Call Us Crazy

Silly idea, I know. 3000+ miles. Six kids under 10 years old, snuggled in a car that is otherwise very LARGE...until you stuff 8 bodies in it surrounded by luggage, pillows, blankies, 'goods' and snacks...just driving north along the meandering and often sharp coast. Yes, there was a master agenda and plan--always is when I'm in charge. But this time we had to roll with the punches quite a bit. We did really have a good time while our time together lasted. And it was great seeing Mark, Tallie, Luke & Hank in Tacoma, WA for what was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime fun and adventurous spring break. The kind of adventure that ensued wasn't what we bargained for. I was hoping for a picture-perfect memorable Easter. Would a normal family photo be just too much to ask for? A memory we sure have, but too bad we were split between the hospital & Mark and Tallie's house. Roll with the punches.... We'll certainly never forget spring break '08! We made the most of it all.

Some of the high points:

• San Francisco Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge, Trolley Car, Lombard Street. We rushed through San Fran like mad people, but the kids got their referesher-course on San Fran and it wasn't all that exciting to them. Wow. We looked exactly how we felt!
  

• Sleeping in a hostel in the Redwood Forest with an amazing ocean view-call me cheap---I thought it would be a very unique & great experience for the kids--bunking it together in a room inside this great house on the coast. And it was---it did end up being memorable! It was only like $10/head...way to stick to the budget!
  

• Paul Bunyan's Trees of Mystery--the surprising favorite stop of the whole trip. Who knew? Glad we ventured into the trees. Sky tram ride way up to the tree tops was the coolest--did you know that there are more bigfoot sightings in that county than anywhere else in the US?
  

• 
  
• Roughing it' in a Oregon coast cabin/yurt--scared the begeebies out of the kids talking about bigfoot. Truth be told, that's how I got them to obey and be quiet..."Did you hear that? It's probably bigfoot." What a great campsite--I'd love to go back & actually have a vacation in this spot when it's not pouring rain & freezing temps! What a sight it was though to try to find this cabin in the middle of nowhere, off a pathway with no flashlights, pouring rain, sloshing through the muddy path, darker than Haites. We were troopers. And we woke up to see the gorgeous view that was surrounding us all night. All for forty-five bucks. Deal of the century. Five-star hotels have their place too--but hey, it was now Sunday and we were still wearing the same clothes we started with Friday night! I think we probably scared bigfoot away.

• Tillamook cheese factory was pretty cool---at least the stop was worth it for the yummy ice cream. I discovered they have chocolate peanut butter just like my favorite Baskin Robbins. I think I'm kind of glad our local stores don't carry Tillamook otherwise I'd be 200 pounds in no time.

• Seattle Pike Market. Chowder and mini donuts at Pike Market. Yum--gotta try those donuts if you're ever there. Oh, and the crab was great too. Fish-throwing was cool to see. I wanted to buy up all the tulips---I really miss my front yard of tulips in Utah. I don't know what the big deal is about the space needle. We took a picture anyway. We tried to go to the children's museum but it closed early, so we headed to Canada early.

• Fort Nisqually area beach with Mark, Tallie & boys.

• Ferry ride to Victoria Island, Canada. AMAZING how many big rigs, buses, trailers, and cars go into the bowels of these ferries! We drove our Escalade on---and good thing we did--Victoria isn't as small as one might think.

• Butterfly Gardens in Victoria. Actually, very cool. But cooler for the kids--2 for 1 webkinz. Yup, that made their trip. They each left with a webkinz after they rushed through the gardens. Guess that's how they pull tourists like us in during the off-season. At least I enjoyed the butterflies. Note to self...could have saved a ton of money from the Victoria trip and bought webkinz in the United States...the kids would have been just as happy. We would have gone to Buchart Gardens, but the locals said it just wasn't spectacular this time of year. There are downsides to going places in the off-season I suppose.

• Beautiful Canadian coastal scenery--not any different than the great US of A. Again, the kids were NOT impressed. But we all loved our Cadbury Wunderbars! The yummiest candy bar that my brother, Brett, introduced us to after serving his mission in Calgary. Too bad I didn't get to the Vancouver Costco to buy a case or two.
  

• Gearing up to 'fly' through the Seattle sky. See next post.

• Easter-egg hunts & subsequent raw egg toss at the park. A few un-named people got nailed with the salmonella stuff.
  

• Mouth-watering gourmet yumminess for Easter dinner courtesy of David (the chef) and Tami (Tallie's mom). It was like going to a five-star restaurant!

• And of course, playing with Aunt Tallie. Lexie loved jump rope and they all loved Easter Egg coloring.

Low Points:

• Izzie puking at the hostel. Caught it in a towel--we're probably too good at anticipating & managing puke. Sad, but true. Those skills came in handy at the hospital later in the week.
  

• Forgetting Vivs birth certificate--had to leave her behind with Mark & Tallie (Thanks for lovin' her, guys!) while we went to Canada because of the new documentation requirements.
  

• ER trip at 1 am after arriving back from Canada. Up all night. JOYS. But just the beginning.
  

• ...and 9 day stay at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital...bronchialitis, RSV symptoms, pneumonia. Love the bed chair. We're buds. We did have fabulous physicians & a few wonderful Respiratory Specialists to speak of. And thank you to Mark & Tal for some homemade meals--special delivery.
  

• Wind patterns not cooperating with us for our paragliding excursion!
  

• Curt having to drive all the way home with 5 kids by himself leaving me and Vivie behind in the hospital. The end. Lesson learned. We can't travel far from home with Viviana just yet. At least during the RSV season. Utah in June will have to be an exception--at least we know the doctors there. But I think we handled all the stress and rolled with the punches pretty well considering it all.
  

Funnies:

• Driving in the 'nexus' lane at the Canadian border. We didn't know it was a high-security paid-only lane for the locals who undergo an extensive FBI back-ground check complete with fingerprints. Heck, we avoided a 2 hour wait and but also could have had a $1000 fine and impounded car. OOOPS. Good thing we sounded convincing when the border agent wanted to have us do a U-turn or our trip to Canada would have ended at the border.
  

• Izzie so cleverly picked our 3000+ mile trip to start potty training. (And now that we're home she's not so gung-ho). Ya think she has a mind of her own?
  

• "I don't like that guy"--Izzie, referring to Paul Bunyan. You've got to hear it in her voice though. Very funny.
  

• "What a surprise...another beach" Brayden said when passing by yet another beautiful shore. After about the tenth one it was hard for the kids...okay, all of us, to appreciate the Oregon coast amidst all the twists & turns. We all wished we'd headed inland to the I-5 a little earlier.

• And Aunt Tallie taught Vivie how to wave. I thought she was just kidding cause Vivie apparently ONLY does it for Aunt Tallie. I half got a picture of it while we were in the hospital and on the mend.
  

We're Almost Home

This is how Vivie feels about the whole experience! I think she's had enough! This is how she would sleep in the hospital--funny girl! I'm at Mark & Tal's house....it's 5 am Sunday morning. We were released yesterday...kind of a surprise. Vive has definitely improved ten-fold, but I question if she was really ready to leave her new best friend, the wall suction. She HATES it...no, that word isn't strong enough. She DESPISES it and glares at all the yellow people, but she needs it. She's struggled to sleep without the suction and normal xopenex treatments (we have an inhaler and spacer, but it's just not the same). Last night she sneezed 9 times in a row and with each 'a-choo' out came a pot full of thick snot she was choking on. Guess she's got to figure out someway to move that snot! Mark found a $300 one-way flight for Sunday night and so I purchased it. Yup, could have flown Monday afternoon or Monday eve in Mark's bennies for $40, but somehow waiting for standby didn't appeal to me and I just need to get my babe home to see HER docs Monday morning. Call me crazy. My bed is calling me too. I miss my family desperately. But, yes, thankfully, we weren't released from the hospital to the streets of Tacoma! Thanks, Mark & Tal for your help!

Days 8 & 9 Riding the 'Coaster

Vivie's little rollercoaster that she apparently is riding has gotten more wild & twisty. She had a really rough night...AGAIN. I woke up in the middle of the night a dozen times frustrated that we are going on day 8 and she still seems to be spiraling down, improving a little, then stepping back again. The insurance company also wants to know WHY we are still here with no end in sight. We have had great care overall and the Hospitalists have been some of the best physicans I've ever worked with. Back to my middle-of-the night awakening. I sat straight up on my oh-so-delightful bedchair and thought to myself....it's pneumonia. That's what's going on...and we're all missing it. So I told the RT and she agreed.

So today has been a day of x-ray, blood-draws, and actually a catheter to rule out UTI. This photo is of her x-ray. I was halff laughing because--what a sight for sore eyes! My poor baby in a twisted straight-jacket! She's starting an IV antiobiotic and I have a massive headache so I'm sure hers is about to burst...along with all the other body aches from being poked and proded. Oh, and it's snowing outside...in almost April in Tacoma, WA. I REALLY miss my San Diego! Our room is freezing cold because the heater is from circa 1970 and decided not to work very well about the day we were admitted. It's either switch to a shared room, or add another blankie and some slippers and call it good. Yesterday passed quickly as I crocheted a beanie and matching Mary Janes for my Vivs---you can guess which option we chose. I WON'T do shared rooms--after last month's experience and especially since now we're apparently Tacoma residents.

The 'talk' is that we'll be here for another 4-5 days with the pneumonia. W-O-W. That's almost 2 weeks in the hospital 1200 miles away from my other babies. Thank you to sweet Tallie for homemade dinners & treats, warm clothes, her open shoulder & ear, and to dear Helen (Tal's old counselor & the new RS Pres) for the good reads and other treats Tallie had her bring my way. And of course, to Marky for all he's done in between his flights. We're exploring taking an 'angel flight' back home due to our crazy circumstances. The biggest concern for me is Vivie's immunodeficiency and how awful it would be to take her on a commercial flight and make her more susceptable to all the other nasty diseases & illnesses lurking around the airport/airplane. Not to mention that every flight anywhere near So. Cal is oversold on every airline due to spring break in WA. We'll see how that pans out.

And now it's Friday morning...didn't press 'publish post' and Vivie had a hospital 'first' last night. She had a GREAT night. Her antibiotic course started yesterday and she seems to have turned that sharp corner and is on the mend. It helps that I slept pretty much most of the night so hooray! And the scenery outside looks like Christmas. Is it really almost April? Astounding amounts of snow--during spring in Western Washington...go figure. Can't wait to post my many pictures of this crazy hospital experience.

Vivie's favorite color is not gonna be yellow.

I'm in blogger withdrawal. Kisses & hugs from all my kids/hubby withdrawal. Comfy bed withdrawal. Normal routine withdrawal. Sunny warm weather withdrawal. The ability to run & go withdrawal. My toes need a good pedicure withdrawal (hahahaha). Tivo withdrawal. Diet withdrawal. Good thing I just discovered the family computer with internet on this floor, otherwise I'd have another withdrawal. And Vivie has decided that she does not like the color yellow. Good thing her room at home in San Diego is not yellow.

That's because our home this last week (since Thursday, 3/20) has been the Tacoma Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. Anyone that enters her room has to gown & mask up in a beautiful butter yellow. Vivie now associates that uniform and color with the delivery of unpleasantries...suctioning discomfort and restraint, IV pokes....and even the routine stuff that's not painful---she's learned to throw a fit and FIGHT.

We're really good at this now--as good as anyone can be at the hospital thing. But we're keeping our hospital experiences fresh, new, and exciting...apparently. Well, maybe not. The kicker this time around is that we're 1200 miles away from home. I'm grateful to at least be 10 minutes away from Tallie, Mark & Co. They have brought a sense of relief as much as possible to the dismal situation. Curt so gallantly and bravely took the bus load of five kids on the long trek home Monday afternoon. They arrived safe & sound at 2 am this morning and now Curt just needs to recover from 'kid overload' so he can hold down the fort.

So bronchialitis it is....with asthma and RSV symptoms once again. Only this time Viviana has experienced Rotavirus-like symptoms with vomit and diahrreah along with the regular stuff. Joys. Days are good. Nights are bad. One step forward...3 steps back is pretty much our routine. She jumps on and off oxygen like it's a playground and still needs the IV fluids to keep her secretions thin so the RT (respiratory therapy) team doesn't have to pull cement out of her lungs. The staff has been excellent except for one haughty intern.

Just when we're working towards getting home tomorrow....she decides to suck more O's and tease me. Poor baby. She's doing the best she can while earning the award for cutest baby girl with big blue eyes in the hospital. Her docs & nurses love her despite the nasty looks she throws their way...when they're suited up in yellow. We'll see what kind of lasting effects the color yellow has on our Viviana. I'll update as I can. For now, send your happy thoughts and prayers our way so we can get home to the rest of the gang in one piece! I just added this photo....it's of our new-found RT friend, Joanna. Vivs did love one yellow person and that was her.

"It's A Hard-Knock Life!"

Well, not really. But that's what Annie would say! This week McKenzie performed in her first showcase as a cute little orphan. I fondly remember my parents taking me to "Annie," the musical when it first came to LA. I was probably about 7 or 8 years old and I LOVED it. I haven't forgotten a word! I think I out-sung Kenz when we would practice--she would just look at me like, "who are you?" I had just as much fun as she did! She had such a blast and is learning (we hope) to project herself at the proper times and maybe dance out some of her nine-year-old frustrations?! She's always been

LOUD and it's great to have a venue that encourages loudness at the correct time while teaching voice inflection. We HOPE it will transfer over to her family interactions! She's in The Stage School, which is owned and operated by our ward friend, Elisha Exon, who is an ex-BYU ambassador, actress, singer, and dancer extraordinaire!


McKenzie and the whole school did a fantastic job with this showcase! McKenzie had no stage-fright and was so confident...a long ways a way from her first 4-year-old ballet performance when she chickened out and couldn't even step foot on stage! She did a great job memorizing her lines and taking ownership of her orphan part.

Stay tuned for "Hairspray" in June. It should be a blast! I kind of want to join this Stage School so I can "shake my bootie" like John Travolta! What a blast!

Our "Yummy-ana" turned 10 months old!!

... On March 9th


Curt lovingly adopted the nickname, "Yummy-ana" for Viviana. Yup, she's a yummy bundle of love and we just want to eat her cheeks, hands, toes, ears...you name it--it's yummy enough to eat if it's part of Vivie.

I truly cannot believe she's 10 months. Yet, I NEVER thought she'd grow up! I mean it just feels like I've had a newborn F O R E V E R...yet sometimes it feels like yesterday that the NICU was her home. I guess it's not such a bad thing when you know it's your last. Little 1 lb 12 oz Vivie is now 16 1/2 lbs. and as the pictures attest, she's a chunk of pure LOVE...rolls, double chins, baby boobs, fat feet, kankles, and a big 'ole baby belly. We LOVE it!

This week was her Opthamology appointment and she received a perfect bill of 'eye health.' What an incredible blessing given her start and how close she was to surgery so early on.

She's finally rolling over, grabbing everything in sight, lunging to reach things, sitting up on her own (still not 100% stable), and scooting across the floor on her back. She LOVES her super saucer activity center and her whole countenance brightens when her daddy walks in or when she hears his voice. Curt sure has a gaggle of adoring girls! Vivie loves to suck on her bottom lip, blow lots of raspberries, bounce up and down, stick her big fat tongue out and she loves her afternoon naps. Her favorite babble is "dadadadadadada" and of course you can always count on a big slobber spot covering the top of her shirt.

Viviana is such a sweet little girl and I'm really not saying that just because she's my baby. She has a tender disposition and she KNOWS she has 2 brothers, 3 sisters, a dad & a mom wrapped around her finger! I'm so blessed to be Vivie's mommie! Happy 10 months, my precious sweetheart!

Enjoy her latest photo shoot....

Got Milk?

My Isabella is addicted to milk...the carnation instant breakfast chocolate milk, that is. It's part of a routine for her and it drives me nuts. We started getting the carnation instant breakfast because at least it has redeeming protein. "I want chocolate milk, mom, dad!" (and then rattles of anyone's name who will listen in a screaming rant) About 3 times a day, no kidding. But the thing is, she only drinks it about half the time. It's one of her MANY security 'blankets'. Chocolate milk in a sippy. I have more chocolate milk stains on her sheets and carpet from the full sippy cup leaking.

MILK. I don't think she gets it. Does she REALLY think that I just have the best thing going here---cause she thinks I can have 'milk' anytime I want?????!!!! Or maybe my long pumping days put an image in her mind that just won't go away. Read on....

***Warning! uncensored content!***

Izzie--"I want your boobies, Mom"
Me--"W H A T?! Why do you want my boobies?!"
Izzie--"Because you got milk!"
Me--" No, Izzie, not anymore. My milk is gone."
Izzie--"Oh, Vivie drank it all? I want to cuddle you and drink your milk, mom."

Okay, what's the crazy obsession my girls have with boobies? There's no way to censor this and get the gist of my hilarious girls! Lexie is the same way...pointing out other women's endowments...or not. REALLY. She went across the street to our friends' house and just stared at Karyn for a few minutes (don't hate me for blogging this, Karyn!!), reflecting something in her mind, and out popped her thoughts, "your boobies just aren't like my mommies!" My 3-year-old princess! Sean sure got a roaring laugh at Lexie's boldness. Out of the mouth of babes. Our neighbors must wonder what we teach our little ones at home! Just this week Lexie was checking herself out in the mirror and said, "I like my boobies, mom!" Yeah, Lex, grrreat. What is a mom to say? I kind of ignored her obsession for a minute.

Or is this all because Lexie & Izzie feel deprived? They were both horrible nursers and so I didn't force it and didn't give it a chance after they failed a few times. So they were bottle babies all the way! Oh, they're way too aware of themselves...their mommie and other women at 2 and 3 years old! Between Curt's 'pecks' and the women in my family, my girls might need back surgery at some point! Or therapy. They don't even stand a chance as track and field stars.

I warned you this is un-censored. It gets worse.

Once a month when doo-da comes for a visit--or whatever special little name you call it, my little Izzie runs to the rescue with her compassionate helping attitude.
"Mommie, you have ouchies? Here, you need this. I'll help you" (handing me the supplies). I remember being aware and curious with my mom, but it's a little nuts when I can't even manage to pee without an audience of at least two little girls. So I guess I have to find the humor in all of it....and there's a lot of humor bursting from my kids. I'm one lucky momma, uncensored or not.

Making the Most of Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings Bites. I don't understand why we still adopt this century-old tradition. Especially when church starts at 8:30 am and the alarm doesn't go off! Okay, the alarm went off...I was in REM cycle 3 and ignored it thinking it was still 3 am or something. But we made it on time--all 8 of us. Is it a crime to be half asleep during sacrament meeting? I'm thinking we should earn some stars for even remembering!

I'm really enjoying teaching my Valiant 11's. I am a bit of a crazy teacher--I do off-the-wall things that will make the kids remember what they're learning. Today we had our lesson with six 11-year-olds shoved into Lexie & Izzie's princess tent. It took a while for the kids to get over staring at Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to figure out what the lesson was about and who I was supposed to be (King Benjamin). The jury's still out on whether the concepts are getting through, but I like the change-of-pace even if they think I'm a bit crazy.

On the way home we had this fabulous idea for the rest of our beautiful Sunday afternoon. Our grand idea of Sunday nap time would have to wait! A Family Sunday stroll along the Carlsbad boardwalk...what could be better? The kids took their scooters and I think a few dozen people broke their necks staring at the freak-show (We watched them count the heads as we strolled by and then they'd do a whip-lash turn after they passed the Izzie caboose on her Dora car.) I don't think I'll ever get used to that. After I mentioned ice-cream at Cessy's to the kids (don't judge me! Couldn't resist..not a usual Sabbath occurence) I couldn't do a take-back or I'd have a mutiny for the LONG mile + walk back to the car! Lexie kept on saying, "Okay, this is the deal...we'll go get ice-cream, okay, mom?" I guess I'm justifying. Not a good lesson for the kids, but my 3-year-old knows the commitment pattern! Next time--kite flying. We need to enjoy our beach community as a family more than we have in the past. I'm sure my kids will look like little Indians when we go to Seattle next week with their California winter tans.

Happy 9th Birthday, my Angelkenz!

Super long post.....all about McKenzie's birth. Read it or pass on it--it's for my blog journal.

Today is her birthday...she is so so sick. Poor Kenzie is battling that horrible flu and now has bronchitis to go along with it. She's also puking along with all the other fun symptoms. I guess she's had better birthdays...but at least we started celebrating early last weekend!

...Once Upon A Time (9 years ago) in a galaxy far far away (Mesa, Arizona), McKenzie Beth made her appearance in our family with a bang! She was an absolute dream-come-true as my first daughter. I LOVED the idea of having a boy, then a girl. My life was perfect.

McKenzie was no ordinary baby...in fact her in-utero experience was an extraordinary 9 months...of growth in our marriage, faith in the things that are most important, hope that all would turn okay, and that we would be able to accept whatever Heavenly Father had in store for us. You see, McKenzie had clusters of choroid plexus cysts covering her right and left lobes of her brain which sent us to specialists throughout the pregnancy. It was a rare condition at that time and not much was known as ultrasound technology was becoming more and more advanced. The thought now is that these cysts are present on many fetus' brains and just go undetected. Back in '98 and '99 it was an issue as we went through genetic counseling and even one specialist counseled us to terminate the pregnancy if an amniocentesis indicated a problemed fetus. . I was not willing to do an amniocentesis because of the risks with that and so what if McKenzie was going to have problems....she was meant for us no matter what. They thought the chances of McKenzie having trisomy 13 was very likely and survival would be nearly impossible. Certainly if she survived and didn't have trisomy 13, the chances that she'd be a downs syndrome baby was great, which was fine with us--we'd take whatever was in store for our family. But I spent the whole pregnancy preparing myself mentally to care for this potentially challenged baby.

Fast forward....her cysts dissolved at about 8 months in-utero and didn't impact her brain development (we think!!!!) We still didn't know what anomalies to expect at birth, which was a very spiritual experience as well. I didn't feel one labor pain with Brayden--at least the way labor is supposed to feel. I really wanted to 'feel' the sacrifice (in a painful kind of way...call me crazy) of bringing a child into this world without drugs. I was a trooper, but man, I was not meant to be a pioneer. Okay, so I felt it. I went through the whole labor feeling it. I was done feeling it. I begged for the epidural when I got to 8 cm's...just in time for them to give me my episiotomy. But really, it was like going to the other side and sacrificing to bring this precious baby into the world. Epidurals were my friend from there on out. Technology is great, isn't it?

McKenzie was born 3 weeks early. I had no labor pains that rushed me to the hospital. I felt pressure and just felt like it was time, right then, without timed contractions, to get to the hospital...3 weeks early. We got to the hospital and I was dilated to 5 cm's already. At delivery we discovered that she had a placental condition called circumvalet. The umbilical cord had detached from the placenta almost completely--it was hanging by a thread. McKenzie HAD to be born right then, otherwise we would have delivered a still-born any later. I'm so glad I felt the need to get to the hospital.

McKenzie looked perfect. No signs of any problems. We didn't continue with our plan to have chromosomal tests because she just looked like a normal newborn...no anomalies-just 6 lbs 4 ounces of cute baby girl...until the severe jaundice set it. Usually a very routine experience for babies, but McKenzie's was severe. Her bilirubin was 23--a few points away from a total blood transfusion. She was admitted to the hospital after her temp quickly dropped, she was listless, hadn't eaten for 12 hours, and severely dehydrated. While in the hospital for 6 days getting a suntan under the bili-lights, she contracted RSV and ended up having to go back to the hospital for another week. She learned early on to be a fighter and we have seen that same fighting spirit in our little Viviana Faith. I remember staying up night after night sitting with McKenzie in my arms to get her in a comfortable breathing position. We had to deep suction her at home every 3 hours without any formal training--which is amazing looking back. I must have had a guided hand for that tube to end up in the right place because that could have caused some major damage! So McKenzie had many struggles to overcome very early in life...it's no wonder she's a fighter today and has such a strong personality.

McKenzie, your 'birthday' was truly an event to be remembered. You are such a talented, loving, intelligent, kind, giving, dream-come-true, my sweet AngelKenz! You are my 2nd pair of hands with how helpful you are with your little sisters. You have a huge responsibility to always set an example for them and to make the right choices. I love how you are always the first to hand out compliments and lift others' spirits. You're so great at making people feel good about themselves. You are compassionate and I also love your zeal for life and passion for things that are important to you. You can be dang funny with the things you come up with! You spoke complete sentences when you were 18 months old and even today have a very mature ability to express yourself---sometimes tactful, other times not so much! You were named after your great great grandmother, Rebecca McKenzie, who endured many challenges of her own. Your middle name is Beth, just like your Ama's who sets a great example to follow. I love you dearly, my beautiful McKenzie! Happy 9th Birthday!

Ama is the LOVE of my kids life!

My kids crave their grandma's attention. We call her Ama--which means 'love' in spanish. I think Monson came up with the affectionate nickname when he was in the babbling stage. Sometimes the kids' love for Ama borders true obsession. They talk about when they'll see her next and all the things they are going to do and play, they dream about her, they call her on the phone all the time and my little ones babble away so fast that she needs me to get back on the phone for translation, they play 'Ama' with their dollies and just love her to pieces. Lexie loves talking about going to Ama's house, but commits me to never leave her there by herself again! (After-the-fact, she felt I abandoned her when she was there for 6 weeks during bedrest last year!)

When she comes she does little things for the kids. She was here for 24 hours this weekend after their monthly Mexico trip. This time she gave a cute little PJ pattern to Kenz for her birthday complete with all the fabric and notions so she could sew her first set of PJ's. She took the time with K-man sitting by patiently waiting--looking at his watch every 5 seconds wanting to know when they could scoot out the door---he doesn't do well with noise and quiet my house is NOT. Anyway, she took the time to cut out this pattern with McKenzie which I know McKenzie loved. She's the best at giving the individualized attention and making every grandchild feel as if he/she IS her FAV. She has 16 favorites though--Our 6, Wayne & Beck's 5, Matt & Heather's 1, Mark & Tal's 2, and Brett & Em's 2 (get on it Brooke & Kev, will ya?) She is the dream-come-true grandma to my children!

While Ama & K-man (Kelly) were here we all went to Brayden's first baseball game of the season. Bray played like a star on first base the whole game and then a surprise to all of us--he pitched the last inning and did a fantastic job! I think he even surprised himself at how well he did his first time! He has a great coach who really sees the potential in the boys and gives the kids opportunities.

Lexie sat next to Ama & K-man and told on ME! She was funny. "Ama, Can I talk to you for a minute? Your daughter took me out of preschool cause Vivie got sick. That wasn't very nice. Your daughter didn't rock me last night (last night meaning one time last year probably) and I was so sad. Your daugther yadda yadda yadda. " I guess that was a good way to get Ama's attention---to tell on her daughter aka ME!! I guess she was really upset at these things and just wanted my mom to know. That's what grandma's are for.

Afterwards we all went to Shogun...a Tepanyaki-style Japanese Restaurant and had a great show and good eats to celebrate McKenzie's 9th birthday. It was nice to have them here--even if only for 24 hours! We'll take what we can get!