Josies

Max's Baptism, January 8, 2011

2011-01-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

I loooooove this picture.

Maxwell Zakary Josie Turns 8

2011-01-11T08:48:00.000-08:00

Our little Max turned 8 in December. Unbelievable because I can so very clearly remember the events surrounding his birth and adoption. How can that sweet little baby boy be 8 years old? I kinda need the universe to slow down sometimes. So Max at 8-years-old: Loves pizza, cheese quesadillas, tacos and milk. Not a big fan of sugar. Loves to share with his mom. He has been known to dig a gummy bear out of his jeans pocket after school that he had been saving to share with me. Cute and gross all at the same time. Will deny it, but loves to read. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is his fave right now. Takes gymnastics and rocks at it. Just started basketball agian (second year playing). Takes intermittent piano lessons from his mom. Plays with legos and never stops playing with his DSi. Is a math whiz and this morning in the car on the way to school, admitted to liking science. His favorite colors are green and green and green. We certainly have our battles with this kid, but are continually amazed that this miracle baby ended up in our family. We love you, Max!

Done!

2010-12-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

Once the May surgery was over and they pronounced me "cancer free," I became very neglectful of this blog. So hopefully there will be just this one more cancer (or non-cancer) update and then I can redevote myself to this blog-- writing updates about my quirky family and posting pictures of the cute people that live in my home (that includes my kids AND husband) :).

So here is the non-cancer update. I had my last reconstructive surgery on 12/2. Everything went fine. I feel fine. I have a dr. appt. on Mon. 12/13 and I expect he will tell me that I am fine. There are still things I need to follow up on--- seeing an oncologist about going on the anti-cancer drug, tamoxifen, getting a mammo in Jan. (every 6 mos. now)--- but I feel like this episode in my life is done. One year, six surgeries, and a lot of drama later.... I have my health, my family, my friends, the gospel... and my hair :)!

It's going to be a great Christmas.

Stupid Cancer.

2010-04-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Another graphic update. Sorry. Two weeks ago the surgeon told me that the cancer came within 1.5 milimeters of the small amount of breast tissue they left in. They left that TINY bit of breast tissue so they could save the nip. Well, guess the margin is too small for comfort. Last Thurs. I met with a multidisciplinary clinic and it was the unanimous opinion of the panel (another surgeon, the oncologist and the radiation oncologist) that the nip be removed. I have the option to do radiation instead, but they all felt that surgery would be the better choice. It was their opinion that doing radiation would make it very difficult for the plastic surgeon to match things up when it was over. So off to the plastic surgeon today to get his opinion on matters pertaining to my rack... what's left of it... :) I know it could be much, much worse (I'm still not going to die, chemo is still not necessary so I don't lose my hair), but still... Crap! (Sorry, mom.)

2010-04-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

The surgery was 3 weeks ago today. It went just fine. I came home from the hospital the following day. I fell asleep on the way home, but as we were coming down our street, Michael slowed waaaaayyyyy down and said, "Look at that." I opened my eyes to see pink and white balloons all over the front yard with a love note banner on the garage door and for added humor, bras strung here and there. I just cried. What amazing friends and neighbors we have... I LOVE living here (even despite the horrific wind)! So this is what I saw when I opened my eyes...

Really, how great are the people in my neighborhood??!!

I came home with two drains in, one coming out from each side. Well. Drains are MISERABLE! Thankfully, they came out a week later. Now I am back to dealing with the fluid build-up. Ugh. It is just miserable, but I am trying to remind myself, that it is better than having the drains. Yep, nothing right now is worse than those drains. But the fluid build-up is standing in the way of my running. That does NOT make me happy. I had a dr.'s appt. this past Tues. and she told me to switch over to motrin and see if that helps. She also said that if I am active one day, the fluid problem will manifest itself the next day. Grrrrr. She said to see how this next week goes and maybe I can try the j word (jogging) on Monday.

The left side is healing great and the tissue they took from that side all came back non-cancerous. Yay. When the other side catches up, I'll be good to go! :)

Birthday fun......

2010-04-01T14:27:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to have my new boob surgery in time for my birthday, but my sweet visiting teacher and good friend, Kasey Lighten, made sure I got new boobs for my birthday anyway. Boob cupcakes are the best!!... especially when they're from Dippidee!!

The Big Day

2010-03-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

This Thursday. Yep. Everything is set to go. Anxious for it to be over. Ready for this chapter to end. Looking forward to thinking about something else for a change. One of my favorite "Maxine" cards says, "If life gives you lemons.... (open card here) put them in your bra. Couldn't hurt; might help." Hahahaha... So I think that I am figuratively putting life's lemons in my bra this time... Hahahahahaha.. Man, I'm funny! :)

:)

2010-02-18T08:16:00.001-08:00

So Michael and I met with Dr. Bindrup on Monday. I feel SO much better about things. So does Michael. This is going to be a bit graphic, so if you are male, you may want your wife/girlfriend/sister to read it first and then just relay the general content back to you.... :)

I have opted to go with an implant. With my size, the TRAM flap (skin/muscle/fat taken from a football-shaped graph that goes from hip to hip) wasn't a great option. I could have taken a flap from my butt, but it's a much longer surgery, a much longer hospital stay and a much longer recovery (translation: more time off of running). It just seems that with where I am in my life right now (two young children), the implant seems to be the best option. More importantly, Michael and I both feel really good about that decision.

Our really great news (brace yourselves!) came when he said that he thinks he can save the nipple. Yay! I had no idea how important my nipple was to me. This was really good news for both of us... :) (Sorry if I have crossed over the "way more information than we ever wanted to know" line.....) Soooooo... Dr. Hansen will remove all of the breast tissue and then Dr. Bindrup will put in a saline implant and stitch things up (complete with drains-- blech--that will stay in 4-7 days...) It is a skin-sparing mastectomy, so I will not need to worry about expanders at all. That was more good news. With the saline implant, they can inject fluid as needed until it is the right size. And once it's the right size, he will replace the saline with a silicone implant.

On the other side, he will remove some breast tissue (a slight reduction) and then do a lift. Yay, again! They will then biopsy the tissue they remove.

Dr. Bindrup said that one of his goals is symmetry. Excellent! He said that his other goal, is that in a year's time, this will just be some surgery I had in my life that I hardly think about anymore. Even more excellent. That is EXACTLY what I wanted to hear. Of course I still wish none of this was necessary, but because it is, I'm glad that both of my dr.'s seem to have been able to make the very best of a lousy situation.

Boob cancer update....

2010-02-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

I had no idea how MUCH fluid could fit into the cavity he carved out of my boob. Ugh. I've never nursed, so I've never had milk come in so I don't know how it compares, but this fluid is no fun! My deformed boob is now bigger than the other one... They sent me home after the last surgery with the world's largest ace bandage wrapped around my chest like a mummy. They told me to leave it on for 5-7 days. I didn't know it was to keep the fluid out. I lasted 5 days with it before I couldn't stand it anymore. Well the fluid is worse than the chest strap, so it's back on today. My dr. (Dr. Hansen) said I could come in and he could drain it, but he said it would just fill up again. I told him I would call back if it became unbearable. Hopefully it will redistribute before I reach the unbearable level.

The big M surgery is scheduled for March 11. I was planning on doing it sooner, but the plastic surgeon is out of the country from 2/18-3/8. So my options were having it done next Thursday, Feb. 11, or waiting til March 11. There was no way I was going to be ready this next Thursday to have THAT done, so after checking with Dr. Hansen, who gave the okay to wait, I have scheduled it for March 11. Michael and I will meet with the plastic surgeon (Dr. Bindrup) on Feb. 15 to discuss my reconstruction. Boob rebuilding. I had never, ever thought I would be getting a boob job. Ever. I had no idea there were so many options and so many decisions to make...

Tangent: Thursday is Dr. Hansen's surgery day, so my surgeries are always on Thursdays. Except for Tuesday, Thursday is now my least favorite day of the week. Tuesdays are my least favorite day because Dr. Hansen always calls on Tuesdays to give me bad news, results of the previous Thursdays procedure. Someday I will like Tuesdays and Thursdays again and Monday will once again regain it's rightful place as my least favorite day of the week...

Happy Groundhog Day...

2010-02-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Margins were not clear. Looks like I'm getting new boobs for my birthday this year.

Just too much drama for me!

2010-01-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

So yesterday's surgery was by far the worst so far. I should have known that because the surgeon told me that every time we do this, he doubles the amount of mass he removes. The surgery lasted much longer, they removed a lot of tissue and gave me demerol (sp?) to boot. (The demerol was horrible! I was dizzy til like 5 p.m. and the surgery was at 7:30 a.m.) And I'm really in the same boat as I was after the mri. I'll get the biopsy results Tues. If the margins are clear, they'll wait til I heal from surgery and then start radiation. (The only unknown on that front is that they removed so much yesterday that the cavity has filled with fluid. The surgeon said it will take a few weeks til that fluid is gone before they know how much is umm... missing? So there may need to be some sort of balancing act to do and I don't know what that will involve.) If the margins are not clear, then it's a masectomy. Really, this is just too much drama for me. I liked my quiet life...

I do have to say, though, that I feel like I have the very best family and friends in the entire world. The entire universe. The entire cosmos. I cannot believe how nice people have been and continue to be. Your thoughtfulness is overwhelming. Literally overwhelming. Notes, emails, cookies, dinner, bread, flowers, jokes, babysitting, thoughts and prayers. I don't know how I will ever be able to pay this all forward. But when I'm better, I'm sure going to try. Thank you all so, so much.

Good news and bad news

2010-01-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

The good news: the mri did not show the cancer to be everywhere. Bad news: it really only showed the spot where they already knew it had been...so not sure if it's just showing post-surgery trauma and not picking up the cancer, or if that really is the only spot where the cancer is... So, more surgery this Thurs. (1/28). He'll take out another centimeter around the last spot and then---hopefully---- we'll get clear margins. I can tell this is good news because I'm not crying. :) Not excited for another of these surgeries, but it's better than the alternative. I don't know what will happen if the margins don't come back clear this next time... but I can guess. So here's hoping for clear margins!!

Grrrr....

2010-01-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

No results today. The dr's office closed at 2. Rats.

Lousy health issue

2010-01-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

So maybe I will start updating my blog again so I can put updates on here about my new health drama. So this is the story... had a mammogram in Nov., results were questionable, they sent me for another in Dec., and found a cluster of microcalcifications. For some reason I don't quite understand, because the area was so close to the skin, they did not want to do a traditional biopsy, opting instead to just remove the whole small section (about the size of a gumball.) They then biopsied that and the results were DCIS (ductal incarcimoma in situ)-- earliest, most treatable form of breast cancer. Barely breast cancer. Sometimes it's not even referred to as cancer, but just precancer. They didn't get clear margins when they took out the first section, so they went back in a week later, took some more out, thinking the margins would then be clear and I would start radiation in a month or so. But those plans were shot when the margins did not come back clear, but instead revealed more cancer areas. :( Rats. So yesterday I went for an mri and that brings us to today. I am waiting for the phone to ring to let me know the results of the mri. The cancer areas they found in the second surgery did not show up on the mammogram, so hopefully they will show up on the mri and then they/we can make a new plan. Hopefully I get results today. Cause if I don't get them today, I won't hear anything til Tues. (Surgeon isn't in on Mondays.) So, best case scenario: more surgery and then radiation. Worst case scenario: masectomy. Important things to know: survival rate for this type of precancer/ cancer is 100%. I'm not going to die. Also, the cancer is completely contained in my boob. It has not spread to any other part of my body. Okay. And that would be all for now. Ho hum....

The Pennsylvania Grandparents/ July 2009

2009-09-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

My parents had a layover in the Salt Lake airport this past summer. It was a long layover, so we went to visit with them while they waited for their next flight. That long layover sure didn't seem very long... :( But it was so good to see them, even for a short time.

Amazing rainbows/ July 2009

2009-09-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

We had some really beautiful rainbows this summer.

Sleepy, sleepy Ari/ July 2009

2009-09-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ari feel asleep in the tub. Well that just can't be safe!!

My funny Max.

2009-09-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

So one night this past week, I was tucking Max in. I was looking into his eyes as I was saying goodnight and I had one of those moments when you feel like you can see into your child's soul. I said to him, "Max, you are such a miracle." He asked what I meant. I told him it was such a miracle that he came to our family and was now part of our family. He then said, "You know what else is a miracle?? That Ari was badder than me today." Hmmm. I suppose that was a miracle, too. :)

Cancun!! June 2009

2009-09-20T17:14:00.001-07:00

Our beautiful vacation spot.

Ari twirling on the beach.

Ari ate a marshmallow dipped in chocolate fondue to finish breakfast everyday.

Max after having his face painted in the kids club.

Max playing on the beach.

Ari with her cute humidity-induced curls.

Dinner with our great friends, the Davis'.

Headed home.... :(

Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay

2009-09-20T16:59:00.001-07:00

In June, Michael and I did the Wasatch Back Relay. Teams of 12 race (or just run) 188 miles over two days with each person running three legs. So much fun! We are already signed up for next year.

Right before the women started running. The men had already finished their first leg.

The women at the very end of the relay. A big storm was rolling in and it was freezing!

My great running buddy, Robin King, and me in front of the Ragnar bus while waiting for our final runner to come in.

Michael running his third leg (I think...)

Sweet Mia

2009-09-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Mia, our sweet kittie, died in April. We knew she was sick and had to be put down. This was taken the day before. :( We loved that cat.

Ari's third birthday

2009-09-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Sweet little Ari turned 3 in April. She wanted a "Dora" party again... Happy birthday baby girl!

Max loses his first tooth....

2009-09-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

So my sweet little boy is growing up... *sniff*... He lost his first tooth the end of March 2009. He got money from the tooth fairy... $1.50. But when he woke up, the dollar bill had fallen off the bed and he insisted he only got .50. There was no convincing him otherwise ("that $1.00 was already there!"), but his parents KNOW that the tooth fairy left $1.50. So then the next tooth that fell out, well he lost that one. So we finally left the tooth fairy a note that the tooth was lost. She left a note that she had found it and left $1.50 again. So then Max got the bright idea that he could just leave notes claiming to have lost teeth and score some dough from the easily-duped tooth fairy. His parents assured him that she would know if he had really lost a tooth or not!

Guitar Hero

2009-02-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I admit it, I am a guitar hero addict! Yep, I'm even playing on "hard" now. (Though I CANNOT get through "Knights of Cydonia"....grrrrrr....) So of course, the kids have been tainted by my addiction and show early signs of having a problem themselves... ho hum.

The deer across the street

2009-02-22T10:32:00.001-08:00

We often get deer across the street from us (and in our own yard as evidenced by my poor tree that they continue to eat), but this time it was quite an amazing sight because we actually saw two deer with antlers...

During December, when Max asked about the deer, we told him that Santa sent them to spy on him to make sure he was being a good boy... Is that wrong??

Christmas 2008

2009-02-22T10:20:00.001-08:00

Max was very excited about the container of plastic bugs from Grandma Morgenegg. Ooooh, so much fun to torment Ari, who is TERRIFIED of bugs.. even the plastic ones!

Ari, enjoying her new reindeer cup from Grandma Morgenegg while her new snowglobe from Grandma Josie plays in the background...

Daddy and Max trying to outdo each other on the new Wii amid all the chaos of Christmas morning...

"Mom, give the camera a rest already! I'm opening presents here!"

Ari LOVED her new doll with high chair, crib, diaper bag..... and all things necessary to play "mommy"

Max's 6th (!!) Birthday

2009-02-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

Max picked Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday celebration and invited his friend, Parker, to come along for festivities...

Filling their pie holes...

Opening presents at home after Mr. Cheese's

Daddy and Ari

Visiting with Santa 12/08

2009-02-22T09:54:00.000-08:00

This year was no better than last as far as Ari thinking that Santa was anything but some sort of mutant alien life form intent on causing her great distress... She would have NOTHING to do with him....

She did, however, agree to take his candy cane offering.....

Meanwhile, Max had much to discuss with the big guy in red....

And apparently the big guy in red had much to discuss with Max.....

photo session

2008-12-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

A really cute picture that we didn't use on the Christmas card.... What a cute family I have.. :-)

And then it all went bad when Ari didn't feel like posing anymore...

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2008-12-12T15:53:00.001-08:00

So Max would painstakingly put the ornaments on the tree......

And Ari would painstakingly take them off....

Max was getting a bit frustrated.....

Ari could not have been more pleased with her efforts!

The Morning After....

2008-11-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

This was Ari the morning after Halloween. She put her costume back on and was ready to go all over again. :-)

Max: Post-trick-or-treating

2008-11-17T14:34:00.000-08:00

After trick-or-treating, Max went through his candy deciding what to keep and what to put out for the "switch witch." He doesn't like candy all that much (except for starburst, m&m's and tootsie rolls), so most of his candy was put on the door step to await the switch witch. In our house, the switch witch comes Halloween night. She takes the candy that is left out and puts money in its place. We had to stop Max, though, when he started going through Ari's candy looking for MORE candy to turn into dough. This year, the switch witch ended up coming Halloween night AND the next night! Max was so happy about the candy trade that he put candy out the next evening as well. The switch witch(es) were thrilled! :-)

Ari: Post-trick-or-treating

2008-11-17T14:26:00.000-08:00

We are fortunate to live in such a great trick-or-treating neighborhood. We were unfortunate that it rained the entire evening. However, the misery of a steady rain was no match for the draw of free candy! Ari inhales yet another of her prized pieces of candy. During our trick-or-treating adventure, her hat blew off numerous times, she shuffled along slowly in her "Jessie" boots and she squinted against the rain. To help her out, Michael would periodically try to carry her candy bag for her. But no matter the physical trial, she would not release her vice-grip on that candy bag for anything! Such a cute little trooper.

After that last piece of candy, the rain and physical exertion had taken their toll and she was exhausted....

Halloween/ Pre-trick-or-treating

2008-11-17T14:07:00.000-08:00

Max was Buzz Lightyear again. The costume was so cute that, as long as it still fit, I really wanted to get another year's use out of it. Max didn't object. Ari wore a Woody outfit (Max's costume from a few years back), but we put taped a long braid made out of red yarn to the back of the hat and called her "Jessie."

Michael was a greaser. I was me. :-)

AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!

2008-11-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Our neighbor caught this spider a few weeks ago as it was crawling up their driveway!! And then the next day, I saw a similar one crossing the road while I was driving. Really! I could actually SEE the spider while I was driving... it was THAT big. Gross, gross, gross, gross, gross.

Post Marathon Bliss

2008-11-14T15:19:00.000-08:00

Nothing like downing a giant tub of butter popcorn after a 26.2 mile run! (Of course Ari ate like she had run 26.2 miles as well!)

2008 St. George Marathon

2008-11-14T13:51:00.000-08:00

So in the 32 years they have run the St. George Marathon, it has only rained twice.....and of course, one of those times had to be this year... the year Michael trained his butt off (literally; by the time he was done training, he had lost 8 pounds, and really had no butt)! Not only did it rain for the entire marathon, but there was a horrible head wind as well. Michael still managed a fabulous time of 3:12:04. But boy was he cold afterwards... can you see his blue lips?

We finally took him to the medical tent to get warmed up because he was just so, so cold. And those lips! The lady in the medical tent was convinced he had eaten or drank something blue because she just couldn't believe that lips could be that blue just from being cold.

Ari and Max hovered and shivered near Michael's cot in the medical tent.

Michael's friend, John, (owner of the infamous St. George condo that we frequently borrow) also ran it, but didn't have nearly as much of a problem with blue lips.

Chatting while waiting for a ride back to warmth!

First Day of Kindergarten, 8/25/08

2008-11-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

He looked so cute in the outfit he picked out. Of course he really didn't care about his outfit. It's just what he put on when he woke up that morning.

All I wanted was a picture of him getting on the bus the first day. Of the many I took, this (pathetically) was the best one.

Ari, May 2008

2008-11-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Where in the world did she learn this?? We still don't know....

Max's Preschool Graduation, May 2008

2008-11-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

He just really wasn't that into it.... Playing with his cap instead of wearing it on his head.....
Yea! He finally put it on!

Okay, off again and now twirling it.....

Receiving his "diploma" and treat

Posing with his class.... again, he just really wasn't into it.... Ho hum... :-)

A visit from the PA grandparents

2008-11-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad came to visit in May. We spent a day in Temple Square, visiting the conference center, watching the film on Joseph Smith, eating at the Lion House and marveling at the beautiful gardens.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T16:33:00.000-07:00

So certainly motherhood has it's challenges, but it also has some sweet moments....like when your kids smile for the camera.

Ari's second birthday...

2008-05-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

Ari turned 2! She adores Dora the Explorer, so that became the theme of her little party. Party attendees included Michael, Max, Grandma Josie and me. It was an exclusive event. She is so much fun and we love her oh so much...

Snowstorm

2008-05-10T15:41:00.000-07:00

I am going to try to get this updated a bit.... Back in Feb., I wrote about a snowstorm we had that was a bit memorable, but never posted the commentary. So this is a outdated, but thought I would send it out there nonetheless.

February 14, 2008

It was a year ago yesterday that we left Florida for our new home in Utah. What a very interesting day we had to commerate the anniversary….

So I knew that we were supposed to get hit with another snow storm (as far as I can tell, there is a snow storm everyday, so that was nothing new). I was hoping it would start later in the day so I could get Max to school and home before any major snow-on-the-road issues (I freely admit that I am not a great snow driver). It was his Valentines Day party at school and he was really, really excited about going…. So the snow held off til just before I picked him up. It was just starting then, so except for a few slides and a nervous ascent up the final hill to our house, we got home just fine. And then came the brunt of the storm. The power went off soon after we got home and that’s never a good sign. It was off for about a half hour and then flickered off and on for about another hour but then stayed on for good. I called Michael at work and told him it was starting to get bad, so he was prepared for a nightmare commute home. Oh, we had no idea….

His boss caught him on his way out so his plans to leave at 5 didn’t come to a fruition and he wasn’t able to leave until 5:45. He called me about an hour later and he wasn’t even on the freeway yet… ugh. He later found out that the freeway onramp was closed and he had to get on at a different point. An hour later, he STILL wasn’t on the freeway. Soon after that, I had the tv on and saw that they had closed the road that leads from the freeway to our neighborhood. What?? They listed a chapel that Traverse Mountain residents were to go to if they couldn’t get home. Ironically, to get to the building they listed, you needed to take the road that leads to our subdivision….. which was closed. How does that make any sense??

That was around 8:20 p.m., so I called Michael with that fun information. He had already been on the road for over 2 ½ hours, so you can imagine how he took that news. By that point he was on the freeway, but had passed the exits for his mom’s house and his sisters’ houses and there was no turning back.

To make this long story a little shorter, by the time he got to our exit, he couldn’t even exit the freeway. The police had it all blocked off. He ended up at a McDonalds a few exits down at about 9:30 or so. He eventually ended up in a hotel in Provo, south of BYU. He checked in about 11:00 pm. How’s that for a fun commute? Over 5 hours later he wasn’t even home but rather in a dive-of-a-hotel. It is now 8:35 a.m. the next morning and they still haven’t opened the road to our subdivision. Grrrr…. I’m not liking snow so much….

The last report I heard before going to bed last night was that the winds were at 70-miles-an-hour. So apparently the amount of snow wasn’t so much of a problem as the hurricane winds causing blowing snow and unbelievable snow drifts….. Miserable. It also sounded like another significant part of the problem was that people were abandoning their cars on the side of the road because they just couldn’t get anywhere (where did they go after they left their cars??) and then snow plows couldn’t get through because of all the stranded cars.

Later in the day… they finally opened the road to our subdivision at about 11:30 a.m. Soon after that, the snowplow came through. As soon as Ari goes down for her nap, I will go out to shovel while Max plays in the snow. Michael went straight to work from the flea-bag hotel he stayed in last night… He showered of course, but had to wear the same clothes he wore yesterday. The road was still closed when he needed to get back to work, so he still couldn’t get home. I haven’t even seen him since I went to bed Tuesday night. Crazy Valentines Day! Who in the world talked me into moving from sunny, warm Florida to this frozen wasteland?? My funny Valentine, maybe?

More from New Years.....

2008-02-03T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday and we woke up to MORE snow. This time they actually cancelled our church meetings... which is a bit humorous because our church building is less than a 1/2 mile away... but the parking lot wasn't plowed and after the snow plows came through the streets, no one could get out of their driveways. Michael is out shoveling right now. We had an added bonus to our day.... after Michael showered this morning, there was a strong gas odor in the house. And then the smoke alarms started to go off. Grrr. So Michael went out in the blizzard and cleared the vents. That seemed to remedy the problem. Til I showered. And then, no gas smell, but the alarms started again. Okay, then everything seemed fine again. Well then, no hot water. Sure enough, the pilot light was out. Problem now is we can't get it lit. Grrrrr again. Wonder how this will resolve.... Okay, so more about New Years....

We spent New Years Eve playing "Settlers of Catan." Does anyone else play this? (Besides those of you I know about.... Bohlings, McIllece.) Lots of fun, but it would be more fun if I won every once and awhile. For the record, Karen won. Even Max got in on the guitar hero action.... Michael would hit the notes and Max would strum...very excitedly!
Mommy and Ari....
Ari just looking cute....

New Years Day and beyond.....

2008-02-03T14:01:00.001-08:00

Our good friends, John and Karen Davis and their children, Ashleigh and St. John (Sinjin), invited us to spend New Year's in St. George with them. They recently purchased a condo there, and we welcomed the break from all the snow and frozen temps. We spent a lot of our time honing our guitar hero skills. For some reason, my skills did not mature as quickly as others, so I did not come home "guitar hero" heroine. But had fun nonetheless. I think we actually had withdrawal symptoms upon our return. I would fall asleep hearing the songs and seeing the notes come up the tv screen.... I could have been a contender! :-)

John and Karen brought their sweet puppy, Scout. (Obviously she's not really a puppy....) Ari is fascinated by animals and Scout was so accommodating of Ari's constant attention. New Years Eve.... Ari didn't make it til midnight, but Max (what a surprise!) did.....
Guitar hero wannabes in action! Doesn't it look like Michael could have been a rock star by the look on his face?? It looks like I am singing along.... I'm not. I'm probably hurling expletives at the tv because I just missed ANOTHER note!
Ari modeled her New Year's tiara well before midnight....

Christmas morning

2008-01-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

Max in front of the tree. I don't know why, but Ari did not want to pose with the tree as background. In the present-opening process....
Drinking in the magic of the season.....Ari testing out the weight capacity of her new doll stroller.
Michael supervising Ari's doll-pushing test run. (And apparently sucking on something very sour.)

Pre-Christmas festivities...

2008-01-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

So here are a few photos of some pre-Christmas traditions.....

Santa visited Max's preschool, and younger siblings were invited to sit on his lap as well.... I really thought Ari would be alright visiting with the big red man.... wrong.
We made Christmas cookies one afternoon. Okay, "made" may be too misleading. I bought the pre-made sugar cookie dough and then Max and I rolled them out and baked them.
Ari just ate the dough... :-)

2 January 2008

2008-01-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

So I finally decided it was time to figure out how to set up a blog for our family. I really don't know what I am doing, so we will see if this works....

I have added some pictures from the "Michael and Max setting up the Christmas tree" adventure. Hopefully this blog thingy will go well and I will add Christmas pictures soon.....