Surprise, it's nice to see you too.

I had an interesting experience last Wednesday. It was playgroup day. I loaded up the boys into the car and pulled out of the driveway into the ally. As I was approaching the road I noticed my neighbor outside. Our neighbors are very friendly and we usually exchange a courteous wave, "hello." So when I saw him tucked behind his garbage can I was thrown off guard. I tried to make eye contact with him, but he wouldn't look at me. It was then I noticed the reason why. He was taking something to his trash can in his underpants. No, my friends, not boxers, but tidy whities, little tiny ones squeezed onto an old, fat body.

Boys, boys, boys...

It's been a while since we've posted pictures of the boys. It was a gorgeous evening and the boys went outside to play for while. They are beginning to become little buddies which is so lovely, and they really enjoy each others company. Logan gave his first talk today in primary and did a great job. I absolutely loved that Ben came out of nursery with a little sticker that said, "I'm trying to be like Jesus." I probably need to be wearing that sticker more than he does, but it was pretty cute. Our nursery leaders rock! How was your Sunday?

What do Mushrooms, Toenails, and our Lawn have in common...

Fungus! Yeah, did you know your grass can get a fungus. Well ours does. Wes and I are sooooooo sad. We pride ourselves on our lush, beautiful, green lawn. However, this year there are dead spots all over. We made a quick trip to HD(Home Depot)and soon had a diagnosis and, get this, medication. We are hoping very soon the fungus will be contained and we will yet again enjoy our green, St. Augustine grass.

Holy Shrine of Delicious Goodness

My favorite candy bar, for the time being, is called Reese Sticks. If you haven't tried them I highly recommend it. They are very difficult to find. I can only find them at "On the Run" gas stations. So when I came across this bag that contained not only my precious Reese Sticks but also Wes' favorite(the peanut butter cups) I could not pass it up. So here you have it, enjoy.

Lymphadenitis???

(Please note swelling on HIS left side, if you can even see it from the pics.)

On Monday Logan told me that his neck was hurting. I just played it down and told him he probably slept on it funny. Tuesday, same story. It was not a constant pain, but rather it only hurt when he would turn his neck, so again played it off, "Logan sometimes you sleep on your neck funny, it's called a kink." It wasn't until last night as I was rushing to put him into bed(so I could eat dinner, mind you it is 8:15, and it was a very, very long day with the boys...Wes was gone, went straight from work to do EQ visits)and frantically pulling his pjs on(as he was not going fast enough) when he again said, "Ouch mom, my neck."
Initially I though, ok, enough is enough. So I pulled him close and felt his neck. Sure enough he had a large lump in his neck. So, what was my next step? Well, the same step that I always take when something happens to my children. I called my mom. Never mind that fact that I am a nurse and have worked on a pediatric unit doing patient care. She told me to call the ER. That is when the panic set in. Immediately and without thinking I burst into tears, called Wes and told him he needed to come home now. Then I called the doctor. The nurse called me back a few minutes later and calmed me down and said it sounded like swollen lymph nodes. He didn't need to be seen immediately, but first thing in the morning. He went in today and sure enough he has Lymphadenitis, an infection in his lymph nodes. Not only one node, but two in his neck. He started antibiotics today and the swelling should go down in 2-4 wks. If not, he'll need to be seen again. Crazy. We solely keep North Dallas Pediatrics in business. Between ear infections, strep throat, well-care visits, nurse maids elbow, and lymphadenitis we soley keep North Dallas Pediatrics in business. Maybe I should talk them into setting up some sort of frequent flyer miles with them and then I'll at least be getting something from the deal besides stress, anxiety, and a belly ache!!

Like Mother Like Daughter

Decathlon

I'm sure you all know, but for those of you who don't, I am the Stake Girl's Camp Assistant. That means, one, I have to attend girls camp(as the YW secretary you don't, and by attend I mean go the entire week, even an extra day to set up) and two, I am responsible for coming up with ideas for large camp activities. The biggest activity I am responsible for is the infamous 4th yr overnight hike.
Our camp theme is "Go for the Gold" in honor of the summer Olympics. I have thus decided to stem off that theme and make the 4th yr hike the "Decathlon." What I have envisioned for the girls is to compete in/complete 10 tasks/events during the overnighter. 5 being camp certifications (ie set up camp, build a fire, etc...)and 5fun activities similar to events elementary kids would participate in at field day (ie shoe kick, three legged races, etc..) My favorite activity I found on the Internet was called Chicken toss, which is, who can throw the rubber chicken the farthest.
My dilemma is now, how do I prolong these activities, or how to make them a competition and have it last an entire evening and morning? My vision has turned into a nightmare of completing the tasks in the first hour and not having a plan for the remaining 12 hours I have with a bunch of 15 yr olds and random leaders I'm not acquainted with from throughout the stake.
I need your help. Give me all your juicy ideas. The good, the bad, the ugly, I'll take it all!! Plus I need more ideas of how to make it feel like an Olympic event(I've thought of judges, bib numbers, coaches).
Please, please help me.

April Fool's

I leisurely walked into the locker room after finishing a great 5 mile run and chest/tri weight workout when I noticed I had missed 3 calls on my cell phone. I always check my cell phone after I work out because when Logan is at school I'm afraid they might have tried to call me while I was out of reach. I checked the missed calls and they were all from Wes.
Missing 3 phone calls from Wes is a very uncommon thing. Wes is so busy these days that he rarely has time to call me once a day, let alone three in the space of a half an hour. It startled me and I immediately called right back.
He quickly answered the phone and proceeded to tell me that he was on the other line and he was just trying to pass on a message to me. He told me that someone, a Mr. Lyon, was trying to get a hold of me. He didn't know who he was or what he needed but he was urgently trying to get a hold of me and needed me to call him back ASAP.
He said, "His number is blah, blah, blah, press 0 for the operator and ask for Mr. Lyon. Call him back right away. Now, I got to get back to this client, I'll call you back in a few minutes."
To be perfectly honest, I was shocked. Who was Mr. Lyon and why was he trying to urgently get a hold of me. I then got worried. What had I done, and was I in trouble for something? I felt like a child again, racking my brain for my past actions and which one might need reprimanding. I dialed the phone number and
it was hard to hear with all comings and goings in the locker room. Then I heard,
"You have reached the Dallas Zoo and aquarium...if you know your parties extension you may dial it at any time or press 0 to speak with an operator." So I pressed 0. After holding for a couple of seconds the operator answered, "Dallas zoo, how might I direct your call?" Now totally confused I said, "Yes, I am returning a phone call for Mr. Lyon."
Operator: "Oh honey, someone got you good."
Me: "What?"
Operator: "This is the Zoo...Mr. Lyon called for you? We've had a lot of Mr. Bears today but I think your the first calling for Mr. Lyon."

It was at this point I realized today is April Fools Day. Hope you all had a good laugh, because I didn't and Wes got the king of all nuggies tonight!!