The Life of Enhanced Children

The Neatest Thing I Have Ever Seen

2011-12-02T14:29:00.002-07:00

The light display that we like so much has moved this year because of the traffic flow.

http://www.holdman.com/christmas/

However he also worked on this display in Florida... and I would absolutely love to have it here!

Priorities and Orphan Sunday

2011-11-06T01:56:00.008-06:00

Black ice.

A car accident.

Concerns about money.

Oh by the way… nobody was killed.

Priorities.

I think it’s time for a bit of a reality check… a priority reminder.

I think people are forgetting… what really matters.

I am unable to forget.

Little boy fighting his 4th battle with cancer.

http://enhancedchildren.blogspot.com/2011/10/jake-dylan-updates-bone-marrow-donation.html

Family burying their 2nd son in 16 months.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/jazz/52845004-78/tyson-peterson-family-brown.html.csp

Father of ten killed when he hits black ice. (More about Derek below.)

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2009/12/25/Christian-singer-Loux-dies-in-road-crash/UPI-93781261761420/

How about if we forget for a minute about the money… and think about what COULD have happened.

How about we be grateful that DIDN’T happen?

How about we be grateful that these 4 kids still have their Dads? While so many other ones do not?

How about we be grateful that our Ali, was born here and not in a country where she may very well be an 11 pound 9 year old… instead of a 50 pound 9 year old?

http://theblessingofverity.com/

What if the money was gone tomorrow?

What would you have left?

What if that car accident had not ended the way it did?

Would you have any regrets?

It is Orphan Sunday…

I would like to remind you of Derek, both for Orphan Sunday and just also as a reminder about priorities.

In Honor of Derek Loux

http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Honor-of-Derek-Loux/218932657260?sk=photos#!/pages/In-Honor-of-Derek-Loux/218932657260?sk=wall

Loux Family Blog – more here:

http://louxfamilyblog.com/2009/12/

Derek, a faithful servant of the Lord, was husband to Renee Loux for 17 years and father to ten children, several with special needs.

The Louxs’ two biological daughters, Sophia (12) and Michaela (9), were joined by five adopted daughters from the Marshall Islands: Telma (19), Teyolla and Keyolla (twins, 18), Leeann (15), and Sana (8).

Of their three adopted sons from the Ukraine, Sasha (7), Ethan (6), and Silas (3), two have Down syndrome and one has spina bifida.

Late in the evening on December 22, after attending a training seminar on how to save children out of the sex slave industry, Derek and his friend Jonathan, began their return drive home from Colorado.

They hit a patch of black ice as they drove through a Nebraska snowstorm, causing their vehicle to spin out of control and flip several times.

Jonathan and a witness of the accident immediately performed CPR on Derek while waiting for the ambulance. Derek was given several different drugs to revive him and after an hour, he regained a pulse.

The doctor’s told the Loux family that Derek had been without a pulse for over an hour and that while being transported to a larger trauma care hospital, his heart rate began to drop and he passed away.

Derek’s life passion was adopting and restoring orphans, particularly those with special needs. He pioneered the vision of the Orphan Justice Center, a haven of restoration for rescued orphans.

Derek and Renee’s firstborn son, Josiah, a special needs child, passed away when he was 2½ years old.

Josiah’s life and death opened the Louxs’ eyes to a whole new world of love for children with special needs.

10 kids when Derek died….

1 year later in December 2010?

Yep… there are two more now.

Renee is determined to continue their mission, even though Derek isn’t here with her to do it.

I would suggest that you visit her blog to see how you can help.

And… maybe read a bit of it. Might give you a different perspective.

Where are your priorities?

http://louxfamilyblog.com/

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Favorite Educational Things

2011-11-03T00:44:00.000-06:00

This was one I was actually looking at getting for Christmas... then I found it on Youtube.

Liberty's Kids - History Cartoon Series

They are really enjoying it. We do A LOT of reading... but for History and Science it is also nice to have something else.

We have the Leapfrog Math/Reading videos along with others.
We have the Signing Time videos.
We have videos about Trains, Planes and Helicopters.

There isn't as many videos about History or Science though. So Liberty's Kids fit the bill for History. The DVD's are on Amazon too.

We love Usborne books. Encyclopedias, individual topics... almost all of them.

We love Picture Book Biographies.

We like the books Meredith Hamilton illustrates... the Ballet and Orchestra ones we have both come with CD's. I am sure the Night Sky, Environment, World and Poetry won't be far behind.

We still love Starfall.com

We love Enchanted Learning, some is free... some is not. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html

Headsprout is our favorite for learning to read or learning comprehension... not free, but you do have a free trial to see if it'll work for your child. http://www.headsprout.com/

We are loving "Junior Novels"....
Tangled, A Bug's Life, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dolphin Tale, Cat in the Hat, Tinkerbell, The Nutcracker, Beauty and The Beast, Little Mermaid... there are a bunch of them (and those are all in our "for birthday or Christmas box" as we speak.)

A good middle ground for the 7 year old who is reading 100-200 page books but probably shouldn't be reading many that are that length. 115-150 page books about subjects she likes. They have tons of Disney ones... for each princess along with others. All the movies have a Junior Novel for it as well.

You can even match up the smaller books for other siblings.
Tinkerbell, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid...
I got the Junior Novels for Peanut and the Read Along's for Ali. She LOVES to listen to someone ELSE read the books.

Read-Along books... also found Nemo, Cars, Toy Story, Curious George... and others. Walmart had them for $5 online. Stocking up on those too. We are good on books through both birthdays and Christmas, plus through most of the year.

I am very sure there is more... but those are the ones we are very much into at the moment.

Jake & Dylan Updates - Bone Marrow Donation

2011-10-27T01:03:00.005-06:00

Are you on the list?

http://marrow.org/Home.aspx

I know you all remember seeing this back in August of 2008:

I know you all remember hearing lots about this:

I KNOW you all remember seeing this:

I don't believe that I ever showed you this one a year later...

Now... it is time to let you know that Jake is still doing well.
He is still in remission and is going to the Oncology Clinic every 6 months instead of every 3.
Oh and he just turned 14... *yikes*

Unfortunately, the other young man who was in this situation before Jake has not been so lucky.

Children with DS get Leukemia more frequently... they also have a better prognosis than typical kids.

However, other kinds of cancer are not as common. Lymphoma appears to be particularly uncommon.

1. He was diagnosed a year before Jake... August 2007 with non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The same kind as Jake.

2. He then relapsed 2 weeks after Jake was diagnosed in August 2008... he got a stem cell transplant in February 2009.

3. Before treatment was even finished he developed another form of cancer due to the transplant. He went into remission again in December 2009.

4. Now, in October 2011... the type of Lymphoma he got after his stem cell transplant has returned.

His 4th battle with Lymphoma.

This 15 year old boy who LOVES music, just like Ali... NEEDED a bone marrow transplant but they could not find a match.

Now they will have to look into other options after this round of treatment.

There are many other people, including many other children who are in need of bone marrow transplants.

Are you on the list?

http://marrow.org/Home.aspx

Please... Imagine if YOUR child needed a bone marrow transplant... wouldn't you want everyone to see if they were a match?

Can you imagine the helplessness of knowing that your child could be saved, if only that person who was a match had decided to be a donor?

Just put yourselves in the shoes of one of those parents... that's all I ask.

Lambs Canyon…. Valaine Briggs Cold Case - 34 years later.

2011-10-19T02:24:00.000-06:00

This is one of those posts that has been sitting there and not posted... but none of the other ones are ready to go... so I guess it is time.

My kids love to hike… they love the outdoors.

Sadi just climbed most of the time we were there…

Both of them took attitudes if I objected to anything they did. lol

They had a great time….

They have no idea the reason we go to this canyon…. they have no idea what happened there 34 years ago.

Valaine Briggs - Cold Case Murder - May 1977

http://updsl.org/cold-cases/briggs-valaine

Ted Bundy had been in Utah… had left a surviving victim. His arrest occurred just in time to eliminate him as a suspect.

Rodney Alcala… also eliminated.

There’s a pretty long list of “so close, but no....” suspects.

Fortunately we have this detective on Valaine's case... I would love for it to be solved while Valaine's parents are alive:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705391446/Experts-gather-in-Salt-Lake-to-discuss-cold-cases-including-05-Magna-killing.html

In February, Todd Park, who has received numerous recognitions for his work on cold case crimes, was selected as the newest member of the exclusive 82-member Vidocq Society.

News article about Valaine's case from 2010:

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/Who-killed-Valaine-Briggs/Uopzf0xfM0KOdTIPWotbZg.cspx

Video with contact information is at the end of the post.

These pictures are from May… we went up there on the 34 year anniversary.

To get a more accurate idea of the weather/area on the actual date(s) that my cousin, Valaine Briggs was abducted and dumped in the canyon.

Back then this was still a drivable road… so driving up this road would have been possible in a regular sized vehicle.

It’s hard to imagine what would go through someone’s mind while driving or walking up that road, having committed that crime.

Ali is almost in the exact spot in this picture. Just up and to the left…

This is the view from the spot… not really the place you’d commit a crime. Interstate… off ramp… canyon road…

Though if you had a large vehicle… and/or didn’t know the area it would be a good place.

Visible from the interstate and a place to park… so a big vehicle (even a semi) could park there and walk/drag.

Or a smaller vehicle could always drive the short distance up the above roads if you maybe did know the area?

So many possibilities. I just hope that Valaine was the first and only victim.

Those rocks now block where you would drive in to the dirt road… they were not there 34 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=opnl7IzqJGs

The Healing Field – 9/11

2011-10-13T00:19:00.000-06:00

This year… we managed to get out here… across the street from the statues in the previous entry.

Since the girls are VERY aware this year of what 9/11 was… I decided we should go. And we did, more than once.

We were there before the flags had nametags… and when they were putting the nametags on.

We were there to pick up the nametags that blew off… and find where that nametag went.

We had planned to go with the whole family… but there was that whole hip surgery thing.

It didn’t stop us from going back though… and Sadi from finding the German flag.

We walked through every single row of flags.

We stopped at many of the flags.

We read names on the flags… who they were, where they died… all those things.

Fortunately… or unfortunately… we did not have/take the time to read every single name. But we read a lot of them.

We were there for so long we had to take breaks.

We planned to come back to see the bronze statues… which we did.

We saw a helicopter fly over…

And then… before the month of September was even over, another flag and laminated name tag was created...

Lyndsey, 27, passed away on September 23rd, 2011, due to a tragic car accident.

She was the Director of Operations for Colonial Flag foundations.

She loved her work and was an instrumental part of the 9/11 healing fields project across the nation.

Lyndsey was selfless, loving and passionate. She had a heart of gold underneath her sarcastic, "smart-ass" exterior.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/obituary.aspx?n=lyndsey-kim-jacobson&pid=153845471

That intersection to the left of the flag in the first picture, is where the accident occurred… the flag is where the car ended up… the next intersection down the street is where the Healing Field is.

I am surprised that it didn’t get more coverage, given how close it was to 9/11.

http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-state-street-crash-woman-killed-in-sandy-crash-20110923,0,3618013.story

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/Woman-killed-in-Sandy-crash/A-WgTq-LAUa4udPOZ-jGog.cspx

Media coverage or not… we certainly noticed and wanted to recognize Lyndsey.

Hope Rising–Statues at the Healing Field

2011-10-07T00:25:00.001-06:00

I reversed these, because I can... there was less statue pictures, they got finished first... time has been limited with the hip issues... plus the kids have been sick forever I think... maybe only a few weeks. When we get one issue cleared up another pops up... This is why I'm never going to catch up... even though I hardly take pictures anyway.

The Healing Field is the next entry even though we went there first.

After we had been to the Healing Field a few times… and after Nana’s hip dislocated and we knew the whole family wasn’t going to be able to go… we went back for the statues.

After supervising a “not killing each other” moment between the animals… we were ready to go.

9 foot tall firefighters…directly across from 3,000 American Flags almost as tall.

That’s definitely an awe inspiring sight.

We wanted to go while there was still flowers and things…

We will be going back again… it was actually pretty warm that day…

Hip and Flags

2011-10-01T00:21:00.001-06:00

Nana had a hip replacement over Thanksgiving. It went really well (that should have been a sign.)

December was a hectic month… we had the usual holiday activities… funerals… everything.

We were preparing for both a funeral and family Christmas party… late night/early morning when on December 16 her hip replacement dislocated.

She was simply standing there. not twisting or bending or even walking. (I was there.)

It takes “trauma” to dislocate your hip replacement.

We didn’t know for sure that is what it was… since there was no trauma... so she actually pulled herself back up the stairs and waited several hours before going in. Which of course required getting back down the stairs.

I don’t remember if that time she slid herself down or if we carried her in the wheelchair. Either way, it was unpleasant.

They went to the hospital… they yanked on it and popped it back in. Papa said this was “really cool.” (Nana disagreed.)

They also put her in a brace to prevent that from happening again. She was to wear it for 6 weeks. It came off like February 7th.

The doctor said “this happens to 1 in 100 patients… it just happens sometimes.”

Then, on February 11 we were watching the Jazz game after Jerry Sloan’s resignation. The kids were in bed…

Nana was IN bed. All the sudden she was crying, screaming and swearing.

I was stunned. Again? Seriously?

It takes “trauma” to dislocate your hip replacement… and I don’t think Jerry’s resigning counts.

I went and got my brother, the wheelchair and the 4runner.

So they went to the hospital and they yanked on it again and popped it back in.

They put her back in the brace to prevent it from happening again.

“This just happens sometimes.”

Her next check up was February 22nd. However, the night before on February 21st… it dislocated again.

She was standing there. She was wearing the brace. It didn’t come all the way out this time. Maybe the brace helped.

It popped out again in the hospital after they popped it back in.

So apparently the magic number is 3. After 3 dislocations they do another surgery.

That wasn’t a pretty announcement.

This is approximately how it dislocated those 3 times. Out and up.

Easy to tell… the leg is much shorter and you can feel that it is out to the side.

So she had her second hip surgery, after 4 dislocations. The end of February. She wanted to wait till after the Bon Jovi concert in March but the doctor said no, she could just go in a wheelchair after the surgery.

So he put a “lip” on it… so that cup you see in the x-ray… it can’t pop out that way because there is a lip on the one side.

The first one also wasn’t long enough, he lengthened it. Okay cool… everybody thinks we are all good.

Meantime, I make sure I know where the wheelchair is at all times… (call me pessimistic… or call me prepared. It works for me.)

So she is supposed to do exercises and be walking to strengthen her leg. Clearly, not supposed to be bedridden. Works up to walking almost a mile… on the street because driveways are sloped and that freaks her out.

So… all goes well until September 7th. Nana is just standing in the kitchen and her hip pops. Not OUT, just pops.

Of course… everyone completely freaks out… silently. She calms down and realizes it is okay… and goes back upstairs. She calls her doctor the next day… and “this is something that happens sometimes.”

On September 9th, she calls her doctor and asks if she can go out to put ribbons on the trees.

They say that would be “fabulous.”

We were just relaxing that Friday… trying on some new long sleeve/jackets that we got.

(19 long sleeves and jackets for $18. A few are for Christmas.)

We decide to go out and put some ribbons on the trees before 9/11. It was Friday 9/9.

We cleared out some extra branches so they would be out of the way and gave them to the horses…

We got some yellow ribbon out to tie on the trees… only the ones on the flat ground.

Papa did the “bumpy” or “sloping” ones… Nana was too paranoid about her hip to walk on uneven ground.

Even though she was 6 months out from her 4th dislocation and 2nd hip replacement.

Dislocation is “unheard” of after 3 months.

Put some flags in… (Nana wouldn’t do it, no bending over.) Ali had been riding her bike.

Then we came inside… the kids ate and went to bed.

Thinking that the ribbons were pretty awesome and excited about seeing them the next day..

Uncle Riley headed out to the track… I attempted to get caught up on some pictures.

Nana was just upstairs standing next to her bed looking in a box and Papa was working on the computer.

All was well… for a couple of hours.

And then the cat (who joined us in May) had a new experience… and the dog and I heard an all too familiar sound.

4 letter words… accompanied by some crying/screaming and the word “hip” thrown in there.

At that point… you almost go into automatic “go get the wheelchair, bring the 4runner around” mode.

The dog kind of just sighed and went back to sleep… she knows to stay out of the way.

The cat… went a little bit nuts.

So… this time it wasn’t obvious… it wasn’t the same as the last 4 times. I was not prepared to say “It’s dislocated, it just went the other way.” So I just kind of let them decide what to do.

Knocking her out and waiting till morning was the conclusion.

So the next morning… she stalled… didn’t want to go back to the hospital.

So the kids entertained her a bit…

We had everything ready to go though…

Not that anyone was thrilled about it…

So before they left for the hospital… I warned Papa that this was not the same as last time.

This wasn’t going to be a “run in and yank and run back out with a brace on” situation.

I showed him the rather sickening x-ray… (creeped him out) and told him that he should be prepared. This wasn’t going to be easy…

It was difficult to get back in… and I wasn’t sure how they would do it.

I wanted him to be prepared… without freaking her out.

I tried to find an x-ray of a anterior hip replacement dislocation... I couldn't find it.

They went in… and they couldn’t get it back in.

The doctor couldn’t get it back in.

The doctor tried with her knocked out in the OR and couldn’t get it back in.

So finally… almost 72 hours after it initially dislocated her original surgeon came in… (yep it was over a weekend.)

He doesn’t do on call. He doesn’t work weekends.

Of course he doesn’t.

So he came in and simply did a third surgery in 9 months.

So this time… they put a “cage” around it. Which, apparently is something like the below x-ray. (I decided not to ask her to verify it's the same thing... since this is the only x-ray I could find of it.)

Which obviously from the below x-ray… in addition to being ewwwwww… does not make it impossible to dislocate either.

That is just fabulous. I am just going to pretend this x-ray was the result of a horrendous car accident or something. It has to be. Then again, how many hip replacements dislocate without trauma in the first place?

Because seriously? If we hear a loud noise, whether it is a thump from the cat knocking something over... or someone laughing... or yelling at the cat... we all stop breathing... until there is not crying and 4 letter words with "hip" thrown in there. .

Ali is however in the clear, her hip x-rays came back good.

Cat, Dog, Fire, Sunset

2011-09-28T00:43:00.000-06:00

The other day Ali took a few pictures…

As did Sadi…. The cat was well restrained so she couldn’t go after the dog…

Ali, watching Signing Time and Ali’s “stuff.” Drawing thing, “car”, bunny, dictionary and her Berenstain Bears books.

They called in a tanker in addition to the helicopters and other air support…

They were all working on it together.

The lake is just across the road… so that is helpful.

They had this out in 12 hours…

The plane dumping on the fire…

After we watched the fire we went up to see Grandma… and Grandma from the cabin was there too.

We decided Sadi’s bangs needed to be cut while we were there.

Chilled and played… and read some books…

Watched the sunset…

Then headed home.

Ziggy’s favorite place… in front of a lap top… or sleeping on top of it if you happen to move too much.

Or she steals your chair.

I am telling you… the cat is strange. Very strange.

The dog sleeps in the bin to get away from the cat.

So the cat sleeps on the chair, so she can still get to the dog.

This cat doesn’t have a sense of self preservation. The middle of the floor… NOT a good place to lay.

Going Places…

2011-09-25T00:10:00.000-06:00

Sadi made her own horse with a box and a shoelace…

Ziggy…

We went to pick up the Jeep and got to chill in Uncle Ernie’s Oasis…

Our trip to the Aquarium…

They both actually touch the rays this time… and the sharks were closer too…

Also saw the Penguins a bit better, they were a bit more active…

So they were swimming around by the window… and we got so the kids actually watched them.

It was a nice change…

The frogs and toads are still the favorites…

Our favorites… and the new things… are very interesting.

The Caiman.. the Python… and I still think this thing looks like a Triceratops…

Sunset…

Playing, Organizing and Sleep Study

2011-09-22T00:19:00.000-06:00

Playing…

Sadi’s picture wall…

The books I *hope* will get Sadi through until Christmas…

What I find on the table, the chair, the couch, the bed….

We organized… animal bin, vehicle bin, blocks bin…

Craft bin and then everything else bin… which includes phones, hats, jewelry, microphones, etc.

Also went through clothes to figure out what we needed and didn’t need.

This is what we had, before determining what fit and didn’t fit…

Dresses and dress shirts. We will have a few more “casual dresses.”

Leggings and bodysuits. Ali’s two drawers of jeans and other pants.

30 Tank tops – 25 t-shirts – 5 long sleeve shirts – 14 turtlenecks and the 10 hoodies/jackets that are hanging up.

We will have like 20 more long sleeve shirts which we needed (most of those didn’t fit which is why I put 5) and at least 1 more jacket... we had 1 that fit.

Shorts…. Sadi on the left and Ali’s in the middle. A few warm jammies, sweat pants and sweatshirts. Ali’s new socks.

The only thing we have struggled to find is the athletic pants. Simply because I won’t pay $8 for them… I want them cheaper. Sorry… I am my father’s daughter, not my mother’s. I can find them for $5 or less, somewhere.

I got the long sleeve shirts for about $1.25 each. We have sweatpants in the meantime and 3 pairs of other pants too.

We also had Sadi’s sleep study in August. She fell asleep in ten minutes. *sigh*

Obviously hooking her up to a bunch of wires is how you get her to go to sleep quickly?

Swimming and Playing

2011-09-19T00:19:00.000-06:00

Chilling with our babies, hats and glasses…

Chilling with our other glasses, necklaces, hats and the cat…

Giving the cat a hug…

~~Freezing…~~ Swimming…

Learned how to put our face under water…

Sadi decided she had enough of the water…

Sadi rode her bike and played with the wagon…

While we opened up the filter to drain a bit of the pool to put hot water in.

Little Miss Purple after swimming…

Chilling with the cat and dog after swimming…

Wedding and Cabin

2011-09-16T00:23:00.000-06:00

We had a busy August… one weekend we had 3 weddings plus the girls had a family reunion. (I’m getting there, I’m getting there.)

Then another weekend we went to the cabin, then left and went to a sleep study that night.

Had fruit at the cabin… our horses will make lots of noise when you go outside… to make you think they haven’t been fed. They kids are the same way, even if they have JUST eaten in the truck they are always starving.

Grandma from the cabin, fruit, bubbles. Nuff said.

Speech therapy….

Played with toys as well…

Saw some birds and deer…

Went for a ride…

Back to those weddings… one was our neighbor. They have been together for a few years and got married for the right reasons. So it was really neat. His son is like my girl’s other Uncle. He has 3 kids and she has 2.

We stopped there on the way back from… oh yes, the cabin, after the reunion. I thought I should let them get out a little before I tried to put them to bed. So instead of going to bed… we went to the after party at the wedding.

I didn’t realize there was a dance floor and a DJ at this wedding. Ali… was ecstatic. Sadi… was less than thrilled.

But, she got pulled out there to dance…

Then Ali got to dance with the groom…

While Sadi danced with Uncle Riley…

Then it was mostly just Ali and Sadi. Sadi? She is dancing now ONLY because they are playing Michael Jackson.

I think it might be time to head out… most everyone else is leaving, Sadi is tired and Ali is red.

If every wedding was like THAT, I might choose them over funerals more often!

Jeep

2011-09-13T00:08:00.000-06:00

One day a few days ago someone said… “how hard would it be to put seats in the Jeep?”

And I said “I don’t know but it can be done.”

So we discovered they don’t both fit in the backseat. But that’s cool, because there is no airbags.

So then we established that the shoulder belts don’t lock until a collision.

So this is where I turned blonde.

I started looking for a locking clip, because of course I would need one, since the belts don’t lock.

It then hit me… there is a reason we LIKE older Chrysler or GM products for car seats if it has to be an older vehicle.

Many of the LAP belts lock. You tighten it… then you can’t loosen the lap belt.

It also occurred to me that there is locking clips on the back of the seats.

And people wonder why I get lost going somewhere I’ve been a thousand times… I have put seats in dozens of Chrysler & GM vehicles and used the locking clip on the back of the Nautilus several times. It just didn’t occur to me.

So, once I figured all that out… it literally took less than 5 minutes to put both seats in.

Ali – back passenger…

Sadi – front passenger. Mostly to avoid argument from Sadi. Ali didn’t care.

I never thought I would be ASKED to put seats in this vehicle. I thought it was the “kid free” zone.

Ali just jumped on the tire and climbed in… Sadi used the door.

We got in a few minutes early so they could check it out.

We concluded they approved…

They are wise beyond their years. A healthy dose of skepticism and/or prayer is wise when riding with Grandpa.

It did not curb their enthusiasm however… (I don’t know why we circled our garage door opener.)

Outta here…

After we ate… heading back home…

The next morning they wanted to go for a ride in the Jeep. I think Papa’s truck might be second best now… good thing we cannot put car seats in a Porsche!

Grandpa also went swimming the other day…

Which means the ball comes out of the pool a lot more… and there is a lot more splashing…

There is also lots of “running away…”

While the dog and the butterfly observe from a somewhat safe distance…

24th of July–Clothes sorting

2011-09-10T00:19:00.002-06:00

I still haven’t posted the 4th of July weekend… but I’m getting there. One thing we didn’t do was the fireworks… because everyone was busy puking. Then the verdict July 5th certainly didn’t help.

Anyway. So we went to the fireworks July 24th instead… and we decided to go to new ones… up the canyon and over the water. Which we thought were pretty cool.

We also of course went to see Grandpa a few times during July…

Ziggy got to experience fireworks… (along with a rainstorm… that was funny.)

One night I had to go to the store… and Sadi didn’t want to go. So, I just took Ali.

Ali, was quite excited about this whole idea. Apparently the prospect of going somewhere ALONE was very enticing!

So… we went shopping at like 10pm. lol

One day when the Aquarium was way too busy we went to Cabela’s instead…

It’s a reasonable alternative….

Lots of decorations and animals… and nothing I have any desire to buy…

Plus, there is fish too.

We had these shirts for July this year. Which the girls picked out… Sadi wore them once, when we were putting up the pool.

At that point she concluding that it was uncomfortable. Apparently she can feel the glitter through the shirt. If it wasn’t JULY I would have put another shirt underneath it… but I just put her in another shirt.

However, that brings me to the organizing that I have been doing.

Leggings… which Sadi will wear.

The pants Ali will wear in addition to leggings.

The pants Sadi will wear… in addition to leggings. She will not wear jeans, period.

These are like legging material but look like carpenter shorts. I am trying to get things that look like what Ali wears… without getting those leggings that look like jeans. You don’t know what it took to convince Sadi to wear these. She refused to believe they were NOT jeans and SHE picked them out IN THE STORE.

Socks, are one thing that we have solved… for now. Seamless socks.

Sadi has twelve pairs of socks plus a couple others she will wear and Ali has like 50 now.

When you buy two pairs of shorts, pants, socks… for two kids and then one kid stops wearing them… you end up with nothing for that child and twice as much for the other child.

So… we are gathering athletic pants for Sadi… I could fight this. But really? "There are bigger battles than forcing a child with sensory issues to wear clothes that bother her. Save your energy." (According to her therapist.)

She still has to WEAR clothes, I’m just not going to be anal about what kind they are. I am doing my best to find cute girl clothes she will wear... but other than leggings there aren't many. I am not going to teach her that she's not good enough if she is dressed like a guy.

So... when you see Sadi wearing her basketball shorts and Ali wearing her jean shorts... that would be the reason why. Sadi will still wear dresses (non itchy ones) and skirts (not jean ones) so we are also trying to do those more. But I think she is probably just destined to be a tomboy.

Swimming…. and Raining…

2011-09-07T00:13:00.000-06:00

I think we can officially say that the pool is a success…

Ali gets in and stays in until I make her get out. She is purple or blue when she gets out.

I am seriously considering a wet suit for her next year.

Sadi stays in a while, then gets out and rides her bike to warm up… then gets back in.

Sadi thinks she is a seal and Ali thinks she is a fish or a frog. It’s hilarious.

Ziggy has been chilling outside a bit… first time we’ve had an inside cat.

This day we checked the weather and it was clear.

Right up until the clouds rushed in… and we rushed to try and get out.

We didn’t quite make it before the rain.

So I got Sadi out and sent her in… and it started *dumping* on us just as I got Ali down the ladder.

Ali doesn’t have a problem with the water but she isn’t thrilled about it falling out of the sky at the speed of sound.

So I had to carry her in… I am sure it was quite hilarious to see. Fortunately, there was no one there to see it!

It definitely rained… and this was WAY before Irene and the massive rain we got while that was happening.

The New Pool, Swimming

2011-09-04T00:30:00.000-06:00

After we finished setting up the pool… everyone came in and had watermelon.

We went out while it was still filling up… and just like the “purple pool” I think they approved.

It’s been a long time since they were this excited about anything…

I had been warned several times that Ali might not like the water, or might not be comfortable floating.

It was not even 5 minutes before she was floating around on her back, on her stomach… she’s a fish.

Putting her face in the water is another thing I was warned she might not be okay with.

This again… is within minutes of getting in. She should have been born in Florida or something.

This one was a bit more mellow about it. She gets cold quick and gets out to play. Ali stays in.

Look at Ali’s hair. Wow…

Splash…

Chilling… (literally)

More floating… we convinced Sadi to do it after a while too…

We had to get her to relax… she was too busy tensing up to just lay there.

Uncle Riley came out to play with them for a bit…

And the pool just kept filling up… much less crooked than before. And “good enough!”

Swimming, Orthotics, New Pool

2011-09-01T00:42:00.000-06:00

So we pulled out the “little” 10 x 6 x 22 inch “purple pool” like… back in like early June.

It was a bit of a hit… and then Ali turned blue so we went inside.

We went out there several days in a row… right up until the $#@% cats popped the “purple pool."

Then we really decided that it was totally worth it to get a bigger pool.

Ali really cannot be out there swinging, sliding and riding her bike for hours on end like Sadi.

She can however be in the pool, then out, then in… while Sadi does the same thing.

This would allow us to be outside for hours instead of one hour.

So… we made a trip to the store after my typical, neurotic, obsessive research.

And then *I* pulled out the million and one parts.

(If you’ve never seen me, heard me, or been in the line of fire when I put something together, I wouldn’t advise it.)

However, I put together the ladder, after the kids went to bed… successfully the first time.

I waited on the rest of the pool because we really needed sand to level it out.

They practiced the ladder for a couple of days. Watched the DVD about pool safety and discussed the drastic measures that would be taken if either of them ever went near the pool alone. The ladder gets removed when we get out… and only an adult could get in without it.

We played outside while we plotted where to put the pool, how to put it up…

We stretched out the ring from the trampoline to be 15 feet instead of 13 feet… (that was fun, let me tell you.)

I waited to pull out the pool because we really needed sand to level it out.

Ali was a bit sick… so we took her to see Dr L… or SueAnn, I can’t remember who now.

This was like 2 months ago. You can see how purple she is in that first picture. Wow.

So, she was fixed and we headed out.

We also went to get both girls orthotics… while Ali read Utah Business… didn’t get that from ME.

Ali’s flag ones and Sadi’s pink ones. She would have preferred blue…

That typical stereotyping of girls like pink and boys like blue.

They didn’t ask and just made her pink. She was highly annoyed.

So… we got the orthotics and those sandals are now Sadi’s.

While Ali got some new sandals later… and in the meantime wore her New Balance shoes.

Then… *I* went out and pulled out the pool. The decision was made not to use sand (not by me.)

*I* put together the filter pump… started filling it up…

After that process others did establish it was not level and we needed to go get sandbags to level it out.

Sand?? That sounds strangely familiar…

The city told us we could have the sandbags, they were done with them… we went and got two truckloads.

This big pipe was the flooding preparations. This is the road they would turn into a river if they needed to… and they have done so before. When the girls were 1-2 years old. The car on the other side is so going the wrong way.

Then we went and opened some sandbags and left some closed… and set them all up…

Pool to be continued… we are two months behind, what’s another few days?

Ziggy… Wally… Homey… Stupid cat that jumps in the toilet… whatever you want to call it.

Attacking the fries…

Stalking the children…

Considering jumping on the camera…

Going past the dog and chilling under the chair…

Cats in the Wall

2011-08-09T00:26:00.001-06:00

One day we heard some odd noises that we thought were coming from outside. The cats outside… is what we thought.

The dog thought that the noise was coming from the wall…

Guess who was right?

Yeah… that’d be the hound…

Look what we found in the wall??? Guess what her name is??

Wally. (For a while... then Ziggy was more appropriate... Zig Zag Zig Zag Zig....)

1 week later… we just happened to decide that we needed a new outlet right here by the back door. Really… it had nothing to do with the meowing that we heard coming from here.

Oh wow… look at that.

Uh oh, where’d he go?

It’s a boy…

A bit of an evil boy…

His name is G.O.N.E. Poof.

“Mom… you are not going to believe this…”

“Seriously?? Another one?? It’s okay Bean…”

The 3rd one was the last one… it was in the crawl space… “Crawly.”

Also known as “Poof.” Wally/Ziggy is the only one who has stayed.

See, although Wally/Ziggy and I don’t get along, the creature has some personality.

And some blue eyes.

Typical kitten…

The kids are pretty fond of her.

Especially Sadi.

Although she has her moments of not quite being sure.

Ali prefers to keep her distance a bit... which is why Ali is not covered in "'I already meowed, now put me down NOW' scratches."

Ali is still very fond of her Cassie shirt…

The basket of pictures… and some we put on the walls… that is ME Ali says.

Going to the store for cat food…

Aquarium…

2011-08-06T00:15:00.000-06:00

We went to the Aquarium back in May…

This one tried to bite Ali… lol

Sadi was more fond of these…

The frog…

I’m still not sure why they like these so much…

Jellies…

Lobster…

Icky…

Hidden frog… and icky again…

More frogs…

Pretty…

In a boat…

Very cool…

Croc!

Eeek!

Little Rays…

Freaking weird frog…

Red Eyed Tree Frog… among other green tree creatures…

The eel…

The eel and the the penguin cutouts…

The penguins…

The NEW things… the GECKOS!!!! And the other stuff…

The new WEIRD things…

Aviary

2011-08-03T00:19:00.000-06:00

We also went to the Aviary, in May as well. We got there in time for the bird show which was a first for us. Fortunately there was none flying close to us… since the girls still are not quite sure about flying animals. lol

This was one brave little boy who fed the Emu who was way bigger than him. Even when it came running out at him, he didn’t flinch. I would have dropped the food and RAN.

The peacocks of course… as usual…

The flamingos were very active…

The little birds…

Lots of babies…

The eagles…

In keeping with the trend… even the aviary was flooding. We had to go through 6 rows of vehicles to find the source of the water. It was right up by the park.