Lil' Dean Fam

365 Project

2012-02-11T19:25:00.001-07:00

I'm doing a photography project this year. I'm taking a photograph every day for a whole year. So far, I've done really well at sticking to it. Some days, I take multiple photos and some days I take none, but for the most part, I've been able to remember to take a picture, upload it, and post it. I'm using 365project.org and I really like it. I've also decided to use a list of photographs for the month of February. In January, I just did my own thing.
Here are my pictures. If you click on the picture below, you'll link to my "project". I'm posting most of them to Instagram so if you have an account you can follow me: sugarfreesweety

Random January Moments

2012-02-11T19:14:00.002-07:00

My month to host Bunco.

Evan's "cute" smile.

Ryan's goofy face.

My favorite snack!

Evan bumped his head on.... something. Oh, he bumped it on his way out of preschool. That thing bled and bled!

Evan went swimming with his buddies while Mommy was at work.

Boys reading the Sunday Funnies.

Volunteering at the school- 50% AR activity.

Evan enjoying Daddy's favorite new restaurant!

Buffalo Wild Wings!

Ryan reading the dictionary. Who does that?

Me and the kids being goofy and testing out the reverse camera on the new phone.

Hey!

Smiles

Ryan's first ever hand made snowflake.

Evan eating a bowl of Spaghetti O's. I think he's in love!

Took the 6th graders to see a concert at the U.

One Sunday morning, Colin and I slept in. While we did, the boys got creative!

And made these marshmallow and toothpick creations.

Go Jazz!

2012-02-10T23:05:00.001-07:00

So recently the Utah Jazz haven't been doing very well on the road. They are, however, very good at home! Colin and I scored free tickets to a game back in January. So we made a fun date out of it!

Auto Show '11

2012-02-10T23:00:00.001-07:00

We weren't really planning to attend the auto show this year but Cole gave us free tickets, and the kids were free so... what did we have to lose?
It was a great show this year and I think the crowd favorite was the Jeep display. They had this obstacle course set up for adults to take a ride on. You stood in line and jumped into a Jeep with your buddies. Then you drove up this huge incline, down the other side, and through a bunch of suspension obstacles. It was quite the sight. We didn't stand in line to check it out but we did watch it for a while.
Colin was loving the Acuras. He sat in many cars and thought that they were the best, practical car.
I loved the Explorer; especially the automatic seat conversions- totally sold me on that car! Not that I'll be buying one anytime soon!
The boys had a great time standing in front of Disney's Mater. But, they were more excited to climb inside of the Humvee. I was so glad that they enjoyed that. They got to personally thank a few soldiers and I was happy for them. The kids each took a turn in the gunner seat, they thought it was amazing.

Full Moon

2012-01-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

These are my attempts at being a good photographer. Ha ha, what a joke!

Legos

2012-01-20T15:36:00.002-07:00

Uncle Stuart bought the boys some Lego Ninjago sets for Christmas and they were very excited to put them together and play with them. We've been tripping over the pieces and rescuing them from the fate of the vacuum ever since. Daddy and I "helped" (read did it all) put together these two vehicles for the boys. They lasted about an hour or two before they were basically in pieces again. Anyway, they had fun playing with them for a while and I was glad I took some pictures while they were still intact.

2011 in Review

2012-01-02T14:42:00.003-07:00

I suppose I'm a couple of days late on this post... but I wanted to show you a quick review of what we were up to in 2011. It was really a great year, we can't complain. We had an amazing year full of tons of fun things; a few vacations, some visitors, and the Holidays have been great. We are really looking forward to 2012. We think that there will probably be some changes going on in our lives and in our family. You'll have to keep reading our blog to find out what those might be!

Love you all, thanks for reading!

Jen

Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's

2011-12-30T21:26:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Day, 2011 around noon, we packed up and headed over to Grandma's house. The highlight of my visit was talking with my little brother, the Missionary, on Skype. Hanging up this time was definitely more difficult than last year when we had only seen him about a month earlier. He seems to be doing really well and is quite enjoying his current home-share arrangement. We spoke with the family briefly as well and they do seem like very nice people. After we visited with Justin for a while, we headed downstairs to exchange gifts.

We got lots of clothes! I love getting new clothes for Christmas, so does Colin.

The boys ate lots of sweets.

And the highlight of their day was this Jeep cruiser from Grandpa Ed and Grandma Veva. They were really excited about giving this fun toy to my kids. We haven't had lots of time to play in it yet because it's been... Winter. But I'm sure that this spring, my boys will just LOVE it! Emry had a great time riding around in it at Grandma and Papa's house.

After presents, we ate an amazing lunch prepared by my mom. It was just delicious. We spent most of the afternoon there and then packed up and headed home to play with all of our new toys.

Christmas was amazing this year. We were really spoiled with all of the amazing gifts but it was the time together that I'll remember most. I can't wait until next year when Justin will be back!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing Christmas this year. The kids are so fun on Christmas. They try so hard to be well behaved. Most days they did pretty well. Our house didn't have an elf on the shelf but we did have an elf named George who came to put a piece of candy in the shoes of any boys who had been well behaved the night before. It was pretty motivating for the boys to remember that the elf was coming to visit.

On Christmas Eve we took the boys to see the Adventures of Tin Tin which was a pretty good movie. Then we came home and got to see Stuart, Brooke, Ocean, and Maple do their Christmas morning for a little while. They live in Singapore so they're a day ahead of us. Then we called Nana and Grandpa Bruce and chatted with them for a little while. Afterward we read the Christmas Story out of our family Bible. Then I had the boys search for a present marked with a star under the tree. They were allowed to open those gifts (pajamas, pictured above) and then they had to go to bed. Of course Evan slept a little while in the movie so he was having a hard time getting to sleep but he eventually did fall asleep.

Then we waited for Santa to come. In the morning we heard some rousing and at first we thought it was Evan. We saw someone go down stairs and then come back up to wake up his brother. Turns out it was Ryan, not Evan. Ryan has always been an early riser. He was up at 5:20am (although he told us that he was up at 4- they have a digital clock in their room). So, we decided to go ahead and get up. Evan finally woke up and we all went downstairs to check out what Santa had brought and open the rest of our gifts.

Santa brought Mommy and Daddy a new TV and a Blu Ray player. sweet!

Santa brought the boys a scooter. He also brought Ryan a Light Bright and Evan a set of Lego Duplos.

The boys had angry birds in their stockings.

Evan was so cute on Christmas morning. He was super excited about everything he opened. He saw this tooth brush and was like, "Oh, awesome! A new Tooth Brush! ". I wish I had that on video.

Ryan gave Evan a Doctor Dreadful Zombie Lab. He was super excited about that too!

Each of the boys had a video game to open. Ryan got Lego Harry Potter years 5-7.

And Evan got Ratchet and Clank All for One.

The major gift that they got was this game called Skylanders. It's a video game that integrates toys into the mix. You take the action figure and put it on the "Portal of Power" and that character jumps into the game. It's pretty cool and they've spent a lot of time playing it.

Here's the boys on their scooters. Evan is a little afraid of his I think but Ryan has been loving his. I wish we had a flatter driveway but they're doing okay learning how to ride them.

I'm waiting on pictures from Christmas at my parents house.. stay tuned!

Elf hunting

2011-12-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan, Evan and I met up with our friends Amy, Jackson, and Kara at Gardner Village to search for all of the Christmas elves. We had a fun time looking at all of the cute elves and the different things they were doing throughout the village. Ryan did a really good job reading the clues and writing down the locations on the Elf hunt page. The boys got a free candy stick at the sweet shop so they were, of course, excited about that!

All of our cute kids: Ryan, Evan, Kara and Jackson

Candy Making 2011

2011-12-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Mom, Jess and I decided to make candy without the kids this year. Tee Hee. We know we should include them in our family traditions but they're still so young and will have many years of candy making to come. This year we made caramels, peanut butter cups, peppermint bark (shaped like beautiful little snowflakes), and butterscotch haystacks.

Santa & Mrs. Claus

2011-12-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

When Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived at the ward Christmas party, Ryan and Evan were the first to jump on their laps. Sorry if they cut in front of anyone!

Ryan wasn't too convinced as to the authenticity of this Santa but Evan was pretty excited. I thought they were a cute couple!

Gingerbread House

2011-12-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

If you make it to the end, there's a video!

The boys visit with Santa

2011-12-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

We took the kids back to the Santa at the Harley Davidson dealer again this year. We are really loving this tradition. The night before, the boys saw Santa and Mrs. Claus at the ward party. They didn't care much for that Santa. But this guy, they spilled their guts to. Ryan had a nice long conversation with him then went back to tell him something else. Evan was totally stoked to sit up on the bike. He didn't want to get down. He told Santa that what he wanted was too hard to explain, ha ha! Emry still doesn't dig on Santa too much. She cried again this year. Oh well, maybe next year she'll like him more.

2010

Can't find a 2009 picture

Evan (don't know where Ryan is)

2008

Ryan (Evan not born yet)

2007

Lights at Temple Square

2011-12-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

My grandparents and my Aunt Jean came in to town for my Aunt Deon's 90th Birthday Party earlier this month. On their last night here, we spontaneously decided to take the kids downtown to see the lights at Temple Square. It was amazing. I had not been down to see the lights in person since before Colin and I were married. I was really excited for the boys to see and enjoy looking at the lights. They did have a good time and I was so happy with how well they were behaved. Jess, Jean and I enjoyed it too. I think Emry had a good time too but she started getting really tired toward the end because she had skipped her nap.

Here's Evan being E. So goofy and so fun. I love that kid. (cellphone pic)

The best one I got of Ryan he had his eyes closed. I thought it was still a cool shot anyway.

Just a picture of the lights in front of the fountains on the East side of the temple.

This is the Salt Lake City, Utah temple.

All of us minus Jess (photog) watching the manger demonstration which coincidentally started like 5 minutes after we arrived- perfect!

Me and my boys.

Ryan and Evan!

Aunt Jean and the kids.

Jess and I thought this was the best display at the temple square campus. This was a simple floating nativity. The boys loved the floating bubbles (glass balls with lights in them) and has been trying to figure out ever since why they weren't popping.

My favorite picture! I took it with Jess' camera.

I love this picture too! Evan and Emry. They are really starting to get along better now, but their personalities are so much different than one another. Love them!

tee hee

Ryan decided that if Emry didn't want to ride in her stroller that he would! Ha ha! I think it made her mad though. When we left Ryan was sitting in the stroller and Emry was pushing him. Too funny.

Jess & Emry in front of the conference center!

Christmas Activities

2011-12-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted on this blog. Perhaps keeping 2 blogs of my own, 1 for my brother, and starting one for my mom and another for my dad is more than I can handle! Yikes! Anyway, I'm still in the current month so I suppose I'm not too far behind.

I've been pretty proud of how quickly I've been able to get my Christmas stuff done this year. This week and next I pretty much get to sit back, relax, and enjoy the Holidays. I spent 4 hours wrapping presents one Saturday. This was my pile when I was done. Then I helped my mom wrap a few more and I think she's now finished wrapping as well... unless she BUYS something else!

Mom ordered some gingerbread men for the grandkids to decorate a few weeks back.
They had quite fun with that!

I always love decorating for the holidays. This year I haven't put up ANY of my snowmen so that I can pull them out in January and enjoy my winter decor for another month. This was a new ornament that my Relief Society presidency gave out. I think they're so pretty!

This was definitely the year of the shipped packages! Next year I need to remember to include that shipping cost in my overall budget! I shipped 1 package to Singapore, 1 to Maryland, 1 to Kansas, 2 to California, and 3 to the UK. With stamps and insurance on the expensive package, it cost me about $150. I got everything organized, labeled, and packed up nice before hitting the post office. I got there early in the month and before 10am on a work day. There was a line but it was just long enough to fill out my customs forms and then I was the one holding up the line but hello, I had 8 packages to mail so I didn't feel bad about it. Oh, and I made sure to do it while Evan was in preschool so that I didn't have to worry about him running around or lying on the floor or anything else a 3 year old can do to entertain himself in the post office. Overall- TOTAL SUCCESS!

Photography note: most of these were taken with my iPhone, some with my sister's camera.

A Whole New Blog

2011-12-07T21:32:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a new Diabetes blog. This way my diabetes posts will be separate for those who are interested and the family posts will still be here.

I've been blogging since early 2006. At first I was over on some weird myspace-like site but then I quickly switched to blogger. I've been here since October, 2006. I love blogger and have enjoyed keeping our family journal of pictures and activities there.

From time to time I'll blog about Diabetes. Recently, I've been introduced to the Diabetes Online Community (DOC) and although I follow many diabetics on twitter, I am only occasionally able to meet up for the weekly DSMA twitter chat.

I've noticed that many tweeters are also Diabetes Bloggers. I thought I'd give it a shot and maybe focus more of my thoughts about diabetes on this site.

If you'll bare with me, I'd like to transfer my OLD diabetes posts over to this blog.

And, away we go!

Be sure to add me to your RSS!

Black Friday

2011-11-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

Black Friday this year was pretty much a success. In some ways more than others. We decided we'd hit the WalMart at midnight. That was a mistake. We should have just gone to bed and waited for the good sales that start at 4:00am. We didn't really need any of the big-ticket items that Wally's had at midnight but there were a few things we were hoping for. However, they had apparently sold out at 10pm. We got a few things, came home at around 1:00 to take a nap. At 3:45 we woke up and headed over to JCPenny's. We did super awesome there! Mom had saved up all of her coupons so we decided to just do one transaction so we could get all of our percentages off. We were also able to capitalize on Jackie's employee friends and family card which gave us an extra 20% off. As the discounts rang up I noticed that we'd saved $50 and said something about it. Um. NO. We'd saved a WHOLE LOT more than that! Our total retail was $1113. and some change. Our total savings on the bottom was $786.56! Whoot whoot! Our total paid was $345! You can't even see the bottom of the receipt in this picture. Amazing! We were out of there by 10 after 5 and headed over to Smiths Marketplace. It was a zoo but we were able to get pretty much everything on our lists. We then hit Sportsman's which was pretty much empty, then over to IFA and Home Depot. We were done by about 10:00am. I've only got 3 more gifts to buy and I'm done.

The best part of it all was that there were only just three of us so we were able to go where everyone wanted and get what we needed. I think I will join the Thanksgiving boycott next year. No shopping until morning! LOL That is unless Toys R us has more amazing deals or something!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T20:02:00.002-07:00

This is the first Thanksgiving that MY whole family has been together in a while. My Mom and Dad usually take off for San Diego to have Thanksgiving with her family. Some times we've gone to Colin's family friend Rita's house. Last year we ate at home, just the four of us. This year we had all of my family except Justin who's on his mission. It was a nice little gathering for the 9 of us. My sister and I brought several of the sides and my Mom made the main stuff like the turkey and desserts. It was a lovely meal.

We had a good time hanging out together for a few hours just chatting and hanging out. I convinced my dad to snap a few shots of the four of us for a Christmas card picture. I think we have a winner but I won't post that until well after the season so you can all be surprised by the shot! LOL

The rest of the evening we planned out our Black Friday shopping trip. Post forthcoming!

World Diabetes Day- and the story of my diagnosis

2011-11-14T01:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Monday, November, 14, 2011 is World Diabetes Day. I'm not sure if Google will be doing a special doodle for that day but check and see! Usually if you click on the doodle, you'll find information about the special day. The day is meant to raise awareness about Diabetes. I've written on my blog a handful of times about diabetes. You can link to all of those posts by scrolling to the bottom of my blog and clicking on the "label" diabetes. The condition has effected my life in many ways. Most days, however, I don't really think about it much. I thought that for WDD I'd write the story of my diagnosis. I don't think I've ever done that before, forgive me if I have. Many people ask me how I found out I had it, or how old I was when I was diagnosed. So, here's the story. I will warn you though, that some of the details are a little bit TMI so there's your warning!

In late April of 2001 I started having all kinds of weird things happening to my body. Probably the first thing I noticed was that my vision was poor. It was almost over-night that my vision changed. I went to the vision center in Wal-Mart (hey, I was a starving student at that time) and had an eye exam. I told the opthamologist that I thought my eyesight had changed really dramatically. He told me that I was wrong and that it had probably happened gradually. (Note: HE was wrong and should have noticed it as a sign of hyperglycemia- high blood sugar). I was working at a hotel in Provo at the time. I noticed that I was EXTREMELY thirsty all of the time. Like I would literally drink GALLONS of water each day and still go to bed completely parched. The hotel I worked at had a Mexican Restaurant on the same property and we were allowed free drinks from their soda fountain. I loved their lemonade and was so stinking thirsty all the time that I was constantly over there getting drinks. I still remember the taste. The bathroom was around the corner from my front desk and I was using the restroom so frequently that I'd often miss the telephone. In my job that was a big no, no, but what else could I do? I was also taking a dance class at the time and I remember having the same issues in that class. Having to drink a ton and running to the restroom so frequently.

I also remember that I was loosing weight. I'd gained a lot of weight in the Dominican Republic so I was glad for the weight to be coming off. I chalked it up to drinking more water. I was right, in a way. I'd also recently had a sore throat. My roommate and I were using jolly ranchers as cough drops. I remember I'd go to bed with one in my mouth and wake up with a huge canker on my mouth. I was also waking up in the night with really bad cramps in my legs. One night it was so bad that when I stood up to straighten out my legs, I couldn't stand on my feet because they had tightened up so bad.

All of this frequent urination combined with the excess amounts of sugar in my blood stream (which I didn't know was there at the time) gave me three yeast infections back to back to back. They were INSANELY painful and I'd tried over-the-counter drugs without any help. The semester came to an end and I packed up my car to move home. After a long day of moving all of my stuff out of my apartment and back into my parent's basement, I decided I'd go to the Insta-care clinic to ask for a Diflucan pill. This was a single dose oral medication used to treat yeast infections. I had NO IDEA that I'd walk out of there (actually I was taken away in an ambulance) with a life-long-illness.

My parents dropped me off at the clinic and went to get something to eat. I waited my turn and went to see the doctor. I told them about the yeast infection. They took a urine sample and I assume they asked me about other symptoms, I don't remember. They came back with the results of my urinalysis and told me that they found a lot of sugar. They said that when they tested my blood they were going to see if the sugar was high. If it was high, they told me, they'd probably diagnose me with diabetes.

I can't really tell you what went through my head at that moment. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what it meant. By this time I was starting to get pretty hungry. All I wanted was for my mom to come back, a sandwich, and a dang pill and to be on my way. No way was I ready for this diagnosis.

They checked my sugar and told me that it was high. I couldn't believe it. They were right! I had diabetes. So what the HELL did that mean? Someone called my parents. I don't know if it was me or them, but they came back. They hooked me up to an IV for fluids because they were worried about me getting dehydrated. They told me that since I was hooked up to an IV that I would have to travel to the hospital in an ambulance. It was my first and only ride in one. The nurses and EMTs in the ambulance were very nice. They were telling me how high my sugar was. I don't exactly remember the number but I think it was something like 529 maybe. I sat in the ER at the hospital until someone FINALLY fed me. I don't remember when they gave me my first dose of insulin but eventually they got me out of the ER and onto an admittance floor.

I had to stay in the hospital for about three days. They checked my blood sugars ALL NIGHT LONG every two hours. It was so painful. They use these awful lancets that are so sharp and hard. They woke me up constantly taking lots and lots of blood samples. In the next few days they taught me how to give insulin and worked on me with some dosing.

Once I was released from the hospital, they referred me to an endocrinologist who tried to help me get all of my ratios of insulin, carbs, and correction doses correct. It was a rough couple of years after diagnosis.

Anyway, that's my diagnosis story.

Disney on Ice

2011-11-13T15:09:00.001-07:00

Jess invited us all out to see Disney on Ice this Saturday, November 12, 2011. We saw the 11 am show. The whole McNew clan minus Elder McNew, of course, were there. The show was really cute and my boys were totally into it. It was an awesome family outing and I'm so glad we all got to go together. Thanks, Jess!

First Lost Tooth

2011-11-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Ryan lost his first tooth. Saturday night he was eating an apple when he said that his tooth was hurting him. I noticed there was a little bit of blood on the gum line. I told him that his tooth was loose and he'd probably lose it soon. Daddy told him it may be a few weeks. I figured it would be sooner than that but I didn't imagine it would be the next day. The three boys stayed home from church and Colin sent me a text at church saying they had a surprise for me. I was thinking about what that might be for about an hour. When I walked in the door he smiled at me but it took me a second to notice what was going on. Then he held up his tooth for me to see. I was so excited for him and at the same time I can't help but think that this means that he's really big now!

Ryan was asking me how much money I thought the tooth fairy would bring him. I told him I wasn't sure. He said, maybe she'll bring me a $20 bill! I tried to tell him that it would probably be less than that. He decided he'd better write her a note. I have no idea where this idea came from. I convinced him that he shouldn't ask for the $100 dollar bill that he was initially thinking to ask for. I got him down to 5 and he was okay with that. This was the note that he wrote.

Then, he did the funniest thing ever. He put the tooth and note in a little baggie and decided he needed a nap. So, he got in bed and laid there. I didn't make a big deal out of it because I knew he wouldn't fall asleep and that sooner or later he'd give up on it. He did. He went back to playing, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner, and he showed everyone his tooth and note. He was ever-so-proud! It was really quite adorable.

That night the tooth fairy left this note and two $1 bills under his pillow. He was up bright and early the next morning and very thrilled with what she'd left him. He likes the part that says not every boy and girl gets a note. H was happy he'd taken the time to write her first I guess.

Gorgeous Autumn

2011-11-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

Autumn here in Utah is absolutely gorgeous. I love it! This year it was particularly beautiful. It was warm for several weeks. Sometimes fall only lasts a week or two. I took these two pictures one week apart. I really wish I had taken two more pictures, the following two weeks. believe it or not, there is not a single leaf left on this tree today. In fact, all the leaves fell off last week. It was crazy. I love this tree when it's in bloom, and when it changes, it's just amazing! I took quite a few pictures of it last year, and this year, I had to take even more, I took a whole bunch with the boys (which I've already posted). Anyway, here are even more!

All of these came from the same tree! A rainbow of colors all in one tree!

Primary Program

2011-11-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Back at the beginning of the month of October, Ryan was in our church primary program. All of the kids do the program for the sacrament meeting. It's always been my favorite Sunday of the year. Ryan did an amazing job when it was his turn to speak into the microphone. He spoke loudly, clearly and articulately. I was very proud of that. His part was this, "Good choices lead to happiness and freedom, while bad choices lead to captivity and unhappiness." He doesn't love to sing in front of people and has a hard time focusing on learning the words to songs, but he does like music.

I'm so proud of my big boy! Next year, Evan will get to be in the program!

Halloween!

2011-11-07T18:48:00.002-07:00

Halloween at the School

2011-11-05T18:47:00.002-06:00

The Halloween Parade at the school is a really big deal. All of the parents come and fill up the gym. The students march in and out of each of the classrooms and throughout the gym. Everyone gets to see everyone's costumes and its a lot of fun! and hot, so wear short sleeves. Or, if you're like Evan, you can just push up the sleeves you have on so that you aren't too hot, who cares if you don't look much like a ninja anyway!

Evan and his friend Gracie dancing around to the music before the parade starts.

Ryan waving at people he knows in the gym.

Mrs. Hansen gets the award for the most amazing costume this year. She was the house from UP. How awesome is that thing! It took her five minutes to get through the door.

Ryan was dressed as a "Dragon Warrior Ninja". No weapons or masks at school though.

Evan wore his costume to Preschool on Thursday before Halloween.

My cute little Ninja at Preschool!

Trick or Treating at the new building

2011-11-03T19:35:00.000-06:00

Goldman Sachs has moved into a new building this year. The views from the 10th floor are awesome! The kids love this tradition and it's something we all look forward to year after year. My ninjas got an amazing amount of candy and that makes them happy, and hyper too!

Pumpkins

2011-11-01T17:27:00.000-06:00

The kids and I got together with my friend Teresa and her kids Maya and Joel to paint pumpkins. The kids did their usual mess and had a great time doing so!

Ryan

Evan

Joel

Maya

Colin and I carved pumpkins with the boys on Sunday night.

Ryan saw a jack-o-lantern eating a small pumpkin and had this idea in his head. We didn't find small pumpkins so his was eating a pear. We called it the hungry pumpkin.

Mine and Evan's jack-o-lantern.

Colin and Ryan's jack-o-lantern.

Fall activities

2011-10-23T12:04:00.001-06:00

Warning: Completely Random post:

So my Grandma bought a house down the street from my mom. It was a foreclosure and the previous owners pretty much abandoned the home. The left in the fall and their pumpkins rotted out in the flower beds. When my grandparents bought the home, they tilled the land and apparently incorporated the pumpkin seeds into the soil because now it is like an EXPLOSION of pumpkins! There are pumpkins everywhere! So, that's where we got ours this year! Cut them right off the vine. It was pretty fun, and kind of messy.

The boys got a little carried away and we chose 5 pumpkins to bring home. I suppose we'll have to be carving them sometime this week.

I bought this ficus tree at a home decor store recently. My plan is to decorate it differently for each holiday. I put it up and was really enjoying the way it looked plain. Then I found some cheap stuff in the dollar bin at Target and I was ready to put up my first decorations!

I got these mini jack-o-lantern treat buckets and one string of skull lights for about $4.00 total! I think it looks pretty cute. Not too much, but Evan loves to see the skeleton heads glowing.

The fall weather here in Utah is GORGEOUS! We just love it! But, we know that it will not stay long. In fact, next week the average high temperature will drop by 20 degrees so don't nobody get all surprised about it. Anyway, while the weather has been just divine, my friends and I have tried to take our kids out in it every chance we get. There have been many a park play date arranged. The kids are loving it too!

This is the boys' good friend Jackson.

I got all over-excited about buying Halloween costumes this year and one week when I wasn't working, I took the boys out in search of the perfect costumes. I was planning on doing a Star Wars theme. I was thinking of having Ryan be C3PO and Evan be R2D2 but there wasn't anything like that in any of the stores.
I totally find all of the "object" costumes hilarious so I threw this rocket on Evan.

In the end however, we went with Ninjas. If I can manage to keep them in one piece for Halloween, that's what they'll be!

I've been doing lots of coupons and deal shopping lately. It's been a blast! So far this month I've used about $280 in coupons! I've got a nice little stock-pile of stuff my family eats and uses. Colin was really excited about this cereal! We just had to buy it!

All of these leaves came from the same tree! I am obsessed with the two trees in our back yard. I love watching this one in the fall. I'm working on a little photography project with this one though, so you'll have to stay tuned!

Happy Autumn everyone!

Ryan: climbing a tree series

2011-10-20T22:19:00.000-06:00

Evan: Sitting in a tree series

2011-10-17T17:06:00.000-06:00

First Grade Field Trip: Cornbelly's

2011-10-16T15:01:00.000-06:00

That time I almost died

2011-10-14T18:06:00.000-06:00

For four months I lived in the Dominican Republic while on a study program with BYU. Toward the end of our stay (four days before, to be exact) I had a near-death experience. Seriously, I almost died. Anyway, I got to thinking about that location a few days ago and I thought I'd try googling it to see what came up. There were some good links to YouTube so I thought I'd share my story, and that video. This is definitely a flashback because I was there nearly 12 years ago!

Okay, so here's the story.

My friends and I had heard of a really cool place to go visit in the Northern part of the country to a place called 28 charcos which, translated, means puddles or waterfalls. It was a great hike through the waterfalls and bepebbled river bottoms. We wore tennis shoes without socks and bathing suits. Parts of the hike were dry and at other parts were deep water that you had to swim through. The idea was that you'd hike all the way to the uppermost fall and then cliff jump and or slide down the natural water slides.

They call it nature's best kept secret. It really was an amazing place. We were having a ball! We had this guide that we called Tarzan because he'd just grab a vine and swing around the jungle like Tarzan. He was very short but super strong and would help pull us up the different cliffs along the way. Some points were so steep that we used rope ladders. Most tourists only hiked up the first 16 or so "charcos" but we were led all the way to the top. In researching this place, I see it's now called 27 charcos. It makes sense to me now why they no longer allow anyone up to the 28th one. In fact, I wasn't even sure we'd make it all the way up there. We got to what we thought was the top and all of the sudden our guide takes off hiking off the path. He led us up to the top of this cliff and dared us to jump off.

There was no way I wanted to jump off. It was about a 70 foot drop from what I remember. There was only about a 10 foot in diameter hole to jump in and there were rock ledges all the way around. The trick to doing this cliff jump was to step out, not to jump or you'd hit rock on the other side. A few in our group went and I was trying to get up the courage to go for it. I said a little prayer and then the unthinkable happened. I slipped. I was falling straight for the rock cliff, not into the deep center. I was so afraid that I'd land on the rocks. Somehow, I landed in some water, but it wasn't the deepest part. It was probably only about 10 feet deep where I landed. I landed hard. And it hurt! I totally blacked out under water and I know I heard screaming on my way down. As I floated up to the surface, I came out of the blackness. I couldn't feel anything below my waist and I was afraid I'd broken my neck or something.

As I started to figure out what had happened, I gained back some of the feeling. I had a lot of pain in my ankle. I thought for sure it was broken. The main problem with my injuries was that I was at the very highest of the waterfalls and had the entire hike down ahead of me. Our guide literally carried me down on his back most of the way back. At the point where we had climbed up the rope was the hardest. It was a sheer cliff and I had to maneuver my way down without the use of one of my legs. It was pretty hard but I managed. At one point, Tarzan slipped with me on his back and landed on top of me. After that, I figured I could make it the rest of the way on my own.

My best friend Cathy, who was with me, started breaking out in some strange rash on the way down and was having a major allergic reaction. I had a broken ankle, and her dad had missing bags that we had to retrieve at the airport. It was a long night.

Four days later I had to carry home all of my luggage (I think I had like four heavy bags) with a swollen ankle and a hurt back. I went to the doctor after I got back to the states and had a sprained ankle (it did get better the next day so I knew it wasn't broken) and a compressed vertebra. I had to see the chiropractor the entire summer before I finally felt better.

Before I jumped I told Cathy that she'd better take a picture to prove I'd had the guts to jump. I've never seen it but I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

A few things I noted about the video.
1. everyone is wearing life jackets and helmets. No such thing when I went
2. everyone has a guide- we had to specially request one
3. there were only 27 charcos, when we went there were 28
4. there are now railings and guards and there wasn't anything like that when I went 4:52

Thanks YouTube for keeping the memory alive!

The things they say (and do) funny tidbits about my boys

2011-10-10T20:50:00.000-06:00

Don't kids say the darnedest things? My children certainly do. Sometimes I remember to write them down. Here are a few from the past few months. I will do a link on the side bar of my blog. Check back every so-often, I will update it with more recent and funny little things they say. Both boys will be on the same post this year, it's just easier that way!

"Sometimes I get distracted by girl stuff" -Ryan about Valentines

"There was a tadpole and a giant squid." -Evan about his poop

"Cuz baby tonight, DJ dance comin in now again" -Ryan trying to sing the lyrics. He often comes up with interesting lyrics.

Bahtwords- Evan's cross of the words "toward" & "between"

Sillarious- Ryan's cross of the words "silly" and "hilarious"

Evan asked Ryan, "How many do you need?...2,3,4,6?"

"Giant robot"-Evan always says this randomly.

"Praskis"= practice -Evan

"Indonesian"- Ryan after watching Little Einsteins

"Murdacycle"- motorcycle -Evan

"The thing is..." Evan

"I've been thinking what it would be like if I had a sister, when she grows up she'd want me to play dollies with her but I'd be too busy playing xbox" -guess who?

"Mom, I'm not agreeing with watching this, I'm changing the channel." -Evan while mom was watching the news.

Evan first time wearing a sleeveless shirt- "Mom, do you know what happened to my sleeves?" "Someone bit them off."

Evan- "When I grow up I'm going to be a panda."

Evan asked Ryan, "What kind of animal..."
Ryan tells Evan, "When you ask a question like that it's not a knock knock joke, it's called a riddle."

At breakfast Ryan asked me, "Mom, why is school so important?"
Later that same day in the bathtub he randomly asked me, "Mom how did the doctor cut open your tummy to take out the baby?"
I gave a good 5 year old explanation.
"Does he always do it that way?"
"No, Ryan he doesn't." End of discussion. Thank goodness!

Something funny about my boys is that Evan plays with imaginary friends when Ryan isn't around and Ryan plays with imaginary toys. One day Ryan played with an invisible DS the entire way through the grocery store. Hey, it's cheaper that way, right?

Ryan has been constantly quizzing me on addition for a few months. He's obviously learning it at school and I like to quiz him back.

Ryan- "What comes after a google?"

Ryan- "Mom, want to hear me count by 100's?"
Mom- "sure Ry"
Ryan- "100, 101, 102, 103..."

The Kindergarten aide came up to me one day and told me that while she was giving him his math benchmark assessment Ryan would say,"pah leeze that's so easy" after every single question.

Evan has been learning his ABC's and because he's always with me in the mornings when I am volunteering at the school, he can almost say the pledge of allegiance too.

Evan- "whole ride reald": whole wide world

Evan commonly mixes up his meals. He calls breakfast lunch and dinner breakfast. The funny thing is that if I ask him what he wants to eat, he'll ask for hot dogs in the morning and waffles for lunch.

Served the boys root beer floats after lunch. Ryan asks, "Mom did you follow a recipe?"

"Including to my map we are at lost vegas"- Ryan

After seeing my newly painted toes, "mom, you amaze me."-Ryan

"Energeet": energy- Evan

"Mom do you know why I was yelling?"
"To make the other planets vibrate." - Ryan

Evan after riding bikes, "I need to train harder".

I was stretching this morning and Ryan says, "Mom, you should stretch a lot so you get all sweaty like Biggest Loser"

Evan will say, "I love you too, Mom." even when I haven't said it to him first. I just say back to him, "I love you too, Evan."

Evan asked me for some cheerios. I gave him the cheerios and he said, "no, Mom, I want the colored in cheerios" He was referring to Fruit Loops.

I told the boys that Tonya's car was broken down. Evan asked me, "Does she have to walk everywhere she goes?"

Evan knows the difference between genders as "grill and kid". He still struggles with saying girl and refers to boys as kids.

One night when Colin came home Evan said, "Dad, I have to show you something, you're going to be impressed by this."

Ryan walked into Stuart and Brooke's hotel room while we were staying at Great Wolf Lodge. He said to Stuart, "Do you want me to tell you what my mom is doing?...I can tell you what she's not doing... Downloading Plants VS. Zombies, BECAUSE SHE ALREADY DID!"

"That's awkward"- Evan

Every day Evan asks me, "Is it tomorrow?"

Ryan told me today that when he grows up he's going to be too busy working to listen to stories.

Evan was helping straighten up the family room and he found a fruit snack on the floor. He picked it up, popped it in his mouth and said, "I need this for my health." As if he were a character in a video game collecting coins or something.

"Mom, is colly wolly home?" -Evan

"organic"- Ryan

"The purple sucker is maybe eggplant flavored." Ryan

"Mom, I'm not saying you're the better parent but you're the best mom I know." Ryan

"We listened to the President at school today. He told me that when mom and dad say to turn off tv it's time to do homework. He also told me to always do my best at school." Ryan

Evan went into the bathroom and came out without flushing. Amy asked him to go back and flush and he told her, "Actually I don't flush."

Recently Evan has had an imaginary friend named Cedar. Each night at dinner he gives us the most recent adventures of Cedar. He tells us what he's done at his house, what his mother is like, where he uses the bathroom, what he eats for lunch, etc. It's hilarious. Some days Cedar is a "green battle droid" and other days he's just a "kid".

My boys both refuse to eat white bread because it "isn't healthy".

Everything Evan eats he needs to know if it "will make him strong".

"Baxin"- Evan (I have no idea what on earth this word means but he says it all the time).

Evan made up a game the second day he went to his new baby sitter's house. "It's called Mario the Meeto. You are upposed to follow me and you can only be bad guys on it. No nice guys allowed. And that is all the rules."

Occasionally Evan will take off his shoes in the car. One time I asked him why he did that, he told me, "Mom, I set my piggies free".

Evan likes to use the word "ish". He'll say "warmish hotish" and things like that all the time.

Homework Systems

2011-10-02T18:21:00.000-06:00

I believe there are three things which, if organized, can help students have greater success in homework completion. They are; supplies, space, and time. I think it's really important to have a specific supplies designated for homework. I remember hunting down scissors and markers each time I needed them to do a project or assignment. I often had students tell me they didn't have any paper or pencils at home. I also think that students who have a defined space for doing their homework, they're more likely to complete it. If students will complete their homework at the same time each day after school, they are much more likely to DO it, and complete it. As a teacher, I quickly realized that a large percentage of my students were coming back to school without their homework completed. I think this is largely due to the lack of a proper homework system at home. I know that I had several routines in place at school which should have aided in homework completion but as I used to tell my students, short of getting inside of your back pack and going home with you, there isn't much else I can do to assist you with your homework at home. I have found these routines to be helpful with my own children.

There is this weird cupboard on the "other" side of my kitchen which I decided was a perfect space for storing all things homework. We call it our homework cubby.

It is low and easy for the kids to access. Even Evan can get under there and grab his "homework box".

The space we have for doing homework isn't anything fancy and it did NOT cost me a single penny. It's the same place we eat breakfast, and have our snacks.

It's just the "counter" but it works for us. The kids have plenty of elbow room and I can even pull up a third chair and sit with them if they need my help with something. Usually though, I just stand on the other side of the counter and unload the dishwasher or something while they work.

They are still little (obviously) though and need me to be right there when they complete their homework. So this location works really great for us.

Second is supplies. A few times throughout the year the "containers" will go on sale. Back-to-school time is one of those, and they'll also go on sale in January for those who have set organization as a New Year's Resolution. At the beginning of the school year I bought three of these flat containers with locking lids. I bought one for each of my boys and one for the kids whom I tutor. I bought all of the supplies we'd need for the year when they were on sale and organized their little "homework box".

Inside are the following items:
- crayons
- markers
- colored pencils
- glue
- glue sticks
- notebook
- ruler
- scissors
- pencil sharpener
- erasers
- pencil grips

These are Ryan's sight words. I wrote each one on an index card, punched a hole in the corner, and put a loop around them. They're in his homework box so on nights when he doesn't bring home a book to read, we read these sight words.

This is Evan's homework box. His preschool teacher sends home lots of things for him to keep. When she does so, I add them to his box.

This is that other awkward cupboard in my kitchen. I've got a nice electric pencil sharpener in there on the bottom shelf, a basket of classical and children's music for doing homework to, and a bucket of left-over crayons from last year.

Here are the boys working on their homework. I mentioned that time is important. Each day after school I have the boys put away their back packs, wash their hands and then come to the kitchen for a little snack. While I'm cleaning up snack time, they do their chores and then we get right to homework. I like to get it all done before I make dinner so that we can get on with our evening. Then they can play while I prep dinner and they've spent enough time with me (doing homework and having snacks) that they'll usually leave me along long enough to prepare dinner. That's the time that works best for my kids. They also have an early bed time so doing homework after dinner isn't a great option for us.

School Solutions

2011-10-02T17:11:00.000-06:00

My kids have been in school for about 6 weeks now and I've discovered how quickly their wonderful school work can pile up. My boys, especially Ryan (6), loves to keep all of his fabulous work and NEVER throw it away. Well, this is simply not possible. So, I've come up with a way of forever treasuring his amazing school work, and that of his preschool aged brother, that all of us can live with. At the end of each day, yes, each day, I put their work into a little tote. At the end of the month we go through and throw away what the boys decide isn't necessary to keep. What's left is the work the boys decide they'd like to keep forever. I hang it up on the door, put them in front of it, and take their picture! This way, we'll not only remember what their work looked like, but what THEY looked like when the work was completed. Ryan insisted that I take close-ups of ALL of his work and I DID edit some of those pictures out. I'll let the work hang there (at which time it WILL inevitably meet the fate of the "round file", that's teacher speak for trash can) until it's time to clean out the tote again and repeat the process.

Conferences

2011-10-01T14:42:00.000-06:00

I've never attended a session of the Relief Society's session of LDS General Conference. It's held the Saturday before the rest of the conference which is this weekend. My bestest friend Becky invited me to tag along with her family to the Women's session. We went to dinner at Paradise Bakery and had a great time. We got to the church a little late so we had to sit on the second row and crane our necks up to see the projection screen, good thing Stacy wasn't with us or she'd have made us sit on the front row! All three members of the Relief Society general presidency spoke and they gave wonderful talks. The music was amazing. The women in my stake sounded really great, another benefit of sitting up front! The last speaker was President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and he's always a favorite (especially of the women). His talk was amazing! It was so poignant for LDS women today. I feel like he really "nailed" us without belittling. He spoke right to our needs. His talk was called "Forget-me-not" and he made an analogy to the little flower which is little but not forgotten and beautiful. He gave 5 things we, as latter day saint women, should not forget. I was so inspired by his talk that I took notes throughout. The next day I made this image from a flower I found on google images edited on picnik. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Today and tomorrow we listen to four more sessions of General Conference. What a blessing it is to have modern day prophets who know who we are and can receive revelation for our day!
Check it out on lds.org

Utah's Hogle Zoo

2011-09-03T21:08:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine had free tickets for the zoo. So I invited my mom to join the boys and I on a very hot day at the zoo. We had a lot of fun seeing all of the animals. I think it was nice to have an extra adult with me. We took our time and were able to see the whole zoo in just a few hours. The boys enjoyed their day at the zoo. We rode the carousel and the train as well.

The lady who was manning the Elephant exhibit that day had a piece of elephant hide she was showing the kids. She mentioned to them that it had some hair on it and that because of this, it meant that elephants were mammals. She challenged the kids to find all of the mammals in the zoo. Ryan took her challenge seriously and counted every single mammal he could find. By the end of the zoo, we had found about 30 different species of mammals.

Here's Ryan examining his Dinosaur map. This summer they had several fake dinosaurs around the zoo which were animated and some even spit water. The boys had a fun time identifying the dinos throughout the zoo.

Riding the carousel.

This gator kept his mouth open for several minutes. You could see him breathing but he almost looked fake. I didn't know they did this. It was kind of weird but it was fun to photograph.

porcupines

Riding the train

First Day of Preschool

2011-08-23T21:23:00.000-06:00

Evan started preschool on the same day that Ryan started first grade. He was SO EXCITED to go to school. He really HATES it when anyone tells him he's small, little, or not as big as Ryan. He has wanted to go to school so badly and he was thrilled that the day had finally come. He even agreed to wear a shirt with sleeves when it was time to pick out his clothes. Choosing a preschool for Evan proved to be quite a difficult affair. I'm so grateful for the power of prayer. I know that everything happens for a reason and I think that Evan is going to have a really great year, thanks to the help that Heavenly Father gave me in finding his preschool teacher. I'm also grateful for wonderful and inspired friends who helped me make this decision.

Ryan and Evan on their first day of school.

Evan being silly.

Evan's Cars backpack.

Evan being cheesy. He looks so big and grown up to me in this picture.

Daddy and his boys.

Evan and Daddy

Mommy and the boys.

Mommy and Evan.

Miss Ginny leading Evan in to class.

Miss Ginny showing Evan around the classroom.

Evan is ready to learn!

First Day of First Grade

2011-08-23T21:05:00.000-06:00

Ryan was really excited to start First grade. He loves school and was really looking forward to going back this fall. We talked a lot about the longer day because I knew he'd have a hard time with it. I have to be honest, I'm having a hard time with it! First grade seems so much more real and grown-up than Kindergarten. We are really excited that Ryan gets to be in Miss Turner's class this year. She's an amazing teacher and she and I were actually college co-horts for a couple of years. I hope she can handle Ryan (and the three other neighborhood kids)! I hope it will be a great year.

Ryan's first day was also his 6th Birthday! He was happy for the extra attention, excited about bringing the class a treat, and happy about getting to go down to the office for his Birthday pencil!

At our school the first graders come to an orientation on the first day of school and attend school on the second day. This is Ryan at orientation.

Ryan and Evan on their first day of school.

The goof-ball on his first day of school.

Classic back pack picture.

Ryan wanted to take another one!

We were super excited that Daddy was getting to see them off for their first day of school.
He worked from home that morning and then went to work after dropping off Evan.

Ryan and Daddy

Mommy and the boys

Mommy and Ryan

Ryan lining up at school

Sydney is in Ryan's class this year, and he's excited about that too.

Rylee is also in Ryan's class. They couldn't be happier.

all of the first graders getting ready to head in to class

Miss Turner coming to get her class.

6th Birthday Party

2011-08-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

We had Ryan's Birthday party

on Saturday, August 20th at Dimple Dell Fitness and Recreation Center

Party Time!

Aunt Jessie, Emry, Mommy, and Becky

Aunt Jessie, Mommy, Emry, and Becky

Easton

Ryan

Curen

Emry and Aunt Jessie

Evan and Rylee

presents!

opening gifts

awaiting some yummy cake and ice cream

Birthday Cake!

Blowing out the candles

Emry, Aunt Jessie, and Grandma

Evan

Easton

Ben

Ryan and Curen

Rylee

Aunt Jessie and Emry

Daddy

Emry, Evan, Easton, Ryan, Ben, Rylee, Curen

Evan, Easton, Ryan, Ben, Rylee, Curen

One week until School Starts

2011-08-22T15:48:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday, both of my boys will start school. Ryan enters the first grade on his sixth birthday and Evan will begin preschool. They are both VERY excited to be back in school. This was our last week before school so we crammed it full of fun things and a little preparation for the upcoming academic year.

On Monday we went to the Library and got hair cuts.

On Tuesday we went to the Splash Park with friends.

On Wednesday we went to the Draper Pool.

On Thursday we went bowling.

and on Friday we had lunch with the teachers and I finished getting 722 students entered into the computers for AR.

Adventures in Symilin

2011-08-15T17:29:00.001-06:00

I visited with my diabetes doctor a few months ago and after talking about some of the issues I'd been having with controlling my blood sugars and losing weight, we decided to try a new drug for a trial period. The drug is called Symilin and it replaces the hormone Amalin that your pancreas makes. Most people know that your pancreas makes insulin and it is common practice to use as a treatment for diabetics, really, it's the only treatment Type 1 diabetics use. There are several different types of insulin patients use but most don't use an amalin replacement. From what I understand, Symilin does three different things. 1. it makes digestion slower 2. it makes the insulin you take more effective and 3. it makes you feel full.

So, at the beginning of May, I decided to try Symilin for 6-8 weeks. Symilin doses start at 15 and then go up to 60. For a new user, you take 15 micrograms and then after 3 days without nausea, you can increase by another 15 micro grams. At first, it went really well. I didn't feel any nausea and the dose of insulin I'd taken seemed to be working well. My blood sugars were SUPER low, sometimes WAY TOO low. I'd have 30's and 40's. As I increased the dose of Symilin, I had to decrease my insulin, then increase my Symilin and increase my insulin. It was a very technical process and at first I thought I'd never figure it out, and that the whole process was way too difficult. The doctors and nurses I worked with were very good at helping me out and assisting me in calculating the correct dosage.

Just before we left for vacation to Maryland this summer, I was having a REALLY hard time calculating the correct dose and I was constantly going low. The difficult thing about having so many lows, is that you have to use food to increase your blood sugar. So, as I was taking the medication in the first place to assist with weight loss, it is a frustrating and difficult process. I was supposed to be eating fewer calories and instead I was being forced to eat more. I called one of the nurses at Dr. Day's office and he suggested that I use a 2 hour squared wave bolus when dosing for meals. It worked so well! I was glad that I'd finally figured out how to dose Symilin and Insulin together successfully.

Here is what I do. At meals, I test my sugar, inject 60 micro grams of Symilin, eat my meal, use my bolus wizard option on the pump to calculate how much insulin I take, decrease that by 60% (or take 40% of the bolus) and square it for 2 hours. 2.5 hours after I eat, I test my sugar to make sure it's okay and take any insulin to lower if my sugar is high. If I have a blood sugar of less than 100 at the beginning of the meal, then I don't inject Symilin and I take 100% of my bolus. If I have a high blood sugar, then I take all of the correction dose, plus 40% of the insulin and the 60 micrograms of Symilin. Usually I'll dual wave the insulin and do like 50% now and 50% squared over 2 hours.

It is a lot of math. It takes quite a while at meals but I'm taking an average of 10 units less of insulin per day. I've also noticed a bump in weight loss. I think I'll stick with Symilin for now. I see my doctor again next month and he's going to ask me what I think, check my A1c, and see how he thinks I'm doing on the new drug.

I'd love to hear if there are any others who have tried Symilin and what your experiences with it were.

out with the old, in with the new

2011-08-14T13:16:00.001-06:00

Last year my dad bought me some Nike shoes for my birthday. It's funny but they really changed my life! I was able to wear them while I struggled to heal my heel. I learned to run in these shoes. They've done five 5K races and I've logged over 130 miles on these shoes. I love the Nike+GPS sensor that they are compatible with and it makes working out so much more fun and meaningful.

I noticed that these shoes, Nike Lunar Glide II came in a new model, the Lunar Glide III. I really wanted a pair and was super excited about getting them. I got a gift card for the Nike Online store through the Coke Rewards points I'd earned so that brought the cost down a little which is a total bonus! I've just put the new shoes on but I really love the color and they're already super comfortable!

Balloon Festival '11

2011-08-13T13:13:00.000-06:00

This year for the Balloon Festival I didn't take the kids down to the park and really, it ended up being a neat experience anyway. The balloons launch from the park just down the street from our house, within walking distance. Because they are so close, the balloons were literally just flying over our neighborhood. I could hear the flames while I was still in bed. I looked out the window and there was a giant blue balloon in front of the window. I grabbed my camera and snapped a few shots. My neighbors were out too but I had my large lens on so it was difficult to get the balloons and the people in the same shot. I entered the first three shots into the photo contest. Doubt I'll win because my photography skills aren't the greatest. Maybe I'll get lucky!

Camping

2011-08-11T21:42:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa took all three grand kids camping last weekend. They took their trailer and went down to Springville. The boys told me all about it when they got home, I was surprised by how much I missed them after just two days! I think their favorite part was the s'mores!

Friday night one of my cousins got married so they took the kids and went to the wedding. That's why they look so "nice" for a camping trip.

My mom told me a story about their trip that I wanted to write down and remember. I guess Ryan and Evan had hidden from my parents while they were camping and it scared my mom. So, she told them that they needed to be good and not hide or they would have to take them back home. Later that day they drove back to Salt Lake for the wedding and the boys fell asleep. When Ryan woke up, they were near our home and he thought that he had gotten into trouble and was being taken home. He got a little hysterical on them but eventually calmed down.

Jess and Cole went to the wedding too but they carefully avoided seeing Emry's parents so she wouldn't want to skip out on the camping trip and go home. She is too smart though and noticed their car in the parking lot! She did not ever see them and went back to the campground for the night.

Soccer

2011-08-06T09:59:00.000-06:00

This Summer Ryan did county league soccer with all of his buddies from our ward. They learned a lot about how to play as a team. We sort of took turns coaching since there were so many interruptions with all of the different summer schedules. Ryan attended a free soccer clinic one day as part of the league and he learned a lot about how to handle the ball. I think he enjoyed the soccer a lot more than the tee ball. I'm glad he was able to participate and I think he had a lot of fun.

Evan even got to play in one game!

This is Ryan with his best buddy Easton after their last game, and with their trophies.

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-23T12:58:00.000-06:00

This year we took swimming lessons at the South County Outdoor pool in Riverton. We've had really good experiences with group lessons in the past. Cheap, close, and great instructors. This year, our experience wasn't quite as favorable. However, I don't think the kids noticed AT ALL except for the two days that the lessons were canceled because the heater was broken, so I won't go on about it any more. Evan is finally old enough to take swimming lessons so he was absolutely thrilled to be able to get in the water with his big brother and "swim" for a while. I'd like to do another session since we only had four 45 minute lessons, but we'll see!

Ryan, Maycee, and Curen

Elementary back stroke: monkey, airplane, soldier

This is Ryan's attempt at back stroke. When I showed him this video, he said, "Mom, I thought I was really swimming". But then I showed him the front-crawl video and he was satisfied with his swimming abilities.

Evan going on a float with his teacher.

Learning to do ice cream scoop arms.

Ryan swimming the front stroke.

Wolf Lodge Water Park

2011-07-13T07:55:00.001-06:00

The water park at the Wolf Lodge was where we spent most of our time. The boys thought they had died and gone to heaven! The major part of the water park is indoors. There is a structure a lot like the one at Cowabunga bay in the middle, four large water slides, a wave pool, a wave rider, a lazy river, a climbing area, a pool basketball area, and a kiddie area inside. Outside there was a pool with a basketball area and a kiddie area.

After Evan wore the water wings and discovered he could float in deep water on his own, he was great in the life jacket at the Wolf Lodge.

This was the largest of the water slides. It's called the tornado. You start out inside a tube, then go down a quick drop-off and launch into a tornado tube. It was really fun and pretty crazy too. Once I did the whole ride going down backward and that was pretty scary!

Stuart and Ryan had a blast on the flow rider. I think they each rode it half a dozen times. I was really impressed that Ryan was going on all of the rides, even this thing! He was so brave and is now swimming without any help in water above his head!

This is the outdoor portion. It did rain a few times we were there but nothing to interfere with our vacation.

Evan

Ocean

The Great Wolf Lodge

2011-07-12T19:12:00.002-06:00

For our little family reunion this year, we wanted someplace where we could all meet together, and somewhere people of all ages could enjoy. After much planning and communication about it, Karen found this awesome lodge not too far from where they live in Maryland. It's located in Williamsburg, Virginia and it's called the Great Wolf Lodge. There are a few other locations around the country too.

This was the one time we could all get together before people start going their separate ways again. Stuart and Brooke are taking their second Foreign Service post in Singapore and Erin is turning in her mission papers soon. The timing was great because Katie is a teacher in China and her school year just ended. Colin also had to take two consecutive weeks off from work sometime this year, so we took it when his family could all meet together.

Erin attends school at BYU-Hawaii and her school year was done in April. Stuart and Brooke flew in to the DC area in June, took a trip to Europe, and Brooke had some training to do for work before moving out to Singapore. Katie and the rest of us flew in to Baltimore on June 30th. July 6th we all drove down to Williamsburg to meet at the Great Wolf Lodge.

We rented three rooms. Ours was the Wolf Den Suite, the boys were pretty amazed when they discovered the wolf den bunk bed set up. I think they were really excited that they'd each have their own bunk but to be honest, they both slept in the top bunk two out of the three nights we were there. There was also a TV in their "room" too so they were able to watch cartoons!

Our room was on the first floor which was great because all of the indoor attractions were located there. The resort was amazing. There was so much for everyone to do. There was an arcade, a teen club, a kiddie club, a workout room, a sweet shop, a restaurant, two gift shops, a meeting area, the water park, and a game called MagiQuest upstairs. It was like a wizard game where you bought a wand, had it activated, and did some scavenger hunting around the top level of the hotel. We didn't do the MagiQuest because it was quite pricey and looked like it was more suited for the older kids.

This is the large meeting area and front entrance of the hotel for check-in.

Each night at 8:00 this area comes to life and a story is played out.

Violet the Wolf came out and told the kids a story.

There was a large crowd of kids and adults there to enjoy story time. My boys were really in to it!

Ocean, Ryan, and Evan posing with Violet.

Ryan

Evan

Ocean

Each morning we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. It was an awesome buffet! Here is the group minus the one behind the lens. Ryan, Colin, Bruce, Karen, Katie, Maple, Stuart, Ocean, Brooke and Erin.

And this is the whole Dean Family.

Katie, Brooke, Maple, Stuart, Ocean, Bruce, Karen, Colin, Ryan, Jen, Evan, and Erin

Air and Space Museum

2011-07-12T18:15:00.000-06:00

Colin's favorite museum of all the Smithsonians in the National Mall is the Air and Space Museum. When we were on our honeymoon, I think we went there three times. So, we decided that Tuesday, July 5th would be a good day to take the kids down to the mall and see all of the airplanes and space ships. The boys really enjoyed going inside of the different air crafts. I loved seeing the historical stuff like Amelia Earhart's airplane and the Space Shuttle displays. Colin and Ryan got to go on a flight simulator. Evan liked the interactive units in the kid section. Overall, we had a great time and we were glad that it was FREE! We didn't tour any of the other sites there because we had four young children enduring the relentless heat and humidity. We also had to drive an hour and a half back to the Dean's house to do laundry and prepare for our main event- post forthcoming!

Evan flying a prop plane

Look, Evan and Ocean are in the same room AND they're getting along! Miracle. Someone take a picture!

Evan directing a flight

Getting ready to enter the inside cabin of an air craft.

Ryan and Evan in front of the Wright Brother's airplane

Amelia Earheart's plane

Ryan and Evan in front of the Capitol Building

The boys in front of the Washington Monument

Independence Day in the Nation's Capital

2011-07-11T14:23:00.000-06:00

Being in Washington DC, the capitol of our country, on it's Independence Day is a pretty neat experience. While we watched fireworks that night, we could see out over the city and down onto the National Mall toward the Washington Monument, The Capital Building, and the White house. We sat on the grass near the Iwo Jima statue, which is one of my favorites. It was a once in a lifetime kind of experience that I'm glad we didn't pass up.

All of us (except for me) walking to dinner

Lil Dean Fam in front of the Iwo Jima statue on the 4th of July!

Katie, Stuart, Colin, Erin

Stuart, Ocean, Brooke and Maple

My boys

The crowd was HUGE and it was kind of hard to get a spot to sit on the grass because several areas were restricted. However, it was manageable and it really was an amazing experience being in Washington DC on the Fourth of July.

goofiness

4th of July (pool edition)

2011-07-11T13:57:00.001-06:00

For the 4th of July, Colin, the kids, Katie, Erin and I went down to Stuart and Brooke's apartment in Arlington to hang out in the pool before watching the fireworks later that night. Their pool was perfect because it was close and it gave us something nice to do during the heat of the day. Ryan is getting really good at swimming on his own and I'm super excited about that. I bought Evan a pair of water wings even though I swore I would NEVER do such a thing. He loves them and it really helped his confidence in the pool too, so I'm glad I did it.

Ocean, Ryan, Brooke, Evan, and Jen

Ocean and Brooke, me in the background

Ryan, Evan, Jen, Ocean, Brooke

Stuart, Bruce, and Colin playing cards

Ryan swimming off the wall to me

Ryan swimming to the wall from me

Colin, Stuart, Bruce, Katie holding Maple

Ocean

Colin loves to throw Ryan around in the pool. Here's Ryan being launched from Stuart to Daddy.

Washington DC Zoo

2011-07-10T16:19:00.001-06:00

On July third we all met up at the DC Zoo. We piled in the Dean's van on the way down and rented a car at the airport. It was insanely crowded at the zoo, and very hot and humid, but we tried to have fun anyway. The boys loved seeing the animals and the misters throughout the zoo.

Ryan, Ocean, and Stuart watching the turtles.

The tiger. There really weren't that many animals out that day for some reason. Maybe it was the heat.

Evan, being a cheese ball as usual.

Stuart, Ocean, and Katie watching the tigers.

Evan and Ryan at the Elephant entrance.

The Elephant.

And this is us leaving the zoo. Hot, tired, and ready for some air conditioning, and a nap! Luckily, we had planned to swim in Stuart's pool that afternoon. What a refreshing treat.

Baugher's Orchard

2011-07-09T16:09:00.000-06:00

For our big family vacation this year we decided to head out to Maryland and meet up with all of Colin's siblings before Stuart and Brooke go to Singapore and Erin goes on her mission. Karen (Colin's Mom) wanted to have a family reunion this summer while we could all get together and in celebration of her 60th Birthday.

The big event was three days at a resort in Williamsburg, Virginia post forthcoming. Before we headed down, we spent a few days in Westminster and some time in DC as well.

We went to this orchard near the Dean's house called Baugher's Orchard. They let you go out and pick as much fruit as you want but we were a little impatient for that because the tractor pull was taking forever. They had a little petting zoo that the kids loved.

Swimming

2011-06-29T18:38:00.000-06:00

I took the boys swimming last week. They are both doing very well in the pool. Evan is still a bit of a cling-on (to Mom) in the pool but he does like to get wet and doesn't mind jumping in or going under. Ryan is swimming so well. He was kicking and using his arms real well. He was even able to take a breath and then keep swimming. He did not want to stop practicing and that's quite a big deal for him.

Vegas: Night life edition

2011-06-25T18:13:00.002-06:00

Our first night on the strip we just walked around a bunch. We saw this lame show that the Treasure Island put on. We got our feet nice and tired. We ate at a buffet. It was a nice, typical Vegas night.

The second night we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner at the Cesar's Forum shops. We hung out at the Planet Hollywood checking out some fun stuff. Clare and I tried the oxygen bar and water massage beds. The massage was nice, the oxygen was weird and pretty pointless. We had a fun time getting to know Clare and Mark a little better, stayed up way too late, and had an amazingly fun night.

The animated show at Caesar's Palace.

When we left the Cesar's, we noticed a huge crowd of people so we stopped to check it out and they were waiting for Celine Dion to get out of her show and ride home in her Roles Royce. We waited for a little while but didn't have the patience to wait long enough to see her.

A Michael Jackson impersonator.

Our third night was the best. We ate an awesome dinner at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill and then went to see the Cirque de Sollie "O" at Bellagio. The show did not disappoint. Two years ago we saw Ka and loved it so we chose to watch O this time. It was really amazing and I loved the water aspect and how the stage moved up and down to different depths.

Vegas: Daytime edition

2011-06-24T17:57:00.002-06:00

Colin and I met up with our friends Mark and Clare from England in Las Vegas for a couple of days. We had a lot of fun playing tour guides and showing them around the city of Las Vegas. We really had a great time and it was hard to say goodbye and come home. Our boys stayed with their friends and grandparents while we were away and had a really fun time too. I've divided our little trip into daytime and night time activities because I can't remember the order in which we did things and I also don't have any pictures from our first day.

The Bellagio is probably one of our favorite hotels. It's so classy and romantic. The fountains outside and the gardens inside are always a hit!

This week Las Vegas had temperatures north of 100 degrees. It was HOT!!! Luckily though, when walking around on the strip (and elsewhere) we were able to escape into the nice air-conditioned buildings.

We decided to hit the pool a couple of mornings and it was perfect. The pool was freezing but the Las Vegas heat was brutal, so the cool water was definitely welcome!

We had to show them to an In-N-Out burger! They loved it too.

I think Mark said it was his favorite meal. Ha ha ha!

Colin and Mark went to the shooting range while Clare and I opted for the outlet mall instead.

Another day we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Carrot Top the comedian walked right past us while we were eating and was seated at a table around the corner from us. I'm not a fan of his but it was cool to see a celebrity nonetheless.

We hit up the Coca Cola store and had a blast checking out all of their fun merchandise.

M&M world is another hit. We had a fun time checking out all of the goodies there.

This is the wall of colors. M&Ms in any color you can imagine!

We watched this little 3D movie there.

It was the best 3D movie ever!

I love Coke products. It's hard not to buy everything in the enormous store.

There is an arcade downstairs, so we played there for a few minutes too.

Clare and Mark watch the show "Pawn Stars" and were really looking forward to going to see the actual store. Unfortunately, all of the guys on the show had gone home for the day already, but it was pretty cool to go see anyway. I'm dying to watch the show now.

There's Clare in the front of the store! She was totally stoked!