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!

Summer!

Every year I say that I'm going to do better blogging in the summer, and every year I end up doing a massive "What we did over the summer" post in the fall.  What's up with that?  I mean, I don't have to worry about getting the kids to school, making sure their homework's done, force them to read for 20 minutes...  And yet I NEVER keep up with the blog.  Oh well.  Here's what we did over the summer -

PONY EXPRESS DAYS PARADE
The girls were in our city's Pony Express Days parade this year with their dance class.  We had lots of fun watching them, even though they had already thrown all their candy by the time they saw us.  ;)  We also rode a couple of rides and watched them perform at the carnival later that day. 

The little carnival worker for this ride was so cute.  He kept the ride running for seriously at least 4 minutes straight (probably because it's a little tricky for Lydia to get in and out of it).  I was getting a little nervous that the kids would be sick since it's a spinning ride, but they LOVED it, and said it was "THE LONGEST RIDE EVER!" 

 Apparently it was a little bright that day...

LAGOON
Randall seriously has the best work party ever.  We pay around $14 a person to go to Lagoon, and they provide lunch, dinner, and unlimited ice cream treats all day.  It's seriously SO much fun.  I LOVE it! 

This was Carter's favorite ride this year.  Fortunately I'm pregnant, so Randall couldn't force me into that fourth seat. 

 I loved watching my baby girl ring the bell and wave at me from the boats. 

 Love Cameron's face as much as Meleah's in this one -

 Don't you hate it when you take a super-cute picture but it turns out blurry for some reason?

 And then the next one is much more clear, but looks like this -

This year I even did the bounceback option and took the kids back to Lagoon a week later.  (They're SO spoiled!)  Bob and Jill came with us again, and also Casey, Jackie and their kids, and Ty, Michelle and Lacey.  It reminded me of when I was little and went to Lagoon with all my cousins because my Dad and Uncles worked for the same company.  They all helped me out big time, because Randall had to work that day.

It rained for a couple of hours when we first got there, so we were a little cold and wet, but it eventually dried out and we had a great time. 

Katelynn talked Carter into going on the Sky Ride for the first time.  He looks a little tense in this pic, but he ended up loving it and went on it with Kate a bunch of times. 

JENSEN REUNION
My Grandma and Grandpa Jensen lived down the street from Bear Park when I was growing up, and we loved to walk down there and have some fun when we visited.  We meet there now for the Jensen family reunion and it still has the castle, dinosaur, swings, spider, shoe slide, and of course the big bear statue that I played on when I was a kid.  We had lots of fun at the reunion this year.  I love my family SO much even though we don't get to see each other as much as we used to.  My kids especially loved the pinata.  Lydia went totally crazy with her cane.  I don't think I've ever seen that side of her before, but that girl does LOVE candy! 

TAYLORSVILLE DAYZZ
We go to Taylorsville Dayzz with our friends, the Palmers, almost every year.  They have excellent fireworks, and it's so nice to be able to walk to the park and not have to deal with traffic.  This year Dave, Emmy, and their kids came over and had dinner with us also, and it was so much fun.  I didn't even have any kids that were crying because the fireworks were "freaking them out" this year.  It was awesome! 

 Apparently my kids LOVE snow cones.  Perhaps I should have bought more than one for them to share! 

 Carter and Logan being dorks.

Don't make fun of Bre's hat!  She was nice and shady while the rest of us were squinting in the sun. 

Don't make fun of my crazy eyes!  I was recovering from all the squinting! 

MANTI
We spent a weekend at the campsite in Manti with my family again this year.  I love to sit by the fire and look at the temple all beautifully lit up.  Not even my screaming, fighting children in the nearby tent can ruin the moment. Especially since they eventually fall asleep, and I get a chance to relax and chat with my parents, Grandma Brown, and siblings.  We went to the Jensen reunion on Saturday and the kids LOVED swimming in the pool and playing at the playground.

PAYSON LAKES
Randall and I had so much fun on our first immediate family camping trip to Payson Lakes last year that almost all of us were really excited to go again this year.  (Hey, I was extremely nauseous for MONTHS!)  This time we had the added bonus of Bob, and turns out that makes it a much more bearable trip for me.  It's really nice to have one more pair of eyes to help make sure the kids don't fall in the fire, and another pair of hands to get the tent set up quickly.  Not to mention his fun personality. ;)  We just stayed for one night and although fishing was slow, all the kids eventually caught one.  We also learned that it's a good idea to reserve your campsite, because it was quite a bummer to pull up to the campsite and see that it was FULL.  Fortunately, there was another one down the road that I actually liked a little better than the one we stayed at last year.  (Flushing toilets and a sink to wash your hands beats a port-o-potty hands down.)

THE CABIN
When I asked my kids a few weeks ago whether they liked the cabin or Disneyland better, they ALL said "The cabin!" without hesitation.  It did my little girl heart proud that they love and appreciate the cabin as much as I do.  My FAVORITE memories from my childhood are going to the cabin, and I'm glad that my kids have the opportunity to build their own memories and form lasting bonds with their cousins there.  We had lots of fun playing games and relaxing, and I didn't throw up once during the 3 days we were there!  I think the mountain air must be good for morning sickness. 

Randall even managed to help Lydia up to "The Rock," which is a ridiculously steep climb. Then they walked up to the road and came down that way (rather than the "slide down on your butt" way that the kids always do). Cari, Mom, and I went to meet them at the corner and I'm so mad that I didn't bring my camera because Lydia walked all the way down the road herself. Randall had a tight hold of her hoodie, but she just trooped down with her canes, and it was SO cute. For those of you that don't know, the road is RIDICULOUSLY steep and bumpy - like 4 wheel drive access only. I was so proud of my little girl for making it on her own.

Yes that IS a nasty cabin fly-swatter that Savanna's playing with.

Chopping wood.  Pretty sexy, no?  ;)
(At least if you ignore the crocs with socks!)

The wood-passing assembly line -

 

 We missed Taryn (the braiding queen) this year, but Laura was sweet enought to make a beautiful "princess" braid for Meleah. 

 I don't know how we get so lucky, but everyone caught at least one fish again this trip. 

 My girls are definitely much tougher than I am...

DINOSAUR MUSEUM

My parents were in town so we took the kids to the dinosaur museum for one final summer "fun day."  Carter and Lydia had started school already, and were a bit jealous of the little ones.  It was pretty crowded and my kids are easily bored/scared, so we zoomed through the museum and headed for the cafe for some cookies and milk. 

 



I'm happy to see that this is a pretty long and fun-filled post, even though I felt like I spent the entire summer laying on the couch.  I guess my kids weren't quite as deprived as I thought!