California Trip 2010

I think this is the first year that we actually left Utah for spring break. Disneyland and the beach is something I've been wanting to do for a few years now. Disneyland was a first for my kids and neither Carl or I had been in over 20 years.

We got the 3-day park hopper pass for Disneyland and California Adventure, spent one day at the beach and surprised the boys with Angels tickets on the last day.

While planning this trip we went back and forth many times trying to decide... do we take Crew with us or leave him with family. We weighed all the pro's and con's and really tried to think what Crew would want. Leaving him behind is tough because the family isn't complete and we miss him terribly but the truth is that he wouldn't have enjoyed the majority of this trip.

Our respite plan is set up so we can get just that, "respite". We decided that not only did we need the little vacation but the older boys could really use some one-on-one with us.

Our day at Huntington beach was beautiful! It was warm with kind of a crazy breeze. We walked out on the pier, collected seashells, went swimming and simply just laid around.

I don't know what it would be like to take really little children to Disneyland but I was appreciating the fact that my kids were bigger. They really had a good time. Our feet got so tired walking around all day, I can't imagine dragging a young one along.

Now that we have been and know what to expect we are planning how to take Crew along and have it be a good experience for him. I think we will wait a couple more years. It sure would be nice to fly next time and stay in one of the hotels right next to the park.

Can't wait to do it again!

Extended

The truth of the matter is... I really enjoy spending time with our extended families. Unfortunately for me, it seems we spend less and less time with them as the kids get older. Without getting into the details of "why not", I do want to document the time spent with both Carl's family and mine. The day after Christmas we traveled down south to spend time with Carl's family where we celebrated Christmas and his parents 50th wedding Anniversary. On the 29th, we traveled north to celebrate with my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Both parties were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed being together.

Here is a random mixture of family pics from both parties:

Labor Day Weekend

It's been two years since we've been to Powell. We've been looking forward to it all summer. I thought it odd that we waited all summer to go and then 3 days after school started I pulled my kids out for a vacation. Well, that is the week we had for our houseboat so there you go!

This year we didn't take a powerboat. Instead we had 3 wave runners. This was great for taking the kids out on short rides. Taking the wave runners out in the main channel during the day was crazy. It was so choppy, therefore a really rough ride. Carl and Crew went out for a long explore and Crew fell asleep. He loved every minute of those rides but it sure did wear him out.

Lake Powell is great for just taking it easy. The weather was perfect... not too hot or cold.

One of our favorite things to do is sleep out under the stars on the top of the houseboat. One night we had a few raindrops but other than that it was perfect.




The boys loved fishing this year. There's nothing like sitting on the back deck hour after hour... at least that's what they say:)

Keeping Crew entertained was quite the physical undertaking. He either wanted to be riding the wave runner, swimming, hiking or eating junk food. By the time we came home I was ready for another chiropractor treatment. This is due partly to the lack of running, packing Crew, and sleeping on a crappy foam mattress. I cringe even typing the word "mattress" because it really doesn't qualify as that. Sheesh, I must really be getting old.

Great water temps. I crammed in my long run (17 miles) the night before we left. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to run there so my jogging belt became my friend once again. I got in the water a couple different times and ran and ran until I was extremely bored. You really don't go very fast or far when deep water running.

Crew seemed to be a little more comfortable in the water with his dad. Daddy's boy!

Hunter knee boarding in the main channel. Crazy kid!

Oops... don't forget to go home with a picture of myself! This is the only one;)

MY THREE

I can't believe here we are starting another school year. Its kind of sad that they are growing up so fast and then again.... I'm just loving this time with them. Stockton is a 7th grader, Hunter in 5th, and Crew, my preschooler. Three boys, three different schools, two different school districts. Crew is bussed to another school district where they can better accommodate his needs. All three are gone by 7:30 in the morning and then I'm off to work my 4 hour shift.

Yesterday I met with Crew's teacher. She is new this year and it is her first year teaching but I'm so excited to have her. Crew has been happy so far. He is imitating many signs during class and at home. The kids in his class are interacting well with him... helping push his walker (not necessarily a good thing though;), bringing him toys, etc. Two years of preschool already but I really feel like this year is OUR YEAR! Please don't quote me on that:)

Stockton seems to be much happier this year at his school. He comes home with a heavy backpack everyday... daily math and science homework but he does the work efficiently and then he is off to play. We are looking for a new piano teacher for him this year.

Hunter and school don't necessarily get along. We are working on getting him on a better schedule. He just wants to sleep in... never did that in the summer though. They've been brushing up on their cursive writing this year and I have to say I'm impressed. His writing looks really nice.

The days are definitely getting shorter which is sad to see... but then again it does help that its dark when bedtime rolls around. I have my scheduled 20 miler for Saturday morning and a RS Lesson to prepare. I should probably get some shut eye.

Newton Dam

My brother was in from Texas for his MIL's funeral. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with him due to the circumstances but we did have a few hours at the reservoir.

My cute Texan nephew, Jack. Isn't he adorable!


Another cute nephew! Aren't 3 year olds fun???



Grandma with my littlest niece.




Niece, Celie, also from TX. She is just a couple months younger than Crew.

Crew, blowing kisses! He loved the wave runners. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Grandpa, just a week after knee surgery. Crazy guy!

Beautiful, youngest sister Dar!

H, looking so grown up! He sure knows how to have fun and loves playing with all those cousins. We missed S this week as he was away at scout camp for 6 days!!! He had a good time and earned 5 merit badges.

Summer is going by way to fast!

AIR SHOW

I'm a little slow getting this post up... We were lucky enough to enjoy the HAFB Air Show the day before it was available to the public. Crew's school was invited for disability day. We met at the local high school where we were to board the buses and ride onto base. However, because of his wheelchair they let us drive onto the base and right up to the flight line (we were accompanied by a very nice military guy). What a blessing it was to have our vehicle with us! Crew was TERRIFIED right from the start. Even with the ear plugs, hands over his ears and a blanket over his head he was still quite hysterical for at least an hour. We were able to sit in the van and calm him down. It rained off and on and so once again having our van with us was a huge benefit.
The rest of us thoroughly enjoyed the show. We haven't taken S since he was ONE which means H has never been to an air show before.

Funny thing is we had a miscommunication about the starting time. We arrived 4 hours early. Doh. We used Carl's base pass to kill time at the batting cages and some racquetball too. Oh man, was a I sore afterward!

This Makes Me SMILE

Before the race...

"Running 4 The Kids" again. 100% of race proceeds go to Primary Children's Hospital. We decided to include the whole family this year.

S got another 5K personal record (23:54). I'm not sure I can keep up with that anymore!

H also did really well but he was having some abdominal pain quite likely due to the late night birthday party the previous night. We stuck together... rain and all!

My first time racing with the jogger. I'll tell ya, it was tough. The stroller naturally veers to the right and my knee was quite tender from Friday's long run.

The rain didn't start until we were into the run so there was no turning back. Not that I would've...

Nearly everyone that passed us commented they wished to trade places with Crew. He was lucky enough to be somewhat shielded from the rain but when we crossed the finish I realized his jeans were soaked. A spectator was kind enough to take these pictures and while they aren't the clearest, if you look close you will see Crew's GRIN. He is loving this!

Pictures aren't in order... Carl crossed the finish while it was just starting to drizzle. I believe he got a PR also but I'm not quoting any times here;)
After the race... huddling together hoping for a prize!

SLC 5K and Half Marathon

THE 5K:
H didn't decide until the night before to run the 5K. Carl had already prepared mentally to run hard so we thought it wouldn't hurt to ask Grandma to run with H. If you know my mom it isn't a surprise to hear that she agreed to do this.

Since I was running the 1/2, I wasn't able to watch them run but Carl finished in time to snap a couple photos. Grandma said H ran the whole way. H's response, "Grandma walks as fast as I run". Nothing like honesty:)

We are so proud of H and Grandma. This is H's 2nd 5K and Grandma's 1st. We promised H he could walk if he wanted to but apparently his adrenalin kicked in. Maybe the cheering spectators got the best of him, I don't know but we are PROUD! I love it that he is a runner now!

Grandma claims her only training consisted of a recliner and a remote but truly she is a natural athlete.

THE HALF MARATHON:
This was a 2nd for me and a 1st for S. We stayed in the Marriott and got up early to catch the shuttle. We left the hotel at about 5AM and visited with some of the other runners as we were waiting for the shuttle. We met several really cool people. The bus dropped us off across from Primary Children's Hospital (been there a few times) and we walked down to the start line. We had a lot of time to kill. We ate our PB and honey sandwiches and banana. We watched the Bike Tour start and then the Early start Marathoners. Finally, it was our turn and the gun went off exactly at 7. There were thousands of runners and it took us 3 minutes before we even crossed the start line. The first few miles were very conjested and it likely slowed us down some. S and I had a really great time pretty much the whole way. We loved the bands, random choirs, and the cheering spectators! It was a dream come true to be doing something I love with my son. He didn't grumble once. I can't tell you how amazing I think that is!

By the time we got down to Liberty Park we were really starting to feel it. I re-fueled with Gu and S ate some Sports Jelly Beans and a bite of his Cliff bar. That seemed to help and the next couple miles were a blur. When we hit the hill on State street I was tired. I told S we were going to call dad at mile 12 and walk for just a few seconds but he said, "NO MOM". Uggh! The hill was tough and just before I crested the hill I dialed Carl's cell. It was all I could do to mutter, "Mile 12" and hang up. Hitting the top of the hill was a great feeling. We turned and we could see the Gateway. We didn't know where we were going once we got to the Gateway and were a little surprised to find out we had to wrap around the block one more time. The plan was to run through the Finish together but S had a little more umpff left in him than I did and he crossed 2 seconds in front of me.

Final time: 1:56:01 and 1:56:03. Five seconds shy of a PR but that's okay. S placed 1st in his age division! Now that's something that doesn't happen everyday. 1st PLACE! We are so happy and proud and believe-it-or-not S wants to run another one:) Yeah!

I'm sporting 3 large blisters and many sore muscles. S didn't get a blister or anything. Lucky guy!

Cousins

Originally I started this blog in hopes that my husbands side of the family would get more involved with my 3 boys. Not really to "get more involved" as much as just being more informed. They don't know Crew very well as we really don't get together with them often. I was going through some turmoil when I started this blog three years ago dealing with all of the diagnosis and medical issues. Every time my MIL called she would ask if he was talking yet or walking yet. Then she always said, "Aunt Doris is really worried that he won't talk". Well duh, so were we! The thing is... Aunt D isn't a part of our lives at all. Why in the world does she care anyway.

Well you guessed it... the in-laws haven't spent any time on this blog or I wouldn't be talking about them. Its not because I haven't mentioned it or sent the blog link to their email multiple times. They simply just don't care!

Last sunday, we decided to drive down south and join them for a birthday party. We were all sitting around eating and Crew was slumped on the couch. My MIL was looking for a place to sit and someone pointed to a spot on the couch next to Crew and said, "Mom, why don't you have a seat". She said, "I don't want to sit on the BABY", to which I snapped, "He isn't a baby, he's 5 years old!!!"

Some people will just never get it.

On the other hand, I'm grateful for those who do go out of their way for a hug or a hello. Little M always has a hug for Crew. Love is a universal language and you don't need to have verbal skills to show it. Thanks M!

grateful #8

S was 18 months old when I found out we would be having another baby. Carl and I were excited because more than anything I wanted S to have a sibling. I pictured the two quickly becoming close friends. S was a very obedient, mild tempered and happy little boy... I had no reason to expect anything other than total and complete bliss!

My pregnancy with H was fairly uneventful compared to the other two. Other than a whole lot of morning sickness which is suppose to be healthy anyway. The labor and delivery were a dream. Within seconds of H's birth the nurse exclaimed, "He has a dimple". H was also blessed with a full head of hair. I was so excited to take this baby home and share him with his equally adorable big brother.




















The next few months are a blur but I do remember that all was NOT bliss as I had expected. Sibling rivalry was rampant in the Gizmo household. Too bad I didn't have all the experience and wisdom that I have now. LOL. I'm sure it was my reaction to S's reaction that started us on a path of sibling rivalry and contention. I remember one sad day when my very articulate three year old told me he wished he never had a brother. Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

The boys are about as opposite as two people can be. It has been an interesting journey and we are all learning a little as we go along. S and H remind me of my two younger brothers who would wrestle and pounce on each other much to my amusement as well as the rest of our family. I've often marveled that my brothers have grown into fine adults and have become good friends. I suppose the two of them were probably friends all along... I just didn't see it.

Today, I'm blessed with these 3 wonderful boys. We have our ups and downs. I'm guilty of focusing on the negative but truth be told, I think these two really are good friends. Sunday is a family day here and because we don't have the distractions of neighbor friends, I find that these two good looking boys do in fact like each other. I'm so grateful that they are friends!