Disneyland!

At the end of September, Randall and I took the kids to California for a little vacation.  My parents were kind enough to go with us, and we had a GREAT time.  We spent the weekend visiting my Vegas family and High School girlfriends, then headed to Cali on Monday morning. 

We drove to our hotel, checked in, then made our way to Huntington Beach.  The beach was a little bit stressful for me (some of the waves were GINORMOUS), but everyone had lots of fun. 

Carter LOVED playing in the water.

 This is a picture BEFORE a massive wave came...

 This is a picture after -

Randall was pulling Cameron out of the water during this pic.  Unfortunately, Lydia lost her canes during all the craziness.  Randall found one of them about 30 yards out and halfway buried in sand, but the other one is now a part of the sea.  

I'm such a mean Mom, I made the little ones scoot back after they got wiped out by a wave.  Here they are hoping for a big wave to come so that their feet would get wet.  I DID let them go back in with Randall holding their hands after he gave up his cane search, so I'm not THAT mean. ;)

 I personally was a lot happier when they wanted to play in the sand... 

 

 They made a beautiful sand castle.  I especially like the feather and seashell accents. 

 Some of the kids got a little chilly when the sun was going down...

 

 

We ate lunch at Ruby's diner (the building at the end of the pier).  The food was really good, and it obviously has a great view.

We spent the next four days at the happiest place on earth - DISNEYLAND!

Not really sure why Tink was wearing a sweater, because it was super HOT all week. 

Grandma bought a bubble gun and water spray fan to help keep everyone cooled off and entertained during down-times. 

 Carter was SO brave again this year.  This is his "I'm-totally-not-scared-even-though-we're-really-high-and-this-cage-wobbles-back-and-forth" face. 

We ate at the Cafe Orleans one of the days.  Randall got the Monte Cristo sandwich, which was basically a ham and cheese doughnut with powdered sugar and a berry dipping sauce.  It was good, but a little heavy for me.  My mom's salad was really good too, but the best thing there was the pommes frites (parmesan fries).

2 Moms + 2 cameras + Disneyland= TONS of pictures!

 

Gotta love It's a Small World!

 Carter giving a salute before riding Soarin' over California

 Lydia got her favorite - THE DOLPHIN!

 Meleah's happy with her pink bejeweled seal. 

 

We signed Carter up to take a class with the Youth Education Series while we were there.  It saved us A TON of money, and he said it was pretty fun, too.  It was 2 1/2 hours, and they watched Captain EO (outdated and dumb, according to Randall), went through the Abraham Lincoln Expo (interesting), and rode the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters (fun).  Unfortunately, this is the only picture Randall took, and it turned out blurry. 

Lydia went on the rapids ride with us even though you get wet.  Fortunately, she didn't get too soaked, so she had a fun time.  (She HATES getting wet.)

We were so tired on the last day that we rode the train around the park twice while we waited for Randall and Carter to get done with his class.

 Cameron pretending to be "in jail" while we waited for the Peter Pan ride.

Everyone waiting for me to bring back Dole Whips.  I think Cameron was a little tired.  What do you think?

 Still waiting for Dole Whips...

 Cameron didn't make it. 

 I didn't take a picture of our delicious Dole Whip floats, but Meleah decided to use her umbrella as an accessory. 
Side note:  Why don't they have more than 2 employees working at the Dole Whip Stand?!

 We all loved "the Ariel ride."  Savanna kept pointing at everything saying "ook!" (Look)

 

 Toy Story Mania had a hideously long line all week, but it's a favorite, so we went on it twice. 

Carter obviously didn't think it was worth the wait...

 Carter worked hard around the house to earn money so that he could make his own lightsaber this year. I love his serious Anakin face.

Lydia was tall enough to drive her own bug!

All of us waiting to watch the Aladdin play.  The flying carpet was broken this year, but it's still a REALLY good show.

 I was a little surprised how crowded it was for September.  I think there's still a lot of people coming to see the new Cars Land that just opened in June.  I'm sure it was MUCH better than it was in the summer, but it was still a little too crowded for us.  I think we'll aim for January/February again next time to avoid crowds and have cooler weather.  Cars Land WAS pretty dang awesome, though -

 

We went to the park early so that we could get in line for fastpasses for the Radiator Springs Racers ride before they ran out.  It was a really fun ride, and worth the wait. 

I absolutely love this picture. Doesn't he look so adorably happy?

 

 

 Apparently Cameron thought something was scary on the ride -

We came back to my parent's house on Saturday, then drove home the next day. 

Grandma and Grandpa gave all the grandkids these cute little Disney figures.

The kids and their "soubeneirs" (as Cameron calls them).  Meleah and Lydia chose matching princess dolls that "transform" from Ariel to Aurora.  Cameron chose Bullseye to go with his Woody doll, Carter built his massive lightsaber, and Savanna chose an Aurora doll.   

 It was such a fun trip, but I'm always happy to get back to my own bed.  We keep telling the kids we're not going back again for 4-5 years, but we'll see if we can hold out that long!

Zzzzz Part 4? 5? I Don't Remember!

5 outta 5!  This is very unusual because Lydia does NOT fall asleep.  Ever.  Even when she's on heavy-duty painkillers, as we just discovered recently. 

Date Night

Randall and I went on a really fun date last night to the Jazz/Timberwolves game.  Randall's work gave him the tickets and they were AMAZING!  They included dinner before the game, and dessert, nachos, popcorn, and drinks at halftime.  They were $660.00 3RD ROW SEATS!   (Does anyone REALLY pay that much for them?!  Maybe famous people...)  Now, I'm not exactly a huge sports fan, but it was SO much more entertaining being that close to the players.  We could hear them communicating to each other during the game, and even interacting with some of the people in the crowd.  As an added bonus, the Jazz won!  I've only been to 4-5 Jazz games, but they've won every time.  Randall should bring me whenever he goes.  Apparently I'm good luck. :)

I've never seen Modern Family, but we were sitting right behind Ty Burrell, for all you fans out there.  Do you think he noticed that I was taking a picture of him, not the players?  I thought I was pretty sneaky...

Our favorite player of the night was #0 - Big Turkey.  Unfortunately, I only had my camera phone which doesn't take very clear action shots (or any shots for that matter). 

I had a really good time, and Randall (who IS a big sports fan) had a really, really, REALLY good time.  Thanks Aspen Ridge! 

Lydia's Surgery

Lydia has had minor hip dysplasia pretty much since she was born.  The doctor's have been keeping an eye on it and at her last spina bifida clinic in March, her orthopaedic surgeon suggested that we have them surgically repaired.  Her hips have been mostly in place even though her acetabellum was immature, but her right hip was beginning to move out.  He felt that since she's so mobile, the best course of action is to do this less difficult surgery now to keep her hips in place and to prevent having to do a more in-depth procedure later.  We thought about it for a while, and decided this was our best option.  We scheduled her bilateral pemberton osteotomy with allograft for October 10th. 

 We had a little gathering with my family the night before the surgery, and they all gave her a Build-A-Bear that she named Cuddles.  She obviously LOVES her.

Randall and the kids stayed at Laura's so they wouldn't have to drive so far to the hospital.  My parents came from Vegas to watch the kids while Randall was working, or with me and Lyddies at the hospital. 

 

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I just have blurry phone pictures.

 Lydia all prepped and ready for surgery.  Feeling "a little bit nervous."

 Sleeping the day away after surgery.

I made sure that Randall got the day off because I didn't want a repeat of Carter's recovery from having his tonsils and adenoids removed.  (I blacked out while Carter was upset and puking all over the place.)  Unfortunately, they only allow one person into the recovery room.  I was tempted to have Randall go, but I was too anxious to see my baby girl.  Fortunately, Lydia was much calmer than Carter was (she was in and out of sleep for HOURS), BUT I still blacked out!  The nurse was on the phone relaying info to our hospital room nurse, and I just blacked out.  There were no chairs in our little curtain cubicle, so I had to hurry and sit down on the floor.  What is WRONG with me?!  They say it happens all the time, but it sure is embarassing! 

Lydia got an epidural for the procedure, and woke up with "zero owies" on the 0-10 smiley to frowny face scale.  Unfortunately, she did have low blood pressure and some pretty serious itchiness going on.  They pumped her full of fluids to improve the blood pressure issue, which made her really puffy.  She also was really pale because she had a low blood count, but we opted not to have a transfusion and just let her regenerate on her own.  Even with all that going on, she still attempted a smile for me -

That night Lydia was such a trooper.  They had to take her blood several times because of her low blood levels, and then she itched out her IV and had to have it re-done.  She didn't cry or whine during any of it!  She just sat there and let them do what they needed to do.  I wish I was that brave when I get blood drawn or an IV inserted!  The technicians were totally amazed. 

 

The next day we took out the epidural and changed to an oral pain medication.  The itching went away, and she had a pretty good day.  She actually woke up at 4 am asking for crafts and breakfast.  She settled for watching the Disney channel, but was really excited when 7 am rolled around and she could order off the extensive room service menu.  Lydia also LOVED to push the nurse call button.  She was really good to only do it after she asked me if it was okay, but she was constantly trying to think of things that would necessitate calling for the nurse. Throughout that day she had a little more pain and also a headache, but was still happy to not be so itchy anymore. 

 

Lydia's first jaunt out of bed. You can't really tell by this picture, but she really WAS thrilled -

Lydia's not a huge fan of "Spongebob" (what we named her massive leg pillow), but she's not allowed to put her legs together for 4-6 weeks.  She won't have to wear the pillow all the time, but definitely when she's sleeping and can't make sure that she has her legs apart.  I'll take Spongebob over a spica cast ANY DAY.  She also can't put any weight on her legs for 4-6 weeks. 

We went to the hospital playroom and made a lantern. The kids came to visit and were able to stay for a few hours. Primary Children's is seriously such an amazing place.  They kept bringing crafts and activities for the kids to do, so they weren't bored at all. 

 Meleah stayed the entire day until Randall got home from work and took her to Laura's house.  Lydia loved having a buddy to play with.

They had to put Lydia on oxygen that night because her oxygen levels dropped whenever she was sleeping.  She also continued to have low blood pressure issues because of the loss of blood.  That is why we were a little surprised to hear the next morning that...we could go home!  Hooray!

And then...Lydia threw up.  She was really sick all day, and couldn't keep ANYTHING down.  She didn't even want to order anything from room service!  Sooo, the doctor decided that we needed to stay another night with Lydia on an IV so she wouldn't get dehydrated.  I was pretty tired of my plastic couch bed, but Lydia's health was obviously the most important thing. 

 

FORTUNATELY, Lydia made a miraculous recovery that evening, and was able to eat dinner AND keep it down.  We got clearance to leave and we headed home.  I was a little bit nervous about her oxygen levels, but Randall checked them with his pulse oximeter and they were fine.  (He has one for his home health visits.) 

We've set her up on the couch so that she'll be close to our room if she needs to call us for medicine during the night.  The kids are being so cute, and LOVE to be where Lydia is, even though they could go play anywhere they want. 

Carter has surprised me the most because he seriously does NOT leave Lydia's side.  He's always asking her if she needs anything, or if she has any "owies."  It was so sweet when he first saw her at the hospital.  He said "Wow Lydia, it's SO GOOD to see you!"  and I SWEAR he was a little teary-eyed.  I don't know if it was seeing her hooked up to everything or what, but he's not really a softie by nature, so it's been fun to see that side of him. 

 

Since the kids have been out of school for fall break I've been letting them have "movie nights" in the living room with Lydia.  The boys are pretty bummed that they have to sleep in their room tonight because it's a school night.  I'm still letting Meleah sleep on the other couch in the living room because I don't want the girls to be alone, which the boys quickly pointed out as "not fair!"

 

I'm feeling good now that the surgery is finally past us, and we're on the road to recovery.  I'm sure it's going to be a long 6 weeks, but with how fast time flies, it will be behind us in no time.  I can't even express how thankful I am for all the support we've had from our family and friends during all this.  Lydia has been so spoiled with visitors and gifts, and I am SO GRATEFUL to everyone that has been there for us, and expressed their love and support through texts, calls and Facebook messages.  I've been REALLY tired throughout this whole ordeal, but I'm determined to get out of my pajamas and back to reality...starting tomorrow!   ;)

Back to School

Yes, I realize that the kids have been back to school for quite a long time now.  However, I've got the pics, so I'm writing a blog post! 

Lydia's in 2nd grade and has Mrs. Packer.  She LOVES school, and is bummed to have to miss a couple of weeks for her surgery. 

Last Year...

Carter's in 4th grade and has Ms. Osborn.  He says he would LOVE to miss a few weeks of school...but I know he would miss it! 

 Last year...

Meleah started school a week after the other kids and nearly DIED waiting. She's such a little grown-up, and she LOVES doing homework. 

 She loves pretty much everything about school, and recieved the Student of the Month award for September.  Again, that girl doesn't just LOOK like me... ;)  We're so proud!

I don't think I ever mentioned that Meleah graduated from her "computer preschool" that we did through Waterford Research Institute last year.  We both LOVED the program, and it was a super-easy way to get her ready for Kindergarten.

 I was totally dreading the end of summer, but this is actually the first year that I'm REALLY enjoying the break I get when my kids are at school.  It's probably because I didn't do as many fun park days and water activities with my kids as I usually do, because I felt sick all the time.  As a result, they ended up fighting and whining ALL DAY since they were cooped up in the house.  I don't know.  For whatever reason, I'm really enjoying the few hours I have with just Cameron and Savanna, and even better - NAP TIME!

Again.

Cheese!

 

And another baby GIRL on the way...

Dance

I haven't posted anything about dance (even though my girls were in it all year last year) because I don't know how to load/edit clips off my video camera.  I've decided that I may never actually take the time to read my manual and figure it out, so I might as well just post the pics I have, and show the video later if I ever become less lazy.  If you see me regularly, I DO have a DVD that you can watch if you want to actually see them dance. 

Last year I learned that a dance studio close to my house is offering special needs dance classes.  I was THRILLED! I loved going to dance when I was growing up, but never planned to put my kids in it since I wouldn't want Lydia to feel bad.  Lydia's special needs class was a jazz/ballet combo and Meleah was in tumbling.  Lydia's first performance was at the festival of trees, and she did SO good!  The other little boys that were in her class weren't able to go, so she had to do her dance ALL BY HERSELF!  I admit I was a little nervous that she'd get up there, see all the people, and either bail, or stand there like a statue. But she didn't!  She did SO GOOD, and I was totally bawling through the entire thing - I was so proud!

Meleah's first performance was a couple of weeks later at the winter recital.  She was so energetic and cute.  I seriously wish I could post a dang video! 

Lydia's classmate Jonathan was able to go to the recital so she had a performing buddy this time. 

The girls had more performances in the spring at their spring recital, the Pony Express Days carnival, and the Exceptional Kids Club at the elementary school.  It was fun to see how much they'd improved over the few months they were in dance.  Lydia didn't even use her canes, and was able to bend over and pick up her bat prop.

It was really cute to see Lydia's classmate Derrick watching her to see which move was next.  I wish Lydia didn't have crazy eyes in all the pics I took of her performance!

 Meleah's the 4th one from the left.  This "backbend with an alligator chomp" is one of her favorite moves. 

 

 

 The girls LOVED being able to wear "REAL makeup."

We're taking a little break from dance right now because of Lydia's hip surgery, but my girls are SO EXCITED to start up again in January.  They're even going to be in a Jazz/Ballet class together this year.  I can't wait!