Anything Sweeter?

Avi has a sweet little friend named Crayton. They play so good together and they are always excited to see each other. One night we were laying in bed and she said, "I love Crayton." She is so sweet. It is a good thing he likes her back. Crayton was here playing for a few hours yesturday. We have two stick horses, a pink/white one and a black/white one. They found them first thing yesturday and didn't stop playing with them. Avi told me she wanted to watch SPIRIT, so I put in on for them and then sat down to do some work on the computer. I could hear them playing and watching the movie. I realized after a while that it was REALLY quiet. I went to check on them and this is what I found!





It was so cute. I saw them and ran for the camera hoping they didn't move before I got back. It was so sweet.

First Day of School, ALREADY!

I can't believe how quickly summer went by. With all of our weddings, short trips and projects around the house, the summer was over way too fast. I wasn't ready for everyone (including Lee) to go back to school. We have summer with Lee around all the time and then we jump right into football where he is never home. I should be used to it by now, we have been married for 10 football seasons. He has either played or coached all 10 years. I may not have been ready for school to start, but the girls were. Hailey was awake all night long. I went to exercise at 4:45 and I finally told her to go watch some TV since she had already been awake for hours. Hailey and Malerie both had the same teacher this year that they had last year. They both ended up with looping teachers the same year. It makes the first day of school easy when you know the teacher and all the kids in your class. This is the first time I have gotten a picture of Lee with the girls on the first day of school. I have gotten one of the girls but never Lee. Lee and Malerie enjoyed the quick photo shoot this morning. We are off to another year of learning and fun!







Hailey and Mrs. Ashton




Malerie and Mrs.Zagaris

The Story of a Black Walnut Tree

A couple years ago Lee was visiting some friends who live out of town a little ways. On the way home he drove by a house and an older gentleman was cutting down a huge black walnut tree. Lee stopped and asked him what he was going to do with it and he said, "burn it". Lee asked if he would be willing to give it to us. The gentleman asked what Lee wanted it for and he said he wanted to build a table out of it. The gentleman said yes as long as Lee left him a piece to make a mantle out of. Logan Skeen took a tractor and drug the big tree just across the road to the Skeen's property so it could sit and dry. It laid out for about a year. In the fall of 2007 Lee and his friend Greg Jones took a portable mill out to where the tree was and started milling the tree.






The planks of wood sat in our shed for about a year and half with "tons" of wood pellets stacked on top of them so they could dry. We had 4 large 10 foot planks and then 4 large square posts. The wood was extremely heavy. When school got out this past year, Lee said he wanted to build the table this summer. I knew it was going to be a big project. He took all the planks to the schools wood shop so he could use the tools to prepare the wood to build a table. He spent many hours getting the wood just the right size to be able to make the table top. Then he still had to get all the wood ready for the under carriage, the legs and the bench. After the wood was all ready to go, he put the table together and then I was able to start helping with the process. I spent many hours sanding and it was very little time compared to how long Lee spent sanding.



After all the stages of sanding we were finally able to put the table together. Lee knew the type of bolts he wanted to use and we weren't able to find them anywhere. He ended up going to FASTENAL a store in Ontario that was able to order the bolts he wanted. I also went to HOME DEPOT to get corner brackets for the bench legs. We had all the hardware we needed to finish the project. We put the table up in the garage so we could start the finishing process.







Lee wanted to use "Tru Oil". He had finished a gun stock with it a few years ago and liked how it turned out so he wanted to use it on the table as well. You take the oil and rub it on the wood. Then after it has dried, you take a very fine sand paper and sand the entire area. You repeat this process as many times as you would like. I believe our finished table has 6 coats of oil on it.




We were finally able to bring the table in the house yesturday. It is beautiful! Lee did an amazing job. I told him he was going to be in trouble because now I know how well he can do wood work, I am going to keep thinking of projects for him. It is extrememly heavy and very sturdy. Lee says that now we need a new house to go along with our new table. It is so nice it looks a little out of place with our 1965 lenolium flooring. Malerie asked me if the table was a decoration and I said "yes, we are never going to eat on it." I thought it was funny she even asked. Lee came in right after that and she asked him and he said, "no way I made it for us to eat on".







The Wilson's were here helping us with our pump for watering the lawn and ended up staying to have dinner with us. We were able to enjoy our first meal on the table with friends. Every time I walk in the kitchen I can't believe the table is in our house. It is so beautiful. Lee did amazing work. I wish now that I would have taken more pictures of the process, but I thought of it too late.

Henoch Schonlein Purpura???

A few weeks ago Hailey had swollen feet. They were so swollen that it hurt to walk. We had one of those classic parenting experiences.

Hailey: " My feet hurt"

Mom: "Oh, you will be fine, just be tough"

Then the next day I looked at them and felt terrible. They were both swollen pretty badly. They were swollen enough that it looked like she had rolled her ankle. I felt bad about telling her to be tough. They were still swollen when we took her in to get her tonsils out. I asked the nurse about it and she said not to worry since the swelling was going down. Then a few days later I noticed a lot of spots on her legs. Then next day her hands were swollen really badly. We took her to see the doctor on Saturday and he said to take her off the Codeine and start giving her Ibuprofen and Benadryl in case it was an allergic reaction to the medication. Then on Monday we were to take her in for some blood work to see if they could figure out what was going on. We went on Monday to get some testing done and this is what we found out.

She has Henoch Schonlein Purpura. She has a very mild case. She is doing very well. She has an upset stomach and pain in her joints some times. This is probably going to last another 3-5 weeks. I have attached some information so you know what it is all about!

Henoch-Schönlein Purpura

What is Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP)?

Henoch-Schönlein purpura (say "hen-awk shern-line purr-purr-ah") causes the blood vessels in your skin to get inflamed (irritated and swollen). This inflammation is called vasculitis. When the blood vessels in your skin get inflamed, they can bleed, causing a rash that is called purpura. HSP can also affect blood vessels in the bowel and the kidneys. When this happens, the intestines and the kidneys may also bleed.

What causes HSP?

The exact cause of HSP is unknown. Doctors think HSP occurs when a person's immune system doesn't fight an infection like it's supposed to. It might be triggered by bacterial or viral infections, medicines, insect bites, vaccinations or exposure to chemicals or cold weather. You may catch an infection that caused someone's immune system to respond with HSP, but HSP itself isn't contagious. Doctors don't know how to prevent HSP yet.HSP occurs most often in children from 2 to 11 years of age, but it may affect people of any age.

What are the symptoms of HSP?

HSP causes a skin rash that looks like small bruises or small reddish-purple spots on the buttocks, around the elbows and on the legs. HSP can also cause pain in the joints (such as knees and ankles), stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The symptoms usually last for about 4 to 6 weeks. If the blood vessels in the bowel and the kidneys get inflamed, HSP can make you bleed when you have a bowel movement or when you urinate. Serious kidney problems don't happen very often, but they can occur. In rare cases, an abnormal folding of the bowel called intussusception (say "in-tuh-suh-sep-shun") can occur. This makes a blockage in the intestines that may need surgery.

How is HSP treated?

There is no specific treatment for HSP. Medicines can help you feel better and treat an infection that may have triggered HSP. Fortunately, HSP usually gets better without any treatment. Anti-inflammatory medicines, such as ibuprofen (some brand names: Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (brand name: Aleve), can help the pain in your joints. Sometimes medicines like prednisone can help people with severe joint and stomach pain.

What happens to people with HSP?

Usually, HSP gets better on its own and doesn't cause lasting problems. About half of the people who have had HSP once will get it again. A few people will have kidney damage because of HSP. Your doctor may want to check urine samples several times after your HSP goes away to check for kidney problems. Be sure to see your doctor regularly during this time.

Her blood tests are back and her kidneys are healthy, we just have to keep her pain under control and make sure she stays hydrated. She is heading to a birthday party tomorrow so she is doing very well.

Hailey's Summer

Hailey has been biting her lip for quite awhile. I didn't notice it until she was getting older. When I was going through picures I found one of when she was three and she was biting her lip then. I guess it has been going on a lot longer than I realized.




In early spring I noticed she has a terrible overbite. It was just as bad as someone who sucks their thumb. My orthodontist told me to bring her in and he would take a look at her. We went in, and he had really good news. He could put her in a retainer for 9-12months. It would theoretically stop the lip biting habit, push her overbite back and close the gap between her two front teeth and hopefully prevent braces when she is older. It all sounded a little too good to be true but it was worth a try. So, it has not even been two months yet and this is the difference all ready! CRAZY!

This is the best before shot I could find. If you click on it you can see it up closely.



I was having a hard time finding a picture where you could really see her teeth, then I realized that is a good thing. Her overbite has gone back far enough that when she smiles her two front teeth aren't sticking out like they were before. Her gap is almost completely closed and she doesn't bite her lip anymore.



Hailey got her tonsils out last Monday. They gave her some medicine to make her sleepy so they could take her back to surgery and get her IV in. Shortly after she took the medicine she started to slur her speech and she would laugh for no reason. It was pretty funny. Lee asked her to say her ABC's and she totally failed at it. We were laughing so hard. It is a good thing she doesn't remember any of it. When she came out of surgery she was doing very well. I was sitting next to her and she asked me when she would go in for surgery. When I told her she was already done she was really surprised. Thank goodness for good medical professionals and medication to make it such a positive experience for her. While she was still under the influence of the anestethia she said that it was the best day of her life because she got to eat in bed and have a smoothie. I know there have been many better days than that, but I won't complain that is what she was thinking at the time. When the nurse asked if she was ready to leave she said "no". We ended up leaving anyway because Lee and I knew she was ready. She has been recovering very well at home. I am sure she will be ready for school to start next week.


Hailey's friend invited our family over for a BBQ and to play on a water slide. We didn't know until we pulled up what kind of water slide we were going to be sliding on. Lee and I didn't slide and it took Avi almost the entire night to finally get brave enough to go down. The slide was 100 feet long and 10 feet wide. It went down hill and then had a little jump into a small swimming pool. Tamara called it a white trash water slide, but I would say it is definatly better than anything you can buy at the store. The girls had a great time. We visited and ate and the girls ran around. There were alot of other families there as well. It was a nice summer evening.

A visit from Uncle Matt

We have some friends from college who have been married for 6 years and just had their first baby in May. I have talked about Uncle Matt before. He played football with Lee and lived in our basement so he was around all the time. Lee and Matt also have a huge list of hunting and fishing trips. He was given the name Uncle Matt and now we have Aunt Carol as well. They live in North Eastern Oregon and Carols family is in Nampa so we are lucky to have them come and visit on their way to or from Nampa. They came last week and we were able to see baby Isaac for the first time. He is such a cute little guy. They came over on Sunday afternoon and we had dinner, then we just sat and visited. We love having them come over. The girls climb all over Matt and never stop talking. He knows in just a few minuets everything that has happened since we saw them last AND a bunch of other stuff. It was fun visiting and remembering that we knew Matt and Carol when Hailey was born almost 9 years ago. They both came to the hospital when Hailey was born. Matt reminded Hailey that he knew her before she was as big as Isaac is now. Sometimes it feels like life is slow, then I sit and ponder and realize time has gone by so quickly.

Happy Birthday Malerie

Malerie had her birthday on Thursday. We celebrated by spending the day at Roaring Springs. Lee and I would take turns going on slides with the older two or staying with Avi in the kid pool. Malerie actually really liked the kid pool herself. Water slides are always fun. I know the girls are a lot like me, we are scared until we start going down and then we start having fun, then when we are done we can't wait to go again. It was a relaxing day at the park. A few memories from the day:

1- Avi fell asleep in my lap going around the Never Ending River and ended up taking an hour and a half nap.

2- Hailey threw a huge fit at the top of one of the slides because she was too scared to go down and Lee was trying to make her be tough and go anyway. This is very unlike Hailey, so she must have been really scared. She ended up not going down.

3- I lost my swimming bottoms on the end of one of the water slides. Hopefully I had then pulled up before anyone besides Hailey saw anything.

4- I thought Lee had Mal and he said I had her (which I was supposed to) so we started looking and luckily she was going down the slides in the kids area. Thank Goodness. I was scared for a minuet.

4- Suncreen works! We were out all day long in really hot weather and no one got a sunburn!





Happy Birthday Mal! We love you so much. You bring a smile and laughter to our lives every day.




Malerie 4 months old



Getting ready for the 24th of July Parade 2005



Nice Glasses!



Playing dress ups at Aunt Jenny's house. May 2006




Playing Pretty Pretty Princess



Graduating from Joyschool



First Day of School