Barber Bustlings

We had a great visit with my mom. I got the painting bug in me (at what other point in time would I have such a great helper here?) so I did the family room orange. I've been wanting to redo the room for awhile. I had a yellow color picked out but saw so many orange walls in my friends' homes in Utah that I came home ready for orange. None of the pictures do it justice, but it looks really good; I love it. The fireplace is a butternut squash color; it looks so cool. We kept really busy with Grandma here. We went to lunch, played at the park and enjoyed the helping hands. My stepdad, Bert, came for the last two days. We enjoyed having Bert here and getting to know him better; my kids loved having grandparents here to spoil them. We took them to the train park in Scottsdale. We were able to squeeze in some family photos just hours before their flight. Mom and Bert will be moving to London in two weeks and we will really miss them. Fortunately, my mom has a trip back to the state...

We got a great deal on airfare ($120 roundtrip!) and flew to Utah for fall break. I have missed my siblings and we had so many babies to see. My sister had McKinley in August; Tyler and Shelley welcomed Madden in August; 4 cousins had babies from June to October. We also had to introduce Landon to everyone. We missed seeing Tyler, who was traveling for work, but I was very grateful to Todd and Tess who came to see us almost every day. We had a fabulous trip. We were on the go the entire time. My camera battery died the first day so I don't have many pictures. I'll just have to wait until family and friends forward them, hint, hint! Our first day my mom's parents orchestrated a big family get together after having dinner with just my siblings and us. My grandpa and Landon had a sweet bond from the start. We loved seeing everyone. The next day I got to go to lunch with a friend from Kaysville and then we went to see Heidi (mission companion) and meet Dustin, her fiancee. We h...

My little fashionista, Bailey, has been branching out. I love the scarf look and she is finally letting me do her hair again (after 18 months). She has the best hair and the color is to die for. I love having a 7-year-old. She is a sweetheart with her brothers and a great girl. One of my friends told me that Bailey stood up to some older girls who were bullying her daughter at recess. I was so proud of my little spitfire! She still has tons of energy and likes to be in charge, but she is learning about delayed gratification (at least as well as can be expected) and she is doing great in 2nd grade. I just love having her as my daughter. We went to the Mesa temple for Family Home Evening last week. My kids love going to the temple and to the Visitor's Center. I love how close we are to the temple and am grateful we will have a new temple in Gilbert in a few years. I am excited for my kids to go to the open house and see inside. I did a 10K with my friend, Marci, in July and then di...

B before school one day I still remember wearing vests; can't believe they're back My sweet chubby Landon Potty-training SUCKS right now Bailey is always posing Landon likes to climb under the chair and then screams when he is tired of being stuck Look at how dark Landon is next to Myles! I don't have much to report right now. Life is good. Landon is still doing physical therapy and seems to be slowly improving. Myles is not improving in potty-training. As long as I make him pee every hour, we're good. I won't discuss how abysmal the #2 training is. Myles enjoys preschool on Tues/Thurs afternoons and it works out perfectly: he goes to preschool and Landon and I get groceries or go to lunch with friends. Bailey is doing great in school. We love her teacher and she is excelling in math and science. Scott is still beyond busy with work, church and family. We are grateful to be close to his mom and sister; I'm always humbled that he can worthily provide them with gu...

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend in Prescott, Az. This was our only real vacation this summer and it was nice and relaxing. The weather was perfect; we enjoyed cooler temps than we have seen in several months. The kids enjoyed playing outside in the rain and getting dirty. Landon slept really well. My friend and I ran a 10K and then met the families for breakfast and a parade. We went to the art festival in downtown Prescott Sunday and Monday. I mostly enjoyed having my little family to myself; my phone died Friday and I didn't charge it or even look at it until Monday when it was time to head home.

Yesterday was a really rough day. Both of my boys get bronchiolitis when they get any kind of congestion; basically they wheeze and we use breathing treatments every four hours for a week until they get better. Their breathing isn't too labored, but they don't sound very good. Landon has been wheezing since Sunday so I took him in to the Dr. yesterday. The nurse practitioner checked his oxygen level and it was 99% so he was getting oxygen despite the wheezing. I assumed she would tell me to continue the breathing treatments at home every four hours for the next week. This is the same procedure with each boy every time either one gets a cold and it goes straight to his lungs. I was very surprised when she told me I needed to take Landon to the E.R. immediately. I asked a lot of questions, mainly, “Why am I taking him to the E.R.? Is it really that serious? What am I supposed to say when they ask why I am there? Are you sure I need to go to the E.R.” She told me that he needed t...