M-I-C....K-E-Y....M-O-U-S-E....

This is Rayce and his best friend Ryan. These two boys are digging for a cause! Way back in April, I struck a deal. Dig for Disney! I needed a hole and they needed some summer fun. I've been wanting to dig our trampoline in since we moved here three years ago. These two have been digging for two months... and now: after many many loads of dirt, blisters and sweat, and what must've been hundreds of otter pops...ahhh mission accomplished... Rayce, Ryan, Ryan's mom Val and I are flying out to Disneyland. Three days of magical fun. It just doesn't seem fair that us mom's get to cash in on their hard work? Oh well, life's not fair.

An Author's Tea

I just love the end of the school year. Not only is it OVER..no more lunches, early mornings and homework, but they always showcase the best talents. This is Ryann with Mr. Oliver her 2nd grade teacher. Mr.Oliver has a long running tradition of teaching the children to create their own novels. Thursday was the Author's Tea. The students were dressed in their best and showcased their books. (I didn't say my best.. but Ryann thought it was her best and she looked cool.) Ryann's novel was titled: A Squirrel Who Conked A Dog On The Head. It was a very exciting story and definitely displayed her humor. Ryann dedicated her book to Mr. Oliver. He has really played an influential role in her life. I am grateful to all the peeps who help to nurture and shape our children.

(time for a new camera.. sorry)

Crimson Point Showcase of Talent

Here's our Piano man playing in the school talent showcase.

We're still working on the nerves but it's good practice for him.

Of course, we are ever so proud!

One Year Ago...

This was my baby.. one year ago.
May 4th, 2008. David Graduated! Finally earning his MBA. WE were so excited! All those hours and hours of study had finally paid off. Not only was he getting his Masters Degree, he maintained all A's except for 1 B+. (It was the teacher's fault-at least that's what we hear from our kids when it comes to their grades-why can't it work for David too.) He is truly the smartest man I know. He is a little silly at times and always opinionated, but smart. As we celebrated his achievement, we still had one more hurdle to clear.
David suffered from atrial fibrillation. This is a condition where his heart gets to beating to its own drum. He was exhausted all of the time and would nearly collapse when reaching the top of our stairs. Of course, he didn't know how sick he was until he got better. Stroke is the concern with atrial fibrillation. The top portion of the heart beats out of rhythm with the lower portion. Slower and then faster. This allows for blood to pool in the heart and clot. When it gets back to its original beating pattern, clots may get pushed through the body and result in a stroke.
On May 6th, 2008 he underwent a fairly new surgery called the mini-maize. It was supposed to be a non-invasive form of heart surgery. Let me just say, there is no non-invasive form. What they mean to say is that they don't crack open your chest. They go in through the ribs by cutting two slits on each side. During the procedure, they deflate one lung to work on one side of the heart.. pump it back up..deflate the other. They test and kill any misfiring nodes on each side of the heart and they also remove a small reservoir at the top of the heart. (We always joke about his heart being too big.) I think they did a a few other things as well.. amazing how with time we forget. His surgery went well and if you ask him the worst part of the whole thing was the removal of the catheter... and not the one in his heart. He was assigned straight to the ICU. (Timpanogos Regional Hospital Orem, UT.) Two and a half days in ICU and we were discharged! ICU is not a good place to be.. everyone is dying up there. Really. Our Dr.'s kept reminding David that he was not sick, he was just healing. Armed with his oxygen canister and a prescription for his drugs we were headed home.. five and a half hours North. We made it 3 hours to Jerome, ID. It was time for an emergency drug run. Walmart here we come. I left David in the car and presented my ID to pick up the narcotics.. (I always wanted to say that) We made it home in time to meet the home health people and the oxygen man. David was like an old man! Three days after surgery his heart started acting up again. Back to the hospital.. He was treated for infection at the incision sites and had his heart jump started again. NO more complications! I was begging.. three weeks later he was running up and down the stairs with ease. He was wearing his new heart like a new pair of shoes, running faster and jumping higher! He quickly decided it was time to invest in another motorcycle. I now say, they fixed his heart but messed up his brain. :)
This May, we celebrate his healing. 100% cured! (at least the heart part) I love you Baby!

Porter the Piano Man

We are so proud of Porter. Something to note: We were running late to the recital and arrived just in time for his teacher to say.. Porter, It's you. I was thinking, "sheesh" can't someone else go in front of him? Give him a minute. But No, Porter was poised and professional. Made his way to the piano and played like he was the only one in the room. Porter has been taking serious lessons for about 6 months. We love to hear him play. Enjoy! (As for the hair cut, or lack there of, I've been waiting for Obama to pronounce "haircuts for all" but I think that's another post.)

Mexico Baby!

For us the party begins as soon as we hit the air. Saturday morning it was Nikki, Christena and I. We were headed to PHX to make our connection to CUN. (Christena's boyfriend, Ron, was with us too but he was in the back of the plane) Christena came up to sit with us for a photo opp. If you look closely, I did remove the gum from my mouth so that it wouldn't be hanging out, just to have it appear in the picture between my fingers. eeewwww.

Here we have Ron with us. We are finding things to do while we clear customs. I love the peeps behind us. Bunny Ears.. how funny. This would be the last we saw of Ron and Christena. They were off on their own. Nikki and I were hoping to clear customs get our pesos at the ATM and hook up with our other girls who were supposedly coming in on an earlier flight. Darn those airlines! Two hour delay. So, we settled in for some chips and salsa to await their arrival. We find it difficult to complain, when you fly for free..We soon saw their happy faces makin it through customs. Apparently there was a "smoke" smell on the plane and they had to return to LAX to fix the problem; probably a good idea. After the reunion we made our way to the bus stop. We were actually staying in Play Del Carmen. It's about an hour bus ride, North or South? I have no idea.. I just got on the dang bus.

Here are the weary travelers partaking of their first meals in Mexico. Sarah B.(one of my coworkers) is on the left and as we proceed around the table we meet Laura (she lives in Boi and is a friend of Sarah's) next is me, then to my right is Holley A. (Sarah's sister in-law. Used to live here in Boi but has recently moved to Mapleton, Ut) and last but not least is Holly B. (lives in Vegas was a high school friend of Holley's) And of course Fro, AKA Nikki is taking the photo. I was meeting Laura and Holly B. for the first time on this trip and I was super happy to get to know them. Everyone is great! Our Fist day was spent on the beach. The water was as blue as the pictures in the magazines. I always saw those but wondered if it was for real. It is. We felt right at home here on the beach. You see, working at the airport you become skilled people watchers. Here on the beach we were skilled boobie/banana sling watchers. I'm quite sure some of these men would die if their friends back home knew they were sporting around in those suits. It was a sight. I did take photos, but because of the family friendly environment I try to create here.. you'll have to see them in my over 18 collection. This is Sarah soaking it up. We made certain to cover up with the SPF, we were not going to repeat the lobsters of last year. Except for Nikki. Unfortunately, She fell asleep and neglected to re-apply. Poooooor girl... Day #2 was windy and cloudy. We just spent the day walking the beach and bartering with the store keepers. I was quite proud of my purchase.. Nacho Libre mask.. Silly American tourist, who else would want a Nacho mask? I'm thinking its gonna come in handy next October. It did rain on and off, but it was beautiful anyhow. This is a pic of the main shopping street. Too much fun. The next morning, we got up to take in the sunrise. Only one problem, the skies were cloudy. It was beautiful and the company was fantastic.

After taking in the sunrise, It was time to clean up the condo and make our way into Cancun. The Holl(e)y's and Laura had rented a car the day previous for their adventure.We decided to keep it and drive ourselves into Cancun. 6 people in a 5 person car on the highways of Mexico. I'm glad we're all still with us.

We visited the tourist district, played on the beach a bit, took in some lunch and made our way to the airport. One thing I did learn about eating in Mexico, it is a process. No one is in a hurry. It takes about 20 minutes to just get a menu. I'm pretty sure they fix the food from scratch. Barring killing the cattle for an asada taco. It takes forever. Delicious but definitely a process.

On the plane again. We would overnight in LAX and then head to our different destinations. ahhh until next time..

13 Going on 16

Dates and driving all in one week. Last week Rayce and I went on a date, I knew this was a good deal , time with my boy and he's paying! He has grown into such a gentleman. It started out in the drive way. He ran around the car to get the door... wow. I was impressed already. We had great conversation down to the local dollar movie. Here's a shout out to my favorite $ theatre in town...Hey Overland Park! (you get a movie and two snack items for $4. what a deal!) Anywho.. We were going to see Twilight. I know, we are a little slow, but I was just not in any hurry to see this movie; even though I have read all the books. Rayce, again raced around the car to get my door. He took charge, bought the tickets and handed me my snack vouchers. They sell this really yummy delicious caramel popcorn. I often want to just go down there and get me a sack. We picked our seats and settled in for the movie. I thought it was good, followed the book well and didn't ruin the story. Rayce, however, LOVED it. The really great thing is that Porter, my 9 year old, is currently reading Twilight and Rayce has been teasing him about reading it. After the movie, Rayce couldn't wait to start reading number two. The date ended with him racing around the car again to get the door open and escort me to my front door.

Driving lessons.. AHHH it can't be that time already. Here in Idaho you can drive at 14 1/2. I'm pretty sure he won't be on the streets at 14 1/2. We went to the trusty church parking lot and gave it a shot. You see, we were just killing time while Porter was at piano lessons, so I knew we could only "practice" for so long. We start with the mirror instruction. The mirrors are very important you know. So we spent about 7 min adjusting the mirrors, moving the seat up and down and getting comfortable with the idea that you only drive with one foot, only one. Ease her into drive and away we go. Its so nice at first, Rayce was afraid of the gas pedal, so we just coasted along without applying any gas pedal pressure. Then he found the brake pedal. Why is it they always slam on the brakes. Ryann, who was along for the lesson ended up between the front two seats while it seemed the car was barely moving forward. Ok.. Everyone buckle up. This is gonna be more dangerous than I thought. After he figured out the brake pedal we were smooth sailing. We drove in circles for 20 minutes, trying to smash apples that littered the lot, and honed in the parking skills. Pretending the lot was full of cars, Oh boy, we're gonna need a big insurance policy. And then it was over. First lesson down and time to change places. On the way home he proclaimed his skills and announced that he was now ready to practice in the neighborhood. ummm I don't think so.