On the Road

Yesterday we drove from Meridian to Vancouver, British Columbia. The scenery was so beautiful, i'm glad we drove during the day so we could see it. Sam was a real trooper. He really didn't enjoy being in his seat forever and cried a little bit, but he doesn't have a loud cry so it was all good. We stopped a couple of little towns along the way and when we finally arrived in Seattle for dinner we realized how glad we were to live in Meridian. We forget what it's like to be in a big city with tons of people and traffic. Kind of made me homesick, but we love ID. So we needed to exchange currency so we went went downtown and barely made it to the bank before they had locked the door. We weren't positive to where it was and we called and the employees helped us out. As I ran in, they all knew it was "the currency girl" and they were making bets to whether or not i would make it or not. So luckily we got canadian money and no fee because it was our bank. We then went to a restaurant called Red Mill Burger. Joe had seen it on some show and has been lusting over it for months. We got there it was packed but our wait wasn't long and it was really great! We finally arrived at the border around 9:30 and got through around 10. Joe almost said something stupid to the border guy. He took our ID's then our birth certificates and asked why we were there, where we were going and how long. Did we bring any weapons and then Joe hesitated and I knew he getting ready to say something stupid. In my head I was saying, "shut up, shut up, shut up" what seemed like forever, but was only 2 seconds, he finally said no. The officer lets us pass and I hit Joe. He started laughing and i asked what he was wanting to say. He didn't realize i knew he wanted to say anything and then said he was going to tell the officer, "besides my wifes butt I don't have any weapons" Luckily for joe's life (because i would of killed him) he restrained from saying what he wanted. We got to our hotel and love our room. I got a great deal on priceline, so we feel a bit spoiled. We have a king size bed, lounger, desk, 2 robes, microwave, fridge, free internet, and free covered parking. So in an earlier post i said we were doing the medifast diet. well i didn't know we would have a microwave so i didn't bring oatmeal or soups, so know i'm so sad. i really look forward to breakfast and lunch. bars and shakes aren't very awesome all day long!! so dinners look even better now.
Joe is now at his class so Sam and i are relaxing in our room. So fun! :)

Take Shape For Life

In Joe's office they have a weight loss program for their patients and Joe asked me to be a health coach for him. So i'm taking a 4wk course and reading alot, so i can coach his patients. He also asked me to do the diet so i would know what every person is going through. So i started this last Saturday and I have to say that though it was mentally hard the first 3 days i'm am really enjoying the change. I have great energy now, last week before i started I was really dragging and couldn't get any energy. My crohn's is doing really great on it too! So it's a bonus!!! Joe has lost a lot of weight as well and i'm so proud of him. If anyone is looking to lose weight check out Joe's website called Take Shape For Life, the link is to the right of this.

Pinewood Derby

It was Pinewood Derby time and the boys were pumped for this years race. Of course we procrastinated on the making of the cars. The sunday before, joe and the boys started carving and sanding out the cars they had picked out. Doug wanted a skateboard and Ken wanted a cop car. Our friend Darron helped out Sunday and gave some great advice. Then next few nights were spent painting, sanding, painting, sanding, and so on. Joe actually got advice from a few dad's who recently had their pack races, so he had a ton of knowledge. Long story short, Doug's car broke when joe was putting the wheel on and ken's car had some minor damage minutes before we were going to leave for the race. I spent the afternoon fixing doug's car and we had to hot glue ken's car. we were truly hoping the boys would just win 1 race so they wouldn't be disappointed. the girl's and i were late and to my surprise our boys had luck on their side. They both had wins under their belts. They won race after race. Doug was finally beat by Ken then his friend Trevor. The other scouts kept wondering who had the skateboard and cop car. So it was time for the results and for some reason they put Ken with the webelos, the 11 yr olds,(Ken isn't an official scout yet, the leader let him participate because he's close to scout age). So Ken got 1st and Doug got 3rd, Doug's friend Trevor Ball was 2nd, it was a Hall-Ball sandwich:) After the scouts raced the Elder's Quorum had their own derby race. Joe decided he would enter in Ken's car since he did some(alot) of the work and with luck on his side he got 2nd. So he did some trash talking and next year we will be trying to defend ourselves against the Ball's again:) I'm glad we have some laid back dad's in the ward! I heard races can get a little ugly at times.

Race #1

I had a great time running the Race for the Cure. I can't wait for next year, I hope to have a big team of runners!! It would be even better if I was running "The Race for Crohn's"! Man I need to create that race!!!

Sam and Jetta

Sammy loves Jetta. Loves to sit on her, lay on her, kiss her, hug her, and play fetch. He also loves to play in her kennel. As soon as we let her out he will go in. He's a silly dude!

Joe lost some hair!

We love you Brady!

Sam is 2

So I'm a month late on Sam's b-day, super sorry! It seems as soon as our little dude turned 2 he immediately gained a larger vocabulary. Sam likes to repeat anything you say so Joe called him a brat, just playin around, and sam called him one right back. Along with the vocabulary the tantrums have begun. First the heavy breathing, then the lip starts to quiver, and finally the explosion of tears and crying. If we're really lucky he will throw himself on the floor and we're pretty lucky. He's usually over it in 30 seconds and for that I'm grateful! He likes to watch moomee's and will tell me when he has gone poops. All i need him to do is tell me before the poops happens and i will be very happy. He loves to play the drums and loves to have sword fights with who ever will play with him. He also loves his Daddy and will ask where he is all day long and when joe finally walks through the door sam is the first to greet him. We love you little dude and we are so happy you were our little surprise!

Holy Cow!

So much as happened since I last blogged. So here we go... My little dude turned 2 on April 8th and that night/morning, it was maybe 1:00am, I had to take him to St. Lukes because he was struggling to breath. His little chest was caving in and his tummy was bulging out. In the E.R. he had 3 breathing treatments and a dose of steroids which didn't help, so the doc decided to admit him. Sammy was a great patient and got compliments all day and night, he even had great rumors going around the hospital about him. Every doc and nurse that came in would tell me they heard he was the best kid patient they've had. It was a long 38 hours in the hospital but we had the whole wing to ourselves and Sam enjoyed playing with all the toys and riding on the tricyle and in the wagon! He is doing much better and we hope that this doesn't happen again but we are prepared for it since Abby has asthma.
Joe recently shaved his head bald for one of his great friends, Brady Wirick, in Idaho Falls. Brady found out recently that he has cancer so Joe decided he would support Brady and shave his head. I am totally supportive of this but it has been an adjustment to look at. :) He looks just like his little brother, Nick, with a bald head. We love Brady and his little family and pray that he will be able to fight this cancer and have a long life with his wife and 2 girls.
Other than that we are just trucking along in Idaho. Enjoying the beautiful days and the weather that can't make up it's mind. Cold one day, hot the other.
Joe is very busy with work and the only full day we get to spend as a family is Sundays. This coming weekend will be the huge patient appreciation day, so that will be fun and crazy. Douglas will be turning 9 on May 4th. I'm thinking about running the Race for the Cure in a few weeks and then Abby turns 6 on May 28th.
So I guess that's about it. There's always some kind of excitement going on at our house. Oh! I am feeling alot better. Eating right and taking the supplements my body needs has turned my crohn's around. I still have some bad days but it's not constant and I can totally deal with that. Joe has lost about 35 lbs and has started running with me. I'm so proud of him! He is also training our dog Jetta for the Utility Test in 6 weeks. If Jetta passes this test we can start breeding her!!! Okay I think that's it. I love you all and really miss my family and can't wait for those of you who are coming up this summer for Ken's baptism.

Attempt #1

Thursday we attempted to take our own family pics and what a stressful event that was. First it was cold and overcast, the kids were hungry, and we didn't have a photographer. Here are some of the pics we took. We will have a do over photo shoot when the weather gets warmer, enjoy these in the meantime.

Last Saturday

Last Saturday I took the girls to an audition in Boise. The commercial said they were looking for new "stars". So being the awesome mom I am(HEHE) I thought what a great opportunity to take Cheyenne, she wants to act and loves to sing. I called the number and made and appt, they asked if I had any other children and of course I do, hello! So I signed Abby up for the audition as well. We had to bring a full body shot and head shot and had to fill out an application. 4 hours later, the last group the girls got up and did a corn pops commercial on camera. Cheyenne did great and poor Abby forgot her name and how old she was, but looked super cute! We then talked with an agent and this is where we found out that we were there so they could find more acting students for their company who represents a bunch of big time actors. Some kids got call backs and some didn't. My girls got a call back, but when we got home and talked it over and explained finances ($4000 for the girls to take acting classes) we decided that it wasn't the best option for us. I felt extremely bad because this is Cheyenne's dream, but I know she will make it happen for herself, that's just who she is, she doesn't give up!