Young Family

Mother's Day Tea

2010-09-14T21:54:00.002-05:00

My favorite day in elementary is mother's day tea in the first grade. I love it. This year I got to do it with Josie. She painted my nails, which by the way she did much better than Jack and Buddy did. Then she massaged my hands with my favorite lotion. After that the class sang a song and recited a poem to the moms and then fed us muffins and juice. It was great!!!

Garrett Turns 5

2010-04-18T21:47:00.004-05:00

Garrett had such a busy day that he fell fast asleep before bedtime.

My Garrett boy turned 5 years old. I can't believe that he is that old. It seems like only yesterday that we were in the hospital being told that they were air lifting him downtown to the children's hospital. Now, he is 5 and healthy as an ox. We went to see his cardiologist a couple days ago and she told us that he was cleared from clinic. That means that he no longer has to go see the doctor for his heart unless he starts having problems again. His doctor told us that most kids born with neonatal SVT usually have a recurrance around 8 years old. I pray that he doesn't have any further problems but at least he will be able to tell us that there is something wrong this time. He is such a fun little boy. We are so lucky to have him in our family. He is very witty and is so fun to be around. He is very talented and is a great ball player. Wes is always telling him that he is the favorite and I think that he really may be. He is so excited to be starting school this year but I am sad that he won't be home with us during the day anymore. I love him so much and am so happy that he is in our family.

Easter Morning

2010-04-04T21:31:00.000-05:00

Crystal came over and helped us hunt for eggs and eat easter breakfast. The kids found lots of fun treasures. Ben thought that it was great just finding the plastic egg to play with. That was until the kids started opening up the eggs and dumping out their candy. You should have seen him start crawling around the room. He only does the army crawl but man did he move. The kids got his puff treats and each of them gave him a couple of those when he would visit their baskets.

Shaved Ice is Open Again

2010-04-02T21:26:00.000-05:00

Our favorite shaved ice spot finally reopened. Yay!!! We love it. Daddy told us that we are only allowed to go once a week if that. When you are buying 8 icee's it adds up pretty fast. They are soooo..... yummy!!! For those of you in Arizona it's comprable to Bahama Bucks. Ben couldn't get enough. He was screaming at Daddy every time he stopped giving him some. It was hilarious.

Getting Ready for Easter

2010-04-02T21:15:00.000-05:00

Easter weekend we were very busy. We cleaned the yard, mowed the lawn, dyed easter eggs and filled the eggs for the easter bunny. While Garrett and Buddy were mowing the lawn Jack and Josie made lunch for everyone. Poor Blake and Ben were pretty sick that weekend but were very patient with us while we worked outdoors. Wes and I took turns coming in and snuggling with the sick ones while the other one stayed outside helping the other kids get the yard ready for our easter festivities. The kids did a great job and were soooo... helpful.

Josie's new style

2010-03-29T23:23:00.007-05:00

After seeing a dentist, an endodontist and an orthodontist Josie has a whole new style. She is now sporting braces on her upper teeth to try and pull the tooth that she jammed up into her gums back down. Once the tooth is down, hopefully in the next couple weeks, she will have a root canal done on the tooth. She will have to wear the braces for the next 4-6 months to help stabilize the tooth after the root canal. This blasted tooth is going to cost us a fortune. On a more positive note Josie is taking it all in stride like a real trooper. I know she is in pain a lot but she doesn't complain too much. She is little bummed that she can't eat popcorn, chewy candy or gum anymore but I told her that we would try to find some other fun treats that we can substitute for the time being.
She also changed her hair style. She decided that she was ready for short hair again for the summer. It is all one length including her bangs. I think that she looks darling braces, hairstyle and all. I may be a tad bit biased but I think she is adorable!!!

Garrett's 1st T-Ball Game

2010-03-27T18:54:00.000-05:00

Garrett finally played in his first t-ball game. The much awaited date was better than we could have hoped for her. Garrett was able to play left field, pitcher and catcher. He did a great job. He caught the ball, threw and played his postitions like a pro. It was really fun to watch. Jackson also played in his first game of the season that same day. It's hard to go from a select team to a regular little league team. It is a little hard to watch. Not nearly as exciting as the select games are.

Buddy in a Bucket

2010-03-26T21:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, this is going to sound really mean but it is funny as heck. The other day I was working in the kitchen and Josie came running in telling me that Buddy was stuck in a bucket. I was sure that he was messing with her but I went out to check it out just in case. When I got out there I could not stop laughing. I ran back in the house to get my camera so that I could always remember it. Apparently, he was crouching over the bucket playing catch with Garrett and Blake and sat down, forgetting that the bucket was right side up, and fell in. He fell in so far that he couldn't get back out on his own. When he got out he had a bad scratch on his back from falling in. I felt bad for laughing at him but it was pretty funny.

Thai Spice Critique

2010-03-22T15:16:00.004-05:00

Last week Wes and I went to Thai Spice for a date night. I was shocked at how good it was. They had a huge menu to choose from and it all looked so tasty. It is set up somewhat like Pei Wei's where you order and then sit down and they bring it to you. Thai Spice has a very inviting environment and everyone that worked there was very kind. I ordered "taste of ginger" and it was soooo good. Wes ordered a curry soup dish that he really enjoyed. He didn't care for the eggplant that was in it so he pulled that out but other than that, he was very pleased. I can't wait to go back and try something else on their menu. I would highly recommend this restaurant. It is hard to find good food, kind people and a nice establishment. They receive an A+ from me.

Bowling

2010-03-20T20:37:00.003-05:00

We had a pretty boring spring break this year. Wes was travelling for half of it and I didn't want to spend money. But when push came to shove I felt guilty for not doing anything fun at all so we decided to take them bowling. We all had a lot of fun!! Every time that Garrett got up he did a little celebratory dance as the ball was rolling down the lane. It cracked us up. Blake's ball moved so slow down the lane. I didn't think it was ever going to make it down to the pins. Jack had great form. Buddy had to bowl left handed because of his cast, needless to say he didn't do so well, which killed him. Josie had very little form but seemed to do pretty well at the end. Wes had great form and had numerous strikes. That's my man!! All things said and done we all had fun and luckily that's what they remember about spring break. We may do it again next year too. :)

Haircuts for the boys

2010-03-20T20:36:00.000-05:00

It has been a really long time since Wes cut the boys hair. The boys weren't complaining though because they like having longer hair. However, their hair drives Wes crazy. Is not about the style of it all. So, they all got their hair shaved. You should have seen how much hair there was.

Garrett's shaved fingers

2010-03-19T20:37:00.000-05:00

So, Garrett's falling apart. The kid is 4 years old and I swear he is a walking disaster. On Friday night I was grating cheese for tacos and once I was done I turned around to finish cooking the meat. Garrett took the grater and decided to grate some cheese for himself. The cheese grater that he was using was the Pampered Chef mandaline, which is very very sharp. For some reason that is unbeknown to me he stuck three of his fingers under one of the blades under the grater. He started crying really loud and when I walked over to the table, where he was sitting, he was pulling his fingers back out slicing the center of each fingernail clean off. It was so gross. It bleed for 30 minutes straight. Wes held his hand up, wrapped in a towel for the full 30 minutes. My poor baby. We took the bandage off on Saturday night and the gauze was stuck to where the fingernail was and so when we took it off it began bleeding again. It's Monday now and he is finally on the up and up.

UT shorts

2010-03-19T20:36:00.000-05:00

Buddy is a HUGE University of Texas fan. He tells us all the time that he is going to UT and is going to play football and baseball for them. They have a great athletics program and Buddy wants to be a part of it soooo bad. Wes, however, is not such a huge UT fan and so they have a fun little rivalry between one another. The other day we were walking through the mall for something to do during spring break and Buddy found some UT shorts that were on sale. He begged me to let him buy them for his dad and I finally caved. Wes has no choice but to wear them since Buddy bought them for him but I think it kills him. I personally think that it's hilarious.

Josie Safari Reader

2010-03-12T20:34:00.000-06:00

The 1st grade has a program called Safari Reader. It is for all 1st graders to try and read 100 books in a given amount of time. Josie is a fabulous reader and so it was no problem for her to read the 100 books assigned. At the end of the time period they have a safari party to celebrate. They eat safari food like ants on a log, celery with peanut butter and raisins and other goodies like that. Their party was on the same day as Garrett's surgery and so as soon as Garrett was in recovery and doing well Wes and Ben went up to the school to celebrate with Josie. Josie is always ecstatic to show off her family and friends to one another. She is so cute. She read books to Wes and Ben and showed them around her class. She was so excited for the party that she had a really hard time sleeping the night before. She woke up at 3:00 am to see if it would be okay if she got ready. Silly girl.

Garrett's surgery

2010-03-12T15:21:00.000-06:00

Garrett has had a mucous cell on his lower lip for the past year or so. For those who don't know what that is, it is a bubble in the lip that forms from bursting a salivary gland. It doesn't usually go away unless you have is surgically removed. Jackson has had 3 of these lovely thing over the past eight years. Once they are old enough to hold still the doctor can do the procedure in the office but for the little ones they have to put them under. We decided that it was time to remove Garrett's so that he wouldn't have any problems with speech in school. It was also effecting his smile and so, it was time. He was a little nervous and cried when the anaesthesiologist took him back to the operating room but he did great once he was back there, from what I was told. He had a rough time in recovery. He cried a lot. I would cry too if I couldn't explain why I felt so funny and was in pain after being asleep. It has been a week and a half now and he is doing awesome. The stitches have dissolved and his lip looks amazing! He is very glad that it is finally gone.

Ben Gets his 1st 2 teeth

2010-03-11T20:35:00.001-06:00

Ben FINALLY got his first 2 teeth in. My baby boy has been miserable for weeks because of those dang things. I was so happy to see them in. However, I think the top two may be coming in now and we are going through the same misery all over again. I somehow forgot how miserable teething is. I hate it!!!

Pinewood Derby

2010-03-10T15:36:00.000-06:00

The boys had their annual pinewood derby races. We bought the kits, which is apparently frowned upon, and let the boys sand, paint and prepare the wheels. Wes took the boys to the church early so they could weigh and add the weights. The boys had a blast!!! Jackson is disappointed that the 11 year old scouts don't get to participate in the event. Wes told him that he could still make a car next year and race it with the boys at home after the official pinewood derby. I don't know if it's the same for Mr. Competitive. haha Each boy received an award. Jackson received the Captain Jack award and Buddy received the fade to black award. They both came in 2nd place for most of their races and had a lot of fun. I think this is probably their favorite thing about scouting.

Restaurant Critique

2010-03-09T20:41:00.002-06:00

Alright, so Karen and I have decided that each week we are going to visit a new restaurant in our area, that we have never been to before, and then give a critique on this blog. We are doing it just for fun for us but if it can help someone else try somewhere new than we have done some good.

Last week we went to a Viatnemese noodle house called Pho Saigon. It is located onn Mason by Tuesday Mornings. When we were first looked at the menu I was very overwhelmed because there were so many things on the menu and I had no idea what any of them where. However, after some serious studying of the menu, I decided to order #67 Bun Ga Nuong Cha Gio. See why I would have trouble ordering. It is a vericelli noodle with char broiled chicken and fried egg roll. It comes in this cool bowl with sprouts, carrott shavings, mint, noodles, chicken and chopped peanuts on top. It also came with a sauce that you pour on top before eating it. I was shocked at how amazing it was. I often feel sick after eating most meals but this was very light and fresh. I loved it!!! I also ordered the Goi Cuon, or the fresh spring roll. If you go to other places spring rolls have a dough like wrap. However, this was a sticky white wrapper. It was very different but I liked it. I would suggest this restaurant to all of my friends. It was very yummy!!!

This week we went to a little shop called Sweet and Salty Gourmet Bakery. It was a very cute little bakery. When you first walk in you see these amazing desserts that you can't help but drool over. They have little sandwiches in all different types of breads. We ordered a couple of different sandwiches to try out the selection. They have sandwiches on white bread without any crust. These were not my favorite. I ordered the roasted pepper and cheese and I felt like it needed another componant. Like sprouts or some other seasoning for flavor. However, they have another sandwich called a locatelis that I thought was delicious. The roll that they serve it in is so yummy. I could eat several of these sandwiches in one sitting. They were delicious. I also tried the ham and cheese empanada and it was also very yummy. We couldn't leave without trying their scrumptious desserts. We had a chocolate cup, which was literally a chocolate cup filled with vanilla cake, tres leche, merinque, whip cream and cherry. It was very good, rich, but good. I wish that it had some sort of custard in the place of the cake but that is just my personal opinion. We also had the chocolate eclair and who can go wrong with an eclair. It was delicious. The filling was very light and the pastry was very tasty. I personally think that Sweet and Salty is by far better than Ooh La La and priced much more reasonably as well. I won't be rushing back to this restaurant but it wasn't bad.

Josie's knocked out teeth

2010-03-09T07:48:00.004-06:00

This is Josie a week ago at the rodeo prior to the accident

This is Josie after the accident with her missing teeth

On Sunday night Josie was playing with a little friend on a gate. They were swinging one another back and forth on the gate. Josie's friend pushed Josie pretty hard so that she would have a really fun ride but instead Josie's face hit the fence and she broke her two front teeth. When I got to her I thought that she had broken her right tooth up to the gum line. However, after x-rays and consulting with her dentist it looks like she jammed it back up into he gums. They are both broken a little bit but it may not be as bad as we originally thought. Her gums are badly bruised but all in all it could be a lot worse. We are hoping that the tooth will come back down on it's own and that the roots will be okay. We will go back to the dentist in two weeks for another x-ray to check on the roots and to see if the tooth is coming back down at all. We are praying for the best.

Spring Break Blast

2010-03-09T07:36:00.002-06:00

This weekend Jack and Buddy's select baseball team had another tournament. They won every game they played. Totaling six wins just for this weekend. We found out yesterday that their team is now ranked 7th in the state of Texas for 10 year old teamms and 27th in the nation. Since we have become the Katy Cougars our record is 11 and 1. Not to shabby, huh? Two weekends, two first place trophys, 10 very happy boys and lots of very tired family members. They have been very long weekends but so worth it. It is so much fun to watch them play. We now have a five week break until we play in our next tournament so hopefully we will get plenty of rest to hear up for it. This group of boys have been playing together for 2 years now and some of them have been playing together for 4 years. Our select team is truly like a second family to us.

Buddy broke his right elbow

2010-03-05T12:51:00.002-06:00

Last night I got home from taking photos of Crystal and her friends to find that Wes had taken Buddy to urgent care. Apparently he was trying to stop and then kick a soccer ball and he tripped over the ball and fell back on his arm. After 3 1/2 hours in the urgent care we found out that Buddy may have broken his elbow and so they put a splint on him. This morning I took him to the orthopedic surgeon where they confirmed that the inside of the elbow was indeed broken. He now has a cool red and black cast to cheer his Katy Cougar baseball team on. In two weeks he will go back in and they will x-ray it again to see if it still needs to be in a cast.

Wes played church basketball

2010-03-05T07:20:00.000-06:00

Friday night Wes went up to the stake center to play basketball with our ward. The guys tried really hard but got beat pretty badly. The kids told Wes that he should stick to baseball and football. They didn't think he was very good. I personally thought that he did a great job.

Mardi Gras Tournament

2010-03-02T22:12:00.003-06:00

A couple months ago our select baseball team broke off from the Westside Sluggers and we became the Katy Cougars. This weekend we played in our first tournament and the boys played awesome!!! Jackson played better than I have ever seen him play. He hit the ball so hard it hit the fence several times. All of the boys played great and had a blast playing together. This was our first tournament as a new team and we kicked butt!!! It was so much fun to watch. We were out there for 14 hours straight and it didn't even seem that long. Josie, Garrett, Blake and Ben came out there with us and they did so well. We only had one melt down all day. I was amazed at how well they did. It was so much fun to watch the boys have fun and finally take first place in a tournament. Buddy didn't play much but he was a great sport about it. He sat in the dugout and cheered on the other boys. When he went in he was as fast as lightning. He is such an amazing athlete. I think that everyone is shocked that I was the one in my family that ended up with such great athletes. I was a very proud mother this weekend.

Garrett's 1st T-Ball practice

2010-02-25T21:52:00.000-06:00

Garrett is finally playing ball like the older boys. Yipee!!! He was so excited for his first practice. when he woke up that morning he got his baseball pants and cleats on. Later that day we went to the mall to walk around and he brought his baseball bag just in case we were running late. His practice wasn't until 5:30 but just in case, we were covered. :) Wes took him to the batting cages and he was able to hit every ball but one. We tried to get him into coach pitch but it was already full. Next year we will play him up to machine pitch. We are looking forward to a great season. He will be playing on the Red Sox with Coach Brown. At his first practice Buddy helped out by showing him how to hit properly. Garrett has a lot of great coaches in his older brothers.

Katy Rodeo

2010-02-25T21:12:00.003-06:00

On Thursday night the kids got to participate in the Katy rodeo. Buddy and Josie rode the sheep, mutton bustin. Buddy stayed on for quite a while. He was hanging on the side of the sheep for over half of the ride. Josie on the other hand, barely made it out of the gate. I was taking a photo of Wes running back to me and luckly she was in the shot so I got at least one of her. By the time I looked up from my camera she was on the ground. In all fairness to her she didn't want to get on to begin with. Wes had to put her on the sheep because she was sobbing. She was a great sport once again. She sure did look cute as my little cowgirl. Garrett and Blake participated in the stickhorse race. Blake fell down at the very beginning of the race and fell apart. Luckly, Daddy was there to pick him up and help him finish the race. What would we do with out our Daddy? They were all very cute cowkids.

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T22:39:00.000-06:00

On Valentines Day Wes gave me the most beautiful flowers and amazing card. Each of the kids made us a card and then we gave each of them a card and a little gift. Jack got Phase Ten and Buddy got SkipBo. After church we played cards all afternoon. Then we made heart shaped brownies for dessert. It was a lovely valentines day spent with the ones I love most.

Valentines Get Away!!!!

2010-02-13T21:56:00.000-06:00

For Valentines Wes, Ben and I went up to the Woodlands and stayed at a resort for the night. We went with Mark & Karen Christensen and we had so much fun. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then went back to the resort and watched tv for a while. Poor Karen got really sick that night, poor thing so Wes, Ben and I watched tv for a while longer and then went to bed. The next day we went to the mall and walked around. That may not sound like much but it was so nice not having to keep track of 6 little ones while being out. I don't know if Wes and Mark had much fun, every time I looked at them they were on their phones checking scores and what not. Jill and Hannah were so sweet to watch our kids for us so that we could get away. It was so great to spend somewhat one on one time with my sweetheart. Next time we will have to leave Ben and it will be a dream come true. :) I don't know if I could spend more than a day or two away from my little ones though because I missed them like crazy. When I got home all I wanted to do was snuggle them.

Daddy balances Ben

2010-02-11T21:55:00.000-06:00

Wes does this balancing act with each of our kids once they are old enough to stand on their own. Each of my kids have loved it and continue to love it to this day. The older kids love having Wes and Ben show off their neat trick.

Crystal turns 18

2010-02-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

Well, the inevitable finally happened. Crystal turned 18 years old. Only a few more months and she will be off to college. I don't even like to think about that. She should still be a little girl. When we moved to Texas she had just turned 12 years old. She was our very first babysitter and now she is a part of our family. She has become such a beautiful woman. I hope that Josie grows up to be like her. She always makes good decisions and is a great example to those around her. Happy Birthday Crystal!!! We love you.

100th day of school

2010-02-03T22:47:00.000-06:00

The kids celebrated the 100th day of school on February 3rd. Each year the first graders decorate a t-shirt with 100 things. This year we decorated Josie's shirt with 100 pennies. Her shirt was a little heavy but she sure did look cute.

Blake Turns 3 years old

2010-01-29T21:41:00.000-06:00

Blakey is 3 years old. He wanted everything Dora. So we had Dora cupcakes and plates. He was so excited that all day he carried around his Dora plates waiting for everyone to show up. About 30 minutes before his party he fell asleep. By the time everyone started showing up he was so out of it he wanted everyone to go back home. When it came time to turn out the lights and sing happy birthday to him he started crying. My poor boy. We brought out his main present, which was a new bike, and then he finally started to come to. The party wasn't much of a party for the first three-quarters but he made up for it the last quarter.

Oh where oh where could Garrett be?

2010-01-25T21:53:00.000-06:00

The other day I told the boys that it was time to lay down and take a nap. Blake jumped up on the couch and fell asleep but Garrett ran up the stairs. I finished washing the dishes and went to check on him. I checked every bed and couch in the house and couldn't find him anywhere. I ran back downstairs to look in some of his favorite hiding places and saw two little feet hanging out of a box. The goofy little boy had crawled into one of the boxes from the new table and had fallen asleep. He is such a silly kid.

Our new kitchen table

2010-01-22T20:51:00.000-06:00

We finally got rid of our ugly kitchen table. It was a good table for our family, however, it was long past time for it to be gone. I really wanted a square table but it wouldn't fit in our dining room area very well. So, I had pretty much given up on finding one that I liked. However, my amazing husband found the perfect table. It seats all eight of us and I LOVE it. It is rectangular but wider than most so it looks more square. It is also counter height which I love. It was an early valentines present and I couldn't ask for anything better. We even got to build it together as a family which made for really good times. Actually, it was a lot of fun building it as a family. Now that the boys are getting older they are very helpful.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Philadelphia Eagles Playoff Game

2010-01-14T21:28:00.005-06:00

Wes, Jack, Tanner Pope, Sean Kallis, Steve Brown, Derryk Pope & Mark Christensen

Saturday January 9, 2010 was the first Dallas Cowboys playoff game. It was against the heated rivals of Philadelphia. Dad and Jack got tickets to the game and drove 4 hours each way to see it. The only tickets available were "standing room only" tickets. Yes, that means they stood the entire game. But it was well worth it. Not to mention, the outcome was a Cowboys victory. The stadium is amazing and it was a packed house. They can't wait to do it again. Buddy was supposed to go as well but he chose to go to a birthday party for his friend. Everyone he tells thinks that he was crazy. Hopefully there will be another game this year for them to go to again.

Scouting

2010-01-14T20:27:00.002-06:00

Jackson pinning his bear badge on me

Buddy pinning his bobcat badge on me

Jackson received his bear and Buddy received his bobcat at cub scouts last night. They were very excited to finally advance. The boys have to pin something on me when they advance. I have to say that it was very scary having them pin something on me. Especially since they weren't paying attention most of the time they were trying to put it on me. They have been working very hard to advance. Buddy almost has his wolf done and should receive it in the next couple months.

Pressure Cooker

2010-01-03T18:24:00.003-06:00

(This is not a photo of my cooker but it's like this)

Today I cooked a roast in my pressure cooker that Wes gave to me for Christmas. I was very nervous about this because my cooker didn't come with directions on how to cook things. I need basic instructions like how many minutes per pound of beef, chicken, fish, etc. I am not a fan of guessing what it is I'm supposed to do with a new appliance. So, after calling my parents numerous times, I finally made my first roast. I cooked it from its frozen state for 1 hour and it turned out great. The kids inhaled it, especially Blake. He ate five plates full of roast and green beans. I'm pretty sure that he is going through a growth spurt. Later this week I will attempt some type of chicken. I found a great pressure cooker website with lots of cool recipes so now I am unstoppable. For this week anyway, hahaha.

New popcorn popper

2009-12-26T01:24:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Boulter sent us an old fashioned popcorn popper for Christmas. My kids were very amazed by it. Garrett asked me if our microwave was broken and that was why we were making popcorn in this new machine. Microwave popcorn is the only thing that he has ever known and so this was all very new to him and the rest of the kids. It was very fun to watch and since then they want to use the new machine and not the microwaveable kind. It is a lot more time consuming to use a popcorn popper and not the microwave. I have to say I like the microwave method better but it is fun from time to time to do it the old fashioned way. What a fun gift. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa.

Garrett's new tool table

2009-12-25T23:14:00.001-06:00

Santa brought Garrett and Blake a new tool table. They spend so much time building things it is amazing. Nice call Santa this was a huge hit.

Jack & Buddy's New Ripsticks

2009-12-25T23:13:00.001-06:00

Jack and Buddy got a rip stick for Christmas this year. Buddy was good right away because he rides Faith's all the time. Jack struggled and got a little frustrated at first but after a couple hours of trying over and over again he finally got it down. I think it would take me a lot longer than a couple hours. I would need a couple months. Even then I don't know if I would be able to do it. I would probably break my neck and end up in the hospital in traction.

Josie's New Bike

2009-12-25T23:03:00.001-06:00

Josie got a new bike this year from Santa. She is still a little hesitant on it because she isn't used to the hand breaks but she loves it anyway. I thought that she did a great job on it.

Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T23:02:00.001-06:00

Santa left everything very neat and organized but by the time six kids got to it it was complete chaos. I guess that means that it was a good Christmas. We have been very blessed this year and are so grateful for everything we have. The magic of Christmas is one of my favorite things about having children. There is nothing better than to see their faces light up when they come down on Christmas morning.

Christmas Breakfast

2009-12-25T00:31:00.002-06:00

For the bast 7 or 8 years we have had a big Christmas breakfast for all our family and whomever wants to come. Now that we don't live by family we have the Elders serving in our area and close friends come over. This year we had the Elliott's, the Beckers, Elder McGhan, Elder Kimber, Elder Anderson and Elder Carnahan come for breakfast. We had so much food I thought I was going to die. The kids played games with Steven, Crystal and the Elders and all the adults sat around visiting. It was a very casual and layed back morning. Just the way it should be. Hopefully, we can have family come too sometime in the next couple years.

Garrett's Big Surprise

2009-12-25T00:10:00.000-06:00

This is the cutest story ever. So, Wes wanted to buy a jar of pickles for a white elephant gift party we went to. We ended up not getting it and apparently Garrett really thought that Wes wanted a jar of pickles. While we were shopping at Sam's Club Garrett saw the bottle of pickles and HAD to buy them for Daddy. He was so pleased with himself. I think that he was more excited to see Wes open his gift than he was to open his open presents. It was soooo cute.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T23:02:00.001-06:00

This year we went over to the Becker's for Christmas Eve dinner. Martha was so sweet. She made cupcakes and let each of the kids decorate them. Dinner was amazing and the company was just as good.
Each year on Christmas Eve we each open one present. It's always jammmies that we get to wear to bed that night. Usually, the pajamas end up being too small and so this year I bought everyone a size bigger than what they should be. Of course, they were huge. Apparently, the correct size would have been perfect for each of them, go figure. I think they still looked darling in them though. After we opened up our presents we set out goodies and cherry coke for Santa and put out some reindeer food on the lawn so that Rudolph could find our house. Then it was off to bed for visions of sugar plums to dance through our heads.

Wes' new ASU shirt

2009-12-23T23:01:00.002-06:00

Wes got a new ASU shirt and he is sooo proud of it. He thinks that he is pretty tough when he wears it, hence the photo.

Jackson's 10th Birthday

2009-12-22T23:00:00.001-06:00

My baby is 10 years old. I can't believe it. The past ten years have flown by. This year we celebrated Jack's birthday a day early because the Christensen's were going leaving town. We went to Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and games and then came back to our house and the kids played for the rest of the day. It is very difficult for my kids to be separated from Faith and Cole for more than a day or two and so they had to get their fill of Faith and Cole before they left town for a week. Everyone played so well together. It may be worth going to Chuck-E-Cheese everyday. Not that I could afford that. Thanks to the Christensen's and Elliott's Jack had a fabulous birthday with our Texas family.
Jack is growing up to be a great young man. He is very talented at so many things. He loves to sing and is very good at art. He never ceases to amaze me at his ability to play sports. He is an awesome big brother and a joy to have in our family. I love you Jack!! Thanks for being my son.

Neighborhood Visitor

2009-12-21T23:01:00.001-06:00

On the 21st our neighborhood had a special visitor driving around on 4 wheeler. Santa came to check up on all the kids and while he was at it he took the kids on a ride in his trailor. It was so much fun!!

Family Photos 2009

2009-12-21T09:41:00.002-06:00

My dearest friend Karen agreed to brave another family photo for us and did an amazing job. It is not an easy feat to photograph 8 people, 6 of whom are under the age of 10. However, she always seems to do a fabulous job. I'm sure that it helps that my kids love her. Thank you so much for sharing your talent with our family Karen.

Marshmallow Shooters

2009-12-18T22:59:00.001-06:00

Okay, so Karen and I still have not learned our lesson about craft projects. However, I think that we found the best craft project yet. The kids had a great time and were able to do it all on their own. Karen and I cut the PVC pipe and then the kids did the rest. They built their own guns and then spray painted them the way they wanted. I was a little worried about the spray painting but they actually did a really good job. Homerun for Karen and I!!! Finally

Jack on Safety Patrol

2009-12-18T22:57:00.001-06:00

At school the 4th and 5th grade students get to serve as safety patrol. They choose students that have good grades and are responsible. Jackson was chosen to serve this last semester. He had to be at school by 7:45 in the morning and would open the car doors for the students to get out in car rider line. He was the cutest safety patroller out there. Then again I'm a little biased.

Gingerbread house time!!!

2009-12-11T22:56:00.001-06:00

Every year we make gingerbread houses with the Christensen's. It sounds like a really good idea up until the time we get all the stuff out and there is candy flying everywhere. The kids have a great year every year and so I guess it is all worth it. I will say every year it gets a little easier. A couple more years and I bet they will all be able to make them by themselves.

Putting up the Christmas Tree

2009-12-08T22:56:00.001-06:00

How many people does it take to put a nine foot Christmas tree? Well this year it took our entire family, the Christensen's, Crystal Elliott and two elders. We are so lucky to have so many willing and helping hands. This blasted tree is a pain in the behind to put up and I dread it every year. However, once it is up it is so pretty. Now I get to spend the next couple weeks dreading taking it down. Oh well. It's all for a good cause, right?

Snow in Katy, TX

2009-12-04T23:20:00.003-06:00

Today we received an early Christmas present. We had about four inches of snow at our house. The kids woke up this morning with a little bit coming down outside their windows but nothing really stuck. By 11:00 it was coming down hard, keep in mind that we live in Texas and so this is hard for us. The ground was covered in white fluffy stuff within minutes. The schools released everyone early due to inclimate weather. I think it was more because they didn't know how to control the kids going crazy in their classrooms over the flurry of snow outside. All of the teachers took their classes out and they all got to play in it and have snow ball fights. Once we got home from picking them up they all made a mad dash to get out of the car so that they could go play. They made a 3 foot tall snowman at the neighbors and had lots of snowball fights and made snow angels. Tonight the Christensen's and the elders in our area came over and we had tortilla soup and cheesy enchilada soup. It was so yummy. The kids don't seem to mind the cold, other than their hands burning. However, I am dying. This is why we live in Texas and not somewhere freezing cold. I have to admit that it was fun for one day but I am glad that it is not an every day occurrence.

Rhino's take 1st place

2009-11-22T10:24:00.001-06:00

Grandad and Buddy after the big win

Buddy was very excited about winning 1st place. Check out the size of his trophy.

This is Buddy with one of his best friends Trace. He was the teams quarterback and he is awesome.

This is the 2009 Rhino team. They are a great bunch of boys.

Buddy's team took first place in the championship game. Yay!!!! It was so exciting. Grandad came just to watch Buddy play. It meant so much to all of us that he came. It is something that Buddy will never forget. Buddy had a great game. He was able to sack the quarterback 3-4 times and had several great tackles. He did awesome. I don't know all the details, however, Wes and Grandad do so I will find out and post the correct information. The final score of the game was 14-13. The Bears played a great game but in the end we were able to pull it off. Buddy was awarded the defensive mvp for the season. He loved playing football and can't wait for the all star game in the middle of December.

Buddy's Playoff Game

2009-11-14T20:51:00.004-06:00

Buddy making a run for a 1st down

Here is Buddy running to stop the Wranglers from scoring a touch down. Below, Buddy is making the saving tackle.

Buddy and his fellow Rhino's celebrated after winning the game and moving on to the championship round.

This weekend Buddy's football team the Rhino's played in their first playoff game. They played against the Wranglers. Buddy had a great game. I don't know all of the football lingo and so Wes will have to get on and give all the details of the game. I just know they looked really good. Buddy caught an amazing pass from the quarterback Trace Jordan, also one of Buddy's best friends, on the fourth down. Then he had a great tackle on number 80 from the Wranglers. The kid had broken away and was running down the field without anyone near him. Buddy came from nowhere and tackled him to the ground. The team was then able to hold them for four downs and they were unable to score. Then on the last play of the game, the Wranglers were making a run for another touchdown to tie the game and the smallest guy on our team, Jake Shannon, tackled the kid and he fumbled the ball. Buddy jumped on the ball and recovered it for the Rhino's ending the game with a final victory of 13 to 6. This Saturday the will play in the championship game against the Bears. Buddy is so excited he can barely stand it. Thanks to Karen we have amazing photos from the game, these are just a few of the highlights. Grandad Young is making the trek out to Katy on Thursday night to be here to see the championship game. Buddy is a very happy boy and Wes and I are very very proud parents.

Halloween Day

2009-10-31T11:44:00.001-05:00

We had a very busy Halloween day this year. Buddy had a football game, we had the ward trunk or treat, then we went to a Halloween festival with some friends and then it was time for trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was a long day but the kids had a blast. I was in a very cheap and lazy mood this year when it came to costumes and so all of the kids dressed up in sports attire, it was pretty easy to find that around our house. Jack, Garrett and Blake were baseball players, Josie was a cheerleader, Buddy was a football player and Ben was a little pumpkin. The Christensen's and Crystal spent the day with us and they were all dressed in sports attire. Crystal was soccer player, Faith was a baseball player and Cole was a basketball player. It was so much fun!! Wes decided to wear his Chucky mask around town while driving. I'm pretty sure he startled several people. Blake was very disturbed by it. By the end of the day we were all very tired and slept very well

Bahama Mamas Closes

2009-10-31T11:36:00.001-05:00

Bahama Mamas closed for the season on halloween day and we were all very very sad. It is our favorite place to go for a treat. We can't wait for it to open again in April.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-28T11:40:00.000-05:00

Every year we carve pumpkins with our dear friends the Christensen's. It is a lot of work for Mark and Wes but the kids love it. We roast the pumpkin seeds and play while the Dad's carve all 8 pumpkins. It's not really fair for Mark since he only has 2 of the kids but he is always willing to help carve some of our kids pumpkins as well. He is such a good sport.

Josie's 7 year old photos

2009-10-05T15:01:00.000-05:00

Karen was so sweet and took Josie out to take some photos for her 7th birthday. Josie loves spending time with Karen and loves it even more when there is a camera involved. Josie felt like a real model. Thank you Karen for always taking care of all of us all the time.

Dallas Cowboys Game

2009-09-29T10:45:00.000-05:00

Wes, Jack & Buddy went to the first Monday night football game in the new Dallas arena. The Cowboys played against the Carolina Panthers. Wes and the boys said that it was a great game and that they had a blast being there together. I am so glad that Wes was able to take some time out of his hectic schedule to take the boys to Dallas for the game. It is something they will always remember. We really do have the best Dad!

Benjamin is blessed

2009-09-27T22:26:00.000-05:00

Today Ben was blessed at church. It was a great day spent with friends and family. We are grateful for those who took the time to be here with us today. We wish that more of our family could have been here but we understand that there is a small travel issue. It was a beautiful blessing. Our family is so blessed to have a Daddy that holds the priesthood. Thank you Wes for living righteously to allow us to have the blessing of the priesthood in our home. It means everything to me.

Nonna turns 74

2009-09-23T22:19:00.000-05:00

Grandma Nonna came to visit us for Ben's blessing and while she was here she turned 74 years old. It wasn't a very exciting day because all six kids were home sick from school. However, she was a great sport and we tried to make the most of it. We had dinner and celebrated with cheesecake and apple pie. Two of my favorites as well. I don't know that she will want to spend another birthday with us here in Texas. Sorry Nonna. I hope that you have a better year than you had birthday.

Josie Turns 7

2009-09-21T22:05:00.000-05:00

Josie is 7 years old. Josie was feeling a little under the weather but she managed to find enough strength to go to school to celebrate the special day with her friends. Daddy took her Chick-Fil-A for lunch which was the highlight of her day. That evening we had cake and ice cream with the Christensen's, Elliott's and Jill and Hannah. They were so great to come party with us. Josie received lots of fun presents and loved having her friends and family around.

I am so grateful that Josie is my girl. She is truly a blessing to our family. She reminds us that everyone needs a little pink and a little drama in their life to be really happy. She is beautiful and full of love for everyone around her. I am so blessed that our Heavenly Father allowed me to be her mom and I hope that she will always know how much I love her. Happy Birthday Josie

Grandma Boulter is Gone

2009-09-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

Well, Grandma Boulter had to go home. It was a very sad day at our house. Mom, I can't thank you enough for all your help over the past three weeks. I never would have made it without you. I am so grateful for all that you did for me and my family. You know that you have made a huge impact on a family when your son in law is wishing that you could live with us forever. :) I love you Mom thanks again for being the best Mom in the world.

Buddy's First Football Game

2009-09-12T13:55:00.000-05:00

Buddy had his first football game on Saturday. They won 13 to 0. According to several of the coaches from other teams, our team is the one to beat this season. Buddy played the entire game and did great. He plays running back and loves it. He had a great carry down the field for a touchdown. However, there was a flag on the play for holding and so the ball was brought back and the touchdown didn't count, but he looked good. Wes was beaming with pride watching him play. I don't know who enjoyed the game more Buddy or Daddy. I had no idea that Buddy would love it as much as he does. I have to admit it is really fun to watch him play. Our friends the Christensen's came to watch him play and Karen took some great photos of him. She is so talented. We are so lucky to have her to take photos of the kids.

Bayou Wildlife Park

2009-09-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

On Labor Day we took the kids to the Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin, TX. Jill and Hannah told us about it and so we loaded up with Grandma Boulter, the Christensen's and the Elliott's and headed out. When we first got there we were welcomed by ostrich's, onyx, and deer. It was so funny, they came right up to our windows and stuck their heads in the car to see what was going on. All of our kids were with Mark and Karen in the car in front of us. Apparently, they were freaking out a little bit. Even Wes was taken off guard when the ostrich stuck his head in to say hello. Then we loaded onto the tram and set off to see all the other animals. We saw a rhino, giraffes, deer, lemurs and lots of other animals. They even had a petting zoo full of pigmay goats that Wes decided he wanted to take home with him. You know, since we don't have enough chaos around our house, he thought we should add a goat to the mix. haha I can't believe we finally found something different to do that everyone loved. Well, almost everyone, Garrett didn't really care for it at first. However, by the end he too was having a good time. Thanks Jill and Hannah. And a huge thanks to all who came with us and made it a GREAT day.

Baby Ben is one week old

2009-08-31T22:24:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Ben is one week old already. I'm pretty sure this past week went way faster than any of the last 37 weeks. Ben has been so good. He sleeps great and rarely cries. He is such a sweet baby boy. Hopefully, he will stay this way forever.

Westside Sluggers took 2nd Place

2009-08-30T22:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend the Sluggers played in a tournament and won their first trophy. They didn't win the tournament but they came in 2nd. The boys played great and looked really good as a team. They were so happy to finally win a trophy. We were so proud of them. They played hard and smart. Next time they will win it all. It was also Ben's first game. I'm pretty sure he loved it!

Grandma Boulter Visits

2009-08-25T21:37:00.000-05:00

Grandma Boulter came to visit and help take care of our family. It has been so great having her here. She has been catering to all of our needs, especially mine. She has been getting up with the kids, getting them off to school and taking care of all the house duties. It has been so nice having her stay with us. She has been so helpful. I have been able to rest and I am healing very quickly. I am so grateful that she took time out of her schedule to be here with us.

Our New Arrival

2009-08-25T16:49:00.000-05:00

On Monday, August 24, 2009 at 11:05 am Benjamin Rock Young joined our family. He was 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 19 inches long. I came into the hospital on Sunday night at 9:30 with numbness in my face and I was having a really hard time breathing. After a bunch of tests and an EKG the doctor decided to keep me over night and observe me. I was kind of bummed since the kids had their first day of school on Monday. However, we decided that it was in my best interest to stay and let Wes go home and take the kids to school. At 6:00 am Dr. Cole, my O.B., called and asked me if I wanted to stay and deliver him on Monday instead of Wednesday. Of course, I said yes and we scheduled the c-section for 10:30. Poor Wes had a very busy morning. He got all 5 kids ready and took them up to the zoo at the school for the first day. He then dropped off Garrett and Blake at Karen's house. Thank heavens for Karen. And then he came to the hospital by 10:00. He changed into his scrubs and we headed into the Operating Room. What a good daddy. After school, Wes went and picked up all the kids and brought them back to the hospital to meet baby Ben. They were all so cute with him.

First Day of School

2009-08-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

Jackson, Buddy and Josie started school on the same day that Ben arrived. Wes took the kids to school and made sure that they all made it to their classes and were ready to go. My hero, how many dad's could get five kids ready and off to school without any help? He even made it look easy. Jackson is in 4th grade this year and very excited about his math/science teacher. Buddy is in the 3rd grade and has a lot of friends in his class. In fact, his best friend sits right next to him, we'll see how long that lasts. Josie is in 1st grade and of course, was so excited to be back with all of her friends. It was a long summer for her without her little posse. They had a great first day and are excited to see how the rest of the year goes.

Buddy's Scrimmage Against the Wranglers

2009-08-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

Buddy had his first football scrimmage against the Williams Wranglers. He played runningback and did awesome. He ran the ball a ton and sacked the quarterback several times. He got tackled by several large boys and fell on the ball, which knocked the wind out of him. Of course, I was very concerned but Wes said that he would be fine. He was and all was good but I still can't help but worry everytime the big boys come running towards him. All of the other parents have told us how well Buddy is doing and how happy they are that he is on the team. Wes is so happy about him playing football he can't stand it. Buddy is loving it too. We are all very excited about his first game that is coming up.

Buddy's Playing Football

2009-08-10T19:23:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago Buddy came to Wes and I and asked us if he could quit playing baseball. I was very sad because he is so good at it. That and it was easy having Jack and Buddy on the same select team. Same practices, games, schedules, etc. However, after talking about it Wes and I decided that it was only fair that we let him take a break for a while. So, Wes and Buddy decided that it would be fun to play football this fall. I don't know how I feel about it but Buddy is very excited. The practice three times a week for two hours per practice. Needless to say we are very very busy every night of the week. Up until now they have only practiced with helmets but tonight is full pads. Buddy was so excited that he was dressed and ready for practice at 5:00 and his practice didn't start until 6:30. I don't know who is more anxious for the season to start Wes or Buddy. I am really glad that they have something like this to do together. I will post photos from his first game on September 12th.

Josie lost her 3rd tooth

2009-08-05T19:17:00.000-05:00

Josie has been working on getting her 3rd tooth out since the last week of school. Finally, with only 2 weeks left of summer it finally came out. I thought it would never come out. It was a very dramatic event, like most, but it is finally over. It was so loose that she wanted to pull it out herself. So, being the kind mom that I am I obliged. However, after 1 1/2 hours enough was enough and I pushed it back until it was just hanging there. I thought that I would let her pull out the rest but even that was too much and so I yanked it out. She was mad for about 30 seconds and then she was okay with it. I love my little drama girl. She looks so cute with a big hole in her smile now. Just perfect for the beginning of school.

Josie is taking gymnastics

2009-07-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Josie girl is taking gymnastics. We decided that it was time for her to do something for herself rather than sit at baseball practice for the boys several times a week. At first she had a hard time going for 1 hour and 10 minutes per class but now she is a pro. She loves the bars and is getting pretty good at her rolls . She still needs some work but every week she gets better and better. Before long she will be one of the best. She loves it and can't wait for her next class.

Blake copying Daddy

2009-06-29T23:14:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Blake has been watching Wes work a lot lately. I walked into the family room and found Blake working on the laptop and talking on the phone. It was so cute I had to take a photo of it.

Our Broken Sink

2009-06-27T23:27:00.000-05:00

While all of the family was here for Buddy's baptism I dropped a 5 lb. bag of frozen chicken into my sink. When I came back to run some cool water on it I realized that the chicken had fallen through the sink leaving a huge hole in it's place. I was so sick when I saw it. Our countertops and sink are all one piece and so I knew that it was going to be a very expensive fix. We are good friends with one of the builders sells people and so I called him up and he and his head construction guy came over to take a look at it. They gave me the name and number to the company that installed it and of course I was told there was nothing they could do to help us. I was so happy about that. NOT!!! I ended up calling the company that made the product and after six weeks of fighting with them they agreed that it was not normal and that it should not have happened and agreed to pay to have it fixed. Thank heavens. After they installed the new sink Wes and Blake had to reinstall all the plumbing. I am so thankful that I am married to a handyman because I wouldn't have had a clue as to how to fix it.

Craft Day

2009-06-24T23:19:00.000-05:00

So, Karen and I thought that it would be a good idea to have a craft day with the kids. We always seem to forget about how much work it ends up being for us. Poor Karen burned the heck out of her finger while she was helping one of the kids with their projects. I'm sure that we will do it again but it may be a little while. Luckly, the kids had a fun time and really isn't that what is most important?

Men's College World Series

2009-06-17T22:58:00.000-05:00

Wes decided to take Jack and Buddy to Omaha, Nebraska for the men's college world series. They left right after one of their baseball tournaments and drove to Dallas where they stayed with a friend and then went onto Omaha the next day. ASU was playing and so they went to support Wes' team. While they were waiting in between games they found the ASU players warming up and were able to signatures and pictures with Coach Pat Murphy and several of the players. They had so much fun. I don't know who had a better time, Wes or the boys. It is something they hope to be able to do every year from here on out. Garrett and Blake can't wait until they are big enough to go with them. On the way home Wes hit a deer. Apparently, it's not a good idea to watch baseball games all day, leave at 11:30 pm and drive for 14 hours straight. Luckly, Wes is a great driver and so there was very little damage to his truck and everyone in his truck was unharmed. All in all it was a great trip and everyone had more fun than they ever hoped to have.

Jack & Buddy's Awards Ceremony

2009-06-07T00:21:00.000-05:00

Jack & Buddy both received a lot of awards this year. They both had straight A's most of the year by working very hard. Jackson got 100% on his math TAKS test. He was so proud of himself. They both had great teachers this year that worked very hard to help them be successful. They are very excited to move on to 3rd and 4th grade next year.

Josie's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

On Thursday Josie had her kindergarten graduation. They sang songs and read poems and then they each received their awards. Josie received an award for being a great rhino, Rylander Rhino's, citizen. Her teacher said that she was always the first to welcome new students and help someone when they were having a bad day. After her graduation we had a picnic outside with all the kindergartners. I can't believe my little girl is done with kindergarten and moving up to fist grade next year. She is so growing up so fast and getting smarter by the day. For part of their graduation they had to say what they want to be when they grow up. Josie said that she wanted to be a rock star. Stay tuned, she may very possibly become one. She is so head strong that once she gets an idea in her head it is very hard to convince her of anything else. She is so funny.

Buddy's baptism

2009-05-16T12:39:00.000-05:00

Buddy was baptized on Saturday, May 16, 2009 in Katy, Texas. He was baptized the same day as his friend Hayden Pope. We had a lot of family and friends come to support him. Among those that came were Grandad & Grandma JoAnn, Nona, Aunt Zoie, Hyrum, and Emilee, Aunt Serena and Kevin, Christensen's, Elliotts, Jill Sampson, Hannah Clarke, Mrs. Bellinghausen (Buddy's 2nd grade teacher), Bauers, and many more. We are so thankful for those that were able to make it and know that there were many more who wanted to be there. We appreciate all of your love and support.

That day was very busy. Not only did Buddy get baptized but he had two baseball games and it was his birthday. Needless to say we were on the go all day long. Buddy, however, played a great baseball game that day in the rain.

We are very proud of Buddy and the choices that he has made thus far in his life. He is a huge blessing in our lives. His smile can brighten even the cloudiest of days. He is so sweet and caring to all those around and his brothers and sister love to be around him. He is truly one of the greatest joys in my life. I consider it a huge honor to be his mom and to watch him grow and learn each day.

Mother's Day/Garrett's broken leg

2009-05-10T13:11:00.000-05:00

Mother's Day was a very eventful day in our house. Wes and the kids bought me a prenatal massage at the day spa. I was so excited! That sounds so relaxing to me. I also got some beautiful flowers and kitchen accessories. Wes and the kids even put together a mother's day presentation for Zoie and I. It was so cute. They all sang us mother's day songs and told us what they loved about us being their mom. I have such a great family.

That afternoon when I laid down to take a nap I heard Garrett start screaming outside on the trampoline. Wes brought him upstairs to me and he was holding his leg and screaming at the top of his lungs. I figured he probably sprained his ankle or something so I called his orthopedic surgeon and he told me to ice it and keep it up and bring him in the next morning. Wes stayed up all night with him as he moaned and cried. I slept great upstairs in my bed. Wes is such a great dad to stay up with him all night. The next morning I took him in to see the Dr. Devino and it turns out that he broke his leg, about 3 inches above his ankle, in two places. Poor kid! It took him two weeks before he would walk on it but he is up and going strong now. I thought those two weeks were going to kill my back since we had to carry him everywhere. All in all he has been a great sport about it all. We go in on June 8th to see if he can take his cast off or if he needs to have it on for another 2-3 weeks. Hopefully, his leg will be okay and he can take his cast off but if not we will survive.

We're having another boy

2009-04-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

Today we found out that we will be having another boy join our family. We were able to take all of the kids but Buddy to see the ultrasound. He is in the 2nd grade musical and they had a performance for the school this morning. I think all the boys thought it would be a girl and had just given into the idea. When they announced that it was going to be a boy Jackson was so excited. I went to school to have lunch with Buddy to tell him what we were having and when I told him he nearly jumped out of his seat. He ran over and told his entire class. Josie on the other hand wasn't so excited. She sat there and tears started pouring down her face. My heart broke for her. I know that one day it won't be so bad today she is having a pretty hard time with it. We are excited to have a new baby join our family at the end of August and I know that he will be a sweet little angel.

Rain in Katy, TX

2009-04-18T18:13:00.000-05:00

We had a massive rainfall here in Katy. There was more rain than I have ever seen in the five years we have lived here. I was at the grocery store and recieved several calls from people who knew that I was out warning me to be careful on the way home. I didn't think too much of it because the roads were pretty clear when I went to the store even though it was raining. Luckly, Wes took photos so that we could remember it. We have a great drainage system here and so the water didn't stay standing for long but while it lasted it was bad. On my way home there were stalled cars all over the roads. I was in Wes' truck and so I didn't have any problem getting through. There was so much standing water that it was over the curbs and into the grassy areas. It was crazy. I have honestly never seen anything like it before.

Briana Update 4/17/2009

2009-04-18T14:47:00.000-05:00

Teri arrived safely at the Burbank airport this morning and had a happy reunion with Eric and Leyna. They went to the hospital and spent the balance of the day with Bri (noon-7:00 p.m.).

Bri’s was doing better today but was still draining lots of fluid. The dr. said the fluid is being generated by the liver as it recovers from the trauma of Monday’s surgery and heals. Teri reports that Bri’s stomach, legs and feet are swollen. But that’s to be expected as long as the liver isn’t working at full function, after all, the liver is the body’s master filter. With 40% of it being removed and the trauma that’s been imposed on the portion that remains, yes, the filter’s experienced a tremendous shock that will affect its function. Over time, drainage should cease and the edema (swelling) throughout Bri’s body will subside.

Bri was able to wash her hair for the first time this week. She wasn’t thrilled with the two-in-one shampoo/conditioner provided by the hospital. When Teri offered the shampoo and conditioner she brought from AZ, Bri was quick to take her up on the offer.

One of Bri’s former high school and volleyball club teammates, Ale (Coquelet) Ray, lives in our ward. She’s the Beehive advisor. Ale coordinated a service project in which, over the past few weeks, she told her Beehive girls stories about Bri – as an athlete, a friend and a mother. She showed the girls pictures of Bri and her family. Ale helped her girls make a Care Package – the girls donated books for Bri and her children; wrote personal letters to Bri; included candy for whomever might like it; and other things that I don’t recall right now. Ale was so excited to have Teri take the package to Bri! Although Teri hasn’t told me about the details, I imagine eyes filled with tears of joy and appreciation as Bri saw the gift of love from a long-time friend who took time out of her busy life to say, “I Love You.”

I spoke with Bri for a couple of minutes early this afternoon. She sounded stronger than I thought she might. She was glad to be out of ICU. Today, although she was still weak and fatigued, she walked 3 laps around the hospital ward. Yup, she’s still an overachiever. J Reminder, Teri will let us all know when Bri feels strong enough to take phone calls.

Eric is exhausted. Teri says Cedars-Sinai hospital is 1½ -2 hours each way from Bri’s home. With all he’s been through this week, Eric invited Teri to go to the hospital to spend the day with Bri, tomorrow. He’ll stay home with Kami and Leyna and get some much needed rest and relaxation.

Thus far I’m not aware of any date the dr. might have in mind for Bri’s release from the hospital.

The Lord’s blessings are being evidenced each day as Bri’s strength and attitude continue to return to normal. We recognize the role of ministering angels in her recovery. We’re so grateful for righteous grandparents, cousins, other family members and friends on the other side of the veil who continue to petition the blessings of heaven, and provide service to, her.

We appreciate your love, prayers, supportive thoughts and testimony.

Rick

4/14/09 Update on Briana

2009-04-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

I just spoke with Briana at 8:45 this morning. Rick is so much better at passing along information than I am, but he’s teaching this morning and I wanted to let you all know as soon as possible what is going on with Briana. We didn’t speak long as the doctor came in to check her so we had to hang up.

I asked her how she felt and she said “Lousy!” She had a bad night and she told me this is the worse pain she’s ever experienced – much worse than her last surgery. She does feel like she’s a lot better this morning because they are giving her lots of medicine and keeping her pretty much sedated. She says she feels like she’s been sleeping for 24 hours but definitely needs more!

She said they are keeping her in ICU for at least another day. Her platelet count is really low and she is draining blood. They apparently have had to give her numerous transfusions.

She expounded on what Eric told us yesterday regarding why the surgery took so long. She said there was so much scar tissue that they had to cut through to get to the liver that it took them a long time. The doctor said that because there is so much oozing going on still, if he had it to do over again, he would not have allowed any type of chemo for several weeks before the surgery as it’s definitely having an adverse affect on her.

The doctor found quite a few adhesions and little tumors on her liver that didn’t show up in the scans and, as mentioned yesterday, ending up taking about 40% of her liver. He performed ablations (?) – I believe that’s burning out some of the tumors. He did tell her once she’s home, he wants her to have a “chemo holiday” for a while to build her up before they do any more testing. He wants her platelets to regenerate first.

While he was in Florida recently at a cancer convention, many surgeons thought that you should only take out “X amount” of the cancer and then go back about 6 weeks later to take out more. He told Eric and Bri that he disagreed with this theory and thought he should remove any and all cancer he could find at the time – which is what he did. He doesn’t want to go back in later and he says he removed every bit of cancer he could see. Bri says she’s very grateful for his way of thinking!

Again, she is doing a lot of sleeping and they don’t want any phone calls or visitors at this time while she’s in ICU – which will be at least another day. When they release her to another room, and she’s feeling up to it, Eric will take her cell phone up for her so she’ll be able to receive calls on her cell phone at that time.

If you have any specific questions, please let me know and I’ll find out from Eric.

We thank you for all your love, prayers and concern in Bri’s behalf. Eric told me he and a Bishop in the area gave her a blessing last night because she was in so much pain. We know she’ll be fine, especially because of all your love and support!

Love you lots!

Teri

Update on Briana after liver surgery

2009-04-13T20:37:00.000-05:00

Bri’s liver surgery was completed at 2:30 p.m. (CA time). She was in for a total of 7 hrs. Eric reports the dr. said there were no bad surprises.

The operation was delayed approx. 1½ hrs. because her white cell and platelet counts were too low – a common side-effect of chemotherapy. Regarding this issue, the dr. said that if he had it to do over, he would have had the chemotherapy dr. remove one of the chemo cocktail medications 2 weeks earlier and by so doing, her counts would have been better.

Anyway, after giving her some medications and time to pump up the white cell and platelet counts the surgery began. The dr. went in through the scar from her Nov. 2008 surgery.

Of the three lobes of the liver – left, middle, right -- the dr. removed the right lobe and a portion of the left lobe and none of the middle. The right lobe had some active cancer. The left lobe had traces of an old, dying cancer. In total, the dr. removed 35-40% of her liver and then dressed it with an anti-adhesion dressing. That would be similar to a job-skin which is used by burn patients to prevent heavy scarring that can lift and become disfigured. This was done so that if at any future date Bri needs an additional surgery, scar tissue from today’s procedure won’t be an obstacle.

The dr. was happy to find that after conducting a thorough internal examination, there was no sign of any cancer anywhere outside the liver.

Regarding the stomach pain that Bri’s been experiencing over the past couple of months that was localized in the scar tissue just below her sternum from her Nov. surgery, the dr. found a stitch that hadn’t dissolved. It was near the surface of the scar and resulted in nerve pain and overall discomfort. He cleaned as much old scar tissue as he could from her Nov. 2008 surgical scar and feels confident she’ll recovery very nicely.

Bri’s now in recovery and will be allowed to return home as soon as she can eat regular food – hopefully by Thursday, Friday at the latest.

The dr. said full regeneration of the liver may take up to 9 months, but Bri will experience the largest portion of regrowth within the next 6 weeks. She’ll get back on chemotherapy within the next 2 or 3 weeks, depending on her recovery from this surgery. We’re not sure if the chemo cocktail amounts or medications will be adjusted in any way. The dr.s will consult with each other as they monitor her progress.

Eric’s doing as well as can be expected. It’s been a long anxious day for him as he could do nothing but wait and pray for the dr. to do his thing.

Eric says he’ll have Bri call Teri later this evening when she’s feeling better. We’ll keep you updated as the situation warrants.

We appreciate your ongoing faith and prayers. If you have any special contacts on the other side of the veil, their petitions are also welcomed.

Rick Boulter
April's Dad

Easter Day

2009-04-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

For easter this year we had a bunch of people over to celebrate Easter and Garrett's birthday. The Christensen's, Holloway's, Elliott's and Jill Sampson and Hannah Clarke all came to celebrate with us. We had a big bar-b-que and relaxed. It was so much fun. We had a lot of rain on Easter morning and so the easter bunny hid all of the eggs in the house. We are still finding eggs to this day. Garrett said that this was the best birthday he had ever had. Grandma and Grandpa Boulter gave him a baseball tee. The Christensen's gave him "Horton Hears a Who", his favorite movie. Jill and Hannah gave him a remote control car and water guns. The Holloway's gave him a gumball machine. And the Elliott's gave him a bunch of fun games like a bubble blower, donuts and other things. Everyone was so kind to come and help celebrate his special day. We may not have famiy here but we have great friends.

Spring Break

2009-04-10T17:57:00.000-05:00

During spring break we played lots and lots of baseball. I'm sure that comes as a huge surprise to most. We went out to the fields with the Christensen's and Wes worked with all the kids on their hitting and fielding. The kids had such a great time. We also played lots of games and let the kids play in the yard. It was a very relaxing spring break. I can't wait until summer. Hopefully, it will be just as relaxing and fun.

Buddy's 1st time pitching

2009-04-06T21:35:00.001-05:00

This past weekend Jackson and Buddy played in a local tournament here in Katy. Jackson started off the game as the starting pitcher. By the 3rd inning the Westside Sluggers, that's our team, was up 14-0. So, the coach thought he would give Buddy a chance to pitch. When Wes walked over and told me that Buddy was going to pitch my heart started pounding so hard. I was so nervous for him. He had never pitched before, even in practice, let alone in a game. He only pitched one inning but did a great job. He pitched to four batters. He struck the first batter out. The second batter got a single, the third batter hit the ball back to Buddy and he through it to first to get him out, and the fourth batter hit the ball to short who through it to first and got the final out. I must say we may just have a second pitcher in our family. I was a very proud mom. Jackson and Buddy both hit very well in the both games on Saturday as well as pitched. I am amazed at how much better they are getting every month. They are very fortunate to have such great coaches and team mates.

Garrett's 1st visit to the Dentist

2009-04-06T21:24:00.000-05:00

On March 31st Garrett went to see Dr. Griffith at Kids Healthy Teeth. He was so excited to finally go to the dentist like the older kids. He did such a good job. He sat there and let them clean his teeth and took perfect x-rays. He walked through the office talking to all of the dental hygienists. It was pretty funny. The dentist said that he has great teeth. No cavities on his first visit. Hopefully, it will stay that way. As we were leaving Garrett asked the hygentist when he could come back. The hygentist told him, "in six months". Garrett said, "is that a long time?" The hygentist answered, "for you, it's probably going to be a long time." Garrett then asked him if he could come back next week. Everyone in the office got a good laugh out of that. I think that says a lot about a dentist office.

Brenham Baseball Tournament

2009-03-26T22:45:00.000-05:00

We had a baseball tournament over the weekend and one of the games turned out so well, we had to write about it. Jack was the starting pitcher and ended up pitching all 5 innings. He led most of the game until the last inning. The other team pulled ahead by 2 runs. But luckily, we were home team. We got a couple hits and got people on the bases. They got an out here and another there. We were able to tie the game with 2 outs and a man on 3rd base. The other team walked a batter intentionally to create a force. Buddy was up next. (Remember, Buddy is playing up on Jacks team so he is by far the youngest one, not to mention quite a bit smaller). They pitched him a ball first. Then pitched him a strike. The coach gave him the "hit" sign and that's exactly what he did on the next pitch. Fly ball between the centerfielder and the right fielder. He hit in the winning run and the team ran out to first base and mauled him. They all tackled him to the ground in a mound. When he got up, he had the biggest smile on his face. I think it was the happiest I have ever seen him. So Jack got the win because Buddy hit in the winning run in the last inning. It was a great game. It's great to be the Dad of the 2 stars in the game. April was hooting and hollering from the stands. I will put up some photos of the game. By: Wes

Taylor Swift

2009-03-20T14:53:00.000-05:00

On March 20th Josie and I got were invited to go to the Taylor Swift concert with some friends. Josie was so excited to see Taylor Swift. The morning of the concert Josie woke up with strep throat. Her tonsils were so swollen they were touching each other. I took her to the doctor that morning and he said as long as she rested she would be okay to go. So, she rested all day and by the time it was time to leave she was ready to rock and roll. She didn't complain a single time while we were gone. We went with three teenage girls, which Josie loved. I'm sure if I hadn't gone she wouldn't have even noticed. The fact that she was able to go with Crystal and her friends was a dream come true for her. The girls were so good to always include her in whatever they were doing. They made the night a night to remember for Josie. She loved it. I loved being there to be a part of it with her and to see her excitement.

Blue Bell & Bluebonnet's

2009-03-19T12:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we went to the Blue Bell icecream factory. We missed the tour of the factory but we were able to walk around and visit the country store there. And of course we each got to get a free scoop of ice cream. It was very tasty. The kids had such a great time. It helped that they were with the Christensen and Elliott families. We couldn't experience something new in Texas without our Texas families. After we went to the factory we found a large field of bluebonnet's. They were so beautiful. We took lots of photos in the field that turned out great. Jack was laying in the flowers for a photo when he was attacked by a ton of fire ants. He has about 30 bites all over his left arm. I felt so bad for him. All in all though it was a great day and everyone had a blast.

It's Rodeo Time

2009-02-26T14:55:00.000-06:00

This year Buddy and Josie rode the sheep in the Katy Rodeo. Josie wasn't very excited about it but after a little bribery, a new cabbage patch doll, we were able to convince her to do it. However, after she was given a sheep that bucked on the way out of the gate she decided she was never doing that again. We'll see what we can bribe her with next year. Buddy was disappointed that he had a lazy sheep that just wanted to lay down. I think Josie and Buddy should have traded sheep and they both would have been very happy. We went with the Christensen's and the Elliott's and had a great time. Blake got to race in the stick horse race for the first time this year. He was a little slow starting but once he figured out what he was doing there was no stopping him. Garrett on the other hand wanted nothing to do with the arena. He wouldn't go in the arena because the bulls had been in there and he was convinced the bulls were going to charge after him as soon as he went in. After he saw Blake do it he realized it was okay and so now he says he wants to race next year. We'll see if that really happens. He is by far my most cautios little one. I'm sure one day I will be wishing he was still cautious. All in all we had a great time and can't wait to go next year.

100th Day of School

2009-02-10T14:48:00.000-06:00

This year for the 100th day of school Buddy had to dress up as a 100 year old man. Then they had a parade around the school. They were all so cute. It was amazing to see how great all the kids were dressed up for the occasion.

Cravings

2009-02-09T14:36:00.000-06:00

This pregnancy I have been craving chinese food. This is very strange for me. Usually I crave Taco Bell and vegetables but this time it is all different types of chinese food. So, I decided that I would make chinese dumplings. I saw it on the food network channel and it looked easy enough. What a joke. It took me 6 hours to make all of them and that was with Wes and the kids helping me out. I still crave chinese food but only chinese food that is made by someone else.

Blake's 2nd Birthday

2009-01-29T14:29:00.000-06:00

Blake celebrated his birthday without any big harrah. I had the flu and was sick from the pregnancy. I don't remember the last time I was so sick. I hadn't bought him a present or anything. I think I officially took the worlds worst mom award that day. Luckly, Grandma and Grandpa Boulter had sent money for a gift and so Wes took the kids to Cici's pizza to have some fun while I stayed home in bed. Thanks to some great friends Blake did have a couple presents. The Christensen's bought him a little laptop that he loves and the Elliott's brought him a giant puppy with his own little puppy bed. Blake was so excited he could barely stand it. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family.

It finally arrived

2009-01-07T14:21:00.000-06:00

Well, after a lot of waiting. The kids finally received their christmas present, the Wii. They received it for christmas but it was defective and so we had to send it back. It finally arrived and the kids couldn't be happier. They have so much playing together. The neighbor kids seem to like it too. I thought they were here a lot before but now I can't get rid of them. They seem to come in masses. Oh well, I would rather have them here than somewhere else.