Has it really been that long?

Okay, I am just really horrible about keeping this updated lately. For now, I am just going to update on what has been happening the last 2 months and then I will post pictures later.

In October Christian has surgery to repair a deviated septum. The surgery went well although he had a massive panic attack when he first woke up. He hasn't officially admitted it, but I think he is very glad he did it. The boys loved Halloween. Josh was Darth Vader, with the mask that actually let him do the Vader voice, and Zachary was a pirate. I took the boys up to my Moms neighborhood to let them trick-or-treat, and let Christian stay home and have some peace (his surgery was only 3 days earlier). That night though, Josh spiked a fever of 103. We took him to the doctor 4 different times, had chest x-rays and blood work done, and he ended up missing 2 weeks of school, all over a sinus infection. The fever lasted for 13 days, never going lower than 100.5 and they had told me it was the swine flu. Stupid on call doctor sure got that one wrong!

On November 29th my sweet little Zachary turned 9 years old. He was spoiled rotten, of course, by all his family and really enjoyed mashing cake all over. For a special, belated, birthday treat I took him today out to the new school on the west side to visit his favorites teachers and friends from the last several years. He was so excited to see Penny and Amanda! He was smiling all day and dancing around in his chair. They were so good to let us spend the day in their classroom and he especially seemed to enjoy the kisses he got from his little girlfriend Isabelle. It has been hard for him to be seperated from them this year and I'm really glad they were so willing to let us come visit.

I hope to post pictures soon, but with the way things have been going, Happy Holidays!

I give up!

I know I promised an update long before now, but there never seems to be any extra time. Since I am so overdue I will only blog about NOW and try and post past stuff a little later. Both kids are back in school and seem to be doing well. Josh LOVES kindergarten and HATES having to go to bed early. Zach is doing well though it is obvious he misses his friends, teachers, and girlfriend that went to the new school. He isn't quite as excited to leave in the morning but is doing well all the same. We had the chance to go down to Zion this weekend with Christians family. His Mom and Dad treated us to stay in an incredible hotel, more like a condo, right at the park entrance. We only had to walk out the front door and across the bridge to be inside the park. The boys had a blast hiking and playing with Grandma and Grandpa and Kennedy. On our first day we got to go on an outback Safari ride where they take you above the canyon and into a little ghost town. It was neat to see it that way, though I got major car sick! I had the chance to scare the heck out of Josh on one of our hikes. In Zion it is not uncommon to have a tarantula cross the path right in front of you. It has never happened to us before but this time there were 3 of them in a row. Josh was looking at one of them from a distance when I snuck up behind him a gave him a little push to get closer. He screamed at the top of his lungs and the spider jumped toward him. Although they were still nowhere near each other, I think I almost gave him a heart attack and he RAN as fast as could to get away from the spider and "Mean" Mom. While we were there, the family treated us to a movie on the big screen and we got to see Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs in 3D. It was hilarious (or I was exhausted) and the kids loved it! Thanks Mom and Dad Terry for such a fun trip!!!!

In front of one of the buildings in the ghost town

We are ready to hike!

The boys on the Pa'Rus trail

Checking out the river on our hike

The kids all earned their Junior Ranger Badges

On the way home we stopped at a trading post with a petting zoo and old fashioned buildings, wagons, and other fun things

June

The last few months have been crazy busy with camping, scouts, sickness, family outings, and everything else! I have finally decided that I couldn't put off updating this blog any longer. I am going to do this by months since it has been awhile and hopefully nobody will get sick of reading it. In the beginning of June we packed up the family and headed off to good ol' Tooele for a camping trip and so the kids could go to camp Hobe. After setting up camp we headed over to our friends, the Reed family, for dinner and some fun. The kids had a great time playing together and Cristi had made an excellant dinner! Then it was back to the canyon where we let Josh roast marshmallows before making the kids go to bed. The next day was the first day of camp! Camp Hobe is an excellant camp set up for cancer kids and their brothers and sisters. Since Josh isn't old enough and Zach can't stay overnight we had signed them up for the daycamp. They were both very excited and loved all the activities, like swimming, crafts, singing, and story time. While the boys were at camp Christian and I spent the day driving back to Sandy to pick up Zachs swim float (luckily we made it back in time for swimming at camp), trying to find a Fathers Day present for Christian, and looking in a fun little scrapbooking store. After we picked the boys up from camp we all went bowling. The boys love to bowl and we all had a lot of fun. After that we met back up with the Reed family and went to a really fun public pool that even had a waterslide. The kids were sad when it was time to head back to camp but they needed to head to bed for camp the next day. After dropping the boys off for their second day of camp, Christian and I headed back and packed up all the camp stuff and put down the trailer. Then it was back to wandering around Tooele trying to find something fun to do. We ended up going to lunch and back to the scrapbooking store! Then we picked up the kids and headed on home.

After that excitement we spent a couple of quiet days at home and then it was time for Cub Country! I got to be one of the leaders, so Zach could go, so we dropped off Josh as Grandmas and headed up the canyon to Fort Wilderness. Zach had so much fun! They had some really neat activities including panning for gold, learning to rope and use a whip, and his all time favorite BB guns. I was afraid he wouldn't like the noise of the guns but he was so excited and threw an absolute fit when his turn was over. There was a very nice counsler up there that took Zach on as his special buddy and made sure that he was able to do everything.

Sadly that night Zach started getting sick. As we soon found out there was an outbreak of swine flu at camp Hobe and my luckly little boy was one that had brought it home. After he had been sick for a couple of days I ended up with it as well. Luckily, the doctors treated Christian and Josh so that they didn't get it, but it made for a long two weeks being under quarentine until it was gone. The rest of the month we just played at home or at Lagoon. I'll post about July within the week!

A bad joke?

I got to hear some very unwanted news today. Zach has swine flu. When the flu first hit the US, we were joking that with our families luck one of us would get it. Unfortunately that turned into a horrible joke. Zach has it bad, Josh is starting to show symptoms, and I'm just dreading it hitting Christian and I. I'll post something happier later, but for now, please keep Zachy in your prayers so that we don't end up in the hospital.

Part two--Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands

Part one of our trip to Moab--hiking in Arches

New do's and soccer stars!

April has been a crazy fun month. I know I didn't post anything about Easter but this is more fun. For awhile now Christian has been teasing me that he was going to give Josh a buzz cut. Sadly, this last week he actually did it. While I don't like it much, Josh is thrilled with it. He thinks hes big stuff having such short hair.

Last Saturday Zach's team had the opportunity to go to the Real soccer game and play on the field at half time. It was a little cold but the kids had a blast. Zach even got to score a goal!

Great Vacation!

This past week has really been a fun one. Last Wednesday we loaded up the kids and headed down to Zions for a couple of days. We had decided in December that we wanted to take a bunch of camping trips this year and this was the first one. After a very long drive (thank goodness for Game boys and TV!!!) we arrived at the Zion River campground in good ol' Virgin Utah. The campground is fairly new and an excellent place to stay. After we set up the trailer and roasted some hot dogs for dinner we took the kids over to play Candy bar bingo. There were four games and my boys won two of them. Then we took them in to the little lodge there and let them play pool. Josh thought he was pretty cool stuff and I'm just glad he didn't rip the green. Zach liked taking the balls and throwing them down the holes. After that it was bed time for the night. On Thursday we headed up Zion for some hiking. There are only a few trails that are actually considered wheelchair friendly but we decided to try Weeping Rock. It was paved all the way up and at the end, where there were stairs, Zach got out of his chair and Christian helped him climb. The boys loved it! The we did some more hiking and went back tot he campground to swim. Both boys loved being in the pool. Zach had his new swim vest (like they use at his school) and we bought Josh some arm floats and they both cruised all over the pool. When we were worn out we went back to camp and had dinner and roasted marshmallows. Friday we went back into Zion and hiked the River walk. This is a great trail for the boys and they love throwing rocks in the river. There were a ton of squirrels (with no fear of humans) and one even walked right across my foot. They would come right up to people hoping for food. This trail took awhile and we ended up hanging out at the lodge for a little while. We checked out a couple of rock shops for the boys collection and then went into Hurricane for dinner and a movie. When we got back we finished off the marshmallows and packed everything that we wouldn't need the next day. On Saturday we got up and while Christian finished packing up the trailer I took the boys over for craft hour. They got to color Easter pictures and they each made a cute bunny magnet. Then Christian rejoined us and we let the boys participate in the campground Easter egg hunt. Both of them had a blast. After that we headed up to Zion for the last time. We started down a 2 mile trail and about a third of they way down, it started pouring on us. The boys had their coats on but Christian and I ended up soaked. Even though we were wet this was probably the funnest hike we had. Zach loved it in the rain and danced the whole way down. After that we went back to camp, changed, loaded up and headed home. It was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next month for our trip to Moab!

What a crazy month!!!

This month has been so crazy. One day my kids are wearing shorts and literally the next day we are back in long pants and coats. It has also been a busy fun month for the kids.

Easter came early to our house this year. We had gone to IFA to buy hay for the piggies and see the newborn chicks and ducks. I just happened to look over and see a cage with two tiny little bunnies in it. The one had been sold but the other was so CUTE!! Christian calls me a sucker because the minute the lady let me hold it I knew I had to bring it home. It is a mini Lop and mini Rex mix and is so soft. He loves to cuddle and give kisses too. We named him Honey Bunny and his nickname is Bob because every time he runs around he bobs his little head up and down.

Zachs soccer started again this month. He has really missed playing and was very excited when I got out his uniform. Shauna is still being his buddy (THANK YOU SHAUNA) and he loves it! This week they worked for awhile on taking shots at the goal before their actual game. When we got home from his game the only part of his uniform he would let me take off was his shin guards. In April he will get to play with his team at the half time of the Real game.

Last night was Zachs Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. Zach absolutely loves scouts and was happy and dancing all night long. He earned his first bead toward his wolf along with several belt loops, pins, and patches. They also had the Space Derby and Zachs ship took 2nd place. We let both boys make their own rockets so that Josh wouldn't feel left out and now I just need to by the hook so they can race them at home as well.

The big Cub Scout!

January Zach was able to start participating in cub scouts. He absolutely loves it! In February he was able to earn his Bobcat, along with several other patches, belt loops, and pins.

Part 2

Meeting our new cousin Elijah. Josh loves to hold him and try and make him smile, Zach just wants him to play this little piggy!

Playing catch up with pictures--Part 1

We had these pictures taken back in November but I kept forgetting to post them.

10 YEARS!!!!

Hooray for us!!! Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary!!! I know I have a lot to catch up on in this blog but I just had to shout hooray!

Love This

Our life update

We haven't updated for awhile because thankfully everything has been pretty quiet around here. We've all had a little bug that seems to have finally left us (knock on wood!). Zach started scouts and really seems to enjoy it. We've had to modify the goals to something he can actually do, but he really is getting into it. He just earned his Bobcat and will get his patch at the pack meeting later this month. They had a school "dance" today for Valentines. All the kids looked so cute dressed up and stupid me forgot to take my camera with me. Josh could care less about what day it is, as long as someone is giving him candy. Both the boys have enjoyed getting to meet their new cousin, Elijah. He is such a cute little boy and we absolutely love him! Anyway, I'll post more later when I have something to add!

Joshuas Birthday

What a crazy month! Joshua turned 5 on the 13th and had 3 different parties. His first party was a combination party with my family. He and my Mom share the same birthday so we got together with all my family for dinner, cake, ice cream, and presents. It was a lot of fun and he was excited that he got to celebrate with Grandma. Then on his actual birthday he got to have his very first friend birthday party. He wanted a Blues Clues party and I had a blast planning it and making decorations. We had to have it at my Moms because our apartment isn't big enough to hold all the kids. There were 13 kids there all between the ages of 2 and 5 (what was I thinking?). They played games, including Blues Clues, opened presents, and had cake and ice cream. Josh made out like a bandit with all the presents! Then on the Friday we had another joint party with Christians family. His cousin Kennedy's birthday is the day before his so we got together for dinner, presents, and once again cake and ice cream (needless to say, the diet went out the window this month!). The kids had a blast playing with balloons and having a huge silly string fight!

Quick post

Okay, I know I am over due for a post about Joshs long birthday plans and party and I promise I will get that up here soon but for now just some very exciting news! We got Zachs one year off chemo MRI's this week and he is cancer free!!!!