Family Vacation 2011 Day 1 part 1

So we just took a family vacation last week. The week before Scott was in Utah for work and the week before that he was getting ready for his trip so we hadn't seen him in two weeks. The vacation came at a perfect time. We have lived in California for three years now and there is so much to see. I have never been to San Francisco and Scott has only been there for work so this was on our "to do" list of places to go. We left at 4:30am on Sunday morning and drove up the 5 (the fastest way to get there) and made it to Muir Woods a little after 11:00am. Since we were cooped up in the car, we figured this would be perfect for the start of our vacation. We were a bit shocked to go from triple digit heat to the 60's. We don't even have much of that type of clothing. Ha. Muir Woods is known for having some of the world's tallest trees.

It was absolutely beautiful! It was breathtaking.

My boys on the bridge.

Now we learned a bit of a lesson. Don't wake William up at 4am. Check out his face!

a little later....

Still not having it....

I did finally get a smile when I told him we were going to see our cousins after this.

So off to the next part of our day, visiting our cousins and spending the day at Yerba Beuna Gardens. But first we had to go over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Harry's Bilateral Myringgotomy Tympanostomy with tube placement

Today was Harry's second go at tubes in his ears. We woke up at 5am and he was pretty good until we got to the surgery center. While we were waiting, he told me he was hungry and I told him he could eat after his doctor's appointment. Then he said, "but Mommy, my tummy is telling me that I am hungry too!" Too cute. He had two nurses, the anesthesiologist and his doctor. He would not answer any questions or look at anyone. He buried his head in my chest and would not let go. I think they knew it was going to be a bad hand off so the anesthesiologist recommended that mom get cleaned up and dressed for the O.R. So I did and took Harry into his operating room and laid down on the bed with him. Then the two nurses held down his arms while the anesthesiologist put the mask over his face. That was the hardest part. Seeing him struggle and be completely frightened. I pushed the tears back and just held tight and whispered in his ear how much I loved him and he was doing a great job. It was harder on me than him. And now I am so glad they let me in there because I can't imagine how much more scared he would have been with total strangers holding him down until he fell asleep.

The procedure went really fast and I met him in the recovery room and he was ready for me. He cried for a little bit and then fell back asleep and even started drooling! Ha We were home a little after 9am and I thought he would sleep but he has just been lounging around watching cartoons. I really hope this helps with his ear infections, speech and eating (or lack thereof). Fingers crossed!

Dentist 2.0

We are back from vacation (posts to follow once I upload my pictures) and we are running into a very busy week this week. First we started off with William's new pediatric dentist. We didn't have the best visit at his last visit and he did not want to go today. Today's experience...AWESOME!. We walked in and saw the big board, next to the movie Cars playing, that read, " Welcome aboard New Space travelers....11:00 William." Then we saw William's name run across the board! This is very exciting for a 4 year old.

We took new xrays (no vomiting this time), then watched a cool cartoon about taking care of our teeth and then we were able to board the spaceship. We went to play video games!

And then watched a movie while he got his check-up. He didn't want to get out of the seat! Above him is the tv screen and he was wearing ear phones.

His check up was good. Well good is probably not the word I am looking for. Of-course, he has that second tooth he needs filled. And because the last dentist didn't get a good picture of his molars, he has another cavity back there. And to top it off, the filling he did have done (nightmare experience at the last dentist), they didn't do it right. There is still decay underneath the filling so they have to redo that one! I should have just went to the pediatric dentist in the first place.

Here William is with his new Dentist, Dr. Raza.

And all his cool new toys (a space ship, a race car and stickers). And Harry even got a toy phone for being a good little brother.

Afterwards we went to lunch with the staff! Yeah probably unexpected but it turns out the boys teacher from Community Bible Study works there and invited us to go out to lunch with everyone. Since the boys did NOT want to leave the dentist office today, they were very excited to go to lunch. And William about cried when lunch was over. Who wouldn't love that kind of treatment?! Talk about a great dentist visit!

So moving on with our busy week, tomorrow is the boys' first day of preschool. After school, Harrison has his audiology appointment followed by his pre-op appointment. Wednesday is his surgery. I don't think I posted on this? Anyway, he is getting tubes again back in his ears and I am very relieved to be taking this step! And then Thursday William will be sedating for all of his dental work. All of this while trying to do the normal week stuff and catching up on church work! Pray for us this week as it is going to be crazy busy!

Hearts of Gold

Wow! We go to the park almost every night to let the boys play and Miss Belle run with her best friend, Hemi. When we got there tonight we saw this... Not a big deal to the average person but we saw the same thing last year. If you look at the top of the picture, there is a water main break at the top of the playground. What happens is that it floods the mulch and it becomes quick sand. Harry fell in last year up to his neck (he was a lot smaller then) but one could easily drown on the playground as it had been running for hours. It is very deceiving. Well of-course Belle didn't listen and ran into it and well almost completely under. She was swimming.

We called the parks and rec to report it and waited for the park ranger to come. The boys were so anxiety ridden that we had to wait until they got there and I had to call them back to see how long it would take! If Miss Belle was within 10 feet of the playground, there were tears and screams for her life. I chuckle a little writing this because I wish someone else could see how concerned they were. After a few minutes of her being off her leash running around with Hemi, the boys could not handle it. They did not want her to leave their sides and she had to have the leash on with both of them holding it for dear life. I cannot get over how frightened they were for her. And they wanted to wait for the Park Ranger so that they knew no other dogs or children went near the playground. There was another dog that showed up and Harry was crying to the owner to not let the dog off the leash because" he could drown and die."

I know the boys love Belle with all their hearts but tonight was a horrible example of what to expect if something were to happen to her. I have never seen them in so much fear for her. Not their own concern but for the love of Belle. I love their little hearts of gold!


Update: tonight when William was giving Belle and hug and kiss good-night he said, "Good-night Belle, I love you. I was really worried about you today."

Weekend update with the Archers

Friday morning William got his first filling. Again, do not like the dentist. The Nitrous Oxide did not change William's mood not even 1%. I don't think they even had it on. And they argued with William when he told them they were hurting him. And of-course they couldn't do both fillings in the same day. This way they can get another $272 out of me next time as well. I am seriously thinking of calling a pediatric dentist to see how much it would cost because I can't imagine without insurance it would cost much more.
William was a little trooper and I am very proud of him. Friday night we went to the Katy Perry concert. We had planned this for about 6 months. Of-course we got tickets in the Farmer's Luxury Suite at Nokia Theatre. Thursday I had the absolute worst migraine I have had in years. So by time Friday came around, my migraine was mostly gone but I felt so extremely sluggish from all the medication and my blood pressure was super low. So the thought of a concert wasn't very appealing. But I'm glad I stuck it out because it had to be the best concert I have ever been too. Katy Perry is super funny and a great entertainer. The show had a theme and the props were amazing. She is a huge risk taker and her back up dancers were awesome. If you know me well, you know I love back up dancers :) I'm very impressed by them. Sorry the picture is so dark!

Saturday was Miss Belle's 7th birthday. I cannot believe my furry baby is already 7 years old. She still acts 2. She is so full of energy. I took her on a long walk. Her is her first treat. The boys fells asleep early so we didn't get to have her party until Sunday.

Sunday we went to church and then when we came home, we took Belle on her favorite hike. She was in doggy heaven.

And the boys had so much fun too! Because we passed them...

And this little guy...

And she was so worn out afterwards.

The boys were so excited to give Belle her presents. They told me later on in the night that was their favorite part of the day. Harrison and William bought Belle the same exact present. I tried to talk them into different presents but they were both set on rubber chickens with swim trunks on.

And that is the weekend update. Happy Birthday my Miss Belle!

1st Day of Summer School

William loves school now but if you remember, he had a hard time adjusting. In fact, it took over 4 months of preschool before he stopped crying bloody murder when I dropped him off. So I didn't want to keep him out of school for the entire summer. They are learning about the North and South Pole over the Summer. I didn't think Harry would be a big problem but to avoid the adjustment period like last year I thought it would be good to enroll Harry for the summer session as well. This is pretty funny. I obviously had my kids very close together in age. 12 months and 10 days apart. Well because of their age, they are in the same class for the summer session! Here is William showing Harrison around the room. Last Tuesday was the first day. Harrison was not very happy. He was crying when I left. The teachers told me when I picked them up that the boys were so cute. William's eyes welled up with tears when I left but then he saw Harrison was crying. He took a deep breathe (as to know to be strong for his little brother) and he turned to Harry and said, "it's okay, mommy always comes back." And William made sure to include Harry the entire morning in everything he was doing. Since then it is so cute when I drop them off. As soon as I say good-bye, Harrison grabs William's hand.

Palm Desert x's 2

We had a lot of fun in Palm Desert a couple months ago. When Scott's parents came in town over 4th of July weekend, Scott and I got away for an overnight date so we decided to go back to the JW Marriott in Palm Desert. Well we weren't thinking because obviously the Desert is much hotter than the valley. In fact, it was 117 degrees! We didn't leave the pool!!! And neither did anybody else. That night we went out to eat and then to the club in the resort. On our way back, we stopped for brunch at another resort. It was soooo good.

It was a nice little getaway. Thanks Mom and Dad A for letting us get away!

Play Dates

We are really starting to enjoy Summer. Things are slowing down and we are having more free time. We have had a few play dates. We went to swim at a friends house. Notice, they aren't in the pool but playing next to the pool ha. Harry boating.

A video of Will jumping in the pool. His temperament with swimming has changed so much now that he is comfortable with his swimming abilities.

Weekend update with the Archers

We had a fun filled weekend. Friday night was our typical Friday night at Los Toros. They love us there. Besides the staff knowing us and our order, the valets don't even give us a ticket anymore. What was even funnier Friday night was when we were leaving, we started walking up to the Valet station and there was a long line of people waiting and we hadn't even made it to the stand yet. And we see our truck coming around the corner! We love that place! Saturday we went to the beach for some family fun time and a picnic. Even Miss Belle enjoys the ocean. The boys making sand castles.

The boys making sand angels.

Posing for the camera.

Saturday night, after the boys went to bed, Scott and I watched a movie. Sunday was church followed by Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. I didn't take any pictures but I did find this one on my phone that Scott snapped. How many kids do you know can get their heads stuck in the ropes?

It was a very fun weekend and lots of quality time together. It feels like summer!