MoAb

 At the end of April, we made our yearly trip to Moab to play on the rocks.  There were about 6 vehicles in with us, and we had so much fun! The new (newer) Jeep was awesome, though driving a stick shift on that stuff took some getting used to for me.

 The weather was perfect! 

 Steve was very sweet, and let me do most of the driving!

 Aly, Jayce, Kelsey, Jayden, and Jaxson

 Our family

 While on a trail with sand, rocks, and even water, Jeff got going a little too fast..... and rolled over.  We were right behind him.  It scared me half to death!  It was like watching it in slow motion. Thank goodness no one was hurt, and for roll bars and the fact that he rolled on to the sand!  Our Jeep pulled him back an all fours, and we went on our way.

 

Family pictures on "Wedgie".

                                                      

Spring Has Sprung

 Springtime for us means, watching the earth renew it's beauty, planting flowers, and Steve's birthday. We enjoyed a nice little party, just the four of us.

  

 I'm not a very good gardener, but I do like to try!

 I patiently watch and wait every day, until my flowering tree flowers!

I had to add this picture.  Kelsey brought these to me to hang in my office.  It's our family's portraits. (7 months later, they still hang there.)

I'm Baaack!

Well, it's been almost 9 months since my last post. For the most part, I kind of slacked off, but then, something happened to all the text in my blog, and I thought my blogging days were over. Thankfully, my good friend Megan was able to figure it all out today, SO, I'm back! I've been thinking for the last few hours of how I'd get all caught up. I thought about just skipping over Spring and Summer, but the last 9 months have brought us some very humbling experiences that I wanted to include in this blog. Bear with me as I slowly, but surely attempt to get all caught up!

Courage, lot's of courage!

Around the first of March (2010), we found out that Kelsey was getting sick again. Her doctor wanted us to have Kelsey admitted by the end of the month. After discussing options with Kelsey, I learned more about my little 10 year old in that 15 minutes than I had her whole life. She told me that she didn't want to be admitted for a few months. Softball season was just starting, we had our Moab trip planned, not to mention she hates missing school. I tried to explain how small those things were in comparison to her health, when she made it very clear to me that I did not understand what it was like for her. She was tired of this "thing" (that has still yet to be diagnosed), slowing her down and keeping her from the things she enjoys. To be honest, she was absolutely right, I had no idea.

I decided at that moment that I needed to let her have a little more say, and a little more control over her life. Her doctor recommended that we wait no longer than the end of April, but we had to trust that Kelsey knew what she could handle. So, we went ahead with all our plans, including trying out for an accelerated softball team, going to Moab, and not missing 1 day of the rest of the term. I saw this ring and it overwhelmingly reminded me of Kelsey, so, I had to have it.

What have we been doing all winter??

Well, we packed up our car the second week of December and drove to Long Beach, California to board a cruise ship. We drove along with some friends and met my parents there. They decided they didn't want AnYthInG to do with driving 12-13 hours. I can't blame them, we had a bit of a rough start. We drove to Las Vegas where we spent the night, and Kelsey got sick with the flu. It was a long drive for poor Kels the next day - we stopped to puke or use the bathroom about every half hour..... sometimes sooner.

It was a huge relief to board the ship and settle in. Kelsey was thrilled to see a bed to crawl into. The rest of us checked out the ship and the beautiful evening lights while we waited to debark.

One of funnest things we all looked forward to, were the towel animals. Cutest thing ever!

About the time Kelsey started to feel somewhat better, I got sick. Second day on the ship, and Kelsey and I spent it in bed. Steve and my parents cruised around the ship, and Aly was off with Kylie meeting new ship mates.

I felt a little better that evening and pushed myself to get up and get ready for our first "formal" dinner. The girls were really excited to get dressed up in there new dresses. The food (though I didn't eat much), was nothing short of amazing! Anything we wanted, they brought - even things that weren't on the menu. (Hence, we have children, and sometimes Mac and Cheese, or pizza sounded better than fancy food.) Bless our waiter!

After 3 days at sea, we arrived at Puerta Vallarte. The beaches were beautiful. Our friends talked Steve and I into going snorkeling, which is something we had never done. It was so incredible! The fish were so cool. I can't wait until we do that again!

Our next stop was Mazatlan. We went to a private resort that allows the cruise line to bring their guests. It was amazing! The swimming pool had these big rocks that you could jump off, and just steps away was the beach. The girls decided they wanted to go para sailing. YES, para sailing! My two little girls just dangling above the ocean being towed around by some stranger in a boat! I reluctantly agreed to let them go, even though I felt like I was going to throw up from nerves.

They arrived back on the beach in what couldn't have been a more perfect landing. They loved it! I'm so glad they got to go. It turned out to an amazing experience for the two of them to share.

As we were preparing to pack up to meet our driver, Aly's arm started to sting terribly. She had small circle patches on her forearm. Sometime, while they were playing in the ocean, we think she got stung by a jellyfish. To our surprise, everyone told her to pee on it. If you know Aly, you know there was NO way she, or anyone else was going to put pee on her arm, even though the stinging brought her to tears. The pain did eventually subside later that evening, without any pee.

Our last stop of the cruise was Cabo San Lucas. We had so much fun there, yet the ship spent the least amount of time in that port. The shopping was so much fun, and the town cleaner than the others. If we get the chance, we're headed back!!

Steve and I were able to spend quite a bit of time by ourselves. The girls had their friends and came and went as they pleased. They loved the freedom, and we didn't have to worry too much about them. Every time we passed Kels, she had an ice cream cone in hand and was headed off to do something exciting. Aly and Kylie made some new friends and loved hanging out in the teen club.

The cabin hallways were filled with these pictures of men and women. I just thought they were strangely funny!

We had such a great time, and loved that we got to be with my mom and dad and our friends. It was the best vacation our family has had. However, coming home to the cold and snow in shorts and flip flops wasn't easy!

Winter Dance Recital:

The Nutcracker

A few days before Christmas, (and in a huge snowstorm), Aly had her winter recital. Getting there was slow going for me as the roads to the school were terrible! Shortly before the performance was to start, I got a phone call from Kelsey telling me that she and her dad slid off the road at the end of our street, and that they might be a little late. My heart sank. Thank goodness it wasn't bad, and we had the truck at home. A very nervous dad left the car, ran home, jumped in the truck, and arrived just in time.

Aly's dance school performed a condensed version of the Nutcracker. They did such an awesome job! It was really nice to watch, especially that close to Christmas.

Grandma and Grandpa even braved the weather to be there. :)

Christmas 2009

Aside from the cruise, the Wii was the big hit! (Note to self: should've done that sooner!!) We love it!

We LoVe that our Grandma's and Grandpa's always come out to visit and share in the girls' excitement.... and ours too! We love you!

Randomness

This is how we found Jake on the couch one night. I think he's been hanging out with Steve too much, the way he's holding that remote......

Aly and the BABY experiment...

For one of Aly's classes this year, she got to sign up for an overnight instant parent experience with a mechanical baby. She was pretty excited about it, and kept telling us what her "due date" was. Keep in mind, this baby had to be taken care of just like a real baby. By the way, this thing weighs about 7 lbs! If it gets thrown, dropped, hit, or neglected when crying, an ABUSE light is supposed to come on in the computer in it's back, which is then recorded for the teacher, which will reflect the grade. To make the experience even more life like, they have to lug home a car seat and a gigantic diaper bag full of diapers and clothes. In spite of Aly's great parenting with this "baby", (even getting up in the middle of the night) she decided it was too much work. Thank goodness!

My Valentine....

Love you babe!