I had such a great time this weekend. On Friday night I went to a Photography Seminar by Sandy Puc. She is amazing! I had so much fun listening to her and learned so much. It was five and a half hours long and it didn't even feel like it.

On Saturday we had a dinner group at the Johnson's home. It was a nice, relaxed night. And I had so much fun talking to my friends and neighbors I don't get to see very often. I also got to make one of my favorite desserts I haven't had a for a while, and it was yummy.

Then on Sunday we went up to Logan for Michael's farewell. He did an amazing job talking and is such an amazing and well put together young man. I am so proud of him, but am going to miss him so much. We had a nice get together after, and was able to watch the USA vs Canada game.

Than to top my weekend off, I got to have lunch with girlfriends yesterday. I love this group because they are so uplifting. I got to eat good food, and have great conversation. I think I'm rejuvenated again! Or at least for the week.

I Hate Days Like This

A whole list of things to do and can't get them done. I hate days like this! Marissa is home sick. She has an upset tummy and started throwing up. She not an easy sick kid. A lot of whaling and crying. I feel bad for her but the constant complaining can really get to me. Still, poor thing. Maybe I can sneak downstairs and work on some Disney World pictures. I got my photo pass CD a couple of days ago, so I have lots of work to do!

Lindsey's New Diagnoses

This last November we took Lindsey in for her regular heart check up. Because she is getting older they started doing more extensive testing to make sure everything is functioning, as it is suppose to. She sat completely still for an hour while she got her Echo done, and was amazing. She has a runny nose that day and had to wear a mask at Primary Children’s, and she was not happy about it. I decided to wear a mask with her, and it made her feel a little better. I thought for sure she was just going to be a bear the rest of the time, but she was super brave through all the testing. At the end of the Echo the lady doing the testing went and got another guy to come in and take some more specific shots. This got me a little worried. When the doctor came in he told us that Lindsey was doing excellent. She was very healthy and that her arch and valve where doing remarkably well. And they were very encouraged by the results. However he then informed us that they had something that was more concerning. They had discovered thought the Echo that Lindsey has Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy. This is where the left vetracal of her heart is deformed and will eventually stop working correctly. The defect is relativity new and rare. They only diagnose about two cases a year. Hopefully when her heart starts to fail it can be controlled with medicine and then worst-case scenario of course it heart transplant.

Automatically I became a stress case. Jeff is of course handled it all just fine. It makes me laugh because he is a pessimist and I’m an optimist, but we are so different when it comes to worrying about Lindsey. The diagnoses kind of put me in a depression for a couple of months. I feel I'm handling it better now and am looking more on the positive side. But I'm her Mom and will worry every day I'm sure. It has also lead to a lot of questions from Lindsey, and of course Gavin & Marissa. We have been having discussions and I think they are kind of understanding thing a little more, but they are young and I don’t feel like they need to know all the facts yet. Lindsey however is happy and healthy and doing great! She is enjoying Kindergarten and loves being a princess.

Who! Not me!

I swore I would never be one of those people who forgot to write in their blog. And her I am, almost six months in and haven't written on my blog. I got kinda thrown for a loop after Lindsey's last diagnoses and haven't done much of anything. For those who don't know, I will have to write about it later. I can't remember the name of her new heart problem. Bad mom! He! He! He!

Work

The last couple of days I have been helping at Jeff's parents get grapes ready for juicing. It's hard work, but the results are so good! I love homemade grape juice.
I need some advise. Lindsey doesn't like going to school anymore. She keeps playing sick and crying when I drop her off. What do you do as a mom? I made her go today, but it made me so sad to see her cry. Makes me wonder if I'm a mean mom or a good mom.

Family Fun

Today was a busy one. Gavin had soccer bright and early and it was cold outside. Then we had Olivia's baptism. Then home to make cookies for the baptism and then a trip to the mall for me, to find a new bra. Then straight back to Olivia's for Gourmet Burgers (Yum! Yum!). Then it was off to Marissa and Lindsey's soccer games. Lindsey made another goal... the winning goal. And now we are finally home. Now what to do for dinner!

Mission Reunion

Jeff and I attended Jeff's mission reunion this weekend. Jeff served in Southern France under Elder Anderson (of the 12, since last conference). It was held down in Draper and we hit major traffic on the way down. We had planned on being a half hour early and then ended up being almost a half hour late. Jeff really admires Elder Anderson, and it was great to see him talk. Jeff was able to see a few friends and really had a good time. It's very admirable of Elder Anderson to take the time to see these men on his very busy schedule. He is a good man.

We then enjoyed listening to as much of conference as possible with three kids. I made caramel corn to keep their hands and mouths busy for a while, and was happy it worked.

One last note to my neighbor Wendy! I love you! And Dave is in our prayers!

One of Jeff's buddys posted this pic on facebook, so I thought I would add it on :)

Family

I realized I hadn't updated the family at all, so here it is.

I finished June’s pics and am now concentrating on the Festival of Trees and redecorating.
Jeff is working as hard as usual and is going to training soon.
Gavin is reading his heart out. He got into a special group at school, where they read even more then the rest of the students. He takes pride in that he is so smart. He is playing soccer.
Marissa has lot another tooth. She is not missing three at the same time and has another very loose one. She is loving dance and gymnastics, which is a big change from last year. She is also in Soccer and a great player.Lindsey is also going to dance and gymnastics, but hates that her teachers changed. She is playing her first year of soccer and to our amazement; our little princess is very aggressive on the soccer field. Saturday she scored her first two goals.

More Pics

And here are some more pics of the beautiful gardens June took me to while in Portland.

June's Pics

So I finally finished Junes pictures last week. So here is a sneek peek. I was very happy with how they turned out.

Sisters Weekend

I just got back from a fun weekend with June in Washington. She has flown me out the last few years to take their family pictures. Some years it has been quite an adventure, but this year was pretty relaxing. I'm working on the pictures now, so I don't have a sneak peek! Sorry June! I wouldn't let her see them before I left. But I will have to put some up soon.

Jeff was great and took a couple of days off to be a stay at home dad. He survived and the house was even clean when I walked in the door. He is amazing.
The kids are busy with soccer, dance and gymnastics right now. I only have dance and gymnastics on Wednesdays this year, so it is really nice.

We Made It!

The summer has come to an end and the kids made it through their first day of school. Marissa was pretty nervous and had mom wait in line with her until her teacher took them in. Gavin was an old pro and left me to go find his way. Lindsey however has a really hard time with change and was emotional all morning. But she made it to her little thirty minute Kindergarten Orientation with no problems, so I think we are on the right road. Now for soccer and next week dance and gymnastics.

Yellowstone Pics

Here are some fun pictures of Yellowstone.

Vacation Time

I just got back from a fun filled couple of weeks. Last weekend our little family went to Yellowstone for four days. It was so much fun, a beautiful place to see. Then we were back for a couple of days and Jeff and I went and spent he night in Salt Lake at the Elderidge Mansion for our anniversary. Then I came back the next day and left on a girl’s weekend for three days. Once I arrived home, it was up to Jeff's parents to welcome them home from their mission in New York! Pictures well be coming soon!

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July this year. On the third we went up to Logan to be with Jeff's family at his sister Denise's. She has a cute home, with the best backyard for the kids to run around in. She was kind enough to have us up this year even though she wasn't moving much, thanks to a surgery she had the week before. The fireworks as always were wonderful. We were up early the next morning to get the girls ready to be in the parade. Afterwards we went to lunch as IHOP, since we couldn't do breakfast. That evening we visited with family at the Tucker and then headed to Clearfield for their amazing display of fireworks. We were able to some of Jeff's family there and see Jamin's family and Jay. Since Daddy was laid up with his knee, we bought some fireworks and headed to Mom and Dad's the next night to light some off with the family. It was a nice quiet event, but the kids loved it just he same.

Coming Home

Jeff's parents have been serving a mission in the New York, New York North mission for almost the last year. All year all the kids kept asking when are they coming home, so we told them at the end of July, after the 4th (easier for Lindsey this remember). This morning after the kids had gotten up Gavin said, "Mom today is July 1st, right?" After saying yes Gavin yelled, "Grandma and Grandpa are coming home this month!" And so presided a celebration of yells and yeahs and running around our kitchen. So cute!

Fun Week

Last week we were lucky to have June come visit. My kids just feel inlove with her. We had fun watching games and doing some shopping. On thursday we went to the temple dedication. The kids had fun seeing everything for the first time. Dad came with and only lost control of his wheelchair once... quite funny!

Fun Date

This weekend Jeff and I got to go on a real date. It's been awhile since we have done something besides for dinner or a movie, not that those are great... I mean it's going out, but on Saturday we went and saw comedian Joel McHale form The Soup! on E. It was so much fun. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt afterwards. I love the Soup! and we regretting not seeing him last year when he came, so it was a blast!

Kennicott Copper Mine

For my nephew Jonathans birthday we went to the Kennicott Copper Mine. The mine is so large that you can see it from space. We have wanted to go for a while. It was our first time going (Jeff had been a long time ago), and the kids had so much fun. On the way up we got a little lost, but it didn't take long to figure out how to really get there. The kids had fun looking through the binoculars and seeing how big the truck were. Lindsey has decided she wants to go up for her birthday next year!

It's been a while

I am so embarrassed, I cannot believe it has been almost two months since I have written. It’s been a busy two months. Lindsey turned five in May and we had a princess party. Cinderella came to our party and she was wonderful. She played games with the girls, danced, opened presents and all around was loved by every girl there. It was complete awe at first, when she first arrived, but after ten minutes everyone wanted to sit with her, on her, give her a hug, and by the end telling her they loved her. It was perfect! If anyone is interested, you can visit her website at http://www.magicprincessparties.blogspot.com/. I highly recommend her. Here are some pictures of Lindsey’s party.
Just shortly after Lindsey’s party was Lindsey’s preschool graduation. I can’t believe my baby is going to be going to Kindergarten next year. Here are some pictures from her graduation.

We also continue to be busy with dance and gymnastics, soccer, baseball and softball. Everyday of the week for the month of May was filled with practice or a game, and so I really had no time. The girls just had there dance performance, and Gavin and Marissa finished soccer, so now are just left with baseball.