David Archuleta

Our family fell in love with David Archuleta when he was on American Idol. We have absolutely loved watching him perform and have enjoyed listening to his amazing music. When I found out that he was coming to the E-Center to perform on March 27th, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him in concert. My kids were pretty disappointed finding out that their parents would be seeing one of their favorite singers.

Byron & I were definitely out of our realm. We went to the concert to find many young girls, teenage girls and moms. Boy can they scream:). I think Byron felt a little out of place, but we didn't care after he came onto the stage and started performing. What an awesome concert! He is such a great singer and entertainer. He has so much energy and was so humble after hearing all the screams coming his way. Below are a few snips of video from his concert.

We even saw my Aunt MaryAnn at the concert with her girls. We were sitting too far away to yell and they were sitting in the middle of a row. It was fun to see them from a distance, though.

Dr. Gordon

I just found out today that my OB/GYN for 11 years passed away right before Thanksgiving. I suppose it might be silly to say that this is affecting me, but it is. I loved having him for a doctor. After having 6 pregnancies, it is just nice to have someone who understands what you are going through and knows your pregnancy history.

Dr. Gordon had 8 children of his own, so he was all about large families. When I came in for my first visit after being pregnant with Bradley, he never said anything to make me feel uncomfortable at all about having my 6th child. He was actually quite the opposite - very supportive.

Dr. Gordon was so good with my children. Every time I went I had at least one child with me. He was always so good to play games with them and make them feel special. When I told Carter & Parker that I just found out he passed away, Carter said, "Mom, he was the funny doctor." He would always get his tape measure, pull it out to about 2 feet long and have one of the children blow on it. As soon as they did, he let go and it flew back inside - the kids LOVED this!

I will miss having him as a doctor and am not looking forward to having to get another one. What a huge impact he made in my life.

Eye Problems

I have worn contact glasses for 14 years and never really had any problems until last Friday. After putting in my contacts, I realized that my right eye's contact must have gone up into my eyelid. I couldn't find it, so I tried and tried without any luck to pull it down. Every few hours I tried again and still no contact. I could feel something in my eye, but just couldn't grab it. About this time I began getting pretty discouraged and stressed. I decided to go and have my eye doctor see what he could do. After looking for a while, he decided that it must have fallen out without me knowing it. He gave me eye drops for the irritation/redness, which was a result of me trying to get the contact out.

The white around my eye turned a bright red and was very sore for 3 days. I had blurry vision most of the time and a constant goop that would come out. I woke up with very puffy eyes and just had a hard time seeing clearly.

What a nightmare!!! I literally thought the eye problem wouldn't end until I woke up this morning. My eye finally feels like it is getting back to normal. I am not sure if I still have a contact in my eye or not, but at least I am not feeling the constant pain.

I have realized through this whole thing that I take my eyes for granted. What a HUGE blessing it is to see 20/20!!! I have realized how greatly I am blessed and feel so lucky for all that I have.

I still haven't decided if I will wear contacts again - not an episode I want to ever relive!

The Willard Party

Tanner had the awesome opportunity to have a party for his teacher's husband when he came to visit from Iraq. They had a lunch with a dance. All of the kids had to dress up in their Sunday best. Tanner was so excited and was adamant on wearing his suit. His teacher, Mrs. Rivera, taught the boys to pull the chairs out for the girls that sat at their table. They also were taught how to waltz and had some boys and girls choice dances. What a fun opportunity to see my boy being a little gentleman! I loved seeing him pull the girl's chair out every time she stood and sat down. What a cool thing to teach 10 year olds! I also thought it was funny to see this age group dancing together. The first song that they picked dance partners, the girls and boys eventually parted to separate areas on the floor, but after dancing for a while they stayed together more. Tanner did a great job with the waltz. One dance that was a huge hit was the Virginia Reel. They had learned this dance at the "This is the Place Monument" last year and were so excited to dance it again. I'm sure this will be one school activity that will leave a lasting impression on Tanner.

This is the first boy's choice dance. They weren't exactly sure what to do and probably a little embarrassed. They eventually started dancing and had a fun time.

Here Tanner is dancing the waltz with Brooke Thompson.

The kids are all dancing the "Virginia Reel" with Peyton Munson.

My 2 year old!

I can't believe that my "baby" isn't a baby anymore. He just turned 2 on Tuesday. I can't believe how quickly these past 2 years have flown by. I have really tried as hard as I can to enjoy every new phase Bradley has been in since I won't have any children there again. Bradley is such a fun child - he is a happy little guy! His smile can melt my heart.

We just got him into a toddler bed the other day and he has done surprisingly well. I have to close his door while he falls asleep still, but he will stay in bed for most of the night without coming out. I think he loves the freedom to be able to walk out of his room when his nap is over or when he wakes up in the morning. Luckily if he comes in my bedroom too early, he will lay down on my floor and sleep longer.

Bradley has just started to sing songs. His favorite right now is the "ABC Song." I am surprised at how well he can actually sing it. His vocabulary is also starting to take off even though some still can't understand all that he says.

Bradley is our little show off. He loves to dance or do somersaults to get our attention.

Bradley loves to push around our computer chair or another chair that he can pick up and have it help him get to things that are up high. Pretty scary actually - he can now get onto the counter by himself. We have to watch him constantly. I guess he is our little explorer :).

Bradley has a HUGE sweet tooth! He constantly wants foods that are sugary and will not quit asking for them until he knows they are all gone. He also does the same with hot chocolate.

I couldn't imagine our live without this little smiley, bubbly child. We love you Bradley!

Johnathan - Star Student

This week Johnathan is fortunate enough to be "Star Student" in his 3rd grade class. Yesterday he was able to bring his favorite book and tell about it to the class - he chose "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" for his book. Today I was able to write a letter about Johnathan to be read in class. I have included this special letter below.

Johnathan is . . .

… such a tender hearted kid. He loves to play with his 2 year old brother and make sure he has everything that he needs.

… a great singer. He memorizes songs very well. We love to sing as we drive together in the car. Some of his favorites are “Bad Day,” “Life is a Highway,” and “Bet on It.”

… so excited to be in scouts. Johnathan received his Wolf really quickly because he has a hard time putting down his book. He has pretty much memorized it and loves to pass off awards for scouts.

… a great soccer player.

… a wonderful brother. He has 4 brothers and is a great friend to them all. Johnathan loves going outside to play flag football or the Wii with all of them.

… is so good at getting his homework done right after he walks in the door from school. He and his brother usually have races to see who can get it done the quickest.

… the only sibling with brown eyes. Both of his parent’s have brown along with him, but the rest have blue.

… an awesome reader. Some of his favorite books to read are “The Rotten School series,” “The Mouse and the Motorcycle,” and “Fablehaven.”

I love you Johnathan and am so happy you are a part of our family.

Love,

Your Mom

Junior High for a day

This week at Lehi Junior High is "Parents at School Week." I was fortunate enough to be able to attend classes with Camille today. Camille had 4 classes today - each being 1 1/2 hours. She started out the day with Science. I sat in an empty seat next to her. What a weird feeling being back in school - no thank you :). It was a lot of fun seeing how Camille interacted among her classmates. In Science they were all put into groups where they had to draw a system on a person. Camille's group was given the Circulatory System. I thought it was funny how Camille laid on the butcher paper and had her body traced for the outline of the body. They did a great job on their system.

I was also able to attend "Health," "CTE," and "English." I was the only parent in the first two classes, and then I had another mom join me for the last two. Since I was a visitor, they provided me with a free lunch and pass to the front of the line - pretty cool! The food was pretty good - at least quite a few choices. We ate mozzarella sticks, green salad, chocolate pudding and applesauce. Camille is lucky enough to have the 2nd lunch, so I was pretty hungry by the time lunch came around.

What an awesome experience! I loved being there with Camille and seeing her in her element. She has such awesome teachers and I am very impressed with the school so far. I just wish more parents took advantage of this great opportunity!
While I was away, the kids had a blast with their grandma! She brought some playdough, which kept the kids entertained for hours. Thanks so much for being willing to watch them and sacrificing your time for us.

Ears

Bradley has been my only child to get reoccurring ear infections. He had 7 last winter, but his pediatrician decided against tubes since summer was quickly approaching. Now this winter he has added two more to the list, so we ended up getting sent to an ear/nose/throat doctor. While at the doctor's appointment last week, the doctor was so nice. While talking to her, she found out that Bradley is our 6th child and only one to have tubes. This perplexed her since she has decided that most children who are the 4th child are the ones who need them. She later realized that her scenario probably didn't work with us since when Carter & Parker were born, Camille was just starting kindergarten - thus not as much sickness entering the home from school. Then when Bradley came along there were 3 children going to school bringing home sicknesses.

This morning his surgery was planned for 8:20 a.m. at American Fork Hospital. Bradley couldn't eat anything from midnight last night, so getting ready this morning was VERY stressful. He is one of those children that thinks food as soon as he wakes up and gets very upset if he doesn't have any. I had to make sure Bradley wasn't around while the other children ate breakfast to hold off a huge temper tantrum. Luckily his bath preoccupied him enough that he didn't see the others eating.

Bradley was so cute at the hospital - oblivious to what was about to take place. He didn't like getting his hospital gown and hospital bracelet on, though. He soon calmed down just in time to be whisked away by a nice nurse.

About 20 minutes later I could hear him crying down the hall. The stress was just about to begin.

Bradley had a local anesthesia put him to sleep, so as soon as he woke up they brought him to me. He was only gone around 20 minutes ( I guess the surgery only lasts around 8). He was still not coherent, and was screaming VERY LOUDLY! I was luckily in a hospital room where a rocking chair was, but nothing would calm him down. After fighting with him for about 20 minutes, he calmed down enough to drink some apple juice, then resumed screaming. At this point a huge headache was beginning and I still didn't know what to do for my poor boy. The nurse that was helping me was very kind and said she had never seen anyone so upset after getting tubes in his ears - JUST MY LUCK!!! 40 minutes later he was still so upset that I decided to quickly get him dressed and get out of there. He calmed down just a little outside, but upon realizing he was going to be put into his car seat resumed. After driving for a while, I looked back to see that he had put his blanket over his head. I felt so bad for him, but really didn't know what I could do. I guess after coming out of anesthesia, some children aren't sure where they are, what is going on, can't open their eyes and just get plain upset. Bradley cried for about 1 1/2 hours and then fell asleep due to exhaustion.

I have never felt such complete helplessness for one of my children. Luckily I have never been in a hospital with any children where we have to hand them over to a nurse - AWFUL FEELING! Usually I can calm Bradley down by singing to him, rocking him, or just walking around - nothing helped at all. I am so glad that this part is over and he has finally fallen to sleep - I was pretty much to my breaking point when he calmed down.

I am exhausted and need a nap!