Merry Christmas!!!

Emma got up around 6:30 & crawled in bed with us. I finally gave in & we woke up Grace at around 7:15. They were, of course, so excited. We had a nice morning, I'm still trying to clean up....maybe tomorrow?

Beautiful roses

I got roses (and chocolate) delivered the other day from my sweet step sister Heather & her husband David. Simply put, they are absolutely gorgeous! Luckily Spring was here & used her "mad skills" to arrange them nicely for me. Here's a photo for your enjoyment. Now tell me...was I lying?!

A little construction

We received notice that the builders of our community used some plumbing that could potentially be faulty & leak. So in order to avoid a class action lawsuit they have dutifully stepped up & contracted with a plumbing company to repair ALL the pipes in each unit. Nice of them right? Yes it's nice but can I just mention it's a FOUR day PAIN IN THE BUTT?! Day one (Tuesday the 23rd) began at 7:00 am when they came in and put plastic & tape up ALL over the house. At 8:00 am the water went off....thank goodness our neighbors, Jen & Darren Jepson are good friends & let me & the girls hang out there all day...Coray got to go to work (he was lucky). As you can see by the pictures, there's NO WAY I could've stayed here with the girls all day...it looked like a Haz Mat area! Luckily they were done by 3:30 & we got the water back on & they DO clean up the mess, put everything back & take all the plastic down. Day two (yesterday) began at 7:00 am & they were gone by 1:30 this time...no floor to ceiling plastic yesterday either, much better. The city inspector had to come out first though & make sure the installed piping was up to code & working. Then they started to put the drywall back. Did I mention there are about FORTY holes in the walls?? They started to plaster over some of the drywall but they will finish that job tomorrow beginning at...yes, you guessed it....7:00 am. Monday is the last day & that's the painting. We'll try to be out of the house as much as possible for that, or we may all end up with headaches from the fumes. Everybody thinks we're nuts to have them doing this right over Christmas but I really want it over & definitely need to be checking things off the list. We have a surgery date of January 15th (that's THREE weeks from today), so I want nothing left to do by then except recover. Two more days of this, only two more days (repeat as necessary)!

A lost tooth & a new car!!

YAY!!! Today was a good day. First off we got a new car!! It only took a month but I am SOOO glad that I won't have to drive Coray to & from work anymore. Not that it's far but having to work around EVERYONE else's schedules has been so exhausting. And yes, I do mean the girls too. Because 100 times a day they need me for something & I'm still working 20 hours a week (at least). Sometimes it can take me all day to get in four hours of work. So yes, adding Coray's schedule into that has been difficult. But NO more!! We got a 2002 Honda Civic DX. It's white & has FOUR doors (our old Civic was a '99 two door). It's a DX, which is the base model, so it doesn't have power windows or locks or a CD player. We're going to have one put in because that was the one thing Coray did want. He said he didn't really care about the rest as long as it's a good, reliable car that can get him "from point A to point B". We got it at a Honda dealer so we felt pretty good about it. They even had the vehicle history report & had the whole thing checked end to end. I found it on Autotrader & we went last Monday too look at it. Of course they wanted too much & we walked away...but not before they had mentioned there was at least one other couple there to look at it. Apparently no one could get financing & oh yeah....we were paying with cash. It was still listed yesterday & I called the guy we'd seen Monday to point that out. They ended up taking our "top" offer & I went & did all the paperwork while Coray was at the Las Vegas Bowl tonight. He didn't know so I surprised him a bit when he got home...he was happy about it. Check one thing off the list!

Also, Emma lost her first tooth tonight!!! It's been loose since before Thanksgiving. Right before bed Emma called me in to their bedroom & asked me to look at her mouth. Her tooth was hanging on by just a thread & it was bleeding a bit. We went into the bathroom & she swished some water around her mouth. I asked her if she could pull it out, she tried but said she couldn't. I was actually a bit afraid it would fall out during the night & she'd swallow it or something so I had her try again. Sure enough she got it out. She's getting so dang big!!

Just to lighten the mood

IT SNOWED HERE IN HENDERSON TODAY!!!! The girls were ecstatic. It really was pretty & it seems like everyone in the neighborhood ended up outside playing. We let the kids (big & little) out for about an hour & a half. They had a blast. It was fun that they got to play in the snow without actually going anywhere. BUT...I wouldn't want to deal with this type of weather for months on end (knock on wood)! A day here & there sure, let's just hope it melts soon so I feel safe driving again. Emma & Grace both got into a snowball fight with everyone else. I don't think there were any "sides", it was more like "hit whoever is closest to you." Too funny. Gracie seemed to just want to hit me. She was getting the biggest kick out of it. Thank goodness her snowballs were "Gracie size!" At first, though, all she wanted to do was eat the snow. Which I have no problem with but she was getting it off the dirty street. Yuck. Well, it's just dirt, right??

So everything is about to change

It's been a VERY emotional week so far, to say the least. But good because we now have some direction. The biggest thing is that Coray & I met my Oncologist today, Dr. Heather Allen. She was great. She works for Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada (www.cccnevada.com). We loved the facility. Everyone there was just so...nice. I don't have the words. What she told us, and what I've been mentally preparing myself for, is that I will definitely have to have Chemotherapy. The cancer is an aggressive one & she basically said we need to get aggressive too. It's good to have a game plan, I am better when I have goals & timeframes. The big things will be the Mastectomy & then the Chemo. I also found a Plastic Surgeon (a BYU grad too!) and met him yesterday (when I got my snow pictures!). His name is Dr. Cameron Earl. He was also great. I felt so comfortable talking to him and about the whole procedure. We ran into an issue with my current surgeon...the Plastic Surgeon she usually works with & who also works out of the same hospital as her doesn't take our insurance. So, she recommended Dr. Earl, only I need to get a new surgeon & it's at a different hospital (Summerlin), which is on the other side of the valley near Dave & Skye. Dr. Earl's office gave me the names of two surgeons that he has worked with before & recommends...both take our insurance so no issue there. I need to call them tomorrow to find out who has earliest availability & then let Dr. Earl know so they can start coordinating their schedules. This will not happen until after the holidays, so that's good. I'd like to enjoy them a bit! Anyway, the surgeon will do the Mastectomy & then Dr. Earl will begin reconstruction right away with a tissue expander. I will have to see Dr. Earl every week or two (can't remember which he said) to add fluid to the expander until my skin has grown out enough to actually have an implant put in it's place. He said that's typically a couple months. The other thing that will happen during that surgery is the surgeon will put a Port-a-cath in just under my collarbone on the right side. This will be used for my Chemo & will stay in for at least a year. It's completely internal & will go directly into my superior Vena Cava. It is the easiest way to admister Chemo & will be much better than them having to search for a vein every time. The Port is self sealing internally so they will just have to stick the IV needle through a small layer of skin to reach the access area (which is slightly smaller than a dime). Three weeks after the surgery I will begin Chemo. I will be on three drugs, only one of which I remember. It is Herceptin. I will have to have the Herceptin once a week. That is not the "killer" drug. It's the other two that are the ones that will make me lose my hair & wipe me out for a few days. BUT...the "good" thing about those two is that I only have to do them every THREE weeks. So, Herceptin every week & then the "triple cocktail" every third week. I will do that for six cycles (18 weeks roughly) and then be done with that part. I will then continue on with the Herceptin but that will drop down to every three weeks then until I have been on it for one year. Radiation is now to be determined. That would be after the Chemo & we won't know that until after the Mastectomy...I don't remember why.

Before the surgery I have several things to do, other than finding a surgeon. Friday I am having a genetic test done. This will determine if I'm positive for the Breast Cancer gene. If so then we will definitely do a double Mastectomy. If not I have some hard thinking to do. There would be no MEDICAL reason to do a double but Dr. Allen said many women (especially younger cancer patients) will do it for emotional & psychological reasons. And they will absolutely do a double for those reasons. If I'm negative for the gene I still have a 1/5 chance of developing cancer later in life. Keeping in mind that 1/8 women will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. So, do we want to take that risk?? Regardless if I have a single or double BY LAW every insurance company has to cover reconstructive surgery. Meaning if I have a single then I am entitled to an implant and/or lift on the opposite side so that I end up symetrical. Coray would prefer if I just have the double & eliminate the risk. I'm just not 100% sure yet. I will wait until after the gene test & decide then. I also have to have a MUGA scan. This is basically a scan of my heart that will create a baseline for them to use during Chemo. The drugs can weaken your heart muscles and so they will do additional MUGA scans at regular intervals & make sure my heart is still strong. Then I need to have a PET scan (if my insurance company will approve it....they are quite expensive from what I'm told). It's similar to an MRI but you get injected with a radioactive material which can determine if the cancer has spread to any other areas of your body. I'm told the half life of the radioactive substance is short so I won't be left in a lead room for long...thank goodness!

So there's a LOT going on. I'm trying to explain things to the girls in age appropriate ways. Gracie won't really get much. She knows Mommy has a "boo boo" & will have more "docker poin-ments". She's going to notice changes in my physical appearance but not much else. Emma understands a little more. I think when I start the Chemo I am going to have my hair cut off. I think I'll have Emma with me so she can see that it's still me. Plus I don't think I'll break down completely with her there. She knows Mommy is going to be bald, I'm going to have lots of doctor appointments, I'm going to be sick sometimes & that I'm going to have an operation & will be in the hospital for a couple days. I've been really trying to keep it light with her, so far so good. She asked me today "Mommy, is it ok if I laugh when you cut your hair off?" I had to smile at that. Yes baby, you can laugh. I'd rather laugh than cry & I think we're going to need as much laughter as we can get during the upcoming year!

SNOW in Vegas!

I guess it's not ALL that uncommon. It's just that I haven't seen it in SO long (not really complaining about that). Well, we went up to the snow one day at the beginning of the year & went sledding but nothing so close to home. The girls were quite disappointed that it wasn't snowing at our house...just in the west valley. We did take them driving later to see it but we didn't get out because it was getting late. Actually it was really pretty. This was outside the medical building when I was leaving the doctor's office this morning (I had a consult with a Plastic Surgeon about reconstructive surgery)...the snow had just started sticking. These next three pictures were all taken with my camera phone so they're not the best, but you get the idea.

Seriously....does this look like Vegas?!

I wish this was more clear. It's the huge Marriott resort. It was really pretty with the lights & the snow. If you click on it you can enlarge & see it better....not bad for my little phone camera!

Gracie helping Daddy

Coray has these exercise thingys called "Perfect Push-ups". Gracie LOVES to help him by climbing on his back & counting for him when he does them. I got this picture the other day. I love the "gym face" she has....like she's really straining & pushing herself. Too cute.

Christmas at Thanksgiving

More pictures from our Arizona trip over Thanksgiving. Since all of Coray's family was there we celebrated Christmas while we were all together. We had so much fun!

The salon pictures

Here are more pictures at the salon. I like the before & after of the girls. We had so much fun!

Emma & Brooke at the Salon

Last week in Arizona my friend Shannon & I took Emma & Brooke (her daughter & Emma's "bestest friend") to the salon. They had manicures, pedicures & had their hair done. Shannon & I had pedicures. The salon was so great with the girls & they had a blast. Here's a little video Shannon took of the girls after they were done. (you need to mute the playlist if you want to hear it well)

First report card!

Emma got her first report card. They are very different from when I was a kid! It's not an actual card anymore, it's several pieces of paper stapled together with a lot of information on it. Bottom line is she did VERY well & we are so proud of her! One guess where we took her as a reward...yep, Cold Stone! We did have dinner first at Pei Wei, still our favorite. She's growing so fast!

Moments of Solace

No, I'm not channeling the new Bond movie. Though I'd like to see it sometime it was a Twilight weekend for me. I got to see it two times and am fully planning to see it again this week when we go to Arizona. My friend Margie saw it SIX times....I'm totally jealous! Two huge thumbs up from me! Anyway, despite all the difficulties we're facing there seem to be moments of normalcy and solace that I'm appreciating these days. Like getting out and going to the movies with some girlfriends. Phone calls and e-mails from friends and family. Eating popcorn and watching a movie with the girls. Tonight I was sitting in our bedroom watching TV, Emma had fallen asleep and I knew Gracie wasn't asleep yet but was getting there. I heard her talking and muted the TV for a minute. She was actually singing and it was so sweet it made me cry. I could tell she was sleepy but she new the words..."I wuv to see da tempo, I doeing dere someday" (translation: "I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday"). I went in to give her a kiss and tuck her in again, she opened her eyes and asked me why I came in. I told her I heard her singing and she wanted me to sing with her (which I told her we'd do tomorrow because she needed to go to sleep). We have the song on a CD in the car, Emma got it at church for the kids Primary program this year. They love it and want to listen to it constantly. I love to watch the girls sleep. I must go in half a dozen times at night to make sure they're tucked in and give them kisses. And it's always the last thing I do before I get in bed myself. Watching them is so peaceful and it's easy to feel like there's nothing wrong in the world.

We got some other minor good news. Our Civic is a total but it looks like it's going to be worth more than we thought. So we're hopeful that we can buy a comparable replacement outright. I also FINALLY heard back from the hospital about the whole "sending me home from the ER with internal bleeding" thing. They are going to reimburse our deductible. I'm satisfied with that. I know it wasn't intentional and I'm not holding any grudges. It's been a quiet couple of days so that's been nice. SeeingTwilight two times has helped...and hearing that they are definitely going ahead with New Moon. Like I said, one day at a time.

They say bad things happen in threes right?

If so we've HIT our limit!!! Most everyone knows that I was diagnosed with stage 1 Breast Cancer. As I've said, we have a great surgeon & the next step is to have an MRI done to see if there are any other areas that need to be looked at more closely. It's only on the left side at this point. If they determine there are more areas of the cancer, and depending on how many, I will have to undergo another excisional biopsy. I would then have to have Radiation treatment. Which, with stage 1, may be all I would need. Chemo would be the last step & if it comes to that I am 99% sure I'll opt for a double mastectomy rather than have the chemo. Even though it doesn't appear there's nothing on the right side they would still do a double to be safe & so that reconstructive surgery would be EVEN (so that's nice I guess!). Anyway, we could get lucky if the MRI determines it was only in the area they removed (which was approximately 1.7 cm), which again, and if I understood correctly, would only mean having Radiation treatment. It's been caught very early. I still can't believe I caught it myself with just an exam. I have rarely ever done them...I got very lucky I did one when I did. I believe the surgeon called it "ductal cancer", which is quite common...as far as breast cancer goes, or so she said. Anyway, I'm not sure when the MRI will be. Next week at the earliest, most likely after Thanksgiving.

So there is that....and you don't think it could get worse right? Well, think again. Coray got into a car accident last night on the way home from work. He's fine. The car is not and the other driver was on a motorcycle. The guy has a broken leg...we're not sure what else but the cops told us that looks like the extent of it. He was coherent at the hospital & all. It's almost funny all the garbage that we're having to deal with right now. I feel like I wake up in the morning & say "what's next"? What else are we going to have to deal with? What's going to happen today? I'm pretty sure the car is totaled, it's not driveable. The whole front end was pretty smashed in. I mean, it's a '99 Civic so it's not worth a whole lot. But that just means we're going to have to get a new car. Not something we really have in our budget right now. I will say we have a great ward here. I was talking on the phone with one of my friends that goes to church with us when Coray rang in. When I clicked back over to her I told her that Coray had been in an accident & I had to go. She asked me where he was & I told her. Well she sent her husband over to help out & they ended up letting us have our car towed to their house because they have space...more than we have in our subdivision anyway. Plus there will be easier access for the insurance company at their house. That is good. Also, luckily my good friend Jen lives directly across the way & was able to come over & hang out with the girls while I went to help out Coray. Then, while we were standing on the corner....right where you turn down the road to our subdivision, two other ladies from our ward drove by & stopped to see if we needed any help. One of them was actually on her way to our house to drop off some soup for us. And today I found out that there were at least two other people from the ward that saw it but didn't stop because they didn't want to create a traffic jam of cars! Oh my gosh.

So yeah, this just sucks. I keep thinking about Job in the Bible, I'm feeling a bit of his pain right now. We could really use your support & prayers.

On the upside I'm going to the midnight showing of TWILIGHT tonight because I really, really could use a break right about now!! And we're going to Arizona next week for Thanksgiving & are really looking forward to that. Trying to stay positive through all the madness. One day at a time around here.

HALLOWEEN

So I'm finally getting Halloween pictures up. Thursday the 30th Emma had a party at her school & they all got to dress up. She insisted on being a princess for the party so who am I to argue with a five year old? Oddly enough she was the ONLY princess in her class (of around 30 kids)! I went to help out her teacher, Mrs. Latham, so I got to be there for the party. If I understood correctly, only the Kindergartners got to dress up & then they had a parade around the school for all the other kids to see. Emma got to lead the way for her class. We also went to their cousin's Trunk or Treat party later that night. Emma wore her purple butterfly costume & Gracie was a white kitty. Grandpa was still here (staying with Dave & Skye) so we got a picture of all the kids with Grandpa. We sure have some scary little monsters for nephews! Gracie wasn't sure what to think of them & was a little scared until Parker gave her a hug. It was cute. On Friday (Halloween day) we went to our ward Trunk or Treat party & they got more candy. Our neighbors (the Oxfords) came too & the kids sure had fun running around. Coray sat in the car, behind the spider webs, and handed out the candy. Both the girls wanted to give it out with him after awhile. All in all it was a fun Halloween, even if it was still a little warm out!!

Carving pumpkins with Grandpa

Grandpa was here on Monday & helped the girls carve their pumpkins. They had fun scooping out all the seeds & getting their hands messy.

The Pumpkin Patch

Sunset Station has a pumpkin patch set up in their parking lot. The girls have been begging to go over so we decided it'd be a good family activity. Of course it was quite warm out still today so we didn't stay as long as the girls would have liked & I wouldn't let them wear their long-sleeved Halloween attire...who knows if we'll ever live in a cooler climate! Anyway, there was a huge blow up slide there & they, of course, went down it several times. They also got to pet some goats & go on a little circular car ride. Yeah, they had fun. We got two pumpkins afterwards & plan to carve them next week....so they don't spoil. We did, however, get a cool electric one to use until then! They had previously decided that they were going to be Little Red Riding Hood & the Big Gracie Wolf for Halloween, but due to some wardrobe malfunctions in shipping they have changed their minds (or I should say I changed it for them...paying shipping multiple times is ridiculous!). Emma is now going to be a purple butterfly & Gracie is going to be a white kitty...thank you Old Navy!

Follow ups

So wouldn't you know it but just after I posted about Gracie being accident free for five days...yep, you guessed it...she had an accident. Oh well, she's doing great & we're very proud of her for doing such a good job.

I also found out that the reason the ER sent me home from the hospital that night I went was because on the Ultrasound report the Radiologist wrote "no free fluid" was seen. Um...HUGE, HUGE miscommunication there between the Radiologist & the US tech because the two things she told me while doing the US were that she couldn't find a fetus anywhere & she saw a lot of fluid! Hello Mr. Radiologist! It sure makes me wonder if he even looked at the images because I'm sure he would've seen it there. I have reported the whole thing to the hospital & have spoke to the "Director of Quality" who assured me they do take these kind of things very seriously & someone will be getting back to me. In the meantime, however, they sure haven't hesitated to send me that co-pay bill I owe them. "Sorry we screwed up but hey would you mind paying us for the shoddy service we provided"? (not a direct quote by the way) Nice. Gotta love the health care system in this country.

POTTY TRAINING SUCCESS!!!

Conference weekend (can't beat church in PJ's!), cooler weather & potty training success! Life is good.

Seemingly overnight I think something has clicked with Gracie & she is now using the potty every day. She hasn't had ANY accidents in going on five days now. We told her if she had none for three days we'd take her to get ice cream & today is the first chance we've had. So of course we went to Coldstone. The girls have a blast there. Coldstone always seems to have their music up fairly loud & the girls love to dance around. I guess you can't beat ice cream & dancing when you're little. Thankfully Coldstone doesn't seem to mind.

YAY Gracie!! We're SOOO proud of you!!! (and Mommy is so happy not to be changing diapers 10 times a day!) Woo Hoo!!

Playing with the new camera

This new camera is fun! I have no idea what I'm doing yet though. Just trying to figure it all out & I got the girls to pose for a couple pictures. (The camera is a Nikon D60...digital SLR. My Mom bought it for me...thanks again Mom!)

Birthdays you remember

As we get older we tend to conveniently forget our birthdays. Emma kept asking me why I wasn't having a party...and, for that matter, why her cousins were not invited. It's hard to explain to a five year old why grown ups don't really have parties every year anymore. Though I've had a nice birthday I got to thinking about birthdays you remember & I have to say one of the coolest I have ever had was my 20th birthday. I didn't do anything super exciting that I remember, what made it so cool was the fact that early that morning (before I'd even really woke up) my Dad & his wife at the time, Carol, called me to wish me happy birthday. I remember being a little irritated that they were calling so early & waking me up. What was that all about? You wouldn't think it was that big of a deal right? Wrong. The reason they had called so early (for me anyway) was because Carol had just had a baby girl & as my birthday present they were going to let ME name her! My sweet little sister Rachael Kristine & I share a birthday. It's pretty cool. Even though we don't see each other often & don't talk to each other all the time, she's still my little sister & I love her very much. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful baby sister. I love you & miss you & wish you all good things (and thanks for letting me steal your picture)!

Fun with Aunt Skye

So while I was in the hospital this past weekend & while Coray was at work, the girls were hanging out with Aunt Skye. One of their favorite things to do is play dress up...yes, they're definitely girlie girls. I think they must have been in heaven. Thanks again Skye! I don't know what we would've done without you!

Ectopic pregnancy, ruptured fallopian tube & emergency surgery...and how was YOUR weekend?!

It’s been a very long, very unexpected weekend & I’m a little drugged up right now so pardon me if it all sort of blurs together. Thursday night I was planning to watch McCain speak at the RNC. Just after he started to talk I got hit with a wave of nausea so bad I ran for the bathroom. Looking back at it I can say that is when my right fallopian tube ruptured. It quickly escalated to intense pain in my abdominal region & I was literally on the floor curled in a fetal position. That’s how Coray found me at the top of the stairs when he got home from work about 45 minutes later. I managed to get into bed & must have drifted off to sleep for awhile because I woke up & it was around 10:00. He had gotten the girls to bed & came to see how I was feeling. I had him look up a couple things online like ectopic pregnancy & appendicitis. I had taken a pregnancy test the prior Monday & knew I was pregnant so those were two things I knew it could be. Honestly because I was so nauseous (didn’t know what end it was going to come out of) I really thought I’d eaten something bad initially. When it didn’t go away that’s when we started trying to figure it out. Anyway, I went to the ER around 11:00 & they did blood work & gave me an ultrasound. The blood work ruled out appendicitis & confirmed I was pregnant. The ultra sound showed a lot of fluid but they couldn’t find the fetus anywhere. The ER doctor consulted with the OB on call & at around 3:00 in the morning, ready for this, they SENT ME HOME. My discharge papers told me to follow up with my OBGYN in 1-2 days or (of course) the standard “come back if your pain continues”. By the next morning I was in so much pain Coray was going to rush me back to the ER but I had no desire to see them again when they’d just dismissed me. We called my OBGYN & they got me in at 10:00. Thank you to our neighbor Emily who took Emma to the bus stop with Logan, watched Gracie & picked up Emma at noon. Anyway, my OB's office had requested my lab work & ultrasound report from the ER but of course it wasn’t there by the time we got there. When she finally got it she sent me in to the ultrasound tech there & confirmed I’d had an ectopic pregnancy & that the reason there was so much “fluid” was because I was, and had been, bleeding internally! She was quite upset when she said they should have admitted me to the hospital & sent me into surgery the night before. She had to call around the local hospitals to find out who had an OR available to do an emergency laporotomy…I think that’s what it is called…not the exploratory laproscopy, the other one. Anyway, by 12:30 she found the hospital (NOT the same one I’d gone to the ER at the night before, thank goodness) & basically said to Coray “go there now” because I was having surgery in one hour. Honestly, I’m kind of glad it happened so fast. I really had no time to process & that was good. I got admitted to the hospital & sent to surgery prep. I’ve never had surgery of any kind & only been in the hospital for normal, uneventful vaginal deliveries so it was pretty scary for me. Coming out of the general anesthesia in recovery was surreal. Knowing I’d a had a breathing tube, they had obviously hooked me up to a catheter & now had a lovely four inch incision with staples….very strange not having been aware of any of that taking place. So that was Friday & I spent yesterday & most of today in the hospital recovering. My sweet, sweet sister in law Skye basically came on Friday & took care of the girls until last night when Coray finally sent her home. He had to work yesterday so she brought the girls to see me. I know they had fun with their Aunt though it was sweet to hear them tell me how much they missed me & wanted me to come home.
I really feel like we need to say something to someone about the ER experience but I don’t know what or to who. If anything, I’d be really grateful if they’d not make us pay the ER bill.

What a weekend. I wanted #3 but after this experience I’m a little gun shy. Even though my doctor said I should still be able to have another baby. My birthday is at the end of the week & I’m not too sure I want to push it much longer. It’s been a very scary weekend & I think I’m just now starting to process it all. At least that explains the hormones for the past couple weeks.

Bad day

~the new cell phone I wanted is only cheap if I get a new phone number (no more new numbers please)
~the handbag I wanted is sold out
~my job sucks right now
~Coray's job sucks right now
~I'm tired of changing Gracie's diapers
~I just found out that part of Stephenie Meyer's draft for Midnight Sun was leaked & now she has put it on hold "indefinitely"
~And Vegas has THE ABSOLUTE WORST drivers I have ever encountered in the six states I've lived in since I've been licensed

I know most of it's trivial....maybe it's just hormones? I need some chocolate, a good movie, a good cry & another weekend in St. George. sigh

First day on the bus!

The firsts continued today with Emma's first day taking the bus to school. I was more nervous about that than her first day of school yesterday. She was so excited. She only hesitated one time when she got on the bus but then went right to a seat & sat down with Logan. She was such a big girl getting off the bus when it dropped her off.

First day of Kindergarten

It came & went so quickly it's hard to believe how much anxiety people have about the first day of school. Maybe I just really didn't feel anxious because she was in preschool all last year. It was exciting, I was excited for her. It was an absolute zoo at the school this morning, hopefully today was an exception rather than the rule! We painted Emma's toes pink last night & put little silver hearts on them....she loves having her toes painted, very girlie. I tried to get a picture of it but this dumb camera wouldn't get a close up (we are getting a new camera though...YAY!). This morning she grabbed the wrong backpack & was upset because she didn't have her very own scissors for class today. Which was ok because they didn't use them. Then when I picked her up she was upset because she didn't get to ride the bus. I think my neighbor Emily & I are going to let Emma & Logan ride tomorrow since they'll be together. I'm glad he's in her class with her. There are also a couple kids from our ward in her class so she knows a few people already. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Latham & she seems nice. I'm hoping to get to know her more over the school year. Especially since I'm in the PTA. We'll see how that goes. Emma already has homework. She gets it on Monday & it's due on Friday. This week is really a "get to know you" question & answer sheet. And, Emma tells me they get snacks every day....now that's something to be excited about!

Girls weekend in St. George, Utah!

I met three of my college roommates in St. George this weekend for a little reunion. We surprised Sallie since it was right after her birthday...sometimes you just need a good excuse & that one was perfect. It was SO much fun!! The four of us have seen each other over the years but not all together. Nikkie found us a condo for the weekend & it was great, much better than staying at a hotel. And St. George is gorgeous! It's been years & years since I've been there, I hardly recognized it. When you're driving north on the I-15 fwy the St. George temple comes up in front of you. It's a pure white temple against a red mountain background. Stunning! We all got in Friday before dinner. I drove up from Henderson & they all drove down together from the Salt Lake area (Sallie lives about an hour north of Salt Lake, Nikkie in the Salt Lake area & Melinda about an hour south of Salt Lake). We chatted for awhile & headed over to the Outback for dinner.
They were having these $10 steak specials....YUM! After dinner we headed to the grocery store to get some things for breakfast & lunch while we were there....and MANY munchies. Definitely a good idea to get a condo with a kitchen! Then we stayed up until 2:00 am chatting & watching Pride & Prejudice (2005). Well, Melinda & I stayed up. Nikkie fell asleep during the movie (just like she used to in college) & Sal headed to bed before it was over...some things never change! We slept in on Saturday morning until around 9:00! WOO HOO! Can't remember the last time I've done that! After hanging out & chatting all morning we went over for 2:00 massage appointments. Nice! Then it was on to shopping for a few hours (Melinda & Nikkie are shopping machines!), then to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, and Red Lobster for dinner. More yum. And it was another evening of movies....Pride & Prejudice (LDS version), Emma & then An Ideal Husband. Yep, Nikkie fell asleep again & Sal didn't make it through all three either. Melinda & I think they're "lightweights"....but we love them anyway. This morning we slept in again, got up & put in the movie Stardust. While we were watching that we gave ourselves pedicures (Sallie did a manicure).

After packing up we headed over to the St. George temple before leaving.



What a fantastic weekend. I definitely need more of those in my life!! It's amazing how easily we fell back into "living together" mode. Almost like no time had passed. The best part was no kids (15 in total)! They all got to stay with the Daddies this weekend. And the Daddies definitely need more of those too...especially Coray!

The birthday party!!

So Emma’s birthday party was at Pump It Up in Henderson. What a blast!! I honestly think everyone had a great time. We had a couple minor bumps but no casualties. Though Gracie does have a nice goose egg on her head again. I swear that child is fearless....and part monkey! Emma didn’t want to leave & immediately started asking when we were going back. My friend Kim (her son Ryan & Emma went to preschool together) made her cake for her. So darling. But not just the cake, also two dozen cupcakes as well. YUM! Coray had three. Uh huh….they were good. I kept eating the little pink fondant balls. I think we all were on a sugar high. We ended up with 90 pictures to go through so it’s been a process trying to find the best ones. Yes, there is one black & white photo....I loved the picture because Gracie's face is priceless but our camera takes these horrible "glowing eyes" photos & the color version was just scary! lol Although she looks scared she laughed her head off when she got to the bottom & immediately went back up the slide. I'm trying to convince Coray to let me buy a good camera because half of the pictures were blurry (motion shots) and like 75% of them had glowing eyes that the red eye feature wouldn't recognize. Dumb camera. Anyway, both Emma & Gracie had red cheeks from running around so much. I've captioned all of these photos so you can click on any of them to be taken to the Picasa web album if you want to read more. Hope you enjoy….I know we did!

Little Ms. FIVE year old

My baby turned five today! She kept announcing it all day long. We're having her party on Monday so today was a family day for us. We went to the Lied Discovery Children's Museum for a few hours this morning. The girls had a blast running around & playing with all the different activities there. We even got to try some orange flavored ice cream that they made in a demonstration with LIQUID NITROGEN! It was pretty cool. I think two of the things they liked best though was the bubble area & the dress up area (of course). After that we came home, had lunch & Coray & Gracie took a nap. Not that I didn't try but Emma was having fun playing with some of her presents & kept waking me up. She was very excited all day long. So then Emma decided we were going to have dinner at a restaurant. We ended up at Pei Wei since it's right next to Coldstone & she had a coupon for a free birthday ice cream. Both Emma & Grace love the Honey Seared Chicken at Pei Wei & they ate VERY well. After enjoying some ice cream at Coldstone we came home & the girls played & watched one of Emma's new DVD's. She told me it was a good day. Happy Birthday baby girl, you need to stop growing now!

Gracie on sugar

This one deserved it's own post. It's just SO Gracie.

The long awaited update (and a great way to spend your time)

Ok, Spring has me feeling like I've neglected our blog lately. And the truth is we've just been having a pretty boring month. Well, ok, there was ONE highlight for me anyway.
The 4th book in the Twilight series came out on August 2nd & I finished it the same day. Then started it again & finished it. Then re-read the series. Yeah, I'm a fan (no Misery flashes here though). Plus my job has been crazy lately & the normal 20 hours a week I'm supposed to work are closer to 25. Which is hard when I work at home with the girls constantly around. Anyway, this weekend is Emma's 5th birthday, then her party next Monday, then I'm going on a girls weekend the following Friday - Sunday, then Emma starts Kindergarten....so the blog posts should pick up a bit here soon.

Our little contortionist

It took me a few seconds staring at her to realize what she was doing. YIKES! How does she do that?!?! It made Coray cringe. Go ahead, take a good look!

The chocolate unibrow

Don't ask me how she got chocolate ice cream right between her brows. I was laughing so the picture is a little blurry.

The cure for the common cold

Vapor Rub anyone?? Click on the picture to enlarge & appreciate her handywork. I love the look on her face....she knew she was busted! Niiiiiiice!

4th of July

Coray reminded me the other day we didn't have any pictures from the 4th up yet. I'm a bit behind on the posts lately but we had a great time over at Dave & Skye's house. The girls were in heaven & Coray actually got to come too! Skye always has their house decorated for the holidays & the 4th is always so colorful & fun. I mean who doesn't love our red, white & blue colors? Throw in a good food, good friends & family & good fun & you can't go wrong. We did fireworks in the street later in the evening. Emma was scared of the noise & hung out by the front door once we started. Gracie was front & center on the curb loving all the colors & sounds.

What a wonderful country the United States is. How lucky we are to enjoy the freedoms that we do. How blessed we are to live here.

Playing with the cousins (and Grandpa)

It's been awhile but we finally got the girls together with their cousins (who Emma's been DYING to see). Monday was Parker's 9th birthday so we went over for some swimming, playing & eating....good times. They had a blast with the boys & we got to visit with Mike, Jessett, Kylie & baby Britain (they're cousins too, in a roundabout way).

Visiting with Nikkie

I can't say Nikkie is an "old" friend because dang it, we're not old! But she's definitely a long time friend. Last Friday, the 20th, Nikkie came to visit with her husband Jason & their five kids. Nikkie, Jason & I went to BYU together. Nikkie & I were roommates & Jason was in our ward...this was more than 15 years ago!! They got married the year we graduated - 1993! Crazy. So, I've got pictures! I scanned a couple of Nikkie & I when we were roommates....circa 1993. We decided this one was before we went to a dance or party.

This is BYU graduation (with Sallie) ~ 1993.
And here is 15 years & seven children later (five of them being hers)! Plus, it's after a couple hours at the pool with no makeup on. Not bad for a couple of....uh, college grads!

Emma's boyfriend

McKay Garrett (extended family & friend) had some business in the area last week & stayed with us for a few days. Emma declared him her boyfriend. Although, I will say she really doesn't get it, to her all boys who are her friends are her boyfriends. They're very literal at that age, aren't they? It was too cute. We were upstairs one night & it was close to bedtime. McKay was downstairs with Coray or something & I was trying to get the girls ready for bed. Emma was not helping me clean up & I told her that if she didn't then she would have to stay upstairs the rest of the evening. She looked at me with wide eyes & said "You mean I can't go see my boyfriend?" I had to laugh. Watch out Elizabeth, you've got some competition in the form of a beautiful, blue eyed, almost five year old!

It's all about the water now!

(Click the picture for a close up of the hair cuts!)
I feel bad for the girls that it's so hot now & with me working at home it gets boring for them. We ended up getting a little wading pool for the backyard so they could at least go outside & splash around (in the later afternoon when there's some shade in the backyard). We've been to our community pool a few times already too, which they love, but sometimes it's just nice to be able to let them play in the backyard. I've got them both enrolled in swim lessons starting at the end of the month, so that'll be fun too. Now that it's summertime & over 100 degrees every day, it's definitely all about the water!

Primary activity

I've been a little slow in keeping up lately. On June 7th, our ward primary (our church children's organization for those of you who are not LDS) had an activity day at a local park. The girls had a blast. They had water balloon popping relay contests, a "duck, duck, goose" activity that involved sponges filled with water (Emma got our Bishop good), tee-shirt painting, and Popsicles.