Field Trip

Carson had his first field trip yesterday to the American West Heritage Center. I have decided to attend all activities I possibly can while it is "still cool" to have mom go on a field trip-I know those days won't last forever. Neither Carson or I had ever been to the center before and it was a good experience.

The weather was icky-cold and raining but that didn't seem to bother the kids too much. I have to give credit to the school also-for the past week they have been teaching the kids all about the Center, and the kids were so smart, answering questions, asking worthwhile questions, they were really into seeing the things that had previously learned about.

The Center is a historic farm, the children were able to press apples into apple juice, shuck (sp?) corn-then make the corn into cornmeal, milk a cow, and see lots of farm animals. Carson thought he was quite the farm professional because he had been to a farm "lots of times" for most of the other kids they had never been to a farm before.

I couldn't find day care for Hannah that day, so Cam took the day off of work to tend Hannah so I could go-thanks honey! I am glad Carson and I were able to go despite the weather!

Halloween Shirts

All you Family Fun readers (a magazine I highly recomend and LOVE) will recognize these cute Halloween tees. My friend invited us over to make these cute shirts. They were so easy and turned out darling.







Directions (So you all can do it too!)

Needed Supplies-White T-Shirts, Orange dye (we used two boxes-one would be plenty but two made it a darker shade of orange-of RIT "Sunshine Orange", elastics, Fabric Marker (we used a Sharpie), and cardboard.

First make your pumpkins or pumpkin on your shirt by gathering up an area and wrapping an elastic tightly around it (does that make sense?). The best way to describe it is like you are making a ponytail in your hair-only do that to the shirt :)

Follow the directions on your dye until it is a shade darker then you want it to be, rinse until the water runs clear, cut off elastics, and dry.

The entire shirt will be orange, with the white bordered circles you made with the elastics. Place cardboard in between the front and back of the shirt then decorate your "pumpkins".

Markers are Yummy!

All you moms know the story of "I turned my back for five seconds and..." Well here is the continuation of that story.



Look at that face-she looks so happy and proud of herself. I also love how you can see the line of the marker from her tongue to her cheek!



Thank goodness for non-toxic washable markers!

The Fruit of our Labors

I have wanted to can peaches for the last year or two but never made the effort to do it. My wonderful neighbor and sensei took me under her professional canning wing this year and I did it!

My neighbor received a call from her "contact" that the peaches were ready, so last night we drove to Brigham to get them. Here is the awesome part- WE PICKED OUR OWN PEACHES! I have never done that before and it truly was so much fun. I took Carson along to pass on the memory to him, and he was an excellent worker. He also loved it and had so much fun picking. When we found an especially plentiful tree Carson would exclaim "We found the mother tree!"-(He said this because the mother tree had the most "babies" aka peaches) He learned which peaches to pick and I am sure he picked just as many as I did.



Not to get too emotional, but as we were picking I was filled with an overwhelming sense of awe and gratitude for God's creations. His creations are beautiful and made for the fulfillment of His children. I am thankful!



We picked 6 bushels of peaches at $24 dollars a bushel. Don't worry only two bushels were for me and the rest were for my neighbor (I told you she was a professional!)




I spent all day canning my peaches. My neighbor helped me with the first batch and then I did the rest. I canned 24 quarts- so my family is restricted to eating two quarts per month :) While the mess was out, I made one batch of raspberry jam, and one batch of raspberry/peach jam. I ran out of cans, so tomorrow I will finish by making two batches of plain peach jam. I also made a peach cobbler for dessert tonight! After my jam is made I think I will have just enough peaches that aren't quite ripe yet, for us to eat fresh for a few days. Yummy!

I know now I have passed into the "old lady" (or maybe just weird?) stage where canning peaches and taking pictures of them makes me happy! I really feel so proud and glad that I learned a skill that seems to be getting "lost." So here's my big :) and pictures of my peaches and jam!

My Little Helper

Hannah is my little "clinger." If I am not holding her she is sometimes okay but if she can't see me things go downhill fast. :) On this particular day Hannah needed to see me at all times so I plopped her in the laundry basket and carried her downstairs with me to change laundry. I took her out to put the laundry in and she was unhappy with this plan. So I put her back in the basket and piled the laundry around her. She thought this was the greatest game ever invented. She LOVED being in the basket with all the clothes around her. Look at how cute she is but don't look to close at what the laundry is! :)

Carson Update

I haven't updated on my little Carson because I just didn't know how to put his appointment into words. So we will start off with this...

Carson's bone loss is minimal. We are starting physical therapy (First appointment is in two weeks.) We will most likely attend physical therapy 2-3 times where I will learn the exercises to do and then complete the activities at home. Carson will go to physical therapy after this about once a month to make sure he is meeting his "milestones."

We have a follow up appointment in 6 months with the Ortho doc for an X-ray to see if we can continue down this path or if casts/braces etc are necessary. One worry with Perthes is shortening of the afflicted leg muscle due to limping, the excellent news is that Carson is barely limping now-sometimes not at all. He only complains of pain after he has been on his leg a lot, in the evening when he is tired, and always when he tries to extend his knee outward. I was very pleased and excited about this news, as it really is the best possible news we could have received.

I don't want to write too much about this but we will be looking for a new doc for the follow up appointment. Poor bedside manner, being very rough with Carson, not answering questions (I felt like I knew more about Carson's problem than the doc did), and many more things have clarified for me that this is not the doc for Carson. Cameron seems to think I have too high of expectations/standards. Maybe that is so-but why shouldn't I? One thing I have learned from being a nurse is to be picky! If things don't feel right-there is always someone else.

Mason B-Day Party

The Birthday Boy






"The Supervisors"



Our Mason is turning five today. Happy Birthday Buddy! We helped celebrate on Friday at Fat Cats. We dined on Pizza and cake then had fun riding the bumper cars. We even watched Connor and Dallin "Fly" at I-Fly-they were awesome!

Legg-Calve Perthes Disease

Never heard of this before? Well, me either until last Thursday and we found out Carson has this. Read more about it here: (sorry I do not know how to add links) http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/peds_orthopaedics/lcpd.cfm

Around the first week of school Carson was occasionally complaining of "leg pain" and limping off and on. When he would point to where the pain was it seemed like he was pointing to his upper right thigh. I figured he had a pulled muscle or something. He has also had "growing pains" a lot since he was 3-4 years old, so I am embarrassed to admit I brushed this "leg pain" off as nothing.

Cam picked Carson up from school the Tuesday after Labor day and told me he was limping very badly. Cam said "you need to take him to the Dr" which if anyone knows Cam this is a rarity. I started investigating this "leg pain" a little more seriously, Carson showed me exactly where it was hurting and I was surprised to learn it was his hip and groin that were hurting. I called and made him an appointment with his pediatrician for this past Thursday.

On Thursday, I dropped Carson off at school and he was walking fine. He had a tiny limp in his step, but only enough that a mother would notice. By lunchtime that day, the school had called me stating that Carson was limping so badly he could not participate in recess time and they were worried about him.

I picked him up from school and we waited for his late afternoon appointment. When we went to the Dr. Carson was still noticeably limping. She checked for hernias (negative) and then started doing Range of Motion (ROM) tests with Carson. He could NOT do them with his right leg and it hurt him badly to try. His left leg was moving fine and he was able to do anything the Dr. did with that leg.

She sent us off for X-rays to test for Legg-Calve Perthes Disease (AKA Perthes disease) and later we got the call that he does in fact have this. If you don't have time to click on the above link here is a shortened version of what Perthes is:

Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is a temporary condition in children in which the ball-shaped head of the thigh bone, referred to as the femoral head, loses its blood supply. As a result, the femoral head collapses. The body will absorb the dead bone cells and replace them with new bone cells. The new bone cells will eventually reshape the femoral head of the thigh bone. Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease causes the hip joint to become painful and stiff for a period of time (Orthopaedics, 2008).

The treatment of Perthes varies from rest and physical therapy (the "newer" treatment) to surgery and casts for 6 weeks (the "older traditional therapy"). Treatment (healing) usually takes 18 months to two years. We were referred to an orthopedic doctor who we will see on Wednesday. From what I know about Carson's case is that his is mild and that from preliminary x-rays, we will hopefully get to go the physical therapy route. We are hoping and praying that that is what the Orthopedic doc tells us on Wednesday.

So for now we are completing "Cam and April" physical therapy and Carson is having a hard time with it. It really hurts him to move that leg in some positions (especially like extending the knee out like when sitting cross legged etc). I had never tried to do ROM stuff with him prior to this, and I feel really sad I didn't. I had no idea how limited his motion was before the Dr was doing it.

For now, though it already seems like he is doing better. His limp is not that noticeable. I am sure that to a stranger it just looks like he walks a little funny. I however am a little heartbroken by all of this. How do you keep a 6 year old on bedrest for his leg to heal?- (hopefully we do not have to go that route).

So, I will update again on Wednesday after he we know more.



Here is a picture of Carson trying to sit cross legged (he posed himself with the sad face and finger pointing down)You can see the normal position of the left leg and the higher position of the right leg. That is as far down as Carson can "relax" that leg down, this position is painful for him.

Lots to post about it...

So I haven't been blogging too much lately, mostly because our computer had some virus problem recently and Cam had to reconfigure the whole thing. I could not download pictures until last night....all 287 of them (in one month). I have been catching up so there are many new posts. Enjoy! Or...move on if you are in a hurry!

And of course, I can't forget the first day of school

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Yes, school has started and it is actually much better than I was anticipating. Carson is at a brand new school. It is very nice. When ever I ask him (20 questions) about school he always says "I like it but it needs to be a little shorter" He has not quite adjusted to all day school yet.

His teacher is very nice and on top of things-which I like. I have to say, that the expectations for the ALA program are quite high. He generally has about one hour of homework a night, and I have been suprised at some of the concepts they are already tackling!



A letter was sent home to ALA parents stating that if each student did not maintain an 80% in all academic areas they would be put on a 6 week probation and asked to leave the program if the 80% goal was not met in those 6 weeks. Maintaining an 80% standard is a good thing and something I would expect from Carson but I was taken back by the tone and seriousnesss! Carson is doing very well, though and we are happy that he has the oppurtunities that this program offers.

We hosted an "First Day of School Celebration" after school last Monday (August 25,2008) with kids (parents and siblings invited too!)from our ward, from Carson's old school and kids from his new school. We had a "snack shop-picninc style" with yogurt, fruit kabobs, veggies and dip, breadsticks, string cheese, pretzels, and a rice krispie bar for dessert.

I had lots of bubbles and sidewalk chalk set out for the kids and we played two organized games. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun. I think I will make this a new tradition.

Of course I forgot to get my camera out until the end of the party so a lot of people had already left but here are some of the crew!






The aftermath of sidewalk chalk...

Ogden River Parkway

There is a beautiful trail about 3 miles from our home. It borders the Ogden River and truly is wonderful. The main trail is 3.1 miles long. There is always a cool breeze blowing because it is down from Ogden Canyon. The trail is almost completely shaded, the air just feels fresher and cleaner, and you can hear and see the river running right along with you. Needless to say, I love it.

Beautiful isn't it?



The trail holds so many happy times for me. When I was running my half marathons my running partner Jill and I would almost always include this trail in our run. If we were running a short run we would only run the trail. If we were doing a long run we would start 7, 8, 9, etc miles away from the trail so this could be our last 3 miles. It was always rejuvenating to get to the trail. To feel the cool breeze and hear the river rushing by you. It also has a slight downward slope to it-which of course is nice! I learned every curve, tree, and other landmark.

The trail walkers/runners/riders are also like a little community. It doesn't matter who you are or if you know each other. Everyone smiles and says hi as they pass each other.

It was especially neat during the spring run off. The river was so full and loud, it would nearly come to the edge of the trail. I am so glad that I got to see that.

I don't run the trail anymore but at least once a week I walk the trail or ride my bike on the trail. I still love it and so does Carson. Hannah simply loves being outside :)

I wasn't able to walk the trail last week and was yearning to go. Tuesday nights are not good for us, Cam has bishopric meetings and things are busy, so I knew if I wanted to go I needed to go while Carson was in school. I decided to take my camera and do a little photo shoot with Hannah.

Here are some of my shots...







I took about 70 pictures and at least half of them show Hannah pointing at something...if you hear what she was saying it would be "what's that?" or "look" her two new favorite words-along with the pointing motion of course.



I am being long winded but this photo has a story. When I was thinking of good spots to take Hannah's pictures I knew for sure that I wanted to get some of her with this fallen log. I put Hannah on the side of it closest to the trail then I jumped over to the other side to get some pictures from that angle.

Well that was a bad idea. I must have gotten close to some wasps' home. I seriously started getting attacked by at least 10 wasps. Getting back over the log to the "safe side" was not as easy as jumping over it. While attempting my escape, worrying about Hannah, and trying to bat the wasps away I scratched up my right leg pretty badly in some tree branches. I tried to run a few steps but the wasps were relentless. I had one stuck in my hair, that eventually stung the top of my head. I grabbed it out with my hand and squished it with my fingers (pretty brave, huh! :) Another one was perched on the top of my leg. I don't know if it was stuck there or what, but it stung me too. I pulled it off, threw it to the ground, and stepped on it.

In the meantime I am looking at my Hannah who is just standing by the log looking at me. When I thought I had most of them away from me I snatched her up, during this the wasps had reformed for attack number two! The were swarming all around us angrily. I ran at least 1/4 a mile holding Hannah to get away from them. Then I did a sneak attack to get back to the stroller (which I left by the log-in my attempt to escape) making sure not to let the wasps know I was back. :)

I won't be trying that again, and needless to say the above shot was the only one I got with the log.

Discovery Museum

I tried to get some of my $540 dollars back that I spent on last semesters books during "buyback" time on campus. They should really call that "Rip-you-off" time. For 3 of my books they wanted to give me a total of $80-which I am sure that they would have turned around and sold for $200-300+ This really has got to be the most dishonest thing out there...can you tell I'm still a little frustrated! But anyway, while we were in SLC getting our money stolen, umm I mean participating in "buyback" the kiddos and I went to the Gateway Discovery Museum.

It was worth it. It was fun. Carson and Hannah both enjoyed it. We will go again but next time plan on spending double the time we did this time. I will spend the money on gas to go there again, but I won't spend the money on gas driving to campus for buyback time...





Carson's favorite thing was this ball contraption. It had tubes sucking and blowing the plastic balls everywhere.


Hannah liked it too!

Front Runner/Trax/Mayan Day Trip

My mom treated all the grand kids (and their parents) to what I call a "before school starts extravaganza."



We met at the Ogden Front Runner station at 9:30am and rode the train to SLC. It was very nice and quite fun. The train is comfortable, smooth, and air conditioned. At the SLC drop off we boarded the trax. This was not quite as fun...it was a long ride to Sandy on the trax and lets just say not as "nice."





We made it to Sandy and enjoyed lunch at the Mayan. The kids loved the day and so did the adults. I think though, I prefer traveling in by car...the kids are much easier to control when they are strapped in car seats! The family joked that we had to leave at 8:30 (the Tremonton-ers) to have lunch a little past SLC at 12:00.



Thanks Mom for the day and memories!