Never a Dull Moment

Derby Day

2012-01-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

The pinewood derby was tonight. It was fun! This year they had an electronic scoreboard, so it was easy to see how well the cars were doing. Trevor's car didn't do so well, but he still had fun. Griffin got 3rd place for the Wolf den. It was a good night.

Our Weekend

2012-01-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Savannah had a birthday party for Curly, and we were all invited.
After several years of no shade on our back door, I decided to order a new one, it came in Saturday.
Sweet Sunday Savannah helped me make yummy Double Chocolate M&M cookies.
Trevor & Griffin worked on their pinewood derby cars, they are almost done.

Long Weekend

2012-01-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

For the long weekend Aunt Dorothy came to visit us. She got here late Friday and stayed till Monday.

Saturday we walked to the movies and saw We Bought A Zoo. It was was a great family movie.

Sweet Sunday & A Mess

2012-01-08T19:22:00.001-07:00

We've decided to go back to having sweets only on Sunday again. For our first Sweet Sunday this year we decided to make homemade ice cream and homemade waffle cones. We made Coldstone cake batter and pecan praline. They were both yummy. The cones were delicious!!

Trying the first cone

Also, right now the family room is a mess!! Patrick has started his project, and is working in the family room. While he has all his tools out he cut Trevor & Griffin's pinewood derby cars, so they could start working on them. I'm excited to see how Patrick's project turns out.

Christmas came again!

2012-01-04T19:24:00.010-07:00

We got a package from Patrick's parents in the mail. It was filled with all kinds of fun Christmas presents! Even though we just did this a week ago, it was lots of fun do have presents to open again. It was really nice of them to think of us. We love it all. Merry Christmas to us, again!!

Ringing in a New Year

2012-01-01T17:53:00.004-07:00

We had a fun little party at home. We ate lava cakes, drank cider, listened to music, played Xbox, and watch the party in NYC. After the ball dropped, I went to bed, while the kids stayed up till after midnight. They had a blast and slept in their sleeping bags on the floor near the fire. Hoping 2012 is a great year!

Zoo Trip

2011-12-30T16:08:00.005-07:00

This morning after Patrick got home from work, he suggested we go to the Zoo as a family. I needed this.
I needed him. I am so grateful for such an amazing, thoughtful, understanding man in my life. I apperciate him more than he could ever know.

After the Zoo, we went to lunch at Fuddruckers. The food was delish.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm lucky to have such a wonderful husband!

The Aftermath of Christmas

2011-12-29T21:10:00.005-07:00

Christmas has come and gone super quickly this year. Tuesday we took down the tree and packed all the decorations away until next year. We've just been hanging around enjoying our gifts and eachother.

Savannah LOVES her new doll who she has named Curly (because of her curly hair). I wish I had taken some pictures right when she came out of the box, she had the most beautiful hair. It's gotten kinda tangeled already :( I need to learn how to take care of her hair. Savannah has been getting her dressed and doing her hair everday.

Savannah also got a dog themed game we played one night as a family.

The boys have fiqured the xbox out and have been enjoying many games. They've also been flying these really cool mini helecopters that their Grandparents gave them. Just under a week until they are all back in school. It's nice having them around, not looking forward to being busy again.

Santa Came!!

2011-12-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever nobody came rushing into my room at some early hour. When Patrick got home from work he sent the kids to come get me. Santa was vey good to us this year!
I'm gonna list our favorites so I don't forget.
Trevor & Griffin- Xbox with kinect game system
Savannah- American girl Doll of the year
Dad- French Door ( for a future project), Camel Back
Mom- New camera (yay), Kindle Fire (awesome)

We got many other great gifts too. It was a really nice Christmas.

The Campout

2011-12-23T20:59:00.020-07:00

Tonight's activity was camping out by the christmas tree and watching The Polar Express.
When the envelope was opened, there were claps, screams and hooray's!! They were excited!

Not a great picture, I really need a new camera.

I decided to do this christmas countdown activity for a few reasons. The main was was to spend good quality time with the kids this holiday season. I've actually been having a bit of a hard time. I've been suffering from depression for the last few months. I've wanted to hide away in my room most days. I recently started meds and I am starting to feel a little better. My kids are so important to me. I didn't want the way I felt to ruin their memories of Christmas. And so we started the Christmas Activity Countdown. It helped me remember what's really important. It's been such a hit that I think we've started a tradition. The kids have loved seeing what activity we would do each night. I've loved seeing Christmas through their eyes.

Snow Fun

2011-12-20T23:03:00.001-07:00

Busy Night....

2011-12-16T21:09:00.002-07:00

Savannah had her Ballet Chritmas recital. She was a reindeer. She did a great job, and looked so pretty.

You can watch a video below. She is the only six year old in her class. All the other girls are seven.

At the exact same time Trevor & Griffin were doing their purple belt test. Patrick was there to watch them, but Savannah and I missed their test. We got there right as they were doing the belt ceremony.

I hear they did I great job. They have been working really hard latley. They are excited for their new belt.

Our Tree

2011-12-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

Wonderful weekend

2011-12-12T09:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday started with a trip to Church to see Santa. Savannah is the only one of my kids who will still sit on Santa's lap. Trevor did not even want to come, and Griffin said there was no way he would be sitting on his lap. Savannah asked for a puppy and dog food (first I've heard of this). The girl loves dogs, lucky for her we already have one.

There were games, crafts, cookie decorating for the kids, it was fun.

Later in the day we went to Lumpy's burger for dinner as a family. It was really good.

After dinner we went to River of Lights. It's been a few years since we've gone, it has grown.

We had a really good time looking at all the displays.

Sunday before church we went and got our tree. We went to a different place this year. It was cool they had animals, play area for kids and even Santa was there. Since there was nobody else there I asked Griffin if he would sit on Santa's lap. I told him he might get a candy cane. He said ok, for a candy cane.

When they were done the elf hands Griffin a huge stuffed bear. It was so funny, Griffin didn't say anything, but you could see him looking at the box of candy canes. He came over to me and said "I really wanted a candy cane". Savannah saw what Griffin got, so she wanted to see Santa too. She got a smaller bear.

We spent the evening setting up the tree and stringing popcorn while watching A Christmas Carol.

The season of Giving

2011-12-09T11:12:00.001-07:00

This year we decided it was time for the kids to buy each other gifts. We decided to let them each draw a name, so we could keep it budget friendly. It was amazing to see them each on their shopping trip. They each spent a lot of time looking at different things, and really thinking about what their sibling would like.

Last night's christmas activity was for the kids to each put a few dollars into the Salvation Army pot. Unfourtantly yesterday I had a terrible ear ache all day. By the evening I was in unbearable pain. I told them we would have to skip and do it tonight. It's sweet to see how excited they are to give. They all decided to go to the one at our local Walmart.

Yesterday after school Savannah asked if she could have some wrapping paper. I said sure. When I checked on her later, she was busy wrapping some of her own toys and things to give to some of her friends at school. I just love seeing the kids give from their heart. It's really the true meaning of Christmas!

Snow Day

2011-12-06T00:09:00.000-07:00

Snow days really are the best. We had lots of fun today. Tonight our christmas countdown activity was making popcorn balls. After we finished making them, I made hot chocolate to enjoy as well.

We won't be having school tomorrow either. It's suppose to get down to 2 degrees tonight with a chance of a little more snow. Makes me happy, I love snow days!

Silly boys

2011-12-04T09:43:00.003-07:00

So, most of our morning snow melted away during the day, which was kinda sad.
Luckily, in the evening in started snowing again. It came down fast, and was sticking.

I found the boys out back have a snowball fight.

It was so cold! They had the basics on: gloves, snow boots, but didn't bother with jackets or even warm clothes. The are funny. They stayed out there a pretty long time too. When they were too cold they came in and took hot showers.

The first December snow .....

2011-12-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

They had to check it out first thing in the morning, in their pj's still.

The countdown begins...

2011-12-01T11:26:00.002-07:00

This year I wanted to avoid the daily advent calendar treats. I decided we would countdown to christmas with daily activities. I found a blog with printables, so I just printed all the activities out, then decided which ones we should do. After that, I planned out when to do what activitiy. I didn't tell the kids what I was up to. When they woke up, they noticed it right away. They still don't know what's inside. It's gonna be fun doing special stuff together as a family everyday. You can find the printable list HERE

Early Turkey Day

2011-11-23T20:20:00.001-07:00

We just got back from a fun trip to Las Cruces, NM where we spent a few days with Patrick's family.

Partick's sister & her husband are living there currently (not for long), so we were all able to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Patrick's Dad and his Brother (and his three kids) came from California too.

We enjoyed dinner's together. Making smore's over a fire. Playing board & video games. Worked on a really hard puzzle. White Sands (although we got there just as a major storm hit, yuck). Swimming at our Hotel pool. Had a blast with a pinata. Did some crafts, and ate lots more!!!

We had a really good time. It was nice to be able to spend this time with family. I know the kids had a BLAST with their cousins. We can't wait to do it again

Lazy, Sad Day

2011-11-13T19:11:00.003-07:00

Today we have been completly lazy. We all woke up, had breakfst then spent the entire day napping, watching movies, playing wii, and reading. All while in our p.j.'s for the entire day. Sometimes it feels good to drop everything and do nothing.

On another sad note we got a call late this afternoon from Patrick's Dad letting us know that his sister, our Aunt Laurie had just passed away. She has been fighting Melenoma for a few years now. It's so sad that one day our loved ones can be gone just like that. She was the very first person I ever met in Patrick's family (even before I met his dad) She leaves behind her husband, and three kids.

Big Man on Campus

2011-11-10T19:20:00.002-07:00

He HATES pictures, but was excited!

Trevor goes thru phases where he does not want to be in his school's enrichment program, and phases

where he does. He decided this quarter he wanted to start going again. Today the 5th grade enrichment class got to go on a fun all day field trip. The class is very small with just eight kids. The principal drove the enrichment teacher, and the kids in her personal car to the ABQ Journal. They got a tour of the whole facility. Trevor said it was really cool to see how newspapers are made. After the tour they drove to Dions where they enjoyed lunch. Next, it was off to the park to play for awhile. They finally came back to school close to 2:00pm, but did not return to class. They spent the rest of the day helping do fun crafts/activities with kindergarteners. Trevor said it was like a day off from school. Lucky kid!

Great Job Young Guns

2011-11-06T18:44:00.000-07:00

The weekend went great! Griffin's team won all their games!!! They are really good, it's so exciting to watch them play. Griffin was super excited for his medal.

What we do for our kids

2011-11-05T10:09:00.001-06:00

This weekend Griffin's Soccer team is involved in a Soccer Tournament . This morning they had to be there at 7:30 and their game was to start at 8:00. We had to get up at 6:45 to get ready to go. Let just say it was

EARLY. COLD. WINDY. RAINY. HAILING.

Enjoying hot chocolate

After we got signed in, we headed to the feild where it seemed like we might actually end up playing. The boys took off their coats and started running to warm up. Then, it started hailing HARD. The kids all ran for shelter, while the parents tried to gather all out stuff quickly. The hail was hitting us in the face hard.

Pre- hail and rain, before we went to the feild.

We all waited under the super crowded shelter until they offically called the games off. By the time we were at the car we were wet and freezing. Had to take a hot shower just to warm up. It was a crazy morning. Hopefully tomorrow the weather is better for the games.

Downward Spiral

2011-11-04T16:44:00.004-06:00

There are days where everything seems to be going good, then before I know it I'm in a major

downward spiral. Today I had no school, yay!! So, I slept in very late. Patrick helped get the

kids off to school. I went out to lunch by myself, and did some errands before heading to the

school to help in Savannah's class. I have never felt so irritated in a classroom before. She is great

teacher, and very sweet, its just caotic. I don't really 'get' why I'm there. I could feel my mood

changing quickly. By the time the bell rang I was cranky. Right now I'm sick and tired of

Savannah not ever eating anything healthy!! She comes home everyday Saying she didn't eat

her lunch, but her class has treats seriously, almost everyday. Griffin is overly sensitive, I ended

up making him cry. I just feel like sometimes the kids need to be responsible for their own stuff.

I yelled he says, and it upset him. My head hurts, and I need to go make dinner.

I'm just wondering how this all spiraled out of control.

I sure hope the weekend gets better.

Boo!

2011-11-02T15:00:00.002-06:00

Hawaiian Girl

Sherlock Holms

Indiana Jones

The kids had a bunch of fun on Halloween. All treats, no tricks!! When we came to our street Grandma Shelley, who was is town and her brother Lee met up with us. They went along with us as we finished up trick-or-treating on our street. After we finished they came inside and hung out for awhile.

Now we've got tons of candy to eat! We usually set the timer after dinner for 10 minutes, and let them eat all they want during that time. In a few days they won't even ask for it anymore.

Pumpkin Carving Party

2011-10-30T08:28:00.000-06:00

Tonight we had a special Halloween dinner - Squirmy worm sandwiches, swamp juice, and bat cupcakes.

After dinner, the kids got started carving their pumpkins (with our help). They came up with some great ideas. We kept the seeds for roasting.

Savannah's

Griffin's

Trevor's

Next, it was time for showers. When they were done we had our bat cupcakes, then watched the movie Lady In White. It was a favorite Halloween movie of my family growing up. My Mom sent a copy a few years ago. It did not dissapoint.

It was a fun night! We are ready for Halloween now! Tonight we are going to the Spooktacular at Daddy's work. The kids are really excited about this.

Reason 107 why I love my husband

2011-10-23T22:42:00.001-06:00

He's adorable!! No, seriously. Ever since I met him, he'd draw these cute little cartoon figures. When we go out to dinner he often draws with the kids on napkins, cups ect. I love it. So, as we were putting away some leftovers from a resturant I was wondering why he got a marker out. We all gathered around to see what he was doing. He's so cute, and fun!! I love him xoxo

Happy Friday!!

2011-10-21T18:37:00.006-06:00

I'm still sick, which sucks. I really hope I'm feeling better by Monday. Can't have another week like this one. It's too hard to get s tuff done when you feel sick. This afternoon I tried to take a nap, but I kept coughing, so I gave up. I decided to make a quick trip to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. I picked up a special surprise for our dessert.

The kids were thrilled (of course), and ate their beef stew super fast. They got to try a slice of each one, then another slice of their favorite. They all liked the Rocky Road one the best. I liked the Apple Pie one.

Trevor & Griffin are getting ready to go to Late Night At The Library tonight, so it will just be Savannah and I . We will probably watch a movie together. I've been really into James Blunt's music latley. It just seems to strike a cord with me. My favorite right now is this one. Hope you've had a great Friday!

I'm # 1

2011-10-18T17:42:00.000-06:00

Last week I had an Endoscopy done. A few days later the Doctor's office called to let me know my Doctor wanted a few more tests. The first one I did today. I was the very first nuclear medicine patient at our city's brand new hospital. Actually, it's not even offically opened yet. They were joking saying I should get a free t-shirt or something. I was there for a gastric emptying study. Since I had to stay at the hospital (with Patrick) for over two hours we got to check out the whole place. It is beautiful. We were very impressed with how nice it was. I'm glad (sorta) that I got to be # 1

On another note. I'm sick, which made this test the last thing on my list I wanted to do. It seems Savannah's illness spread first to Trevor who missed school yesterday, then to Patrick, now to me. Griffin, you're up!!
I hope I feel better quickly. It's rotten being sick.

And it's over...

2011-10-17T20:07:00.001-06:00

The weekend came and went much faster than I like. Here's what we did.

Saturday- Griffin & Savannah had soccer games. Griffin's was in the morning, they won!
Savannah's was in the late afternoon, they lost. After her game it was time for dinner, so we
went to a nearby hot dog jont called Senoir Dog. Mexican twist on hot dogs. They were pretty
good actually. On the drive home Patrick suggested we go to the movies. We drove by saw
what was playing, and bought some tickets. We had almost an hour to kill, so we went home to
relax for awhile. Trevor started feeling yucky, cough, cough. He did not want to go, but we made him.
The boys saw Real Steel. The girls saw Dolphin Tale. Both groups loved their movies. We were out
till after 10:00pm (crazy)!

Sunday- We slept in.
We took our time getting going. Decided to skip Church. Spent the day cleaning out the garage, and
decorating for the holidays, yes, both Halloween and Christmas. That's how we roll. Actually, most years
it is WAY too cold by the time we want to put lights up. Patrick always makes a big deal out of it. So, this year I thought we should put them up now, so when we are ready all we have to do is plug them in.
The boys got to help on the roof for the first time ever!! They thought it was so cool. I worked on making a special Halloween spider web, and boards for our windows. We were busy all day, and did not have dinner till 7:20pm. It was a long day but, we got a lot of stuff done.

Eyeball Pops

2011-10-14T20:38:00.001-06:00

Griffin's class does a performance every six weeks called Open Mic. Today was their first show. It was really cute. There were skits, jokes and music. The kids all did such a great job. I was happy to be able to watch it. Parents were asked to bring a special treat in to share. I made eyeball pops, found the idea here.

Cute Griffin after the show, eating all the goodies.

Another day...

2011-10-09T16:45:00.000-06:00

Today has been just like all the other days this break. Laying around.......
Savannah had a rough night, so this morning I took her to urgent care. The strep test was negative, but when the Doctor looked in her throat she said "it's nasty in there, we have to treat it." She is now on antibiotics for Tonsillitis. Her fever is back this afternoon and after her nap she looked so sad laying on the couch.

I decided to make some suckers with the boys to cheer her up. They did a little and tasted good too.

She'll stay home from school tomorrow, then I hope she's much better after that.

Fall break

2011-10-08T21:48:00.005-06:00

The kids have been out of school since Wednesday at 12:45 for fall break. We actually have not done much of anything until tonight. When I picked them up from school Wendesday, Savannah was crying and I felt her, she had a fever. All day Thursday and Friday she did too. During the night last night she woke up crying saying her throat hurt. Then this morning the same thing. She did not have a fever anymore though. I made her "tea" water, lemon juice and honey heated up to drink this morning and some advil. She seemed ok today, so I decided to let her go to her good friends birthday party. When I picked her up, the kids and I went straight to the Balloon Fiesta to meet an old friend of mine who is in town. It was fun and for the first hour or so Savannah really enjoyed it, then she started getting cranky. She was tired and cold, and her throat hurt. By the time we got home at 9pm she was in tears. She says her throat hurts and she can't sleep alone. I feel bad, I thought she was on the mend. I may need to take her to urgent care tomorrow. So, lots of movies and wii games this fall break. Only one night out and that seemed to be more than enough!

Family Adventure

2011-10-06T10:23:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we decided to spend the whole day as a family. Since we had some free tickets
to ride the train from the Zoo to the Botanical Gardens, that's what we did. After over five years
of living here we had never taken the kids on this train, we felt like it was about time :)

After hanging out at the Zoo for awhile, we grabbed our picnic lunch and got on the

train to the Botanical Gardens. The train ride took about 30 minutes, it was fun to

see stuff we've never seen before. Once there we found a spot to have our lunch.

I made some yummy chicken salad sandwiches. After we were finished eating we

walked over to look at the minature trains. Just after walking over there we heard

Griffin crying hard. He came running toward us. He had been stung by not one,

but two bees, poor kid. This was his very first time being stung :(

We had nothing to help with the pain since our car was at the zoo. Patrick luckily

had some band-aids in his pocket, so that helped.....a little.

We enjoyed the Gardens and aquarium, then took the train back to the Zoo. We looked at a few more animals, then headed to Corvettte Diner for some yummy milkshakes and one malt. It was a great treat.

On the way home we decided to make one more stop. There is a trail near a wash that we had heard about. There is all kinds of art pieces cemented into the walls. We found it, and the kids LOVED it. We enjoyed the evening walk, looking for different objects in the wall.

It was a fantastic day as a family!!

Family Time

2011-09-29T18:53:00.002-06:00

Our lives have been extra busy recently. I know we miss eachother a lot.
Last Sunday after Church I had to go to a Scout meeting, that lasted a
LONG time. When I got home Patrick said we should make Sunday a
family day. I agree completly. I feel like our lives are going in a million
different directions, so it's important for us to come together and just be
a family.

After dinner, we cleaned up, and did the dishes. Then, the kids helped me
make this special treat. When it was all ready, we played several games
of SkipBo Jr. It was lots of fun, and most importantly, we were together.

Lunches

2011-09-28T20:53:00.002-06:00

I've found a new system that really works for us. I have a sheet that has ideas for a
main dish, fresh fruit or veggie, side dish, and drink. It easy to see what options we
have available to us. I also bought new containers for lunches.
One single container, that can hold everything. They work like a charm.
Less clean-up too.

Once or twice a week they can take a juice, but other than that it's water.

The ziploc, plus drink and ice pack all fit wonderfully.

This year Trevor makes his own lunches. For the most part he does a pretty good jod,
and he's learning to be responsible.

The last few days...

2011-09-24T18:46:00.001-06:00

I got a bag of Dixon apples today!! Patrick and I planned
to go when he got home from work. Well, I way over slept (thaks to benadryl),
and Patrick had already gone to sleep. My friend Elizabeth called and said
they were already up there, and she could get a bag for me. Yay, great apples and
it saved me a trip. It's been a hard year for them (read website if you want more info).
I'm glad we were able to get some of these yummy apples. Hopefully they will have a much
better luck next season.

I decorated our bulletin board for Halloween. I added some cute pictures
of year's past. It's fun to look at while eating dinner.

Savannah was Star of the week, and Friday she got to bring a
treat in for the whole class. She really wanted to bring tortilla with peanut
butter and salt ..... weird. After chatting about it, we decided on
cupcakes with purple frosting, because purple is her favorite color.

Feeling like Fall

2011-09-21T22:06:00.002-06:00

The weather has been so nice. Chilly mornings and evenings, warm 80's during
the day. I know Fall offically starts Friday, but I decided to get a jump on it early.

Griffin helped make a cheesecloth Ghost.
Savannah helped me make Pumpkin pancakes.

I made a cute Halloween sign to hang over the fireplace.

It really is my favorite time of the year!

Our Girl

2011-09-16T10:43:00.002-06:00

An answer

2011-09-15T00:10:00.001-06:00

I finally met with an Orthopaedic Specialists about my leg pain earlier this week. The pain came back after six weeks off of running. It was so bad I could barley walk. I was told that I have Chronic exertional compartment syndrome

Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is an uncommon, exercise-induced neuromuscular condition that causes pain, swelling and sometimes even disability in affected muscles of your legs or arms.

Anyone can develop chronic exertional compartment syndrome, but it's more common in athletes who participate in sports that involve repetitive movements, such as running, fast walking, biking and swimming. Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is sometimes called chronic compartment syndrome or exercise-induced compartment syndrome.

Conservative treatments typically don't help with chronic exertional compartment syndrome. However, surgery is usually successful, allowing you — whether you're a recreational or serious athlete — to return to your sport.

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

The pain and other symptoms associated with chronic exertional compartment syndrome may be characterized by:

Aching, burning or cramping pain in the affected limb — usually the lower leg, but sometimes the thigh, upper arm, forearm or hand

Tightness in the affected limb

Numbness or tingling in the affected limb

Weakness of the affected limb

Foot drop, in severe cases, if nerves in your legs are affected

Occasionally, swelling or bulging as a result of a muscle hernia

Pain due to chronic exertional compartment syndrome typically follows this pattern:

Begins soon after you start exercising the affected limb

Progressively worsens as long as you exercise

Stops 15 to 30 minutes after the affected limb comes to rest

Over time, may begin to persist longer after exercise, possibly lingering for a day or two

Taking a complete break from exercise may relieve your symptoms, but usually only temporarily. Once you take up running again, for instance, those familiar symptoms usually come back.

Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

Chronic exertional compartment syndrome

Your arms and legs have several groupings, or compartments, of muscles, blood vessels and nerves. Each of these compartments is encased by a thick layer of connective tissue called fascia (FASH-ee-uh), which supports the compartments and holds the tissues within each compartment in place. The fascia is inelastic, which means it has little ability to stretch.

In chronic exertional compartment syndrome, exercise or even repetitive muscle contraction causes the tissue pressure within a compartment to increase to an abnormally high level. But because the fascia can't stretch, the tissues in that compartment aren't able to expand sufficiently under the increased pressure. Imagine shaking up a soda bottle but leaving the cap on — an enormous amount of pressure builds up.

As the pressure builds up within one of your muscle compartments, with no outlet for release, nerves and blood vessels are compressed. Blood flow may then decrease, causing tissues to get inadequate amounts of oxygen-rich blood, a condition known as ischemia (is-KE-me-uh). Nerves and muscles may sustain damage.

Experts aren't sure why exercise or muscle contraction creates this excessive pressure in some people, leading to chronic exertional compartment syndrome. Some experts suggest that biomechanics — how you move, such as landing styles when you jog — may have a role. Other causes may include having enlarged muscles, an especially thick or inelastic fascia, or high pressure within your veins (venous hypertension).

Patrick wants me to get a second opionion. I've stopped running, and I've been walking much less than I normally do. I'm starting to have much less pain. But, Patrick concern is when I want to walk, bike ride, hike, will this be an issue? So, I'll be going back to the Doctor to get some answers, and find out if surgery would be a good idea to keep me pain free and active as I get older.

Saturday

2011-09-10T21:46:00.000-06:00

It was game day for the two Soccer players in our home. Today was the first game of the season.
First off was Miss Savannah's game. It was her first ever Soccer game. She did awesome, her whole team did. They won their game. Savannah had a blast. She was so excited all day long.

We went home, had some lunch and relaxed. Then it was time for Griffin's game.

His team did awesome. Seriously such a good game. We were scoring on the other

team like nobody's buisness. Affter we got to like 10 to 0 we started to feel bad

for the other team. I know we all hoped the other team would at least score one goal, and finally in the last 10 minutes, they did. We won 13 to 1 All the boys worked so well together. I only got distance shots of Griffin. He was the goalie, and didn't see see much action down near the goal. He was a little bored today.

After the game, we came home and I made dinner. We got to spend a few minutes with Daddy before he left for work. We played outside for a long time. I decided to make a special treat. The kids wanted to help. So, they helped me make a batch of Kettle Corn, super yummy. We ate it while we watched the IMAX show Amazing Caves. It was a nice evening spent around the house with my cuties.

Movin on up....

2011-09-09T20:14:00.002-06:00

Tonight both boys became orange belts. I am amazed at how much they have learned since they started Karate. This test went great for them, no problems at all. Way to Go Trevor & Griffin!!!

Learning something new

2011-09-07T12:06:00.001-06:00

Trevor has decided to start playing the Cello in the school orchestra.
He's really excited, and so are we.

Lower Falls, Yellowstone

2011-09-02T16:14:00.004-06:00

I realize that we have been home from vacation for over a month, but these are
some really pretty pictures I want to post from our second day in Yellowstone.
We decided to hike to the lower falls, which is part of Yellowstone's Grand
Canyon. The Yellowstone River is so beautiful. The falls were spectacular!!

The Falls were so big, and powerful that they scared Savannah. She looked over
once, and then sat down far from the edge. She kept asking when we could leave.
Griffin said it was one of the few times he would ever be above a rainbow.
It was worth the hard hike back up!! I'm so glad we had the chance to Go to
Yellowstone as a family. It was amazing, and we can't wait to go back!

Old friends

2011-08-28T10:19:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a nice visit with out old friend (as in we've known them for a long time).
The Blanco family's on their way to South Carolina, again. They stopped to see us
on their drive out there. It has been 5 1/2 yrs. since we've been together. When we
moved from South Carolina actually. Dave & Patrick met in Orlando while going
to school with the Navy. I met him while visiting Patrick. So way before we were
married, or had kids. Later, after we moved to San Diego, we would spend time with
him whenever his ship pulled into San Diego. We got stationed in South Carolina,
then he got married, and a year later they also got stationed in South Carolina.
We spent lot of time with them.

Just two weeks after Savannah was born, they had twin boys, Zach & Gabe
Since we last saw them they have adopted to older kids, Juan & Katrina.
Now their family is bigger than ours. It was nice to have them over for dinner,
and visit with them. It was amazing to see our little ones together. Last time they
were together they were only about 10 months old.

Here is a picture of the little ones when they were about 5 months old or so.

Time sure flies......
I hope they are not teenagers before we get to see them again.

This week so far...

2011-08-24T08:10:00.001-06:00

Savannah has been practicing reading with Daddy, Cody feels he must be part of it too.

Griffin has been spending lots of time with Max, trying to get

him use to being handled.

Savannah had her very first soccer practice, she did great.

Griffin also started soccer once again. He is now on a competitive team.

Griffin attended his first pack meeting, and earned his bobcat patch.

Trevor is a Webelo now, and he earned a ton of awards. He's trying to dodge the camera :)

Savannah shaved her eyebrow, but totally denies it!! Not sure why she did it.

Fun at Grandpa's

2011-08-23T22:41:00.001-06:00

Trevor and Sara (2yrs) became fast friends. She is a wild woman, but so much fun.
He has called and talked to her on the phone after we've been home. Adorable!

Helping in the barn.

Wild and crazy rides down the river.

Snipe Hunting

2011-08-23T07:42:00.002-06:00

NOT FOR YOUNG EYES.......

A snipe hunt, a form of wild-goose chase that is also known as a fool's errand, is a type of practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task. The origin of the term is a practical joke where inexperienced campers are told about a bird or animal called the snipe as well as a usually preposterous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises such as banging rocks together. Incidentally, the snipe (a family of shorebirds) is difficult to catch for experienced hunters, so much so that the word "sniper" is derived from it to refer to anyone skilled enough to shoot one.

* Please if you know my children do not tell them that snipes are not real.

They are still under the impression that they are very real!! It is a rite of
passage every youngster must do at one point in their young life. I did it
at 4-H camp, great memories :)

The boys said their very favorite part of our trip was when Grandma Shelley,
and her friend Debbie took the kids snipe hunting one night. It was a hoot!!

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Eating ice cream & chatting about how close they came to catching a snipe.

A group shot of the snipe hunters. The two 2 year cousins were asleep.

Meet Henry- Now Max

2011-08-19T19:48:00.001-06:00

Max

For Griffin's birthday he really wanted a bird. We got him a starter cage with most of
the basic needs. With his birthday money he bought toys & the bird. We made him
wait until we were back from vacation. Today was finally the day. He's so excited!

Safe & secure for the car ride home.

In his new home. We're looking forward to Griffin & Henry getting to know each other.

Yellowstone day 1

2011-08-16T10:32:00.009-06:00

Back to our vacation. We did some more stuff in Idaho, but I want to skip forward

to our time in Yellowstone, mostly because the pictures are so pretty. We decided

to just take our family up to yellowstone for two days. I had taken the kids there

for a day about four years ago, but they did not remember it. This was Patrick's

first time there, I think he was impressed. Our camera was not working for the first

day, so we used our cell phones.

We stopped at as many places as we could while making our

way to Old Faithful. When we made it to Old Faithful it was

late afternoon , and as soon as we got out of the car, we

were hit with a major storm. It was pouring, and hailing!

We ran as fast as we could to the visitors center to take shelter.

It was so crowded. By this time they were making anouncments

to stay inside because of lightining strikes. The thunder was

louder than I had ever heard. It was crazy!

We stayed there until it was just drizzly, then walked

quickly over to the Old Faithful Inn for dinner.

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

After a really good prime dinner we cheched the Inn out. It is beautiful!

We really want to go back and stay there someday. The it was time

to go see Old Faithful. It was a bit longer of a wait than expected, but

it was a good show. Afterward we took a walk around the surrounding

area. It was all so beautiful.

All of my pictures from Old Faithful were sideways :(

We checked out the gift shop, then stopped at a few more

places on our way out for the night.

It was a really fun day. We got a CHEAP motel in West Yellowstone. Let's just say it
left a lot to be desiered. We all slept with long pj's, and sweatshirts with our hoods on
ON TOP of the blankets. We explained the difference between a motel and a hotel
to the kids. In the morning Savannah said " I know the difference between a hotel
and a motel, Hotels wash their stuff!" It was pretty funny. We survived :)

A new school year

2011-08-15T10:31:00.000-06:00

Today is the first day of school. I heard on knock on my bedroom door at

7:20 this morning. It was Trevor, already dressed and ready for school.

I know the excitment wont last long :)

This will be the last year all three kids will go to the same school.

Patrick & I walked them to school.

Right as we got to the playgroup, the boys split while Savannah stayed pretty close.

I stayed with her until her class line went into the school

I hope they have a great day, and school year!

Oregon Trail Museum

2011-08-10T20:53:00.002-06:00

I've taken my kids here before, but it's been several years. It was the first time for my
bothers family, and Patrick to enjoy the Oregeon Trail Museum. It is so well done,
so much great information. It is a living museum with great live actors that stay in
Character the whole time.

After we were done, we decided to go next door to get some

old time family pictures done. We did our family groups, then

a big group shot. It was a lot of fun. Here is a phone shot of it.

Lava Hot Springs Pool

2011-08-10T19:32:00.000-06:00

We LOVE the pool in Lava. It is so much fun! We always have such a great time
there. The cousins enjoyed almost five hours of fun in the sun, they got good
sunburns to prove it.

Idaho falls

2011-08-10T10:43:00.003-06:00

We went to Idaho Falls one day so we could see the Bodies exhibit. It was so
fascinating. We were not able to take any pictures in the museum, bummer.
I think they best part was the babies. Seeing them at different stages of
development was amazing. The kids were very intrested in this part as well.
Very educational if you ever get the chance, go see it.

Afterward we realized our car would not start, so my sister gave us a jump and
we drove to a nearby repair shop. The men stayed with the car while it was being
fixed, while the moms and kids all wen to see the falls, a play a little.

Luckily, our car only needed to have a belt replaced, so it was done pretty quickly.
He decided to go to a local dairy farm where they have yummy ice cream for sale.

I think patrick & I enjoyed the huckelberry the most, so yummy! It was a fun day.

Trip to Idaho

2011-08-09T12:49:00.002-06:00

We just got back from a great trip to my Dad & step Mom's ranch in Idaho.

They have horses, cows, a creek of their very own, and many, many acres to roam
around on. We enjoyed the scenery & cool rainy weather.

My brother Brad & his family, and my sister Kim & her family were able to come
visit at the same time, so there were lots of cousins to play with.

I have a ton of pictures, so it may take awhile to get them all up.

Birthday Boy Griffin

2011-07-29T22:23:00.003-06:00

OK, I thought I'd put some pictures up before I get way behind. Griffin had a great
party. Pizza and Butterbear was served. The boys painted shirst with different spells
on them. They threw water balloons at the bad guys in a Harry Potter poster, and
also ran around casting spells with their glow stick 'wands'. The brought home acid
drops & chocolate frogs.

We are leaving for Idaho early tomorrow morning, and today has been so busy,
so a quick picture. Yesterday Griffin Celebrated his eighth birthday. He had a
Harry Potter party with his friends. My awesome friend made his cool cake for
him, he loved it!

I'll update later on, BUT...... maybe not for a week or more.

Back to school shopping

2011-07-25T11:22:00.000-06:00

We decided to go out and buy all the back to school supplies we need.
I've been buying a few things here and there, but Patrick said we should
go one time and get the rest. It feels good to be done, but I hate spending
money :(

With three kids who all have a pretty long list of things they must buy, it

can get expensive. This year, they were all due for new lunch bags and

backpacks as well. I usually order really nice ones that last two years,

but this time we just went to Children's Place and Old navy, where they

picked some stuff out. As soon as we got home the got to work seperating

their own supplies into bags. Ready or not school is starting soon.

Beautiful Sunset

2011-07-22T15:16:00.001-06:00

Yesterday afternnon we finally got a really good rainstorm, that lasted longer than
five minutes. After dinner the sun was back out, and everything was dry again.
We played in the front yard, and enjoyed the most beautiful sunset. It was raining
somewhere in the distance, so it made it even more beautiful.

A new look

2011-07-20T09:30:00.002-06:00

This is something we worked on this weekend.

We decided since we were mounting our new TV on the wall, it would be a good

time to re-paint out family room and Kitchen. It went pretty fast, and turned out nicely.

The color is really more gold, it's way off in the pictures.

Books

2011-07-14T10:49:00.004-06:00

We are a family of readers. This summer we've had plenty of time to enjoy a few
good books. I thought I'd share some of the kids favorites, in case you've got some
kids who also love to read.

Trevor - Just read the first two books in The Archer Legacy, by Richard Newsome
He loved them, and can't wait for book three to come out next spring. Lots of action,
many different countries, and tons of adventure.

Griffin - Is currently reading book five of the Artimis Fowl books, by Eoin Colfer.
He is addictited to theses books. Each book is over three hundred pages.
He gets on new one on Tuesday (our library day), and by the next week he is ready
for a new one. Lots of action and adventure, and magical creatures.

Savannah- Is starting to really enjoy reading. Her favorites seems to be
Dr. Suess books. More than anything she enjoys being read to. We've
recently started to enjoy Francis books, by Russell Hoban
Our favorite so far is Bread and jam for Frances. It reminds me of savannah's
picky eating. Savannah thought the story was funny.

I've been reading to the kids as well. The first book we read this

summer was The Candymakers, by Wendy Mass this was such a fun book!

We all love candy, so this was perfect for us. It was filled with mystery too, some

nights the chapter would end, and the kids would beg to read more just to find out what

happened next.

I am currently reading Aliens on Vacation, by Clete Smith to the kids.

So far, it is intresting It seems (after only four chapters) a little slower than other

stories we've read. Hopefully the story gets better as we go on.

Look

2011-07-13T15:46:00.001-06:00

First off, Trevor is offically a Webelo now. Here he is getting ready to leave for his first meeting.

Next, we wanted to show Grandpa Pat the display show box we got for Trevor's Pheasant.

Pain, pain, go away

2011-07-12T10:17:00.001-06:00

I've been having really bad leg pain. The other day I watched some videos online
and finally decided I must have shin splints. I decided to take a few weeks off of
running to help them heal. Today I had an appointment at Creative Therapy.
The guy who was woking with me said it was not shin splints, it was problems with
my calfs. He did a super strong vibration massage, then did Kiensio taping on my
legs. I feel a relief of pain already. My legs feel so supported. The tape should
stay on for about 3 days. I have a Doctor appoinment on Thursday, and if I can
get my Doctor to write a prescription for physical therapy, I'll be able to go
back a few times for some massages and strength training.

Hopefully, I'll be back to running in no time :)

10 years old

2011-07-05T21:47:00.000-06:00

Today our baby boy turned 10 years old. Seriously, this seems crazy to me. How did
he get to a double didget so fast? He opted to have a small family celebration
instead of a friend party. My awesome friend made his cake once again, it was
fantastic! He was thrilled with it.

While our family was visiting, they gave Trevor some gifts.
A feather body from a Pheasant (Trevor collects feather, so this was really cool)
A Barnes & Noble gift card
A lego space shuttle kit
It was so nice of them to bring him gifts! He felt very special.
In the evening after Karate, he came home and opened more presents.
Money from Grandpa John & from grandma Linda
A gift from the family who made his cake a book, and two very cool Star Wars figures.
A movie from Mom & Dad, and a gift for a trip to a local amusment park this
weekend from us too.

After dinner, we went to the park close to the time it got dark, and played
some soccer. He had a really good day. It's so nice to see him smile.
Since then he's spent most of his b-day money on :
A new fishing rod & bait (can't wait to go fishing in Idaho with
Grandpa John)
A magic kit
A game for the wii

The Fab 4th

2011-07-04T22:12:00.002-06:00

We started the day with some early morning painting. Each year we paint a flag
on the driveway. This year there were a few extra helpers. Early on, Grandpa and
amp; Uncle Russell went to pick up Krispie Cream dognuts for another high
calorie breakfast :)
It got hot rather quickly, so we all took turns working in the heat to get the
flag painted.

We all went to the movies, and saw the New Transformers movie.

It was a great way to stay cool during the hottest part of the day.

After that it was time for our bbq. He had lots of yummy food, then went out

front to first light off some sparklers, then some small firecrackers that Uncle

Russell had bought for the kids enjoyment.

Another round of visitors

2011-07-03T21:49:00.002-06:00

My brother and his family left Friday morning. We quickly started cleaning up,
preparing for another round of visitors. We agreed it felt a little like running a
hotel :)

Saturday evening Patrick's Dad, Brother, Sister, and Brother in-law arrived
at our home. His sister brought her dogs, so Cody was pleased to have some
new playmates for the second time in one week. Not much went on the first night.
Just some hanging out.

Sunday after everyone had a good breakfast of biscuts and gravy, we headed
over to the Pork & Brew to try some bbq. It was HOT out!! We survived
the heat, and actually had a pretty good time. Good food, games, rides, and good
company.

We spent the rest of the day at home relaxing. We had dinner, and enjoyed

eachothers company. We made smores for dessert, and played in the backyard until it was dark.

The kids all watched a movie with Grandpa, while

all the other adults played a fun game.

Pictures of our visit

2011-07-01T20:20:00.003-06:00

What a week so far

2011-07-01T10:59:00.007-06:00

Monday- I got a call from my Doctor's nurse early in the morning. She explainded that my blood work showed some numbers were off and it looks like my Kidney's are not functioning correctly. I was told to drink TONS of water, to rule out dehydration, then get more blood work done Tuesday. We went to the movies as a family and saw Cars 2, it was good. I had to leave to use the bathroom 5 times during the movie because I was drinking so much water. The kids and I all had Dentist appointments for cleanings. In the evening was Karate & Swim lessons.

Tuesday- I felt sick and was having really bad leg pain. I went to the lab to get more blood work done. Got a quick hair cut. She took about 7 inches of hair off. In the evening we had swim lessons again.

Wednesday- Cleaned the house with the family to get ready for my family coming for a visit. In the early afternoon I went to have my MRI done. I HATED every minute of it! It took an hour, and I am a bit claustrophobic, it was hard for me to stay calm. I had an IV so they could do images with a dye as well. No fun at all. Swim lessons in the evening again. Major leg pain in the afternoon and my feet started swelling. After swim we picked up some pizza and salad and waited for our family to arrive. It was so nice that my brother Chris & his family were able to stop to see us on their drive out to their new home in Michagan. The kids were so happy to see their cousins & their pets (2 dogs & 1 cat).

Thursday- I wake up early to head to the Dentist, again. This time for a crown. She had a super hard time getting me numb. Finally after seriously a ton of very painful shots. she tells me I actually need to have a root canal. She tries to get me in somewhere right away. Nobody has time. She gives me antiobotics, and pain meds and I say I can tough it out and make it thru the long weekend. After just a few hours I am in a lot of pain. Luckily an emergency Endodontist calls per my Dentist request. She is close and could take me at 2:00, I take the appointment. Even though I don't want to be away from my family that is visiting, I can't make it thru the long weekend in pain. She as well could not get me numb. After many more shots she gives me two options. #1 She can drill right down into the root canal space then numb directly in there or #2 put a temorary cap on it and try again next week. I can't imagine doing it all again next week, so I go with option #1. She warns me it will be very painfu, but she'll make it as quick as she can. I was not ready for that kind of pain. It hurt SO BAD!! Luckily it worked, and I was finally numb. It went fine, and I headed home with a numb face for the second time in one day. About 30 minutes after I got home the pain hit me. I could not keep it in I was crying in pain. I took my pain meds and luckily within an hour I started to feel a lot better. Since I felt like I had not done anything with my family, I thought we could at least go walk down by the Rio Grande in the evening. We drove down there only to discover it was all closed off. I guess they are trying to prevent fires. Earlier in the day someone started a fire down by the river. Most trails are closed right now due to fire prevention. So, we went home and played in out front yard instead. The kids still had a really fun time. It has been quite the week. Now I've got to clean up again because tomorrow evening Patrick's family arrives for a visit :)

Funny Joke

2011-06-28T12:10:00.001-06:00

Griffin played a joke on Savannah that was pretty funny.

First off, Archie is a stuffed Mountain Lion that she got while camping
in Arches National Park, on her 6th birthday. He is now her constant companion.

This is a letter Griffin gave her as a joke last night.

He quickly said "just kidding", and showed her Archie, who was totally fine!
We thought it was pretty funny, she did too.

This week

2011-06-25T12:52:00.006-06:00

We celebrated Dad's birthday! I made the cake, and the kids decorated it.
After school, he went rock climbing with a friend, then out to lunch.
We went out to dinner as a family in the evening, then came home for cake,
ice cream & presents! I'm pretty sure he had a great birthday.

The kids all started swim lessons. We have evening classes, which is nice.
They enjoy going, and having fun learning new things . Well, Griffin is frustrated
with the whole must *listen* to the teacher thing, but oh well!

Happy POPS Day!

2011-06-19T21:03:00.003-06:00

Today we celebrate our dad, who is fantastic! He is such a patient, kind,
loving Dad. He has always been such a good dad to our three kids.
We love him lots, and lots.

We made him a special little POPS basket, and put it out for him to find
when he came home from work on Sunday morning. It had several items
that begin with POP.

In the bags is white chocolate popcorn ( yummy recipe, from my friend Nikki).
It's funny, I honestly have never bought a pop-tart EVER! When the kids saw
a commercial they thought that would be a perfect addition to this basket.
I seriously stood in front of the display at the store for like 15 minutes, trying to
decided if I should bring this into our home. In the end I did, it made the basket
cute. Dad shared with the kids and I'm happy to say that the pop-tarts had only
one bite out of them, then left alone. The pops cereal also went un-eaten by the
kids. Not stuff they usually get, more for Dad I guess.

When he woke up, we took the kids to a surprise baseball game. It was lots of fun!
We got all of the tickets free thru his work. We enjoyed lots of yummy treats like,
hot dogs, nachos, chips, pretzels, cotton candy, and churros. It was a great way to
spend the evening. When we got home he did the pop-its in our front yard.

Belt Test

2011-06-18T21:42:00.002-06:00

YAY, the boys are both yellow belts now! These are some pictures of the ceremony.

Here's a video of them at their pre-test, which was on Monday. It gives you an idea
of a few of the things they have learned in class. The actual test today was much
more in depth, and they did a great job!

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Bummer summer...... sorta

2011-06-16T09:01:00.002-06:00

This summer is not going quite as I had planned. I've been having some medical issues, and I've been completley wiped out with fatigue. My problems with nausea & vommiting has gotten worse. I am trying a new medication for the nausea, but side affect is headaches (so of course I'm having those too). Anyways, I have little energy most days. I've been trying to do something fun with the kids or get some housework done when I'm feeling good. Most days, honestly I've been spending a huge portion in bed.

Yesterday, I surpervised the kids making a chocolate pizza. In the book I am reading to them, the candy factory serves chocolate pizza for lunch. I thought it would make a good desert. The kids did a great job making it, and everyone thought it tasted yummy.

On another note, we finally got cell phones. I downloaded a few free games. The kids are hooked, they beg to play games on my phone all the time.

I'm still doing the running club. I've just found it a lot harder to find the modivation to go on my mid week runs. I ~~hope~~ I will be able to run the half marathon in October. I'm also hoping I'll start feeling better sooner than later. I don't want to have a bummer summer.

Marshmallow Guns

2011-06-15T14:20:00.007-06:00

The other day we decided to do one of our summer bucket list projects.
We bought all the supplies for under 7.00 bucks.
As the sun was going down (and it was cooler) we got started. We cut the pvc pipe the right sizes, sanded the mouth pieces, and assembled the guns.

The next morning we let let kids paint their gun the color of their choice.
Gold, purple & green.
When they were dry, they finally got to give them a try.
They loved them of course!!

Yes, we have a few coolers in the kitchen area :)
We were still working on cleaning up from a bbq we had the night before.
That's also why the kitchen table in missing as well.

The ways they entertain themselves...

2011-06-10T19:37:00.004-06:00

Hanging out in a storage box for a large portion of the day.

Writting on the wall in the backyard with charred wood from the fire.

Playing in the mud, and getting cut while at it.

Making homemade lemonade ice pops, and creating a lovley mess.

Watermelon Jello

2011-06-05T19:21:00.001-06:00

Today we made a yummy treat that I've been wanting to make for a long time, watermelon jello.

It turned out so cute! It was fun making something a little different. We used watermelon flavored jello, and the seeds were mini chocolate chips. The kids enjoyed it as their dessert tonight.

School Garden

2011-06-04T21:20:00.003-06:00

We went over to the school tonight, to work in the greenhouse. We planted some seeds, and watered everything that had already been planted. We'll be going a few times a week during the summer.

After we were done, we walked around the school grounds. We found a bird nest with lots of eggs. We were able to get really close to the nest, which was neat. Mama bird flew off right as we walked up.

Summer begins.....

2011-05-29T09:17:00.003-06:00

We ended our first offical day of no school with a fire. Trevor had been collecting school papers that he did not want to keep. He asked if we could have a fire the last day of school to celebrate the begining of summer. I thought it was a great idea.

We roasted hot dogs over the fire for our dinner too. The kids jummped on their new traompline. While they were at school the day before the last day of school, Patrick & I quickly assembled the new trampoline, so we could surprise them when they got home from school.

We've spent the last few days sleeping in, playing at the park, going on bike rides, going on walks by the Rio, taking care of our friend's Ferrets, making homemade pizza (sauce and crust) and just relaxing. So far, summer is awesome!

We also started rading our first book for summer, The candymakers, it's really good so far!

Teacher Gift & last day of school

2011-05-24T15:42:00.002-06:00

This year was a little different. Trevor's teacher left school about a month ago for medical reasons, and a surgery. On her last day Trevor gave her a gift basket with some stuff to make her time in the hospital more comfortable. Savannah's teacher hold a special place in our hearts! She has been a super, fantastic teacher to all three of our kids for their Kindergarten school year. Since our last little one is now done, we won't get to have her as a teacher again. We wanted to something special to let her know how much we care about her. I bought a picnic basket (on clerance) and filled it with two story books, chocolate covered strawberries, and a gift certificate to Jason's Deli. In the books I put picture of the kids thru the years with Mrs. Berglund, we each wrote some things to her. We thanked her for being the best teacher ever. Savannah took it to class with her today. When I came to the class a few minutes later, she said "Amy, you made me cry, and I'm not saying anything else!" I am happy she liked it! Later in the day, she said it really touched her heart, which makes me happy because she has touched our hearts for many years, and she will be missed.

For Griffin's teacher (who we had tons of problems with) and Trevor's sub, we gave them each a box of chocolate covered strawberries.

We are so happy school is out. I'm looking forward to spending lots of time as a family.

Goodbye kindergarten

2011-05-23T15:28:00.000-06:00

Savannah had her Kindergarten promotion this afternoon. It was cute to see the kids so excited for this important day. We loved hearing them sing some adorable songs. After they all got their certificate, we went back to the classroom where we enjoyed more songs, and dessert. We love our teacher Mrs. Berglund, she has been a great teacher for all of our kiddos. It's amazing how fast time has gone.
Savannah is ready for 1st grade.

I've been duped

2011-05-21T18:15:00.001-06:00

Today while at the store, Trevor asks if he could use his money to buy a thing of yarn. I say sure. He tells me it's for a craft he's gonna make. Later in the day, this is what I see.

Chop-Chop

2011-05-16T19:23:00.001-06:00

I took Savannah to get her hair cut today. I'm trying to help get her bangs and hair the same length. Giving her bangs in the first place was the dumbest idea ever. Someday (hopefully soon) her bangs will be no more, and she'll have long lucious hair once again.

What's going on....

2011-05-15T20:47:00.005-06:00

Well, the end of the school year is upon us. Since I am now done with my school, I've been helping at the kiddos school much more. This past week I made 24 freezer paper stencils & applied them to shirts for savannah's class to paint. The day after they painted the bears on their shirts, I came back again so the kids could decorate the bears.

Friday I attended a fiesta with Griffin, they were celebrating learning all about New Mexico history.

This weekend I bought two new rose bushes. I took out some ugly dead plants, and planted these in their place. They will look great with the other rose bushes that are in the front yard.

While I was doing this Savannah was watering the plants in the front. The boys were learning how to change a tire on a car with Dad. He said they did very good.

While I was a church today, my super husband cleaned the bathrooms and laundry rooms from top to bottom. I was tired today, and he kept going & going. He did dishes, laundry, cleaned up his school bookshelf. After a scout meeting and dinner I was beat, I decided to lay down for a nap. When I woke up I found my super husband washing the cars with the kids. He said that now school is done (for a few weeks at least) he has lots more energy and less stress. I'm going to love having him around, even if it's just for a few weeks.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-08T21:34:00.006-06:00

In honor of Mother's day I thought I'd post some pictures of me with my sweet little ones thru the years.
I don't have tons of pictures with me & the kiddos. I'm usually taking the picture, or I'm dodging the camera. I don't like having my picture taken (wonder where trevor gets it from). I've decided I need to document this time in life with my kids, even if I feel like I look old, chunky, tired or whatever. I'm quickly realizing how fast the time is going. Pretty soon they will be all grown up. I need proof I was there with them. They need proof I was there with them. I wish I had more pictures of me with my mom as I was growing up.

Mothers Day 2011 @ the Rio Grande

It was a terrific day with the best people in my life! I'm glad to be their mom!

Me

2011-05-06T11:57:00.060-06:00

I thought I'd do a post about me. Many people don't know much about me. I guess you could say I keep a lot of stuff to myself, except for a select few. So here's 10 things about me you may or may not know.

1. I am a night owl. I enjoy staying up late, then sleeping late the next morning. I tend to get more done after 8pm for some reason. Since Patrick works night I put the kids to bed, then do housework.

2. I adore dessert (probably too much). I love to bake all sorts of sweets when ever I feel the "need". Years ago when Patrick and I first got married, I would actually get a little offended if we went out to dinner and other people did not order desert. It's the best part of the meal in my opinion. I've had a long time dream of opening a desert place (I'll spare the details). Just for fun, not my main career.

3. I love to drive fast. I have gotten plenty of speeding tickets too. Maybe it stems from my very first job at Saugus Speedway. Even years before I worked there, our family would be there most every Saturday night. My favorite races were the train races, and the demolition deby.

4. I'm a country girl at heart. My dream besides living closer to the beach, is to have a little farm. I was raised in a small town in CA. We had chickens, pigs, ducks, and even a sheep. I participated in 4-H for several years. Raised pigs and took them to action during the summer fair. I want that life again. I would really like to have room to raise pigs, have chickens, maybe a cow (one each year), and a really big garden. I've always wanted to have a big open yard with tons of flowers growing everywhere as well.

5. I love to travel. And it really does not matter where I go. This world is so huge, if I could see just a fracton of it before I die I'd be so happy. I love to experince local favorites. Off the beaten path where most people don't go while on vacation. If I had the money I'd be taking my family on many nice vacations every year. Sometimes, I just brouse websites and plan out trips even though I know I can't take them yet.

6. I don't mind being alone. I am perfectly happy going out to the movies by myself, shopping by myself or whatever. When I'm not by myself I perfer very small groups. I hate big groups of people. When I was a nanny in NY I had two really good friends. One was my party friend who I went to many night clubs with. The other was my calm travel companion. We went on many trips together like Boston, and  Philadelphia. That's all I needed or wanted. It's not that I'm not outgoing, I just prefer one on one ineractions much better.

7.   I hate with all my heart folding laundry. Seriously, it's the dumbest chore ever. Luckily I am married to the world's best laundry folder. He's awesome! He actually takes his clothes that I fold and re-foldes them the right way.   So, when he has the time he folds laundy, and I love it!  I wish we could just toss all clean laundry into bins :)

8. I love kids. I actually wanted to have like eight kids when I was younger. After Patrick and I got married we decided on four. We ended up with three, which I am happy about. Sometimes I do wish we had the fourth. We even had names picked out, Phoenix for a boy, Brooklyn for a girl. I've worked with kids a lot.  From preschool teacher, running a before & after school program, photography, and nanny. I never finished college, so I'm back at it again (11 years later), working on getting my Teaching degree. I'd love to teach anywhere from K-2nd grade.

9. I sleep with a special blanket. The Christmas I was eight years old, my Grandma Pearl crochet blankets for all of the grandkids. I have always loved mine, but more as I've been an adult. Whenever I'm sad or sick, I like to cuddle with this blanket. It's always on the end of my bed when not in use. A few weeks ago Trevor borrowed it. After a few nights I missed my blanket a lot.  It's my added layer of warmth, and I often find it in a ball near my face when I wake up.   It's special to me, and always will be.

10. I enjoy the simple things in life.  I enjoy camping, hiking, the ocean, going for walks, spending time with the kids, baking, sometimes crafts,occasional sewing, reading, going to the movies, going out to dinner, sunsets, rain, gardening. I think the older I get the more mellow I become.  I was in a former life a bit of a wild child. Known by my family as the fighter. I still have fight, just a lot less of it.   I love to blog. I've tried many times, all unsucessful to write journals. I start and stop them. When I discovered blogs, I was hooked. It's fast and easy for me to update often. I'm grateful that I finally have a way (that I like) to record our history.

Ballet Recital

2011-04-30T20:35:00.007-06:00

Tonight Savannah had her long awaited ballet recital. It was beautiful. She (and all the girls) did a fantastic job. We've all been sick this week. Savannah still has an ear infection and there are some nasty coughs/fevers going around. Luckily we all made it thru the show with no coughing fits, yay! I love to see her so excited. She loves her ballet class, and was so happy to have us there with her. I'm the world's worst video taper. These give you a taste of what it was like at her show.

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Untitled from Amy BArron on Vimeo.

Easter Wrap-up

2011-04-25T15:32:00.000-06:00

We had a really nice Easter weekend. The kids had no school on Friday, and because it was earth day I decided to take them to see the movie African Cats. If you see it the first week out, and Disney Nature will make a donation to protect the Savanna. We really enjoyed it. It helped remind me of what's really important. I also feel we are so blessed to have such an amazing beautiful earth, and we should pass a love of animals and taking care of our planet onto our kids.

Saturday Griffin had his final soccer game of the spring season. Right after we had a pizza party at the park. The boys all got their tropheys. Not sure how it will work next year. They will most likley split our team up. It's sad, these boys have played together for the last two years.

Saturday night the kids dyed easter eggs.

Sunday morning they discovered their easter baskets. The easter buuny left a note saying if they found all their eggs they could turn them into Mom & Dad for a special prize (bubble guns).

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Uncle Johnathon's house (Grandma Shelley's brother) ,where the kids were looking forward to doing an egg hunt in his big backyard. They found lots of really cute eggs.

After that eveyone came back to our house to enjoy a yummy easter dinner. The kids got an easter gift from Aunt Tracye, a bunch a really cool retro toys. It was a nice afternoon together.

The kids with their Grandma Shelley

We hope you had a great Easter weekend too!

Lame

2011-04-21T14:05:00.002-06:00

Dinner is ready.......

That's right, frozen dinners for me and my kiddos last night.

I honestly have never given them a frozen meal (I swear). Maybe two months ago I bought a bunch of these frozen meals really cheap with coupons. I thought they would make great lunches for me. But, they've just been sitting in the freezer. Last night I felt no desier to make dinner so, we gave the frozen dinners a try.

Griffin loved them, go figure!

I did redeem myself after dinner by making four loves of HOMEMADE banana bread.

Empathy

2011-04-19T20:12:00.001-06:00

em·pa·thy

–noun

1. the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.

2. the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself: By means of empathy, a great painting becomes a mirror of the self.

While were were out of town Savannah woke up with a croupy cough. She has been running a fever & coughing since. Poor kid has missed two days of school this week and looks like she'll miss tomorrow too. There is no school on Friday, so as long as she is better she will go one day this week Thursday. They are having a Spring party in her class that day so I really hope she feels better by then.

This morning when Griffin found out she was missing school again, he quickly made her a quick badge and taped it to her shirt. As soon as he got home he went to her and asked her how she felt. When he realized how badly she felt he took her into his arms and held her on his lap. He encouraged her to eat and drink, all while talking sweetly to her. He's been so sweet giving her more blankets, or a different stuffed animal. Right now she's in a lukewarm bath to try to get the fever dow, and he's right by her. He just said "Savannah when your done do you want to come lay in my bed with me?"

I am so grateful that at such a young age he has such great empathy.

A quick getaway

2011-04-18T09:09:00.001-06:00

Right after Griffin's game Saturday we drove down to Las Cruces, NM to visit Patrick's sister & her husband. It's about three hours away, and we've never been there. Soon after we checked in they met us at our hotel, then headed out to dinner. It's been three years since we've seen them, so it was great to catch up. Savannah was attached to her Aunt Dorothy. After dinner we strolled around in the downtown area.

After we walked off dinner, we drove back to the hotel where we enjoyed lots and lots of swimming.

Sunday morning after breakfast we headed to White Sands

This was our first time here. It was so beautiful! We bought sleds for the kids and wax to make them go fast without sand sticking to them, then went in search of some good dunes. We all had a great time sledding, rolling, and running down the dunes. We also enjoyed burying the boys. Just under the surface the sand was really cool. It was a great time. We will for sure be going back many times.

After we were completley worn out we enjoyed a late lunch/early dinner. Then, we decided to catch a movie together. We saw Rio and loved it! After the movie it was time to say our goodbyes & head home. It was a great quick trip!

Mid week

2011-04-13T08:58:00.003-06:00

Griffin turned in his Poster/model for Jupiter. His presentation is tomorrow.

Savannah got her first High Five magazine in the mail yesterday. She got a subscription as a b-day gift from her Grandpa Pat. On the way home from school she looked thru it. She picked a project, and within minutes of coming home she made (with help from Griffin) this curly top crown. She loves the magazine!

She fell the other day on the sidewalk and got that nasty scrape.

Egg-cellent Weekend

2011-04-11T08:29:00.012-06:00

Either there is noithing exciting going on during the week, or we're too busy blog about it.
Here's another weekend round up from our home to yours.

Friday- I decided to be crafty on my day off of school & make an Easter Topiary.
After dinner the kids and I made Hidden Surprise Easter Egg Treats. These were lots of fun! They were excited to give Dad one Saturday morning. When you shake them, you can hear candies rattle around.
In the evening the kiddos go out old plastic easter eggs, and started playing with them. On this night, they were spinning them on the tile floor to see if one would crash into the other. They had a blast!

Saturday- We went to Griffin's Soccer game. It was windy, cool, and sprinkled a little.

The kids spent the day playing with their plastic eggs. They did egg hunts around the house many times over. They had some very clever hidding places. They even hid them for us. They got really excited when we were hunting for the eggs. Later in the evening they started working on their Egg city in the boys room. Complete with stores and a pool for the eggs, and even a basket elevator. They used stuff from our recycle bin to make most of the city.

Sunday- We went to Church. Later in the afternoon I had a Scout meeting. While I was gone Griffin worked on his Jupiter ptoject. After I got back it was time for a family movie night. We bought the newest Narnia movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We love the Narnia books and movies, so we were all excited to see this one. I made popcorn and chocolate chip cookies to enjoy with the movie. After the movie the boys broke out their balloon animal kits they had bought. We had a fun time learning how to make balloon animals. Turns out Patrick has a secret talent. Dogs and Giraffes were the hit!

We hope you had a great weekend too!

Wonderful weekend

2011-04-03T17:17:00.006-06:00

It's been a great weekend. Yesterday afternoon after Griffin's game, Patrick & the kids cleaned the garage out, while I made dinner & dessert. After dinner we took the kids to the park to fly kites. The weather was beautiful! The wind was perfect (glad we're not trying today, it's way too windy) . We all had fun flying the kites with each other.

Today we went to the movies and saw HOP. It was really cute!

After the movie we enjoyed an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse.

Then we went to Barnes & Noble so the boys could cash in some

tokens for books, Savannah got one too.

Savannah made and painted a stepping stone she got for her b-day from her friend Noelle.

We also bought stuff to re-do our lawn in the back yard. Our darling dog has completly destroyed our old lawn. It's been nice spending time together as a family this weekend. Back to our busy life tomorrow.

April Fools' Day

2011-04-01T12:22:00.003-06:00

I wanted to do something cute and easy to prank the kids. When I found this idea, I knew it would be a perfect addition to their lunch today at school. They were fast and easy to make! I know they'll love it!

All filled up with some candies!

I think I'm going to make these "drinks" for dinner tonight.

Are you tricking anyone today?

*I mad the drinks. I used blue jello & clear cups. Even after the boys started laughing and saying it was jello, Savannah was still sucking on her straw trying to get some juice out!

Nothing like a good book

2011-03-26T20:03:00.003-06:00

Everyone knows our boys love to read. Their favorite books tend to be series. Recently Trevor read the Mysterious Benidect Society series, and Griffin read the 39 clues series. They really enjoyed these. I've been meaning to get a series I've heard about for awhile that I thought they might like (especially Trevor). Thursday afternoon I went and bought the first two book in the Fabelhaven series. Trevor has already finished the first one, and is well into the second one (Griffin is now reading the first one). Looks like I need to go buy the rest. We are a book buying family. We all have bookshelves filled with books. Someday we'd like to have a library in our home. I love when we find something that they just can't get enough of.

Wild and crazy tooth story

2011-03-24T11:31:00.004-06:00

This morning Griffin was sitting on the couch. I ran over to him and started Tickling him all over. All of the sudden he jumps up, starts crying & gagging pointing to his throat. He says ( like he is holding something in his mouth) my tooth. Then, he really starts crying. I guess I had knocked out his very loose tooth, then he swallowed it. He was crying now, maybe upset he might not get a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Then he starts coughing a bunch. He walks over to the tile area by the laundry room and throws up. It was mostly just blood, slimy gunk & the tooth! I walk over tell him it's ok. I pick up the tooth then take it to the bathroom sink to wash it off, and drop it, it goes down the drain (I'm really slick). So, I unscrew the pipe, dump the stuff out (including the tooth) . Now, I make sure the drain is closed and really wash the tooth. Finally, it is given back to it's rightful owner, and he was no longer sad. Talk about an exciting morning, and we hadn't even had breakfast yet.

All that trouble for this little tooth

Nice Wednesday's & Lemon Lover

2011-03-23T20:45:00.003-06:00

I actually don't like Wednesday's very much. Run around is all I seem to do. Between voulenteering, ballet, scouts & karate, there is not much time here at home. I feel like a taxi driver on Wednesday. Patrick on the other hand has no school. He has to start his work week again Wednesday night, but until 2:00 he's free. Something he's done for quite awhile that I just love, he get's things done for me before he goes back to work. He spends Wednesday mornings doing all the laundry & folding it too. Doing all the dishes and putting them away. He says he likes to help me out before I'm on my own till basically the next Monday. I really appreciate how thoughtful he is. It's so nice after all the running around on Wednesday. I can come home at night to a nice clean house with nothing to do. Thank you SO much for your nice Wednesday's they really mean a lot to me!

Fresh towels washed, folded & nicely put away

The other day Savannah made a yummy drink recipe from a cookbook she got from her friend as a birthday gift. It had lemon juice in it. After she made it she spent about an hour sucking on the lemon rind. She LOVES lemons, and can't seem to get enough. She asked if she could put them in a baggie in the fridge, and I said sure. She likes to suck on them every once in awhile when she wants something sour.
That's my lemon lover.

Savannah's Rainbow Party

2011-03-20T10:08:00.012-06:00

Yesterday Savannah had her Rainbow party at the park. The weather was nice. It was sunny and warm. It was a bit on the windy side, but that happens often here in the spring. She had eight friends come to celebrate with her. We had bubble wands, and pinwheels for the kids to play with. They got to take them home too. They ran around and played with eachother. My friend Tracye made her adorable/ yummy red velvet & lemon cupcakes. The guest also brought home a colored bag that had rainbow popcorn and a cd we made with rainbow/color songs. was a fun, relaxed party.