We made it!!! Snow and all!!!

Snow in Vegas...who knew, right? Yea, so our plan to come and have a warmer Christmas out of the snow and ice was changed a bit. Vegas had a huge snow storm yesterday. They received up to 8 inches in some parts of town! The airport basically shut down, so we weren't sure if we were even going to be able to get here today. Luckily, everything calmed down, and visibility got better, and we were able to leave and get here in a reasonable amount of delays. Nothing serious anyway. My mom was stuck in Salt Lake, and so we actually beat her here. The kids thought that was kinda funny.

The flight went really well. Marina, of course, had some "I wanna get off this plane!" moments, but would pass as soon as I could find something else to distract her. She did, however, spill her Dr. Pepper all down in between her legs and on the seat. So, she was deemed "Pepper Pants" for the remaining flight. It totally looked like she peed her pants, even when they dried. Ewwww! The older 4 just played their DSs the whole time. They really are great kids and great travelers. Marina hasn't been on very many trips at all, so she needs some more practice. (Guess that means more travels...if only!)

The kids got to see 2 of their cousins today, one that we just met for the first time. Little Maddie, who is only a few months old, and Kayslee who is almost 2 now. I think all the kids scared the living daylights out of her, but she eventually came around and was playing with them. We can't wait to see the rest of the family as they start to show up.

Thomas had his Spanish final tonight and felt good about it. He has 2 more tomorrow, and then he will join us here in Vegas for the next 2 weeks!! Yippee!! Play time for us!!

Happy, Happy Birthday Harley Dear!

Today is Harley's 7th Birthday!!

I can't believe that it has been 7 years since our little, stubborn runt was born. Harley was breech, and when the doctor turned her (which is WAY more painful than childbirth) she decided to turn right back. She has lived right up to that stubborness every day of her life! She was my 1st C-section baby, and was also our smallest baby...and still is compared to the others.

Harley is a very sweet, very smart girl. She loves making new friends, and loves to learn new things. She is technically in 1st grade, but tested into the 2nd grade Math and Language Arts curriculum at their new school. She loves to read, with her favorite books being Junie B. Jones books. She also loves movies, and anything she can dance and sing to. I love anything that will get that big belly laugh out of her!

Happy Birthday Harley!
We LOVE you dearly!

Great First Day!

The kids came home today EACH talking a mile a minute at the same time! It was pretty clear that they LOVED their first day.

Harley - Starts out with Ryker in his class for 2nd grade Math and Language Arts. I was a bit worried about them being disruptive while sitting right next to each other, but the teacher emailed me today to let me know how much she enjoyed them, and how they fit right in to the class. Harley then moves to her 1st grade class for Art and History. Today, she came home talking all about Vincent Van Gogh. She told me that he painted Starry Night, and that they got to "Dab Paint" just like Van Gogh used to! I was simply amazed.

Ryker - He was a little more quiet than everyone else. (He is my napper still, so it was a long day for him) What he couldn't stop talking about were the "Smart Boards." I guess instead of chalk boards, they have these computerized boards that are touch screens. Apparently it was the coolest thing ever!! He was also excited about getting to paint today.

Sierra - She really likes her teacher...Mr. McFadden, but I guess everyone calls him Mr. McFaddy! She has dove right into a history paper that is due in January, and I LOVE the process that is being taught. She has a file folder with 6 small envelopes glued on the inside. (3 on each inside side) She is to then to come up with 6 subjects, which must include a Beginning life, and ending life, and then she can choose the other 4. Her paper is on Ronald Reagan, so she has a Movie Career and Presidency envelope. Then in each envelope she must put 4 index cards. Each card must have one thought or event. So, when she goes to write her paper, she will have 6 paragraphs with at least 4 sentences/thoughts in each paragraph. She is really enjoying that!

Aspen - She was super excited about one of her teachers today that made her laugh till it hurt. I guess this lady is super dooper funny!! Aspen has recently hit a bump in her academics, but I could see today some excitement for her upcoming lessons. I think she, and Sierra, are both enjoying working at their own pace, whether that be quicker or slower. I am really impressed with the Math curriculum. Aspen and Sierra are both in 5th grade math. They are having trouble on Unit 3 with this K12 curriculum. The class is currently on Unit 6. So, we will be doing lots of catch up over the break. They were both shocked to see the kids doing multiplication of fractions. Neither of the girls had really even started doing anything with fractions. So, I know that they will have a great math base as they catch up with the class!

To answer Gwen's questions from my previous post....The classrooms look like traditional classrooms. They are very decorated and colorful. Thomas said that the rooms are a bit narrowing than normal. There isn't a kitchen. The kids need to bring their lunches to the learning center, but if they qualify for free or reduced lunches, they can get a "boxed" lunch. The school is in like an office type building/park. Thomas said it looks like it was built to be a daycare. Everything in the school is brand spanking new. This is their first school year to be open. He said it was really clean and new. Harley told me that she had 25 kids in her class. I'll ask the girls how big their classes were.

In conclusion, I am positive that this will be an awesome experience for them. I just feel like this is a great thing. It is the perfect match for any child that LOVES to learn, and that pretty much sums up my kids!!

New Adventures....Here We Come!!

I have been struggling with the fact that the kids might have to move a few times before we are finished with Thomas' schooling. They haven't really had a hard time adjusting, it is probably just me wanting the best for them, and not wanting to put them through any more challenges than I have to. We have been trying to decide if I should stop watching kids & move into a cheaper place, so that I won't have to feel like I am completely ignoring them and not involved in their lives anymore. Out here, homeschooling is all the rage! Well, there was just no way I could handle doing something like that. I am in no way qualified to put a curriculum together for 4, and soon 5 different grade levels. BUT, in my searching I found a public school, here in Indiana, called Hoosier Academy (clickable link). It is a charter school run or funded by Ball State University. It is sort of a hybrid home school meets traditional brick and mortar school. And, because it is a public school it is FREE!

At this Hoosier Academy (clickable link), they use the K12 Curriculum, which is a well known homeschooling curriculum. The kids will attend school at the Learning Center in Indianapolis 2 full days a week from 8:30a - 4:30p. Then for the other 3 days, they will complete their lessons online & offline from home. They would just need to log a total of 11 hours for those 3 days. AND they could do this whenever they wanted, any day or time of day, just as long as they got their lessons done before they had to go in to the Learning Center. The school provides a computer, printer and reimbursement for internet access, and all books and supplies. They were tested for placement, and they are allowed to place students 2 grades above or below where they should be according to age. They all did a little above grade level, except Harly, who techically is in 1st grade. She tested well into the 2nd grade curriculum. So that's the curriculum that she will be doing. Aspen was just a tad bit behind in Math, so we decided to put her in the 5th grade math, even though technically she is in 6th grade. That way she can make sure to have a good math foundation before she gets to all the hard stuff. The program is easily adjusted, they can be doing 2 different grade levels in 2 different subjects. It's just so personalized.

I've been able to get a look at their lessons online, and I am so impressed! The things they will be learning in History and Art have got me super excited. I was a little overwhelmed at first, but then I found out that they do ALL of their History and Art at the learning center. So, now I don't have to teach them that at home. WHEW! Plus, all of Aspen's Composition class will be at the learning center also! So, I basically help them with their Math and Language Arts.

The lessons are all easily followed online, and there is a lot to do offline as well. I have a Teacher's Guide to follow, and it basically gives me their lessons word for word. I am also really impressd with the curriculum because they will not be "taught to the test." They do have to go on one extra website for about 30 min. a day, and that is where they will practice the standards for the state testing.

My searching for this started when the kids were out of school with their tonsils. The make-up work sent home for a 2 week period of missed school was completed in 1 maybe 1 1/2 days!! What in the world are they doing all day in school? Certainly NOT a whole lot of class work. Plus, since they ride the bus out here, they are gone from a little before 8am, and don't get home till after 4. That makes for a long day, every day! I have also learned that they were only getting ONE recess, and that recess was given at the END of the day. They didn't even get a break at lunch. They would eat lunch, and then go right back to class! Thomas and I thought that was so cruel!

I am loving this idea! This way, when we have to move to go to Purdue, the kids can still attend this academy, I will just have to drive them in to Indy twice a week. No biggie to me! PLUS, if we do get our DREAM job with the Foreign Service, we can just keep going with the K12 curriculum on a private basis, so that the kids don't ever have to interrupt their learning. I am so excited about this program, and just wanted to share! They said they have these K12 public programs, which basically means "Paid by your tax dollars", all over the country. So, there just may be one in your area!!!

I know they have one in Vegas, but it done ALL at home. There is no Learning Center that they would be able to go to twice a week. I'm pretty sure that this school here is a new concept, that isn't done in other places. I am, so far, impressed with the K12 curriculum.

So, Thomas dropped them off this morning while I was getting some nerve blocks. I'll update when they get home and let everyone know how it went! He said they were all excited when they got there. Ryker and Harley are in the same class, and I guess they walked in and sat right next to each other. So cute!!

Well, check back later!!

More to come.....

The kids start a new school today! I'm super excited about it, and can't wait to share how their 1st day goes. It's a really cool concept, that I think is going to work well with all of them. I'll update after they get home, and if I'm feeling better from my Occipital Nerve Blocks that I get this morning!!

Check in later........

Kool Store...Kool Blog!!

I just found out about a really cool store here in Indy, and I'm pretty sure that they have stores in other cities! It is called Ridemakerz, and basically it is Build a Bear for boys! You go and pick out a car, and then you can totally customize them. Ryker would go nuts in this store! I found out about it from a favorite blog of mine, Angelica Grace Designs. Angie always has the funnest posts, and I visit her blog, at the very least, once a day. You can check her out here...angelicagracedesigns.com/blog/!!

Go check out Ridemakerz at www.ridemakerz.com!!

Funny Ryker....

Poor Ryker....the only boy, surrounded by all these girls!! I think we need to work on his run....
(click on the picture to make it bigger...you'll get what I'm talking about!) I love him to death, but the boy runs like a girl!

I'm in love with this photo!

If anyone knows Marina, they know that she is the biggest Daddy's Girl! This picture totally captures that love and just pure giddiness that she feels whenever he is around!

Just thought I'd share...

Since we had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with Trent, Beth & Megan, I made everyone get dressed and we went and took pictures at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The kids had a lot of fun walking around and coming up with ideas. Thomas and I had fun just walking around and having a pretty relaxed day with the kids. I LOVE days like this!!

Update on our week!

We had a great week last week! We celebrated Ryker's Birthday, Harley pulled out her own tooth, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Trent and Beth, and I had a very minor surgical procedure.

1st...Ryker's birthday! I still can't believe that he is 8 years old! Last Wednesday was his birthday, and Thomas didn't have to work that day. Thomas took all the kids to school, and then went and spent some time with Ryker and Harley at lunch. Out here, it is really common for parents to go and eat lunch with their kids. The have a special table set up and everything. He went and ate with Harley first, and then before Ryker's lunch, he ran and got him a Happy Meal at McDonalds. He hid it, and told Ryker to go and get all his favorite lunch items, so he could show Daddy what he eats everyday. Then, when he got back Thomas pulled out the Happy Meal and asked him which lunch he wanted. I'll let you guess which one he picked!! Thomas had so much fun there, that he has been talking about volunteering in their classrooms. That in itself is a miracle!! If anyone would have told me that Thomas would, not only want to, but that he would even have the time to do something like that, I would have laughed at them!!

That night, we let Ryker open his presents. He got a Nintendo DS and was so super stoked about it. Since Aspen got to have a slumber party, we asked Ryker if he would like to have party with some friends OR have a night out with mom and dad. I was shocked when he picked a night out with mom and dad. We wanted to go somewhere fun, so we decided to take him to Kabuto's, which is a Japaneses Steakhouse...kinda like Bennihana's or the Geisha Grill in Las Vegas. He LOVED it!! The chef even tried to get Ryker to catch some veggies in his mouth. He tried and tried but just couldn't catch it. He loved how they made huge fires, and how the chef did tricks with his knives. They even came and sang to him. After dinner, we went to Walmart and let him spend his money that Grandma and Uncles and Aunts had sent him. It was a fun night, and I love spending one on one time with him.

2nd...Harley pulled her own tooth out!! Her other bottom front tooth has been loose since we pulled her other one out, but she wouldn't let anyone touch it. Finally, on Sunday, we convinced her that it needed to come out. It was quite literally about to fall out on its own, but she still wouldn't let us touch it. We told her to just keep pulling on it, and it eventually came out. She was so excited that she did it all by herself!! (By the way, Ryker still has NO loose teeth!)



3rd...Trent, Beth & Megan came over for a Thanksgiving Dinner. On Sunday, after church, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner since Trent and Beth were going to her moms for Thanksgiving. We had lots of food and lots of fun chattin' it up with them. We feel so blessed and grateful to have them so close to us. It is a lot of fun being able to get to know them better, and get to sort of bond with with them. I should have taken a picture, though, of Thomas and Trent "spending time" together. They were both hanging out on the couch playing their own PSPs. It is so funny to watch them sit right next to each other, and yet not say a word to each other!!

4th...I had a minor procedure done yesterday. I have been seeing a doctor again for my chronic pain. He decided that we should try some more injections, and then some more physical therapy. I was a little apprehensive after I found out that I would NOT be put to sleep for the procedure. In Vegas, I was put under every time!! It wasn't as bad as my imagination had made it out to be, and I am doing really well. I don't start physical therapy until next week, since this is such a short week, but am optimistic that I will get the pain back under control. When I went in for the procedure my neck pain was at about a level 7 out of 10, and my back was about a 5. Immediately after I was down to about a 2 for both my neck and back. My neck hasn't bothered me yet since yesterday, but my back did bother me a bit last night. But, since awaking this morning I am at about a 2 for both. I sure hope the pain stays away for awhile. Being in pain day and night sure can take its toll on a person. For the last year, I would say that I have been at an 8 out of 10 for my neck, at least, 2-3 days a week!! It is so frustrating, especially with me watching kids all day. So, I am thankful that we can try and get this straightened out.

Well, I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!! Can't wait to see most of you in less than a month!!! YIPPEE!!!

Whoo Hoo!!

6 months ago, even 3 months ago, I never thought that gas prices would be here.....



Now we can fill up the Suburban for less than $70....instead of the usual $150 or more!!!

8 is Great!

I can't believe that my baby boy is 8 today!!


Ryker has grown up so much this year. He is becoming quite the gentleman. He loves to open doors for his sisters and I. He is doing so well in school. His teacher only had wonderful things to say about him during our conference a few weeks ago. He is such a big helper with the little boys that I watch. He just loves to get them laughing! It's crazy to think that he will be getting baptized next month while we are in Vegas. It makes me sad that he is growing up so fast, but incredibly happy that he is growing up to be such a wonderful man.



We LOVE you Ryker!!
Happy Birthday to our Big Boy!!

Family Photo Shoot Preview

We went and had our pictures taken today, but the proofs won't be ready to look at until next week. So, I decided to take one myself and give everyone a little preview. I'm sure that they will look tons better than these. I took these after the "real" ones and after we went out to dinner and played a bit, so the kids aren't as "fresh" as they were for the actual shoot. Enjoy!!

I Pretty, Pretty!!

Marina is totally into putting on shows and making up her own songs as she goes along. This particular day, she just kept singing this "I Pretty" song over and over. At the end of the first time she sings it, listen as she runs into the playroom and says, "Ahhh!" It was so funny. Then in the middle of the recording, she runs into the corner and "introduces" herself! Too cute, so make sure to pay special attention to that.

DISCLAIMER: This was recorded during the day, while I watch children, so please excuse the mess!!!

Halloween

I just thought that I would hurry and throw in a few pics of the kids this Halloween. There wasn't a whole lot going on this year. We went to the ward trunk or treat, a neighborhood party and then Halloween night was actually pretty lame. I think we handed candy out to maybe 3 parties of kids, and our kids just went up our street. It was very quiet, but I think that was actually a good thing as we have all been so sick lately.

At the neighborhood party, there was a DJ there. Marina was dancing like crazy! It was so hilarious. There were a lot of people there dressed up as scary characters, and they would go and dance with her, and she didn't care at all. She was just glad that someone was dancing with her!! It was really dark in the tent, but if you look really hard you can see her shaking her booty! She kept getting distracted with the lights that were there too. She is so cute!!

Aspen's Bday Party

Aspen's Bday party was last week. She had a sleepover with 3 of her friends. We ate pizza, painted pillow cases, had donut sundaes, sang & danced, watched movies, and then went to see High School Musical 3 the next morning. It was really fun, and I was glad to see some fun friends that Aspen is able to hang out with. Here are the highlights!

Having Fun Dancing...



A visit from Spike...
Thomas had a lot of fun scaring the girls ALL night!

Toothless Wonder!

Well, it finally happened. Harley lost a tooth!! She's almost 7, and this is her first one. Can I just say how jealous Ryker is!!! My goodness, the boy will be 8 next month, and not even a wiggle!!!

I'm Spicy!!!

I just HAD to share this!

At the Headless Horseman Event, while we were watching the marionette show, Marina was sitting on Thomas' shoulders. After awhile, she asked to get down because her foot was hurting. After a few moments, she let out quite a yell, and said,

"My legs are spicy!!"

I guess she took the tingling as a "Spicy" sensation!! She cracks me up!!

Aspen is 12!!!

I can't believe how fast time has flown! 12 years ago, Thomas & I welcomed Aspen into our lives. After being in the hospital for 4 days before she was born, we were just so excited to begin the new chapter of parenthood in our lives. She has truly been a joy to raise, and we are super proud of the young lady she is becoming. Aspen is an awesome big sister, adventurous, funny, shy, smart, a great babysitter, and most importantly our daughter! She is also officially a Young Woman...no longer in Primary! She is totally stoked about that. I can't wait for her to experience all the Young Women program has to offer... fun weekly activities, Girl's Camp & Youth Conference, just to name a few. I wish you all could be here to help us celebrate with her!!

We LOVE you Aspen!! Happy Birthday!!

I love Halloween in Indiana!

There is so much to go and do during the fall and Halloween season out here in Indiana. All at a pretty inexpensive price! We were really excited to be able to share a couple of these fun events with Aunt Trayci and Aunt Taneil too!

First off, we went to the Children's Museum's Haunted House. We didn't go last year, so we really wanted to go this year. During the summer, the library has a Summer Reading Program, and all 4 of the older kids earned a free pass to the haunted house by reading. Gotta love free!! It was really fun. At this particular haunted house, they do "friendly" hours and "frightening" hours. Basically, "friendly" is with the lights on, and "frightening" is with the lights off. Of course, we decided on the "frightening" hours!! Ryker led the way, which really surprised me. He did fine until we came to a bridge that went through a tunnel that was spinning. He thought he was gonna spinning with it, but it was just an optical illusion. That tunnel was really, really cool!! Aspen & Sierra, of course, were fine. Harley was scared to death, and I ended up carrying her through the whole thing. Marina, walked right through like she owned the place!! She must have thought we were walking around in circles, though, because she eventually asked Trayci, "Where's the out ??" She didn't say it like she was scared, just like we were lost!

The next night, we took Trayci and Taneil to a REAL pumpkin patch at a REAL farm!! Thomas had school that night, so Trent & Beth & Megan came to hang out with us. Again, it was a really fun night with lots of fun stuff to do. I love Waterman's Farm because it is so inexpensive ($4/person) and you get to do everything inside for no extra price. Not like in Vegas, where you would probably have to buy tickets for every single ride!! The kids had fun riding the big bikes, climbing and sliding on the inflatables, going through the hay maze, climbing the hay mountain, going through 3 different corn mazes, watching the pumpkin eating dinosaur, climbing on huge tractor tires and going on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch!! Oh yeah...all for $4!!!

Then last night, we went to see if we could find the Headless Horseman!! We thought we were gonna miss most of the crowds, but when we got there....we knew we had thought wrong. The event was only from 6:30p to 9pm. When we got through the gate, we were given a ride time of 10:15p!! What!!! Everything at this event is centered around the story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. They had a marionette show, scary campfire stories, a play (which we didn't get to see), and of course the hay ride to go and see the Headless Horseman. We still had a lot of fun, and just made ourselves comfortable at the playground until it was our turn. The kids found these tire swings, and had so much fun that it quite literally made them sick!! Ryker, threw up twice, and Sierra just couldn't get her bearings after she was done. The hay ride was so much fun, and they added some new scary elements this year, with skeletons and such chasing after the wagon. I couldn't get any pics of the Headless Horseman, because you're not allowed to use a flash, and well, remember it was really late at night in some dark woods, so you wouldn't have been able to tell! All I gotta say, is if you are ever in Indianapolis for Halloween, you have to go!!

Hopefully, you made it through this post!! I just love the fall season here, and I love to share it as much as I can with all of you!!!

Yeah...we're still alive!!

Well...I think we are.

Have I ever mentioned that I have a red head?? I mean a true stubborn, fiesty, hot tempered, "my way or the highway" red head??

Well....I do, and her name is Marina! She's also the baby of the family, which makes it even worse!!

Let me explain...

Starting on Saturday morning, just like clockwork, Day 5 of recovering from tonsils began with a vengeance. The doctor said that day 5 would be the worst...you know what, that doctor knows what he's talking about! All 3 of the kids were in terrible, terrible pain. So bad, that I think they thought their throats were being sliced open. Ryker & Harley did great, though. They understood that as long as they were brave and took their medicine and drank lots of fluids, it would be okay. Marina...not so much!! Of course, Thomas was at school, and didn't have his phone with him. Marina was terrified to swallow, and wasn't about to! She wasn't going to swallow any medicine, juice, water, or spit, and there was no way anyone could force her. See, Marina is too young to really "get" the whole "you gotta just be brave & suck it up and do it" mentality that her older siblings understood, BUT she is also too old to be able to force anything down her throat. Trust me...I tried!! After 3 failed attempts, 2 of which ended up with Lortab Elixer in her eye, I gave up. Even when Thomas came home, he couldn't get her to take anything. Let's just say that Sunday is a big fat Ditto!

We kept telling her that all this stubborness was going get her was an all expense paid trip to the Emergency Room. Guess what, she did NOT care. In fact, at about 1am Monday morning (Sunday night) we finally told her enough was enough, she needed to go in and get some fluids. (We're pretty sure that she only peed once all day Sunday.) Guess what, she did NOT care. So, we loaded her up and drove to the hospital. Not a peep came out of her the entire ride there. She even had this look about her that said she was "calling our bluff!"

So, the doctor comes in, and says, "Well, let's try and see if we can get her to drink something." Thomas & I looked at each other like, "What?" The doctor seriously came back with a cup full of Gatorade and a popsicle, and said let's give her 1/2 an hour to try and drink something. He also explained how he had had to hold his daughter down before and force liquids, and he was sure the new environment would help her to drink. Yep, he saw it all the time. Kids come in dehydrated, and LOVED the hospital juice so much better, so they didn't have to get an IV. Guess what, she did NOT care. In fact, after about 5 minutes of hearing her scream bloody murder because we were trying to force it, he came back in and "Okay, I get that she isn't going to do it on her own. We'll start an IV." All I could think was, "Yeah...ya think!"

The nurses came in all prepared to hold down a 4 year old, that they KNEW was going to be hard to get an IV in. Guess what, she did NOT care!!! That's right, my little girl did not move a muscle, only wimpered a little. Yep, you heard me...she would rather be stuck in the arm with a needle (2 times actually, the first one didn't work...even after they moved it around and around in her arm...ewww!) than drink some juice. I guess that goes to show you how much pain she was in. She finished the hour long IV, and then we were told to get her to drink before we could go home. Nope, not gonna happen. The doctor ended up giving her 2 doses of Morphine, and she STILL wasn't gonna drink anything. After a couple of hours, she finally drank what she needed to to get released. Whew!

On the way home, we had this long conversation about how we did not want to have to do that again, and she agreed that she would be brave and drink lots of juice and take her medicine. You wanna know what she did the next day? You guessed it...wouldn't drink or take her medicine!!! I finally told her that if she wasn't going to let Thomas & I take care of her, that she would have to go and live outside, with the coyotes (yes, there are coyotes here), and take care of herself. I put her on the front porch and closed the door. She screamed for a couple of minutes, so I asked her if she was ready to let me take care of her. Her answer was still a No, so back out she went. After some 5-10 minutes, I finally got the message through. Ever since then, all I have to do is tell her that she is going to have to live outside and take care of herself and she quickly takes a drink!

Guess what....she has been drinking more than Ryker & Harley now!

Whew...after all of that nonsense, I think today we have finally turned a corner! After thier naps, they all woke up saying that they were starting to feel better. Do you know what that means? Ryker is back to being a boy and bugging all of his sisters, pretty much simultaneously!! And with 4 sisters, that's talent!!

We are getting along just fine...

Well, the kids are doing fairly well. In fact, when I thought about what I would be having to go through with all 3 of them, I NEVER thought my biggest challenge would be getting them to lay down and stay down!! They are kids, though, so I know it's gotta be hard to just lay down and stay still. At least when they get up, they are doing fairly quiet activites...except for Marina's ballerina dance today! They did really well staying hydrated the first day, but the amount of drinking has consistently gone down each day. This worries me a bit, so today we have been having a contest to see who can drink the most. It worked for awhile this morning, but as of tonight, they just don't care. The doctor said that day 5 is usually the worst, so time will tell how bad this will get. It really hasn't been all that bad, especially with Thomas' sisters here helping.

Whew! We made it!!

We are all home now, safe and sound, after Ryker, Harley, & Marina had their tonsils removed. It was quite an experience, and we felt like the freak show there at the surgery center. Everyone just had to come in and take a look at the insane parents. Before they went into surgery, the nurses gave them some medicine to help them relax.

Ryker & Harley definitely relaxed, and were seeing double in no time. Ryker kept asking me why there were 2 TVs. The medicine was very yucky, and Harley wasn't too happy to be duped into taking it, by the nurses putting a drop of juice with it. She wouldn't talk to them after that! Ryker was watching Dora, and looked at me me and said, "Dora is HUGE!" Just like some surfer dude on acid. It was pretty funny.

Marina, on the other hand, had a completey opposite reaction to this "relaxing" medicine. At first, she was super hyper, and literally couldn't hold still. She kept trying to stand up on the bed and bounce on it. Then, the mood swings came. She was last to be taken back to surgery, so we had quite a bit of time with her while she was on this stuff. She was quite literally laughing hysterically one SECOND, and then histerically crying the next. It was so wierd to watch your little ones act like they were on an acid trip.

It was quite the task keeping on eye on them, since there is only 2 of us, and there were 3 of them. They were in 3 different rooms, when they came out, and the catch was that none of them could be left alone in their room AT ALL. So, since Marina wasn't going to stay in her bed anyway, I held her in Ryker's room until they woke up...which didn't happen for a good 3-4 hours!! They were so zonked out. Finally, we were able to rouse them, and get them to eat a popsicle, which was one of the requirements to get to go home.

Well, now the fun begins!! They have been doing awesome, and have all had at least 6-7 popsicles since we got home. The doctor is really worried about them, and has already had his personal assistant call us to make sure everything is going okay. I, of course, forgot my camera, so you'll have to enjoy these crappy pictures from my phone. Keep us all in your prayers, we are gonna need them!!