Happy Father's Day...Smores Style!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE BEST DADDY!! WE LOVE YOU!

We decided it would be fun to roast marshmellows and have smores for Father's Day, so we did. The kids ate about one and then were full. It was fun to just spend time outside as a family. It was fun though. I asked everyone "How do you eat your smores?" and then took their picture and this is what I got:

Madie goes for the chocolate bar wrapper...yum!

Brandon tries the dig out the marshmellow and lick your finger style...interesting!Abby does the whole close your eyes and enjoy the moment...mmmm savor the moment!

Cailee goes for the "how do I get it all in my mouth" look...very fashionable I might say!

I tried the whole...is this proper enough look...hmmm, I don't know?!

Blake went for the "I'll humor my wife look"...thanks hun!! LOVE YA!

They were some good smores...it is true! To my loving husband...I am so happy to be married to you and I love you for the wonderful husband and awesome Daddy you are. We all love you so much!

To my Dad...I want you to know how grateful I am to be your daughter. You have done so much for me and my family that I only hope to be able to do the same for my children one day. Thanks for helping out when we need your expertise on life and anything that has come our way. I don't know what we'd do without you. I love you Dad!

We had a BLAST...

...in WYOMING! We started out our Wyoming trip THROW-UP FREE!! Pinch me I think I'm dreaming...we actually made an entire trip without someone throwing up in the car. Can we say MIRACLE?!? The kids are such awesome travelers...they were so happy to get to Grandma and Grandpa Crossley's though. They had a great time playing in their Garage Mahal...as it's so rightfully called! Brandon had a great time riding on the airplane rocker Blake made a few years ago. It doesn't fit in our house, but is great in their wonderfully large play room! They had a blast in their blow-up jumper. When the kids were taking a popsicle break even Madie took her turn and LOVED IT! On Sunday they had a chance to see some of their cousins that live in Montana...thanks James and Stacey for bringing the kids down...the kids said they had a blast playing! Blake's parents were so wonderful to keep the kids while I went to my lil' sisters graduation (of course Madie came with me). Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Crossley for all the fun we had at your house!!

Great-Grandma Crossley was also there visiting at the same time! We were so excited to get to see her and visit. It's always a great time hearing stories from when she was growing up and how she was when her kids were younger. It's been a very long time since we've gotten to spend time with her, so we were so fortunate to be there at the same time to get to see her. On Monday we went up to Billings for cousin Bradley's kindergarten graduation. It was great getting to see Rachel, Todd, Bradley and Jacob there! It was way too short though, but fun for the short time we had with them. Darcee came with me and we picked up my Mom at the hospital there. She spent the morning with my Aunt Donna who had surgery. We shopped a little and then headed back to Wyoming!

Grandma and Grandpa Lynn's and more family!

We had such an awesome time with all my family. Sunday night I went and got the kids and they got to play with their cousins. My brother and his wife had to leave that night, but were so awesome and waited to leave until the kids had a chance to play. Abby absolutely loves their daughter Hailey and they had such a great time. Darcee's graduation party had a ton of people, so I forgot to pull out the camera. While there, we visited with my grandparents (the kids got to pick out a stuffed animal from Great Grandma and Grandpa Lynn's-they love them...thanks-pictured below), had fun at my sisters a day (pictured below...the kids all sitting together eating lunch), played lots of days in Grandma and Grandpa's playroom that is so much fun with a slide and swing...INSIDE!! It rained pretty much the whole time we were there, so it's a good thing their house is so much fun! It's also a good thing that Great Grandma and Grandpa Goller have "popsicles on a stick" (that's how my kids put it) and Hershey's kisses! My kids I think asked daily for the "popsicles on a stick" and couldn't wait for them to get back so I could ask if they could have one! My parents got a new kitty before we came...Sophie. She has to be one of the cuttest kitties. She was so fun to watch and the kids wouldn't leave her alone (sorry Sophie...they just love you so much)! She has two speeds...fast and sleeping. She climbed up on my lap one night and I thought I'd be okay, but being allergic to cats, I suffered for it later. Thank goodness for Zyrtec and Benadryl! My younger brother loves Sophie (pictured below)! My sister and her kids came over to our parent's house most of the time and it was fun to watch Madie and Ashlee play together or by each other!! They are exactly four weeks and 30 minutes apart (pictured below)! My sisters and I went shopping on Saturday, which is always a blast. Thank you so much Mom for watching my kids so I could have a day! We had such a great time the whole time and it was very hard to leave. Thanks everyone for such a great time!

(You can click on any image and see it bigger!)

New Calling

While here on vacation I got a phone call from Blake saying the Bishop was looking for me. He asked me if I had heard from him yet and at that time I hadn't. Later that afternoon I got the phone call. I'm was released on Sunday from my calling as the Secretary in Relief Society and called to be the second counselor in the Young Womens Program! I am really excited to work with the sisters that have been called as Pres. and first counselor and with the youth. I really loved Young Womens as a youth and look forward to having the opportunity to work with the girls!
I am so happy I had the chance to work with the sisters in Relief Society. I will miss working with them, but will enjoy getting to see them still as I feel like I've found new friends in them! So we'll have fun and exciting changes awaiting us when we get home! I'm hoping to get up to girls camp to see the girls at the end of the week...we'll see what happens.
The three younger kids and I are heading home Wednesday and will leave Cailee with Grandma and Grandpa for a few more weeks. She's really excited to stay and have her special time with them. I'm excited to see Blake soon...sure do miss him.
Today I'm going to get at least one of the fatty tumors taken out of my arm. We'll see how that goes. My lil' sis wants us to video tape it since she's working. I don't know about the video tape, but if my Mom wants to maybe we'll take some pictures.

Schools Out For The Summer

Weeks of Graduation:

The past weeks have been filled with lots of graduations. From preschool to high school we've been to it all! We started out with Abby's preschool graduation. It was a great time. We had a BBQ with all the joy school families and it was great. They even got to graduate in their swimsuits! That's what I call FUN! Thanks all you Joy School Mom teacher's for a great year!

Abby and her Joy School friends singing "Oh Boy I've Got Joy".

All the cute graduates in their swimsuits!








Teachers and students...mommies and kids.








It was a great year Abbs...I'm glad I got to be your teacher!









Some of the BBQ clan.








Madie chillin' with her Daddy.







We next joined Cailee in her Kindergarten graduation. I can't believe she will be going to first grade next year. It doesn't seem like that long ago that she was learning to crawl and walk.

Cailee and her class singing and signing to a song they learned through out the year!

Cailee and Mrs. Bricker. She was truly what Cailee needed this year...we couldn't have asked for a better teacher. I tried to talk her into moving up to first grade, but she decided she'd stay in Kindergarten...Oh Man:)

The Happy Graduate with her diploma!






We then head to Wyoming for my little sister's high school graduation. It's been great to see family and run into some friends. I'm so proud of my little (ok...not so little anymore) sis. She's such a well rounded young lady and we are so proud of her. Great job Darcee! We love you!





Getting her diploma...the day has come...WAY TO FAST!












The graduate with our Mom and Dad!

All of us siblings posing for the camera...say cheese!

Me and my beautiful sisters after the graduation party...we were all a bit tired.



Congrats to Abby, Cailee and Darcee for a great time in school and we love you all!

New Moon

I just can't wait, but I'll have to. I'm so excited to see the trailer
is out now!!

She's growing up WAY to FAST

Madie turned 6 mo. old on the 17th...time is flying by. She is doing so much. She's rolling over all over the place and sitting up by herself (she's been sitting up for a few weeks now...she's always loved sitting up, she's just mastered sitting for a long time now!). She's a really good baby, but most definately wants me to hold her. Blake says that she knows who the "sucker" is...he's right. I just can't stand having her cry, so she get's held a lot. She "begs" when she wants me to pick her up and when it's time for her to eat. It's pretty funny actually. She LOVES to smile and I love to see her SMILE! She likes to tease her daddy by giving me kisses, but turning her head at the last second and not give him one. Eventually she will, but it's funny to watch her tease him.

At her check up she weighed 15 lbs. 11 oz. She's getting so big. I can't savore the moments with her enough. The last six months have flown by. She's got such a sweet personality and I just LOVE her so much.

Madie's big smile...and yes, her hair really is that crazy. I can't contain the hair...we just let it be!

A few of her many cute expressions!

I just can't resist this cute face...it's covered with lots of kisses!

We ALL love you MADIE!

Abby Says...

Before bedtime the kids always give me a hug and kiss, then crawl into bed. Tonight Abby said "Just on the cheek, cause you had a kidney stone."

Apparently now they are contagious:)

What can I say...

I can't find the words to express the amount of gratitude and respect I have for a very special friend of mine. See, Friday was a great day. Blake and Brandon went to the Father/Son over night camp out 2 1/2 hours away. I took the opportunity to have a girls day with my three girls. We had a blast...I took Abby and Maddie shopping after I dropped Cailee off at school. We had a good time, went and got Cailee from school, relaxed for a bit, then went and got pizza and took it to the park. Everyone was happy and we had a great time. That night, my friend Mindy and two of her kids came and we had a movie night since our husbands were at the camp out. It was fun...we watched Princess Diaries and had some good, fun movie sweets. We chatted for a little bit and then left around ten. I got my girls all in bed. I have a hard time getting to sleep when Blake's not here, so I think I finally fell asleep around 1:30.

So what does this all have to do with my special friend...I'm getting there. Some of you know that I have a history of having kidney stones. Well, Saturday morning was no exception. I woke up at 3:30 am with severe pain in my left lower "flank" (as they call it) or back area. I knew what was happening due to having my fair share of kidney stones in the past. I didn't know what to do since Blake was gone and I had three sleeping children. I tried my best of occupy my mind for the next hour, but just couldn't take it any longer. I knelt down and prayed...I wasn't sure what to pray for exactly...what I wanted was for the pain to go away, but the answer I got was to call Annie. I knew her husband was most likely home (okay...so I was really hoping he would be). I wasn't sure how it was all going to work out, but I knew Annie would know what to do. At this point all I could think about was how bad I hurt.

So at 4:30 I picked up the phone and called. Annie answered and she and her husband S.A.M. were at my door in no time. S.A.M. stayed with my sleeping girls and Annie took me and Madie to the hospital. Now I have to tell you what a true friend will do for you because this is Annie:

She let me throw up in a JCPenny bag she had in her car and kept driving instead of stopping when I told her I was losing it.

She ran stop lights and stop signs to get there faster (if you happen to be law enforcement reading this, she was the safest driver and it was early in the morning with little traffic...she was helpin' out a friend in pain.)

She wheeled me into the hospital with Madie in the other arm until a gentlemen took over.

She stayed with me while the nurse got me started with an IV and the first dose of Morphine.

She took Madie for a walk when she got fussy, changed her diaper since that was the last thing on my mind just an hour earlier.

Once I was settled enough, she took Madie and came and got my three girls ready and took them to her house for the day.

She called up to Rugged Mountain to get a message to Blake to come home to be with me...that's right...to be with me, not to take my kids so she could be free to have her Saturday.

Once my whole saga was over (I will explain all that later) Blake rolled back into town and was able to pick me up from the hospital. We got home and Annie took Brandon to her house so all we would have was Madie.

She and her wonderful husband kept our kids and took them to McDonalds or "old McDonald" as the kids put it for dinner.


I can not tell you how grateful I am to have Annie and her husband (click to go to Annie's blog)for friends. You both saved me...I am forever grateful for you. I've always had a great respect for them...it just got even greater. Last night they stopped by to bring some of Madie's stuff back over and I was still having a tough time with my stomach settling. Annie, being the wonderful person she is, asked if I wanted a blessing. Blake and S.A.M. gave me a blessing. I have to tell you. It' exactly what I needed. It not only was what my body needed, but it touched on other things I needed right now in my life.


Annie...you are classy in every spectrum of the word and I don't know what I would do without you! Thanks for everything!

What happened at the hospital you say (or maybe not say...but I'll tell ya anyway)?
At the hospital they were really quick to get me back to a room. The nurse (who was a guy-BTW) got the IV going and a little later got anti nausea meds and the first dose of Morphine going. The morphine took the edge off a little, but man did this kidney stone ever do some damage. I was still hurting pretty bad and throwing up which is always a vacation. He left the room and a little while later, after ignoring me for a while, I pushed the little call button. I nicely informed him that I was still hurting pretty bad. He gave me a second dose of the Morphine, which didn't do anything again and left the room. When the bag of saline ran out he walked in the room unhooked the tube from the IV...I asked if I could have some ice chips (at this point I was extremely dehydrated and my mouth was so dry I could barely talk) and he informed me I couldn't have anything more until the doctor saw me and walked out the door. Anytime I tried to make small conversation he ignored me and went about his business. I thought...how rude. Here I was the one in pain and trying to be really polite and say thank you, ect. even for putting the IV in I said thank you. Zero bedside manners for this one. I wasn't impressed. So I layed there with my knee's pulled up to my chest till the doctor came in.

The doctor saw me and said, "You look like you've got a bit of side pain." To say the least. I could barely talk since by this point my mouth was REALLY DRY. He jumped into action... I had the new nurse after the shift change (BTW-a guy) got the IV hooked back up to fluids, got more anti nausea meds and stronger pain meds (can't remember the name...just remember they worked a lot better). The only problem with the new meds is that it slowed my heart rate down a bit and my oxygen level kept dropping. The new more attentive nurse (with awesome bedside manners) noticed and put oxygen on me. New nurse was friendly and kept a closer eye on me. He carried on more of a conversation, which made things less awkward.

The remainder of the time I spent sleeping and throwing up once in a while. Closer to the end I had to share the room with a "most interesting" person. I think in the 20-30 minute span I heard every swear word in the book and at one point got really worried that something was going to be thrown through the curtain that was separating us. I know he punched something, but not sure what. After the punching I decided to call for a nurse. She went and told him he was next to be seen by the doctor and as she walked out a whole new slew of words flew from him mouth.

A few minutes later the radiologist gal came and took me to get a CT scan...Thank you nice radiologist gal. Once I was out of the room I could actually talk to her and let her know what was going on. She told me she'd see what she could do to get me moved to a different room. On the way for the scan I threw up, once again. The scan went well and by the time we were done, so told room guy decided to leave...OOOhhh I was not sad to see him leave. I was finally starting to feel relief from the back pain at this point. Went to the bathroom and must have passed the stone then. The radiologist said he saw stones up in my kidneys, but that the one had passed that caused all the chaos of the morning.

I called Annie and Blake came and picked me up. Unfortunately my stomach was still not doing so hot and throwing up continued into part of the night. Today is a new day. I'm a bit exhausted from the whole thing, but grateful to no longer have such pain.

So there is the tale of wonderful friends and my night/morning with the attack of the kidney stones.

Brandon's Birthday...only 2 weeks late

Brandon turned 3!! He's growing up so fast. We had a small family party for him while my Mom was here. It was nice and relaxed and he loved opening his presents. He got money and a fun football throw game from G-ma and G-pa Crossley (thank you!), a Leapster from Grammy and Grandpa Lynn and G-Grandma and Grandpa Goller (he LOVES to play on the Leapster and having one often was the center of contention, so this was great!) and we got him a Lightning McQueen Computer. Right now he's really into Lightning McQueen. He loves to play with cars. He got some money from some of his other grandparents too, so he picked out a Lightning McQueen race track.
Brandon is our sweet boy. From birth he's always been really good natured and pretty calm...especially for a boy. He is really smart and loves to learn. He pretty much taught himself his alphabet and the sounds that each letter makes. He never ceases to amaze us with everything he knows and does. He's our little lone ranger in a family of girls and puts up with his sisters pretty well.
Brandon and Potty Training
Right after his birthday we told him it was time for him to be a big boy and wear big boy underwear and go in the big boy potty. He was pretty resistant to the idea and told us no. So that next Tuesday I put him in underwear and he told me "no Mom...I wait till I four." No way Buddy. Anyways...the first few days I consistantly told him to go to the bathroom and we only had one accident!! Since then he's only had a couple accidents and pretty much goes on his own with few reminders here and there. Whoever said boys were harder than girls didn't have Brandon! We are so proud of him! Great job Dude!

Here's a look at the birthday boy opening presents!

Blowing out his candles...it took him a number of tries to get all three candles blown out.

It looks like he's thinking "is it really still lit?"

Brandon may have been our "surprise" baby but I can't imagine life without our little Dude. He has brought so much joy to our family and we are so lucky to have him. We love you!!

I have to tell you...

I LOVE MY HUSBAND! Last week a friend asked me if I would make bows for the girls that are in her girls on the run group. I told her I would (this was right before we left for Denver) with the knowledge I wouldn't be able to start making them till Sunday. At church I was talking to her and found out they ended up having to move the date up to Monday. I didn't want them to be without the bows, so we spent part of the afternoon and then the night into the wee hours making 30 bows. Blake stayed up with me the entire time. He cut ribbon, burned the ends of some of the ribbon so they wouldn't frey, set them out into piles for me, rubbed my back while I assembled and helped me out when the hot glue gun was acting up. I am so fortunate to have such a loving husband to help me out when I get myself in a bind. I wouldn't have been able to get them all done if it wasn't for him. By the time I figured I needed help, it was too late at night to call my friend. So my wonderful husband to the rescue!! I don't think I've ever made that many bows at one time in my life. It was fun to see that I could do it...with the help of my hubby of course! Thanks dear for everything...you are the best!

The bows...all 30 of them

Close up

BLOG BLAST...

I had some major blog catching up to do so if you see below, there are many new posts. Since I blog for my journal, these are all things I didn't want to forget. Below you can find:

Cailee...Denver update
Madie-the entertainer
Cailee the brave
Dental Phobia and the BIG CAHOONA
Cailee and Abby's "bow"tique
Laugh, Giggle and Roll

I hope you find something fun to read about!

(upcoming attraction...Brandon turns 3 today (Happy Birthday dude. Pics and stories to come soon)

Denver...Cailee update

Cailee had her doctor's visit with her Nephrologist this past Thursday. My Mom came down to go with us...which I am forever grateful for. The drive between here and Denver is pretty, but really windy. We had a great visit though.

The doctor's visit was very infomative. Her Nephrologist was very pleased with how Cailee physically looks right now. We talked a lot about why we weren't trying different treatments and I have a lot more confindance now that we are truly doing what we can for her. We aren't going to do a biopsy because all it would do is give her Nephrotic Syndrome and specific name, such as FSGS, ect. It's not worth the pain to "give it a name". We wouldn't be treating it any different if it had a specific name. She talked more in depth about what the future may hold. I asked about what percentage of kids like Cailee have to have a transplant by the time they are teenagers and she said about 60%. That sounds a lot more promising. She also said that with the other 40% that some of those go on to treat the symptoms and live normal lives for a really long time. I am now praying she's in that 40%. We talked about a number of things and I feel like it's not so gloom and doom at this point.

Unfortunately we will be adding more meds to the list that she's already taking. The last blood work came back saying she has a really high cholesterol level. Hers was 303 and they normally don't like kids to go over 150. Unfortunately because it's from the NS, it can't be changed with a diet. She said that even if Cailee was on the strictest diet possible, it still wouldn't change it. So we have to turn to modern medicine. Her Neph. said that if we don't start treating it now that she will be facing heart disease by the time she's in her 20's/30's. I think we'll get a head start and avoid that. I don't like the fact that it's one more medicine, but I think it's better than the alternative.




















Overall, we were happy with the appt. Afterwards we went and checked into the hotel. (Thanks Fairy Godmother for all your help...you are awesome!) Once settled we went and ate dinner at Applebee's. It sure was yummy! We went shopping for a bit at the mall...which of course I love to do! After I took Cailee swimming while my Mom relaxed with Madie. We had a great time and I'm glad we had a chance to sit down and talk with her doctor face to face.

Funny story: The next morning the alarm clock went off when we were still sleeping. My mom hurried to get it turned off, but it was hard to see since it was dark. Once she got it turned off, she looked at the clock and it said 6:30. We went back to sleep and Madie woke up about an hour later. I got up and fed her and she fell back asleep. My mom got up and showered and we decided to just get ready and take our time. We went down and got breakfast about 8:30 since continental breakfast was till 9:00. Cailee and Madie were really sleeping hard, so we just let them sleep. Cailee woke up a little bit later and I got her ready. My mom went down at about 10:00 to print off google directions while Cailee finished eating. She came up and was laughing. She said, "you won't believe this" and handed me her cell phone. The time on her phone said 8:10. The clock in the room somehow got turned ahead two hours. We actually got up at 5:30. We couldn't believe it...we could have slept in a lot longer. Oh well, we got a good laugh out of it all!

Special thanks to Alissa and Mindy for taking such good care of Abby and Brandon. They had a blast at both of your houses and I am forever grateful for your friendships. I knew my kids were in good hands and it made it so I didn't have to worry. You two are awesome...thank you, thank you!