Family vacay

Spencer's parents rented a cabin just outside of Zion National Park last week so we all packed up way too much stuff and headed into the mountains. After a drive through Zion to get to the cabin, we arrived at what should really be called a "mountain home".

5 bedrooms, a gigantic deck, hot tub and air conditioning all constitute that this place is not merely a cabin. It's my kind of place though.

We had alot of fun just hanging out at the house and taking our nightly family walks. We ate good, slept good and played lots of games. I made a smores platter every night while we played cards, speed scrabble and trivial pursuit. And we'd get in the hot tub at night after all the kids were in bed. And there was guitar hero, of course.



Our last day there, Spencer's parents rented a 6 seater rhino and took my nephews riding around the mountains. And later all the guys and little boys ziplined, climbed the rock wall and did the trampoline bungee over at the Zion Ponderosa resort near where we stayed.

It was a relaxing and fun trip for us. We are really grateful for Spencer's parents generosity and sharing this vacation with the rest of us.

In other news, Sawyer recently got his first tooth! I keep trying to get a good picture of his new smile, but it's been quite a challenge.

first summer getaway

We decided last minute to drive up to So. Utah to hang out with my family for 24 hours at my Aunt and Uncle's cabin in Mammoth Creek. This was Sawyer's first trip, and he did pretty good on the drive up and back. However, he didn't seem too impressed with his surroundings once we arrived at our destination. Luckily, he did sleep well the one night we were there.

Overall it was a fun, quick trip. The highlights included playing games, eating smores and sausage apple rolls (not in one sitting...gross), taking pictures, and seeing my sister almost get eaten by a ferocious doberman. And, DUH, stopping and shopping in St. George at the Shade store on our way home. Hello, $15 dresses.

auntie and the rasta-baby

do you want summore?

sunny and 60 degrees

maybe the funniest picture sawyer has ever taken

the dudes

my new screensaver

maxin and relaxin

not sure who sawyer is maddoggin

just helpin' out my woodland friends

ok that is officially a photo-overload.

excited

I just watched this trailer and am officially excited. I was skeptical when they decided to make one of my favorite books into a movie, and I still don't know how good it will be, but the trailer is decent AND it's rated PG-13. Score. But I'm not sure about Eric Bana. Meh.


In other news, Sawyer is recovering well. He had his catheter removed and has been getting better every day. He still has another week till he is fully recovered and able to swim, play in his jumper and walker and be back to his old self 100%. But we are unbelievably grateful that he has been such a tough guy and made this process easier on us.

We had a nice Fathers Day weekend. Late night Guitar Hero rock-fest Friday night, swimming and navajo tacos and games on Saturday, bbq and cards on Sunday. We love all the padres in our lives.



Summertime is grand.

being patient with our patient

Sawyer's surgery to correct his hypospadias was this past Tuesday. Having never had surgery in a hospital myself, I was nervous and did not know what to expect. Spencer has been through the process more times than he can count, so it was old-hat to him I'm sure.

We arrived bright and early at 7:30. Sawyer's usual wake up time is around 9am, so this was an adjustment for him.

He got suited up in a baby hospital gown and bright yellow socks. He was a big fan of the socks.

A pre-op visit with Grandma and Grandpa kept him occupied for a little while as we watched the time slowly pass on the clock. Sawyer soon realized it was almost 9 o'clock and there was no bottle to be found and no cereal to eat. His curiosity with the hospital gadgets soon turned to distain. Lots of crying ensued.

After the little dude went off to surgery, we (me, Spencer, my Mom, my Dad and my sister) all settled into the Pediatric Surgery Waiting Room for a 3-4 hour borefest.

But who knew that this small waiting room, wherein we were the only people waiting, would become a pretty fun hang out spot when we are stuck sitting around at a hospital. There was Nintendo 64, which we tried playing but we couldn't handle how seriously dated that thing is. We played cards, messed with the kid toys, ate Mediterranean Cafe and made fun of each other. Seriously, a good time considering the circumstances.


And after 3 hours exactly, he was out of surgery, sleepy-eyed and ready to EAT. We were on our way home about 30 mins later.

Overall we are surprised at how well Sawyer has done with this week of recovery. He has had his moments of legitimate discomfort and pain, and those of grumpiness and just being fussy, but for the most part he has endured this pretty well. But we will all be happy when the catheter is removed and he no longer has to wear double diapers.

Until next week when all that happens, we'll still be seeing alot of this.

movies

So many movies are coming out/have already come out that I want to see. And when the trailer plays, I wait with great anticipation for that last green screen with the movie rating displayed. And a solid 75% of the time, I let out a sigh of disappointment as a large, definitive R stares back at me.

It's annoying that these movies that look great are usually rated R, and therefore, I won't see them until they are played in edited form on TBS in 3 years. It's my choice, and one I'm glad I make, but sometimes it just bums me out.

I wish I wish I wish just this one wasn't rated R....

swim time

We had a really nice weekend. Saturday we swam with some friends and family, and had dinner with old friends.
Sunday was church and dinner with my family.
Monday was swimming and birthday dinner with Spencer's family.




Sawyer is pretty content to spend the rest of the summer in the pool [and so am I!]

I was up most of the night, just thinking. That's the worst. When you want to sleep but your mind is acting like it just drank a redbull.

With the changes that we've had to our job situation [going from 3 incomes to 1] I have been trying to figure some ways we can cut costs in our household. So I spent the better part of the morning, from 4 am to 6 am, laying awake calculating how much the meals I cook cost to make, deciding which groceries can be eliminated from the weekly shopping trips, and what is most cost effective in our family "menu".

And then I reviewed the overall budget, and tried to see where we can reduce our spending.

Looks like if we only eat meals that cost less than $10 total, have no doctors appointments, no birthdays to buy for, and get rid of our pest control guy, we'll break even?

Sawyer is happy and laughing in his jumper, and rather than dwell on the financial depravity of the world, I am going to go hang with him. All we can do is try better tomorrow, right?

smiley faces

Who is this dude? Where's the tiny baby he used to be?

he likes to chew on camera straps. note to self.
playing with uncle paul
almost almost almost sitting up on his own.