Dallas in the almost Spring

We had the opportunity to get out to Dallas for Spring break with the kids this year.  It was a great time - we had a lot of family there.  Jenny Newby live there and Libby and Sean moved there last year for Sean to do his Orthopedic fellowship - Mom and Dad built a home there in the last 6 months and we were able to get out to visit with them this March.  We had 2 rooms for the majority of us.  Robin and I had a guest room which shared a bathroom with a second bedroom - there was no furniture in that room so we inflated a mattress for the 3 girls.  Bri, Drew and Brayden shared the loft - a big open area with a couch and unfortunately a TV.

Lizzy Crashing and Burning after a long day in the pool!

You can't say he isn't excited - I don't know if it is the fire or the cake but something peaked his interest here!

The Heated Pool - this was the highlight of the trip - they had the pool heated to at least 80 degrees or more - it was like bath water - that was probably a good thing since if it was any cooler no one would have gotten in.  The kids ate it up and no serious injuries, drownings all week long.  Carleigh didn't even need that much help with her floaty bathing suit.

This is also the weekend that Bri turned 12.  This marked a special weekend for him as he was all ready to receive the Priesthood.  We have been talking to Brian about this for some time trying to prepare him of this important responsibility.  He was ready and excited and it was a blessing to be able to do this at Granddads house in Dallas.  It was also exciting to have this ordinance performed with all family members in the circle - I was able to perform the ordinance with dad, and my 2 brother in - laws Sean and newbie in the circle.  Tom and Bonnie had also come into town from Wisconsin to stay a few days and celebrate with us as well.

This was such a special day - We are so proud of our little Bri - he has been steadily growing into a handsome and wonderful young man!  Classic Bri Smile!

Nana and Granddad were so proud as well.  

Easter Time 2013 at Preschool

Carleigh loves her preschool - she has been there for 2 years and still calls it her "new school".  She is as cute as can be.

Springtime at Natural Science Center

The Greensboro Natural Science Center has a great little Zoo area with a variety of beasts from Tigers to river otters to ant eaters, tigers and Meerkats.  The kids love going down and messing with the animals.  The homes near the zoo area are only about 1/2 a block from the tiger enclosure.  thankfully the fences are 30 feet high and the tigers are lazy.  Any time I go to the zoo they're always sleeping.  They probably have an iPod hidden in the tall grass and are spending all their time playing video games like all children today!

Over the Shoulder!

It seemed like an innocent enough start to the day but ended with with mayhem.  Brian Jr and I were throwing the football in the street out front of Mike and Cathy's house when Mike came out to throw it with us.  This has happened a hundred times in the past but today was catastrophically different.  He was in his PJ's and bedroom slippers (also not out of the norm).  I threw a pass to Mike which required him to take a few steps back and catch over his shoulder - he lost his footing when his slippers got tripped up and fell onto his buttock.  Initially he hopped up and walked it off a little sore but several hours later he had a buttock the size of a cantaloupe and the next day the size of a watermelon.  He eventually went to the hospital to get checked out and one of my partners found that he was in kidney failure and wanted to admit him because his blood counts (red cells) had dropped and his white blood cell count was very high (normal for mike).  He didn't want to be admitted and made quite a fuss at the hospital but in the end it was the right thing to do.  He ended up staying in the hospital for a week.  The reason his buttock and leg swelled so much was because he had caused a significant amount of bleeding in the buttock which spread down the leg, then because of immobility he developed a blood clot in his leg which eventually went to his lung.  He left the hospital on blood thinners ironically.

While in the hospital we were able to visit him a couple of times and one of those times the Oncologist doctor came to see him.  He sat at the bedside and asked mike a series of questions about his fall and about his medical history.  mike was in such a daze from being given Morphine that he didn't answer any of his questions but instead asked repeatedly for enemas.  He was given multiple enemas in the hospital and the strange part of it all is that he has no recollection of asking or being given any of them. For his birthday this summer he got an enema bag from our family!

Robin had her 35th birthday during this time.  We celebrated at the bedside of Captain Enema.  Oh the memories!

Happy 10th Birthday Caty

Again, the Cookie Bouquet, the presents and a happy Caty Lynne who we love so much.  Hard to believe she is 10 years old though often we see maturity of a 16 year old and sometimes the maturity of a 2 year old.  Pretty normal for the age though.

Bri found a soft seat and stuck with it.  Perfect height for a 4 year old or a 12 year old...

Lizzy's beautiful smile - always happy even on other people's birthdays

Winter Wonderland...

Well not the most magical place on earth.  If you can't get the hint at this point, we are exhausted with the small rental house.  But we had some rare and awesome snow and took advantage of the event with some snowman action.

Working Hard

Those are cotton balls for the buttons and the face and wiffle ball bats for the arms.  Yes it is still very green grass under the "once yearly" snow!

Ear Piercings and Birthdays

4 YEARS OLD!

Carleigh turning 4 was a big deal and as with most other things the younger children are able to do things at younger ages than their siblings.  Caty got her ears pierced at 6, Lizzy and 5 and Carleigh at 4 years old.  She was super excited and only cried for a second!

These earrings did well for a couple months until they became infected and we played the ear squeezing game for the next 6 months until the infections went away.  Now she is coming up on 5 years old and no longer has nor does she want earrings.

As with all birthdays for girls in the family, Carleigh go her flowers from me and cookie flowers from Nana.  At this time we are within a month of getting out of the rental house.  It couldn't come fast enough.

While in the rental house, I had to sleep during daytime up in the girls room.  all 3 girls shared a bedroom above the master bedroom.  3 beds and one dresser.  Meanwhile, Brian had all the other dressers in his room.  I would sleep in Caty Lynne's bed on top of Lizzy's bed.  It was about 4 feet off the ground and very soft.  I would drape sheets and blankets over the window in the room to get some darkness.  It didn't help to have the fire station right next door as the sirens would wake me up frequently.