We're going to the Zoo...You can come too!

Yesterday I went to the Zoo with the kindergartners. What a fun day.

On the bus (Zak, Peyton & Peter)

Sam, Peter, Peyton & ZakUp close is always the best way to see the animals.

But the baby elephant was the favorite! It was lots of fun, and the boys were so easy.

Pine Wood Derby

Today was the day that Les has been waiting only semi-patiently for for 8 years. Today was

PINE WOOD DERBY DAY!!!

As long as he has known what the pine wood derby was about, he has counted down the years until he got to participate. And because this is only his 2nd pack meeting since he turned 8, he made it just in time.

Tonight he also earned his Bobcat award!

Now on to the important stuff....
The car....The racing....The graphite.....

Here is the car!

Here is the racing!

And at the finish line....

He won EVERY race!!!!

He was so proud. He even got the coveted certificate for the fastest car!
Les designed, painted, and got the car ready mostly by himself. Of course Gramps and Dad had to help some, but Les did everything that he could including polishing the axles.

GREAT JOB LES!!

After the race we got to talking to the man who owned the track, and he was telling us how this particular track became his. It turns out that he got it from a man in east Layton that is kind of a pinewood derby enthusiast.....It just so happens that that pinewood derby enthusiast was the man that Brian learned all of his tricks from when he was in cub scouts.

Brian called that friend after we got home, and we found out that the track that Les raced on (and won on) tonight was one of the ones that Brian raced on when he was a boy all the way down in Tucson!!

What a way to end the night with the legacy of Brian, Blair, Grandpa, Roger, Blair M, and all the gang. Thanks for the memories Roger!

Limo

Yesterday I was asked to help the PTA with a fundraiser reward for some of the kids in the school. The reward was a ride to and from McDonald's for lunch.

Zak got to come with me since his school is out by lunch time!

Amber and Les were pretty jealous. Zak and I had fun going out to lunch in the limo!

Gary Paulsen

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of reading. But as a kid I found the book Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and loved every minute of it. Then, as Brian started teaching reading, my mom suggested that he try it with his students, because it is one that they could relate with as well as be successful in reading. He loved the book, and has read the entire series over and over again with his students. He has also managed to track down a movie version of the book.

Amber has found Mr. Paulsen's books too, and has loved everyone that she has picked up. Which is why when we heard he was going to be in Salt Lake doing a book signing, we had to go.

I think that we bought one book, but we also had him sign about 5 others. It was a fun night.

Made the News!

My mom called this morning

and said that she saw my apricot blossom

picture on the 2 News weather!

I just had to share!

I Looked Out the Window

There is Popcorn popping on my apricot tree!
Enjoy!

Spring Break, Easter Weekend, Accident, and New Baby

What a weekend. We really didn't do anything huge. Most of our plans were set aside until a weekend with better weather. We had a great time with Grammy & Gramps and the cousins at a little lunch and egg hunt on Saturday. They filled a children's swimming pool up with sawdust and hid eggs and money in it as well as a few outside. The excitement of the kids was fun, but the most entertaining by far was watching the adults sift through the sawdust looking for the left over change. In all they probably dug for an hour, and we were informed by Gramps later that as he cleaned out the sawdust, he still found over 120 coins that we missed.

We returned home from their house to find that the Easter Bunny had come. We aren't sure what happened, but he forgot to hide the real colored eggs that were in the fridge. So we had fun Sunday morning waiting for conference to start by hiding them from each other.

On Sunday afternoon, we had tickets to go to the Conference center for the final session of conference. However, kids under 8 cannot go, so we dropped Brian, Amber and Les off, at the Conference Center and Zak and I parked the car and walked back to Temple Square. He and I watched at the Tabernacle instead. After Conference, we headed out to go spend the night with my family and to see the new baby. This is when the excitement began!

As we were heading to I-15, we were in a wreck. We had to stop quickly, and the car behind us didn't stop. They rear-ended us. Brian and I both saw it coming and knew it was inevitable. I turned around to see if the car behind was going to stop in time, and all I remember seeing was everyone else being flung forward from the impact. It is kind of an eerie vision in my mind. Everyone's chest being thrown forward, and their heads all back (typical whiplash). And then was the instant screams of horror from the kids. They were terrified. They didn't see it coming like Brian and I did.

We instantly all had the headache at the base of our heads from the whiplash, and Les was crying enough about his that they had the paramedics check him out on scene. I wish now that they had checked out Brian too. He is hurting really bad today, and has a headache that won't let up. No one severely hurt, but we all have stiff and sore neck muscles, and minor headaches that come and go.

By looking at the vehicles closely, you wouldn't know anything happened.

Our car The License plate cover on my van got broken from the accident, but there is really no other obviously visible damage. The damage that we found was because the rear hatch wouldn't close right becasue the plastic trim wouldn't seat the way it was supposed to because around the door latch was crumpled a little. Also, the bumper is a little damaged from the impact.

The other car

You can see the small dent in the center of their van, but really it isn't too bad. The worst part for them was that both of their air bags went off, and so legally, this made their van un-driveable.

The interesting part of all of this is that the two girls were both just recently returned from their missions. The driver (Tiffany) returned from Brazil 4 months ago, and the passenger (Angela)just returned from Korea 3 weeks ago, and had wrist surgery late last week sometime. Neither of them had a valid drivers license, in fact the driver got a ticket for a suspended license, as well as for following too closely.

Me and the passenger from the other car (Angela)

After we finally made it out of SLC and to my parent's house, we went and saw the new baby. He is so tiny. I forgot how small of packages they come in, and was reminded how big my kids are getting.

Amber with little London

What a cutie!
He doesn't like the camera flash at all!

Baby London

For those of my family who have been anticipating the big day, my nephew little London James was born early this morning. He decided to make his entrance into this world at about 1:30 this morning. I don't know a lot of details, but he is a big boy, around 7 pounds (that is big considering his big brother was only 4 pounds when he was born).

I'm sure he was delivered to this earth by his Grandma Manuelita. Marsha's mother passed away on Wednesday, and as hard as it must have been for her, she decided that going to Trini wouldn't have been a good idea. She wouldn't have made it home in time for little London's arrival. Since he had to come C-section, being out of the country or in the air could have been trouble.

Congratulations Greg, Marsha and big brothers Mark and Ty. Our prayers are still with you Auntie Marsha.

Les's Baptism

On March 6, Les got baptized.

It was such a special day for him, and the spirit was so strong.

Our stake does baptisms so that each ward has their own service. And since we have such a small ward, Les was the only one being baptized. He got to choose the songs, who gave prayers and talks, and he even played a solo on the piano. It is really special this way, because everyone who participates is special to the child getting baptized.

After the service, we went to our church building for a lunch with all of Les's loved ones before they all headed home. He wanted pulled pork sandwiches, fruit salad, and mint brownies.

It was a very special day for Les, but as his parents, we are so proud that he made this choice to be baptized. We are also very grateful for loved ones who traveled long distances to share in his special day.

We Love You Les

Spring Flower

I am SO excited. My first little crocus (spelling?) sent up a flower this morning!

That means spring is coming soon!!! Lets all pray for sooner rather than later.

It's here!

I love this time of year...Yes, I actually love the change to daylight saving time. And no, it's not because I get to wake up and hour earlier--anyone who knows me knows that waking up early is brutal for me and everyone around me. I feel so much better. I feel like I get my day going better, and have more time to accomplish everything I need to do.

I also think that I suffer mildly from seasonal depression. The more daylight I can get, the more productive I am and the better I feel. It obviously also has a little bit to do with the better weather and the desire to get outside and move.

As I have been trying to get myself more healthy, I have struggled with running. I just can't seem to get the endurance to run very long or very far (long and far are relative here.) From nothing to anything more than 3-4 minutes would be nice. I have been walking for an hour a day at a speed between 3.8 and 4.2 mph, but can't transition to running. I have been trying to figure this out and find a reason that my endurance while running is not increasing, and it all came together today.

I ran for 30 minutes straight today and did 2 1/2 miles and then continued to walk at speed for the remainder of the hour. Finally. Now, I hope that I am not only able to maintain, but improve. For now my goal is to be able to do a 5K without stopping, and then I would like to increase my speed a little before I extend the distance.

My ultimate goal is to be able to do a small triathlon with Brian, Amber and Les. The one that they did in September was fairly small and in a controlled environment. Maybe not this summer, but at least by next summer. I have started swimming this last week, and although I have so far to go, I did much better than I expected. We'll see how it goes!

10!

It is finally official. I have managed to lose 10 pounds.
I know, not a major accomplishment, but at least a baby step.

In January I started in a biggest loser contest. It happens to have $790 at stake. I was determined to get a piece of that.

January went SO well. I was down 9 lbs when January ended.

Then in February, I wasn't always able to get my workout in. And eating healthy options was not always easy when we stopped at Wendy's while making the drive to Cedar City 4 times.
But I tried to choose the best option possible and eat a healthy portion of whatever was available.

I managed to end February holding even at the same 9 lbs lost.

At the end of January, I was tied for 5th biggest loser.
I have managed now, to lose that last pound to make an even 10, but while I was holding steady, others were continuing to lose.
Now I am in no less than 12th place.

My hope is that in these last few weeks that some of them will plateau while I continue to lose. I'm still not sure that I will be able to catch up to 9 people. I really don't care if I do.
I am happy with the progress that I have made. I currently weigh less than I have since Amber was born, and I am on a good path to being SO much healthier.

My goal....to be down another 10 by Easter!

Happy Late Birthday Les(oops)!

In the chaos of the last month, I just realized that I didn't post a happy birthday post for Les.

Les is now 8!!

He will be baptized on Saturday, and is looking forward to that special day.

For his birthday, we went to the Environmental Center, where he is always in heaven every time he goes.

He took a friend and they had lots of fun cross country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding and sledding.
And we returned home to cake and Ice cream.

Happy Birthday Les!

If you have a squeamish stomach, do not look!

I said don't look!

Tonight, this is how Brian and Amber returned home!

I don't care if it is fake, it makes my tummy flop. I don't like the site of blood or injuries. They went to help do a CERT disaster training. The scenario was apparently an earthquake in a school setting. Amber got a broken nose, and Brian got a piece of glass in his arm. Yuck.

Ugh, I'm Exhausted

Warning: I started to type this and found that I didn't stop. You may just want to stop reading now.

I am just plain worn out. I started the month of February caring for my Grandma. She has been suffering from a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, as well as 3 other blood disorders. She has always been a physically strong woman. I have seen a noticeable decline in her stature and ability to do things since I saw her last May. In September, I ran to Salt Lake to see her at the doctor, she was able to walk all over the Huntsman Cancer Institute by herself, although in quite a lot of pain. By November when I saw her, she was in a care center for recovery and rehab after the disease caused 3 of her vertebrae to all but disintegrate and break, so she had had surgery to "glue" them back together. This most recent visit, she was in the hospital because they found her nearly dead from the effects of kidney failure because her organs were beginning to fail. By Wednesday of the week that I was there, she had made the decision to stop treatments and go home to live out the rest of her days in the comfort and peace of family and friends. Her amazing oncologist (and may I add...he was hot...lol) was just the man that I would want explaining my options to me, informed her that if she chose this option, her kidneys would give her about 2 weeks. I never thought that it could be a relief to finally have an end in sight. I always thought that such a final diagnosis would be devastating. And though I know that it would be in some situations, in hers, it was complete relief and peace.

Although it was a very special week that I spent with my mom, aunts, uncle and grandparents, the events of the month have sapped every last bit of energy that I had.

The week that I got home, was Amber & Les's birthdays. Needless to say, Amber was all but forgotten when it came to gifts, special meals, and the like. I couldn't pull normal life back together by that point. She was so good to understand, and we had a good time shopping for hot deals and letting her choose some new clothes together. We were able to spend Les's birthday at the Environmental Center skiing and snowshoeing, and we let both kids take a friend for a little birthday celebration.

In that week, I spent my time putting together a slide show of Grandma's life to show at the viewing. On Friday, we made the drive back down to their house to show it to Grandma before she passed. She didn't know that we were doing it. When we arrived, she looked awful, but I am so glad that we took that last chance for the kids to say their goodbye's to grandma. I knew that there were only days if not hours left. It just so happened that while we were there, Grandpa had another stroke (not an uncommon thing anymore. It is just a matter of time until he has one severe enough to kill him.) Then we made the quick drive back home the next day.

On Wednesday of that week, she finally passed away. It was devastating and a relief all at the same time. I will miss her terribly, but am so relieved that she will not suffer anymore. I know that through the Plan of Salvation that I will see her again, although it will be such a long time. So on Friday, we again made the trip down south for the funeral.

Grandma was an amazing woman. Her cooking was something that I only hope to be able to equal some day. She sewed perfectly, quilted beautifully, created anything she needed, crafted so many amazing projects and cared for everyone in her reach. Grandma never spoke bad of anyone. NEVER. She cared meticulously for the things she had so that they would last and be kept nice for as long as she needed them, and was always content with what she had. She considered it a blessing to live within her means and knew that all the extras were blessings not essentials in her life.

Since we returned on Sunday from the funeral, I have slept way too much. I can't get enough sleep. I'm not sure how to remedy this problem. I have allowed myself to let my body catch up, but I also know that if I keep this up, my body likes to sleep, and it will become an addiction that I must have. I have way too much to accomplish to let that happen.

Those we love don't go away,

They walk beside us every day.

Unseen, unheard, but always near.

Still loved, still missed, and always dear.

I Love You Grandma

Etta Louise Warren Matheson

30 April 1931-17 February 2010

We Love you Grandma.

Grandma

Last week I had the opportunity to help take care of my grandparents.

I had the opportunity to be the only grandchild at the hospital when the doctor explained where Grandma's condition was at and what her options were. He also informed all of us that if she chose to stop treatment and return home on hospice, she would likely only have about 2 weeks left to live.

I sat alone with her at the hospital with a tape recorder as she told me of childhood memories that she had never told anyone else.

I never imagined that this could be a spiritual and testimony building experience.

Once she made the decision to leave the hospital and stop treatments, I had the special privilege of helping to care for her, and as Grandpa said "boss him around."

Now we wait. I think this is the hardest part. Again, she was sent home from the hospital in the best possible condition, and again we watch her deteriorate a little more each day.

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend those days with her and Grandpa.

I love them both dearly, and will miss her terribly when she is gone.

I love you Granny!

Happy Birthday Amber

Eleven years ago my sweet Amber joined our family.

She is so caring and kind to others.

I admire the testimony that she has at such a young age.

I am proud of the person she is becoming and the example that she is to others.

I love you Amber.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Brian

Happy Birthday Brian!
I Love You

Top 10 of 2009

1~ Family cruise to the Bahams
2~ Week at Disneyworld
3~ House redo
4~ All the kids are now in school
5~ Brian not working 3+ jobs
6~ Road trip to Arizona without kids
7~ Amber & Les did their 1st triathlon
8~ Les started piano lessons
9~ All 3 kids played soccer
10~ Running 5k's as a family

Wow, what a year we have had.
We have been so blessed this year with so many amazing things as a family.
Bring on *2010*!

(Christmas posts to come when everyone is back in school and I have my time back)