Lagoon!!!

It turned out that Brittnie and her family had to be in Salt Lake the same weekend we were up there for Paige's doctor appointments.  So we invited ourselves along on their Lagoon trip - and we had a BLAST!  We actually got there before they did - so I was on my own with five kids for a few hours.  This is how we started out - the twins HATE to be strapped into the stroller - and the big kids wish that they could ride in the stroller (Ethan and Abby actually ended up in it later :).

I really didn't want to let them out of the stroller quite yet - so we found a way to keep them happy for a while - yep, it involved food, more specifically - CHURRO'S!

We let the boys ride a few rollercoasters at the first (there were hardly any lines first thing) and then they were good sports to take the girls on a few rides.  This was Abby's favorite ride - she ended on this ride as well!

 Paige loved the "l-fant".

Piper and the bug.

 Abby rode the helicopter with Paige,

 while Ethan rode with Piper.  Miles was too tall for most of the little kid rides - poor guy!

The twins didn't really ride this next ride.  They were all smiles until I finished taking pictures and went out of the gate to wait - then Piper started crying which made Paige cry - anyway, we watched Abby ride it.  As soon as Abby got done, the twins decided they did want to ride it, but I didn't trust them much (I thought the same thing would have happened as soon as we waited in the line again) - so we didn't ride it, but I included the pictures anyway.

 We then took a bit of an intermission from Lagoon and ran back to Grandma and Grandpa Gilmore's for a family lunch.  I then put the twins down for a nap and left them with Grandma while we went back to Lagoon to play with the cousins.   Abby has always loved carosels - this time Lainey and Katie loved it a little more that Abby did - but I loved the different animals so I included this non-smiling Abby.

 Abby also loved a little boat ride - here she is with a complete stranger (the guy running the ride thought they were sisters evidently) - they were great friends though by the time the ride was over.

Here she is later on that evening with her "best friend" Katie.  Notice the boat color is the same - Abby out-sprinted all the other kids to get that color - she is my pink girl!

Thanks Britt and Greg for letting us tag along - Greg took the big kids on the roller coaster rides while I stayed with Abby.  He even let them go on the go-carts - they loved it!  It was a really fun family activity - the boys even went so far as to say it was just as fun as Disneyland!

"Happy Day, Mama"

Well - I'm "one year older and wiser too" today.  At least I hope I am wiser - this past year has given me plenty of opportunities to grow in the wisdom department.  The kids sang happy birthday to me this morning and then I got to listen to Piper chant the rest of the day "Happy Day, Mama!"  WhenI got to school - a few of my students came in during first period to interview me for the school paper - one of the questions they asked was when my birthday was.  So - all of my classes were made aware that today was my birthday and I got sang to in every class (some were a lot more musically inclined than others:).  My biggest surprise of the day was when I picked the girls up from Miss Amy's house.  They had helped Miss Amy bake me a cake - yes, Abby had told Miss Amy that it was my birthday and she helped the girls bake me a cake (Abby told me she even got to crack the eggs).  They were all so proud of the cake - which led to a few tantrums because there was only one cake and 3 girls who each wanted to carry it.  I finally got two of the three to pose for a picture - Piper was still upset that Abby carried the cake instead of her.

My visiting teachers stopped by with a present and then we were off to a soccer practice before meeting my parents for dinner and cake at David's house in Hurricane.  Emily had made my favorite cake - carrot cake - and then as I was leaving she sent us home with another whole cake that she had made.  So I get to eat birthday cake for at least a week!  As I was getting the kids in bed - another knock at the door and my good friends Laura, J'Neal and Marcel had come by with a present as well.  Then - after kids were down, I turned on the computer and had 40+ happy birthday messages.  What a great day!  Thanks all!

Another Clean Bill of Health!!!

 Just wanted to give a quick update - it has been another 3 months since our last MRI and CT scan - so the Gilmore clan made the familiar trip to Primary Children's Hospital this weekend.  Paige had the tests on Thursday - and the whole experience was TONS better than previous ones.  First of all - in the past when we went for tests, we have had to wait between 1-2 hours before the sedation.  This might not be so bad if Paige hadn't been fasting all day and has a few of my genes in her.  We are SUPER cranky when hungry!!!  Anyway - this time - there was a little tykes police car in our hall and the hour and a half that we had to wait seemed like 20 minutes - it was SOOOOOOO nice!  Sorry for the blurry picture - she wouldn't hold still for the picture.

Paige didn't even fuss when they put the IV in - she just flinched a bit - I don't know if that is good or bad though.  I don't like when she cries, but it makes me think she is used to pain if it doesn't hurt even a little bit.  She likes the pink "cast" that they give her and even teased the nurse by pretending to drink out of the IV.  Her personality has been really coming out lately.  They gave her a "prize" out of the treasure box for being such a good patient - she chose sidewalk chalk to share with her sisters.

 They gave her a new medicine this time - and I really liked it.  She woke up right away after the tests and wasn't nearly as uncordinated as with the other medicine.  Still a little cranky - but it didn't seem to last as long as before.  We had to wait until our appointment with Dr. Jones on Friday to get the results of the tests.  GREAT NEWS!!!  The tests all looked normal - we are so grateful!  Here is the little tyke in front of her favorite horse - sure do love this girl, cheesy smile and all!

We celebrated the rest of the weekend by going to Lagoon - I have lots of pictures to post about that trip - hopefully I will have a few minutes to do that sometime this week.

Daycare

OK, so the day I have been dreading for more than 2 years has finally come.  I had to leave my babies all day long - and not with family.  I really, really like the lady that we chose for daycare (that is why I chose her) - but it still makes me super sad that she gets to spend the day with my girls and I don't.  The first day was rough, the second day was even worse - Piper's eyes were swollen from crying when I picked her up that second day.  Can I just say right here - I really, really hate that I have to work!  I guess I don't hate working, just leaving the kids - wish I could have made it until they were all in school before I started working.  Anyway, enough of the pity party, I know that there are tons of people that have to leave their kids and I am sure they don't like it any more than I do.  Back to daycare - a miracle happened today, as does very often when my prayers are a desperate as they have been lately - the girls all had a WONDERFUL day with Miss Amy.  Piper only cried twice (down from all day yesterday) and was consolable when she did.  Paige cried just when I left but only for a minute - and Abby loves daycare (it might have something to do with 3 dogs).  Along with the happy news that the girls did so well today- Miss Amy also gave me a great present - she had taken pictures of the girls throughout the day and printed them out on a cute card for me.  I am so thankful for her thoughtfulness - I know she is taking great care of my kids, but she also understands that it has been pretty hard for me and she was able to share some of what they are doing all day with me.  Here is the nice card.

The girls are smiling!!!  (It is sometimes hard to tell with Piper - but she is definitely doing her "cheese" smile - the one where she closes her eyes).  I knew it would take a while for the girls to adjust to daycare, and I am sure that there will be rough days again in the future, but it is getting easier for me and for them.  I am trying really hard to count my blessings - and I am extremely grateful for a job, especially in this economy (and especially one that has such great health benefits) - I just wish at times that I could take my kids with me to work. :)  I've got tons more to post about, but I have to run finish a lesson plan right now - I promise to anyone still following this blog that I will catch you up on all that has happened lately - SOON.

Piper's turn

All 5 kids have now officially had stitches!  I was helping Ethan practice his piano this morning when Piper crashed to the floor in the kitchen.  I am still not quite sure what happened - but I gathered from the evidence that she was trying to climb onto the counter when the chair she was climbing on tipped over.  I don't know if she hit her chin on the counter or on the tile floor - but either way it split it pretty good.  She was super brave at the doctor - and held really still for a really long time.  She did start crying after 4 stitches, but she still held still so the doctor could finish the last one - so 5 stitches for her.  I was joking to Caleb on the ride to the urgent care (I stopped at my mom's house and left 4 kids and then borrowed Caleb to hold Piper on the drive) - how we saw the urgent care doctor more than our family doctor.  Caleb remarked that we might want to research where the urgent care is in St. George before we rent a house - he might have a point there. 

We made a special trip to Walmart today to pick up some "Dora" bandaids - and this is why I don't ever have any on hand.  We tend to think that we need bandaids on every little scratch - but at leash she is happy.

Ethan might be on his own for piano for the next little bit - I am finding it is a little tough to give all 5 kids attention ALL day long!

I'll laugh later?

Today was quite the day! I have been planning for today for sometime now - I started potty training the twins. There wasn't much on the schedule and I thought it would be a good day to start. We started a bit rough - by 10:00 this morning, we had gone through 6 pair of panties. I threw both twins in the bathtub this time while Abby was at pre-school. I got Piper out first and was drying her hair (still in the bathroom) when I heard Paige coughing/choking and quickly turned around. She was spitting/throwing up my shampoo. I quickly washed as much as I could out of her mouth and ran for the phone. I called poison control (yes - I have the number memorized) and was reasurred that she would be fine. The soap is an irritant to the stomach so they said she would probably throw up a couple times, but she would live. I gave her some juice to try to dilute it some - and we finished drying both girls hair. Right as we were walking out the door to go get Abby - Paige threw up - luckily we still have reinforcements we can call and my mom came to the rescue and picked up Abby for us. I called poison control back to report the throw up - but they again reassured me this was normal - even good.

I got all the kids lunch and then put the girls down for a nap. While I was trying to get them asleep - there was a knock on the door and my brother-in-law was asking if he could park in our driveway for the 2nd grade end of the year program. I had completely forgotten about the program - Ethan was in the program too and I was supposed to be there. Long story short - I was 1/2 hour late for the 35 minute program - and I felt like an awful mom.

The day continued to go worse - well actually I have some good news to report as well - the babies woke up dry from their naps and I got both of them to the potty before any accidents - YAY - in fact I gave out 6 potty treats today. Well - onto the other rough happenings - Abby was outside playing with Miles and one of his friends when Miles came rushing in saying Abby hurt her mouth. I dashed outside to see blood dripping out of her mouth. I finally got it cleaned up enough to see what was wrong - her front tooth was knocked back into her mouth. I called Courtnie to come stay with the other kids while I rushed her to the dentist. She has a 50/50 chance of loosing that tooth - the x-ray didn't show a break in the root - so the dentist said it could go either way. We have another appointment Tuesday to reevaluate what he needs to do - until then - he said no chewing (yes - Tuesday is 6 days away). This picture doesn't quite do justice to the injury - her lip is swollen , but you can kinda see the front tooth on the right is behind the other teeth - you just can't tell how far behind the others it is (it is far). She has been a champ though - and she still likes the dentist.

Oh - and as a result of this "accident" - I was able to clarify some of our family rules regarding the trampoline - yes, a snowboard IS considered a toy AND no, toys are still NOT allowed on the trampoline!

We rushed home from the dentist and got the boys to baseball practice - then got ready for Pack Meeting. Miles thought he was getting his Bear tonight -so we made a special effort to be there (and it was effort since we had another "potty accident" as we were getting ready to walk out the door). Turns out - I never confirmed with his leader that he finished the requirements and he didn't get his Bear tonight - I felt like an awful mom yet again today. He will get the award next Pack Meeting though - and he didn't seem to bothered (I was just frustrated because it was so much effort to get us there and I probably wouldn't have gone had I known he wasn't getting that award).  On the bright side though - Ethan earned a belt loop - and get this - it was for video games. Yes - they give a belt loop for kids that play video games - so we didn't come home empty handed.

This day was pretty ironic in a way.  Just yesterday I was down in St. George interviewing for daycare for the girls next year.  On the way home I will admit - I cried.  I don't want to leave my babies to work - and I was feeling sorry for myself.  After today though - I might have a little brighter outlook on the whole daycare situation - I mean, do you think that the daycare would let my 2 year old drink shampoo or my 10 year old jump on the trampoline in a snowboard with his 4 year old sister - yep, maybe my kids will be a bit safer in daycare???


I am now finishing this post weeks after it really happened - so here is a little update on the tooth.  There is no infection in the tooth so they want to leave it in to keep the spacing right in her mouth - it has however died, so pictures of Abby now come with a black tooth :(  Abby is able to look on the bright side however - the other day she came over to me and said "Mom - there is a really good thing about my broken tooth - now I can't bite my fingernails anymore".

Naptime and Bedtime

I feel like I need to explain why I haven't been posting anything lately - it is not because I have nothing to write about. I had a great excuse from January to May - between student teaching and finishing my college classes - I had zero free time. I was so excited for school to be over so I could start on my many projects with all the time that would be freed up (I was even looking forward to cleaning my house). I had exactly 2 glorious days of naptime and bedtime to start some of those projects (I did go through all the twins clothes and put them away and get out the new sizes - that is about all I have gotten done though). Only two days - can you guess why? If you guessed that the twins have now learned to get out of their cribs you would be right. Notice I said they could get out of their cribs - not climb out of their cribs. Piper can climb out of her crib - she is actually quite fast at it and very careful not to get hurt. Here is a short clip if you are interested to see how she does it.



Paige on the other hand watched Piper climb out and wanted some of that freedom for herself - she however is not very good at it. She fell out of the crib 3 times before I stopped putting her back in. The first 2 times she didn't get hurt - the third time however...


Here are the battle wounds to show for the third fall - and yes, I feel awful about putting her back in the crib just to have her fall out and do this - but I really didn't think she could get hurt - and I still don't know how she managed such a nice bruise. So now they sleep on the bottom bunk - only they don't sleep. It takes me an hour to get them down for their nap and at least 2 hours to get them to sleep at night - so there went all my "project" time. If anyone has any REALISTIC ideas on how to get my kids to sleep without me having to physically hold them in bed - please comment. I said realistic because the suggestions I have been given include turning the cribs over on top of the kids (yes - like a jail) and making a lid to put on the crib. I'm not quite desperate enough to do that yet.

"Sting" Soccer

Miles was invited to play on a "traveling" soccer team this spring. Today was their last game of the season. It has been a great experience and the boys on the team are some of the neatest kids. He still prefers to play forward - and had one goal this season (the only game that I missed - Ethan had a piano festival that same time - but I heard it was quite the shot). I meant to get a picture of the whole team - but we were late getting there (it was in St. George - and it was right after graduation) - and I forgot after the game. Here he is with one of his very best friends - who just moved to St. George - we really miss him. "Sting" (that is the name of their team) is getting a Summer Games team together though - I will be sure to get a whole team picture for that!

WE DID IT!!!

Finals are over! I now have a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics Education!!! There are so many people that I need to thank though - this degree has truly been a group effort (as the title was supposed to suggest)! First - my Heavenly Father - I can't even begin to recount the many miracles I have witnessed this past two years. He has truly given me wisdom and strength above my own. My parents are next on my list to thank - and again - there is no way to recount all they have done for me. My kids have yet to go to daycare though - so that should speak volumes on what they have been doing the past two years (especially the 12 week stint of student teaching I just finished). They have been so much more than babysitters though - I can never thank them enough for all they have done/continue to do for us. I also am indebted to my incredible siblings - for babysitting, borrowing clothes, editing papers, and much much more. My extended family has been incredible as well - they have taken so much worry and burden off my shoulders by helping so generously with Paige's medical bills - as well as supporting me by traveling so far to come to graduation (I actually didn't send anyone graduation announcements because I wasn't even going to walk - I already had my degree and didn't think it should be a big deal - but I didn't take my name off the walking list in time - so I walked). I also have incredible friends who brought dinner during finals (every semester) - watched my kids (sometimes last minute) - and are always thinking of ways they can help me. The math faculty here at SUU is incredible - they have really gone above and beyond to help me get this degree. There are so many more people to thank - I just want to say - Thank You to everyone who has helped me - sounds so trite - but I really really mean it!

I found pictures from my last graduation - here I am in 2000 - same school (SUU) - different color tassel (brown - Economics) - same dress - different shoes though.

Here I am with my Grandma and Grandpa Alvey (and mom).

Grandma Alvey made the trip again - and I am sure Grandpa was there in spirit.

Caleb graduated as well - his tassel was the light brown of the business department. His college was at 8:30 this morning (which we missed - sorry Caleb - but had we not been aiming for 8:30, we would have never made it to my ceremony at 11:00) - so I just borrowed his robe for my ceremony. It worked out great for me that way - I didn't have to pay for a robe, but we also didn't get pictures together - this was the best we could do - the robe almost fit around both of us.

Thank you SUU - I have great memories from my (many, many) years here!

Pinewood Derby

OK - it is too overwhelming to even think about catching up on all the posts I should have written the past 4 months - so I am just going to start posting on current events - hopefully I will still have time to catch up on the missing months, but if not - here is what we are up to now.

PINEWOOD DERBY - and yes, I have two cubscouters now.

The boys have been so excited about their cars this year - me - not so excited. I can still remember how sore my hands were from chiseling out the bottom of the last pinewood derby car to put the weights on - so instead of just getting the inevitable out of the way - I procrastinated long enought that I thought I could just talk the boys into gluing money on top of the car instead of the weight on bottom. Not so - both cars had weights chiseled into the bottom of their cars - but before you think that I am the unselfish mom who would put my kids needs before my own - I need to THANK my dad for helping the boys with their cars. In fact - I did very little this year - I also need to thank John Fontano for helping the boys cut out their cars (and Miles went with a really funky shape this year - it couldn't have been easy to cut). I helped the boys sand and paint them ( you will notice the simple paint jobs - no time for frills) - and then my dad helped them with the weights (yes - he was willing to chisel) and the wheels and axles. They were both super excited about their cars - neither car was a winner - but they both had fun and I was pretty impressed myself with how fast they did go.

Here are a few pictures of the proud scouts.

Ethan's Baptism

Ethan was baptised January 8th. It was a really special day and we had lots of family travel far to support him. Uncle Caleb baptised him and Uncle David confirmed him. Frank was able to come and it meant a lot to Ethan to have him there. Abby was upset about something or other though - so we never did get a picture of Frank with all five kids

I was lucky enough to get all 5 kids in my shot - you can tell how happy Abby is to have to take pictures though.

It really is hard to get a good picture of all 5 kids at once - maybe it will get easier as they get older??? Here is one of just Ethan and I.

Frank's parents also made the drive - as did some cousins (Chloe, Stella, Ava and Connor - I don't know why I didn't get pictures of them). Here is Ethan with Grandma and Grandpa Gilmore.

Michael and Elsa came as well - they made like three trips down to Cedar in 3-4 weeks - and did I mention that Elsa is 8 months pregnant - so sitting in the car for that much time is not fun. Thanks for coming though. Here are all my brothers with Ethan.

Ethan is a great kid - I am lucky to be his mom - I hope he will always remember how he felt today. He told me after that he knew his decision to be baptised was right because he felt so happy.