Thanksgiving Vacation - Day 3: Thanksgiving

Awe, Thanksgiving Day.  Tony and I were in charge of the drinks and Tony had gone to the store the day before and picked up them up, so we didn't have much to do for the dinner.  Wendy made us some pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  It was good.  

Wendy still needed to pick up what she needed for her charcuterie board.  So, after breakfast I went with her and Benje in the morning to the store to help pick out the yummy charcuterie goodness.  

After we got back, Sherri and her family had come to start making her stuffing muffins.  Wendy then started making her charcuterie board.  After that was done, we all enjoyed the appetizer and waited for the rest of the family to come.  

Gabe came with his turkey and started to deep fry it in the front yard.  The boys liked helping him with the fryer and felt very manly.  My parents then came with their turkey and Teagan.  Teagan had started coughing the day before and this day she had gotten really sick.  She was coughing really hard and had chills and a fever.  But she masked up and still came to be with the family.  

Julie and Kevin's family then came with all their food.  They had made a lot and had some warming up to do at Wendy's house.  After everything was ready, we prayed and ate.  Everything was very good, and we all had a great meal with great company.  

After eating we decided that us girls wanted to do our snowman craft that night instead of the next night because Sherri was going to leave back towards home in the afternoon the next day.  So, Julie, Betsy, Sherri and I headed to Julie's to pick up the craft to be completed at Wendy's.  

The kids all played in the front yard while we went to Julie's.  Megan and Allie tried to get into the pool, but it was too cold, so they didn't last very long.  Megan had wanted to go in so bad before we ate, but I told her to wait until after dinner.  I probably should have just let her try it while it was sunny.

Once we got back with the crafts, us gals got busy making our cute showmen.  Julie always comes up with the cutest crafts and shows us how to do them.   The dudes all hung out together while us gals crafted.  My boys just love to play with Wendy's small dogs.  They love that they can hold them and snuggle them.  Luckily the dogs love to be held and love the attention, so everyone is happy.

After we finished the craft, we all cleaned up and then people went back to their homes for bed.  It was another great Thanksgiving and always wonderful to be with the whole family.

Thanksgiving Vacation - Day 2: Family Building Time

Wednesday morning, we got up and had some breakfast at Wendy's.  Wendy wanted to go walking and I wanted to go with, so we tried to get out the golf cart for me to drive next to her while she walked with her dog, Ruby.  Unfortunately, the golf cart wasn't working, so I took her four-wheeler instead.  It was still fun, but the four-wheeler was loud, so it made it hard.  Allie came with on the walk and then ended up riding with me.  We didn't go very far and then Wendy had to go to work.

Tony took the other kids to go play tennis at the high school while we walked/rode.  After they were done, they came and got Allie and I and we headed back towards my parents' house.  They kids wanted to stop by Wendy and Julie's work.  They always keep snacks and drinks there, so the kids really like to help themselves.  While we were there, Missy saw my scooter and she asked if she could decorate it.  I said, sure, and she went wild.  It was pretty funny.  

After we visited, we left and went to my parents' house.  Boyd was there with Averee and Kimball getting ready to screw in the flooring for my mom's clubhouse.  So, Tony jumped in and helped with the floor.  The kids also took turns helping with the floor or with the yard work.  I sat and watched them all work from the porch.  It was a nice sunny day and even though I felt bad I wasn't helping, I enjoyed soaking in the sun and just being with family.

My dad picked up pizzas for everyone and he and Tyler came back with them right as they finished putting the patio furniture on the new floor under the gazebo.  It all looked so good, and my mom loves it.  I was glad we were able to see it completed and the smile on her face while she sat in her new seats in her clubhouse.  

After Julie got off of work, we then all went back to her house.  We took my new Cricut machine and laptop so that Julie could show me how to use it.  She showed Tony and I many cool things and I am excited to use it more in the future.  

Kevin's family then made it into town and stayed with Julie.  Then Sherri's family came for dinner with my parents.  They decided to stay at a hotel this time because they brought their older dog that needed lots of personal attention.  

Wendy, my parents and Teagan then all came, and we all had a yummy dinner all together.  The kids all love playing with their cousins, and we love hanging out with the adults.  Then we went back to Wendy's for bedtime.

Thanksgiving Vacation - Day 1: Driving to Auburn, CA

We got up early on Tuesday morning to start our drive to Auburn, CA.  It was a cold morning, and we were all excited to be going somewhere warmer.  I was still using my knee scooter, so we had to bring it with us.  That was annoying to try to fit it in the back, but Tony and the boys were good to help me get it and put it back.

We also only stopped two times on our way there.  We stopped in Battle Mountain for gas and picked up some gas station breakfast food.  That food helped us hold off for lunch until we got to Reno.  We decided to go to Costco to walk around and get some lunch at their food court.  Their gas station was way too busy, so we got gas a few blocks away.

We then drove the rest of the way to Auburn.  Julie and Wendy weren't home yet, so we went to my parents' house first.  Their house was easy to get into with my scooter, just two steps to get into their house.  We got to hang out with them and play at their house.  Teagan had flown in the night before, so we got to chat with her too.  

We then went over to Julie's house for dinner.  Her house has a lot of steps and proved to be a lot harder to get into.  But I just climbed up and down the stairs and made it work.  Totally worth it to be with family.  Dinner was good and it was fun to hang out with our family.  After dinner, we went to Wendy's house and got the van all unpacked.  Wendy's house also has a lot of stairs, but they are separated with landings after each step, so that helped.  But I did end up mostly going through the garage and crawling up the stairs.  I am sure it was funny to see, but we all made it work.  After getting all unpacked, we all went to bed.  It was a good, long day.

Tendinitis, Arthritis, & a Fracture...Oh My!

My foot had been hurting me for a few weeks before I got in to see the doctor.  It started right before we went on our Fall Break trip, and I just pushed through the pain.  I went and saw the pediatrist and he felt like I had tendinitis in the side of my foot.  I didn't think that I needed x-rays because the pain would move each day and I thought if it was bone related then it would hurt in the same spot.  The doctor agreed and didn't think I needed the x-ray.  He told me to fix the pain of the tendinitis I would need to either take it really easy and walk very little for four months or use a knee scooter for three weeks and bear no weight on that food.  

After going home and talking with Tony we decided that three weeks of struggling with a knee scooter was better than four months of doing very little.  So, I called the doctor to see if I could get a prescription for the knee scooter in hopes that our insurance would cover the knee scooter.  I also had a feeling that I should go in and get an x-ray, just to make sure that everything was good on the x-ray.  I was able to go in and get the x-ray and the prescription at the same time.  

I found out that the prescription alone didn't make my insurance cover the scooter.  So, I put it out on Facebook and asked if anyone had a knee scooter.  Within an hour, I had a couple different people reach out to me offering me their scooter (thankfully).  Tony and I picked up the scooter on Thursday night, and I started my knee scooter journey Friday morning.  

I made the mistake of going to Costco first thing Friday morning with Tony and using the knee scooter really hurt my knee and leg.  I found out it was too high and that was part of the reason it hurt so bad.  It really discouraged me and made me want to give up on the scooter, but I did not.  

It took a little work, but I did get the hang of using the scooter.  The hardest part inside the house is backing up and the hardest thing outside is stairs.  I started out just hopping down the stairs until Sunday night when I rolled my ancle hopping down Margie's front steps.  Luckily, I just sprained my ancle and I could still use it.  

I had an appointment to see an orthopedic specialist to see what was wrong with my shoulder.  I had been having pain in my arm and shoulder for years and it finally got bad enough that I made an appointment to have it looked at.  I was worried that I would have to park really far away from the hospital, but it wasn't too bad.  I did perfectly fine using my scooter to get where I needed to go.

I got x-ray's before I saw the doctor.  The first thing the doctor said was that I was only 41 years old.  I thought that was odd.  But then he told me I had osteoid arthritis in my shoulder.  He made it seem like it was pretty advanced.  He told me that when the pain got worse, he could do shots and then I would probably need a shoulder replacement surgery.  He hoped that I could wait until I was at least 50 years old for that surgery.  I was shocked!  Arthritis was not even on my radar.  He did order me an MRI that should show if there are more problems with my arm and shoulder.  I was able to schedule that appointment for the end of November.  I am hoping to call later this week to see if there are any cancelations to get me in sooner.  

I had my shoulder appointment a week after I got my foot x-ray, and I still hadn't heard back from my foot doctor.  I decided to call them and make sure that those x-rays were all normal and didn't show any arthritis in my foot.  The doctor called me back and told me that the x-ray showed that I had fractured my foot and it started healing but incorrectly (so no tendinitis).  He asked if I remembered hurting my foot, but I did not.  I must have done it right before Fall Break.  So, the doctor told me that I need to continue to stay off my foot for the full three weeks and then see how it feels.  I need to take it easy after the three weeks on the scooter and then slowly add in different exercises that aren't walking.  If I still have pain, then he will refer me to a foot surgeon and possibly I would need surgery on my foot.  That was a hard thing to hear.  But I was glad that I choose to do the scooter instead of continuing to walk on my foot for the past week.  I am not sure what is going to happen with my foot or my shoulder, but I am optimistic.  I had Tony give me a blessing after church yesterday with our neighbor (Brother Pahl) and I am feeling good about things.  Whatever happens, happens.  I know that I am blessed and love.  

Pre-Halloween Fun

We were blessed to go to a lot of pre-Halloween activities this year.  The first one was with the Taylorsville police department, first department, etc.  The kids got to trunk-or-treat and see the fire trucks, emergency trucks, a helicopter, and a SWAT truck.  It was all super fun and cool to see all those people who chose their professions to be to serve their community.  It was super fun.

The next day Granger High had a trunk-or-treat with lots of games to earn your treats.  Everyone got treats, but you would get more treats if you won their games.  It was put on by different clubs from the school and the kid's got tons of treats and had tons of fun.

Lastly, we had my parents' ward's trunk-or-treat.  We met up at their house where Sherri was there with her family.  We then all went over to their church. We passed out treats first and then they had a chili cookoff.  We tried all the chili's and then voted.  We, of course, voted for my mom and she ended up winning.  Josh got two buddies that he met there to vote for my mom too.  It was kind of funny.  The kids got lots more candy and it was fun seeing so many people from my childhood.  We also liked hanging out with Papa G and Grandma Kim since they moved to their house in Auburn the next Monday.  We missed Tyler, since he had to work, but we all had a really good time.

Halloween 20223

Halloween 2022 was a big success.  The girls had their Halloween parade in the morning and Tony was able to get off of work to watch the parade.  After lunch I went over to the school and did a few games with Allie's class before I went over to Megan's class and did those same games for Megan's class.  They all seemed to like the games and treats.  I was glad that I was able to help and spend time with the kids.  

Tyler decided not to trick-or-treat this year, so he stayed back and helped me pass out candy.  Josh was all about trick-or-treating.  Megan's friend, Katelynn and her dad and sister, came trick-or-treating with our family.  They got lots of treats and had a great time getting candy around the neighborhood.  We had a lot more trick-or-treaters this year and it was so great to see so many people out enjoying the holiday.

November Activities

The girls and I got to go to a mom/daughter sleepover at the Jones rental property for Activity Days.  We got there about 6:00 pm and ate pizza.  After we cleaned up dinner, we then decorated Halloween houses.  Megan did her house all by herself and I helped Allie quite a bit.  It was a fun kit that Gundi got from Costco and the girls all loved creating their houses.  

After that Gundi went back home and left us there to watch Hocus Pocus 2.  It was just us and Reagan and Miriam Barnes.  After the movie we all went to bed.  I shared a room with Megan and Allie and the Barnes girls were downstairs.  The Jones's came back the next morning and made breakfast for us with their son that lives across the street.  It was a yummy spread of food.  After eating we cleaned up and then went back home.  It was the perfect getaway and the girls had so much fun, and so did us moms.

About a week later Tony and I bought some pumpkins and let the girls paint them.  Allie did a rainbow jack-o-lantern and Megan painted a witch.  They did it all themselves and they both did a good job.  I made sure and stayed in the other room so that I wouldn't be tempted to "help."  I am so proud at how creative they are, and I love that they love to do these fun holiday activities.

The boys got to go to a corn maze for mutual with the young woman.  They both had a really good time, and they love going each year as part of the young mens.  

Fall Break 2022: Day 5 & 6 - Martin's Cove and Home

We started our drive towards home on Saturday morning.  We stopped at Martin's Cove and learned more about the pioneers who had to camp there on their way to Utah.  We had some family that came through there, so that made it extra cool to see the site and watch the film about the pioneers.  

We then started back on our way towards home.  We stopped and ate lunch at a really good local diner.  It was a super cute place with yummy food.  We then drove to our last hotel for the trip.  This hotel had freshly made cookies when we checked in.  After we got all checked in, we then got on our swimsuits and went swimming.  We had the whole pool to ourselves.  It was a small pool, but perfect for our family.  The water was a little cold in the pool, so Tony and I spent our time in the hot tub.  After a while Tony went back to the room to get showered and then he picked up some pizza.  I stayed back with the kids until they were all done swimming.  We then all went back and got showered.  We then all ate dinner and relaxed in our room for the evening.  After a couple hours Tony and I went over to Walmart to pick up some ice cream for the crew.  Everyone had their fill of ice cream goodness and then we went to bed.  

The next day we then packed up the van and drove home.  We dropped off Margie and Lloyd at their house because they needed to get to their ward, then we went to our house.  We unloaded the van and then I went over to the Insta-Care because I had been struggling with an ear infection all week.  I was able to see a doctor and then he got me a prescription for my ear infection.  It was a different way to end a vacation, but I was glad I was home and able to get the meds I needed.  We all had a great time and really appreciate Lloyd and Margie taking us on this fun trip.

Fall Break 2022: Day 4 - The Badland National Park

Oh, the Badlands.  It was only about 10 minutes from Wall Drug.  It is National Park, so we got a map of the park and a hiking trail map. We had about an hour before their visitor's center closed, so we hoped to check it out before it closed.  We stopped at a couple different look out spots and a hiking spot before we hit the visitor's center.  We had 10 minutes to check out the visitors center and learn all we could.  We were able to get the booklets and badges for the girls to be Jr. Rangers from the Badlands too.  Allie wasn't super into it.  She thought it was too much work at Mt. Rushmore.  Luckily for her we didn't have enough time to actually learn stuff.  But we got some coins from the shop and then continued on to more hikes.  The kids really liked the hikes and exploring when we were allowed to go off trail.  

We then drove out of the park and headed back towards our hotel.  We stopped and had dinner in Rapid City at a yummy local restaurant.  After eating we then drove back to see Mt. Rushmore in the dark before going back to the hotel and we all went swimming.  The kids love pools.  We then all showered and went to bed for the night.  Such a good day!

Fall Break 2022: Day 4 - Wall Drug

After Mt. Rushmore we headed north towards The Badlands National Park.  We stopped at Wall Drug first for some lunch and to walk around all the stores.  This store started out as a little drug store and then advertised free ice water and their business grew.  Now they have added a restaurant and many different stores within the drug store, even a chapel.  So, it was pretty interesting to check it out and buy souvenirs.