He's getting sooo big!

Ryker is 2 today! I can't believe how fast (looking back) it has gone, and so slow at the same time. He really loves his sister and always watches out for her, and wants to make sure she is taken care of. He is the sweetest little man I know. He always hugs me, and when life is rough, I can always count on him to cheer me up with that smile of his.
I am so glad that Ryker is in our life, he sure adds a lot. I don't know what I would do without him, and his little personality.
His nicknames are: Boba, Bobes, Prancing Princess (he wears Haileys' princess shoes, lately tap shoes, and won't take off her "Dorothy shoes".)
We got him a plasma bike, and motorcycles for his birthday, hopefully him loving girl things will pass. Oh, he throws fits, to wear the most sparkly things you ever could imagine. I hope we are just raising a well rounded little boy, who someday will shop with his wife, be sensitive, and understand women.
I could dream couldn't I?
As I write, he came in and tapped me on the shoulder and showed me the red "Dorothy shoes", he is always making me laugh.
He now says most of the abc's, counts to ten, and because of my discipline ways, he even counts backwards, he is talking all of the time, loves to read, loves to cook with me, and in his play kitchen, loves to throw Haileys' babies in the air, and then catch them, loves any kind of sports, and loves to run, he also loves to play and wrestle with anyone who will. He always jumps on me when I am exercising, he thinks it is time to wrestle. He is such a good little guy, and I love him.
He is getting so big, here is a picture of him, and to answer your question, no we have not cut his hair yet!!!

We are back, and going strong!

These last couple of weeks have been CRAZY, and soooo hard on my mental, emotional, and physical state (s).
October 13: hailey threw up 9 times. (2 in her bed)
October 14: everyone not feeling good, no more throw ups, but fevers, chills, coughs, you name it. We went to the doctor, yes we were the ones in the waiting room, with the MASK. They were out of Tamiflu, down here, so they didn't check us for the swine, we were told had the flu, and to stay in until we feel better.
October 15: Ryker starts throwing up. (in his bed)
October 16: I crawled everywhere, BAD, body aches. No throw ups.
October 17: Ryker threw up, but we are all feeling a little better, and we are able to eat a little.
October 18: Ryker took a turn for the worse, instacare here we come, we thought he had pnemonia, he has Type A flu, we got the kids Tamiflu this time.
October 19: We are all doing a little bit better, and we are looking up, fevers even broke. Ryker threw up tonight, late, in his bed.
October 20: Meals were brought in and Mike returns to work. A hard day, but we are all feeling better.
October 21-24: We all got a little better, and then Mike got worse again. We took him to the instacare on the 25, and he had pnemonia. He got on Doxycycline, and that seemed to work great.
Well, on October 29, back to the doctor, this time for Ryker, his cough was bad, and causing him to really have to work at breathing, and with the whole sleep apnea thing going on, I didn't want to mess around. He got on breathing treatments, and they seemed to work great along with azithramycin.
We are all doing better, and swine free. I have even began to exercise again. I was so depressed, no exercise, TONS of laundry (26 loads), and sleeping or not sleeping on the kids floor, just waiting to catch throw up.
I am so glad that we are better, and that we are all breathing.
I hope all of you are doing well, and swine free. That is the worst thing that I have ever been through, oh, the body aches.

It is time for an update!!

Hailey:
She had her first preschool field trip yesterday. I asked her if it would be okay if I came, she said "no, it is not for you." Well, I tried to ask the teacher if she needed more parents to come, without my dear Hailey seeing, and she came over to us, "I don't want you to come, mom!" Okay then, we went to pick her up from preschool, and she got in the car and said, "only pre school kids mom, not even Ryker can come," this time I didn't even say anything, so I gave up!
Well, sometime before bed on Wednesday morning, she said, "mom you can come!" I was confused, excited, and without a babysitter, because remember, Ryker could not come. Mike called his mom, and she said that she would watch him. We all got up on Thursday and got ready and I said something to the effect let's go, we have got to take Ryker to grandmas' to get babysat....all to get the reaction..."I changed my mind, I don't want you to come", so I got out of my "cute mom" clothes and changed into running clothes. I had her call grandma, and this was the phone call:
Hailey: you don't need to watch Ryker today, I changed my mind.
Grandma: Hi, Hailey, what's going on?
Hailey: I just don't want my mom to come, so we won't bring Ryker over, okay! Here's my mom....
Soooooo,sassy!
I didn't end up going, are you surprised? She had a great time, and lots of memories were shared at the dinner table last night. Her teacher said, she and everyone was getting out of the van, and the teacher said k, please hold hands and wait in a circle....Hailey sang at the top of her little voice, "let us gather in a circle, and kneel in family prayer"...she said she got all the kids going...too funny.

This is random but I want to remember it:
Last night we were reading scriptures, we were reading about the golden rule, and then it talks about the wise man and the foolish man, well we all said that we wanted to build our house on the rock, and we get to Hailey and she says I want to build my house on the sand, don't worry mom, I won't wash away! Later, she said that living on a rock would be pointy!
Ryker:
We got Ryker checked and the little man does have sleep apnea...so we will get his tonsils out in January. It makes me so sad and so nervous. It makes so much sense though, he doesn't sleep well at night, very clingy, and is a mouth breather, is a snorer, and the doctors say he probably stops breathing to eat, that is why he chokes, at almost every meal. He wakes up every night, at least three times, just screaming. I thought he had night terrors....nope, sleep apnea. I would wake up terrified too, if I woke up and wasn't breathing. He is such a happy guy, and we love him. It makes me nervous, scared and happy all at the same time, I am sooo happy that we found out, so he can hopefully get fixed.
We are getting ready for a long winter, it is sooo cold here. The mountains were so pretty, all painted with color. We took a drive up to the canyon, and Hailey said, "wow, Heavenly Father can sure paint!" It is too cold to go outside until the afternoon, so my running has been a little off schedule, one day at this time, and one day here, but at least I'm still doing it right? I love being a mom, they are so much fun, and so much work!

Preschool, birthday, and Ryker!

I was planning such a cute post in my head.....
First day of school was September 8, 2009, for Ms. Hailey. We got up and took it pretty easy, ate a lot of breakfast, got dressed, took a lot of pictures, and drove to the preschool. She did so good, I was worried, I hated preschool, actually I hate to admit it, but yes, I was a preschool drop out. Ryker was sooo sad, he was crying so bad, that we all had to walk her to the door, instead of letting her run in.
We got re loaded and we took off to a sweet park that I found, you run around the trail twice, and it is a mile. We ran 5 miles, I was planning on running into the store, and getting some presents, but then I looked at our little Ryker who actually fell asleep, his ear was leaking....what?
I called the doctor and the receptionist was like, you need to bring him in.....at 12:30, I was thinking perfect, I'll run home, get lunch made, and go get Hailey from preschool. We got out again, Ryker went and stood at the door, he was waiting so cute, as soon as it opened he yelled, "Hayey", it was too cute. Then we were off to the doctors.
We get there, and we check in, eat our lunch in the waiting room, and well, wait. Rykers name was called, and we got the news of an ear ache, and huge tonsils. The doctor didn't want to prescribe any ear drops, because this is his first one since tubes, and we do not have any insurance, he said that they would be too expensive....so we were in the attempt to wait it out. With three nights of not sleeping, holding him night and day, and motrin and tylenol repeats to the point that I was forgetting which ones turn it was.....I caved and had them call in a prescription. We did not fill it then, i just wanted it called in for the weekend. Well we just carried on with our crazy life, until Saturday...his poor little ear was all swollen and he was not getting any better. I called the on call doctor, and she said that when it gets swollen the infection is not draining, and actually getting deeper.
I went and got the RX, and to my surprise, it was oral drops. My doctor had called in an oral drop, to save us money. I really appreciate him, and how he looks out for us.
Haileys birthday was on September 10...I cannot believe that she is 4....she is such a blessing in my life...she is sooo sweet, and very fun. I got to go to school to spotlight her for the first 15 minutes. We told the class what she likes to do, and where she likes to go, and we gave them her favorite treat, Costco cookies! She told me to tell them that her favorite place to go was Costco and the Library.
The night of her birthday, we had a combined party to celebrate her uncles too, they are on the same day. We had all breakfast stuff, it was a hit. I hope she had a great day.
We have celebrated her birthday for like two weeks straight. We gave her and Ryker Coaster Cars, they are a lot like Plasma Bikes. She got to love them in CA and that is all we have heard about since. We got Rykers birthday present early, so they won't fight, and even the same color, we have had a lot of fun on those.
As for Hailey and preschool, she is learning soooo much and having such a great time. I hope that this lasts, she always says funny things that she thinks she remembers, it is soooo funny. She is learning so many new poems, how to write lower case letters, and learning the sound, she is loving to sing lately, every time she is bored, "My father has a family it's me, it's you", "I am a builder", or "She wears high heels, I wear flip flops" comes out. Her and Ryker both love to sing the song, "Why does love always feel like a battlefield," they say armor sooooo funny.
Soooo, anyway, we are all doing better, last night we all slept, and we are all feeling great. Rykers ears have stopped oozing soooo much, and now I only have to wipe it 2 times a day, instead of like 6.
We made an appointment in october for Rykers tonsils, we'll see how that goes.

We are excited!!!!

In N Out is coming, and it's going to be SUPER close. Maybe a little too close, seriously, .7, not even a mile away.
We have been running passed a construction cite for a few weeks now, and just today I noticed a sign, In N Out coming SOON.
I told Hailey and we both just were smiling, and saying "Oh, how fun, and exciting!" Hailey said, "like the one in California, with all of our friends?" I know she will love the food, but the lack of friend part, not so much. We miss our friends in California EVERYDAY!!!

A LOT!!! VAN, California, and grapes.

I have not posted in a long time:
This is what we have been up to. In the middle of July, I got a new car, not any car...a mini van. I know what many of you are thinking, because I thought the same feelings for many years now. But I love the van, and so do the kids. They have so much room. We ended up getting the KIA SEDONA, it's just great, seriously, love it. The kids have a van dance, and they always point to other vans and say we have one too mom.



We also went on a trip to California, and it was amazing. The kids did not do so good on the plane ride there, but on the flight home, some amazing things can happen when they get doughnuts....if you know me good enough....doughnuts are not in my house very often, so the kids were in heaven. I don't think Ryker knew what to do with himself.



We stayed with our wonderful California family. They were soooo nice, and very accommodating. We LOVE you guys so much. We loved every minute with you all. Mike loved, absolutely loved the outside shower, so did the kids. We cannot thank you enough.
Thursday we flew in, and some good friends were so kind they came and got us from the airport. Thank you sooo much, I was not used to getting a ride home, because when we lived there I just ran home, well, they said they would not let that happen, and they came and got us. We enjoyed an awesome mexican dinner at their home later that night. We saw a lot of their family that night, which was so nice, it seemed like old times. We just picked up from where we left off. Hailey and Ryker were in heaven. We watched some funny America's got Talent, which to this day I laugh out loud when I think of that girl, who all of a sudden when punk, hilarious.
On Friday, we saw some of Mikes' former co-workers, and saw his former desk. It was great seeing them, and catching up. Then we were off to the beach, we went with
many friends, and my little family. It was sooo much fun. We had never been to the bay beach, it was so nice not to have waves. I appreciate Daniel for saving Hailey. She went under water for some brief seconds and he got her up, she is one brave cookie! We then carried the water fun over to the house. Ryker was asleep, but Hailey had fun on the water slide with the boys. We as parents, just enjoyed each others company in the shade, as some of us, who will remain nameless, got sunburned. After the water was over it was on to Plasma bikes, they are awesome, and that is all Hailey has talked about since. She had so much fun. Thanks for sharing your bikes, Ryker loved them as well. We then had a pizza party and just enjoyed the night as friends.




On Saturday, after airing out our swim stuff all night, we were off to Wild Rivers. We had never been. It was sooo much fun, I went on three water slides, which is great considering I had not been on any since I was 12. Thanks Mike for watching the kids so I could go. It was great seeing Ryker in the water, and Hailey sure enjoyed herself. She went down a water slide and so did Ryker. They did awesome!!! Ryker and Mike LOVED the lazy river, and Hailey loved just being in the water with her friends. I love seeing them have fun, and enjoy themselves just being kids. After that we went on to see the baseball game. During the second game, we took orders and went to In n out. We needed our fix!!! We had a lot of fun watching the game, and the guys did great.

On Sunday, we woke up and got ready for church, and ready for the wedding, and packed our bags to leave....yes leave already...too soon. Church was soooo great. Man I miss that ward, and the feeling of unity there. I loved seeing all the people that were so easy to love, and we saw a lot of new faces that were so welcoming. It was so nice. Then we went to the wedding, of our good friend and his lovely bride. It was a beautiful wedding, and we are so happy for them. They looked so happy. It was nice to see him find such a sweet woman to be with, and grow with. Congrats to you!! The kids were ready to go, they had a few melt downs, so we left before I got wedding cake...I had waited all day and took the necessary steps so that I could have cake.....so Mike stopped by Yum Yum doughnuts and let me get some. We got enough for a treat that night and in the morning. They were so yummy. That night I talked with "mom" for a long time, and I just wanted to tell her thank you for listening and being such an awesome friend, and mom. She is sooooo wonderful. I wanted to thank her wonderful husband too, he is so supportive and just a wonderful man.





Monday, we woke up early and headed to the airport. It was really sad, I didn't want to come home. Like I said the flight was great, and no crying from my section of the plane this time.

This week has been just a whirlwind of things to do, work to catch up on, schedules to get back to, kind of craziness. We did a lot of laundry, went running, went to the library came home with 15 books, read them all day every day, and went to parks.

Today we are grateful to have our kids. Ryker choked on a grape, it was totally caught in his throat, turning blue, not making a sound, eyes closing, his jaw was also locked so Mike could not get in, I was in panic mode, trying to remember what I had learned in EMT classes. But really all I was doing was crying, Mike told me to leave, and he kept hitting Rykers' back, it was soooo scary. I tried to call 911 but my phone could not get service in 3 different rooms, trying 3 different times. Mike finally got it out. We are blessed to have our kids tonight and every other day. This incident has taught me that life is so precious. It was so hard to see such a full of life little guy lifeless and not breathing.
I'm reading CPR books, and trying to catch up on my stuff, as I write this. I am so grateful for Mike, who didn't panic, and helped and saved our little guy. Hailey has said all day, "my dad is a pretend fire fighter and saved my little brother Ryker."

CORRECTION!!!!

I am so sorry to all my running friends....a couple of posts ago, I said that I didn't even come close to running 100 miles in a month, well I just found my real records of the last 2 training months for our 1/2 marathon, and I am sorry. WE RAN so much, and it was a total 215 miles of from Nov 17- Jan 17. Someone should have called me on it, we ran hard and we ran a lot. SORRY!!!

Wow! What I have learned and felt this week.

I was so pleased with this past week. I was so good emotionally, and spiritually and I hate to say it, but kind of physically. I didn't yell at my kids or Mike once, and I read scriptures every day, and worked on other personal things, and was really just feeling good. I got answers to prayers that I have been fasting for and saying for months, and I finally felt peace, and I was calm. I LAUGHED a lot with my kids, and found them HILARIOUS and so much fun to be around. We (me and the kids) even ran the most I have EVER ran in a week, I ran 30.5 miles. I am so pleased, but yet I feel empty.
I need to work on a lot, and that is kind of an under statement, I am getting better though. I went to church today, and the lesson was on Temple going.....well... I have not been in a long time. (like 2-3 months) Anyway, I got thinking I make all this time for running, pilates, scriptures, and reading self help books on how to become better, and understand "you" (which in this case means me), maybe I just need to go to the Temple. I have thought a lot on this subject this past week and a lot on it today, and I think I should make a goal to go once a week. Living where I do, there is NO REASON why I should not be able to.
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts, I feel I need to write down to remember that I need to work on them.
I love the gospel and its teachings and its TRUTH, and so I need to be better and go the House of the Lord, and serve others.

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures!!!!!

These are the pictures that have been taken this summer, the Luau for my dad, fourth of July parade and Freedom Festival, at home swimming, and before church today. These kids are so much fun, and these are priceless memories. I am so glad that Mike has the smarts to put these on to share with you all. I watched him, and it was a lot of steps, but I'm thinking maybe I will do pictures by myself, someday.
Hope all of you had a wonderful fourth of July and are enjoying your summer.

Everything is BOINGA!!!

Well, that title is a song off the Backyardagains, and that is how I feel. Let me explain.
Yesterday was a challenging day. I woke up to Ryker running in and getting me up yelling mamma! I think it was at 6:30, but I really don't know. We went for a run, that is a great thing by the way, I am back to running and running with the kids everyday. I've already done over 15 miles this week. I did not reach my 100 mile goal this month due to the injury but I hit 60+ which is okay in my book. Anyway back to yesterday, so we came back from our run, and Hailey goes to the bathroom and asks me to wipe her, so I did, got her off, and in came Ryker with my phone, and threw it into the toilet faster than I could catch it. My first reaction was wow, did that just happen? Then without even thinking my hand dove into pee water to get the phone! I wiped it off, called Mike and was surprised it even called.I put it in rice and left it alone, when the rice started talking. My phone was making random phone calls and called Robin. She was so funny, laughing so hard that Ryker dropped it in the toilet and then my phone dropped the call. Sorry I tried to call back, but my phone had a mind of its own.
Well, I still don't have a phone, but I do have a "boy" now. Just this week take downs, head butting, making Hailey scream all has begun. It makes me laugh, but I want to cry.
Mike takes the car to work, I didn't have the phone, I didn't know how to work a "virtual computer" which resulted in no Internet yesterday, I felt as if I was off the planet. So what did I do yesterday? Baked all day! We had parmesan chicken, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, oatmeal cookies, and lemon squares!
What a day, what an amazing SWISH!!!

Not much, but I feel I should post something!

This summer has flown by....
My dad turned 60 today, and he had a celebration for him this past weekend. We had it Hawaiian style. My sister hired entertainment and everything. We had fire, Haka, and Hula dancers. They even taught us how to do it! We set the backyard up and we transformed it, we felt like we were in a real Hawaiian Luau. It was sooo awesome. My dad is an amazing dad, and person, so I am so glad that we did it to celebrate his life.
Yesterday we celebrated 7 years of being married. I have had the time of my life. I am so grateful for him, and my kiddos. I am so blessed to have them in my life, well, forever.
I sure am glad that we have forever to work on being better! I am grateful that we are sealed to each other, and that we have the gospel in our lives.
We put up bunk beds in the kids room last night, that is right Ryker is out of the crib and unto the bottom bunk, Hailey loves the top bed. They did really good last night. We have a set where they can be made into two twin beds when we want them to. We will do that when they have their own room. For now, it makes it so much more roomy in their bedroom.
Something HUGE happened today, I put the kids down for a nap, took a little nap with them, woke up when Hailey did, I put her in charge of Ryker and told her I wanted to mow the front lawn. She is amazing, and all she wanted was a treat and a capri sun, Ryker is STILL asleep, she normally wakes him up, I guess it is easier to "babysit" while he is asleep. I thought that was worth writing down, I NEVER go outside and do anything without them, not even take out the garbage. SMALL STEPS PEOPLE, work with me.
I have pictures of everything, so I will post them soon. I might not post me learning to Hula, it depends on how I feel, you might just be that lucky!
I hope everyone is having a fabulous summer, and many more posts to come about vacations and friends, and summer nights. We have a few vacations planned and it will be great to see MANY loved ones soon!!!

REMEMBERING.....

Yesterday was my Grandpa's birthday, he passed away at 94, in 2005. He was the best grandpa, I miss him still everyday, but I know that we all will see him again. I can't wait to see and hug him again. I am so glad that Mike got to meet him, he was an amazing man.
Today was Jason's birthday, Mikes' brother who has passed away too. He would have been 27 today. We miss him so much, and we talk about him a lot. We too, know that we will see him again someday, and hear his laugh, see his smile, and get to talk with him again.
Here is a picture of Jason. He will never be forgotten. We love and miss you "brother."





Well, here is an update. I am so sorry I misled you, my grandpas birthday is in July not in June. Wow, did I ever mess up. He was born in 1911 on July 9. He passed away on May 6, 2004. I remember it so well, it was during the Friends finale. This was way before Tivo, DVR, or anything. I will always remember him, and we miss him so much. Sorry for the mistake.

"Gimp!"

Well, if you read the last post, you know that I have been pretty consistent running lately....well, that all came to a halt Sunday after church. I was carrying Ryker and I FELL on the sidewalk walking to the car. I totally messed up my right knee, Ryker is fine and didn't even realize we went down, thank goodness. Well that night I couldn't sleep, couldnt really do anything. So, long story short, I went the doctor and am grateful they didn't laugh at me, well, x rays and everything, my knee is just badly hurt, very swollen and really in a lot of pain. I am grateful that it is not broken in any way, I just wish I could get off the toilet normal....wow, that takes some work!!!
I am so embarrassed but might as well let the world know that I am a bit clumsy. That is why I have not done any running this week, and hope to by Saturday, but I don't want it to get worse...but I want to get back on my running shoes. Hopefully they still fit, my foot is swollen as well.
Hailey and Ryker are doing quite well, they are being so gentle with my knee. Mike just calls me Gimp. I am grateful that he is able to help out with the kids and stuff, while I am down.
I wanted to tell everyone thanks for your comments about my well being. I also wanted to let everyone know not to worry, I am fine. I asked the doctor if it is normal for hormones and periods, and all that good stuff to come back after having babies, with a vengeance, and they said it happens a lot. They said it should get better, so we are waiting for it to get better. I just want my family to know that I love them and appreciate them for all they do and put up with.
Some good news:
MIKE HAS A JOB OFFER!!!! He will start on Monday. It is quite a commute, but we are very pleased. Hopefully everything will return to normal around here. I am so happy and grateful for the time we have had with him. He is a great guy and an even better daddy. I am so happy that he wants to provide for us. I love him so much. We have had a lot of fun together, as a family, time that we wouldn't have had otherwise.

100+ mile month!!!

In May I ran over 100 miles!! I was sooo excited. I looked back to previous months of hard training for the half marathon, and my records show that I didn't run close to that much in a month. I was so proud of myself. I have been waking up early in the morning and doing my running. I was fortunate enough to run in a 10k, and my time has improved, I ran a 9 min and 41 second mile. I finished the run in under an hour, that was my goal. I am so proud of my Hailey she ran a kid race, and was awesome, she has the perfect form. She is going to do another run in June, and a triathlon in August. She got to run with some really great friends, and talked about it for DAYS!!! She woke up on the day of the race, and thanks to the Backyardagains, she sang "It's racing day, it's racing day!" I am so pleased that she loves to run. I run without them quite a lot now, and she gets really sad. She says "You trained without me". I then take her and Ryker on a little run that includes a park in the middle.
I know that I have not written in a long time, so here is a little update.
Ryker:
Got tubes in his ears, and is a totally different guy. He actually sleeps, and is not so clingy. He had a hard time the day of the procedure, they had to give the little guy morphine. It was hard, but we are blessed to get that done. Ryker loves to run through the sprinklers, ride on Haileys bike, and BUGS. He is always handing me a bug. He is talking soooo great now. I love him so much. What a great kid. He is going to the doctor today for a check up on his ears. He weighs 24 pounds and is such a kid now, he has started nursery, already, and is doing great. (Mike drops him off, I don't think I would leave him.)
Hailey:
Wants to play with friends...? What, she has more of a life than I do. She says the funniest things and is so sweet and caring....most of the time. Up at the hospital when Ryker was getting tubes, she was sooo sad and didn't want them to hurt Ryker. She really loves her brother. She loves to be outside, and ride her bike. She weighs 30 pounds and is always telling us how much bigger she is than Ryker, not for long I am afraid though. She loves to draw, color, and READ. She hands me like 20 books a day, not exaggerating. She loves them. She is so excited for preschool, I think it will be good for her to learn from someone else. She was so blessed yesterday, she fell at the zoo on her arm on bark, her arm was in back while her body was in front, I thought she had done some serious damage, but we stretched it and did pinwheels, and the Lord blessed her.
Mike:
Continues to look for a job. He is doing some intense searching, hopefully something will come through. The kids and I love him at home, I don't think they will know what to do without their daddy here, if he gets a new job. He leaves to go somewhere and Hailey and Ryker freak out for like an hour, "Where did he go?" It will be hard, but it's been fun for Mike and the kids to get to play together.
Jess:
I am still having my moments of being sad, mad, happy, excited, well just all over the place. My hormones have came back and they are in full force. I am trying so hard to control this, and have had some serious conversations with the Lord. I want to give them all to Him, through the Atonement...but I need to release them, I think that is the hardest part. I have been better lately though. I feel bad for my family, they shouldn't have to deal with an emotional mom. I kind of freak out sometimes. The song "Jesus take the wheel" comes to mind, and I for sure don't listen to country. It is not my season to do anything I want during the day, hence I wake up early to do my stuff.
We have had fun playing softball, going to the zoo, roller skating, bike rides, volleyball, yard work, and just doing stuff together. This summer will be a great one, can't wait to go on some much needed vacations.
Sorry this blog is soooo long, if you are still reading..thanks. I could not do what I do without all of you and your support.
I wanted to let you all know, that I drove to the zoo on the freeway and did not even feel drowsy, I hope that continues, I have not had a episode like that in awhile...thank goodness.

Tragedy.....take 2

Well, I know some of you saw my last post and then probably are wondering why it was gone., Let me explain, if you know ANYTHING about Mike he is a very private guy, and his family are very much the same. I felt bad for blogging about the situation as soon as I did, with all the details.
Well, Mike said I could put it back on...so here we go.
On Thursday morning, we were listening to the primary songs and finishing exercising, when Mike called me into his "Office," aka our bedroom. He then told me of the bad, terrible, horrific news. He said, "Something bad happened last night, Jason by brother died." I went numb, I had to look on the Internet for the story to make it REAL to me. We didn't know what to do, and to be frank we still really don't. Mike and his family are doing really great, and staying super close to each other and to the Lord. It was a super neat experience at their home, all the family (four boys and both parents) all got blessings from each other. It is a night I will never forget and I don't think any of them will. I am so grateful for the peace that we can feel even at bad times in our lives. It is a true personal testimony that He loves us, and really cares for us, I knew that, but now I really do .
Jason was in a car accident and we think killed immediately, which was a blessing. He was ejected, it gives me the chills to write that. Which again, I think was a blessing, the car caught fire, and people had to be rescued. He was the only one that died, but a lot are hurt and I don't know there stories.
I hope we can all learn something from this. Mike was and is an awesome brother. Being the oldest of the boys, he has set a great example. We feel blessed to have gotten to know him better these few years we have lived in Utah closer to him. He was such a funny guy! He will be missed.
Mike has done a lot with the arrangements and I am grateful for that, I think it helps. He wrote the obituary, and he is going to post that soon. He is also putting a picture video together, which I THINK we should be able to post. He is also talking at the funeral, which should be a shock to everyone. Mike doesn't do that, it will be a great tribute to Jason. Mike will do great, and I am proud of him for doing it.
Mike is doing as well as can be expected, the same with his family. We just wish we would have had more time with him. I am sooo grateful we know the plan and that we will see him again. Please keep Mike and his family in your prayers.

On a brighter side of things:

Ryker is growing up sooo fast. He is saying new words and lots of them everyday. He loves to read and learn just like his sister. He is a funny little guy, he is always copying someone. He is always making me laugh. He is running everywhere, he loves basketball still. When we are in the car, he just sits in his car seat saying bball, seeing all the basketball hoops as we drive, it is soooo funny. He brings me diapers when he needs to be changed, and always wants to throw the old ones in the garbage. He even sat on the potty today, nothing came, but good start.

Hailey loves to read and learn, she is sooo excited about going to pre-school in the fall. She makes me call her school girl! She wrote so many names today, I didn't know she even knew how. She showed me that she knows how to draw a flower, this kid is amazing! She loves to play with her friends. She is super silly with her dad, and her brother. She says the funniest things. I just laugh all of the time.

I am so grateful for my family, and the knowledge of being with them forever. I don't know what I would do without these kids, and my wonderful husband. I love you all soooo much.

Pictures of everyone and everything will come as soon as life slows down a little. It has been pretty nuts, around here.

Thanks to ALL my friends!!!

Thank you to all of you that read my bitter blog. I am so grateful to have you all in my life. Your comments helped me be soooo grateful for my life, my family, our savings, and the gospel.
Just so you all know, things are going MUCH, MUCH better. We still don't have a job, or the two kid thing mastered yet....but we are working on both. These kids are so amazing, they make me laugh so hard. They really sense when you need to be cheered up, they come and say the cutest things, give hugs, or just want you to hold them. I love being a mom, and a wife.
Updates on kids that will hopefully make you smile:
Ryker is walking, and walking everywhere. He is such a silly little guy. He LOVES basketball, like LOVES it, to the point if he sees ANYTHING round or a hoop, he says "bball" until we go get it for him, or let him out of the highchair. We were at church and he sees the hoop in the gym, and the whole ward knows he wants the basketball hoop, because everyone can hear him!! We are going to get him a little standard for Easter, he will love it. He has also started to recognize places, when we pulled into my moms, he said mammas, and when we pulled home one day, he said pappas. It is so sweet, he really gets excited these days. It must be fun to be one, it sure is fun watching him grow. He is teething, so that is really sad, but he is doing great, couldn't ask for more.
Our little Hailey, is getting soooo big. She loves to run, and can run really fast and well for such a little thing. Yesterday she asked us to go for a walk with her while I pushed Ryker and she pushed her Ryker. Daddy came too, which never happens, it was really sweet. Hailey loves to read, she brings me books all of the time and wants me to read to her. She loves craft monday, she loves to pick what we do, it's a lot of fun. I can't believe she will be old enough to go to pre-school in the fall, it's so neat. She says the funniest things, just a couple of days ago, she said "Mike, what the heck, you just dorked me with the ball!" She also says not the best words, we were up at my moms, and she babysits my nephews, and for some reason my 5 year old nephew comes down and says "Hailey called me an ass twice." I didn't know what to do other than to say what did you do, and then say sorry. I need to be careful, don't I?
I helped my mother in law make an apron for Hailey for Easter. It will be so cute. Thank you for your help, and patience with me. She is soooo great and creative, she can work wonders.
Anyway, so that is the happier update on our family. I got a great peaceful feeling yesterday that everything will be okay. I sure live for those moments, I think we have to.
I know other people are having hard times right now, and you all are in my thoughts and prayers, I hope we all can have better days and remember them when the bad ones come to the surface.
Thanks again, love you all.

A Bad Day, it all began at 7:10!!!

Update on Mikes work situation:
There is NOT a working situation anymore. He was working for a company based out of Arizona, but that ended and now we are back to square one. I can't believe it. He wants to start his own business but says that I am a distraction, and that the kids are noisy. I feel like an intruder in my own home. Needless to say, we go places everyday, and stay there a LONG time. I get sooo bugged that we can't be here, being who we are. I just am having a hard time with this. I feel like the worst wife, I try to be supportive, but it's sooo hard when I don't see the results. I don't mean to be bitter, but....
I should back up a little, so you know what kind of week I have had. I went to see my parents this week (to get out of the house so it could be quiet) and on the way home, I fell asleep three times on the way home, on the freeway. To everyone, I know I am stupid and this will never happen again. I was talking to my mom tonight and told her, and she had a different spin on things. She was grateful that I didn't hit the wall the first time, and the two semi's the next two times. I really felt someone telling me to wake up, and then feeling someone help me NOT over correct. I still cannot believe how dumb I was. Two sleeping, innocent kids in the back, and then me being sooooo irresponsible, and stupid in the front. I am so grateful to the Lord and the angels who helped me get my angels home safe that day. I was not tired and I still don't know what happened. I felt like the crappiest mom ever, and still do.
And that brings us to today:
This morning began nice and early, Hailey seems to love to wake up at 7:10 (I hate daylight savings time, something in me wishes I was moving to Arizona!), and she comes and gets me, and this morning I did not want to move until Ryker woke up, which was at 7:23, so I got out of bed and started the day.
Haileys' earrings has been having some issues lately, and every time we need to clean them, wow, she is screaming and yelling, kicking, and this morning she called me mean mommy. I almost cried. I gave up, Mike I think got it cleaned out. I think he gave up too and took the other one out too. It has been almost three months, so I hope her holes don't close in.
Then came the play dough fun, her friend Hayley came over and played with her. Ryker wanted to but he ate it again, so I ended that pretty fast. Play date went well, but my mind was just already on "over it."
Then I was going to attempt Costco. Well Mike looked at me and said I was crazy taking two kids alone to Costco with the day I was having. So, as with everything, Mike gets his way. I stayed home and made lunch for us (mostly him, I'm fine with sandwiches).
Then I put Ryker in his highchair and made Fajitas for lunch. I was trying to keep my spirits up. I love to cook and clean when I have a lot on my mind.
Nap time was next. They fell asleep great, and I got to exercise while they were asleep. It felt really great.
I thought "oh the day is better after naps, let's go outside and clean out the car, vacuum , wipe, everything." To my surprise it went pretty well.
Then I started to go on a walk with some of the moms from my ward. OH MY!!! They were soooo naughty. Hailey didn't want to ride, she wanted to push everyone's stroller. Then the treats weren't enough for Ryker today, he SCREAMED the entire time. Well I cut the walk short and went home.
Then, Mike said that it was time for Costco. We ate dinner there. Right in the middle of dinner, they evacuated the entire place! They said that they had gotten a bomb threat. Anyway, so we left and went to Wal-mart. We first went home to grab the ads, because they match...anyway....matching takes a lot of concentration...I will NOT be doing this anytime soon. I just really needed milk and bananas, but if I would have known what was going to happen I would have stayed home.
We go into Wal-mart, and we head for the produce. Well, everything was okay. Ryker and Hailey are both in the cart. I am looking for things that match, and that we need. Well Mike gets her out, because she was being good, while Ryker pulls on the apples in a bag, and Hailey grabs them from him to put them back, and BLAM, he is on the floor quicker than I could catch him. I see it all in slow motion, throw everything down and go to my child who is now on the floor scared out of his mind. His neck is bent, and his body is in back of him, he cried in my arms sooo loud, and hard. Hailey was so sad, I know she didn't mean to, she said sorry a lot, but I didn't know what to do. Mike came over and I know he was trying to be nice, but, he grabbed Ryker from me and said "lets finish our shopping", What? I am in panic mode, Rykers' head was facing a direction that did not look good, and he wants to just finish shopping and move on.....I wanted to comfort him, and I wanted Mike to get Hailey so I didn't have to worry about her. I ended up giving him to Mike, and was just so sad the entire time. I used to work in the grocery stores and see this all of the time....now I am THAT mom....I feel sooooo bad, I just wish I could have done something, anything....I am a terrible mom. I want to let you know, that both kids are great tonight, and they are both asleep and Ryker CAN move....blessings.....wherever I can find them. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day. My mom also said something tonight to think about, she said that we all can think a little bit more before we judge and think bad things about "those" moms we see, that have unfortunate things happen to their kids. I know I will, next time I witness something sad. Two people came over to me, and asked how he was, and one even said babies move sooo fast. Thank you for not judging me.
I just need to go for a LONG run, and stop eating everything in sight.
Sorry for depressing you, thanks for reading my blog and being my friend.
So much for trying to save money in this economy right? Full prices, and healthy kids sounds a lot better to me.
Jess

Pictures!

Here are the promised pictures.

New month, should mean new post.

Well. It has been a crazy month. I know all of my posts start the same, but it sooo true. Mike is working from home, and well for anyone who has done that, you know what I mean. It has been sooo hard. But at least he is working right?
Ryker is still not walking, man he is driving me bonkers! He has started talking, he says mamma, uhuh for no, and Haigey, and ba, for banana, bite bye and of course BALL, he loves any kind, definitely a boy, he is a fun little guy to have around. He pooped on the potty too, I'm not potty training a little guy who can't even walk, but it was still a good thing right? I don't even want to think about that right now. I am glad that we don't have the "blumps" anymore. Earlier this month we all were sick with the flu, Haileys' lasted 6 days, and Rykers' lasted 9 days, mine and Mikes' only were the 24 hour, I felt sooo bad. Anyway, Hailey combined blowing chunks, and she called it the "blumps." Sooo cute, out of something completely ugly.
Hailey on the other hand is soooo funny. She had her first primary program on Sunday, and she new all the words, and believe me WE ALL could here her. I was in the over flow, and Mike was standing by the stage in the gym, and HE and I could here her perfect. At least she wasn't the one picking her nose right? Hailey is such a little mommy. We were watching Dr. Phil, the one about the eight babies....she said mom, I'm going to need some help, I only have two hands, how am I going to carry eight babies? A three year old said and implied ALL to well what we are all thinking. So, we went to a store this month, and she went right over to a picture of Christ and a little child and she said mom look, Savior beside me! How cute is that? So, later this month, I bought it for her for Valentines, I gave it to her, trying to not think of the cost......she said mom, it's not my size, I am only three! Needless to say, I returned it and bought two post card size ones, so that she would be happy. She is so funny, she carries them everywhere.
Well, busy, crazy, just testified. Ryker was quiet, which can't be good right, he was into the bug catchers, the terminex people left in areas where they cannot spray. Sticky mess, you might ask? Yes. He and Hailey are in the bathtub as we speak. Mental note if this happens to anyone, vegetable oil...water does not help, and neither does alcohol. If it is in the hair, vegetable oil works there as well.
Gotta go, but I will post my and Haileys' new hair cut soon. It makes her look so big.
I decided to blog more tonight instead of finishing the laundry. I wanted to post that we went to the park yesterday, which really was today, anyway, it was Rykers first real time at the park, we took him last year but he didn't do much. Ryker hates the swing, and loves the slides. Totally opposite of Hailey. Hailey loved being at the park again, I love spring time. I love spending precious fun time with my kids.
Today, which is today literally, we played play dough....good times. I thought wow, why haven't we done this more? Well, I will tell you, within seconds, Ryker put the whole orange blob in his mouth, after reading the bottle, non-toxic, I just had to laugh. That is pretty salty stuff, I felt bad. Hailey was doing good, so I thought...there were little pieces on the floor, which were on her shoes, and almost in the carpet....and that my friends is why moms don't do play dough....I guess. Anyway, we are all still alive, after a WILD night at Chuckee Cheeses. The kids had so much fun at that place.

I finished the half marathon in 2 hours and 17 minutes!!!

Well, it finally came....
Race Day was so awesome. I am soooo glad I did it. To anyone who wants to do this and doesn't think they can, oh you can, you can and you will love it. It was the most amazing feeling crossing that finish line. Mike and the kids were there waiting for me, and it was great to share the happiness with them. They helped me train. Mike and the kids got to watch the race from Grandpa's house, the trail was right there, how awesome was that? I trained with four amazing girls, and we all finished, good job girls, it was a great run!
Hailey wanted to race as well, so that morning we got dressed together me in my running outfit, and her in hers, her hair like mine, breakfast the same, and of course we both needed to use the potty. I also made her a matching number. She thought she was racing, it was soooo cute.
At the end of the race, I put my medal on her, and she said no, I haven't done the kid race yet! We took her to the park and she raced these 2 older boys, and she won, or should I say smoked them!!!! It was so neat, she is a real runner. She was on the way home and said I need a shower!
Here's to more running, who knows if I'll do more, but I am soooo glad I did this one, Thanks to all those who helped me and encouraged me, you know who you are, and I LOVE YOU!!!!! See you with my double jogger!!! I "heart" running, and I am soooo glad I am NOT too sore.

Why does watching your kids grow up make YOU sad?

So this weekend has been hard for me, in TWO ways. First of all, I stopped "feeding" Ryker. I know what you all are thinking....how old is he? To answer your question he is 13 1/2 months. I "fed" Hailey until she was this old also. Mike has told me the Ryker has been "recreational eating" for awhile now, but I have had a hard time because he is my last baby. So....bring on the soreness for a week, and FINALLY I can wear a tight sports bra, so that I don't worry about losing my milk!!!
Hailey is now a SUNBEAM! I know this is all normal and Hailey NEEDS to grow up, but last Sunday when I dropped her off and picked her up from her LAST nursery class, it was soooo sad. Hailey turned to me on the way out to the car, "don't be sad mom, I'm happy." I have had the hardest time with this.....She has had many people call and ask me if she can come over and play with them, and I tell their parents NO, because I have a hard time dropping her off, and WONDERING the whole time she is gone, if.."If she is okay," "If she is crying," "If she is sharing, or if her friends are sharing," "If she needs to go potty and feels comfortable going at the house," the list goes on and on, believe me it does, and I don't know if this is normal. I feel so bad, I know she needs this social part of her life, but how do I get passed it?
Here are some updates:
Ryker is now pushing everything we own out of his way, he is WALKING WITH everything. It is sooo funny. He says, "ot,oh" and "mo" meaning more, and for those of you who remember Haileys' little water noise, yes Ryker does that as well, so funny. We are working with him doing the stairs, and practicing "feet first", he is doing really well. Hailey is doing great with letters, she now knows the upper and lower case letters, still getting b and d confused, but really who can blame her? She is doing sooo well with numbers too. We read letters all of the time, and now have started sounding out letters together. She knows t, p, k, n, b, r,w,m,h,e,g,l,o,s,y,and we will be working on others soon. He and Hailey are really doing better, they are not coughing anymore and they are sleeping great.
They play with each other now, and that is soooo nice. It has been a hard year, of teaching Hailey to play nice with him, and teaching ME how to be patient, and kind towards them ALL of the time. They really get along great now, and I think the stars are aligned for at least this moment in time.
So off to meet the SUNBEAM teacher, I know waaaaaaa JESS, get over it, Hailey is.

Finally, a new post!!!

A lot has been going on this month.
We had a wonderful Christmas FILLED with friends and family. To start off the month of fun, we went up to Ogden and decorated Gingerbread houses with my family. We started the night off with dinner, where there was a train and the kids got train hats. We also had bought tickets to the Polar Express, back in September (when we had a job) with two of my sisters so we could be in the same train, it was so much fun. Hailey loved every minute of it. The Elf on the train asked her her name, she said Hailey Lexus Palmer and he asked her how to spell it, she said HEIL, it made me so happy she almost got it! That is good for a 3 year old right? Ryker loved it as well, until it was bedtime, then he fell asleep. Then the fun really began that night. We started our car, after everyone left, and we go to leave and our car starts shaking, Hailey says why is our car shaking, and then we pull over. She says to me, can daddy fix it? I don't want to spend the night it my car seat! I felt sooo bad. We proceeded to Checker which had closed 45 minutes before we got there, MAN! I was thinking, motel? Well, not Mike, he called Auto Zone and said do you have a store up in Heber City, and they said not yet....what does that mean...anyway, we called Brian his brother and he went to Auto Zone by his house and picked up the part that Mike "thought" we needed. We decided to go to the police station and see if they had an emergency car kit, I was sure of it. Well we get there, Mike calls the non emergency number, and they say no one is at the office but they will dispatch someone over. Well a cop came out of the building, I opened my door in excitement and said thank you, and he said for what? I shut my door and let Mike deal with him. He was a little different of a cop. He went and got us the tool we needed to take of the old part and see if it was bad. He checked the car out, and called in the plates, and asked our names. Well, in the meantime, it is so cold and the check engine light is flashing, I guess that is bad? I would have thougt that meant that it didn't know whether it wanted to stay on or not. Mike said that you should not drive with it flashing ever,who knew? Well after a long time in the cold car, the cop brought stuffed animals to the kids, and Mike asked if there was a waiting room or something, he said no. Then he went to his car, and turned around and had me open up the door and asked me if I was cold. I said yes, he said unload the kids and come in. Thank you officer for digging deap into your heart. Brian came the new part was put on and off we were home. The fix took a total of 5 minutes! I am so grateful for Mike and his smarts!
We spent a few days up in Ogden with my family. It was so much fun. We had the traditions that make the holiday, well the holiday. We have an extended family party in which I have missed the last couple of years, do to various reasons, like living out of state, and having a less than a month old. It was fun and exciting to be involved in it again. We played in all of our snow, and our car got stuck, I dug us out many times. Oh, what fun it is to slide and slip into a BIG snowbank. Memories right? We have breakfast with Santa, on Christmas Eve, and then we have a party at my Grandmas' house that evening. We also got to see my grandma pete who has recently had hip surgery, she is a trooper! This trip we switched it up a little and stayed with my sister, it was a lot of fun, and we are very grateful for her family also. I am also grateful for my aunt lois and uncle bob, they saved me this christmas season, I ran on their treadmill, everyday. I had to, I ate sooo much junk.
Well we were back just in time to put the Santa key out, because we don't have a fireplace. Hailey was real worried, how was he gonna get in? Hallmark saved us! It was such a wonderful christmas, and most of all we were together!
As for running, I have met my goals, and lots of running to go along with that. I have ran 11, and that is the highest I go. I am on the tapering end now, which is still soooo hard. I have already ran 15 miles this week! 16 more day to go, holy cow that is sooo close. Mike has been great, watching the kids for a long time, getting ready, the actual run, and the showering afterwards. I am so grateful he is letting me achieve this goal. I NEVER thought I would be able to run, or do anything for that matter. Thanks to all of you for your ongoing support also, it helps soooo much.
Well, christmas decor is down, laundry is done, and things are back to normal. The kids went to the doctor yesterday, Hailey is border line Croup- and Ryker has an ear infection. I am so grateful that we took them to the doctor and that it was a lot cheaper than ending up in the hospital, with RSV and the croup. No double rooms please!
Anyway, sorry for the long post, and once again no pictures!
Happy New Year to ALL!! Hopefully happy new job, and new insurance it us!
Jess