catsup or ketchup or CATCH UP

ugh I have so much blogging to catch up with! like journal writing, blogging can feel overwhelming when you dont do it for so long and then want to get back in. where to begin? I'll try to give a brief overview and perhaps someday come back and fill in some details and add pictures.

1. In November 2010 we officially left our Eagle Mountain home and moved in with my parents. We lived there until Christmas. It was a wonderful time. Even though we only saw Brian on the weekends, it was great spending special time with my mom and dad. I had to drive the kids to school in EM/SS every day (and back) which was the worst part. I ended up spending 4 hours a day in the van (Savannah and Jainna in tow) which adds up to 20 hours a week. I also gained 15 pounds in 3 months. Not Fun.

2. Christmas was a blast. The 3 youngest kids each got one gift from Santa - the rest was a super fun scavenger hunt for the older kids. They got a few "family" gifts (wii games, books, dvd's), but the main part was a 4 week vacation touring California - including a week at Disneyland. The day after Christmas we left a snowy Utah and headed for Vegas. We stayed at a hotel for a few days while Brian did some work and the rest of us did some sight seeing and checked out the house we were going to start renting in January.

3. After Vegas, we went to Sunny Palm Springs and spent several days leading up to New Years with the Kirkby's. It was great - the kids spent most of the time in the pool. From PS, Brian had to go back to Vegas for a week to work and I took the kids to Irvine. We stayed with my cousin Char and her family. We had a different adventure almost every day. San Diego, LA, Newport, Swap Meet (yes Swap Meet is a city in California) - had a great time.

4. The next week was all Disney. What a fun time we had. Perfect weather and low crowds. With the Johnsons Handicap passes, we didnt have to wait in line more than 10 minutes for anything! My mom came with us and made it the perfect vacay! Brian and I wanted to amputate our feet afterwards, but we decided against it.

5. After Disney, Brian went back to Vegas for work and I took the kids up north to see my sister and her family in San Fran! It was a really long drive and I was so tired of driving at this point I wanted to declare that we were moving in. We had a bunch of day trips while with the Pattersons. Going into the city, jelly belly factory, tide pools, and aquarium in Monterey. Such a good time!

6. Finally it was time to quit playing and get serious about life. I was sick on the morning we had to leave, but I didnt have any choice. I needed to get my kids to Vegas so we could get in the schools and start our REAL adventure. I REALLY hated that drive - stomach cramps the whole way - and the thick fog for 4 hours didnt help either. But we made it safely and the next day (Friday) I got everyone checked into their schools.

7. Brianne has early morning seminary at 5:45 am. It's held at the high school, so she goes straight to her regular classes afterwards. She auditioned for the school musical the first week she was there. And they just had their performance two weeks ago. It was cute, despite her complaining of it being very disorganized, she really enjoyed being a part of it and is making friends. She also recently had her Patriarchal Blessing which was a very spiritual and inspiring event for her and us (her parents).

8. Hannah takes the bus to her school every morning. She says the kids on the bus are nice and friendly to her. She is making friends in her Beehive class and one of them lives just around the corner from us (although they are moving this weekend to a neighborhood down the road). She likes her classes - except for Dance. The teacher is completely clueless and has them doing "Just Dance" on the wii for the last 8 weeks. Hannah is a great student and doing us proud :)

9. Jackson and Maegann go to an elementary school just one subdivision over from us. They walk/ride bikes with the family from the ward around the corner (same as hannah's friend). The school has a Uniform/Dress Code that they have to adhere to. Both kids hate it, but they comply without too much trouble. Their teachers are nice and even Jacksons teacher lets him email some of his homework since he was having such a hard time doing it the traditional way (he hates writing, but will do it more willingly if he is typing on a computer - he is his father's child).

10. Savannah and Jainna just hang out with me all day. I got a gym membership for a place just down the street and it has FREE child care while you are exercising. Its made such a difference. I've only lost 12ish pounds, but i'm not gonna let that stop me.

11. I finished my year without candy. Although my girls say I cheated when we went to the Jelly Belly factory in San Fran. because I ate the sample jelly bellys while on the tour. It probably should be counted as a cheat - which is why I actually went one day longer than one year.

12. We had 4 broken bones in a 24 day period. First, Savannah fell on the stairs at home. We couldn't get an xray until the next day, and on the way to the doctor I got a call from the school that Jackson had fallen on the stairs at school. So I picked him up and brought him with us to the doctor. They were both diagnosed with broken left arms (Savannah near her elbow, and Jacksons near his wrist). Savannah had her cast removed last thursday (after 3 weeks), just before we went to Utah for Maegann's Baptism. (cast story to be continued in #14).

13. While in Utah, we had a beautiful baptism for Maegann and her cousin Emma. It was such a sweet and wonderful day. The Whipple girls sang a sweet song on Baptism. Its a new one I wasnt familiar with - hopefully Laura can respond what it was called. And our kids sang The Family is of God. Its our new favorite song. Maegann was very happy to have been baptized.

14. Mothers Day: While in Utah, about an hour before we were to leave for Vegas, Maegann was swinging on the swings at my mom's house and fell. She landed with both arms extended in front of her. She was taken to the ER and we found out she had broken BOTH arms. Her right arm was about the same severeness as the other kids, but her left arm was really bad. Her left radius bone had broken completely through and the broken section had moved out of place about half an inch. It needed to be "reduced" (meaning put back where its suppose to be), but it was very stubborn and took much more work and time than anticipated. The Orthopedic Surgeon really had to push, pull, twist, and bend to get it back in place. He was grunting and panting and putting his knee in it. It was so hard to watch - not because it was gross, but because I didnt like to see my baby that way. Her arm was being bent where it shouldnt bend and it made my heart sick. She wasnt completely conscious during the procedure. It was called "conscious sedation" where they gave her propofol that made her loopy and she wouldnt remember anything. We were warned however that she would "react" to the doctor's movements. She had a couple of funny moments where she blurted out "Jacob get OFF ME!" or "Libby, seriously, GET OFF!!!" The poor thing had been playing with her cousins the last two days and apparently thought they were still playing. But the best one of all was when she blurted out while trying to sit up "Cause baby youre a FIIIIIRE-WOOOORK" at the top of her lungs. Finally, what should have taken 5 minutes but ended up taking 45 minutes, they were able to get the radius bone where it needed to be. They put temporary casts on her and left us alone for her to finish waking up and get read to go. We asked her if she was feeling hungry and what she wanted for lunch. Instead of thinking of herself, she said we should go home and make a special lunch for mom since it was mothers day. What a sweet girl! Best Mothers Day gift ever :)

15. So to finish off, in a period of 24 days: 3 kids, 4 casts. It's pretty freaky. It was funny joke about at first that CPS might come after us, but I'm not really laughing about it any more. Not that I mind if others want to joke :) Thank heavens Savannah got her cast off last week, otherwise we'd be quite the freak show at church. Brian took Jackson and Maeg to the grocery store last night and said several people were giving them weird looks and one lady even approached him and demanded to know what happend. I'm glad it was him and not me.

So that's our life in a nutshell. I'll try to add some pictures to the blog, but we are having camera battery issues. Thanks to everyone who has blessed us and helped us over the last few months. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families and friends.