Busy...

When June started this week looked like it was going to lazy and carefree but it didn't turn out that way :)

First off, John's new bike arrived!!

My uncle passed away last week. Although a sad reason to get together it did bring LOADS of fun in the form of family. My cousins (with kiddos in tow) poured in and the boys probably had one of the best times of their life. It was impossible to separate them from their "cousins". They played from sun up till the sun was really down...

Here we are getting shaved ice thanks to Uncle Keith!! Cougar's blood, of course, was the most popular flavor...

Keith surrounded by the munchkins...

This month also brought Austin to Provo...

Have you ever seen so many wonderful people together (yes, we used to call it Sunday a few years ago) And we thought we had a lot of kids while we were in the Austin ward...this picture is still missing quite a few of them because they are on the playground. The Hansen family also made it but they missed the picture. Even after all these years, this picture has some of the most beautiful and amazing ladies I have ever known. I am glad I have gotten to see them (or will get to see them) more than once this year.

My beautiful Melinda came a little earlier in the spring and we had a blast together. One of my best dates ever Melinda! :)

Only two things that money can't buy...

Spring and summer have finally arrived...it took a really long time but the garden is starting to flower and the early girl tomatoes are growing wonderfully along with everything else. In honor of summer (winter is a culinary bummer)...one of the best and least known John Denver* songs....

Now that John Denver has died, youtube exists, and mp3s are everywhere it is a lot easier to get a hold of his music but you have no idea how long I searched to find a cd of this song in the early 90's!!

*He didn't write the lyrics :)

Overheard...

When asked which kiddo is most like me I often say Seth. Most people seem surprised but I think that is because he is still little (only 4) but we mesh perfectly and understand each other really well. Ironically, Seth is often the hardest for John to deal with because Seth demands a certain level of respect that is far above his age and John doesn't agree he should have it :)

If there was any doubt, the countless quotes I put up from him over and over should at least give a hint that we are alike because I am pretty sure I said (and still say) lots of things like this....

At FHE tonight when talking about repentance...

Seth - I don't really need to listen because me and Math don't have to repent, right mom...?

Me - ummmm...Seth, it is true you aren't 8 yet but as a good person you should still want to repent.

Seth - But I don't really have to, do I! (big, huge smirk...) also note, it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Sometimes it might be better if he didn't listen so well in Primary...

This child...

Our Seth man really is quite the character...

Seth - Mom what can we eat when we are resurrected?

Me - I don't know exactly what we'll eat.

Seth - Mom, when we are resurrected we CAN'T die again so I think that means we get to eat an infinity of candy everyday. We're going to eat ice cream and candy all day because we don't have to worry about our bodies.

What am I suppose to do? I can't completely disagree with this logic.......and I wouldn't mind eating m&m's and candy corn all day long ;)

PS...

Math (at dinner tonight) - The artichokes don't taste too bad but they do smell like Hyrum's feet.

Our week...

This week we had my niece in town. She is between EFY and music camp so she got to stay with us almost the whole week. The boys were super happy. I feel a little bad because my hosting abilities are gone but I figured a teenage girl could live on cold cereal if she had to :) She did get her own room and bathroom and internet access...what more could you want?

Everyone had a blast playing with her. She got access to all the aunt/uncle dating info, a few funny stories about her father and even got some snow the first day she got here. I think she may leave our house as a NOVA addict. Here are a few of the activities...

The park, of course, with a few rounds of frisbee...

Stella gets to ride the slide and her dad was pretty fearless...she caught air off the bump in the middle of this slide...

Math...

There were lots and lots of light saber wars this week...

A hike to the Y...

It was more fun for some and less fun for others ;)

Baby Stella...

S'mores in the canyon...

More rounds of games and frisbee up the canyon...

The s'mores were good!

Gary Fisher

John "had" a Gary Fisher marlin. He got the bike many years ago (2004) and it has been a good bike. He put about 10 miles on it every work day from the beginning of 2004 till the spring of 2008. He probably put about 5 miles a week on it the next year and a half. Since we moved in the spring of 2010 he has averaged about 21 to 35 miles a week on the bike. To sum up...the bike has been used A LOT through extreme Texas heat and 2 1/2 feet of snow in Boulder.

Last week while riding home (uphill, thank goodness) the bike frame literally broke in half. When he called I didn't believe him. I picked him up and we brought the bike home.

What do you do? We know the bike frame has a lifetime warranty but we no longer have any paperwork or proof of purchase. We called the Gary Fisher dealer here and they said it wouldn't be a problem and to bring the bike in. John and I were both a little skeptical about what Gary Fisher would be willing to do but the bike shop seemed to think that there was no question they'd replace the frame. This was Friday so we went home and hoped for the best.

It has been 1 1/2 business days since we turned the bike in. Gary Fisher (and the bike shop) informed us today that they were sending out a brand new 2011 Gary Fisher Marlin. Not just the frame but an entire new bike with disc brakes, 29in wheels and a lockout front wheel. Oh...I think John is pretty happy! I am super impressed with the quickness and level of service from Gary Fisher. If you are ever wondering about a Gary Fisher bike our experience shows that the service (at least) is going to be excellent.

John will just get a new set of road tires and he'll be set...

Pretty crazy right...imagine if he had been going 30 mph downhill instead of 5 going uphill...serious accident!

Creative Writing

One of the best thing about school ending is getting all the creative writing papers the kiddos have been doing all year sent home. It is so fun to read through them and discover what your children "really" think about...

Here are a few offerings from Hy.

What would you do if you had $100?

I would buy Kai. I would also buy plants vs. zombies. I would pay tithing and taxies for repairs on oil and machines.

How have people shared with you?

Someone did help my famliey. 2 people did. My mom was pregninte so one person brought are dinner for one night. When my dad was working a women gave us food for another dinner. That's how much we share.

What did you do for Christmas break?

When it was diner time on winter break at my Grandma Princes house there were 20 boxes of pizza. I felt sad so we jump on the tramplen then we eat 5 pises of pizza. Then 2 familys left. Then one more family left. I was so sad. Then we left. I was so sad. We went to 1 of my cosins house and I jumped for joy.

Every once in awhile I get those "how well do you know me" emails from friends. It is always fun to read answers and see how much you actually do and don't know about someone. Some of my favorites are about names like trying to guess their middle names or what names they would choose for themselves, etc.

I was thinking about the names we have chosen." Each one represents a compromise and very long spiritual discussions and many reasons we chose the names. Just the other night I was lying in bed thinking about Eve and wondering if her Seth brought the same joy that ours does, enough joy to make the tragedy that caused the need for Seth bearable? The scriptures hint that he did and is one of the reason I so love that name. I think of Lucy Mack and wonder what it would be like to lose my Hyrum and Samuel, on top of losing Joseph, all basically for the same event. So there are many reasons and people who have influenced our choices but hidden in the spiritual side are also a few nods to most of my "favorites" too. Perhaps you can guess them. Some are very subtle and some are exact names.

Here are the hints. The names are Joshua, Matthew and (soon to be) Beth. One of the names carries reference to two of my favorite characters (one is direct and one is less direct). Another name is also a character of a favorite author and other name is not from an author but an entirely different genre :)

I'll put the answers in the comments...

The loaded question...

For me, this feels like a loaded question...."Do you want a girl?" or the different forms like "Are you trying for a girl?" "Are you hoping it is girl?"

I know that no one has ever asked me this with any kind of negative intent. It is still hard to answer because I feel like if I say yes then that implies that I don't want a boy and that would not be true. Perhaps a better question is "Do you want a girl or a boy?" and then I could just answer yes and that would be the real truth. I have never wanted a girl at the exclusion of a boy and I have never wanted a boy at the exclusion of a girl. (I am pretty sure this is how most people feel, they love their children no matter what they are ;) I have never been disappointed when I found out I was having a boy and I have never wished that one of my boys would be a girl...

When I was pregnant with my 4th someone asked me if I knew what I was having. At the time I didn't and this person implied that I should hope that it was a boy since I probably couldn't hack it as a "girl mom." Then shortly after one of my "friends" said basically the same thing, that there was probably a reason Heavenly Father didn't trust me with a girl. I tried very hard to not have an identity crisis over this :) Fortunately I have a lot of friends who have all girls and it has never once occurred to me that they "couldn't hack it as a boy mom." They are all excellent mothers who do amazing things and I think that being an excellent mother applied across the board. I would never worry if they got a boy because any child, boy or girl, would be lucky to have a mother like my "girl mom" friends! So, I have kept telling myself this over the years. I figured it was important because if you are going to have a lot of children there is a pretty good chance you are going to end up with at least one boy or girl. Also, it is REALLY OBVIOUS now that I should completely disregard any comment these two people had made about parenting :) So it has been many years and I felt pretty good about whichever way this pregnancy decided to go...

A few weeks ago my friend came over and asked if I wanted the few girl clothes she had because she is moving. I was only 13-14 weeks pregnant. I just looked at her for a second and then something inside of me just clicked and I knew in my heart what to tell her...

I told her yes and I took the clothes........and.......I was right!

We know now that it is a girl :) I sort of forgot to breath when the ultrasound tech told me at first. It wasn't my 20 week, that is in 3 weeks, but they were checking something and I was able to find out it was a girl. Even though I felt like I knew it already it was still a shock!!

I want to make sure everyone understands that I would be just as happy if it had been a boy because first, sometimes ultrasounds are wrong and second, it may not sound that way when I say we are SOOOOOOO excited!! I just can't believe it! I told one friend in the ward on Friday that is was a girl and when I walked into church today I must have had 15 different women come up to me with congratulations and hugs and claps and jumping up and down excited for me. It was funny and I couldn't help but be as excited as they were. It is exciting! It is practically unbelievable :)

The older boys are happy. In fact, I thought Hy was going to cry he was so happy. Seth was not excited but Seth has come around now that he knows her name is going to rhyme with his.

Anyway...that is our news... :)

Conversations from 11 year olds...

There are some differences between boys and girls...

Josh -Bailey, I don't know if you want to play Twilight Rome (part of Zelda) with us at school . The two main guys are really dangerous.

Bailey - Who?? Edward...

Josh - What? Who's Edward...

Bailey - Sorry, did you mean Jacob, not Edward.

Josh - Who is Jacob? I meant Rant and Ganandorf

Bailey - Who are they? I thought you said Twilight.

Josh - I did say Twilight but the main guys are Rant and Ganandorf.

Bailey - Don't you mean Edward and Jacob.

Josh - Who?

Yeah, I was giggling the whole way driving home from school...

Me and Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte, one of my favorite authors, officially died of tuberculosis. It is believed her two sisters (writers of some of my favorite books) also died of TB many years before. However, many of Charlotte's friends, including Elizabeth Gaskell (another one of my favorite authors - yeah, I have a lot) said that she was suffering from extreme nausea and faintness. She and her unborn baby died soon after she became pregnant. Many people have speculated that Charlotte Bronte died of hyperemesis.

Here I am today with a complete understanding of how hyperemesis could kill someone. I don't want this post to be too long. Super long blog posts are a pain to read through and I really like the people who read this blog so I don't want to cause them pain :) I will try and keep it short(ish). Technically I have been told that I had hyperemesis before. This was based more on weight loss and nausea. They were obviously very mild cases. An extreme case of hyperemesis is rare....I guess you can call me rare.

It is a Thurs. I have slowly been feeling worse and worse but manageable. Thurs I start throwing up and throwing up and throwing up. It doesn't stop. I think I must have a stomach bug because I was throwing up every 45-60 minutes. It continues to Fri. John got supplies (sprite ;) Thurs night when he got home. By Friday morning I have slowed down to throwing up about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours but nothing, even water and sprite, is working. I am still pretty convinced I am going through a 24 hour throw up bug. By Sat night I know I am in trouble. I am still averaging 10-12 throw ups a day and honestly it didn't feel anything like a tummy bug. I live through Sunday on nothing. Monday morning it is obvious to me and the doctor that I need heavy medication or I am going to have to going to have to spend a lot of time in the hospital. Enter Zofran. A lot of pregnant women take Zofran for nausea. It hasn't always been successful in extreme cases of hyperemesis but it worked for me. I finally stopped throwing up. When the Zofran wears off I throw up and throw up. It was tricky in the morning because it would wear off in the night and I would have to throw up a few times just to be able to get it down in the morning but I am alive :)

Zofran comes with SO many side affects and I have been lucky enough to experience most of them. A lot of mornings I couldn't take it right away because I was unable to see clearly or even stay awake to drive a car. So I throw up in the morning and about 10 minutes before I would take the boys to school, I would pop the Zofran. I would drop the boys off and about 10-20 minutes after getting home I just collapse. That would last for about 2-3 hours until the first round of side effects started to lessen. By the time I needed to pick the boys up I usually felt like I could handle driving but we didn't leave the house for many weeks simply because I couldn't drive. I missed church for 10 weeks and have rarely left the bedroom. I really don't know how the two little ones and I have survived. It is sort of a fatigue blur. The extreme fatigue (I mean EXTREME) cause by the Zofran has been hard but I am finally doing better.

I am now well into my second trimester. Most days I still need Zofran (okay I have only had one day I didn't need it) but I can do half pills sometimes and I can make it most mornings without throwing up. I feel the hold of hyperemesis breaking. It really is like a physical addiction. I don't know how to explain it...just that I am so glad it is almost over. I still don't feel good but I feel so much better. I almost feel like I am living now instead of just being alive :)

This morning with tears in my eyes I told John that I didn't think I could be the same person I was after this experience. He laughed and said that no one could go through it and be the same person...he'd be shocked if it didn't affect me :) When I can say things like that or talk about something then I know I am on the mend. So don't worry...I really am doing okay now!! As with most trials in life I have learned a lot and been shown so many blessings!! I just wish I was a better learner so that Heavenly Father wouldn't have to keep giving me trials to help beat things into my head. Wouldn't it be great if we could just pick up perfect charity and empathy and humility and faith, etc on the first time around?? !!!

And I love my Miss Charlotte even more now... :)