Jack's 4th Birthday

We celebrated Mooch's birthday on Sunday instead of on his actual birthday.  He woke up opened some presents and had some blue pancakes.  He had to wait until he was ready for church to go out and ride his bike.

Mooch's present.

We've been in touch with 2 of Chad's roomates and have gotten together with them for dinner a few times.  We got together on Sunday at Abe and Marcie's and sort of threw a party for  Mooch . Yes, I cheat and don't actually arrange parties for my children.  This is what happens when you move every year.


Angeana made an awesome construction cake for  Mooch , which he obviously loved. 

Isn't this cake awesome!

 The Amazing Angeana maker of awesome cakes!

The Party

The Pinata said the maximum amount of candy is 3 lbs.  We went over the limit.  Chad had to get creative to keep it up.

Mooch

Little T and Cowboy

Cowboy

It's Official!

I love this man!

What we've been up to...

Chad has officially graduated. He will be receiving a diploma in the mail that says he has a Master’s in Engineering Management. And he managed to do it with a very good GPA. He’s currently looking for another position in the Air Force so he can get promoted sooner. We don’t know where that job is but we’re hoping by August he’ll be working in a new job, be it at Hill AFB or any other AFB.

Cowboy keeps losing teeth and Mooch is more than happy to help. During Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago, Mooch head butted Cowboy in the mouth and he started bleeding. The tooth that has been loose for a month became very loose. Chad and Cowboy went to the bathroom and yanked it out. Later that afternoon, Cowboy and Mooch were wrestling here at home. Mooch head butted him again (clearly his choice move) and out came another tooth. Cowboy said that it wasn’t loose before. But considering the lack of crying and hysterics it had to have popped out easily.

Mooch enjoys head butting.

Mooch also started Sunbeams.  I know he likes singing time but he'd rather be back in nursery with the toys and the snacks.  Poor kid.  He just doesn't realize we've all got to grow up sometime!

Little T is doing alright. I just can’t wait until he is old enough to say the words, “Mom, does this have gluten in it?” This kid eats everything Mooch leaves out. So I have to lock  Little T  in his high chair anytime Mooch eats. Then I have to make Mooch clean up anything he spills or drops. We’ve got anything with gluten in it under lock and key so that Mooch can’t grab anything and leave it out for  Little T . We made Gluten free sugar cookies yesterday because I knew Mooch would leave some bit of cookie somewhere. He did.

Mooch managed to “poison”  Little T  with Gluten twice in a week. All it took was one little nibble from a roll Mooch left within reaching distance on the table and leaving a peice of crust from his PB sandwich. That was 3 weeks ago and he’s just starting to sleep better and eat better again.

This whole thing is a pain, but at least we are slowly figuring it out. We’ve been doing a lot of reading about it. We’re pretty sure  Little T  has Gluten sensitivity. I don’t know if he can/will grow out of it. The nice thing is that are quite a few stores who sell gluten free items and ingredients.   We've also discovered that probiotics and a supllement called L-Gluttamine help.  If he has an accident it only takes one night of discomfort instead of 3-7 nights. 

I'm keeping busy by helping coach a 14s volleyball team here. The 2nd counselor in our bishopric built his own gym and coaches club teams. It's also a 3 minute drive from our house. I'm having fun getting a break and using what little volleyball skills I now possess. I don't know that Chad enjoys having to parent his children 2 nights a week by himself or every other Saturday when they have a tournament.

I also just got called to the Young Womens. I'm now the Camp director for our ward. It's Stake Camp and they pretty much plan everything. I just do what they say. Which works just fine for me.

Family Pictures

So I forgot to post these a couple of months ago...

1 year old

Little T had a magical 1st birthday!  Okay really it was magical in that he got to eat Gluten Free Spaghetti for dinner and had a GF cupcake. But here he is in all his wondrous messiness.

Before

During

After

Thankful for friends

Just reading a few friends blogs and really missing them.  Mind you these friends live in Sacramento, Reno, Arlington, and a bunch of friends from BYU-Idaho who live all over.  The odds of me seeing many of these friends in person anytime are slim.  Which makes me sad.

We've moved a few times in our marriage.  Moving is hard.  I always miss friends and places.  I used to have a really hard time making new friends.   Fortunately, I've realized I need to stick myself out there.  I try hard to sit next to someone different in Relief Society each week. I've also realized life with 3 kids makes it difficult to talk to anyone at church. But I'm still trying!   

Can I just say how thankful I am to have met so many wonderful people? No, really. I've met some ridiculously amazing people.  I love that we get to stay in contact whether it's through facebook or blogger.  I love knowing how everyone is doing and seeing their bright smiling faces. I love being inspired by your creativty, your spirituality, your maternal amazingness, and everything else!

Chad's Surgery

Chad has been having shoulder pain for the last 6 or so months.  It was sore at first and gradually got worse.  It got to the point that he couldn't lift up the kids.  We made an appointment for him to get an MRI.   But the soonest they could schedule Chad to see the Orthopedic surgeon here in Ogden was late November.  Not until after seeing him would we even be able to schedule a surgery. 

That was a bit too long of a wait.  I was able to get him in to see Dr. Bitner, an Orthopedic surgeon in Tremonton.  He looked at the MRI and said that Chad had a lateral tear in his labrum.  We were able to schedule the surgery for the next week on the 16th. 

They went in and found that Chad had ripped his labram in half.  They had to re-attach it and add some tissue from somewhere else. I did learn that Chad does not handle anaesthesia well. It took him 3 hours to be awake enough to leave. He was totally out of it. They brought him in to the room and he looked at me and said "Hey Babe!" and then tried really really hard to wink at me.  Oh Chad on drugs is just too much fun!

He gets to be in a sling until Mid-December and isn't allowed to really use his shoulder for another few weeks after that.  I just hope it doesn't snow a lot. Guess who'll be out shoveling the driveway? Oh and did I mention he cannot help me with Toby at all.  No diapers, no laying him down in his bed, NOTHING!  He's literally one handed right now.  I get to help him do a lot of things.  It's like having another kid as I cut up everyones' meat at dinner.

His recovery is going well.  He's doing Physical Therapy and slowly getting some strength back. Call me selfish, but I can't wait until he can change a diaper again!