Bear Lake, 2007

Jeff's family has been going up to Bear Lake for years. They started a LONG time ago when Jeff was just little and they try to make it up every year. Jeff and I have been able to go three of the six years we've been married, 2002, 2005 and now this year. The first year, we had no children and the second year, Brax was still not too curious about much, but this year it was SO fun, just because we could see Braxton having so much fun. So, we were up this year from Monday, July 23rd thru Friday, July 27th 2007.

Here is a picture with the cousins:

Braxton, Austin, Cambria, Jakob, Jaden, McKinly and Isabella

(There are two missing, Ashley who hadn't arrived yet and baby Stockton who must have been with Kim at the Condo .... she was sick the first two days!)

We arrived at IDEAL BEACH RESORT on Monday night and so we didn't really get any playing in that day. But Tuesday we headed for the beach and Braxton had so much fun.

He played splashed in the water, tried to bury his feet in the sand, threw the sand (I think that was his favorite part) and just had fun hanging out with his cousins.

It was an overcast day and Jeff and I ended up with some nice sunburns! I didn't think we had stayed outside that long, but I guess we had. So funny that we take the time to make sure Braxton is protected - but for some reason think we won't get burned. I guess we were wrong! (not the first time that has happened)

road trip

On Wednesday, Braxton and I took a little trip to Montpelier, Idaho, to visit my sister, Debbie. It was about 40 minutes away from Bear Lake.

Braxton had so much fun playing with her two kids, Bailie and Durham. They were so incredibly sweet to him and played so nice.

Durham had this batman toy. It was pretty sweet. You'd put batman in the elevator type thing and when he reached to the top floor, you opened the door - it was Bruce Wayne, not batman anymore. Braxton kept saying what I thought way, "blue swing, blue swing." I had no idea what he meant and said, "I don't think they have a blue swing." Finally Durham politely told me, I think he is saying "Bruce Wayne." which is exactly what Brax was trying to say. They also made a fort out of their couch and couch cushions. I can't tell you how fun it is to see him interacting with his cousins. I can't wait to move back and be closer!

Bailie seemed like a sweet little lady. I think she enjoyed keeping an eye on Brax and being a little babysitter for him. It was so fun to see them. The last time they saw Brax was when he was having his two year, early birthday party in August of 2005 - almost 2 years ago. Crazy!

So, then I got the urge to CHOP OFF ALL OF MY HAIR. It has been long and permed - and I can't stand it! I seem to be losing all of my hair for some reason and it is bugging me, BIG TIME. So ... Debbie loves to cut hair, so why not?

First I had to pose with my long, chopped-off locks. For some reason, I chose this way, don't ask me why! :

(I know, so NOT lovely)

THE END RESULTS

That night when we went to bed, Braxton kept asking me, "where is that little boy and girl, Mommy? I want to play with them again." :(

splishin' and a splashin'

We spent Thursday morning at the pool. It was so nice, hardly anyone was there except are family. We were all taking turns doing crazy jumps off of the dive. Jeff did a beautiful toe-touch and then a made a splash with a back-flop. Very nice. I skipped down the diving board holding hands with Bart's girlfriend, Marcie. What a sight to behold, I bet!

Braxton also jumped off the diving board, too. We didn't get a still photo but we did get him on video. He is getting so big!

The night before at the pool, our nephew, Austin, had a bit of a scare. He tried to do a back-flip off of the board and ended where he started, therefore, slamming his body into the board. THANKFULLY, after getting out of the pool, he was alright. That could have been a very scary situation. The next day though, he was pretty excited to show his bruises on his stomache. Yep, looked like the lines from a diving board!

mini-golfing

The evening before we left, we decided to go mini-golfing. Braxton had never been before and he had so much fun! It took two or three holes for him to understand what he needed to do - and after that it was, "no, I do it!" if we tried to help him at all. It was so much fun! He loved to get the ball out of the hole after it went in - he was a bit disappointed with the last hole because he couldn't get the ball out.

On the way back to the condo all we heard was, "I want to go goffing again, Mommy" - "Daddy, let's go goff."

It was a really fun way to end our trip.

(The picture in the middle looks like he was about to throw the ball at the camera -- don't worry, he wasn't. He was just trying to show the ball to the camera :)

Six years and counting!

Jeff and I celebrated our 6th anniversary today! Pretty crazy to think how fast time flies by. I swear, it just goes by faster and faster.

We just went out to eat and went by the downtown Ogden area. SO much has changed since Christmastime. It was fun!

We also had a family reunion to go to. It was family from Jeff's mom's side, the Fowers'. That was also way fun. I don't know about you, but I love getting together with family (even if it is people I don't know) and just having good old fashioned fun. There was a swimming pool and a basketball court and a place to play volleyball. Fun stuff!

Never expected this

So, today was just your normal, average day when Jeff comes into me and says, "um, I just checked your email, and you better come read it" So, I was like, alright.

This is what I read:

Hello everyone - Some scary news - Harvey Miller was bitten by a shark yesterday while he was on vacation in Hawaii. He is in Queens hospital and is stable at this time but he has sustained lacerations to his leg which are pretty severe. He has severed tendons, and quite a bit of muscle missing according to Lisa. He had surgery yesterday and will likely need additional surgery / rehab in the future. (Not sure on the details at this time). They asked that we keep him in our prayers and thoughts. and give thanks that his injuries were not any worse. He did get a blessing from the missionaries and his father in law prior to surgery yesterday. He will probably be in the hospital for about 3-4 more days. They are planning on returning home on the 27th.

Alright, so who is Brother Miller you ask? Well, he is the first counselor in the bishopbric of the Toledo 2nd ward. Jeff and I moved out of that Ward almost a year ago, but, we still see the Miller's all of the time since we are in the Toledo 1st ward. In fact, just the last week before we flew out here, we ran into him as he was headed out of church and we were headed in. His wife was also my 2nd counselor in the YW's. I also got to know their daughter Catie well, too, because she was in YW's also. SUCH A WONDERFUL FAMILY! You just never think anything bad will happen to people you know, let alone, of all things, A SHARK ATTACK! Especially to someone I know so well. I'd see him ALL the time for mutual and things. He also is an attorney, so he and Jeff kind of hit it off from the very beginning, too.

Harvey has really had a string of not-so-good, alright BAD luck the last few years. About 2 years ago he was in a very serious motorcycle accident and was severely hurt, and about a year ago, he was avoiding a accident and drove onto the grassy area by the road. The grass was so high, he didn't see a big metal pole sticking up out of the ground ... he was lucky, he walked away.

They say he will be ok. He will have to undergo many surgeries to fix some nerve and tendon damage. Most of his calf muscle is gone, there were atleast four or five deep lacerations down to the bone. He should be able to walk again and within 6 months to a year, they say he should be able to play basketball with his teenage son.

Anyway -- very interesting. Like I said, such a sweet man. His wife is adorable, too. If you want, you can type in any search engine "shark attack harvey miller oahu" and you will get plenty of information on that accident.
Alright ... Well, here are some photos (don't worry, not gruesome)

After paramedics arrived (this pic was in a hawaiian newspaper)

In a news conference answering questions (he was sick from all of the medication he was on, hence the pink container :(

Talking with is wife Lisa

This picture says it all.

If you only knew how happy this guys is, ALWAYS, you'd want to bawl just looking at this picture. I know he has nothing to be real happy about - but just a very humbling picture.

Utah, here we come!

Braxton was SO excited to fly on an airplane to see his grandmas and grandpas. I had made him a chain of linked paper to countdown the days - from like day 39. Finally when we got up Tuesday morning we took off the last link. Braxton said, "where did the links go?" I told him that there were no more because we head out tomorrow morning. You should have seen the look on his face! He was so terribly excited!

So, he stayed up that day from 8:15am to about 7 or 7:30pm. He took a late nap (which I was ok with, because I was hoping he would stay up late, so that he'd be tired on the airplane ride.) That CRAZY monkey of mine stayed up from 10pm Tuesday night until about 8am Wednesday morning. He was so excited he couldn't sleep. After he woke up from his nap, he got his backpack on and just paced back and forth. He kept asking how much longer and we'd say, "6 hours .... 5 hours...." etc and he'd just say, "ok!"

Anyway, we stayed up with him, so none of us went to bed that night. But, our plan worked. Our flight took off from Detroit at 7:20am and by 8:00am he was out cold. He slept most of the way which made it nice because we could both drift off, too.

So here are a few pictures of our day:

Alright, so technically - it is July 21st. I haven't been able to get on here and get some pictures/stories on until tonight, but I'm posting them on the dates that it really happened :)

(about 4:50 am, Wednesday, July 18th)

(about 4:50am and 23 seconds, on July 18th)

Braxton with his backpack!

(his shirt says, I'm a freakin' genius)

Just boarded, now waiting!

"I see our special K box, Mommy!"

He was so excited because he saw a box we had brought with us full of his old toys

SO EXCITED!

About 20 minutes after take off, he was OUT

Fast asleep on Daddy's lap

Half awake. About and hour, hour and a half left to go.


(FYI- so technically it is July 21st. I haven't been able to get on here and get some pictures/stories on until tonight, but I'm posting them on the dates that it really happened :)

Yes, I know, I'm blogging!

I know I said I wouldn't be blogging again until we reached Utah. I lied. Well, technically, I didn't - I said if something way cool happened, I might have to post something. Nothing cool happened - but something "uncool" did. So, I'm justifying that as well.

Ok, so most of our kitchen stuff is boxed up and ready to move. We do however have one cupboard with some plates/glasses/utensils and also pots and pans. Everything else is in a box. So, I was to tackle the "cleaning" aspect last night. Of course, I got side-tracked wrestling around with Braxton. (remember, Jeff is studying in our other room, so we don't see much of him. we won't until Wednesday, which is also the day we leave.)

Well, I figure that tomorrow (which is now today) after church I can tackle the cleaning and whatever else needs to be done. Of course, I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT LAST NIGHT!

flashback to last night: Braxton is asleep, Jeff is asleep, I am tossing and turning because my foot is hurting. (I had bandaged it up with some medicine last night.) After about 40 minutes I am starting to feel the tiredness creeping up on me when "bark, bark, bark." Nope, not a dog - just my son.

Yes, my son sounds "croupy" this morning and I am flipping out. Last time he had the croup (3 months ago) it ended up turning into pneumonia. I got on the internet and I am trying all the home remedies but I pray it doesn't last. The last thing I want is for him to be not well for the plane ride. What fun! It is just so weird how they seem fine pretty much all day as long as they are upright, it's the laying down that gets them.

I am really starting to wonder, though - Braxton was diagnosed with trachea/laryngo malasia as a baby, and croup is inflammation of the trachea and larynx area. I wonder if that has anything to do with why he seems to get croup so often?

Alright, well, I must tend to my little munchkin. He isn't eating much and seems to want to just lay around and be held. Looks like another day of not much going to get done again. I'm running out of time - Actually, I ran out of time!

Worth the pain

Alright - so last night I finished my two projects. I am happy that I finally got the one for our living room done - and now I have another road sign to go along with Braxton's real stop sign so I am excited.

I really have to stop blogging and seriously get ready for our trip to Utah. So NOW there probably won't be anymore blogs until we get there. (Unless of course something way cool happens!)

Have fun y'all!

(by the way - my foot actually feels quite good. I thought afterwards that I wasn't even going to be able to walk normal for a while, but I guess it just hurt and looked bad at first)

Look what I can do! (Or can't)

So, Jeff is gearing up this weekend to start studying for summer semester finals. He came home from school tonight and said, this weekend, he is going to be in Braxton's room studying and I need to act like he isn't in there. (In other words ... "let me study!") So, I told him that I would need to have a few projects to do so that I could stay busy doing those insteady of staying busy bugging him. I have a few projects at home ready to start - I just needed some spray paint from the store. So, off we went in pursuit of orange and white spray paint. (I am making something for our living room & I am making a construction sign to hang in Braxton's room - hence the orange spray paint.)

Well, leave it to me to get hurt spray painting. Ok, technically I wasn't spray painting when I got hurt. After the initial pain - I was actually pretty excited to be honest! I haven't had a really good scar to add to my list of scars in a REAL long time. I loved getting scars as a child - they were my awesome battle wounds. I thought I was so buff. Okay, sometimes I still pretend I am ....

I was done spray painting my first project and was holding the door open for Braxton to come in. (I was also holding a big flat cardboard box because I needed something to place under my project so that I wouldn't get paint all over the parking lot. And, my project was still a little wet.) Braxton walks in as I am holding the door with my back, I let go of the door and try to walk in, but didn't take into account that the cardboard box was a little too large to fit through the door without a slight turn ... when "slam!" I hadn't moved quick enough and my foot, where the back tendon is, got stuck underneath the opening of the door.

Anyway ... so here you go:

A typical door

A typical door, opened

(there is a slight step up from the cement - you can't tell from this pic though.)

A typical foot after getting slammed in a door

A typical foot getting slammed in a door from another angle :0)

FUN STUFF, EH?

It does look much cooler (worse) in real life. Too bad cameras can't get the true effect!

It's a plane, It's a bird, NO - It's a Condor

Alright - so, once again, I feel so not smart. I was going through Braxton's preschool book with him. We were learning about the number 9. There were pictures grouped together like, rainbows, clouds, hearts, etc. The instructions said to count them and if there was nine of them, he was supposed to circle them. So the rest of the conversation went something like this:

Me (M): Okay, count the rainbows
Brax (B): 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
M: Do you circle them?
B: Yes

M: K, now count the big hearts
B: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7
M: Are you supposed to circle them?
B: Nope

M: Now count the clouds
B: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
M: Should you circle those
B: Yep. Sure.

M: K, now there is just the birds left. Count them.
B: (with a confused look on his face) hu, Mommy? What did you say?
M: Count the birds
B: Right here?
M: Yeah
B: Those aren't birds - those are condors!

(Had to pause and think a minute to make sure condors are really birds and not like ... a dinosaur or something - of course, he was right)

I really don't know if technically it was a "condor" or not. It was just a cartoon bird that he could color. But, I'm just amazed that he even knew a condor was a type of bird and that he picked that up from somewhere. I tell you what, whatever it is that I don't know I'm doing must be working! Cuz he is a smarty pants, that's for sure.

A couple reasons to move ...

Today would be my Grandmother Whiting's (my mom's mom) 100th birthday. She passed away 2 1/2 years ago. Happy Birthday Grandma!

In nursery on Sunday - we were about 1/2 way through the two hours and Joe (a little black boy) came in because he had been asleep earlier. He walked in and Jeff said, "hi, Joe." He walked over to Jeff and did a hand gesture and said, "what's up?" It was hilarious!

So, there are only 8 days before we head out to Utah! I'm so excited. Braxton is really excited, too. Every morning when we wake up he asks, "how many more days before we go see grandma and grandpa, mom?" He loves to fly! I'm glad - it makes it a lot easier on me.

Our lease is up at this apartment on August 31st. We have had some serious problems with bugs getting into our apartment. They have come to spray and we have sprayed, but it only lasts like, maybe a week, and the buggies are back to visit. So, we have found a new apartment that we will be moving into once we get back to Toledo. Problem - we don't get back until August 28th. So, you see, I have to make sure that EVERYTHING is packed and ready to go so that we can be out by the 31st. I have been busy trying to get all of that taken care of AND get ready for our little trip, too.

I'm not quite sure if I will have enough time to post again before we get to Utah so, no worries. Everything is goin' good. I will however, try and keep you posted while we are in the good 'ol "beehive state."

I will now leave you with a few pictures of our unwanted "friends" that we have met while we have lived here ... they are REALLY annoying and "bug" us, if you know what I mean!

This little (alright, BIG) friend of ours was really quick! It was one of the biggest that we had. Actually we had probably, about 4 or 5 this size. Most of the centipedes were only 2 or 3 inches long - but a few were about 6-7 inches! The first one we saw, was about three days after we moved in - and we were getting Brax to bed, we turned on the light and just saw something fly across the wall. (GULP! *did we just sign a year lease?* grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.) People will probably think we are nuts-o, but we'd just vacuum these guys up. Except, some were big enough, that they would get stuck at the end of the hose and just hang out there for a minute trying (and succeeding for a while) to escape the sucking air. We did this for two reasons - 1) they were dang quick! It's not like you can grab a tissue and get these guys, either. 2) We have a cyclone vacuum - so once they got in the canister, we would just let 'em spin for a while. Kind of like six flags for centipedes! I hope they got so dizzy they puked! (I know God created all of these things, but they are creepy when you think they could be crawling around you at night! I say --- August 31st can't come soon enough!)

We call this little critter, Charlotte. Charlotte was ENORMOUS, too. I think she was the biggest AND hairiest spider we saw here. Jeff went to grab a tissue and get her and she was not only ugly, huge, and hairy - she was also JUMPY, too. (hence the tissue on the floor)

I posted the pictures backwards - this is the first picture, Jeff had gone to get the spider and it jumped and so he dropped the tissue ..... ewey!

Alrighty! Well, until next time .... G'nite, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite - but if they do, pick up a shoe, and beat 'em 'till they're black and blue! (we say this religiously at our house every night)

One more quick "Brax" story. We went to Walmart on Saturday to get some treats for a movie. We decided to get crunch'n'munch popcorn. I guess Braxton wasn't really paying much attention. When we got up to the register to pay, Brax said, "Mom - grandma has that" I thought for a moment and my mom does like that a lot, so I figured he could remember that she had some last time we were in Utah. I just kind of said "mmm-hmmmm." Then he said, "Mom, remember? She had it at the hotel?"

So, this is what he was remembering - in August of last year, we went on a little trip with my parents to Nauvoo. While we were in the hotel, my mom had some crunch'n'munch and I wanted some, too, so she put some in a baggie for her and gave us the rest of the box. He has got such a good memory!

This is MY country

I know this is a little late - but Happy 4th of July! I have always loved seeing a flag waving in the wind. (My personal favorite is actually at a grocery store in Logan, Utah, called Macey's - it is the hugest flag I have ever seen and it looks so beautiful waving in the wind.)

Just a few months after Jeff and I were married, September 11th happened. I have always tried to be a patriotic person - but after that event, I made a promise to myself that I need to proudly display the flag as much as possible. I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN! So, two years ago, I made the flag pictured above out of wood from an old crate. I know it isn't the greatest thing in the world, but I actually do love it.

To me seeing a flag is a lot more than just knowing we are a free country. Everytime I see a flag, I think about our forefathers and how they fought hard to make sure we could have the freedoms to choose what we want to believe. I think about the early pioneers going through so much to get to a land where they could do exactly that - worship how they want. I do love this great country and feel so blessed to be here.

Jeff and I spoke today in church. Of course, my nerves were running high - but I feel I actually did very well. Yeah, I still could feel my body shaking, my voice quivered a few times ... but all in all, I can't complain. I spoke on "Miracles" and Jeff spoke on "The Plan of Salvation." He did really great, too. Now that it is over with, I don't understand why I get so uptight. It really isn't that bad.

Well, we have 10 days left before we head out to Utah for a few weeks. Braxton is still worried that we have missed our plane. Poor kid, we have been counting down since day 39. That is a long time for a 3 year old.

OK - I guess that is all I have for now.

Braxton's handy dandy ... notebook!

After our trip back to Utah for Christmas, Jeff and I decided that we should try and get Braxton off of "The Wiggles". So, now Braxton likes an assortment of shows: "Max and Ruby, Lazytown, Dora, Little Bill, The Backyardigans, Little Einsteins ... and Blues Clue's" But, he really wants his very own handy dandy notebook to write in. Well, handy dandy notebooks (like the one shown to the upper left) that are bought in the stores or on the internet are atleast $10 - then there is usually a shipping payment on top of that. So, I took it upon myself to make him one. I figured I could use an old Leappad notebook for the red binding, and proceeded to get out some crayons, markers and some yellow construction paper. After I was finished, all I needed was to get everything laminated so I headed out to FedEx Kinko's. Their laminator is really awesome. It is a thick lamination, not flimsy. Well, this is what I ended up with. Not quite the same, but good enough for Braxton AND cheaper.

So, on Monday we met at the zoo for playgroup. I think I mentioned earlier, that I am not really a zoo person. An hour is usually the limit for me. Well, we were there from 10:30 - 2:15! That is a long time. Braxton had a lot of fun. They even have a butterfly exhibit open until September. That was really cool, actually. They had many different species of butterflies. Pretty neat.

A few Braxton stories ....

Well, later that day (06-25-07), Jeff and I were headed somewhere and we stopped to get some gas. I stayed in the car with Braxton and I heard him talking to himself, so I turned my ear to listen more closely and this is what he was saying, "R. A. I. N. spells rain. N. I. A. R. spells rain backwards." He repeated it several times and at first, I thought he was spelling it backwards wrong ... but then concentrated harder and realized, I shouldn't second guess my little genius.

Then the next day (06-26-07), he was drawing on his dry-erase board. He came in and said he needed help drawing an "n." So, I went in there to help him. He had a "B" and what looked like an "I" and was trying to write an "N". I again, assumed that he was trying to spell his name. (we worked on that a few days ago.) I thought the "I" was supposed to be an "R" and that he had just forgotten the loop and the other leg. So, I said, "Brax, it isn't an 'N' next, it is an 'A'." He looked at me all confused. I reiterated, "It is spelled, B.R.A.X.T.O.N." He took a step back and looked at the board and said, "no, next it is a 'G'." I was like, ... "no, sweetheart, it would be a 'X." He questioned me, "In Bingo?"

I felt like such a dummy. You know, we are always telling our children to not assume things if they don't know, that they should always ask. Well, shoot. I need some new parenting skills. Because, I guess since I'm the parent I think I know everything and I don't! My sweet, intelligent three year old got stuck with me for a Mom. Poor thing.

Braxton's Primary talk

Braxton gave a talk in Primary today for the first time. We practiced at home twice and he did really good - but when it came time for him to get up and do it in church, he got really nervous. But, what can you expect from a three year old? The Primary president came up and said that her five year old couldn't/wouldn't even do that well.


So, after dinner we went for a drive and went over to the university. I decided that I would take a few pictures. We went over by the railroad tracks and Brax was pretty nervous that a train was going to come, so we didn't stay there long. (just so you know, trains don't use that track -- I don't want you to think I'm letting my son play on train tracks that are still in use.) Then we just went on a little walk. We eventually made it over to a bridge that is above a highway. He thought it was so much fun watching cars come and go under the bridge. I think that is the funnest time he has had in a while.

I hope you all had a nice relaxing Sunday. Until next time ....

(Braxton loves wearing my hat. It fits him pretty good, too. On the top far right picture, he was trying to see something under the brim of the hat. He looked cross-eyed, and I couldn't help but think that it was adorable. But, it was probably a "had-to-have-been-there" moment.)

Oh yeah, if any of you would like to hear Brax's talk ... just email me and I will send it to you via email. Because, I don't know how to post audio on this thing yet. I really don't even know if that is possible ... ;)

I got it!

So, after having my blogspot account for almost a year, I have just figured out how to use the picasa program. I know, I know ... I catch on real quick. You'd be amazed at how I can surprise you, sometimes. Anyway ... I am so excited, because this will be way easier to show many pictures, than what I have been doing in the past. I of course, thought I'd use pics of Brax because it is funner to look at him than me or Jeff. I know you've seen some of these pics before, but some you have not. Alright. I'm so excited. Hope you are as thrilled as I am. Ta*Da!

(i thought i could, i thought i could ... I thought I could!)

A new hair-do

So, as you can see from my new picture, I got a perm. I needed a change. I was so close to chopping it off again. But when it is that short, you actually have to do your hair everyday. Granted, I don't go many places but still, I like to feel like I tried to get ready for the day. Anyway, Jeff likes my hair both short and long, but he really likes it curly. So, I opted for long and curly. If you read the post under Meet the Craguns you will see that when it is short and curly, I could be referred to as "Mushroom Head." Anyway ... my hair was just long and straggly and I felt like one of those dogs that have long straight hair covering their eyeballs. So, we will see how long I can keep this hair do. It is nice to only spend 5 minutes on it and feel like you look half-way decent. It is kind of 80's-ish, though, but I think I can get a way with it since I was born in the 80's, don't you? My goal is to get it the length it was when Jeff and I get married. I didn't realize how long it took. I swear it seems like it hasn't grown in 2 years. I'm sorry I keep goin' on and on, but guys just wouldn't understand because they just don't deal with issues like these. These very,VERY important issues!


So, I uh went V.T.ing today. I received a new companion and list this month so I was trying to get to know the ladies I visit. Anyway, she has two kids in nursery and she is pregnant. The two in nursery aren't twins. One is almost three and one is 18 months. Well, when I get there, I realize, she has an older son in primary. He is like ... 4, I would guess. So, I asked her, how long have you been married, and she said, "we just celebrated our 6th anniversary." I about died! I will soon be celebrating my 6th anniversary, too. Four kids in six years? I'm either WAY behind or she is WAY, WAY ahead. Maybe, it is a little of both, but sheesh. She took the whole, "multiply and replenish the Earth commandment very seriously." Her husband just finshed his first year of medical school and I just don't understand how people can do that with so many kids. It's awesome, and more power to them ... but I just don't think I would have been able to do that. Wow.



She had her younger sister there visiting for the summer, too. I asked where she was visiting from and she said, "Utah. Vernal, Utah." I about died. I was like, "My mom was raised out there." So, I asked her if she knew my cousins, Greg and Shana, and she said she did. So, Joce, if you read this, her dad is Mr. Mueller (sp?). They said he taught Spanish and sometimes History out at the high school. It is such a small world, ain't it?


Here is a pic of Jeff and I tonight. He was walking out the door for school when I realized we matched. So, I wanted a picture. Please pardon Jeff's half-cropped off head. This is the best that you can do when you have to hold the camera yourself all the time! Alrighty, well, 26 more days and we get to go visit Utah! Hip, hip ... HoOrAy! Brax keeps asking, "did we miss our pwane?" I feel so bad, he is so excited he can barely see straight!


My TIP of the day: DON'T LICK METAL ICE CREAM SCOOPS, KID-O'S!



You know how your parents told you not to stick your tongue to a cold pole becaue your tongue WILL get stuck? (I have to mention, because it is funny, that my mom did DO this) Well, don't lick your metal ice scream scoop, either. Last night I scooped up some ice cream and when I was done, I licked the scoop. (I know I'm not the only person to do this. I'm not, right?) So I wasn't expecting a problem and so I did it fairly quickly and my upper lip got stuck to the scoop! I ripped off skin off of the top of my lip. It hurts.

update...

Alright. Well, Saturday night we made another trip to the E.R. After our visit on Saturday morning, he still had severe pain even with the vicodin he was taking. The swelling in his face seemed to get worse, also. Also his face was starting to feel numb. We called his brother-in-law who is a physician in Utah and told him about it all. After reading the warning labels on the medications, it did say that swelling and numbness could be an allergic reaction. So, on his release forms from the hospital, it said to call if we had any questions. Of course, we called. Their response, "we are not allowed to give any medical advice over the phone. You should either contact your PCP, or come back to the E.R." Well, we all know that you can easily reach your PCP at 10:30 at night, so of course, we headed back. The third doctors opinion -- he had both a middle and an outer ear infection. He thought Jeff should still be on antibiotics (unlike the second doctor), so he prescribed Jeff three new medications. Drops for his ear, percocet for the pain and omnicef as the antibiotic. This doctor didn't think he was having an allergic reaction - he explained that there is a gland right in front of your ear on your face, and the jaw muscle was probably having swelling because of everything that was going on. As for the numbness, he said that with all of the swelling it was probably pushin on some nerves in Jeff's face and that is what was causing the swelling. However, Jeff was actually able to sleep that night for the first time since Thursday. He didn't get up once. (Yay, percocet!) So, Sunday afternoon the pain meds are starting to wear off and his face is still swelling (off and on). The next day he actually had a follow-up appointment with his ENT (ears, nose and throat) doctor for his surgery on his nose he had last July. We decided that was great, because he could take a look at Jeff's ear as well. This morning we get up and go to the ENT. He looked in Jeff's ear and said, "oh yeah. you have severe otitis in that ear." I'm sure Jeff was thinking, "no duh!" So, he got out this long tube thing and put a sharp metal object on the end of it. This was also used after Jeff's surgery to suck out all of the dried blood and gunk - so I figured he was going to suck crap out of his ear. You could hears stuff going through this tube (kinda like when your are vacuuming) anyway, then I see him jab at Jeff's ear a few times. Jeff's face went all crazy and I could tell it hurt. Come to find out, he punched two or three holes into Jeff's ear to relieve some of the pressure. I asked Jeff later if it hurt and he said it did but not any worse than the pain he has been dealing with the last four days. I guess it takes about a week and the eardrum should repair itself. Anyway, this doctor explained that the swelling was actually because the infection had spread. But, with Jeff taking the antibiotics he said he should be ok. We hope so! So, a lot has gone on these last few days. Poor Jeff, though. He missed school tonight because he still can't hear anything out of that ear. Once in a while it will "pop" and he can hear for a few seconds, but mostly it just sounds like static. He's afraid he'll get called on in class and not even know it. He said, he'll probably miss school tomorrow, too and head back on Wednesday. I feel so bad for him. Okay, well, that was our weekend in a nutshell. (Happy Father's Day, Jeff!) Well, I am off to bed. G'nite.

This is all of the medication Jeff has been on from Thursday to Saturday. Seriously, if anyone walked into our apartment right now and saw all of these on the counter, they would think "there are some serious addicts in this household!" Especially, since three of the seven of these drugs are for pain. Oh yeah, and on top of these (he is currently only taking 3) he has to take his allegra-D and ibuprofen to keep the swelling down.

Haha! I have to tell you this funny story, now. Braxton has been watching Aladdin (one of his new favorite shows. That and The fox and the hound) while I've been typing this and he gets so excited everytime he sees the palace. So, just now he said, "Mommy, come look. I see the palace." After about 10 times of him saying that I get up and go see the palace otherwise he will just continue on and on. So, I get there, I tell him, "wow, there is the palace." and he says, "I love you, Mommy." So, I said, "I love you, too, Brax. Can I give you a hug because you are such a good boy?" He puts his arms out and I sit by him and hug him. Then he adds, "I missed you." So I say, "I missed you, too." Without skipping one beat he says, "Okay, you can move now." So, I laugh and get up and then he adds "thanks for moving, Mom." So, I guess if he is going to be a little rude - atleast he is rude in a polite way.

Hooray, for second opinions!

We had to make a trip to the emergency room today. Don't worry, though - none of us were dying, Jeff just thought he was going to permanently lose his hearing is all.

So, where should we start? About a month and half ago, Jeff started complaining of feeling like his left ear was under a lot of pressure. After a few days of this he decided he'd better go to the student medical center to get it checked out. The doctor he saw said "you have eustachian tube dysfunction." Basically, the tube that connects the middle ear to the throat is pressurized and whenever that pressure is different than the outer ear's pressure, it causes popping and the feeling of the pressure. He told Jeff to go home and take Tylenol and a Sudafed and he should be just fine. A month goes by and Jeff still complains now and then of his ear feeling weird and by this time it is starting to squeek and make "static" noises more and more often. He said it doesn't really hurt, but it is just annoying and bothersome.

Two days ago (Thursdsay), he woke up and said, "my ear really hurts. I've had ear infections before, but they have never felt like this." So, again, he makes an appointment for the student medical center and of course, sees the same doctor. The doctor takes another looksy and again, says his ears look great. However, his ear drum does look a little red so he is probably starting to get a middle ear infection. He writes Jeff a prescription for Amoxicillin and some drops to put in his ear that will numb it to deal with the pain.


Well, last night I think I heard Jeff get up at least a dozen times. The pain was so severe he couldn't lay down for long because it was putting way to much pressure on his ear. At about 5:00 am he said, I've got to get in to see a doctor today. At 7:00 we got up and headed to the urgent care clinic (the one our insurance will pay for), which is the Emergency room at The Toledo Hospital/The Toledo Children's Hospital.

Jeff went in to see the doctor and explained everything to him. The doctor then examined Jeff and noticed that the side of his face was swelling. He asked Jeff, "what were you told was the problem?" Jeff proceeded to tell him what the other doctor had said and this doctor said, "It isn't a middle ear infection! It's an outer ear infection. You treat those two totally different ways." He explained that an outer ear infection is what they call swimmer's ear ... and that the amoxicillin Jeff had been given wouldn't touch it. He also let us know that the type of drops Jeff had been given before wasn't helping but actually making it worse because it wasn't treating the problem but actually adding to it. So, with that being said and done, he proceeded to write a different prescription for the types of drops needed and a prescription for Vicodin to help deal with the pain.

Anyway, all is well. I mean, all will be well. Jeff is still in quite a lot of pain, but hopefully be the end of the day he will be feeling much, much better!

I guess we have learned our lesson that not all doctors know everything. If your body is telling you something isn't right, listen to it and get a second opinion if you can.

What really amazes me is I would think it would be easier to not see a middle ear infection than an outer ear infection. I just don't understand why the other doctor totally missed that one. Oh well. I guess doctors can't be perfect, unlike us. (hee. hee.)















So, this is a picture of Jeff ear. He was lying down on my leg so you are looking from the top of his head down. I don't know how well you'll be able to see, but to the right of his ear, you can see two big bumps. It was red and warm to the touch. Anyway, the infection had spread there and it also was swelling down into his jaw, too. Jeff said it hurt pretty badly to chew. I guess he'll be getting some good 'ol patient treatment for the next few days!

Well, that is just another day in our crazy Cragun life! 'Til next time --

SO TRUE!

Ok, I came across this on someone else's blog and so I am copying it to mine because it is SO TRUE! Not until you have kids do you realize this. Believe me, I am not complaining! I am sure the more you have, the more of this disorder you would get. Here we go -

CHILD ACTIVATED ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. ? Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests: I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the basement, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my car keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put the sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye -- they need to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, one of the kids left it on the kitchen table. I realize that after school when they go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote as they fight over who lost it, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid and there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent.

Rain

Hello. Today was a beautiful day until about 1 o'clockish. We were in the car and it got very, very cloudy real quick. We saw a couple bolts of lightning accompanied by loud "claps" of thunder. I rolled down my window so Braxton could hear better and a couple of big 'ol raindrops fell into the car. Then we saw about three big raindrops on the windshield. Then .... nothing. (About 7 seconds, no rain.) Suddenly out of nowhere, it started pouring. I mean heavy,heavy rain. The wind was blowing and as we were driving we could see in a matter of 10-15 seconds, there were a ton of branches on the road. We had our windshield wipers going about as fast as they could, but it still wasn't fast enough to see well. We had to run from the car to the door of our apartment building and got soaked. Braxton thought it was so funny.

So, that brings me to the reason I wrote tonight. We were getting Braxton ready for bed. His routine is this, brush his teeth, he goes potty, we read books, say family prayers, get him a small glass of water, then I sing three songs to him.

I told Jeff that if he brushed his teeth I would read to him. We have several books from the library for him. We read like the first four or five to him and since then that is all he has wanted to read because he liked those so much. No new ones. Well, as I was picking the house up yesterday, I noticed that we had a chldrens book called, "Rain." I thought, that would be a great book for tonight since it did rain so hard today.

Braxton and I sat in our "thinking chair" (it is a big overstuffed chair, and if you've seen blue's clues, you'll understand why we call it that.) I opened up the book and hooray! The first word was "Blue." Braxton can read his colors, so I knew that he would be able to help read the book. So we went through the book and anytime it came to a color, he read it for me. We got to the end of the book, shut it, and he said, "let's read it again, Mommy." So, I opened it up and Braxton proceeded, "Blue sky." My mouth dropped, he hadn't known sky before. I turned the page and he continued, "Yellow sun." To make the CUTEST story - short, HE READ ME THE ENTIRE BOOK, WORD FOR WORD TO ME WITHOUT ANY HELP AT ALL! (now you understand why I think my son has a photographic memory)

He is so SMART. I love him so much. Everyday he surprises me in the most amazing way. I am so blessed to have him and cherish every moment that I have with him. He is a walking angel sent from Heaven. I am so blessed!

Anyway, here is the book: