2011 Rewind Part 2 (June)

Aunt Carrie and sweet baby P came for Grandmama's funeral.  Zachary held P ( he doesn't normally hold babies)  He loved it.  Savannah loved it too.  She was excited that P liked her.

We took the kids to NYC for the first time.

We Went to Gray's Papaya for the best hot dog ever.

Riding the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty

Top of The Rock

Finally one with everyone looking

(the sun wasn't that bright)

We took in a Yankees Game

The park  at the end of the movie You've Got Mail

Hannah at the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park

Bethesda Fountain in Central Park

Zachary loved the cannons outside of Grant's Tomb

Savannah taking pictures of the squirrels.  She thought they were "so cute"(said with a baby talk voice)

Waiting for the subway

The kids loved riding on the subway

Hannah in subway jail.  She could never figure that gate out.  She kept getting stuck.

we took the kids to Trinity Church where National Treasure was filmed

Wall Street

Cafe Lalo from You've Got Mail

We also took the kids to FAO Schwarz (for Zachary) and Tiffany's and Sephora (for the girls)

I still have more to post for June, but that covers our trip to NYC.

2011 Rewind Part 1 (May) - Better Late Than Never

In May Zachary turned 12.  He got to skip school that day.  He got a bike and spent the day riding his bike.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  He had a blast.

Zachary liked the cheesecake from Hannah's birthday and decided that was what he wanted as well.  We had family over who shared in the cheesecake eating.  Zachary got money and nerf guns.

Zachary also received the Aaronic Priesthood ordained as a Deacon on May 22.   He was ready to pass the sacrament.( talked about being able to do that months before) We didn't get pictures.  Zachary was so excited to become a deacon. He didn't want to miss his first class in the Deacons quorum to take pictures and everyone had to get to their wards. Grandpa, Grandaddy, Uncle John, Uncle Christopher, Bishop Lifferth, brother Drake and brother Lambert stood in with his dad to ordain him.  I was there as well as Gran, Aunt Keaven, Taylor, Maddie, Isaac, and Cole.

May 28- Savannah had her dance recital at TPAC.  She danced three dances- Lyrical, Jazz, and Hip Hop.  She got to get ready for each dance where the TPAC performers and Dancers get ready.  It was really cool.  They ran the show on audio so we could follow along in the dressing room and have the girls upstairs on stage at the right time.

Getting ready for her first dance and texting her friends from church.

Savannah in her costume for her first dance- Lyrical

Savannah ready for her second dance- Jazz

Savannah in her hip hop costume

More behind the scenes 

texting

Savannah ready for the final dance- Unmask the Night.  Making her Uncle John face.

Hit By A Deer

On Saturday night, Kyle and I were out shopping.  On the way home we got hit by a deer. Yep, that's right, we didn't hit a deer, the deer hit us.  We are okay, but the truck isn't.  Kyle refers to the deer as Bambi's daddy on steroids.  I think he is right.  That deer was huge.

Here is the truck:

We thought we would have to call to have him picked up out of the road.  Kyle looked for him, but there were some woods close by that he ran into.  He was so big, maybe all he got was a bloody nose.  I am just glad we were in the truck.  It would have totaled my car.  I am also glad Kyle was driving, because I would have slammed my brakes.  Kyle sped up which was good,  otherwise the deer would have gone through the window.  Kyle's truck (which the kids call his baby) is now off to be repaired.

My Love of Online Shopping

I love online shopping.  No crowds and I can shop in my pj's. Seeing the story on the news of the crazy lady that pepper sprayed people in line at Walmart so she could get the XBox she had been waiting in line for, further made me appreciate online shopping. People are crazy out there!  I just don't have the patience for it.  It totally ruins the loving peacefully feeling that comes with Christmas.

 One of my favorites is Amazon.  The customer service is great, they have great prices, a huge selection, and I usually don't have to pay shipping thanks to super saver shipping.

Everybody else can have all the Black Friday they want.  I want no part of it.  All though I have to say I am not really a fan of Cyber Monday either.  The sites crash.  I like to shop in that little window of time (after all the crazy) when online retailers (Amazon) offer better deals and free shipping.

Just my thoughts as this is my life right now. (Christmas shopping in December)  One day I will be done with shopping before Thanksgiving.  Until then, I am thankful I can shop online.

License To Drive

Savannah got her drivers license today.  She didn't miss anything on her driving test, and she got to drive home from school this afternoon all alone in her  slug bug.  She loved it!  I am loving it too.  No more driving to seminary and it saves me 45 minutes in the afternoon, because she will drive herself home.  All I have to do is get Zachary to school and back now.  


It was supposed to be raining today, but the clouds parted and the sun peaked out a bit ( just in time for her driving test).  She had an old lady administering her driving test and Savannah said they talked the whole time she was driving.  They talked about their families and gardening and Savannah told her about grandpa's tomatoes.  She loved it. Thank you nice lady!

It's Been A While

Things have been a little crazy around here the past few months and I have been horrible about posting.  I will have to play catch up in several posts.

Starting with April...

I have graves disease.  I have had this for a long while.  I have worked with the doctor for the past 5 years to get my thyroid under control.  I have had half my thyroid removed.  Didn't fix anything.  Taking medication has been a mess.  I found that I can't tolerate the most commonly prescribed and better for you medication.  I have lived in the - your thyroid is fast- take medication- normal, but I felt like it was slow- go back to doc- your thyroid really is slow- take a break from meds - thyroid is fast take meds - it slowed down too much- stop meds - to it is normal and had a year off - to back a really fast again.  Needless to say I think all this slowing and speeding up has messed a lot with my metabolism and it is just freaking out right now.  In April after I got the news it was fast again, we decided to take radio active iodine to kill off my thyroid and just control my thyroid by medication only.  I went and had my thyroid radiated on April 15.  That was fun!!!    I had no contact at all with anyone.  Kyle had to move out of our room and I couldn't be around anyone for 3 days and then limited contact for 5 days.  I was told I could feel nauseated during this process.  My throat felt like I had a golf ball stuck in it and my throat was dry.  The day I could be around my family, was the day the nausea started of course.(That lasted about a week)  I was hoping for a super power, but of course, nothing.  I thought that would be a perk to the radio active iodine.  A girl can dream, right?   I went on Wednesday (June 1) and had blood drawn.  Still waiting for the the results and hoping it took.  I definitely don't want to do that again.  I feel really tired and my appetite has changed and I of course have gained weight(boohoo) so, I am hoping for the best.  

Hannah got to come home on April 22.  She finished her 2nd year in school and did well.  Woohoo!  Go Hannah!  Her birthday was right before she was supposed to come home, so we celebrated when she got here.

She is the big 20!  I can't believe it.  Since she is living in an apartment away most of the year, she is building her movie collection.  We got her a blu-ray player and all the Harry Potter movies.  She has also bought movies with her birthday money.  That will be a work in progress, but she is loving it.

She wanted strawberries and cheesecake factory cheesecake.  Yum!!!

Easter came and went and I have no pictures to show for it.  I didn't buy Easter clothes. ( for reason above).  I didn't feel well, that darn nausea, but I am glad to have all of the kids at home.

Welcome To The Family Tomater

Savannah got a car on April 11.  We have been looking for one for a while trying to find a good deal and to get a car so that Savannah would be comfortable driving it for her test this fall.  We also wanted Hannah to have something to drive this summer while she is home.

Since the VW Beetle was redesigned (back when Savannah was little)  She has talked of wanting a slug bug.  The thought that people would be slugging each other while she drove around makes her laugh.

She has named her car Tomater.  Her favorite character in the Cars movie was Mater and she said that she would name her car after him.  We laughed a few weeks ago having this conversation, that if she got a slug bug, it would be round like a tomato and the name Tomater would be fitting.  Her dad and grandpa went to pick up the car while she was a school and that evening when they got home, she was surprised to receive her Tomater.

This picture is the only one I have.  We had bad weather that day with storms and tornado warnings.  It was still raining, but I had to get a picture of this momentous occasion.