Mel & Company

Just say no to drugs!

2010-06-19T01:07:00.001-07:00

I am posting a no picture post....whoa! I know it is shocking, but after you read this, you will understand that EVEN ME being the camera obsessed one I am, could not find it in any fiber of my being to have the sense of humor to take a picture of my face at any point in this experience...

Ok, but it is a post and it is a LONG time coming! So, here goes....

3 weeks ago, I found a lump in my armpit. Eep....not something anyone likes to discover, so I headed off the my doctor....who, I'm not real fond of, but it couldn't wait. Fortunately, the doc said it was just an infected cist and gave me a prescripiton for the antibiotic, Bactrim.

After a few days of choking down 4 giant horse pills a day, the cist started breaking up and feeling better. I finished out the 7 day dose and thought all was good.

Two days later, I was at my sister's house and started feeling some wierd stomach and back pains. I thought maybe something I ate didn't agree with me, so I dismissed it. I got home around 10 PM and by 10:30 my throat started feeling really wierd...a little itchy and like I had swollen tonsils. Since my tonsils were removed when I was 3, I knew it wasn't that. My lower jaw started feeling numb and my stomach felt worse. I thought I might just go to bed and sleep it off, but the numbness and throat swelling didn't seem "right".

I called the on-call nurse to see what she thought....she told me to go to the ER ASAP. So, it was now 2 AM and we had a sick little girl at home. I called my friend, who happened to still be up, and she drove me to the hospital. After a bunch of questions, an EKG, and some IV meds, they decided I was having an allergic reaction. I got home about 5 AM with a list of prescriptions to fill, including an Epi-pen.

The next day, my throat swelled a little more, and my stomach bloated. I was in a lot of pain and had the worst heartburn ever! I was miserable... Fortunately, it was Sat. and my hubby was home. I popped the meds and felt okay enought to go with the family to a family baptism(s) and birthday(s). On the way home, I started feeling bad again and by 11 PM I was having so much stomach pain, I could hardly stand it. I also felt really jittery and couldn't even sit still. I ended up staying up all night long until I finally mastered the heart burn, stomach cramps, and arm pain with ibuprofen. I think I got to bed finally at about 7 AM.

I woke up at one point with a swollen eye ball, tongue, and upper lip, and hives on my belly, legs and back. After the Benadry really kicked in, I kept on sleeping, getting up only long enough to take more. I ended up sleeping ALL day Sunday until that night when I staggered out long enough to have a Priesthood blessing. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep again Sunday night after the Ibuprofen helped lesen the sever arm pain that I had developed.

It took me almost two full weeks of taking steroids, antihistamines, and acid reducers to feel better. I went back to the doc and he said he was convinced it was the Bactrim. So, I now officially have a severe allergy to Sulfa based antibiotics and an allergy to Penicillins, discovered when I was a kid. Wheeeee......medicating me will be an adventure!

Good thing I have a lot of spare time to be sick, haha :)

New and improved blog experience...at least for me :)

2010-03-10T16:50:00.001-08:00

A wise friend of mine suggested I move forward with life and stop trying to play make up on my blog...so, here goes! I will start posting family events currently happening, then when I have time, I will back date (a cool thing I just realized I can do...helps keep the journal idea going) all the fun we had between Aug and Jan....wow, was I really that far behind? Yikes!

So, here's to moving forward....and looking back, when I can :)

Prayers for my father in law

2010-03-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

My father in law, (also named Tom Cameron), was just diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. He is a wonderful man....sweet, compassionate, hard working, forgiving, generous....loves his grandkids. He is going in tomorrow morning for a very dangerous and difficult surgery. They are going to remove a large tumor that has grown on and around one of his kidneys and is wrapped around the renal artery. We are blessed to live in the Seatle area...UW Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson, and Cancer Alliance are all the best in the nation...

We know he is in the best hands...please help pray that everything goes smoothly...

We know that prayer is very powerful. It has and continues to help our family with struggles we are faced with.....

The family....Matt and Jeanette, Tom and Julie, Sue and Dan, Tom and Melanie, Rachel and Walter, and Charles

Tom and Julie with the grandkids ~ Feb. 2010

Bringin' ye ol' Blog up to date!!!

2010-01-20T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so enough avoidance right? I have so many months to add here I need to get crackin!
So....I am writing this down knowing there are people out there who will hold me accountable and nag me to blog :) I take motivation in any form I can these days!

Tomorrow Summer goes in for surgery and I will be staying with her at the hospital for at least 2 days....this is the butt sitting, blog catching up, opportunity I have been waiting for! :) Let's hope Summer cooperates with my plan :)

See you tomorrow!

Blog avoidance....

2009-11-05T23:48:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to post....so overwhelming....so behind....I think I will avoid it a little while longer.....argh, my lllll key sticks too!

2 girls and a couch 8-2-2009

2009-08-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

The girls are both getting big....Morgan loves to pose with Summer for the camera, so I caught them on a sunny day on the couch together...too cute ~:)

Taking a break from the nose noodle for picture time :)

Morgan will occasionally do her own hair....she hasn't quite mastered the proper way to wear a headband though...

August...time to go camping!

2009-08-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Every year I take my kids camping with our friends, for our ward campout. This time, since Summer couldn't do tent camping, I took the 3 older kids and Summer stayed home with Daddy.

We got to Ensign Ranch around 4 PM and stayed most of the next day....we managed to squeeze a lot in that short time :) We had BBQ dinner, roasted marshmallows on our "fire", had a group gathering with the ward, I took a 2 AM polar bear dip in the river (brrrrrrr), we ate breakfast all together, packed up, played on the water slide, floated down the river, rode canoes....and, went out to dinner on our way home! Phew! Lots of fun!

The burn ban induced fire!

Tom stole my chair!

Andrew

Ben and Cathy....camping buddies every year :)

Making s'mores

Morgan was so excited about "sleeping" in a tent...she wouldn't sleep!

Cathy was our photographer at 2 AM....it was COLD, but somehow warm....can you say hypothermia?

Morgan and Sadie are best buds!

Antonio and Tom got stuck sleeping in the van :)

Andrew and Owen

Cavin

Floating down the river...we all held on together....I tied Morgan and Andrew to me...it was lots of fun....Morgan was nervous, but still did it several times :)

Pic taken through the official water proofing device for my camera...a ziploc bag!

Antonio and Tom

Andrew

Tom and Andrew

Andrew and the frog we found at the end of our run....he stuck around while we went up a few times....the kids loved finding him each time

Morgan and the frog

Me and the kids

Antonio and Andrew

Ben is a big kid :)

Cathy...the camera woman

We have too much fun sometimes

Wheeeeee!

Tom and Antonio

Me, Andrew, and Morgan

And what better way to end the day? ICE CREAM!

July was HOT!!!

2009-07-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

July was HOT....that sums it up! Anyone who lives here knows our weather is mild at best, but not this summer! For about two weeks, we reached record breaking highs...a couple days over 100 degrees! The humidity and lack of air conditioning made us all a little cranky. But, we managed to find ways to cool off....

Summer and I stayed up late many nights with all the windows open until the house cooled down a little, then shut everygthing and went to bed. She would play on the floor and fall asleep in her diaper on a blanket...so cute!

My sis, my friend, Angie, and I took the kids on one of the 100 days to the local water park. It was so much fun....we almost forgot it was so hot, until we left. OUch! We all got burned...it was worth it! We went swiming in my parents' neighborhood pool, went to the beach, spent a couple of days at my sis in law's house (with A/C), and ate lots of popcicles. Though the sun was really nice, we were all glad when it started raining again...how sad is that? ha ha

Baby chub :)

This poor drippy frog used to be a candle...until the sun came out...I still can't get the melted 3 wick candle off my garden window :(

Henry Moses aquatic center...

Morgan really loves the water!

Morgan, Owen, and Andrew

Andrew, Tom, and a peek of Morgan :)

Morgan

Sadie and Morgan

Sadie, Tom, and Morgan

Andrew and Owen

July 24, 2009...Brooke day

2009-07-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

This beautiful frame was given to us...made by friends who gathered the flowers from Brooke's funeral. The plaque reads "Brooke Ashley Cameron~We will miss your shining spirit".

July 24, 2009 marked the one year anniversary of Brookes' passing. We decided to celebrate her, remember her, and focus on her on this day, rather than her birthday...since we want to make the focus be a celebration for every year we have Summer. The day was a lot harder than I thought it would be. We all spent the morning getting ready to go to visit Brooke's grave. We reflected on thoughts and feelings...it was really emotional. Before we left, we sat and watched the picture videos my hubby made of her...we all bawled our way through it.

We decided to visit the grave, then take the kids on an outing...so we headed for Tacoma. Tom and I got out and visited Brooke, left her some flowers from Grandma and Grandpa Norris, and added a special photo of Brooke to the basket of flowers left by Grandma Cameron. Grandma (Tom's mom) lives right around the corner from Mt. View Funeral home, so she has taken up the task of taking care of Brooke's plot....she keeps seasonal flowers there and visits often. We still haven't ordered the grave stone...haven't really been ready to, but hope to have it for next year.

After visiting, and wiping our eyes, we headed for Point Defiance Zoo. The kids love the zoo....it was a nice way to be together that day. We ended by eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant. We are thankful for all our kids....

The flowers from grandparents

The weather was record breaking hot for a couple of weeks....though the grass was dry, Mtn. View is still a beautiful and peaceful place

Summer loved the fish...

4 great kids...Andrew, Summer, Tom, Morgan :)

OUCH!

Morgan and a Walrus

Harbor seal

This guy was huge!

My kids love the puffins...

....they could stand and watch them for hours :) We've even seen them dive of the top of the cliff into the water :)

Morgan is a "hermit dab"

This is such a cute natural picture!

Tom being eaten by the local sea life

Andrew too...check out his front snaggle tooth! It took weeks for it to finally give up and come out!

Chillin' with dad

Morgan

More hermit crabs

Otter slide

Summer

Andrew was having fun until...it kept on spinning without him!

Petting and feeding the "doats"

Cool! We saw this deer on the way out...in the parking lot :)

July 18-22, 2009...A Cameron family trip to Ensign Ranch

2009-07-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

No, we do not have sunny skies right now.... ;)
My blog avoidance may be coming to an end....once you see how many pictures this one post contains (that I started composing last OCT....sad, I know), you will see why it has taken me so long to get back to it!

So, here's the run down.....
We rented the lodge at Ensign Ranch in CleElum, WA, with Tom's 2 sisters, their kids, husbands, and my in-laws...hubby came for a couple of days then had to go back to work. We played on the water slide...ALOT!....rode horses, floated on the lake, visited the teepees at night, got sunburned, changed lots of diapers (mostly me, hehe), fended off an offended stranger when Morgan ran around the lodge naked, cooked ALOT of cafeteria style meals in the huge kitchen, bathed kids in the huge sink, played pool and ping pong in the middle of the night, kids played a lot of board games, got attacked my hornets at dinner time, and stayed up half the night before going home to clean the place!!!!!!!

So, that's the scoop....enjoy the pics :) We had a great time....hope to go back next year with a new and improved water proof baby :)

July 14-17, 2009...A visit from my sister's family

2009-07-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law, Cevin, and 3 of their kids, drove from Utah for a quick visit before my nephew, Michael leaves for his mission....they were here for a couple of days, then my sister, Kathy, flew in to join them. We had only a short time to see them, but had fun hanging out :)

They came to Summer's birthday party at the park, we went to Gene Coulon park, and took them to Woodland park zoo...

Cevin and Andrew took a swim together

Cevin borrowed my kids to play in the water...his are too big to throw around anymore...Morgan loved it!

Summer isn't impressed with staying in her car seat...

Michael and Summer...

...now Summer is happy :)

Katie fits right in with us Washingtonians :)

My nephews, Matt and Michael...with Summer

Michael and Katie...you are never to big to play in the sand!

Matt and Tom

Summer has no idea how cool the kid behind her is ;)

Morgan and Katie

My sister Kathy joined us for a trip to the zoo...Michael rivals this giraffe in height :)

lunch time

Hippos!

Mommy/baby :)

Summer loves Tom!

Aunt Kathy and Summer

Aunt Kathy made Summer sad...she wants Tom back

The more, the merrier :)

We are almost all looking at the camera...

Kathy and Matt

Katie

Summer loves to fall asleep like this with Tom

This was a great day for the elephants...we sat and listened to the zoo keeper talk...the elephants at Woodland park helped the researchers learn how to identify areas where poaching is still occurring...it has led to many arrests.

The elephants showed off for us....it was fun to see this...we are usually lucky if we catch the back end of one around the corner, or have to stare at them behind glass...very cool!

The elephant loved the water...she swam for quite a while to cool off

Morgan loved the elephants...they are one of her favorite animals...she used to call them hannasees...who knows where she came up with that name, but it sounded cute :)

A very friendly, not so shy squirrel walked right up to Morgan...she thought he was cute, but was still very nervous...she circled him giggling and he kept on coming :)

This squirrel definitely knows how to milk his cuteness! My dad shared some trail mix with him

Kathy and my boys

Me and my kids :)

Morgan at the penguin tank

Katie and Tom by the jaguar

Is it July already??? Rewind to June...

2009-07-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

Life never ceases to run away from me...and with my camera in tow everywhere I go, there aLOT of pictures to post. So, with no further adieu, here is what we did in June!

The boys and I got up early on Sat Jun 6 to go fishing at Gene Coulon park. They got a bunch of goodies, a T-shirt, a fishing pole, and 2 fish...they had a great time :)

Tom and his first fish

Tom's 2nd fish was huge!

Those fish are slippery!

Andrew finally gets a fish! It took 2 volunteers to get the fish to quit stealing his bait!

Ewe! Yuck! Gutting time.

A trip to Lake Meridian in Kent on a nice day while the boys were in school...

Morgan having a ball, ha ha :)

Emily and Paul...good substitute for weight training!

Me and the Morgans...and Summer

Morgan is like a little fish :)

Paul's Yoda impression

Mel's son, Tristan and the bug larva he found floating in the lake...yummy

My friend, Mel K and her daughter Morgan :) Good taste in names I must say!

Mel's Morgan sporting her bunny towel :)

My Silly Morgan

Tom's Cub Scout pack had the last pack meeting of the school year at Lion's camp...a day use camp. We had dinner, awards and ended the night with a flag burning/retiring ceremony.

Morgan posed for me on a stump

Tom got his Weeblos badge :)

Tom, Caleb, Joe, and Trevor

Andrew and the marshmallows I roasted...they looked like little burnt mushrooms :)

Tom and his Pack during the ceremony

The retired flag

Morgan and my friend, Cathy's, daughter Hannah. We made her pose in her dance costumes at a park...she was freezing! Morgan thought she was a pretty princess...she looks up to her :)

You have to admit, this is pretty darn cute picture!

Morgan

Tom on stage at school getting his Recorder Karate Award and Chess Club certificate

School's out! We headed for Gene Coulon Beach Park on Lake Washington...

it was a half day the last day. Yep, these kids were all with us...they had a great time

Morgan loves the beach

Kendall, Andrew, Jonathan, and Justin

That night it was Tom's 40th birthday...the kids and I cleaned the house, made a homemade cake, and decorated a birthday banner for him :) We went out to dinner...it was a very low-key celebration....just the kind my hubby likes! :)

The day after school was out, my sister, Debbie, and I piled some of our kids in the car and went to Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA. Connor had baseball, so he couldn't go...Micaela brought her friend, Katelyn and I brought Tom, Andrew, and Summer. Morgan spent the night with grandma and grandpa :)

In the lobby by the clock tower

This is such a cool place! It is kept at 84 degrees all year...

we really want to go back this winter :)

Andrew and Aunt Debbie

Me and Andrew coming out of the Howling Tornado...it was scary, but so much fun!

In front of the Splash Zone

The tubes were as big as Andrew!

Andrew at the wave pool

Tom, Micaela, and Katelyn dressed up and wandered the halls...silly kids

Summer's first dip in a pool...she loved it!

Tom, Katelyn, and Micaela on the floating beaver

Andrew's bottom bunk bed

Tom winding down after a long day of fun

The boys display the bunk bed

The gang at breakfast...Tom had all you can eat MEAT! Buuurp!

Behold the magic banana!!

The magic of the sausage is awe inspiring!

After I lost him twice, once while running up and down the stairs during Magiquest, and another time after we frantically searched for his lost wallet (that ended up at home on the counter, we headed to the elevator...he went in and I didn't make it before the door shut...it took about 20 minutes of searching, but he ended up at the front desk...good job Andrew!), Andrew stuck to me like glue...I followed him around with the camera and he hammed it up :)

Andrew
No, he'snot having fun :)

Andrew shooting Aunt Debbie

Andrew and Tom playing Magiquest

Summer and Little Miss Sunshine :)

Tom and Andrew and a game of air hockey

Tom and Andrew outside the gourmet goodie shop

Tom, Katelyn, Andrew, and Micaela

One last pic with the kids before we headed home at 11PM!

We really had a great time :)

My nephew, Jared had his birthday and of course, we all celebrated

Jared and Summer both loved the balloons...

these two are just 4 weeks apart in age...

Jared was 2 weeks late and Summer was 13 weeks early!

Grandma and Grandpa Cameron admiring Summer

Jared turned 1 on June 16! He really knew what to do with his birthday cake :)

Morgan and Emily REALLY enjoyed their cake and ice cream :)

July 14, 2009...Happy 1st birthday Summer!!

2009-07-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

July 14th marked one year since Summer was born! I can't believe it ! The first part of the day was spent at Children's clinic visits....lucky girl. At her first appt. they brought in a huge gift bag containing a book, a stuffed Tigger (which she still loves), and a shape sorting toy. We went to the Home care nurses office next and they had bought her a birthday balloon. Everyone there is so happy with her progress...so are we, of course! She has come so far...we decided to celebrate with our families and some of our closest friends :) My brother in law and 3 of their kids were in town from Utah to join us :)

Summer's cupcake cake...Sunshine, a natural choice :)

Andrew really wanted to share his family birthday party with Summer, so he got a 3rd celebration!

He loves Pokemon...cupcakes make great Poke balls!
I had fun making these cakes :)

Andrew is sharing in the celebration for Summer's birthday....Philip Arnold Park

The Snedakers! Angie helped set up for the party...in order to avoid a big reservation fee, she staked out the pavillion at the park...she almost had to duke it out with another lady who wanted this spot...ha haha

Rachel, Tom, Debbie, Cevin, and Tracy

Daddy and daughter

Have you ever noticed people LOVE it when you take their picture while they are eating? Ha ha

Niece, Katie

Grandma Julie Cameron and Brianna

Nephews, Michael and Connor

My friend, Lynette and Summer

Lots of friends and family

Mel W., new hubby, Jay, and Emily

Summer and Micaela

Lots of yummy food

My friend Tabatha and her boys, TJ and Trevor

Do these 3 look guilty or what? Sadie, Morgan, and Ryan

This kid had 3 birthdays....thanks to lots of family and friends :) Andrew really wanted to have a combined party with Summer...he loves her so much :)

Andrew makes a wish...again!

A quick shot of the birthday girl with her cake before it got devoured

Bridget and Tracy

Frosting tongues!

A very challenging game of croquet in the tree...hmmmm

Morgan and Ryan have big muscles! Or so they think :)

Jared

More presents

Grandma Norris and Andrew

One last present...

Andrew didn't believe us that this package of diapers was for him! Ha ha....Summer got probably over 1,000 diapers for her birthday...we just used the last of them at the first part of October :) Wow, that's a lot of diapers!

Summer was cold and tired...she fell asleep with daddy

The kids played croquet until it was dark

Morgan playing hide and seek behind the big trees

Summer loves balloons

Happy, sleepy, birthday baby!

Sunflowers for our sunshine from my friend, Melanie...Plants don't last long around my house...pictures do :)

Morgan posed with the flowers

May...a fleeting memory...here's a few Kodak moments!

2009-07-13T01:04:00.000-07:00

May brought warm weater and we took advantage of it :) Angie invited the girls and I to tag along on a couple of her preschool field trips...the first was to Kelsey Creek Farm

Morgan thinks the chickens are funny :)

Morgan, Sadie, and Sophia looking at the sheep

Angie and the kids checking out the horses

Morgan

Angie and Cavin

Summer's first time in a swing...she comes complete with her own tether, haha

she thought it was loads of fun!

Morgan

Cavin the cutie pie :)

Summer and her tongue :)

The boys and I got to spend the night at Woodland park zoo with our friends, the Hennigs. It was really fun...we went on a night tour around the zoo and into the commissary where they store all the animals' food. Then, we spent the night in Zoomazium and up at 6 AM for breakfast and another tour. It was cool to see the zoo before it opened and get some behind the scene stories :) We had no sleep, but had a great time anyway!

Tom and Cody in the caves where they ate dinner and slept for the night

Escaping creature

Tom touching the tortoise...one of two animal encounters they had for us

Andrew and the tortoise

Andrew and Cody at the penguins

Andrew wants to sleep in this cage :)

Tom's cage of choice

A sneak peak in the freezer full of yummy animal treats...ratsicle anyone?

Mmmm, bucket-o-blood in the commissary

Andrew and the snake

Encounter with the snake

Tom and Cody at the new penguin exhibit

Yummy snake skin

A forced mommy-son photo :)

Cody and Andrew climbing the web

Andrew took off his shoes and injury insued...John (Cody' dad) came to the rescue...

This goose thought he was one of the flamingos...at one point, someone saw him holding up one of his legs! Too bad I didn't get that shot..

Cody and Tom

Andrew hatching a flamingo egg

Listen to the turtle...he knows what he is talking about

The famous wold den we always make the kids pose in...they are almost too big for it :)

The grizzly bears are always fun to see

A sleepy bear

Andrew loved watching the otters, again :)

The boys and I stayed most of the day together...we ended the day at the Willawong bird center. Tom and Andrew were excited to feed so many birds :)

While the boys were still in school, the girls and I went on another preschool fieldtrip with Angie...we went to Seahurst park in Burien...it was the perfect day to go to the beach :)

Morgan got excited about EVERY rock she found!

Check me out...I'm a multi-taskin' mama

Andrew Froisland and grandma, Joyce

Angie and Cavin walking the beach

Cavin :)

Sadie is cute and she knows it :)

Morgan was so funny...she leaned over this log singing like the little Mermaid...complete with her fake vabrato....ahhh, ahhh, ahhh....

Morgan heading after a seagull

Summer was so happy in the backpack all day :)

Morgan actually kept this hat on the whole time we were there...so cute

Here are a few pics from a quick trip to our neighborhood park...we took boxes to ride down the big hill...the grass was a little long, but a few of the kids made it down

Savannah and Rex are buddies...Lucy popped into the picture too

The babies love sticks :) My friends have cute kids :)

Morgan loves to swing

Morgan

Andrew and Jaeger getting ready to head down the hill...

And to top it all off...Summer discovered herself in the mirror!

July 10, 2009...Happy 7th Birthday Andrew!

2009-07-11T15:51:00.000-07:00

Andrew's birthday is July 10...we celebrated as a family that night :)

Birthday boy! He chose to eat dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

The crododile in front of the restaurant...everyone throws pennies in his mouth to go to saving the rainforests

Getting ready to order

Andrew and the ape by our table

Present time!

A water balloon game, Bakugan, and some gum with money hiding inside :)

Poor Morgan....she was terrified every time the Apes would "come to life"....It was sad, but it kept her attached to Dad all night...no chasing of the 3 year old :)

Yeah for birthday cash! Andrew used it to buy himself 2 stuffed Rainforest snakes from their gift shop.

VOCANO!! The biggest, chocolatyist, birthday celebration treat ever!! Complete with a sparkler on top :)

Andrew's 7th birthday party for his friends was at our house. We lucked out with the weather...it was the beginning of a HOT streak...it got over 100 degrees at one point, yikes! The kids played in the water, ate lunch, and of course had cupcakes...

Andrew, Caleb and Justin having fun in the sun!

Lunch time

It was a very hot day...perfect for a water fight

Water fun outside

Cupcakes and Pokemon figures :)

....BLOW!

The kids retreat under the shade...it was a HOT day!

Emma

Caleb

Morgan

Tom

Jaeger

Chocolate faces!

Enjoying cupcakes...yum!

Bakugan from Justin

Sidewalk paint from Caleb

Bakugan from Owen :)

A frog Webkin from Jaeger :)

Andrew's own giant size treats from Sarah

Don't break the ice! From Hannah

Morgan taking a dip in the pool...complete with sucker

One last surprise from Dad....

Andrew was surprised to find this Nerf gun from Dad...he got one last year for his birthday, but it was stolen....Dad made him happy again :)

Andrew loves this nerf gun that is as tall as Morgan :)

July 7-10, 2009...Cub Scout Day camp for little Tom

2009-07-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Tom is a weeblo in cub scouts....cub camp was the first week of July....before it got very hot, thankfully :) Summer and I went along on the first day...

Egg launch egg Tom made at home for friday's launch....his egg survived!

The troop....the Weeblo Warriors

Summer loved riding in the backpack around camp

Tom tries to tie a knot in mid air....

knot tying and rope tricks

Who knew lunch time could be so funny :)

Cooking time!

Tom and Josh cooking monkey tails

Yummy monkey tail rolled in butter and cinnamon

Big brother with Summer

Waiting for a turn to shoot BB's

The BB range is one of Tom's favorite things to do at camp

Field sports

Making the staffs to carry for the rest of the week...we had a fun day :)

July 4, 2009...Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was a lot busier than usual....that morning I helped sell fireworks, like I try and do every year, to earn money for gym classes, my friend Melanie got married and I was the photographer, and we hosted a bbq and fireworks at our house!

Melanie amd Jay's wedding was beautiful. They had a very intimate ceremony at Kopachek State Park, just past Gig Harbor, WA. There were lots of family and friends there to wish them well :)

The cake, complete with cupcakes for the kids....the "Little People" cake on top played "Here comes the bride"

Melanie and her bridesmaid, Emily

Melanie looked so beautiful :)

Beautiful mommy and daughter, Morgan

Mel's daughter, Morgan, was the flower girl

The bouquet of fresh roses

Brendon gives this a "thumbs up"!

Mom with sons, Tristan and Brendon

Heading up for the ceremony....boys giving mom away :)

Flower girl doing her job

The ceremony was really neat....flowers were beautiful

Tristan and Brendon were the ring bearers

Emily, Mel, Jay, and Jay's bro and best man

The happy couple

First kisses....

My mom, Summer, and Angie came to the wedding too

Morgan, caught red handed...stealing Jelly bellies, yum

Angie and Summer

Me and Summer

Awe....

The family

Angie doing bubbles

Emily's bubble send off :)

After the wedding, I headed home to our family fireworks.....got there just in time for it to turn dark. Next year, our city might have a ban on fireworks, so we squeezed it in one last time at our house...Tom's parents, his sister, Jeanette and her family, and my parents were there to help celebrate.

Uncle Matt, Chris, Andrew, and little Tom

Hanging out on the lawn...My mom and dad, father-in-law, and nephew, Jared

Fireworks!

Morgan (she kept hiding from the noise under her blanket), Jeanette, and Jared

Me and Morgan

Summer was much happier when daddy took her inside

Andrew and Chris doing snakes

Little Tom

Ah, the fun cleanup!

July 1st...Happy Birthday, Matt !(uncle Matt)

2009-07-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy...we have been having so much fun for the last couple of months, all my summertime pics have been hiding in my hard drive....it's time to let them out! We'll start with July... A birthday party for my brother-in-law, Matt at Coulon Beach park...

Uncle Matt making sure the cupcakes are HIS

Emily

Jared

Whitney, Tom, and Brianna with the fish they caught

Chris hauling water for the sand castles

Morgan

Nathan, Tom, Brianna, and Whitney

Rachel and Summer

Tom

Pouty Summer

The kids enjoying the beach

Eric, Nathan, Chris, and Morgan

Tom and Whitney

Group hug...uncle man loves playing with the kids

Andrew with his missing teeth

Matt and Whitney

Ryan and Brianna with Summer looking on

Nathan

Tom REALLY enjoys cupcakes

Summer!

July 2009...Photo shoot....again!!

2009-07-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot to get 4 kids coordinated on camera ;p

Tom 10 1/2, Andrew, 7, Summer 1, Morgan 3 1/2

All four smile...yah, right!

Cute and fuzzy

Now this one is just nutty :)

Summer @ 1 year old

Sisters, Morgan and Summer

Morgan @ 3 1/2 years old

One busy week!

2009-05-17T18:36:00.001-07:00

Life has been busy in general, but the last couple of weeks in April I was busier than I have been in a long time....thankfully it was with normal life stuff!

Starting on Saturday, April 25, we took the opportunity to leave our kids with my in-laws and headed for one of our favorite restaurants...Sakura (a Japanese SteakHouse). Dinner was fun, Summer liked it too...of course she goes everywhere we do these days...she is quite the conversation piece! We headed back to my in-laws' house for dessert. The kids (ALL 11, including mine and the cousins) were hiding, oh, so well, and all jumped out and yelled "SURPRISE!" My mom-in-law ordered a Princess/Frog prince cake she assured me looked so nuch better in the catalog....she thought it was the ugliest cake ever...so we added this toy plastic toilet just to complete the look :)

The next day (Sunday), I made dinner for my sister, Debbie and her kids. After dinner, my parents arrived with a cheesecake, then along came our friends from Utah, Eric and Jessica with their daughter, Cleo. We had a nice visit with them between munching on cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, and of course, CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN! Yum :)L-R~ Tom, Micaela, my dad, Debbie, Connor, mom, Jessica, Eric, little Tom, Summer, and me...in front, Morgan, Andrew, and Cleo.

Monday was my actual birthday. I got the boys out the door and climbed into my parents car to head to my sister's house to pick up my birthday present. Debbie just bought a new car and happened to have an extra Ford Explorer laying around...Happy Birthday to me :) Thanks Deb :) We went out to lunch, then it was back home with my new present. That night, m+++++++y hubby grilled steak and we had a quiet night at home.

Tuesday, I had a couple of appts. for Summer, then that night it was time for Tom's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. As we were getting ready to go, a friend of mine reminded me that the 1st graders had their Spring concert was the same night! Yikes!! It was a good thing my new birthday present was sitting in the driveway....my hubby threw Andrew in the Explorer and headed to the school. I finished dinner and threw the other 3 kids in the car and headed to the church for the Pinewood Derby. All went well...Andrew survived the concert and Tom's car did well in the race. He placed at least 2nd in most of the races and was very happy.

Tom's BIG cheese car complete with wingnut mouse for added weight. Grandpa Norris helped Tom cut the shape and drill the swiss cheese holes. It was a very clever design.

Tom earned a bunch of awards during the last month

Watching the cars race

Tom and his car

The 2nd place race

The BIG cheese won the award for the "Kraftiest" car

Wednesday we had an appt. for Summer at Children's, then running around taking Tom to scouts that night.

Thursday morning I dropped Morgan off with a friend and headed to the school for Tom's fieldtrip to the Science Center in Seattle. I had to take Summer with me, so I had to drive. I carpooled with a couple of other moms and we met the buses there. The boys had a great time at the IMAX Undersea movie, Planetarium, and GPS adventure.

The flash still hurts even with 3-D glasses on!

Tyler and Tom at lunch outside

Summer and Tom in the Duckbill footprint

Tyler

Summer and Tom

Summer, Tom, and Ms. Aulava

Mindy and Terri sporting the stuffed germs

Tom, Isaak, and Tyler

Tyler, Tom and Isaak

Me and Tom...had to force him to take this picture (in case you couldn't tell (: )

That night it was girl's night and time to shoot some pool. We all love to play, but can't shoot worth anything...but have fun chasing the balls around the table!

Cathy, Allison, and Angie...pool sharks, ha ha

Cathy LOVES it when I follow her around with a camera :)

Bridget always fools us into thinking she knows what she is doing :)

Me (with pool chalk tattoo), Cathy, and Bridget

Bridget looks on as Allison shoots with her cane....didn't work so well :)

Saturday brought us back to the Science Center! Yes, it is true....twice in one week :) This time I drove Tom and a couple of scouts with his den...Andrew came along with us :) We visited the Planetarium and went through the GPS adventure maze...geocaching is pretty cool!

Andrew, Jaron, Tom, and Alex

Here are some of the cool butterflies we saw...

Jaron had a friendly visitor

What a cute shoe accessory :)

Tom's goal is to always have at least one butterfly land on him...he did it again :)

This was fun...do you think I'm a little too old for this? haha

Tom, Jaron, Joe, Alex, and Andrew

A much needed break

2009-04-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

This Spring break we actually got a break :) Our friends, Zack and Celia Nilson, along with their 5 kids, came to visit from Utah. They lived here 4 years ago and we have missed having them around.

Tues. April 7th we met them at the Seattle Aquarium. The kids always love going there and got along great with all the Nilsons. On our way home, we stopped to play at Gene Coulon Park on Lake Washington. Celia and I have taken our kids there many times together...it was just like old times :) The kids ran right into the water, despite the fact that it was only about 55 degrees that day...brrrr! That night we had a dinner party at the Lim's house complete with the chocolate fountain...yum!

Andrew by the huge fish tank

Tom checking out the tide pool before the security guard caught him climbing :)

You gotta watch out for that darn rubber octopus!

AHHHH

Jellyfish

Andrew

Tom and Andrew

Bekah, Sarah, Joey and Zack

Tom and Morgan

Andrew and a cool sea star

Morgan

Morgan, Tom, Bekah, Sarah, Leah, and Emma

Morgan

Tom loves my camera, ha ha

Tom and Andrew getting wet by the waterfall

Summer's so cool :)

Andrew at Gene Coulon park

The kids ran right into the water...half of them ended up riding home in their underwear :)

Tom held Summer to warm up

Wednesday I spent the day getting ready to go. We watched the Nilson kids while Zack and Celia went out for seafood (yuck! (; ) then packed all night...almost literally...as usual, I stayed up getting things done while everyone was in bed....went to sleep at 4 AM...zzz

Thurs morning the Nilsons met us at our house and we were off...like a herd of turtles :)

We stopped at Cape Disappointment on our way to Ocean Park to check out the lighthouse. It was windy, but there were blue skies. The only disappointment was that the lighthouse is closed for tours...we had to just admire it from a distance.

Morgan and Sarah

Zack, Celia, and Joey

Tom, Mel, and Summer

EWE Andrew, good thing it isn't winter time!

Next, we headed for the vacation house we rented on the beach in Ocean Park. The pictures on their website didn't do this place justice! http://www.bytheoceansoblue.com/ There was nothing between us and the beach but dunes. The whole front of the house was big windows...we sat and watched the waves from a comfy couch. The kids had a great time there too. Friday was spent all day out at the beach. It started out gray, foggy, and a little rainy (most summer mornings start this way around here) but cleared off by mid day and we had blue skies. The kids flew kites for a few minutes, and then planted themselves in the sand. I think Tom almost made it to China! We spent a few hours getting wet and dirty, then headed back to the house to hose them all off. We made a fire in the outdoor pit and roasted hot dogs followed by marshmallows for s'mores.

Our first walk to the water

Bekah, Sarah, Celia, Leah, and Emma

Andrew already found something!

Morgan

Tom is Captain Awesome

Lounging babies, Summer 9 months, Joey 7 1/2 months...we have already arranged their marriage :)

Sarah and Andrew outside the living room window

Wow...this was our front yard!

Andrew heading to collect shells

Leah flying a kite

Celia, Zack, and Tom manning the kites the kids were done with after 5 minutes...

Mel and Celia with Joey attached

Some family pics...yes, it took a lot to coordinate us!

Hey, this one's decent :)

Morgan with her Moses stick following Zack

Summer

Tom digging to China

Morgan

Morgan loved the beach but got nervous when the waves came in....

....she ran away every time

Andrew joined in the wave chasing too

Bekah found some shells

Sarah

Emma and Tom were best buddies in no time...just like they were when the Nilsons lived here :)

Our boots didn't escape the waves! This is a lot harder than it looks!

The walk back from the beach

Tom does the manly thing and builds a fire :)

Roasting hot dogs

Tom eating dinner on the front deck

Tom and his dogs

Eating dinner inside

Roasting marshmallows

Summer loves the flash :)

Self portrait...mom and Summer

Saturday started out raining and windier. We sent the Easter Bunny (Tom) out to hide eggs and the kids were set loose after they all finished breakfast. Andrew exclaimed that it was the best Easter ever!! They were all restricted to only 18 eggs each, so kept close count...Andrew found his lot first and the rest of the kids didn't take long to follow. They all ran inside and started devouring the yummy treats...Morgan tried to eat her way through her entire bucket, but we stopped her from succeeding :)

Awe, how sweet these two are :)

Joey...future ladies man

Summer and Tom cuddles

A couch in the hallway...Sarah, Leah, Andrew, Bekah, and Morgan

The kids could collect only 18 eggs...Andrew found his lot first! He excalimed that it was the best Easter ever!!

Morgan had fun too...it's pink (her favorite color)

Easter egg hunters...Emma, Leah, Andrew, Bekah, Morgan, Tom, and Sarah

Emma and Tom....Tom traded all his candy for peanut butter cups...my favorite too :)

Morgan trying to eat her way through her basket in 10 minutes flat! Her idea of a balanced breakfast :)

Leah

We packed up lunch, threw the kids in the vans and headed for the North Head lighthouse (only about 30 minutes away) The older kids could climb to the top with us, so we took turns watching the little people. It was really interesting...there hasn't been a new lighthouse built for 100 years! Since lighthouses are pretty much obsolete, when they develop a crack in the base, they lock the doors and shut it down...unless some outside party invests in the restoration. Andrew and Tom asked a million questions of the volunteer at the top, then we headed back down to eat lunch. Despite Celia and I's grand plans for something else to do, we all decided to head back to the house. I took some of the braver kids with me to expolore the beach in the wind, one last time...everyone else stuck around the warm house playing games and watching movies.

Climbing the 69 stairs to the top was exhausting... not really, but the kids kept count just to make sure the brochure was right when it said how many stairs there were :)

A view from the top

Tom, Mel, Andrew and Tom in the lighthouse

It was built in 1898

Andrew and the North Head lighthouse

Another view from the lighthouse

Morgan accidentally jumped out of the van into a mud puddle...look what cut muddy footprints her socks made :)

The whole top layer of sand was blowing in the strong wind...it was cool

It was just us and the birds

Sarah...Emma, Tom, and Bekah

Andrew

Sarah growled and chased seagulls

The seagulls would ride the wind...they flew up against it and stayed suspended in the air, then would swoop down and around and do it again...it was cool to watch :)

Tom fended them off with shovels full of mud...

Like I said....Tom loves my camera :)

Sarah and Emma were drenched

Tom and Emma heading back to the house

Sunday (Easter) morning, Zack and Celia packed up and left early to head home. I was up late, so didn't get out of bed until around 10 AM. It was very quiet in the house without the extra kids :( Morgan, who every morning would ask if her friends were awake, did the same...when she went down the hall and discovered they had left, she started sobbing. It was so sad...Andrew also cried quite a bit. We all had so much fun, it was a real let down to have to head back to real life.

Summer's happy....she stayed inside :)

The kids helped me pack, ha ha

Andrew's crab parts we made him throw back...all except a crab shell I plucked the eyes out of for him to take to show and tell...yucky

Sunday the waves were wild

Attitudes changed once the kids were set loose to find their Easter baskets :) They got some good candy and activities for the ride home. We took our time packing and cleaning up. We watched the waves getting bigger and bigger all day with the increased wind and rain...it was cool to watch from a warm house :) We finally headed out around 4 PM and stopped for Easter dinner at Red Robin. Mmmmm....my Easter onion rings were yummy :)

Morgan found her basket in the living room under a table

Tom's was in the dryer

Andrew found his bucket in the laundry room sink full of sandy clothes

Happy Easter!

We vowed on the way home to take our kids on more outings like this...cross your fingers that we can all stay well and have money and time to do it :)

I'm so Fortunate

2009-03-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks I went out to two different Chinese Restaurants....as always, at the end of our meal, out came the fortune cookies :) As we all know, last year was pretty much one not to repeat! Here's what my cookies say is in the cards for me :)

"You will soon win a contest" Hmmmm...definitely NOT in the beauty department....maybe for the mom with the highest laundry mountain? Or, perhaps my grand award will be for the most miles put on a mini-van between here and Seattle? I know...I will win the grand prize for the most creative tape design on her daughter's face! All good possibilities :)

"Everything will now come your way" Well, this could have two different meanings. Either everything good, or everything bad is coming. We'll go with the good....after all, I did my part with the latter already! Can I vote for "everything" meaning money? OK, I won't get greedy :)

This last one, I can't remember the exact wording, so I am apologizing to the Chinese Gods who come up with these predictions ahead of time if I am taking too much creative licensing with what it said...

"Happiness will come your way" Okay, I can handle this one :) So far, so good...life is definitely much happier lately :)

A couple of weeks ago there was a knock at my door. I wasn't expecting anyone and was still in my PJ's. As usual, my 3 year old daughter ran screaming to the door...beating off anyone and everyone who tries to open it before her, not having any regard for my lack of clothes! I managed to buy some time to throw a sweater on since the deadbolt was locked, hehehe...

Morgan opened the door to find someone I hadn't seen in a long time. A girl in my ward who lived just over my back fence. I have been wondering what happened to Rita...I hadn't seen her since I went on bed rest and was now back into life. Apparently, she had gotten re-married in Dec (congrats Rita (: ) and moved away. She was here checking on her Condo she is trying to sell and had a feeling she should come check on me. She basically told me, with a smile, that she was coming in to help me for an hour and I was not going to deny her the inspiration! How could I argue with that? I let her in and she, along with her old roommate she brought with her, proceeded to help clean my house. They did my dishes, took out my recycling, put away laundry, and packed up the Christmas decor that was still adorning my mantle (yes, it is March). She said she has been thinking about us so much these past few months and has wanted to help in some way. It was so sweet of her :) I am so lucky that so many people have been so kind and generous with their rime for us! I truly am fortunate! :)

Summer's blessing day

2009-03-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

This last Sunday, we blessed Summer during Sacrament Meeting at church by her Daddy. This is an ordinance performed for babies in the LDS church. The baby is given their name and blessed with inspired words to live their life by. My husband, along with a few of my very talented friends, performed a musical number, "Be Thou My Vision" On a gray and snowy(yes, snow in March!) day, the clouds parted and the sun shone through the big windows in the Chapel while they sang (and it happened during the blessing too) :) It was a very special day. We had friends and family come with us, then we had a family dinner at our house after church was over.

Summer was so pretty in her blessing dress. My mom had a dress for her that matches the dress Brooke was buried in. My mom worked with a friend to alter Brooke's dress to fit her tiny self. She just happened to get a set of two, when she bought them over 10 years ago (anticipating granddaughters :))...amazing how those things work out. Brooke was given this beautiful afghan from the NICU at Seattle Children's Hospital. It was donated by a generous organization called Project Linus. Summer loves it...being cuddled by her guardian angel :) It was a special way to honor both the girls.

Daddy getting Summer ready for her big day

Our beautiful girl

Me, Summer and my friend, Melanie

Grandma Julie cuddles

Summer is always good for a big smile!

Aunt Rachel

Morgan, Summer, and mommy

Ryan entertained us with his enthusiastic piano playing

Uncle Charles

Grandpa Tom Cameron

Tom is a great big brother!

Daddy cuddles in Summer's room...to escape the 10 kids running around the house! :)

Aunt Debbie, Summer, and Micaela...notice the March snow through the window!

Grandpa loves the babies :)

Jared...

...is so cute, I can't resist his face :)

He poses for me when I pull out the camera :) Good boy!

Summer makes a good pouty face...she inherited this from me :l

Family photo

Andrew 6 1/2, Morgan 3 1/2, Tom 10 1/2, Summer 8 months

Nice socks!! They ARE clean though :)

Another outing with the cousins

2009-03-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

In Feb., during Mid-Winter break, we renewed our Science Center Pass and spent the day playing and watching an Undersea Imax movie. As usual the kids had a great time!

Crazy kids come in pairs!

This is a cool shadow wall...my kids usually spend a minimum of a half an hour in here every time we go to the Science Center!

Now they are getting REALLY creative :)

Connor, Tom, Micaela' friend Katelyn, and Micaela getting ready to watch the 3-D Imax movie

In the butterfly house

Tom and Connor waited a long time for a butterfly to land on them...no luck this time :(

Summer and mom in the butterfly house

Morgan watching the butterflies eat

Connor tries on Debbie's glasses

Now you see her...

...now you don't! Camoflauge wall!

Andrew flexes...

...more muscles

Andrew

The kids in the water wheel

Morgan

Little Tom...

...he's happy...he just bought a Venus Fly Trap in the gift shop :)

Tom and Connor

Morgan, the girly, girl

2009-03-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

Morgan and Pinkie Pie making a quick escape...

She is so silly :)

Morgan is growing up so fast! She has had most of her influence from her older brothers until recently...she has a friend, Sadie, who is showing her the ropes of being a girly girl. When Sadie comes to play, they pull out all her dresses, shoes, necklaces....etc. The other day, they were holding hands and spinning around...giggling the whole time! Wow, girls certainly are different! They are very cute together. My husband even loves the girls around here...he wasn't so sure he would know what to do with them, but they have wrapped him tightly around their little fingers!

We used to have to fight with Morgan for hours to put on a dress...Sadie can get her in one in under 2 minutes flat!

Silly girls

Playing the piano is a team effort...

Sadie does the melody...

...while Morgan works the pedals.

Good friends...

...I see chocolate fountain parties in their future! (Sadie is my friend, Angie's, daughter after all)

"Happa, Nappa, Yeeeaahahahaha!" The current theme song...Morgan has been watching my hubby play the piano and sing. She has been composing her own one girl show :)

She walks around the house singing this ballad...even her stuffed animals know the words!

Despite this recent discovery that pink is the greatest color ever, it's ok to wear accessories in your hair, and My Little Ponies are the greatest thing since buttered toast, Morgan can still hold her own in our house. She loves dinosaurs and Legos, she wrestles and growls, and loves Pokemon! Maybe she will be like I was and wear her cute pink clothes while using the saw on the scraps of wood outside to build a tree house! We can only hope :)

Baby's got her own blog!

2009-02-24T22:37:00.000-08:00

I added links to my 2 new blogs, but thought I'd better make the formal announcement. I decided Summer has so many pictures and updates that she needs her own blog. So, I searched for a name and came up with a real corny one! http://www.somuchsunshine.blogspot.com/ I will be posting regular updates for her there, but still updating this one with our family stuff as well. I am also compiling some memories and lots of pictures of Brooke and have created a blog to tell her story http://www.justtendays.blogspot.com/

Happy reading :) And, by the way, don't be shy...I love comments :)

Hearts and Flowers and a frog

2009-02-24T22:24:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was Valentines...

It has always been my job in the past to go all out with gifts, flowers, cards, candy...etc. and my hubby's job to simply forget that holidays exist. Well, a couple of years ago, just when I had decided I was taking on his way, he caught on to how it's done (at least in my family). So now I am the one who is showered with nice, thoughtful gifts and candy. Tom got a card..oh, and a box of cherry chocolates. He usually brought me home a dozen roses from some street vendor in Seattle, but this time he bought some over prices bouquet at the store on his walk home from the bus. :) Isn't he sweet?

I had taken the boys shopping for Valentines for their classes and little Tom talked me into buying the stuffed frog (squeeze it and it makes a kissing sound) "for grandma". He was so sneaky...that night he asked me if I would be mad if he lied for a good reason? He was so cute...he gave me the frog on Valentine's day :)

Tom and I went to our Stake Valentine's dinner/dance and dragged Summer along with us. It was funny to see all the parents there who had left their babies at home googooing over her :) She was very popular! Isn't it sad? You long to have a break, and when you get it, all you do is talk about your kids and get sappy over others when yours isn't there. I guess that is what parenthood is really all about!

The theme for the evening was "Some Enchanted Evening". Somehow my hubby, along with my 3 best girlfriends, got roped into singing the theme song. They did a great job :) They wouldn't let me set foot anywhere near a stage though, so good thing I had to hold a baby !

So, next up is Easter....I am looking forward to all the chocolate I can steal from my kids, he he he!

Bye, bye, breastmilk

2009-02-17T00:44:00.001-08:00

Well, I did it....Saturday I packed up two coolers full of most of the breast milk I had left, and sent it on a plane. A little wierd, yes. I'll rewind a bit so you will follow the bizarre set of events that led me to do such a unique thing :)

A few weeks ago, just shortly after we discovered Summer's allergy to the cow's milk protein in my breast milk, I was talking to a girl at church. The subject of babies, my past experiences, and girl talk in general, led us to discuss my current status. She had just recently had a baby herself and her sister in law is now in the process of adopting preemie twin boys. Her sis in law requested she pump extra milk to share with them, but this was not possible. She told me the sis in law was very anxious to find milk to give the boys, as breast milk has so much needed healing power. I had not done anything with the still 1/2 full freezer of breast milk, so I mentioned this to her. A few days later, I received an email from the sis in law. We have been trying to figure out the best way to get the milk to her in Utah... In the process, her sister, who has also just adopted a baby girl, contacted me. She wanted to share the milk...great. This has truly been an answer to my prayers....strange as it may sound.

I couldn't stand the thought of throwing it all out, and wanted to find someone who could use it. Sell it on Ebay? Open up my own "Breastsicle stand"? Maybe I could paint my van like a cow and drive through the neighborhood playing some type of twisted ice cream truck song? Since none of these options were realistic, and it is still way too cold for breastsicles, I have been just ignoring it all.

After some time and brain work, the sister of the sis in law and I came up with a plan. My friend, who happened to be flying to SLC this last Saturday, graciously offered to "Mule" it for us. We found out all the critera for a checked bag and away we went. I went to REI and called to have the sis pay for two soft sided coolers over the phone. Then I went home, got out a bathroom scale and crammed as much milk I could into them. We could only have 50 pounds in each....when they were weighed one was exactly 50 pounds and the other 48.5....wow, did I REALLY feel like a jersy cow! It's not every day you get to pack, label, and ship off something like this! I still have a good size shipment leftover, I am going to Fedex the rest to them soon.

The sisters are so excited....it made me feel great....a little sad too. It had an unexpected effect on me the last few days. I haven't cried for about a month (ok, not so true), so made up for lost time. A day doesn't go by that I don't think of Brooke....as Summer has starting doing so well, it has made things a little easier. I am so grateful that all my hard work and love (believe me, if you have never pumped before, it is a real tedious job!) was not in vain. I have been sent pics of the cute little ones that get to enjoy many milk mustaches...so sweet :) Heavenly Father truly has a hand in many things...gives us opportunities we would have never expected...isn't it great? Okay, rambling stops here :)

I have now decided to create a seperate blog for Summer's progress, www.somuchsunshine.blogspot.com and a memorial blog for random thoughts and special memories for Brooke www.justtendays.blogspot.com Just another chapter in my home spun therapy :) Feel free to check them out...not quite up and running yet, but it should be nice to have a seperate place for this. As you can see, my normal life has started in full swing and doesn't mix so well with all the other stuff :)

As always, thanks for all the great support!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

2009-02-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

Summer came home yesterday and is doing great. After two days in the hospital, the blood and stool cultures were all negative. We still don't know what caused her diarhea, but it has resolved and she is back up to 40 ML's per hour (which is where she was before she got sick).

Summer now weighs 13 pounds and growing. She has remained her happy, smiley self even troughout her illnesses. As of this Sat, Feb. 14, she will be 7 months already! How time has flown by! Her lab work is looking good and we are back to moving forward. Next week we are going back to the clinic...hopefully she will continue to do well enough to advance her feeds some more...we can't wait to get her off the IV!

Girls just wann have fun!

2009-02-10T21:35:00.000-08:00

Girl's weekend...Camano Island, WA 1/24-1/26-09

Every Janua ry my girlfriends and I escape for a weekend. No hubbie, no kids (babies are an exception :)), lots of food, laughter, and fun. We usually go somewhere within 1 1/2 hours from home, there are so many beautiful place to visit in Wa!

Me, Summer, Cathy, Debbie, Angie, Bridget, and Melanie (aka Mel K...she even has a daughter named Morgan too! )

This pic was taken on the balcony...Summer wasn't too happy with the whole idea...

Our Vacation rental was gorgeous. It was set in a wildlife preserve, full of huge windows, cool antiques, and 2 jetted tubs (a must for our weekends).

The house was beautiful...
The kitchen was huge and we messed it up good!! (Like mine English?)

This railing is in the process of being hand carved.

They had a few unique instruments place around the house

The cool stained glass inserts above the two upper bedrooms

The master suite bed...ahhh, very comfy....zzzz

The view of the stained glass from the master suite's bed

Overlooking the living room and back wall of windows

The dining room

...the view was very peaceful...

The small lake in the back yard...it snowed Sunday morning

The front yard pond

...we provided the wildlife....

My sis, Debbie, and I on the back deck

Summer

Aunt Debbie loves Summer...she held her most of the weekend

Bridget and Summer

Summer adorns the Chikita Banana hat...she's a party girl in the making!

mmmmmmm we tried something new....a NACHO CHEESE FOUNTAIN, WOW! This gave birth to a whole slew of "fountain" ideas....marinara, sweet n sour, BBQ sauce? The skies the limit...check out the steam! I discovered that it worked best just to dip my whole plate in it....no gluttony here, ha haha!

Bridget sliced up the ice cream....hey, is that all for you? No FAIR! (did I sound like my 6 year old there?)

Ahhhhh, the weekend souvenir...

It's sanitary, disposable, practical, comfortable, fashionable, and versatile....

MAXI-PAD SLIPPERS

WOW!

I custom made a pair for each person....how sweet :)

"Yes, I'm serious...you will have to wear them".

Cathy wears hers with black socks...sheik!

Melanie is tickled pink with hers!

Angie is just plain cute!

We make this railing look good! :) Bridget looks the happiest hiding behind the camera!

....and the close up just for dramatic effect...

Some of us took a walk...I forgot my baby wrap so I crammed her into my coat

Mel models her cow socks complete with udderly cute toes

Mel gave us haircuts too...it's so nice to have talented friends :)

As always....the chocolate fountain! No we didn't plan our matching outfits, but we do shop at the same store! So which one of us is the evil twin?

Angie and I had a little too much chocolate and not enough sleep....makes for a lot of fun!

I delivered the kiss of death to Bridget....death by chocolate is really not such a bad way to go!

Mel posed for me...she's so cute :)

Debbie, me and Angie...we are so cute too, ha ha

Bridget on the back deck

My sis and I are really cute too, NOT...

But, hey....it's no fun being normal!

It's tune up time again!

2009-02-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Well, we have had Summer home from her last trip to the hospital for a month (almost to the day) and are back again. A few weeks ago the doc gave the okay for us to come to clinic only every other week because she is doing so FANTASTIC! I knew that with a change like this, another hiccup was in our near future. Call me pesimistic...I have been told this is just how things work around here :)

As usual, we have been increasing Summer's formula through her NG tube slowly. With this last week's increase (from 35 ML's per hour to 38, then up to 40) she did great...until Sunday night. Summer usually will sleep through the night, sometimes as long as 10 hours at a time, but that night she woke up crying. I went to check on her and she was soaked from brim to brim. Her diaper was so full, it couldn't hold anymore. I did a full head to toe/bedding change and tucked her back in. After about another 4 hours, she woke again crying. Back in to her room I went for the full change again. After another 4 hours, the same routine. By this point, she was shakey, her lips were dry, and she was licking them f, uriously. She was also very fussy. I had to change her and throw her in the car to take little Tom to the doctor. I put a bottle in some hot water and away we went. When we got to the doc's office, she sucked the bottle down, but was still fussy. She was soaked again.

I called her clinic nurse....time to bring her back to the hospital. Summer had had so much diarhea, she was getting dehydrated. Fortunately I was able to recognize the signs easier this time and we caught it before she got too sick, or lost much weight.

We spent the night last night with her food turned off. This morning we started at 5 ML's per hour and have been increasing it up 5 ML's more every 2 hours. Her labs looked decent, dispite the hiccup. so we may only be here for a day or two more...let's cross our fingers.e

Today was also a scheduled Occupational Therapy appt. so they came to us. Summer is doing pretty well, considering her 3+ months stuck in bed. She is definitely VERY social...she smiles, coos, responds, etc. The testing did show that she is a little behi nd in her fine motor skills/desire to grasp at things. The OT said she should come alo ng nicely with a little encouragement and this is no surprise for a baby like her. She is so cute and sweet...her smile brightens up any room she is in :) Ahhhh, like my cliche?

Enjoy some recent photos of her below...

Here she is ...with her tongue...her favorite new toy
(pics taken 1-19-09 @ 11 1/2 pounds)

These are some impressive cheeks(s)!

Our happy little girl!

Snuggles with her binky 1-26-09

Nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby 1-28-09

1-25-09

1-24-09

"Yes, we get it, I'm sweet...now shut off that flash!!"

More smiles 1-24-09

And yet, more smiles! She truly is a ray of sunshine :)

A day with the cousins

2009-02-10T14:43:00.000-08:00

With our life the way it is now, we haven't had a lot of opportunities to hang out at some of our favorite places. Summer is now doing well enough to drag around. We had a day off with my sister so we took the kids to the Seattle Aquarium. We have so much fun together and the kids loved it. We now have a yearly membership, so we will be going often :) Debbie ("Hant Debbie") loves Morgan...

...and Morgan loves her ...she likes to talk to her on any phone she can find...even a pretend banana phone

Morgan sunning herself on a rock...a reptile at heart?

Micaela, Tom and Connor faced off with an Aquarium employee in the freezing cold NW water...they stayed in for over 20 minutes then he had to give up and go back to work!

Brrrrr...numb hands of the victorious

A cool crab

Mmmmm...this otter was enjoying a crab snack

I wouldn't want to run into this guy in a dark alley!

Seastar or Starfish? What the heck is the difference anyway?

Nice fish impressions guys!

Summer slept through it all tucked into her stroller

We thought about leaving the boys there, but the local wildlife wasn't too friendly....

Rewind to Christmas

2009-02-04T15:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve visiting Santa

Every year my sister and I take our kids to the mall to visit Santa. This year, since we had so much snow (she was actually snowed in her neighborhood for a while), we didn't make it until the very last minute...we met at South Center to visit the man in the red suit...

Morgan waits for Santa...she used to call him "Sadsap" and was terrified of him....this year she is excited to see himMicaela, Connor, Tom, Morgan, and Andrew waiting for Santa to come back from lunch

These kids have fun together...sometimes too much?

This is a cute one :)

Tom, Connor, Summer on Santa's lap, Andrew, Morgan, and Micaela

Next stop...Granparents' house #1...my parents' house
We have so much family in the area, a few years ago, we came up with a routine....Christmas eve with my parents and sister's family, Christmas morning at home, then off to my in-laws for Christmas dinner and more, many more presents! Yes, it is quite the long, tiring, but fun, Holiday :)

Andrew and Morgan taking turns opening presents

Grandma Norris with Summer

Morgan, Micaela and Tom

Debbie with the Angel ornament I gave her...she really kept me going this last year :)

The picture collage I made for my parents...take note, you will see this repeat gift later...

Christmas morning at our house

Our tree....this was taken at 7 AM...right before I finally got to bed...zzzzzz

Our mantle after Santa's visit

Tom's stocking....beware, the contents! Andrew's so lucky...look what he gets :) Morgan's green devil duckie and stocking

Santa in our house has a twisted sense of humor...Andrew got squirrel underpants! Those little creatures need to have a little decency after all...

Morgan

Tom unloads his stocking very carefully...Daddy cuddles with Summer

What lucky kids...who else gets a bloody, rubber finger and a box of tater tot pencil toppers?

Morgan got a whole collection of "Parasite Pals" accessories

Andrew loves his Basset Hound Webkin...he named it Sophie, like our friend's dog

Morgan, Andrew, and Tom

Morgan, Tom and Andrew love their baby sister, Summer

Santa rocks! He brought the boys Guitar Hero for our Wii

Grandpa and Grandma Norris with Summer

Morgan and Mom...Morgan drew my name and got me a cool Cinderella pop-up book for us to read together (thanks to hubby of course :) )

I had Andrew's name...I gave him a snake and horse Webkin and some books...he was so excited

Me and Andrew

Andrew had Dad's name...he gave him a nutcracker and made him a penguin ornament out of clay

Dad had Tom's name....he wrapped up his own book with a bunch of coupons stuffed inside....things like; no shower day, sleepover, movie night, etc.

The kids got a bunch of Nintendo DS stuff...oh happy day

Tom loved his Webkin bat

Morgan and Tom

I didn't get any sewing done this year, so the boys all got tiny cut-out promises...still haven't finished them...

Wow! Look at all that snow...yes, we are still in Washington!

I grabbed Morgan, she fought me and screamed, but hey, the camera caught her looking like she smiled :)

My parents always come over Christmas morning...we caught this pic as they were leaving

A white Christmas

Tom rocks out during our breather from present opening

Grandparents' house #2...the Camerons

With so much family close by, we have a very long 2 days, but the kids love it!

Emily loves holding babies....the older girls were sick, so she was the only one who got to hold Summer :) She enjoyed it :)

Emily and Summer

Andrew, Tom and uncle Matt

Eric, Nathan, and Andrew

Jeanette and Jared open a present

Lucky for Rachel, Tom had her name this year...how cute, remote control Liederhosen, complete with Bratwurst remote control....ooh, too bad he can't have my name !

The grandkids gather around Grandma Cameron while she opens the photo book Jeanette made for her...all the kids' pictures were included with their own original artwork...it was really nice

Ah, the craziness of Christmas with 12 kids!

Morgan unloads the huge giftbag from Grandma while Ryan waits patiently behind her with his box that was bigger than he is...

I had to include this pic because my two curly headed kids have their mouths hanging open the same way...Andrew, Morgan, Emily and Ryan

Morgan found a huge Pinky Pie little Pony at the bottom of her bag....so happy!

Julie holds up her granparent frame ..look familiar?

Mom and Summer...Morgan wore this dress when she was a baby...Summer is starting to look a lot like she did...so cute.

Brianna and Tom rock out to Guitar Hero with Whitney...

...she is a VERY enthusiastic groupie!!

Jared and Jeanette

The night ended with cuddles for Summer from Grandma

We had a very nice Christamas. We ended our day (well, officially the next day) around midnight, as usual, and back home to re-coop.

It's about time!!

2009-01-31T14:47:00.001-08:00

It has almost been a month since I updated this thing...no there is nothing wrong :) Just busy, busy, busy! Oh, and there is the little detail like...my laptop isn't connecting to our internet at the moment, argh....hubby is out spending more money to fix that problem as we speak, oh yea :)

To sum up....Summer is now 12 pounds 2 ounces...that's 3 pouns in the last 4 weeks!! The nurses have been telling me that once she got home, and things were somewhat figured out, she would start really plumping up. I was waiting and waiting for this to happen...guess we have hit her chubbin' up point!

Summer has been so happy and healthy lately too. At our appt. a week and a half ago, Dr. Horslen pointed out her liver function numbers...they are almost completely normalized! At one point, they were almost 300 (with a norm between 40's and 60's) and now have come way down. Her bilirubin is still holding at 0 and obviously she is thriving on the formula we have been giving her :) What a relief!

We also got the okay to go every two weeks to the GI clinic instead of every week....ah, it is nice not to drive into Seattle as much :) I am hoping that lasts :)

I have a lot more updates to throw in here too....look for Christmas pics and more to come....I figure it is about time for that since my Christmas tree is finally down :)

Summer is home again...

2009-01-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

...and look how happy she is about it!

Yesterday I left early for the hospital so I could make it there for rounds. I walked in right as they were reveiwing Summer's progress. A few minutes into it, the Doc said "should we send her home and see how she does?" YES! I squeaked in my cold induced voice...after 8 days we were definitely ready. This hospital visit, though not the way I would have chosen to spend the first week of our New Year, has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We got to bring her home without oxygen (YEA!!), we figured out the best way to get her to gain weight, (she is now 11 POUNDS, 1 OUNCE !! that's almost 2 pounds in a week!) and she got the much needed blood transfusion to help her anemia.

Summer is so happy...she was before, but now that we see her feeling so good, we know what Summer's happy really is! Last night I tucked her in bed around midnight and she slept until 8:00 AM. She has been all smiles and coos...it is so nice to have her home :)

It was time to go, so we loaded up our cargo....precious and perishable :)

Summer is happy to be going home! Notice no backpack in sight...she was on her 4 hour TPN break and was unplugged from her food until we could hook her up at home...it was the first time we got to hold her without tubes. I picked her up and walked around the room...not a tube dragging behind, it was fun :) We took her home in her carseat without the attachments too and brought her in the house that way. The kids were really happy to see her :)

Morgan immediately ran over to the couch, sat down and said "I hold baby Supber pease?"

The girls got some good cuddles in...Summer seemed to enjoy it too, she even smiled when I said "Say cheeeeese" :)

Look....they match now :) Summer's color is so pink and healthy, and her dark hair is starting to be replaced with the more golden color Morgan has.

She's fat and happy :)

2009-01-05T23:33:00.000-08:00

Look who I saw today...

...notice anything different??? :)

I walked in Summer's room to find her in a swing...she spotted me and burst out in smiles...grinning from ear to ear. I guess she missed me too :) I kissed her cute little tape free cheek and she smiled again...they turned her oxygen off yesterday around 3:30 PM and she has been off ever since...she must be so happy not to have the oxygen blowing up her nose anymore! I am just a LITTLE excited about this milestone myself...woo hoooooo!
At this point they had turned Summer's food off again yesterday to give her bowells a rest. She was still stooling a lot and had traces a blood in it. She has been having this for the last few weeks and we didn't know why until now. All signs are pointing to an allergic reaction to breast milk. Is that possible? We asked the same question...apparently it happens. It isn't actually the breast milk itself, but the whole cow's milk protein that is transferred through the breast milk to the baby. Most of the time, the mother's body will break this protein down, but sometimes it is transferred directly without any break down or processing. This is a very harsh protein for some kids to process, so they have an allergic reaction like diarea and blood in the stool. It takes several months for it to build up to this point, but once detected can be taken care of. However, though in a baby with a normal functioning gut, this can be taken care of by reducing the dairy intake of the mother, Summer's gut is a little trickier. There would be no way for me to use the milk stored to feed her through her NG tube and I definitely don't have the ability to reproduce the volume I had a few months ago. I have moooved on, ha ha...The docs feel she benefited greatly for the past few months and was able to heal well while taking it, but now feel the formula is to be her sole diet. Though this may seem like a dissapointment, it is actually a huge relief to me. Just knowing that stupid breast pump was still in my house, caused stress in my life. I have been so happy to provide what I could for Summer, but the lack of sleep and complication from the whole process will definitely NOT be missed :) So, Tom says we need to start our own home dairy or start using it in our cooking.....homemade cheese anyone? I hope you haven't restricted yourself to fat free! EWE...

Summer has been taking 10 ML's an hour of formula for most of the day and doing well so far....maybe she will be home sooner than we think! I will spend the day with her tomorrow and keep my fingers crossed....maybe I could sneak her out in my backpack...no big oxygen tank to haul and she still doesn't weigh much, haha.