In-N-Out Reading Program

I love to support the businesses who support us. Every year in April, In-N-Out Burger gives kids ages 4-12 the opportunity to read their way into 3 hamburgers each.

You have to pick up the cards at the library and when the kids have read their 15 books, you return the cards to the library for free coupons.

So Baby Doll and Curly were able to treat us to dinner on Tuesday night. My sweetie nicely kicked in the extra funds needed for shakes and fries.

Thanks In-N-Out, for the great program!!

Review: Jurassic Quest Drive Thru

We had quite the stir at our house about the chance to see the Jurassic Quest Drive Thru at USANA. I invited Beauty and The Beast and their little guys to go with us since I knew that Little Warrior was a major dinosaur fan. At the time, I was thinking I could take my big van and get 12 of us in. It wasn't until The Beast pointed out that big vehicles cost more and that my ticket was only good for the regular size that I realized we would be limited to 8. 

We quickly regrouped and filled my car and headed for USANA. The Beast was driving which was totally fine with me and poor Beauty was squished in between the car seats in the back since both of her boys insisted that they had to sit next to her. Until we got there, that is...  

The speed limit was only 5 mph inside the venue, and since the back windows were tinted and wouldn't roll down, we let Little Warrior and Little Squire crawl out of their car seats so they could see better.

This was a perfect display for little ones! They could stay snug and safe next to their parents in their vehicles while the giant dinosaurs slowly moved their tails and growled and grunted.

It was hard to get good pics though. This one is my favorite.

They had an audio file that you could listen towhile you zig-zagged through the parking lot, but we kept forgetting to turn in on, so we would get way behind on which enormous lizard we were inching past. 

The littles didn't care though. We also had Skittles with us and he was excited and pointing as well (just for perspective, if you have forgotten, Skittles and Little Squire are 2 and Little Warrior is 3. We also had Baby Doll and Curly with us. They enjoyed the show, but they are more hands-on and would have liked to get a little closer... I mean gotten right out of the car and climbed on for a ride! As it was, I couldn't keep Baby Doll out of the sunroof!

All in all, it was a fun and different way to spend our Saturday evening. With a carload of 8 for $50, that is less than the cost of a movie and not quite so long that the kids get tired before it is over. 

I hope you have a chance to enjoy the dinosaurs too!! Now through May 9 at USANA.

Painting the House

No, not my house, Drama Queen decided a couple of weeks ago that she would like to put her house on the market, but it was in desparate need of a paint job. Over the past week, she and my sweetie have been busy cutting back bushes and power washing the house.

Then today, Gamer did the painting. He started early this morning and he painted nonstop.

The House used to be pink and the HOA harassed Drama Queen relentlessly.

They were quick to approve this nice gray and next week we will get all the trim painted an ombre blue.

It will be amazing when it is done! I will keep you posted.

Earning a Band Medal

Band has been interesting this year to say the least. Baby Doll started out meeting with everyone twice a week before school, then someone in her conductor's family got COVID-19 and they could only meet virtually for a while. Baby Doll struggled with the zoom calls because she worried so much about being late for school.

After the first of the year, band was more regular and even though she was the only clarinet in the advanced band, she started attending regularly and she got much better. Their Spring Concert was virtual, but unlike the Holiday Concert, the kids were all together this time but without an audience. I would love to give you a link, but we have been asked not to share publicly. 

But I can show you her certificates and more importantly, her band medal. She had to complete 8 different activities to earn it including a solo. It would have been so easy for her to give up this year. 

We are so proud of her for hanging in there.

So Excited to See More Dinosaurs!!

If you have been following my blog this month, you will remember that we have had more than a bit of a dinosaur obsession at our house. Curly has been working on the Geology Merit Badge and that opened up a whole new Jurassic world for us. 

First we visited the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm in St. George, then it was a trip to Vernal to see the Dinosaur National Monument. We also spent some quality time in the Utah Field House of Natural History.

Just when I thought we couldn't get any more exciting dinosaur activities than those, I got an email from the US Family Guide group asking us if we would like to see Jurassic Quest Drive Thru Dinosaur Experience at USANA.

Of course we would!! I'm sure you will too, so let me give you all the details.

Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru Dinosaur Experience is coming to USANA Amphitheatre April 23-May 9 2021 Get your tickets today at https://www.jurassicquest.com/ Experienced by over 2 million guests and as featured in the Wall Street Journal, Jurassic Quest Drive Thru is the ultimate interactive drive thru experience, featuring over 70 MOVING and ROARING dinosaurs and our 50 - foot - long Megalodon! Previous events have sold out so get your ticket now! https://www.jurassicquest.com

And it that isn't enough, check out these pics. I just hope I can get all the grandkids in my car...

See you there! If you see me, honk and wave. We will all be wearing our purple blog shirts. 

Cast Away!!

Ok, that was sort of a lame title, even if it is appropriate. Remember last month when Curly broke his hand playing baseball? Then our amazing N.P., Steve, made him a cast that would still allow him to play. We have had some amazing success since then including an over-the-fence homerun.

He did a great job on 1st and he even pitched a few innings!

Except for a few strikeouts, we have had a great month of baseball even with that little cast.

So today was the day and Curly was SO excited to head up to the doctor's office. He kept coming in and giving me the countdown... 34 minutes... 22 minutes... 14 minutes... until it was time to leave.

We arrived a little early and we only waited for a few minutes before being called back. Curly was so anxious that he climbed right up before they could even pull the paper over the exam chair. 

Steve gripped the cast saw and got to work.

After several cuts, he used the separator and it was almost off.

Just the scissors and he was free!

Moments later, he was off to batting practice. That kid eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. 

Now he can play with two full hands.

Just a Silly Dad Joke

The Dog Walker came home from work last night all excited to make everyone a yummy treat. He had oreos and vanilla ice cream and before long, he was mixing up oreo milk shakes for everyone.

He opened the cupboard full of fancy glassware and pulled out some choices. Drama Queen chose her favorite, a cowboy boot-shaped glass that Teach sent home from her mission in Fort Worth, Texas.

Always the jokester, Drama Queen pointed to her delicious treat and exclaimed in her best Toy Story voice...

"There's a SHAKE in my boot!!"

Happy Monday!😁💕

Sanpete County

 As you all know, Baby Doll is a 4th grader and that means two things, she gets a free National Parks Pass, and she has to do a County Report. Not surprisingly, when it was her turn to choose, she picked Sanpete County. I'm pretty sure just about every one of our kids picked Sanpete County since that is the small-town Utah area where my sweetie and I both grew up. Not to miss a great opportunity, we made sure to carve a little time out of our Spring Break to take a trip back to where it all began...

Our first stop was a visit with Grandma. My sweetie tries to get down to see her regularly so he can handle home repairs and coordinate her yardwork. The kids like to do her dishes and we typically go to the store for her. 

The only real grocery store in town is Terrel's and they have the BEST donuts!

After leaving Mt. Pleasant, we continued down the road to Ephraim, the home of Snow College. I grew up in Ephraim, but that is also where I met my sweetie. He was a student at Snow and I was a senior in high school, but you can easily find our love story here on the blog, and this is a post about Baby Doll's County Report.

We stopped a few more places in Ephraim before piling in the car and driving to Manti. My favorite part of Manti has always been the Manti Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My sweetie and I were sealed there for time and all eternity.

But Manti is full of other memories too. My MIL worked here in the basement of the County Courthouse for the USU Extension Service.

We drove past my old high school where my dad taught math and driver's ed for 40 years. Then we stopped at Miller's to grab a hamburger. My best friend, Leslie, and I would sometimes run to Miller's for lunch because she worked there, but we never bought hamburgers. We always bought a dozen donuts and then split them right down the middle. Those donuts always helped keep me awake during my driver's ed and math classes...

Small town, small school.

Great report, Baby Doll!!

Didn't Need a Root Canal After All...

I've been having trouble with a tooth for a couple of weeks now. On Monday, I finally got into the dentist and after a couple of x-rays, he promptly sat me back up and announced that even though I already had a root canal in the offending tooth, I would have to see an endodontist so that it could be redone. I was so upset with his news that I actually cried all the way home. My life is so busy right now that I just didn't need the pain or the recovery time.

When I got home, I called my favorite endodontist and made the appointment for Friday. An antibiotic and carefully chewing on one side made this week more bearable, but I found myself looking forward to getting it all over with. 

This morning dawned bright and early and it wasn't long before I was sitting in the chair, nitrous blowing into my nose. Then  Dr. Thomsen came in and sat me up. I was already in the zone and I couldn't understand what he was saying at first...something about surgery and cutting into my gums... I pulled the nitrous off so I could follow more closely. Then I was wishing that I hadn't heard him at all. "Just put the nitrous back on and tell me everything when you are finished..."

An hour or so later, I was mostly awake, disoriented, and numb. Several stitches ran the length of my upper gum. It had been carefully sliced so that the doc could remove the abscess and cap the end of the root. I seem to remember him saying this option would be cheaper because we wouldn't have to replace the crown, but it would also be more painful.

I hoped he was wrong.

But it is after midnight now and he was definitely right. 

I'm afraid it is going to be a long night.😞

Growing Up

If you have been following my blog for a while, you know that I tended Teach's two little ones from the time they were born while she taught 4th grade (and 5th and 6th). Her little guy, Twizzler, from the previous post, was only 6 months old when the pandemic pulled Teach out of the schoolroom and allowed her to teach online classes with her babies at home.

Twizlet was all mine during the day (except for summers) until she was 3 1/2 years old. She and I had built a strong bond and she always wanted to tell me everything.

Then Teach and Twiz moved their little family to New Jersey; a move that has been an amazing thing for Twizzler's health and for Teach. She is going back to school now and working on her MA. 

But it hasn't been a great thing for me and my relationship with my little granddaughter. She and I have drifted apart and other than a portal call every day or so and a few Marco Polos, I am not nearly as important in her life as I once was. As you can see, she would rather hang out with Baby Doll and Scout. She is a big girl now!

I'm happy for her and the growth she has made over the last 9 months. She is so young, she probably doesn't even remember.

But it is a time in my life that I will never forget.

Guest Blog: Mowat-Wilson Syndrome by Teach

When Teach was with us last week, she received the call from the genetics team. Her lttle guy was diagnosed with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome...

We received genetic testing results back this week and we were not shocked to discover that Twizzler had a missing portion of the ZEB2 gene on his 2nd chromosome (I think...?) He has been diagnosed with Mowat-Wilson syndrome. 

The geneticist mentioned this specific syndrome back in January so I have already done a lot of research - we are happy to hear the answers for everything that has affected Twizzler so far. I included a link if you’re curious to know more. Here are some highlights: 

🎈His facial features are very similar to other MWS kids. The ears are just so adorable! 

🎈It is considered a rare disease with only about 350+ documented published cases, but researchers believe it is under diagnosed. 

🎈Similar to a genetic syndrome like Downs, there is not “cure” and he will require aid and support forever. 

🎈His heart and urology problems as well as reflux and constipation are all explained by the diagnosis. 

🎈Most of the kids with MWS have seizures. He had another one this week. There is little research on if they outgrow them because the disease was only discovered 23 years ago. 

🎈It is a spontaneous chance at conception - but Andrew and I will be genetic tested just to make sure. 

🎈He will hopefully learn to walk between 3-4 yrs of age, but because he pulls to stand and cruises, they think it could be sooner! 

🎈Many MWS children never talk, have limited speech or use augmented systems like sign language. We will wait and see. 

🎈He will be closely monitored by neuro-genetics and pediatric development teams at CHOP Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It is the second best pediatric hospital in the country. 

🎈Twizzler will continue his three hours a week of therapy and potentially that will be bumped up depending on what Development thinks he needs. 

I will be documenting his (and our) journey on a blog I am in the process of setting up for him. Heavenly Father told me that Twizzler would be special and He was so right. ♥️ We are not sad or angry about this diagnosis. We feel peace and hope in knowing that we have a very special son. 

He is wonderful. I hope all of you, my friends, will be able to meet him at some point, because he has brought something special with him. ♥️ We sure love our little guy. 

https://mowat-wilson.org/living-with-mws/mws-genetics/