She's Amazing.

My kid rocks. Look at the picture she created today with no help what-so-ever. She blows my mind sometimes. It didn't scan nearly as cool as it is in real life - but check out those birds! :)

Orange Belted Karate Boy

Friday was a big day for Mr. Kelton. It was the day he left his yellow belt behind and graduated to his orange belt.

He has been working very hard to get all the moves down in order to pass his test and last Wednesday he did it! He passed the test!

So Friday evening we all piled into the car and drive to the high school where the graduation ceremony was held. I was so proud of my boy - up there on that stage (being blinded by the bright lights) going through the paces to show off all he has learned.

Way to go, Kelton! We are very proud of you!
Kaylen waiting patiently for it to begin. She did great this time around and was really fun to watch as she rocked out the high energy music that played. :)
Kelton on the stage. He is right below the orange writing on the sign (he is in the front row).
The happy graduate!


After graduation we stopped by McDonald's to pick up fries and milkshakes to celebrate then it was home for a weekend of camping in the yard! The weather report was for a nice weekend so Friday, in 93 degree heat, Kaylen and I put up the tent for a last camping hooray. It was a fun weekend (more to come later on the rest of it)!

*sigh*

I just told the kids that Dakota will be taking a 6 week four night a week seminar starting the week after next.

It went over as well as you might expect.

:(

Those poor babies.

**Edited to add: I should have made it clear that Dakota isn't thrilled about it either. See her comment for details on why.

Nasopharyngoscopy, anyone?

Some of you may have noticed that I have lost a bit of weight lately and while I wish I could just say "Thank you." and bask in the glory of it for a while I have to be honest with you and tell you that it was not on purpose. Not that I couldn't stand to lose some weight, mind you, but this wasn't my intentional doing. And it caused alarm for me.

I have been struggling with a pretty bad case of acid reflux since May. Longer, actually but the symptoms I was having didn't add up for the doctors over the past two years until things kind of spun out of control starting this spring.

It had gotten so bad that I gave up coffee in July in the hopes it would help. And if you know anything about me - that was huge. H.U.G.E. I have barely been able to eat much at all and forget about before bedtime snacking. I gave that up because of the pain it would cause. All good things for losing weight and all but not that great for the reasons it happened.

I have been on weeks and weeks (I think 11) of Prilosec OTC plus 3 weeks of Zantac 150 twice a day. I have downed more Mylanta than I care to ever see again. I have felt pretty crummy and, of course, all the "What if's" that I am prone to were none to easy to deal with either.

In early August I was referred to an ENT and after a 5 week wait, I had my appointment this morning. He was great! He talked with us (Dakota went with me which was really great and meant the world to me) and basically all my symptoms line up with acid reflux. He did a nasopharyngoscopy and determined there was nothing any more serious going on (and let me tell you - while not a painful procedure it sure the heck isn't comfortable either. Dakota said it looked like a magic trick as he extracted the tube from my nose. Gross!). While there I had him look at a weird spot under my dental appliance (that is worn full time) which was causing me...well...fear. Two dentist and a hygenist had already looked at it and figured it to be a non-issue but an ENT calming my fears was just what I needed! He was totally "Eh. No big deal." about it which was exactly what I needed to hear. I really do need to stay away from Google.

So anyway - I am now on a double dose of Prilosec for a while (6-8 weeks at least) and then, hopefully, I can wean down to a single dose. I'm hoping that my throat and my vocal cords will heal up quickly. Not that I don't enjoy the occasional raspy-sexy sounding voice but enough is enough. And the sore throat I have had almost constantly for a year? Yeah - that can stay away too. I will say that the Prilosec really did take care of that part early on. Thank goodness.

I can just add this to my "learn to deal with" list. A list that already has quite a bit on it but honestly? It sure the heck beats the alternative, you know?

And why is this the first you are hearing about this? Because Casey doesn't share medical stuff well. If it makes you feel any better, Dakota heard precious little about it as well. Sometimes I prefer to keep the crazies locked in my own head. :)

So there you have it. All in all - it was a day full of really good news for me which may seem odd to say but I'll take it. Though between you and me - I would really like to get well enough that I can enjoy my coffee again. :)

Kaylen-ism

Me: Kaylen, can you please pick that up and put it away?

Kaylen: Oh sorry. I keep forgetting. I have a small head, you know.

HardDrive Crash

Last Thursday I worked for hours upon hours on Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) stuff to prepare for the new year and for our first meeting that is taking place tomorrow.

Let me say that again: I worked for hours upon hours.

I emailed people like crazy - documents flying back and forth between us.

At the end of the day I turned off the computer with the thought of "Hmm..I really do need to back up my photo files pretty soon. I haven't done that in a while." The computer had been acting funny for a while but nothing that screamed "Danger!"

It should have screamed "DANGER!"

Friday morning Kelton turned on the computer and it came up with an error message. He turned it off and walked away. I came into the room and thought it funny that the computer wasn't yet on so I hit the power button.

Blue screen of death. In a big, big way.

I tried to restore to a set point. No go. I tried to start in Safe Mode. No go. I tried hard not to think of the hours of work trapped in my computer (to say nothing of the 3-4 months worth of photos). No go.

ARGH!

I ended up calling a computer repair guy we have used for the past couple of years. He wasn't available so I left a message, trying to keep the rising panic out of my voice. Yes, I have a laptop but lo and behold - ever since Dakota loaded her Bar Review test software on it, Word won't work. I removed the software and still - Word won't work. I could access emails and I could do bits and pieces but really? I was feeling my anxiety rising by the hour.

Then I remembered the CPU that we have in the garage. Our former computer which my brother brought back to life a couple years ago. I unhooked the broken one and installed the new one and PRESTO! I was back in business. Thankfully by emailing documents all over the place I was able to have people send things back to me. Phew!

The computer guy didn't call back on Friday - being a 3 day weekend I figured I wouldn't hear back until Tuesday. Wrong! On Saturday he called and we made arrangements for him to pick up the traitor CPU and see what he could do. Sunday he called and gave us the news that the harddrive was gone without a chance of being brought back to life. He would install a new one at our ok. We gave it and I was relived to know he had gotten most of the stuff off before it completely gave out. Most importantly - he got all my photos! That alone was worth the bill of $161.00. :)

Monday afternoon he delivered the repaired CPU and hooked it all up for me. He handed me the old harddrive - which is cool and yet....what am I supposed to do with it? I asked him that and he said "Well - if you want to get rid of it, I'm going to suggest that you destroy it as best as you can so that there isn't a chance of anyone getting your personal information."

So destroy it we did. I gave Kelton a hammer and turned him lose. And boy did he have a great time! :)

I'm still getting used to the new look of the computer and trying to get it to feel like "home". I did loose all my email addresses and all my internet bookmarks but I'm trying to be positive and just look at it as a fresh start. :)

Technology is great when it works right but there is still a LOT to be said for pen and paper. :)

Rain Doesn't Stop Us

This weekend was chilly and wet. Very, very wet. Sunday, after grocery shopping and then unloading the groceries in a downpour the sun decided to grace us. And those brief moments of sunshine were all it took for Dakota and Kaylen to decide that going to the Bonneville Fish Hatchery would be a good idea.

It took a few minutes of convincing on my part because well....things were still dripping outside and I knew the reports called for more rain. But convince me they did and the four of us climbed into the car to drive the 40 minutes to the hatchery.

If you have been with me for a year or two then you probably remember that the hatchery is our yearly end of summer road trip. The kids love to feed the fish but more than that, I'm thinking their favorite part is the gift shop. :)

About 20 minutes into the drive we drove smack into a rain storm. It was pouring so hard that I could barely hear Dakota talking from the passenger seat and the kids had ramped up their volume to be assured they *would* be heard. I could barely see the lanes and we tossed around the idea of turning around. But you know what? We were in that far and I didn't see the point in turning around and dealing with crying from disappointed children. So on we pushed.

By the time we got the hatchery gate the rain was just a drizzle so we put on our (non-waterproof) jackets and started to make our way to the gift shop. We hung out there long enough for the rain to stop. Good planning on our part! :)

After taking the treasures the kid talked us into back to the car so they wouldn't get lost or dropped, we headed over to see the fish. Big fish, little fish....we saw them all.






Please note the Children's Place tag on Kaylen's coat. This is a jacket I bought for her years ago on sale. It's still huge on her but she loves it. The only thing is, she won't let me remove the tag. There are worse things, I guess. :)

Best photo of the day! :)

We enjoyed blackberries that grown wild along one of our favorite paths. And by "we" I mean Kelton, Dakota and me. Kaylen picked tons but lets not forget: she will not eat fruits and veggies. :)










We all had to admit that Dakota and Kaylen had a great idea - we had a really fun time.

Raising Awareness Raising Funds

I have a friend, Kristen, who has been hard at work training for the 3 Day Walk for the Cure event which is quickly approaching. To take part she must raise $1000 more than she has. That's right - you read that correctly. To walk in the 3 day event that she has been training for for months and months she must raise $1000 more.

That's where you can help. In one lump sum, that's overwhelming but in $5, $10 or $25 increments it's doable.

Won't you consider pledging your (tax deductible) support so Kristen can walk?

You can go to the official site to help.
Thank you!

Autumn Photos

Last night I pulled out a few dresses and skirts that I had put away for Kaylen to grow into and she completely fell in love with one outfit that I had bought from a friend when her daughter outgrew it a couple of years ago. She pranced around in it last night and then this morning, when it was time to get dressed, it was the only consideration.

I have to say - she is pretty darn cute in it. :) And no one is more surprised than me that she even wore the tights! She hit on the idea of having her picture taken and since we were heading to the mall anyway we decided to go ahead with her plan. And no surprise here but the tights were ditched shortly thereafter. :)

She's cute, don'tcha think?

This is my favorite one!

Love this one, too!

Love her smile so much but the leaves on her head? Hmmm.....! This was Kaylen's favorite though she we got it just for her.

This is really great too. I was standing to the side letting leaves fall on her. I think it would have been so much better without the falling leaves but it's great just the same. :)

If Only I Got Paid for This

I have been hard at work on Parent Teacher Organization stuff since the school bus picked Kelton up at 8:20AM. I feel like I could put in another 8 hours easily and still have more to do.

Make no mistake: this is a job. Maybe not full time but on the days I do put in hours and hours, I could make good money. And oh how I wish I could get paid for it.

There are so many things I want to have ready to go for next weeks first meeting of the year. I want the meeting to run well - upbeat and fun while getting the new people to commit their time, energy and dedication. I want this year to be better than last (and we had a good year last year - it's just that there were only three of us) with more parental involvement.

I have high hopes and to that end, I am working hard and reading tons of information.

But a paycheck for my time? That would rock. :)

First Day of Second Grade

And he's off! My baby started second grade this morning.

Big backpack on a little boy. :)

Kisses from a little sister who is missing him something fierce.


Getting on the bus from his new bus stop - right in front of our house! Nice!

Arriving at school.

Kaylen's eager greeting after being apart for a mere 7 minutes. As we walked away from Kelton's classroom Kaylen burst into tears and continued to cry all the way home. She is really going to miss her big brother. What's astounding to me is that next year I will be dropping both of my babies off at school. Just the thought makes me cry.

At his classroom door and ready to tackle his first day.

Good luck buddy boy of mine! I know you are going to do amazingly well this year - always know how very proud of you I am.

Love, Mom