Winter Fun...

Now that it is spring, I feel like we need to post some pictures from our winter adventures. Most of the winter has been with sick kids and being inside, but we have been able to get out and have fun as well. We were in California for two weeks and I only took one picture, how sad is that. Coleson had another ski lesson this year. He just flies down the mountain. It's hard the first time to watch your child just free fall, ski down the mountain with no poles or someone holding his hand. I was snowboarding and trying to film him and I couldn't keep up. He loves it. I haven't been snow boarding since I got married (7 years). Brian was kind enough to let me leave the kids for half the day. It was so fun but I'll have to admit it was kind of pathetic. I can't believe what a wimp I have become. Half the time I would slow down or sit back if I started to feel a little out of control. All I could think of is, if I really biff it I still have to go home and take care of kids the rest of the night and the next day, etc. I can't just kick back and be sore and relax. I still play sports all the time so you'd think I would be able to jump right back into snowboarding -by the way our ward women's basketball team went to regionals (yeah we have regional church sports here) and won the tournament. I have a shirt to prove it. Out of all the college intramurals and church sports I've played (soccer, volleyball, basketball, flag-football, futsal) this is the first time I have been on a team that actually made it all the way-to get the shirt. Anyway, I'm not as good as I used to be and hopefully next year I'll be able to hit the slopes again with Coleson and get back into the groove.



Brynn has been scooting around on her stomach for the past month or more (to her its better than crawling I guess) and she immediately goes for Ammon if he is on the floor. There is something about scooting over his body and then pulling either his hair or ear that she just loves. It looks as though she is wrestling with him if I don't pull her away in time. Ammon is a pretty good sport until she gets his hair. However, if she ever puts her fingers by his mouth he will bite, so he gets his pay backs. They are pretty cute playing together, I just can't let them be alone.

A Shout-out from Ammon...

For the past several months we’ve been missing certain wonderful little things about Ammon. We noticed little by little, that his personal interactions with us and others have been changing or completely disappearing. He hasn’t been giving us delightful shout-outs when we come home, he hasn’t been responding to specific songs that he previously loved, and certain playtime catch phrases that we use with him have exhibited limited or no response. For example, at the end of every vocal prayer right before we would say Amen, Ammon would immediately perk up and shout out a quick Amen (he would almost always beat us to the punch). Songs like “When Your Happy and You Know It” and so many others have lost their instant sweet smiles and excited hand gestures, only to be replaced with distracted stares. I used to always sing to him the notes to the “Charge” song they do at baseball games, and he would always give me a huge smile and shout-out at the charge part, but even that disappeared. Even the sound of my voice, Summer’s voice, or Maga’s voice over the phone has not had the same excited response. We realize that kids usually grow out of doing certain things, but to have everything disappear so quickly and all at once didn’t seem natural. We haven’t known what is potentially wrong, but things have changed. We’ve dearly missed our sweet Ammon’s personality, and we’ve been fearful that we would continue to lose more of it.

Over the past few months we’ve been praying with extra emphasis and faith on this, and hopefully we have the answer, or at least part of the answer. On Tuesday, Ammon went in for surgery on his ears to insert tubes and perform an ABR hearing test. The surgery required that he be sedated, and he ended up fasting till almost dinner because the surgery was delayed several hours. The surgery went well, and the doctor told us that he found a lot of thick fluid in Ammon’s ears. The doctor suctioned as much of the fluid that he could, and we are putting drops in Ammon’s ears for the next week to ensure the rest of the fluid is removed. The ABR test indicated that with the fluid removed his hearing was still in the normal range and no permanent damage had been sustained.

While we were sitting in recovery we thought we would put Ammon’s new tubes and cleaned out ears to the test. I quietly sang the notes to the “Charge” song, and at the charge part, even in his still groggy and tired state, Ammon gave a little shout-out. We hope our little Ammon is back, we have missed him so much. If you feel so inclined, please remember our little boy in your prayers. Through Ammon a lot of special blessings have happened to our family and others over the past three years, and I know those blessings will continue well into the future. Hopefully it doesn’t sound too selfish to say, but a simple little shout-out from Ammon every now and then makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world.

Valentines Day...

I was out of town this year for Valentines Day, stuck in Minneapolis for the weekend on a business trip with one of my coworkers (at least we walked away with about $800 Delta dollars for our trouble). So that Saturday we decided to spend all day shopping at Kohl’s for our beautiful wives and children. I found a ton of deals, and though most of them looked good, out of the more than dozen items I bought for Summer only 2 or 3 fit and ended up being keepers (it’s the thought that counts right). After a long day of shopping and wishing I was with Summer and the kids, we decided to fill the void with food and lots of it. Tom and I quickly realized that many normal restaurants would not be a good thing to do on Valentines day. Two guys sitting alone together at the Olive Garden putting down all you can eat soup and salad does not bode well in the manly department. After driving around for a while we finally decided to eat at a BBQ restaurant, with the thought in mind that BBQ is not exactly the most romantic dining establishment on Valentine’s Day. I mean seriously, what guy that is trying to please his wife would really suggest all you can eat ribs and cornbread as a romantic interlude (the meat stuck between the teeth and the BBQ sauce dripping off the chin and fingers is best reserved for watching a football game, not a romantic Valentine date). Trust me on this one, all you’ll get later is a stomach ache and maybe a peck on the cheek. So we confidently walked into the BBQ joint and grabbed some menus while we waited to be seated. Suddenly the host walked by with a long-stem red rose to deliver to a couple at a table. We surveyed the host’s counter and realized to our shock that there were many more roses there. Apparently every dinner purchase that night came with a free red rose delivered specially by the host. After the host walked past, Tom and I looked at each other and without a word needing to be said, we realized that are careful plans had been foiled. Left with only one real choice, we simultaneously stood up, left our menus on the counter, and bolted for the door. We ended up eating takeaway from another BBQ joint that only serves take out. And to ensure my manliness was still intact on this Valentines Day, I ended up watching a “romantic” shoot ‘em up action movie while putting down some Cold Stone. I sure missed Summer…

Chuck This...

This one is for you Mom (Brian's Mom)...We love you!!!

It’s my Mom’s birthday this week and, well, let’s just say she is three decades older than me (do the math if you so desire). For her birthday she asked that we take her for a fun family bowling event followed by a nice family dinner. Apparently, Chuck a Rama is the restaurant of preference for many of our local older citizens (I refuse to label my Mom just yet as a senior citizen). Mom’s partial reasoning is that Chuck a Rama is just a quick convenient choice where people can get whatever they want whenever they want (the choice is yours, right). I ask myself, "Isn’t that how all restaurants operate?" When it comes to Chuck a Rama, I believe there is a yet an undiscovered gene that remains dormant until you reach 60 something. At which point there is an irresistible urge to eat at large buffet style restaurants before 4:00 p.m. with all children and grandchildren in tow. I don’t get it yet, but I expect I will someday. I usually try to make the best of it by enlisting Coleson and a few unsuspecting nephews into a professional scone eating contest (bunch of amateurs).

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Updates on the basement

We have been requested to show our latest basement developments. The drywall is done. We have primed and painted the ceiling. The most exciting thing is our fireplace rockwork is done. It looks awesome. Brian and I actually made our own mantel -after seeing the price of real ones, we thought i bet we could make our own for a lot cheaper, we've watched enough HGTV to do it ourselves. I started painting around the fireplace because I was so excited to get color on the wall. I was told to wait until the baseboards are up before I do more. My sister-in-law helped me pick out colors-thanks Jill. We ordered doors and lights, so we just have to wait for those and pick out carpet and tile. I had to break the news to Coleson this week that we had to push back the delivery date of his furniture until the end of February. So hopefully in a month we will be able to post pictures of a finished basement.