5 years with the Beets

March 28, 2011 Hank was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.  5 years have passed.  That means he's poked his finger nearly 15,000 times and endured almost 500 site changes.  Not to mentions the shots.  It blows my mind when I think of all we've been through and how much has changed.  It's been an emotional couple days as I've reflected on the past 5 years.  I'm sad, I'm grateful, I'm pissed, I'm overwhelmed, but mostly I'm proud.  I'm proud that we haven't been back to the hospital in 5 years.  I'm proud that we haven't let this disease stop Hank from doing everything his heart desires.  I'm beyond proud of the responsible, smart, brave young man Hank is.  He's such an incredible example to his little brother who is just beginning his journey with this disease.  

There isn't a better place to celebrate Hank than his favorite restaurant.  We endured an hour long wait to eat barfy Buffalo Wild Wings.  He was one happy boy tonight.  Wings, poker, sports, and family, Hank's favorite things.

March Randoms

As the room mom in Max's class it was my responsibility to carry out a successful Teacher Appreciation week.  I'm pretty proud of my craftiness.  I had all the kids put their thumb prints on the tree and sign their name.  They also filled out these thank you cards and I made them into a book for her.  She was very pleased with everything.  That said, please remind me never to be a room mom again.

St. Patty's Day party at Bear Hollow is always entertaining.

The kids are busily working on their end of the year program so I got a preview.  Sam was giving it his all.  Gotta get that gummy bear!

After their snack, they got to go out in the yard and find the treasure the leprechauns left.

Sam heard through the preschool grapevine that leprechauns come to your house and mess things up and leave gold coins.  After preschool he was convinced he would find a plethora of chocolate coins and tricks at our house.  Man was he disappointed to find out our house got missed.  No one gave his mom the memo.  Since when is St. Patrick's day a major holiday?  Nothing a quick trip to Zurchers can't fix. 

The weather is getting nice finally!  Perfect for a stroll to the park.

Sometimes I look at this crew and can't believe they're mine!  Love my boys.

The presidential primaries this year were a sight to behold.  No one could have predicted the enormous turnout at the democratic primaries.  I had to cast my vote for Bernie even if it meant navigating through this insane crowd.

Our heart still belongs to this sweet little pooch.  What did we ever do without him?

Non-stop cuddling

And he lets me hold him like a baby.

Speaking of babies.  Baby Russ loves his Auntie Annie.  I can't get enough of him and those cheeks!

I can always count on Sam and Griffy for a sweet cuddle session.

Oh Little Bear.  Every time Sam is the leader, we scramble to find the perfect photo to put in Little Bear's journal. Stories with Little Bear.

A trip to Scheel's with Little Bear.

Tucker turned 4 and no one is more excited than his bestie Sam.

These boys spend so much time together.  They are more brothers than cousins.  They fight hard but they love harder.  

Ski date with Mino Man

We had some free passes to use at Sundance on Sunday but Hank and Sam didn't want to go.  So, Randy and I left them home and took the one kid who wanted to shred the gnar!  Max loves him some one on one time with mom and dad.

I don't think there has ever or will ever be a bigger 8 year old rat.  This kid is hilarious!

Nice try getting a serious picture with me.  After lunch we bombed it down the ridge like we always do.  It was a little icier than usual due to the spring like conditions.  Max and Randy were ahead of me waiting when I caught an icy edge which spun me around and down the cliff.  I'm sure it looked far worse from their angle than it actually was.  Max thought I fell off the ledge to my death.  I got my bearings and climbed up the hill to find my boys.  They had hiked up to find me and Max was in tears.  It was a little traumatizing but I can tell you one thing, these boys have my back 110%.  I'm so glad I didn't break my leg and we were able to continue skiing the rest of the day.

I'm so proud of Max this ski season.  He is such a good little skier and so much fun to spend the day with.

School Stuff

When Hank informed me he was part of the non mandatory research challenge at his school, I was a little surprised.  I didn't help him one bit.  He and his friends decided to research people who changed the world.  Hank talked about Bill Gates and did a wonderful job.

I love that it's cool to be a nerd.  His friends all competed in the school wide Battle of the Books this month as well.  The school district is doing something right because Hank and Max have a love of reading I never had in elementary school.

The 2nd grade got to visit the Children's Museum in Salt Lake for their field trip this week.  I'm the designated diabetes field trip mom since there are three boys with diabetes in 2nd grade.  McKay was just recently diagnosed.  He's such a sweet kid.  Shepdog is always near Max.  I love his little group of friends.

The life flight helicopter was maybe a bit too realistic. 

I'm so lucky to be able to go on these field trips with my kids.

While I was field tripping, Randy decided Griffy shouldn't be home alone all day.  JRI has a new mascot. Hilarious! I think Griffers needs a headset.

Aloha Hawaii!

Wow did it feel good to be back on Oahu.  It's been nearly 18 years since I went to school there but it felt like no time had passed.  The biggest perk of selling insurance is the incentive trips.  Thank you to American Liberty for hooking us up and thank you Randy for being such an amazing salesman.  This was the view from our hotel room!

We stayed at the five star Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore.  It seems like it was just yesterday I was sneaking over the fence to use their hot tubs as a poor college student.

There is nothing like the sunsets in Hawaii.  This is my happy place.

Every morning I took advantage of the gorgeous trails around the resort.  Running at sea level is pretty much the best thing ever.  I really wanted to cruise around the island and visit my old stomping grounds.  What better way to do that than on a moped?  Since they wouldn't let me ride with Randy I had to navigate my own.  I took control of that hog like a boss!

We spent the day driving up and down the North Shore stopping at beaches and taco trucks every few miles.

We even brought along our portable speaker.  It was living I tell you.

We stayed at Pipeline most of the day.  The waves are so big this time of year.  It felt so good to just sit in the sun and watch the amazing surfing going on.  I got pretty comfortable on my moped throughout the day.  I think I need one when I get home.  

There were plenty of insurance agents excitedly waiting to golf at Turtle Bay.  I was the only woman present to play with the boys.  You can't keep this girl away from the golf course. 

For the record, I can totally hang with the boys.

Nothing like driving a ball into the ocean.

I didn't want our golf date to end.  

We kept the party going with our new friends.  Cliff golfed with us and was excited for us to meet his girlfriend Lesley.  We had an awesomely random night with really fun people.

These pictures make me giggle.  Instant friends, what can I say.

I'm pretty sure the lady on the end was our server. 

One thing about going out with an older couple is that we don't have to be the responsible ones.  I knew they'd get us back to the resort safe.  Such a fun night!

The following day we had the chance to paddle board in Turtle Bay.  The sea turtles were swimming right next to our boards.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done.  For the record, paddle boarding is harder than it looks!

The remainder of our trip was spent lounging in the sun, sipping fruity drinks, and eating more fish tacos than I'd like to admit.  I didn't realize how much Randy and I needed this trip.  It came at the perfect time.  There is no way it would've been possible without my sweet sis.  Sarah offered to take all 3 of my kids for the week.  Three extra boys would be overwhelming enough but add 2 kids with diabetes and forget about it.  I didn't think there would be any way we could leave Max so soon after his diagnosis.  But Sarah took it in stride and handled everything like a seasoned pro.  Let's not forget she has a 5 month old baby.  She truly amazes me.  I will be repaying the favor for a very long time.

Six boys fed, dressed, hair done and off to school on time.  Impressive!

Hank even got to enjoy some March Madness with his basketball team.  They just happened to make it on the 10 o'clock news!  It was much easier to enjoy ourselves knowing our boys were very well taken care of at home.  I can't wait to return to my favorite island paradise.  Every time I visit Hawaii, I'm tempted to uproot my family and move there permanently.  Island life is the best life.