where is molly

Molly has decided to start running away from us when it is time for her to get changed, or get her diaper changed, or get her hands washed, or get her face washed, ect.

The other day I told her I needed to change her diaper, and this is what I found.

Ha!  She kills me!

he builds

William went to the gym with me on Saturday.  He does not like going to the kids club, but in order to get out of staying home and doing chores, he decided to come along.

When I went to the kids club to pick up the kids, the ladies that work there told me to check out what William had built.

That is one amazing castle, complete with the inside all done too!

William had worked hard on this thing for over an hour.  It was incredible!

Wow, this kid has some talent.

sushi?!?!?

We had another Achievers Club dinner on Thursday.  I love that Ben works so hard for our family, and that he gets rewarded for it.  These dinners/activities always remind me of how great of a worker he really is.  I am proud of him, and very grateful.

This time, Achievers Club was at a sushi restaurant.  uummmm, yikes!  I am not a seafood fan really, aside from some really good calamari,  so sushi kind of freaks me out.

Ben and I did decide to give it a shot though.


Here is what we were presented with.

This is one of about 15 trays that we had for the main dish.  5 different types of sushi rolls.  They varied from not so sushi-ish (vegie rolls) to very sushi-ish, pieces with big slabs of raw fish on them and in them.

I started out with the vegie roll, to be safe, and I really enjoyed it!

Ben had filled up on one of the meat appetizers, but he also gave these rolls a shot.  He didn't love them, but didn't hate them either.  Go Ben!

I mostly ate the vegie roll, but I did venture out and try one that I actually really, really liked.  It had these really yummy orange circle things on top that topped it off so well.

I soon learned what those orange circles were, when the guy next to me, who is also not a sushi eater, asked what they were as he took a bite. 

The answer:  fish eggs.

The dude next to me got up and literally went to the bathroom.

I felt sick to my stomach and immediately stopped eating.

Fish eggs!  For real! 

The best part, is that they get in between your teeth, like little seeds, so I got to sit and pick them out of my teeth for the rest of the evening.  Each time feeling more and more sick knowing I had fish eggs stuck in my teeth. (shudder)

Aside from that fun episode, the night was really fun, it always is with the Cintas crowd.

We did have to bring Molly with us, because we didn't exactly trust the babysitter we had to deal with a baby for 5 hours.  Molly loved sushi!  She ate three rolls!  What the what!?


So there you have it.  Ben and I have officially tried sushi.  We didn't hate it, but it would not be our first, second, or even third choice of food to eat when we go out. 

Just sayin'

the luke police

Luke has all the sudden become completely obsessed with police men.  I was at the dollar store the other day, and found some policeman dress up clothes. 

Luke has worn this every single day, and night,  since.  It is awesome!

Luke is in the cutest phase.  I love this age.  It definitely can be difficult, because he has soooo much energy, but wow, he is just so adventurous and cute.  Everything is so amazing to him, he has loads of questions, and he truly believes he is a policeman out to save the world.  I love this little boy of mine!

a boot for william

Last Monday, William came home from playing at a friends house.  He was crying and saying that his big toe hurt.  He also wasn't walking on it.

He said that he kicked a ball with his barefoot and something in his foot snapped.

I looked at it and felt it, and it looked ok to me.  I told William to take it easy the rest of the night.

William continued to limp all night, and to cry off and on.

The next day wasn't any better, so I decided to take him in to the doctor.

The doctor looked at his foot, and said that it seemed like the top of Williams foot, where the big toe bone goes up into the foot, might be broken, and ordered some X-rays.

William was not happy at all to be at the doctor, especially because his last experience, with the flu, involved shots, tests, an IV and some time in the ER.  He was really brave though.

Unfortunately, the computers in the office crashed, and we waited for 45 minutes for the X-ray to come through on the computer, so the doctor could see it.

The X-ray never came through.  Actually, one of the three did come through, but it was the one with the worst angle.

The doctor said that he was pretty confident that his foot was broken, and mentioned casting his foot.

William completely freaked out!  He absolutely refused a cast, no matter how cool the doctor and I tried to make it sound.

So, the doctor improvised with a post-op boot for William to wear.

William still was not happy to have this either, but he agreed to it.

William was so worried that kids would call him weird, or that they would tease him.  (thank you to the bullying that went on up until a month ago)

We finally got home, and William immediately hid his foot, with the boot on it, under a blanket.  He refused to let anyone see it for hours.  The poor kid.

It has now been a week, and he will now wear his boot around the family, and around certain friends.  He still refuses to wear it to school, so we let him wear his shoe, if he is careful.  (cringe)

This poor boy could really use a break!  ha, no pun intended

We are just hoping that he will be able to catch his last couple soccer games of the season.

Dang.

bop rocks

Last weekend, my parents drove up early Saturday morning.  They brought lots of wood and lots of tools.

I had spent the past couple days cleaning out the basement storage rooms, and getting the boys room ready.

We had some projects to conquer!!!

My parents arrived around 9:00, and we worked and worked and worked until close to midnight!!

First things first, we had to haul a ton of wood downstairs. This was no joke.  The kids helped us out a lot with this one.

Once the wood was in all the right places, and the saws and tools were hooked up, we all got right to work.

It meant so much to me that my parents would be willing to sacrifice their weekend, their time, their talents, and their energy to help me out.  It really, really, meant a lot.

I have been going nuts with our food storage room and our storage rooms downstairs.  We have no shelves in them, and I have felt to unorganized and cluttered with those spaces and everything in them.  I have especially wanted to get shelves in the food storage room, because I really want to get it all organized and see where we are at, what we need, and what we can start rotating.

 

Food storage before...

Food storage after Bop worked his magic...

Regular storage after Bop worked his magic.

It took me three hours of very hard work to get all of our bins and boxes organized onto those shelves, but I honestly had butterflies in my stomach while I was doing.  It was THAT excited to finally have things organized down there.

I LOVE the basement storage rooms now.  I feel like I can walk right down there now, instead of taking a deep breath, closing my eyes and getting all sorts of anxiety when I have to go down and find something.  It is awesome!

While my dad was downstairs building shelves, Ben and I worked upstairs in the boys room.  I have wanted to get their room done for a long time now, and it finally all came together.  My dad gave us instructions on how to make the wood wall, and we got to work.  I quickly discovered that I love nail guns.  Seriously, love the nail gun!

Devin came up later in the afternoon, and helped out a ton.  He brought Eli and Lacey, so the kids could hang out together.  Luke was thrilled to have his buddy Eli over for the day.  We were all very grateful for Devin's help.

Luke could not have been more in heaven.  Bop the builder is his  super hero. 



my man using power tools  :)

I absolutely love the finished product.  Their room is amazing!

a foggy picture of the shelving we put up

the amazing wood wall

 

It took copious amounts of caffeine, snacks, bumps, bangs, screeches, and messes, but it was a very successful day!  I was so happy.

The next morning, Ben spoke in Sacrament meeting, so it was a mad rush to get out the door and to church on time. 

I felt bad leaving before my parents did, but they were good sports about it.

Ben gave a wonderful talk in church.

When we got home, we drove into a garage that looked like this!!!

The bikes had hooks and were all hung up!  Even the scooters had hooks to be placed on!

The garage was completely clean and organized

Even the snow skiis were on the wall and had a place to go!

My dad had stayed and put hooks and boards up in the garage as well! We all ooohed and awed at our clean organized garage!  Talk about awesome! 

Earlier in the weekend, I had asked my mom to help me plan out the landscaping in our yard.  We walked around, and she gave me so many great ideas.  My head was spinning, and I was getting worried about trying to remember it all. 

When we walked in the house after church, there on the table, were drawings and papers that showed exactly how we had planned the yard, even down to the names of the trees and bushes!  My mom had totally gone the extra mile.  I was so grateful and happy.  I am now very excited to get started on the yard.  I FINALLY have a vision!

It was a crazy busy weekend, but I was so grateful and so thrilled with how it all turned out.

Not only were we able to get a ton of projects done, but I now have a piece of my dad in our home forever.  I love that.

I am so blessed with loving, serving parents.  I can only hope to be the same someday.

mary's merry christmas

For Christmas this year, we gave Mary a note that said she would get to have horse riding lessons in the spring.  Mary was elated, and has been counting down the days, weeks, and months until it was warm enough to have her lesson.

Last week, the day finally arrived for her fist lesson!  I haven't seen Mary so excited in a long time!  She was literally bouncing up and down.  It was so cute.

A couple in our ward, who also happen to be Mary's primary teachers, offered to give her one lesson a week for the next three months.  They have several horses, and experience teaching lessons.  It worked out perfectly.

I dropped Mary off, and when I came back an hour later to pick her up, she was all grins!  She absolutely loved it, and talked non stop about it for the rest of the evening.

There is nothing like a girl and horses.  It looked like so much fun, and the place she is riding is beautiful!!!

Is it weird to be jealous of your daughter???  :)

Mary is already counting down the hours until her next lesson.  I can't say I blame her.

Merry Christmas Mary!

 

 

up in the hills above Heber.

spring soccer

Soccer season is officially under way.

The past three weeks, we have had 5 days a week of soccer.

Spring soccer is always interesting, because you never know what you are going to get, as far as the weather.

This weekend, we drove to Orem for Sam's game.

It was a VERY wet game.

I set up the boys with my phone under an umbrella and sleeping bags. 

Mary was burrowed under a blanket and a sleeping bag.

Molly, on the other hand, refused to be under any kind of cover, and spent a good 40 minutes stomping around in the rain, getting soaking wet!!!

I wish I had a picture of her and her curly wet hair and muddy feet!

Sam loved playing in the rain. 

He is looking so great this soccer season.  He has improved so much with this team, and it is awesome to see him improve, be more aggressive, and learn how the game works.  I am so proud of him and all of the work and effort he has put in to the sport.


This is a text a got from his coach after his first game this season.

At this game, Sam was chosen to be team captain.  The kid who works the hardest at practice and the previous game, gets to be team captain the next game.  Good job Sam!

It will be a great season!

Go team STORM!!!

Sam doing the coin toss before the game

sisters

I love it when,  I see my kids playing with eachother.  There is something so heart warming about siblings getting along and having fun together.

I especially love seeing my girls play together.  It is so cute to see Molly watching Mary and following her around.  It reminds me so much of Kelsey following me around and trying so hard to do the things I did.

The other day, Mary had a friend over and they were listening to music.  Molly was standing in the corner watching them.

Mary saw Molly watching her, and scooped Molly up and starting dancing with her.  Molly LOVED it!

It was adorable!!!  Mary and Eden starting teaching Molly cute little dance moves.

It was so sweet!

I sure love my girls.

mri results

I got my MRI results back a while ago, but I have not had time to post about it.

The results were very bitter sweet.

The MRI confirmed a labrum tear.  argh!!!

That is the bad news.  It is actually really bad news.  As I mentioned before, the labrum cannot heal itself, there is not enough blood supply to it.  The only way to heal a labrum tear is with surgery. (6-9 month recovery time)

The semi-good news is that I don't need surgery right away, as long as I can deal with the pain.

With physical therapy here and there, lots and lots of stretching, and not pushing past pain, I can go for a very long time without surgery.

I am in a good groove right now with my workouts.  I run 3 times a week, and cross train in between.  So far, that is keeping the pain under control, and still allowing me to do what I love.

As long as I can continue this routine without worsening the pain, I am good to go.

Once I start having more and more pain, without changing anything, it will be time for surgery.

The stinky part, is that I was looking forward to a summer full of  1/2 marathons. Now, it looks like I will be lucky to do one in the fall.  That is a big bummer for me.

They gave me a cortisone shot to help with the pain, but unfortunately, it has been two weeks, and I am pretty sure it didn't work.  The odds of it working weren't great anyway.

So, here I am.  I just do what I can, and let pain be my guide.  When my leg really starts to hurt, I back off.  When it doesn't hurt, I run.

Not the greatest news, but at least I can put off surgery for now.

So there is it.  Good ol' labrum tear.  boo.

best buddies

I love this picture of Luke and his best friend Boston.  They play almost every day, and they are two peas in a pod. 

priceless

mri

Yesterday was the day.

The day I have been dreading for two weeks.

Ever since I learned that I needed to have an MRI with contrast, and what it entailed, I have been flipping out.

I am talking cold sores, nightmares, the works.

I watched some videos of it being done to people...bad, bad idea.  They were screaming, yelling, and banging their fist on the table.

And yes, the needle really is 5 inches long going into your groin.  Rock on.

The doctor gave me three Valium to take before the procedure.  One an hour before, and the other two if I needed them.

I was so freaked out when it was time to go, that I popped all three in.

I was in a cold sweat the whole time I was getting changed, and the whole time they were describing what they would be doing.  I seriously wanted to cry.

 

 

They finally got me on the freezing cold table, and as soon as they wrapped me up in warm blankets, the meds kicked in, and I finally relaxed.

The doctor told me that first he would do the numbing shot.  I honestly did not feel a thing.    I couldn't believe it.  It worried me that maybe it didn't work.

Then he told me he was going to administer "the needle."  I totally tensed up, but only felt a tiny pinch.  Soon after,  one small jolt as he hit the bone, and seriously that was it!!!

They turned the screen to me, so I could watch them inject the steroid and the dye.  I wish I had thought to take a picture.  It was really cool, and completely pain free!  The dye just slowly clouded around my bone and joint.

When all was said and done, I almost laughed because of how much it did not hurt.  I think I thanked the doctor 20 times.

Next up was the MRI.  All I remember is some weird noises, a very cold table and a small tube.  I woke myself up several times from snoring.  Embarrassing!

45 minutes later, it was all done!

I was thrilled!

I got home, told Ben I was really tired and tried to tell him about the experience.  Somewhere in there he told me I was mumbling and kind of lisping. That was around 5:15pm.

Next thing...I woke up this morning!  Still dressed in my clothes from the day before.

Not kidding.  I remember nothing from the evening.  I do remember bringing kids home from a soccer game, and then...zip.  Nothing.

I guess I did talk to a few people, and I held Molly once, (according to my family)but I pretty much went right to bed.

So, so weird.  Not a feeling a like at all.  I can't stand not being able to remember thing I do.  Creepy.

This morning, my leg felt great!  They told me it would be extremely sore and painful.  I felt nothing!

So, I went to the gym, my friend Karli, took one look at me and told me I looked completely hung over.  That is how I felt, I guess.  Never had that experience, but I can only guess.  I ran 5 miles, and did 30 minutes on the elliptical, and called it a morning.

The whole time I felt fuzzy and nauseous.  I think I am still working through the Valium.  Geesh.

My leg is still pretty much pain free.  I have a few pinches here and there, but I am truly shocked with how the entire thing went!

All of the freaking out for basically nothing.

Unbelievable.

I get the results tomorrow.  Wish me luck...lots and lots of it!

state meet 2016

Mary's level 7 State Meet was on Saturday.

She was pretty nervous for this meet, but also really excited.

We got up early Saturday morning, ate some Cinnabon and hot chocolate (um yeah, breakfast of champions?)  and headed to Salt Lake Community College.

For once this season, we were actually on time.  It was pretty weird actually!

Mary slid down the railing a few times, we looked around, and then it was time for Mary to go to the warm up area.

Just as she was about to go, my mom walked in!  It was so awesome for her to be there.  She had to get up at 4:30am to make it in time.  I am always so grateful for the sacrifices she makes to support my family and my kiddos.  Mary gave her a hug, and then was off to the warm up area.

I was so dang nervous all morning!  Finally, it came time for double mini.  Mary nailed both passes!!  She looked amazing!  The competition was very close though.  I was so proud of Mary.  She could not have done better, and that is all we had hoped for.

We waiting around for awards for a while, which gave me a good chance to talk with my mom and catch up, then the ceremony began.  The started with the lowest score and went up.  Each time they didn't say Mary's name, my heart jumped a little.

When it came down to the top three, I swear we were all going to pee our pants.  Then, they announced that, "your Utah State Level 7 Double Mini Champion, from Heber Handspringers, is Mary Maynard!

Mary was shocked and also beaming!  I was so happy for her!  She took first out of 7. 

Mary had not been in the top 3 this entire season with double mini, because of her height.  She just hasn't been jumping high enough.  This meet, she gave it her all, and her form was gorgeous.  She also nailed both landings. It paid off. 

We then had to wait a while for her next event, tumbling.  We waited in line forever to buy her a really cool State Meet Jacket, and before we knew it, it was time.

Her floor competition was huge!!!  19 girls to be exact.  I was beside myself when I saw them all walk out there.

We watched the first flight go first, and it was torture. They were all really good.
Then, it came time for Mary's flight.
Mary's warm up passes were both in the red line, and my heart sunk.  Not good.
Her coach gave her some pointers, and then it was time for the real deal.

He passes were gorgeous!  She stuck both passes, sailed over the red line, and her form was gorgeous.
I could not have been more happy for her, and I could tell she was happy too!

We waited over an hour for the results from floor. Again, they started form 1th place, and worked their way up.

When they got to the final three, I think I almost jumped out of my seat. 
Then, they announced Mary's name as the Level 7 Tumbling State Champion!!!
She was beaming again!  So was I.

I am so proud of my little girl.

Even more than her winning, I was very happy with how she handled it all.
She asked each of her team mates how they did and congratulated them all, never once telling them how she did.  She comforted a team mate that fell, and she made a point to congratulate each girl she saw that she competed against. 
That to me, is what is the most important.

Around noon, they had the march in, where they recognize all of the teams and athletes that competed.  There was no way I could fit them all in one picture, but here is an idea.

After all was said and done, we were all STARVING!

We went to this place called HuHot to celebrate.  It was delicious! 
I think it all finally sank in after we all had food in our bellies.  Mary was all grins. 

That was where we said goodbye to grandma.
It means so much to Mary and to me, that she would make such a sacrifice to share in these special moments.

It was a very special day for Miss Mary.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.
And in between all of that, is a lot of hard, hard work and determination.
It is just what makes moments like these, that much more special.
Way to fly Mary girl!

p.s.  we learned later that her State Meet scores qualified her for Nationals!!!