Cassidy and Etta

I couldn't resist this photo! Etta just adores Cassidy. Cassidy, however, is very neutral...she kind of just puts up with her.

Doggy Trouble

On Sunday Cassidy's shoulder and leg became very swollen. Before it was swollen she had gotten stuck in a funky position and wasn't able to move for a while, so I thought the swelling might have been related to that. I would just keep an eye on it since she was walking around pretty good still. Well, this morning she was trying to get up the back steps and the swollen mass ruptured and blood was flying out of it. I completely freaked out, Cassidy however, stayed very calm...I don't think she even took notice to it. Blood was everywhere, and Etta kept running around in it...Aaahhhh!!! GROSS!! I got her to the Vet with my brother, Matt's, help. And my sister-in-law, Carrie stayed with the girls...thank goodness for family! Turns out, Cassidy had an abscess that had finally ruptured. They drained it as much as they could and gave her some antibiotics. I'm supposed to put a heat pad on it a few times a day, and wash it out with iodine. I have to stick a syringe in the hole of the abscess and squirt the solution in there. Now if you keep up with my blogging you will already now I am terrible about any medical stuff. I nearly passed out when I saw the blood squirting out of her leg. So this is going to be a very difficult task. I'm just glad she'll be OK. She's been giving us lots of scares lately!


And on a completely different subject: My parents just had an Earthquake in Long Beach. It was a 5.8 based in Chino. That's big! Ryan missed his Earthquake...again.

Wow...what a weekend!

We spent the weekend in Idaho Falls. Ryan raced in the Allan Butler Memorial Criterium Saturday night. Allan was a teammate of Ryan's three years ago. He was tragically killed when a taxi cab struck him as he was crossing a street in Vegas. This is a photo of Ryan's teammates and Tammie, Allan's mom. It was a great evening, it was nice to see all of Allan's family again. And to see Odessa, Allan's daughter...wow, she's grown up a lot since I saw her last! She about the same age has Haley. Ryan was the big winner of the evening!! He and his fellow teammate Sam lapped the field and then Ryan won the field sprint! You couldn't have had a better end to a great day!

The next morning we went for a walk on the river path next to the hotel. It was beautiful! The girls enjoyed the ducks the most. Morgan finally says duck instead of "quack quack" when she sees them. Making progress!!

The path went to some falls...Idaho Falls? Very cool, although we had to keep a close eye on the girls...they kept wanting to climb up on the railing...scary! Have they no fear?!

And last but not least, meet the new addition to our family...and no it's not another baby!! We bought a Brittney Spaniel on the way home. I've been keeping a look out for this breed. However, most of the time the breeders I find are out of state. Or by the time I call the owner the puppies have been sold already. So, I stumbled upon this breeder in Alpine, which is in Utah County! She had one female left, so we decided to stop by on the way home from Idaho Falls. Well, it's pretty much impossible to walk away from it after you see it! Just look at her...she adorable! So we bought her. I know...I'm crazy!! Two kids, and now two dogs!!! I'm definitely in for it! We've named her Etta Place (Etta for short). If you keep up with Utah outlaws you'll know that Etta Place was the girlfriend of Butch Cassidy. Since our other dog, Cassidy, was named after Butch Cassidy we thought we'd stick to the outlaw theme.

The girls just love her! Although, they think Etta will be this size forever. They are going to be in for it when this puppy gets a little bigger!!

Another Birthday!

Today is little Morga-Muffin's Birthday! I can't believe she's two already...where did the time go?!

Here she is with her proud daddy after she was born.

I love this picture! This is when we first brought Morgan home. Haley kept staring at her, almost confused. "Wait, she's living HERE now?!"

I can't believe how dark her hair was when she was first born. I seriously thought they got my baby switched with another baby in the hospital.

Now, there is definitely no confusion...she's ours! With her proud daddy again. Happy Birthday Morgan!

Happy Pioneer Day!

To all my fellow Utahns, I hope you are enjoying your Pioneer Day. As for us, it's really just like any other day. Ryan unfortunately still had to go into work...bummer. And I still had errands to run...nothing different around here. I did put my flag out this morning, so that's kinda getting into the spirit, right? Oh, and I'll be baking some bread this afternoon. Now that's pretty close to being a pioneer I'd say!

The reasoning behind the bread making (no, I'm not trying to be a pioneer) is to save a few bucks. Ask my dad, he loves to add up how much a person could save if they were to bake their own bread...and let me tell you, it's a lot! So anyway, I'm trying to do my part is saving money where I can. Bread making is one way I guess. I also try to limit the car use...however, that's not very difficult since I really don't mind just staying around the house anyway.

So since it's Pioneer Day I was thinking about all the things that I'm grateful for in the summer time...things that the Pioneers did not have:

1. Air Conditioners- this really needs no explanation, I think everyone is in agreement with this one.

2. Fly Swatters- I just bought one this summer, and they are wonderful! I haven't missed a fly yet. It sure beats swinging around a towel or magazine like a crazy women.

3. BBQ's- It just doesn't get easier when cooking over a flame.

4. A Car- Again no explanation needed. I think anyone would prefer this to a handcart or wagon.

5. Fridge/Freezer- Ahhh, ice cream!!

6. This one is for any season: The Epidural!!!- I have no doubt that if I was living during pioneer days I would kick butt. I consider myself pretty tough if need be. However, I think I might have died in child birth if I didn't have an epidural...thanks to Medical Science!!

OK, I guess I could go on and on, but that's good for now. Thinking back to what the Pioneers had to endure, I'm pretty thankful for what I have today.

Anybody else have anything they want to share...share away!

More Blogs in the Family

My brother, Matt, and his wife, Carrie have started their own blog! Check it out!

Happy Birthday!

I want to wish my mom a Happy Birthday today! She is such an example to me. I try so hard to be the mom she was to us growing up. She is so very patient, I never ever remember her "loosing" it when we were kids. She is our family peacemaker, always striving to make sure everyone else is happy, having fun, or getting along. When I was helping out after her surgery it was nearly impossible for her to sit down and relax. I would notice little things that she did when I wasn't looking..."Mom, did you load the dishwasher?!". Or she would sneak into the kitchen to help with dinner. We would be talking and having a good time, then I would snap back into reality..."Wait, you not supposed to be in here! Let me do this, sit down and relax.". She's the kind of person that if she ever had a maid, she would clean the entire house before the maid got there!

I always enjoy our phone calls (which are nearly daily). Sometimes a chat with mom is all I need to help me get through the day when things are crazy and the kids are driving me insane. Thanks mom! Love you!

Party Planning

Today I've started the planning phase for the girls' birthday party. No, I'm not one of those parents who spend thousands on their children's' parties, it's just going to be a few of their friends over for a simple backyard party. Morgan will be turning two and Haley four. Their birthdays are only a week apart so I'm combining them to make things easier...I'm going to try to get away with doing that for as long as I can! Haley wants to have a My Little Pony party. Morgan will just have to go along since she can't really talk yet, but I'm sure she doesn't care. So we went to the party store to start checking out decorations... WOW, there's a lot of My Little Pony stuff! I just started throwing stuff in the cart left and right, then I ended up putting most of it back. No need to go overboard just yet, I should probably shop around a little bit. So I limited it to invitations, party favor bags, streamers, a few mini ponies for favors...hmmmm.....oh, party hats, and, hmmmm...lets see, oh and a big pony centerpiece, oh and a banner. I think that's it. I was just having so much fun going through everything...I think I'm having more fun with this than Haley is!

Happy Birthday

I want to wish my little brother, Andrew, a Happy Birthday! Love you!! Hope you are having a great day. And yes, I took yet another song from one of your movies...I believe this one was from "Roadies 2". For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about I'll try to explain. Andrew is not only an amazing artist, but he is also very creative with film. He's created several of his own mini movies. One is titled "Roadies 2"...it documents our (Andrew, Ryan and me) weekend road trip to San Fransisco Grand Prix, I believe the year was 2003. Ahhh, good times...and such great memories. One day I'll figure out a way to post the movie on my blog...but right now I have no idea. So anyway, the song that's on my blog is from that movie.

Bee!! Bee!! Bee!!!

That's what Morgan was yelling as she pointed to her hand. She was outside playing while Ryan was mowing the lawn, and at some point a bee got her. Poor thing, the bee bit her right on the thumb and it swelled up pretty good. Her one hand looked a little deformed for a while, but she has since recovered completely. Her first bee sting...I'm sure it won't be the last.

"Aw, yeah!" Morgan says this phrase constantly throughout the day, and she has a very raspy voice making it sound particularly cute. My brothers say she'll make a good Jazz singer one day.

Yesterday her and Haley were painting with their water colors. This is the conversation I had with Morgan:

Morgan points to the yellow color, "Blue?"

Me: "No, that's yellow."

Morgan: "Aw, yeah."

Morgan pointing to the red, "Blue?"

Me: "No, that's red."

Morgan: "Aw, yeah."

Anyway, this went on for some time. She says "Aw, yeah." for everything. "You can have milk after lunch."..."Aw, yeah.". "Get a story to read."..."Aw, yeah.". "Put away your toys."..."Aw, yeah.". Ahhh, so funny.

I had to post this picture! It is very rare that I can get both kids looking the same direction and smiling...it's a miracle!! I guess it helped to have Ryan beside me making silly faces at them.

Trying to Keep Up!

When we bought our house about 4 1/2 years ago, I never imagined how much yard work goes into owning a home. Luckily, the previous owner was obsessed with yard maintenance and it was in tip-top shape when we moved in. However, in the last four years it just doesn't look like it used to. It seems we loose a bush every year...I guess the hard Winters really take a toll on the shrubbery. I've replaced several, lost a few of those, and then lost a few more. I think we currently have two dead bushes in our yard, and one isn't looking so good. On a good note...we've planted four new trees (three in the backyard and one in the front) and they are all doing very well!

I spent all morning weeding the front flower beds. I have this horrid "weed" that keeps invading everything. It kinda resembles Morning Glory, but it has yellow flowers...it's just awful stuff! I dug it all out once before, but it came back in full force. The root system is nearly impossible to get rid of. Now I've completed round two...I hope I've won this time!

The girls had fun while I slaved away. They were busy collecting pill bugs (rollie pollies), but Haley keeps calling them ladybugs. They are actually really good about staying within the boundaries I set, and they have never run into the street. It took me a long time to teach Haley not to do that. So I can finally get work done in the front yard instead of chasing them around the whole time. Maybe one day I'll finally catch up.

Long Beach Highlights

We're home...we arrived last night at around 10:30, the girls didn't get to bed until around midnight so they slept in until around 8:45! A new record! I thought I'd post some pictures.

This is the sign that the girls decorated for my mom when she returned from the hospital.

More artwork that decorated the outside of the house. Haley can draw a face now...these are her sunshine faces. Now who wouldn't want to come home to sunshine faces there to greet you?

This is my mom (post surgery) and brother Jeff with Morgan at Huntington Beach. What nice way to recover from surgery...warm sun and feet in the sand! Sounds pretty good!

Haley and Morgan hanging out with their cousins, Sophia and Brenden. Notice Brenden's hand on Haley's leg...too cute!

Ryan on the start line at Manhatten Beach Grand Prix.

The girls enjoying a little swim. My mom gave them goggles to wear and they loved them! Even Morgan kept them on.

Arts and crafts with Grandma...this is before surgery.

This is Seal Beach...the greatest place on Earth! One day when we're rich we're moving there!

Heading Home Today

Today is my last day...kinda bitter-sweet. I'm super excited to see Ryan (a week apart seems like forever!), and I know the girls are very anxious to see him too...but I just don't want to leave my mom.

Yesterday we had a family fast for my mom, my first time ever fasting. I know, I know, I've been a member of the church all my life and this is my first fast...crazy! But this issue is very close to my heart, I want to be supportive in any way I can. I was definitely humbled yesterday...I'll just leave it as that. We broke the fast with a family dinner that night. It was great to see everyone...it's very comforting to know what a supportive family we have! So although I don't want to leave, I know that there will be a lot of family who will be here to help out in any way they can. My mom is not alone!

Not a Good Day

Bad news...we got results back...cancer was found in several of my mom's lymph nodes. She will need chemo, and maybe radiation. This just plain sucks... Not feeling too good...

The more people that know what's going on, the more prayers we hope to get...we need them...

Long Beach...continued.

I know...I'm so behind. Ryan did a much better job at updating during the trip then I am. Unfortunately, he had to go back to Provo yesterday...I'm bummed, I wish he could have stayed another week too. And I know he's bummed too.

My mom's surgery was last week. She had a growth/tumor removed. Basically it's Colon Cancer, but I hate saying that...cancer is such a scary word. The surgery went very well. However, the recovery has been extremely difficult. She spent six days in the hospital...during the first two days after the surgery I have never seen my mom in so much pain. My mom is one of the toughest women I know, and I know she can endure quite a bit. I mean anyone who has given birth to four children with no epidural you know is tough! But this whole experience has really taken it's toll. It broke my heart to see her hurting as much as she did that first day, that was awful. I'm just so glad I can be here to help with her recovery. She got home yesterday and she is doing much better. It's so nice to have her home again.

I have tons of photos that I'll have to post sometime when I get home. The girls have been having a ball. We went to the beach this morning...the girls absolutely love it! Haley gets scared about swim lessons in a pool, but when it comes to the ocean she has no fear. She gets pushed over by the waves and tumbles around under the water and it doesn't even phase her...strange. Morgan is still a little apprehensive about going in the water too far, she is very content to play with the buckets in the sand.

I'll try to do better about updating this week...last week was a bit crazy.