Who knew???

Recently we were tagged by my cousin Kristi. The topic is "6 things people don't know about you". Hmmmmmm.......................
1.Marley is a pig! She eats as much for a meal as I do sometimes...and several times a day. The exact opposite of Miley.
2. Mason has 3 jobs. He works for Elko county as the Juvenile and Family Court Master. Then he hears the child support cases for a couple of counties south of us. They don't have enough cases for a full-time Court Master, so they asked Mason (who is known far and wide for being a great Hearing Master!) to come down a day or two each month. He also teaches a political science class at the college here.
3. Miley is the greatest pretender. She often makes me be a puppy or baby. We play that we are pirates, racers, and ballerinas all the time. She will take anything (food, toys, sticks, etc) and they become little mommies and daddies. Such a great imagination!
4. Mandy would really like to go back to school and get her Master's degree or Juris Doctorate. It probably won't happen until all the kids are in school though!
5. Mason has only got upset with Mandy once or twice in their whole marriage. He is very, very kind and patient!
6.We love the gospel of Jesus Christ so much! This may not be big news to anyone, but I don't think we express our gratitude for the blessings we receive enough.

Happy Halloween

We had such a great Halloween season this year! A week before Halloween we had a party at our home for a few friends. It was so fun. And then the kids had a blast at the various Halloween parties and trick-or treating. Mason and I had planned on being M & M's, but when we got to the store he saw a whoopee cushion costume that he HAD to have. So ofter pondering long and hard about what I could be that goes with a whoopee cushion, I decided to be an air freshener. It turned out cute and got lots of laughs. Miley was a very adorable princess complete with a "bippity-boppity-boo" (her wand). Marley was a little mustard covered hot dog. They were precious as always!!

San Francisco

Mason had to go to San Francisco for a week for a work conference, and the rest of us decided to tag along. Who can resist San Francisco? It was a long 9 hour drive to get there, and once we did get there we found out that there had been a goof up at work and that we didn't have a confirmed reservation. But after we found a hotel to stay at, the rest of the trip was a blast! The girls and I relaxed all day, and then when Mason got done we would go someplace fun each night. We went to Chinatown, Japantown, Fisherman's Wharf, Peir 49, and other really great places. It was a wonderful little trip!

My Man Mitt

Recently Mason got a call from on old intern friend of his from DC asking if he knew anyone in the Elko area who could volunteer to help out for an upcoming Mitt Romney visit. Mason, of course, said his dear wife would love to (he knew I would kill him if he didn't). So for a week I have been making calls and coordinating. Then the day before his visit, the campaign guy called and asked if I would be willing to do a BORING Job......sit in the holding room with the Governor and make sure people don't come in and bother him. I almost wet my pants. It was a lot of fun! Governor Romney spent most of the time giving press interviews, but it was cool just to watch. Mason came and watched the event (with all the regular people, not in the back with the special people like me!) Romney told a great story about a boy scout troop who bought a flag and sent it to their state capital and the capital building in DC to have it flown. It was so special to them and then they got the wild idea to send it to space. Miraculously NASA agreed! They watched the shuttle take off with their flag and were so excited....right until the shuttle exploded. It was the Challenger shuttle in 1986. The scout leader called every week for several months to see if they had found a piece of their flag, but never had any luck. Then about a year after the explosion, he found out they had found something. The whole troop went to NASA to be presented with something. It was in a water tight canister and when they opened it up to see what was left, they found their whole flag completely intact!! I thought it was a great story!

Rubber Chicken Party

It was recently my friend Memori's birthday. Memori is a wonderful, fun, creative, and genuine gal who my family loves! We think she is one hot mama! So for her birthday my friend Laura Cooper and I decided to throw her a surprise party. Since she has an odd, but endearing, love of rubber chickens, we made that our theme. Laura made a Rubber Chicken cake, and I came up with games and decor. It was a blast!

My Quilt

When we first saw our home 3 years ago, it was full of quilts. The lady who lived here was a quilting genius and made the most beautiful creations. I decided the that I was going to learn to quilt. Since then I have made a few quilt tops, but have always had to pay someone mega-bucks to do the actual quilting. So I decided to take a quilting class at the local quilt shop and this is my creation! It is very, very far from perfect, but turned out cute for my first complete try!

Teeth

A while back I decided to take Miley to the dentist. When she was younger we had to give her iron drops and it left dark spots on her two front teeth. They were supposed to fade, but hadn't. I finally decided the dentist was our best option. When we got there he discovered that Miley had several cavities. Way more than most two-year-olds. They were also in weird places, not just in-between teeth like normal. Of course, I felt like a horrible mother until he asked if she had ever had high fevers. Well we told him that she had basically had really high fevers her whole first year because of her vesicoureteral reflux (VUR). He then explained that if people have bad fevers while their teeth are developing, the teeth will get weak spots. That is what happened to Miley. So we made an appointment with a pediatric dentist at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. After our vacation, Mason came back to Elko to work and I stayed in SLC with the two girls by myself (totally stupid move). Tuesday, July 15th we went to the appointment. They did a quick look and told us that the next day they would be doing surgery to fix the cavities and possibly a root canal. They take little kids into an operating room sometimes so they can give them anesthesia and then its easier to do the work.
So the next day was a nightmare for me. I know its just teeth, but I was still freaked out. I had to drag both kids to the hospital by myself at 6 am. They gave Miley something to drink to knock her out and then laid her in a wagon. As they were pulling her away I was told I wouldn't be able to see her after surgery because I had Marley with me, and kids weren't allowed in the recovery room. Well I was already tired and stressed and that information sent me over the edge. I called my cousin bawling. My cousin was very sick and very pregnant but she drove all the way from Bountiful to come get Marley. I then went and sat in the parents waiting room. I watched as doctors came in and told the parents their child was okay. After about an hour my doctor came in and said, "Would you mind coming into a private consultation room with me?". I almost started to cry again. It turns out though that she just likes to talk to parents in private. Miley had done great, she just didn't like to talk in front of others, like all the other doctors. It took Miley awhile to come out of it, but she didn't have any side effects from the anesthesia like they thought she would. She did super! And I am so glad it is over!