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!