A nice tribute

I know Gordon will probably think it's silly I am sharing this.  But, this past weekend the first boy to achieve the eagle rank since Gordon took over as scout master (18 months ago or more) had his court of honor.  He presented Gordon with the eagle mentors pin and I appreciated so much that this young man recognized how much work and time Gordon has put in on his behalf.  It was a lovely night!  And congrats to Jed. He is far and away the most enthusiastic scout I've ever met!

Students of the Month

We are so proud of both of our big junior high kids!  Ethan was student of the month for November, and Aidan for January!  Great job boys!  You are working hard and it shows!

Day 2 - California Adventure

Day two we headed to California Adventure to explore the other park.  One of the things Emilee really wanted to do was to meet Elsa and Anna from Frozen, her favorite movie.  Here she can be seen peeking around the corner, waiting so patiently for her turn!

And then the moment came.  And it was worth waiting in line after all (I was questioning!).  She was mesmerized!  And, she says it was the favorite thing that we did both days.  She loved it!

 Day two I rented a wheelchair instead of a stroller.  Their strollers are HORRIBLE!  The wheelchair worked so much better and both girls could ride.  

 Both Heidi and Emilee LOVED the bumper bugs.  And Em could drive her own!

  Heidi chose Grampy to be her riding companion almost every time this second day.  It was cute.

 Heidi was pretty tired the second day, so we had to do a bit more loving on her and feeding of ice cream and snacks.  She was pretty much pooped by 6 when we left.  She fell asleep in the car and slept until 7 the next morning.

 We tried to ride the Radiator Springs Racers three times before we actually got on.  It kept breaking!  The third time, we decided to stay in line, and our 20 minute wait paid off.  We finally got to ride.  As you can see, Emilee was very excited!

It was such a fun trip!  I'm so glad we got to go down just the girls, and had such a fun time!  Memories I will cherish forever!

Disneyland Girls Getaway!

We have just returned from a wonderful little 3 night getaway!  I took just my little girls down to Disneyland for two days of fun fun fun.  I've been wanting to go with just the little girls for quite some time.  To explore the "little"parts of Disneyland.  

Emilee had me a bit worried Sunday and Monday before we left.  She had a pretty yucky cold and cough.  But, we decided to push through, and by Tuesday morning, when we hit Disneyland, with the help of a little cough suppressant and decongestant, we made it just fine!  

We spent much time in Fantasy land, on the Merry-go-round, the tiki room, and the tea cups.  It was pretty empty, and we got to meet many characters, starting with Mary Poppins as we walked into the park the first day.  The girls were excited and enjoyed their interactions with the princesses and Mary.

Uncle Theron (pictured below taking our photo) came along with Mom and Dad and I and enjoyed the park too.  It was great having a Theron around!  Not only was he our official photographer of the day, but he would show up about every two hours with two churro's in his hand to share.  He kept our tummies full of energy!

 Uncle Theron and Emilee

 Big Thunder Mountain!

Emilee rode her first roller coaster!  Or her first 4 if you ask her!  She is such a brave girl and loved every ride, especially the exciting ones!

Being brave in the Haunted House!

It was such a fun first day!  We were at the park from opening until around 7:30, then headed across the street for a good night's sleep.

What's Wrong with Heidi's Arm?

Well Heidi gave us a bit of an adventure last night.  Chandler sat on her arm around noon.  I thought her reaction seemed a bit severe for what it was, and since it was close to nap time, we decided she'd nap.  I told her it would probably feel all better when she woke.  But, when she woke 3 hours later, she didn't get out of bed, but just cried for me and said she couldn't sit up because it was "still hurtin'!"

We tried to let it work itself out over the next two hours, fed her a popcicle, and tried to distract her, generally.  Nothing seemed to work and she would not let anyone touch her arm, and she didn't want to move it at all.  At one point, we gently pulled her sleeve up and she yelped so loud that we decided it was time to see a doctor.  So, off we went to urgent care.  Here she is on the table.  She was calm by now, but still didn't want that arm moved:

The doctor at urgent care decided it was probably fractured due to her pain and not wanting to move it at all, and sent us up to the pediatric UC that is prepared to deal with kids.  I should have just gone there to begin with. . .  Anyway, once there, they gave her this little sling full of ice and she seemed to feel better all of a sudden.  

When we were called back into the room, it was a miraculous recovery, all of a sudden.  She climbed up on the table and USED HER ARM!  (for the first time in 8 hours)  She was suddenly hopping around and pushing, and I could see clearly that she was fine.  We waited about a half hour, and then decided with the nurse that we didn't need an x-ray or even to see the doctor, and we left.

SO WHAT HAPPENED!?!?!?  There was definitely something wrong.  I do not dash my kids to the ER for nothing.  Upon further reflection today, and after speaking with some friends who have experienced it, we believe it was "nursemaid's elbow."  The elbow dislocates slightly (probably happened when Chandler sat on her arm) and in minor cases will eventually pop back in with some movement (like getting in and out of the car seat).  Her symptoms are consistent with that, so that's what I'm going with.  It is very painful to move the arm when it happens, and the child guards it closely to the body.  It all sounds very familiar.  Luckily, it popped back in on its own and they didn't have to maneuver it back in, because that looks scary to me and can be very painful.

Here she is this morning, all back to Heidi and walking to church with big brother.  We're so glad she's okay and we're not headed to an orthopedic doctor for a cast!

Spots

Poor Emilee!  She had strep throat about 10 days ago.  She's been on antibiotics and feeling just fine, but two nights ago we discovered some spots.  From the nose to the toes.  They are everywhere!!!

This was something I've never seen on one of my kids in nearly 14 years of parenting.  I feared a penicillin reaction, but Dr. Jay says it's not.  Phew!  This is apparently just a "viral rash" that is like a final symptom of the strep last week.  He assured me it would get uglier, which it has, and then disappear.  Not contagious.  We hope sooner than later because little Em is itchy!!!

Emilee has a good attitude as she always does.  She says "don't worry.  You can still have fun if you're spotted!"

January Skiing

Guess what I got for Christmas!?!?  A ticket to Salt Lake City, where I got to ski for two days with my dad!  It was so much fun.  We hit Alta, and Deer Valley.  I'd never been to Deer Valley before, and it was a new experience.  So much terrain and so much scenery!  It was such a fun trip and we had blue sky skiing both days.  Thanks honey for this fun opportunity!

Grammy made friends with this nice lady officer!  :)

Dinner with my Michelley, always a treat!

And something you only see at Deer Valley, bears relaxing in the hot tub.  I wasn't even scared to ski by, they were so relaxed enjoying themselves there.