Just for Fun

Jeff's cousin Heather had this on her blog. Here's how it works:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I (or anyone in our little fam) had together. It doesn't matter if you know use a little or a lot; anything you remember is great!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about us, we'll assume you're playing the game and we'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Have fun with the re-memories!

Crafty morning

Last night, Jeff's mom came over to show me how to make hooded towels for little ones, and since I had my sewing machine out and ready to go, I actually got a whole bunch of things crossed off my to-do list (it also helps that I couldn't get back to sleep after Jeff left for work this morning at 3:30!!)

First off, this

got turned into this

using this idea (although I sewed everything instead of using fabric glue)

Next, I created a wreath for my front door for Valentine's Day (only 5 months, 9 days and 20 minutes--20 minutes is all it took to actually DO--late!!):

Then I had a whole pile of kid clothes with ripped seams---done! I should get up at 3:30 more often! (yeah, right!)

San Diego!

We just spent a long, fun-filled weekend in San Diego! We left Wednesday morning and headed South. First stop: Aunt Debbie's house, where the kids got to ride the newest member of the family: a mule named Strawberry Shortcake!

The kids were completely fascinated with "Shortie" and fed her carrots and wanted to ride all afternoon! Aunt Debbie graciously invited us to come back Saturday and ride her two horses, Buddy and Coco. The kids were super excited at that prospect!!

We then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Lyon's house to say hello. It was so good to see them, as we haven't had the chance to get together for a long time. The kids ran around the garden and we visited for a few minutes before heading out to check in to our hotel and go swimming.

Thursday morning we headed over to the Wild Animal Park and hopped on the tram that rides around the savanna. We were lucky enough to see a baby rhino, literally just a few hours old! We did lots of exploring and saw monkeys and gorillas and lions and giraffes and birds and tons of beautiful plants. By mid-afternoon, we were all getting pretty tuckered out, so we headed back to the hotel to relax and cool off in the pool.

Friday we decided to go back and visit what we didn't see at the Wild Animal Park. We visited Condor Ridge and the tiger area, then wandered back into the main area of the park for a cold drink and to cool off in a play area. X was fascinated by the huge helium balloon that can take visitors up above the park for a bird's eye view. He loved watching it go slowly up and down and he'd reach out for it say (in X language), "Balloon!" It was so cute.

That afternoon we met up with some of Jeff's old pals at the beach. I realized we have never been to the beach in the summertime when the kids can actually play in the water and sand, so of course they loved every second of it! X especially loved scampering along the sand and digging with a little sand rake and standing in the water as the waves rolled in.




































Jeff and I had a great time visiting with Aaron and Audrey and Ali. M and (especially) K were so enamored with these grown-up friends and they were all so kind to chat and play with our kids, who were the only little folks in the group. We were later joined by Brandon and Mandy and Ali's hubby Ryan as we bbq'd on the beach and the sun set.

Saturday morning we went for a scenic drive up into the mountains and landed in little Julian, California. We met up with Aaron and Audrey and walked around and had lunch and, of course, sampled the (apparently) famous Julian Apple Pie. Then we headed back down to Fallbrook to meet up with "Aunt Debs" (as M christened her) to do some ridin'!

First, M and K had to help get Buddy saddled up.

Then with a few instructions and some encouraging words, M was off!! I have to admit, I was a little nervous about my kids riding on their own, but Debbie was SO FABULOUS at teaching them what to do and what to expect, they both did great!

Here's K getting ready to ride Coco.

Out of everything we did while in San Diego, this was both kids' favorite thing. Thank you Aunt Debbie!! M and K are already talking about when we get to come down and visit you again so they can see their pals Buddy and Coco!

Jeff and X watching all the goings-on.

Whew! Once we left Debbie's place, we made it back to the hotel and watched a movie and hung out. Sunday morning we packed up and hit the road, headed for home. We were blessed with great weather the entire time down there and even came back to an overcast and unusually cool Vegas!

Fireworks, swimming and a #1 birthday party!

So much has happened this past week!

The 4th of July was a lot of fun this year. We started off the day at our ward's 4th of July Family Fun Festival.

The kids ate pancakes and played carnival games and were in a parade...and then participated in races and the tug-of-war and Jeff even joined in for the pie-eating contest (which very precariously bordered on a pie-throwing contest!--thanks, Pete!!). By the time it was all said and done, we'd all had a good, sticky-sweet time and were ready for a nap.

After cooling off and getting some much-needed rest, we all headed over to my parents' house to bbq and set things on fire. We had a diverse mix of friends joining us, including Amy and Maggie, Ballantynes and Hinrichsens, which just made it all the more fun. Of course, Brandon's pyromania benefitted us all as we oohed and aahhhed at all of the fun fireworks he provided. Here's the grand finale--

Brandon promises an even bigger show next year, lucky us!!

M and K finished up their swimming lessons this week. For not having regular access to a pool, I have to say they do pretty well in the water. They both looooove the superslide! And aren't they just cute little fishies??

Thursday evening, we had the whole fam-damily over to celebrate X's birthday. I CANNOT BELIEVE he is turning ONE next Tuesday. Time flies faster and faster the older I get! He loved squishing his cake in his little hand as hard as he could before taking a few bites. And yes, that is a grocery store produce bag wrapped around his arm! Thank you to everyone for joining us to celebrate X!

Happy birthday, Baby!

Little Boy Blue

Oh yes, that's right. The little bugger is now sporting a cast. He toppled off the couch Tuesday night and Wednesday he was NOT a happy camper, so we made (yet ANOTHER) trip to QuickCare. Diagnosis: wrist fracture. Now that he has a cast on, he is happy as a clam because it doesn't hurt (thank goodness). Doctor says it should come off in about two weeks (another thank goodness). I hope this is the last medical update I have to offer on X (or any of my family, for that matter!) for a long, long time!

X's Hospital Stay

Quick background on our five day detour at Summerlin Hospital...

X had been sick with a stomach virus the week leading up to Brandon and Ashley's wedding. The day they were getting hitched, May 31, he was still not quite himself and Jeff ended up driving around with X in the car while I joined the fam inside the temple.

After the sealing, we went home to pick up M and K and get ourselves ready for the reception. Jeff pointed out that Xander's right arm was all red, but I just figured it was from him sleeping, leaning to his right side, in his car seat that morning. We went to the reception and had a great time. M honed his dance skillz on the dance floor (check out the video my brother Ben caught with his phone) and K was in heaven spending time with her (now official) Aunt Ashley.

We wished the happy couple the best as they drove off into the blazing Vegas sun and then we headed home to crash. Later on that evening as I was putting X into pj's, I noticed his arm was still really red, from his shoulder to his elbow and it was hot and tender to the touch. Poor baby! I thought I had somehow managed to pull his arm out of its socket or something in the craziness of the day, but he didn't have any problem crawling around on it--he just didn't want anyone to touch it. So then I thought it was just another weird manifestation of the nasty virus he'd had, since it had already given him a rash and fevers (and we had just visited the pediatrician on Thursday!!) and I really didn't want to take him in, yet again, to have them tell me nothing new. But to be safe, I called the nurse hotline...who suggested I bring him into QuickCare. To make a long story short, he was admitted that night for cellulitis, which is basically a really deep, potentially aggressive skin infection. He had to be hospitalized because the antibiotics had to be administered through an IV.

Here he is in his jail cell of a crib on the second day after starting antibiotics. The pen marks around the area are where the redness had been previously.

He ended up having surgery to drain the area and he now has a little scar on his arm. Aside from antibiotics every 8 hours, we were pretty much left alone and the virus even went away by Sunday, so it was just a matter of keeping ourselves entertained.

So there you have it. We are now home, safe and sound. And even though it was NOT fun to be in the hospital, there were many things to be thankful for. We had great nurses, lots of Baby Einstein DVDs and --best of all!-- no scary warning signs outside our door. I just kept thinking that if we had to be in the hospital, this was the best scenario possible.