Juvenile Diabetes Walk- Suporting Teisha & Chad

In Logan, Saturday Morning, they held the Annual Juvenile Diabetes Walk. We go every year to support my niece Teisha and her dad Chad (Matt's older brother). Teisha's mom, Lynley started the diabetes walk, here in Logan, about 7-8 years ago. It was a big task, but every year it gets bigger and bigger and more money is donated! The walk is to raise money to help find a cure for the disease. We love Teisha and Chad and know that it is a hard disease to live with. We would never wish it on anybody. But they are living great lives and have learned to live with the disease, but it would sure be nice to find a cure and get rid of it forever.

My kids love going to it every year. They have fun music and entertainment. And they love wearing matching T-shirts and hanging out with the cousins. This year, they were quite independent, Corey and Cade, and walked the walk with the bigger kids up front. Me, Matt, Casen, Nan, Mandy and her family, all walked somewhere in the middle of the pack. We could not keep up with the younger ones. It was probably a 3 mile walk.... I think. It is fun to see all the families and their matching t-shirts, supporting their families. I was sad I did not even get a pic of Teisha this year, with the kids. Sorry Teish.

It was nice to be with Matt's family to such an important event. Every year, it gets emotional when you hear some of the kids speak and tell their stories about the disease. The event that gets me every year, is when they play a pretty song and let all the kids with diabetes let balloons go into the air...with that hope for a cure. That gets me every year, and especially this year. Being prego makes me really emotional...so quick to cry. And when I start crying I have a hard time stopping. But we love our Teisha and Chad and were so glad we could support them again this year.

Corey's Dance Clinic

Corey did a fun little dance clinic with her friend and neighbor Shaina. She had alot of fun. On Friday night, we got to go and watch them perform at half time. They did awesome. I love watching Corey shake her little hips. She was so cute! She did tell me later that her heart was beating to fast. She was nervous. But she did great! We love our little dancer.

Corey's First Day of 2nd Grade

Corey was so excited for school this morning. She actually went to bed great last night. Usually when she is excited for something...she has a hard time falling asleep. But this morning was hard for both of us to get up. We have to get up about 1 hour earlier. It was not fun! But she picked out her outfit last night and I curled her hair this morning (only on the first day and special occasions do I curl hair. )She was so excited. I took her down to the bus stop and off she went.

We met her teacher the other night at Back to School Night and I think she will love her. She is this nice gentle grandma looking lady named Mrs. Checketts. I loved her at the First Impression the other night. So we will see. Her cousins did not get in her class this year, but they are right next door, so that will be fun. And she has 2 girls in her class that she knows really well...Tyler and Brooklyn (for the 3rd year in a row they have been in the same class). Hopefully she comes home with good news and a fun day. She was so excited about the new school (change of schools) and eating in the cafeteria and recess...of course.

Cade is missing her and so is Casen... Cade starts Kindergarten next Thursday. There has been no fighting today and I guess it is because Cade has no one to fight with. But Casen is really going to be lonely when they are both gone. Good thing Cade is only gone half day... I can tell he is anxious and excited too. He is just waiting for Corey to come home, but suprisingly he has kept himself busy today, with no complaining. I do miss Corey. It is a long day without her, but a break from the fighting is nice!

Casen Finally Made the Growth Chart

Yesterday, Casen had his 18 month get-well check up, even though he is almost 20 months, but to say the least...I came home so PROUD and excited. My child is not starving anymore. He made the growth chart. YEAH!!!!!

He weighed in at a big 22 lbs even, which was 10% weight. I know 10% does not sound like alot, but he has always been under 5%. I could tell my dr. was excited for me. Maybe it is because he actually eats a few things now....eggos with syrup, chicken nuggets, Lucky Charms, Cheetos, yogurt.... Anyway, he has gained a little weight and mommy is excited!

And another excitement in the Thompson family...he was 33 inches in height, which was 75% in height. WHAT? A Thompson that might have a little height? No I am not getting excited. My kids flucuate on the charts all the time. But it was still exciting for me. Sad that my baby is getting bigger, but excited that he is healthy and growing!

I ask myself, why that is such a big deal for a mom? I guess as mom's we just always want the best for our children and when they do not eat alot or are picky eaters, we just worry about their health. So yesterday put me at ease for the next 5 months, till his 2 year check -up. Hopefully with Christmas and the Holidays in December he will keep the weight on and still be on the growth chart!

Weekend @ Home

This was our last weekend before school starts for Corey. (Cade starts a week later with all the Kindergartners.) I wanted to do something really fun or take the family somewhere, but once Friday night and Saturday came around....we just ended up hanging around the house...getting stuff done around here and letting the kids play. What it comes down to ....is that I have no energy to take 3 kids someplace too difficult. By the end of the day...I am just ready to Veg. I can't complain about being pregnant, but it will be nice to be myself again and feel 31 again!

So we just vegged around the house and I got some cute pics. I was doing stuff inside the house and Matt was cleaning out the garage and washing cars...you know...GUY STUFF! And the kids were trying to help! Casen is at such a fun age.....he wants to do everything the kids are doing and he copies everything they do...He came out to me with Cade's hat on the other day and threw up his hands like gangster style. I was laughing so hard and had to get some pics. I swear he said "Whats up dude?" Sure he was copying something Cade has said!

We let the kids swim since it felt like Arizona weather yesterday...such as hot wind. And we just enjoyed the beautiful day.

I guess I am excited the kids are going back to school and I will get a little break from summer activities, but at the same time I know the weather and seasons will be changing and I am sad. But I am excited to see my kids back in school and learning....especially Cade starting Kindergarten....such a huge step for him!

Tooth Fairy Time

Losing teeth for kids is the greatest thing ever. I get that. They are so excited for the tooth fairy to come and leave a little treat under their pillow. But it can be a very scary time for parents. Losing Corey's bottom teeth was no big deal, but the front teeth. SCARY! These teeth are right in the front and actually show! Hopefully they grow in OK.

Corey and Cade spent the night at their cousins the other night and when she came home her tooth was finally gone. It has been loose for awhile now, but she was just too scared to pull it out. It was even starting to rott. So aunt Lynley helped her pull it out. She was so excited to surprise me.

But now I am worried for it growing back in. With this tooth gone... it makes the other front tooth look huge. I have just seen some kids grow in huge front BUCK teeth and I am nervous for her. I grew in some pretty big teeth at that age. Hopefully they grow in normal. Corey has had issues with her teeth anyways...growing in crooked...so I am a little nervous. Kids can be so mean these days....that is why I worry as a mother.

But she was so excited. We had to go a few places that day...and she kept asking me "If people would still recognize her?" I just had to laugh. Yes..honey you look the same, just tooth less. And we went over to a neighbors house who has kids in her class last year and she kept wondering why no one was noticing. I just had to laugh. She thought she looked completely different!

Wish her Luck!

Fun Weekend @ The Logan Fair/Rodeo

This weekend at the fair was really fun for the kids. Last year we did not get to go to the fair. I think we were out of town and the kids were way bummed. So this year we promised them that we would go.

Friday night, just our family headed over to the fair and let our kids go on a few rides. WOW, those rides are pricey. So they only got to choose a few rides each. I am not much of a "Stay-at-the-fair-all-day" kind of person...I like to go at night, when it is shady and not so freakin hot. Plus the lines are so long and the rides are not all that safe! I would rather spend the money and go to Lagoon. But for some reason...the kids love it. Casen was loving all the lights...He did not whine once that he was not getting to go on rides. I did take him on the Carousel...which was a pain in the butt getting him off. He threw a fit. And it cost $6. They charged me just to stand there with him and make sure he did not fall off. Freakin rip off. But he loved it.

Then Saturday night, we went with Matt's family...his brother Toph and his family and his sister Mandy and her family. We met at the fair and ate dinner on the grass and let the kids dance...the most relaxing part of the whole night....I could have sat there for hours and just talked and relaxed. But we had to get over to the rodeo...which was fun for the first hour, but after that Casen was terrible and my other kids got antsy...so we all left early to go over to the fair for a little while before we went home. That is when we went and saw all the farm animals, which the kids loved. Then we walked around the ride section of the fair again and decided we'd call it a night. It was fun to be with the family...even though Mandy ended up going to the hospital that night with stomach pains....and towards the end all the babies started falling apart...and that was OUR SIGN TO LEAVE! Plus the pregos were warn out and tired. It was fun, but every year I tell myself how I would do the fair differently the next year....go earlier, no rodeo, and just sit on the grass and eat and let the kids play...and buy a wrist band early for the kids to go on more rides. The fair is the fair I guess and KIDS LOVE IT NO MATTER WHAT!

Shoving A Few More Activities into Summer

I can't believe there are only 2 more weeks of summer before the kids start school. It is making me sad. And yeah I am tired being prego and all, but I keep telling myself that once school starts...I will get a major break from kids and activities....so we are trying to squeeze in a few more activities before summer is over.

Last Saturday we met some friends down in Draper and tried out that Cowabunga Bay Water Park. It was way fun to see our friends...the Wilcocks and the Bundersons, but the weather was terrible. It was hot, but windy and overcast. So we were all freezing. We only stayed about 3 hours because all the adults were having to hang out in the kiddy PEE pool just to stay warm. My older 2 kids loved the slides and they were so brave and went on all of them. The water was chilling....Matt attested to that. He got to go on some of the slides with the kids. The lazy river was also warm. And it was nice that Cade could touch in the water....so they just kept checking in with me every couple of minutes....So it was nice! I would love to go again, but with warmer weather. Maybe next year!

We also took another pool day this week with the Bundersons and our neighbor Alyson....trying to get those last pool days in and our last summer tans. The kids really do have fun just being in the water and playing together. They also are big enough now to go on the slides by themselves, which makes it nice. Next summer might be a little rough for me with a 5 month old and a 2.5 year old. I guess Casen will just have to get use to wearing a life jacket ALL THE TIME. Even this time he would get a little brave and walk out to where the kids were playing and I would have to make a MAD MOM DASH out to rescue him cause he had FALLIN AND COUDLN'T GET UP. So annoying. I wish he would just swim next to me. Still did not get much of a tan! But oh well...it feels good to bask in the sun and be in the water!

Then just yesterday...I took the kids down to Ogden to the Childrens Museum. The older kids liked it and so did Casen. They do not let you bring strollers on the main floor, so Casen was free to run around and I just had to follow him. The other kids wandered together and checked in with me every so often...or if they wanted to show me something they had made or discovered. And then sometimes they would hang out with me and Casen and let me snap a few pics. (Notice I did not get any pics of the pool or Cowabunga Bay...BUMMER!) But after 3 hours or so...mom was bored and hungry and so I managed to sneak them out of there with not too much complaining. I think my kids favorite part everytime is the ART CENTER. They love crafts and projects. They got to make GLITTER EGGS yesterday. So fun! My favorite was the Indian Tepee.

Need to think of a few more fun nearby activities that we can squeeze in before summer is OFFICIALLY OVER! I guess we are saving camping for September when Daddy is not so busy! I think this weekend is the rodeo and the FAIR. Maybe we will mosey on over and check it out!

Trip to CA. - Cousin Taylors 7th Bday

The last day we were in California...on our way to the airport..we left a few hours early so we could celebrate a family birthday party for my little niece Taylor who was turning 7. We had a nice dinner at a nearby park....let the kids play...had some cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday...and let her open a few gifts. It was nice to be with the family one last time before we had to get on a plane and go home. Taylor actually got to choose what she wanted to eat...she chose crap legs , but we all got hot dogs and hamburgers. I tried the crab legs. EEEWWW. Not my forte. I like fish and shrimp, but lobster, crab legs, and a few other sea food things are not my thing. A few of the cousins cried and so did Aunty Steph and Grandma when we had to leave. It is getting harder and harder to leave...especially where my kids are growing up and I feel like my parents are missing out. But what can we do about it? NOTHING! We also had to say good-bye to gramps at the airport and that was hard too....brought on some more tears!

Trip to California- Saturday in Venice/Santa Monica

One of our last days there, we decided to make the 2 hour drive up to Mike and Angies apartment in Venice, CA. It was fun to see where Mike lives and works and just how happy he was in his own little element. Their apartment was so clean and decorated cute. We were sad we missed Angie. She was out of town.

So for the next few hours, we went down to the beach in Santa Monica and took some pics and then we ventured through this little farmers market and sampled some of their yummy fruit. We also visited this street called 3rd street (I think) and ate lunch there and people watched. It was a very interesting street with vendors everywhere and street performers. Very interesting. Mike didn't even take us to the Venice Boardwalk because he said there are some pretty crazy people there and it might scare the kids. But it was very entertaining.

Afterwards we went to this neighborhood that is built around these canals. In fact..these canals were in that movie Valentines Day. This is where it was filmed. But it was such a cute little neighborhood in Venice and such a neat place to live. We walked around that for a bit and even found a little park with ducks for the kids to play on. We had to say our good-byes to Mike then cause he was headed off to work, but it was fun to see him and where him and Angie live.





Sunday was our last day there. We decided to ditch church and just hang out together. We just vegged and then on our way to the airport that night...we stopped at a cute park in San Clemente with Steph and Wrights family and celebrated Taylors birthday a few days early with a yummy dinner. It was fun to see the cousins one last time before we had to leave, but it was also hard to say good-bye. We do not really know when we will see my parents next. I will not be able to travel anymore because I am pregnant and have to take it easy and my parents are not really sure when they will be able to come to Utah next. So it was sad to leave this time. We all got teary in the car because we had to say good-bye to grandma, Em and Stephs family at the park. And then we had to say good-bye to my dad at the airport and that was hard too. I love my family and love to go visit, but I am always sad when we have to leave! It was a great trip!

Trip to California - Aquarium & Oceanside Pier

My kids and I did have a couple days alone with me and my sister Em and my parents. I feel like my kids sometimes need that one on one time with grandma and grandpa to get to know them better. In fact Casen really warmed up to my mom this trip and she really cried when we had to leave. And I got teary too. My mom said that he was a little toddler this time and not a baby since she last saw him in April. And she was sad she was missing him grow up.

But I did take my kids to this Aquarium in Carlsbad. It was Ok. Not worth the money, but the kdis still enjoyed it. I thought it would be a little more hands on, but not so much. Casen was loving it. I don't know if he was so intrigued by everything or if he was just excited to be out of his stroller, but he was running around and OOOOHHHing and AAAWWWing at everything. So funny. Wish I had it on video. There were tons of fish, sea horses, starfish and snails. There was even jellyfish and an octopus and sharks and sting rays, but the whole aquarium took about an hour to walk through and that was it. Sea World is way better to see Sealife and worth the money you have to spend there. But we did get some good coupons from my thrifty sis Em. So that helped.

That night my parents took us for a walk on the Oceanside Pier and to dinner at the cute little diner Rubys at the end of the pier. It was pretty fun! The pier was quite impressive because there were a ton of people there, strange ones included, and so many people fishing. They were all catching a ton of fish, but little ones. So we were not sure if it was for sport or for dinner that all these people were fishing. But all the fishy smells were really making me feel yucky and I was starving. So I was just excited to get inside the restaurant and eat. It was just like a hamburger/fries/shake kind of place. So we all ate and enjoyed our food and headed back home. But yeah like I said before...Is it really summertime when you have to wear a sweatshirt at night because it is chilly?

Trip to California- San Diego Zoo Trip

The San Diego Zoo was another day that we all got to hang out together too. My dad was not able to make it because he had some important stuff at work to do, so it was my mom, and her 5 kids, and me and Stephs kids. So we did have 7 kids to keep track of, but 6 adults to help do it. So it was a long day of walking, and walking Hills, and keeping track of 7 kids, but it was alot of fun. We only lost Cade for about 5 minutes and he was quite panicked, but he did the right thing and stayed put. The kids really enjoyed it and there was not alot of complaining about walking either. It was nice to have all the help with the siblings though. In fact, the last 30 minutes were were there, we decided to take the 30 minute bus tour and it was great. Who knew you could see the whole zoo in a 30 minute bus tour. (No, the bus actually drove pretty quick past the animals, so you could not see a whole lot, so it was worth it to walk the zoo and get to see all the animals.)I really enjoyed the new Elephant Habitat. Pretty cool. My kids loved the monkeys. And I think all the kids loved the SKY-RIDE that we got to take twice. All in all it was a great day and great weather, but of course I was exhausted again at the end of the day. But it did make me feel better to hear everyone say that there legs were sore from all the hills and walking.