The Accident

Its funny how one day you will say this is going to be a great week and then the next day tragedy strikes.  Thats what happened to us and the tragedy was Kades arm.  Tuesday morning I had my friend Lisa over to do an exercise video. As I was getting the kids situated Kade came dashing into the room, tripped and fell. He then proceeded to start flaying about and screaming.  I didnt see exactly what had happed but I figured he had hit his funny bone.  So I layed him in bed, got him some ice for his arm, and went back to finish my workout.  When I came back to check on him his arm was swollen, and he was still in a lot of pain and didnt want me to touch him.  Thats when I knew he needed to go into the E.R.  Turns out Kade had a supracondyular fracture just above his elbow.  The first diagnosis was that he would have to have surgery and get pins in his bone to hold it in place.  But after a second round of painful x-rays they decided to put the bone back in place and put a cast on it.  They gave Kade some sort of morphine like drug and  at this point I decided I didnt want to hear the screams of my child in pain so I went down the hall while they set the bone.  I guess I didnt go far enough because I heard Kade screaming anyway and it was gut wrenching.  So after 8 hours in various Drs. offices Kade now has a plaster cast up to his shoulder and will definetly not be enjoying Thanksgiving.  I will get to go back in a week where Kade will hopefully receive a good checkup and get to pick out a his favorite color of  fiberglass cast.  I ask that friends and family hold him in their prayers that his arm heals well.  (Pictures of the hospital visit will be coming soon)

Veterans Day 5K and Airshow

This year Seth and I finally ran together in the USAA 5K. Previous to this year I had sprained an ankle during the race (stay away from the yellow road markers!) and another year Seth pushed the stroller. So this year it was great to run together. We had an amazing run with almost 7000 participants and groups from the Navy, Airforce, Army, and Coast Guard. And to top off all that good exercise I won a bike from the raffle! What are the odds? After running we went to lunch at Chris Madrids where I clogged my arteries with one of there yummy hamburgers. But then we headed to the Randolph Air force base for the airshow where Im hoping I walked off some of those calories. The Airshow was the best I have ever been to and the kids loved getting in the planes cockpits and watching the stunt pilots. What a long but enjoyable day. (Pictures to come)

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween this year. We started the week out with our friends the Moores Carving pumpkins and making pumpkin seeds for Family night. Wednesday night before Halloween we had the ward trunk or treat. The kids enjoyed seeing all there friends in costumes and we enjoyed dressing up together as a family. This year the theme was Snow White. Obviously Mckenzie was Snow White, while Kade was Dopey Dwarf, I was the wicked Queen, and Seth was the Huntsman. If you haven't noticed I like doing the theme thing. We made the costumes and while they took a lot of work I think they were worth it in the end. Seth even sewed his entire Woodsman costume! (Boy I have a talented Husband!) Halloween night we made our way to our friends the Jensens where they had a rockin Halloween Party. We trick or treated our way done there street, had some great food and fun games and ended the night with a mentalist/magician! It was a ton of fun and kind of creepy. :) Overall a very exciting and fun halloween this year.

Rich comes to Stay

Currently we have a short term live in guest named Richard. He is Seth's brother from Utah. Hes just taking some time away from home and between semesters to have some fun, and find a job down here in San Antonio. So far it has been a lot of running around getting applications and trying to find a job. We were able to take him to our favorite Mexican restaurant Chuys and also down to the Alamo and River walk. This weekend we are planning on doing some camping and Kayaking. Baring it doesn't rain, it should be fun!

Say no to Kissing

Kenzi has been having boys kiss her so Seth told her if a boy kissed her to slap them. Well low and behold one of our friends boys kissed her. Can you guess what happened? Yes Kenzi took her Fathers advice and hit him. Ok Seth not such good advice. Of course kids are curious and if they see their parents kissing eachother they figure its all right to kiss the opposite sex right? Anyways its been awhile since I blogged the biggest reason being we were all sick for over a week. We think it might have been the swine flu since its been pretty rampant down here, but Im not going to say for definite. So pretty much all Ive been doing is a bunch of lying around. Some other news is that we might be having a guest for a couple months. Seths brother Richard is thinking about coming down and working/playing in San Antonio. If so we look forward to it!

Idaho Trip

We had a blast in Idaho. Our first stop was a swanky cabin in McCall. In McCall we played games, Jet skied, explored an Old Mining town called Burgdorff, played on the zip line at Uncle Brians cabin, visited Tamarack, swam in Payette Lake, and went to Gold Fork Hot Springs. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed ourselves.

Johnson Family Reunion

We had a blast seeing all Seths Family. We enjoyed volleyball, swimming, paintball, games, and goodtimes in Brians Head Utah. We miss our family and the mountains so much!

Grand Canyon National Park

So while the views were amazing I have this little phobia of heights. I was kind of spazing out the whole time especially when got kids started leaning of the edge of the railings!

White Sands National Monument

After Carlsbad we made our way to White Sands National Monument. The sand there is gypsum very white and even on the hottest days it doesnt burn your feet. The kids loved it and we brought a good amount of sand back with us. After White Sands I was not about to sleep in the car with sand in certain crevices so we rented a motel for the night. It was nice and I got some much needed rest.

Our first Stop Carlsbad Caverns!

As you pass through the Chihuahuan Desert and Guadalupe Mountains of southeastern New Mexico and west Texas—filled with prickly pear, chollas, sotols and agaves—you might never guess there are more than 300 known caves beneath the surface. The park contains 116 of these caves, formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone, creating some of the largest caves in North America. If you ever get that chance I would highly recommend taking a trip to Carlsbad caverns. Plan on spending at least 3-4 hours there especially if you have young kids like us. The caves our huge and awe inspiring.

To Utah we go

We were very optimistic leaving San Antonio. We had a cooler full of goodies, a dvd player and a v-smile set up for the kids not to mention a couple of books on tape for the adults. We packed up the car and turned the key to start the engine and found our battery was dead. (Thanks kids for leaving the lights on all day and night) Thank goodness we have a friend in the community and he quickly put our dead battery to rights. After that set back we were on our way to gas up and get something to eat. But this simple little task did not go as easily as planned. Kade had eaten a whole bag of carrots earlier that day and his poor little face and ears swelled up not to mention the eczema. So we poured a little benadryl into his system. In addition to that because of all the raw foliage Kade ate he had not a little but a big accident. Yes, we got to enjoy cleaning that up at the gas station. Our next calamity happened when Seth decided we could make it to the next town to fill up for gas, when low and behold there wasn't a gas station in sight. So yes we ran out of gas at 2 in the morning. Luckily we had somehow made it to a Christian Camp on the river and in the morning they put enough gas into our tank to get us to our Destination of Carlsbad Caverns. The trip got a little better after that although we did experience flash flooding in the New Mexico mountains and we almost hit 2 big buck in Utah.

Pioneer Day fun

Saturday I got up early to run the Pioneer 5k. I was able to run with some friends so that made it much more enjoyable. I finished with a time 0f 38 minutes which isnt great but it is better than my last 5K. After that I came home and we headed out for the Stake Party. Now Ive been complaining for awhile that our Stake doesnt do anything fun, so boy was I surprised when I got there. They had carnival rides, pony rides, tons of game and tons of food including a kettle corn booth, cotton candy booth and snow cone booth. My kids enjoyed at least a couple months worth of sugar intake in one day. We really enjoyed ourselves and we may have to sneak back for the 24th celebration once we move out of the Stake. After the 24th celebration Seth and I met up with his Aunt Claudia and his cousin Ryan and went out for Mexican food at Chuys. After Chuys we enjoyed some time at the Pool and then at 5 we had a potluck and games with our friends the Moores. It was a very long but enjoyable day.

6 years old

My little girl turned 6 Tuesday July 21st. I cant believe how fast the time goes. In the morning we had a pool party with some of her friends and then from there we moved inside for ice cream cake and presents. Seth and I bought Kenzi the x-box legos batman game, old maid, and also a box of legos. Mckenzie is kind of a contradiction she likes to play sports and she enjoys playing with boys toys. On the otherhand she does like to dress girly and get her toenails painted so I really cant call her a tom boy.
I guess 6 was also her magic number because currently she has her first loose tooth and is really excited about the tooth fairy coming to visit her. Sometimes I wish I could slow down time, it just seems to be going by so fast especially since Kenzis mommy will be 30 in 2 years. Yikes! Anyways Happy Birthday to my #1 girl!

The Circus

Last weekend Seth surprised us with tickets to the Barnum and Bailey Ringling Brothers Circus. I think he bought them for himself as much as for the kids. The Circus was a lot of funny and there were a lot of talented performers. I think our crowd was kind of lame because no one was really clapping, I felt bad for the performers because Im sure they put a lot of hard work into there performances. I think the kids enjoyed the elephants the most. Overall it was a fun outing!

Dont come to Texas for the 4th

I hate to say it but our 4th of July turned out to be kind of a bummer. We started out by not going to our wards breakfast and flag raising but thats quite all right because apparently there was an altercation with much drama and the police were called. I guess I will just leave it at the that. To say the least I cannot wait to move out of our ward!!!! Anyways we ended up sleeping in till about 9:30 and then we headed to a community pool party at 11. The pool party itself was fun and we enjoyed hotdogs and a live DJ, we even won 50 dollars off our rent so we actually made money by going to a party. After that we relaxed at home for the rest of the day and completed another denim quilt. Nightime did not bring any fireworks are festivities as there is a burn ban currently effective here. I guess the only good thing about that is I didnt waste a bunch of money buying fireworks. Suffice it to say our 4th really wasnt that bad but next year we definetly will be in Idaho for the 4th!

Lazy Days or Busy Days of Summer?

We are enjoying the lazy days of summer or should I say busy days. We have been doing many fun activities every week including bowling, movies, swimming, and tennis. Its nice not to have to get Kenzi up at 6:00 in the morning to get ready for school. Lately we have been getting up around 8 and heading to the gym where I do a class and the kids play in the kiddie area. Its nice having those 2 hours to myself and I enjoy how good I feel after I exercise. After that we generally run some errands and head to Barnes and Noble where Kenzi and I read books and Kade plays with the Thomas the Train table. Its a good way to keep cool and keep the kids occuppied. Then its home for snacks and swimming. Ive also been playing tennis twice a week which has been really enjoyable. Cant say Im as good as I was in highschool buts its still fun to work on my game! The kids and I have also been enjoying free bowling and free movies this summer and sometimes even Seth joins us. Overall I would have to say its been a very satisfying summer and we have much more fun to look forward to with our trip up to Idaho and Utah coming up in August.

Alumni Fun

Friday, my friend Laura and I planned a Fiesta party for about 30 BYU-Idaho alumni and their families. The evening started out with tamales and other various dishes and ended with get to know you games. We had an enjoyable night and look forward to many more similar gatherings.

Task completed

Seth and I have been married seven years and just today he completed a task I have been asking him 6 years to do. You may think it was a hard task, but no it was simply closing a credit card account that we never used and didnt even have a card for. I would have done it, but of course it was under his name so I couldnt. Ahh well. Just one of the joys of being married to Seth I guess. At least he got it done........six years later.

7 years

Tomorrow it will have been seven years together. Seth and I have come along way since we were first married. Theres been the good and bad but through it all Seth has been a constant husband and father. I appreciate the hard work he does at his job to provide for us and also for the help he gives me in the home. Friday night the Chases (whom we will be forever grateful to) watched our children and we took off to celebrate our Anniversary at the Majestic Theatre were we enjoyed the musical Wicked. The actors were truly talented and Seth and both really enjoyed it.

House Hunt

We have started the slow process of looking for a home. I hope we find the right one before next year. We are pretty specific on our requirements. The include location, West Stake, schools, and size so hopefully we will be able to find one sooner rather than later. Wish us luck.

Camping at Inks Lake

After almost 2 years of living in Texas last weekend we finally went on our first camping trip. We went with 2 other couples the Smiths and the Becks. Friday night we arrived pretty late set up Camp and the had some very good chicken kabobs that Laura made. After that our family was to tired to play games so we just went to sleep...or did we. About 2 am we were woken up multiple times by a bug that got caught under the ten and kept trying to get out. Talk about annoying.

Saturday Seth and I were in charge of breakfast so we kept it simple with muffins, eggs, and orange juice. We then packed up most of our camp site and then headed down to the lake where we rented 2 canoes for 4 hours and bought some bait for fishing. We went over to what was called the bowl, a nice smooth perfect rock formation perfect for swimming in. There was also cliffs perfect for cliff diving. The water was nice and Kenzi got in for a little while but go right out when she heard there was a snake in the water. The swimming area was a little to popular so we decided to go find a more secluded spot and do some fishing. We paddled out and found a nice smooth rock not to far from shore, grounded our boat and proceeded to do some fishing.

We had lots of luck and I say within about an 1 1/2 we had caught and released at least 10 fish. Poor Seth however spent a lot of time helping the kids with their bait and taking the caught fish off the hooks. He only caught one fish and it wasn't any bigger than his finger. It was actually kind of funny. After the Lake we came back to Camp had some great hamburgers, packed up, and then headed to Long Horn Caverns.

The caves themselves were the perfect hike for the day since they are always cool and it was in the 90s outside. Plus it was only about a mile hike and the kids loved it. There were some neat formations, including a ghost. Even though our tourguide was a big grump we still enjoyed the cave. I think he hated kids. Kade was always asking him questions and I know he was getting annoyed.

The Beach

Your trip to San Antonio isnt complete with out a trip down to Corpus Christi and the beach. We ended up making our way to Padre Island where we enjoyed the warm water. The kids loved going out in the waves and of course the ocean always has some sort of breeze so we flew kites too. After the beach we made our way to Snoopys for fish and chips. Kade had icecream there and this is the result. He also put his cone on someone elses car and smeared it. Needless to say I was embarrassed and had Seth clean it up with a wet wipe. Overall the beach was a lot of fun and we wished we could have stayed longer.