The Dentist

The dentist never has held great memories for me, but after talking to our pediatrician I figured I needed to get them in. (And also Trav's insistence if we were paying for dental insurance we needed to use it.) Our pediatrician referred a great pediatric dentist so after everything settled down in July we headed there. I seriously wish that they had these sort of places when I was a kid. It was very kid friendly! They offer nitrous oxide gas for free so the kids don't have to feel the shots if they have cavities, they don't shove the bite-wing film in their mouth (everything is done with a small electronic probe), they have TV's in the ceiling, etc.

I thought that I would schedule both boys at the same time and then have Shane go first so that he could be a good example to Jace. When the time arrived Shane was terrified. The hygenist looked at Jace and asked him if he wanted to go. He looked at her and said, "O.k. that's a great idea." He was a great sport. They were able to do it all without his squirming out of control (shocking), and I think he only bit the assisant once. His favorite part was getting to pick out the flavor of the polishing paste (chocolate- Shane had bubble gum).

After seeing that Jace was brave Shane thought that it was o.k. and jumped into the chair. He did everything they asked him to and I think that he will be more relaxed the next time we go. Jace had no cavities, but Shane has a little one that we have to go back for. Shane has been on an inhaler for his "reactive airway disease" for about 2 years now and the dentist thinks that it may have attibuted to his cavity. He has been so anxious about the whole cavity thing though. After we got home he asked me a thousand times that day if I could take the cavity out. Every now and again he will ask me when we are going back so that he can get it out. We will see how he handles that :).

Some of my favorite pictures!

I am so grateful to be a part of such a great family. The fact that we can be together for so long and still say we love eachother is saying something :). Harold and Jackie you have raised some great kids and I am so lucky to have snagged one of them. Thank you for being such wonderful and involved grandparents! We had such a great time, and we can't wait to get together again soon.

Memorable moment

Yesterday I decided that I wanted to have one of those memorable moments with my eldest. We went out to the garage, took off his training wheels and I proceeded out to the sidewalk where I was determined to make a memory. We put on his helmet, knee pads, and elbow guards and I braced myself for an hour or so of heavy Bike Riding 101.

As I went to put my hand on the back of the seat (a true Kodak moment), Shane turned around and announced, "Mom, get your hand off my bike. I will do it myself." He did just that. After an hour of "learning to balance" in the garage, he was off on his own. He is still a little tipsy but he did it "all by himself".

Chicago

McKane, Ruth's mom (Catalina), and Travis


Trav, Ruth, and McKane


I don't know what this means, but it must be a Chilean thing


Ruth and Arley

After arriving home from the mountains on Thursday, we quickly packed to fly to Chicago the following morning. Travis was contacted back in April by one of the girls that he had baptized while he was on his mission in Chile. Ruth told him that she was getting married in Chicago and asked if he would be able to come. It just so happened that the week that they chose was the week of the reunion. In a way it was wonderful though because Shane and Jace stayed at home with Harold and Jackie and we only took Brett. Let me tell you after flying with all three boys by myself, it was a piece of cake flying with only Brett.

The wedding was wonderful and Travis was able to visit with his mission companion McKane Davis as well as Ruth's mom. What a wonderful experience to see the full circle of what one missionary can do. Even though the entire ceremony was done in spanish (I don't speak very well as all), I could definately feel the spirit. There were many tears flowing when Travis and McKane walked in together in their black suits. Ruth's mom introduced them to Arley's (Ruth's fiance') mom as "her angels". So glad we were able to go and thanks again to Harold and Jackie who put up with my two little crazies!

Awesome time!

We had such a great time....and glad to get back to reality!

Winter Park cont...

Pilot and co-pilot (Harold and Brett)


Before going on the alpine slide


On the chair lift to the top (Shane kept saying, "Just let me reach out and touch that pole as we go by." Uh let me think, NO!)


Alpine slide

Winter Park

Shane miniture golfing in the rain


Jace's first flip on the bungee tramp


I even did a couple of flips


Jace starting screaming when we got him off because he wanted to keep doing it.


One of the days at the reunion we went to Winter Park to enjoy the activities they have there. They have miniture golf, bungee trampolines, alpine sledding, a HUGE maze, and then you can take a lift up to the top of the mountain and just hike around. We were having a great time on the alpine slide (if you have never done it I highly recommend it!) when a huge rain storm came in and began pouring. In a way it was a true blessing that it did happen because many people left which meant that the lines were much shorter.

We went on the alpine slides ALOT. Even Brett went a few times and seemed to enjoy it. My favorite was speeding down the mountain with Jace screaming, "Go speed racer, go speed racer!" Jace and Shane both wanted to try the bungee tramp so we got in line, got a harness (amazingly enough Jace weighed over 35 pounds) and we were about to go when Shane chickened out. Jace jumped right in and before long the worker had him turning flips. I had to go also so that I could stand in line with the boys and I must admit it was great.

Shane and Jace thought they were in seventh heaven when we let them take their shoes off and wade in the water to play miniture golf. I think this is what I need to impove my game....a ton of water to slow down my ball when I whack it too hard. The only horrible moment came when we got off the lift to find Harold and Jackie at the bottom with Harold's arms both bandaged. Apparently he was tearing down the alpine slide and went to hit the brakes and nothing happened. He ended up crashing and totally taking the skin off both of his elbows OUCH!

Healey Reunion

Jace playing miniture golf


Jace was so stubborn. He refused to turn the club so he hit it with the flat portion.


Shane hit a hole in one!


I am sooooo NOT a golfer!


Back to describing my July. It seems like so long ago but really it wasn't. After driving home from Nevada (thanks mom!) we had a couple of days to clean and get ready for everyone to come. Harold and Jackie arrived first, followed by Troy and Jenn, Tiff and Brian, and then Tonya and Kathrine (Trav's cousin's wife). Needless to say between Tyler and Angie's house and mine we were full of people. It was great though, because there is an unwritten law that no matter what there will be games played till all hours of the night. (I needed DAYS to catch up from the lack of sleep after everyone left.)

We headed up to Winter Park and stayed at YMCA of the Rockies at Snow Mountain Ranch. It was awesome! The food was great primarity because I did not have to cook it or clean up the mess afterwards. Although the rooms were dormitory style they were awesome. There were all sorts of activities to do that were included. Swimming, miniature golf, they had a great playground area, and a field where you could play lawn games. We were constantly going and doing something. The Healey family (Jackie's (Trav's mom) side) is great. The family reunions are always a blast and we always look forward to the next one.

My favorite moment of the reunion came one morning when Shane went into the bathroom and discovered that there was a spider in the bathtub. He called out: "Can spiders talk?"
Trav's reply: "No Shane I am pretty sure that spiders can't talk."
Shane: "Bug, can you talk?"
No reply (shocking)
Shane: "No, I guess bugs can't talk."

I know that this may not seem that funny, but mornings are somewhat similar to late night for me. In other words my brain just takes a little bit longer to function. We were rolling after he said that. Great way to start the day!

Family Home Evening

We have been pretty good lately about doing family home evening. Every week we get a jumping rendition of Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam (courtesy of our two jumping beans), and then we try to have some sort of lesson. This week we were trying to teach them about missionaries because we were getting a care package together for Trav's brother who is on a mission in Puerto Rico. For some reason Jace was stuck on coming face to face and announcing "When the bad guys say jump in the fire, you go jump in the fire." He said it over and over again!

After talking about missionaries for a while Shane asks,"Do Heavenly Father and Jesus fly rocket ships?" (WHAT?!)

Maybe we are getting through to them in some small way but it sure doesn't seem like it sometimes. :)

Thanks Meg!

We had such a great time at Meghan's house our only regret was that we had to leave so soon. The kids loved playing with their cousins and I know that Morgan and Dana were sad to see Shane's scooter go (they did get some for their birthdays though YEA!). I am grateful that we are closer now and that we may be able to see them more, but it still isn't close enough. Thank you Meghan!