John here, therefore my entry may be documented splotchy chunks.. Aub does write well!!
CANCUN MEXICO, Mark, Heidi and mom showed up early Monday morning.. We said goodbye to our kids and Mark drove us to the airport.. We wished Mark, "good luck" and ran to the hills...or the terminal.. Larry and everyone was there.. we checked in pretty quick and went through security and whatever steps you have to take to go INTERNATIONAL. We ate some Burger King breakfast and stuff. On the trip we had Aubreys Parents, Larry and Cindy. We had her older sister Kristy and husband Brad, and two of there kids, Parker (8) and Karlee (5). Randy went solo... A fun party of 9. We prayed for our boys and those watching our boys. The plane ride was direct to Cancun Mexico. I listened to an audiobook by Terry Goodkind, the 5th in a series and Aubrrey has been reading moms WWII books... she's on the 4th book (or finished it on the way home from Mexico). When we got to Mexico, it was windy and overcast.. We hopped on a bus and was driven to our hotel.. Oasis Cancun, was the name of the hotel.. We walked in and it was loud... very loud... Everyone there was wearing their bathing suits.. apparently they don't make 1 piece swimming suits for girls anymore.. It was crazy !!! Everyone was getting drunk and swearing!!!. Shouts of "body shots" rambled through the air. Randy, if he were in the right mind, could've been in heaven, but he is a good kid and just hung out with the family and just watched the girlies in the bikinis... It wasn't like you could just look the other way b/c they were everywere. Anyway we were in a line for about an hour and then our "FUNJET" planners pulled us out of the line and got us our rooms etc... It was a six story Hotel that was a big line and the floors were all open to each other. It was loud!!!! We were hungry, but the all inclusive resteraunts weren't open so Larry, Randy and I went into one of the bars to get some hamburgers and drinks... We had to wait in a long line and then when we made it to the front of the line to find out that they had just run out of food.. so we waited another 20 minutes and got the next round of food!!.
We hit the beach that night and jumped in.. we built a sandcastle and just played in the water.... we went to bed around 11 that night.. We were awoken at about 3 in the morning by all the SPRING BREAKERS returning from their drunken nights at the discoteques.. I couldn't fall back asleep....
( we are off to see a movie now, so we'll just wrap this up later)
Saturday, October 8, 2011
March 19, 2008
I keep trying to insert some pictures of our little family, but can't get it to work, with the exception of the one below. I'm not sure what is happening, but the bottom half of all the pictures is cut off. Very annoying. I'll try again another day.
Does anybody see the cute picture? No? That's because I'm a dork and just accidentally erased it. Grr!
I'll just use this entry to do an update about my mom since I was asked about her recently.
So, her diseased has progressed rapidly to her lungs and heart. She did chemotherapy for 6 months until developing an allergic reaction to it. After her last chemo session she went in for all sorts of testing again. That's when they learned that the chemo wasn't really helping and her lungs were getting worse. So, they started her on an experimental drug that is very new. I don't think it's designed specifically for her disease, but should help many pulmonary diseases. She hasn't been on this drug long enough to see results. The only good thing about this drug is that because it's still so new they don't carry it in local pharmacies so they have to ship it to her house. One less trip to the pharmacy!
The doctor encouraged her to begin exercising everyday to try and build up her lung muscles. She was excited to get an elliptical machine for Christmas. When I asked how her exercising was going she said it was great and then described her daily workout. She could only exercise for 1 minute a day. That's right folks. 1 minute per day was her allotted amount of exercise. Each week she could increase it by one minute. I think she's up to 6 or 7 minutes a day. I was surprised to hear her say one minute and I think that's when I realized just how bad things were for her. It makes me sad for her, though sometimes I wish I had a valid excuse for not exercising!
About a month ago my mom did more testing for her lungs. Her terrible results forced them to put her on an oxygen tank. She only has to have the oxygen at night or if she's exerting a lot of energy (hiking, etc.). She has a large, ugly machine sitting next to her dresser. Janell probably remembers those days of having cords dangling across the room.
The latest test my mom did was a sleeping test at the hospital. She had to stay the night hooked up to all sorts of different monitors. She was afraid that she wouldn't sleep very well there, but came home and told my dad that it was one of the best night's sleep she had had in a while. Well, this morning she went in for her results. The tests showed that she has severe apnea. In a one hour period she stopped breathing 32 times. 32 times in 60 minutes? How is she still alive? She joked that that was such a good night's rest and wondered what a regular night would show. So now she has to go back to the hospital for the same sleep test only this time she'll be on a CPAP machine to see if it helps. If so she'll have one of those next to her dresser too. If not, who knows?
Such a crazy life. Please pray for her that they can find a way to help her so that she can live a normal life. She stays so strong through all the tests, machines, and bad news but I know it is taking a toll on her. She's amazing to stay so strong!
Does anybody see the cute picture? No? That's because I'm a dork and just accidentally erased it. Grr!
I'll just use this entry to do an update about my mom since I was asked about her recently.
So, her diseased has progressed rapidly to her lungs and heart. She did chemotherapy for 6 months until developing an allergic reaction to it. After her last chemo session she went in for all sorts of testing again. That's when they learned that the chemo wasn't really helping and her lungs were getting worse. So, they started her on an experimental drug that is very new. I don't think it's designed specifically for her disease, but should help many pulmonary diseases. She hasn't been on this drug long enough to see results. The only good thing about this drug is that because it's still so new they don't carry it in local pharmacies so they have to ship it to her house. One less trip to the pharmacy!
The doctor encouraged her to begin exercising everyday to try and build up her lung muscles. She was excited to get an elliptical machine for Christmas. When I asked how her exercising was going she said it was great and then described her daily workout. She could only exercise for 1 minute a day. That's right folks. 1 minute per day was her allotted amount of exercise. Each week she could increase it by one minute. I think she's up to 6 or 7 minutes a day. I was surprised to hear her say one minute and I think that's when I realized just how bad things were for her. It makes me sad for her, though sometimes I wish I had a valid excuse for not exercising!
About a month ago my mom did more testing for her lungs. Her terrible results forced them to put her on an oxygen tank. She only has to have the oxygen at night or if she's exerting a lot of energy (hiking, etc.). She has a large, ugly machine sitting next to her dresser. Janell probably remembers those days of having cords dangling across the room.
The latest test my mom did was a sleeping test at the hospital. She had to stay the night hooked up to all sorts of different monitors. She was afraid that she wouldn't sleep very well there, but came home and told my dad that it was one of the best night's sleep she had had in a while. Well, this morning she went in for her results. The tests showed that she has severe apnea. In a one hour period she stopped breathing 32 times. 32 times in 60 minutes? How is she still alive? She joked that that was such a good night's rest and wondered what a regular night would show. So now she has to go back to the hospital for the same sleep test only this time she'll be on a CPAP machine to see if it helps. If so she'll have one of those next to her dresser too. If not, who knows?
Such a crazy life. Please pray for her that they can find a way to help her so that she can live a normal life. She stays so strong through all the tests, machines, and bad news but I know it is taking a toll on her. She's amazing to stay so strong!
March 18, 2008
It's already Tuesday. My days are busy and going too quickly.
Yesterday I took Lincoln to the doctor for his 9-month check up. It was 3 weeks past 9-months but that was fine. He was weighed and measured and NOT found wanting. He was tall for his age and a chunky monkey, weighing in at 22 pounds. His weight percentile was about 60%. When that boy is undressed you can see the rolls of fat on his cute little legs. I love it! The doctor asked his routine questions about what Lincoln is doing at this age. I was glad that I could tell him that he was crawling. I let him play on the floor with a toy and he stood himself up and let go for a few seconds. The doctor said, "Well, that just answered my next few questions. It looks like he is doing great." Then we talked about fun things like summer and vacations, etc. I really like Dr. Duffy and love that he knows us. It's fun.
After the doctor visit we ran some errands (cash from the bank was a priority). I let Oliver play outside for an hour or 2 and he loved it. It was cold, but he runs so much that I don't think it even phased him.
Today I had a PBS reading class in the morning. They hold this class at the church and anybody is invited. There were 4 of us from our ward (Chantel Copland, me, Becca Freston, Becka Sorensen) plus 4 from other wards in the stake. The lady teaching was cute and fun and talked about some interesting things. I was able to contribute to the 'lesson' (very informal) because of my teaching experiences and she said she was glad to have my comments. I came home with 3 books that Oliver and Lincoln both love. While there Oliver played in the nursery, Lincoln slept. I was so glad I went. It really reminded me of some great things to do with the boys and gave me new ideas! I'll be sure to be there next month! Plus, I can get another free book in the mail by doing an activity with Oliver and then emailing somebody about it!
The rest of the day has been spent making magnets for our Young Women. They are pictures of Christ behind a flat glass marble. They turned out great. I didn't invent the idea, but had to figure out how to make them by myself so I was pleased with how quickly they came together. Now I am going to print a message to go with them (something that includes the scripture John 3:16) and then put them in an easter egg with some grass. They'll be cute little Easter gifts!
I also spent some time today typing up schedules, etc and copying Passports and insurance information. It's been busy, but I feel great that I've accomplished something (as small as it may be).
I want to write about Lincoln because I think he is so darn cute. He has always been a pretty happy baby (though he is going through a stranger danger phase currently). Now that he can crawl and explore he is even happier. He is so content to crawl around, stand, walk, crawl, play, follow Oliver, etc. It's so exciting to watch. Plus, he is learning cute little things. He loves to wave and now does it all the time when he hears "Bye Bye" or "Hi!". He loves to clap is hands, especially when I do Pat-a-Cake. At the end of pat-a-cake he puts his hands in the air and coos! Too darn cute! He is so much fun!
Yesterday John spent some time burning our home videos on to DVDs. So, what did we do? Watch them all! I had so much fun watching my 2 little kids. They are so cute (I know I am biased, but they have such cute little faces!). It was amazing to see how different they were from just 6 months ago. I expected that from Lincoln but Oliver's differences surprised me. He looks so much older now and talks so much more. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change. It made me a little sad and made me miss by little babies.
Yesterday I took Lincoln to the doctor for his 9-month check up. It was 3 weeks past 9-months but that was fine. He was weighed and measured and NOT found wanting. He was tall for his age and a chunky monkey, weighing in at 22 pounds. His weight percentile was about 60%. When that boy is undressed you can see the rolls of fat on his cute little legs. I love it! The doctor asked his routine questions about what Lincoln is doing at this age. I was glad that I could tell him that he was crawling. I let him play on the floor with a toy and he stood himself up and let go for a few seconds. The doctor said, "Well, that just answered my next few questions. It looks like he is doing great." Then we talked about fun things like summer and vacations, etc. I really like Dr. Duffy and love that he knows us. It's fun.
After the doctor visit we ran some errands (cash from the bank was a priority). I let Oliver play outside for an hour or 2 and he loved it. It was cold, but he runs so much that I don't think it even phased him.
Today I had a PBS reading class in the morning. They hold this class at the church and anybody is invited. There were 4 of us from our ward (Chantel Copland, me, Becca Freston, Becka Sorensen) plus 4 from other wards in the stake. The lady teaching was cute and fun and talked about some interesting things. I was able to contribute to the 'lesson' (very informal) because of my teaching experiences and she said she was glad to have my comments. I came home with 3 books that Oliver and Lincoln both love. While there Oliver played in the nursery, Lincoln slept. I was so glad I went. It really reminded me of some great things to do with the boys and gave me new ideas! I'll be sure to be there next month! Plus, I can get another free book in the mail by doing an activity with Oliver and then emailing somebody about it!
The rest of the day has been spent making magnets for our Young Women. They are pictures of Christ behind a flat glass marble. They turned out great. I didn't invent the idea, but had to figure out how to make them by myself so I was pleased with how quickly they came together. Now I am going to print a message to go with them (something that includes the scripture John 3:16) and then put them in an easter egg with some grass. They'll be cute little Easter gifts!
I also spent some time today typing up schedules, etc and copying Passports and insurance information. It's been busy, but I feel great that I've accomplished something (as small as it may be).
I want to write about Lincoln because I think he is so darn cute. He has always been a pretty happy baby (though he is going through a stranger danger phase currently). Now that he can crawl and explore he is even happier. He is so content to crawl around, stand, walk, crawl, play, follow Oliver, etc. It's so exciting to watch. Plus, he is learning cute little things. He loves to wave and now does it all the time when he hears "Bye Bye" or "Hi!". He loves to clap is hands, especially when I do Pat-a-Cake. At the end of pat-a-cake he puts his hands in the air and coos! Too darn cute! He is so much fun!
Yesterday John spent some time burning our home videos on to DVDs. So, what did we do? Watch them all! I had so much fun watching my 2 little kids. They are so cute (I know I am biased, but they have such cute little faces!). It was amazing to see how different they were from just 6 months ago. I expected that from Lincoln but Oliver's differences surprised me. He looks so much older now and talks so much more. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change. It made me a little sad and made me miss by little babies.
March 16, 2008
| Saturday we had quite a fiesta! We arrived at my parent's house at 4:30 and were surprised to see the decorations. My parents obviously had fun at Zurcher's. There was a pinata hanging in the sunroom, tables decorated with Mexican table cloths, leas and maracas. They had lanterns hanging in the doorways and Mexican plates and cups. We all donned our costumes and started playing the Mexican music! It was a toss up between my dad and Grandma Hansen as to which costume won (I'll have to upload the pics). My dad was dressed as a matador with his black fishing pants, white funeral shirt and his cape draped over his shoulder. I laughed and laughed, but totally loved it. My grandma wore this red slinky red off the shoulder dress with gold decorations sewn to it, big necklaces and a flower behind her ear. (I'm sure my grandma would appreciate me adding that she wore a shirt under her off-the shoulder dress--totally appropriate). It was so cute! Grandpa even dressed up. My parents provided everybody with a sombrero though most of the kids wouldn't wear one. We ate tacos for dinner and watched the Jazz game then played the Wii. The kids had a blast breaking open the pinata that was filled with little toys, gold dollars, and candy. Oliver thoroughly enjoyed hitting the pinata even after it was emptied. He didn't really care about the candy and card less about the money (he picked one coin up, looked at it, and then tossed it back to the ground). We ended at 10:00 as we discussed last minute details for the trip and then we came home. It was a great party! Today we enjoyed our sacrament meeting with talks on the Atonement. Our Sunday school lesson was great with a lot of thoughts shared from class members though directed by MK. I took Lincoln to YW with me and the girls were all giddy about it. Heidi ended up teaching the whole group of young women because 2 advisors were out sick. She did a great job and was good at steering through the odd comments by some of the girls. After church we all took a nap, ate dinner, borrowed a suitcase from the folk's (without permission. hope that's okay) and now we're home playing. Lincoln is getting really good at crawling. He's all over the place finding all the small toys and papers that I didn't know about. He stuffs them in his mouth and gets angry when we pry his mouth open to take them out. He's so much happier now that he can move about and explore (he was a happy baby before, just more so now). |
March 15, 2008
| The time is flying by. This week I've been busy trying to plan and organize for our Cancun trip. Everything is so much more work when you have to plan in 2 little kids. I'm grateful to those who are willing to babysit (Angela, Mark & Heidi, Mom). We are excited for our trip and leave the day after Easter so we don't have much time left! I finally found a swimsuit last night. I've been looking and looking everywhere and really struggling. I wanted a tankini but just could not find a cute one that was my size (they are mix and match now a days so I could never find both a top and a bottom in a small--lame). So, last night I went to every store in the mall searching and was so disapointed. I went into Dillard's as a last resort (afraid of the price) and found that they had several new suits! I tried on 3 and like all three of them, but loved one of them. It was very expensive, but this was the last store that I could think of to shop in. John loved the suit so he didn't care about the price. Now I am feeling a little guilty, but relieved at the same time! Other things this week: lunch with a friend, play group, John played basketball with Mark, raquetball with a friend, played outside in the rain, shopped, etc. Today we are going up to my parent's house for a Cancun party. They are doing Mexican games, dances, and dinner and we are bringing up Mexican music. Costumes are required. I have a hat, blanket and some sort of scarf that I got in Mexico City (the scarf was a gift from my host family). I am excited. I think the purpose of the party is to go over last-minute details (departure, hotel phone number, money, etc). I am getting really excited. I have 3 lists on the kitchen counter of things to pack, prepare, purchase, do before the trip. Each time I go into the kitchen I seem to add something to the list. Most of it has to do with cleaning the house, laundry, planning food for the boys, writing schedules and things down for the boys. This coming week I will begin to cross things off my list. Friday I am planning on coloring easter eggs with Oliver. I am excited to do it and think Oliver will have fun. This will be the first time that I will color eggs since I've been married! Saturday we have an Easter tradition with my family. We all gather at Grandma's house and then drive into the mountains for a fire, lunch, hot dogs, etc. Then we go back to grandma's house (Grandma Hansen) for an easter egg hunt. I used to love hunting for eggs, but am too old for that now (so sad) so I usually hide them. After this egg hunt we go to my parent's house for the easter egg hunt that my mom does. It's always a lot of fun, but will keep me away from my house and my lists. I think a Sunday Easter dinner at the folk's will be great! I thought it was a tradition already so I was already planning on it so I'm glad Matt wrote it in his journal so I can plan on it! Good times ahead! |
March 12, 2008
| John came home from work a little early today. He was determined to do some work on the house. Of course I let him! He hung some sheetrock on the laundry room and then hung a cabinet on the wall for laundry soap,etc. It all looks so nice now! I'm grateful that John has become a real handyman around the house. He's awesome. I went to Young Womens tonight. We met at 6:15 and then left for a tour of the Church History Museum downtown. It was a lot of fun and the tour was great. Karlene Bauer from the ward serves a part-time mission at the museum so she came with us to give us our tour. I was impressed by many things that I saw. I love this calling for many reasons. One reason is that I get to do things like this that are great for our girls, but great for the leaders too! John is playing basketball right now and the boys are sleeping. I don't have a book to read because I just finished Vienna Prelude and haven't made it to the library for the next book in the series. Maybe I should just go to sleep now to catch up from my late night last night. |
March 11, 2008
| We haven't had many (or any?) changes in our lives lately so I can't think of much to write. (Now watch. After saying that this will be the longest entry ever). Daylight savings is so weird to me. I really wish we would join Arizona and other states and stop doing it all together. Luckily, my boys adjusted quite quickly and haven't had much of a problem. It took Oliver about 40 minutes to fall asleep last night and everything else has been normal. Thank goodness! Our weekend was great. We didn't do anything in particular that was great, but just spending time together is so nice! We always have fun at FHE so that was great too! I went over with my family really early to set up tables, etc and ended up staying for a long time talking with Steph and Heidi, helping with soup (I chopped, nothing too helpful) and just let Oliver play. He sure does love to go to all of his grandparent's houses (he has 4 sets of grandparents including mine). Today the weather was just gorgeous so we spent several hours outside. For about 2 hours Lincoln played with a ball in the yard (occasionally Ollie or I played with him too) and Oliver spent the 2 hours playing in the sandbox and with his toys. I worked hard to clean up the yard. I threw away a bunch of random things (broken mops, broken toys, etc.). Mostly I cleared the yard of most of the pine tree debris that didn't get cleaned up in the winter (go figure). I hope the grass starts to turn green soon and grow so John can mow it and clean up the pine needles. We all had so much fun outside that we ate our lunch out there too. Oliver asked for me to take them on a walk in the Burley so I did. We walked down Serpentine and made a loop in Opal Circle and came back up. Oliver wanted to go longer so we went all the way up Serpentine too. I would have turned around when we reached the big hill but Oliver convinced me to 'go up the mountain' simply by saying "Please!" I was tired when we got home because of the hill, the Burley is awkward (I can't find the handle so I push it hunched over) and the boys are heavy together (and alone). We played clear from one nap (Lincoln's) to the next nap for both boys. I loved it for several reasons: 1) it was warm 2) both boys were so happy, 3) the house didn't get messed up, 4) lunch was outside and 5) the sandbox is still a favorite for Oliver (after all John's work I'd hate to see it go unused). I was excited to go to hear the first discussion by the missionaries with a girl in my Mia Maid class, but after 30 minutes Abby hadn't showed up so we all left. I came home in time for John to shower and go to EQ. Now I am waiting for all my friends to show up for our book club about Uglies! Ya! It's now midnight and here I sit unable to sleep. My friends just barely left from book club (well, at 11:45 the last 5 left). I had so much fun! I really truly love the girls (ladies?) in this ward. I feel so connected to them, a part of the group it is so much fun. I always compare this ward to the last ward because there is such a huge difference in the quality of people. I look at my friends here and am grateful that things worked out the way they did (even when I really did not want to live in this house). Anyway, so book group was a huge success. I served cookies and fruit/fruit dip and most was eaten. I had a list of several questions to use for our discussing and had a great response to them all (but one, there was an odd silence so I moved to the next). After the book was discussed and analyzed we all just sat and talked and talked and talked. I loved it! My problem is now that it's midnight my brain is still going so I can't seem to fall asleep. I tried for 15 minutes, but could tell that my brain wasn't going to rest anytime soon. A good suggestion by MK was to include the names of those in attendance at the book club. So, here they are: me, Heidi Doyle, Missy Burton, Missy Crandall, Meghan Hilton, Chantel Copland, Cary Wall, Becka Freston, Becca Sorensen, Elaine Brinkerhoff, Jeanie Wade and a couple more that I can't remember at the moment. |
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