Space, the final frontier

For months, maybe even years Ty has asked to go to the moon. He opens his blinds at night and looks at the stars and the moon and says he's going to go to the moon. He asks Matt probably weekly to build him a space ship to go to the moon.

Well we bought a new media console (thats what they call it now I guess... more like TV stand) and it came in a rather large box. Right after we finished building the console, Matt said he needed to make a rocket ship for Ty out of the box.

Last Sunday when Matt was FINALLY feeling up for something other than lying on the couch, he started the process of building a rocket ship.

Matt gathered up all the materials while Ty was napping. Matt came inside and said "Hey, can you call Colton and have him pretend to be mission control to approve the building of a space ship for Ty?" Of course! So I called Colton and he was awesome to play along. He called back to talk to Ty. Ty isn't a super happy waker-upper... so he wasn't really responsive but after he woke up a little more he was excited to have gotten "approval" for the build.

Ty and Maylee helped by sitting in the rocket ship while Matt taped.

 Ty changed into some older clothes and helped Matt paint. Maylee just watched, I didn't trust her with a paint brush.

 Matt spray painted and Ty used a brush to paint on the white. I told Ty all the time that I was taking pictures to send to Mission Control so they could see the progress of his ship.

 That took us until bed time (we took a dinner break) so Ty and Maylee had to wait until Monday after Matt got home from work to receive their mission details and get suited up. Ty had his Astronaut suit from last years Halloween (again THANKS MELISSA!) and Maylee really wanted an Astronaut suit so this is the best I could find... a snow suit. But of course I TOLD her it was her Astronaut suit.

 Matt went to Goodwill and found a steering wheel and a light up lego type toy. So those would serve as the steering column and the warp thrusters. Matt made sure that Mission Control mailed him his steering column.

Matt installed the Steering Column.

Then Ty got the official call from Mission Control (also known as Master Papa Sky Bird-because Ty kept asking who his mission control Master was... also known as Uncle Colton) This was during Colton's Art class... i'm thinking he was standing in the hallway at UVU, wonder if anyone walked by wondering what he was talking about, funny.

Matt installing the warp thrusters. Really it was Maylee who controlled the warp thrusters.

We decorated a little bit to make it a bit more legit. I asked Ty what the name of the ship should be and he said, "It's the Spence 'e' Spence ship Mom!" Not sure where he came up with that but I went with it. Ty signed his name so we had to put all the Astronauts names on there. Yes Emma LOVES to be in there too.

Commander Astronaut Ty ready for launch.

Ty employed the first Warp Thrust.

They landed on the moon!

We pretty much did this as our FHE activities for the night. For treat, as mission control mentioned, I made Alien Eyeball cookies. We enjoyed these cookies after PJ's were on, Ty wore his Rocket ship shirt to bed. ( This is a recipe I saw on pinterest, they are cute cookies but I didn't think they were super tasty so I won't bother sharing the recipe haha)

 Matt liked them though, he probably ate 6. I remembered to take a picture with just these 2 left which were eaten the second the kids were in bed.

Ty called Mission Control before bed to let him know his mission was complete and his paperwork was on the way (me sending Colton links and pictures of Ty's adventures)

It was a really fun time for Ty and he has worn his Astronaut suit every day since Monday. The next day he asked for another mission. In an effort not to bother Colton every day, Matt told him he needed Flight simulation training... yikes.

I love it when Matt does stuff like this for the kids, it is really exciting for them and it's fun for me to see how happy they are when using their imaginations. A big thanks to Mission Control (Colton) for playing along. Aren't Dads/Boys/Uncles/Brothers the best? Yeah, I think so too.

After it was done that night Matt said, "Now, what would Maylee like...". such a good husband I have.

Rafting the Deschutes River

Matt went rafting with four friends from work two weekends ago. He said it was a really fun time. He left Friday night to camp beforehand. He left with a backpack full of a change of clothes and a decorative pillow (didn't know he took THAT one) He had a bit of food, some bottled water and grapes. He grabbed a sleeping bag and was out the door. He carpooled the two hour drive with two other guys (Ryan and Brian). They camped in tents and went rafting in an 8 man raft the next day. They rafted a stretch of the Deschutes River. One of the guys took a few pictures while rafting. It's more than I expected to get so i'm posting them :)

Matt (in his 5 dollar drug store glasses since he forgot his) Ryan, Adam, Brian, Brandon.

The stories he told were pretty funny when he came home, how EVERYONE fell out of the raft during the last big rapid at the end but him. I'm thinking this is a picture of that last rapid. I guess it doesn't seem like it's that big until you ride it and realize how it is.

I think they want to make it a tradition, the weather was perfect and it was a fun last kick of summer for him.

Cough Cough Hack Hack Spew

That about sums up how our last 2 weeks have been. My post a few days ago was written too soon. 

2 days ago Matt came home from work and got in his work out clothes. He said he was a little tired and maybe he needed to take a nap before starting. 2 hours later he hadn't stirred. I kept asking him how he felt and he said fine just tired. Well he got up and was awake for a few hours then went to bed early... well he THOUGHT he was going to bed. He was up about every hour throwing up. The worst night of vomiting ever he said. He thought it may be a migraine because he had a pounding headache. He didn't feel anything in his throat or chest. I called in sick for him early that morning. He laid on the couch hoping to feel better, usually with a migraine it takes about 12 hours and he's feeling a ton better. Well, when he went up and down and up and down I finally told him he needed to go in to Urgent Care. 

Well you guessed it, he had some chest X-rays done and it is Pneumonia. The Doctors have all given us conflicting reports. When I went in they said "It's bacterial so it's not contagious". Well obviously it IS contagious. Matt kept telling me last night "You are amazing, how did you live through this." Right now as I type he is wishing for death on the couch... I am hoping he feels better ASAP. Yesterday morning Ty woke up and said his throat hurt. I look in his mouth and his tonsils were touching. Kid has big tonsils to begin with but those were the biggest tonsils I have ever seen. So I called the nurse and asked for Anti-Biotics, given our families track record the last 2 weeks I was hoping to take matters into my own hands. Apparently they will NOT give Anti-biotics unless a chest X-ray has been done or they get a positive throat culture. I told them that I'd like to schedule an appointment. 

Today Ty said he felt a LITTLE better but Maylee had begun coughing and Emma broke out into hives again. Then Emma developed the worst case I diaper rash I have EVER seen. I didn't believe Ty was doing better considering I slept next to him and listened to him wheeze and suck in air all night. Emma was up almost all night being all jittery and Maylee tossed and turned also. Matt tried to get up with Emma once... then about passed out. I told him to get back into bed. I think I slept about 2 hours, but that is okay I can do up all night. 

So we went in to the appointment today. I asked that even though it was just Ty's appointment if she could look at all the kids, because lets face it... it's inevitable even with my best efforts to keep my children healthy I think they are petrie dishes just waiting for some "fun".

She looked at Ty first, clear ears and nose, then the throat. "Yeah those are big tonsils" she says. "I'm going to do a throat culture just in case." She checks his breathing, it sounded good, so maybe the wheezing was due to his tonsils blocking his airway. Ty is super brave and barely made a peep when they did the throat culture. She says "i'll go start this culture then look at Maylee." She left and came back about a minute later. Matt and I didn't think he had strep, he had no temperature... She said "It came back positive, even before the 5 minutes it was positive. I'll write him a prescription for Anti-Biotics" 

Now Maylee's turn, she cried but decided to be brave after a minute. Her ears and nose were clear, her throat was a teeny bit red but no big deal. Doc says "Do your children play with each other well?" My answer "Yes, all day long they are almost connected at the hip." "Well lets check her too then" May was brave but gagged when she did the culture and cried afterwards for a while. She checked her breathing, all clear. Doc left to start her's and came back in to see Emma. 

We stripped her down and her hives were getting worse. She checked her ears and nose, they were good. Her throat was okay too. Then on to the breathing... still crackly and wheezy. The Anti-biotics weren't working and in fact she is allergic to them. The anti-biotics caused Em to get a yeast infection, hence the worst diaper rash ever, it wasn't just diaper rash! I had no idea that babies diaper rashes could be signification of a yeast infection. Apparently the antibiotics fight off even the good bacteria that keep yeast in check. So now Emma has a special ointment for the rash and new Anti-Biotics to clear up the Pneumonia and the reaction. 

During all this the nurse comes back and says Maylee is positive for Strep Throat. At this point I am laughing. Our home truly is a DYING HOLE!

So, here is what my counter looks like. Everyone has Anti-Biotics, extra Ibuprofen and Tylenol, plus an inhaler and cough syrup. I am so glad we took Ty in on an inkling. Normally I would have never taken everyone in and dealt with it. It could have been WAY worse if I had waited! 

So it's me, taking care of Matt, Ty, Maylee and Emma... all sickies. I am SO thankful that I had Pneumonia 2 weeks ago and have had time to get back into tip top shape before my whole family got sick so I am able to take care of them. You see, there is a plan in all this. 

Chicken Noodle Soup, Jell-o and Hawaiian Sweet Rolls for dinner, easy on the tummies and throats. 

Prayers for health are appreciated :) We know we can get through it, but don't ask Matt he doesn't think so... poor guy has it the worst right now I think.   

Emma Walking and Ty playing the Piano

A day or two before I got really sick Emma started walking full time. I feel bad that I didn't get a good video right away of it. Emma has some AWESOME dance moves. She can shaker her hips and do some good shoulder rolls too. Of course, the second the camera comes out she stops doing them, but I still think it's cute to watch her walk around with shoes on for the first time.

 

We need to go to the store and get her some shoes that fit. All the size 2's that we have don't fit because she has such chubby feet. They fit length wise but not in depth or width. So she is wearing Size 3's and that is probably why she is tripping so much. I love having her walk, now she gets around so much faster and she is SO cute when she thinks she is running. Her face lights up like she is going so fast but really she's going about the same speed.

We have a Jim Brickman/The Piano Guys station on our Pandora that we stream through the TV. During dinner a few days ago, variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star came on (not sure by whom) and Ty asked me to show him how to play it. So I showed him using the proper fingering even though his little hands can't stretch that far. He plays it all the time now so I videoed him playing it. Notice the use of other fingers... they aren't the right ones but maybe it's better than just the pointer finger? I'm not sure, but he loves to play his made up songs and NOW Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Oh and just try to ignore his two sisters helping with the song. Emma JUST realized she is tall enough to touch the keys and Maylee loves to just POUND on the keys.

Labor Day Zoo Trip

On labor day we went with our friends the Anderson's to the Portland Zoo. That morning I woke with a bit of a sore throat but no other symptoms so I took some Tylenol and kinda forgot about it. 

Ty does that funny face when he's saying something he thinks will be funny. Dax who is 8 is in the background there. We were waiting for the Nectar to feed the Lorakeets. 

 The girls.

 So they made us wait so they could feed the birds... lame because then the birds didn't want any Nectar. Dax, Maylee, Ty and Tess were looking for the birds. When Maylee and Tess walk around it looks like they are sisters, if not twins. Tess is about 2 inches taller than May, but they have the same skin, eye and hair color. 

 Matt and Aaron waited and waited for the birds... not a single sip.

 After we left the Zoo I asked Ty what his favorite animal was, he said, THE FLAMINGOS! Weird... but Aunt Zan would be proud.

 So here is a close up of the Flamingos.

 Emma was happy as a clam in the stroller roaming around. It was really funny when we were watching monkeys and she realized they were real animals. She freaked out for a split second then watched them interested.

 Dax and Ty checking out the fish. Dax is the nicest kid. He actually likes to play with Ty even though Ty is half his age. He is very patient with him and understanding when Ty has a hard time with things that a 4 year old would struggle with. We love having Dax and Tess over to play. 

 Tess and Ty Petting the Goats.

 Of course we rode the train. Ty pulled such a silly face in that picture.

 Maylee and me

The video of the train ride. Emma was going crazy during the ride. I think it was the first time she was in a moving vehicle with out being strapped in a car seat. Ty was too busy being excited to ever even look at the camera. 

We ate our lunch at Washington park and rode the train back, on the ride Maylee wanted to sit next to Dax. On our way out of the zoo she wanted to hold hands with Dax. Dax didn't think it was weird since his little sister Tess is only 9 months or so younger than Maylee. I think Maylee was smitten though... Ann and I stood back and LAUGHED so hard. It's the first time Maylee has had a little crush... It was cute. 

After the Zoo we were supposed to go back to the Anderson's for a BBQ. I started to feel sick on the way home and got in bed and didn't get out of bed until the next morning... Pneumonia hit hard and fast. I had chills, a fever, nausea, a headache, a crazy cough and pain in my lungs from coughing so hard. It took me four days of feeling that way to go to the Dr. They said I had Bronchitis for sure but needed to take chest x-rays to make sure it wasn't Pneumonia too. Ann and I had been texting back and forth that day and she found out I was headed to the Dr. so she brought my family dinner. It was ready when I walked in the door. I thought that was SO nice of her. Then the following morning the Drs office called and said that the radiologist had a chance to look at my x-rays and it was definitely Pneumonia. Eesh. 

Ann text me the next morning (like she had done everyday that week) to see how I was feeling. I said that I had Pneumonia and she was on my door step with in the hour with some bath salts and freshly baked Zucchini Bread. I thought it was so sweet then she said, "I'm not here just for this, I am taking your children for 3 hours... so where can I find their shoes..." Uhh, I almost cried. She is the best. They had such a great time at her house and I took a bath and took a long nap. It was so great. By last Wednesday I was feeling about 80 percent when I noticed that Emma REALLY wasn't feeling well. So I scheduled an appointment to take her in the next day, sure enough Emma was diagnosed with Pneumonia too. That day Ann didn't even ask, she was on my doorstep with dinner again. How did I get so lucky to have such an amazing friend! 

Emma is on antibiotics now. The day after her first antibiotic dose she was covered in hives. By that evening I called the nurse she said bring her in right away because she is probably allergic to the medicine. Well Matt was gone on a weekend trip he had planned for months. (Pictures to follow of that, I told him it was okay to go) I wasn't looking forward to dragging all my kids to the Insta-care so I called Aaron (he's a Sports Medicine Dr.) to talk to him about Emma. He calmed my worries and said it was very minor reaction and to stay the course and she would be fine in another day or so. Which was the case, her hives went away yesterday. She is doing better, but still has a wicked cough. They told me it would last another 2 weeks or so and that I was lucky she got it now rather than the dead of winter because it would have likely turned into RSV and she would have been in the hospital for sure.

I still cough after I laugh (which is all the time with my husband) or sing (which is all the time with my kiddies before naps and bedtime) but otherwise I feel back to normal now. We'd never really ever been that sick before... so I am glad that the Anderson's helped us out and of course that Matt, Maylee and Ty didn't get sick because they have all been really big helps too in our recoveries. 

Chile Verde and no training wheels!

Almost every Friday night we grill up some pizza. What? You've never grilled Pizza? It's delightful and quick and easy. I highly recommend it. This time around we tried a new recipe. My younger brother works at a Pizza place, my favorite Pizza there is Chile Verde. It's Chile Verde Pork, Cheese, with Sour Cream, Salsa and Cilantro.  I slow roasted the pork all day. 

First things first you grill one side of the dough then flip it to grill the other side and put on the toppings. Matt and I have the timing and transitions down perfectly. 

 Matt was all embarrassed because of his cut off shirt... but I had to document the deliciousness!

 The perfect flip!

 Loading up the pork and putting on the cheese. 

 We did one Chile Verde, One Bacon and Turkey Pepperoni and one Dessert Apple Pizza. 

 It was all VERY good. Can't wait for another Chile Verde! I will say, it was not as good as the real thing though. But a good substitute. 

In other news Ty decided it was time, time to ride with out training wheels. 

 Emma just walked around and tried to go into the the street the whole time. 

 He's still working on his stopping and starting and turning... so you know, everything. But he's got going straight and fast down. 

 Emma found May's Trike and thought she would take that for a spin. 

Matt was so great to run back and forth and back and forth with him, in flip flops. 

 Maylee was pretty excited about it all too. She cruised back and forth on the sidewalk. 

 Emma, confused on why I turned the camera on her...

 It got SO dark we had to head inside. He could have ridden all night though and begs to ride any chance he can get. 

Triathamom!

Maddy Suzanne and I did the Triathamom at the Olympic Oval in Kearns Utah on the 17th. We were pretty stoked to do it. It gave all of us a reason to run, bike and swim. I don't think any of us trained as hard as we could have. I think Maddy trained the most or- she was just in WAY better shape than I. 

Suzanne and I got there a little later than Maddy and Colton. Colton was there to photograph the entire thing. I was happy he did. 

Maddy had to get there SUPER early because she had to check in that morning. Because she left so early she forgot her BIKE helmet! Suzanne and I went through her garage to find another helmet and then over to Preston's parents to find a helmet with no luck. While we were on the phone with Maddy a stranger heard her talking and told her he had one she could use. (more to come on that) 

Getting ready I only had time at Suzanne's house to braid one side. So I thought I would do the other side really quickly before the race. It didn't work so well.... 

Maddy signed up as beginner, she was more of intermediate. I think Suzanne and I were spot on with beginner. 

Don't know what was so exciting... but it was. We were all nervous. For me, the swim is BY FAR the worst part. 

They had a timing lady going back and forth from one side of the pool to the other sending about 5 or so at a time. She would say your number then tell you to go. Maddy got ready and went...

Then I hopped in to go and she ran to the other side! Arg I got wet for nothing...

So I hopped out and Suzanne and I waited. 

GO time! I got in and pushed off the wall. I did about 50 meters of freestyle before my goggles completely filled up with water. 

Suzanne did freestyle too. 

Maddy was FLYING past people (she's a swim instructor, of course!) 

I couldn't see a thing and I didn't know about the spit trick (apparently if you spit in your goggles they don't fog up) and my goggles were so fogged I couldn't see anything. I rolled over and back stroked behind Suzanne while she did the breast stroke. 

Pushing off the wall. 

Maddy is done! 

Suzanne is done! Love her face...

Okay, so check out THAT helmet. The guy she borrowed the helmet from is a RACER. HAHAHA She got a cone helmet! She looked so fast. Trouble was she hadn't ridden a Mountain Bike until the day previous. Growing up in Huntington Beach she just rode a beach cruiser style he whole life so Colton had to teach how to dismount swinging her leg over the back rather than over the front the night before. 

Running from the pool to the transition area. I got SUPER light headed due to elevation difference from WA to Utah. 

Suzanne going to her bike. 

I was SUPER lucky to borrow a SUPER fast bike from my friend Cami. PLUS her click in shoes and helmet. She was the SWEETEST for letting me borrow her stuff. 

Suzanne and I pulling out the bikes ready to ride. 

I hadn't ever ridden with these click in style shoes before, so I learned on the course. They were fairly easy to get in.  

On my way!

Go Suzanne!

She was right behind me. 

McKinley and Preston were a little late, because.... when he was pulling into the parking area a cop waved him in to go, so he went and another cop in his car went at the same time he ended up T-boning a COP! The Cop hopped out and said it was all his fault and Preston had to fill out and accident report. They told him to just call his insurance company tell him he was in an accident with a Cop and it was his fault and they would take care of the rest. I wonder how that turned out. Not many people can say they hit a cop and it was their fault. 

Maddy was the first one in. Suzanne and I stuck together for a while. Then since my bike was so much faster and lighter I broke away from her and tried to catch up with Maddy who creamed us on the swim. I FINALLY caught Maddy (I found her by her helmet from a mile away) I was having an issue with a gear, I looked down to see what was going on, I asked Maddy if she could see what was going on, I looked down too long to look up just in time to see GRAVEL. Gravel = a road bike = no good. I TOTALLY CRASHED. I yelped and laid it down on the gravel and asphalt. I open my eyes to see Maddy riding away. HA She didn't even STOP! Turns out she didn't know if she could get off her bike with out crashing herself and she didn't know I fell. She thought I just stopped for a minute. I couldn't get my food out of the click in shoes. Took me a while to get going again and the rest was down hill and I could have gone SO FAST but I was scared at that point. 

You can't see my right elbow, side and ankle are bloody. Colton got my good side :) 

Made it! 

Maddy on the run. 

I hurried into my tennis shoes and started running. It's tough to get over Jell-o legs from biking but I did it. My hair was all messed up so I was fixing my pony tail... sooo attractive the way the water dried on my bike ride. 

Suzanne coming in on the bike. 

All smiles!

Maybe not smiling on the run part... 

I ran my guts out and only walked at one aide station when a lady told me my elbow was dripping blood. I tried to catch Maddy but she was just too far ahead of me. 

While I was running it was getting pretty tough after mile one with the elevation change. I was pretty emotional because the race is geared towards families and there are TONS of kids holding signs up for their moms saying "you can do it!" etc. I started to cry a TEENSY bit while running so I picked little dandelions along the way (really quickly of course) I picked 3, one for each of my kids. Every time I go for a run Ty and May run down the street with me and pick me flowers to run with and to have when I get back. It was my little bit of them on that day. 

There I am, holding 3 dandelions. 

Maddy and I waited for a few minutes and Suzanne came in. 

At the finish line they had waters, juice, bagels, fresh fruit and cookies. We munched and took a few finish line photos. 

In order of finishing... super women!

But all of us deserve to be on the top. 

Triathlons are fun, and hard, but fun especially when you do one with your sisters and friends. It takes the UBER competitiveness out of it. You focus on finishing and realize just how awesome of a body you have for being able to do all that in one day. It was a REALLY fun Tri to do and I want to make it a tradition. Maybe next year I can convince Kristin, Britany and my mom to do it with us. A big thanks to Colton for taking these pictures, editing them and getting them to me. Two Thumbs up. 

I finished 127th out of 300 #715  Swim 11:14 Bike 47:21 Run 35:32 Total Time 1:34:05.4

 I was 12th in my age group out of 35 women.

In other news... what took so long to post these you ask? I've had Pneumonia and Bronchitis the last week and a half. Yeah I wouldn't wish that on anyone! It ranked right up there with Kidney Stones and Shigella. I would rather have a baby naturally then get that again... honest. Thankfully I am on the mend and don't sound like a 60 year old smoker women any more. 3 cheers for good health!