Summer Break Week 8

I thought I was only two weeks behind...but I'm three weeks behind.  I can't believe there are only two full weeks left of summer break.  It's time I get all caught up on this so that I will be ready for all of my back-to-school stories and posts.

Monday the 13th of July we had some friends make a spontaneous decision to go to the new Miller Athletic Complex in Castle Rock.  (For those who have visited, Castle Rock is where our outlets are.)  Since this place was on my list of adventures for the summer, we decided to join them.  We woke up and got out of the house as quickly as we could.  The goal was to leave at 8am, but we didn't actually leave until 8:25.  It worked out well as we arrived right as our friends finished their "hike" up the mini-incline.  They were headed to the playground so we joined them.  The playground is one of the neatest ones I have ever seen.  I wish I had taken pictures of it, but I guess I'll have to do that the next time we go.  Yes, we will go back!

After an hour at the playground we moved inside.  The facilities indoors require an admission fee, but it wasn't too bad.  My kids loved the indoor playground (!) and then the pool was seriously the best we have ever visited.  We got in the pool around 10:45 or so and stayed until they called for a safety break at 11:45.  At that point we went out to the grass and had our picnic lunch and then got back in the pool until 1:30 or so.  My kids would have stayed longer had I let them.  Bree was getting tired, though, and we needed to get her a nap before evening baseball/t-ball practice.  It turns out that Bree loves to swim, though, and keeps begging to go again.  She even got a mouthful of water and it didn't even phase her.  It upset me more than it did her!

My kids all spread out for lunch.  Kai is talking with his friend Reese.

Proud of this kid for not being at all self-conscious about his button.

My mini-fish

On Tuesday the 14th Kai had an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist.  He had a bone age done in early June to evaluate his growth and we went to this appointment to follow up with the doctor and discuss where to go from here.  Kai's bone age was estimated to be somewhere between 4 1/2 years old (specifically his wrist is close to that of a 4 1/2 year old) to 6 years old at most (his hand showed some traits of being closer to 6 years old).  Either way, he is very delayed in growth.  Of course, none of that surprised us.  He just started losing teeth about 7 months ago and technically still doesn't even have all of his 6 year old molars.  He just started wearing size 6 clothes and then are big on him.  But I make him wear them so that Finn can wear his old size 5 clothes.  After a detailed discussion of our family history the doctor felt that the best thing for Kai would be to run all of the blood work and just get the answers.  There are two reasons why a child would have delayed growth like Kai does.  One reason is simply that they will be a late bloomer.  In Kai's case, there is a slight family history of late-bloomers and so that is a possibility.  If you were to plot Kai's height and weight on the curve as that of a 6 year-olds, he would be in the 50th percentile.  That is good.  As an 8 year old, that height and weight is in the 1st percentile.  Not good.  If Kai's bone age matched his age, he would be tracking to be about 5 foot 1 as an adult.  If Kai is truly a late-bloomer and his growth and bone age catch up to his calendar age, he could track to be about 5 foot 7 as an adult.  As it currently stands, the doctor does not feel that is realistic.  The doctor said at best he is hoping that we will be able to get Kai to 5 foot 6 as an adult.  The other reason for delayed bone age is due to a growth hormone deficiency.  This can also be genetic.  Kai has a history of immediate family members who have used growth hormone, specifically an uncle and two first cousins.  These family members represent both my side and Reid's side of the family.  Additionally, I was screened for growth hormone deficiency as a child.  The doctor said that a child with growth hormone deficiency that goes untreated will lose, on average, 5 inches of their adult height.  That number would not be a big deal if the child was going to be, say, 6 foot 5.  Ending at 6 feet instead of 6 foot 5 would still put them as a tall adult, but in Kai's case losing 5 inches would be a much more difficult thing for him.  The doctor feels that our boys' genetic potential (a number calculated using both my height and Reid's height) is between 5 foot 5 and 5 foot 9.  To lose 5 inches off of that would be a very hard thing.  And so, based on all of that, we went ahead and scheduled the growth hormone testing, and many other additional blood tests for Kai.  Poor Kai was upset about the idea of a needle poke and was not happy about the decision.  But that being said, the doctor was great at talking to Kai and asking him questions, and explaining everything.  And Kai really does want to make sure he is as tall as he can be.  Just hearing he needed bloodwork after being told earlier in the month that he needed glasses was overwhelming.

Speaking of glasses, Thursday the 16th was one of our craziest days ever.  Reid and I had eye exams scheduled for 8:30 and 9am.  Reid went to the early appointment and I followed behind with all of the kids in time for my 9am slot.  Reid then took the kids shopping for glasses with him while I did my exam and then they all helped me shop for glasses.  Kai had been told he needed glasses two weeks earlier and had cried quite a bit over that and had refused to pick any out.  That morning we finally talked him into trying some on and then we told him that he needed to pick the ones he liked or we would pick some for him.  I gave him some time to think about it while we went to playgroup that day.  Playgroup was at America the Beautiful Park in Colorado Springs and was a lot of fun. This particular park has a great playground as well as a fountain that the kids can put their swimsuits on and play around in.  We enjoyed doing both of those things with lots of friends and stayed for nearly 3 hours before heading back to our house.

We were only home for about 30 minutes that day before we went back to the eye doctor for an appointment for Finn.  After discovering Kai's vision had worsened significantly we decided to get a baseline for Finn.  He did well with the exam and got us a good baseline.  He does not need glasses, much to his dismay.  Go figure, Finn wanted glasses and Kai on the other hand wanted nothing to do with them.  But we did finally get Kai to pick out and order glasses that afternoon.  So, yay!

The glasses Kai picked out.  He hasn't let anyone but us see them, so don't tell him this picture is here!

Finally on Friday the 17th we went with several friends to the Space Foundation Discovery Center.  We had a large enough group that I was able to arrange a group discount for us and we got a tour and activities to go with it.  And we scheduled our time to coincide with the visit of Dr. Leroy Chiao, a former commander of the International Space Station.  Kai was so excited to meet a real astronaut that he got starstruck and couldn't ask his well-prepared question.  After two tries to approach him and ask his question, Kai finally got up the courage and asked Dr. Chiao what life was like on the Space Station.  As luck would have it, a TV news reporter overheard Kai and asked if she could interview him about his meeting with an astronaut.  Kai had no problem talking to her until she pulled out her camera and then he got upset again.  Needless to say, he did not get a spot on the evening news, but he did get to meet an astronaut.

Playing in the children's area of the Space Foundation

Really cool space shuttle

We found Wall-E hiding in the display!

Dr. Chiao

You could just tell this man was super nice!

Finally it was Saturday the 18th.  It was a typical Saturday with baseball/t-ball games and family time.  Shew!  Busy week!

Summer Break Week 7

This week marked the half-way point of our summer break.  I can't believe how fast it is all going and how much fun we have been having.  I know there are seasons to life and honestly this season has been pretty fantastic.  It isn't perfect by any means, but that's just life.

After all of the craziness of the first half of the summer, I needed a week to slow down.  This week was it!  Our visiting family left early on Sunday the 5th before we headed out to church.  It was sad to see them go.  What made me even more sad was after church.  I picked Bree up at nursery and she was so excited to go home.  She said, "Back to the cousins, Mom".  At that point I had to tell her they weren't there but that they had gone "bye bye".  She had a very despondent look on her face and said, "Oh".  I thought for a second she might cry.  She talked about her cousins all week, and specifically Maci.  She kept saying that they had gone home, and she would do something and say, "Like Maci".  I seriously adore those two little girls and I love that the Lord blessed us with cousins for the kids that perfectly match up to them.

On Monday we went to Kohl's to find some Minnie Mouse jammies, since Maci had some of those.  The minute we got home Bree had to put them on and then proceeded to wear them all day.  We also got nail polish at Walmart since Aunt Kristi had shown Bree her pretty pink nails and then painted Bree's for her.  Bree's had already started chipping and she had wanted them fixed.  She even threw a fit on Sunday about going to church because she wanted to go to Walmart instead so we could fix her nails.  So Monday, it was "like Maci" and she wore Minnie Mouse jammies and painted her nails.

New jammies

Pretty purple nails.  I'm still learning how to get these done just right but Bree's patience is getting shorter and shorter each time we do it.  These look a lot better than the nails she had me do for her this week!

The whole week was actually quite rainy and cold, so we spent most of the week inside and playing.  On Tuesday the boys decided to turn the stairs into a slide.  They had a blast doing this and seemed relatively safe (as safe as sliding down stairs can be).  But then on Tuesday Finn crashed into the wall and injured his pinky toe on his right foot.  My first thought is that it was broken.  He wouldn't walk on it for about a day and it did swell.  However, it isn't as bruised as I would anticipate for a broken toe, so it's probably a good jam or sprain.  Either way, he's been limping around here a lot lately, but it's slowly getting better.

They used the bedding we had out for their cousins to make the slide.

On Wednesday Finn had his chest CT done.  I was so proud of him that day!  We had practiced taking breaths and holding it in preparation for his CT, only to get there and find out that not only did he have to do that but he also had to take a breath, blow it all out, and then hold it.  So, we practiced that real quick and he did great!  He had to do that four times, but he moved the final time so we did it a 5th time.  But really he did a fantastic job and earned a great toy and book from the hospital.  Kai and Bree went to a babysitter's house again during that time and had a great time.

He's amazing!  And after standing next to Finn for a CT for the second year in a row, I'm hoping that I'm not glowing in the dark, too.

On Thursday we had a crazy day!  I had visiting teaching in the morning with both sisters that I visit.  Doing that with all of the kids gets a tad crazy.  And because of the rain, I had canceled our 11am playgroup time.  Well, while we were visiting the sun came out and it warmed up, so I sent out a quick email saying that playgrroup was back on.  We went from visiting teaching to Walmart to grab luncables and then to the park to play with friends.  By the time we got home we had been out of the house for 5 hours.

Friday morning we did some crazy quick cleaning as we had a playdate scheduled with some friends.  A family from the ward came over to watch Meet the Mormons with us.  It was fun, but our kids definitely made it more difficult.  We don't get to play with these friends that often so it was good to see them and it was their first time at our house.  They have lived here 5 years--man, we're slackers!  Friday afternoon I "rented" Free Willy for the boys to watch since we all needed some more down time.  That afternoon our neighbor also knocked on our door and said he was going to take his kids' old powered vehicles to the thrift store unless we wanted them.  So, needless to say, we now have two more fun toys that take up a lot of garage space.

Friday's dinner.  Doesn't it all look yummy?!  I've been really enjoying the fresh produce this summer and making salads.  They are so easy and so yummy.  And I love that my kids love salads, too!

Saturday the kids enjoyed taking the new toys out for a drive and we also capped the week off with a trip to Walmart.  Considering that was a down week....I'd say we have been pretty busy and we are loving it!

When your first "car" is a red Mustang........yep, spoiled!

Summer Break Week 6

The first half of week 6 was spent trying to catch up on needed chores and getting our home ready for our next round of visitors.  Finn also had CF clinic this week and had a good appointment.  The doctors are all very happy with the weight he is gaining (he is over 40 pounds now!) and how he is doing.  We did have a few issues that they recommended we discuss with the ENT and GI doctors, but other than that, it was a pretty basic appointment.  His next appointment is scheduled for October and will be his "annual" appointment, which just means they do his blood work and spend more time talking to us.  Since he will be 6 this year, it is also time for his next CT scan (they do them every 3 years), and so we were asked to schedule that.

Bree insisted on wearing all of her beads!

While I was cleaning the house Finn managed to drop a magnetic rock into the toilet.  We went fishing with a paper clip to get it out.  YUCK!

On Wednesday we spent the day cleaning the house as we were expecting Reid's sister, Kristi, and her family to be arriving that evening.  We always love having them come to visit and this time was no exception.  We were all very excited to see them and the boys took off playing with their cousins the minute they walked through the door.  We did not expect Maci and Bree to play that much together, just due to their age, but they surprised us all by really enjoying each other.  They even actually played together and not just side-by-side.  It was super cute and just so fun!

Thursday morning Finn had an ENT appointment and Reid had to get a couple hours of work in, but then we were all free.  After a quick lunch we loaded up in the cars and headed to Denver to visit the aquarium.  It had been three years since we had been and our kids were very excited.

Kai

Finn

Kai, Issac, and Finn having a good time

Ok, isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen??  We love Maci!

And this was just too funny!

Yep, that fish is bigger than Kai.

Who's in the bubble??  (PS.  The answer is Finn and Bryn.)

Kai touching a chocolate chip sea star.

Bree wanted to touch, too.

Finn, Isaac, Kai, and Bree (and you can see Maci's bow sticking up behind Issac)

Love these two!

After the aquarium we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  They must have seen the 8 kids and the 4 adults and known we were going to be trouble, and so they gave us a nice room all to ourselves in the restaurant.  That turned out to be a blessing as we didn't feel the need to continually tell the boys to be quiet and to stay in their seats.  It was a good dinner despite trying to control the chaos and we were glad that we chose that stop.

Our dinner table.  Don't ask what Reid is doing!

Maci, Kristi, Bryn, and Bree (yep, it's my child with food all over her face!)

Friday morning we headed out to hike to the Palmer Reservior.  I'm not sure how the others felt, but for me it seemed a much easier hike after all of the hiking in Estes Park.  I'm sure the altitude made it difficult for our Kansas family, but they didn't complain.  We all made it up the mountain and the kids enjoyed dipping their hands (and Bree's feet) in the reservior before we sat down for snacks.  After snacks we headed back down the mountain, which is always the easiest part!

Starting our hike

We made it to the reservior.  I love this picture.

Cousins!

These two were enjoying their snack on a rock.  Kristi asked them to smile for the camera and this is what she got from Issac, and Finn would not take the picture without showing off his juice.  

Saturday morning Reid and Erik headed out very early to get us seats at the 4th of July parade.  Kristi and the kids and I managed to get off of the school bus shuttle just as the parade started and we had to make our way to the middle of the parade route to find our seats.  But once we were there we all had a great time.  This was the closest to the start of the parade route we had ever sat and the kids got a whole lot more candy than we have ever had.  And a lot of otter pops and water as well.

I spent an afternoon with these girls and played a game that involved me tucking them into bed.  They would ask for hugs and kisses (even Maci!) and then they would shout "Time to wake up!" and get up, run through a pop-up tunnel and play tent and do it all over again.  So sweet!

After the parade we were all pretty worn out.  We spent the rest of the 4th relaxing and visiting at home and just enjoying being with family.  We were so glad that they had come to visit us!

Easter 2015

This one event is what kept me from blogging and ultimately falling so far behind.  I don't remember why blogging about Easter overwhelmed me so much, but here I am and I'm going to get it done so that I can move on.

Easter this year fell on the same weekend as General Conference.  That was super nice when we normally have 9am church.  This gave us a chance to enjoy Easter morning without having to worry about getting out of our pajamas.  Admittedly we are not very good at taking pictures on Easter morning as we normally video the egg hunt.  I actually think that's why I got overwhelmed with blogging about it, but anyway, here's what we have from that special weekend.

Between conference sessions on Saturday we went to the Easter Egg Hunt at Monument Hill Country Club.  As you can see, there were a whole lot of eggs and very little hunting!

Finn, Finn, Finn!!  There was an "Easter Bunny" out during the event.  He was "terrified".  If anyone has suggestions as to how to get him over this fear of costumed characters, please let me know.  We all want to go back to Disney World one day!

At one point he calmed down a bit, but then he eventually got himself worked up again and threw up right in his Easter bucket and all over his eggs.  YUCK!

Kai was thrilled to see his friend Cora at the egg hung.  They have been in class together for the last two years and have a mutual interest in each other.  They have hot and cold moments but this was one of those times when they were pretty good friends.  She's a sweet girl.

They opened their eggs together and loved the "plushies" they found.  It is one of their "inside" stories now.

The Easter Bunny that terrorized Finn.  I can't blame him too much because this costume is a bit creepy.

Anxiously waiting for the egg hunt at our house on Sunday morning.

At our house the kids have certain colors of eggs they have to find.  Bree is in charge of pink of purple.  

Ziplining Videos

Remember when we went ziplining??  Here are some videos of that.

Random Shots of my kids from March

I'm trying to go back and fill in the small hole I left in my blog and I found these cute pictures that didn't make it in March.

I have been asked quite a bit over the years if they are twins.  This is why.

Melts my heart!