Christmas Week Pictures Continued

Here are the kids all dressed up in their Christmas play outfits. Kail and Amie are super adorable in their full costumes. Stacey and Jayden are as adorable as always.

Here, I got a Kindle. I wanted one so very much and I got one. It's been put to good use since yesterday.

Stacey was extremely excited to get her Kindle. She loves to read and she's been practically begging Santa and us for one.

Jayden was all smiles and excitement when he opened his Star Wars X-Wing and Tie Bomber with Luke Skywalker, R2D2, and Darth Vader figures. Those ships are huge!

Kail didn't show any particular excitement over one gift or another, but his first game he played when we got home where his MobiGo was left was this Spongebob game.

Here we find a very emotional Mary enjoying one of the pictures and its frame.

Now these are just random pictures from our trip.

Stacey is being a model and what a model she makes.

Christmas Week Pictures

This was an awesome tree made completely out of poinsettia.

Mary found herself on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was pretty cool and she, of course, had to get a picture of it. I would have if there was a Melissa Martin on there.

I forgot about the character breakfast we went to on Thursday morning. It was so fun, except Alisa was having a scream fest everytime a character came around as you can see on the left side of Pluto. Amie and my kids loved it.

Jayden found himself a dragon head to climb on at Santa Monica Pier. He had a little bit of fun there.

Here's Mallory and Stacey below us on the beach. I didn't intend for that heart to be right where it is in the picture, Stacey just happened to stand there. I didn't even notice it until Jason said something about it.

Kail and Jeff entertaining each other while building a sand volcano.

Our day in Disneyland started by seeing Pluto and Goofy. The kids got to share an autograph book and had a blast meeting the characters.

Later in the day we saw Tigger, Eeore and Pooh. As you can see, Tigger was playing around and being silly. Kail got a major kick out of that.

Christmas Week

We spent the 19th through the 26th in California. My family and Jason's were all there. Mary (Jason's mom) came on the 10th to Utah for a visit before California and also celebrated Jayden's 8th birthday, that's another blog.
On the 18th Jason and Mary packed up her minivan while I was at work. We got all lugage including presents into the van with lots of room for us to sit and have a nice 9-10 hour drive to our hotel. After I got off of work and made it home around 9pm, we took off. We ended up getting into California about 5 or 6am with plenty of time to wander aroud, practically delirious from exhaustion. We had to wait until 11:30 for Chris (Jason's brother) and his wife and baby to get in from Minnesota to meet them at the airport and had to wait until 3 for our hotel room. Needless to say, that first night was an early to bed night.
The next day we got up and moved to the hotel my family was staying at. While we waited for that room to be ready, which was a 2 bedroom condo (Nikki and Jeff have a timeshare with Wyndham), we did the timeshare deal to each get a $75 AMEX gift card. We came very close to buying, but they wanted close to $9000 down and we didn't have that between Mary, Chris, Becky, Jason and I. So, we took our cards and went to eat which took most of the time between the timeshare thing and our 4pm check in time. Jason and I also went to eat dinner with Nikki, Jeff, Jaimie, and Ricky at a place called the White House. It was supposed to be really good, but I've had better. The company is what made that night worth being there for.
The condo was wonderful. I didn't take pictures, so I can't show you, but it was great. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a pullout couch and a kitchenette. We were able to eat in more saving a little bit of money.
Wednesday we went to Hollywood. Traffic is horrible in California and I don't ever want to live there. We did the Hollywood walk of fame and a 2 hour tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We didn't get a chance to meet up with my family that day, which was interesting considering they were in Hollywood in the same part of Hollywood as us also. I was so unimpressed with Hollywood and how dirty it was. The tour was a little pathetic considering you could only see the top or the gate of the stars' homes. But it was still a good day. We ate at a restaurant call BJ's. It had pizza and all sorts of other foods, they didn't nail down one type they specialized in and that was fine because it was so good. My family had pizzas and Mary had a pasta dish. Chris and Becky took their very tired selves and baby back to the hotel and didn't join us for dinner. BJ's also has these wonderful desserts call Pizookies. They're cookies made similar to a pizza in that it comes in small a plateabout 6 inches in diameter and it came with ice cream. It was a-maz-ing.
Thursday we joined up with my family and headed to Santa Monica Pier. It was beautiful. It was a bit chilly mostly when the wind blew, but it was so much fun. The water was so ridiculously cold I felt as if I'd stepped into ankle deep snow without shoes on. We got to see dolphins playing in the water, but they didn't come out much more than just their backs. The kids collected sea shells, did some splashing in the freezing water, and made sand castles with their aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Friday we went to Disneyland. I loved taking my kids there. Disney was a good tradition in my family when I was growing because we lived so close and my parents worked there (so did Nikki and I when we were old enough) that I wanted to share such a wonderful and fun place with my children. Our first ride was the 3D Star Tours which is a ride done with the Star Wars theme. All my kids loved it. We then went on the Matterhorn. Jayden hated that and wouldn't go on another roller coaster type ride again.
Kail, on the other hand, loved it. He was able to get onto Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Tower of Terror also. He wasn't too sure about Space Mountain or Tower of Terror, but he loved Splash Mountain and wanted to go again. Jayden did go on Tower of Terror too because he promised Jason he would try it and he hated that as well. Stacey loved everything we went on. She wanted so badly to go on rides more than once, but we wanted to see the two parks and the lines were ridiculously long.
Saturday was a relax day. We'd been so busy the other days that Jason and I said no to doing anything. We did go to WalMart for a few last minute items including food for that night's festivities. All the kids put on a Christmas play created by Stacey and written by Jaimie with Stacey's ideas. It was a very good play and it was so cool to see how creative Stacey can be.
Stacey played Santa, Jayden and Kail played Santa's deer, Amelie played an elf and Alisa was supposed to play a character that became an elf, but she was sick and not cooperating very well.
Christmas day was another lazy day. We enjoyed opening presents with the kids. We got Mary some family gifts like ceramic coffee mugs that the kids painted and picture frames we neatly placed pictures in. Then we went to my family's room for more present opening and breakfast. We had to move rooms again that day and, thankfully, our room was ready by 9am so we didn't have to hang in limbo between check out time at noon and check in time at 4. We got all moved and enjoyed some breakfast. The kids went swimming again and we went to lunch/dinner with my family at 3. It was quite an adventure to find somewhere to eat, but we did it and it was nice.
We left California at 5am Pacific time and headed home. We are all tired and ready to sleep, but we all had a great time. I should clarify that we all just means us adults. The kids are ready to play.
So, because of the many details of our trip and the amount of pictures we got, I'm doing a written blog (this one) and a picture blog (to come after this is written). I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Halloween

I know this is incredibly late, but I've been so busy working and finishing school that I forgot to put it up. Our Halloween started with some crafts. We stopped by Joann's Fabric to find the fabric type for Jayden's cloak and found some fun crafts to do too.

Stacey made these little clay candy corns she named Mario and Luigi.

Jayden put some bats together. He's learning how to use the glue gun.

Kail made spiders. He thought these were so cool.

Here is our collection. I made the orange owls, Stacey's candy corns are there, Jayden's purple bats, and Kail's black and green legged spiders.


I made this haunted house.


Stacey did the cemetary.



As I had to work on Halloween, Jason had the joy of btaking the kids trick-or-treating. We always take them to Eagle Mountain because there are so many houses to get candy from and their friends are there. Stacey went with her friends and Jayden with his. Stacey was Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, Jayden was Anakin Skywalker, and Kail was Boba Fett.


They had a blast and made a killing. Jason told me when I talked to him on my way home from work that he'd taken Kail around the neighborhood 3 times. Jason did cheat a little. He brought out our 125cc four wheeler and attached the wagon to the back of it and drove Kail around the neighborhood. When Nikki's kids Amie and Lisie were there, they got to ride in the wagon too and I hear they quite enjoyed it.

Mini Vacation with an update

I'm sorry I've not updated my blog until now. I've been busy working and pretty much dead on the days that I'm not. So, last weekend starting on Sunday, July 31st, Jason and I loaded up the kids and our boat and went down to Delta where Nikki's in laws have a house on Gunnison Reservoir meeting the Radcliffe clan. We had a blast! Of course, Jason and I forgot our camera, as we always seem to do when we do things that are picture worthy.

Here's a pretty sunset picture I got on my phone. This was the first night we were there and a few storms had rolled through earlier in the day, but we got a pretty sky after.

Stacey is sporting her life jacket as we take some family members out for a trip on the boat for the first time.

Nikki and Jeff with Lissie about the jump out of the boat. It was a fun little time to take a trip on the water and explore the area.

Jayden and Kail wanted to sleep next to Amie, so they got to. They were all over the floor the next morning, but my phone was dead and I couldn't get the picture of that.

What I didn't get to take pictures of was everyone tubing. We had to limit the amount of people on the boat, of course, so we could pull someone on the tube behind the boat. Nikki, Jason, and Jeff rocked the tube staying on the longest times. Ricky was our winning roller when he got knocked off the tube. He'd roll at least 3 times before sinking into the water. We all had our turns on the tube, except me. I didn't feel like tubing and it was much more fun to watch everyone else do it.

We intended on staying until Wednesday with everyone, but Jason had a work party that we were all required to go to since we'd said we would before we found out about this little vacation. The party was pretty fun too. They had games for the kids that they could win some prizes at and a couple bouncy houses. They fed us some pretty yummy food and gave away prizes for the employees. Sadly, luck was not with us this party and we didn't win anything. They also had a face painter and it was held at a park, so we barely saw the kids. It was nice. We had fun and went home.

After that few days filled with stuff, I am resting as much as I can this week during my days off. My work schedule changes this Sunday from me working Wednesday through Saturday 5pm to 5am to Sunday through Wednesday 8am to 8pm. I am looking forward to having Fridays and Saturdays off so I can actually go on a date with my husband every now and then. I'll also be home for the kids on Thursdays and Fridays.

We are getting close to school starting for me and the kids. Stacey will be in 3rd grade this year and Jayden will be in 2nd. Kail is still too young for school, but we are looking into some preschools as well as a daycare center that does preschool while the child is there.

I have also changed by major's emphasis. I have change from emergency care, which is the paramedic program, to emergency management. This change means that as long as I can pass all of my classes, I graduate in December! I will walk in the graduation ceremony in April. I'm really going to be working as hard as I can because I want to wear a medal during graduation and I have to have a cumulative GPA of 3.60. I currently have a 3.06. I probably won't make it, but it'll still look good on my transcripts if I decide to do grad school.

I almost forgot

Again, for all of those who do not have facebook, or are not on it often, I got a new hair color and style. This was part of my Mother's Day gifts from Jason and our kids. I got a bunch of spa treatments. I got the cut, color, and style; a full set of acrylic nails; a hot stone pedicure; a 30 minute massage; and a 30 minute facial. I feel quite pampered and love every second of the gifts. I also got really cute "stained glass" (more like painted plastic) cherries and a flower from Stacey and Jayden that they made at school. I really love those too! I have them hanging from my mirror so I can see them everyday.

So, here's my new do!

Good news!

So, for all of those who are not on Facebook, or are not on there a lot, my search is over. I finally got a job! I now work for Gold Cross Ambulance services. I am so very excited because I now feel like all the work I did in school to get my certifications was not in vain. I will be working as an EMT-Intermediate in the Salt Lake area. I haven't gotten my permanent schedule yet, but I was told that the schedules are either four 12 hour shifts or two 24 hour shifts. I'm all for the latter. I would love to only work 2 days a week and have the rest of the days to do whatever I want/need to do. Plus, that means we wouldn't have to spend a lot on daycare. My sister Mallory volunteered to babysit for the summer while she doesn't have school, if she doesn't get hired somewhere else first. This is a very big help because it saves me time in finding a babysitter.
I was fitted in my uniform today and will be doing paperwork on Friday for all of the new hire stuff like showing them my social security card and such. My first paid day is the 31st of this month. I can't wait! From what I understand, I'll be doing some company training from the 31st to the 4th. After that, I'll be doing ride alongs. I'm not sure when they'll give me my real schedule though.
That is the most exciting news here. We're pretty boring and don't venture much out of the ordinary.

Easter

On Saturday we joined my family up in Millcreek Canyon for an egg hunt and breakfast. Although my outside temp thermometer said it was 50 degrees, it felt much cooler than that. We had fun though. Nikki, Jeff, Mom, and I attempted all sorts of things to get the fire started so we could stay warm and start cooking, but it took forever. We finally got it started when Mark brought lighter fluid to us. The paper Nikki and Jeff are trying to light here was too wet for a flame to catch.


This is the kids crossing the bridge over the river at our picnic area.


The kids had a blast doing the egg hunt and Rick and Mallory were very nice in where they put the eggs so that kids who are not so observant were able to find them. They each got 16 eggs filled with candy.
On Sunday, my kids did a little egg hunt around the house. The picture thing on this website is not working with me, so I am not able to post anymore pictures. They each got a cool prefilled basket. Stacey got a Glee tv show themed basket that came with a three ring folder, a mouse pad, a pencil contain, and a few other things. She also got a small purse and a bracelet.
Jayden got a football and a couple of Star Wars action figures. He's completely stoked and has played with them constantly all day yesterday.
Kail got a big monster truck toy and Boba Fett gun. He has been running about with that gun shooting anything he feels like.
I promise that if I can figure out how to get the picture thing working again I will post more pictures.

Final Medical Adventures

I got the "OK" to no longer where the boot. I am fully in a shoe now and I am totally excited. It's been too long. I have good range of motion and very little pain in the soft tissue and the doctor said I've healed well. I cannot do any running yet, but that's okay because I wasn't much of a runner to begin with. I can do low impact Zumba, which means that I won't be jumping around with them, but I can at least get back into it. I've missed Zumba.
I do have to have a tooth pulled today because it is causing a huge amount of pain and I have to have an endontist do a root canal on it if I wanted to save the tooth. But, we don't have the $704 to pay the endotist or the extra $300 for the build-up and crown, so I'm opting for the pull. That gives us time to save up for the bridge or whatever they will do to hold the space of the tooth that was pulled.
Otherwise, we are all still the same here. School for the older two kids and me. Kail is Kail. He'll be 4 in 2 months. I can't believe that. He's getting so big. Stacey and Jayden are doing well in school and they are looking forward to Spring Break next week. Yikes! A house full of kids for a week. Crazy!

Medical Adventures Update

On the 14th the Orthopedist took my cast off and I was left in a boot that I can take off whenever I feel the need. He told me to take it off while I was resting and start to flex and extend my ankle to help get it working again. I did that and have most of my range of motion back. It still feels like there are some bones out of place in my ankle which I went to the Chiropractor for and he adjusted one of them back into place because it was really out. He said that's all he'd do for now and to have him look at it again the next time I go in.
The Orthopedist also told me on the 14th to wait 2 weeks and then start bearing weight on my right leg. So, I waited 13 days. My instructions were to start putting a little bit of weight on my leg with the assistance of the crutches until the location of the break does not hurt anymore and then slowly ween myself off of the assistance of the crutches. Well, I was able to bear full weight on my leg yesterday without the crutches. My ankle and knee hurt because of the soft tissue damage done when I broke my ankle and they also feel unstable because of the muscle atrophy. The strength and stability of both joints will hopefully come back quickly as the muscles regain their strength through walking and exercise.
On April 7th, the Orthopedist will take my boot off forever. I still take it off to walk and help build the stability when I am at home, but when I leave the house, I will have the boot on and a crutch with me to help make sure I don't fall and re-injure myself.

Medical Adventures.

For anyone who has not heard the news, I will let you know. I've heard complaints that people were not told right away, so I figured I'd let all those who have not heard, and are on the blog mailing list, know about our latest medical adventures.
Jason and I took the kids roller skating on Wednesday night. Stacey had roller blades on for a while and decided that she wanted skates instead. I told her I'd help her exchange the blades for skates and we started heading to the counter on the carpet. As we were walking, my skates did something really weird causing me to lose my balance. I did the skates on the feet while trying to catch your balance dance and lost. My right foot turned to my right side and my knee followed causing me to collapse. In turn, I broke my fibula. For those who don't know anatomy well, the fibula is the smaller bone in your calves that forms the outer ankle bone. Needless to say, I was in quite a bit of pain and we headed to the ER. They splinted my leg, gave me crutches, a prescription for Percocet, and referred me to an orthopedist.
Today I saw the orthopedist that did a couple more x-rays to see if there is a possible need for surgery. He is kind of on the fence about the surgery. He's worried about some tendons on the inside portion of my ankle. If I've torn them, they need to be surgically repaired. The break is actually very stable and is not out of place at all. There was no expressed worry that the break will not heal. I've been told that some fibula breaks do not actually heal without medical help other than a cast. So now the biggest worry is the tendons. The break is just a break and will heal with the usual treatments.
He sent me home with a stabilizing boot and tightly wrapped my ankle with an ace bandage to hopefully help the swelling circulate out of my ankle and to see if I really did injure the tendons. I will go back on Monday to check on the swelling and to have my leg casted. If my leg and ankle do well in the boot for the weekend, the doctor will just leave the boot on.
A plus side to this is that I get a handicapped placard for 2 months. Sweet deal! I'm glad to have that because I cannot bear any weight on my foot for at least 2 weeks, but if my leg is put in a cast, it will be at least a month.
The down side is now I cannot continue to do my cardio workouts at the gym. I cannot do the Zumba which I was thoroughly enjoying. I was even starting to see results with weight loss and some strength and endurance. I guess I will just have to stick to upper body workouts until I can bear weight again.

Christmas 2010

We had a really good Christmas this year. It was our first Christmas in 2 years in our own house. We really enjoyed having our own Christmas tree. We also had Mary, Jason's mom, with us. It was fun. The kids really enjoyed her being here. She took them on some fun adventures, once they were out of school. The first week she was here, this kids still had an entire week of school left. She walked them to school everyday, which I'm sure they really loved.


Jason picked out this tree. He did a great job too. It was beautiful, full, and very fragrant. Loved walking into our house and smelling the tree.


This is was our tree was hidden behind on Christmas morning. We had a hard time walking around this because it was almost right in the middle of our living room.


Here's Stacey opening an iTunes gift card from grandpa Bob. She was so stoked to get it and the iPod alarm clock. She uses the alarm clock every night to listen to music.


Jayden got himself a Nintendo DS iXL. He's played that thing everyday since he got it.

Kail got himself a V-Tech Mobigo. He calls it his "DS". He has also played this thing everyday since he got it.

After our own Christmas at home, we went to my mom's and had a bigger family Christmas there. The kids got many more toys there. We also enjoyed crepes for brunch and a nice prime rib for dinner. It is out of Christmas tradition, but it was really good.
The kids got so much stuff, I had to rearrange rooms to fit it all. Stacey got a jewelry making kit, a stuffed animal making kit, a camping set for some of her dolls, the iPod alarm clock, 2 iTunes gift cards, some clothes from grandma Mary, some jewelry from uncle Chris and aunt Becky, a UDraw for the Nintendo Wii, a UDraw game, and a beautiful ballerina quilt and a Tinker Bell figurine from grandma Lori. Jayden got his DS, a case for his DS, a bunch of games from grandparents on both sides and Santa, legos, some clothes from grandma Mary, some spy gear from uncle Chris and aunt Becky, and a really cool Star Wars book from grandma Lori. Kail got his MobiGo, some games, clothes from grandma Mary, legos, a Nerf gun from grandpa Bob, and a V-Tech Tag Reader (one of those things that looks like a pen and reads to kids) from grandma Lori. All three of them got a stuffed toy with a matching blanket from great grandma Doris.
As you all can see, they kids did not have much room for wanting things this year. They made off like bandits.