We're Ba-ack!!

I am soooooo tired that it has taken me a few days to even have enough energy to write a post; I think when I am finished writing this one I may just go lay down again. Girl's camp was exhausting but so much fun. I got very little sleep, and missed my bed the entire time, but the girls were so helpful, the food was delicious, and it was nice to hang out lots of women and make more friends. The water slide at the camp site was so much fun, and cooled us off every day. Camping isn't so bad when you have flushable toilets, hot water in the shower, and a kitchen complete with oven, grills, and refrigerators. We were totally spoiled. (If you want to see something really funny that happened at girls camp click here and look at the "Paige" post)
The kids had a blast in Utah. Maddie didn't want to come home. They loved riding TRAX to Salt Lake City. Apparently Maddie made a bit of a scene when they were in the Church History Museum and saw a life size statue of President Hinckley. She started crying hysterically "I don't like President Monson, I want President Hinckley to still be our prophet!!" Poor Dan, had to calm her down and get her out of there as quickly as possible.
Of course a trip to Utah must consist of at least one visit to BYU. Zach was fascinated with the Science stuff. He is really into outer space lately. The kids loved spending the BYU trip with their Grandma Dinger, and had so much fun. Their lunch (of course) was at the Cougar Eat where they ate lunch with their Uncle Goob. The trip wouldn't have been complete without an ice cream at the creamery. They would have come home with a new BYU shirt, but I wanted Dan to wait until November when I could help pick them out.
Dan took the kids to my parents house Thursday for Pioneer Day. There was some fun carnival type thing behind my old middle school. The kids loved the bounce houses and seeing the police officers. They stayed late to watch the fireworks. Zach thought it was "outrageous!!"
Dan and the kids had so much fun. They loved seeing cousins, and thought the trip went by too fast. Dan says that it was so crazy to see his little sister "great with child." I wish I could see Steph with a huge tummy! Thank you to all who took care of my family while I was gone. I heard the food was great, and the kids have shared many stories of the fun they had with their Grandma's and Grandpa's.

Girl's Camp

So, this blog will be temporarily out of service until Saturday, as I am currently at girl's camp. I'll miss you all! I hope to have some fun adventures to share when I get back. I hear it's rattle snake season--yippee!! I'm not much of a camper. I will admit that I have packed a blow dryer, and a bit of make-up. Does sleeping on an air mattress with sheets count as camping out?? I will, however, be forced to sleep in a tent. Dan is appalled at the menu I have planned for the girls, as I am the camp chef--lasagna, chicken fajitas, and pulled pork sandwiches to name a few. Dan thinks it is crazy to eat that good at a camp. Just because I am camping, doesn't mean I have to eat like a boy scout!! Wish me luck!

The E.E.G.Update

(this is not actually Zach's brain, but I thought it made for a great picture)

Many of you have been worried about Zach and the results of the E.E.G.. Thanks for your blog comments, calls and prayers. The doctor called yesterday with the results. I was so nervous that I didn't bother with many salutations and got right to the point. I said to the doctor, "Before we begin I have to know if it is bad news. Does Zach had a tumor or anything life threatening?" I am sure the doctor thought I was crazy, but I needed to mentally prepare myself for any sort of bad news. He assured me that Zach's results did not show any signs of tumors or anything life threatening. I was relieved and could listen more objectively.

However, the E.E.G. did show some "spikes" in the area above his left ear, which is found in many children and gone by the time the child reaches puberty. Zach will need to see a neurologist, but the doctor did not seem to think it would affect Zach much at all. I'm not exactly sure if it is related to Zach's hand tremors or not, so the neurologist can answer any questions Dan and I have. Overall, we are very relieved! Now I can focus my thoughts on girl's camp, and Dan and the kids can get excited about their trip to Utah. Thanks again for your support! What would I do without all of you.

Deja Vu

Today as I was walking through the Saint Luke's Hospital, with Zach's pillow and blanket in hand, reassuring Zach that everything would be okay, I looked up at Dan and said, "does this feel like a bad case of Deja Vu? Or what?" Dan agreed.

Zach had a scheduled E.E.G. this morning. He has had some "tremors" in his hands that has caused me some concern, the developmental pediatrician said that tremors are fairly normal in children with autism, but he wanted to rule out everything else first. They asked that we keep Zach up late the night before, and get him up early this morning because the E.E.G. gives its best results if the patient is drowsy during the test.

Last night we played baseball in the back yard until 10:00pm. The kids thought it was the greatest night ever since they are usually always in bed before sun down. They also thought it was funny to see mom hitting a baseball in the dark. (I wasn't very good!)

Zach was a great sport during the whole process. He thought the goop in his hair was gross, but it washed off easily. Erin, my sister-in-law, was kind enough to watch the other kids so Dan and I could focus all of our attention on Zach. We won't know any of the results for a few days, but I will update you all when I know. I am not too worried, but the horrible thought of a brain tumor always goes through a mother's mind as her child is hooked up to wires. :)

I threw in a few pictures of the kids at swimming lessons. They started Monday and will go through next week. They are swimming like little fish! I am so impressed. We signed them up for private lessons, and it was well worth the extra money! They have improved so much in just a matter of days.

Thanks for your prayers. Zach did awesome!

The Fourth

So, we had a great weekend!! I love feeling patriotic and celebrating our freedom. Doesn't watermelon always taste just a little sweeter in July? Friday morning Dan's brother's in-laws were kind enough to invite us to their house for breakfast and swimming again. It has become a tradition and we love it!! That afternoon Dan watched baseball, the kids played, and I got the food ready for the BBQ at my brother's house. We went to Ammon's house later in the evening and took a tour of his new house. They have really done a lot in one week, and it looks great. The food was delicious. We shared our $11.00 of fireworks (mostly sparklers and flowers). The best part of the fireworks was watching Seth's and Jackson's expression every time a flower would take off. They loved it.

We left before it got too dark. Jackson, Maddie, and Zachary watched the neighbors' fireworks from across the street. Jack got a little frightened from all the loud noises and stayed in the garage for 30 minutes and then asked to go to bed. Mad's and Zach stayed up until 11:00 watching the illegal fireworks from all over the neighborhood. We could also see the Meridian Speedway's firework show perfectly from our house. The kids were mesmerized.

The next morning we drove to the Boise Foothills and took the kids on a hike through Camel's Back Mountain. It was perfect! The weather was gorgeous, and the view of the city was breathtaking!

After the hike we let the kids play at Camel Back park for a few minutes, then went to McDonald's for a quick lunch. We must have worked the kids hard because I've never seen them eat so much so fast. They were very hungry. Then we went to the Ada County Court house to clean Dan's new office, set it up, and decide where to hang pictures, clocks etc... He is going to have a nice and classy office.

We got home and worked hard the rest of the afternoon. Dan worked outside, I worked inside, and the kids played.

Read the blog below this one to hear of my adventure with the Ada County police.

Maddie gave a great talk today. She read it all by herself and did a beautiful job. Tonight we fed the missionaries. They were so excited to see that we were having Mexican. Apparently they get a lot of potatoes and meat. They told us that their favorite meal, however, is breakfast for dinner. I will have to remember that for next time. They were very nice, and ate a ton for little skinny guys!

Overall, we had a great holiday weekend!

Pulled Over

I was pulled over yesterday!! I am having the missionaries over for dinner today, so last night after we put the kids to bed I decided to go the the grocery store to pick up a few last minute items. On my way to Winco, I looked over to my right and saw a police car with his lights on ticketing someone. I checked my speed and was proud to say I was going ten under so I thought I had nothing to worry about. Twenty seconds later I look behind me to see the officer right behind me with his lights on. Not knowing it was for me, I politely pulled over to let him get by, only to realize he was pulling me over. I was completely confused. I was in Dan's car, so had no idea where things were, so I started going though the glove box. When the officer came up to the car I said, "Officer, without you getting mad at my stupidity, what did I do??" He did not look pleased and told me that it was common courtesy, but also the law, that when an officer has pulled someone over the other drivers on the road are to switch over to the next lane and slow down. I had done none of those things. I was guilty, simply because I did not know that law and apologized profusely. He also told me that my tail light was out, and my brights were flickering when I drove. The worst of it all, the officer had to show me what my registration looked like by going through Dan's pile of junk in the glove box. I was also apparently sitting on the new insurance card (which I later found) and had to give the officer the one that was three days expired. What Luck!!!! Surprisingly I was not crying, and I was quite candid with the police officer. I'm not sure that he liked that very much, but I was just given a warning, and some "educating on the law." Dan claims it was my good looks that got me off, but I'm not so sure I have any. I am sure the police officer drove away thinking I was one more ditsy freak with a driver's license, but Dan's been living with this ditsy freak for over ten years now.

The Great Office Switch

Tomorrow is Dan's last day at the Juvenile office. He is so excited to be moving on and doing different things. Dan has been there over five years; Zach was just a baby when he got the promotion. We are so excited for the change, but I know Dan is a little sad to see the end of a chapter in his life. Dan, thanks for sacrificing so much for our family. We love you. I thought a clip from "The Office" was perfect for today. You may want to pause my music to hear it a little better.

(I should probably clarify that he is still staying with Ada County, he is just moving up to do adult crimes, he stepped down from his position at the Juvenile office to move on to a trial team in the near future. . .so watch out baby murderers, drug dealers, and all other miserable low lifers of Ada County because Dan is unstoppable!)