March Madness

March has been a crazy month!  A lot going on and a lot of sickness going around.

First I had my teacher evaluation.  When I was trying to explain about it to Memphis he said, "You are already a great mom so that means you are a great teacher!"  Love my Memphis.  It's been 3 years since I was last evaluated so I was hoping that my new PE curriculum would help me score higher this time around.  It worked!  I received high marks in every area and my principal said he is pleased with what I have done for the school.  I still cannot believe I have been teaching for 9 years!!!  My 1st year of teaching I taught 4th grade…they are now seniors in high school.  I am so old!!!  I am loving my new PE curriculum and all the new games.  I also did another week of Just Dance and had so much fun:)  I love my job!

Teacher appreciation door decoration

We haven't been camping in a long time so we decided to set up our tent in the basement and let the kids sleep in it on the weekends if they have been good all week.  They are having fun sleeping with their dad and I am enjoying getting some sleep in my own bed by myself without Kayzee waking me up.

Memphis had his well-check-up because he turned 5 and he needed his kindergarten shots.  Memphis is crazy and LOVES going to the doctor.  He was so great for the check-up and so willing to do anything they asked him to do.  The ptosis he has in one eyelid did affect his vision screening a little bit but not enough to be concerning or need to do anything more about.  It has been going away and doesn't happen as much so that is a good sign.  Here are his stats…basically he is the size of a first grader.  Our big growing boy.

Weight: 50 lbs (93%)
Length: 45 in (82%)

When it was time for his shots the pediatrician asked Memphis if he was brave.  Memphis said he was and that he would not cry.  I was amazed that he would be that brave.  He held my hand and then the nurse told him he would need 3 pokes in his legs but it ended up being 4 because one of the shots safety releases broke.  He started laughing when they gave him the shots and I asked him why and he said he laughed so he wouldn't cry.  Memphis is so awesome:)

After his appointment I took him to my school so he could meet his Kindergarten teacher.  One benefit to being a teacher…my kids get to come to my school and I can pick their teacher!  Memphis is going to be in AM kindergarten with Mrs. Barnes.  I love her and she is an amazing teacher.  Memphis is excited too.

Here is Memphis all dressed up to go to his friend's superhero birthday party.

Danny had an exciting adventure at work this month.  He was invited to go to an equipment expo in Las Vegas with his boss and some other co-workers in the company.  They flew in a private company jet and went out to fancy restaurants.  He had so much fun.  Danny loves his job and I am glad he could go to something fun to break up his 11 hour shifts he works every day.

My IBS-D was so nice to me for about 6 months.  I hadn't missed any work and I was feeling really good and then I ate one thing I shouldn't have and I have been sick for a month not able to eat much of anything.  I have missed several days of school and I have lost another 7 pounds.  I am finally feeling back to normal.  The past month has been really hard trying not to eat things I shouldn't because of all the free meals I have been invited too.  That's the reason this flare started up.  We were invited over to dinner at a friend's house and everything they had to eat I couldn't.  I forgot to let them know what I couldn't eat so it's definitely not their fault because they didn't know.  I felt bad not eating at all so I just ate what they had.  Bad idea.  I keep telling myself to start bringing my own food everywhere I go just in case.  It has happened one too many times this month where I couldn't eat what food was available.  Lesson learned.  And the annoyingness of this disease driving me crazy is definitely driving me crazy.

Memphis has been sick the past two days.  For the past few years Memphis has had what we call his monthly throw-up session.  Literally once a month he just throws-up and it has been happening for years now.  No warning and no connection to why he throws-up randomly so we don't know what is causing it every month.  Most of the time he just throws-up once and then he is fine.  But sometimes like this month he throws up for a couple days and can't eat or drink anything.  So weird.  I asked his pediatrician about it because the dentist could tell it was taking it's toll on his teeth but he just said he must have a weak stomach.  We do know that Memphis cannot ride in the very back in any vehicle.  And he cannot play any type of screen with a lot of motion (like iPad or video game) for more than an hour or he gets sick.  Memphis learned a long time ago to throw-up in the toilet or in a bowl or on a blanket so cleaning up isn't as bad as it was when he was younger.  I just hope he grows out of it.

Some great news about Kayzee…she is sleeping better.  She still wakes up once in awhile but not like she used too several times a night.  It has been so nice.  Thank you Kayzee!

We are getting excited to see family.  We get to see the Royer side of the family at the end of this month .  And then my family is coming for Easter and we are headed to Bear Lake.  Fun adventures ahead.  Let's just hope we can all be healthy!  

Happy Valentine's Day

We actually celebrated Valentine's Day with a Date Night!  Danny and I were both home by 3:00 so our wonderful babysitter (neighborhood girl our kid's love) came over and off we went.  The idea was to leave early to beat all the crowds but it was still crazy busy at the restaurants.  First we went to BYU to the "Sacred Gifts" art exhibit.  If you haven't seen it yet you should!  Then we drove around BYU for a little bit.  I have not been there since 2006 so it has changed A LOT.  The roads are different and there are a lot of new buildings.

Then we were going to go to Outback Steakhouse but they had a two hour wait time so we walked over to Chuck-a-rama and got right in.  Danny was excited it was seafood night.  We told our babysitter we would be home by 8 to put the kids to bed but we got done with dinner at 7 so we just went and walked around a few stores then went home.  It was a great night with just the two of us for a change.  We don't do it very often.

The kids had fun at their preschool Valentine's Day party sharing valentines with all their friends.  They also got a package from Grandma Thorpe.  My kids are the cutest!

 Danny doesn't get me flowers very often but he surprised me on Valentine's day with flowers and chocolate and he had done all the dishes and cleaned the house by the time I got home.  LOVE!

 The weather has been so nice we have been going on bike rides and playing at the park!

Had a fun experience on Monday…I had the day off so I was upstairs in my room watching a movie and the DVD player started making a loud popping sound and then it caught on fire.  FUN ADVENTURE!  It was really old (like 10 years) so I am sure it was too old but luckily it didn't damage anything else.  Fun times.

                                            Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Croup and a Birthday!

CROUP!
Out dear sweet Kayzee Lynn got croup and she was having a hard time breathing for about 4 days.  She was quite the sad little girl.  Sunday Jan 19 both Memphis and Kayzee woke up with croupy sounding coughs so I stayed home with them while Danny taught our Primary class.  That night they were both still coughing so they slept in my room with me and I set up our cool mist humidifier.  By morning Memphis was 100% better but Kayzee started getting worse.  I didn't have school that day which was nice so Kayzee just stayed in my room all day with the humidifier.  I wanted to take her into the dr but they were not open that day.  Monday night she got even worse.  I spent 10 minutes every hour sitting outside on our front porch.  She just couldn't breathe in my room and being outside was the only thing that helped her.  And of course it was only like 10 degrees.  BRRRR!  Getting no sleep that night was no fun!

Tuesday my friend took Memphis to preschool and I took Kayzee to the pediatrician.  YEP she had croup!  They diagnosed her right away and she had a very high fever.  Once again Kayzee started screaming as soon as the male pediatrician walked in the room.  We had to have 2 people hold her down while the nurse gave her the shot of steroids to open up her airways.  That night I didn't get any sleep again and because of Kayzee's fever we stayed home from school on Wednesday too.  Thursday we were all back to normal and back in school.  I am just glad it happened that weekend instead of the next when everyone was coming for Memphis' birthday!

Kayzee's crazy hair!

 MEMPHIS' 5th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!
We celebrated Memphis turning 5 for almost a week.  What a lucky boy!  I still cannot believe I have a 5 year old and that I am registering him for kindergarten!!!  He was definitely loved by all and he had fun.  Wednesday Jan 29 my parents flew in from Washington.  I love my parents and am so glad they could come visit to help Memphis celebrate.  That night we went out to eat Memphis' favorite food…pizza.  We went to Pier 49 pizza.  YUM!

Memphis' Auntie Sheesha, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Astle, and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Christensen all gave him money for his birthday so we took him to the store and this is the nerf gun he picked out.  Thanks for the money everyone!

Thursday Jan 30 was Memphis' actual birthday.  It was snowing when we left for school and I took him to the store to pick out some cupcakes to take to his preschool to celebrate and he picked snowflake ones.  He got spoiled at school too.  He got presents from his teachers and he got to be first in line all day.  He loved it.  That night we went to Arctic Circle for dinner and then we headed over to play at Kangaroo Zoo (big bouncy blow up play houses and slides).  He went there last year for his birthday he loves that place.  He invited his friends the Barnes' family to come play with him.  

 Friday Jan 31 we had a birthday party with cake and ice cream for him at our house with a bunch of family.  My cousin Aja and her family and 4 kids showed up.  Memphis loves playing with the boys.  My aunt Sandra, grandma and grandpa Astle, my parents, and Danny's brother Teddy and his wife Brit showed up as well.  Thanks to all for coming and for the presents.  Memphis is loving all the gifts he got.  And thanks Grandma and Grandpa Royer for the gift too!  Memphis is SPOILED! We did a homemade cake from scratch.  BEST CAKE EVER!  Better than a box cake bought from a store.  He loved the colored flame candles.  Memphis said he wanted CHOCOLATE so we had chocolate ice cream, and chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  I was in heaven:)

 We set up his big jump-o-lene so all the kids could jump and play and that night he wanted to sleep in it.

 Sat Feb 1 we went to the hotel my parent's were staying in and went swimming!  My kids love swimming so we had so much fun.   Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Thorpe for coming and having fun with us!  They left to go back to Washington that evening.

 Kayzee asleep at the top of the stairs.  Kayzee is a mommy's girl and I left to go grocery shopping and she cried for awhile and then fell asleep.

 Happy 5th Birthday Memphis…WE LOVE YOU!

The Kayzee Adventure part…???

I realized as I was making my blog into a book for each year that I have a lot of posts labeled the Kayzee Adventure.  YES Kayzee is definitely an adventure!  After 3 1/2 years of being alive she is STILL NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!  Once in awhile she surprises us and sleeps all night but that is only like once or twice a week.  My body is so used to not getting any sleep so when I do get the random chance to sleep all night I am even more tired than when I didn't sleep.  SO ANNOYING!

Because she doesn't sleep well she falls asleep during the day in the most random uncomfortable places you can imagine.  I caught some on my camera.  She is just so tired she passes out hard and fast.

At the babysitters on her couch...

 Literally asleep on top of her toy stroller with the handle bars pressing into her stomach and back...

 In Daddy's laundry basket...

 On top of her pillow on the kitchen floor...

 Half on half off the chair in her room.  I should have taken a picture of her waist and legs hanging off...

 In the car after playing at the lake...

I love my sweet Kayzee Lynn:)

We also took Kayzee to the dentist for the first time.  This was Memphis' 3rd time going and he was cavity free and he did so well:)  Here he is waiting for his cleaning watching Barbie (his choice).  

Kayzee on the other hand…well… I didn't get rid of her sippy cup fast enough partly because of the laxative she was on for her GI issues so I knew her front teeth were bad because of the juice and the sippy cup.  She did really well for the x-rays and the cleaning because the nurse was a girl and she was really nice.  Because of Kayzee's adventures at the hospital and countless GI specialist visits and them always being male and causing pain she relates pain to male doctors.  As soon as the male dentist walked in the room she started screaming!  Poor girl.  She had to do the dentist exam on my lap.  And she had 4 cavities on her four front teeth.  So our options were going to the hospital for gas sedation for $1,200 or IV sedation at the dentist's office for $300.  I bet you can guess which route we chose:)

I took her for the fillings the next morning really early and Memphis stayed home with Auntie Nita who was staying with us.  Kayzee would not do anything for the male sedation doctor who needed to weigh her and take her temperature so he had me distract her with toys and he gave her the shot in her arm.  Kayzee was not too happy but she went limp really quickly.  An hour later they came and got me because she was finally in recovery.  She was knocked out!  We waited 30 min the doctor came in and touched her chest and she instantly woke up.  It was weird.  And Kayzee was hilariously loopy after the sedation.  She LOVED everyone and she told everyone she loved them in a slow loopy voice even the male dentist she screamed at before.  On the way home she yelled at me that she was going to throw up and then said JUST KIDDING and then she started laughing hysterically.  I couldn't stop laughing with her and I am glad she didn't throw up.  She was dizzy and couldn't walk straight for a couple hours and then as soon as she started pestering Memphis we knew she was back to normal:)  What an adventure!

Danny's family came up for New Years.  (Mom and Dad, 3 sisters Nita, Emily, and Mary, brother Benny and his girlfriend Kayla) We had fun seeing them.  My kids love them!  We had fun playing basketball in my school gym and eating yummy food.  After they all left to go home on Wednesday Auntie Nita stayed with us the rest of the week.  We went shopping and to see the movie Frozen and we played games.  We love you Auntie Nita and the ROYER bunch!

Assembly line catching goldfish in their mouths

Fun with Auntie Nita

Kayzee's hair is sooooo long.  Almost down to her hips!  I am having fun playing with it trying out new hairstyles.

 Found this smiley face on our bathroom counter.  Happy New Year everyone!

A White Christmas

The first few weeks of December were pretty uneventful.  I already had Christmas presents bought, wrapped, and in the mail so I was ready for Christmas.  We just did our school and work thing and waited excitedly for Christmas break to arrive so we could relax at home together and enjoy the Christmas holiday.

One exciting thing that happened was a fire at my school in my gym!  I was driving to school when I got a call that said, "Because of a fire in your school gym please go straight to the church across from the school." We got the all clear from the fire marshall that students could return to their classrooms but we could not use the gym.  The fire was not very big, started by a student, caught early and extinguished by our school Janitor but the smoke and the smell was bad enough I couldn't use the gym for PE till the next Monday so it had the weekend to air out.  Bummer but I had Health lessons ready so I just went around to all the classrooms.  It worked out and the students were so good through it all.  On the first Monday of our break Memphis and Kayzee were already driving me crazy bouncing off the walls so I decided to go let them run around my school gym.  Good thing I did.  The ceiling in my PE office was leaking from the roof and the janitor was there so good thing I caught it early and didn't come back to school two weeks later with water damage.  Fun times!

I am having an identity crisis.  I have now officially lived in Utah longer than I have lived in California.  Sad day when I realized that fact.  But I grew up in California from age 4-18 so I will always claim Cali.  BUT one thing I LOVE about Utah and always wanted growing up was a white snow filled Christmas.  Christmas is just that much more complete with snow on the ground.  At least for me.  This year we have had plenty of snow for a few weeks and I have loved it.  I don't even mind driving in it.  Memphis and Kayzee have loved it too.  We have built snowmen and tunnels and slides and have gone sledding have been on many 4-wheeler rides pulling a sled behind it.  It has been fun.  Here are some pictures of our snow filled fun.

Memphis digging his way through a snow tunnel

I have found a new love of shoveling snow.  Seriously I love doing it.  I won't let Danny do it and I have gotten to shovel our driveway and walkway 4 times now.  NO! I will not come shovel your driveway…only mine;)

 Sled and 4 wheeler rides!  You can't see it but Memphis has the biggest grin on his face.  He loves going fast on that sled behind daddy:)

Kayzee wouldn't go on the sled alone so Danny convinced me to go with her.  It was so much fun:)  I was actually surprised that little plastic sled didn't break once Danny had to start pulling all 3 of us.  AWESOME!

 Building a snowman and a slide in our backyard

The Sunday before Christmas I had to dress up Memphis and Kayzee in the Christmas outfits they got last year from my mom.  It was great they still fit a whole year later.  Aren't they the cutest brother and sister ever?  I think so;)

 Awww….

And while I am on their cute brotherness and sisterness here is another picture I caught of these two walking together holding hands.  They really do love each other and play really well together.  Best friends forever!

Here is Kayzee's letter to Santa this year.  Memphis wouldn't do one but this is what Kayzee said…

Dear Santa,

I want a reindeer, a princess doll, a snowman, cute dresses, snowflakes, make-up, princess book and a fairy.  I would like it if my family could get presents too because I love my mommy, daddy, and brother. 

Love, Kayzee

Awwww…so sweet Kayzee and so thoughtful!  We love you too.

Now on to Christmas!

Christmas Eve Danny had to work but he got off work early so we went outside to play in the snow while the sun was still up.  Then we had our traditional dinner by candlelight (I grew up doing this) and read a picture book about the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.  I also grew up opening up one gift from my Grandma and Grandpa Astle on Christmas Eve so we have continued that tradition because they are now sending Memphis and Kayzee (their great-grandchildren) gifts.  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Astle!!!  We love you.  The gift is pjs so it is perfect for Christmas Eve.  Memphis and Kayzee ran up to change into their new pjs and then we all watched the cartoon of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Classic.  

This picture is our candlelit dinner but the flash doesn't help the whole scene.  My kids think it is so cool eating in the dark with a few candles.  Kayzee started screaming that her straw was hot and oops, her straw was melting over the heat from a candle.  

 Cute new pjs!

 Kayzee had a fight with the corner of the kitchen table and got a pretty purple yellow bruise on her eyelid.  Fun memories made tonight!

Christmas morning the kids woke up and came and climbed in bed with us.  We watched some Christmas cartoons and ate yummy homemade cinnamon rolls in bed.  Danny had made them the night before so it was perfect.  Finally we made our way downstairs around 7:30am to find that Santa had come.  Thanks to everyone especially our families who sent gifts for our Christmas.  We love you parents and wish we lived closer.  We spend Christmas day in our pjs playing with our gifts and watching our new movies.  What a great family filled day.

Mine and Danny's gifts

 Memphis' presents

 Kayzee's presents

 Memphis eating a cinnamon roll…yummy!

Memphis was spoiled as usual.  He was so excited to get all the fun Jake and the Neverland pirate stuff to go with his ship he got for his birthday. Thanks mom!

Kayzee was spoiled too.  She is obsessed with princesses so she was excited to get princess dress-up stuff.  Thanks mom.  Also that talking Princess Sophia goes with her everywhere.

 Danny has a lot to read now.

 Memphis and his new scooter.  There is too much ice and snow still outside so I have taken him to my school gym to ride his scooter around.  He loves it.

 I have a lot to read now too!  So excited.  Thanks mom and dad Thorpe!

 Beautiful Angel Kayzee.  One new dress-up dress.  I was so nice and let her wear it to church today but just the dress of course.

 Cinderella dress!

 The dress lights up!

Memphis' new tent.  He has been so jealous of Kayzee's so he is glad to have one of his own that doesn't have princesses all over it;)

 Triple track twister=AWESOMENESS (according to Memphis)

 Loves crashing the cars

 Our new kitchen aid attachment holder…thanks mom and dad Royer!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all and we hope you have a wonderful NEW YEAR!