The Polar Express 2010

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It's our family tradition to go on The Polar Express train ride in Williams, AZ every year. This was our 5th year to go. It's always so magical and always gets us in the mood for Christmas. This year was no exception, it was wonderful!! Enjoy a slideshow of pictures from our adventure to the North Pole.

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I'm Home

It's no secret that doctors can be very unpredictable and today was no exception. This morning the surgeon came in to see me and then a few minutes later my doctor came in. They both said that I was looking great and that I could go home. So by 9:30 I was home. I have to be on 2 different antibiotics for 10 days and follow up with the clinic in a week but other than that I'm good to go.

I want to thank all of my family and friends that came together to help me and my family. Thanks for watching my kids, washing my laundry, making me dinner, visiting me and bringing me snacks and things to keep me busy. And most of all thanks for all of the prayers!! I am so blessed!!

Now I finally feel good enough to play with the new camera Dave bought for me, he called it an early anniversary gift. I have to get comfortable with it before we head out to The Polar Express at the end of this week. I am so excited!!

I've got nothing but time...

I'm usually not one to air my dirty laundry or embarrassing secrets to everyone but today I've got nothing but time to do just that. The reason being, I am laying in a hospital bed with no where to go, no kids to chase, no dinner to make and no duties to fulfill. I might as well blog...thank goodness this hospital has internet!!

It all started last Sunday. My tush was a little sore and it hurt to sit in certain positions. I didn't give it a second thought until Monday morning arrived and it was worse, then Tuesday morning and still worse. Dave talked me into going to see the doctor. I was mortified!!! My only saving grace was that now my clinic has a female PA on staff. She was so sweet and sympathetic to me! She assured me it happens to lots of ladies and I was nothing "special". She put me on antibiotics and sent me on my way to sit on a heating pad.

Well...I followed her instructions to the 'T' and it still got worse. Thursday night I was tempted to call the on call dr but I knew I'd end up in the ER and there was no way I was going that route!! I toughed it out and went to the clinic the next morning. She took one look at my backside and immediately got on the phone with the surgeon. He suggested lancing the abscess and admitting me to the hospital. That's just what she did. So here I sit, feeling much better, getting pumped full of antibiotics.

They'll let me go when the infection is better and under control. They suggest I see the surgeon soon to see if the infection created a fistula in my colon (yeah).

That's the latest...I'll update if it changes. Thanks for letting me vent. Sorry to gross you out.

Halloween 2010

Halloween was pretty low key and easy this year. Adam decided at the last minute to be the same as last year...Harry Potter, Carson wanted to be a skeleton and I chose the costume for Brady, he was a train conductor. We enjoyed going to the church to Trunk-or-Treat and then to Grandmother's house.

Carving Jack-O-Lanterns

AZ State Fair

It's been a long time since we have gone to the state fair. We decided to take the kids a few weeks ago. Adam's friend, Amanda, got to come with us. It was really fun having a daughter for the weekend!!

We stayed overnight in a hotel near The Bass Pro Shop. We had never been so we decided to eat dinner there and explore. It is such a great place. I ordered alligator as an appetizer but the kids were not very impressed. At least we can say that we've eaten alligator. The kids loved all of the activities they have at the store. They got to pretend to be hunters, Uncle Scott would be so proud! They also got to drive in a race car simulator.

The next day we headed out to the state fair. We enojoyed looking at the animals and the petting zoo. There was a dinosaur exhibit and Carson went crazy! He ran through and looked at all of the dinosaurs and then ran back to the begining to read all of the signs. He compared their facts with the ones he had memorized from his books. It was too funny. Adam is my little dare devil, he wanted to go all of the BIG rides, Amanda and Carson were not as brave.

After we left the fair we drove over to the state capital and let the kids explore the park across the street. There are lots of memorials and statues. I love teaching them about our country and state histroy.

Uuuggghhhhhh

This afternoon I took my 3 boys shopping with me to Safeway. While picking up some yogurt, Adam decided it would be a good idea to put a container of yogurt in the cup holder on the shopping cart. It gets stuck! While checking out, I was trying to be a good customer by mentioning to the cashier that the yogurt was stuck. She assured me that it happens all the time and not to worry. She promptly calls over "that guy", I won't mention his name but if you shop there you know who he is. He takes my cart, turns it upside down and starts banging it against the floor. Now remember that I have my 3 boys with me, they think it is so cool. People are staring, groceries are backing up on the belt and Brady is now on the loose instead of strapped in to the shopping cart. I was really hopping that I could escape before he got it free, but nooooo. He comes running up to me and hands me the yogurt. By this time I had finished the transaction and didn't feel like doing another transaction for a single container of yogurt, I hand it to the cashier and she gives a less than trilled look. Meanwhile the "helpful" Safeway guy takes my cart and returns it to the front door. The problem? ALL of my groceries are still sitting on the belt in bags and the line behind me is building. Ugghhhhh. I couldn't get out of there fast enough and I may not go back for a few weeks.

New Stuff

I have not blogged in a while mainly because nothing too major has happened around here. The kids are enjoying school and doing well. I'm staying busy with PTO and Stake Primary stuff not to mention being a mom and wife. One of the most exciting things that has happened is I no longer have to buy diapers...Brady is officially potty trained!!

I suppose the most major change in our life happened just this past week. Dave decided to take a position with a new company. He has worked for RSC (Rental Service Corp) for the past 9 years as a field service mechanic. Dave has been feeling the stress of working for RSC for a few years now. It didn't matter how hard he worked he was always being criticized by management. He loved his job but felt like it was time to move on. ***A little background*** When Dave was set apart in the bishopric he was promised some pretty strong temporal blessings. The very week after he was set apart Dave came across a job opening at Empire Southwest. Dave called the manager and was almost immediately offer the job. It pays more than his current job and has room for advancement. He will be working in Morenci at the copper mine, repairing the huge haul trucks.

I feel so grateful to our Father in Heaven. He has already blessed us so much. Since Dave made his decision to leave RSC he has been offered 3 additional jobs. I love that people know what a hard worker Dave is. I know that we will never go without employment and that makes me feel so secure. I am so thankful for marrying such a honest man. I love him so much. So join me in wishing him good luck at his new job.

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend we went to Eagar, AZ to stay at Uncle Erick's house and join in the Wright Family Reunion. We had such a great time and made lots of great memories!

Cousin bath time is FUN!
The kids slept on the trampoline all 3 nights. It was really cold at night but they had a great time!
Erick and Kami took us crawdad fishing. I had never been or even seen a crawdad before. It was really fun and the kids had a BLAST! I think we'll make it a tradition.

They didn't want to be wasteful, so they decided to clean and cook up those crawdads. Adam wasn't too sure about eating them.

The kids cracking the shells and getting the meat out.

Here is what the little suckers looked like after a nice hot bath. (gag)

After church on Sunday we drove up the mountain to the look out and had a picnic dinner. It was really beautiful up there.

This is too cute! Grandpa and Grandma Wright with some of their grandkids.

Here we are...can't take a good picture to save our life!

Dave's 40th Birthday

I think pulling off this party has given me a few grey hairs, especially when Dave decided he would stay home from work on his birthday. Thanks to my Mom, sister Amy and Grandmother, the party was a huge success and he was really surprised!!

I promised lots of yummy treats and that's what they got! I spent the entire week making and freezing Oreo truffles, Nutter Butter balls, red velvet cake pops and chocolate chip cookies. Gram made her famous O'Henry bars and Dave's sister Heather made her famous salsa. All of the guests were well fed. And I just couldn't leave out the baby pictures! Take a look at the poster of pictures I put together.

Thank you to everyone that was able to come and celebrate with Dave. He has so many great friends and lots of wonderful family! We'll have to do it again in 10 years!!

My brother Seth gave Dave a sign that says, "Super Dave's Hanger" with a picture of his ultralight. Dave really loved it!

Grandma Joy and Grandmother Ford

Dave's mom Judy and sister Heather

First Day of School

Here are the boys on the first day of school. It started August 11, 2010. Carson is in 1st Grade and has Mrs. Zale as a teacher. Last year he went to her class for reading time. He likes her and is very comfortable in her classroom. He is a bit bored with the work they are doing, way too easy for him. I assured him that soon they will be learning things he doesn't already know and that made him happy. He loves playing on the "big kid" playground with the his brother and cousins.
Adam is in the 4th grade this year. His teacher is Ms. Ramirez-Ragland. It's taken a while to get her name down but he loves her already! She is really exciting and teaches with such enthusiasm. I know he will do great with her. He is looking forward to their Kartchner Caverns trip and the "lock in" they do at the end of the year. He also likes learning to type with the "writers" they get to take home. It's sure to be a great year!!

Dave's New Calling

This past Sunday Dave was ordained a High Priest and put in as the new 2nd Counselor in our bishopric. I am so happy to be married to such a worthy and strong man. Isn't he handsome!

He was interviewed last Tuesday night and was told that the change wouldn't take place for a few weeks. We went to Mesa this past weekend and planned on going to church with some friends. Dave called Bishop Sunday morning to let him know that he would not be at meetings and Bishop said that we should probably get home. At the last minute there was a change of plans and they decided to make the change Sunday. This was at 9:30 and our church starts at 1pm. We threw everything in the car and ran out the door. We hit the freeway at exactly 10am and was in Thatcher at 12:15. The fastest trip home I have ever made. Luckily we had our church clothes with us, but Dave didn't have his suit. We stopped at his brother's house, borrowed a suit, changed clothes and raced to the church. We made it with time to spare. Talk about a wild ride!

Dave's dad ordained him as a High Priest and then President Sanders set him apart. Both blessings were beautiful and memorable. He was promised some wonderful blessings and I am so thankful for the opportunity he has to serve.

One last vacation

We usually take one last vacation before school starts, in the past we have gone to Tucson to shop for school clothes. I decided to do most of my shopping online this year. This allowed us to change our traditional vacation, instead of Tucson we opted for Gilbert to stay with the family of one of Dave's childhood friends. Dave's brother, Erick, and his family joined us. The boys had lots of fun swimming in their pool and playing with all the other kids. Brady even found a playmate...a pretty little girl named Elena!

Adam loved the water slide!

Carson enjoyed snorkeling, he got really good at it. Maybe we'll have to go to the beach so he can really do it.
Brady and Elena
Sharing his pizza...true love!
Since we didn't have lots of shopping to do we decided to take the kids to The Arizona Museum of Natural History. We stepped into the lobby and Carson began screaming with delight and jumping up and down! (Did I mention that he loves dinosaurs?!?) The boys practically ran to every exhibit. They were happy to be there and Dave and I were happy that they loved it. A win win for everyone.

Panning for gold.


How I'd like to keep them...locked up behind bars!!