Christine's surgery

I'm sure EVERYONE knows about this by now, but for those of my family/friends who don't do facebook but DO look on my blog, i will update everyone. Christine has been getting increasingly tight the past 4 or 5 months and when we took her in in September, they decreased the amount of her medicine to see if her pump was even making a difference and within two weeks, her right leg was bent up like a pelican and she was almost curled into a little ball from being so tight. They took some samples of her spinal fluid to see if there was any medicine in there and found that there wasn't. So, on January 27, they took her in for surgery and replaced her medicine pump and put a new catheter in her spine. The surgery went really well and we got back to her room. We met with her rehab doctor on Wednesday afternoon and made a game plan for increasing the dosage in her pump. Well, the next morning while I was asleep, another rehab doctor came in and FREAKED basically because she was still so tight and increased the dosage WAY up. By about 11am, her heart rate dropped from 100 to in the 40's. She went into a deep sleep and when Aaron got there about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, she was as loose as a rag doll. Aaron was getting sick and so when they decided to transfer her to the PICU, he had to leave. My dad was with me and we sat with her. The PICU got slammed on Thursday night, so there was nowhere to sleep, so I slept in a recliner! She spent all day Friday in there and finally about 4:30-5:00, the medicine wore off and she was back to herself. So, it took about 34 hours for her to get it out of her system. On Friday night, they moved us back to the Neuroscience Trauma Unit(NTU). On Saturday morning, the doctor who overdosed her came in and apologized profusely and gradually started the increase process again. This time went MUCH BETTER and she is handling it well. She seems to be much happier and is looser. The looser part is what excites me because I can change her diaper a lot easier. We came home on Sunday, January 31. I have to keep her home from school for this week and she has to wear a waist band for about 6 weeks, but other than that, everything looks good. I just want to say thank you again to everyone for all their good thoughts and well wishes. It helped us TONS!!

New Year's and Goals

We had TONS of fun for New Year's Eve. We had my friend Melanie and her boyfriend, Ryan over and ate, played games and laughed hysterically. One of my goals for this year is to REALLY TRY to keep up on my blog. We have family all over the place and I would really like this to be an update for them and a place where they can see what's going on with us. So, don't get mad if I don't keep up, but I'm going to try REALLY hard to do it! By the way, Happy New Year's to all of our friends and family. We wish you a happy year.

Merry Christmas!

We had a great, but laid back Christmas. My dad came up Christmas day and we got a Wii from Santa and all of us played it all day long. We sat around, ate and played the Wii, what more could you ask for? I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

Aaron's Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my husband! We went out to dinner to have some Indian Food and then he got some new clothes and some homemade chili from my mom.

Wonderful Visit with Mom and Stepdad!

It was WAY too short, but hey, at least I got to see my mom and stepdad during the holiday season! They arrived on the 9th and stayed until the 15th. They came up and we went Christmas shopping and out to eat. They stayed with my aunt and uncle down in Syracuse, so they had to drive back and forth. They watched the kids while Aaron and I went out to dinner for a birthday dinner for Aaron. Over the weekend, it "womped" us with snow, as the weather man likes to say! But, they drove through the canyon anyway and my mom made Aaron some homemade chili for his birthday dinner from her! He LOVED it. On the 14th, I took Connor and Carson down to Syracuse/Layton and visited with my family down there and then on the 15th, my mom came up here in the morning. We went to Callan"s school so she could say good bye and he proved to be just like his dad! His teacher brought him in from recess to say goodbye to her and told us that he could take as long as he needed, well, as soon as he saw his class mates were in the room, he turns to my mom and says "I've got to go, my teacher will get mad because I'm not in class." When we tried to tell him that she said it was ok, he wouldn't listen. So, he gave my mom a hug and then ran back into the class room! Anyway, the visit was WAY TOO SHORT, but like I said before, I'm VERY THANKFUL I got to see them at all.

Yay, A surprise!!

My mom and stepdad decided to give us an early Christmas present and come out from Georgia and visit us!!!! I am soooooo happy they are here. We have been REALLY busy getting Christmas stuff done, but hopefully tomorrow{Saturday} we will be able to visit a little bit. I'll update more later and add pics too.

Thanksgiving

We had a really nice, laid back Thanksgiving. My dad came up and Aaron and I cooked the whole big shabang. My dad brought the pies. We had a really nice time and watched "A Christmas Story". That's kind of becoming tradition is to watch that movie after we eat dinner. Anyway, we had a lot of leftovers, which I personally love! My dad enjoyed feeding Carson mashed potatoes! Callan is LOVING learning all of the stuff he does in school and explained to us all day why we celebrate Thanksgiving. I love watching his mind works and seeing his facial expressions while he explains things to you or other people. I hope you all had a very nice, memorable holiday.

Aaron passed his Comps!!!!! Yay!!!

Well, most of you already know this, but the past two weeks have been EXTREMELY stressful for Aaron. He had to do comps. They are written and oral tests that the people on his committee give him. The questions can be ANYTHING about his thesis topic. For the first time since Aaron and I have met, he came home a week ago yesterday{Saturday} and said that the written part made him feel like a complete idiot. Needless to say, he had his oral test on Thursday and found out that he had passed it all. So, many of you may be asking "Okay, where does that put him in graduate school?" The answer is instead of being a PHD student, he is now a PHD candidate. And for those about ready to ask how much longer he has? One of my good friends asked him that the other day and he replied that asking him that is like asking a woman how old she is? He TECHNICALLY has 2 more years left with this program here at USU, but that kind of doesn't mean anything!!!!!! He does have most of the people in his lab graduating and moving on next year and I think that's giving him an incentive to hurry and get through so we can move on too!!!!

Our kids!

We had to take some pictures this weekend of the kids all dressed up. Aaron took them just outside in the back of our condo. I personally think he did an AWESOME job! Anyway, here are some updated pictures of all the kids.

Happy Birthday Connor!

Four years ago, Connor was born. Callan picked out his name. I was working at a daycare and there was a little boy there named Connor and Callan called him "Baby Connor" and when we told him that we were going to have a baby, he asked if we could name him "Baby Connor", so we said yes.
Connor is my pay back for all the stuff I put my parents through! He is VERY STRONG WILLED. He is stubborn and can make you want to SCREAM and then he will turn around and give you this sweet, angelic smile and you know you should throddle the kid, but you just can't! He makes us laugh all the time and he is his older brother's shadow. I always tell people he is going to be our child that is hiking with friends and is on the edge of a mountain and thinks "Hmmm, what would happen if I jump off this mountain, and half way down realizes it was a BAD idea!" I love him and am excited and interested in seeing what the future holds for him and what he brings to our family. I know for sure laughter and adventure! Happy Birthday my little Conman! I love you.

Life

We went to Lagoon a couple weeks ago with family and most of the time I stayed with my sister in law, Alison and my neice, Kinley in Kiddieland and watched Kinley and Connor ride the rides. Aaron and I did a few of the roller coasters, but mostly he went on them with Callan. Okay, when I was in high school and even college back when, all the rides seemed fun, or I'm starting to realize that the particular boyfriend that I had when I went there, and that does include Aaron. I was just enjoying his company and didn't really pay attention to the rides. Now, before any of you start thinking, "Well, Aaron must not be that enjoyable", stop right there, Aaron and I rode on rides, but we had kids with us and being the parents, we were not about to make out in front of our sons. And, I know all of you are gasping because I said "make out" on my blog. But when you go to an amusement park with a boyfriend, you hold hands and kiss quite frequently, so ya, Aaron and I paid more attention to our kids. Anyway, it was noisy, dirty, and just annoying because you are around other people that you don't know that are even more annoying. We got off the water ride called Rattlesnake Rapids and we were all DRENCHED and as we were exiting the ride, I overheard some girl say "Oh my gosh is my hair going to get wet, because I will die if it does, my hair is my life." Okay, I'm sorry, but you are at Lagoon in 90-100 degree weather and you are sweating and then you are in line for a water ride, really, how stupid are people that they think they are going to stay pretty! I had my hair in a ponytail, and by the time we left, my clothes were sticking to me from a combination of sweat and water and my hair was FRIZZED out all over! Anyway, I want to clarify that I had a very enjoyable time with the family, but either I'm too old to go to Lagoon anymore or I just need to go with Aaron alone or with other adults. I am not asking anyone for their opinion on this latter question. lol
Now, to speed up to yesterday. I went to an Elementary School, a Middle School and a College and basically got to see my whole life flash before my eyes! I always try to have the attitude that I am young at heart, but it was a interesting realization to me that life happens and you just go with it, whether you like it or not and whether you are thinking about it or not!

Updates!

Yes, we are still alive! Life is just so crazy for us. Time is flying by and I always tell myself I will post when I can post pictures, well, someday, when I actually do the pictures, you will see them, but for now, I'm just going to write everyone our update.

Aaron just spent 4 days up at Snowbird at a Botany Conference and did a presentation that he felt REALLY good about. In past years, he has waited until a couple of days before he has to leave and hurried and got his presentations ready. This time he KNEW exactly what he was doing. He always loves hanging out with other scientists who actually understand what he is doing and can carry on a conversation with him!
He also had a manuscript published for the first time. He is THRILLED about that. I am still TRYING to read through it. I would offer to send anyone a paper copy, but I can guarantee you you wouldn't understand a word!! Even his parents, who get pretty much everything he explains to them, didn't understand it. So overall, everything is going pretty well for him.

I am doing good. I am back to belly dancing and getting my butt kicked by it! But, I love it. I am busy running kids to their stuff. I am trying to lose weight from having Carson and trying to walk as much as I can during the week. I still have quite a tummy from Carson, so if you see me, I'm just fat!! Sorry, I'm tired of being asked if I"m expecting or when I'm due. I am working on it! I'm finding that when women say that each baby takes a little of their brain away, they're not lying!!

Christine is doing good. My dad has been kind enough to take her a couple times this summer, so we can go do some stuff with the boys. We are EXTREMELY grateful to him. She will go into the 8th grade this year! I think Aaron and I go into shock mode when her life comes up, because she will always be our baby!

Callan is now 8. He was baptized last April. He is getting so big and so smart! He is literally a MINI version of Aaron! He is always creating new inventions and drawing things and coming up with new ideas. He gets very frustrated if he can't figure something out and make something work. He is doing a sports camp this summer, but unfortunately, we have had a lot of stomach bugs going on and he hasn't been able to go a whole lot. He is excited to start the 3rd grade.

Connor is all boy. He challenges me everyday and is so stubborn, sometimes I just want to scream! Then, he shows me his smile and somehow, he gets out of trouble! He goes outside and copies Callan and runs all over and I can always tell where he is, he makes this motor sound really loud.

Carson is now 4 months old. He is rolling over and is trying to crawl and sit up! He also tries to stick both fists in his mouth at the same time! He is adorable and the other boys and Christine love him to death.

Well, that is our update. I will try to do better on blogging!

Updates!

I thought I would let everyone know what we have been up to lately.
First of all, Carson is doing well. He is getting big and starting to smile and coo!!
For Mother's Day, we went to Promintory Point to see the re-enactment of the Golden Spike. It was cool to see the people dressed in the old time clothes. Grandpa Neil went with us. ALL the boys {young and older} had a blast. They got to climb on the trains and look around! It was a fun day to spend with my family.
We went to the Mountain Man Rendezvous up Blacksmith Canyon this last weekend and got to see everyone dressed up in Mountain Man outfits! It made me feel hot, dirty and sticky! After that, we took Callan and Connor to a nice, sit down restaurant for lunch, which we NEVER do and we had a lot of fun. We went to Cafe Sabore and they thought it was cool that we were eating in an old train station!!
Today, Callan had his end of the year Spring Concert and I was so proud of him. He actually did the hand movements this time and looked like he was having fun! Connor could only see if he was standing in my lap, so he did the clapping for both of us!!
Well, that is the update as far as I remember!! If Aaron reminds me of anything else, I will post later! We are just trying to adjust to having four kids to take care of!

Spring Hike

To take advantage of a break between snowstorms, Aaron took Connor and Callan for a short hike along the Bonneville Shoreline trail Saturday.

Callan's baptism

Thanks to everyone who came to town for Callan's baptism this month. It was a nice day and everything went smoothly- even if the water was a bit shallow.