Scout Hike!!!

Aj and his scout troop went on a camp out and hike this last weekend. Burt went with them. It was a really good sized group. There was about 20 people. All the boys had to pack in their own stuff, i.e. water, food, tent. No fires were allowed so they used some long lasting candles that AJ brought.

The hike was 10 miles long and rated as "Very Difficult". I think the boys and leaders will attest to that. At least one of the leaders is a seasoned hiker and he said it was one of the most difficult hikes he has done.

This is a picture of a scout at 2 miles in. He still looks happy.

This is looking up where they will go.

This is Burt at 4 miles in. He didn't have a hiking backpack so he just used one of his sport packs. His shoulders are so bruised.

After the boys did some cliff jumping the dog decided she wanted to jump too. The only problem is dogs don't climb ropes and that is the only way to get back up. A leader and AJ made a harness for "Sophie" and Aj climbed up the rope with it in his mouth. Then Burt and a few other scouts hoisted her up the water fall.

The water is about *20 degrees. And the water fall is about 15 feet up. Not everyone jumped, but those that did have some serious bragging rights !!!

Now for the trip down.

This is when Sophie almost started a "Gang War" with some wild horses.

All in all they had a great time. They will go on two more 10 mile hikes before their 50 miler this summer.

Our Garden........

This is the humble beginning of our Family Garden. We were going to try container gardening but thought this would be better in proportion to our family. We took a piece of "fertile ground" and cleared off all the rocks. Then Burt loosened up all the dirt. Here we added potting soil and everyone helped to mix it up. Abby is telling everyone where we had missed.

Man this is tiring work!

This is where the kids started to get bored.

What's a friendly "sword fight" between siblings?

Here they are planting the seeds.

And AJ is planting a Marigold border.

This is a picture of the finished project !!! On the first row (from the left), we transplanted Artichokes, Tomatoes, and Strawberries. The second row is all carrots from seed. The third row is peppers, radishes, and cucumbers. The fourth row is potatoes, onions and more onions!!

This was taken 1 week after we planted everything. I think it started off well!!! I can't wait to make salsa from my garden !!!!!

Emily Goes to Nursery !!!!

This last Sunday we let Emily go to Nursery. It wasn't really by choice. I was teaching the lesson in Relief Society and about an hour before church Burt was asked to teach the High Priests, so that left us with no one to watch Emily. I agreed with Burt to let her try out Nursery. After talking with her teacher and letting her know the situation she promised to watch Emily Very closely. I left and then came right back in to take some pictures. This is her saying "CHEESE!".At first she seemed fine. She waved goodbye to me with no problems. I stood at the door and watched her through the window for a little while. After I felt semi-confidant that she would be ok, I left to go to class.

After I taught, I walked into the hallway ready to race to the Nursery to get Emily. Burt had gotten her and she looked sooo- SAD. Her eyes were all puffy and red and she had snot running down her face. Burt said she was sitting there with big crocodile tears in her eyes. Her teacher said she did good, at first, then she would just get sad and start to cry. She just didn't know anyone there.

She fell asleep on the way home. Emily had a decent first experience. We'll let you know how it shapes up!

Abby's cast is GONE !!

Ok, ok.... All you math wizards out there will notice that her cast is gone a little bit early. Two weeks early to be exact. Abby got a little anxious and took it off HERSELF !! After we tried to put it back on, with no luck, I made a call to the Doctor. I made a splint out of 2 tongue depressors and my sons scout neckerchief for her to wear until she could get a new cast. The doctor thought that maybe she wouldn't need one and could get by with a real splint. She took two X-rays and decided a splint would do fine. So here is a picture of Abby and her new splint that she will have to wear for the next 5 weeks.....

No Surgery !!!!

When Emily was born she had lots of problems. One was a good sized hole in the top area of her heart. Along with that there were enlarged valves, extra flaps of skin, and a main artery that is basically backwards. We were told she would need surgery to correct the hole. She was very little and it was decided we could wait until she was 1 year old to give her time to grow and give the hole a chance to fix itself. At 1 year she was doing well and the hole had gotten a tiny bit smaller. The Doc said he really wanted to wait until she was 2 to do the surgery because she still weighed just 13 lbs. Her heart was working and he didn't feel like it was being stressed. I, of course, wanted to put off surgery as long as possible. I wholeheartedly agreed with him. Today we had another appointment with the Pediatric Cardiologist. After a few tests and what seemed like forever in the exam room we got to talk to him. He got out his diagram of a heart and began his explaination of what he had seen. Her hole was significantly smaller. The valve that had been enlarged was some how not so enlarged. The extra flaps of skin were shortening. It took me a bit to understand what he was saying. I had gone to this appointment ready to set a date for her surgery. He kept talking about how great this was and how it was really not expected. So I asked him "When will she have surgery then?" Thinking to myself that 3 would be ok. I could do that. That's when he said "Never. Atleast not for these things." I just looked at him.. I thought about how I had been scared of this surgery for the past 2 years and now ....... What? Nothing.

I feel so blessed right now. In spite of everything else wrong in my life. Emily doesn't have to have heart surgery. None. Not even a little. I have been struggling lately. Not with my testimony, but with how strong the Lord thinks I am. I can handle alot, but when it comes to my kids I have a hard time. Emily goes through so much already and I was really worried, no I was Scared of this surgery. I tried to educate myself hoping that would help, but then I just had all that information swimming in my head.

I think I need to be more like Emily. She smiles through it all. When she was 6 monthes old she got RSV and Pneumonia at the same time. While in the Hospital her lung collasped. Every Nurse on our floor wanted to see her. They were amazed that she was still smiling at everyone. Of course she still has her moments but she is basically happy all the time.

A Monster of a Cake

So, this was a total Fluke !! Dartell had also made this cake for Abby's birthday. It was a perfectly normal chocolate cake to begin with. On her way to my house she made a pit stop at her brothers to say hi. While she chatted away inside, the temperature in the car started to rise. Things started to melt (ok maybe just soften a little). When she arrived we ate dinner and Abby opened presents. Afterward it was time for "pupcakes" and ice cream. I wanted cake instead of the "pupcakes". When I took off the lid this is what I found. It looked like it was smiling at me. I had to get a picture of it. Next thing I know Dartell is adding to it. Here, she added eyes. Great, now it's looking at me too !!

Then she found some stray white chocolate chips. Now teeth.

And more teeth..... All the better to eat you with my dear!!!

Five minutes later the face had been eaten. First a lone tooth by Abby, then a nice slice of Monster Cake by Burt. Who's scared now?!?!?

Happy Birthday to Abby !!!

So, Sunday was Abby's 4th Birthday !!! She picked roast chicken and corn on the cob for dinner. It was delicious.!! Aunt Dartell made her "pupcakes" and we also had ice cream. This is a picture of her opening a present from Aunt Joanna. She bought it before she went to Mexico and had me wait until Abby's birthday to give it to her. Abby loves this pony. She carries her around all day !! Thanks Auntie Jo!!

This is Abby posing with her "pupcakes". She wouldn't put down the pony.

She loved that her name was on them and all the colorful sprinkles !!

One Giant Step for Disabled Kids.......

I am so excited. It looks like there was a judgement issued in the case filed against the state in Maricopa County Superior Court. My daughter's D.S.I. emailed a copy late last night. I can't convert the file into something that can be read on blogger, but I'll work on it. It basically stated that the court granted the injunction against the state, ordered them to not proceed with the budget cuts, and ordered them to send out letters advising everyone of the judgement. That means we still have our services, but it also means we still have a fight on our hands. Please continue writing letters and making phone calls. You all have a voice and a vote. Please don't waste them !!!

Abby Broke her ARM!!

This is Abby with her new cast. She broke her arm when she fell down the stairs last week. We took her to Urgent Care and they said she only broke one of the bones. When we got to the Orthopedic Surgeon we were told she broke both bones just above the wrist and barely missed the growth plates. Whew! Yeah, no surgery! She will have her cast on for a month and then she will have a splint for a few weeks. It will come off just in time for Preschool and dance class to start.

School House Rock

Mary was in her school play last week. "School House Rock" They all did an amazing job !!! I posted a link. I hope it works. If it does, she is the one with the pompoms. (click on the title) She went to practices after school for 2 months. She also went to dance practice, trained for her 5k, and kept her grades up at the same time.

I love the Elvis. This part was so funny. This kid had the hip moves down perfect!!

This is after the play. Mary got flowers and is with some of the cast. Julianna is up there too!!!

2009 Ragnar

This is from Burts blog. "RAGNAR!!! This is what I live for. The one race I look forward to all year. You see, racing hurts. Ragnar hurts. It hurts bad. But the difference is, you have 11 friends rooting you on the whole time. And that helps. This is the race that got me back into running. It's the race that changed my unhealthy lifestyle. I owe my life to Ragnar. (Cheesy enough?)"

While it may be "CHEESY", it is also true. He talks about this race all year. He has done it 4 times now. Ragnar is not just any race. This is a 204 mile relay race, starting in Prescott, ending in Mesa, with teams of 12 people in 2 vans. Their slogan is "Run! Drive! Sleep? Repeat!". Not much sleeping though.

Burt again "Overall we came in 59th place. I was hoping for another top 25% finish, but we barely missed it. But with all the changes to the team at the last minute, I'll take it. To see everyone at the finish line together was awesome. And now I remember why I keep doing this every year."

They came in 59th out of 223 teams !!!! Way Awesome!!!