Camping pics (finally) and Washington

It has been a very busy and crazy week. I have been wanting to post pictures of our camping trip all week but I just haven't had the time.

We had a great time camping! We have a fun group of people in our ward and it made for lots of fun and laughs around camp.





We had a talent show. Easton and Paisley, accompanied by Dave, told jokes to the group as their talent. It was very cute! :)



We also had a pajama fashion show and smores. The kids slept well in the tent, even though we didn't get to bed until really late and got up pretty early. In the morning, the guys made breakfast for everyone. After breakfast, most of the kids made bottle rockets and were able to shoot them off later. That was a lot of fun!







The kids loved every minute that we were camping! I had a really good time, also. Dave has never had any desire to go camping. We did it once about 6 years ago, and haven't done it again. But, obviously this time he had a pretty good time. When we were talking to my parents later, he suggested that we all go camping sometime this summer. I was shocked that he would be the one to suggest that! So, I am very happy we went and hopefully it will lead to a few more camping trips in the future!

The reason why I was so busy this week is because I was packing, paying bills, cleaning house, returning library books, and all the things I had to get done before we left on VACATION! That's right! We are currently in good ol' Washington visiting Dave's parents. They moved here this year and so this is our family's first trip to this area. We have been excited all summer for this trip and we are finally here.

We left Thursday night and broke it up into two days. The trip was very long, but the kids actually did pretty well. We had the luxury of 3 DVD players on the trip and so they each got to watch their own movie. That definately made the trip easier.






We arrived Friday afternoon. Dave's mom had a nice dinner prepared for us for that evening. After dinner we took the kids down to a park that is right near their house. That was a great way to run off the cooped up energy from our long drive that day! The kids had a lot of fun!







This morning, we went to breakfast at a really good local restaurant. Afterwards, John and Shirley gave us a nice tour of the tri-cities area. We stopped at a Farmer's Market and bought some produce to make some homemade salsa tonight. We also stopped by a fantastic 12,000 square foot playground for the kids to play on.











There was so much for them to do. They could have played there all day! We will definately go back there before we leave.

Tonight we all watched a movie that we rented and just got the kids put in bed. It has been a really nice, relaxing day. I am looking forward to several more of these kind of days before we leave! It is so great to be away from our everyday lives and just focus on having fun together!! :) Thanks, John and Shirley, for letting us crash your quiet house! :)

Fun Friday!

lantern...check
sleeping bags x 5...check
blankets...check
hot dog sticks...check
cooler...check
mosquito repellent...check
tent...check

Can you guess what we are doing tonight???? Yep...camping! Dave and I's FAVORITE activity. Such a favorite in fact that we have only done it once in our almost 9 years of marriage!! :) We can't wait!

Our ward is doing a family camp out instead of a father/son camp out this year. At first, I was really excited. Our kids have asked us to take them camping on multiple occasions. I know they are going to LOVE it! But, the closer we get, the more work it becomes and I wonder if it is worth it!! I mean, I will spend most of today getting ready for one night, probably 15 or so hours of outdoor fun! :)

I know it will be worth it, don't let me kid you. I am just dreading a bit the dirtiness and smokiness of it all. But, it will be fun to visit with friends and hopefully make new friends. It will be fun to watch kids in a talent show, watch people in the crazy p.j. contest, witness Avery's first experience in a tent, spend good quality time with my most favorite people in the world, and of course it will be fun to....EAT SMORES!! So, what am I complaining about? This is going to be a blast!

(Stay tuned in...I am sure I will have some fun stories to tell tomorrow!) :)

I know you are all probably sick of posts of us doing water activities! TOO BAD! :) That is our life right now. I swear not a day goes by without swimsuits! :) I am thankful for friends who come up with good ideas and get us out of the house!

After swimming lessons today we headed for the lake with a few friends. It is pretty shallow and the kids actually got to play in the sand. It is the closest thing to a real beach they have been to. They LOVED it! :)

So, enjoy the pics of our day! :)








Nothing like lunch in the sand to make a true "sand"wich! :)

They were pretty dirty and tired by the time we left, but it was very worth it!

Avery's tubes

This morning I got up at 4:30 a.m. to take Avery in for her ear tubes. I went in to get her out of bed at 5:10 and she was in a really deep sleep still. I felt really bad waking her up! But, she is a morning person and was really happy when she woke up. Here she is on the way to the hospital...and yes, she insisted on bringing her baby in it's carseat! She can't leave the house without a baby!



Here she is walking into the hospital...notice it is still dark! ;)



So, they set us up in a temporary room. We did all the paperwork and stuff. Then she watched cartoons and hung out for a while.




The bear that they gave her for being a patient.

She got up and started digging in my diaper bag looking for treats and started bawling when I told her she could not eat. Poor girl.

After a while they brought her in a "cocktail". It was a syringe with baby tylenol and some medicine that makes her really loopy. About 10 minutes after they gave that to her, they took her down to the surgery waiting area in her bed. It worked out well because my friend, Christy, works in surgery and was able to wait and visit with us. Then she is the one that took Avery into surgery. It made me less nervous to know that she was in Christy's hands versus a stranger.

While we were waiting for her to go into surgery she was pretty loopy. She just seemed out of it and dazed. This picture gives an idea of what she was like.


She was saying "cheese" but was totally out of it...you can tell by her eyes!

Finally, it was time. Christy and a couple other nurses wheeled her away. It is a strange feeling to leave her. But, I wasn't too worried. I went and waited in the room that they would bring her to. About 20 minutes later, the doctor came in and said that everything had gone well and as expected.

A little bit after that they brought Avery to me. She still seemed a bit out of it. She cried quite a bit at first and was pretty much inconsolable. The nurse offered to bring her a popsicle and that calmed her down. She ate the whole first popsicle and started to cry again.




So they brought her a second popsicle and that helped.



I think the poor little girl was hungry.

Once she was all calmed down they started the paperwork to let us go. By the time we left she was getting hard to control, so back to her normal self. I am so glad that things went well. (Thank you, Brandon, for helping Dave give her a blessing last night! I am sure we can attribute that to her fast recovery.)


I tried to get a picture of the two of us, but she couldn't quit watching TV!!


All done and ready to go!

Shortly after we got home I had to take Easton and Paisley to swimming lessons. Avery was completely normal. She is a bit tired, but I am excited for her to take a long nap today so that I can, too! :)

Ahhhhh...it is raining. I still have my windows open from the night. Usually I close them first thing when I get up. But, there is something about the rain in July when it has been really hot. It is nice and cool and a little breezy and I can smell the rain. I LOVE it! ;) It is going to be a good day, I can tell.

Just a few health updates that I have been meaning to post. I took Paisley back into the allergy/asthma doctor last week. He wanted to see if she was still allergic to peanuts. So, he did the skin test and that came back positive. Then he ordered a blood test to see how the levels were. If the level was low, he would test her with eating actual peanut butter. But, it turns out the levels were still pretty high. So, no peanuts for my little girl. The doctor had hoped that she would outgrow the allergy before she started school. But, nope! But, luckily she is very conscious of peanuts and peanut butter and is very good at asking if food contains peanuts.

Avery is still quite behind in her speech. She learns more words daily, but she is still way behind where she should be. In April I took her in for hearing tests. She didn't pass in either ear. So, I took her to an ear, nose, and throat doctor. He immediately told me that he would put tubes in her ears if I wanted. I just didn't feel good about him. I wanted someone to tell me what she needed, and not leave it up to me. I am not the doctor. So, I got her into another ear, nose, and throat doctor. I had to wait a while to get in. So, we had our appointment on Tuesday. He looked at her tests from April and said if he finds the same results when he looked in her ears that we would know it wasn't a "fluke". So, he did find fluid in her ears and retracted ear drums, like before. He said she needed tubes to drain the fluid and regulate the pressure in her ears. He believes that this will fix her hearing problems. Which, should in turn help her speech. So, I am hoping. If it does not help, then that would mean there is nerve damage and she would have to have hearing aids. So, we are definately hoping the tubes are what she needs.

We go in Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. for tubes. The actual surgery is at 7 a.m. I am going to take her in and Dave will stay home with the other kids. I am dreading getting her our of bed that early! She never gets up before 8:00. Oh well, I am sure she will nap good that day! :)

I will update once she has had the surgery. I am not too worried. It is really minor and Easton had them when he was little. But, at the same time, I am a worrier! I worry about everything. So, I will be happy when it is all over.

It is still raining. You would think after all the rain we have had this summer that I would hate to see more rain. But, like I said, there is something about rain in July!

So Much Water Fun in ONE WEEK!!

BEWARE!!!!! PICTURE OVERLOAD AHEAD!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!! :)



We have been having so much summer fun that I just haven't had time to do much! I have neglected my blog lately. Sorry to you few who read my blog regularly. :) I am sure you have been on pins and needles wondering what we have been up to! :)

Easton and Paisley have been in swimming lessons the last two weeks and yesterday we started a new two week session. They have been loving it. My friend, Christy, put her kids into the same session and so I have been enjoying having someone to talk to. Most days we have been going out to their outdoor pool after the lessons and letting them swim for a while more. It has been a lot of fun and has kept us busy now that T-ball is over.

Last Wednesday, went with some girls in my ward and my friend, Rachel, to a water park.



It is a great place for the kids to play. They have a big toy with water squirting all over in the middle of a little pool. It only goes to about 2 feet deep and so it is perfect for Avery.




Easton and Paisley loved the water slide.



So, everybody was happy.





It was a great day with good friends! Once we got to the car it took about 2 minutes for Avery to totally crash!



It is funny how much a day in the sun can wear kids out! About 20 minutes later, all 3 kids were snoozing! It was very peaceful for me on the way home! :)

A couple days after that trip, we went with my friend, Heather, and her kids to a splash park.











We had never been there before, but as the pictures show, we sure had a ton of fun!

Afterwards we let the kids ride on a carousel. This was the perfect ending to the day!





The next day we went boating with my parents again. This time, my sister-in-law, Stephanie, came too. It was the best day! It was soooo hot which made it perfect for being on the water! Here are a couple highlights:

HAPPY:

NOT HAPPY:

HAPPY AGAIN:




Poor little Avery:



If anyone knows Avery, they will know that she NEVER stops moving! She never falls asleep anywhere but the car or her bed. So, I was SHOCKED when I looked down during the boat trip and she had totally zonked out eating a piece of licorice, mid-bite! :) Soooo cute! After the week that we had, there is no wonder that she was plum tuckered out!

We are finally fruitful! :)

So, I went out to check out our garden last night. It now looks like this:



It is coming along. There are much much much more beautiful gardens around, but we are proud of our little one. I am a bit worried that some of the plants aren't big enough and we won't get much. But, as I was looking this is what I found...



Our first tomato!!! Yea!! I was so excited. I found a couple more that were a bit smaller. But, it gave me some hope. Our onions are starting to get pretty big around:



And, our peas and carrots are coming along as well:



Gardening has been a really fun and rewarding experience for our family this year. I am so glad that we did it and and I can't wait to eat the vegetables!



And....I keep promising that I would post this for Easton.



He built this Bionicle guy and was so proud. He asked me to take his picture and put it on the blog. So, here you are my boy. I love you!