. Some now Jaimin and I are in matching boots and he gets to back in on Monday for more x-rays. As soon as they put the boot on he said "wow this feels better" and since then has told me that the boot makes it feel a lot better, he even slept in it. Poor kid it makes me feel bad that he was still in a lot of pain! Here is a picture of me the day I had surgery. Jones decided to put a boot on himself and make his own pain pump so he could be like me. Cute kid!

The other day Mark and I were cleaning out the storage room and kept hearing a quiet help from Jaimin. We just figured he needed help with the wii and we were in the middle of moving something so just kind of ignored it. Well the cry for help didn't stop (don't worry it was a matter of maybe 15 seconds, we didn't ignore him for very long ) so we went into the storage room to find him upside down on their gymnastic rings. Somehow he got his foot stuck in one and was just hanging there. It was hilarious even Jaimin kept laughing about it. Luckily he was fine and went right back to playing on them.

Traditions

2010-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

So as the Holiday season is upon us, Mark and I have been talking about our favorite traditions. We have decide that we want to start some of our own traditions. The only problem is neither one of us can come up with anything that sounds really fun that everyone would enjoy. So I am asking all of you who read my blog (even if I have no idea who you are) to share some of you favorite traditions so that maybe we can come up with some fun ones. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

R.I.P. Cole

2010-11-23T08:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a very sad story of a friend of mine that was murdered over the weekend. I have known Cole since kindergarten, the news has been very tough for many of our friends.
It shocks me to think that people are okay with doing such terrible things to innocent people.

www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=13377970

Proud Mama

2010-11-08T17:18:00.000-08:00

Yep that's right both my boys got chosen to be the students of the month at their school. They got to eat lunch with the Principal which they thought was pretty cool. We are so proud of them!!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-02T11:49:00.000-07:00

So here are a few pictures of October. I have been meaning to post for awhile now but this month has been BUSY. October felt like the busiest and fastest it has ever been. I am kind of sad that it is over but at the same time I am ready for a break from the crazy schedule. Unfortunately I think our schedule might become a bit more crazy. Instead of just having an outdoor soccer game for both boys each week we have gone to two indoor soccer games and a basketball game for Jones each Saturday, 3 games a week for me, and Mark has basketball every Saturday, not to mention the practices throughout he week. Ugh I hope we haven't overloaded ourselves. I guess it is good we only have 2 kids!

So here is what we walked out to when we left for trick or treating. The picture doesn't really show but it was a very clear double rainbow.

Here we are at the end of our trick or treating fun. We were definitely ready to be done and get out of our costumes.

Mark as a chicken.

Here is the punch Jones and I made for our Halloween party, Jones was really proud of himself .

All the cousins getting ready for our annual Halloween dinner.

Here is Jones in his award winning mummy costume that I made. He took 3rd place in a costume contest.

Here we are on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch during our annual trip to Black Island Farms.

My boys, as you can tell by this picture Jaimin had been enjoying some Kettle corn. I don't think I have ever seen a kid shove as much of that stuff in their mouth as Jaimin did.

Jones and Papa.

All the grand kids. This year fortunately we were able to get my whole family to go to the farm with us. The kids had a blast being together.

Fall

2010-10-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

Every fall we head up to Snowbasin to see all the colors change and to go for a short hike. This year there was definitely more color than when we went last year mainly because we went way too early. I am thinking I want to go back up this week to see how much they have changed but who knows if we will find time to go.
If you can't tell 2 of the pictures look much better than the rest, well that is because my friend Patti was nice enough to enhance them for me. I think I might want her to do this to all my pictures. Thanks Patti, we were a bit disappointed because we got up there when the light wasn't good so the colors didn't show very well on our camera. So you fixed our issue.

You couldn't pay Jones to take a serious picture that day, 90% of the pictures we took either him or Jaimin were goofing around.

Our Prayers Were Answered

2010-10-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

So after waiting almost 24 painful, anxious, fidgety, and nervous hours we finally got a call from the doctors office. The nurse informed me that his blood work came back looking excellent. WOO HOO!!! What a relief!!!
The past few months have been nerve wrecking for all of us, I am pretty sure I had a few ulcers from all the stress. So on the way home from my moms after we found out the great news I was telling Jones how happy I was that he was okay he responded by saying how happy he was too and that he was so glad that he didn't have cancer. I have no idea why he had thought that, we never mentioned to him what the possibilities could have been. It makes me so sad to think he had been worrying this whole time that he had cancer. You can definitely tell he is a ton less stressed, he has been skipping and dancing since, even at the store ( he usually just complains there). So thanks for all the prayers! I truly believe they made a difference.

Wish Us Luck

2010-09-30T14:45:00.000-07:00

Well we are on our way back to go get more blood work done. I have been sick to my stomach all day. So please pray that things will be back to normal so he doesn't have to go through any more testing and so I don't have to keep forking out $500.00 for blood work. I just want my kids to be healthy!

2010-09-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of Jones' second goal on Saturday. He is number 6.

Update

2010-09-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

So I wasn't planning on updating this for awhile since his next set of blood work wasn't scheduled until the 13th. Well there was a change in plans. Just when I started to feel a bit calm it all changed.
So yesterday Jones came home from school and told me that he had a bloody nose. Didn't really think much of it until he told me the story. He said after it started he ran to the bathroom, while he was in there one of the janitors came in and said wow this is bad I am going to get someone. So someone came and got him and took him into the office to help him. He said that it took awhile to get it to stop, that it would stop and start again. At this point I started to worry, I didn't know if it was something to worry about but of course I did. I decided to call the teacher to see if I could get any more details. Well she explained to me that she had never seen a nose bleed that bad. She said that it happened so fast and that it looked like blood was shooting out of his nose. She actually didn't believe it was his nose at first, that maybe he had cut himself really bad. Anyway I start to worry even more and so I called the doctor. After talking to the doctor we had an appointment for this morning to go over things and do some more blood work.
Well this morning Jones woke up not feeling well and kept complaining about his throat which I just assumed was his heartburn. So while we were at the doctor she checked his whole body for any random bruising and checked all of his lymph node to see if any were inflamed. Luckily he checked out fine but she told me she wanted me to check him often for a fever and a certain type of bruising, which of course scared the $#!* out of me because those are signs of Leukemia. After checking for the bruises she looked in his throat and well I was wrong his throat hurts not because of heartburn but because he now has strep. Anyway after talking with her for a bit we got some blood work done, and did the waiting game the rest of the day for the results. Finally around 3:30 the doctor called and said we have good news his blood platelet levels are good, his red blood cell count is good, and his white blood cells have gone back up to a 4.1. Still not where they need to be but at least they are going up instead of down. With the red blood cell and platelet count being good we are not so worried about the bloody nose. So now the plan is to get into an allergist to find out why the eosinophil level are high and then repeat blood work in one month. At that point if his level are still not where they need to be then we will go to the Hematologist.
I have to say the past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for all of us and I am emotionally exhausted, but at least things are on the up. So thanks for the prayers, calls, and supportive emails just please keep on praying that the levels will continue to go up.

Send your prayers this way

2010-08-29T08:39:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago Jones started to get heart burn really bad. We tried a few over the counter meds but none of them worked so we decided to take him to the Dr.. The Dr. was a bit concerned because of my medical history so she gave him a prescription and took some blood. The next morning I received call from the Dr. who had a weird tone to her voice. She said she needed to talk to me about some issues with his blood work. This is when I got a knot in my stomach. She informed me that his eosinophil level was too high, his white blood count was too low and one of his kidney levels were too high. She told me that the kidney level could have been due to a high protein meal the night before the test but she also wanted me to make an appointment with the Primary Children's GI clinic for a scope and then said to repeat the blood work in 5-7 days. So at this point I am freaking out not knowing what to do. I couldn't stand the thought of something being wrong with my little one and of course going online and looking at all the possibilities of what it could be didn't help.

So 6 days later we went back up to the hospital to get his blood taken again, this time making sure he didn't have a lot of protein the night before. Well once again the Dr. Called then next morning. The first thing she asks is "does he feel sick at all?" "Well other than the heart burn no" I replied. Then she kinda paused for a minute and then said "well the good news is his kidney levels are back to normal but I am a concerned with his white blood cell count". Once again the knot returns but even worse. She informed me that his white blood cell count should be above a 5 and the first blood test they came back at a 4.6 and this last test they came back at a 3.6. She seemed worried and told me that she now wanted me to take him to a Hematologist down at Primary Children's to see what is going on. She told me that she knows the first thing they would have us do is repeat the test in 2-3 weeks so she decided to just have me repeat the test up here and then as soon as the results are in she will call and get us in at Primary Children's.

It has only been 5 days since the last blood test was taken but it seems like it has taken forever, I just want it to be time for the next test. I want to know that he is okay.

For the most part I have been calm about the whole thing (not necessarily on the inside) but I have had a few break downs. The thought of something being wrong with him just kills me. So I am asking for all of you no matter what your beliefs to please pray that he will be okay and this is just some sort of random fluke.

2010-08-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we were pretty bored so we made a last minute decision to go fishing. We decided to go to a pond that is pretty close to our house that we had never been to. It was pretty small but perfect for a quick trip with the boys. Unfortunately (I was happy) all we caught was moss. Probably due to the fact we only had power bait. Next time we will have to bring worms.

more summer fun

2010-07-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures of some of the summer fun we have had. Can I just add that I am really upset that it is almost August. The summer has flown by way too fast and the thought of my boys starting school makes me a bit sad. I love having them home with me, they are a lot of fun to be around.

This was actually more towards the end of the school year but I never put any of the pictures up. Anyway I took the boys to the Flow rider at the Junction in Ogden. They were so excited! Jones loved it and got the hang of it pretty quick. Jaimin was really excited and didn't even hesitate getting on. He seemed to really enjoy it until he wiped out and then he was done. He refused to go again which is why I have no pictures of him doing it (I actually have a video but for some reason it won't upload). Oh well at least he was willing to try it.

Here are a few pictures of us at Lagoon. We try to go every year. The older the boys are getting the more fun it is for all of us. Jones is starting to go on the big rides and actually likes them which makes it more fun for me due to the fact that Mark isn't big on big rides. They both just love every minute of it. I took this picture of Mark and Jaimin while Jones and I were on the one in front of them. As if I didn't like that ride enough already Jones decided to make it worse. The whole ride he kept talking about what would happen if an earthquake happened while on the ride, he also kept pretending to slide/jump off and actually kept pretending to push me off. I am glad he thinks he is funny (okay I kinda thought he was funny too).

Bumper cars, one of their favorites.

Here they are at the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. My dad is the Executive Director of the Pioneer Days so he gets us tickets every year. The boys look forward to going all summer. This year we were asked to have them dress like cowboys to have their picture taken. I haven't seen the pictures yet but I am glad that we got them dressed up, they thought they were pretty cool.

Notice they aren't wearing boots. Well if you know me at all you know I am not the cowboy type at all and I just couldn't bring myself to buy them cowboy boots. I couldn't spend the money on something they would only wear once so we went with the Pumas.

This one I had to throw in just to show how silly Jaimin is. Notice the flippers on his feet. Granted he had been playing in the pool but he has a tendency to wear them more out of the pool than in the pool. Oh well I guess whatever makes him happy.

Where did my baby go?

2010-07-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

07/06/05
07/06/10

Last week Jaimin turned 5. I still can't believe my baby is 5! I think from the day my kids were born I have always said I didn't want them to grow up , I just wanted them to stay just the way they are. Even though I do miss my little baby I have absolutely loved every minute of his life. He is such a joy to have around, I have called him my Prozac many times. You can't find a happier kid! He greets everyone with a huge smile that just makes your day. Anytime I come home from going anywhere he comes running and yelling mommy like he hadn't seen me in a long time. I really couldn't asked for a better kid, well I should say kids, both my boys are the best!

2010-07-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

I guess that's one way to cool off!

Bear Lake

2010-06-28T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Bear Lake. This is a trip we take every summer and the boys just love it. They love just being able to get on their bikes and scooters and just ride whenever they want. This year was a bit colder so we decided not to take the boat or jet skis. We still seemed to have a lot of fun. Here is a picture of Mark and the boys on Fathers Day going for a quick skate around the condo. Here are the boys and Lydia playing miniature golf.

The lake water was way too cold to swim in, luckily there is a heated pool.

Here is Jaimin showing off his muscles. He says his muscles are so big he has to walk like this.

The kids had gone outside to ride bikes and when we went to check on them this is what we found, Jones riding Lydia's bike with her on the back of it.

Jones was so excited to finally be able to play tennis with Mark.

This year we decided to try a hike that we had never been on. It was perfect for the kids, it only took about an hour and a half and was fairly easy. The hike led to this tree, I can't remember what it is called but it is one of the oldest in Utah.

2010-06-24T21:09:00.001-07:00

For those of you who were not able to attend Travis' funeral but would like to listen to it, go to www.lindquistmortuary.com . Just do a search for Travis Roy Poll in the recorded services.

Fish Lake

2010-06-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went on a weekend fishing trip with some of Marks friends he grew up with in Colorado to Fish Lake. The boys had fun, it was Jaimin's first time fishing and of course he caught the most and the biggest fish (who says toy story fishing rods aren't any good?!). Jones had a lot bite the line but somehow got away as he was pulling it out of the water. Unfortunately it was a bit cold and even started snowing on the second day so they didn't get to fish as much as they wanted which was fine with me, I am just not into fishing. I am just glad that Mark and the boys have something they enjoy doing together.

Obituary

2010-06-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

Here is an obituary for my cousin that just passed away. He was an amazing person. He will be missed terribly by many. To read his story go to the wonderings of a wanna be link at the right of my blog.

Travis Roy Poll“T”

SOUTH WEBER- Travis Roy Poll passed away peacefully at home on June 18, 2010, one day before his 36th birthday, after a courageous and miracle-filled 2-1/2 year battle with esophageal cancer.

He was born on June 19, 1974, to Reed and Lana Covieo Poll. He was raised in South Weber where he had a wonderful childhood full of fun and mischief. From the time he was small he had a spark for life and a special way with people, which made others want to be around him. If you knew T at all you were a friend, and if you were a friend, you were his “best friend.” He had a special way of making everyone he came in contact with feel accepted, loved, and important.

Travis was a gifted and natural athlete and a fierce competitor. From the time he was young he loved many sports and participated whenever he could (and usually won), even throughout his cancer treatment.

He graduated from Clearfield High School in 1992, where he was a class officer and played on the baseball and basketball teams. After high school he served an LDS Mission in Leeds, England, where he made lasting memories and eternal friendships.

Travis married Mandy Keime in the Salt Lake Temple on September 14, 1996. They have 4 children; Gavin, Cooper, Skyla, and Reese. Travis always put his wife and children first no matter what, and no matter how busy life was. He loved to watch ball games and play ball with his boys and take his girls on daddy daughter dates. He was a kind, patient and loving daddy.

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from Weber State University and a Master’s Degree in School Counseling from University of Phoenix. He was a teacher and coach at Central Davis Junior High School for 6 years, and then at Northridge High School in Layton for the past 3 years. He felt blessed to be able to do what he loved, no matter the pay. He genuinely loved and respected his students and co-workers and they, in turn, genuinely loved and respected him.

He was a member of the South Weber First Ward, where he served faithfully in many callings including Young Men’s Presidency, Elders Quorum Presidency, and most recently as a ward missionary.

Travis is survived by his wife and eternal companion, Mandy; his children, Gavin, Cooper, Skyla and Reese, his father, Reed Poll, his father and mother-in-law; Al and Judy Keime, his brothers and sister, who were also his best friends; Curtis (Tammy) Poll, Chad (Angie) Poll, Steven (Angie) Poll and Aleesha (Matt) Merrill, several close brothers and sisters-in-law, his grandmothers; Elaine Poll and Dorothy Covieo, and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his grandfathers; Alfred Covieo and Marlow Poll, and by his mother, Lana Covieo Poll, with whom Travis had a special bond. We take comfort in knowing there is a happy reunion.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, June 23, 2010, at 11 a.m. at the South Weber Stake Center, 7989 South 2250 East. Friends may visit family on Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Road and Wednesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the stake center.

Interment Uintah City Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Poll Children Charitable Account at any America First Credit Union.

Summer Fun

2010-06-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures of some of the fun we have had so far this summer.

Here is Jaimin showing us his dive.

And here he is finishing his "dive"

Jones after his last baseball game. This was his first year playing and he absolutely loved it.

Sleepover with their cousins. I was quite surprised how well they all did, we had no problems at all. It was even Lydia's first sleepover.

Fun at the new splash pad. As you can tell by Jones it was a bit cold that day.

The end of a wonderful thing.

2010-05-21T16:31:00.000-07:00

So here is Jaimin 2 years ago getting ready to go to his first day of preschool. As many of you know Jaimin has been behind on his speech and so he had to go to a special preschool to help him. This was very hard for me, not only because I had to admit that something was wrong with him but because he was just barely 3 and I was sending him to school. At this point in Jaimin's life he wasn't talking at all, very rarely could you even get him to repeat what you had said.
I will never forget the first day we took him to school. He had really never been left with anyone except my parents for a short time so I new it was going to be hard. Jones and I walked him into the classroom where one of his teachers was and Jaimin was actually excited to be there because there were toys. Well as soon as he found out we were leaving he started crying. Not what I wanted to hear or see. Anyway the teacher came over and picked him up and said it is usually easier if the parents just go and not make the goodbye last longer. So Jones and I went and sat in the car. After a few minutes Jaimin and his teacher came outside to get some kids from the bus and he was sobbing. This broke our hearts, all Jones and I could do was sit there and cry. Jones kept asking if we could just go back and get him which of course I wanted to do but knew how much he needed the help. So we decided to just go run some errands to make time go by faster, well it didn't work, it felt like the longest day ever! The next day was a little better, he still cried but not as much and by the end of the week he wasn't crying at all. Now here he is on the last day of preschool after going there for 2 years. At this point he is talking in full sentences, interacting with others, and one of the most happiest kids ever. Since the first week of school 2 years ago he has never complained about it, in fact he always talked about how he loved it and was always excited to go. Amazingly this day was almost harder for me than the first day. Not only did I cry on his last day but I have cried for many days prior. I even made a fool of myself and cried at one of the meetings with all of the administration. I never thought I would like a school or teachers as much as I have this one. The teachers and staff are amazing! Every single day the teachers would come and greet jaimin with a big hug. One of my favorite things was seeing Jaimin running to his teachers with open arms yelling at the top of his lungs "Hi Teacher Tina, Hi Teacher Rocio, and Hi Teacher Dana". He absolutely loves his teachers and loved going to class! He had some of the most caring teachers anyone could ask for, they truly do care for him. Not once after 2 years did he ever come home upset, he was always in such a good mood after spending the day with them. In fact if he weren't at school he was at home playing school he loved it so much. If it were up to me I would keep him at this school until he graduated. I have so many mixed emotions, Happy because we were unsure Jaimin would be ready for Kindergarten and he is more than ready now. And sad because I know how much he loves his teachers and school and won't be able to see them anymore (except for the many visits I plan on having).
Jaimin has grown and accomplished more than I thought was possible while being at this school. They have helped him make a complete turn around. Without them I am not sure how he would be. So Thank you Teacher Tina, Teacher Rocio, and Teacher Dana!!!

Too Big Too Fast

2010-05-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

I swear it was just the other day when Jones was this small! But no he just turned 7. Time goes bye too fast sometimes. On Wednesday we celebrated Jones' 7th birthday. (I still can't believe I have a 7 year old) Anyway we celebrated by letting him stay home from school and going to the Classic Fun Center, and of course I forgot to take the camera. After that we just had a small family get together for cake and ice cream. (The friend party is on Saturday) He had so much fun, he cried when it was time to go to bed because he didn't want it to end.

This is him with his new bike. He loves it and rides it every free minute he gets.

Here they are getting ready to open presents. I love how excited Jaimin was for Jones. Any time Jones would open a gift Jaimin would get so excited and thank everyone.

Here is the cake, my first attempt at fondant. It was more work than I was wanting but I am glad I tried.

This is what happened when he kept coming in and distracting me while I was making the cake.

Jones is such a sweet boy, we are so lucky to have him in our lives. He is one of the most caring boys I have ever met. Jaimin couldn't have a better big brother, he is so patient and understanding of Jaimin. I hope he never changes!!

Disneyland

2010-05-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well we finally made it to Disneyland!! We had been telling the boys we were going to Idaho for a work trip. When we got to the airport and some of my family was there we decided to break the news that it wasn't Idaho but Disneyland. They were excited!! The boys loved every minute of it, Jones even said that he wanted to move there. We spent five days there, which was plenty. We have been home for almost a week now and they are still talking about it and still singing "It's a small world after all" (I don't think I will ever get it out of my head!). Hopefully we will be able to make it back again soon!

2010-03-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

Here they are, I think the turned out really cute. I think the last time we had the boys pictures taken together professionally was over 4 years ago. So it was long over due. With this one we not only got some good pictures but we came home with the ducks as well. Don't worry we will only be keeping them for a few more days and then they are headed out to the farm.

2010-03-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the boys to get some pictures taken. When we got home I figured should take advantage of them all cleaned up and try and take some of my own. Unfortunately I think they were sick of taking pictures at that point because they were not cooperative at all. So here is what I got. Hopefully the ones I had taken will turn out better. Of course they had to get one with the kitty.

I think these last two are my favorite.

Happy Birthday Mark!!

2010-03-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Every year for Mark's birthday we have gone to the zoo. It started right after we got married 8 years ago. I was trying to figure out something fun to do with Mark and found out that he had never been to any zoo before. Every year since then we have managed to make it and every year is seems to be more fun. I am sure it has to do with the kids enjoying it more and more. This year we told Jaimin a week or so earlier that we were going and he got so excited he started screaming hooray and didn't stop talking about it. Every time I would pick him up from school he would ask if it was the day to go. This year all the cousins, my parents, and younger sister were able to join us. The kids seemed to love it even though it was a bit chilly. I think I would rather it be a bit chilly rather than too hot. They are already asking to go back. Here are the three oldest Haley Star, Jones, and Max enjoying their snacks.

One of their favorites the Merry-Go-Round. Jaimin did act like he was going to be sick towards the end but still loved it. Jones thought he was pretty cool for being able to ride on a snake.

My favorite boys! Don't know what Jaimins deal was he kept doing this every time we would try to get a picture of the three of them. Every year we go we try to get a picture at this same spot and it seems like only one has turned out really good. Although I think it is fun to look at each one and see how the boys have changed. Last year Jones refused to even get in the picture. It is amazing how their personality changes so much in one year.

Here are Jones and Jaimin watching one of their favorites the penguins. At one point one of the penguins started nibbling at the foot of one of the zoo keepers and Jaimin started busting up laughing and then started yelling at the penguin to stop.

You can tell a little bit from this picture but Jaimin broke out into hives the day before. He was put on a steroid for it but for some reason this day it moved to his face. He looked horrible! Amazingly he didn't complain about it once. I wish I had a picture to show how bad it really was.

All the kids playing on the Rhino.

Watching the elephants eat.

Here are all the boys riding the train. I love that they all get along and always have fun being around each other. I guess we can look forward to next year.

Ice skating

2010-02-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

We decided to try something different and put the kids in ice skating lessons. They had never been before so we were a little nervous to see how they would do. They loved it! Jones was able to do it all by himself and Jaimin had someone help him most of the time but still did pretty good. I guess Jones fell pretty hard once and hurt his bummy a little. It was kind of funny, as soon as we got home he asked if he could get in the bath to make it feel better. Every time he runs he holds it and says it hurts I can't help but laugh at him. Here is Lydia she wasn't as fond of it as the boys were. The lessons last for 6 weeks so she has plenty of time to get the hang of it.

The boys couldn't stop talking about it and every time we drive by the rink they ask over and over to go again. I am glad they enjoyed it so much. I guess we will have to take them during the open skate time so they get more practice.

Winterfest 2010

2010-02-15T19:06:00.000-08:00

This year Ogden had a Winterfest. They had all sorts of activities you could do so we decided to head down and check it out. Unfortunately it was raining so things got a bit muddy and cold (especially since I didn't have a coat to fit over my cast). At least it didn't stop the boys from having fun. We watched human dog sled racing, skijorning (skiers and snowboarders pulled by horses through a course), snowmobile drag racing, and skiers and snowboarders free riding down a snow covered street. The city spent a few days bringing snow from around Ogden and covered the streets Here we are trying to get warm inside the hotel where registration was. We could sit and watch people sled, ski, and snowboard on all the snow hills.

Here are the boys getting ready for the only even we actually signed up for, Human Bowling. The kids couldn't wait!

As you can see from the video it wasn't all that great, I guess the rain ruined the original track so they just quickly made this one. Oh well the boys still liked it.

Is It Warm Yet?

2010-01-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

I thought I was the only one in my house getting sick of the kids being stuck inside all day. I guess I was wrong. Yesterday Jaimin didn't have school and Jones did so Jaimin got a little bored. I guess he is sick of playing with the usual toys. This is what we walked into yesterday. Jaimin had made a bed for the cat, his friend that he made and named Elana, and himself and then made popcorn for them all to share. He actually had conversations with his bristle block friend and made us talk to it. It was pretty cute! Here he is earlier making beds outside in the freezing cold. He actually tried to go out in his flip flops and no shirt but we made him put a coat and shoes and socks on. As you can tell the coat and shoes came off pretty quick. He also laid out towels on the patio. I think he was wanting to get the pool out.

Hopefully he will have his backyard back soon and I will have my clean house back.

2010-01-21T18:24:00.000-08:00

Alright people I need your help. My family is trying to plan a trip to Disneyland and would like to find as many deals as possible. We are planning on sometime in May. So please tell if you know of any ideas. Thanks!

2010-01-07T10:07:00.000-08:00

This new years day we took all the grandkids sledding. They had so much fun, Jaimin actually got out of the car this time. He was fearless, even after Him and Lydia had a run in with some trees. Here is Jones getting Mark back for white washing him.

Here is Jaimin trying out Jones' new snowboard. Both of them were a lot better than I expected.

Jaimin riding with his cousin Haley.

Hopefully we will be able to make it out again before the snow melts.

2009-12-30T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Christmas night at my parents house. Jones and Jaimin both got Hulk masks and gloves. They loved them, every time they hit each other the gloves make noises. They ended up having a small boxing match. It was pretty funny. Here is Jaimin on his way down, he would pretend that he was dying and would slowly fall to the ground anytime Jones would hit him.

Here they are eating their cookies and getting excited to open presents.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-16T15:39:00.001-08:00

Tis The Season

2009-12-02T07:52:00.001-08:00

Well as you can tell my boys are very excited for the Christmas Season. All day long they are singing Christmas songs and talking about Santa, it is so much more fun now that the boys are older and getting more into it. Christmas just doesn't come fast enough for them. This year hasn't quite been the same for us for both good and bad reasons. Mark has started a new position, so hopefully I will get to see him more which is good. In the past few years we hardly got to see Mark during the holidays due to him working in retail ( their busiest time of the year). So Mark will get to enjoy Christmas a whole lot more this year. Me on the other hand is a different story. Once again I have Mono (yes that will be the second time in the past 8 months) and my Pancreas has decided to flair up again. It has made it really hard for me to get into the spirit. Getting out Christmas decorations alone wore me out. I am hoping that since Mark will be home more I will be able to rest more and get over this quickly. The good news is I have almost all of my shopping done except for my neighbors and everything is wrapped. So hopefully it will be stress free from here on out, cross my fingers. Here is Jones wearing the Santa hat and some stockings. He thought he was pretty funny.

Here are the boys playing in the backyard in the little snow that we have gotten this year. This is actually the first year Jaimin was willing to put boots and snow pants on.

2009-11-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

I am selling this toddler bed for $30.00 if anyone is interested.

Double Darth Trouble

2009-11-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

So this year for Halloween both my boys decided to be Darth Vader. I was pretty surpised, I knew that Jones wanted to be that but was sure Jaimin would want to be a transformer. But as soon he saw what Jones was going to be he knew right away what he wanted to be and there was no changing his mind.

Here is a picture of the boys with their cousins right before we went trick or treating. Every year for Halloween we go to my parents house for dinner and then around my parents neighborhood for treats. The kids seemed to have more fun this year, I am assuming it is because they are all a bit older and the little ones actually wanted to keep up with the big ones. The funny thing was the more we trick or treated the more Jaimin's costume would come off. He has a tendency to get hot really quick and all the running from door to door made him hot very quick. Every few houses he would take something off and throw it to us as he was running by. It was pretty funny!

My Little T.V. Stars

2009-10-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

Well we made it. I dragged the boys out of bed at 5:30 so we could go down to the Dinosaur Park and let the boys be on Channel 2 News. They had a lot of fun, other than having to get up way too early. They even got to invite some of their best friends to be on t.v. with them. Here is Jaimin and Casey Scott. Jaimin thought he was pretty cool holding the mic.

They were on a few different segments. Here is a picture of them on one of their last ones. As you can tell Jones is a little camera shy. Jaimin on the other hand is completely opposite he just goes with the flow and is happy to do it. Anyway they thought they were pretty cool.

2009-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hey if anyone is awake around 6am tomorrow watch channel 2 news. My boys will be on between 6 and 8. I believe the first time will be at 6:15.

My sweet Jaimin!

2009-10-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Jaimin goes to preschool everyday. Well one day when I was dropping him off I noticed him turn around when he got to the doors so I decided to stay and watch. He walked over to the back of one of the buses and waited for a minute. Then I noticed he was watching a little boy named T.J. get off the bus. T.J. is wheelchair bound and really can't do anything on his own except hold his head up. As soon as T.J. was off the bus Jaimin got behind him and very carefully pushed him into the classroom. I thought it was very cute and assumed that Jai was excited about pushing a wheelchair. Well a few days later one of the teachers came to me and told me that Jaimin had tried to play with T.J. and how cute he was. A week or two later when I went to pick up Jaimin two of Jaimin's teachers came to talk to me. They gave me these two pictures and told me that every day the this little boy is at preschool Jaimin is sure to set aside some of his play time to spend interacting with T.J.. They said it was the cutest thing they had seen and that Jaimin was always so sweet to T.J.. As you can see from the pictures they are both laughing and having fun. It almost brought me to tears to hear that my little Jaimin was playing with this little boy who really could use a friend. Every time Jaimin sees these pictures he gets giggly. I hope he will always be able to look past peoples differences and treat everyone with love.

2009-09-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Sunday after dinner we decided to head up to Snowbasin to see if the colors were changing. Well they have started to change but not as much as we were hoping. We were just able to go for a short hike before it got dark. We keep forgetting how early it starts to get dark. We attempted to get a few pictures but surprise, surprise the boys were not in the mood.

Here is Mark being a nice daddy. Both boys were not in the mood to walk, Jones' foot was hurting ( due to a football accident, and yes the one that he broke ) and Jaimin never likes to walk very far but after falling into a pile of cow manure he decided he was done.

2009-09-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

MILTON NELSON
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Milton Reeder Nelson 1923 ~ 2009 Our dear husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, friend, and neighbor Milton Reeder Nelson passed away September 4, 2009. Milton R. Nelson was a thoughtful, considerate, generous, and humble man. He was deeply committed to family and friends and never spoke an ill word of anyone. Milt was born May 10, 1923 in North Logan Utah to Francis E. Nelson and Elvira Reeder Nelson. After graduating from South Cache High School, Milton served as a navy pilot in World War II. He was honored with six gold stars and the Distinguished Flying Cross, yet he never spoke of his own heroism, only of his friends with whom he served. After the war, Milton attended and graduated from Utah State University where he met and married A. Renee Russell in 1952. They had three sons, Rourk, Brett, and Rick. Milt had a very successful career with Mountain Bell, retiring after 31 years of service as a Commercial Staff Supervisor. After the death of his wife Renee in 1996, Milt married Della L. Russell. Milt leaves behind many loved ones who will miss him very much, including his son Rourk (Cynthia), son Brett, son Rick (Jill) grandchildren Tony (Rebecca) Nelson, Natalie (Joshua) Marsh, Cami (David) Chambers, Greg (Kjersti) Nelson, Vanessa, Michael Smith, three great grandchildren Raegan Renee, Dyer, Samantha Claire and his wife Della Russell and her wonderful family. He was preceded in death by his great grandchild, Brady Nelson and first wife Renee. He was loved dearly by his family and will be deeply missed. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the South Cottonwood 8th Ward, 6180 S Glenoaks, Murray, Utah. A viewing will be on Monday, September 7, 2009 from 6-8 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary, 4760 South State and on Tuesday at the church from 10-10:45 a.m. Interment Murray City Cemetery. Online condolences may be shared at www.jenkins-soffe.com

We will miss you!!

2009-09-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Last night on September 4, 2009 at 1:30 am we lost a great family member, Milton Nelson. He had been married to my grandma for 12 years. We were very lucky to have him around, he was very good to my grandma and made her very happy. He was the only great grandpa our kids ever knew. We will all miss him very much!! We love you Milt!!

Bear Lake

2009-08-31T08:54:00.001-07:00

This was our last bit of fun before school started. Every summer my family takes trip up to Bear Lake. It is always so nice just to get away for a few days before the summer is over. This year the kids seemed to enjoy it more than usual, probably because they are a bit older.
We don't really have anything planned. In the morning Jones and I would get up around 6:30 and he would ride his bike while I went for a run. Then we would go set up our stuff on the beach. We really enjoyed our mornings together! After that we would just hang out in the condo until lunch time maybe play a game of tennis, and then head out to the beach. At the beach we built sand castles, rode the jet ski's, and had a few games of football and soccer. After the beach we would get cleaned up, eat dinner, and play our nightly game of progressive rummy. Not really anything too exciting, but we all had a lot of fun.Here are Jones and Jaimin playing at the playground. Jaimin loved the fact that he could just hop on his bike and head down to the playground. The only problem is he thought he could go at any time he wanted.

These two pictures were the closest thing we got to a family picture.

Building sand castles. Notice the power lines. Jones was really proud of them.

Here is a picture of Jaimin of the first day. The poor kid was so sick with a headache that all he could do was lay there. Anytime we would try to give him medicine he would gag and throw it all up. Luckily it didn't last too long, by about 5 o'clock he was up and being his happy old self again.

IT'S A BOY!!!!

2009-08-23T08:15:00.000-07:00

It's a boy.....kitten! So we finally gave in and got a kitten. We had been thinking about getting one for quite awhile now but we were worried that Jones was allergic to them. About a month ago we took him to an Allergist because he wouldn't stop itching. Among 50 other things we had him tested for cats. We found out he was only allergic to grass. For some annoying reason the doctor turned to Jones and said well you can get a cat now (I wanted to kick her because we really hadn't decided if we wanted one). Anyway ever since she said that Jones has been on our back about getting one. So we gave in. We had looked around on ksl for a bit but nothing really caught my eye until I saw this one. So yesterday we told Jones we had to go get something at a co workers house which made him very unhappy, he wanted to stay and play with his friends. So we got to the house and got out and played with the kittens for a bit and then told him it was time to go. When we got in the car he looked and saw me holding the kitten and with a huge grin said "I didn't know we were taking him home!" He was thrilled. Even Jaimin was excited on the way home he yelled out "I got a cat" and giggled.

He is a very good cat, he is 10 weeks old and is potty trained and so far has not had any problems (whew!!). We now just need to settle on a name. So far it is between Oliver, Edward, Martin, and Jones' favorite thanks to my dad Lumm. We can't decide. Any suggestions?

2009-08-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!!! On August 11. 2009 at 12:00am (The minute it turned Ana's Birthday) Jonathon proposed. We are all so happy for the both of you!

2009-08-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

They don't look alike at all do they!?

So a few weeks ago we took our annual family trip to Lagoon. I honestly was not looking forward to going this year due to Jaimin's fear of the rides and his motion sickness. Jones also has never been that excited about going on many rides. Well this year was completely different, they couldn't get enough. It made it so much fun. The lines weren't too long so they just ran from ride to ride.

After riding many of the kiddie rides we decided to go do our family favorite "Rattlesnake Rapids". We showed it to Jaimin and asked if he wanted to go and his response was "no not today". Well we took him anyway. I decided not to go and try to get some pictures. As you can tell from this picture Mark and the boys got the most wet. I was so worried that this was going to ruin Jai's fun mostly because he hates his clothes getting wet.

Here he is after the ride telling my mom how fun it was and saying he wanted to go again. He couldn't stop jumping up and down talking about it. I was so glad he liked it!!

Here is Jones after the ride just as excited as his brother. The poor kid could hardly keep his pants on they were so wet.

Here is Jones on our way out running through the fountain. This was also a surprise for us, he usually doesn't like running through these things.

Since then both boys keep asking if we can go back because they had so much fun. This trip actually got me excited for them to grow up. Life is much more fun when the whole family enjoys it!

2009-07-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

So this weekend we got invited to go to Grand Junction Colorado for Mark's friends birthday. Mark decided to take Jones while I stayed home with Jaimin. Jones was so excited because he found out they were going to go fishing which he had never done before. The first day of fishing Jones caught 7 fish, more than anyone else they were with. He was so proud of himself. Most of the time they were there they were fishing except when Mark took him on a tour of his old neighborhood. He even took Jones to visit his little brothers grave.
Jones had a ton of fun getting some quality time with his dad and did surprisingly well for being the first time away from me and Jaimin. I on the other hand had a hard time being away from him and Jaimin missed Jones terribly. The house was unusually quiet all weekend. I am glad things are back to normal! Now I guess it is my turn for a vacation!

2009-07-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I was outside gardening while Jaimin and Lydia were riding bikes and I noticed Jaimin in the rocks picking something up. Due to our past garden experiences I was expecting to find him chasing a snake. Luckily this time it wasn't. He found two baby quail. They were so tiny and cute! The kids kept fighting over who got to play with them. So we put them in a box and went looking for their mom. Our neighbors told us that all the babies had been separated from the parents so everyone has been trying to keep them together. Hopefully the neighborhood cat will not find them before the mother does.

Not so welcome friends

2009-07-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

As many of you know we live pretty close to the mountains. Well since we have moved in we have not had any snakes in our yard but many of the neighbors have. Well our luck ran out this year! The other day Jones went to get out of my moms car and happened to look down just in time to see a rattle snake. We are so thankful that he did see it because it was right where he was going to be stepping to get out of the car and who knows what could have happened. Mark was out of town (of course with my luck ) so I ended up calling wildlife services and they came and caught it.

So due to my terrible fear of snakes I made Mark put out snake repellent in the yard. The only problem with the repellent is that if there are any snakes in the yard, it will keep them in the yard. Well obviously there was at least one that was in the yard. Two days after we found the rattle snake Mark was outside with Jaimin and noticed Jai chasing something. As Mark got closer he heard him saying "a snake" (by the way he is not at all scared of them any time he sees one he has to run over and pet it). Luckily this time it was a bull snake, but still a snake. This time Mark was home and took care of it for me. Now I am always checking around the yard and still try not to go to the areas where there are a lot of rocks to hide in. I am praying that we won't find anymore!! My fear is Jaimin will try to catch a rattle snake because I know he would try if he saw one.

2009-06-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Who needs the sun to have fun?

Jaimin's new hair cut

2009-06-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

So I decided to cut Jai's hair so he wouldn't be so hot in the summer. Well it wasn't quite going the way I wanted, due to him running all over while I was trying to cut it. Anyway I gave up and just buzzed it ( well it is a long buzz). I cried when I was done, I couldn't believe what I had done. I always swore I would never cut their hair this short. Anyway he looks totally different and I am still having a hard time getting used to it. The good thing is he likes it. The first time I showed it to him he smiled and rubbed his hands through it and then leaned over and gave me a huge kiss. He kept saying daddy's hair cut so at least he is happy. My goal was to have it about 2 inches longer so I guess in a month or 2 it will be there.

The Big 6

2009-05-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday May 12th my little Jones turned 6. I still can't believe he his already 6! I don't think Jones could have waited any longer for it to happen. He had a countdown calendar and would talk about it everyday for the last month or two. The morning of his birthday he woke up around 7am which is not normal for him. As soon as he woke up he came and stopped me from doing laundry and woke Mark and Jaimin up so he could open his presents a.s.a.p. . He was so cute as soon as Jaimin walked in the room he said "here Jai you get to open this one". After he opened all his presents he went out and played with all of them. As you can tell by the picture above he wanted a space themed party.

This year for his birthday he decided he wanted to hike up to waterfall. We figured that Jaimin was old enough so we said okay. If was a fun hike it just took us a little bit longer than normal. The waterfall was a lot bigger than I had ever seen it before. The boys loved it.

As you can tell by this picture we did get a bit wet. We went closer to get a picture and the wind started to blow so the waterfall sprayed us all. Aftert getting wet Jones decided it was too cold to stay up there any longer so we had a quick snack and a drink and headed back down. All in all I think he had a great birthday. Now we are just counting down the days until his next birthday.

LOOK MOM I CAN DRIVE NOW!

2009-05-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

So this year my grandma decided to buy a golf cart for her husband to drive around the farm with. Well as you can see by the videos and picture, the boys were very pleased with her new purchase. I decided to let Jones try to drive. Well he couldn't get enough of it all he wanted to do was drive it around the pasture. And ever since we left my grandmas all I have been hearing about was how he wants his own cart. I told him to start saving.

If you listen closely to the video with just the boys you can hear my mom panicking in the background. The funny thing is I had told Jones just to go a short distance to play a trick on the family. Well I guess my mom had just assured my nervous grandma that I was not going to let him drive it without an adult. I think my grandma got a bit more nervous after that.

Just a few pictures

2009-05-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

easter eggs

2009-04-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Last week my sister decided to dump a few unwanted eggs into my garden. So I decided to get her back by dumping them in her front yard. Well a few days later after I had forgotten about it I came home to find my backyard covered in eggs. The boys were excited until they found out they were empty. Although they keep going out and finding a few random pieces of candy. All I have to say is watch out Sayla, payback sucks!

my little run dmc fan

2009-03-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Jaimin right after waking up this morning. He was so excited to wear his new shirt. He walked around the house singing "walk this way, talk this way." What a weirdo!

2009-03-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Marks birthday. The boys decorated his cake. They also gave him a bird for his gift from them. Jaimin likes to make it kiss our toy bird. Also every year for his birthday we take a trip to the zoo. The boys had a lot of fun unfortunatley Jones spent most of the time in the wagon because he got his cast off 2 days ago and it is very sore.

2009-03-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

So this is what I walk in the kitchen and see almost every day. For some reason Jaimin loves to cook eggs, the only thing is he refuses to eat them. Most of the time I will let him make them. I will put them in a dish for him and most of the time he says "no, for Jones"! I think it is kind of cute I just wish he would at least try them. He is the most picky eater I have, I actually got him to eat meat for the first time in 2 years so hopefully one day he will try his eggs.

2009-02-24T18:24:00.000-08:00

Well after spending about 4 hours at the doctor today they decided it was fractured. There is a small fracture on the inside of his heel. And they believe he broke the growth plate in his ankle.
He thought he was really cool once he saw the cast on but after a few hours he realized that it can be very annoying. I guess that is what you get for jumping off the stairs.

Here he is at his jumping point. It actually made him nervous to be sitting there so hopefully he won't be jumping again anytime soon.

Do you think they ever learn?

2009-02-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

So the other day Jones decided to jump off the side of our stairs from about 8 stairs up, and ended up hurting his ankle. Two days went by and he was still having a hard time walking on it and at times would just crawl. So we took him into the doctor that night for x-rays. As of right now they don't think it is broken but they said there was a lot of swelling around one of the bones. We were told that sometimes the break doesn't show up until after the third or fourth day when it starts to heal. So in a week if he is still walking funny we go back in for more x-rays. Anyway he has to wear an air cast for awhile. As soon as we got home from the doctor he jumped up onto the counter, (another place he likes to jump from). You would think that him hurting his ankle would keep him from going to high places but obviously not. Luckily I walked in just in time to catch him from jumping off. I guess kids are made to keep their parents on their feet.

Going Private

2009-02-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

I guess it is time for us to go private. So anyone who would like to view our blog please leave us your email address and we will send you an invite. You can either leave it in the comment area or you can email us at macabooth@yahoo.com Thanks!

California Memories

2009-01-28T11:14:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of one of the many times Jaimin lost his binky while living in California.

Spring Fever

2009-01-24T07:36:00.000-08:00

So I thought I was the only one getting spring fever. Last week the boys decided it was time to start riding again. It was freezing outside but you know boys, they could care less. They had fun but it didn't last long. Jaimin would get stuck somewhere and would lay on the front of his bike saying "yo help, yo help", it was funny. So besides being ready to ride their bikes, their new thing is to go run laps, for some reason they love it. When we get home they head down the driveway and run around the circle. The other day Jai was in the house and just took off and did 3 or 4 laps of going down the driveway, around the circle, and back up the driveway. By the time he did his last lap he could barley get back up the driveway. I guess it is good for them, maybe I should start doing it with them.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

2009-01-20T18:10:00.000-08:00

So I need some help. As most of you know Jones is in Kindergarten this year. He hasn't exactly loved it but he has been fine with going every day. Well out of the blue last week he decided he hated it. I took him in crying because he didn't want to go but I got him to stay. Well 3 days later he did it again, he started crying on the way in and then as soon as I left his classroom he ran out sobbing . I ended up staying for 45 minutes before he calmed down enough to stay by himself. When he got home we had a big talk with him and could not figure out why he didn't want to go other than he didn't like it. So since the big talk he has been fine, until today. As soon as he started getting ready for school the tears started coming. Fortunately I didn't end up staying as long this time but I did have to force him to stay and I had to promise him that after I took Jaimin to school I would come back and sit with him. I ended up going back about an hour later and he said he was fine and I could go home. I don't know what to do, I have talked to his teacher and she is oblivious to anything, the counselor said he would keep an eye on him, and I have tried many different bribes. Has anyone had this problem with any of your kids? If anyone has any suggestions or ideas to what could be wrong or what we can do about it, PLEASE let me know, it breaks my heart that he gets so upset about it. By the way his teacher does nothing to help, she just stands there and looks at me fighting with him, is this normal for a teacher?

What a kid!

2009-01-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

What a kid! So Jones is usually really good about helping around the house. Lately he has been extra helpful. The past week he has surprised me a few different times with making beds, vacuuming the whole house, and cleaning the toy room. Well tonight I was laying in bed with Jaimin and I kept hearing Jones in the kitchen doing stuff. I couldn't figure out what it was he was doing because I had already cleaned the kitchen. So I decided to go in and see what he was doing, expecting a big mess. Boy was I wrong, he had set the table with drinks, napkins, and all the utensils and he had made dinner for everyone. He also cleaned up from making dinner. We all had Eggo waffles for dinner. I was shocked. After dinner he put the dishes in the dishwasher and cleaned the house. For some reason he wanted to organize every ones closets. He tried to do mine cuz he said it looked bad with shoes on the floor but I told him that I had just cleaned it. It made him cry, I felt terrible. Luckily he found plenty of other stuff to clean. Man if he keeps this up and Jaimin learns to follow I will be bored with nothing to do. Anyway all I can say is he is going to have one happy wife when he gets older.

2009-01-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

I had to add this picture cuz he was being too funny. He was standing at the bottom of the hill while Max was going down and somehow Max's sled turned just perfectly and took out Jaimin. It was pretty funny cuz Jaimin went flying. It didn't hurt him but for some reason he thought it was funny to play dead. He would get up and walk a few steps and then lay back down like he was dead. I would ask him if he was dead and he would just smile and stick his tongue out like Jones does when he plays dead. What a silly kid!

2009-01-04T12:39:00.000-08:00

So this New Years Eve and New Years Day we decided to take the boys sledding for the first time (besides in our front yard). The first day we went with Jane and the kids while our husbands worked.
We get there and surprise, surprise Jaimin refuses to put his snow pants or boots on. So I just let him go in his Levis and shoes, I was pretty sure he wasn't going to wear his snow clothes so I brought extra clothes so he wouldn't freeze all the way home. Anyway Jones was a little nervous so I told him Jaimin and I would go down first to show him how fun and not scary it is. Well Jai was more than willing to go but as soon as we took off the screaming started. He screamed all the way down the hill and as soon as
we got to the bottom he jumped off and ran to
the car and locked himself in for about 20 minutes. So Jones was more nervous now but I talked him into going with me. He ended up enjoying it but would still not go down by himself. After a few times of me going down with him I realized that sledding is not the best thing for people with back problems. Luckily Jane and the kids were there to help until he was comfortable doing it himself.

After about 20 minutes I decided it was time to
force Jai out of the car. He put up a fight but once he realized I wasn't making him go down he was okay. He had fun telling everyone when to go. For some reason he decided that it would be fun to go down on his butt. So that is what he did, the only problem was his shoes were too slippery to climb up the hill by himself so Jane and I took turns helping him. By the end of the day both of our butts were sore, mine from hiking him up the hill and his because it was bright red and frozen. Boy am I glad I brought extra clothes.

We had so much fun we decided to go the next day so everyone else could go. This time Sayla, Josh, and Lydia came but Jane was too sick. I think everyone had a lot of fun. This time our problem was that we had more people and only one sled. Mark and I went to 3 different stores and couldn't find one. Josh even went to a store and they were out, so he ended up borrowing a friends. You would think that in Utah they would keep a good stock of sleds. I went to 4 more stores on Friday and only found 1 crappy one. Oh well the kids had fun.

Here is a picture of Jones going down by himself for the first time. If you look close you can see the look of terror on his face.

Jaimin

2008-12-13T13:19:00.000-08:00

Jaimin is always happy. I don't think most people truely understand him or know him because of his limited vocabulary. It's a shame because he is the sweetest little boy. He has made a ton of progress in speaking over the past few months. He is now saying full sentences regularly and his teachers and speach therapist at his school have told us he is making great progress. He tells us that we are crazy, he says "come on" constantly, and he even went up to Jones the other day after Jones fell and asked "Are you alright?"
It has been great to see Jones and Jaimin start to play more lately. They both are starting to use their imagination, and they get pretty silly at times. Jones is very good with Jaimin. He is very patient and understanding. Sometimes when Jones has friends over we will ask him to please include Jaimin and he is usually pretty good. Jones is a sweet boy too. He has a new girl in his class at school. When we picked him up the other day he told us that nobody would play with her at recess, so he decided to go play with her. That obviously made us very happy. In his baby blessing he was blessed to love everybody including those that may not love him. I am glad he is so accepting of everyone.
This has always been my favorite time of year. I love Christmas. I think that my job is starting to change that. There is too much going on at work and I'm working longer hours. So I find myself enjoying the holidays, yet anxiously awaiting January when things will slow down.
I'm very frustrated right now because we were unable to go down to Tina, Robert's, and Henry's sealing. We have been planning on it for weeks, and the snow hit at the wrong time. I'm very happy and proud of them, but very frustrated and saddened that we cannot be there. I feel like we miss out on so much with my family.
Anyway Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!

PLEASE PRAY FOR TRAVIS

2008-12-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

So as everyone in my family already knows, my cousin has been battling esophageal cancer. Well a few months ago he had his esophagus removed and has been doing really well. Well on Wednesday they found more cancer. He will be going in for a very dangerous surgery sometime next week and has been told that there is only one shot at getting this right. There is a fast for him on Sunday so anyone who is willing to please do, even if you don't know him. He is in his early 30's and has young children so he needs as many prayers as we can give him. If you want to learn more about him go to www.wonderingsofawannabe.blogspot.com . Good Luck Travis!!!

2008-12-04T17:20:00.000-08:00

So after the last post I realized that there were a few other people that we needed to thank for helping make California easier. So Thank You to the Nydeggar's and the Bulmer's, who made us feel welcome and gave us someone we could count on.

2008-12-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

So I got looking through old Christmas pictures and found these two pictures that brought up a lot of memories. The first is of the boys on Christmas Eve in their new jammies. It was Jaimin's first Christmas, he was only 5 months old (man has time gone bye). This was a fun Christmas, Jones was finally at the age where they start to enjoy opening gifts. The one of Mark brings a lot of memories, but not very many fun ones. As you can tell by the picture we weren't very happy. We were in downtown Sacramento, California looking for a place to take a family picture for our Christmas card. The thought of being away from our family for the holidays was very depressing and it didn't help that we were already depressed. I actually think this is before we knew we were going to be transferred back. Anyway since Mark, as you can tell, and I were not very excited about taking a picture, we didn't take one that day. I think we waited until our neighbors dragged out of our house to take their picture, before we wanted to take one of us. Anyway thinking about California brought back a lot of bad memories. I know we were only there for 10 months, but it felt like 10 years. California definitely changed all of us. Luckily my family was very helpful in us getting through the whole experience. They called and talked at least once a day, and a few that were able to came out and visited. Without all of them I think we would have ended up in the Sacramento River. So Thank You Covieo's, Buehler's and Shivers' for keeping us alive through one of the hardest times in our lives. We love you all for it!!

Our first ever fake tree

2008-11-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

I promised myself that never in my life would I not have a real tree for Christmas. The memories of going up into the mountains in Colorado to cut our own tree down are some of my most fond ones. However, I hate putting lights on trees and the lure of a prelite tree that didn't need to be watered was too great. Last year our tree was dried up and brown 3 weeks before Christmas. Anyway the boys were a huge help as you can see in getting the tree up and decorated.

Thanksgiving Day

2008-11-30T12:00:00.000-08:00

As usual every time I try to get a good picture of Jaimin he tries to hide his face, so this is the best I could get for the day! Man what have I done to my kids? Jones refuses to smile in pictures anymore and Jaimin won't show his face unless I take it without him knowing. Maybe Mark told them to do this just to frustrate me.

2008-11-09T13:57:00.001-08:00

I just thought i would put this picture on here to show how close in size the boys are even though they are 26 months apart.

Monday

2008-10-13T19:09:00.001-07:00

Today was a long day.