Warning: Family time may cause bodily harm!

Last weekend was a big day for my mom, she got herself hitched! She will furthermore be called Carma Cameron, kind of a tongue twister but we are very happy for her. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post because I couldn't find my blasted camera(don't worry it was found)! Now I am left to rely on my sister-in-laws to give me some pictures and then I will be able to post photos. Erin & Les hook a sista up! Anyway, being that my family is so great and supportive and stuff, all 3 of my brothers with their families(minus 2 kids) were here. We are a family who loves to play games. We will stay up until the wee hours of the night playing games. Oh, and did I mention that we are all very competitive?! We decided to play a favorite game of ours called spoons but with a twist. Instead of sitting in a circle and putting the spoons in the center of the circle we made it a little more difficult. We passed the cards around at my kitchen table where there was 1 spoon and the remainder of the spoons were in the other room on the couch. Once someone got 4 of a kind and grabbed that spoon on the table all of the rest of us had to run into the next room and try to get a spoon. It is a miracle that none of us ended up going to the hospital with something broken because it got a little crazy. We had rug burns on our knees, nearly dislocated shoulders, sore necks, a little whiplash and some good bumps and bruises but it was so much fun! I am pretty sure that we will be playing this everytime we get together! I love my family, we always have so much fun together! I can't wait until we can all get together again, love you guys lots!

Drama in the ER

I have been considering starting a new theme of posts for my blog entitled Drama in the ER
describing some of the funny stuff that goes on at my work. Hopefully there won't be any HIPAA violations and I won't get fired. I will title this story as "Panda, Panda, where are you?"

I am sitting at my desk, working quite busily(it was a crazy night in the ER) when my call light goes off for a patient. The patient is frantic and states that she can't find her stuffed animal. I am thinking, maybe she has a child in her room with her,I know how Addyson gets when she can't find doggy. Then she proceeds to say "I know it isn't medical but I NEED my stuffed animal, I have to have it to hold." What!!!???? Is she serious????!!!! She is 36 years old!!!

We told her that we would look for it so of course we needed a description but did we really need to know its name??? She said, "it is a black and white panda and its name is Panda." Like we are going to wander around the ER calling out Panda, Panda? The PA was able to calm her down when he found Panda underneath the patient in her bed, whew!! It made me laugh! I sure hope this isn't Addy in 30 years, yikes!

My rant on Dr. Boothe & vegetarianism

Let me just start off by saying that I am incredibly happy with my new vision. I am still having some serious anxiety over the moola that I payed for it, but I am glad that I did it! Okay, so now for my venting session....... Let me start with a little story of my visit to Dr. Boothe for a post-op appointment this week. I had a SCHEDULED appointment for 1:30p.m., when I arrived I was told to have a seat in the waiting room where I sat for ohhh... about 45 minutes. Then when they finally called my name I was brought back into what I like to call "the dungeon" where they took a very quick look at my eyes and sent me to yet another waiting room. I was lucky to even get a seat in this one! There were a ton of people waiting to see whom, you might ask, not Dr. Boothe he just treats ya and streets ya. We were all waiting to simply see an opthamologist or probably an optometrist, I seriously doubt that he hires "real Dr.'s" to see his patients. How long did I wait in this waiting room you might ask ohhhh.... another 45 minutes!!! What the heck, I work in an emergency room where people just walk in off the street with "emergencies" like hand pain for 5 months and they get seen by a Dr. quicker than that! So, after counting all of the people who were called back before me and realizing that it was more than I could count on 2 hands I figured I could be there for a really long time and I had to get to work. So, I quietly slipped out and told the "workers" that I needed to get to work was there anything that they could do. Well, after a few dirty looks they were able to get me in right away to see who I needed to so I could be off.
So, where does the vegetarianism fit into this story??? Well, it got me thinking about how I somehow signed up to get my eyes done at factory where I get to get herded around like cattle, stuffed into small spaces barely able to move, mistreated, demoralized, and feeling completely dehumanized! Now I am feeling kind of sorry for those poor cows who feel like this their whole lives, and they didn't even sign up for it! Should I swear off the meat that is produced from such cruel treatment?? I don't know about that, but I sure thought about it! Okay, maybe I am a little sensitive but people I spent good HARD earned money, I don't deserve this treatment. So for anyone out there thinking about getting their eyes done at Boothe Eye Care and Laser Center, please for the love of Christmas go somewhere else! Go to someone who gives a crap, not slimeball Dr. Boothe! Was that harsh?? I'm sorry, but I do feel better:)

Happy Father's Day, a little late

I wanted to tell Dave Happy Father's Day because his Father's Day was probably not everything that he dreamed it would be. I set my alarm a little early in hopes of getting the kids up and making Dave a great breakfast but for some reason it didn't go off. I worked on Saturday night as usual and he turned my alarm off because he wanted me to get some sleep- so thoughtful. That is Dave, so selfless always thinking of everyone else before himself. Dave went out on Saturday night for a movie marathon with some friends and didn't get home until around 1:00a.m. then he was up at 3:00a.m. to deliver papers and he was worried about ME getting sleep. Anyway, he didn't get a special breakfast but he did get to take a nap and have some time to himself. We had a nice dinner and Addyson taught our Family Home Evening lesson- which she did an awesome job. Sorry Dave that your Father's day wasn't everything I wish it would have been but I wanted to tell you how much I love you because I know I don't do that enough. You are an awesome father who always brings fun and laughter to our home. You work so hard for our family and take on so many responsibilities. You are a great example for all of us and your faith and testimony of the gospel is very inspiring. I am very blessed to have a husband who is so devoted to his family. The kids love and adore you and I know that Ethan wants to be just like you! I hope you know how much you are loved and appreciated!

I did it!

This is what my cornea looked like during surgery- weird!

I did it, I got Lasik! I still can't believe it, it is kind of surreal but I did it nonetheless- there is no turning back. I went in on Friday for a 1:00 surgery and came out seeing super. Okay, so fun fact about me- I sort of have a problem with fainting, it happens a lot. Well, now I have one more fainting experience to add to my list. Why don't I go down the list for you of all of the embarrassing moments that I have had when I suddenly pass out.
#1. High school P.E. testing. We had to run a timed a mile. When I was done, I sat down and passed out. I got to go home for that one!
#2. After giving blood.
#3. Getting a tattoo. Yes, I have a tattoo ya'll I got it when I was 17 and newly on my own. While I was sitting in the chair and they were etching a tattoo on my back hip, I took a nose dive and smacked my face on the ground. I got made fun of for that for a while.
#4. I gave plasma when I was in college to pay for food and such, 2x a week. I probably passed out about 5 different times while the needle was imbedded in my arm. I kept going back though, $40 week was a lot for a starving student.
#5. At work in the ER, I was witnessing and assisting with a central line, there was lots of blood, and the room was really hot. I suddenly hit the wall and slid down to the ground scaring the crap out the Doc and getting quite the bump on my noggin. For some reason no one asks me to assist them anymore. I still get made fun of for that one too.
#6. The latest........ so I am sitting in the opthamologists chair while he is making some marks on my eye(not exactly sure what he was doing). This is the last step before I go into the surgery and I think that I am getting really nervous. I had a stressful morning and didn't really get anything to eat. I suddenly start feeling kind of funny and I sit back and tell the opthamologist that I am feeling faint. The next thing I know I am waking up with a nasal cannula in my nose giving me oxygen, one guy holding my head back(apparently I was seizing) and the opthamologist holding my arms and straddling my leg to keep me still. Embarrassed much, Yes! It took a lot for me not to just get up and run out of there. Maybe I have permanent damage to my brain from all those times as a kid when we made each other pass out- I know stupid!
Anyway, I am amazed with the results! I am already seeing 20/20 and they say they will likely get even better over time. Isn't science amazing!
Am I the only one who has these fainting stories? Please tell me that some of you have had similar experiences?!

Summer kickoff- Camping and Dave's Birthday

This weekend we headed up to Lake Texoma for a fun family campout with some friends of ours, the Lovrens, and some friends of theirs as well. We got there on Friday evening and had an awesome camping spot that had a little trail that led right to the water, so of course the kids wanted to get in right away! We set up camp and then Dave started feeling pretty sick. He was the only one in our house that had not gotten the stomach flu, so I was afraid it would hit him this weekend and it did. Luckily, one of the people we were camping with is a chiropractor and had a lazer that he used to help speed up the healing process, I was skeptical but it worked. Dave was over it within a couple of hours, pretty amazing. It was a rough nights sleep as always, we really do need to buy ourselves a nice air mattress. We woke up to a beautiful day, the weather was perfect. We had a great day of fishing, swimming, and just loving the outdoors. Dave's Birthday was on Saturday so we tried to have a little celebration- too bad his cake got a little soggy from slipping into the melted ice in the cooler, but it actually still tasted pretty good(just really moist). We stuck around late on Saturday and had some smores and drove back home to sleep in our own comfortable beds. The kids are already asking to do it again! Paige ate a lot of dirt and rocks over the weekend, everytime I looked around she was shoving handfuls of dirt in her mouth- I don't get it, she won't eat her vegetables but she WILL eat dirt!She was a hard one to look after, always going where she wasn't supposed to and she wanted to be in the campfire so bad!

Addyson's smores smile

Ethan and Hunter
They had a fishing derby for the kids on Saturday and it was awesome. They provided all the tackle and bait and the kids loved it. Ethan was pretty sad that he didn't catch anything, in fact her was heartbroken so I will be taking him fishing again soon I think. After the fishing derby they had games and a great lunch provided with prizes. Addyson won a prize and all of the kids got goodie bags full of fishing equipment. It was a lot of fun.


Me, Paige, Libby(the other baby), and Kerrie
After fishing we headed to the beach, the water was really really cold but of course the kids didn't mind. Paige playing the dirt again, it never got old.

Ethan was so excited about Dave's birthday. He remembered as soon as he woke up that morning and was the first one to wish him a Happy Birthday. He was also so excited to sing to him- he loves his dad! Happy Birthday Dave, we love you and hope that you had a good Birthday.

Addyson and her friend Alice

Family photo op

School is out!

Addyson had her last day of school on Thursday. Unfortunately it got cut a little short due to a nasty bug that has been making its way through our house. The nurse called me at about 12:00 and said that Addy had a stomach ache and that I needed to come and pick her up. So, Addyson didn't really get to say goodbye to her teacher like she wanted to and I didn't get any fun "last day of school" pictures but Mrs. McCormack did give all of the kids a really cool collage of pictures through the year with a poem on the back- which is where these pictures came from. Addyson had a great kindergarten year, she loved it! She learned so much and made so many friends. She sadly grew up a lot as well, but it is always fun to watch. Mrs. McCormack was an excellent teacher and we were very lucky to have her. When I picked Addy up from school she said "Mom, I am really going to miss Mrs. McCormack, I want to visit her a lot." Awwww!

Addy and the best teacher ever!

Mrs. McCormack's kindergarten class 2007-2008

To get Lasik or not to get Lasik, that is the question!???

As most of you know, I am among those who require assistance in the vision department. I wake up in the morning and I have to immediately put my glasses on or pop my contacts in to be able to see very far in front of me. My glasses are completely bent out of shape, I can't keep them from falling off of my face! My contacts dry out and bug the crap out of me most of the day- Texas allergies only make it 10x worse! My eye Dr. says that I have to get disposable contacts because(okay, I don't really know why)he just says so. So, every 6 months I am supposed to spend about $150-$200 on contact lenses and every 2 years I have to spend $165 on a new exam. I have officially run out of disposables and my 2 years is up so I am looking at spending at least $300 to get new contacts. Day after day I hear commercials on the radio about Lasik, "we offer interest free financing, monthly payments as low as $30." Oh, I want it bad!!!! I know that Lasik would probably cost somewhere between $2,000 and $3,000 but won't I end up spending that anyway? Wouldn't it be so much better to spend it on the convenience of good vision everyday, morning & night? I have to make a decision now, and I am torn. I want the Lasik but do I have $2,000-$3,000 to spend- no way! Do I really have the $ to spend $300- $600 a year on contacts, (not to mention I need new glasses)- NO, but it is easier to swallow for sure! What would you do?

Random catch up stuff

I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day! We had a fun and relaxing day. My mom took Addyson and Ethan Sunday night and spent the day with them on Monday, so Dave and I got some much needed time together. We watched the movie Becoming Jane- which was quite sad and a little disturbing, however I think I liked it. Then we woke up on Monday and headed to our wards annual pancake breakfast which also included a 5k run. Dave and I decided (well, mostly I decided for us) that we were gonna run it. We pushed Paige in the jogger stroller and we did it- Yea! We were able to get a few things done and some relaxing as well. The kids came home around 5pm and we picked up some pizzas and headed to our community pool where the kids had a blast swimming! I am excited for another summer full of swimming and enjoying the fabulous sunshine.

Paige loved the water, I can already tell that she is going to be a lot like Ethan in the water- fearless
Addyson is turning into a pretty great swimmer!

Addyson was gone Friday and Saturday with her cousins so Ethan got some one on one time with Dad and what did he want to do? He wanted Dave to play in the sprinkler with him and the slip and slide. He got this slip and slide last year for his Birthday but he had a hard time figuring out how to slide on it without injuring himself. He figured it out and now he loves it- in fact he is standing right next to me right now looking at this picture with swim trunks in hand asking if he can play on the slip n slide.

Addyson finished up her soccer season last weekend. She had a great season and even scored a goal her last game. She started out the season pretty timid but towards the end she got a lot more sure of herself and realized what she was capable of. Her team won all but 2 games I think- way to go Divas!

A pic from Chuck E Cheese on Ethan's Birthday

Dave pulling a Britney Spears while we were at a stand still in traffic for 30 minutes- I know random but I like the picture.

Have a great week!

Ethan's Star Wars Party

Ethan turned 4 years old on the May 14th. We had his party on Saturday and it was a Star Wars themed party- he has been obsessed lately. He has been so excited, I think everyday for the last month he has asked me when his party is going to be. He woke up unusually early at 6:30 on Saturday because he was just too excited(Ethan will sleep until 10:00 if I let him).

The invitation

I made lightsabers out of swimnoodles and black & chrome duck tape. The kids spent the first 30 minutes just fighting good guy vs. bad guy with their lightsabers.

Then we had a meteor shower with black balloons and candy inside(not pictured). Then onto the pinata, which by the way didn't hold up too well- I mean these are 4 year olds, they didn't hit it that hard!

This is the Yoda cake that I made. I am not sure how much it really looks like Yoda but I think I got the color and the ears right- at least they knew who it was.

Ethan really wanted to put the candles in Yoda's nose, he thought that was pretty funny.

He got some great gifts- star wars toys, teenage mutant ninja turtles, powerrangers, and a really cool light up helmet to go with his new bike. What a lucky kid! Happy Birthday Ethan, we sure love you a lot!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day weekend got off to a great start. On Saturday my group of awesome friends got together and treated ourselves to some much needed pampering and relaxation and got pedicures. It was so nice to sit in our massage chairs, chat, and have our feet rubbed- HEAVEN I tell you. Then we went to La Madelines for lunch where we laughed and cried(as usual) and just talked half of the afternoon away. I love my girls!

Sunday I was woken up with breakfast in bed by my sweet husband and kids. Addyson had a gift that she made me in school. She gave me a candle and a book all about her mom. I thought that I would share, it brought a little tear to my eye and it made me smile. One of those things that I will keep forever.

I am actually 28, but 25 sounds good too.
interpretation: works at the 24 hour fitness(YMCA & LA Fitness), I used to work at 24 hour fitness.

AHHHH!

Interpretation: be funny and makes me laugh- I am not sure about the other part, something about tickling her and she couldn't even tell me what that last word was:)

One of those moments that I realize I am not a horrible mom. She really does know how much I love her and she really does appreciate me.

We went to church and the moms got chocolate this year- very smart I say! After church we headed over to my moms house where my brother and Dave made dinner for all of us. It was a great mother's day! I love my kids bunches!

I hope that all of you mothers out there had a wonderful Mother's Day as well.

Aerobics instuctor extroardinaire!

Well, I am so glad to say that I can check off goal #1 for the year 2008! I had an audition yesterday at LA Fitness and I got myself 2 classes, and more to come. This is big for me because since I stopped teaching 4 years ago after having Ethan my confidence was pretty low! I have been psyching myself out for the last year and 1/2 telling myself that I wasn't in good enough shape, I was too busy, I didn't have the skills anymore- the list goes on and on. For those of you who know me I am not one who likes to be the center of attention so standing up in front of a large class is kind of an odd choice, but I love fitness and I feel like I am doing something important. Best of all, I get paid to work out!!!! So, if anyone wants to come by and see me I will be teaching step on Tuesdays at 4:30 and Saturdays at 8:30.
Now, I just need to work on that goal of getting organized(sigh)!

Mavs

The Mav's biggest fan


Dave and I finally had the chance go to a Mavs game. We are always working and everytime we have been invited we have never been able to go. Of all sports, basketball is one that I actually enjoy watching so I was excited to go. We had a lot of fun with our friends Aprille and Trevor and the Mavs actually won! Trevor works for Samsung so we got a nice suite which was catered- Dave really enjoyed that. Too bad the Mavs just lost AGAIN last night to the Hornets- sorry Aprille they are out of the playoffs.

Happy Birthday Paige, we love you!

Paige's Birthday Party

We celebrated Paige's 1st Birthday a couple of days early. We had my brother and Dave's brother with their families, my mom, and a couple of good friends over on Sunday to celebrate with us.

I love her big cheesy grin for the camera, she sure knows what to do when you say cheese!
My amateur cake decorating.

First we gave her the cherry cake and she like that okay but once I gave her a piece of the chocolate I think she was a lot happier- that's my girl!

We love her so much!!!!

Opening her presents.

She loves bubbles.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

Just a few photos of what Paige likes to do for entertainment! She loves to get into trouble! Just in the 10 minutes that it has taken me to post pictures, she has managed to dump my cup of water all over the floor, throw a roll of paper towels into the tub where Addy and Ethan are bathing, and continue pulling the remaining CD's out of the tower-all the while looking at me and laughing! Yes, she gets a kick out of hearing the word no- hopefully this is not JUST the beginning!

I closed the box of snacks but somehow she still found a way to get in and take a big bite.

Paige knows she is not supposed to climb on the dishwasher, does that stop her, Nooooooooo!

She loves getting into my diaper bag, but her most favorite thing is getting into my wallet and pulling out every single card and all of my receipts. The other day I had to take something back to Walmart and I had to give them the pieces of the receipt because she ripped it up!

Notice the pile of CD's that she is standing in, yea she pulled each of them out one by one and threw them on the floor. Sorry about the random door- Dave is still putting our bathroom back together from the tiling project 4 months ago- love you Dave, but seriously!

She is my little helper, um not so much! She is great at unloading the dishwasher though- too bad they are unloaded onto the floor.

Pretty self-explanatory!
She keeps me on my toes! It is a good thing she is so stinking cute!