St. George Ladies Trip

The five of us girls and my mom all decided we needed some time away from kids, and hubbies, so we headed down to St. George for a weekend. What ensued was a lot of hiking, hilarity, and hair products.

Our hike was lovely, with the sun hanging out behind some clouds, keeping the temperature perfect. We enjoyed getting out and stretching our legs, as well as working off at least some of the goodies we consumed. We also went to see Mamma Mia while we were there, and really, is there a more girly show than that?

Meg let me do her hair curly, and she was excited to see that her hair could actual be curly.

Something I learned that weekend is that women of a certain age are prone to wearing "nighties", and not the sexy kind... unless you want to make them so. Katie and Meg were determined to bring Elle to their side, and provided her with her very own nighttime apparel.

It was a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got the chance to hang out.

Denver Adventures

Teag needed to take a plane to Denver for maintenance last August, but it was a smaller plane, with only five seats. It just so happened that Maisie would be at Girls Camp for the week the plane was being fixed, so we decided to pack up the other three and head to Colorado to see what they had to offer in the way of fun.

We spent our first day swimming, and eating chips as big as our heads.

The kids were good about sharing a king sized bed, and got to be all snuggly in one place.

The second day we got went hiking to a reservoir. It was a lovely day for it once the sun came out, but we were definitely feeling the 10,000 feet.

The next day we went to the Argo Mill and Mine. It was quite an interesting site, and full of cool old stuff. At the end, we all got to  pan for a little gold, and take home a few flakes.

It was definitely weird not having Maisie with us, and there were a few rough spots, behavior wise, but we had a good time and learned a few things... like that we don't actually care for Denver all that much. But hey, a free trip is a free trip.

2017: Memorable For All the Wrong Reasons

Clearly, I haven't blogged in a good long while. I've had a bit of a mental block where blogging is concerned; my heart just wasn't in it. Part of that could be straight up laziness, but I think another large part was simply that 2017 felt like the year that we survived. Not necessarily in a bad way, we aren't bitter or angry about it. But it was a year that worked really hard to kick our trash, and I'm not even talking about Donald Trump getting elected President.

2017 came and went with no resolution to Teag's job situation at USANA. They say they plan to buy a plane, but that has yet to happen, so we're still very much in limbo. This doesn't do much for my overall feelings of security. I like to plan, I like to know what's coming. I know that isn't possible all the time, or even a lot of the time (2017 taught me that), but it's nice when you can.

2017 was the year that Teag spent more than two full months away from home. He attended two type-rating trainings, and between that and his regular travel, he was gone A LOT. It's not something our family is used to, and we had a few rough spots as we worked to cope. On the other hand, both type-ratings opened up some doors career-wise for him, and were great opportunities. Truly a great blessing.

2017 was the year that Teag found an unusual lump, which was subsequently revealed to be testicular cancer. The C word is scary under any circumstances, but once again we felt particularly blessed; his cancer situation was absolutely the best case scenario. The tumor was a seminoma, the best kind to have, and after a surgery to remove the effected testicle, Teag was considered cured. No chemo, no radiation.

He has to have periodic screenings every few months to check for a recurrence, but it was amazing how much of a non-event something that's typically so horrific ended up being. Another blessing to be sure.

2017 was the year that Teag got very sick. We still aren't really sure what caused it, but a few days before Christmas, we ended up in the emergency room when his whole upper half turned red, along with a fever and chills. We thought that a biopsy site on his back may have become infected, but that turned out not to be the problem. They ran test after test, took lots of blood, and asked all kinds of questions. Teag's kidneys were failing, and they drained three bags of saline into him simultaneously due to severe dehydration. He was tachycardic, his bilirubin was hight, and the fever was climbing. In other words, all his systems were going haywire, and unable to function as they should. After only a few hours in the ER, he was transferred to the ICU.

I've never seen Teag so sick, or so miserable. I had to do most of the talking to the doctors and nurses because he was in no shape to answer questions. They packed him with ice to try and bring his fever down, which only made the shivers worse. They drew more blood. They reopened the incision on his back to make certain it really wasn't an infection, as all signs pointed to sepsis.

We'd started out the day thinking he'd get some OTC antibiotics, and ended it with Teag in the ICU, the doctors having no idea what was wrong with him. Three days before Christmas. It was terrifying to say the least. They pumped him full of broad-spectrum antibiotics and fluids, then waited for something to grow from his blood cultures to know how to more specifically treat him, but nothing ever did. That ruled out sepsis. I wanted to be with him at the hospital as much as I could, and was so grateful for family who jumped in and helped with our kids, watching them, letting them sleep over, shuttling them places. My mom and sisters in law also had a wrapping party, wrapping all our Christmas presents so that I wouldn't have to worry about it. My dad and brother gave Teag a blessing shortly after he arrived in the ICU. So many people were praying for us, and we felt those prayers and the concern of friends, family and neighbors.

By the 24th, Teag was starting to look and feel better. His fever had gone, his kidney function had improved, and he was able to eat. The redness had also begun to fade from his skin, though admittedly, it was being replaced by yellow from the high bilirubin. Because of these improvements, they decided that he could go home. We'd spent three days in the hospital, but still didn't have any kind of diagnosis. Teag's energy levels were extremely low, but he was so much better than when we brought him in, and we were both relieved that he got to be home for Christmas.

After some follow up blood-work, they told us they suspect he had a virus akin to influenza. No real way to know that for sure, unfortunately, but given that he's continued to improve, we are thankful that it's not something chronic. His liver levels were high a few days after, so we'll have to get them rechecked to make sure they've dropped to where they should be, but otherwise, he's on the road to full recovery.

So as you can see, 2017 was a bit rough. And it was especially rough for Teag, who was at the center of the majority of these events. We were all effected peripherally of course, but he was the one who things were happening to. He handled so much of what came to him with strength, with minimal complaint, and with a solid testimony. I was proud to see how he dealt with the adversity that came to him this past year. He is an amazing man, and an excellent role model for our children, and even me. As much as I have no desire to repeat this past year, I'm so grateful for the lessons learned, the blessings received, and the strength gained. I also pray that 2018 might be a bit more gentle.

So... moving forward, while looking back. There are several events that I'd like to record from this past year, things that I don't want overlooked or forgotten. I'm not going to past date them, I'll just include the date(s) they took place for reference.

Here's to another year...

Vancouver

Teag had a trip to Vancouver in the Pilatus scheduled for the end of February, and as I've never been anywhere internationally, he asked if I could tag along. We couldn't make the babysitting work for me to be there the whole time, so I found a cheap commercial flight, and left the next afternoon. Kind of a bummer, because I ended up with a pretty significant flight delay that meant instead of arriving in Vancouver by 6:00 p.m., I didn't get there until 10:00. Better than being stuck in San Francisco though, which would have been the alternative. Anyway, we've had a couple of unexpected stresses come up in our lives, and the thought of getting away alone together sounded too lovely to pass up. The weather was downright chilly, so it wasn't exactly ideal outdoor weather, but we did what we could.

Our first morning we spent exploring Granville Island, including the huge public market, where we discovered a new fruit that is quite weird and delicious. It's called a Goldenberry, and looks like a yellow cherry tomato. Rather tart, but a fun new discovery.

We walked along the shoreline as well, where we saw some cool totem poles, and a sea plane base.

If you look in the middle on the left side, you can see a sea plane flying just above the water. Teag hopes that will be him one day. I think we both wanted to walk around more, but with the sun hiding behind the clouds, we were too cold for much walking. So we had dinner, and went and saw a movie, which is something we haven't been able to do for far too long.

The next day we went hiking through a forest that looked like it could have doubled for Endor. Although "hike" is a pretty loose term when there's barely any grade.

We ate fresh fish and chips in a little fishing village afterwards, and then headed back to our hotel, where the weather took a turn for the worse. What started as rain turned to snow, then back to rain. We decided to see another movie. Might as well take advantage of a kid-free night! Then we had an amazing and cozy dinner. I wanted to include this other pic, as it just seems so random. There were a few of these carvings outside a shop we passed often on our way to somewhere else.

This trip wouldn't have been possible without the help of our family. Nate and Elle took Finn for the lions share of the time we were gone, just adding him in with their boys. It seemed like he had a really great time, and we appreciated how willing they were to take him.

My Mom & Dad watched the girls, and I know I never have anything to worry about when they're with Grandma and Grandpa. I tried to text my mom to see how things were, and she told me she was too busy playing a game with them, and I was bugging her. So grateful for family who are willing to jump in and help with this sort of thing. It really means a lot. I also wanted to get this last picture included, as I realized we don't really have any pictures of Teag with the Pilatus. He's been flying it for years, but as he's the one who's always doing the flying, he's never got any pictures.

That's one handsome aviator, right there. I'm glad for the chance we had to get away, and I'm glad for the memories we're able to make as a couple. Sometimes life can be pretty sweet.

Zumbathon!

Natalie and I attended another Zumbathon with Lindsey Taylor, this time on behalf of Operation Underground Railroad. It was spectacular! Seriously, one of the most fun Zumba events I've been to.

We got VIP tickets, per our usual, and got spots right up near the front. I like to be in the front, because it's much easier to follow, and I feel like you're more a part of the action.

Lindsey is a lot of fun, and she's really easy to follow. She has great music selections, and great choreography as well.

And here's the crazy part! I got called up on stage! I will admit I was worried I'd be way out of my league, but I did pretty well, and it was such a rush!

After doing Zumba for as many years as I have, I'm definitely starting to feel more confident in my abilities, but I never would have imagined it would lead to me being up there with a ZES. It was exciting, and I was glad for the opportunity. I love having Natalie as my Zumba buddy, we've had some really fun memories from events. Looking forward to the next one!

The Best Vacation Ever (Part Three)

This last post will encompass what may have been our favorite time/favorite place of the trip. It's hard to say for sure, because the whole trip was great, but Universal Studios held a special place in our heart courtesy of Harry Potter World. It was, as Ron Weasley would say, Brilliant. Everything about Hogsmeade felt so authentic, it really did feel as though you'd slipped right into a world of witches and wizards. I wish the one in California also had Diagon Alley, but we enjoyed what we had.

One of the first places we went was to Ollivander's, to check out the wands. We got in line for a wand ceremony, and were delighted when Danyn was the one chosen to try out several wands. She managed to kill some plants with one, make it snow with another, until they finally found the one meant for her.

It was a cool moment, and a very special memory for Danyn. She ended up buying that very wand. We headed into the shop after that, and all the kids (and myself) chose a wand that they liked.

There are only two rides in that part of the park, but we rode them each several times. Walking through the Hogwarts castles was like a dream come true. It was the only time I wished the lines were a bit longer, so I could have stopped to look around more.

It's so well done, it looks straight out of the movie. I think I could have spent all day wandering shops, and re-riding the rides. Poor Finny wasn't tall enough to ride the main ride in the castle, but he loved riding Flight of The Hippogriff, and seeing Hagrid's hut.

Our second day there we had lunch at the Three Broomsticks, which was such a fun experience.

The whole restaurant is very atmospheric, and each of the kids ordered a Butterbeer with their lunch. Butterbeer mustaches anyone?

We spent lots of time wandering through shops, buying sweets from Honeydukes, and admiring everything from quills, to owls, to scarves. In the main bathroom, you can hear Moaning Myrtle talking to you, and you can see the Hogwarts Express right as you walk in. We tried Pumpkin Juice, but we decided none of us were big fans. Butterbeer tastes much better than we expected it to. It was so much fun, and was the best thing my little Harry Potter heart could imagine. And if I haven't already convinced you that it was our favorite place, it's made even more obvious by the fact that I have only a few other pictures from the rest of all of Universal Studios.

The kids all loved Jurassic Park, and we all got to ride it twice, courtesy of a very nice ride attendant who I'm pretty sure fudged on Finn's actual height. Some of the other rides were fun, some were okay, but it seems like Universal is a one trick pony when it comes to spraying you in the face for every ride. It gets a little old after awhile.

We spent six days in various parks and places, rode countless numbers of rides, took countless photos, and made countless memories. We also walked countless miles. A step tracker often looked something like this by the end of the day. I think we logged just under thirty miles in six days.

Which is an especially big feat when you have tiny legs. Our week in Disneyland and Anniversal Studios, (Finn's name for it), wore us right out.

Finn, and all the kids, were amazing. They walked and walked with little complaint, dealt with bad weather, and traffic delays, hunger, and less sleep than normal. They were helpful, pleasant, and best of all, grateful. We heard so many thank you's over the course of our week in California. They had the best attitudes we could have asked for. And anyone with kids knows that can make or break a vacation. It's been a few months now, and we all still look back fondly, remembering our favorite things, and wishing we could go back. Thank you, California, for the memories.