I had Herpangina??

Herpan.. what?? I know it sounds like one of those words only spoken in hushed voices at the ob/gyn office, but before you get the creeps and wonder why I'm posting about it on my blog let me explain... It's not an STD!!!!!..It started out as headache, sore neck and throat... I thought for sure I was just getting a head cold so I popped some ibuprofen and started to feel better.... but then the ibuprofen started to wear off and I knew I was getting something worse than a head cold... sure enough before I knew it I was shaking violently with chills and a high fever, my throat felt raw and my eyes were on fire!! I thought for sure that I had strep throat, but no, even worse.... I have never been so sick in my life!!! Herpangina is a version of the childhood illness hand, foot and mouth... But it only affects the mouth (canker like sores) and is accompanied with flu like symptoms (ha ha... doesn't sound so bad right... that's what I thought at first...) The second night it got so bad I was seriously crying... tears streaming down my face, sobbing.... the next day I was so cold with chills that I had to sit outside in the SUN wearing my fluffy bathrobe and wrapped in five blankets at least....I finally figured out that if I alternated the ibuprofen with Tylenol every 3 hours that I could at least function sort of. My poor family was totally neglected and it hit just in time for the first few days of school... I could not go to "back to school night" and meet the teachers or make a special "back to school breakfast"... I couldn't walk my little guys to the bus stop... I felt SO bad!!! Luckily Glen is perfect it everyway and he did the whole back to school mom stuff that I couldn't. He gathered all the new school supplies, signed all the papers, met the teachers, picked out their clothes, made breakfast and took them to the bus stop!!

Here they are... first day of school 2008

My mom came to the rescue and picked up Gabe, bless her heart!!... My sister's were both here visiting for the summer and they left taking this sickness with them!!... SORRY!!!!! I was hoping that it would end with me, but por Eli came home from his first day of first grade with big tears in his eyes... I greeted him from my death bed on the couch with no homeade cookies or anything?? and asked him what was wrong?? He said that he had fallen asleep twice at school and felt sick all day... sure eonough he had a high fever and I knew he had the gumboo too!!! I asked him why he hadn't called me or told his teacher that he didn't feel well... He answered in a sad little voice... "I didn't know your phone number. and I didn't want my teacher to get mad at me" Poor little guy... with all the changes and such a busy summer I hadn't even taken the time to teach him our new phone number (I know, what????) and I didn't even have the back to school talk about teachers and safety or remind them that they can call me ANY time.... I flet like a horrible mother!!!
anyway long story short.... well not really... sorry this is so long.... anyway Eli got herpangina and then Evan (hopefully Glen stays immune) and we are all just finally feeling better... .SO now I'm hoping to get back in the groove and post about what we've been up to all summer long! It's been a blast and so sad to see come to an end....
stay tuned...oh, and pray that you never get herpangina!!!! :)

Cruise-in

We love the Cache valley cruise in! I was going to do some research and give you all the statistics on the cruise in, because it's a pretty big deal, but I didn't have time so your just going to have to trust me that this is one of thee biggest car shows in the West and it is SO much fun to see! People come from all over and bring their antique, souped up cars for a week full of fun here in Cache valley... they have contests and races and parties... you can always tell when these car lovers are in town!!
The highlight and end to the festivities is the parade down main street where everyone gets to show off their cars, trucks, motorcycles etc... When I was in high school the highlight for me and my friends was after the cruise in parade when everyone else gets to join in to "drag main." It was the best place to meet cute boys, and the police officers were more lax and let everyone hang out the windows and ride in the back of trucks with music blaring... It was so fun!! We jumped in and out of other people's cars and especially loved it when we would meet boys who had bullet bikes and would take us for a ride!!!... I can't believe we did that, I'm pretty sure my mom didn't know??... Anyway back to the cruise in this year... The boys loved seeing all the cars and choosing favorites! It was lots of fun and just in case your wondering...we didn't stick around to "drag main" this year :)

I think it would be fun to know the names, makes and modles of cars... I do love cars!! I thought this one was so cute, it's hard to tell in the picture, but it was really small... reminded me of a matchbox car!! I can see myself zipping around town in this baby!!

the Delorian... Back to the Future!!

I love old trucks...orange, so fun!! and check out those rims...

This one was my all time favorite, love the paint job

It reminds me of the banana mobile in Richard Scarry's children's books...

Has anyone seen the 2009 Mustang... to die for!! I want Glen to buy me one...
fully loaded in mustard yellow!

Proud to be an American!!!

I LOVE fireworks!!! I must admit to being a bit fascinated with fire! Fireworks are just so big and loud and exciting and they are a mystery to me...I can't figure out how they get all that color and explosion into a tiny little package and then make it explode into shapes and look just right?? I should do some research maybe?
Anyway Logan City puts on a great firework show!! the company that makes the fireworks is called Fireworks West and it is located here in Logan!! I think because this is home for them that they probably do some extra special fireworks and maybe throw in a few extras... don't you think?! :) They do this patriotic show and celebration at the Utah State University stadium every year. We haven't actually been inside the stadium for the show since Evan was little... it's usually pretty HOT sitting there waiting for the fireworks to start and can be a bit loooooong for kids! We keep thinking about trying it out one of these years, but knew for sure that this year Gabe would never last...

Our precious little boys...

We grabbed some costa vida salads for dinner (my favorite!!) and sat on the lawn in our usual place by the space dynamics lab. We met most of mom's family there and it was fun for the kids to just run around and play together!

Gabe is obsessed with my dad... He has had a special love for "bapa" since he was just little and it just keeps growing stronger!! I think that Gabe likes him more than me, his own mother??!! He gets so excited when he sees Grandpa!! I love to see him point his little finger at my dad and in his highest, most excited voice he yells "bapa" bapa" he can't get out of my arms fast enough and then he runs towards "bapa" with outstretched arms! I think this love might have something to do with the fact that grandpa loves him right back and he plays with him and walks around for hours just talking with Gabe and showing him the world. Gabe has grandpa wrapped around his finger and I know my dad wouldn't have it any other way!!

speaking of obsessions... Gabe loves to sit in chairs. He's like Goldilocks and tries out all the chairs until her finds the one that is "just right." This night it was his cousin Mathew's chair that he picked and there was no moving him once he settled in...

Unless there's a chance for some popcorn that is.... He traded chairs for just a minute hoping that Lachlan would share her's... In this picture Gabe is signing please. It's technically just one hand rubbed in a circle on the chest. But when he really wants something bad he gets both hands going... and with big puppy dog eyes and longing in his voice he says "peas" "peas"

And if that doesn't work he does this.... :)

nothing better than cousins, treats, fireworks and glow sticks!!!

Ready for the show to start....

Eli, Mathew and Evan

We are so blessed to live here in America!! I am so very grateful for our freedoms and luxuries and for all those who have sacrificed so much, even their lives, to preserve them for us!! I feel chills and get a lump in my throat everytime that I hear the national anthem or put my hand over my heart to show respect and love for our flag. I am proud to be an American and I hope that none of us take for granted what a blessing that is...

4th of July Celebration!!

First...We thought it would be fun to invite our family over for a BBQ on the evening of the 4th of July...Then we decided we couldn't have a fourth of July party without fireworks so we told them to plan on staying late for that... and then we figured if everyone was going to stick around until dark for fireworks we might as well build a fire and have smores for dessert... and if we were going to have smores we might as well be camping, so we told everyone to bring their tents for a "camp out"...and you can't have a "camp out" without a pancake breakfast right?.... SO...(sounds a bit like the children's book If you give a moose a muffin right??) to make a long story short... we kept adding on to the festivities and it was just right! We had the best fourth of July ever!!

everyone brought delicious food which included BBQ ribs, homemade rolls, dutch oven potatoes, jello, pasta, and green salads, watermelon and homemade root beer!!

My "family" can be a bit confusing... If you already know the dynamics just skip over this next part, but for those of you who don't know... here goes...

My brother and his family live here. My sisters are both far far away :(
so when I say "Family" this is who I'm talking about...
My mom has 5 siblings (and her parents) who all live in the Logan area.(Cache Valley) My moms youngest brothers and their wives are within 5 years in age to Glen and I and four of my moms siblings (my aunts and uncles) have children (my cousins) who are as young as my boys... does that make sense?? So when we say we have lots of cousins here in Cache Valley that my boys love to play with... it's really my cousins, not theirs... Anyway... it's kind of confusing and different than most families and thats not even getting into my older cousins who are closer to my age and my dad's side of the family (he has seven siblings, and most of them live here in Cache valley too!) Don't worry there are not so many of us that we have accidently ( or intentionally) married each other or anything weird like that :)... although I did go on a date once with my second cousin and we didn't know it until half way through the date when we figured it out... creepy thing was he still tried to kiss me at the door step??? Hmm... but that's a whole different post :)... anyway I actually feel really lucky that we live so close to all of our extended family. Friends are wonderful but there is no one like family when it comes to love and example and friendship!! It's a blessing to have so many amazing people around who love my kids who I can learn from and count on anytime!! So... there is a bit of an explaination for those of you wondering who all of this "family" is that we hang out with, hope it helps a little....

the family picnic...

our annual 4th of July flag cake

Eli and Evan...
(Gabe was not in the mood for pictures
as you can tell by the look on his face in the first photo at the top of this post!)

some of the kids decorating 4th of July cupcakes

left to right :Jeffrey, Tristin, Coleman, Nathan, Sadie, Aidan, Jonah, and Evan

before it got too dark we set up the tents in the backyard

then we roasted marshmallow's and made smores

Evan and Sadie

The kids played night games!!

Then we all watched a GREAT fireworks show in the driveway.
my favorite are those UFO humming, jumping colorful ones! We even had a grand finale!! Thanks to Glen, my uncle Cory and Josh... the pyro's

Everyone got ready for bed and just as we were about to say "lights out" some of the kids needed a midnight snack!! Anyone who has ever stayed at our house or who has had us as guests knows that I am a sucker for kids who say "I'm hungry" before bedtime! They can't go to bed with an empty tummy, that's just mean... so yes, my kids have me figured out and pretty much every night (Glen has given up fighting it- love you baby!!) my boys have a big bowl of cereal, but only if they ate all of their dinner, that's the deal! anyway so they said "we're hungry" and here they are filling their little tummies and we all slept better!

the next morning the kids woke with the birds and the sunrise at 5 AM!!! and didn't bother to let the rest of us keep sleeping!!!
those who didn't stay overnight came back around 8 AM and we had a smorgasbord
pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and orange juice!
It was delicious and one of the best fourth of July celebrations ever! I hope everyone forgets about the 5 AM thing :) and plans to join us next year!!

"Too dood"

"too dood" (cool dude) is what Evan taught Gabe to say when he puts on sunglasses. So he walks around the house wearing shades telling everyone that he's a cool dude!!

Gabe is really talking a lot!! We've been using a few signs with him (drink, more, all done, eat, help, and please) I think that it has really helped him learn how to communicate earlier and not to be so frustrated . He says over forty words and most of them are not words that "only a mother understands" He speaks really clearly! It is so cute to hear his little voice and to watch him as he learns new things. lately he signs please all the time... it is thee cutest thing ever and how do you not give him what he wants, especially when he's asking nicely?? It just melts my heart. The other thing he says a lot lately is "ta-da" He says this and throws his arms up over his head every time that he does something that he thinks is really great!! and then he claps his little hands. He folds his arms for prayers and says "m-men" with the rest of us. He loves to grab bugs but I'm sure he tortures the poor things as he half squishes them during his examinations. Every morning without fail as I lift him out of his crib he asks for a ba-ba (bottle) and wa-wa (waffle) over and over until he gets both! He likes to splash in the toilet and unroll the toilet paper. He LOVES the horses outside and especially loves holding grass in his hand for them to eat. he cries when it's time to come inside and would like to be outside exploring all day! He points to and names his eyes, ears, mouth, nose, beep beep (belly button) head and toes. He loves to "bounce" on the trampoline and at dusk lay with us on it and point to the "moon"and "tar" He really enjoys it when I let him turn the lights off and on with his little finger. He says "ight" ..."on"... "off" He likes to push his lawnmower all around the lawn, likes bubbles, and popsicles and cell phones. He loves his brothers and gets worried if they cry or fight....I could go on and on about all the little things that he does. We all just sit around watching him oohing and ahhhing over every little thing he does !! He brings us so much joy!! We all are bonkers over this baby boy!!

A Little Too Friendly...

At the mouth of Logan canyon there is a great park called First dam. It is just that, a dam surrounded by a grassy lawn with a dock for fishing where lots of people also picnic, play sand volleyball, cliff dive, swim, etc... Well it is also a well known spot to feed ducks. The problem is that because lots of people go there the ducks (and geese) are used to humans and have come to expect us to give them our food!!!! They are pretty aggressive and I for one had to keep reminding myself that the ducks are smaller than me and I could probably kick them or something if I couldn't out run them when the bread was gone!!


I am not exaggerating!!!
We went with my brother Steve and his family after stopping for an Aggie Ice Cream cone on campus. My brother also has three boys so it is always a little crazy when we all get together!! Gabe loved seeing the ducks and has a pretty good throwing arm according to Glen, who was quick to notice!! The older boys had several contests (It's a boy thing I've learned) and Eli was determined to catch a duck, it was pretty entertaining... he is the bravest kid I know and I think because of his efforts, the ducks were too pooped to chase us in the end once the bread was gone!!

Family in town!!!

A few days after returning from our family reunion we had Glen's sisters Carrie and Debbie and their kids come to stay with us!! There really is nothing better than having cousins to play with for Evan and Eli (and me!) especially since we don't get to see these guys very often!! We were so excited to have them here. I love all of my sister in laws!! When everyone arrived we had a BBQ and then roasted marshmallows and smores in the backyard...

Eli likes his marshmallows "perfect" ..."golden with a few black spots" he is one of the most patient roasters I've ever met!

Cute Wesley with crumbs on his lips Mmmmmm!!!

Maddie and Evan...seriously inseperable!!(notice the hand hold:)) they are quite affectionate... still so innocent... I hope this friendship only strengthens as they grow older!

the floor of the basement was turned into one giant bed and all the kids crashed there each night, that is when they weren't talking, goofing, and giggling!! The next morning we headed to Willow Park/zoo where the kids played on the equipment for a bit and then we walked around and looked at the animals... mostly ducks... but also some bobcats, vultures, raccoons, peacocks, Wallaby's, fish, deer, and coyotes


Here they are again... Evan and Maddie!! She is a year older, they were both born in September so maybe that's the tie that binds?? They have similar personalities too and have been buddies since they were just little! Evan sure loves his cousin Maddie!!

I couldn't get Gabe to stop looking at the animals or to turn around for the picture! He was so excited over them!!!

Jake, Sam and Eli

I think these shots of Gabe are priceless! I love the look in his eyes...so curious and smart...just taking it all in. I love the one of him squatting down like he's not already on their level?? He did that in front of each enclosure... like a little perch, then he'd point his tiny finger and jabber about the animals. I love the age he is at right now... everything is a new adventure and he can't seem to get enough of this big world. There is nothing like seeing things through the eyes of a little one, it is so fun to take a glance and just notice the little things with him!!

What a beautiful boy...

I had to take a few pictures of the turtles... I LOVE turtles even if they are the #1 germ, salmonella, bacteria carrying animal there is.... (just ask my mom) :)
I think they're CUTE!!
They remind me of old people with their wrinkly necks, bald heads, and slow poke motions...
I mean absolutely no disrespect with this comparison!! I have thee biggest spot in my heart for old people thanks to my days working in the nursing home!! :)

Everyone started getting hungry and thirsty so we headed to McDonald's for some lunch and a little air conditioning too!!!

After lunch we went back to our house for some water fun in the backyard....

slippin' slide

Sprinklers under the trampoline

chillin'

Charly and Gabe... the two babies... full of mischief! Just look at her face...looks like trouble!!
and Gabe thinks he is all grown up sitting in his own chair... you can tell by the look on his face! and that slouch totally says "I'm sooooo cool"!!

Swimming

Before I got this pool Gabriel was terrified of water, I know... shocking because the other two are little fish and always have been. His fear of water started several months ago. He screamed when it was time for a bath, no matter how reassuring and calm I was with him he just wanted OUT as fast as possible! Most of the time he'd lock his knees and wouldn't even sit in the tub so we'd have to do a "splash bath" with him standing, wailing the entire time. I finally got to the bottom of when it all started. I guess one night it was Glen's turn to bath him. First he set Gabe in the tub, and then started the water... what?? The shower happened to be on and out came ice cold water!!!! Glen said Gabe was in shock and completely freaked out... since then he's been terrified!!! Can't say that I blame him... the poor thing!! He would even freak out if there was water spilled on the floor and his toes touched it or on the patio after spraying it off!!! Anyway we started bathing him in the kitchen sink because it is smaller and we hoped it felt more secure to him. He'd at least sit down but would not let go of our shirts... he slowly started relaxing but I thought for sure he'd never do a pool. He has never liked pools at hotels or the one at grandma's condo so I was a bit worried. I bought the pool anyway. We filled it with warm water and I set it out on the lawn. I didn't try to put him in and he was a little curious! At first he wandered over and put his hands in. after awhile he started splashing so I helped him step into it and he was fine!! He even sat down and then started going down the slide into the pool!! I couldn't believe it!! Now he loves to swim and bath and splash like the rest of em' YEAH!!!

Thirsty? I kept telling Gabe "no-no" but he was determined to get a drink from the pool. I hope he didn't suck up too many bugs, grass and chicken feathers :) YUCK!!

Our days with cousins here went by way to fast and it's sad to think that it will probably be Christmas next time we see them again!! We had such a great time with everyone here and just want to say thanks for coming and we miss you so much!!!