GIRLS NIGHT OUT...

I have seen it before..."if you post, they will come"!!!
so here it is: GIRLS NIGHT OUT, at my house on Friday August 29th, 6:00 PM come hungry we will be ordering out, plus lots of goodies, laughs, games, and of course a little Dance Dance...

***Open invitation to anyone, as long as you are not some weirdo stalking my blog!!!

Star Student

We officially made it through our FIRST week of FIRST grade, yeah!! It seems like the summer quickly disappeared, and I haven't even posted what fun we have had...that will soon come!

McKay's FIRST week went surprisingly well. I didn't get all emotional like I did last year (maybe because I don't have the pregnancy hormones like last year), or maybe it is because I wasn't even the one to take him on his FIRST day of school. We put him on the "Early Bird" block after meeting his teacher at Back to School night. There was a sign posted that there were only 7 students signed up for the "Early Birds" and 19 for the "Later Gators". She asked if we had a preference on time, and said that the "Early Birds" would be getting more one-on-one time with the teacher, since the numbers were small.

Well, all along Dave wanted him on that schedule that way he could take him on his way to work. That is just what we ended up doing, and it is working out GREAT!! I am finding that there are a lot of pros to this schedule, although I am not a morning person, it works fabulous for us. We also have an awesome car-pool going on where Dave always takes the boys in the morning and then Roni and Teri pick up 2 days each and I on Thursday's.

All in the excitement of the FIRST day of school, of course it can't go perfect Right? Well, it didn't for me. I went to pick McKay up and could not find him anywhere. Here I (actually Dave)had left my little boy for all day school and hadn't talked about where I would meet to pick him up. I started panicking a little after the school buses had left and the area was starting to get empty. I decided to go to his classroom, where the door was locked. I asked another teacher and she said that he could have gone to recess with the rest of the class, so off to the playground I go...no McKay. Now I am really panicking. Back to his classroom I go, this time I knocked, and lo and behold, there my sad little FIRST grader on his FIRST day of school, is sitting at his table waiting for his mom to come get him. What had happened was since we had changed him to the "Early Birds" the Friday before, the office hadn't made the change so the teacher wanted to be safe and keep him inside the classroom instead of letting him go. I felt so bad, but he was a tough little boy until we made it out in the hall. He cried a little and said he thought I forgot about him and wasn't coming to get him. A little Frightening for a little FIRST grader on the FIRST day of school.

Come to find out he wasn't the only child that had been missed...a little girl that is in our ward was waiting for her mom so I stuck around with her for a minute, well that waiting landed me a little part-time job. Her mom frantically pulled in to pick her up (forgetting it was early-out day) anyway, she was in a scramble. Her boys attend the Jr. High school and this year they changed the time by 1/2 hour, leaving her little one alone for about an hour. She asked me if I would be interested in watching her until the brother got home each day. It has actually worked out quite nicely, plus I was happy to help.

So here we are on week #2 and we have the privilege of being the "STAR STUDENT". Thank goodness I kept his little poster from last year!! With a few little changes and clean captions, he was off to celebrate his week long birthday. I will get to take a treat in on Friday, then on Saturday (his actual birthday) we will have a fun party with his little friends. Wish me luck as Dave heads off on Friday for the opening game Utah vs. Michigan...which leads me to my next post...

10 years of Happiness!!

I cannot believe that it has been TEN years already! Dave and I were married on August 15th 1998...if you ask him it was the 14th. We had this conversation on Sunday and he seriously thought that Thursday would be our anniversary. I told him to look inside his ring. I knew that paying an extra $$ for engraving would come in handy!

I have really been looking forward to our big TEN years to celebrate. I thought we would be able to go away for the weekend, but unfortunately for us we get to put that off. Dave's little brother is getting married first thing tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. We are so happy for Steve and Sandy and hope they have a wonderful wedding day, as wonderful as it was for us TEN years ago.

I loved my wedding day, and have always said I would love to have that day all over again. It was such a perfect day. Yes, there were things that happened that most would think were a big deal, but it was such a wonderful day that those things seemed so small. I know that it was a very stressful day for my mom and I am forever in debt to her for all her time and planning to make such a perfect day happen.

The most memorable "oops" was our "First Night"...after such a long day and night from the reception we headed through Provo Canyon to stay at Daniel's Summit. Now for those of you that know about Daniel's Summit, it is now a beautiful lodge. Well TEN years ago there were 8 little cabins (no Lodge) and we had reserved a little cabin for the night. When we arrived, after 45 minutes of driving, the place was completely dark, no where to check in...Dave walked around trying to see if anyone was around (it was about 11:00 PM) There was no one, so what did we do? Turned back around and spent our "First Night" in our lovely apartment!! I called Daniel's Summit the next morning, and they were very appologetic. Apparently they failed to tell us which cabin was ours and that the door was unlocked with the key inside, waiting for our arrival!!! They rearranged for us to come again, so we returned 2 months later for my birthday!

The rest of the Honeymoon was a night at Anniversary Inn, and then a 5-day Mexican Baja cruise. The rest is History...

TEN Wonderful years married to the greatest friend and companion I could ask for. I look forward to the many many more years of Happiness. Here's to you Dave, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY today, not the 14th!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Update Already!!

I know, I know...you are all thinking "Update already!" I promise, it is coming. And I have to say, there will be lots!!

Maci is Cast-Free!!!

July 25th was a special day for Maci...she got her Cast removed, yeah!!!

The night before was full of mixed emotions, Maci was actually sad and didn't want to have her cast taken off. She and that pink leg did a lot in the last 4 1/2 weeks!! I can seriously say that it didn't slow her down one bit. Aside from cancelling swimming lessons, cancelling gymnastics, and definately no bike riding, we made it through just fine. She even wore out the bottom on the foot and heel. For the times she wasn't "hoppin along" she rode in the stroller. I rigged it where Avery stayed in her car seat and hung from the handles, while Maci rode more comfortably. (Going up and down that big hill for swim lessons was a doosy!) We stayed pretty busy, going to McKay's swim lessons for 2 different weeks, McKay's baseball games, Lehi City days parade and carnival, 4th of July fireworks, the Monday morning movies, slip-n-sliding, Kangaroo Zoo, and thanks to modern technology we were able to take advantage of the "water-proof" leg and go to Seven Peaks Waterpark once. Apparently having a casted leg bothered this one women who sat on the sidelines of the kiddie pool...here was our conversation:

Lady: "Excuse me, excuse me..." (as she is pointing to Maci) "is that your little girl with the cast on?"
Me: "Yes" (thinking she might say something like, "oh she is so cute with that pink cast") oh no...

Lady: "Well, doesn't that thing collect mold and stuff inside?"
Me: kindof chuckling, "oh no, it is actually waterproof"
Lady: "Waterproof? Are you sure? I have never heard of that before, and I have 5 boys"
Me: (thinking, is she calling me a liar?) "Yep, we got lucky and the Dr. ordered it waterproof, and it actually needs to get wet every day"
Lady: "Is that something new, because we have had broken bones and never a cast like that"
Me: "well this is our first time, and hopefully our last"
Lady: "So, does that cost more?"
Me: "I Don't know, I haven't got the bill yet."

This whole time I am thinking to myself, are you for real lady? Honestly, do you think I would bring my kid out here in the swimming pools with a cast full of mold? I really wanted to just say, why yes, it is full of mold and that is why we are here, so the chlorine can kill it all!! SERIOUSLY!!

Although having a broken leg right in the middle of the summer pretty much sucked, we all endured. And Maci was definately a TROOPER. We will miss your pretty pink (that turned to orange) leg, but have to say We don't want you back!!

Step One: use the saw to cut through the hard cast
Step Two: use the pliers to break open the hard cast (it reminded me of breaking crab legs!)
Step Three: Use the scissors to cut the gauze layer

Step Four: Pull apart hard cast from Maci's leg. (she wasn't so sure about it)
This is when mom starts panicking...Maci started crying saying it hurt when he touched it...I thought "are we going to have to do this all over again?" The PA felt so bad, but assured me that it is pretty normal. Having her leg in one position for the past 4 weeks will make it tender. Our next step is to X-Ray her little leg so that the Dr. can see that if break has healed... The X-Rays looked great, the break had healed. The Dr. said that it will take time to build up her muscle, but for now, put her in a hot bath and give her Ibuprofen for the pain...and that I would probably be carrying her around for the next week or so...what? I thought we were through!!

Once again she has proved the Dr. wrong (or just shows her independence) I haven't had to carry her around at all. However, she does have a little limp and favors that leg. But who wouldn't when you were used to hauling a hard cast around everywhere you went? It has taken some getting used to. I know she wants to just get going, but has to be careful too. She has gotten ahead of herself and has tripped a few times...poor thing, but she will get it back to normal again...we can't wait to start gymnastics and get the rest of the summer over with.

While the Boys are away, the Girls shall Play!

Last night was our ward's annual "Father's and Son's" campout, therefore the women got to play. Since the last girl's night I hosted wasn't so much fun for Maci and I (Maci broke her leg that night). I decided it would be a great opportunity to throw another get together. All day Maci kept asking when the girls would be coming, (she was just as excited as I was), even more so that her friends would be joining us.

It is always an open invitation for anyone. We started the evening by ordering out Cafe Rio, yummy...and got pizza for the kids. We sat around and talked as the kids played. I know to some that may seem boring, but let me tell you...I need that adult interaction! It was just a ton of fun hanging out with other moms and eating, talking, eating, laughing, eating, did I mention eating? and just having a good time. Before the night ended we broke out the Dance Dance Revolution...what is a girls night at my house without a few dance moves? We really missed A Lot of you...and for those that endured the evening...thanks for all the fun!!! Until next month...

Addie, Lexi, Kylie, Rissa, Maci, and Kaylie know how to have a fun girl's night.

Inez and Jonie getting into it

Erienne kicked my trash, you can see who needs to be working out more often on the dance mat...me!!

Even Hannah took a turn, helping Emily of course!

Amy D. and Roni (sorry no faces, they got mad for taking pictures as it was) And then there is Amy J. and Erienne, they were a good team...they rocked!

Poor Lexi...all Pooped out!

Thanks ladies and girlies for all the fun...and sorry I forgot to get pictures before the Dance Dance Chaos...I would have had proof of all the food, laughs, and fun. And thanks to the men that let their ladies out, it was a much needed evening of fun!

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!