From me to you...

SNOWDAYSNOWDAYSNOWDAYSNOWDAY!!!

OMG! YAY! IT'S A FREAKING SNOW DAY THURSDAY!!!YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!

I wonder what we'll do with our time.

O.M.G!!!

YAY...they're talking SNOW DAY tomorrow!!!!!

More Snow

Now it's finally sticking! Yay!

SNOW DAY!

Yay, it's snowing, AGAIN! Since Monday it's been snowing all around town, but finally it's crazy snowing at our end of town! It's not sticking like at Jessie and Joelle's houses, but IT'S SNOWING! Yay! Click on the picture and you can see it better. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow, too!

My not-so nightmare before Christmas!

Today my second baby, lover of all things Jack and Sally, turned 14. Not due until January 1st, Olivia Danielle was our 7 lb., 8 oz., early Christmas present! She woke me up with a dam burst at 7:30 a.m., then barely allowed us to get to the hospital. I remember hitting construction about 1/2 mile from St. Rose and literally standing up in the front of the van because the contractions were coming so hard and fast! I got to a room, put on a gown, rolled in to the bed demanding an epidural, then hollering to the nurse that I have to push...all within 6 minutes! GRRRR. She didn't believe me, called the doctor in who casually lifted my gown to see how far I had dialated only to be greated by my daughter's head! I looked at the nurse and said "Now do you believe me?" "I HAVE TO PUSH!" One push later she was out, 8:40 a.m. , one hour and ten minutes after my water broke. This little darling had a ginormous head, so momma wasn't happy about not receiving the drugs! Our little sissy is such a joy. We're so glad you're part of our family! You're full of sass and I wouldn't have you any other way! You're beautiful, talented, creative, smart, funny, and you get your parents.

Happy birthday, Sis! We love you so much!

Meggie Moo!

Most of you know our Meggie was a preemie. I had lots and lots of trouble carrying her and she ended up coming 8 weeks early, which was really 4 weeks later than the doctors thought. They kept telling me to be prepared at 28 weeks, but she stayed in until 32 weeks. She was born 2 bls. 4oz, and 15 inches long. A tiny little baby bird! No problems, just small and spent 7 weeks in the Sunrise Hospital NICU as a feed and grow baby, then finally came home when she reached 4 pounds, 2 days before Thanksgiving.

My special, talented friend and bestest photographer Jessie, who owns SpeckledBirdArt, was inspired to come up with Images of Hope in Las Vegas, a project that she partnered with The March of Dimes to give hope to families with babies in the NICU. It shows children at different ages, healthy and happy after a beginning in the NICU. Huge canvases are on the walls of the 6th and 7th floor at University Medical Center, and all of them show children who have graduated from the NICU! Last week was the unveiling and it was so cool to see a HUGE 24x40 Meggie up on the wall! We also toured the NICU and, even though she wasn't at UMC, it still brought back so many memories...sniff. She was a healthy baby, but it was very difficult to go through most of those 7 weeks she spent there. This display is such a wonderful thing. There's hope that it will become part of the other NICU's in town in the future. Here's Meggie's picture. It was taken a few months ago, just before her 7th birthday...

Thanks Jessie! I heart you!

Yay, Free Stuff!

We voted at 7:05 this morning, JUST so we could get our free cup of coffee from Starbucks with our "I Voted" sticker! Krispy Kreme is giving a free doughnut if you show them your sticker, too. Lots of places around here are doing the same. We can eat free all day! Who knew! So, do the right thing and get that free stuff!

Meggie Moo is SEVEN!

My baby turned seven on Tuesday. She's growing too fast. When each of my kid's birthdays come around I always find myself wishing they were little again. I miss all the cute little things and the constant hugs. It's funny how when they're little, you wish they were bigger and self-sufficient, but when they're bigger, you wish they were little again and you could still do everything for them. Meg kept saying all day "this is the best birthday day ever!". She got a new bigger bike, Disney Princess lap desk, Camp Rock CD, and a Hannah Montana Rock Guitar w/head mic. Sooo cool. It was predicted that she'd have a great day though, cuz look who one of her dinner guests was...Eli Stone! (snicker)

Heir to the throne...

I.CAN'T.BELIEVE.IT!

Our addition, that has taken like 5 years to complete instead of 6 months, is ALMOST finished! We've been working on the bathroom for the past 3 weeks and today finished tiling and grouting the shower, framing in the glass block, installing the shower doors, and painting! Thursday our friend got the fixtures hooked up, so everything works now. All that's left is cosmetic...base boards, crown moulding, cabinets...which will all be done my Monday! YAY!

Thanks Rrrrrick Baldwin. You were our incentive when you grouted our floor tile for us last month! Sure I'll lay more bathroom tile. I LOVE bathroom tile. (whispering) Rrrrick, I don't want to install anymore bathroom tile, Rrrrrrick don't make me do it!) The preceeding is an inside joke for those of you that don't get it.

The Boardman Gallery...

For EVER I have wanted to frame artwork my kids have brought home over the years and create a "gallery". I have a pile of great stuff from pre-school through present for each child...Ian is now 16, which gives you an idea of how long I've been thinking about this...so the pile is pretty big. I decided it was time to act, so over the past month I've been choosing and framing their pieces. My artistic guru, Jessie Baldwin, inspired me when I saw pics she posted of unframed canvas pictures of her kids and a mini gallery of her favorite art that she created in her house. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Boardman, we have 2-year-old pictures on canvas of each kidlet that I thought would be great to surround with their own artwork, so I decided to combine the two inspirations. I laid each piece on the floor of our living room so I could get the exact layout for the wall. Of course it was on the floor for over a month. Thankfully, it was in a room that we rarely walk through. Anyway, last night I decided it was time to actually put them up on the wall. I plan to change the pics periodically with the other ones that are still in "the pile", so it will always be changing.

These pieces bring back so many memories!

Here's the pic of Isaac...

Meet my great-nephew, Isaac. He's so sweet! I can't wait to squeeze him!

My niece Devony, who adopted baby Sydney last October, found out she's pregnant and is due in January, so I'll be even GREATER with a total of 5!

Meet Sanchez...

Here he is...Kaleb, aka Jack Jack, Beuford, Sanchez ... whatever we feel like calling him that day. The last couple of days he's known as Bandit, the little white dog from the Johnny Quest cartoons. 1. because he looks like him and 2. because he listens just as good as Bandit does (if you've ever seen the show, you know what I'm talking about)! Isn't he such a cutie pie with his backpack?!!!

Greater, still!

I'm still greater than all of you!
Great baby #3 came last night at 11:39, so I'm a great aunt 3 times over!
Since I don't have any pics yet of 9+ pound baby Issac, I opted to post this random pic I found when I Googled "great aunt". Greenie looks like a "Millie", so we'll call her that. I think the chick in the yellow is hilarious. She looks like she's saying "Millie, where in the heck did you get that CHILD!" Anyway, I'll post a real pic of the baby when I get one.

Congratulations J.C. and Haylee!

Shrutes make thirsty babies...

Look at my new toy! Isn't she cute? This is Kelsi, but we call her Violet. She's 2 months old, weighs about 10 pounds, and is approximately 21 inches. Her platform is: sleeping and eating, being the center of attention, and she also hopes for world peace. I get to play with her all day, then send her home with her mom. It's the BEST way for ME to have babies these days! We also get to play with her big brother, Kaleb, who is 1 year and we call Jack Jack. He even answers to Jack Jack. Yes, there is an Incredible's theme here. Although, lately we call him King Louie from The Jungle Book, because of the way he walks with his arms in the air, swinging. We also call him Sanchez. That one came from Jon. Not sure why, cuz he looks nothing like a Sanchez, but it stuck. I'll post a pic of him next week and you can decide.

ACK!

This picture is soo how I feel right now!

School starts tomorrow, I'm not ready, the kids aren't on a good schedule, I'm exhausted, laundry isn't done, backpacks aren't ready, lunches haven't been made yet, the house isn't clean, our cars are being weird, and it's too hot! I have chosen to better the situation, though. I am rearranging pictures on my wall and watching TV Land. Is that wrong?

Hey, aint it good to know you've got a friend?

When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, is going right. Close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights.

I love, Love, LOVE my friends! Can you imagine a life without friends?

Just when I am sooo down and needing a friend, one of them pops up online for an uplifting conversation, a couple of them kidnap me for coffee and a surprise pedicure (YAY), another picks up my kids to take them to the museum for a few hours, or a couple get together and send me a GREAT giftbasket (with yummy chocolate) in the mail and I find it waiting for me on my doorstep after a trying day at the hospital.

I am so blessed! Thank you my friends for keeping us in your prayers, sending loving cards and encouraging emails, providing meals when I'm too tired to cook, and helping out in many other different ways over the past several weeks. I LOVE you!

Picture ME in 1959!!! What about you?

You Belong in 1959

You're fun loving, romantic, and more than a little innocent. See you at the drive in!

What Year Do You Belong In?

(snicker) more than a little innocent!

Some good news...

Today Jon saw the infectious disease doctor. She said his blood work shows that the infection is gone and everything is the way it's supposed to be, so she discontinued his IV antibiotics and pulled his PICC line. YAY! The antiobiotic was very strong and was making him sick all the time. She put him on an oral antibiotic for 10 days just to make sure while he's still healing. We go to the doctor who did his surgery tomorrow afternoon to see how things are progressing "down there"!

The rest of our vacation...

Now that things have settled down a little, I'll post the rest of our visit to Idaho. We started a tradition several years ago of spending the 4th of July with my brother and his family in Rigby, Idaho. It's so nice up there and we love to go in to Idaho Falls for the evening 'cuz they have THE BEST fireworks show EVER. This show is rated in the top 5 largest shows west of the Mississippi. Each year it seems to get bigger and better. (to me, the only show that is comparable is the fireworks and snow at Disneyland, but this one is still much bigger. I cry during both shows!) The weather is so cool, and we get to sit and visit while the kids play, waiting for the show to start. The fireworks go off over the Snake River and it's just beautiful. Some times we're close enough to see them reflect in the water. One year we were RIGHT under them, literally, and got "shelled" the entire show. Olivia was a baby then, and her stroller tray had melted marks in it and the coats we were wearing were burned all over the place. Mine even caught on fire! It was pretty cool!

The day usually begins with parades. This year Meghan and I were the early risers, so we got to go Rexburg and see their parade. It was soooo great! A typical smaller American town parade with such cool floats! It brought back lots of memories the Helldorado Parades. My dad was a Jaycee and was always on the committee that organized the parade. When I was a little girl I'd always get to ride with him on the back of his horse while he rode up and down the parade route. Those were GREAT parades back in the 60's and 70's.

After Rexburg, we went to another smaller town parade in Menan. Lots of tractors. This was the first parade we used to hit, because they throw candy and give out chocolate milk. They must have gotten rid of all their brown cows, cuz there was no milk this year and they were WAY cheensy on the candy throwing, so I think we'll give this one a miss next time and stick with Rexburg. They threw LOTS of candy, AND the Army National Guard sprayed everyone with their water cannon. SO WAY COOL!

That evening we spent time with the family, then headed off to our "spot" on the river to watch the fireworks. My brother camped out for a couple hours to make sure we had a great view. Across the street behind us was a flatbed semi with a huge party on it and a MONGO sound system, so we heard the music sync really well this year. It was so pretty!

Ooo, I forgot to mention that Meghan also had lots of Slip 'n Slide fun and learned how to throw a Frisbee!

We had to get home the next day so Max could start the vacation he REALLY wanted to be on. Of course I had to stop at IKEA!

It was a beautiful trip, but nice to get home. Of course, we had NO IDEA what was instore for us just a week later!

He's home!

Jon FINALLY got released this evening. He is so glad to be home! LOTS and LOTS of pain, but at least he's home! He'll be working out of the house for 6 to 8 weeks and receiving nursing care 'til he heals.

The Man is coming home this week!

Jon had his surgery late this afternoon and is painfully recovering. The doctor had to get creative with some reconstruction but was able to do all that he wanted, so Jon is now without the vacuum dressing that would have needed him to go to a care facility, and can come home as soon as he feels well enough. Maybe Tuesday, but definitely Wednesday. He'll be on IV antibiotics for 3 weeks and will have another surgery in 4 to 6 weeks to completely close up the wound. Things are working out for him to telecommute for work 'cuz he'll be home for 6 to 8 weeks. Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming for a speedy and complete recovery!

Yellowstone..

I'm going crazy right now, so I thought another post about our vacation might do ME some good.

Last I told you about Napoleon Dynamite and Preston, Idaho. From there, we made it to my brother Ron's house in Rigby, then we headed up to Yellowstone for some camping. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Yellowstone! I can't get enough of its beauty. It was a little frustrating because I still hadn't recovered from my knee surgery, so we cut our camping short a couple days, but still got to drive through the park and saw SO many cool things...Old Faithful, elk, buffalo, got to play in the river, and even saw snow. Meghan was really excited to see all the waterfalls. She LOVES waterfalls just like her mom. We both even hiked to Tower Falls with my sore knee! Anything for a waterfall. The kids enjoyed playing in the river and we got "stopped" by a herd of buffalo teenagers and calves in the middle of the road. Jon took the pic below when they decided to move on and walked right by his window. This happened to him the last time we were here and the dude turned and looked right at Jon. This time they just ignored us and moved down the road. I enjoyed everything, but was disappointed that we didn't see any bears. I ALWAYS see bears when we're there.

(Top right is a herd of buffalo that blocked the road and walked right by Jon's window...no zoom used. Middle left is Ian and Meg playing in snow. Far right pic is some buffalo poop Ian found by the river.)

We had almost finished the loop when we came upon lots of cars pulled over. There wasn't an area where buffalo would fit, etc., so I told Jon (well I screamed) "PULL OVER...I JUST KNOW IT'S A BEAR...LOOK, THE RANGERS ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD...I JUST KNOW IT'S A BEAR!" How smart am I? Very. 100 feet away was a grizzly grubbing under a log for some snacks. It could care less that everyone was gawking at it, taking pics, pointing, etc., etc. It started wandering close to the road, so the rangers packed up and scooted everyone on. My heart was still so excited to have seen the grizzly when we came upon the bald eagle habitat. I had hoped to get a picture on our way out, but neither the mom or dad were perched up in the tree. (Disappointment - both were there when we entered the park - did I get a picture? NO.) About 2 minutes later, ALMOST to the park exit, we saw a couple cars pull over by the river. I looked up and there was one of the bald eagles perched at the top of a dead tree, all magnificent, looking across the river with a beautiful sunset beginning in the background. There was no place to pull over at that point, so my picture is a little blurred, but the "in person" view was absolutely fantastic. The kids were soooo excited. Meghan still talks about seeing it! This was a good trip, but we were glad to head back to Idaho...well, TRIED to head back to Idaho. We had stopped in West Yellowstone for some dinner and we were so tired when we started back. It was about 10 minutes later I noticed a sign that said "entering Yellowstone National Park". I thought maybe I had missed it the day before on our way up, because everything looked the same. About 10 minutes later Jon noticed the compass on our mirror was reading north and we should have been going west. We also came across a sign for Big Sky, Montana! After a quick scramble in pitch dark, we realized I had him take a wrong turn heading out of town. All was not wasted, though. After we turned around, heading back to West Yellowstone we saw a deer on the side of the road. Really cool! A couple hourse later we were back in Rigby. It was good to be back to my brother's comfy beds!

STILL in the hospital...

The doctor told us today that Jon will stay in the hospital over the weekend. Monday he'll take him back in for surgery to clean up his wound and hopefully partially close him up. The swelling has to go down in order to do that, so we're praying! If the doctor is able to do everything that he wants on Monday, Jon will be able to come home Tuesday. If not, he'll be released to a smaller, wound-care hospital that is closer to our house and will stay there through the end of next week. Please keep the prayers up! He's anxious to get home with his family and also wants to get working again, which he'll be able to do from home for a while.

Man Update...

It's been 3 full days since his surgery. His staph infection was downgraded to a "b", which I'm told is good, but it's still there and will be for a while so he'll be on a really strong IV antibiotic for about 3 weeks. He's in severe pain all the time and any movement sends him through the roof, so they've started giving him Atavan just to keep him calm, and have boosted his pain meds so he's pretty much somewhere else all day long. Example...tonight we were talking about the kids for a minute before I left and in the middle of our very short conversation he asked me if I was close to the mountain and did I get caught in the speed trap by the Knudsen's house. That's just ONE example. I could give several. So our week will be an interesting one.

Poor guy wants to be out of there so bad. It's so hard to see him suffer like this. The kids miss him so much. Max has been out of town so he hasn't seen Jon since July 6th. The other 3 haven't seen him since Friday afternoon and won't be able to until near the end of the week when he's more coherent. Meghan doesn't even get what's going on. Our neighbor asked her why her dad was in the hospital and she told them "because he broke his hip" (snicker).

Please keep up the prayers!

The Man is having some unwanted down time...

Time to take a break in posting about our vacation. I'll try to get more done this next week because we've got some beautiful Yellowstone pics to show you all!

Jon has been in the hospital twice this past week, beginning last Sunday. He has a severe infection that spread to his blood and required emergency surgery Friday after a follow-up visit at the doctor. He'll be in the hospital through next Friday and it's up in the air after that whether he'll come home or go to a managed care facility for a couple of weeks. Please keep us all in your prayers. The kids miss not having dad at home...I miss not having my husband at home...I hurt for him because he's in excrutiating pain and bed-bound for the next several days...the drugs and antibiotics he's receiving are giving him terrible reactions...this is emotionally draining on us all...we're worried about his leave running out at work...I'm exhausted from driving back/forth because he's at a hospital clear at the other end of town (although it's a VERY good hospital and definitely worth the drive)...AND between my knee surgery and this, our medical bills are piling!

Thank you Jessie, Erin, Shontell, and Melly for the visits, constant texting and prayers! I heart my friends! (even the haters...snicker)

Thanks to everyone else that has been praying, too! We totally believe in the power of prayer!

I'll keep you posted on his progress over the next week.