Happiness is my Family

Ha Ha

2011-11-01T10:21:00.001-07:00

I am laughing because my post I did in the summer was finally able to post! I went through and deleted some of my old posts to have more room. I can't decide if I should pay for extra storage to keep this blog or if I should go back to wordpress blog.

What do you think?

Summer Fun

2011-07-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

I love summer! I love the heat! I love the fun times!! And I especially love spending ALL day with Sofi! We have been super busy this summer. We have gone on several horse rides, trafalga, 7 peaks, camping, field trips and have also done our own version of school most days.

I decided to take July and August off. It has been SOOO nice. I may never want to teach again ;) I love teaching, but I love being a mom more! We have also had fun with our cousins. I watch my sisters kids 2 days a week. It has been great for Sofi to be picked on and teased and to learn to share (like having siblings!). She is not used to having kids around like this, so it has been great!

We love that Gary's work takes us to Lagoon every year. We had such a great time. Sofi is a dare devil. Her favorite ride is "Wicked". She went on it 4 times with Gary.

Sofi and her friend were cracking us up! On any ride that wasn't fast they kept saying, "faster, faster". They even got me to go on all the roller coasters but wicked! On the 4th or 5th time on the White Roller Coaster I finally had to say no. That one hurt my back so bad I was in tears!! We really had a great time and I was glad that Sofi's friend could go with us to make it an even number!

We decided to buy a share into "The Big Horn Ranch". Gary grew up going here with his family. We LOVE it there! We had a great time over the 4th of July weekend riding the horses and 4 wheelers. No phone, no tv, no Internet... FABULOUS!!!

There is a small pond that we 4 wheel to where there are a ton of frogs - hence the name "The Frog Pond". We met a sheep herder that was watering his sheep there. Gary talked to him in spanish while Sofi and I caught 5 frogs! We had a fun time trying to be sneaky and getting them with the butterfly net.

Last week my sister and I took the kids to the Kennecott Copper Mine. Very cool! I wasn't too impressed with the tour - there is none. I was thinking we would get to see more of how they work, but that was only shown to us in a video. It was cool to look down into there big pit. It is pretty impressive! The kids liked it, so that is what counts!

So as you can see, we have been busy! My back is doing terrible and I make it through the day because of my Lortab. Pretty sad to admit that, but it is the truth. I am having back surgery again in October. They have found that one of the screws is pinching my nerve so they are going to take out the hardware. My dr. couldn't do the surgery until ext Feb!!! So I am having someone in his office do it. I met him and feel good about my decision. I am waiting until October because I really want to have a summer. Pretty selfish of me, but oh well :).

My sister McKinsie was diagnosed with the same cancer as my sister Megan. Kins just had surgery yesterday to remove the tumor. It was a 9 hour surgery. The surgery went really well, but I am sure the recovery is going to be terrible. They will biopsy the tumor and figure out what stage the cancer is. She started taking Asea (http://www.teamasea.com/default.aspx) a month ago to see if it will kill the cancer so it won't grow back. It will be interesting to see if it works. I will keep you updated. I am so glad that she is trying it though! I have heard such great things about Asea with cancer patients! It has done miracles for me :)

Has anyone else been having a hard time with blogspot? I can't copy and paste or even highlite anything. It is really bothering me. I may go back to wordpress. Tell me what you think of blogspot.

For a Good Cause!

2011-06-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is my father in law. Yes, he is wearing a kilt! He works for Lehi Fire driving the Engine (fire truck). They have a co-worker who is in stage 4 cancer. So they decided to make a day for her! They heard of a pink fire truck that has been driving all over the nation and was headed this way. So they made pink shirts to sale and they all wore pink kilts! They even were doing their runs that day in their kilts!

This is him with my mother in law. They are fabulous people! I must say I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such great in laws!

They set up a station and the fire truck came to Thanksgiving Point at their Scottish Festival. Isn't that so cool?!!

Behind the fire truck it was pulling a HUGE breast cancer ribbon.

All over the fire truck and trailer were signatures of people. It was amazing. We all got to sign the truck. I signed mine for my "2nd" mom Paula Phillips who passed away from breast cancer. It brings back tears when I see all the good that people do to fight for a cure!

Here are the people that made that day possible! I'm not sure why only 4 of them had kilts on ;)!

Sofi and her cute little friend went with me. They thought it was so cool to see a pink firetruck! They got balloons and cute pink fireman hats!

While we were waiting for the fire truck to come they were really bored! So I gave them the camera and told them to take some pics. They were hilarious! Here are some of my favorites!

2011 Piano Recital

2011-05-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

The recital this year was my favorite! All the kids were super prepared and did a fabulous job! I had the kids memorize 2 songs and then make up a song. I was so impressed with the songs that they made up! The first set of pics are some of my nieces and nephews. The one in the middle with the blind fold did a super fast fun song with no eyes! It was fabulous!

They all looked so great dressed up and sitting so tall! I love all my kids! Next time I am hoping to convince my 18 year old student to be a part of it. :)

Then there is Sofi! She cracks me up! Her made up song was called "The Magic Zig Zag". She did such a great job! I tried posting her video and it wouldn't work. But I will keep working on it!

Amazing fast brother!

2011-05-21T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was able to watch my brother yesterday and today run the 400m at BYU for highschool state. It is amazing to watch him and so exciting! The sad thing was that he was just diagnosed with mono a few days ago. The dr. told him he could only run in one event. He was expected to take 1st in the 100m, 200m, and the 400m. But at least he could do his best event which is the 400m.

Yesterday was sooo cold and rainy. My mom and I huddled together under a small umbrella. I am glad I remembered to take it. Andy ran a 48.7 sec time yesterday and that was with his coach telling him not to push it too much but to make it under 50. To give you an idea of how fast that is... the next best time was over 50 sec and there were only a few people who ran it that fast. Andy's best time this season is 47.2!!! So his goal for a state time was in the 46's.

Today was beautiful! I was super excited that I was able to come and watch Andy run today. His personal best time of the season is 47.2 sec. So his goal for a state time was in the 46's. He had a great start. I was getting super excited! There were some coaches from Weber state sitting next to me and I could here them guessing what Andy's time was going to be! There times were getting shorter and shorter as the race was going! Then at about 35 sec there was a visible difference to Andy's speed. Something was not right. It was like someone hit a slow motion button on him. As he got to the finish line his poor body just gave out.

I am so proud of him for making it to the finish line! He still got an awesome time of 48.6! It shows a true athlete to persevere through pain and fatigue! He will be one to watch for. He has a huge running career ahead of him.

I told him "No more kissing girls!!" :)

Spring Break

2011-05-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

I know this is late, but oh well! We decided to spend our Spring Break this year down in Southern Utah. My niece was getting baptized which is part of the reason for going to St. George. This is the dress that I made her...

It looked darling on her!

We found a fun place to hike around and found some petroglyphs. Don't know what it is called because we found it by accident!

We spent 2 days at Zions National Park. The first day we met up with some friends and their kids and hiked Emerald Pools. It was a little bit cold in the shade, but such a perfect day. The kids had a great time being together.

The second day Gary, Sofi and I hiked Angels Landing. It was a bit strenuous, but we took it slow. Gary would set his watch to go off every 2 minutes so that Sofi could rest. In all reality it was for me too! It took us a long time to get up to the top. We didn't do the crazy hard section because there was NO WAY I was going to let Sofi do that. Going up was hard enough for me watching her get too close to the edge. On the way back down I went in front, so I wouldn't freak out as much! I am TERRIFIED of heights and it makes it worse when watching my child near a ledge!

We went to a fun biking place called Gooseberry Trail. It was super windy so we just had fun playing on some rocks. Sofi was a great sport and did so well.

This is a place called Valley of Fire. It is in Nevada close to Overton and not too far from Lake Mead. The hikes are all really short and perfect for kids. It was fun playing around on the rocks. Sofi is quite the climber!

After Valley of Fire we drove to Vegas. I look back while we were driving and Sofi had fallen asleep with her head in her butterfly net! :) We were laughing pretty hard about that! Needless to say we will probably never take Sofi there again!!! I couldn't believe how nasty everything was. The treasure island show has gotten super skanky. Sofi loved it but didn't really get it. It was TERRIBLE!!! I do love the Belagio fountains - so that was fun.

We had a great time exploring St. George. Riding our bikes on the bike trails, trying to ketch lizards, going to see the temple, playing with cousins, and just being together as a family. We were away from TV, Internet and phone service (my phone) and it was SOOOOO nice! It was hard to come home.

My back pain was terrible and I was super drugged on really long days, but it was worth it. The last few weeks I have been getting some tests done for my back/nerve pain. They are trying to determine if they are going to have to take out my hardware. I will keep you posted.

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny decided to send Sofi on a treasure hunt. This is How it went:

#1 Here is a clue to find a special gift for you.
In this house is a room of fun,
Where round balls fall and where you can run.

The Pool Room

#2 Rub a dub dub. I found ducks in your tub.

Sofi's tub.

#3 Now that you are clean, don't forget to wash your clothes.

The Laundry Room

#4 This room is hidden away. Full of toys and lots to play.

The play room

#5 If I ring this the dogs will go wild. So I won't to keep them mild.

The Door Bell

At this point Sofi says, " I know where one is outside!! I saw it on the tramp and there is a mat on it!!" Gary and I look at each other and start laughing. Yes... we left the curtains open and she saw it when she looked out the back door. So much for the treasure hunt! But she was still having fun!

#6 This is dad's favorite place to be. There are baby kittens for us to see.

The Barn

#7 You are almost done. You are getting so close. Head toward the chickens for a quick chore, and there you will find one more!

The Tramp!!
So exciting!! Gary also sent me on a treasure hunt. He is in BIG trouble!!! He gave me a Vitamix!!! I was so excited, but secretly mad at him. What is this... Christmas? But still super excited!

Sofi's Easter dress turned out super cute! I will drag her out this week and snap some pics of it. For spring break we went to St. George and had a blast. I will post pics later and tell you about that also!

My amazing FAST brother

2011-02-21T08:12:00.000-08:00

I had to post these incredible videos of my brother running a race in Idaho called Simplot Games. They are not long - so watch both. They are both really cool to watch. His name is Andy Rounds and places first place in both. Just click on the words to take you to the links.

semi-finals

finals

Congrats Andy! He is currently placed 3rd in the nation for the 400!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-16T08:19:00.001-08:00

Valentine's is here
It is here.
Do you love it when Valentine's is here?
You get Valentine's cards and candy
~Sofi Wells (Age 6)

Gary's yearly cheesecake and I got flowers!!!

Can't beat sharing Valentine's Day with the people I love most! And what a better way to celebrate than with pizza served on fine china and candle light!!

Sofi was so cute making valentine's for everyone! Even the dogs! She taped dog treats to theirs! I hate that she is growing up so fast, but I love moments like this that happen because she is growing up!

Hefty Goal of $5000!!! :)

2011-02-11T09:09:00.000-08:00

This is AWESOME!!! These girls have a hefty goal of raising $5000.00!! So please if you can... any amount will be great! You can also donate by hitting my donate button at the top side panel on my blog here or at Mountain America Credit Union. The flyer will tell you more! If you click on the flyer it will make it bigger.

2011-02-08T08:02:00.000-08:00

The last Wednesday of each month in the winter the Hogle Zoo offers free admission. So we decided to take half a day and go. It was FREEZING but worth it. There were a ton of animals out and even the baby elephant and his mom was out. He (or she) was so cute. He would scoop snow into a ball with his trunk and then eat it! :) We had a fun time seeing how we compare in size with the apes! I think February is the last month they are doing it so if you can do it - it is worth it!

Gary entered into a race called the Frozen Hog. It was in Alpine, Ut. They start off with a short running race to spread the gap a bit.

Then they climb onto their mountain bikes and head for the snowy hills!

As by-standers we were able to see a hot air balloon and watch the sun come up. Sofi had fun drawing horses in the snow and adding grass to the mane and tail! What a creative little we have!

Gary had is 38th Birthday yesterday! Of course I made him his favorite cake (carrot) and did a fast cake decoration on it. Gary isn't into fancy so I make things simple.

I didn't even put a bow on his present. He always grunts about that so I will save my ribbon for girls because we like pretty presents! His parents gave him that dummy dear for archery practice. Our dog Coda was having a hard time figuring out what it was. I was afraid he was going to pee on it to mark his territory, but he didn't ;)!!

I have to show off our cute toes. You can't really tell from this pic but we painted hearts on them and put a little bling on them also!

As far as my health goes I am feeling better. My gall bladder surgery stuff is doing great. I have no pain with that. Or maybe I do and I just don't realize it because of all my other aches and pains! :) My pneumonia is better but now that I am off my meds I am starting to get sick again. I just keep downing more Asea and hope that my body figures out how to heal!

I am getting anxious to be exercising and tried zumba last week. Bad idea. Slow and steady, slow and steady! I can't believe it has been 2 years since my back accident and I am still struggling. My emotions are pretty low right now. I am in search of me and it is difficult. What a journey this has been.

Another Surgery

2011-01-12T07:56:00.001-08:00

My gall bladder surgery went really well. The doctor said that it was pretty diseased and from the pics they took it doesn't even look like a gall bladder. I am so glad I got it out! I wish I would have been a little more aggressive about getting it out before the year was up! Hitting another deductible is not fun! We are still paying on my back surgery. Oh well... it could be worse! At least we do have insurance.

My recovery so far has been interesting. Where they did the surgery isn't bothering me too badly. It feels like I did a really good abb workout. The kind where it hurts a little to laugh!!! When they do the surgery they fill you with air. I guess they try to get most of it out after the procedure, but the air that is left can cause pain in your chest, shoulders and back. And boy does it! It hurts to breath! That is where my pain is. They say that should last a few days.

The other bad part is that I got a urinary tract infection last night. And that is even worse than the surgery.

Overall I must admit that my test they did on my back (to see how bad my disc was before I had surgery on it) was more painful that this surgery. This is a piece of cake compared to back and shoulder surgery so that is nice.

I saw my back doctor last week and was a little bummed I'm not where I thought I would be. Then he informs me that he doesn't want me doing tri's until the fall! WHAT???? I guess with the nerve pain I am having I have to be a little more slow than some people so the dr. knows if something is pinching the nerve again or if I am just pushing myself too hard. So I will take things very slowly, but I am planning on being ready for at least a sprint tri in September. That is my goal!

My shoulder is doing really well also. The constant pain I was always having is gone. The pain now is just getting the motion back. My shoulder dr. told me I can ski in March!! Of course it will only be bunny hills because of my back, but at least it will be skiing! It is bugging me since surgery yesterday but that will pass also. As soon as I get the go ahead from my gall bladder dr. I will be in the pool getting my motion back! :)

I am planning on having a healthy year! I know I can push through my pain and get my health back. I miss being able to clean my house, cook yummy dinners, sit through church with no pain, teach piano with no pain, go for a run, bike, swim, hike, horse ride... anything really. This is the year to get that all back!

Sofi's Surgery

2010-12-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

Sofi's surgery went really well. Here is the name of what she had (hopefully it is gone!) vesicoureteral reflux. What happens is when she would pee, urine would go back up into the kidneys. The surgery she had is a less invasive procedure that they do. It was a long few months of being on a potty schedule so that the effects of the surgery would work.

They now have a new Primary Children's Hospital in Riverton, UT which is where she had her surgery. They were AWESOME!!! Sofi was nervous, but they did a great job of keeping her calm.

They let her color her own doll in hospital clothes.

Then she watched Barbie Swan Princes and danced around until they were ready to take her back.

She had a loose tooth so the tooth fairy came early. They even gave her a dollar. I think she is trying to smile here! She was still trying to wake up after surgery!

She was making us all laugh by how she kept smelling her mask after surgery! She chose bubblegum as her flavor for the sleepy stuff.

She was super brave and did so well! We will find out in a few weeks if the surgery worked. Keep your fingers crossed!

Christmas Post

2010-12-27T20:03:00.001-08:00

Finally! I finally finished our Christmas Stockings Christmas Eve morning! It only took me 13 years to find something I liked! The material ended up being cloth napkins that I added red corduroy too! They turned out great and now I just need to embroider our initials on them for next year!

We had a great relaxing Christmas Eve. Gary's mom decided to do Christmas Eve dinner really early so we were home by 6!!! I couldn't believe we had Sofi in bed by 8:30 and we were in bed by 11! Usually we are still wrapping until 2 AM. Here is a pic with Gary's parents and all the grand kids!

A tradition that my parents did for me and my siblings growing up was opening 2 gifts Christmas Eve. One was Christmas PJ's and slippers and the other was an ornament. Gary and I have kept that tradition. We quit buying each other PJ's a long time ago because we don't grow out of them like kids do and our closet was filled with PJ's! Sofi loved her horse PJ's and her slippers that are too big :)

Another tradition I had growing up was that my dad did a choo choo train in all the rooms until we made it into the room of presents. So we have kept that with Sofi. She had to bring down her barbies and horse so that they could see what she was getting for Christmas! Gary had to wear his over-alls that I gave him as a joke last Christmas. But hey... he fits the conductor part! All a board!

One of Sofi's high-lites was a pillow pet. She has been begging for one for SO long!

She was also excited about her American Girl Doll (that she doesn't know is from Taget- shhh...). Sofi wore her snow white dress ALL day and couldn't believe her doll had a matching dress. Thank goodness for good deals!

Gary and I had laugh when we received this book from our good friends. The book is kind of a joke, but we really don't know how to communicate. So it will be worth trying out! I will let you know if we like it! :)

Sofi was so excited to give us little gifts that she bought from school. She picked Gary's because he likes sports! It is a bubble gum basketball game. Mine we didn't get a pic of. But I had to laugh. It was a frog in some pink goo!

Thanks to Gary's good friend for helping me with Gary's Christmas. I was able to get him a nice scope for his gun. Thanks to Gary's work for rewarding them when they work out. He was able to earn a new ipod touch shuffle (I think that is what it is called). So nice of Gary to give it to me. He is so good to me!

Also I got a keyboard that I can hook up to my computer to write music! I have wanted one of these for SO long! Sofi and I have been having fun jamming on it! It will be a learning curve but I am so excited to get some music out off my head and onto paper without having to write it by hand!

Speaking of music... Our ward was split not too long ago. At the beginning of Dec. they called me as the choir director. Ha ha!! Don't they realize that is WAY out of my comfort zone! Well, we had our Christmas program on Sunday and it went pretty well. One of my students played the chimes on the organ with one song. The ward choir pianist was awesome!!! Couldn't ask for better assistance that way! But my favorite song was the primary singing "Christmas Bells are Ringing" with some of the kids ringing bells! They did SO fabulous. Wish all of you could have been there to hear it :)

Piano Party

2010-12-27T19:45:00.001-08:00

I decided to do something different with my piano kids this holiday season. Instead of doing a formal recital with all their parents we did a laid back one with just the kids! It was a group lesson/party! It turned out to be so much fun! I had them do crazy things with one of the two songs they had to memorize. Like: Play while standing on one leg, play while dancing, play with hands crossed... They were all great sports!

Here is a pic of most of my kids. A few weren't able to come. We had a fun time playing games and eating pizza! I am so lucky to have such great kids!

Update

2010-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

Sofi's surgery had to be rescheduled because she has a cough. It now is going to be on Dec. 30. I keep praying she gets better and doesn't get sick again. Starting in January we are back to paying 100% of medical until we reach our deductible.

All the Single Ladies

2010-12-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

One of Sofi's favorite songs is Single Ladies by Beyonce. The last few months we have had to put Sofi on a potty schedule of every 2 hours to train her bladder and get it ready for bladder surgery this coming week. So my alarm on my phone to remind me to remind her to go potty is set to that song.

Last week as we were sitting in church I was getting irritated at how NOISY our ward is. I know there are a ton of little kids, but there are some parents that just don't know how noisy their kids are. I leaned over and whispered into Gary's ear, "How hard is it to take your child out and put them in time out until they are ready to be quiet?"

A few minutes later I hear music. I look at Gary and I am sure that my face turned bright red!! I never bring my phone to church with me. I brought it that day to use in choir if needed. So low and behold Gary and I hear, "All the single ladies, all the single ladies..." And then to make matters worst I hit the wrong button and couldn't turn it off. I finally resorted into turning the phone off completely.

Lesson learned! I was thankful in that moment that our ward is so noisy. No one heard it but Gary and I but I will now keep my mouth shut!!!

hint: if your child is being noisy and screaming take them into a room where no one else is and read them scriptures. After a few times, they will be reverent in church! Worked for my parents, and worked for us!

How Exciting!

2010-12-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

It has been almost 2 years that I have been able to ride my horse. When we went to take our yearly Christmas family pics I decided to give it a try. It felt so great to be back in the saddle! My back held up pretty good. My nerve pain didn't get out of control like it used to when I would try and ride. One good thing from having back surgery! Here are my favorite pics from the day:

This pic shows the newest member of our family - Ginger who was born this last May 2010. Starting on the left it goes: Ginger, Gary, Shea (dog), Maggie (Ginger's mom), Sofi and Beau, Raw Hide, Me :), and Koda (dog).

Sofi loves her horse Beau. I really haven't seen her ride in a long time. I was amazed at how well she does. She is so much better than I have ever been. She takes complete control and Beau really listens to her.

Sofi is quite the character! When I was getting back on my horse to go home, I thought I could pull myself up with one arm. Instinctively I raised both arms and pulled myself up. With just going through shoulder surgery 6 weeks before that was really painful! I was saying, "Ow ow ow ow ow..." Sofi said, "Mom, what are you whining about?!" Serves me right for not putting up with whining from her at home! :)

I am so thankful for Gary and all his hard work with training our horses. My horse Raw Hide has come a long way since I have been on him. He is so sensitive to the touch and moves really well without much work on my part. Gary is amazing that way!

And hence the boots... Gary showing his hard working boots, Sofi in her cowgirl boots (don't call them cowboy) and I am in my mom's boots from high school!

When we got home Sofi could not take these boots off. After church the next day she put them on again and I got her to posed for me. Anytime she rides her big stuffed horse she is wearing these boots! What a crack up!

Welcome Home Lorena!

2010-12-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

My good friend Lorena just got back from serving a tour in Afghanistan with the Army. She is an amazing Nurse and has traveled all over the world with the Army as a medic. This was her last tour before she gets to retire. It is so nice to have her home and safe.

We spent a day together last week getting make overs, shopping, eating and just enjoying each other. Don't we look great? ;) I think I have 5 layers of makeup on! I felt like I was melting. It was more makeup than I wear at Halloween! But it was still fun to be pampered!

Halloween

2010-11-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

For those of you who don't know who "Spirit" is I posted a pic of the movie case. Sofi decided last year that she wanted to be Spirit for Halloween. She was very specific when I made the costume about what color he was. I made the costume big hoping she would want to wear it again this Halloween. Oh boy do I know my daughter!

This year she wanted her face painted and was very specific about how to paint it! It was really fun getting her ready. Me being in a sling still and trying to do everything left handed and having Gary paint her hair! It took us a bit longer than usual to get ready, but she made it to school looking like a Wild Horse!!
These I took before school and kept trying to get her to just smile!

"But mom, I am a wild horse and they don't smile!" Of course... what was I thinking!

Now comes the hat! I had the spider for a decoration and thought that it would look great on my head! So with one arm and a hand poking out of a sling I put this spider hat together! I liked it so much I went out that next Monday and bought more spiders so I can make and sale them next year!

My makeup was all done with my left hand! It actually turned out better than just using my right! Maybe I should switch my hand-ness! Is that a word? :)

Now for Gary! His costume turned out great. I made it before I went into surgery. I even made black covers for his cowboy boots at 2:00 in the morning before surgery! He says there are some things we need to change but that will have to wait until next year! He has fun terrorizing the neighborhood!

You can say that we enjoy Halloween around here! I obviously love Halloween. Probably because my parents always made it so much fun! So I can thank them for my craziness!

Where have I been again?

2010-10-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

This is a common title opening for me it seems! Well I ended up having shoulder surgery a little over a week ago. The surgery went better than expected. There was no tear in the rotator cuff (which there was one in a MRI 2 years ago) so that is GREAT!!! There was a tear in the tissue under the rotator cuff the holds the ligaments to the bone. He was able to clean up that tear. Also my ligaments were so loose that my doctor told me he could pull my shoulder in and out of the socket while I was asleep. So he tied the ligaments tighter.

The Dr. told me that the pain I have been having is because my ligaments were not doing their job so it was doing 2 thing. 1 - My joint would go in and out and pinch things all the time. 2 - my muscles were working overtime to try and hold my shoulder in so they are overly tired! Now that everything is tight I feel good about the recovery.

I am in pain, but after going through back surgery this year this is a piece of cake. My back is still hurting a lot. And it has been a little trying with this surgery. For my back laying flat is the best. With the shoulder being up is the best. So I hurt, but my plan is to be recovered for the year 2011! 2011 is going to be my best health year of my life :)

I also have to post Sofi's school pic! Isn't she cute? :)

First Day of 1st grade

2010-09-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Most moms cry on the first day of sending their child to kindergarten. Not me - I started crying a week before and the first day of 1st grade. She is gone to school 6 hours now and eats lunch at school. That is so much harder than a few hours of kindergarten! Keep in mind she is my first and last child to send to all day school!

Before school we had fits because Sofi did not want to leave her old backpack at home. It was going to miss her! I finally convinced her to take her new backpack seeing that her old one had holes in the bottom that I had patched with iron on patches last year.

As we arrived into her classroom she immediately saw some friends and was so excited to be there.

What an adjustment first grade has been. Sofi gets so tired at school. Then she is up ALL night worrying about being tired at school. She says that she is bored and that she almost falls asleep. I am thinking that within the next few weeks she will adjust and her teacher will gets things moving faster when she has placed where all the kids are. :)

I have to add this to my post. My sister Hadi lived with us this summer while she was working to go back to Snow College. I took this pic the night before she left back to school. I high-lighted and cut a fun style in her hair. The back is spiked and really cool. I love doing her hair! Also she lost 24 pounds and 24.6 inches while she was here! Congrats Hadi!

Marty the Skunk

2010-09-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

We "had" a skunk that Gary's mom named Marty that decided to make a home in our barn. For Christmas last year I gave Gary a hunting camera that takes pictures by motion censors. He set it up in the barn to see if we could find any patterns in behavior. Nope! This skunk had no time schedule! Here are a couple of the best pics of our stinky friend. He would sneak under that crack below the barn door.

Saturday morning as Gary was getting ready to go hunting the dogs spotted Marty and cornered it which led to BOTH of them getting sprayed. Then Gary pushed it into the barn where he had a trap with an egg in it. It walked right into the trap and ate the egg. Who knew skunks eat eggs (obviously my hubby did)!

Gary put the dogs in the garage until I could wash them. The house, the barn, the garage, the cars, the dogs, Gary, me, Sofi, Gary's mom all smelled like skunk! Today is much better and the smell has gone down. Thanks to many dog washings and garage airing outs we are on the road to skunk free smells!

Have you tackled those sharps?

2010-08-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had the feeling that everyone around you is using you? Maybe I am just stressed out or really tired of being so busy. I feel like some people are nice to me because they need something. I have been asked to play the piano a lot in our ward. I don't mind and I love to play. It is when I feel used that it becomes an issue! How hard is it to say, "I know this is late notice to accompany me on a song that has a million sharps, but I am so thankful for you being able to play it." But no... I get "have you tackled those sharps?" It ended up being beautiful and yes I hit my sharps!

New Calling

2010-08-15T20:30:00.000-07:00

I just got a new calling in my ward. They made me Ward Music Coordinator or something like that. It will be fun - but for those of you (you know who you are) that have already done this - BEWARE! I will be asking for some assistance!

I have blogged about a product that I take. I have been taking it for about a year now. I have not taken it for a month because I decided to let my sister Hadi take instead of me. It is a bit expensive and I can't pay for both of us to take it. Anyway... I got a bladder infection last week. I forgot how terrible they are. I used to get them all the time and haven't had one when I was on this Asea stuff. So I drank almost a full bottle of Asea and my bladder infection was gone in one day. Usually they last a week while I am on antibiotics. It is AMAZING stuff. Here is the website where you can read about it. www.wells.teamasea.com If you are interested in hearing AMAZING stories of what this product can do but they can't claim let me know!

Where have I been?

2010-08-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

Summer has been CRAZY!! So I decided to update you all with pics from the summer. We have been so super busy.

This was Sofi's last class with Ms. Heather until next summer. We will miss you so much! You are such a great gymnastics teacher! And Sofi loved taking summer gymnastics with her cousin!

Sofi also turned SIX this summer! I can't believe how fast time has flown! Here are pics of her all girl party. She and her cousin were going around telling everyone that "no boys are allowed - even on the property!" We had a great time! I made horse tails for all the girls and they got to decorate princess crowns. We played games, pet all the animals and had a tea party. (You can double click on any collage to make it bigger.)

My sister Hadi has been living with us again this summer and has been training for a 5K. On the 24th of July she and my brother ran the 5K downtown SLC. Gary ran the 10K along with some friends and his sister. I also posted a pic of his group that ran the Ragnar Relay.

I have been babysitting my sisters kids on Mondays and Tuesdays. One of our favorite outings has been visiting Thanksgiving Point. The kids love everything we can do there.

My father-in-law is a fireman for Lehi Fire Department. We were able to go and visit him and get a tour of the fire station. The kids loved being in the fire truck and ambulance!

And of course... Plenty of horse rides! I am not able to ride yet, so we have had many friends go along to help rise all the horses. We also had a baby horse born from our Mare! We named her Ginger! She is so cute. I made a video to post on my blog, but something happened and I can't get it to work. I will figure it out though so you can see it!

Gary, Sofi and Becky (Gary's mom) all rode in the Stock Parade here in Lehi. Sofi was a HAM!! She was showing off her balance and huge smile! What a character!

We also got to go to Lagoon with Gary's work Lagoon Day. Everyone had a great time but me. I wasn't able to do much but watch. Why did I go? Don't ask! Sofi's friend was able to come along with us. They were both really brave and went on all the rides that they were tall enough to go on. Their favorite was the Tidal Wave and the Swings.

And don't forget all the water!!! What is summer without WATER!!! We love to play outside and be in the WATER!! :)

I am ready for life to slow down. It has been so busy around here. I feel it is worth the business to keep kids and husband and sister happy! :) It has been so fun for Sofi to have cousins over and to play with friends.

As far as my health ...... I am hanging in there. At my three month appointment they told me I am actually doing really well. He said that most people are on 4-6 pain killers a day at their 3 month and I am down to 2. I am frustrated that I am still at 2. He told me you can be on 2 the rest of your life and not be addicted. He isn't worried about that. My nerve was just so damaged he told me it can take up to a year for it to feel better. My nerve is my biggest complaint. I know I would be off my pain killers if it weren't for so much nerve pain. I just keep plugging along and then lay on the floor and say no more! I am sad that Sofi will be in school all day starting in a few weeks, but it will be nice to stay down all day and get feeling better.

Wow! That is a crazy long post! It's nice to get caught up!

Marathon Relay

2010-05-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Gary ran a marathon relay a few years ago. 5 people split up a marathon distance. It was a really fun race to watch him in. My sister is doing it this year. When she went on their website she saw a pic of Gary! I had to check it out and post it for you all. I told him they have him on their because he is so HOT!!! :) He has great runner legs! He is on the bottom right side!

We've Been Busy!!!

2010-05-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy few weeks! Here are some pics of what we have been doing!

We went with Gary's parents, his sister and her kids bowling. Obviously I was the picture taker and not a bowler! But that's ok. It was fun to watch!

While we were there everyone got to play laser tag. Sofi was very nervous at first with the darkness but soon fell into the moment of adventure and had a blast!! It was a pretty cool place! It is the new Jack and Jills Bowling in Lehi where they also have this great laser tag room.

Sofi started soccer! It is pretty funny to watch! She turns into horse mode. At her first game she even laid on the ground and rolled like a horse! She really likes it so far. Gary has been working with her a bit to help out with the "horse" situation! :)

This is our newest addition to the farm. She is SO cute! She is now just a week old! Sofi named her Bella with Rose Bell being her nick name. Sofi cracks us up with her creativity!

This is our 3rd year doing a pre Mother's Day celebration. We decided to start celebrating ourselves as moms and future moms. My sister Megan was up from St. George and my grandma came also. We went to a great place called Normandy. It was also a beautiful day! It was nice to see all of my sisters, mom and grandma without the chaos of kids!

Last but not least Mustache May. These pics don't do it justice, but it really did look great! A group of guys at Gary's work decided to grow them out for a week for fun.

As far as recovery for me is going I am doing better. I am still in a lot of pain but it is getting easier. I have started teaching piano and that is really difficult but I manage from day to day. I am walking better and walking a bit faster. I am able to sit for longer periods of time. I went to sacrament for the first time last week and made it through. This is such a long recovery and a little frustrating. But I know in the end it will be worth it. If the end ever comes! :)

Sofi's Project

2010-04-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sofi had to study an animal and then make a diorama for it. Of course she chose horses. Excuse me... I mean Wild Horses!! She cracks me up. She even put on the paper under where do they live - the West. What a kid!

This is Sofi with her best friend. They are 2 peas in a pod - literally! I love it!

Sofi was very good at talking about her project and all about horses. It was cute to watch her tell the kids that came around.

Pics of Gary's Tri

2010-04-28T17:52:00.001-07:00

Thanks to our friends the Baumgartner's I am able to post some pics of Gary's tri!

Triathlon Season

2010-04-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

Gary had his first sprint triathlon of the year today. 400 meters swim, 20 K (12.42 miles) bike and 5 K (3.10 miles) run. It was located at the Utah Olympic Oval. Sofi woke up in the middle of the night with a fever and spent the morning throwing up so we didn't make it to his race to take pics. But he sent out this email of how it went and I just have to post it! Here it is:

So it's over! I lived through another wonderful Swim, Bike, Run event we affectionately call a triathlon. It was a gorgeous day to be up early and going strong with the sunrise.

The worst part was the wait. It was a bit chilly before the swim and everyone had goose bumps while we waited out turn to splash and play in the pool. However, once we were in the water, it was oooooohhh so sweet! Noe one drown that I know of but it was a bit awkward dodging those slower swimmers who were zig-zagging in the lane. Just another added element of fun in the game we were playing!

From the swim we took a little jog or walk to the transition area where out trusty steeds of steel, aluminum or carbon fiber awaited. What joy it was to take them for a spin in the beautiful morning. The course laid before us was fairly smooth with a smattering of hills. One big one was most enjoyable as we raced downhill (my GPS read 38 mph at one point) just to turn again and face the sister hill headed up (GPS low read 9 mph -0 ). But it was still enjoyable and very pleasant with the sun up and a light breeze blowing from the south.

As we all raced to the transition area for our final leg and left our trusty steeds behind, we were all saddened by the sudden realization that this was our final memory maker of the competition. With dwindled enthusiasm we all headed out on our last leg. For some the transition from bike to the run was surprising. For some it was exhilarating.

I don't know how they did it, but the entire run seemed uphill. It was amazing. I know we descended a small grassy hill to get back, but it was no where near as long as the climb up. When my grandparents talk about walking uphill both ways to school, I now almost believe them!

What a GREAT day to race and what a GREAT course. Thanks to all the friends I had come out and do it with me. It was awesome to see your faces after the race and chat with you about your experience. For those who didn't come out, the season is still very young and you're welcome to jump in a future race!

So my official time was 1:24:12. Not bad. I placed 17th in my age and 67th over all with 300 participants.

Talk to you all later.

Gary

4 Week Follow- Up

2010-04-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

I had my 4 week follow up appointment yesterday. I can hardly believe it has been 4 weeks. I have been a bit frustrated with my pain levels still being so high but I wasn't sure where I should be. I feel like I am behind where I should be but was pleased to learn that I am doing ok!

The Dr. told me that the pain I am having with my nerve is normal. He said that 50% of people will lose their nerve pain almost immediately and then 50% still will have nerve pain to deal with. Since my nerve was severely damaged it was bound to be the later 50%. He also told me it can take up to a year for the pain to leave. He said 1 in 10 people will always have nerve pain but since I am having better (not good, but better) days and bad days with the nerve - that is a good sign that it will heal. He gave me some meds that should calm down the nerve pain! Yeah!!! Cross your fingers!!!

He also said that most people that come in for their 4 week have not even gotten out of bed because it hurts so much to walk. He said that I am 1 step ahead of most. It does hurt to walk, but it feels just as bad to lay in bed! So why not get out of bed and walk, walk, walk (especially when the sun is out!). It is the best way to get things healing for this type of surgery!

I cannot bend over for at least 2 more months and I cannot lift more than 10 pounds for 2 more months. At that time they will reevaluate me and see if I am ready to add pilates and yoga!!! That was one question I asked! Swimming will have to wait for another 3 months but I can start walking in the pool.

Then they did x-rays of the surgery. Pretty cool. So I had to scan them and write on them (with my new photoshop!) to show everyone. When I was in there the technician asked if I had an IUD which I do. She thought it could have been a zipper on my pants. It is so weird to see the IUD so that is one of the things I circled! :) I know - I am a dork! If you can't see the words I think you can click on the image to enlarge it.

The words say from top to bottom: Screw, new disc, IUD

From top to bottom: Rods, new disc, IUD

This is going to be a long road. I am so grateful for all the assistance that we have been getting. I have great neighbors that have been taking and picking up Sofi from school. We had meals brought in for almost 2 weeks! My sister and mom-in-law have been gracious to help clean bathrooms. Friends and family that bring over books, movies, lunch, phone calls and visits. And of course I have the best husband in the whole world who keeps up with dishes, vacuuming, mopping, laundry and dinners. I do manage to keep things dusted and am starting to clean at least the bathroom sinks. Sofi is in charge of the toilets! She is a great helper when it comes to me dropping things and is always asking if there is anything I need! I am still in bed 98% of the time, but it will get better! It has to!

Expecting a Miracle #2

2010-04-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read my "Expecting a Miracle" post you will know what I am talking about. If you want to know what I am talking about you will have to scan down and read my miracle post! Anyway, I really am so grateful for our Stake temple week! I have learned to expect miracles. I went into Stake temple week with the purpose of expecting 3 miracles! Miracle #1 happened and you can read about that in my first post. And Miracle #2 happened. I don't want to go into to much detail because it is a bit personal. But I will tell you a big part of it!

Gary got promoted. He had an incredible boss who has always kept Gary going on his schooling and applying for higher positions in the company. I call him Gary's mentor! Gary has worked for Usana for 14 years now! Well his boss decided to get a job for another company. Gary applied for his job and a few weeks later got it! He is now the treasurer of Usana (along with other things!). He doesn't know why he really got it, but it is because of all my prayers and going to the temple. :) He is also amazing at what he does and he knows all the in's and out's of the company.

I can't wait until I can go back to the temple weekly. It has brought so much peace and love into my heart. I have grown so much this year with relying on my Savior and knowing that he is there for me. It has been a true test of my faith, but I have never really tested it like this before. Miracle #3 will happen and when it does I will let you know because it will be a big one!

Another great weekend!

2010-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Gary's grandpa came over with his tractor on Saturday to help us out with some farm work. He is so great to come over and help us out! Sofi's LOVES to ride on the tractor!

Then Gary got a go at the work! Aren't they cute?!

After being outside for a while Gary's sister came over and Sofi came in to play with her kids. Nathan hung out with me most of the day and played the Wii. The girls decided to join in on the running one. I can't wait to start using Wii Fit. It looks like so much fun!

Sunday was my birthday. Gary made me a cake! He has never even bought me a cake for my birthday! It was so cute! He told me it was a princess cake for his princess! Sofi was so excited to help with the sprinkles.

He also invited some family over to share it with. He cleaned the house up and had everything ready. I didn't have to do anything (not that I could anyway). It was so nice and stress free!
He bought me photoshop 8. It will be a bit of a learning curve since it is quite different than photoshop 7, but I am so excited to learn it!

Spring time

2010-04-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

Oh the beauties of Spring time. Our Apricot tree is in bloom and I thought to share the glorious views that I get in my own back yard!

This pic is from last weekend on Gary and Sofi's horse ride up Dimple Dell (which is located in Sandy).

Now to a bit of complaining! I really have to admit that I am sick of being the by-stander! I am sick of being in bed and being bored and not being able to play with my family. It has been over a year now! I know that these next few months will get better, but it is still at least 6 months away to be able to ride again.

The warm weather makes me happy and sad. I love seeing everything come into bloom. I love the sunshine getting warmer and the days getting longer. But it makes me mad because the warm sunshine just makes me want to play, to run, to roller blade or go biking. So this spring time brings mixed emotions. I know I can be patient and I promise I will be good and do what the Dr. says! It will be worth it in the end.

Sofi's Easter Dress

2010-04-11T11:47:00.000-07:00

I had to share these cute pics of Sofi that we took this morning. Since General Conference fell on Easter Sofi got to wear her Easter dress today. I finished it right before I had surgery. The flowers on the dress and headband were made by my friend in my ward who makes them. Thanks Sheena! They turned out perfect!

Life on a farm

2010-04-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air! Now that the weather is warming up it is time to put shoes on the horses. Lucky for us that Gary is multi-talented and has taken classes and can shoe the horses himself. Here is my horse that he is working on. His name is Raw Hide. No - I did not name him! But the name has stuck!

Sofi tried to wait patiently for Gary to come and put her horses bridle on. But soon enough this is where I find her. She is reaching over the gate and trying to put it on Beau herself!

When Gary put the bridle on Beau Sofi was ready to take him on a walk! It is so cute to see this little 5 year old walking a horse on the side walk. As all the cars pass you can see these huge smiles emerge on people's faces.

Sofi loves her Beau. She begs Gary every night to go riding. She was so disappointed that they weren't going for a ride, but was happy when Gary told her she could take Beau on a walk!

You also know it is spring around here when babies are born. We have had 2 cats birth their babies this week. Most of them don't make it, but some do. So if you are looking for a mouse hunter - they are the best!

We also have a mare that is pregnant! We can't wait until she has her little one!! It won't be until May, but it is coming up! We love our little farm! And we love SPRING!!!

Merry Christmas!

2010-04-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Oh wait... It's Easter! My mistake! Look at what we woke up to this morning! Crazy snow!

We had a great Easter. We just spent it here at home - obviously! I used my new reacher toy to help find Easter eggs! The Easter bunny spoiled me with a lap top computer! I couldn't believe it! Who does that for Easter? :) I have been wanting one FOREVER. And I think someone (Gary) feels sorry for me not being able to sit at the computer for more than 10 min. at a time. It comes tomorrow and I can't wait to start posting more adds for my Avon and read everyone's blogs more often! So it definitely felt more like Christmas with the snow and the gifts!

I loved that Easter fell on General Conference this year. I was so inspired about being a mother and my motherly roles. I am so blessed to have a husband who supports me in my motherly roles! It is amazing how much it was stressed in conference this year! I know I have a lot to work on. My prayer is that Sofi will want to follow in my foot steps and be a mom!

Here is my set up that Gary has for me! Isn't he great? This way I can still be around everyone! My friend loaned me this special bed frame that keeps the mattress hard enough for my back yet still comfortable. I did get permission yesterday to start sleeping in my own bed. I love how Gary warms up my feet! He doesn't but I do :)!

The art of getting dressed!

2010-04-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

I met this girl from my ward that is from the compassionate service committee. She is an occupational therapist. She was concerned that they just sent me home from the hospital without guidance on ways to make life easier while recovering. They did teach me how to get in and out of bed and they did make sure I could walk before I came home - but that was it! After talking with my new friend Kristen she decided to set me up with the best tools EVER!!! I call them my toys!

1. First Toy: designed to help me get my own pants on, be able to pick things up off the floor and be able to pinch my husband all without bending my back!!!

I know you want to see how it works! I was SO excited to be able to get dressed by myself!

2. Second Toy: designed for putting on socks!!

Here is how this one works!

I was even more excited that I could put on my own socks!!!

Who knew such simple things that we take for granted every day could be achieved with these crazy looking toys! I am so thankful that Kristen had in her mind to get me this kit! I really almost cried that I didn't have to have Gary put on my clothes for me! It's great to be independent! But it is even better to have a husband who is willing to get me dressed!

Surgery Details

2010-03-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

Pre-surgery pic. Get the camera AWAY from Gary!! :)

Surgery went really well. After surgery Dr. Reichman told me that my disc was severely torn and that there were also torn ligaments. So they removed the disc and replaced it with something man-made then screwed in bolts to hold the vertebrae above and below that disc into place. It was my L5-S1. It was nice to hear that it was as bad as it was. My worst fear was that he was going to say that it was not too bad! But it was bad! And I am so glad we did the surgery.

Here is a pic right after surgery. Again, get the camera AWAY from Gary!! :)

My hospital experience was ok. Over all I had great nurses. A much better experience than when I had my c-section! I stayed in the hospital from Monday - Thursday. One day longer than Gary and I were thinking, but that's ok.

They try and get you up walking the first day, but I was so nauseous and decided to keep throwing up, so I would just try to stand. This is a pic of me walking for the first time. Gary even ran back to the room to get the camera. All I kept saying to myself was that if Megan could do it I could do it. My sister Megan really was my inspiration to make it through the pain of walking. She is so amazing to me.

Here is a pic of my sister Megan walking after her first cancer surgery (2008). She was cut up like you would not believe. They cut her from her breast bone - pucic bone and from belly button around to the back. My bro-in law says it looks like a Mercedes sign. She is amazing!

So walking , walking I go. Gary set up our upstairs like a royal retreat! He put a bed in our tv room so I just walk my laps upstairs. I try and get up at least every hour and walk. The Dr's orders were to WALK, WALK, WALK. I tried stairs for the first time since coming home yesterday. It went really well. That was TERRIBLE going up them when we first got home. I just kept saying to myself that if Megan can do this daily I can do it.

I know that the walking helps me. I am walking much better and I am feeling much better. Today has been my best day so far. My pain level hovers at about a 5 with my pain meds, but it is tolerable. I am spacing my meds apart a little bit each day unless my pain shoots above an 8. That is my goal anyway. My nerve pain is getting better FINALLY! The Dr. told me it was pretty damaged for being pinched for so long and that it would take time. I am finally able to get in and out of bed without it causing me to grit me teeth!

Gary has been amazing! And Sofi is a cutie pie! This hasn't fazed her at all. She is just excited to be playing everyday with someone! I am so thankful for them and for my friends and family and all that has been done for us. We are so blessed!

Oh one more thing! Gary's dad took out all 26 staples today! I am so glad that he could do it so I didn't have to endure a painful trip back to the Dr.'s!

How do you catch a leprechaun?

2010-03-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

How do you catch a leprechaun? Well according to Sofi this is what you do!

1. Set up a box and prop it up with a stick
2. Place some green frosting or a girl leprechaun underneath
3. When the leprechaun goes to get it the stick will fall and the box will hit him in the bum!

We have had quite the adventures with our little creative 5 year old! When I went to pick up Sofi from school on Tuesday she was very sad. I asked her what was wrong and she just started sobbing!

Sofi: I am scared!
Me: Why?
Sofi: Lucky (who is the leprechaun they have been learning about at school) cast a spell on Mrs. Pringles cookie and it turned her feet green!”

Mrs. Prinlge is a very darling student teacher. She came and talked with us. I guess she showed the kids her feet had turned green and all the kids laughed. But Sofi was VERY concerned- concerned enough to not even eat a cookie. Mrs. Prinlge and I talked to her and told her it was just a joke and that Lucky only does it to teachers.

So I thought I would try and help the situation by turning the milk green Wednesday morning. I made it really fun and was all excited. Well Sofi decided that she was not going to drink it. So I drank some of it to show her that it was ok. She drank a few swallows but that was it! Then as we were leaving to school I noticed her sneaking a peek under her socks to see if her feet turned green.

I am a terrible mother!!! Needless to say she came home from school and noticed her feet were still normal. Poor girl!

Expecting Miracles

2010-03-04T08:52:00.000-08:00

A few months ago a member of our bishopric talked about expecting miracles. He reminded us that modern day miracles do happen and that we should have the faith to expect them. Last week was our stake temple week. The stake challenged us to put in 8 hours at the temple. I decided to take on the challenge and to put my faith to work. I went in with miracles that I decided to expect.

Miracle #1: I prayed that the Doctor would know what needed to be done with my back and that I would KNOW without a doubt what to do.

I injured my back 1 year ago being bucked off my horse. It has been very trying and very painful. I finally got into a doctor (that was suggested to me by several people) for a second opinion – well… really a 3rd! I had a horrible test done called a discogram. It was the most painful test I have ever done. And believe me I have been through the ringer with tests through my life! Then it was a matter of waiting until June to see my doctor again!

Well, here starts the miracle! They called me last week and were able to get me in this last Tuesday March 2. When I went in Dr. Reichman told me that the tear in my disk was very severe and that he thought there might be a torn ligament also. The only thing to do for this is to fuse that area of the spine.

There you have it. Either fuse it or live with the pain. That was a very clear answer to me from my Heavenly Father! It has to be fused! I thought for sure that Dr. Reichman would be booked out until July for surgery and lo and behold another miracle. He opened up a surgery day right before my appointment! I am scheduled for surgery March 22.

This may seem like a menial miracle to some, but it is an answer to my prayers. I have never tested my faith like this before and look where it got me! I am super nervous but excited to be feeling better!

And with that said I am learning to expect miracles not just have faith that there might be a miracle!

Who is watching you?

2010-02-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

My sister in law handed me a piece of paper and told me she had to share it with me. When I opened it, it was a copy of a paper that her daughter had written for school. You just never know how much people are really watching what we do and how we live our lives! This really touched me. Hailey is 13 years old and has always had a special place in my heart! As you read her paper below, you will see why! She is such a sweetheart!

Favorite Person
By: Hailey Hunt

I can’t really decide who my favorite person is. Family, obviously. My aunt, who saved my life. My mom, who is really awesome. My grandparents, who are really awesome, too. I’ll do my aunt. Her name is Whitnie, and she is really nice, but firm too. She has leaned how to balance her schedule so she gets in the right things. These are a few reasons why I respect her.

My Aunt Whitnie is also a teacher. She teaches piano and is my piano teacher, but she also taught me to get things that I need to get done before I do anything else, such as practicing and doing homework (it really helps, too). She is also all for living her own standards and not letting other people drag her down.

I really admire her strong personality and hope I will be like her one day. She is good at seeing smart strategies to problems and is a very smart person.

As for saving my life, after I fell off Beau (that’s a horse) I wasn’t breathing, and she kept me alive till my grandpa, who is an EMT, got to my aunts house. I admire her persistence in all that she does, and she has been a good example to me throughout my life. She has even taught me a few hairstyles, and if there is anything that Whitnie cannot not do, it is hair! :)

Happy Birthday Gary!!

2010-02-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law knew of this program called Recuva that we dowloaded for free that recovered a lot of our stuff. There is still a ton missing, but at least we got some things back! With that said, here is Gary's birthday slideshow!

So sad

2010-01-29T19:13:00.000-08:00

Everything is GONE!!! I am feeling so sad right now! Something happened to our computer and it decided to start over to factory settings and erase EVERYTHING!!! The last time I backed it up was last July of '09. Unfortunately I am not finding my pics in those files. I can't believe it!!!! I am so sad!

Sofi's artistic-ness

2010-01-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

This was an assignment given to Sofi at school! It was so cute that I had to share!

If you click on the image it gets larger.

Year 2009 Review

2010-01-12T14:43:00.001-08:00

I finally got it done! Enjoy!

Beautiful!

2010-01-06T15:42:00.000-08:00

This video shows the winner of "Ukraine's Got Talent," Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch.The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears, and she won the top prize of about #75,000. She begins by creating a scene showing a couple, sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear, and the happy scene is obliterated. It is replaced by a woman's face crying, but then a baby arrives, and the woman smiles again. Once again, war returns, and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman's face appears. She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier. This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house. In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside, and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye. The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of thepopulation's being killed, with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million. Kseniya Simonova says: "I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And, there's surely no bigger compliment."

Lydia's Baptism

2010-01-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

My niece Lydia Haycock got baptized this last weekend. She is the daughter of my oldest sister Megan. They live in St. George so we got to take a road trip! I was also the luckiest Aunt ever to be able to make her baptizm dress. When they were up a month ago Lydia and I sat at my computer and searched for dresses that she liked. This is the one she picked so I got to be creative and copy it. My friend was sweet enough to make the cute flower and headband to match! It turned out so beautiful!

Here all some of the cousins of Lydia that were also able to come!

This is me and my sister Megan!

I know this is kind of a random pic. But I really had to laugh at how many handicap parking spaces there were at the church! I think I counted 12! I don't think there are that many at the temple in one area!

It's been a decade!!!

2010-01-03T20:36:00.000-08:00

Has it really been another decade? It seems like yesterday when we were hit with the Y2K scare! It seemed everyone was worried the world was going to end (including my dad!) :) Time has been flying way too fast around here! I feel like there is no way it has been 10 years! Then I decided to really think about what I have been doing these last 10 years! It was fun to write things down and kind of be amazed of what we have accomplished these last ten years! Here it goes!

In the last 10 yeas we had:

1 child
2 dogs
3 horses
1 college degree (Gary!)
2 homes
5 different vehicles
4 surgeries (2 Gary, 2 Whit)
1 ski accident (Whit)
3 horse accidents (1 my niece Hailey, 2 Whit)
5 divorces in immediate family
5 weddings in immediate family
7 nephews born
6 nieces born
2 close friends that passed away (Paula Phillips and Cathy Jewkes)

I had:

29+ piano students
6 flute students
450+ swimming students! :)

I made:

3 wedding dresses
21+ bridesmaid dresses
4 Easter dresses
2 baptism dresses
Countless blankets, bedding, drapes...

I served:

3 years in YW
7 years in Primary

In the next 10 years I am planning on surviving yet another 10 years! Who knows what it holds for me. I would like to:

get a school degree in something
continue to go to the temple weekly
continue serving in my ward
continue my health (physical and mental) journey
build a pool so that I can teach swimming lessons here at my home!
continue triathlons when my back is better
learn to play the organ

And no... I really don't think a marathon is in there!

First Tooth

2010-01-01T10:37:00.000-08:00

Sofi lost her first tooth the other night! She comes running downstairs and says, "OH MY GOSH!!! I pulled my tooth out!"

Temple Square Lights

2009-12-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Temple Square at Christmas time when all the lights are up and glorious!

We headed downtown on TRAX (public transit train) with Gary's family. It was so crowded going downtown! We were able to stand in between two cars so that we were all together as a family and so the kids could sit on the ground!

Then we met up with Gary's other sister and her family at Temple Square. The kids were so cute! They all had to hold hands with Grandma!

On our way home the trains got mixed and it took FOREVER to get home! It was quite the adventure train hopping and we just made the best out of it. We all got split up. Sofi was sitting with her cousin Eliza and Gary's sister Wendy and her husband Scott. A lady came and sat with Sofi and Eliza. Obviously she was a very nice lady because Sofi decided to fall asleep on her!

Oh What Fun!

2009-12-22T12:09:00.000-08:00

My sister Megan was in town with her family this last weekend so we had everyone over. It is so fun to see all the kids play so well with each other! After everyone left this is what we found upon walking into Sofi's room! Oh what fun!

It is worth all the mess in the world to see all of these kids be together! Here they are with my mom!

Aren't they darling?

Jingle Jam

2009-12-18T15:39:00.001-08:00

Today Sofi had her Jingle Jam at school. It was really cute to watch her sing with her class. Not only did we get to watch Sofi's class, but we got to watch ALL the grades since Kindergarten was last! Oh fun! ;)

Gymnastics Recital

2009-12-18T14:50:00.001-08:00

Sofi just had her gymnastics recital. She is really fun to watch! When she gets nervous she turns into horse mode (acting like a horse!). She really loves gymnastics even if she is a bit uncoordinated with it! We just love her teacher Heather Austin! She is fabulous with the kids and makes each of them feel so great and special!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-17T12:55:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-08T20:21:00.001-08:00

A family tradition that we started last year is to go to Richfield and get a Christmas tree. You buy a tag for $10 then find a fresh tree to cut down. This time we had 2 dogs to take along. But Sofi didn't mind that at all! She was a great trooper!

Here is our tree as Gary just finished cutting it!

Next is Gary and I hauling it down to the truck. I think I was more in the way!! Sofi took a pretty good pic of us though!

And the final product! It really is beautiful!

Favorite Stocking Stuffers!

2009-11-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my favorite stocking stuffers with Avon. Sometimes it is nice to know what is good. Here are products that we (me, Gary and Sofi) have tried and really like! Just click on the name of the item and it will direct you right to that link.

For Kids:

Sofi loves these body paints! They smell great and they really clean! They have a ton of different designs:
Disney Bath Time Body Paints
Avon Kids Bath Time Body Paints
Avon Kids Holiday Bath Time Body Paints

And of course chap stick! The only downer is that if they are red in color they show red in color on their lips! In Sofi's case - face!
Disney Princess Jewels Lip Balm
High School Musical Lip Balms
Camp Rock Lip Balm
Winter Treats Lip Balms

They have the BEST bubble bath for kids. It is called "For Kids":
Bubble Bath - 24 fl. oz.
Holiday Mini Bubble Bath - 1.7 fl. oz.

Lotion perfect size for a Stocking:
Holiday Mini Hand Creams

For Her:

To tell you the truth I am not a big fan of the chap stick for my lips! But I love these for lips:
GLAZEWEAR Liquid Lip Color

For stuffing the Christmas sock try these:
Holiday Mini Hand Creams
Holiday Mini Bubble Bath
Bubble Bath - 24 fl. oz.
Christmas Earrings - these are actually really cute!
Christmas Charm Necklace Set
NATURALS Pomegranate & Mango Refreshing Shower Gel

My favorite makeup thus far!:
GLIMMERSTICKS Eye Liner
Smooth Minerals Foundation
GLAZEWEAR Liquid Lip Color
SuperFULL Waterproof Mascara

This is what I use on my hands and feet nightly! I have the softest feet ever!
MOISTURE THERAPY Intensive Hand Cream

For Him:

I have bought Gary a Sports Team Watch and it is really nice! Gary really likes it.
Officially Licensed Sports Team Watch with Light

Gary also likes the:
MOISTURE THERAPY Intensive Hand Cream

I just got some samples of scents for some of the mens collections. I will have Gary try them out and will post later which ones he likes!

Just so you know... if you find something you like and it's not on sale - it will be in a few weeks. I have found that with everything with Avon! I really have enjoyed Avon/Mark jewelry also! And of course since you order with me I can give you free shipping to your home!!! Just enter coupon code: FSWER at checkout.

School Pic!

2009-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am really impressed with how well Sofi's school pic turned out! The only problem is that she is growing up WAY too fast!

Halloween was Spooktacular!

2009-11-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

We love Halloween around our house! It is by far my favorite holiday. Probably because it was one holiday where everyone was happy and having fun when I was growing up! My mom always made homemade chili and my dad always dressed up to go trick or treating with us. Then as we got older my dad helped us girls put on a spook alley in our front room. He even bought a real coffin! It was awesome!

Every year my mom puts on a Halloween pumkin carving party at her house where she still makes her homemade chili! Here are some pics from that night:

Left to Right: Kaleb Belnap, Izac and Dani Lybbert, Liam and Aiden Belnap, Sofi Wells

Sofi has a great time drawing a face on the pumpkin. She was determined to do it by herself so we didn't use any of the pumpkin pattern faces.

Of course Grandma and Papa Beck always come too! I just love them to death. For some reason we didn't get a pic of papa, but there are two of my cute Grandma below!

This was Halloween night. Sofi is Spirit the Wild Horse (yes... she says the long version!) from the movie Spirit. When she told me what she wanted to be I had no idea what I was going to do! We went to the fabric store to pick out the fabric. Every color I chose was "not the right color mom!" So Sofi picked the color and when we got home I put the movie cover up to it and it was the exact same color as Spirit! What a kid!

I decided not to do a Witch this year and ended up doing a Vampire. It would be nice to dress up for a party, but... trick-or-treating will have to do! I have too much fun with makeup!

Gary terrorized the neighborhood again as the Headless Horseman. It looks really awesome in person! He has it so he can light up his pumkin!

As you can see, we had a wonderful Halloween! Too much candy though! I think I will start sneaking some of it out of Sofi's candy bin and put it into my piano box! :)

California Trip

2009-10-26T09:34:00.001-07:00

Here are some of our details from our trip to California last week. I decided to break the pictures up into play days! Here are a few things to notice about play day #1 (Disneyland):

Sofi covering her eyes and ears. That is how she would ride any fast roller coaster at Disneyland. She loved the rides but didn't like the loud sounds or spooky monsters!
At the end of day 1 she was so tired she fell asleep on Gary's shoulders while we walked back to our condo!
We shared our vacation with our good friends the Peterson's.
This one is not in a picture but I saw my second cousin from Arizona Carson Brown and met his beautiful wife Jennifer. What a "Small World after All"!

Play day #2 (mostly spent in Disney California and a little bit of Disneyland):

It drizzled most of the day today, but we still had to run through the jumping water!
My favorite ride was here. It was the Toy Story ride!
They have a DARLING parade that we decided Gary should join and become one of the dancers! They have so much energy! I wonder how much they get paid?!

Play day 3# (spent at both parks):

Sofi's favorite ride was the Runaway Train in Disneyland. She loved the roller coasters and would even get her hands up! I think we went on that one at least 3 times a day!
Yet another rainy day...
I broke down and we got a wheel chair today. The kids had fun pushing me and Sofi loved that she didn't have to walk either! At the end of the day we went into a store and when we came out someone had stolen the Wheel chair!! Can you believe that? Good thing we didn't have anything with it! Disneyland was very good about giving us back our deposit.
Sofi has been earning money and saving it up to buy something at Disneyland. She had $7. She had her eye on that big lollipop from day 1!

Play day #4 (Sea World):

I really love Sea World! It is a fun place to learn about Sea life and animals too! They have great shows!
They did a really cute act with Sea Lions that involved a dance at the end to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson!
Sofi loved being able to feel the Sting Rays and Star Fish.

Play day #5 (the Beach):

I could live on the beach!
I could live on the beach!
Oh ya, and I could live on the beach!

Over all we had a great trip! My back was killing me, but I managed with a lot of Lortab, two back supports and hot baths at night! It was worth it! The kids were all great and so much fun! We were also able to visit Gary's Aunt and Uncle who live in San Diego. They did a fantastic BBQ for us! Thank you, we love you guys! Also note that I hate being chubby! This was very difficult for me to post any pics of me! But I did it. I do not make a cute chubby person! But... I am learning to deal with it! I can't wait until I can exercise again!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Daughter of God

2009-10-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

This video touched me. I have been really down on myself lately. My self esteem has hit big time low with my weight gain these last few months. Not being able to exercise is KILLING me. But you know... it's not all about that! And who am I to judge myself or compair myself with others (especially really petty people!)? Because when it really comes down to it, I am a daughter of God and I am beautiful no matter what in His eyes!

New Callings

2009-09-22T10:09:00.001-07:00

I am so pleased to announce that Gary and I both got new callings in our ward. I was called as the Secretary in Young Women's and Gary was called as the 2nd counselor in Young Men's. Kind of crazy that we will both be working with the youth! It will be fun to be able to work with Gary on some occasions though! I love working with the youth! I am very excited to be back in the YW organization!

Sofi on Beau

2009-09-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to see Sofi getting back to being comfortable on a horse! She played with Beau and Gary for over an hour today. Sofi had a smile on her face the whole time! She is very fun to watch!

Chester

2009-09-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

Gary's mom's horse Chester has grown up (obviously Sofi has too)! Gary started training him this last week. Gary is amazing to watch. Chester never even tried bucking him off when he got on for the first time. Chester looks really great and looks like a really smooth ride!

Can't resist this one!

2009-09-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Eveytime a happy ending... But where are the most famous Disney Villains?
Based on the musical "Chicago", Medusa, Evil Queen, Ursula, Anastasia, Cruella DeVil and Maleficent sing their own stories in the Cell Block Tango!

New adventure

2009-09-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

I have been on a new product for four weeks now. I have shared my story with some of you, but the rest of you deserve to hear it!

I was called to YW girls camp this year. Through one of our activities before camp I met my friend Andrea Monfretti who is in the YW presidency. We were sharing our health stories! Here is what I shared with her:

Last February I got bucked off my horse and was led to this wonderful couple who work from their home doing kinesiology, cranial sacral alignment, nutrition and other holistic healing. It has been a little crazy to say the least. I was on 8 prescriptions in February of '09 and now I am on 0 as of July!!!! That's right... 0!!!!! It has been amazing! I have not had a migraine since March (which haunted me daily since I was about 12 years old!). And I never thought I would be off my anti-depressants (I went off of them VERY slowly!!). I have replaced prescriptions with supplements and I still go to the Adair's home weekly for either an emotional or an alignment.

I do have to say that Heavenly Father was preparing me to be open about what Andrea unfolded to me! If she would have talked to me in February I probably would have shunned her away. We were paying over $400 a month in medical bills and there was no room for any extra anything! Being off my meds and not having to visit the Dr. office so often I was open to spending money to assist in healing my body!

Here is what Andrea told me about: http://www.discoverasea.com/. This site tells about all the science behind the product.

http://www.whitsaseajourney.blogspot.com/ is a blog I started to document my results.

This product assists my body in healing itself. I know that sounds crazy, but there are stories after stories of miraculous healing going on with people who use this product. I really would love you to hear more about it. Contact me if you ready to gain control of your health! This product has no boundaries!! I just am here to get the word out!!! No strings attached!

First day of Kindergarten!!!

2009-08-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that Sofi is old enough to go to Kindergartedn!!! Yesterday was her first official day of school. She really likes her teacher who shares the same last name as her Aunt Ashlie "Mrs. Belnap". That is pretty cool! And one of her good friends from the ward is in her class - which was pretty cool also!

The story of my life!

2009-08-23T21:47:00.001-07:00

To see more history visit our old blog at www.wells111.wordpress.com. I decided to give blogspot a go! We will see what happens!