Pretty in Pink

How fun would having a cast be if you weren't able to choose your favorite color? On Tuesday we took Maci into the surgeon and were given the news that yes it would be casted, but best of all only for about a month. Yeah!! He confirmed that it was indeed a fracture on the Tibia and showed us that it was just below the growth plate (which is good). Had it been closer to the growth plate, she would have had to have surgery. Thank goodness it was a clean break. He said that it should heal up nicely and to come back in a month...so we are scheduled back July 25th.

We were directed to another room (the "casting" room) where the tech gently unwrapped the stint, and then with my help re-wrapped it with a waterproof hard cast. I was so excited when the doctor ordered it "waterproof" that means she can take a bath!! He had asked us how active she is and I guess the look on my face gave said enough!! For anyone that has not had to go through the casting process, I thought it was pretty cool. He started by measuring her leg then pulled out a gauze roll and got it wet. As I held her leg and foot in the right place, he wrapped it with the wet sticky gauze, which would later turn very hard. The last layer was her choice of color, and out of 15 colors including a girl camo...she chose PINK, of course!

I just want to say, she has been a very good sport in all of this. She has been missing out on a lot including her swim lessons that I stood in line for 4 1/2 hours for, but she is a trooper. She is now scooting around and like the dr. said she will probably have the bottom worn out by the time she comes back in a month...we are on our way!!

First Day of Summer...

I find it very ironic that on the official "First day of Summer" it happens to be Maci's last.

Friday afternoon McKay came running inside telling me that Maci was really hurt, "come outside NOW!!" I retrieved a bloody murder screaming child from the trampoline and knew something was wrong. She was complaining that her leg hurt. I laid her on the lawn and asked her to show me where it hurt and had her put her leg straight...I didn't see any out of place bones, but when I put her down to see if she could walk, she screamed!! She could not put any weight down, and that was when I knew something was really bad.

Since she was in her swimsuit, I put her in the bath to clean her up and thought it might relieve some of the pain, but no! She was hurting. She kept telling me that all she wanted to do was go to sleep because she was tired. I dressed her and laid her on my bed as I called the Dr. the next available appointment would be at 7:00 PM. I gave her some tylenol and she did fall asleep. I was having friends over at 6PM and oh am I so grateful that they were here. I was able to leave Avery and McKay and off we went to the Dr.

Man, was she a trooper. Although she was in pain, she held very still for the Dr. to check her out. They sent us over to the hospital for X-rays and then back to the office for the results. The results: A fracture in the Tibia. I don't know my anatomy well at all so she had to show me that it was on the top part of her leg just below the knee. The Dr. put a temporary "soft" (it is actually hard underneath the wrap) cast on, gave us a perscription for the pain, and information for a referral to the surgical center on Monday!!

During all of this drama, Dave was out of town running the Wasatch Back Relay Race and wasn't planning on being home until late Saturday. Of course he was in the canyon, so I couldn't get a hold of him. He got my messages and called just as her leg was being wrapped. Feeling helpless, he said he would call as soon as he got back into the valley, that was Saturday morning. Dave and his teammates were exhausted, not to mention Dave's knee was pretty messed up. They decided not to run through the finish line, and just came home. So he made it home Saturday afternoon. He and Maci relaxed and watched more movies, and I headed off to the store to buy Maci a new cast wearing wardrobe.

We are now learning patience with a little four year old, that has been pretty used to being independent. We have to carry her everywhere. The bathroom is my biggest task!! She is getting very bored of watching movies, and has asked me numerous times when she gets her cast off...we are just beginning!! I have decided a positive that may come out of this, I may get some muscles!!

I just want to say THANK YOU to my wonderful friends! You all have been so helpful especially on Friday night. I am sad that I missed out on a fun night, but I am so glad that you all stuck around and had a fun night together. FYI, we will be having another girls night open to anyone and everyone more details to come. (Melissa I was very sad that I didn't get to even visit with you, after driving all the way down).

Maci and I also want to say a big THANK YOU to all that have come by, called and sent gifts her way. She has been in very good spirits and I know that it is all because of you that Care and Love her. Thank you and we Love you all!

You Say It's your Birthday...Well HAPPY BIRTHDAY To You!!!

I just want to give a shout out to my dear friend Kristin...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I hope you have the GREATEST day ever!!

OOOH...Friday the 13th!!

Whah, Lah...We're in Business again!

Do you see anything missing from this picture?
(don't mind the huge mess on the washer!!)

Our weekend was cut a little short on Saturday as we were in the middle of cleaning out MY closet (4 huge bags to the DI) and doing our endless laundry!! Well, after the second load of 2 white batches (that's how much laundry we have) we discovered our dryer was NOT drying the clothes, eek!! Being the handy husband I have, Dave got the tools out and tinkered with the machine for a bit, but still nothing!! We decided that it probably had given up after a near 10 year life with us!!

So we headed off to the appliance stores nearby to try to find a dryer for the best buy...no pun intended, but the first place we looked was actually Best Buy. They had an open box last years model of a Whirlpool dryer marked down because of a dent in the front...after looking at Costco, Lowes and the local Hutches in town, we ended back at the Best Buy. We made our purchase, and had to have my brother come pick the darn thing up in his truck and deliver it to our home for us (we are cheap and didn't want to spend the $55 for delivery). Thanks Jesse for taking time out of your Saturday night to help us out!

After carefully unloading and unwrapping the plastic from the machine, Dave discovers it is a freaking GAS dryer!!! We thought we were getting such a great deal, suckers. The dang salesman didn't even know it was a Gas dryer! So back to Best Buy they go with the Gas Machine and forgot the receipt...luckily they remembered us in there just 10 minutes before and kindly gave us the refund.

Being that it is so late on Saturday and all the stores are closed by now, we go yet another day without a dryer. Dave borrowed his dad's truck on Sunday and drove it home, knowing that we would be out today again shopping for an ELECTRIC dryer. So tonight after Dave came home from work (6:45PM) we headed to Provo to hit the RC Willey's. Thankfully we found one at a decent price and only had to make one stop! Thank you RC Willey Outlet!! And Thank You Jason for helping Dave haul it inside!! Now we are back in business and how nice is it to have an ELECTRIC Dryer that actually dries our clothes...that means I am back to the ugly chore of doing the laundry, yuck!!

Doesn't it look so pretty, and new still with the blue protective cover on it!!

Welcome little Jarrett!!

I wanted to have a seperate post to welcome our newest addition to the Wall side of the family...

Little Jarrett Tylor Beveridge was brought into this world on May 20th at 11:09 AM he weighed a whole 6 lbs. 4 oz. and is every bit of that little bundle of joy. Our family has been truly blessed, especially my little sister-in-law Julie, and her hubby Tylor.

I just want to take a minute to share a few of my feelings of gratitude towards Adoption. I have seen both sides of Adoption with a couple of my friends having Aadopted, now with Julie and Tylor Adopting, but also having a little sister give up her own child for Adoption. I want to stress my gratitude for the acts of unselfishness of these mothers for their decision to give their child the best life possible, and that is in the hands of my dear friends and now my family. I have always said it would be the HARDEST thing in life to give up a child, especially after having my own. I want to say Thank You to those mothers that have given up a child in order to have that little child be cared for and loved immensely by these fortunate friends and family of mine.

Here is our little man... and Julie and Tylor CONGRATULATIONS!!! You are going to be great, quick (they had 3 weeks notice), first time parents. I can't wait till you add on to your little family.


We were so lucky to have a visit from Julie, Tylor, and Jarett on their way home from the hospital...thanks for letting us love him up!!

Its a kindof smile!!

Isn't he adorable?

The Proud Little MOMMY!!

The Days of May...where did they go?

I am so Dang behind on my posts, and I have figured out why...I take too much time looking at everyone elses that I don't take time to post my own. Then I feel guilty for spending so much wasted time on the computer (so Dave says). I would like to set a goal of posting at least once a week.

I have a lot to post for this month of May that has suddenly disappeared from me. So for this post there will most likely be a lot of photos so please don't be too bored, and at least scroll to see pictures (I am still figuring the picture download thing out). Please forgive me, but know that I will try my hardest to do better!!

May this year struggled with warm temperatures...it rained one week, got sunny for a day, rained again for more days than it was sunny, but eventually got warm enough for me to hear the kids asking for the slip-n-slide.

This is what I saw one day after the storm...

Maci and McKay of course were caught in action!!

However, these two boys tried to hide...sorry boys (Hinckley and Anson) your autograph has been signed on the fence, and I know who dunnit!!

Anyone for a Slip-n-Slide?

I finally gave in for the second day...Maci got an Ariel Little Mermaid slip-n-slide for her birthday and she had begged (even on the coldest days) to get it out. As soon as the storms ended and the sun peeked through the clouds, out came the slip-n-slide. On the second day McKay wanted his double one out, so again I gave in, and all the kids came...It was fun taking pictures because I learned a new feature on my camera...continuous shooting! Watch McKay and Graham in action...

Here are a few of the bathing beauties...Graham, Jax, McKay and MaciSeriously why on the garbage cans? This is where I have caught them playing, I don't know why. Miranda, Tyleigh, Carsyn, Maci, Anson, and McKay.

Our Little Gymnast...Maci has been in gymnastics since January and has absolutely loved it. On May 16th they had their Exhibition and the theme was "Wild about Gymnastics". Before they started they had Cory Adams Photography there taking their photos (hence the professional photo on the star!!) The gym was decorated in a Jungle Theme, and as the kids approached they had music from the Jungle Book playing...In walked my little gymnast (an elephant) and for those that know me, of course tears came to my eyes...I am a baby I know it. It was fun to see her with her all smiles beaming as she did her little "Ta-Da's"! I was a very proud mommy, and she was a very cute gymnast.

What a cute little elephant

Just a few of her favorites...she loves the beam and the bars, however she is good at her cartwheels and with help she likes doing backbends.

I love her expressions!

And here she is receiving her goodie bag/medal!! (McKay got a medal and her heart was set on getting the same thing, oh well.)

Here are her biggest fans...thank you Grandma Sue and Aunt Julie, Grandma Vicki, Aunt Kristen and Kaiden for coming to share her special night. And of course she is Daddy's and Mommy's girl!! Way to go Maci, you did GREAT!!

TAggED...

So I figured since this is the second time I have been tagged with this I better do it...not to mention that I haven't posted in weeks!!! I have lots to share from what has been going on in the life of the Wall's (I just haven't had much time to download pictures and actually post)

I know you are all sick of seeing my cinco de mayo/Happy Birthday post with Maci's lovely picture so here goes my tag...

How to play this game of tag. Post these rules on your blog. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag some other people by leaving a comment on their blog.

3 JOYS:
-My little family
-getting a "Good Deal" or something "on Sale"

-Feeling appreciated

3 FEARS:

-Drowning
-Losing a child or husband (Dave)

-Any Natural Disaster; Fire, Flood, Earthquake, etc.

3 GOALS:
-Finish a quilt I started (it was a gift for my nephew, oops a lot late!)

-Organize my craft (or crap, that's what Dave calls it!) space.
-Budget better...I filled up gas today and it cost me $70, eek!!

3 OBSESSIONS/COLLECTIONS:
-I buy scrapbook stuff (paper) but I haven't scrapbooked forever!

-This should count...I used to collect FROGS, until I had to box them up since McKay and friend broke them all when they were 3!!
-I am a coupon clipper (once again, I love a good deal!)

3 RANDOM FACTS:
-I am a huge sweet tooth, I too LOVE the circus peanuts!!
-I have been attacked by a K-9 cop dog (German Shepherd) while wearing the "Bite Suit" eventhough I was armed I still had huge bruises on my legs for a couple of weeks after.
-I am NOT a morning person, and if I could, I would wear comfy PJ's all day!

So there it is, a new post!! Thanks Melissa and Jonie for the Tag. Sorry, it's not too exciting! For those of you that would like to do it, go for it...I tag Tara, Mindy and Teri!!

Happy Cinco De Mayo/Birthday Maci

We are very fortunate to have a birthday to celebrate with a very important holiday-Cinco De Mayo, that is, just barely...Maci Jae Wall was born at 11:59 PM on May 5th 2004 (wouldn't it have been cool if it was 2005- 5/5/05, oh well!) This year I kept catching myself saying that Maci was going to be 5 years old (May 5th is throwing me off). Well she is actually 4 years old today.

We started the day off by going to McKay's school fieldtrip to the Bean Museum at BYU, whoo hoo!! It was very nice being able to drive ourselves and not have to be over a little group of kids. We were able to enjoy the many stuffed heads hanging on the walls and even saw a presentation on animal babies, again whoo hoo!! I think Maci felt like a big girl being able to be there with the kindergarten kids.

This year Maci requested a "Franklin" birthday cake. For those of you that don't know who Franklin is, he is a turtle cartoon that has friends, Bear, Goose, Fox, Cat and Owl. She has been obsessed with "Franklin" lately...I know, sadly Dora has lost the audience of Maci. I tell Maci a few days before that we will go to the store to see if we can order a "Franklin" cake, her reply is "No, Mom You can make a Franklin cake." Is she serious? Does she know who her mom is? Well, I don't want to let my 4 year old down, so with the help and encouragement from Kristin I attempt to make a "Franklin" birthday cake.

I am just happy when my family arrives and they all know that it is a turtle, and Maci is as happy as can be...Mission Accomplished!!

I cannot believe that my little Maci is already 4 years old. She definatley thinks she is a big girl, she told me today as she is standing up straight and so tall, "Mom, You can tell that I am now 4 years old because I am big now!" You sure are a big girl. I cannot believe it has already been 4 years. I wish some days the time would stop or at least slow down. I think I get so caught up in all the day to day activities that I don't take time to appreciate what I have, my little family. I am so grateful for Maci in our lives. She definately keeps us on our toes. I am often reminded of how hard I was for my parents, and how much harder I have it with Maci. I know that she is my challenge, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

I love having a little girl that likes to go shopping. I love being able to do her hair (although she hates it!). I love that she has started to enjoy playing dress-ups and likes to play "mom and dad" (I called it playing house). She likes playing with her dolls, but also knows how to play rough with the boys. I don't love that every pair of jeans she owns has a hole in each knee!! I love that she is so silly, but a lot of times is sassy. I love that she loves being a big sister, and that she likes to help me do just about anything. But most importantly, I am just grateful that she is my little girl, and will always be mine.

Happy 4th Birthday Maci, I love you sweetheart!

Bouncin' Fun

Since I have been a single mom this week, I have tried to have things to do to help pass time, but having this horrible head cold hasn't done me any favors. Today, I had to get out of the house. Well, I couldn't enjoy any warm Spring weather because we woke up to yet another freezing day with SNOW!! It is May 1st...there should not be SNOW!

Last night we had a fun night with Kristin, Graham, and Jonah. Kristin had forgot that Jason wouldn't be home until late, and she made a lot for dinner so she called and asked if she could share...of course! Chicken Noodle Soup and Breadsticks, it totally hit the spot, and it was DELICIOUS! (thanks Kristin) We decided to make it a mini girls night by letting the kids watch a movie upstairs, while we watched '27 Dresses' downstairs. By 9PM we were exhausted (5 kids can do that to you!) The boys also had a little sleepover, since I would be watching Graham while Kristin and Jason headed to Logan for the day (they left real early). Just after Kristin left to go home I had two little boys in tears. Graham wanting to go home, and McKay sad that he would leave. I told them I would check on them in 15 minutes, of course they were both out in 5. During the night (I hadn't gone to bed quite yet) I heard a thud...yep, Graham had fallen out of bed!! I went and checked on them and he was sound asleep. Poor boy woke up with a couple of bumps on his forehead, but it didn't seem to bother him. McKay was happy Graham stayed, and the two of them got ready and off to school.

Kristin watching our chick flick, Jonah was sporting some crazy hair and the kids enjoyed their late night movie, Scooby-Doo

This is before Graham fell off of the bed...ouch!

Avery didn't have a good night to say the least. She was up almost every half an hour, until I decided to put her in bed with me. Only later waking up with a 102 fever. When is it ever going to end? Maci had her friend Lilly come over to play, I am so grateful for another little friend. Maci has been aching for another friend since Sydney moved away, we all miss Syd and her family. They were inseperable so since she has been gone, I have gone a bit nuts with her being so bored.


Today, I thought I would try to be a "nice" (single) mom, and take the kids to Kangaroo Zoo. I asked Lexi if she wanted to come, so it ended up being Me, McKay, Maci, Graham, Avery, Lexi, Dylan, and Emmett that went, and we had a lot of fun. I even ended up on the slides and had the most fun in the "Wrestling Match" bounce house with the kids. We had a blast. McKay and Graham both tried to be "Nacho Libre" with all their moves as I kept throwing them off of me, into the air, to bounce off of the walls. It sure gave me a workout, and wore them out as well. I think I earned a few brownie points from that trip, McKay kept saying how much fun he had, and that made me feel happy!

We are down to 2 more nights until Dave is home on Saturday. I have been called the meanest mom...have been yelled at "I wish dad was here, and you were the one gone for a really really long time!" I have been up many sleepless nights with this head cold and a sick baby... I have cried because the kids won't listen to me...McKay and Maci have spent many minutes in their rooms for not obeying...we have been able to eat mac-n-cheese, hotdogs, sandwiches, and cereal for dinner (I haven't had to go grocery shopping)...I spent FHE night in line for 4 1/2 hours signing my kids up for swim lessons...I have watched '27 dresses' 3 times...I watched the Jazz lose, terribly, all by myself...and mostly I have been pretty lonely without Dave. So for those of you that have spouses that travel, I am sorry...it SUCKS!!

Who's the real Guppy now?

I guess you could say that all the 150+ women, with the exception of 2 men that I saw, as well as myself and 2 friends, we would be the real guppies!! However, I was at this home for 4 1/2 hours to sign up my little ones for swim lessons. My real goal was to at least have a session open for Maci, but as I wait, and wait, and wait I see the "guppies" classes filling up quickly.

So this is how my day actually went...First Day without dad, McKay off to school, Maci and I are sick still in PJ's, early out for McKay, lunch, then my friend Roni stopped by and said she was going to sign up for swim lessons...I kindof invite myself to do the same, and also tell Kristin about it. I had no idea this is what it would be. There were 3 days advertised for registration so we figure "there's nothing else going on today, I will just go get it done." The time was 3pm-5pm, oh wait we can pay with Cash Only or Cashiers check, so off to the bank I go, I get there at 3:15PM and there is a line of 150+ women. We (me, McKay, Graham, and Ethan-we met their moms there) were greeted with signs posted "Absolutely no CUTZ in line, Keep Children out of flower beds, Keep Children out DANGER!, and NO RESTROOMS" I think the line will move along, but after 1 hour and still not much progress, I begin to wonder. Kristin, Roni and I are at the end of the line with a few straglers, we figure out later we could have gone home and been back at 5Pm and still would have waited 1/2 the time.

Oh what fun we are having...thank goodness for our drink/goody run to Harts...that held us over for a little bit. Thank goodness the kids were freely playing in the DIRT and with sprinkler heads, and for the most part getting along. Thank Goodness that I have an awesome neighbor that had Maci (and later dropped her off to me). Thank goodness I have a very good third child that didn't mind drinking a mixed bottle of a little milk and apple juice (I wasn't prepared), and Thank Goodness that Kristin is ALWAYS prepared (with a few snacks, water, diaper, wipes, and burp cloth, to name a few).

After we invested 2 hours of our time we realize that it is taking each person a minimum of 5 minutes of "counseling" to get registered, we stick it out. I held on to the last of our treats, Peachy Rings, after many hungry cries from the children I tell them our goal is to get to the second bench and then I will open them. We finally reach the bench, yeah, and we only have McKay, Graham, and Ethan. (Shane stopped and picked up the girls and Jason picked up Jonah) More peach rings for us, okay really, only 2 each!!

Surprisingly, there are still some spots open, and I successfully register my kids for two sessions. I jokingly ask if they will call us to remind us of our 4 month out committment. They laugh and say no!! For 4 1/2 hours and $145 later, I don't even get a reminder notice!! So I ask again, Who's the real guppy now?

We've caught some bug.

I have been sitting here for the past two hours trying to get caught up on my posts. Not only am I tired, but I feel like my head is going to blow off...I don't know if it is alergies or a stinkin head cold...whatever it is I have it while the flu has gone from McKay to now Dave throwing up his guts! We have had the bad luck this week...

It started with Avery, not her happy self, and not sleeping, then fevering...I took her in to the Dr. Monday morning, double ear infections...later that night her fever peaked at 104.9, yikes. I freaked out and called the Dr. and learned something new. A fever usually peaks in the evenings because of a hormone that is released from the body. At least that was what the nurse told me.

Maci has had a constant runny nose/cough, but has seemed to be fine with a little cough medicine.

Last night McKay had complained of his stomach hurting, I sent him to bed with a little children's Pepto...he woke up 1 hr later, in time to watch the Jazz game with Dave, but ended shortly by throwing up all over our downstairs carpet...I was able to use our shopvac for the first time!

This morning Dave woke up feeling under the weather, but still went into work. After running around all day, we came home to a husband/dad, curled up in a ball sound asleep on the bed. After a 4 hour nap, a few fever chills, and throwing up himself, he is back to bed.

With all of this, I/mom/wife, sit here half drugged with Sinus Decongestant medicine that I took 4 hours ago, that isn't working, wondering if maybe it is allergies and if I have a medicine for that, I know that tomorrow I will still have to keep up with everyone else. We definately need to nip Daves in the bud because in two days he leaves for Japan!!! I better get better fast!!! Me and 3 kids for a week with this pounding headache is not going to be pretty.

Wobbly Tooth

It is Official...on Saturday, April 19th McKay lost his first Tooth!! Now this just makes me feel old.

He had been wiggling this tooth for a week now and was so excited to show everyone, I hadn't even felt it until this night. I couldn't believe he still had it, because the Tooth was just hanging there. Dave and I had all sorts of ideas on how to get it out, but the poor boy was scared. We had him sold on the idea of tying it to the doorknob and shutting it, however the floss kept slipping off. After several attempts at this, I finally took over and tied it to the tooth, slipped it underneath and let him count to 3, and out it came bouncing onto the floor!! He didn't even cry, "it didn't even hurt" he says, with a toothless grin!!

He was so excited he ran right over to show his friends Graham and Anson. A few high-fives later he was back to call the grandmas.

Way to go buddy!! Look at his cute smile now!