No, I'm NOT Kidding!

Yep, it happened again. When is this going to stop! So, this is the aftermath of Mason's latest trip to the ER (are we up to 5?) and his 3rd broken arm. Same arm. Different spot. Blue again. He insisted on either that or bright pink. This break wasn't as bad, luckily. Yes, we have had tests done to make sure his bones aren't weak. Turns out he is just very accident prone. This time he tried to climb up a cement fountain and pulled in down on top of himself. It landed on his hand, and we are just glad that the growth plate in his hand appears to be okay - that was the doctor's initial concern. Only three weeks in the cast this time - hooray!

Balloon Glowdeo 2009

The balloon glow was really fun! A little crazy with all the kids and Russ out of town, but tons of fun! I didn't realize how close they let people get to the balloons, and they are so huge when you get right up to them. It was fun to watch them get all set up at the beginning too! We love to watch the Pepsi can fly - it just doesn't look like it should be up in the air.

Balloons everywhere - all week long!

So, one of the funnest parts about balloon fiesta week is that you see balloons everywhere all week long! About half the days just walking Cole to school we would see them all over. These are just a few of the ones we saw from our house. The bunny flew right over our roof - you can hear the sound of the air blowing to fill up the balloons. Ask the boys and they'll give you a sound demonstration:) Apparantly, the fish landed in the road near our house and blocked traffic for a while. We've heard lots of interesting ballooning stories this week, and we've seen some rough landings with the chasers desperately trying to hang on to the baskets. Russ may have thought when we first got here that it would be fun to get into ballooning, but I think we're all convinced we'll just settle for one ride sometime - and even that could be risky!

Our First Balloon Fiesta Week!

So, this is the biggest event that happens in Albuquerque, and it definitely lived up to all the hype! What a fun week! I've heard some people say they love balloon fiesta week because it's the beginning of all the fall fun and the holidays, and I can see why they feel that way. There's lots of excitement, and then we've got Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. I have so many pictures of the balloons, I'll just have to get some them on in a few posts.

This first one is of all the kids in the back of the car stuck in traffic for maybe an hour. We left the house at 5:30 a.m. Apparantly, we should have left earlier because we didn't even get into the park that morning by the time the balloons went up around 7:00. We ended up watching it from a gas station parking lot with our new friends the McEntires who were so nice to show us the ropes and let us tag along. Here's me with Amber and the two babies born on the same day!

So, I don't know the numbers for sure, but I think there were somewhere around 600 or 700 balloons. It was so fun to see so many at once! The boys were talking about going to watch hot air balloons with Kirra for weeks after, and I learned a great new way to make breakfast burritos (thanks Amber!) - they were delicious, and I wasn't going to get up early to make them the old standard way. What a fun way to start off the week!

Hooray for Jen and Doug and the Cousins!

While Russ was gone for a couple weeks, my sister Jen was kind enough to bring her kids out for a visit from Florida (they get free stand-by flights). We had such a great time! Yes, there were moments of crazy with six kids under the age of six. But, there were also many moments we laughed so hard I almost wet my pants! The kids had so much fun together. So did Jen and I!




Jen even managed to convince Doug to come out for a day to check out Albuquerque. Maybe we can convince them to follow us just one last time:)

On to Albuquerque...

Next step: on to Albuquerque! We finally made it, and Russ unexpectedly had to work in Colorado less than 24 hours later, so the kids and I went to work on the boxes and exploring our new town.

One week later Cole started school. Parker wanted a picture of his first day of preschool as well (we do it 2 days a week with a little group of boys from church).

Mason's favorite spot in the house.

Sadie has been terrified of the vents. She learned to crawl shortly after we arrived here (yes, I finally gave her the go ahead...) but she would get over the vent and freeze when she felt the air coming out, and then scream until I came and moved her. One of the boys brought home a balloon, and all of a sudden it was a whole different story.

Off to Utah...

So, we packed up the moving truck, Russ and his Dad drove off to Albuquerque, and the kids and I headed to the airport after spending a night with our friends Beth & Kendall Williams. Russ' and my mom both asked multiple times if I was sure I wanted to fly with all 4 kids by myself, and I was sure. At the beginning of the trip, I must admit, I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into... but once Mason got a little nap on the first flight, everything went pretty smoothly.

We were so happy to see all of our family and spend some time in Utah.

We were even happier when Russ decided to drive 10 extra hours to spend some time there with us!

One Last Graduation!

After many, many years of school, Russ is finally done! Wow! I can hardly believe it's over. We really enjoyed Jacksonville and will miss many great friends there. Now, on to some new adventures...

Arlington Ward Sunday School...

Here's Russ' cute Sunday School class at one final class party the week before our move. He loved teaching that class, and we really miss our fun ward and those great kids!

Cumberland Island

We had been wanting to visit Cumberland Island for months, but were kind of turned off by the high prices to get there. Two weeks before the move, Russ discovered that we could take our little boat across (turns out you didn't have to go into the ocean like I had thought) and save the money from the ferry. So, we called our friends the Fergusons and headed out for a little adventure...

We did lots of hiking around to explore all the ruins. Some huge mansions completely destroyed, at least one by fire. All used to be owned by the Carnegies. Pretty impressive on such a beautiful island... too bad it's not still in use (although I guess that's why we get to explore it). We saw LOTS of horses all around. One baby only a few days old!

At the other side we stopped and swam at the beach before hiking back to the boat. The boys were having so much fun with their friends that despite lots of hiking and sun, we hardly heard a complaint. What a great day!!

Too Much Pink Medicine...

So, Mason is definitely our most accident prone child (although this one was no accident on his part). Here is a shot of Mason (thanks Jess) during his 3rd trip to the ER. The next day we were back again making 4 trips to the ER in his two short years of life. I'm sure others have had worse, but I don't know of any, so let me know if you do (it'll make me feel better:)

It seems like something traumatic always happens to us right before a big move. Cole sprayed cleaner in Parker's eyes the week before we left Colorado, and he wouldn't open his eyes for three days. I was preparing myself for the idea of having a blind child.

This was Mason's turn. A couple of weeks before leaving Florida (while Russ was out of town of course) we were all sick and were all prescribed Amoxicillin. I had the kids all lined up to get their medicine, and while I was giving Parker his, Mason slipped behind me without me noticing (he already had his and obviously loved it) and as quickly as possible drank Sadie's entire bottle. I thought I had it high enough on the counter to be out of reach, but from now on I will be extra careful to put the lid back on tight even if I'm going to be opening it again 3 seconds later...

So, we headed off to the ER after the poison control lady told us it was the highest amount she had ever heard for his weight. Luckily our good friend and her daughter (thanks Patty!) were kind enough to stay with the other kids at the last minute. I did see another mom in the ER with 6 kids and was very grateful to just have Mason.

They worried about kidney failure, but after being monitored for a few hours and having blood and urine tests done, they determined he had made it past the critical point and could go home. The only thing that showed up (randomly) in his urine was a possible bladder infection. So, we left the hospital with strict instructions to come right back if I noticed any blood in his urine.

Well, the next day the symptoms of the bladder infection were starting to show, and Mason refused to go to the bathroom because it hurt too bad. In the mean time, we had started another antibiotic for that problem. Needless to say, after a 24 hour period of holding it and not knowing if there was blood in his urine (not to mention his poor kidneys with all that build up) we headed back to the ER to see if we needed a catheter. He ended up being just fine, but it was a crazy few days.

Mason's 1st trip to the ER was for his broken arm (falling off the slide) at 18 mo. The 2nd was for breaking the same arm 6 months later when he climbed up the back of Russ' recliner, and it reclined.

I really hope we don't have any more for a while...

Ginny Springs

We tried as hard as we could to see as many things as possible before leaving Florida. There are just so many great places, and not enough time to see it all, but we crammed it in the best we could during our final few weeks. Three weeks before the move, we went to a beautiful place called Ginny Springs. Russ had been wanting to go there for a long time, and we really enjoyed it! The water is so clear (and freezing cold!) and there are caves in the bottom of the caves that people scuba dive into. Russ did a little free diving, and all the kids swam. Even Sadie did okay in the cold water for a little while, but I was happy to bring her out when she'd had enough!

Cole's Preschool Graduation

Wow! What an event! Russ and I could hardly believe the effort and excitement put into the graduation ceremony for Cole's preschool class. After all these years of school, it sounds like most of Russ' ortho class doesn't even want a graduation. Maybe they've already had enough of them... but I'm excited for one culminating event to celebrate the end of all the school!

Anyway, here are some pictures from Cole's big day. These were taken by our neighbors the Simbas (who are also in the pictures) since I forgot my camera... and obviously didn't realize what a big deal it was supposed to be! You can tell by Sadie's face and my hair that it had been a long, rainy day - and I was in charge of organizing the food for the event, which only made the day longer. Cole did a great job on his part in the program, and we are very proud of all of his preschool accomplishments!! He can hardly wait to start Kindergarden - and Parker can't wait for his turn in preschool!

Orlando Trip with the Dester Crew

Thanks to my parents, we managed to get a much needed break a couple of weeks ago. Kurt just graduated from BYU, and Amanda just finished her radiology boards with flying colors... so they flew into Fort Lauderdale to visit Jen. Mom & Dad flew into Jacksonville to visit us, and we all met in Orlando for a few days.

Here's a picture of my parents with my four crazy kids (this is the least crazy shot).

Here are the four crazy little boys... Cole, Dallin, Mason, and Parker. And a shot of little Mason and cute Brookie--Mason calls her Bokky. (Yes, I noticed, but they're the best shots I've got).

And one of Kurt and my Dad who, along with Russ, spent a lot of time playing pool, ping pong, air hockey, etc. while the little boys watched/tried to play their own games. What a great week!!!

Orlando Trip Part 2

So, I was trying to figure out why I have hardly any pictures of the adults from this trip... Jen was there, I was there - no pictures of either of us. I do have some very nice pictures of Amanda with Sadie in the pool... Aha! We were all in our swimsuits by the pool almost the entire time. No wonder the pictures are all of the kids:)

Here's one of Cole with my Dad. And below is one of Mason with some funny action in the background. This is the farthest Mason ever wanted to be in the pool... and it took him a while to get in this far. Apparently we haven't spent as much time with him in the water.

Here is Parker, who has finally learned to love the water... and my Mom with Sadie - both of whom like the pool much better than the sandy beach!