Three Years

Three years ago today, Hank was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  Every year I try to celebrate him on this day.  No one knows how much Hank has to deal with on a daily basis.  The constant blood sugar checks, site changes, and shots not to mention dealing with the unpleasant side effects of being high or low are all consuming at times.  Through it all, he does what I asks and doesn't let this stupid disease stop him from doing the things he loves to do.  It's inspiring to watch and I couldn't be more proud of him.  We've managed to avoid any real illness or diabetes related complications in the past 3 years and that's all thanks to Hank and his willingness to take care of himself.

Randy and I decided to surprise him this morning with ski passes to Sundance.  We ditched school and work and hit the slopes.  Sarah volunteered to watch Sam for us while we went skiing.  He had a blast with his cousins like usual.  She sent me these darling pictures.

Bubbles, wagon rides, and a nap with Sarah sound like a pretty perfect day to me.  Now back to our ski day.

Sundance had just recieved 8 inches of new snow the day before providing us with the best snow we've had all season.

Max decided to ditch his edgie wedgie's half way through the day.  He actually skis better without them on.  I can't believe what a little skier he's become.

Hank was also skiing like a champ.  He even bombed it down some black diamonds!

Yes, that is a GoPro on his helmet.  This awesome skiing had to be properly documented.

Too bad he didn't record this!

It's always a plus for me to spend quality time with my boys in the great outdoors.  We have some pretty great conversations on the lift.

Hank and Max might be turning a corner on their sibling rivalry.  This last week I've noticed them getting along so much better.  Max has Hank's back 100%.  He is always willing to hold Hank's hand when I put his site in.  It warms my heart.  Maybe they can be friends after all!

I can't wait until Sam can join us up there.  It felt good to ditch out on all our responsibilities for the day and give diabetes the bird as we shredded down the hill.

I will fight the good fight for you every day of my life Hank.  I know I'm not always going to be there to count every carb or give you every shot but I'm confident you are going to keep doing everything you need to do to stay healthy.  Your dad and I and your brothers will always be here to support you.  Diabetes can't get this family down!  

Cousin Daycare!

I had a week in March that included lots of quality time watching my niece and nephews.

Sam was pumped to have his friends over!

Lennon and Sam are kissing cousins for sure.

These kiddos love being outside.  

They also enjoyed some quality tubby time.

Next, Jack and Tucker spent a few days here while Sarah and Brett were in Hawaii.

Sam and Tucker crack me up.  They are always starting some kind of shenanigan.  Sam is so lucky to have so many cousins his age.

While Sam and Tucker kept each other entertained, Jack followed Hank and Max around all day.  He watched them play Minecraft for hours, then he witnessed some pretty epic brother battles.  Randy gave them all a thrill as he bounced them on the tramp.  He wins the best uncle award.

 I love that I'm able to spend so much time with these little kids.  They won't be little like this forever so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

 I remember when Dyson was 2 and look at him now.  He's a big shot 9th grader!  I loved going to his first track meet.  I'm so proud of him running in one of the hardest track events, the 800 meter.  I can't wait to watch his next race!  Side note...I think I need to be a track coach.  

Sammy's New Chompers

Almost a year ago, Sam broke his front teeth after a freak accident with a bouncy horse at Sarah's.  I decided to leave the chips rather than put him through getting them fixed.  I noticed a small cavity on one of the broken teeth recently, which prompted me to get it fixed sooner than I'd planned.  Here are his teeth the night before his appointment.

And here they are right after they were fixed.  I was prepared for the worse.  In my mind they were going to have to do a pulpotomy, crowns, and then realize they had to pull them.  I also had worked myself up pretty good about them putting him under.  Of course every mothers fear is that their kid won't wake up or they will wake up and not know who you are.  I also pictured him throwing up the entire day as a result of the anesthesia.  Sometimes it's good to prepare for the worst because I was pleasantly surprised.  They put him out no problem, ended up only need to do 2 fillings to restore the front teeth, and he came out of the anesthesia with no adverse side effects.

However, it was very disturbing seeing him like this in the recovery room.  He was out cold.  Luckily he woke up in less than 15 minutes.  He slowly started saying "go home".  I was so happy to hold my baby close and have that ordeal over with.  Another parenting experience in the books.

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I bought him the movie Frozen to watch while he recovered.  The poor little dude was stoned!  He was super dizzy and really funny.

He was content sucking on ice chips for the first few hours so we avoided any throwing up.  I was geared up for a relaxing day at home with a sleeping 2 year old.  Unfortunately for me, Sam decided to snap out of it in just over and hour.  I think Grandma Jackie's visit may have had something to do with that!

She came bearing gifts from the Disney Store and Sam was stoked.  It was just the thing he needed to make him feel better.  

His tiny body with that huge Darth Vader head is hilarious.  Later that night he was back to his old tricks again.  He wanted to jump on the tramp and eat Chick Fil A.  There were also some epic light saber battles with Hank and Max.  I'm just waiting for him to fall again and break his beautiful fillings.  Until that day, I will enjoy his Mater teeth as long as I can!

Cedar

I think it's time I mention the latest development in our family.  No, I'm not pregnant again!  JRI Insurance has just opened their doors for business in Cedar City.  Randy and James have been going down there for the past few months getting the office space ready.  Neither one of them want to relocate their families so they are taking turns commuting a few days a week until they can get it up and running.  That means I'm forced to live the life of a single parent more than I'm used to.  These three darling boys of mine really help me out a lot.  They have been taking care of their mama but they really miss their daddy being home.  We're all trying to adjust to this big change.  As much as I hate having Randy gone, I'm so grateful to have such a hard working man providing such a wonderful life for me and our boys.  His time away makes his time home so much sweeter.

Karlito Ski Day #5

 

Our 5th annual Karlito Ski Day was held last Sunday.  Randy took one for the team this year and stayed home with our sick kids so I could go.  Next year, we'll make sure we are both there, hopefully with our kids too.  From left to right we have Trevor, Chloe, Phil, mom, Hayley, me, Larry, Riley, Ryan, Kevin, Kelly, Becky, and Danielle.  Wyatt was there too but took off down Bishop's before we took the pic.

Phil, mom and I spent the first couple hours together until the rest of the family got there.  We had so much fun.  My 60 year old mom was a freaking rock star.  She made every run I did and kept up quite nicely.  She reminds me so much of Grandpa when she skis.  So effortless.

It felt so good to "take the training wheels off" and really fly down the mountain.  It's awesome to ski with the kids, but every once in awhile, it feels amazing to ski uninhibited.  I'm sure if my grandpa could witness all of us skiing together he would be beaming with pride.  To be able to ski with my family is such a treat for me.  It doesn't happen nearly enough so when it does, I try to savor every moment.  Grandpa lives on through all of us.  The day was spent reminiscing about him and all the memories we share.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him and grandma.  I miss them both desperately but doing these things makes me feel like they aren't so far away.

Basketball 2014

Both of Hank's basketball leagues have come to an end this season.  Hank always gave 110% and left his fans impressed and excited for more.  He had some pretty dominating performances in Jr. Jazz this year.

He was fortunate to play with some of his best buddies who live in our neighborhood.  This was the first Jr. Jazz season Randy didn't coach.  The Manville's ended up being great coaches.  Hank had a blast!

It saddens me a little to say this will probably be Hank's last season of Jr. Jazz.  His experience on his competitive league has sort of made Jr. Jazz irrelevant.  It's hard to really improve when you have to go back to 9 ft. baskets, half court, and no refs. However, it's pretty fun to be the big man on campus sometimes!

The week before the Dimple Dell Tournament Hank came down with a nasty virus.  He missed 3 days of school and stayed in bed 99% of the time.  I haven't seen Hank that sick in a really long time.  He really wanted to play in his game so we did everything we could to make that possible. 

The Lehi Warriors had an impressive season with a 6-1 record.  Hank was hopeful he would feel well enough to play.

He had his trusty fans on the front row ready to cheer him on.

The team they played turned out to be formidable opponents and I could tell Hank wasn't feeling 100%.

He fought through the illness and gave it his all, even nailing some critical free throws.  However, they just didn't have enough to come out on top.  I'm so proud of Hank for getting out there and playing his hardest.  It's amazing how improved this team is from last year.

I don't think Randy and I could be more proud of our little Hanksta.

My cute parents only missed maybe 2 games all season between his two leagues.  I love watching my dad at these games.  He really loves watching Hank play.  It's so incredible to have their support not only in my life but in the lives of my kids.  Hank had so much support from Jeri, Scott, Griff, and countless aunts uncles and cousins all season long.  He's a pretty lucky little dude to have so many fans.  We have a quick break and then baseball starts!!