Friday, December 5, 2008

Thanksgiving 08

This Thanksgiving we decided to go to Middleton and spend the holiday with my mom and dad. It was a nice opportunity to get out of town for a few days and visit with the family. Although I might venture to say that Summer's favorite part of the holiday is black Friday shopping!

You know those crazy people that you hear about who get into fights and get tazed by Target security?........yeah, that's my wife and my sister Tiffani is usually somewhere in the mix as well. This year it was Summer, Tiffani, my mom and they even drug my little bro Cody into it. As a sidenote I didn't want anything to do with it and as punishment I was left at home with 5 kids (2 infants)!....on my birthday nonetheless.

Anyways, yes there is a good story involved and Summer has since repented of her actions that cold frosty morning. However I won't throw her under the bus right now and I'll let her share the story if she wants to.

As it stands we had a great weekend and we truly are blessed for all that we have. It's always humbling to think how often we receive blessings even when sometimes we fall short on our end and feel like we don't deserve them.

Planning their attack.

Waiting for turkey!

Turkey!

Too much turkey!

Our little turkey!

Hanging out with Uncle Cody.

Just poohed on Uncle Cody.

As much as it looks like it......me and Cody are NOT at the BSU game.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Tag: I'm it...

The 4th picture in the fourth file... ugh! Why?!
Griffin and I were having a girls night and decided to do face masks... no comments necessary on this post!

Super cute pics

I know, I know... I am a sucky blogger as of late. I just had a baby, get off my back!!! :) Anyhow, my FABULOUS friend Jenny Cook took some great pics of Justin and Aidan last week and she posted some preview ones on her website. Please go check them out and tell us what you think!
http://jcphotographystudio.blogspot.com/
Also, if you scroll down a few posts you can see some sample pics she took of the girls a few weeks ago. I'm telling you, this girl rocks!
We are all doing great, Aidan is growing like a weed and is SUCH a good boy! None of us can get enough of his sweet little self!
I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!!!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Tricks and Treats

Really no tricks, just cute pics of the kids on Halloween...



Painting pumpkins with cousin Karter


Lexi the Ladybug



The cutest little black cat I saw this Halloween!

Our handsome little skeleton!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

More cuteness...

Sorry I've been SO SLOW to post more pics of Aidan!!! I've been so busy feeding and pumping and cleaning up pee-pee and staring at my handsome boy to do anything else! I really forgot how hard it is to do anything when a new born is in the house. He is doing great and so am I. He has his 2 week check up on Tuesday, so we'll keep you updated with all the scoop and the poop. Literally.
Aidan loves his binky... until he figures out there is NO MILK coming out...


Aidan and Justin were having a chat...


Justin just told Aidan what a circumcision is. And that he was getting one!
So there you go, our handsome man. I will try to be better about updating the blog!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Home Sweet Home

We are all finally home after three long days in the hospital. I'm sure Summer will be blogging about her adventure so I will just note that everyone is healthy and doing well. Here's a few pics to get started.

Aidan and Mommy

Best Nap Ever

Our Little Man

How Fast They Do Grow

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Aidan J Dance

Born October 21, 2008 @ 6:17 p.m.
6 lbs 3 oz
19 inches

Summer and Aidan are doing very well. Stay tuned for pics and updates!

Monday, October 20, 2008

STILL Pregnant...

Yes, it's true. I still have not had this baby. Once off bed rest he and my uterus have decided they are oh-so-comfy just as they are. I went to see Dr. Leavitt again today. He did not check me... I couldn't handle possibly being told that I had gone from a 2 to a 1 to completely closed up! So he measured my humongous belly and Aidan is measuring right at 36, which is good since I'm 36 weeks. He said I am right on track to have a 7 1/2 to 8 lb. baby!!! Holy crap. Um, let me just remind you that my biggest child weighed only 6 lbs. 8 oz. I'm freaking out. Justin and I both weighed 8lbs. 4 oz. I'm doomed!

I told Dr. Leavitt that I had been looking online at ways to induce labor.. I can't be sure, but I thought I saw him roll his eyes at me. ;) I told him my plans of drinking nothing but pineapple juice and spending lots of "quality time" with Justin. He just smiled and told me to go right ahead... I have a feeling he thinks it won't work... He asked if I was going to try Castor oil. Uh, I really am not of fan of possibly pooping my pants! I guess there are SOME things worse than being pregnant!!! :)

Speed Bump

I thought I'd take a minute to throw some well wishes out to my buddy and work partner Marcus. Early yesterday morning we were involved in a pursuit with a vehicle through Blackfoot that had alledgedly been involved in a hit and run accident.

After several minutes of pursuing the vehicle it came to a stop. Marcus went to the driver's side door and I went to the passenger side door in an effort to apprehend the driver. As Marcus (gently and ever so carefully ;)) pulled the driver out of the car it began to roll backwards. As it rolled backwards the driver's door knocked Marcus off balance and the car rolled over his legs coming to a stop on top of his knee as the suspect car had backed into Marcus' patrol car not allowing it to completely roll over his leg, therefore pinning Marcus under the car.

I later asked Marcus why he didn't just lift the car off of his leg....I mean it was just a Ford Taurus, not like it was an INL site bus or anything. Anyways....from my point of view I had no idea that the car had rolled over Marcus. All I knew was that for some reason the suspect was laying in the middle of the road all alone. So as part of my civic duty I ran over and placed her, (yes her) in handcuffs. As I was checking her for weapons I looked back towards the car to see where everyone was and I saw Marcus rolling around on the ground holding his leg. Fortunately another officer had jumped in the car and drove it off of Marcus' leg.

As it would turn out Marcus wasn't seriously hurt, he's obviously pretty sore and the suspect was apprehended before anyone else was injured but if you get a chance jump over to Marcus' family blog (see link) and wish him a speedy recovery. And please never ever drink and drive, after all it is #3 on my list of "How to get your trash kicked by the police"

Thursday, October 16, 2008

From the Mouths of Babes

Griffin on the Presidential debate last night- "Ugh mom, the brown guy and the white guy are fighting again. They both wanna be the president. I think they really like each other but they can't agree on anything... you know, like you and dad."

Monday, October 13, 2008

Are you freakin' kidding me?!

I would love to know how it is medically possible to go from being dilated to a 2 to becoming un-dilated to a 1! Please, someone tell me how it is that happens!!! Needless to say, I am not super happy after my appointment today... the highlight of the day is that I am now officially off bed rest! Watch out world, I'm back and I'm fatter than ever!!! :)
I am still having contractions like a crazy person, so hopefully they will DO SOMETHING and by next week Justin will be blogging that we have a bouncing baby boy!
Thanks for all your help and prayers the last couple of weeks! I couldn't have made it this far without it!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Update...

I got to break out of jail for a bit today to venture up to see the doctor. Good news! I am still only dilated to a 2, but I am now 80% effaced. Crappy news... I am still on bed rest. UGH! I have another appointment Monday and I will be at 35 weeks then, so we will see what this little guy is doing... stay tuned!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The B word

It's been quite a fun week. On Monday I went to see Dr. Leavitt for a normal 2 week check up. I had been having contractions all day, so he checked me and he said that baby's head was WAY down there (which would explain why it's so hard for me to walk/sit/stand lately), but I was not dilated. Good.
I started having very intense contractions on Tuesday morning about every 2-5 minutes. Not good. Justin had worked all night and when I called him at 10 am to tell him we had a problem I think he was going on about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. We got our bag packed and headed up to EIRMC.
I got all hooked up to the monitors and was answering all the fun labor questions and telling the nurse my symptoms. She looked at the monitor after about 10 min and matter of factly told me that I was NOT in labor and that if my uterus had indeed ruptured that I would be double over in pain and vomiting. I wanted to vomit on her shoes. Then she left and I was super mad at her and I cried.
Dr. Leavitt ordered an ultra sound to check my uterus and all was well. There is plenty of fluid around the baby and my uterus is stunning. :) Aidan was handling all the excitement like a champ, he was yawning during the ultra sound. Funny boy already.
So I got back to my room and Dr. Leavitt checked me and lo and behold I was dilated to a 2 and 70% effaced. Holy crap! Stupid nurse, take that! I was in active labor. Dr. Leavitt decided to give me magnesium to stop the labor. For those of you that don't know what this is, it is horrible!!! I was on it with Lexi too, so as soon as he said that, here came the tears again. We spent the night tossing and turning, with the nurse coming in every hour to take my vitals... ugh. I was still having contractions that were super strong, but they had slowed to about every 10 minutes.
He came back in the morning and turned of the horrible meds and checked me again. Still a 2. Sweet. If I stayed stable all day I could go home around 5. Justin and I were out of there by 5:15. The one condition he gave me before letting me go was.... the B word. BED REST!
So, now I am on my 4th day of bed rest, and the kids have been out of school and home for 4 days and I'm SO over this!!! I am still having contractions, and I go see him again on Tuesday, at which point I'm sure he will check me... hopefully I will still be at a 2, but the last time I saw him he said he would be surprised if we made it another week.
Justin and I will keep you posted!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

6 Quirks...

Okay... this is kinda hard. I asked Justin to help me out and he is sitting on the couch eating his jerky with no suggestions... so I guess I have to think of my little weird-isms all by myself.
1. The toilet- the lid MUST always, always, always be DOWN when the toilet is not in use. Do you know how many germs are just hanging out in there?! EW.
2. Like Erin, I too pee with the bathroom door open. Sometimes this can pose a problem... our upstairs bathroom can be seen right into when someone walks into the front door. If Justin or the kids walk in the door and have a friend with them, well you get the picture.
3. Apparently I tend to exaggerate a tad bit. I have no knowledge of this. Justin has finished his jerky and is now full of ideas. I also LOVE the number 47 and when I am exaggerating tend to use this number when referring to how many times I've asked him to do something, how many times I did something, etc. It seems I can always find someway to throw in a number when exaggerating.
4. I'm paranoid. About everything. If Justin has a bloody nose, I KNOW it's because he has a brain tumor and may die. If I send the girls out to get the mail and they take longer than they should (approximately 47 seconds) then they have either been kidnapped or have fallen into the ditch. Lexi got stung by a bee yesterday and I KNEW she was going to have a severe allergic reaction (she is not allergic to bee stings) and I would have to call 911 and they are SO slow (the EMT's, not the deputies), her airway would close up and she would die. I made her sit by me on the couch for 45 minutes. I won't let the girls play in the play land at any fast food restaurants (it's a breeding ground for germs), especially the ones with the ball pits... I know they will jump in and be stabbed by a needle thrown in by a drug user that has AIDS and Hepatitis C and who knows what else. Or they could find a murder weapon someone tossed in there. You never know. How did I get this way? I don't know. But Justin loves me anyway.
5. Justin's PJ's. I thought all wives wore their husbands' PJ's. I don't know why, but they are SO much more comfortable than all my 47 pairs. And they fit over my belly. That's always nice.
6. I am a germ-a-phobe. Lexi was in the NICU for 5 weeks when she was born, and I know that's where this started. Before you go into the NICU you have to scrub your hands for 2 minutes. Then when the babies get out of the NICU they have to be in isolation because their immune systems are so weak. Anyway, 9 1/2 years later I still have this "problem". When I get home from anywhere, I go straight to the kitchen sink and wash my hands. I use more hand sanitizer than I do hairspray! I was informed this evening that Griffin is following in my footsteps. We were at back to school night and her teacher told us that she uses her hand sanitizer (she has her own bottle) obsessively. I see nothing wrong with this.
So those are my six things... now I want to read about all of yours!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Still Alive

Hey everone, I just figured I'd let everybody know we are still alive and kickin. It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks around here and we haven't had much time to just hang out as a family.

School started and now Griffie is in "all day" school (1st grade), which made Summer sad but is really pretty nice. It makes it easier when I work graveyard shifts to get some sleep during the day now. Griffie loves school and already says she has a boyfriend. Unbelievable..........

Lexi is in 4th grade and is making me realize that she is a young woman now. She likes school but there is always DRAMA and now she's even shaving her legs......again Unbelievable.....I don't even want to talk about it anymore. It is nice that they both go to Groveland together because they do look out for each other.....I think, at least they say they do.

Summer has been incredibly busy because of the fair this past week. She was working at her work booth almost every day and we were both trying to shuffle the girls to dance practice in between jobs. Summer also found time to take an emergency trip to the ER twice! In case you forgot, she is pregnant and the time is rapidly approaching when Aiden will be here. Yes I said Aiden. Anyway, she started having contractions twice and so we had to get her to the hospital so that they could stop them. Bye the way, Thank you Nancy J. for helping out! She is now 30 weeks, but still too soon. The doctor said that if we can hold him in there for a couple more weeks we'll be good to go. Hopefully we can keep him in there for more than a couple of weeks, but if he should decide to come then he has a good chance (90%) of being perfectly healthy. So she has been taking it easy the past few days and is on medication to keep her contractions at a minimum.

As for me, I have also been pretty busy. In between taking the girls to dance and Summer to the ER I worked every night of the fair. The carnies didn't cause much of a ruccus this year, but it was a long week. I had to work bike patrol around the fair one of the nights and my butt is still sore. You can't just hop on a bike and ride around for 8 hours and not have a sore butt. You have to gradually work your way into it.......or get a banana seat and a big butt pad for the bike, which is what I did. I had a banana seat, a horn and a basket on the front.

Anyways, we are all doing well and hope all of you are well. Also I think we've decided for sure on the name Aiden. I was pulling for a more manly name like Sven Von Olefson Dance or Maximus Urlacher Dance or Maximillius Ditka Dance but Summer wouldn't let me. But I think we both agree on Aiden.........for now. I guess we'll see. Anyways, I've attached a few pics for your viewing pleasure.

First Day of School





Griffie with her Teacher


At the Fair with cousin Karter







On the Ferris Wheel....kinda Scary

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Pregnancy Pics...

So, I have had several requests for the ever hated pregnancy pics... I know technically I'm not fat, but ugh! Seeing myself in a mirror or a window as I'm walking by is bad enough, but now you people want me to post it on the Internet!!! This is madness. Here you go.
Proud mama and baby in front of the reflection pool at the SLC Temple this Sunday. (Went for a work trip, FYI.)


Wresting a croc at Hogle Zoo... belly nicely concealed... and squished.

Holy belly (and boobies! Geez. It's like a car wreck, you know you should look away, but just can't.)! This was giraffe was SUPER fun to get off of! Not a pretty picture.

That's all you get. I hope this fulfills your needs for pregnant pics!

P.S. All is still going very well with baby, he continues to be a TOTAL WILD MAN, and we are almost to the third trimester! Yea!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

What REALLY happened this weekend... as told by Summer

First off, I have to tell you what fabulous shopping deals I got at the outlet mall, since Justin didn't even touch on that! We went to Oshkosh and the girls and I went a little nuts. I know, shocking, right? I tried to prepare Justin for the damage before hand, but he was still sweating at the cash register as they were ringing up our purchases. The total was over $800. Wait! I know what you're thinking, and I'm not done. Remember I said we were at the OUTLET mall??!! That was the price before all my savings. We walked out paying less than $400 bucks, and we are totally done school shopping for the year!!! I'm talking undies, backpacks, lunchboxes... everything! Go me!
Okay, now for the reunion business... So, Justin was SUPER excited to see all his BFF's from high school this past weekend... me? Not so much. But why, you ask? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my husband was a total gigolo in high school, or the fact that I have gained 20 lbs in the last 6 months... or maybe a little of both. AND I had a dream that we were at the reunion and Justin was talking to one of his friends and his friend said "Dude, your wife is hot!", and Justin said "No, my wife's the pregnant one." So maybe those are all reasons why I was not looking forward to this event...
We got to the picnic on Saturday afternoon and it was freaking HOT. But apparently this does not matter to Middleton mosquitoes because we all got eaten alive, even with bug spray on. (And to clarify, yes I have lost sleep thinking that we all now have the dreaded West Nile.) We still keep in contact with Justin's super close circle of friends (commonly known as the Fab 5... only not gay) so we hooked up with a couple of them right away and the wives gave me the scoop and the poop on all the hot guys and all the girls that Justin... dated.
Everyone I met was super nice. Let me re-phrase. Everyone I talked to was super nice. Usually meeting people means that you get introduced... uh, so I found one thing that Justin stinks at... maybe two. Remembering names, and introducing his wife (even to people whose names he does remember). We went home to scratch our bug bites and take a rest for a while, then it was off to the dinner.
I learned a lot about my sweet, innocent husband that night. Thanks to all his friends and old girlfriends for enlightening me! Apparently he loved steaming up the windows in his Empala with Kim (she was not there, but there were witnesses to the steam on the windows.... thanks for the dirt, Marianne!), an old girlfriend. And I always knew that he and the Fab 5 were naughty and re-arranged the letters on the message board outside the Oregon Trail Church of God, but I always thought it was rated PG... Boy was I wrong! Thanks to Seumas's excellent memory I now know what the signs actually said when they were finished with them. I believe one of them promised "free porn and beer at 11:45"! Nice boys, very nice. I guess now I know what to watch for when our son gets to high school age!
We did have a really great time and it was super good to see all the Friends and the Wives again. I miss you all! Thanks for the french toast at midnight and telling me I'm a cute pregnant girl! :-)
And by the way, all the old girlfriends I met were super nice! He had good taste back then, too!

P.S. Did you see how long Justin's post was?! He started posting at 10:09 pm and came to bed at 2 am!!! He wanted it to be perfect! You did a great job, babe! You have turned into such a great blogger!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Middleton High School Class of '98

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend my 10 year high schol reunion in Middleton. I had been looking forward to going because high school was a great experience in my life and I really enjoyed it. I was anxious to see some of my classmates that I haven't kept in touch with over the years and hopefuly find them all in good health and spirit.
It's kind of funny because my mom and dad came to Blackfoot a couple of weeks ago to celebrate dad's 30th class reunion! Snake River High School Class of '78! I guess "The Willows" assisted living home was reserved so they had to have their reunion at Jensen's Grove..........things got out of hand a bit when they all went "skinny dipping" in the lake but we were able to get them all back home safely in time for Final Jeopardy and a nap.................love ya dad! Bye the way, you and mom have definately aged better than some of the others we met. Anyways, seeing dad at his reunion made me think how fast time has gone by and that it won't be too long before I'm at my 30th................okay, who am I kidding, that's still a really long time away but you get my point.
Anyways, we left Friday morning so that we could get in some quality school shopping at the Outlet Malls in Boise before going to Grammy and Grumpy's. Take note that on "Justin's List of Super Duper Fun Things to Do" "shopping with women" comes in at #472.
(By the way "Grumpy" is my dad. Lexi has called him that since she could talk and it makes sense so it's stuck!)
I will hand it to Summer because she did a good job and found some pretty good deals and then to top it off Lexi and Griffin both gave me really big hugs and told me they loved me so I couldn't stay in a bad mood for too long. So a few hours and a few "Benjamins" later we finally made it to mom and dad's. Summer and Lexi ended up going out for ice cream with one of Summer's good friends, Dejah while Griffin and I just stayed home and ate Grammy's candy.
The next day at 11:00 we had a high school reunion family picnic at a park in Middleton. As we drove to the park I couldn't help but notice how much Middleton has changed since high school. There is new construction everywhere you look and it continues to grow. It's still a really nice area but it's not the same old Middleton that I remember growing up in. In fact our high school burnt to the ground about a year and a half ago and they just finished rebuilding it. It looks pretty much the same, but I guess it's all fancy and high tech now.
Anyways, at the park the weather was really nice and alot of people showed up. The girls played on the playground with all the other kids and I had a good time catching up with some of my classmates. The sad thing is that I recognized alot of them, but I'm really bad with names and I couldn't remember some of them. Sorry.........I faked it the best I could.
Seeing all of my old classmates brought back alot of memories. I have always had fond memories of high school, but I hadn't realized just how much those years had meant to me. I realized that the friendships I formed then still continue to this day even after 10 years of not seeing some of them. It was really cool.
That night we had an adults only dinner at the Caldwell Elk's Lodge. Mom and dad watched the girls while Summer and I went to the dinner. Most of the people from the picnic came to the dinner, but some weren't able to. There were also some who didn't make it to the picnic but came to the dinner. Someone else must have been having a hard time remembering names because we were forced to wear name tags. But by then it was too late...........there had already been countless moments of awkwardness throughout the day. "Hey...........you, it's so good to see you...............you there.........! You look great...........you. Yes you do!..............you."
The dinner was fun because it gave us all a chance to really kind of mingle and catch up without having to worry about kids or anything. The dinner wasn't spectacular but we weren't really there for the food I guess. Lucky for me Summer got to hear stories that even I had blocked from my memory! Apparently I was a manwhore in highschool. I don't really remember it being like that...........but whatever. I also may or may not have been involved in incidents that included:

  • road signs
  • firecrackers dropped from the roof of a bar
  • the police (ironically)
  • the rearranging of letters on a message board outside of a church (several times)
  • bowling in the middle of the road

And others not safe to list because the statute of limitations may still be in effect.

Anyways............I love you dear! Surprise.............! Just kidding. None of that was true. I never missed a day of school and was home every weekend studying. Probably just like you were..................
Well as the night wore on more and more people left the dinner and i found myself saying goodbye to many friends wondering if this would be the last time that I saw or talked to them. Who knows what the next 10 years will bring or where we will find ourselves when the next reunion rolls around. And as the reunion came to an end a few of us who have remained close through the years found ourselves being pushed out the doors and into the parking lot. We talked and we laughed for a while longer before calling it a night and going our separate ways.
For me it was kind of sad to see the day come to an end. During an important part of my life these were the people and friends who helped develop and shape me as a person. When I was trying to figure out who I was and what I wanted to become. I wondered if they understood how important they were to me and how grateful I am for having known them. I hope they do.
As we drove home today I looked over at Summer asleep in the passenger seat and I could see that Griffie and Lexi were passed out in the back. I couldn't help but think about how blessed I am. I was blessed with "goodly parents" as the scriptures state. I was blessed with great friends who have been there throughout my life, and now I am blessed with a wonderful wife, two beautiful girls, and a son on the way. As much as I'm already looking forward to the next high school reunion I'm excited to be making memories for the reunion that we will all attend. And I'm thankful to those who are a part of my life right now who are continually helping determine what kind of person I am and what kind of person I will continue to become. Thank you.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Sunday Bloody Sunday

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS IMAGES OF A GRAPHIC NATURE. PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED.


So there I was......trying to finish out my work week without getting into anything real serious. In my line of work you generally don't want to get into anything "complicated" a couple of hours away from your weekend. So I was doing my best to avoid that situation. (And contrary to what Summer might think I was not sitting under a big willow tree eating jerkey and drinking a "Dew"...................it was grape PowerAde.) Anyways, Summer and the girls were at church and would be getting out shortly and I was headed back to the office from Shelley to finish up some reports before going home.

So I was cruising right along when my phone rang. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it but answered anyway. On the other end was a man who in a slightly hurried and excited tone said, "Justin this is ******, your one daughter smashed her finger in the door, your other daughter passed out and your wife is having contractions............we need you to come to the church as soon as you can!"


"Okay....." I said. "What happ........." but before I could finish he hung up.

At this moment I realized that my peaceful Sunday afternoon may have turned seriously un peaceful and my first thoughts after he hung up (in no particular order) were:

  • Does my wife need an ambulance?

  • Does my unconcious daughter need an ambulance?

  • Which daughter is unconcious?

  • Why is my daughter unconcious?

  • Does my other daughter need to get to the hospital for her finger?

  • Did I just drop a piece of jerkey in my grape PowerAde?


As I start to head towards the church I realize that I need to know what is going on. I need to know how serious the situation is so that I can either get an ambulance on the way or just get there as soon as possible without running anybody over. So I picked up my phone and called the number back. Nothing. No answer. At this point I am just about ready to have my dispatch get an ambulance on the way until I know for sure what is going on when my phone rang. It was the same number. The voice on the other end said, "Justin everyone is okay, we're up here in the clerk's office with your wife and both girls and everyone is okay. Don't run over anybody getting here."

"Thanks." I said. And with that breathed a sigh of relief.


When I arrived at the church I snuck in the back doors and made it up to the clerks office. In one corner Summer was sitting in a chair. I asked her if she was okay and she said that she was. Standing next to her was Griffin holding her finger in a bloody paper towel. Once she saw me she just started sobbing big alligator tears and fell into my arms. While holding her I looked around the door to the other side of the room and saw Lexi sitting in a chair. She was about as white as a ghost and apparently was just "coming around." The bishop and a few other members were also there tending to the fam.


Once I made sure that nobody needed to go to the hospital I began to learn the details of how this quiet Sabbath had turned into "Sunday, Bloody Sunday."



Griffin was helping her primary class clean up after the lesson when somehow she got her left ring finger caught in her fold up chair. Somehow it pinched it and smashed it. Pulling it out she ended up tearing off her fingernail and some skin around it.

As you can see she did a pretty good job of it.

Griffin's teachers managed to get it wrapped up in a tissue and took her to where Summer was in senior primary. Summer upon hearing and seeing Griffin crying hysterically hurried her into the hallway to see what had happened. Lexi, being the good caring sister that she is, naturally wanted to see what was going on and upon seeing Griffin's finger and all of the blood apparently became ill. She told Summer that she needed to go get a drink and while walking to the drinking fountain just collapsed. Out cold. Middle of the hallway.

Luckily Summer is always really calm and cool in these kind of situations.......................so of course she begins to freak out and begins to have small contractions. So now we have a full blown Dance family drama takeover. Summer is having contractions, Griffin is screaming and bleeding all over the place and Lexi is unconcious in the middle of the hallway and I'm no where around.

Fortunately we have an awesome ward and bishopric. They did a fantastic job of caring for my family in my absence and I am truly grateful for them. By the time I got there everything was under control. All three of my girls were conscious.........barely, but in good shape and we were able to get everyone home safe and sound.

Now, two days later the girls continue to recooperate and have given me the "okay" to blog about our latest mis-adventure. Summer is doing great, little Aiden is growing and apparently practices his MMA (mixed martial arts) on a daily basis. Lexi is back "with it" and has decided to change her career path from doctor to fashion designer and Griffin walks around with a giant bandage on the finger next to "the bad one." I asked Griffin how she was going to pick her nose now that her finger is all bandaged up and with a serious look she said, "I'm just going to have to use my other hand dad..........DUH!"

Last but not least I want to thank everyone again who cared for my little family for me. I truly appreciate all that you do for us, considering that I am gone alot. It means alot to all of us. Thank you so much!



Thursday, July 10, 2008

Memory Lane

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Viva Las Vegas!!!

We survived the 13 hour drive (yes, it does take that long... especially when you have to use every rest room between here and Vegas), the 117 degree weather, and the girls fighting with every breath they took. We had a really great time. We did SO many super fun things and I took WAY to many pictures to post. So I'll just give you the highlights.

We went up in the Eiffel Tower right after we got to town. Cody (Justin's little bro) forgot to mention that he was afraid of heights... until we were in the elevator on the way to the top! He did good though. We went in the day, which was fine, but hot air does rise... and it would have been super sweet at night (but more expensive). So here is the Eiffel Tower pic....
And here is the view when we got down... Griffin and I did not feel well. She is also not a fan of heights, apparently.
We have a pool on the top of the resort where we have our timeshare, so of course the girls wanted to go swimming the first night. Bad news. The pool was closed due to a "beehive issue". So I let them swim in my big bathtub. That was a slippery, splashy fun time.
We went to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. It's kinda pricey, but SO worth it!! We highly recommend it to kids young and old! They give you these little things that look like phones and you push numbers on it that correspond with numbers on the exhibits, which was cool, unless your 6 year old is more concerned with that stupid little gadget than the weird undersea creatures that she may never see again!!! I finally took it away after she dropped it in the sting ray tank. Not kidding. I hope it still worked. We didn't tell anybody what happened! So here are some pics at the Shark Reef exhibit...
Griffin and the Golden Crocodile, checking each other out. See the gray thing in her hand? That's the stupid gadget. Ugh.
I don't know if you can see it very well, but this fish was sticking his tongue out at everybody. Do fish have tongues? This one certainly did!
Lexi, Griffin, Justin and Cody got to pet the stingrays. I was standing right next to the sting ray lady who was trying to talk me into taking my life in my hands... um, hello! Steve Irwin!!! No, thank you. I was freaking out enough just watching the kids. And this is where IT happened...
Oops! After much hand sanitizer we were off to the shark tanks. Whoa! It was cool, but creepy. You go through a tunnel with all sort of exotic fish swimming all around you and then suddenly you hear it... the jaws music. You are transported into the belly of a sunken ship and you look up and holy crap! This is what I saw...

Creepy. Justin got some pretty good video of it, but I have no clue how to get video on the blog. If you'd like to see all 47 hours of our family vacation, feel free to come on over. Justin would LOVE to show off his sweet video skills.

We went to see Lance Burton (the magician) one night. Sorry no pics, no photos allowed. It was really great and the kids totally loved it. Griffin was on the edge of her seat the whole time and Lexi was busy analyzing every trick, trying to figure out how it all worked.


We also went to a show at the Stratosphere called "American Superstars". Again, no pics. It was a celebrity impersonation show. Elvis was first and this was very confusing to Griffin, since everyone knows that Elvis is dead... Rod Stewart was next and since we are not Rod fans it was kinda lame. Cody was texting on his phone alot and Lexi was rolling her eyes alot. Then Tim McGraw came out and he was great. Then Christina Agulera (like I can spell that!) came out with some VERY scantily clad dancers. Needless to say, this was Justin and Cody's favorite part of the show! She really was very good and sounded just like Christina, but the boys didn't notice that. Weird. Then came the man we were all waiting for... Michael Jackson. We are super fans of early MJ (you know, before he went nuts), so the girls were singing the words to the songs and loving every dance move. The guy was GOOD!

Okay, this post is WAY long! Sorry. It was a great vacation for us! We just want to share the joy with all of you!


We also rode the gondolas, which the girls and I thought was great, but Justin and Cody thought it was lame. We couldn't all ride together so I went with Griffin and Justin went with Cody and Lex. The gondola man sang to us...

And Griffin sang to him...
Justin and Cody made fun of their gondola man, but he sang to them too and he was really good.
The girls got to meet some real Vegas show girls... Justin was jealous, he wanted his picture taken with the ladies. It didn't happen.
We also went to see the Siegfried and Roy exhibit at the Mirage. Again it's kinda pricey, but worth it! They have dolphins and white tigers and their cubs. Very cute.
We went to the wax museum at the Venetian. I think the kids thought it was gonna be lame, but we all had a great time and got some great pics...
Me and the girls with Matthew McConehey. Ooohhh, I SO love him!
The girls with "The Rock".
The boys...
Did I mention I am now Mrs. Clooney? Eat your hearts out, ladies!
Justin and his hero. Hm, no Tony Stewart statue? What a shame. NOT!

Cody and Michael... I think Cody's heard about Neverland....

So on that note, that pretty much wraps up the Dance family vacation 2008. Next year, Disney!!!