May!

What is happening!? I am so behind.  We’re more than half-way through summer and I haven’t blogged a bit of it!  We really haven't been up to anything super exciting, but hopefully I can get all caught up this week, and then somehow stay on top of this little blog…

So here we go…May:

First, we had another appointment for Ty and his stinkin eyes… what am I talking about? His little clogged tear ducts that just. wont. go. away.  We did a simple probe surgery when he was 10 months old… that didn’t work, and then we did this surgery…that didn’t work either.  I sort of was hoping they would somehow go away with a little more time, but that has not been the case.  So we had to go back to the dr. who recommended an extra special specialist who basically said the only thing they can do is put the stints back in and hope it works this time.  Lame.  He did say we might be better off waiting until he’s a little bit older before doing the surgery, because there would be a higher success rate.  So we might wait a bit.  But in the meantime, Ty had his eyes dilated and was pretty thrilled about the sunglasses he got to keep…

Next, Ace got into a really bad car accident and totaled his little truck.  It was real scary, but thankfully, he was alright.  The big bummer was that we had to get him a new truck, pronto…we were hoping to make his old truck last one or two more years to save up a little more money.  Never. Make. Plans...luckily we found a new truck for a pretty good deal, and this one fits our whole family.  So yay for family truck outings!

School ended May 30th, and we had a last day of school celebration with our neighbors:Me and my dumbo camera missed the actual “run through the banner moment” but you get the idea…

And we worked and worked and worked on our yard.  Since we had to buy a new car, we had to save money where we could, so we decided to weed and grade our yard by ourselves.  I should’ve taken a before picture but just imagine every bit of this dirt was completely covered in a thick giant layer of weeds.  So everyday, we weeded and graded, weeded and graded, moved dirt and weeded and graded etc etc… and at the end of the month, this is what we had to show for it…Just a whole lot of dirt. (but no weeds!) 

So that’s May in a nutshell…and tomorrow we’ll move on to June!

A Long Time Coming

Crazy week last week.  First of all, Ty got the tubes out of his eyes...Finally!  His eyes kept getting all goopy so we've had to postpone the surgery 3 different times.

The surgery was going to be a fast one, so we made it a family affair.  Woke up at 5:00 in the am (even though his surgery wasn't scheduled til 8... does this annoy anyone else?) and traipsed around the hospital in our PJs.

Ty got all dressed up in the purple gown, once again.

Including the ever-in-fashion duck feet socks.

Super fascinated with all the techno gadgets

Ty got the playroom all to himself

The surgery went good.  So fast, there was no need for an IV this time.  They just used gas to put him to sleep, so he woke up a lot faster and acted like nothing had happened.  

The Dr did say there was a lot of goopy stuff (I know, nasty) still in his right eye.  That means that we have a 50/50 shot at the tear duct getting clogged again...if it does clog again we get to put larger tubes in.  yessss.  So far, his eyes are looking good.  I don't want to jinx anything though so we'll just wait and see.

One little thing about this whole ordeal is that Ty has gotten so used to eye drops.  He has had them pretty much his whole life.  Now he reminds me to put them in his eyes every morning and night.  He gets so excited about his eye drops.  He unscrews the lid and holds it for me, then just laughs and laughs while I put the drops in...who does that? So funny.

Next little tidbit from the week, Ace got laid off from his job on Wednesday.  Which is really a bitter-sweet thing.  He hated the company he was working for...the people were not nice, he was working awful hours, and the jobs weren't really what he was wanting to do.  But then, it did give us an income, so... that's where the bitter comes in.  

Really, we feel incredibly blessed that he was able to have a job for so long.  We have known for a long while that it was only a matter of time before it happened so we've prepared for it the best we can....that's why being in this home is so good, we have no lease agreement and a rent payment we can pay.  We are in a sort of limbo right now...not really knowing what is next, but that's the fun of Life...right!?

So, anyone want to hire an awesome, hard working, totally cool guy?  Just let us know :)

That Went A Whole Lot Differently In My Head

Today is Ace's 30th birthday! {Woot. Woot.}  Ace is on a crazy job right now and has been working really long hours.  I had been wanting to do something really great for the big 3-0, but I realized very quickly once he started this job that the last thing Ace would want on his b-day is a big birthday bash, because he was coming home from work so exhausted.  And since he has been working a lot I knew he would want to spend time with the kiddlets and not have them at a babysitter....So for the last, forever, I have been trying to think of something that would be a fun kids/family thing AND calming and relaxing and stress free for Ace. (Can those two things even go into the same sentence?)  Then, I came up with a plan that I thought could work.  I thought it would be fun to go down to the Strip as a family, stay in a nice hotel, swim, relax and have none of the house/work worries...

We got to the hotel around noon on Saturday.  Things started off smoothly enough.

This was the view from our room...

So obviously, we headed straight to the pool.

We were having such a great time we didn't even notice our very wrinkly feet...

After swimming, we hung out in our room, watched TV, had some bagels.  Then we decided it would be fun to go bowling.  This is where things started to take a downward spin...I realized after swimming that in my rush to pack my family's clothing and supplies I completely forgot to pack myself any pants.  Yep.  I wore a knee-high dress to the hotel and didn't really think it would be appropriate to go bowling in.  But I wasn't going to let this little set back ruin our weekend of fun...so I grabbed a pair of Ace's basketball shorts, sinched them up nice and tight, rolled them up a few times and called it good (I am not making this up, people).  When I walked out of the bathroom to ask the fam "how do I look?" Easton saw me and let out a bellowing laugh and said, "You look so funny, Mommy!" Nice. I also realized I brought zero pairs of socks to wear inside of those nasty, sweaty bowling shoes. Perfect.  But never fear, the bowling alley had a vending machine filled with socks... $4.00 later I had my ONE pair of socks.  Awesome.
But bowling was super fun...

The birthday boy showing off his professional bowling skills.

Easton, checking to see if there is any possibility cracking the floor in half.

Ty, showing us what he can do...
{Not the best picture but, see that manly looking creeper hunched over Ty, that would be me in my awesome, perfectly matching I might add, outfit}

 Easton after getting his first strike.

First round scores...

Second Round Scores...
Okay, first I have a theory about any sport/game that I have ever played I start off at my best and gradually get worse and worse as we continue to play. None of this practice makes perfect junk.  Second, Easton had bumpers and I did not.  Third, it's Ace's birthday so of course I am going to let him win. :)

While we were bowling I caught a glimpse of what was to come.  I noticed Easton's eye was reddish.  I didn't think much of it because we had been swimming...
After bowling, we went to eat at the Cafe

Then back off to the room for a movie and sleep time.

Easton was real excited about sleeping on his very own couch.

So, we all went to bed thinking it was going to be a very peaceful night.  But, about 2:30 am I woke up to Easton wheezing and coughing (like the deep croup sounding cough) he could barely breathe.  Ace gave him a blessing, which made things so much better.  Then I sat with him in the bathroom, with  the hot shower running to help him breathe better.  Then, I noticed his eye.  Goopy, red, grossness...pink eye. Fabulous.  At this point, Ty is awake, happy, and ready to play, and Ace says we should just leave and take Easton to a Quick Care.  He went down stairs to check out and I start packing up. 

Ty literally was as happy as ever.

Poor Easton, on the other hand, was not.

So at 4:00 am we left the comfort of the hotel, and off to spend the rest of the night in a quick care.  Until suddenly, as I am carrying Easton to the car he sits up and smiles at me and says, "Mommy, I'm not sick anymore!  I am all better!" I looked at him. His eye was totally cleared up.  His voice was a little raspy, but he was breathing fine and there was no cough.  What?  Did we just dream this up?  Ace and I just thought we were completely delusional. (This just sounds even crazier as I am writing it, by the way.) 

So, we drove home.  Listening to Easton chat about bad guys and batman the whole way.
Just feeling grateful.  Grateful that he was okay.  Grateful for a Priesthood Holder Hubby.  Grateful for the fun that we did have together. And Grateful that at 5:00 in the morning we can all be happy and laugh about how weird/baffling/such a blessing the situation is.

So Happy Birthday Ace!  Even though our weekend didn't go just as planned, we hope you enjoyed it a little!! :)  Maybe we will try again next year... ha.

And here are the boys wishing you a happy happy birthday! Nose picking and all!

A Utah Weekend

This last weekend, my brother, Jesse and his friends, Steven and Nate sang in "Guitars Unplugged" at BYU. So we made the trek for a quick weekend with the family.

We stopped by the Casper's first.

Easton got to have real snowball fights.
(ever since Christmas, he has been throwing pretend snowballs constantly...
if you walk into our house on any given day, chances are we are in the middle of a very intense "snowball fight")

Of course, some tears were shed when he realized real snowballs are cold.

That didn't stop him for long, though.

Ty had his first swing ride with Papa Larry...

He liked it.

We had some good food

And a little family time.

Then we were off to the main event. Guitars Unplugged was real good. I may be a little biased, but I am pretty positive that these three boys stole the show...

Nate, Jesse, and Steven

It was quite the family gathering.
(Jessica, I must say you are quite the spectacle)

Ty, Grandma Leelee, and Mimi

Papa Cory and Easton

Me, Steven, Jessica

Easton & Jesse

Jason, Emily, and Jessica

Sunday was full of good food and family time

Jessica in an attempt to bond with Easton...
Easton even said, "Jessica, we are best buddies today."
Nice work.

Here is Grandma Leelee getting her Vitamin D for the day.

A super fun trip that went way too fast. But on the bright side, there was no car sickness or vomiting in the car going or coming. So hooray for that.

Here is the video of the boys playing that I may or may not have illegally captured...

Awesome job guys!

Some Real Great Weekends

Two weekends ago my mom (Grandma Leelee) came to town for a convention for work. She didn't have a whole lot of free time because she was stuck in classes all day long, but we came to see her at her hotel and had a good time just hanging out...

We went to the cheesecake factory...Yum is all that needs to be said

Bonding time with Ty

Bad picture, but funny story...

My mom's hotel was huge and the hallway back to her room was approximately 16 miles long (slight exaggeration, but it was really long) and every time we went somewhere Easton wanted Grandma Leelee to run down the hallway with him. And Grandma Leelee, being the nice grandma that she is, can never say no to the boy. So they ran. Every time. I walked.

We love Grandma Leelee!

This last weekend, Ace had free tickets to NASCAR. He invited our friends Patrick and Brayden to go with him because, let's face it, I would much rather be shopping at Target than sitting in the cold rain watching cars go around in circles.

I am not sure if anyone has noticed, but generally speaking, I am the picture taker. But, I wasn't going to be there to fulfill that responsibility. So I told Ace he was required to take pictures, and NOT just of the cars, I wanted people shots. He wasn't to thrilled about this, but look at the spectacular job he did! Good job Ace!

They saw some cars...

Can you see Easton's ear muffs? Look close.

Patrick and Brayden

Cheering the cars on

And I was told, Easton really liked the popcorn...

It was cold and rainy, but Easton loved it.
And Ty and I enjoyed our day at Target, sharing a Slurpee.