Half Dome, Yosemite, CA

I am standing on the diving board & the Yosemite Valley is below

(Maren, I know you are jealous of this picture)

Sorry to all of Jamie's faithful followers - but this post is from Tucker.

I have completed a lot of incredible hikes in my life. However, the most difficult hike I have ever accomplished was yesterday; Half Dome, Yosemite. I took of group of scouts and adult leaders (16 total) to Yosemite Friday night. We arose at 4:00 am on Saturday to prepare for the hike. After breaking camp and driving to the starting point, we began the 18.5 mile round trip hike.

This hike is a Stairmasters dream; I have never seen so many stairs & switchbacks on a hike. It was brutal. The first 5 miles although difficult were very beautiful, two magnificent waterfalls, and incredible scenery. All the boys did very well, at first. However, the last 4.2 miles were intense. Upon reaching the base of the Half Dome rock, we had one final set of switchbacks then the long trek up the cables. The cables are drilled into the face of the rock to help you ascend. It took 45 minutes to go up because there were SOOOO many people going up and down the cables.

We ended up hiking down the last 4 miles in the dark. My knees felt like they were going to explode! I finally made it home at 2:30am. Both Ryan and Mike came on the hike (my brothers in law) and they did great!!!!! I trained for this hike, however it was not enough, I am sooooo sore right now!! Overall I loved it, but I will wait a long time before doing it again.

One side note...When I woke up this morning and hobbled to the bathroom, Jordyn said, “Daddy why are you walking like an old man?”

My scout Crew on one of the many sets of stairs

Taking a break before the final push to the top. (Half Dome in the background)

Half Dome Cable to the top. (Many people in line)

Me standing on the face . The boards made it easier to walk & wait (45 min to get to the top)

This is looking down from the top.

Flashback Friday

This is an ugly one. And a yucky memory.

December 2002: This is a pic of the first time my face did a mystery swell-up. It was so severe, I could hardly see. We went to the ER for fear of my throat swelling up. They could NOT figure out what the cause was. It lasted a week and was the first time I honestly felt like I wanted to die (okay, second. the first was when I was prego w/#1). Seriously, it was that horrible. I felt like red ants were continuously biting my whole face. I felt suffocated. And there was not a single darn thing to do to fix it.

The second time was March 2005. Same.exact.horrible.thing.

Now, this year, it has happened several times, but LUCKILY it is only my eyes. They are red and burning and swollen and itchy. And there is absolutely no connection I can find to food, lotions, seasons, etc. Maybe its a reaction to stress? Who knows. Really though, zyrtec, benadryl, claritin, steroids.....zip, zilch, nada, no help period.

So, yesterday was the fourth time this year. And it lasts about a week no matter what I do or what I take. When I need to go out, I will cake on the eye make-up to look semi-normal, but it just aggrivates it more. Can you see how red they are?

Can you diagnose me!?

Anyone?

Does anyone else think that 11 months old is a bit too young for sibling/friend rivalry? I'm talking the real hair pulling, screaming, crying kind? Because it has reared its head in Peyton's calm-natured personality for the past two weeks, and I'm afraid it's here to stay for 2 years or so.

My cokes (regular or diet), unfortunately, are solely for taste purposes....because the caffeine content seems to have no effect on my energy level.

My point? Kids take a lot of energy. I think more than I (will ever?) have.

Daddy at the Dentist

Jordyn had another dentist appointment yesterday to get a spacer. Thus far, she has no dentist "phobias". Afterwards, she REALLY wanted Lexi to play 'dentist' with her. But Lexi DOES have dentist phobias, so the answer was NO (but with a little more whining and arguing involved).

Since they know Mommy is no fun by about 6 in the evening, Daddy was the perfect target. And he is such a good sport. Jordyn was the dentist and he was the patient. Her mannerisms were so accurate, I kept thinking I'd hear a drill and suction at any moment.

The cutest part of the evening. After about an hour of the girls playing with Tucker, Jordyn proclaimed "We are having SOOOOO much fun! I bet no one else is having THIS much fun!"

I said, "why not?".

"Because Daddy is the funnest Daddy in the whole world! We are having the MOST fun than anyone!".

And that, my friends, is exactly how I want my girls to feel about their Daddy. For a quick moment, I forgot that I was really tired and had a big smile on my face.

Our Front Lawn

(Tucker 35, Jamie 30, Lexi almost 4, Jordyn 5 1/2, Peyton 11 months)

Not TOO shabby for a spontaneous after-church-pic in our front yard, don't ya think?

Big and Pink

This weekend was a big one for our Lex! She finally got her own BIG bed! She's been in a toddler bed for nearly two years. We figure she must be out-growing it because when we go in her room at night, she's sleeping on the floor!

One word - craigslist! A daybed, trundle bed and mattresses (in great condition) for $75. That felt pretty good - the trundle is a fun bonus.

We went to HomeGoods (ever been there?) with the girls and found some GREAT deals on the bedding. I told Jordyn she could pick out new bedding too, since she's had hers for 3 1/2 years, and I found it strange when she did NOT want to. But she really does like things to stay the same. If I even move a picture onto a different wall in her room, she gets all distraught.

Oh, and the only thing I didn't like the frame is the cheesy gold balls on the ends, so I quickly got creative with some of our princess things and made even more girly cuteness!

AND [obviously I LOVE flashbacks] check out this old pic from when Jordyn got HER own big girl bed back in March 2004. They were such babies!!!!

33 Years is a LONG Time!

Well, my heaven's to mercatroid (a saying from my mother) and oh my stars and garters (also from my mother.....or was the 'garters' part my add-on?). HOW and WHY did I NOT do this for my Flashback Friday??????????



My parents anniversary was yesterday. 33 years! And let me tell ya they have worked their butts off for that accomplishment! Huge congrats!



In Anaheim, CA on September 21,1974 is where it all happened. They were later sealed as an eternal family in the Oakland, CA temple in maybe 1980 ish? Carly and I were both there as little girls.

They have moved somewhere around 15 times, had a variety of jobs, opened [and closed] businesses, had 5 children, dealt with illness and death, have 6 grandchildren, STILL have teenagers at home, had several callings in the church, touched many people's lives, raised a righteous family, bought lots of cars....and have come a long way since that good ol' green 1970's station wagon. Whew!




WAY TO GO MOM AND DAD!!! WE LOVE YOU!

Flashback Friday

I was recently backing up all our digital pics onto a external hard drive.....so I have plenty of flashback friday pics to choose from!

Today I decided to do a little flashback on my preemie story. I almost hesitate to share these pics. I think its because they hold so many emotions.

My firstborn, Jordyn (who is now 5 1/2) was born at 26 1/2 weeks. Which is over three months early. I was due July 8 and had her April 5. I was having a normal healthy and SICK pregnancy until that point. No issues or concerns at all.

Sometime in my 26th week I started feeling strange. Like extra crampy and tired and achy. After about 4 days of this, Tucker convinced me to call the dr since I was leaving soon on a business trip. They got me in at the end of the day and I could tell they chalked it up to "paranoid first time mother syndrome". They monitored my contractions, checked me and after about an hour said "you're fine, just go home and take it easy". I felt so uneasy about this diagnosis that I started to cry and said "are you sure?". (a lesson in trusting your instinct)

Then it happened. As I stood up to leave the hospital room, I felt a huge warm gush all down my legs. It felt like I was peeing and couldn't stop. I waddled over to the nurse call button and said "um, I think my water broke". They rushed in and said "are you sure?". As I was standing there in a river of amniotic fluid, with my pants and shoes soaked, I thought "it sure as heck better be, or I need to start wearing diapers!". From that moment on, it felt like I was in a movie.

Here I am 25 weeks along - about a week before I had her

Jordyn came out 2 lbs 8 oz and 13 inches long. She quickly dropped down to 1 lb 12 oz.
This was a rare sight, without all the tubes
No baby should be this tiny.
This is Jordyn's special bear my mom bought her. It stayed with her the whole time she was in the hospital.

This is me (today) holding the bear to show how small it actually is. It looks so big in the pic above.

Jordyn stayed in the hospital 11 long weeks. The hardest part for me was the completely helpless feeling I had as a mother. I could not "make it better" which is what you're supposed to do for your kids. I couldn't hold her and snuggle her and cuddle her. She was prodded and poked and starved and ugh. It was horrible. But she is so healthy and happy now, that I've tucked those feelings away in a little box. What a miracle.

Hmmmm, maybe I should reflect on those tender feelings more often......like when I'm trying to get her ready for school and she is fighting me on every single option I give her for clothes, food and hair.....and all I want to do is scream!

Peer Pressure and Treats

I learned a long time ago that I should avoid peer pressure. So, when my good friend Beth told me about her 2 month plan to obstain from sugar, you better believe I avoided the peer pressure. And I said "how dare you try to get me to do something THAT healthy.....I would have severe anxiety" (but I said it nicer than that). So, for the past month I have NOT avoided sugar and Beth, on the other hand, has quite nicely met the halfway point to her goal. (Beth you know I love you).

But on the other hand, I DO try to limit my sugar from what my natural self would prefer.

So, here's what my dilemma was tonight. All I could think about was a double scoop ice cream from Baskin Robbins (peanut butter chocolate and mint chip, to be exact.....and 16 points if I was still doing weight watchers). Its sort of like my its-Thursday-night-and-I'm-burned-out-and-deserve-a-treat type of craving. So I mulled over it for a while and even had the keys in hand a couple times (I'm sort of indecisive). Finally, I decided NOT to go and to settle for three fun sized candy bars (snickers, peanut m&ms and a baby ruth, to be exact......6 weight watchers points).

So, I felt a little guilty for what I DID eat, but sort of proud of what I DIDN'T eat. And what I can't figure out.......was that a good thing? or still bad?

Either way, it tasted great :-)

Nice to Meet You

It is an interesting thing to get to know your own children. But it happens, over and over. You think you have them pegged, but really you don't.

Last night, I tried to be a good mom and do FHE. We made cookies as a fun little family activity. And we had a little lesson on Service. When I asked Jordyn what does serving others mean, she said "to help?". Yep! I was proud.

So after our 4 minute service lesson, we decided who we'd "serve" by delivering our fresh baked chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. They were excited.

(here's where I got to know them a little better). Once we were in the car, Jordyn was bursting at the seams with excitement. Lexi, on the other hand, turned solemn.

We arrived at the first house (their main babysitters) and Jordyn hops out like a little bunny. Lexi screams at the very idea of getting out.

The second house (Lexi's primary teachers), Jordyn was a little bunny again. When invited to come, Lexi clutched her car seat buckles like her life depended on it and this time tears were falling.

Jordyn gets back in the car and says "Mom, that was SO HECK fun!". Whatever that means - except I'm sure it means I say "heck" all the time. Guess it could be worse.

Our other two stops were Ashlyn and Grandma - which were in her comfort zone and Lexi participated w/no problem.

What I learned [or verified] is: Jordyn is more like Tucker and Lexi is more like me (at least socially).

Because heaven knows there are times I have clutched my belt and shed tears when I've had to simply make a phone call. I feel ya, Lex.

Okay, seriously

I know I already posted about this, but this is a follow-up post. I have to say I really don't know how people do laundry for more than three kids. This is my second and third loads combined today (I already put away the first), of just the girls' clothes. It makes me feel crazy because its SO many different little shirts, and jammies and skirts and dresses, etc. All sorts of different shapes and sizes. Ugh, anyway. I can wash and fold it, but putting it away makes crazy. But not as crazy as if I DON'T put it away and the kids mess up all my piles. The girls have been getting better at putting it away, but that also takes a lot of patience on my part. Anyway, I'll finish my vent, but WHEW its quite the task!

The Good and Bad

Good: Friday was Grandparents' day for the Kindergarteners. How lucky was Jordyn to have TWO grandparents come? I wouldn't have had that as a kid. She was so excited, she couldn't see straight. She didn't want to sleep the night before and was horrified when she was leaving for school that day and I informed her it wasn't till 1:00! Thanks, mom and dad, for totally making Jordyn's day!

see Jordyn intentionally hiding? she was acting shy. this is a good "where's waldo"

I got a kick out of seeing my parents in these tiny chairs

Good: Peyton had her first Lollipop at the Grandparents' day function, courtesy of Grandma! She liked it for about 15 minutes, then was happy to hand it over.

Bad: Sunday I got hit with the flu that's been circulating. I drug myself out of bed to go to church for like 45 minutes. We have a big primary program next Sunday and I just had to touch base with how the practice was going. Thanks to Tucker for taking care of the girls yesterday. I was out of it. It reminded me way too much of being pregnant. Yuck.

Bad: Its hard not to let the "piles" around my house get me down. If there is just one day that I am not 100% on top of things, it gets worse at lightening speed. Here is what I'm TRYING to tackle today. (mom does this bring back fond memories of the "good ol' days?")

Good/Bad? I don't know which yet. I took that SUPER hard test I was talking about (the CSET) on Sat. I had to report at 7:15 am - and finished around 12 noon. I did 135 multiple choice questions (on every school subject in the world) and then 12 short essays. Ugh. I had been studying for a few weeks and also had a friend who had taken it and he had helped me out.

So, I don't totally feel that I bombed it, but I didn't ace it either. We'll see in a few weeks! If I failed any section of it, I can try again in November. My goal is to start a teaching credential program in the spring.

Hello ladies, (and hopefully a few lurking husbands like myself) Since this is our family journal I have to post my feelings. Today something happened that I have been waiting for five long years………REI opened in Fresno!!!!

You have to understand how much I love this store, (Previously the closest one was three hours away!!) I love every section in REI; packs, bags, shoes, climbing, and my beloved BUFFS! In addition they carry my favorite gear; Mountain Hard Wear. There is only one sticker on my car and that is the nut from MHW. REI is the ONLY store in this valley that carries it. http://www.mountainhardwear.com/

Now Jamie is going to be a little sad because our credit card bill will be increasing slightly, however, I am ecstatic that my favorite sanctuary (besides church & Ute Games) is finally here VIVA REI!!!!!

Tucker

Flashback Friday

This is flashing-back to 10 short months ago - Pey was a little 1 weeker. But holy cow, look what can happen in 10 months! Was Peyton really ever THIS tiny and sagging in her clothes?

Tried as I might to hold on tight, it inevitably slipped through my fingers faster than a speeding bullet (that was for Tucker).

How can a human learn to do SO much in SO little time? I loved her then, but I love her a million times more now.

Music! Music! Music!

Harmony (the womens service choir I sing with) has started again. We took the summer off, and are back in session learning our Christmas lineup! This season, we have 16 women participating, and we're learning 7 songs. We get together every Thursday for 2 1/2 hours. I sing 2nd Soprano. I grew up seeing my mom in Harmony most of my life....and now I am nearing my 5th year participating. Initially, it was VERY intimidating to me. I had never really sang "parts" before....so learning to blend and sing the harmony was difficult, but also a fun challenge. And then to learn to smile AND perform while singing on key....well, that felt almost impossible. I have since learned how to blend and hear my part and to actually enjoy it!

But the biggest news is that I've convinced Lindy to give Harmony a shot this season! If you know Lindy, you know this is WAY out of her comfort zone. I'm excited to have her do this with me. Hopefully she is too!

Piano lessons continue on. Jordyn is beginning her second year of piano, and MAN does she love it! She is playing with both hands and her learning speed is remarkable. She practices all the time without me prompting her. But, don't get me wrong, it's not ALL smooth sailing. If I want to interject a suggestion and I don't say it in exactly the right way.......f-r-u-s-t-r-a-t-i-o-n - for us all.

Lexi started piano lessons last week! She LOVES it and I can tell she feels so proud. She loves to sing and play "do, re, mi, fa, sol". She has listened to Jordyn over the past year and its helped her pick it up very quickly. I think she feels special to have her OWN lessons now instead of just watching Jordyn go each week. Both of their classes are parent/child group classes, which is a big commitment on my part each week. But it's also helped a lot. I'm actually re-learning piano in a much better way and I can even play their songs!

Jordyn is showing off the "treasure chest". Each week, if the practice well, they get a trip to the treasure chest. Its quite the hightlight for them.

Just Eggs?

So, today I ran into the store because I JUST needed eggs. Really, that is ALL I needed.

I ran in for eggs, and came out with:

1. Eggs, of course
2. Hawaiian Rolls
3. An onion
4. Broccoli
5. Grapes
6. Limon chips
7. Baked Ruffles
8. Ben and Jerry's mint ice cream with brownies
9. Carrots


How does that happen? Or WHY? If I sent Tucker to the store for eggs, there is a 99.9% chance he would come home with JUST eggs (except for last night when I was craving Fruit Loops and he DID get some dental floss too[without being asked]....paid twice as much at Save Mart for it too, but that's beside the point).

Breakfast of Champions

This is what Jordyn requested for breakfast this morning: Nuggets with buffalo sauce.

Burn your tongue off first thing in the morn......pretty typical request for a 5 year old, don't you think? Really, though, Jordyn has ALWAYS loved spicy, hot stuff.

And this morning I was in no mood to do my usual "that's not a breakfast food, honey" spiel.

At least she's got a tummy full of [processed] protein to start the day, right?

My Sister

On a more serious note than ladders and crockpots.....

This is what has been on my mind......much more than a black toenail. I have to say how much I admire the strength of my sister Carly. She is probably the strongest person I know. I am proud of her tenacity. All my words feel quite inadequate, really.

This is Carly and Alyson with baby Calli.......and their heaven-sent placement family, Mike and Elisa. For the adoption story, in Carly's words, go here.

Next time....

Next time you want to leave the ladder on your bedroom floor because you're too lazy to put it away after you were finished with it (sort of like this).....

....then you can't get mad at anyone but yourself because you knew THIS* would happen when you slammed your foot smack into it when you were tired in the morning (not that I would know or anything).

*hint: the pinky toe does NOT have polish on it....

Oh, and also. Next time you are prepared enough to put a roast in the crockpot on a Sunday morning before church (and you're all excited to eat a roast that has slow cooked for 9 hours.......Oh, AND you've invited people over for dinner).....just don't forget to plug in the crockpot. It will make you really mad when you get home from church and realize the mistake.