My "GUITAR HEROES"

Our Zackary is too funny! When he is concentrating on a song this is what he looks like....

Steve was able to catch a picture of him in full concentration....it was cracking us up , but he seems to hold his breath when the song gets to be hard!
He is getting quite good though, he went from 200 points a song to anywhere from 5,ooo-7,000 points per song! His favorite song to practice is "Slow Ride". Now we just have to teach him to "take it easy" while he rocks it out!!

Of course, Libby plays a much more relaxed version lounging on the couch!

My New Merry Maid

He vacuums......


He does laundry.....


He sweeps floors....

AND

all with a smile on his face!!

So, today was clean the house day and every time I turned around I had a little helper it was too funny! I had to get my camera.

I pulled the vacuum out of the closet and started on something else and there was Tyler using it as a walker. He went from the hallway all the way to the kitchen! Then I couldn't see where he went & he was emptying the dryer for me. So I started to put the laundry away & he had the broom and was busy cleaning the floor. I love his help.....it only took about a half an hour longer than it usually does!

It's never too soon to teach your kids how to clean up after themselves!

Steve is HOME

Steve was finally able to come home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. The surgery went well, but now the poor guy just has to heal all over again. He is quite weak, but luckily not in too much pain. So for his sake we hope his recovery is quick. I'm just grateful he is able to sleep & get some rest. I know he isn't feeling well when he wasn't up for a "Guitar Hero" challenge! We are so grateful for all of our family & friends who are so good to us!! Thank you for all your help, thoughts, prayers & phone calls!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

My day started off great thanks to my sweet Libby.

She told me last night ( quite a few times) that I had to wake her up a little early & then I could go back to bed. So I woke her up & got back in bed. Then she came very quietly into my room thinking I was asleep & left this cute valentine on my nightstand. Thank you Libby! I love it!

It says... Dear Mom & Dad, I love you so much!! thanks for all you do For me Have a Grat Valintines Day.

This was a card Libby left on the counter as a surprise a few weeks ago. It had money that she & Zack had saved to give us.
It said, Happy Vaitine Day... to MoM & dad
We want you to have a happy valintine
roses are red vilets Are blue we made this Powem Just For You.
What cute kids we have!!

Then we went down for breakfast & I left the kids' Valentine gifts on the kitchen table....they were very cute walking down the stairs...so excited, it reminded me of Christmas!

Here are our cuties holding hands with their new Valentine bears.

Next, we took Libby to school only to find out that school didn't start until 10:25 today because of the snow. She & Zack were thrilled to be able to play together a little longer.

After we dropped her off to school Zack and I shoveled our driveway and he made a big heart in the snow & said he made it for me for Valentines day! Then our neighbor Travis delivered flowers for me from Steve (since he is still in the hospital).

Thank you Steve!

Then we took Steve a Valentine from the kids & visited with him for a while since he didn't get to come home today....hopefully he'll be feeling better tomorrow!!
I wish I had brought my camera because when we left Steve wanted a hug from Tyler & he never lies still (he is a BUSY boy), but he just cuddled on his dad's chest for a few minutes! It was so sweet to think our little guy new just what his dad needed right now!

Next, my parents took us to dinner for free margarita night!! It was really nice. We always get flan for dessert to share, which Libby loves! So, trying to be positive about her dad being stuck at the hospital she said, "Well I guess without dad here tonight I'll get to eat more flan." She is such a sweet & funny girl!!

Zack, Tyler & Libby in their Valentine shirts from Grandma & Pa-Pa Steen.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Surgery for Steve

Steve did end up having surgery on Monday afternoon. It went well. The doctor said he had a lot of loose scar tissue & a hernia. So hopefully Steve is all fixed up and this shouldn't happen again. He was doing pretty well today when I went up to see him. He looked a little pale & doses off, but at least he is able to rest without too much pain. Hopefully things will keep going well and he should be home in a few days.

Happy Moments

So, this week has been another stressful one. I decided February is not my favorite month. It always seems to be the month when trials come for us....Steve got called up to Iraq in 2003, he had surgery in January of last year & stayed into the month of February & now here we are with Steve not doing so well again. Maybe it's a bad month for Steve, thus it causes me stress.

Well, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, tired & frustrated, but then through struggles always comes some moments of joy or laughter. Yesterday was filled with a few.....

• My parents stopped by with lunch & my dad stayed & watched the kids for me while I got a few errands done with my mom.
• I loved watching my kids teach grandma & Pa-pa how to bowl on the Wii!
  
• When we came home from shopping Shelly had stopped by with a Lemon Cream pie for me. ( I had been craving one since I saw it on the Marie Callendar's commercial)
  
• Zack said quite a few things that made me smile or laugh.....When Libby woke up & her dad had gone back to the hospital she asked if he could die and Zack replied, "Dad isn't old enough to die!" Then Libby said, "Well, he is sick." So Zack says in his very loud voice, "Dad isn't sick, he just has a pain." I love his way of thinking. He can crack me up with his matter of fact explanations, thus my dad has called him the "little professor" since he was tiny.
• Then as Zack played bowling on the Wii with Shelly & my dad he won and he yelled, "I can't believe I just beat a 40 year old by 42 points!!
• It was also good to visit Steve & see he was not having any pain. We just have to be Patient, which is very hard for both of us!
• Mostly, I am so grateful for a family I love & adore!!
  

Update on Steve

"Patience is a Virtue." Unfortunately, Steve & I both have to work on this quality. He came home Friday afternoon only to return to the hospital yesterday. He will probably have to have surgery because solid foods weren't digesting correctly. We still don't know for sure though. They decided to have him stay at the hospital, so that if they do surgery he will be hydrated.

He isn't in pain, so he says he feels like he just sentenced himself to prison (Alta View Hospital) for the weekend. He actually felt good enough to stay home, but I guess it's better to be safe.

So we will keep you posted on the fun adventures of Steve's colon or lack of I should say.

Emergency Room Fun

Yesterday may of been the last day of Sushi eating for Steve. He ate it for lunch & by 4:30pm he was in the emergency room. Thank you to Kevin for dropping him off for me!! We thought it was food poisoning, but after about 5 hours of waiting in the emergency room they decided it was a hernia in his abdominal wall.

He is still in the hospital & the doctor just told us he doesn't need surgery today. They are going to treat him with antibiotics and keep an eye on him to see if that will clear up the problem. It might be gastroenteritis. We were relieved because earlier this morning they thought it was because his bowel was entwined with the hernia.

If the antibiotics don't work they'll do another CT scan & talk about surgery, but the doctor said his stomach is not the kind he operates on (it doesn't feel tight). So that is good news! He is laying in his bed emailing on his phone & I am blogging on his laptop to pass the time. We are just grateful for his painkiller... it is helping the pain in his stomach & he can finally relax a bit.

Thank you Shelly & Grandma for taking care of the kiddies!! We LOVE YOU!!

Our Little "STUD MUFFIN"

Tyler our funny little STUD muffin!

Today our cute little Tyler is 10 months old. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He is getting to be so funny! He is already starting to talk! He says, "ma-ma", "uh-oh" & "boo". I love it, he'll cover his face with his blanket & pull it down and say, "boo" really soft. It is so sweet.

I found the cutest shirt that says STUD & then it has a picture of a muffin. See below of our little stud! Steve was just sad the shirt didn't come in his size (ha-ha)!

He does have a temper too! He wanted my camera.

Here are my STUD MUFFINS posing together with their nice "faux" hawks!

When Steve came out of the bathroom with this cool new hair style, I just burst out laughing!
Aren't they cute?

I've been tagged!

I'VE BEEN TAGGED!! I guess I'm "It"!
Rules for Playing Tag.

Here are the rules if you have been tagged.

1. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names.

1o years ago:

I was a young and fresh 21 years of age. I was attending the University of Utah & was finishing up my last year of classes before my Student Teaching. I had been dating Steve for about 2 months. I had my goals set and I was determined to accomplish them. My time line was to finish school, work for a few years & then get married. I kept telling Steve that, but he claims he suckered me into marrying him . When he asked me in April of 1998, How could I say no! It was a FUN time in my life! Back then I didn't realize how free I really was!

5 Things on my to do list today:

1. Go to Church (it just got canceled because of the snow!)
2. Bake a dessert for the Super Bowl Party
3. Pray Tyler will take a nap today.
4. Go to my Parent's House for Sunday dinner.
5. Enjoy the evening with my family!!

Snacks I enjoy:

Swedish fish, Red Vines, Strawberry-banana Shake from Carl's Jr., chocolate pudding cup with whip cream & apples with caramel dip.

What would I do if I were a billionaire?

Have a lot of fun! I'd start by paying off our house & car, Pay off my parents & Steve's parents house. I'd also throw in a nice check for each of them so they could also have some fun! I'd surprise Steve with a new boat & a new sporty car. Libby was just talking about how if she won a million dollars she would give some to the poor & buy an American Girl doll. So I would grant her wish & give to the poor & different charities we would want to help. Then I'd take Libby to Chicago to the American Girl Store where you can buy the doll, go to a fancy tea party lunch and to the beauty parlor with your doll! Of course, I'd to ask Zack & Tyler what they would like to do too! I'm sure we would also take a few wonderful vacations & I'm almost positive we would buy a cabin by a lake! After all of that, I'd probably better get a financial adviser to help me save & invest the rest for my children's futures.

3 Bad habits I have: Let me think, do I have any?

1. If I have a zit, I always have to pop it (even though they say you shouldn't)
2. biting my lip
3. When in fear, I always seem to yell out "Oh ----!" Not such a nice word! Steve says if I die in an accident or from fear those will probably be my last words...let's hope not!

5 places I've lived:

I've always lived in Utah!

1. Holladay, Utah
2. Green River, Utah
3. Vernal, Utah
4. Sandy, Utah
5. Draper, Utah
   

5 jobs I've had:

1. File Clerk for Cellular One.
2. Medical Assistant for Willow Creek Pediatrics. (Then I decided to be a school teacher instead of a nurse.)
3. I worked at Challenger as a lunch- aide & summer school teacher.
4. Substitute Teacher for Jordan School District.
5. 6th Grade Teacher for Granite & Murray School District.
   

Things people don't know about me:

This is a hard question.....Well, since it's the Super Bowl and football (or at least the party) is on my mind, I don't think most people know that I once danced at a Pro-Football game half time. It was in California and the L.A. Raiders were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was a lot of fun!

I choose to tag:

• Staci Medina
• Tenille Williams
• Jen Peterson