Just Keep Swimming

I really hate when I get behind and then try to catch up within a week!  It drives me crazy... yet here I am.  We signed Jaxton up for swimming lessons through the Aquatic Center.  He had a great time.  I didn't love the teacher... she was just ok.  He still can't swim, he has never been afraid of water, he has always been fearless... so now he is fearless with the misconception that he CAN swim.  Fantastic!  He is a fun kid.  He loved diving for the little eggs and kicking his legs like a "motorboat" but his favorite was when the kids got to jump in the pool from the side.  All of the kids in his class pretty much stepped off of the side to the teacher... but not Jaxton.  Arms out, legs up... that kid leaped.  It was so funny and I wouldn't expect anything else from him. 

We'll have to put him in more swimming lessons... but our schedules are full at the moment and basically adding more is just punishing myself!

Hot Wedding

Kyle's sister, Krista got married last weekend.  It was a HOT day (only like 98, but seriously, we are used to 80-83 so 98 was burning for us).  Kyle and I hadn't been in the Las Vegas Temple for a few years, so it was wonderful to go back.  The words that were spoken were beautiful and things that Kyle and I loved to hear as well.  It was a long weekend and I slept all day on Monday... but it was fun and we are really happy for them!

Big thanks to my mom for making my skirt.  I couldn't find anything I liked and I am so grateful for her and her willingness to help me (when she feels well). 

The kids are excited for a new uncle and Kyle and I are excited to get to know our new brother.  We are so thankful for the temple and the blessings that come from it!  Families really can be together forever! 

Late Anniversary Post

I was doing some scrapbooking and realized I never did our 5 year anniversary.  Oops!  So I will do it now... better late than never right? 
Kyle and I celebrated 5 years on March 28.  Looking back, it doesn't always feel like we have been married for 5 years.  And this past year has been rough.  We decided to take a small trip but didn't know where we wanted to go.  Kyle mentioned a theme park and I started looking some up.  Knotts Berry Farm was having a special that month and we figured "Hey, why not?"  Kyle had never been there and I hadn't been there since high school so I couldn't remember much of it.  We had so much fun being together.  I didn't love Knotts Berry Farm, it's no Disneyland but it was great.  I love the simple reminders of how much I love Kyle.  This trip was just what we needed.  We needed time away, to be together and to remember how we fell in love. 
Happy 5 years Kyle... I'm so happy I get forever with you!

Soccer Star

I have been meaning to post, but my laptop has some virus that won't let it stay connected to the internet (so retarded) so I can't even download an antivirus... the only fix is to wipe it clean :(  so I had to wait for Kyle to leave his laptop and to finish up these pages.
Jaxton finished another soccer season!  It was a lot of fun!  He was a lot better this year than last year.  (I am one of those parents that thinks my kid is good but I'm also not the parent to think he is the best of the best).  He didn't cry through games, he wasn't as easily distracted, he scored goals, and he really started to get the hang of the game.  That made it so much more fun!  I'm happy he enjoys sports (he didn't get that from me... surprise surprise... I'm NOT athletic at all!!).  His team was pretty good and they all really seemed to enjoy playing together.  My parents came up and watched him play one weekend, which meant so much to me because of my mom's health.  Jaxt says he wants to play next year also but we'll see.  It is almost punishment for me.  Practice and 2 games a week really does take a lot of time and effort and it is rough with Kyle working and in school.  I do however like how tired Jaxt is after games and how well he sleeps those nights...  It was a great season and we are always so proud of Jaxton!  We sure do love our little soccer star!

Easter

Holidays are getting more and more fun as the kids get older.  Jaxton and Paisley were so excited for the Easter Bunny to come.  We woke up and went to church and as we were changing our clothes, the Easter bunny came and hid the eggs in the backyard.  The kids LOVED it!  (We spent the next 3 days hiding eggs for each other)  It was a lot of fun!

Lumps and bumps

Last month, Jaxton woke up complaining that his neck hurt.  I figured he had just slept wrong (you know, body on the bed, head off to the size) so I gave him a heat pad and went on with our day.  We went to story time at the library and Jaxt was being especially whiny, so I had him sit on my lap.  He was still complaining that his neck was bothering him and when I looked... there was a huge bump on the side.  I wasn't sure what to do and Kyle was in class.  I thought maybe he just bumped it so we went on with our day.  During dinner he started crying, so we ran to Instacare.  The Dr did a quick exam and told us it just felt like a swollen lymph node and that if it didn't change in 2 weeks we needed to take him to his pediatrician.  2 weeks passed and there was no change so we took him in.  She came in and did an exam and wanted to run some blood tests, one included was a leukemia test (that was too much for me... especially after my mom's diagnoses this year).  Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary so she referred us to an ENT.  We saw Dr. Pearson just a few days later.  He came in, talked to us for a few minutes and felt around Jaxton's neck.  He didn't say much and then said "I think this needs to come out".  He went back to feeling the lump and telling us some of the things that it COULD be.  He wanted to have an ultrasound done to see if it was a cyst and then set up surgery for 2 weeks later.
The next night, Jaxt was up all night screaming!  It was awful.  We took him into the ER the next morning and Jaxt had an ear infection.  They put him on antibiotics for 10 days and sent us home.
We went in for the ultrasound the next Monday.  Kyle had class so I went with Jaxton alone.  The ultrasound tech didn't say much and Dr. Pearson called us a few hours later and said that he didn't see any cysts and wanted to proceed with surgery.
We went into to the hospital at 8:15 am on April 24th.  A huge thanks to Krissy Harrison for taking Paisley!  It was just one less thing I had to worry about.  We went right back and the nurses started getting us prepped.  Dr. Pearson came in and felt his neck again.  Our hope was that because Jaxt was on antibiotics, the lump would have gone down and we wouldn't have to proceed.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.  They came in and got Jaxt at 9:30 and he was back in the room by 10:30.  They said he did awesome, and they sent the "lump" to the lab for a full biopsy.  We were released by 11:30 since Jaxt was awake and alert and drank his juice and ate his Popsicle.  He was back to running around, jumping and being his normal fun self within a few hours.
  Waiting for the results sucks!  I try to not think about it... but it creeps up on me occasionally.  Hopefully we will hear something today or tomorrow.   We have had a few issues managing pain the past 2 days, but other than that it seems to be doing well.  I can't wait to have this behind us.

I love this little dude so hard core!  I hope and pray that it is nothing and this will be the end of it!  We have felt the love and prayers that have been said on our behalf.  No matter what the outcome, we have been truly blessed and we can get through anything together (although I'm hoping that we don't have to!)

Mama loves holidays!

I read an article on Facebook the other day.  It was posted by someone I know through someone else (does that even make sense??)  but I love to read what she posts about her kids or her... she is so witty and funny... and I secretly love her (not in a creepy way ya'll).  She posted it on St. Patrick's Day and I really enjoyed the concept.  The article talked about how holidays have become bigger than ever, and the expectations from our children is greater and greater. I don't go all out for our kids.  I plan a few fun activities for us (when I can) and I do my best to make holidays here special and memorable, without going overboard or breaking the bank.

Let me clarify something here.  Usually I am a fan of making the kids wear red or pink on Valentine's Day, but it was also the first day of Spring Training so I was ok with Kyle putting Jaxton in a Yankee's shirt.

I laid out everyone's outfit in the morning, including Kyle's... he is such a good sport!  

We didn't set a Leprechaun trap or eat Lucky Charms (we actually finished the box the day before and I forgot to buy more... so that was that).