May 31, 2011 The Rest of the Day

So Kael's strep test came back negative. The doctor kept saying how bad his throat looked with the spots and his tonsils being huge, and how he had swollen lymph nodes. I'm like great he really must have strep. The doctor was really surprised it came back negative and ran a culture on it, but didn't give him any medicine. It should hopefully be done in 2 days and if it is positive get this kid normal before we leave on June 6th for Ohio.

Our day was so long today for both the kids and I. After getting back from the airport and resting for a bit I called the doctor and got Kael in as soon as possible at 10. We didn't get home until after 11 and poor Eden fell asleep in the car. My kids don't fall asleep in the car hardly ever. Kael's poor eyes were drooping. Who can blame them?! They were up at 4! Eden went to bed and Kael ate some lunch and then asked to get down, grabbed his blanket, said nap mom, nap, and went and laid down on his bed. He was so tired. I had to wake Kael up from his nap to get to his preschool testing evaluation today at 2. The poor kid was sleeping on the floor when I came in there. As I ran to get the camera Eden decided she needed to walk in and wake him up. This is how I found them.

We got back from the preschool appointment and the kids got Popsicles and played outside. Kael has been wanting lots of Popsicles lately. They had so much fun, and I think they got a little worn out, which is ok with me. Kael ran off with chalk and when I went over he showed me this picture he drew. I couldn't help but take a picture! It's a smiley face! He drew eyes, nose and mouth!

I am so proud of him. He is so smart. We just need to get his speech caught up and he is going to be awesome!

So after I get the kids to bed instead of finishing the dishes, I made a cake. I didn't want to sit inside by myself so I got the cake baking and sat outside with my awesome neighbors. I honestly am so grateful to live here in the village. I know I wouldn't feel as secure about my situation, and everyone has been so kind and has offered to help out. A big shout out to Kyle Roller who had the baby monitor last night while my baby cried all night. Our family is so blessed to be here and to know all of the amazing, kind, wonderful people who live all around us. Thank you so much for everything, and know if you offer me help right now I probably will not turn you down. ;)

I got to talk to my lovely husband for exactly 9 wonderful minutes. He is surviving so far. And like him, I should get to bed. By the way I did get my dishes done and house picked up. It is visitor friendly again. Whew.

Thanksgiving Point May 30, 2011

I wish we lived a little closer to this dinosaur museum because Kael and Eden LOVED it. I think for Kael's 3rd birthday I might have to do a dinosaur themed party.

Playing with a stuffed dinosaur, piecing it together.

Dinosaur puzzle thing.

Eden had to get involved too, she had just as much fun as Kael.

Eden on the Triceratops.

"Why isn't this thing going? I want to go for a ride!"

Kael and Eden being adorable as ever. Don't mind Eden's red eyes. (Boo.)

They also had an awesome place to play sand and water. Kael did this for about 15 minutes and then he went and dug for bones in the sand. We ate some lunch and headed back for a late nap, which was perfect! A definite must do again.

Dealing with it.

So, if any of you read the Nie Nie Dialogues you will know about her writing letters to her husband while he is away. Quite romantic and a little silly, but you can't help but to love them. Today marks the first day that Derek is away. I'm plannning on keeping Derek updated right here on the blog, so he won't miss a moment. :)

We wanted to have fun with the kids before Derek left, so we got a little adventurous with the kids yesterday and took them to Thanksgiving Pointe Dinosaur museum. You know Kael's new obsession (dinosaurs). It was awesome. Pictures to come later.

We thought we were really prepared yesterday. All was going well. We got the kids to bed. Derek got a blessing, and that sure made me feel better. We knew this day was coming for about a year now, but it is easier to just not think about it. When the time came to really think about it that is when the break down happens. Derek was packed, the kids were taken care of. Derek gave me a blessing and then we got all the last minute details worked out. We dropped the baby monitor off at our amazing neighbors house so that I could take Derek to the airport at 5 am. You know the kids should be sleeping at 5 am, so there shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately our kids must have an agenda of their own.

Eden was up at 11 and then at 1 she was up and decided not to go to sleep. I was trying so hard to make sure she didn't cry because our neighbor had the monitor and this baby was suppose to be sleeping! Finally about 2 I gave her medicine and by 2:30 I was sleeping on the couch with her. At 4 she woke up again. And did I mention we needed to leave around 5? Ya. Kael then woke up just after 4 and refused to go back to sleep. I then brought Kael to sleep by Eden on the couch at 4:30. Then, at 4:45 they were both climbing on the couch so I turned on a movie so that Derek and I could get ready. We decided we just couldn't leave to completely awake children at 5 am so I got the kids coats and shoes and loaded them in the car too. I totally didn't want to bring them. I didn't want them to see Derek leaving. I wanted them to just wake up and have Mom and all be just fine. They obviously needed to say good bye to dad one more time.

I have to say I was quite surprised at myself and keeping it all together. Poor Kael was heart broken. He just cried and cried for his Dad. Eden fell asleep in the car, and we got home and just laid on the couch for a while. I'm totally one hundred percent exhausted, but I know Derek will be even more tired because he will be getting up at 2 am Utah time tomorrow. I sure hope he gets a nap today.

The kids are crazy and are just going nuts. Probably because Mom is too tired to do much more. Kael started throwing a tantrum asking for milk and threw his cup across the room, so I put him in time out, where he began screaming and that is when I looked in his mouth and saw his tonsils and they were huge with these huge ugly white dots on them. Great.

Needless to say it has been under 4 hours since I said good bye to Derek and I'm headed to the doctors office in 20 minutes. Kael also has his preschool evaluation today. I'm certain it won't go well do to lack of sleep... Positive attitude though.

We are here. Derek is flying over the U.S. and I'm dealing with it. The next 6 weeks are going to go by so fast.

So my love, know that I'm missing you like crazy, and as much as I miss you and wish you were here, I'm kinda glad you get to miss out on crazy kids today! :) You should know thought that I can't wait to snuggle you in bed again. 4 hours down, a gazillion to go. See you soon!

With Love From Home (the place where your family is)

Your Wife.

Zoo Zoo We Love You!

After getting home from Vegas we had to spoil the kids a little. We kind of missed them a lot. So, we went to our favorite zoo just down the road. What was unusual about this visit? We let the kids ride on the merry-go-round. Don't let Eden's expression surprise you, she loved this just as much as Kael. I think we might have a couple of adventurous kids on our hands. I'm excited to take them to Disneyland some day because I know they are going to love it. And please ignore Eden's crazy outfit and size problems, I finally pulled out her 12 month clothes today, so hopefully something will fit her now.

The zoo was awesome because they set up dinosaurs all around the zoo that were huge. Kael loved hearing them roar and then he would roar back at them. One of the dinosaurs even spit water at you. This was just in time since Kael is loving dinosaurs right now.

Viva Las Vegas

Here are a few things we did on our trip to Las Vegas. We stayed at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. It was fabulous, but we would never have stayed there if we didn't get such a huge discount. The cheapest food was a sandwich for $15.00.

After checking in to our hotel we went to our favorite restaurant.

Then we got to see "The Lion King". Amazing.

Classic lean back and take a picture of yourself photo.

The next night we went with Stuart and Jane for The Tournament of Kings. Always a favorite.

Then we went back to :The Cheesecake Factory" the next day for lunch. I can't get enough of this place. Worth every penny.

After we ate we went to Circus Circus and went to the Adventure dome. We played laser tag about 15 times where Derek continuously won game after game, beating little kids, grown adults, teenagers, and of course me every time.

We then did a roller coaster twice, watched a Spongebob 4d, and another virtual reality show, and after that I was pretty sick and ready to come home to my babies, after another game of laser tag of course.


Kael and Eden had the best time with Grandma and Grandpa Heaton while we were gone and of course I forgot to take a picture after 2 years of not seeing them. And now I don't have ANY pictures of Eden with them... Good thing there is a family reunion this July.

This was such a fun get away and I'm so glad we were able to go. I really want to try to have a family trip once a year. Next year the kids can come with us! The whole trip I kept thinking oh Kael and Eden would love this or that. It was fun to go away, but I'm loving holding my kids and spoiling them rotten.

Little Miss is 14 Months

Eden is 14 months old. This month has brought a lot of change. Little Miss is very independant lately. She is now walking all over the place. This started about 1 1/2 weeks after my last post about her. She is a lover of food. If she is unhappy just give her something to eat and you become her new best friend. She is repeating words quite well. Grandma and Grandpa Heaton watched Kael and Eden while Derek and I went to Las Vegas and she now can say Grandma very clearly. I think it is because Grandma spoiled her with lots of cookies, fruit snacks, and yummy treats. She loved cuddling with her Grandpa. This girl loves to color and draw. Her personalitity shows more and more every day and you can't help but to love this girl. It is so hard to tell her no which is becoming more frequent. Love you little girl. You are getting too big too fast.

And I thought I'd include a little video of her. Just because.

Dearest Kael

My dearest Kael. You are now 33 months old. I should have written this 2 days ago. This month has been a struggle for you and me. I think our different opinions have clashed a lot this month. Dad and I attended a class today for Sunday School at church for teaching. In the class a lady commented about teaching our children. She said when she had her first baby she prayed to Heavenly Father that she would be able to understand her baby. They are very different and she wanted to understand her baby so that she could teach her better. I want you to know that I have prayed for this very thing every day. I don't think we are all that different, but you are very stubborn. That is ok. I hope you are stubborn throughout your life. I want you to stick to what you believe. However, along the way, please obey your mother when she asks you to come inside, or especially to not run in the road. I promise, on these points Mom does know best. :)

You are speaking so much better. Just the other day you were playing outside and you insisted on holding your water cup. I asked you to let me hold it for you so you could play better, and you very clearly told me "No Mom, I need to hold it!" I had a good laugh and could not deny you your cup because I have never heard you speak so clearly, or that long of a sentence. It melts my heart. You repeat EVERYTHING! Progress. I am so proud of you!

You were talking to your Grandma Heaton on the phone and you repeated all the words she told you. Balloons, see you soon, love you, bye! Then as Grandma was going to hang up I heard her telling Grandpa, "Wow, he is getting so big!". That also melted my heart, because it is true.

Grandma and Grandpa Heaton are coming in just 8 days to watch you and Eden, and I have decided I really need to find a way for you to go #2 on the toilet before they come. So yesterday we went to the store and I let you pick a toy. You picked dinosaurs. You LOVE dinosaurs. You say that word all day long. Today, you did it. You pooped on the toilet for the first time since February! You were so excited for that dinosaur. Now, I really hope you can keep going so that I don't have to take the dinosaur away. It is going to break my heart if I have to, but I know you can do this!

You get so annoyed with Eden sometimes. It is so funny. You think she needs her pacifier or her sippy cup, or just some toy and you try to force her to hold it. She cries and then you cry. You really just want to help her. You love her so much. You kiss her cheek every night before she goes to bed. Sometimes you just go up to her and give her a big hug. Most of the time you end up tackling her and she laughs. Thanks for loving her. You are a great big brother and a good example so far. I put the picture I did up because it shows you being silly with Eden. Even though you both are still little you love being together. I love you buddy! You amaze me every day and I'm so proud of you! I can't wait to see what next month brings.

Bragging Rights

Let's face it, this blog is all about ME, so I am going to start this post about me. Growing up I always seemed to be on the losing team. Don't get me wrong, I'm a firm believer that we learn from our losses. However, it stunk. My little league softball team never won, my basketball teams never won, my high school softball team was always that seat away from last place. I always had fun, but have never experienced the true joy of 1st place.

Maybe this is why I married Derek?. He seems to be a number one kind of guy. He got his black belt in karate, and not just a black belt, like all the levels of black belt possible. He played varsity football as a line backer his 9th grade year of high school and they won state. And well let's face it, he got me, which makes that of course a first place.

So, the real story. I married a super amazing, sexy, intelligent, husband that is worth bragging about. Throughout his first year of medical school Derek had to fulfill a 6 month requirement of research. For this project he took his amazing engineering background and put it to use. He and 6 other guys, 4 medical students who all have amazing engineering backgrounds, and 2 engineers, did a program called "Bench to Bedside". In this program all the grad student engineers and medical students grouped together to create medical devices that would improve the medical field, and would be able to sell and make a profit. In the end there turned out to be 13 groups with about 6 to 10 students per group. Derek's group had many many ideas on devices to improve the medical field and had to narrow it down to 1. The device they decided on was the vacuum tenaculum. They decided to improve a medical device called a cervical tenaculum. Basically, it is a really sharp pointy thing that grabs a woman's cervix and pulls it open, and is really painful and is used in a ton of procedures. For the women out there if you've had an IUD placed, you've had this used on you. Anyway, their idea is going to fix this problem. This group of guys are simply amazing. They are all so intelligent and really want to improve the medical field. Last night was the night. They had to present their research to the judges. Did I mention that there was a huge amount of money in the pot that would go to the winners? All 13 groups came and family were allowed to come. I got a babysitter at the last minute and was able to go. I am so grateful I could be there win or lose. These guys did amazing. There was $70,000 total that would be distributed among the winners. There were 6 prizes of $10,000 and 2 prizes of $5,000. There were different qualifications for each. Needless to say, this amazing group took the grand prize home. They were the only group to win both of the prizes and came out with the most amount of money to create their medical device. These boys brought home 2 checks for a total of $15,000. Let's just say I came home singing "We are the Champions" very loud. Ok so that was in my head, but still!!! I am so very proud of Derek and his team. They did a great job! There is a lot of work left because they still need to get the device up and running completely and then get a patent for it, and then start marketing it to get it sold, but they did this HUGE accomplishment last night. I don't think I have ever felt more like a winner than I did last night, well except being married to Derek, every day he makes me feel like a winner. :) Without further ado, I present the WINNING TEAM!

Left to right.

Matt Sorensen (Medical Student), Creighton Petty (Engineer Student), Stuart Curtis (Medical Student), Erik Ostler (Medical Student), Derek (the HOTTIE), and Brent Call (Engineer Student).

Winning the $10,000

Winning the $5,000

The wives/significant others that are soon to be wives.

Me, Mindy Ostler, Jane Curtis, and I'm really sorry, but I don't know the other two names.

The 2 checks written to "Team 12", aka Derek's group.

The Welcome Sign: The Bench to Bedside Program.

The boys with both of their checks!

I do have to say, if anyone has seen "The Office" and the episode where Michael goes a little crazy and prints the big check, I totally understand why he did it. It is AWESOME! The feeling you get holding one of those puppies is amazing! :)