Vacation and Pink Eye!

Well, we just got back from going on our annual vacation with the McMurray family. We normally go to Jackson Hole in October for 4 days but this time we decided to go to Zion National Park and stay in a few cabins down by the east entrance. The car ride down was a bit long with some whiny kids but once we got there the cabin was awesome and we enjoyed being with the family.


On Thursday when we got there we relaxed, unpacked and went on a small 1 mile hike with several members of the family. Then we came home and had dinner before going to bed early because we got up at 5 AM!

Our family at the end of the hike



Me and Timmy hiking



On Friday we went on a longer hike to the Emerald Pools and it was a lot of fun (thanks for the use of the Snugli Heather!) After the hike we had a late lunch and headed back to the cabin. Justin went on some small hikes with his brother in law Christian, we had dinner, put our kids to bed and went in the hot tub, I mean warm tub! It started out at 100 degrees but by the time we got out it was only 96 degrees, bummer!

On Saturday Tim had gunk in his eyes and we cleaned them out before meeting up with the family to have the kids go on some short horseback rides. Tim wouldn't go and we looked at the petting zoo before heading into the park. We went on a few short hikes to the weeping wall and the riverwalk at the end before the Narrows and then headed back to have lunch at the picnic tables at the visitors center. We went home and then Justin watched the kids while I went on a hike in a slot canyon with my brothers-in-law Christian, Ted and Rich and my nephew Jake. It was awesome, my favorite hike by far! We went home and had dinner and put our kids to bed for another fairly sleepless night. (We were up several times most every night there!)

Me hiking with my brothers-in-law



Timmy smiling near the weeping wall




On Sunday Tim was really struggling with gunk in his eyes and we had a small sacrament meeting with the family and started home. My car broke down just outside of Scipio so we called roadside assistance and had our car towed to Nephi. My dad and Rusty met us there and we towed my car back to Murray. We had dinner with my family and then my mom took us home. Because she was going to come and help me with some babysitting on Monday anyway, she decided to just spend the night. Sunday was such a long day and we were soooo happy to be home. Our kids did much better sleeping that night and we were very grateful as parents.

On Monday morning I took Tim to see Dr. Silas and he was diagnosed immediately with pink eye. We got the drops and started attending to his eyes! My mom had some crusty eyes on Monday morning and my eyes are a little red so we are taking the drops a bit too. Even Justin has had a dose to make sure his eyes don't get it. What a bummer! At least we didn't get the stomach flu like several other members of the family!!!

All in all it was a fun but long trip. If we knew he had pink eye earlier in the trip we would have gone home to have Tim treated instead of having him suffer all weekend long and potentially infecting several other members of the family. Oh well, he is started to feel better, yeah! I will add some pictures another day when I'm not sooo tired!

Feeling down.....

So I've been feeling a little down lately, and I hope that I can get out of this funk soon. There have been several little things that have happened to put me in a negative mood and while none of them is big, all combined it has put me a bit of a sour mood. I know that I should react better to all of these little things and I am in charge of my own attitude but it's sometimes hard to not feel down.

First of all Allison has not slept through the night in months and I am tired of waking up 1-3 times every single night! I had a little break down at 2:30 AM last night. Good thing Justin is so kind and nice to me! Plus Tim will wake up every few nights or so and all we have to do is put him back in his bed (and Justin usually does it because Tim wants him to) but it still wakes me up. Will it ever end? Will I ever sleep a solid 8 hours again in my life?

Second, I sent out an email to several friends a few days ago and have not heard back from anyone yet. I know it has only been 3 days but I am really not feeling the love right now.

Third, Justin is in school so I have the kids a little more than usual and Timmy can be quite whiny and he is a big daddy's boy so I don't always fulfill his daddy needs.

Lastly, I tried so hard to be on time to church today but with Justin having to go 30 min's early to set up chairs I always end up running around doing last minute things that take longer than I think they will so I end up being late. I was only 1 minute late today but it made me bothered because I wanted to be early! Plus, I have choir at my house after church on Sundays now and I have to have my house clean and organized for that, what a pain it can be! Plus, I found out that our ward is having a Halloween party on Halloween night at 5:30 PM. Who does that? We are having a chili cookoff and trunk-or-treat but I feel bad not being home to greet trick-or-treaters or take Tim in the traditional sense. I don't like having several dark homes when kids are wanting to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I know I can take Tim and Allie after, but it still was a bit bothersome that it was even planned the same day as the actual holiday. Am I crazy for feeling this way?

Okay, enough ranting and complaining....life will get better. After all, I get to go on vacation to Zion National Park with the McMurray's this week....always a good time.

Sickness...blah!

This morning both Justin and I were not feeling well and we were not sure if it was due to the kids being up so much in the night or something else. We finally figured we both caught a little flu bug and we have been feeling a little crappy all day. Plus, Justin had a work lunch at Garcia's Mexican Restaurant and couldn't get out of it because it was for him so he had to eat something greasy and cheesy!!

I actually took a nap when my kids napped and it felt really nice. I slept this morning for an hour when Allison napped and Tim did his own thing although I remember him bringing me batteries and his sippy cup to put together. Then both of my kids napped for a few hours this afternoon and I rested in bed watching Gilmore Girls. Poor Justin just had to work and no rest for him!

We had planned to attend the temple in the evening and because we were both feeling okay, we decided to go and just do sealings for an hour rather than a session. Overall, we felt okay but probably won't go again if we're not feeling in top shape.

Hopefully this will all be gone tomorrow and we can get rid of our illnesses before going on vacation next week to Zion National Park with the McMurrays!


*On a side note, I went in to see Allison after her nap and she was standing up in her crib! She has a sleep sack but was still able to stand up, go Allie! She is also crawling like crazy even though she just turned 7 months a week ago.

Random Thoughts

I am excited for October because Justin gets 3 paychecks and I have a little extra wiggle room to buy extras that I normally pass up on. I am also planning to start Christmas shopping and I love doing that! Also, Justin has been working on loan doing a job for 6 months now that he officially applied and interviewed for and is now officially doing the job which means a little pay raise, yeah!

In other news, Allison has started to crawl and isn't very fast yet but really enjoys being able to move. This means that I need to put up the gate soon and keep little things off the floor. She already choked on something this evening and spit up half of her dinner trying to cough it out. It was a little piece of slate rock from our fire place with jagged edges, ouch!

I was able to go to Lagoon with my mom and sister Sherri last Saturday, it was fun! I haven't been to Lagoon in over 3 years and I wanted to go all summer but finally got my chance in September. I highly recommend going in September when the summer crowd has died down.

This past week has been a rough one for my family and things have been weighing heavily on my mind. Please send any prayers you have our way.

Lastly, Tim is getting old enough to go play with friends. I really enjoy when his friends (or their moms) call and ask him to come over and play because then I get a break and he's not being baby-sat. What a fun stage!

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas to Me!!

On Saturday Justin bought me my birthday and Christmas present....a beautiful Entertainment Center! I have been drooling over it at Sam's Club for months now and it used to cost $1,000 but since the price dropped to $650 Justin finally agreed to let me buy it for both my birthday and Christmas present. I just love it!!

(By the way, the small black entertainment center to the side is now for sale for $50 if anyone is interested!) - SOLD!

Ahh, the changing of the seasons!

You know how people always ask which season is your favorite? Well, I must admit that my favorite time of year is when the seasons are changing. I enjoy every season almost equally but I especially love it when we are moving from one season to another. While I really love fall and winter, I usually get sick of the seasons either waiting for it to snow and then waiting for the snow to melt and warm up!!

There always seems to be a special smell in the air when the seasons change and I really love it every time it happens. It really puts me in a good mood! The only season I really love the whole season through is the Christmas season!!

I must admit that I am quite partial to fall because I do not love the sweltering heat of Utah and I love it when a chill starts to develop in the air. I also love fall because it was when Justin and I started dating 6 years ago and I absolutely love Halloween!) Yeah for fall!!!

Scared Tim!

Tim woke up from his nap while I was feeding Allie applesauce and asked to watch a Little Einsteins show....I agreed because he had not seen one today. He asked me to get his blankie so I did and he started watching his show. When I finished feeding Allie I went to say hi to Tim and he was not on the couch. I started looking around and found him lying on his blankie in the hall outside of his room. I asked him what was wrong (thinking he might be sick) and he didn't answer right away. I then asked if he wanted to watch another show and he said yes and said he was scared! He didn't like that particular episode about good and bad knights so he was not watching....too funny!

I turned on a different one and he watched on the couch happily! I don't think I've ever encountered him not watching a show because he was scared!! What a sweet boy :)

Blanket Obsession!

Tim has always loved fleece blankets but lately it has turned into an obsession! He wants his blankets with him (thankfully not everywhere we go) but whenever he is watching a movie and especially when he takes a nap and goes to bed at night. After I put him to bed last night with his blankets piled up next to him against the wall, this is what I saw when I went in to check on him before going to bed myself:

(His favorite blanket is the red, black, white and gray one which was the only one on him when I left the room!)



Tim up close:



My happy kids:

Justin starts his MBA!

Well, it has finally started. Justin started his Executive MBA with a week long orientation down at BYU in July (I was able to go down there for an evening and have dinner when the spouses were invited and spent the night and went shopping, thanks again mom!) and then started classes officially last weekend on August 15. He will be going to school every other Friday and Saturday and will attend classes at BYU in SLC at the triad center downtown. He will be very busy and hence, I will be very busy taking care of my family and doing a lot more on my own. If you see him, wish him luck!

Here goes nothing!! I wasn't nervous until I went down to BYU for dinner with Justin and they talked about how much homework the students will have and how to cope as a spouse...sheesh! I am proud of him though and know the next few years will be challenging but ultimately rewarding!

Private!

I have finally made my blog private! I appreciate everyone responding, it is fun to see who is reading my blog!