The Growl Prowl and Going “Gansta”

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

Well, we did it!! Our family finished our very 1^st 5K! (Alayna didn’t do it with us since she was still recovering from the scarlet fever.) It was a very cold morning (around 41° when we started), but it felt so great to finally do it! We all reached our main goal, which was to make sure we didn’t come in last (some cut it closer than others). As we reached the stadium, and headed in for the final stretch, they had an announcer who announced our names as we entered and then again when we crossed the finish line. It was invigorating and satisfying to see our success. Now we are contemplating doing the Turkey Trot next month.

(Where I found Marisa after the race)

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." -John Bingham, running speaker and writer

Artistic Talent Continues to Run in the Family

Kayla finished her art class at school. She had to make a book and create each page to go along with each art lesson. I took some pictures for you. She has a lot of talent. She loves to decorate and design. These pics don’t do it justice.

Alayna drew this elephant. She traced the main outline of the elephant and then drew everything else. I think it is beautiful! Plus, Alayna is my new decorator. She has been DYING to decorate for Halloween so I gave her the huge Halloween bucket and told her to have at it.

Update on Alayna

Alayna was still sick on Sunday but started eating. Her skin continued to chaff and peel off. I called the doctor Monday and they said that is the only medicine besides the one she was allergic to that kills the scarlet fever. So, she has had to suffer through it this week. Her skin is dry and cracked. My wonderful friend gave me some all natural diaper cream and we have been putting it all over her skin and she is doing so much better. She is back to running around and getting her strength back. Thanks to all of you who kept her in your prayers. We truly appreciated it!

Summer is Definitely Gone

Besides the cool, crisp weather, the leaves are turning and falling off the trees. I know people love the beauty of fall, but it just makes me sad because I know ice, freezing temps, and snow that never melts is on the way. But we try to make the best of it, so…

The kids requested pumpkins this year. I haven’t done them the past couple years because they are messy and so much work. They promised they would do it all and they did! They got 3 pumpkins, spent the afternoon carving, cooked the pumpkin seeds, and cleaned the whole thing back up. I’m loving this “kids-are-old-enough-to-do-things-without-me” stage.

(The one Tyler is holding was carved by Kayla, the skeleton was carved by Tyler and Alayna carved the traditional pumpkin face)

The girls had the stake Halloween dance last night. They spent weeks trying to decide what to be and went shopping everywhere with no luck. At the last minute, they decided to go “gansta”. Um, what? Ok…They ended up looking really cute though. I think Kayla has a little “gansta” in her.

Odds and Ends

We have the dogs for another week. The kids have done a great job taking care of them and taking them for walks.

Football and Homecoming

October 10, 2010

Football

The weather this week was amazing! It was so gorgeous and warm-even hot some days. Bob and the kids went out to play football in the back yard several evenings. Kayla is a force to be reckoned with. I think she should petition to play with the high school team! The girls also went to the LINN-Mar Homecoming football and we won at the end of a very intense game- the 1^st time in like 20 years.

I didn’t even know it still existed

This has been the longest, worst week I have had in a long time. I had a horrible week at work, but I won’t go into that now. But something else weird happened…

So, Tuesday night Alayna said she wasn’t feeling well and a rash had started on her chest. By the morning the rash spread from Alayna’s head all the way to her toes. Her stomach hurt and she felt like she was going to throw up. So, I frantically tried to find a sub for my classes. I had to drag her with me to my classroom to set stuff up for the sub and leave sub notes. She started feeling worse and the rash started spreading across her face, so I called the dr and they told me I should bring her in. They did a strep test (where she gagged and started crying) and sure enough, not only does she have strep but she has scarlet fever!! Scarlet fever??? I didn’t even know it still existed! So, I had to go get her some meds, and she almost threw up in the car. We got her on the medication and then her fever spiked. It took me 3 hours to rock her to sleep that night because she was so miserable and her stomach was in so much pain.

The next morning she was even sicker. We couldn’t get the fever down, she wouldn’t eat, and her stomach hurt. I rocked her 3 hours again that night. By morning, I knew something was seriously wrong. I called the doctor on call and we came to the conclusion that Alayna was allergic to the amoxicillin. Once we got her on the new meds, she started doing better. Her fever FINALLY went down and the severe stomach cramps subsided, until the next day. Yesterday, she laid down again all day. Stomach hurt, fever kept spiking and now her bum is all chapped. She has finally started to eat a little but its hard getting anything down her.

Last night she and I were up all night again. So, I missed my 1^st 5k (which I was so sad about) and I slept until 1:00 because I feel and look like death. She still has the fever today and still laying down. I hope she feels better soon- bless her heart, this hasn’t been a good week for her.

Homecoming

The big day finally arrived. Marisa and friends got together at 1:00 to start doing their makeup and hair. I guarantee the boys didn’t take that long to get ready. She went with David Kaiser and they went with a huge group of youth from our ward and 2^nd ward. All the girls looked so beautiful. Almost every dress had to be altered to make it modest, but I was so proud of the girls for doing it. Thanks to Grandma Hart for the amazing job on Marisa’s dress!

They had a homemade dinner at Alissa’s house. Then they went to the dance and then came back to the house and played games. It sounds like they all had a wonderful evening.

Pink Hair, Poems, and Partying Saturday

October 3, 2010

Pink Hair

So, we had pink day on Friday. My hair is so dark that it came out more red than pink. I added glitter too. My students were very impressed that I actually did it, although some were disappointed it wasn’t bright “fluorescent” pink. I took pics of all the teachers but you cant see them very well. Our blonder teachers wore wigs.

(Sara and I- but the pic doesnt capture the pink very well)

(Alayna wanted hers done too)

Saturday

I need a vacation from Saturdays!! This Saturday, Bob and I actually went on a lunch date! Then we went grocery shopping. We have been working hard to plan out meals and NOT take the kids shopping with us. You would be amazed by how much we save.

Kayla and Justine babysat Rory (Beth’s daughter. Beth works on my team at school). They came over here in the afternoon and played.

We made 4 apple pies and 4 loaves of banana bread. I am here to say that the apple peeler machine is the most amazing invention in the whole wide world!! It was 10 times easier making apple pies when I didn’t have to cut and peel all 24 apples by hand!! We also picked all the rest of our tomatoes and made homemade pizza sauce and put it on our homemade pizza. We also watched “Prince of Persia” while I folded all the laundry. Marisa had a Symphony All State clinic at UNI. Then she and her quartet came here to practice for the wedding they are playing for in a few weeks. It’s pretty cool cooking in the kitchen while being serenaded by beautiful classical quartet music! Sara (who I work with) also came over with her daughter, Lanie,  to take a break from work, hang out, and help me with the pies.

(The peel from the apple machine)

(Alayna and Lanie making pies)

(Justine holding Rory while she wakes up from her nap)

(Kayla using the most amazing invention ever)

(Lanie, Alayna, and Rory playing Spongebob operation)

(Quartet practice)

(Playing on the playground)

(Getting the extra cinnamon apples)

(Rory, Alayna, Lanie)

(In the giant cardboard stove box they made into a fort)

(Playing football)

(Playing football- Tyler got tackled when Kayla jumped on his back and took him down)

(Alayna reading to Rory)

New stove

Bob got the new stove put in!! I was so excited! Tyler and Alayna wanted to make ramen for lunch. I threatened their lives if they made even one iota of a mess on the new stove. Well, I guess the ramen overflowed, Alayna got scared (knowing her very existence was in danger) so she used a washcloth to start cleaning it while it was still on. It burnt the washcloth, stained the stove, and scared her to death. So, we are still trying to scrub it off and she felt awful. I felt worse than she actually thought I was serious. Poor thing. I guess this is how we learn.

Poem Alayna wrote about herself using the letters of her name (in red)

Amazing

I Like pizza

A girl

Yo mama

Likes kNock knock jokes

HAs never been stung by a bee

Hungry

HAs friends

Rabbit lover

smarT