The boys have one more meet and the wrestling will be over. I'm so glad!! I hated them doing it. But it was cheap and the boys wanted to try it. The last practice the boys went to a kids punched the boys in the stomach well wrestling. I had a feeling that was going to happen. Jake was the one that really wanted them to trying it. I wanted something more like karate that would teach them discipline, so they can learn at an early age to be driven.

We have had a lot of drama with mice in our house. Trying to figure out the best way to take care of them. The kids didn't want to kill them, so I thought we would see if that was possible. So the first day we just caught and released them. I didn't want the kids to see us kill something.

The day I found out we had mice was so funny now looking back. I was in the half bath and saw the stupid mouse run out from the corner where it was stealing Allie's food. I called Jake crying, which he thought was really funny. Later on he would figure out how unfunny it really was.

Jake woke-up to do his morning P90X and opened the pantry and saw something drop. He started pulling stuff out. And finally found the mouse. But it ran under the refrigerator. Jake pulled it out but was never able to find it. He also saw another one in our mud room. He woke-up Courtney because he knew I would be no help in him catching it. Courtney and Jake were trying to catch it, Jake said it was like playing hockey. He said it was really sick and scary to have this thing run at you. I told him he shouldn't have laughed when I called him crying about the mouse in the bathroom. :)


But after several days of doing this I decided it wasn't going to be possible. Mainly because of one incident.; I was doing Kendra's hair on the floor in the bathroom. Jake was taking care of some of the traps before he left for work. He was filling the nasty traps with food. All of the sudden he yelled mouse. And out of the corner of my eye I see this mouse run by my leg, it was so close. I FREAKED OUT!! I jumped on the toilet screaming and Kendra was grabbing the counter top screaming and trying to get up on it. I felt terrible leaving Kendra on the floor. I jump down grabbed her and held her on top of the toilet with me. I was very mad at Jake for letting the mouse out, of course he had no idea it was in there so I couldn't stay mad at him long. My dad came over when Jake was at work to help me setup the real traps, I had also gotten DCon, which is poison. I couldn't handle being scared and grossed out in my own home. So within 2 days we caught and killed all of them. The kids were so mad, they cried. Justin yelled at Jake for killing them. He said that "they help us live." I have no idea where he got that idea. So after they saw the first one dead, we decided it was better if we were really quiet about when we caught another one. We got a totally of 6 mice, 3 we let go and 3 that were killed. Glad that is over.

Kendra and Maliyah's physical therapist is incredible. This last Wednesday she talked about taking the girls to the swimming pool to better learn to use there legs. They are able to walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes without anything to hold on to. They are able to walk with their crutches on the floor with there "leg"as well. But the goal really is for them to walk unaided. They get closer everyday. Miss Jess at school is working really hard with them on walking and physical therapy. She is so good with them and they can't stop talking about her. She makes their day so much better. They had great teachers and instructors too. This year has been great so far.

Courtney dance and school is going very well. But the boy stuff is funny to listen to. The boys notice her more then I would like. She has a "friend" that has a crush on all the boys that either like her or she likes them. It makes me mad because this "friend" isn't a real friend. Hope Courtney will take my advice and stop talking to this "friend". I'm worried that when she starts middle school next year, this girl is going to be a nightmare. Girls are just weird!!

Jake has roped me into doing P90X with him. It's really not as hard as he and others have made it out to be. It's a great workout, but some of the classes I take at the gym are a lot harder then P90X. I love working out. Jake is liking it too. I weigh less than in high school and feel so good.

We are doing really well and everyone for the most part is healthy. Couldn't ask for anything better then that. We are also not sure if we are still going on the family cruise we had planned. We are still trying to figure that out. We have until January to figure that out.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to add I disinfected everything in the house. Also threw away a lot of stuff just in case the mice were in, by or touched it. Just SICK!!

I had taken the kids to Carl's Jr for lunch and a play date with my friend Melissa and her kids. I had fed the kids before we went because they are never ending pits. I also got them chicken nuggets and fries with drinks when we got there. Kendra came up to ask me if she could have some more fries. I told her no because she has had enough to eat. Needless to say when I wasn't looking she got into my purse and took my credit card and ordered herself more french fries. I was SHOCKED!!! Not that Kendra would steal my credit card, but that Carl's Jr would accept it from a child. When kids want something they will do whatever they can to do it. I was really stern with Kendra at the time. But when she walked away from her timeout Melissa and I couldn't help but laugh. It was very funny!! Good thing it was only a couple of dollars. I think she learned her lesson.

Courtney had her MASSIVE birthday party. She was really worried about not inviting someone and hurting their feelings. So the list grew to around 32 kids. There was only one kiddo that didn't come. I was surprised that everyone came. I was counting on about half the kids not showing up. We normally do pizza, but Courtney hates pizza and our family was really into soup. So I suggested that we make homemade soup and tomato soup. Then we added more to that. The once small planned party slowly turned into a LARGE event. We couldn't just have soup for the soup we needed to have bread bowls. Then Courtney's favorite things I've been making a lot of is banana bread and pumpkin chocolate cookies. So we took two days of baking to make her favorites. She was in heaven baking with me. The kids were so excited for Courtney's birthday, they talked about it for weeks before it happened. It turned out so good for everyone and Courtney had a great time. Jake and I were exhausted. He was such a big help through the whole party. It was a group effort. I think he knew how much I needed his help and didn't even need to ask, he just jumped right in. He was even great about getting all Courtney's favorite music on an Ipod for dancing. After the party was over I asked Courtney if she had a good time and if she ate a lot of food. She said that she had a great time, but never ate anything. I was a bit mad about that, but knew she was busy with all of her friends.

The girls are slowly getting over their surgeries and getting stronger everyday. Their physical therapist is planning on taking the girls swimming in about 3 weeks. That will be when the girls incision can be submerged. The prosthetics can be submerged and that is the reason they are going to start with the swimming.

Justin and Austin just finished soccer, we were proud of how hard they tried, but they really weren't that into it. So we got a flier about a wrestling class they could take, so we thought why not have them do something they do everyday anyway, over and over and over and over. So they started wrestling this week. I don't think they knew how hard they were going to work. The coach had them do 100 pushups during practice, and showed them actual wrestling moves. They really liked it. Jake helped coach their little group. One of the kids in their group started hitting another one while they were wrestling, so Jake had to make sure he knew that was not allowed. We will try it for a month and see how well they like it.

Jake and I were also going to the BYU vs Wyoming football game the day after the party. It was freezing and there are two things I hate, being cold and football. So as you can understand I wasn't excited for this date. We dressed warm and headed off for the hour drive to Lavell Edwards Stadium. Jake has to get there an hour and a half before the game starts so that we don't hit traffic. I started getting sick in the car, I hadn't eaten and was so exhausted from the day before, things just weren't going my way. We finally get to Orem and I'm very sick. We stop to get some food because I'm sure that's why I wasn't feeling well. We got parked and ate in the car. The rain and wind was really heavy, but my stomach was feeling much better. We bundled up and started walking toward the stadium. Before every game there is an alumnus that will come and talk for the pre-game. It's just happened to be in a really warm room with nice bathrooms. We warmed-up and waited for the game to start. We had blankets that turned into ponchos, but really have never used them before. But this day we had to use them. Jake was so sweet!! We were sitting in the pre-game room and he wrapped me up with these blankets and making sure I was warm. He even told me how glad he was that I come with him to these games, and how he knows that I hate football. It was incredible to have such a great man making me feel like I'm his world. It was a great day to freeze. We had a great time.

We have also tried to have cheaper ways to have our date nights. We have a place called Hopekids that is a life saver for our family, but there was recently a event for the parents to go learn how to ballroom dance. Jake doesn't really enjoy dancing, but he knows how much I love it. So he RSVPed for this event. It was such a fun night with other adults that have children that are sick or dying. It was really fun to meet these neat parents. The parents of Ellie were there, and we learned about their challenges. They told us that there little girl was diagnosed with cancer when she was 2 months old and when she was 6 months old they found out that she has a bad heart and needs a transplant. Ellie is 2 years old now and they have been through so much with her. Many times almost loosing her. What an amazing couple that have stuck together through thick and thin. Ellie is unable to have chemotherapy or radiation because of her heart, so I'm not sure how they are going to help her. But the paren'ts faith will help them and their family through. It was neat to share our story with them and to hear theirs as well. Life is so short and hard at times, but if you have a strong enough support you can make it through anything. Thanks to Hopekids for making life easier and finding support through other parents.

Tis' the season for everything to break! Everything seems to be going up in smoke. Jake's car really needs to be fixed. His car is 14 years old and we really want to have his car another 14 years. I HATE car payments!! My car needs new tires before the snow comes or I will never be able to make it up the hill. And of course the cars need to be registered. But there is always an upside to things. Hope that comes soon.

Kendra and Maliyah just had surgery on the 14Th of October. Maliyah seemed to just pop back to normal until we took her home from the hospital and she was doing too much playing. Kendra had some bleeding issues that seem to be getting worse with each back surgery she has. She was in a lot more pain than Maliyah was. Maliyah returned to school today and Kendra stayed home in bed. Both the girls are able to wear their 'legs' all day. They both are using their crutches more.

Justin and Austin are really needing to get their aggression out, so I'm putting them in karate or something that will work for them. Boys have such a hard time with their feelings, they can just hold everything in for so long. That can't be healthy.

Courtney is getting ready to celebrate her 11Th Birthday with a BIG party. I'm really excited to of planned this whole event for her. Should be really fun! The kids are excited to wear their Halloween costumes. I'm even going to dress-up for her party as a cowgirl. Easy and already have a shirt that will work.

Sorry it's been such along time since my last update. No news is always good news. :)

Anyway, Justin is loving school and doing very well. I was worried that he wasn't ready for Kindergarten and he proved me wrong. The teacher has emailed me to say how well Justin is doing at school. Austin on the other hand I thought was more then ready to start, boy was I wrong. He doesn't enjoy school very much and says he only likes to go for recess. Austin cries when he was to do his sounds and handwriting, but he is getting better. I just remind him that if he gets his writing done on Monday he only has to do his sounds. I try and get those done in the car on the ride home from school. Makes it easier for me. But they are both catching on to everything, so I can handle the crying. :)

Kendra is doing so well with her "leg". I'm proud of the progress she is making. She is wearing her "leg" everyday for physical therapy. But started getting a sore on her hip, so we had a back off some until I can take her on Monday to get her leg refitted. That is one of the reasons that starting slow is the best way for using the legs. There can be skin breakdown and it needs to be caught early. Other then that Kendra is doing so well. The rod in her back is staying clean of all infections. At night I am helping her stretch on an exercise ball, that is helping with some back pain she is having. I got the ball for my ab workout and turned out to be great for her too.

Maliyah wore her "leg" for 3 hours yesterday. That was a HUGE thing for her. The girls have a great aide at school that is motivating the girls to do their very best. They get to pick out of a treasure box for working so hard. She has been getting sick with UTIs a lot lately because we were trying to get her off the antibiotics. We also tried again to get her off the feeding tube, that didn't go over very well. She got very weak without her feeds at night. She has finally hit 35 pounds, so now she weigh as much as Kendra.

Both of the girls are working on walking on their "legs" without any assistance. At the PT appointments they are doing something called "flying". They put a vest on the girls and they practice walking on the treadmill with a pulley that holds a lot of their weight. They were both very scared at first, but both LOVE flying now. They are getting so close to trying it without any vest. I never thought they would be making so much progress. It's helped a lot that they are healthy and have energy enough to work hard in PT.

Courtney just started back at dance. She changed dance studios so that she could take dance with her cousins. She loves it!! Her 11th Birthday is coming up and she is very excited. She wants a new bike. For her party this year I want to take her and some friends to a haunted house. Courtney is too scared for a haunted house yet.

I am doing very well at school and finally figured out the degree that I want to persue. I am looking to change schools to better match my degree. I volunteer at the kids school several days a week and am always busy. I lost weight over the summer and so on one of our dates we went shopping for new clothes. I went down 4 pant sizes!

Jake started doing the P90X workouts. He is getting up every morning at 4:30. He is enjoying it. He's traveling more with work.

We are getting ready for our Disney Cruise, which the kids are excited for. We were asked to go on a show in Greece, so we might taking the family there. It would be a lot of work, It would be a once in a life time opportunity.

Kendra and Maliyah's next surgery is scheduled for October 14Th. I just hope there is no complications so they can recover in time for Halloween. I will be updating more pictures today, so check those out. VERY CUTE!! Have a great day. :)

How can the summer already be over? It went by to fast. All the kids are in school, Justin and Austin are in kindergarten, Kendra and Maliyah are in 3rd grade, and Courtney is in 5Th grade. They come home each day from school and tell me all about their day. I thought it would be lonely and boring being home alone, I am neither. It's a lot to still take care of her and school will be starting again for me tomorrow. I was going to take more then full time school, but realized that would be to much.

When Jake and I dropped Justin and Austin off on their first day of kindergarten, I thought there would be some tears. We were really glad that wasn't the case. They have a great teacher Mrs. Huber, so I know they will be in good hands. When Austin found his seat he was setting next to another boy. He is so outgoing and started talking to him. We were still in the back of the classroom when he ran over and said that he had a new friend. Austin had a huge smile on his face. Justin on the other hand was setting next to a girl. He is really quiet and shy, it takes him awhile to warm up. So he didn't talk to anyone. They even have some recesses with Kendra and Maliyah. So that makes it even more fun. I am glad my kids are so close in age.

This is going to be a great year for everyone!!

We went to Uncle Jim's cabin over this last weekend. It was a great break from life, even though it was just overnight. I finished my summer semester and will get about 2 weeks off before starting again in the fall.

Now onto probably,the best night of our summer. Several months ago we were invited back for a reunion for Thursday Night Hero at BYU University. In 2007 our family was invited to BYU to meet the players and them to honor Kendra and Maliyah. It was a dream for Jake because BYU is his favorite team. And Kendra is a huge fan. So tonight we went back to not only meet the other Thursday Night Hero's but to meet the new team for 2010 season. It was so much better than expected. The players and coaches were amazing with the kids.

Austin was in charge of getting all the players and coaches to sign a BYU football. Jake has a BYU room in the basement. So when Austin would walk up to a player he would tell them, and that his mom isn't a fan but she cheers. He even got some of the players to race him around the field. After some of the players signed the ball they came up with an idea to have Justin and Austin tackle one of the lineman. So J & A run full speed into this huge man, knocking him down and his cellphone went flying out of his hand. I am sure he was just playing along with the boys. I don't think he knew how rough they can be. It was really cute!!

One of the other Thursday Night Hero moms Linda was talking to Kendra about school. Linda asked Kendra when school started. Kendra answered in a excited voice, one week and one day. The summer just flew by!

I put up a lot of new pictures as well.

On one of the pictures you see the boys on the backs of some of the players and Courtney in between them. I was joking with Courtney before I took that picture that she needs to marry a boy like them. She was really embarressed, I didn't say it loud enough for anyone else to hear.

For most of the night Maliyah played on the jumping toys, she had no interest in doing anything else.

All the way home the kids were so excited! Laughing and talking about the night they had. We just want to thank the BYU althetic department for putting this amazing program together.

We just got back from a weekend of fun. We left on Friday and drove 8 hours to Sparks, Nevada. About half way there I realized that we forgot our camera. So the same night we arrived, Jake went to get us a new camera and save the day. :) I never leave home without one.
I was really sick of school and putting everything into it. So I talked Jake into getting some work done in Reno, Nevada since is company has branches there.

Jake went to work Friday. The kids and I headed to my cousin Kirsten's house to visit her family. It was neat to finally meet her family, Justice 2 and Kelsey 5 months. And then that night we went swimming. The Hotel Nugget has a outstanding pool. There is a huge hot tub several cold smaller pools and a swimming pool with a waterfall. We have stayed there before when Courtney, Kendra and Maliyah were small, but this time it was a lot more fun for everyone.

I am originally from Reno, so it was so much fun to show the kids where I used to live. My old childhood home, the parks I use to play at, and the old western town Virginia City where my Grandpa Warren has built and restored homes since the 1950s. Some of the pictures show the incredible craftsmanship of Grandpa Warren, the kids great grandfather. He loves to find old artifacts. Virgina City is the prefect place for him to live. Justin has a fascination with trains, so we took the kids on the train to the gold mines, about a 30 minute ride. And then spent the rest of the day playing with cousins. That night we got together with my uncle Greg and met his new wife Kay. The kids had a great time.

We just arrived home and the kids were excited to play outside with their friends. It was a lot of fun.

Jake realized that he is going to have to travel more. But we hope he can schedule some of his trips so we can all go. After going to Reno to visit family I realized that we need to go and visit Grandpa Warren more often. He is getting older and he has a lot to teach my children. It would be great to have him take my kids on treasure hunts like we did when I was young. I tried to get ahold of the kids great grandma, but couldn't. She is having a lot of health problems, so it would be nice to visit her in the next couple of months. I hope this will be possible. I am so glad my kids have great grandparents that they will remember. They will leave legacies that our family can be proud of.