Spring Break

Spring Break week was sort of a let down this year... not that there wasn't some excitement, at least for Collin.

First, Collin had to have an MRI on his head.  I'd better back up.

[WARNING:  This post is kind of long because it's also my journal, and because I assume that you are reading this blog because you care about what goes on in our family.  If that's not the case, go ahead and skip this post.  I won't be offended.  I won't even know.  I'm just trying to be nice and spare you from getting bored.]


About 6 months ago, while cutting Collin's hair (which I hadn't done in a long time.... Jay had just been "buzzing it off" with the electric clippers, but now that he is in 7th grade he cares what his hair looks like) I noticed a lump on his scalp, about 1.5" diameter, right at the "crown."  It is sort of "squishy" and pliable. 

Of course I called the pediatrician right away, was told it was suspicious, had an ultrasound, went to see a pediatric surgeon who said it was probably just a cyst and we could decide to "wait and see" or have it removed, and determine the timetable ourselves.  He didn't act like it was a big deal so we decided to wait until school was out.

In the meantime, Collin was having some drainage from his right ear (had chronic ear infections as a baby, had an adnoidectomy and tubes in his ears) so I took him to the pediatric ENT (love him) who said he has a perforated ear drum that probably won't heal on it's own.  But, since surgery is invasive and it doesn't seem to have effected his hearing, he feels it is better to give it some time (usually a year) to see if it will heal on its own.  

So, we happened to mention to him that Collin has a "mass" on his head that will need to be removed.  He said he could work with the other surgeon and do them both at the same time to avoid having anesthesia more than absolutely necessary.  Then he said, "Just out of curiosity, I would like to see/feel this lump."  (It's kind of hard to actually "see" it under all that hair.)  After about 10 seconds he asked who the surgeon was, and I told him.  He said, "Well, he is a fine general surgeon, but this is on his HEAD!  He MUST see a pediatric neurologist," and recommended one.

Off we went to see doctor #4 (love him) who immediately ordered the MRI.  So, yeah, MRI's stink.  (I've had a couple in my life, and it's pretty miserable.)  If you've never had one, just imagine lying perfectly still (you can blink and breathe, but that's it) on a super hard table inside a tube, for 45 minutes, while listening to a jack hammer.  Yep, it sucks.  But Collin was a trooper and did great.

Second, Collin got braces. I had to snap a photo with my phone.... it was too funny.

Remember how I said he cares about his hair now?  Well, I totally screwed up this hair cut.  Oops.

Collin is generally very healthy, but this poor kid has so many things wrong "in his head".... teeth, ear, scalp.  He is 12, but he never lost most of his baby teeth, other the four in the front, top and bottom.  Rather than becoming loose, the baby teeth were receding back into his gums, even though the permanent teeth were fully formed behind them.  This was a huge problem.

So, he had to have 10 teeth pulled.... that was last summer, and they still aren't in.  Most of them have at least "budded" so that's good, but 2 have still not made an appearance.  This has been the hold up with the braces (he should have had them about a year ago).  They finally put the braces on, and then he will eventually have to have oral surgery to go in an attach to the teeth and pull them down.  Bummer.

So, yeah, lots going on with Collin.  He is such a good sport about all of this.  And to top it off he is getting straight A's, and he has a part-time job.

[His former scout leader was always so impressed with Collin that he asked him to take care of his yard, dog, and pool.  He goes over there 2 days a week for a couple of hours.  He is earning money for scout camp (he is going to 2 different ones this year), so this is great timing (probably just temporary while this man is particularly busy at work).  We are excited for Collin to have the opportunity at such a young age, to earn his own money, learn to make a budget, and keep track of his spending.]

The rest of the week the kids mostly just played Wii (they never get to during a regular school week, so I just let them have at it), and we went and had lunch with Jay one day.   And that was spring break. 

P.S.  Collin had a follow up with the neurologist to discuss the MRI results.  The good news; the mass is all outside his skull; his skull is completely intact, normal, and unaffected; and his brain looks normal.  It "appears" to be what's called a lipoma, or fatty benign (the word I wanted to hear!) tumor (a word I did NOT want to hear), which are not a big deal.... usually.  Lipomas are not unusual, but Collin's happens to be unusually large and in an unusual location.  It only "appears" to be a lipoma, and the only way to know for sure is to remove it and do a biopsy.  The surgery is fairly simple, it's out-patient, and recovery is generally pretty short.  It will probably be this summer.

Spring Break - Days 1 and 2

We aren't being as exciting as last year, but Jay took a few days off for Spring Break this year, so we are enjoying some fun time together as a family.... and trying to keep the kids from getting too bored and driving each other crazy. 

Yesterday, we took a bike ride to our local library, which is a little over 2 miles away.  We took a picnic lunch and ate it at the park next to the library, then picked up some books.  Jay's bike ended up with a flat tire so we left him and Jack there (since Jack is the slowest rider) and I came back with the car to bring them home.  Small snag.  But it was still fun.  Later we watched "Fantastic Mr. Fox" for the first time.  We laughed.  Our new word is "cuss."  And we keep doing the whistle-whistle-click-click thing.  It's not old yet.

Today Jay and I left the kids at home for a while and had lunch at Chelsea's Kitchen.  Yum!  Then we headed to Last Chance... I scored a sweet pair of Steven Madden pumps for $20, and some super cute flats for $10. Later, after a game of Carcassone with Jay and Jack, we all rode our bikes to the local QT for slushies and snacks.  We are loving the great weather, so we are racking up the bike-riding-miles!

We have something fun planned for tomorrow.  At least I hope it will be fun.  I will let you know.

Spring Break - Day 1

Jay took the week off and we are doing fun stuff as a family every day for Spring Break. Rather than leave town when the weather is so nice at home, we decided to stick around and enjoy it.Today we went to the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix. We ended up buying the annual membership since it was a better deal than just paying for one day. (We are looking forward to going back on hot summer days... a large air conditioned indoor space to play.... sweet!) My sister and her family met us there.
Jack had his first experience climbing a rock wall. He did really well, but got a little scared when he looked down just before he reached the top, so he had a little trouble getting down. I don't think he will want to do that again for a while.

(Jack lifting himself with the pulley)

There are lots of fun exhibits... 3 levels of hands-on stuff. We especially enjoyed the "Forces of Nature" immersion theatre where we all experienced a hurricane, tornado, volcano eruption, wildfire, and monsoon storm. I was surprised to actually get wet!

(The flight simulation)

We also really liked the live demonstrations of air pressure and fire. And we got a free visit to the planetarium for signing up that day. We had a grand tour of the planets with a very funny guide.

If it looks like we only took Jack, it's because Collin and Mary took off with their cousins, so we hardly ever saw them.

Fun day! Looking forward to another one tomorrow.

March Madness 2008

I know I haven't been very good about blogging lately. But here is a quick month in review....

The kids have been enjoying playing in the backyard in the glorious spring weather. Collin has been teaching Jack to play football... or so he thinks.


The kids enjoyed an easter egg hunt with their cousins, and as usual, got more enjoyment out of the hunt than the eggs themselves.

Jack attended a "Pirate" birthday party for one of his friends and had a delightful time.


Collin earned his "Wolf" in Cub Scouts, along with 3 arrow points. He was thrilled. We are proud of him for working so hard. He takes it very seriously.

I already mentioned that we spent a few days at the cabin for Spring Break (and forgot the camera!).

Let's see.... what else? Jay celebrated his 30-something-th birthday. Collin finished the basketball season and started baseball. Mary learned to ride a 2-wheeler bike and is doing very well. Collin and Mary sang a special musical number in sacrament meeting with a few other children, and did a great job.

And I had an asthma attack! I have never had asthma before, but apparently this was a really bad year for allergies. But after a few weeks on 3 different medications (argh!!!) I'm better and extremely relieved. There is nothing worse than not being able to breathe!

Among other things, I have been keeping busy lately transferring old video tapes to DVD. It has been fun watching footage of when I was a kid. I have been having some good laughs.

Spring Break - Day 5 - Around Town

Today we took advantage of the fabulous spring weather and spent it all outdoors. First we went to the Mesa Community Farmer's Market in downtown Mesa. We sampled lots of yummy things, and bought pasta, a piece of carrot cake (for Jay), cheese curds, and kettle corn. Then we walked down Main Street window-shopping and saw this fun traveling art exhibit.
After lunch we decided to go miniature golfing. I hadn't been in about 15 years, and the kids had never been.
It was really fun. The kids had no idea what they were doing, and didn't seem to care if they got bad scores.
Mr. Competitive (Jay) won, of course. Here he is doing his best professional golfer* impression for the camera after a hole-in-one shot.
It was a gorgeous day, and we had a great time.
Then it was off to Lombardo's for some more fabulous gelato. (I still couldn't have any.) Have you tried it yet?




*Not so long ago I would have said "Tiger Woods" but it turns out he is an idiot, and Jay is not.

Spring Break - Day 2

Today we took cousin Oliver with us and headed to the mall (I haven't been to a mall in ages!) and visited the (really expensive... what's up with that?) puppies at the pet store (the closest my poor kids will ever get to owning one), rode the carousel ($2 for one ride? Ugh!), got "Hot Dogs on a Stick" for the kids ($1 Tuesdays? Why not.), played in the kids' zone, waved to the "Easter Bunny" who had zero customers, went to see cuter-than-expected "The Princess and the Frog" ($1 Tuesdays? Sweet.), and ate at Pei Wei for dinner.

Wow, I just got all of that into one very long sentence.

I'm beat. Should we take it easy tomorrow?

Our Family "March Madness"

The Month of March in Review

Collin and Mary had field day at school at the beginning of March. They both came home with ribbons, which was a relief (no tears and resentment). Collin won 3rd place in the softball throw, and Mary won 1st place in the Javelin (a swimming pool noddle). Our kids sure can throw I guess.

We had a garage sale the following week. I am always amazed at the junk people will buy. And they don’t buy the good stuff! Oh well. We made out OK for a few hours work. That’s our babysitting fund.

Spring break was a nice reprieve. Jay took off work early just about every day. We didn’t go out-of-town, unless you count Surprise (which seems like it's about half-way to L.A.)…. we went to visit my sister, and see her new baby. We spent most of the day there, and then picked up Jay at his office and took him home with us. We spent another day at the zoo and had a good time. And on Friday we met Jay downtown and went to lunch, and visited the hotel site. Actually, Jay and Collin toured the hotel, while I hung out at the Arizona Center with Mary and Jack. (They were too young to be on a construction site.) They enjoyed playing in all the water fountains, and we got ice cream to make them feel better about missing out on the tour. We took the free bus (The Dash) around the downtown area, which the kids thought was cool.

The celebration of Jay’s 30-something-th birthday had to be postponed due to me getting sick on the very day. Instead of making the filet mignon dinner I had planned, I went to bed and Jay took the kids to What-a-Burger. Oh well.

We had a fun ward party last weekend. They had karaoke, but few people volunteered. So, the M.C. started announcing people as the next act, unbeknownst to the performers. He would get people up on the stage, and then announce the song they would be singing… which would surprise even the singers. Jay and I got chosen for “Love Shack.” Jay did a great job and was hilarious. I, on the other hand, couldn’t even sing because I was laughing so hard. Jay definitely stole the show.

The next night we hosted a going-away party for our friends who are moving to California. It was originally supposed to be in our backyard, but we had 15 families RSVP, so we moved it to my parents' yard. (Thanks Mom and Dad!) It turned out really fun. I was really worried it was going to rain, but the weather turned out to be perfect. The night before, Jay and I (mostly me) stayed up until 1:00 a.m. writing a parody that we sang at the party. It turned out pretty good. It was to the tune of the song “I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Proclaimers. You wouldn’t get all the inside jokes unless you know Jason King and Jocelyn, but it was pretty clever, and we got some good laughs.

The next night we had dinner with my cousin's family. They are such a great family, and we had a really good time.

Baseball/T-Ball season has started. Collin is playing his second year of coach-pitch baseball, and has improved much since last year. Mary is playing her first year of T-Ball (first sport ever for her), and is enjoying it. She is the ONLY girl on her co-ed team. On the first day of practice, when it came time to find a partner for catch, 5 or 6 boys crowded around her. It was funny. When they line up to take their turn catching a grounder from the coach, or batting, each of the kids runs back to the end of the line after finishing their turn… except Mary. She SKIPS back to the end of the line…. with her head bobbing, and her ponytail swinging. She loves her pink and purple glove, and doesn’t have to worry about it getting mixed up with any of the other gloves.

To finish off the month, we went to the Mesa Arts Center to hear the Mesa Symphony on Saturday night. This was part of Jay’s birthday present. I was quite impressed with the orchestra. I was also excited to finally see the MAC. It is beautiful! We went with some friends, and we had a great time.

Random Stuff

It's spring break for the kids. We spent a few days at the cabin, which was fun. There was a fair amount of snow when we arrived, but it melted the next day. At least the kids got to enjoy it before it was gone. Even though we went home, Collin stayed at the cabin for the rest of the week with his cousins.

Yesterday was Jay's birthday. He and I went out to dinner to celebrate.... sans kids! Hooray! He had to drive to Tucson today to speak at a convention, but he is on his way home... early enough for lunch. Double-hooray!

I got my haircut yesterday..... 4 inches off! People would never consider it short by any means, but it feels short to me because I have been wearing it long for the last several years.

The kids were watching our new DVD of "101 Dalmatians" and laughing their heads off. I couldn't figure out why until I went in and listened.... they were watching it in French, or "Francais" as Mary informed me.

Collin informed me recently that he and his best friend at school are making a movie. Every day at recess they work on writing the script. They are very serious about this and have every intention of seeing it through. I don't have the heart to tell them that it's not very realistic, but who knows.

We rented some DVD's from the library. What a great resource! My favorite one was "Howl's Moving Castle." If you haven't seen any of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, then you absolutely must! The others I have seen are "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Spirited Away," and I loved them both.

Spring Break - Day 4

Today we had Claire, Jane, Oliver, and Nicholas at our house all day. The kids loved having their cousins over. They especially enjoyed painting together.

Tonight Jay and I went to "The Brass Armadillo" in Phoenix (holy cow, that place is huge.... so much stuff!), and then to "Last Chance" (can't ever pass up a chance to go there). We are such exciting people.

Spring Break - Day 3 - Food & Masterpieces

For our adventure today, we took the kids to try Indian food at Guru Palace for the lunch buffet.
They acted excited to try something new.... at first. They were a little concerned at how some of it looked, and though they tried everything (I made them) I think they need to be exposed to it a few more times before they like it. They mostly filled up on fruit and naan bread.
Jay spent the afternoon installing new lights on the sides of our garage door (woohoo!) and the kids played with their cousins at grandmary's house.

I bought a few large canvases at Big Lots a while back because they were a really good deal. So, this afternoon I brought them out for the kids to create something.

Here are their finished "masterpieces." (Jack had some help with the tree, and Mary had some help with the eyes.)(That's a flower on her shirt.)

Instead of creating a "masterpiece," Collin made dinner.
He was very pleased with his "masterpiece."

Spring Break - Day 3 - Chase Field Tour

Yesterday we went on a tour of Chase Field. I had no idea what to expect, but it was really fun. It was very informative (and humorous at times), and we got to see a bunch of cool stuff. We didn't get to actually go in the players' clubhouse, but they showed us a video tour of it... looks awesome. (I imagine they don't want a bunch of people going through their private and very expensive stuff... I don't blame them.) We did go in the visiting team's areas... boring in comparison.

We visited one of the suites, but that wasn't a big deal for me because Jay and I once attended a Diamondback's game as guests in the owner's suite. I have to say it was pretty darn cool. (There's another whole funny story behind that experience.) Being in the dugout was fun... a very unique perspective.

The private pool area is where I would love to watch a game... it's $3500 for 35 people... you get the pool and spa to yourselves, which is level with the field, plush seats with an amazing view (and a row of bleachers if you'd rather watch that way), private dressing rooms/restrooms, lifeguards, premium reserved parking, D-Backs souvenir towels, and it's fully catered. Not bad for a hundred bucks a person. It's still available for a few games... anyone want to go in on it with me? :)

Camping

Lately, our kids have been begging us to take them camping. Just for the record, Jay and I HATE camping.

Actually, I used to like camping.... when I was a kid, and even a teenager.... when I didn't have to do any of the work (that was my parents' and older brother's job), and sleeping on the hard ground didn't make me feel like I was a hundred years old the next morning. (However, I NEVER enjoyed using Mother Nature's restroom. Ewwwww.)

Though Jay did plenty of camping as a Boy Scout, I don't think he ever liked it.... probably because he had to do all the work.

Anyway, the kids thought we were such mean parents to not take them camping during spring break.... we only went to a lovely, comfortable cabin with soft warm beds, a fireplace that doesn't smoke, electricity, and RUNNING WATER.

To stop the complaining, I had the brilliant idea of putting the tent up (yes, we actually have some camping gear) in the backyard. Why not? The weather is great, the grass is soft and green, and the bathroom is handy. And I figured that one night of bad sleep wouldn't hurt since there would be no school the next day, hence no worries about grumpiness.
So, yesterday while I finished making dinner, Jay and the kids set up the tent. After we ate, the kids hurried into their pajamas, grabbed their pillows, and snuggled into their sleeping bags in the tent. It was only about 7:30.

Jay and I had decided that we would pretend we were going to sleep out there with them..... we would just wait until they were asleep, and then go inside to our comfortable bed. (insert evil laughter)

We had a couple of flashlights, though we really didn't need them.... the street lights provided plenty of ambient lighting. The street also provided something else.... plenty of background noise from all the traffic. I imagine plenty of people were stilled headed home from work.

The kids couldn't go to sleep with all the excitement of sleeping outdoors (and noise!), so we told "Mashed Potato" stories for a while. (In case you don't know what "Mashed Potato" stories are, that's your basic "add-on" story where everyone takes a turn... I don't know why we call it that.) It was pretty entertaining.

Mary was just silly and couldn't stop laughing whenever it was her turn... she thought everything she said was absolutely hilarious. Collin wanted everything to be scary and dramatic, which became a bit annoying. I usually followed him, so I always turned the story back to funny and light-hearted, which annoyed him. Jack was funny because he used this serious, dramatic, grown-up voice, but his parts of the stories were usually only about one sentence before he passed it on.

But Jay (if you know Jay personally, then you know that he could have had a successful career as a stand-up comedian) had us all rolling on floor (literally.... we were already lying on the ground after all) with laughter.

Finally, everyone was pretty worn out from laughing, and we decided it was time to go to sleep. By this time it was almost 9:00... long past our kids' normal 8:00 bedtime.... so I figured they would be tired and fall right to sleep. I sang a good night song, and everyone finally settled down and was quiet. No one was talking, but there was lots of thrashing around as we tried to get comfortable.

It had been pretty quiet for a while... long enough for the kids to have fallen asleep, normally. So, I quietly sat up and looked around. Everyone was sleeping, or so I thought. They were all doing a good job of pretending.

Suddenly, Jack said in a loud voice, "Mom, I don't like sleeping in tents." I thought for a second and said, "Who wants to go sleep in their own bed?" There was a loud chorus of "Me!"

And so we all slept soundly in our beds last night, and lived happily ever after.

The End.

Catch up... again... and thanks to "Anonymous"

Sorry I have been MIA for a couple of weeks. I put everything aside for a while when I was feverishly planning an event for church that was moved up 2 weeks from it's original date. I was a little crazy for a while, but it went well.

So, here is an update on what else has been going on.

Collin started his first season playing flag football. He is super excited. Jack started T-Ball, and is very excited too. So, with practices for both of them twice a week, and games on Saturdays, that will keep up busy for the next few months.

The kids have spring break this week. We spent the first few days of it a my parents' cabin, and I didn't take one photo. Oops. Besides preparing meals (simple ones!) I did practically nothing but sit by the fire and read. No projects this time. We did take our usual walk around the lake though. The kids played outside a lot, and got along well. It was a nice, quiet, relaxing get away.

One night at the cabin we watched this movie together. I loved it as a kid. I hadn't seen it in a years, but for some reason I thought of it recently and checked it out from the library. It was just as fun as I remembered. Though the first half is a little slow, we all laughed ourselves silly during the hilarious second half.

Last night we watched "It's a Wonderful Life." When I realized our kids had never seen it, I decided not to wait until Christmas because it's such a great film. So, I picked it from the library too. It's funny though... Jay and I have both seen it many times, but always on TV, so I guess we either always missed the beginning, or it is heavily edited for television, because we both kept saying, "I don't remember this part" during the first third of the movie. It was fun to finally watch the whole thing all the way through.... with no commercial breaks!

Last night we took the kids to dinner at a new local restaurant. I have to say that my kids are pretty darn good ones, and are quite well-behaved in restaurants. Anyway, after we finished our meal, we noticed our server had kind of disappeared, and Jay was getting annoyed because she hadn't brought the check yet. Finally, we saw her across the room and Jay motioned to her that we would like the check. She approached us with a huge smile and said, "Well, actually, some anonymous person has already paid for your meal, and I can't tell you anymore than that. So, have a good evening, and come see us again."

We were quite surprised of course. It drives me crazy to not know who did it, but I can understand their desire for anonymity. It was a good lesson for the kids as we explained on the ride home that there are kind and generous people out there who do things just to be nice, not for recognition. In family prayer that night, Jay made a point of giving thanks for that person.

Whoever you are, thank you!