Elise Is a Mom......to Butterfly's!

Saturday, May 21st--As you might remember, Elise received a butterfly kit for her birthday, back in March. Nate ordered the caterpillars after we returned from Disneyland. They arrived on May 11th. It took only 10 days for them to form cocoons and hatch. It was quite an experience to watch the whole process. Elise got 5 caterpillars and all 5 formed cocoons and hatched, all within 2-3 days. She loved taking them out of the little netted cage and let them perch on her finger. Once they were all hatched it was time to release them. We have beautiful honeysuckle bushes blooming right now so I thought it would be a good idea to release them nearby. When we went outside, many of the neighbor kids were out playing and got to watch her release them. It was a great! Elise is already wanting to order more caterpillars! She even named the little cuties but I can't remember the names.

Elise's Class Fieldtrip

Wednesday, May 18th--I love going on fieldtrips with my kids. They are always so fun! Elise's class fieldtrip took us up to the Bingham Canyon Copper Mine. Holy moly it was snowing! There was so much fog we couldn't even see into the large pit. We spent some time in the visitors center where we watched a film and then looked around at all the many displays. I had a group of 4 girls I was in charge of, including Elise. The visitors center was small and we had some time to kill after we saw everything so, naturally, the girls wanted to go to the gift shop. Ay yi yi! The girls went crazy. Of course, Elise begged me to buy her something. Instead I got a few things for her cousin who lives in Hawaii, things I knew he would love. We were suppose to eat lunch close-by at a park but the weather was so awful--who would have thought, in the middle of May, we'd still need winter coats! We rode the bus back to the school and ate lunch in the classroom. Even with the crazy weather we had a great time!

A Hot Day At Trafalga

Friday, May 13th--We have some wonderful season passes called The Pass of All Passes. It includes two fun parks, minor league baseball games, and a water park. For as cheap as they were, we've gotten our moneys worth time and time again. Today, we went to Trafalga. It's in Lehi. It has some outdoor rides and minigolf and inside is an arcade, mini golf and laser tag. The great thing is, because we have the passes, we don't feel like we have to stay for a long time at these places. Today was mostly riding on the rides outside and 1 round of laser tag. Nate and the kids wanted to do the bumper boats. LOL! They got drenched! And, of course, Brady drove Nate and himself into the fountains to get soaked. It was great to watch and be thankful I wasn't getting wet! It was pretty hot so we left and went to eat at Iceberg and ended our dinner with some yummy shakes and ice cream cones.

"The Bike Whisperer" Takes On Brady!

May 12th--We've been begging, begging, BEGGING Brady to learn how to ride his bike. We've bribed him with so many things we pray he won't remember them all. My good friend and neighbor, Ashley, has a special "knack" for teaching children how to ride bikes. I, on the other hand, have no such talent so I was happy to turn that responsibility over to her since she offered and was willing. A few months ago, Brady had tried to learn with Nate but ended up falling and was turned off on learning. One of the other problems for this poor kid is that he's so tall we had to get rid of the little bike with training wheels and upgrade to a big kids bike, making it all that more difficult. For some reason, he decided today was the day. He had been saying this for a few days but would change his mind. Ashley convinced him and away they went. It took a little time but......SHE DID IT.....HE DID IT!! I was jumping up and down cheering! He was pretty wobbly and nervous but she had him try it over and over again. It was awesome! Ashley has now dubbed herself "The Bike Whisperer" and I totally agree! WAHOO Brady!

Happy Mothers Day To Me!

Sunday, May 8th--Mothers Day was wonderful!! As per my request, Nate cooked dinner. He asked what I wanted and lasagna sounded great. He decided to try no-boil lasagna noodles. Never tried those before but we don't recommend them. The noodles were rather tough and extra chewy. However, as with every time one of us cooks lasagna, we always make two pans and freeze the other. The second pan was loaded up with extra sauce and when we cooked it a few days later, it was pretty good. After our dinner, we went over to Nate's parents house for dessert and to visit with family.
I'm so thankful to be a mom and to share my role as parent with such an amazing man. We have our ups and downs but I really have a wonderful family that I love more than anything! This is my 10th Mothers Day! I look forward to many, MANY more!

Nate Coaches Brady's Baseball Team

Saturday, April 30th--Nate's really enjoyed being able to coach baseball teams the last few years. He's really patient and calm with the kids and he's always had a supportive assistant coach too. This year Brady has improved A LOT! Nate bought some equipment to help him practice at home and he's been doing really well. On nights there is no practice or games, Nate will often take Brady to the nearby park and pitch to him or help him throw to bases, etc. Our first game was today and it was COLD! Many of the families watching were shivering. I could tell it would be cold so I packed a few warm blankets so Elise and I were able to stay warm. The little kids playing all had dark pink noses and cheeks but them seemed to really have fun playing. There's no score keeping in Brady's current age group. We're told next year score will start to be kept. Each of the little kids get to try to hit the ball pitched to them and if they don't hit it after the 5th pitch then the tee is placed in front of them and they get to hit and run. Brady hit after a couple of pitches the first round then the second round he had to hit the ball on the tee. Either way he did great and he played the bases really well too! Nate was a pretty awesome pitcher! So proud of both of my guys!

Happy Easter, 2011!

Sunday, April 24th--We liked that our Easter was rather low-key this year. The night before we all had fun dying hard boiled eggs. The dying of the eggs is always so comical to me since my children and Nate will not eat hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs, etc. So I end up boiling a dozen or so eggs and then have to think of creative ways to eat them myself. Yummy!
Elise and Brady decided to write the Easter Bunny and little letter. In the letters were some fun things said then they asked for a response back--which they got ; )
The Easter bunny didn't disappoint! Brady & Elise got personalized Disney blankets along with some scrumptious treats and toys. Mom and dad just got loaded up with, mostly, candy. I do have to admit, Easter is my FAVORITE holiday for treats. Cadbury Mini-Eggs, egg-shaped PB M&Ms, caramel filled Cadbury chocolate eggs, holy moly I could go on and on. Needless to say, I am somewhat glad these types of things are only around for a few months. Years ago I use to buy bags and bags of Easter candy, after the holiday was over, and put them in the freezer to chomp on year-round. Well, I've changed my evil ways and just enjoy way too much during the Easter season.
With church at 9:00 am, we looked quickly at our baskets, stuffed a few goodies in our church bags and off we went. The discussion and story about Jesus Christ, his crucifixion and resurrection was carried on to our home where we talked about it some more and read a story book. It's important to Nate and I that our kids understand why we celebrate Easter. Yes, the Easter baskets are wonderful but the real meaning, just like Christmas, is what a wonderful Savior we have, who did so much for everyone, who died for us and took upon him all of our sins.
We had our Easter feast with my sister, Alishia, and her family. It was a wonderful day!

Eagle Mountain's Annual Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday, April 16th--We returned home from Disneyland the day before. We went from sunny and in the 60's and 70's in California to chilly cold, in the 40's and 50's in Utah. Burrrrrr! It's become our family tradition to go to the city Easter Egg Hunt. The kids love it. The past few years it's been COLD! We brought plenty of blankets to be prepared this year. Our friend, Kathy, and her daughters came along. When the fire engine sounded it's horn the kids were off, getting as many eggs and they could reach. Both of the kids just about filled their baskets. Candy was plentiful! No prize tickets in the eggs though. They hope for a prize ticket every year but haven't seen any since the first year we came. Oh well, it was lots of fun and something we enjoy being a part of every year!

Disneyland in April

Sunday, April 10th-Thursday, April 14th--Well, we had a great time as usual in our happy place! We drove down to Anaheim with Nate's parents and our neice Kayla. Instead of doing a day-by-day play I'm just going to post some photos of the highlights. The truth is, Disneyland doesn't change all that much so many of the photos are similar to ones from the past--including, yes, we mailed our State Taxes we owed, from the park (it's our way of saying: "Kiss my....") The new thing we experienced this time is World of Color at California Adventure. It was BEAUTIFUL!!!! Our plan is to go back in October. By then, there should be a huge amount of change and new things going on at California Adventure. We're looking forward to it!

Brady's 4th Anniversary

Saturday, March 26th--Yes, it's been 4 years since Brady was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Does it get easier? Depends on the day. I spend the months October to March with knots in my stomach, praying he won't get a nasty cold or flu that'll put him in the ER. I thank God regularly that that's only happened once since his diagnosis.
Considering all that goes into a day in the life of this little man, he's doing really well. His glucose levels are, for the most part, pretty stable and his pediatric endocrinologist appointments produce positive results almost every time. If you ever look at him and think "You'd never know." it's because a lot goes on behind the scenes to make sure he can run around, play and be crazy, just as he does. His attitude helps too. Being poked everyday, several times a day, having a large needle inserted into his skin every 3 days (for his insulin pump site), you would think it would make him cranky and frustrated but it doesn't seem to. If it were me, I sure would be! Just one of the many tender mercies. Brady is my hero and I know this trial in his life strengthens him and makes him brave.

I often wonder how many people know the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. Did Brady get this disease because of how we feed him or our parenting choices? No way. He's a pretty healthy eater. He's tall (insanely tall!) but not overweight. His height has nothing to do with the disease--it's just one of those things that we passed on in our genetics. He's quite active and loves to be so. Type 1, just like Type 2, is genetic. Type 2 may or may not manifest itself in someones lifetime (a healthy lifestyle will usually avoid it). Type 1, not the case. There's usually no rhyme or reason as to when someone develops the disease. Type 2 can usually be managed with oral meds, healthy diet and exercise. Type 1 cannot. Type 1 means complete insulin dependance because the pancreas no longer produces it. Stomach acids break down insulin so there's no oral insulin options. Insulin needs to be injected via syringe or an under-the-skin-catheter/pump. Finger pokes are required 4-8 times a day to determine blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetics also need to do finger pokes but usually not as often. Insulin is not a cure. Over time, even with the best of care, health complications will arise. That part of it terrifies me! So, I hope this sheds a little light on the two different types. There's times I get looks from people and get some pretty ignorant questions asked that lead me to believe there's not enough of an understanding between the two. It frustrates me. The last thing I need is for someone to judge us because they think we caused this disease by allowing him to overeat and live an unhealthy lifestyle. Not the case, nor has it ever been. If in doubt, just ask---please don't assume.

I pray for a cure everyday. I volunteer for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and am excited to be a mentor to families that have been recently diagnosed. We raised money for research last year and will be doing so again this year. I've been told we'll have a cure within Brady's lifetime, hopefully sooner than later. In the meantime, we plug along day by day. We watch Brady laugh, run, play baseball and basketball, make jokes, get crazy whenever Spongebob Squarepants comes on. He practically jumps for joy when his bloodsugars are low because that means he can have his all-time favorites: fruitsnacks! Keep my little hero in your prayers please!