Lynita and the Boys

The End of Football and Cross Country Season

2011-10-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

Jake and Gma Sheila

Jake had such an awesome learning experience this season thanks to his awesome coaches and teammates. Can't wait til next year!!

Hunter had another awesome Cross Country season this year.

Hunter and his bud Kayden.

I'm sad to see it end. I've had a great time watching them both this year. So fun to see them start to find what they love.

7th Annual TONIA is the BEST AUNT EVER day!!!!!!!!!!

2011-10-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

Tonia and the boys made this awesome Haunted House. I think we figured out this is the 7th year she's done it with them. She keeps asking if they are still into or if they are too old. HA! Too old? Never! THEY LOVE IT! Thanks Tonia for make this a tradition that they'll always remember. :) (Sorry to all you other Aunts out there, but if you want your own day, you have to do something this cool! Hehe!)

Noah's New Blankey!

2011-09-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Noah's "Rogers" cousins each donated a t-shirt that represented them for a t-shirt blanket for Noah. Then G'ma Sheila and Aunt Debbie and Aunt Melanie started working to put it together and have it signed by each of the cousins. So Cute! I got the border finished last Saturday night, just in time for Noah to be sick with it on Sunday! He's better now....probably thanks to the magic healing power of his "Cousin Blankey"! Yay! Thanks everybody!!!!! HE LOVES IT! :)

Lime Green Birthday Cake!

2011-08-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! The Brockbanks are keeping my little "cake business" in business. This one was for Riley's 13th birthday. I think it's my favorite so far. Simple but Sweet!

Family Pics

2011-08-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jacob's Graduation

2011-07-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jacob!!

Jake has been ready to graduate from elementary since about...let's see....day 1 of sixth grade. I cannot tell you how excited he is to be moving on to Junior High next year.

So besides just graduating, he was also voted MOST ATHLETIC by his class and given an award. Way to go Jake!! You're Awesome!!

Topsy Turvy Teapot!

2011-06-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

I made this cake for my cute little friend Ryann's 9th Birthday Party!

UM.......NOAH?????

2011-05-09T18:47:00.000-07:00

Too Funny!!

My first REAL cake gig!

2011-04-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine called the other day and said she heard that "I do cakes". Well, naturally I said, "Yeah......I do cakes." So she asked how much I charged....and WALLA a new career was born. Hehe. This is my first official cake. I got the idea from one of my old highschool friends who has a cake blog AND is super talented. http://sarahsievecakes.blogspot.com/

So there you have it. It doesn't pay as much as nursing, but it's definately more fun. :)

Ohhh!!! The Power of Prayer

2011-03-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

At a recent Stake Conference, our Stake President gave a wonderful talk about prayer. He encouraged families to make it a regular practice to "kneel" together before the Lord in prayer. We decided to give it a try.

It began well.

Look at us, perfectly kneeling. We almost look like the family in the primary pictures.

But then after a few weeks, it turned into this...

And after a month, things began to go down hill...

At least Hunter is faithful with his scripture study!!!

Is there any hope for the Rogers Family?

Our Newest Addition

2011-03-10T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is our new PUPPY!!!!! Yay! She's a total sweetie. Okay really we got her about 6 weeks ago, but I didn't want to jump the gun and say we had a puppy before we gave her a test run. (Seeing that we have a history of getting puppies and then giving them away cuz they are too "puppy like".) Haha, right DAD! :)

Andi's Birthday Cake

2011-02-13T20:13:00.001-08:00

Tonight we hosted a birthday party at our house for two of my nieces. Andi turned ONE and Kenzie turned SIX. I made the cake for Andi. Kenzie got cupcakes with her name on them. Her mom is making her a power puff cake later this week. :)

Rogers Family Christmas Party!

2010-12-27T22:16:00.001-08:00

Dans family knows how to throw a party! This was the grand finale of the annual talent show. Oh I WISH I would have gotten a video of "The Ro Bros" performing their talent! Dan was lead vocal and guitarist, Noah on piano, Jake on drums, and Hunter on Violin. I was soooo impressed and soooo proud. They ROCKED!

C is for ... Cavernous reCanalization with Collateral veins

2010-12-03T15:59:00.001-08:00

Where do I start .... in July of this year Noah had an ultrasound where the radiologist determined his clot to be resolved. Unfortunately that same day, they also determined that he had an appendicitis. So he went to surgery. Because of the surgery, he also went off of anticoagulation medication.

Then about a month or so ago, Noah had an echocardiogram. The cardiologist was concerned about something he saw and recommended we do an abdominal CT.

So last week we had an abdominal CT done. The results were SUPRISING. Cavernous recanalization of the IVC with collateral veins. What does this mean???? The way the radiologist described it to me was that his IVC was essentially gone and there were little veins that had grown all over in his abdomen to compensate for losing the Inferior Vena Cava.

Unfortunately I dont what the ramifications of this will be. First of all, the question I have is .... did a new clot develop in the 2 weeks that he was off coumadin OR did the radiologist that read the ultrasound in July get it wrong. This is important to know because in April next year another doctor plans to try to take him of anticoagulation therapy. My second question would be.... what will this mean for him in the future? Will he always be tired? Will he always have abdominal pain and chest pain?? Will I ever post about anything other than Noahs health issues again??? HMMMMMMMM :)

The Doctor Says.....

2010-11-05T10:34:00.001-07:00

I feel "mixed" about the Denver trip. They didn't do alot of extra testing like I expected them to. The only test they could think of that hadn't been done already was a blood test for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH), which seems pretty unlikely to me to come back positive. We'll see!

The doctor classified what Noah had as a "Thrombotic Storm" and entered him into a Genome Research Study (more information at http://www.stoptheclot.org/News/article181.htm ). We won't get any specific info back on Noah, but if it helps in the research process, great.

Hmmmm..... what else?? So I guess we just go back to taking Noah to Primarys with any new and unusual symptoms and hope that eventually we will either figure out what his diagnosis is, or he gets better.

Headed for DENVER!

2010-11-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning the boys and I are heading to Denver so Noah can see the hematologist/thrombosis specialist out there. He seems to be doing fairly well for that last few weeks. The only real update is that we took him in a couple weeks ago for a follow up echocardiogram for a dilated aortic root. The aortic root was about the same, however, the cardiologist said he peaked at his IVC (where the clot 'was' but apparently had gone away), and he thought that it "might be back". I wasn't sure what to do with that information except wait for Denver. So hopefully this doctor will not only tell us if the clot has actually come back, but also what in the heck is causing it!!!!!!!! Please, everybody pray that we'll have a safe trip and that we'll come back with some answers.

Annual Haunted House

2010-10-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Have you EVER seen SPOOKIER gingerbread than this????? BOO!

Thanks Tonia!

Hanging out with the Korth's

2010-09-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

We all had fun hanging out with the Korth's. See Sheia's post about my good looking Hubby.

http://allmyks.blogspot.com/2010/09/just-for-dan.html

JACK JOHNSON CONCERT

2010-08-17T22:09:00.000-07:00

Last Friday Dan's sister called us up and asked if we wanted to go with them to the Jack Johnson Concert.....so we DID. The end. (Just kidding - If you want to see photographic evidence you have to go look at my SIL's blog; CRASH TEST DUMMIES. The link is on the side bar. :)

Canada - Photographic evidence

2010-07-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

OH Canada!

2010-07-31T00:09:00.000-07:00

Havin' a great time with my little sister Jami and her family. Photographic evidence is yet to come..................................................as soon as I figure out how to download stuff on her computer. See ya all later, EH!

Soooo the good news....

2010-07-13T23:10:00.001-07:00

Update on Noah:

The Good News: Today we took Noah in for an ultrasound to check the progress on his IVC Thrombosis and there has actually been some progress. He now has some flow through his inferior vena cava where there previously was none.

The Bad News: Last night Noah started vomiting alot, so after he had his ultrasound today, Dr. Bhonsack did his assessment and sent us back down to ultrasound to look at his appendix. Long story short - Noah just got out of surgery for an appendicitis. Originally when I found out, I thought maybe it was a good thing. Maybe this has been going on for months now and was causing some of the weird symptoms he's had. Unfortunately, the surgeon does not agree. She said his appendicitis was a stage 2 and has probably only been there for a day or two. Anyway, we are at Primary Childrens again, hopefully just for a couple of days.

Update on NOAH!

2010-07-01T12:14:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I've given an update...so here it is. A few weeks ago, Noah woke up with a 104 degree fever and a large puffy lump on his face. We took him to the ER and they thought perhaps it was an abcessed tooth. We treated him with antibiotics and the fever and swelling went away. That week while he was on antibiotics he felt GREAT. (Had energy, overall swelling went down, etc.) BTW: We(Dr. Bhonsack and me) don't think he actually had an abcessed tooth. Not really sure what it was.

Anyway, last week we had labs re-drawn to check sed rate and crp (which had been going back up since stopping steriods). They are both back to normal. AWESOME.

We also re-checked the labs for Antiphospholipid Syndrome. Remember this is the "soft" diagnosis they gave him but had to recheck later and have a positive result to confirm diagnosis. Well, guess what ... the results were NEGATIVE. So the originally "soft" diagnosis for this is now more like "ooozy goozy runny - not really likely at all" diagnosis. Big suprise! ;)

So, this weeks labs were MOSTLY normal. However, his White Blood Cell count this week is low. (WBC:3.0, should be between 5-10ish) What does this mean, you ask? I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE !$#^@!&^#%$ THAT MEANS. NOBODY DOES! We just have to keep waiting and seeing. :(

So how is Noah feeling... Sometimes he seems okay. But alot of the time lately he seems VERY TIRED, DECREASED APPETITE, AND HE LOOKS LIKE THE ANEMIA MIGHT BE COMING BACK (PALE SKIN AND LIPS).

I talked to his doctor a couple days ago and we are going to move up the next ultrasound to look at the clot again. So that will most likely be next Tuesday.

So, How am I doing, you ask?
I am very very close to completely LOSING IT! Maybe it's because of the "Noah" thing, OR the not working anymore thing, OR maybe it's my marriage, OR could it be the NO money and lots of bills thing, OR maybe my current "lack of faith" thing. I'm not sure, I just can't seem to put my finger on it. Whatever it is, just know that asking me how I'm doing, may open up a BIG 'OLE can of gummy worms that you just were not expecting. So proceed with caution. :)

Workin' up a sweat!

2010-06-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

The boys have been doing odd jobs around the neighborhood for the last couple weeks to earn money for SCOUT CAMP. It's probably wrong of me to get such pleasure out of seeing them work so hard...but I just can't help it. I LOVE to see them sweat. Hunter and Jacob left today for camp for the whole week. (I'm not sure how their "Mommy" is going to make it without them.)

CON"GRADUATIONS" HUNTER

2010-05-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Hunter Graduated from Elementary school today. Hunter was voted "Best Friend" by his classmates.

Hunter with his best friend and Noah. Hunters best friend was the valedictorian and gave a great speech.

Hunter and Mom.

Grandma made Hunter this awesome candy lei. (That I have already starting begging Hunter to share with me.) :)

GOING TO DISTRICT!

2010-05-20T15:44:00.001-07:00

JAKE IS DETERMINED TO HELP ME GET THE VACATION I'VE BEEN DREAMING OF FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO WIN THE 800 METER DASH AT THE HERSHEY TRACK MEET AND GO ALL THE WAY TO NATIONALS SO I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE HIM TO HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA. WELL, HE'S OFF TO A GOOD START. HE IS GOING TO DISTRICTS, SO ALREADY HE HAS WON ME A TRIP TO .... I'M NOT SURE REALLY, EITHER SPANISH FORK OR PROVO. WHOOHOOO JAKE, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.

Cookie Biz!

2010-05-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

Noah's in the cookie biz. He has decided he has way too much time on his hands now that he's not in school and can't really go outside and play much. So he made up some fliers and sent them around the neighborhood and waaalaaa, cookie biz. He's lovin' it. He sold a bunch of cookies on his first day (yesterday). Although he likes the actually cookie making, I think his FAVORITE part is putting all the numbers into the excel spreadsheet he made. Like father, like son I guess. :)

HOME AGAIN - HOME AGAIN

2010-04-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Let's see... where to begin. We brought Noah home from the hospital on Tuesday the 13th. We were excitedly apprehensive. We still had no clues about what caused the clotting, and he was not really feeling any better than when we took him in on the 2nd.

A few days before we left the hospital his headaches started up again and got much worse the first day we got home. Dr. Bhonsack, the doctor everyone said was super smart, was not aware that we had been sent home and called as soon as he found out to see how we were doing. I told him that Noahs headaches were getting worse and he suggested that we should take him to the ER at Primary's if they got any worse. The concern was that if the original clot in his brain had caused the initial headaches, then maybe he was having more clotting in his brain with the presence of more headaches. (I'm typing fast so let me know if I'm losing anyone.) Of course, this was very concerning to me, so the next day when his headaches became worse and his face started swelling more, I took him back to the hospital. They kept us overnight and did a CT angio of his brain as well as an MRI. They found no evidence of new clots so they felt comfortable letting us take Noah back home.

At this point, all of the test results are in and the verdict is...... well, there is no clear verdict. However, they did get a positive test result. One of the initial tests they ran is called a venom viper test. This test is for ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME. This test result came back slightly abnormal(not really abnormal, just a hint of abnormal). Since they didn't find much else to hang their hats on, they ran some further tests to consider the possibility of ANTIPHOSPHOLIPID SYNDROME. Several secondary tests were run. Of these, one test result WAS positive. Sounds great right. Well not really. The one positive test result has a disclaimer. If this lab test, HEXAGONAL PHOSPHOLIPID NEUTRALIZATION, is done on a blood sample of a pt who is within the therapeutic range for heparin (which Noah was on the day the test was drawn), then the possibility of a FALSE POSITIVE is GREAT. (According to the literature the doctor gave me.)

So what does this mean for Noah. It means the Rheumatologists decided to start treating him with immunosuppressant drugs (steroids for now). Although I believe they are treating him for the wrong thing, the drugs really seem to be working well. This is probably because his body was having some kind of ACUTE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE and corticosteroids are an anti-inflammatory.

I know this probably all sounds like a bunch of rambling. I just need to get it all off my chest, and this is my way to process it. I do have a new theory.... not sure I should say or not, but really, what the heck. My new theory is....no, I'm not going to say. But I am going to ask the doctor about it on Tuesday.

Long story short. WE ARE HAPPY TO BE HOME AND ECSTATIC THAT NOAH IS FEELING A BIT MORE LIKE HIS HAPPY CHEERFUL SELF.

Saturday Night

2010-04-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hey, I'm at home tonight with Hunter and Jacob. Dan is staying overnight in the hospital with Noah. So I took the opportunity to post some of these cute pictures of Noah with all his visitors. I think the only people I didn't get pictures of are Melanie and Chads family, Sheila, and Janica and Madison Hillesheim. As you can see, Noah really loves to have visitors. Today he started out looking pretty low, and then Hunter, Jacob, Dan and Sheila showed up and he was a totally different kid.

I don't have any new news. Things are pretty much the same. I did hear a rumor from one of the nurses that they might be sending him home on homecare services on Monday. We shall see. In some ways that would be really nice. On the other hand, it could also be really scary. We will see. Love you all. Goodnight.

Even more hospital pictures

2010-04-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

More hospital pictures

2010-04-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hospital pictures

2010-04-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

Honest and Upbeat

2010-04-09T22:48:00.000-07:00

It's hard to know how to strike a balance between being honest here about how Noah is really doing and being upbeat and positive about the whole experience. But I'm gonna take a crack at it tonight. You can tell me how I do. Tonight is our one week annivesary of being in the hospital. (more specifically in room 3038). Noah and I have both decided that it's not the most fun we've ever had. It's almost midnight and what he wants most right now is just to go outside and get some fresh air. I told him that if the weather is nice tomorrow we WILL go out side to the "angel garden".

I wish I had an idea about noah's progress or prognosis, but I really don't. I think at this point they have a couple more shot in the dark tests and then they just say "well, this is one for the medical books". As of right now they are treating him with lovenox and hoping that the clotting will start to resolve. So far there is no evidence that it has. They also drew blood cultures tonight because he continues to get fevers xnd they need to make sure he isn't septic. (infection).

How am I doing so far?

I'm guessing maybe good on honest, not so good on upbeat. Just wait..... It's coming.

It always amazes me how generous and compassionate people are when we are in need. We are so incredibly humbled by everyones love, support, prayers and fasting, and willingness to help in any way they can. We are so grateful for our family and friends who have helped take care of hunter and Jake. And for those who have come to visit us in the hospital, and for the meals and phone calls and messages of concern and for all of you who are praying for Noah and our family. As hard as it is sometimes to go through trials, it really makes it easier to know we certainly are NOT alone.

Love ya everyone, goodnight.

Update on Noah 2

2010-04-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Noah seems to be slightly improved today. He hasn't thrown up today. He hasn't eaten much but seems to be tolerating what he does eat. He is definately in better spirits than yesterday.

As far as diagnosis, nothing new. The few things they thought they had found out yesterday, they actually took back today and said they were wrong. Today they took him for a short walk down the hall and tested his oxygen levels. They were low as he walked. So tomorrow they will do a CT angio of his chest to see if he has clots in his lungs as well.

Sounds like the plan right now is that he will come home with a feeding tube until he can gain weight and lovenox shots for 6 months at the very least. They will decide if they are comfortable sending him home with basically no answers and follow up outpatient. This also depends on if I'm comfortable bringing him home with all these problems and no answers.

I guess at some point I'll decide it's okay to have no answers, but today is not that day. :(

Update on Noah

2010-04-06T14:18:00.000-07:00

No progress on what did cause the clot. Plenty of progress on what did not cause the clot. Unfortunately no one knows what is going on. They don't know why he's having fever, nausea, vomiting, anemia, weight loss, etc. They don't think the clot explains it all, must be underlying problem. He did seem a little bit perkier this morning, until they put a feeding tube in. Now he's just mad. (they told him it would feel "uncomfortable". Apparently it's not just uncomfortable. It's PAINFUL.

Thanks for everyones love and support. We are grateful for all of you!

Ps. I will try to keep updating either here or on facebook.

Thanks Easter Bunny

2010-04-04T16:32:00.000-07:00

So Noah, as some of you know, is at Primary Childrens Hospital. He has been sick for the past two months and we couldn't figure out why. Two days ago we had an abdominal CT done and discovered that he has a blood clot that runs from his inferior vena cava down to his kidneys. We are waiting for test results to figure out a cause. As of right now it appears that he has all of the specialists scratching their heads a bit. Anyway, he is stable for now. He's just very tired and nauseated and keeps spiking a fever.

I'm so thankful to all of our family and friends for your love and support. Aside from being sick, Noah has enjoyed all the visitors and gifts and love from everyone! It felt like we have had little Easter bunnies dropping by all the time bring gifts and fun. And especially thanks to the Easter bunnies mom for filling in today!

Basketball Season

2010-02-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Go Cardinals! ...... (at least until they play the Vikings)

2010-01-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

We decided, on a whim, to drive down to Arizona for the Cardinals game this weekend.
Dan is what I would call the President of the Kurt Warner Fan Club. I swear to you he knows every stat in Kurts' portfolio.
The fans in the stadium were soooo loud. The screaming was non stop, just like the touchdowns.
Betcha didn't know.... I use to live here. This is Flagstaff, Arizona. My younger sis, Tonia, was born here. So I guess that means I lived here when I was one or two. Of all the scenery we saw in Arizona, this was definately my favorite. I just don't think I'm a desert girl at heart.

The Reeser Traditional Christmas Eve Taco Dinner!!!

2009-12-30T10:57:00.001-08:00

The boys had their traditional Nerf gun battles. Jarom won with his Nerf Machine gun.

Dustin helping the girls build a ginger bread house.

Mom taking a minute to relax. (Ha ha)

Cheers Dad!

Zeke.... over here...... say CHEESE! Oh, BTW, that's my supermodel sister Tonia.

Shana and Gavin... look alive! look alive!

Daniel, try smiling, it's CHRISTMAS!!! Kids Having fun.
Teri pampering her little one in the oven while watching her hubby play the Wii.

I have always had a special way with kids.

We had lots of fun!!

Rogers Family Christmas Party

2009-12-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

We had Dan's Family Christmas Party at a church this year. The cousins did a white elephant gift exchange and showed off all their awesome talents in the annual talent show. Dan spent the entire night playing football with all the boys. Lots-O-Fun! Merry Christmas!

Congratulations to My Little Sis!!

2009-12-13T00:53:00.001-08:00

Shana and Gavin got married in November. Shana was a beautiful bride and Brooklyn and Kendal were adorable. (It sounds like I'm leaving Gavin out, huh, ..... and Gavin was one strapping looking young fellow....... there, how's that.)

Teri, Tonia, Me, Shana, and her new sister-in-laws. (Too bad Jami couldn't make it. I love to get sister pictures. Maybe I can crop her in.)

Aaawwwhhh, WHAT A GREAT LOOKIN' FAMILY!

Woah, that's a little more PDA than I'm comfortable with BABE.

Dan and I had so much fun dancing with the nieces. (Now that our boys are too cool for dancin' with the folks.)

My new job

2009-11-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

I absolutely LOVE working in the ER. I love the variety. I love working with other nurses. I love the patients. I love all the gory stuff. I love that I have learned more in the last 2 months than I did in 2 years at my other job. I love not watching CSI Miami all night long and trying to make up stuff to do to stay awake all night. I absolutely love it.

Fall Break 2009

2009-10-21T22:11:00.001-07:00

For fall break this year, the boys and I hiked up to Grotto Falls. It was an easy climb, only about 3/4miles, but at least we can say we did something fun for the break.

Hunter and Noah climbed up to the top. Jake and I stayed down to catch them incase they fell. Hunter, with his "big brother" instinct, helped Noah down the mountain while I, with my mom instinct, had the camera ready for action incase he fell.

Boys are so easily entertained. Noah was totally thrilled about this snail shell he collected. What more can a little boy ask for, right?

Ummmm, Jake, you've got a little drip of Gatorade on your CHIN there.
Is it just me, or am I getting shorter? (They are almost as tall as me.)

ICE CREAM and INHALERS

2009-10-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Down by a touchdown with 54 seconds left on the clock, Noah's team moves the ball in three great plays down to the 5 yard line. Now, 12 seconds left on the clock, the sidelines were buzzing with excitement, grandma's were passing out right and left due to the anxiety.

Fast forward to Jake's game. The fifth and sixth grade superbowl, ironically the Cardinals against the Steelers. Jake has played wide receiver all year long. On third and long, the quarterback scrambles out of a mad rush and spots Jake deep in the middle of the field, a perfect pass and a spectacular catch, he takes them to the 15 yard line with 7 seconds left. But wait, there's an injury time out. Call 911! (or Mom) It's JAKE, having an Asthma ATTACK in the LAST PLAY OF THE GAME. (He must have forgotten that I promised if he made the game winning touchdown, I would buy him a WII game!)

Unfortunately, both games ended the same. The defense held their ground on the final play and no game winning touchdowns were scored. I'm so proud of my boys and my hub for the great jobs they did this season. They are all winners in my book. (of course, I'm the mom so I have to say that.)

After the games we went out for ice cream and inhalers. Sadly, CONSOLATION ice cream never tastes as good as VICOTRY ice cream. (Especially when it's ALBUTEROL flavored.)

HAUNTED GINGERBREAD

2009-10-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Time for our 5th annual haunted gingerhouse party. Tonia and Taylor and their kids came over. This year Teri and Jarom joined us too. The biggest trick to this treat is to make the house before the kids eat all the candy.

I'd say Hunter was the most into it this year. He definately got those creative juices-a-flowin'.

Noah was much more interested in the HOMEMADE COTTON CANDY machine that Jarom made out of a cardboard box, a sobe lid, and some kind of wire thingys that made it run. VERY COOL! We added the cotton candy to the houses this year for the spider web effect.

Kenzie was totally the master mind behind the house. She told me what to do and was NOT happy if I did not obey.

The kids finished house. (including me)

This is Teri's finished house. She took it to her 3rd Grade Class. Lets just say, they were more than impressed...and so were the other teachers. (Teri said she's nervous because they all think she's crafty now. Little do they know, it's Tonia (the real mastermind behind the project) that makes us all look good.

Willkommen to Zermatt

2009-09-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

Last week Dan had a conference in this little town called Midway, Utah. We stayed at the ZERMATT hotel. It was such a cute little town and hotel. We only drove about 30 minutes but it looked like we had just stepped into the middle of Switzerland or something. So the boys and I hitched a ride with him to his free hotel and PLAYED while he conferenced.

We played in the jacuzzi hottub and pool.

We played in the park. (You're never too old to swing, I say)

We wondered which way to Zurich from here. (Did you know that it's closer to the North Pole from here than it is to Calgary?....At least according to THIS map?)

We played "Life Size" Chess.

Or at least "Hobbit Size" Chess. This home is where the chess pieces live.

Oh, and all the time we were playing, Dan was having "drainage" issues. Who says my hub couldn't survive in the wilderness. Look how resourceful he is.

Times they are a changin'....

2009-09-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm making a change. And none too soon. I just accepted a job in the ER at Timpanogos Regional Hospital. I'm excited and nervous. I have always wanted to work in the ER. I did my internship in the ER and loved it. I remember when I was at Ricks college I volunteered in the ER. I had no idea what I wanted to do as a major back then. I just volunteered because I thought it was sooo cool. You would think that maybe I would have recognized this as a hint of what I might want to do for a career, but NO, not me, I never gave it a second thought.

About the 'none too soon' comment. I have worked at my current job for 18months now. In that 18months I have had 4 different managers and I am one of the oldest nurses here (in terms of starting date). Now that's what I call HIGH TURNOVER, wow. They were understaffed all summer long when we had very few kids here. I hope they get it together before Swine Flu and RSV season. But frankly, I really don't want to be around to find out.

Soooooooo, I have one full night shift left and then it's good bye to my 5am-bored-silly posts. No more night shifts and no more boredom, I'm guessing. :)

YAY Football Season!

2009-08-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah! Now I've got something to say. Football season started. Noah and Jake both won their first games tonight. Both 19 to 6. Way to go boys. I can't tell you how fun it is to watch my boys play football. There's just something soooo cool about it. Dan is coaching Noah's team this year.

Noah is playing center. He did awesome at hiking the ball and did great on defense too.

Jake is playing wide receiver. He caught a great pass in the end zone for an extra point.

Nothin' to say...

2009-08-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Ya know sometimes there's just nothin' to say. I started to write something twice tonight but...my mind, she is a blank. (Stop, don't say it, I know what you're all thinking.) Truth is...it hasn't been the best week, so I'm just not gonna say anything at all. Well, except for what I just said, of course.

More Family Pics

2009-08-12T18:51:00.000-07:00

Wow, It's family picture time AGAIN! Yes, I know I just took family pics with the Reeser family and with Me and the Boys when Jami was here. But now it's the Rogers' turn. Here they are....I personally think they turned out rather wonderfulish.

The Whole Rogers Family

From left to right: Steve's Family, John's Family, Melanie's Family, Sheila(Grandma), Debbie's Family, Eric's Family, Daniel's Family(that's me), and Scott's Family.

And here we are....again.

From left to right: Noah, Daniel, Jacob, Lynita, Hunter

Haunted Mansion?

2009-08-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

Recently, I have been obsessed with finding my brother and sister-in-law a house. I have looked up and down the streets of Springville, Mapleton, Provo and Spanish Fork. I have spent hours and hours doing online research for them.

Well, yesterday, I thought I found it. While I was supposed to be watching Jake try out for football, I wandered off instead in search of the ultimate perfect house for my inlaws. As I rounded the corner of the most beautiful ridge in Springville/Mapleton. I saw a sign in one average looking yard of one average looking home. I thought to myself, well it's not much to look at, but I better take a closer look anyway. So I got out of my car and snooped around to the back of the house, like I pretty much do at every house I see. But this one was different. I rounded my way to the back yard where I first saw a small little studio house with the cutest little porch and pergola and a cobble stone walkway. Then I SAW IT, a full sized tennis court with two basketball hoops on the ends in a magnificent enclosure. AND as if that were not magical enough, I found a path behind the studio house that curved it's way down the hill side and ended right at a river. AND as if THAT were not enough, directly across the river, was a beautiful park and walking path. WOW!!!!!!!!

So, I ran home to tell anybody who would listen about my amazing finding. (My hub picked up my son from football, just in case you thought I forgot about him.) Then the rest of the night, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Be patient, the scary part is coming. When I went to bed that night, I was channel surfing and ended up watching The SKELETON KEY as I fell asleep. Keep in mind that although I am a fairly old, middle aged woman on the outside; on the inside I am still the very scared of the dark young girl that grew up in a haunted Minnesota mansion. This did not bode well for my dreams that night. I had horrific nightmares about that little insignificant house with the beautiful tennis court. I woke up with images I probably shouldn't even tell you, just like I did every night of my childhood as I dreamt about the ghosts in my house.

So, perfect or not, I just don't think I could ever stay past dark at my SIL's if she bought this house. (unless, of course, the ghosts also play tennis)

Is Pneumonia Funny?

2009-08-05T00:16:00.000-07:00

My hub asked me what I was going to blog about tonight at work. I told him I really didn't have any ideas tonight so I probably wouldn't write one. He seemed a little disappointed so I said that I could write about Hunter having pneumonia. But then he seemed even more disappointed. He said, "But that's not funny......I like it when you write funny blogs." So, since I AM trying to keep him all buttered up so he'll hurry up and book me a cruise (to the Bahamas) already, I said I could write a funny post about Hunter having pneumonia.

What? What was I thinking? There really isn't anything funny about my poor son having pneumonia. One night he went to bed, the next morning he woke up and said, "I think I have Bronchitis." So, I listened to his lungs...and then I practically leaped out of my chair to call the doctor. I have never heard lungs sound like that. It kinda sounded like....hummmmmm...like when a train puts on its brakes and the metal starts rubbing and screeching and the cars start clunking together. So, we get to the doctors office, and he listens to his lungs and proceeds to ask me dumb questions like, does he have reactive airway disease, and has he ever had ARDS(a commonly fatal respiratory infection), and has he ever been "mostly dead" before. So, being the calm, cool, collected mom that I am, I just answered the questions with a fake smile on my face, and said, "just get me the dang antibiotics and get me outta here." I didn't think to ask for any kind of breathing treatment, even though 75% of the patients I see in the hospital have respiratory infections and are there for breathing treatments. So that night, as my son was about to take his last breath (okay, I may be adding a bit of melodrama for effect) I remembered....OMGosh, my brother-in-law, who is a physicians assistant and had just been staying at my house, and who is moving to Utah, and who left a bag of medications in my closet because he is moving to Utah, probably has an inhaler in there for his son. So I picked up the phone and instead of dialing a code blue, I dialed my brother-in-law in Hawaii and asked if he had albuterol in his bag of tricks. That's when I heard it, a choir of angels singing in perfect harmony, YES, I do. So, to my brother-in-law, I owe my first born son, or maybe just a big fat thank you very much and a bag of Doritoes or something.

So, long story short, can you believe my luck, my son has pneumonia AND my legs are showing signs of atrophy from not exercising due to the sudden and mysterious case of the missing IPOD.

Lynita's Deep Thought for the Day: Sometimes life just isn't funny...whatcha gonna do.

The Key to My Long Locks...

2009-08-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

Ha, ha, oh I crack myself up. Do you get it? I'm soooo
f(p)unny....................................(I'm just waiting for you guys to catch up.)

So, let's talk about my super duper long hair. Why, you might ask don't I just get a haircut already. I mean really, I only wear it down for pictures and fast sundays.

Well, it all started somewhere around Halloween last year. I was feeling extremely antzy pantzy. I was ready to jump in my non-convertible car with the non-top down and let the wind blow through my non-long locks until I got to the east coast...or Minnesota...or New Zealand...it really didn't matter where, I just HAD to get out of UTAH.

So, my quick thinking hub, not wanting to see his wife run off to the ends of the earth, never to return again, said, "I'll tell ya what, I'll make you a bet." Oh, I'm such a sucker for a bet. Those of you that really know me, know I just love to WIN. (not that I'm a sore loser or anything, I just enjoy winning so much more) Anyway, back to this bet and how it unlocks the key to my long locks. He said, "I bet you can't grow your hair long without getting totally sick of it and cutting it off." I said, "Are you kidding me!! You are so on! Whatlya give me?" He said, "If you grow your hair long, I'll take you on a cruise, then you can have that vacation you're craving." Oh yeah, he's good. He knows I can't say no and I don't think to ask for details. So we shook on it and we started the bet.

I know what you're thinking. Wow, her hair is way long, where's her cruise? Well, here's the thing. About six months into the bet, I came back to my hub with, "Well, have ya seen my hair lately, it's LONG." "Where's my cruise?" To which he replied with an evil smirk on his face, "Oh, that's not long, I meant like 'MERMAID' long." To which I replied, "Are you kidding me!! You are sooo.... $@%#$ not kidding me, are you." I mean "mermaid" long, are you serious? Anyway, long story short, I still have a couple inches to go. So Saturday I went to Walmart and purchased some "liquid hair in a bottle" (okay, really it was hair,skin, and nail vitamins). I am determined to get my cruise before it's been a whole year. Then when I get back from my cruise I just might have to shave my head. (or not, I actually kinda like my long locks)

Reeser Family Pic

2009-07-31T16:34:00.000-07:00

This was the first time in ... ALOT of years that my whole family was together. The only one missing here is Mike, Jami's hub. Fun to see everyone again!

My Playlist Disclaimer!

2009-07-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is really just a side note, or disclaimer or something. Ya know, I love The Chipmunks and Constipation as much as the next gal, but I cannot take credit for putting the songs on my playlist. I'm sure all kids go through phases. My kids started out with Teletubbies, then it was Pokemon. Now, somewhere in between basketball and The 39 Clues books they have developed a WEIRD obsession for music by the Chipmunks and Weird Al. So... at my house, whenever a "normal" song comes up on the playlist, it is quickly and abruptly changed to Constipated by Weird Al or a song from a similar genre. Oh well, whatcha gonna do. That's the life of a mom with crazy-obsessed boys.

BOOOHOOOO

2009-07-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

This year for my birthday, I really, really wanted an ipod. So I got one, yay. I thought it would be great to have one so I could use it to go work out. Yeah, that would MOTIVATE me to work out. Well, I used it once to mow the lawn and then ..... it was GONE. I cannot find my ipod anywhere. I've searched my house up and down, in and out, forward and backward, to no avail. I offered a reward of 20$ to my kids for whoever found it ... you should have seen them jump. But no, nothing, no cool lime green ipod machine anywhere. I even tried to have a serious conversation with my husband, but while his lips were moving, telling me how upset he was with me and how we needed to make new life goals and come together as a couple .... all I could think about was WHERE'S MY STINKIN' IPOD!!! (and I wonder why he thinks we're not together as a couple...ooops) Anyway, don't mind me, I'm just mourning the loss of my brand new beautiful shiney absent ipod. BOOOOO HOOOOO. :( So today, although I really wanted to go for a bike ride and get some exercise, I could not bring myself to go without my beloved ipod. So right now, as I speak, at 0532 in the am on July 29th I hereby boycott all working out until this mystery is solved and my little green music machine is back in my under-exercised little hands.

2009-07-26T22:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm pretty bored here at work, so let me tell ya what's on my mind.

This may be hard to relate with if you are a stay at home mom with young kiddos still hanging on you're feet. But my kiddos no longer hang; they barely even lean much any more. Anyway, my point is... when school's in session and they head out the door every morning, you'd think I would do the happy dance and go off in pursuit of my own ambitions. But the truth is, I feel lost without them. I don't have any idea what to do with myself for hours on end while they're gone. It really makes my heart hurt until they come back after school and need me again. Pathetic, I know.

So...the summer, when my kids are home, is my respite. It fills my heart with joy to have them home all day to love them and play with them and feed them and tell them what to do(heehee). It's sad to me that school starts so early this year. August 19th, COME ON, I need more time.

My point, I've got to find a hobbie or something before they all grow up completely and leave my little "momma bird" nest.

New Pics

2009-07-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

Jami, my Canadian Photographer Diva sister, took pictures for us while she was here. (and I mean Diva in the nicest way possible of course, but you'd call her a diva too if you had seen the 10inch stiletto heels she had sent to my house while she was here) Love ya, Jami!

NOAH

JACOB

HUNTER

...and my personal favorite... (this is pretty much what we look like most of the time)

Thanks Jami, I love the pics!

And Last But Not Least....

2009-07-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH!!!!!

For Noah's Birthday we were in St. George with Dan's Family. The house we stayed at was awesome, the kids woke up early in the morning and jumped in the pool outside, then we went out boating for a while until we couldn't stand the 115 degree heat anymore. So we headed back to the house for a BBQ and some cake and ice cream. Then all the kids went directly back to the pool until I finally kicked them all out at midnight. What a totally fun vacation! Too bad Dan couldn't make it.

Hunter's Extra Special Golden Birthday!

2009-07-13T22:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Hunter! Hunter's 12th birthday was yesterday, the 12th of July, and it happened to land on Sunday. Hunter was ordained a deacon by his Dad. I can't believe my boy is a young man now.

Hunter helped make his own cake this year. The best part was when he got to do the border around it.

OOOhhhhh, wait, no the best part may have been when he got to throw all the sprinkles on it and make them stick.

OOOOPPS, no, the BEST part was when his mom told him to please eat the rest of the icing so she didn't have to put it back in the fridge.

My family all came over for a b'day party after church.

Hunter and his Dad.

Hunter, Dad and Grandma and Grandpa Reeser.

Cowabunga Baby!

2009-07-10T08:23:00.001-07:00

Let the festivities begin.... This week my sister Jami came down from Canada with her kiddos to play with us. We went to Cowabunga Bay (A new water park in Sandy). We had tons of fun. It's similar to Seven Peaks, except cuter, smaller and easier to keep track of children in. So Jami and her kids, Shana and her kids, and Teri and Jarom and their baby in the oven, and my kids and I all spent afternoon together basking in the sun. Yeah, I said Teri has a baby in her belly. My little baby sis is having a BABY. Congratulations Teri!

My Independance Boy!!

2009-07-05T12:12:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Jake! For Jakes birthday this year, we celebrated with cake and ice cream and presents on the 3rd because we knew it was going to be a crazy fun filled day on the 4th. So, after the cake, ice cream and presents, all three of the boys had a sleep over at Tysons house. Then, early in the morning they went with John and Cally's family to the hot air balloons. Dan and I met them all at the Parade. After the parade we had a quick lunch and were off to boating with Chad and Melanie. Then after I beat everybody at tube wars (hey, I thought the winner was the one who fell off the most) we hurried home to get ready for the STADIUM OF FIRE to watch Glenn Beck, the dancers, The Jonas Brothers and the awesome fire works. It was a great show and an even GREATER Day.

Fun in the Sun

2009-06-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Yay, Seven Peaks. My long lost best friend, Mindi, came to visit with her three boys so we went to Seven Peaks to play. As Mindi use to say.... It fills my heart with joy..... to see my boys having soooo much fun.

Swimming lessons

2009-06-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of swimming lessons. Oh...so...sad. I love swimming lessons. It gives the kids something half way productive to do in the summer, and it gets us all out of bed early. Yawn.

Three little boys......laying in their beds.

2009-06-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

The other night while I was at work, Dan moved the kids all into the same room so we could set up Noah's room for company that we had coming. They LOVE being in the same room together. Dan got this cute picture of all of them reading before bed. The boys love to read. Hunter is currently working on Heir Apparent. Noah finished reading the first 39 Clues book and is on to the second. Jacob is reading Necropolis. I am so proud of them. Hunter and Jacob have probably read hundreds of books, and Noah is starting to get into it, too. I honestly don't know how this happened. Besides text books, I can barely get through PEOPLE magazine without getting bored. :)

Olivia's Castle

2009-06-06T15:23:00.000-07:00

Tonia, as you know if you've been reading my blog, just had a baby boy. Yesterday was Olivia's birthday. So, Olivia and Mackenzie and I made this cute castle cake.

I think 'Livi' loved it. Happy 3rd Birthday Liv.

Boating

2009-06-05T20:35:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we went out on the boat with Chad and Melanie (sis-in-law) because Zach was visiting from Hawaii and we wanted to do something fun with him. Grandma came too, she loooves the boat. She says she could live on the boat.

The boys (Zach, Tyson, Hunter, Jacob, and Noah) had sooooo much fun. I tried to get video of them flipping off the tubes, but just before the best wipe out happened, my memory card ran out of room. Boooo. It was hillarious. Somehow Chad got both tube to flip over at the exact same time and all five boys went flying off.

The girls (Erica,Madi, Lizzi, Jackie, and Emma) were slightly less daring. No one was thrown off, BUT they did get really excited and loved the fast ride on the tubes and just hanging out togethe

So all in all, it was a fun time had by all ..... well, almost all. Dan apparently was feeling tired and sea sick. So this was his position for most of the time. Except at the end when he pushed me in the lake and then Erica (I love Erica) pushed him in the lake. Hehe. It's too bad he had his wallet and phone in his pocket at the time, but I still feel like it was totally worth a new phone to see him get into the water. BTW, does anyone want a free canary yellow sweatshirt....ssshhhh.

Full Circle

2009-05-30T02:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here at work (it probably seems like I'm always at work, not so, I just tend to think more when it's 3am and there's nothing else to do). Anyway, I'm trying to fill out an application to go back to BYU-Idaho. So that made me think of a story.

Let me tell you a story. When I was but a young (and very immature) girl, I went to college. I went to college in Minnesota for a few years and floundered and floundered and floundered my time and money away. (I had fun though.) So when I thought I had done all the floundering I could possibly do, I went to BYU-Idaho (formerly known as Ricks College - who the heck is Rick anyway). I started out pretty good there.....and then I got preoccupied and I started to flounder again. Flounder my time and my money and my grades, that is. I floundered so much that they (Rick) told me to leave..."and don't cha come back no more no more no more no more, hit the road Jack (lynita) and don't cha co-me back no more", he said.

Wow, that hurt. I was so upset, I didn't know what to do with myself. I felt like a total failure. As a matter of fact, I WAS a total failure.

Sooooo, as my life went on, this failure thing started to really affect me. It affected my self- esteem, it affected my relationships, it even affected my marriage. So, one day, I woke up, after having three kids, and decided. That was it. I wasn't gonna feel like this anymore. I decided to go back to school and prove to MYSELF that I WAS NO FAILURE.

So, I did. I went to school. I did my very best in every class I took. (I even WENT to every class.) I did it with three very small children. I did it while I did daycare and transcriptions from my home. I did it through ectopic pregnancies and surgeries and sprained whoozits and whatcha-ma-call-its. I DID IT. I got my RN. I graduated with some very impressive grade-age. (Hey, it's hard to spell words that aren't really words.)

Now, as I sit here, filling out my application for the bachelors RN degree from BYU-Idaho (well, okay, obviously I've taken a break from filling out my application because I'm here now talking to you), I just find it kind of ironic, that I could get a bachelors degree from the very place that told me to get out and never come back. By the way, this isn't the first time I've tried to fill out the application. I think I've printed it off at least 9 times since I graduated. Quite honestly, I think I'm a little scared to go back there. (I wouldn't actually, physically go back there. It's an online program.) I'm afraid they might just tell me to go away again.

So...wish me luck. I HOPE I get up the nerve to apply.... and I hope they let me back in.

It's A Boy!

2009-05-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

Tonia (my sister) had her little baby boy today. I think his Aunt (that's me) and his 2 older sisters are IN LOVE. He's adorable, and as you may not know, I have a real soft spot for little boys.

They named him Adam.

Tonia always looks so beautiful after she has her babies. I love you, Tonia, and I'm sooo proud of you

Party's Over!

2009-05-21T01:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the party's over. My leg is almost healed, my cold has warmed up, my birthday has come and gone and so I must .....GO BACK TO WORK. :( It's been two weeks since I've worked, and let me tell ya, it's been HEAVENLY. I was so happy to be a little under the weather so I could actually take a break. Is there something wrong with that???

So typically, when I come to work I have one or two kids and nothing much to do but blog and watch a little tv. (after I've taken incredibly awesome care of my patients and their worried parents and made everybody smile, of course) So tonight when I mozied in to work, I was very much looking forward to getting everybody a popsicle and sitting down to watch the finale of American Idol. BUT NO....not for a single minute did I get to watch. I had to ask one of the parents who won..... VERY ANTICLIMACTIC. But hey, at least my guy, KRIS, won. Yay! Whoohooo! Hip Hip hooray!

Alrighty then, back to work I go. (I've got 5 patients and an orienting nurse who decided she was done at 0200 instead of 0600, so I'm on my own.)

YIPPIE KI-YAY IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!

2009-05-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, really my birthday is on Tuesday, but my hub "surprised" me, wisked me away, and took me down to Southern Utah for a weekend getaway. He planned this horseback riding tour. It was great. We rode up to the top of a cliff and back. This was my hubs first horseback riding experience. I was pretty impressed, he didn't fall off or anything. (well, he almost fell off, but he didn't.)

I tried to tell my hub that the bright yellow canary colored sweatshirt would scare the horses, and he actually bought it, but then I felt guilty and told him that I was really worried more about the cowboy tour guides kicking us off the ranch when he walked up in his bright yellow AE sweatshirt and his expensive loafer dress shoes (they said to wear something with a heel, so he did). Anyway, we had a great time and I really do love my hub.

After a long, three hour horseback ride we headed over to the Sky Ridge B&B for some much needed R&R in the hot tub, as well as some much needed Benadryl. (After I broke out in hives from the horses.)

Then on Saturday we drove through the Capital Reef National Park and took in the beautiful scenery. We would have hiked through it, except I am still gimping around on my injured calf muscle and we both had some seriously sore bums from galloping down the mountain on Big Ben and Dante (our horsies).

We couldn’t believe our luck when we almost got pulled over on the way there AND the way back. It seemed like this cop had it in for us; like he was just waiting for us to get caught in his little speed trap ……..
.......OR WAS HE?????

Let's Talk American Idol

2009-05-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

This has to be the best "talent" year ever. I love all these guys. Danny Gokey has a great raspy voice, and who can top his story. (losing his wife and moving forward with his life) Then there is Adam Lambert, new king of rock. I've never heard anybody sing those high notes without bursting a blood vessel. Plus he has such a mellow personality. Last, but not least, my personal favorite, Kris Allen. I'm in love with that bluesy voice with his acoustic guitar. I think he is probably the underdog of the three but I want him to win anyway. Can't wait to see what happens.

Mothers Day

2009-05-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

I slept in late for Mothers Day while my kids put the finishing touches on my Mothers Day cards. (All homemade and adorable)

Then when I came downstairs they each (including my husband) handed me their card and a gift. They gave me these Willow Tree figures. I love them. So sweet.

Don't ask me where they got their thoughtfulness from.... A few days before Mothers Day I talked to my sisters about what we should get for our MOM. We decided to give her a Peony bush in a pot, because she loves peonies and she keeps killing them off in the ground. We thought the pot would help. Soooo, Tonia was going to pick up the plant and Shana was getting the pot. My assignment was to get the DIRT. I said to Tonia, ooohhh, so I'm giving Mom dirt for Mothers Day? Yes. So we had a barbeque on saturday and I came with dirt in hand. (Well, not literally, it was in bags.) But when my sisters got there, they had forgotten the plant and pot at home. So, I looked incredibly ungrateful giving my Mom DIRT for Mothers Day. :( Not Cool. So today I took my AWESOME, INCREDIBLE, SMART, LOVING Mom out for lunch to make up for the DIRT.

btw, I lost 1 POUND this week; only 9 more to go. ;)

Don't Try This At Home

2009-05-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

Crack the Egg. This is what happens when the cousins come to visit. Noah is in the middle. Hunter, Jacob, Tyson and Erica are the bouncers. We didn't get a video of the back flip one.

Ooooh, Progress Already

2009-05-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

Hey, I actually did better with all your support. Like, last night at work I ate raw peas all night instead of the normal IV infusion of oreo cookies I usually eat. (I really hate raw peas, but the nurse I worked with offered them to me. So I ate every last one without even making a "yucky" face.) Then tonight for supper, I made the most oooozy gooooozy pizza you've ever seen.

But, instead of eating the pizza with my family, I ate this instead.

5 year plan

2009-05-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

Let me tell ya the difference between me and my husband..... My husbands idea of a 5 year plan is to; refinance our house, pay off all our debts, get a large supply of food storage, and lose less money in the stock market. (basically the Dave Ramsey total money makeover/Glenn Beck preparedness plan) My idea of a 5 year plan is to........WIN THE HGTV GREEN HOME GIVEAWAY. $750,000 dollars, insto presto. Personally, I think my plan sounds alot easier and alot more fun.

btw, don't any of you get any ideas. Don't even think about trying to win it yourselves. It's all mine. Heehee.

Gettin' my MOJO back

2009-05-05T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to lose some weight over the past few months with really no avail. So here's my idea. If I tell the whole blogging world (okay, the three of you who read my blog) that I have a goal, maybe I will feel obligated to report on it and maybe, just maybe, you will leave me encouraging comments to check my progress. Good Idea? We'll see. So, my goal is to lose 10 pounds by July 1st. That's realistic right? 5 pounds a month. So here's how I picture it going down. I will tell you how I did that day, and you will tell me whatever the helk you want about how I did. Okay, deal? Deal. Maybe I'll even post a before and after picture in July. :) I'm serious now. I need your help. All comments welcome. Now let me just wipe the cheesy quesedilla goo off my face and lets get to it.

My Happy Journal Post

2009-05-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

I know, that was dumb of me to delete my last post. But, after I woke up for the day, my husband called and said he didn't realize that I was sooo desperately sad. Well, that wasn't exactly the point. The point was that I'm not sooo desperately happy either. So, I felt like he disapproved. Isn't that ironic. Anyway, I erased it. Then I felt bad about that so I tried to recreate it. Well, turns out it's very difficult to recreate something I wrote at 4 o'clock in the am. Sorry, my bad. Anyway, I'll try to give the jist of it again, because I really do believe it.

I was at work reading blogs last night. (Don't think I'm a slacker, there was really nothing else to do.) Anyway, I came to the conclusion that bloggers across America are perfect. Their kids are perfect, their spouses are perfect, and even their hair is perfect. So, I wanted to just lay it out there. I'm NOT perfect. I put up a good facade on my blog. It's like my "happy journal". It's the one where I brag about my kids and husband and all that is good and holy. However, I have another journal. It's the one I hide in my bedroom for no one else to see. The one I write in when I'm sad and angry and pensive and every other emotion besides "blissfully happy". (Hey, I think I remembered that part.)

I think that's the jist of it, and I will try not to delete anymore posts.

I gots me a boo-boo.

2009-05-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

Soooooo, about a week ago, Dan and I went to play tennis. We played for literally 3minutes when I said, "Ouch, I think I have a cramp in my biarticulate gastrocnemius muscle." (okay, I probably said calf muscle) So Dan was kind of annoyed and we stopped playing. I came home, put my leg up, iced it and wrapped it in an ace bandage. (because I'm a nurse and that's what we do). Anyway, I thought it was pretty much fine, so on Monday we took the boys out to play tennis. Everything was going just dandy. The boys and I were up on Dan a couple of points in a competitive game of 21. Then, all of the sudden, I felt my gastrocnemius muscle break apart like a piece of wood at a Karate tournament. OUCH*@*^&%. That was it, I could no longer walk. So I hobbled home and nursed my ouwie. I looked up my prognosis online. It looks like probably a stage 2 tear. No problem. I can handle it. It should be as good as new in only 4 to 6 weeks. So I've tried to rest as much as possible, although I did have to work the next night. Not fun! So here is a video of me resting with my boys.

I don't know why, but today it hurts even worse.

Went to a Funeral

2009-05-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a funeral for my MIL's brother, Jerry. He died last week in his sleep. What a way to go. I hope when it's my time to go, it's that easy. Dan and I sang "Abide with Me" and Jerry's son, Darrell gave an incredibly well thought out, well composed talk. I think Darrell helped alot of people appreciate his father in a new light. I've always believed the saying that, man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart. Thank you, Darrell, for helping all of us catch a glimpse of Jerry's heart.

Hunter's Hawaii Presentation

2009-05-01T13:28:00.001-07:00

Great Job Hunter! If I were your teacher I'd give you an A++ for the great work and for being sooo darn CUTE. Love ya!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup for the Soul

2009-05-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

We made the noodles from scratch. Yum, I love homemade egg noodles.
Don't let the tears and sad faces fool you. The boys LOVED chopping the onions for me.

Just a little more Chicken.

....And waalaa, homemade chicken noodle soup, that Noah will actually eat. It's a miracle I tell ya. Those of you that have ever had the privilege of trying to feed Noah, you know how miraculous this is. Ya know the saying, "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Well it looks like the way to Noahs heart is letting him make his own supper.

btw, Jake deserves some credit too. He chopped some awesome onions and, of course, he ate the soup, cuz he eats EVERYTHING. (preferably with Chulula sauce on it)

Well, now I feel bad for leaving Hunter out. He didn't have time to help us. He was busy finishing his State Presentation for school tomorrow. I'll show it to you if he brings it home today. I'm sooooo impressed with his super cool, unprocrastinatory(is that a word) work ethic. :)

O Me of Little Faith

2009-04-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Somehow Daniel talked me in to making a little wager with him. I bet him that he couldn't get his very very very old vw bug running by the end of the day today. The thing hasn't run since the 1980's. I figured I was safe. I was WRONG. Yes, I can admit when I'm wrong. (sometimes) Anyway, I'm impressed. Way To Go, my "Alpha Male" hubby wubby. :)

BTW, I don't think he could have done it without the help of Jake's brilliant mind and incredible key turning skills. Go Jake! I think daddy should have to share the profits with you. Then I think you should give them back to me for being such an Awesome Mommy. :P

Wishin' we were in HAWAII...

2009-04-18T18:23:00.001-07:00

These were taken at our house on April 16th. B-B-B-B-B-Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Oh well, as long as the boys are happy.

FHE Bowling Wheeeee!

2009-04-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

Jake says, "Who won the bowling game?"
Everybody else answers, "Uh, You did, Jake."

Jake replies, "I know, I just wanted to remind you all, haha."

Hunter, It's okay, there's always next time bud. Don't cry!

Noah....I'm just happy to be here.

Dan, "It's sooo hard to focus on bowling when they have the NCAA Championship game on big screen right in front of me."

Lynita, "I woulda kicked all ya'alls tushies if I didn't have tendonitis in my bowling arm and had to use a 6lb ball."

So, the reason we went bowling for FHE tonight is because Noah got to pick his reward for finishing "Leven Thumps". Way to go Noah!! Great Job!!

(The other boys were kinda thinking this was unfair because they have read literally hundreds of books and they don't get rewarded for each of them." Oh well, whatcha gonna do?)

We're Dyeing!

2009-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

....Easter Eggs that is.

'Livi' is obviously all about the flower power.

We kinda had a house full. Grandma Sheila had Lizzy and Madi for a sleep over. Then Tonia and Taylor and the girls came over to "watch conference". Then Eric, Allison and their 6 kiddos stopped by to visit. FUN DAY! I love the visitors. The best part was when we discovered that some of the eggs we dyed were not actually cooked. Oh yeah, that was funny. Sorry Noah. :P

The effects of working night shift

2009-04-06T04:10:00.000-07:00

I saw a story on the news about working night shift. It seems there is some strong scientific evidence that people who work night shifts are more likely to have heart problems, diabetes, obesity, etc. Well, ain't that a kick in the pants. (I really hate the word "ain't".) (I really hate the word "hate" too.) So, I'm sitting here at work just watching the clock tick down to 0600. I know that when I finally get home, I'm gonna sleep until I can't sleep anymore. Then I'm gonna walk around like a zombie mom until I can't stand it any more. Then I'll put my kids to bed and make them read in their rooms. No wonder my kids are such great readers; I make them go to bed too darn early. Anyway, then for the next 2 days I will walk around feeling like I have the flu because I've stayed up all night tonight. When I finally get my body back on the day schedule and start to feel okay, I will go back to work and start the whole cycle over again. I'm not sure who I think is listening to me. I've just looked up about everything I can possibly think of online and have nothing else to do for another hour. Well, I guess that's not true. I could watch "Married with Children" or another "ExtenZe" commercial.

ANYWAY

2009-04-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.

Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

I love this quote, I have realized lately that over the past year I have become quite the cynic. I think I need to reevaluate my life and my priorities. I'm gonna try to make this quote my new motto.

Hawaii

2009-04-02T12:20:00.002-07:00

HAWAII

(I'm not good enough at this blogging thing to actually get the pictures in order, but you don't care, do you...)

Yeah, we finally made it after a 5hour layover in San Francisco! Awesome beaches a block away from the Framptons house.

Noah boogie boarding. Noah would definately be a surfer boy if he could. He loved the ocean.

Jake

This was Debbie everynight, slaving away in the kitchen for us. Mahalo Debbie.

The Twins! (Wyatt and Garrett)

Noah and Garrett

Hunter and Garrett

Daniel vs. The Boys I wonder who will win???

Hey, is that traveling?

This is the celebration after the game. Who do you think the win is?

More celebration!!! Wonder why they are soooo darn excited????

Could it be because Daniel bet each of them 10$ if he lost.

This is the proof that he's paid up on his debts. We don't want these crazy boys coming to us in a year saying, "hey you owe me ten dollars.... remember that time......"

Pearl Harbor

Hunter, Jacob, Noah, Lynita, Daniel, Wyatt, Garrett

Whoooo, who's having fun at the Luau?

Smile for the camera. :)

....or not?

Well, at least some of us had fun.

My Baby.

Tatum and her new best bud. (Noah)

Daniel and Noah. Can you tell Dan is concentrating? Watch the tongue.

Polynesian Cultural Center

On the boat, obviously.

Hunter. So Cute.

Okay, I wish I had more boys. It's so cute to see them all hanging out together.

The famous Mosumotos Shaved Ice.

(Delicious, except for the bean Debbie made me eat. Yuck! Who puts beans in shaved ice.)

My six little turtles.

Okay, the real turtle.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Fishing booth.

Noah caught a 4 pounder.......okay, maybe more like a 4 ouncer. Go Noah!

Cute boy at the PCC.

Older cute boy at the PCC.

Garrett, practicing for "older cute boy at the PCC" position.

Hunter at Alligator Pond. Yes, in Hawaii, they call this a pond.

Cool picture. This is where they film "Lost"

Jake at the "Pond"

Look at this little stud muffin. He's gonna break some serious hearts in a few years. (Noah)

Fooling Myself

2009-03-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

All this time I've lived in Utah and when people say it's %@#@^$% cold outside, I just shrug it off and say, well you've never been to Minnesota, this isn't cold, I'll show you cold. Well, we just came back from Hawaii where the palm trees sway all day and the temp was a "cool" 78 degrees all week long. I just found out what paradise really is. I think I'm am a Hawaiian trapped in a Minnesotans body who is stuck in limbo somewhere in the middle of Utah. Too bad my husband is Utahan through and through. :( BTW, when we got home from our trip we found out the temperature inside our house was 42 degrees. Yeah that's right, INSIDE our house.

2009-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Break..... Rock Canyon park.....Sledding with Tyson.
Happy Halloween!!

Okay, I realize it's the end of January, but I've had camera downloading issues. I'm working on it though. So anyway, this is the boys and some of their cousins on our front porch. Lots O fun.

Crazy Hair Day

2008-11-01T14:52:00.001-07:00

This one is self explanatory. They wanted me to shave a stripe down the middle of their heads. I thought the letters in the back were a pretty good compromise.

Schools Out!

2008-10-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

The boys had fall break this Thursday and Friday and really wanted to do something fun. I decided we would go hike the "Y". Well we started there, but half way up Jake got bit by a wasp and wanted to go back down. So we went to lunch and then they were all ready for some more adventure. So we went up to Sundance and hiked up to Stewart Falls. It was beautiful!

Happy Hauntings!

2008-10-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

This year we went to Aunt Tonia's for our third annual Haunted House making party. The boys love it. I think this was our best year yet. Warning: The candy to make this house costs almost as much as a real house. :) I know, that IS scary!

So Proud!

2008-10-06T02:32:00.000-07:00

Noah is in third grade this year. Each month the school gives out a scholar of the month award to a student in each class. Noah recieved the first scholar of the month award for the year. I'm so proud of him for doing so well. (I wrote a much lengthier post about this an hour ago but apparently it did not go through. So I guess now I have to settle for the shorter, more concise version.)

So Proud.....

2008-10-06T00:33:00.000-07:00

Well this obviously is my second post ever. It's been about a month. I'm gonna try to get into it this time. Noah is in third grade this year. At the beginning of this school year, Dan and I talked about regretting not waiting a year for him to start school. Hunter and Jacob both waited and we're glad they did. Noah didn't and we have wondered if he should have. We knew he wasn't behind academically, but thought that maybe he wouldn't have the same advantange of an extra year that his older brothers both have. Well, last week at school Noah got an award for Scholar of the Month. Wow, I am impressed. Hunter and Jacob have both received this award before but this one is the first one of the school year, which makes it extra special. The best part about it was just to see his great big gigantic smile. He has this grin that goes from ear to ear, eyes beeming with pride. I love it. I'm sooo proud of him.

On the blogging bandwagon

2008-08-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is my first blog ever. I am excitedly apprehensive about it. It's gonna be a short one, in case it doesn't work.