Let's Make a Trip Out of It!

Since we bought tickets to the Stadium of Fire in Provo, and half our kids are in Idaho, we thought we'd make a trip out of it.  We spent 3 days in Rexburg and 3 days in Provo with the kiddos.  (It was our first "gluten free" trip, which was tricky, but we managed ok)

A quick trip to see the Idaho Falls temple (and bonus, Clayton got to show us some of the things he had worked on during his summer internship)

While the boys went golfing, we got terrible/overpriced pedicures in Rexburg

Summer got to ride to the bathroom on Clayton's scooter (she loved it)

Mini golf and arcade

I love going to parts of BYUI campus that look exactly the same as when I was a student there...this part of the Hart building is one of those places--frozen in time.

Rexburg Rapids was fun...until thunder and lightning shut it down!

The sand dunes at sunset will always be my favorite:)

Summer even got to sleep over at Kya's apartment!!!

Then off to Utah.  First stop, Salt Lake City.  It was SO hot and there was a TON of construction, I could barely recognize temple square.  

Escaping the heat in the old tabernacle

We got to eat lunch and walk around campus with Darren and Stacie and their girls for a bit.  They were in town for Stadium of Fire too.

Provo Rec center

The disc gold that lasted about 4 hours...Summer was not a fan!

BYU Museum

Creamery on Ninth had lots of gluten free flavors:)

Bridal Veil Falls (can you see Kya and Clayton hiking up there?!)

Another Check off the bucket list

 Stadium of Fire ✔

Met and exceeded expectations!

And we got to see The Jonas Brothers-bonus!

Definitely hope to do this again.  

A perfect way to spend my first Independence Day as a US Citizen:)

In her DOUBLE DIGITS Era

Summer's tenth birthday was on a Sunday this year...so why not invited the entire ward (at least the ones who have kids) to her party?!  Maybe if I had known it was going to rain, I wouldn't have--oops.  We had a house full of friends who love Summer and helped us celebrate her entering her "double digits era"

Summer at TEN:

Favorite color is purple

Loves cats and snakes (favorite snake is Hognose snake)

Loves Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo

Learning Ukulele

Loves to play video games and watch tv...and practice her cartwheels

We could not love her more!  Happy Birthday Summer!!!

2 Weekends in Canada

I can't not go to see my mom for Mother's day...and I can't not attend Janae and Alaina's musical, right?!  But what happens when they are just a week apart?!  We drive up two weekends in a row :)  And we don't regret it for a minute!!!  And we even squeeze my birthday in between (and Mike's birthday after).  Have I mentioned how much I love May.

Even though I couldn't be with my kids (except Summer) on Mother's Day, they still remembered to spoil me:)

(Pike Place flower's from Jordan)

(My face on People Magazine from Summer)

(This cute flower picture with all my kids' birth flowers from Kya)

(And a phone call from Tyson...not bad for an 18 year old boy at college;))

A black forest cake for my bday

Both Janae and Alaina were AMAZING in Honk.  I can't even tell you how impressed I was with both of them.  Their acting and singing was just unbelievable.  So grateful to live close enough to go to their shows!

Broadway Beat

 Back in March all the 4th grade kids at Summer's school participated in what they call "Broadway Beat".  They learn a bunch of songs from Broadway shows, and then preform them at a concert for their parents and school.  Summer was so nervous and tried everything to get out if it (she says she has "stage fright").  But in the end she did it...and was so proud of herself...and had the best time.  When it was done she said "I wish I could do it again".  I'm so proud she faced her fears:) (It's hard for me to look at pictures of Summer during this time because she looks so sick and thin)

Spring Break 2024 Highlights

 The kids came home!  Number one highlight for sure!!!

We spent a day in Seattle with Jordan and Mikel 

We went for a walk at North Creek Park where Tyson found an Amazon gift card on the ground, picked it up and gave it to Summer.  When we got home, Mike looked it up and found it  had $500 on it!!  Needless to say, there was a lot of discussion on who should get the money haha.

Every time Kya comes home, we have to get a lot of wedding errands in too!

We printed these board prints from Walmart and they turned out so cute!!

We STRUGGLED to find the right shoes 

(she ended up ordering some cheap ones from Amazon that worked out perfectly...after spending HOURS driving around trying on so many shoes)

Just us three girls at the tulips this year.  It was nice to go with only people who wanted to be there:)

Met up with the Leavitts for dinner

Summer found a bird's nest with 3 little eggs in it.  I tried to get her to leave it alone, but she persisted and ended up bringing it home and trying to hatch them under a light in Tyson's room.  It didn't work.

And the weather is getting warmer:)  Stormi is sure enjoying that!

How about Savannah Georgia?!

For at least 10 years, (probably more) we've tried to do a trip with Darren & Stacie and Ross & Nicole (Mike's old college roommates and their wives), but it has never worked out...until now!

We met up in Savannah, Georgia of all places.  Darren and Stacie were going there for a golf tournament and Ross and Nicole live just a few hour drive away.  For us, it was a bit more of a sacrifice.  

Flights to Savannah were super expensive (because of the golf tournament), so we ended up booking a flight into Atlanta (3+hour drive away).  But, hey, we had been trying to do this for 10+ years, so we were going to make it happen.  Finding someone to watch Summer was another dilemma.  I reached out to my family, to see if anyone could come down to watch her, but they had other things going on, but could watch her if we brought her up to Canada.  So we added a 4 hour drive (2 hrs each way) to the beginning and end of our trip.  Yikes, I was starting to get a little negative about the whole thing.  Then Darren sent us the bill for the house we were staying at...holy cow another super pricey part of the trip (who knew Savannah was such a touristy hot spot).  On top of all that, we had just started this health crisis journey with Summer and I felt terrible leaving her.  When it came time for Mike to drive her up to Canada, she was sobbing and saying she didn't want us to go.  It was torture.  I just felt so bad and even contemplated canceling the trip and having Mike go without me.  

Anyways, Summer got dropped off and we got on a plane.  And it was a FANTASTIC trip.

We ate great food (I tried grits for the first time!), went on some fun tours (even a nighttime ghost tour through a cemetery...did you know Savannah is the most haunted city in the US??  I didn't), the boys played pickle ball...and we did a lot of catching up and just chatting about life (my favorite).  And the whole thing was probably exactly what I needed.  And my family took such good care of Summer.  They each took a turn with her at their house and sent me pictures of the fun they were having.  When I came back to pick her up, she didn't want to leave.

Summer's Tummy Aches

Around the end of January Summer started complaining about tummy aches...just about every day.  It was usually at bed time, or right after eating and it wasn't going away.  I booked an appointment with the doctor, but as the appointment approached, Summer seamed to be feeling better.  Well, the stomach aches came back, along with a sickly look, and some weight loss.  I booked another appointment and kept it this time.  When we finally got in to see the doctor, we found out that Summer had lost 15 lbs in just 4 or 5 months!  The doctor ordered a ton of tests, but seemed unworried and assured us that "when the test came back normal" we would dig deeper into possibly celiac disease or possibly anxiety.  

The tests did not come back normal.  As the results spilled into the app on my phone over the next few days, just about every single one was abnormal.  I was so scared.  From my google research, I was sure Summer had leukemia or something equally terrifying.  We were scheduled to meet with the doctor in 2 weeks to discuss the results, but I couldn't wait.  I messaged my doctor on Friday afternoon and she immediately called me (I am so grateful for such a wonderful doctor).  She reassured me that the results did not point to leukemia, and the only abnormal result that concerned her was the Thyroid numbers, which pointed to something called Grave's Disease (a treatable autoimmune disease).

Thus started our endless journey of doctor's visits and blood draws. Eventually Summer was diagnosed with both Celiac Disease (after an endoscopy) and Grave's Disease (leads to hyperthyroidism--which explained the weight loss). It has been a long few months figuring it all out.

We have cut out gluten, Summer has to take pills daily to regulate her thyroid, and we have routine blood draws and doctors visits.  Summer is looking and feeling herself again.  While I am so grateful what she has is treatable, I am also a sad for my little girl.  Both Celiac and Grave's she will have through her entire life.  She will be dependent on medicine.  It's all a little overwhelming for a 10 year old to deal with.  Summer has been such a trooper through it all.  She absolutely hates needles, and had a few near panic attacks when having her blood drawn.  This last time, she was so brave and barely fazed by it.  She's learned what she can and can't eat, and always asks if things have gluten and is so responsible.  I know she will be a stronger person because of this struggle, but at the same time, I wish she didn't have to go through it.  I love her so much and am grateful I get to help her, love her, and support her through this journey.