California Adventure!

** Picture Overload**

Ive taken kind of a leave of absence from the blogging thing, I just havent been up to it for awhile. We have had a lot going on as of late and so many things to write about! I'll try to not put it all on one post. First of all, I will tell you about our California trip! We took a trip in May to see my Wendy and Ben and to go to Disneyland because we did the give a day thing and so had free tickets! Ben and lacy were down there for a wedding and my mom was there too, so it was great to get to see lots of family! We drove down to Oceanside and stayed in Jon's dad's condo, which is so fun! Ben, Wendy and my mom joined us down there on Friday and we hung out and had a great time! We had planned to go to the beach the next day, but that night Noah decided to have a coughing fit and we were up for most of the night and even had to make a run to Walgreens to try to help him feel better...It was a long night. So come saturday, we were all a bit tired! We didnt get our of the house til about lunch time and by the time we got to the beach, it was SOO crowded there was no place to even park, so we decided to just go back to the condo and swim in the pool. Which turned out to be super fun and the water was so warm, it was perfect! On Sunday, we went up to Redlands to stay with ben and wendy and to see their new place! This is where I finally remembered that I should probably be taking pictures, so I will just narrate the pictures! It was a really nice day, so we spent some time outside, makella played in the water and sprinkler while Ben did this....

And this....


Jon was doing dad things with the kids...such a good dad!
We made a lot of cookies and tried to get ready for the big disneyland day. We got up early and made out way to disneyland. Makella has been looking forward to this for months now and was SO excited that that day was here!

Right outside the park, ready to go in! She had been talking about seeing mickey for quite a long time and it worked out perfectly because RIGHT when we walked in the park, we saw this guy:

SHe loved seeing him, even if it was only for a second! Then when we walked around the corner and saw the castle, she was BEAMING!
Noah had such a great time too! He was happy all day and spent a lot of time with my mom, who he just loves! He warmed up to her so fast and I was grateful to have another set of arms to hold him!
Later in the day we were on our way to eat lunch and we saw goofy. He had a line formed to meet him and take pictures, so we got in it. Just as we did, they closed off the line, so we were lucky to get there. She was the last one in line and all the other kids had fancy autograph books for all the characters to sign. She kept saying that she wanted goofy to write her a note too, so we scrounged up a crayon and wendy's old to do list..Not quite as fancy as a book, but it was all we had! I felt kind of bad...So it gets to her turn and she goes up to him and asks him so sweetly if he would write her a note! Goofy was so nice and got down on the ground to sign her little paper and then he gave her a hug and it was just precious!! I think she felt pretty special!

Noah just did a lot of this all day and he was just cute! ENough said :)
It was a perfect day at disneyland because it was cloudy and not too hot and we didnt have to wait for more than 20 minutes on any ride! But when we went to toon town in the afternoon, it was pretty packed and crazy, so we didnt spend too much time there, but Makella did get to play in some of the houses, so it was fun!

Her favorite rides were definetaly Dumbo and SMALLWORLD...Ive pretty much heard nothing but "Its a small world" sung over and over since we got home...Ill be just fine if I never hear that song again :)

We went to the parade that they had and met up with Ben and lacy and her family for a little bit. My mom and Ben had to take off after the parade in order to drive back to to Washington. I had a great time with my mom and my sister, just the girls of the family. Wendy if pregnant and it was fun to see her! Im so excited for her little girl to come in September!

Jon hadnt been to disneyland since he was just a little boy, so I was excited for him to go too, I think he had a great time!

Overall it was a fantastic trip and Im so glad we got to do it!

Hello world! This is not a regular post. Why? Cause it is usually Bonnie who does the typing and I am not my wife! I recently made the comment to Bonnie that a lot of time has passed sense her last post (hinting that maybe she should get her butt in gear and start typing). She hinted in return that so long as my fingers are not broken, then mine could serve well enough to get a post out.

Well we do not have any wonderful pics that will add some well needed flavor to this post so no hard feelings if you cant make it all the way through.

Anyways the Bon and I are kickin' it in Oceanside California right now. We arrived last night after a 10 hour drive. We are having a good time too. Umm, I am not really sure what more we can say. We will be going to the beach tomorrow and Disneyland on Monday.

This seems like a very short post...I guess that is why Bonnie better right from now on...

On the side of my blog I posted a link for my little niece Malia. She is in a photo contest up in Boise. Kami is about to have another baby next month and if they win, they get a really nice photo shoot for their family. We love them all so much and think they deserve it! Besides, you cant really get cuter than Malia so help them out and vote for her! Its super easy to just click on it on vote.

Did Yesterday Really Just Happen??

For those who know and who dont know what happened yesterday, here is a run down of our day!
This is long and some parts may be a little bloody, so be prepared!

We woke up as normal and Jon was getting ready to go into work. He was supposed to leave in like 5 minutes and I thought it was a good time to move our mattress. My bed has been bugging me for awhile and I realized that I needed to flip my box spring. So I thought to myself, "this will be easy, Ill just do it real quick. Well it turned out to be a lot heavier than I thought and so Jon came in to help me. We got it flipped and then he said he would finish putting the mattress back. So I went out into the kitchen to check on Ella who was eating breakfast. This is where our day got really interesting....

All of a sudden a hear a crash and Jon yells "OH! OH!" Then runs out to the kitchen covering his arm which is covered in blood and he is yelling at me to call 911. I rush and get the phone without even knowing what is going on and call them. While moving the mattress he hit the light fixture on the ceiling, which broke, and it fell and hit his arm. He said that blood started squirting out of his arm and he quickly filled up a towel with blood. Meanwhile I am trying to contain Ella who is yelling from her chair and pointing at all the blood. She really doesn't do well with this kind of thing, so I told her to go into her room, but there was blood in the hallway, so she ended up in the living room with a cartoon. He made his way to the bathroom and that is about when the police came walking in. (They made it in like 2 minutes, I was impressed) Then a minute later 5 (Yeah 5) paramedics and firemen come strolling in. They get him checked out and wrap his arm and then tell him that he really needs to go to the hospital because they dont know what kind of damage was done. By this time the bleeding had mostly stopped, but Jon said he would go. They all stayed in our house while we got all the kids ready and made arrangements and then helped us into our car. Jon was starting to calm down a bit and that was about when his arm started to hurt.

We made our way to the ER and his arm was hurting pretty bad. We explain everything about fifteen times to all the nurses and doctors and then they finally start trying to figure out what was wrong. Let me tell you about this "Cut" that he got on his arm....Its not so much a cut as it is a hole. Its like he got poked in the arm and its about the width of a pencil...thats it.. We arent sure how deep it went, but it definetally was not that big. So we get there and everyone notices that his arm is about twice the size that it is supposed to be. Strange, they all think....Thats when the words "Compartment Syndrome" start getting thrown around. Its when all the blood starts pooling in his arm and puts pressure on the musscles and other things and could cause serious damage if it is not treated. Well, in order for you to need surgery the pressure monitor thing has to be at about 30. Jon's was only at about a 5 and they said this kind of thing usually only happen to people who have crushed their arm or leg or whatever. So its not very likely.

She decides that he just needs to keep it elevated and iced and eventually the blood will dispurse on its own. So they give him a band aid and a sling because he cant really move his arm or his hand without immense pain (because of the swelling they said) and they send us on our way. We make it out to our car and Jon sits down when his wound all of a sudden explodes and there is blood EVERYWHERE. We both run back inside and he is just bleeding all over the place, so they all think that is kind of strange, but just wrap his arm with a bit more than a band aid, and send us on our way again!
By this time it is about 2 and we are exhausted. Jon is at home trying desperately to get comfortable. They gave his a percocet for the pain, but that only made him nausaous. So he is miserable and the pain is only getting worse, he cant handle having it wrapped because it was just too tight. His brother Ryan came over to see how he was and he came out, sat on the couch, and all of a sudden starts yelling in pain....Something happened and his arm just started swelling horribly like right away. We were scared it was going to burst again, so we wrapped it back up and loaded up the car. Thankfully, Karianne had just happened to show up right after that and she offered to take the kids. (She was obviously inspired to come check on us!) We got back to hospital around 5 and his arm was huge and he was in horrible pain. His whole hand was numb and he couldnt even straighten his fingers.

They brought in a vascular specialist to check it out and he starts talking about the compartment syndrome again. His arm was SO hard, it was like a rock. So he gets the pressure thing again and measures his arm in a slightly different spot/compartment (She checked the wrong one earlier that morning) and his pressure was at a 50. So he basically said, you need surgery and I need to do it now. We'll take you back in 20 minutes! So we start making phone call after phone call to let everyone know and then realize that we could really use a blessing right about now. So Im making more calls and I get ahold of Janel who says she is coming with her husband and Steve leavitt who is in our ward.
They were not able to make it in time before they took him back, but they sat with me anyways and saved me from freaking out too much. I was really glad to not be by myself right then. Jon's mom also came and waited for a little while. They said it would take about an hour but it ended up taking about an hour and a half or more. When he finally was done it was just me and Karianne. the surgeon came out and told us what happened. That little tiny hole in his arm managed to cute through an artery, a tendon, and a nerve which explained his bleeding and inability to move and his numb hand (mostly his thumb). He stitched up the artery, the tendon and the nerve and also said that the mucsles were ok, but that they had to leave the wound open for a few days to let the swelling go down. So he will be in the hospital until at least Friday. If he cant close it on Friday then he will have to go in and put in a skin graft.
I just couldnt believe that much damage was caused by one little cut.
Im sorry this is so long I just wanted to let everyone know what is going on. I also am SO incredibly grateful for ALL the support and love and prayers that we have gotten from friends, family, and everyone! It is seriously So amazing and we love you all!
Thank you Thank you!

Picture of the week

Gosh, he's precious! I found him sleeping in his swing like this and his hands just looked so cute, then I was lucky enough to catch him smile in his sleep. He really is a sweet sweet boy! He is trying to get better control of his hands and loves to grab toys. Its so fun to watch him grow.
Thats about the only exciting thing I have to share. We just hang around home most days, which can result in some pretty uneventful days. On a happy note, I found a preschool for Makella to go to! Its in Provo and is 2 days a week. She is so excited! They take 2-4 year olds, so its perfect. If nothing else, she will have friends to play with and get a break from playing with just me all day. We both get a little crazy :) I probably shouldnt have told her about it yet because now she asks everyday if she can go to preschool. She already knows all her letters, most of the sounds, and is just starting to learn how to write her name. (We have only mastered the M so far), but I think she is ready and will be able to learn so much more! Im excited!
AS for me, I have just begun my journey to lose those 20 lbs that have been plaguing me for so long! Im tired of my clothes not fitting right, so here I go! Ive done a pretty good job so far, but Im horrible at snacking! I will try and buy healthier snacks that you should eat in small portions and I end up eating A TON. Like Trail mix...It seems healthy enought to just eat a little bit for a snack, and then I end up eating like twice as much as a should. So I still have stuff to work on, but hopefully I can reach my goal! I'm giving myself a fair amount of time, so hopefully I can reach my goal by the time summer rolls around! Wish me luck! Well, thats enough of my rambling for one day, I hope you all have a great week!

Christmas activities

Im finally getting around to posting about our fabulous christmas! We had a really great time. We got to stay home this year because my parents and my sister and brother in law came down to see us and Ben and Lacy. They all stayed for about a week and we had so much fun doing puzzles, watching movies, playing games and shopping. We went up to temple square one night which turned out to be pretty hectic and crazy, but the lights were really pretty. On Christmas Eve we went down to Alpine to see the Navitity at Jon's parents ward and then we went to see some christmas lights. One of the houses we saw was so amazing and even had santa outside handing out candy canes. We had 2 cars and me and Jon were in the first car without Makella, so we told Santa her name and what she wanted for christmas. So when they drove up with Makella, she was SO excited that she got to see Santa and that he knew who she was. It was so perfect for Christmas Eve. Then we went to my house and made some struesalschnekin (?) It is this German pastry that Ben learned to make on his mission and has kinda become a family tradition. You can pretty much put whatever you want on them, so it is fun for everyone to make their own. Plus, they are soo good! My favorite one this year was the Cherry with Chocolate chips and coconut...mmm so good and is fun to say!
We also had Christmas morning at my house and Makella was really excited to see all the presents. We all got really spoiled this year and I got some great stuff! Im so grateful for my family and friends and how generous everyone was. It was really a wonderful christmas and I was sad to see everyone go.
Also while everyone was here, we decided to have Noah's blessing. We just did it in our apartment a couple days before christmas. It was so neat to have everyone there. Jon's parents, brother and grandma all came, plus one of his good friends from college, cameron. It was a great night and Jon gave him a wonderful and beautiful blessing. Im excited to see Noah grow up to be a wonderful man and to see all the things he will accomplish. He is a wonderful little boy! There was just too many pictures to try and post on here, so I made a slideshow with some of the pictures!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Very Merry Christmas!

We are having such a fabulous time this month! Christmas time is the best time of year and Makella is at such a fun age to enjoy it. I decided that for my advent calendar (I dont have one), I would make this:



















Its not fully put together in this picture, but you get the idea. There was a candy cane for each day and a different Christmas activity for the day until Christmas. It took some preparation, but it has been so much fun for both of us and really helped get me in the Christmas spirit.
As a child, my family always got a real tree for Christmas. It was always a huge deal to go pick out our tree and decorate it. We also would switch off who would get to put the star on the tree. Last year we werent able to get a real tree and so I was Really looking forward to it this year. Well, we made it to the tree lot and realized that they were just too expensive and decided we should probably use the money for gifts for Ella and what not. So we borrowed a tree from Jon's mom. It turned out beautiful and Im grateful to have it, but it loses some of the fun of it when you have to pull the tree out of the box and shape it yourself! But, oh well! Maybe next year! Here is our pretty tree!:























Another thing I always loved growing up was the christmas village we had. My brothers got ceramic houses and painted them. I always thought they were so cool! So we I got married that was one of the first things I got at christmas. Its not a very big set right now, but I hope to expand it as our home/living space expands. So here is my wonderful village!:


















I love to have Christmas decorations up. It just makes everything feel so much more cozy for some reason. The only thing I dont have yet is a nativity. Someday Ill get a nice one!
Here are some pictures of just a few of the things me and Makella have done this month!























We made popcorn snowmen, bead ornaments for the tree, decorated cookies, saw santa, painted our hair clips, picked out a christmas story,played in the snow and delivered treats to some of her friends. Those are just a few of the fun things we have been doing! Its a fun tradition that I hope to keep up in the years to come!

In other news, Noah has reached 2 1/2 months! We had his 2 month appointment and he is a big boy! He weighed in at 13 lbs 8 oz and 24.5 inches long. Quite the big boy! He smiles all the time and will coo back to you when you talk to him. He eats pretty much all the time and hasnt really fully grasped how great it is to sleep yet. But we are working on it! He loves to sit up and look at things and loves to stand up and bounce even more. He has chubby cheeks, chubby thighs a big belly and we love him!










I hope everyone is having as good of a Christmas season as we are! Merry Christmas!

Here is just a little video of Noah. Its nothing special, but he is cute so I thought I would post it :)