Bless his heart

As many of you already know, our world was turned upside down this week. Last Tuesday, our sweet little Spencer had a stomachache that didn't go away. After a couple of trips to the doctor we finally took him to the ER on Saturday night and within hours we found ourselves admitted to the Pediatric ICU in SLC. Spencer's heart is in failure and he is a very, very sick little boy. The doctor's don't know what is causing it but they are working their hardest to fix it. We've had some awful conversations with doctors regarding ventilators and possible heart transplant, but it's just too depressing and shocking to even know what to do with that info at this point. Hopefully the current meds do their job and we can forget that those conversations ever occurred.

We are so grateful for all of the love and prayers. It helps so much!!

I probably won't be on here much. My sis-in-law, Haley, created a page for me on Caring Bridge that will allow me to update everyone on Spencer's status much easier. Here is the link:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/spencerfelt

I don't know much about the site yet but Haley said that you can sign up to get emails whenever we update.

Love you all!!!

Just Peachy!

Dear September,

How is it that you are able to sit there on the calendar so humble and unassuming? Does December, in all her arrogance, pretend to look down on you? I'm sure that July won't have anything to do with you, being so independent all the time. (And yes, November, we see how grateful you are when your turn finally rolls around. No need to wear it on your sleeve like that.) It's no surprise that February loves you no matter what you do, but what about the others? Do they realize just how fabulous you are? Do they try to befriend you, hoping it will make them more likable? Or do they leave you out, gossiping with each other to make themselves feel better? Whatever the case may be, PLEASE don't change a thing!! Where should I begin? The weather? Perfect! The colors in the canyons? Stunning! The kids back in school? A small slice of heaven! Football season? Archery season? Well, a happy man IS a happy home! And then there are the peaches. Forgive me if I get a little bit emotional, but really? All of that AND peaches?? You're beyond amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you, September!!

Love,

An adoring fan.

Back to School

Okay. So I'm a little bit late posting the first day of school pictures. I know this because yesterday I scheduled my appointments for parent-teacher conferences. Really?? Already?!

The kids seem, for the most part, to be enjoying school. From what I overhear, kindergarten is SOOOOO fun, eighth grade is stupid and a complete waste of time, third grade is awesome because "Brooke sits right behind me!" and sixth grade was scary at first but having a locker totally makes up for the confusion of seven different classes! As for me, I'm just trying to stay on schedule. Getting four out the door in the morning, only to then have the first one return home three hours later, followed by the others over the next three hours, requires no small amount of planning. Luckily, I have Claire to keep me on task.

Here is my new middle-schooler, Corinne. She's the first one to leave. It was barely light enough to even take this picture!

Nicole is also at a new school as she started Jr. High this year.
Paige is in third grade and a very good helper to her little brother.
Yay! Waiting for the first day of kindergarten was a LOOOOOOOOOOONG wait! Spencer loves school and is really excited to have FOUR other boys from the neighborhood in his class. (That poor teacher!)

First library book!!!

Paige's Baptism

Last week, Paige was baptized. It was such a great day and we were so happy to have so many family members join in our special day with us. Paige was very excited leading up to her baptism which made it all the more enjoyable!

This is the picture for her invitations: Here she is with Matt right before the baptism.

And here she is looking beautiful and happy as the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Today, her class celebrated her un-birthday (since she's a summer baby) and she is the Star Student of the week. Here she is explaining the pictures on her poster:
And here she is introducing her classmates to "Hermity" the Hermit Crab. (My kids are all naming impaired.)

Claire-ification

Today's post was actually supposed to be back-to-school pictures but Matt has taken my camera hunting, AGAIN. I believe I had this problem last year. Consequently, those pictures will be posted at a later date.

So instead I've decided to treat you all with a few random pictures of our little Clairey-berry. She's a firecracker! Keeps us all running from morning until night. And she makes us smile. Often. Yesterday she and Spencer came inside quarreling over something and she turned to me and said, "Mo-om, Spencer hurt my heart and it's trying to break in pieces!" (Oh honey, guard that heart well. This is only the beginning!)

One day this summer the kids transformed themselves into superheroes with names, homemade masks, unique traits and powers and special assignments. The older girls helped Claire with her costume and gave her the very appropriate moniker, Atomic Bomb!
My girly-girls! Claire loves to keep her nails painted and lately if she can't find Corinne to paint them she goes next door to the neighbor mom-of-three-boys who loves their "girl time".
Good thing someone around here is willing to do windows...
With the neighbor boy:
She just squealed with delight when she discovered this little Marilyn Monroe trick. And that mess you see on her face? Yeah, that's my lipstick.

Loaded Question

"Are you sure garbage day is tomorrow?" He asked innocently enough as I pushed the big black receptacle past him toward the street. He was busily attempting to shoehorn camping supplies for seven into the back of a seemingly shrunken SUV. As the words left his mouth there was a jolt as the earth stopped spinning and I felt a disturbance in the time-space continuum. I stopped where I was and turned to stare at him. To the outside observer it was a silent moment except for the rustling of nylon sleeping bags being pushed against each other. But inside my head the storm of the century was raging.

Am I sure? Am I sure?! AM I SURE??!! Well, let's see, for the 307 Tuesdays that we have lived in this same house, on this same street, with this same garbage schedule, I have done a fairly perfect job getting the garbage can out on the right day all 307 times. I can see how this might cause you to doubt me. It's apparent now that I have a LOT of work to do. I am well behind in my preparations because I only have twenty-five more years to devise a strategy for dealing with what will no doubt be a monumental test of my patience. That is to say, YOUR RETIREMENT! I can hear it now. "Are you sure you know how to scramble those eggs?" "Are you sure this is the right setting on the washing machine?" "Are you sure you paid that bill on time?" "Are you sure we need to buy that much toilet paper?"

Pausing his activity, he looked at me.

I gave him my sweetest smile. "Yes, I'm sure." And away I went as the earth resumed her rotations and the crickets dared chirp again.

SHEESH!!!

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Because I love him more than I love sarcasm, which is to say--A LOT--I will try to be fair and add here that he did notice the expression on my face and had the decency to look sheepish....That's right, Mister!

Eight is Great!!! (and so is backpacking...)

Happy, happy birthday, Paigie-bug!! Our "Paige in the middle" turned eight this month and we celebrated from dawn 'til dusk! (Which is a lot of hours in August.) She was able to have a slumber party with two of her cousins to ring in the birthday. After she and Kinley fell asleep, her older sisters and Kaiya decorated the whole house with "eights". We breakfasted on aebleskivers, scrambled eggs and strawberries then loaded up and went to Grandma's house where more cousins were waiting. We spent an hour or so at the park and by late afternoon we were ready for the pool and pizza. It was so fun as the evening became a mini-reunion with ALL 26 of the cousins together for a rare moment! We capped off the day with another cousins sleep-over and Paige is officially eight!!

Although I try, I cannot be perfect all of the time, :) and this day my flaws came through in the form of very little camera action. What kind of a mother (and blogger) am I that I didn't record her every moment?! We were just too busy having fun, I guess. :) Hopefully these will give you a small idea of her joy!

In July Matt took Nicole and Corinne backpacking with friends, Troy and Rachel. They were excited when they left and happy when they returned so I think it was another successful adventure!
Corinne landing a fish with Nicole's fly rod:
It's hard to see, but it's there.
Nicole reeling one in:
Matt said that Nicole really wanted to catch, clean, cook and eat a fish all by herself this time, and she DID!
Around the campfire:
On the trail for home:

Pioneers & Pancakes

Here in Utah, in July, we celebrate Pioneer Day to commemorate the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. Here in our little town we do it up right. Beginning with a flag ceremony and a pancake breakfast followed by a first class "bike parade". Complete with streamers and balloons and manure encrusted four-wheelers, we remembered the pioneers in high fashion!

Corinne, Claire and Spencer lined up for the parade: (Yes, someone brought their tractor to the breakfast because it was attached to their truck.)
Paige lined up to go. Check out the intensity of these girls, they mean business!
Nicole ready to lead the pack:
Corinne is such a good sister. She rode with Claire the whole way around the block!
Nicole coming to the "finish line".
Here is video of some of the parade--Paige is right in the middle and very happy about being filmed.

Here is video of Spencer and his friend in the home stretch:

And here are Corinne and Claire. Claire LOVED the parade. She pedaled like that the whole way just as happy as could be!

Jackson Hole 2011

Oh my GOSH, I love this town! A long weekend in Jackson is medicine for the soul. We spent a very short 48 hours there this month and had a great time. We enjoyed Billy's Burgers and Moo's Creamery again. Wahoo for tradition!! (And wahoo for vacation calorie-free-for-alls!) We also spent a day in the mountains and a late night of dancing after the kids went to bed. Rest?! Pfft...No time for such nonsense!

I love these first pictures! There was a cow moose and her calf hanging around the cabin. I took these of the kids watching her from the safety of the laundry room.And here she is, back with her calf.
And a view of the calf from the deck.
Taking a little breather during our walk around town.
Corinne's new hat
Here are the girls goofing around in the park after ice cream.

Our big excursion on this trip was our hike into Cascade Canyon on the west side of Jenny Lake. Our friends offered to watch Claire at the cabin all day. A very generous offer that we gladly accepted. It was about 5 miles round trip and the scenery was gorgeous! (I'll warn you now, I was able to narrow down the pictures of our hike to about two dozen.)

On Saturday we got up very early and drove into Teton National Park. Here we are riding the ferry across Jenny Lake.

My happy family walking up the trail.
I HATE this picture. It gives me the creeps every time I look at it. That river was absolutely RAGING! I was very glad that the trail wasn't right next to it the whole way up the mountain.
Destination #1: Hidden Falls...Check!

These cute little chipmunks were so curious about Corinne's shoes.

Stopping for a rest and a snack. Paige and I found a very comfy rock!


If you'll notice in all of the pictures, everyone is carrying a backpack except for one person. I would have been willing if he had wanted me to--but my man took good care of me. :)
Destination #2: Inspiration Point...Check!
Back on the trail.




Destination #3: Gorgeous setting for our lunch break...Check!
Nicole wading in the stream (See the waterfall behind her?)
Spencer got in the cold water just long enough for this picture, then he was done!
Click on the picture to see if you can find the two, cute little mountain goats.
The girls cooling off before we hit the trail again.
Paige on the boat back across the lake.
Claire may not have hiked five miles with us, but....
Until next year...