Productivity

Tonight we arrived early at the church for me to participate in 2 Board of Review's. Ethan and John were both progressing to Star rank and we talked to them about what they learned, what they liked, why they do scouting and all that good stuff.

The boys had been at our house since Tuesday afternoon having their last sleepover before Ethan flies to Wyoming on Sunday. He's moving away again and Brennan's pretty sad about it. The 3 boys had a great time together.

Brennan received 7 merit badges tonight, which should make him ready to earn his Life rank. Next up, Eagle! Way to go Brennan!

Making progress

We stopped at IKEA on the way back from Animal Kingdom on Saturday to get Lauklan a shelf that he has wanted for months to store his Lego collection on and in. His birthday is Thursday. So, we went in and left with a shelf...

and quite a bit more. We got 3 dressers, one for each of the kids' bedrooms. None of them have ever had a dresser. They have only used cheap plastic drawers. So now, they have some drawers. Well, let me clarify. Lauklan and Greyson have their dresser. The other two rooms will have to wait until Chris gets the time to put them together.The boys and I worked and worked this afternoon. We were all pretty excited about the finished product.

We also got 2 mattresses while at IKEA. One for Kerstyn, Aislinn and Brennan. All of them were in desperate need for new ones. Each of the kids also got new pillows and sheets.

It was quite a productive trip. Stay tuned for more pictures. ;)

The last steps

I called the surgery coordinator today to confirm that she received the fax giving Aislinn surgery clearance from the asthma doctor. Of course, they hadn't. So, I called the asthma doctor and asked that they send it again. I also had to take Aislinn to give her urine sample.

Now, we wait and see.

I will call the urology office again in a few days to make sure that she has the correct paperwork. I certainly don't want the surgery to not happen because of something I didn't do.

Keep praying. It is working.

Animal Kingdom

Holly wanted to go to Animal Kingdom today, so we all loaded up and headed down there. We never did catch up with Holly and her family, but we had a great time. The lines were not too bad and the weather wasn't mild, for Florida, of course.

Don't you just love how I have 1 kid crying in this picture and another one furious that I made them get in it? Gotta love it. Gees! All I wanted was a picture!

Playing with cousins at Grandma's

After lunch today, we headed over to Grandma's for some fun times. I am so glad that the kids have time and the opportunity to play with cousins.

It rained and rained this afternoon while the kids played and played and ate and ate.

Good times at Grandma's!

Typhoon Lagoon with Holly

Holly and I loaded up all the kids this morning and headed to Typhoon Lagoon. She had never been there before and her kids weren't too sure at first what to think, but by the end of the day, they didn't want to leave.

It was a beautiful day and it got really busy, but we all had a great time. It wasn't even miserably hot because it ended up cloudy most of the day which of course, fooled us into thinking we weren't getting much sun. Nope, that was not true. We had quite a few red faces and a very red belly for Brennan even though I put sunscreen on them.

We love playing and spending time with family.

Asthma

I have to say that I feel very blessed.

I was blessed with healthy children and I don't think that I really realized what a blessing that was, and is, until Aislinn has had all the struggles that she has had. In the end, Aislinn is still a healthy child and that is due to many things.

Her being as healthy as she is right now is due to being born in a time where we have the technology to see inside the body. It is due to having great doctors and access to the health care she needs.

Most importantly, she was born into a family that has the priesthood in their home. She was born into a family with a father that loves the gospel and honors his priesthood and lives worthily to administer it.

So, here we are, preparing AGAIN for a major surgery. The wait has been long and stressful. However, I am so glad that the antibiotics that she has been on since the end of April have kept the infection away and she has been healthy.

I took her today to her asthma doctor. They were doing a follow up and also checking her to give her clearance for her surgery that is in 16 days. They did the breathing test on her that they always do. The doctor reported that her results actually looked worse today then they did 2 months ago, so I was discouraged about that. However, she did give her the go ahead for the surgery but, she upped all her medication. She has to do the controlling medicine both morning and night throughout the month and the week of the surgery, she also has to do the rescue inhaler.

Next up is the urine sample, which we hope and pray is clear. If she stays healthy, July 21 will be the day.

Her name has been in the temple for months and she is in many people's prayers. I know that is why she is doing well. I am so thankful for the knowledge of prayer, the power of the priesthood, and the faith to keep going.

Sabbath cuteness and fireworks

We went to church this morning and then came home to some relaxing family time.

After it got dark, we all headed out to the driveway to set off some fireworks. The kids thought it was just grand and it was nice to be together as a family. I wish this picture was better, but that golf cart is seriously loaded down!

It is really nice to get away. That is when I get the smiles.

Devin's Baptism and other fun

We got up this morning and got ready for a special day. It was Devin's baptismal day and we were so happy to be a part of it! I was assigned to play the piano and then our entire family was assigned to sing a special musical number. We sang "If the Savior Stood Beside Me". The kids actually sang and I thought it was great! The baptism was wonderful and afterwards, we headed to Olive Garden to eat some lunch!

Look at those boys playing! They have the best time together. Kerstyn and Alyssa are always happy to have time to spend together. They are just 6 months apart in age.

Not only my sister in law, but my very dear friend. I am so thankful to have Holly in my life.

My best friend ever and eternal companion.

Above are some handsome men that are hungry, of course. ;)

Aislinn absolutely loves to take care of Jarom.

After we got home from lunch, we needed our nails done, so the 5 of us headed out for some pampering.

Almost breathless

Today, in my personal training appointment, my trainer was really on a mission to kill me! We did an endurance session and I was literally laying on the floor. Good stuff!

Watch Battery

I had to get a little help from my friend yesterday. I asked Debbie to come with me to Florida Mall yesterday morning so that I could go to the Mayor's store there to get my watch battery changed. She said she was happy to do it and I was happy she would come along.

We had a blast together. I bought her some reading glasses to help her be more fashionable, and she and I ate at the Nordstrom Cafe.

Most importantly, we laughed.

Fun day

Mich and I had initially planned on going to the water park today. However, the weather had different plans. So, we went to Disney Quest instead and then to The Downtown Disney Dining Theater to see Cars 2. It was a great day and we all came home tired.

Brennan returned home from Scout Camp this morning and he did a great job! However, he was super tired. So, he opted to stay home and relax while we went and had fun. For him to miss Quest, I knew he just wanted to lounge around.

Family Night at Scout Camp

Chris and I went out to La No Che tonight to spend some time with Brennan. He was hot and tired, but he looked good.

This week was very productive for him. He completed Fingerprinting, Rifle Shooting, Leatherworks and Astronomy merit badges! Go Brennan!

Overall, it was a very productive week-long sleepover for 3 best friends. Good times!

Service

After saying my final farewell to the Carter's, I needed to go back to their house today with the children to take out their garbage for them.

The kids and I ate at Five Guys for dinner, and then headed over to the Birdhouse to do our Family Home Evening service activity.

It took us two trips like the one you see above and one trunk load of garbage in my van.

We sang songs on the way home and had a nice discussion about why we wanted to help our friends.

I miss them so much already. :(

Aislinn's celebration, Phase 3!

Today, we celebrated with Daddy for Aislinn's birthday, we even brought Ethan along to spend the day. As you can see, we had a blast!

They ate some cotton candy and played in the sand.

They rode slides together, floated in the lazy river and even rested for a little.


Ethan has been one of Brennan's best buddies for years, but Ethan is moving to Wyoming next month, so this was part of our farewell time with him. He and the rest of his family will surely be missed.

After we got back from Typhoon Lagoon, Grandma came over with birthday cake and we ordered pizza.
The party finally ended.

Aislinn is 6!

I can not believe it, but it finally arrived! We've literally been counting down the days for about 3 months! But, it's here and she is 6! My baby... :(

She wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon for a while and then to Disney Quest. We granted her wishes. The day was all about her! The only person missing was Daddy, but we will do something special with him on Saturday.

It was a fun, (but very tiring for Mom) day.

An extra day

Holly left with her boys yesterday afternoon, but my kids did some smooth talking and convinced me to stay another night. So, we did, and left Tally about 10 or 11 this morning.

After stopping at Zaxby's for lunch in Lake City and stopping a few times for the bathroom, we arrived back in Sorrento safely.

I headed to work and then the gym for some much needed sweat therapy.

Back to the grind...

Now this is fun!

Fun is 13 people getting ready at once for church with 2 bathrooms! Now, THAT is fun!

It was a nice visit to Tallahassee First ward today. Following church, we came home and made lunch with the kids played. Kenney and I were preparing lunch together and she said the that the kids were like locusts when the food was ready. It was pretty true and really funny. We make the food, they swarm in and devour it, then they leave. Yep, that was them. Do you think we need some seagulls?

Tallahassee Get Away

The kids had a great day today and hence, so did I! They drove and rode in the golf cart and did a lot of swimming! I didn't even leave the house today. It was super hot, but a great day.

Up to Tally!

After working some in the morning, I loaded up all the kids, minus Brennan, and headed to Tallahassee just to get away and spend some time with family. Holly was coming down from Ft. Benning with her boys, and we were planning on some fun.

What I didn't plan on was being lucky enough to see Daddy! But, we certainly got lucky because we met him at the Flying J for about a 5 minute visit. The kids were beyond excited to see Papa in his big truck and give him a hug!

Last Day of school

All of the kids had their last day today. They had good school years overall. I now have a high school student! How in the world did that happen? Brennan will go into 9th, Kerstyn into 7th, Lauklan 4th, Greyson 2nd and Aislinn in 1st! Oh boy...

Lauklan's Awards Day

I went to Lauklan's Award's Ceremony today. It was a great end to a great year! He did really well all year because of a great teacher and a wonderful tutor!

Way to go LJ! Bring on 4th grade!

Because we must

Mom and I flew home this morning and then I drove home. Back to reality for us, but we sure had a great time while it lasted! Thanks Mom for a great time and even better memories together!

New York City, Day 4

Mom wanted to take everyone to Sarabeth's for breakfast this morning and we had a wonderful time!

Following breakfast, we went and walked around for a while and then relaxed until we met Jeffrey and Jay at SD26.

Tasty food and great company!

Tomorrow morning we leave for the airport. New York City is always such fun!

New York City, Day 3

This morning, after dragging ourselves out of bed, Mom and I headed over to Jeffrey's to visit with him, Gail and David. We also had lunch reservations at Kefi, a very neat little Greek restaurant about a block and a half from Jeffrey's apartment on the upper west side of the city. We were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Caroline and we all had a wonderful lunch!

Following lunch, we went back to Jeffrey's apartment for a little and then Mom, David, Gail and I headed to the hotel for David and Gail to check in and for them to rest for a bit. However, we needed to have some Jamba Juice too, so Gail and I walked a few blocks and got our fix for all four of us.

We enjoyed visiting for a few hours, Mom enjoyed her nap and then we headed to Joyce Theater to watch Jeffrey perform. We really loved his performance and dinner that followed!

New York City, Day 2

This morning was a slow start so Mom and I headed to Stage Deli for a late breakfast. While eating, we decided that we wanted to do the horse carriage ride through Central Park again because last time, I didn't get to really enjoy it due to happenings at home. So, after eating, we started walking the way towards the park. We were stopped by a fella that sold us on a discounted, yet wonderful (he said) toured bike ride through the park that would take us way further into it and also be an hour. We decided to do it and we really enjoyed it. Except I am sure that Mom permanently bent the metal frame from her bracing herself while on the streets. It was quite funny.

Above is by Bethesda Fountain. Across the street they were filming something which was neat to watch.

Mom really enjoyed talking with our tour guide who was from Senegal. He did a great job and we had a great time. We were dropped off at 5th avenue and did some walking around the shops and through FAO Schwartz.

For dinner, we had reservations at Dos Caminos and we sat outside. The weather was very nice, even cool at times. The food was wonderful!

We had tickets to Chicago at 8 and it was about one block south and 5 blocks west. We were sure we would be able to get a cab, but nope. We ended up walking the whole way.

Our seats were center and third row. They were great!

We had to wait a while to get a cab back to the hotel, but we were finally successful. Mom was told by her doctor to not walk much because she is having trouble with her foot. We did the best we could.

New York City, Day 1

It was early, as usual, but we were all smiles and we were off!

After landing at JFK and arriving at the hotel in record time (because the cab driver drove AT LEAST 80), we rested for a little and then decided to head to Serendipity III for an early dinner. It never disappoints us. We had tasty food and a great time.

We were even educated by our half Italian cab driver as to how we were tourists because we didn't get in the taxi at the right place. We learned that you don't get in going a certain way because you can't turn left onto Lexington Avenue from 10 - 6 during the week.

Okay. Now we know. We always have a blast though.