WE ARE BACK!!! Biking and Bowling and even Fishing

After an exteneded break from blogging I have made my fabulous return to the blogging world in order to keep everyone up to date on our amazing lives. So far this summer (if you can call it that with the weather we've had) the boys have been very busy. Lets see, we will start with our oldest boy:

Christian is still employed with Morgan Stanley and while he actually only works 5 days a week it sometimes seems like he is glued to the job 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I guess thats the price I pay for having a smart husband that the team just can't do without. Right now though he is looking at having a pretty nasty surgery done in mid August and we are just waiting for the doctors office to schedule the pretest that has to go with it. In his spare time, he help my parents maintain their yard, takes the kids bowling, fishing, helps me with Zachs therapy, and watches the boys so that I can fulfill my many scout positions.

Melody: What can I say but that life is complicated? I still go to our old ward (did I mention we moved in with my parents again) for Zachs and Joshs scouts. Zach is a Webelos and Josh is a Tiger and this was the only pack he could be in. This is on Wednesday night so I am a leader ther for Josh. Then on Thursday afternoons I am the Den Leader in my new ward for the Wolf pack. Then on Thursday night I am the Den Leader Trainer for the District. Its crazy with 3 scout positions but I love it! When I'm not doing Scouts I'm trying to keep the house clean, taking kids to swimming lessons, going to physical therapy for my back and neck, helping Zach with his physical therapy, and trying to help the kids enjoy their summer.

Zach has continued to blow us away with what he has been able to do. Since he is no longer in the wheelchair, therapy at home this summer is a lot more fun. Basically I have been getting out his bike or walker and letting him go up and down the street until he gets tired. When I first started with the bike he could only go 10 minutes, tonight he went almost 30. It was incredible! He starts his summer school program next week but will miss the first day because he is going to be going to Cub Country with the Scouts (Lucky me, I get to go to!). He loves to go bowling. We use the ramp for his ball but he just walks right up to it and pushes the ball down then waits while someone gets him a new one. He knows how the systems works. Hes also really enjoyed going to some new movies but I think his favorite was Mr. Poppers Penguins as he danced through the entire movie.

Josh has been having a great summer. He has loved having so many boys living so close that he could play with. The minute that I will let him, he is at the door trying to find a friend to play with. The past week we started swimming lessons. He isn't sure he likes this but I think it is something that he needs more than anything. Like his big brother, he would much rather be out fishing with dad, bowling with the family, or riding bikes with his brother. He is very excited for Cub Country as well and is very close to earning his Tiger.

Well, thats us for now, but I promise I will keep this updated from now on!!!!

Zach and Josh fishing with Dad and Grandpa Brian

Bowling with the cousins!!!!!

Josh as swimming lessons!

Bike riding boys!

Part 2 -- California Trip Pictures

Our trip to California was definantly one we will never forget. Day one we starting out at about 7am. We were making good time and reached St. George at around noon. We decided to eat lunch at the park by the temple but when we were getting Zach out of the car his feeding tube broke. We ditched my parents and Josh at the park and headed for the ER. Just a heads up, unless you are over 65 the St. George hospital does NOT know how to take care of you. After sitting in the ER for 4.5 hours, with them unable to do anything, they finally scheduled a time for us to have the tube replaced at a hospital in Vegas the next morning. Off we went for Las Vegas. By the time we got there and got set up it was getting late. We tried to go to the strip to see some of the free shows, but both kids fell asleep and it was time for bed. Early the next morning we got up and got Zach and Christian off to the hospital and my parents and I took Josh over to Circus Circus for the free shows and to play some games. At the hospital it turned out they had scheduled Zach for a surgery, not just a simple tube replacement. Finally at 4pm Zach was back and we were in the car headed for California. We finally arrived at our campground at about 10pm and got the camp set up and kids to bed. The next morning we woke up to discover that the hospital in Vegas had neglected to fill the balloon that holds Zachs tube in and it had fallen out. Once again, we sent Christian and Zach off to the hospital and the rest of us headed for Disneyland. Luckily, the hospital in California was great and had Zach in and out in just 2 hours and they were able to join us quickly. Disneyland was great with Zach and even gave us the pass that is usually reserved for Make-A-Wish kids that let us bypass all lines (even the regular wheelchair lines). It was really busy because all the new shows were opening. That night we got to see the new fireworks show (poor Zachy fell asleep waiting for it to start). The next day was spent at California Adventure where we got to see the new show "World of Color". It was a great show, but once again, Zach fell asleep waiting for it to start and didn't get to see it. Josh loved going on almost all the rides. The only one he couldn't go on was the big roller coaster in California Adventure but got over it pretty quickly. He LOVED the Tower of Terror and kept assuring the older man waiting behind us that it was scary. After 5 days of Disney it was time to pack up and head home. On the way we stopped at Calico Ghost Town. The boys had a good time panning for gold, and Josh loved making a leather craft in the leather shop. After that we kept driving until we reached out campground in Leeds. We stayed just the night and finally got home the next afternoon. Overall, it was a great trip that started off a little bumpy but ended great.
Who else can say they visited 3 hospitals in 3 states in 3 days!

Part 1

Since it has been so long since my last update, I am going to do this is sections so that each part isn't too long. May was a busy month for us. Zachs surgery was just one thing. It was also Mothers Day, and Chrsitans and my birthdays. While Christian is proudly telling everyone he is 40 because he doesn't want to have to have another birthday for awhile, we are both actually 31 and proud of it. Both boys finished school and were sad to say goodbye to their teachers.

Zach had to say another tough good-bye. His sweet, sweet girlfriend was moving to New Mexico and we were invited to her going away party. He just wanted to be next to her the entire time. Josh also had to say good bye to his best friend in the whole wide world Radley as he was moving to Idaho.

Since this brings us up to June, my next post will be about our trip to Disneyland and the woderful adventure that was!

Zach and the amazing marble

Why do my kids like to see if they can give me heart attacks? Last Tuesday as I was getting Zach ready for school he started chocking and quit breathing. After sitting him up he started to breath again but seemed to be having a horrible time. I couldn't see anything in his mouth or throat but Christian and I rushed him to the closest hospital. That's where we got this lovely x-ray or the marble in his windpipe. First they were going to transfer him to Primary Children's but when the doctor saw this x-ray he came running out to the ambulance and refused to let us move him. If the marble had moved even a fraction it would have completely blocked his ability to breath! They rushed him into surgery and, thankfully without a tracheotomy, managed to get it out. I would think he would have been bothered by this but he doesn't seem to be. We have scoured the house looking for and throwing away all the marbles we come across (Josh was very sad to see Hungry Hippos disappear) but he seems to keep finding them. Since then I have already had to take 3 more out of his mouth. Whats next!?!?!?!

Wizard Of Oz

Today was such a fun day. Zachary's school took on a big project of putting on the play "The Wizard of Oz." The kids all had so much fun and all looked so cute. Zachary's class were the munchkins and he was very proud that he got to hand Dorothy flowers!

Pictures and update

Zach at the pumpkin patch

Josh at the pumpkin patch

Leaving to go Trick-or-treating

Visiting his girl friend Isabelle

He misses Mrs. Penny

Josh found the pickle on the tree!

Zach got a new bike!


Okay, so there are some pictures to get through the end of 2009! So much is always going on that I seem to be really bad about keeping this site updated. Early in December I started having worse stomach/abdominal pains than normal. It got to the point that I was swelling so bad that I looked pregnant. After 2 ER visits and a regular doctor visit I started the Celiac diet. My amazing cousin Cami helped me with everything to do with the diet, giving me recipes and things to try. After awhile on the diet the swelling was gone but the pain was not. I know it will take months and maybe years to repair damage done to my body from eating the gluten all this time but the doctor still seemed worried. In January I finally had an appointment with a GI doctor. He ran a slew of blood work and had me come in last week for an EGD/Colonoscopy. What the found was .......nothing. He took several biopsies and removed a single small polyp but basically all he can tell me so far was that my stomach and intestines look inflamed. That's it. Swell. So now I'm back on the diet and trying to ignore the pain daily while trying to keep up with the kiddos. On a happier note! In December Zach finally received his Wolf for cub scouts! He actually earned it earlier but we kept missing pack meeting. He should have earned his bear pretty soon now. Josh turned 6 in January and we took him to Classic Fun Center to celebrate. He is doing well in school though we are still fighting with the ADHD meds he takes. We started a new one that he has to take twice a day but it really seems to be making a difference. I keep waiting for it to snow enough that I can take the boys sledding. Josh has been begging all winter but there is never any snow on the hill to go. Hopefully soon or he is going to go mud slidding.

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!