Surf's Up, Dude!

This is a totally, gnarly post dude. Who can go to the beach without engaging in some serious local motion? Not us, dude. I mean, like, totally they were comin' in sets 1-2 feet and we rode the shoulder and in the barrel 'til we totally wiped out.

In English- Bryan and Andrea along with their cousin, Maggie went to the Newport Beach Surf Camp. They quickly caught on.  Bryan had surfed last year and was in the more advanced group with some bigger waves. He did pretty good! Andrea and Maggie did good too! Andrea has great balance and could pop up really easily.  They all enjoyed it so much and got a fab workout too.  I was thinking that I would like to learn ...... but let's face it...... that is highly unlikely!

These pictures are of Bryan and Andrea at surf camp.



The Happiest Place on Earth

Ok. So it's been a while and maybe y'all thought I forgot about ya' but, No, just been busy! - having FUN!!!

While in Cali, we did venture off to Disneyland's California Adventure Theme Park to visit the new CarsLand. (mouthful). It was AMAZING. Yes. My three yr old loves Cars and it did not disappoint. We got there early and stayed past closing. Thanks to Grammy for helping with the kids or the day may have been a bust. We did most of the rides and the lines weren't terrible. Love FastPass. Love Soaring Over California because it embodies all the wonderful memories I have: the beach, horseback riding around the honor farm and at Montana De Oro, River rafting with best friends, PGA West with family, Honeymooning at Lake Shasta, the smell of Oranges, and Disneyland - fond memories from childhood and grad night from High School. Basically if my life were a ride, it would be that one.

The kids loved Radiator Springs in CarsLand. It was almost an exact replica. Oh, Disney - you never cease to Amaze! Reagan's favorite ride was Mator's Junkyard or something like that.... You would ride in a cart behind the tractors that he tipped in the movie and swing around like tea cups. We rode it twice! Also to note, we did manage to get FastPasses for Radiator Racers which was a good thing because the stand-by line was never shorter than 2 hours. The FastPasses were out by 9:30am for the day!!! So, our time was 6 pm. The line with FastPass at that time was an hour. So, we waited. No joke - 10 seconds into the ride it stopped. Mechanical difficulty. We were actually evacuated. I feel the need to digress into a back story here - I have the worst luck on amusement park rides. I've been stuck on many, Indiana Jones, for sure - and others but I've never actually been evacuated. My kids were bummed. Not as much as I was though. And, of course, I was totally to blame for the ride failure..... However, we scored some extra FastPasses and off we went. By 10:00 pm the ride was back online and we were able to ride it in its entirety. It did not disappoint. The kids were able to talk Grammy into going and the park let the ride stay open 30 minutes after closing to accommodate more who were affected by the break down. Yay for us!!

It was a great day. Expensive. But great!

I think my 16 year old had the most fun and it had me wondering how many more of these experiences I will get the chance to share with her. Kids grow too quickly I've decided. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do about that but hug 'em and love 'em while I've got 'em!!! And that is very likely!!!!

Here are some pictures of the kids at Cars Land.  Cousing Maggie is with us!

Unlikely visitors....

There are a lot of things I could write about from last Sunday....how we took a cab to church and heard the most angelic version of the primary song, If the Savior Stood Beside Me, or how the sun finally made an appearance and the weather was perfect but unfortunately, the day was marred but some unlikely and highly unwanted visitors. The beach house has recently been tented for termites. A few days ago, I thought I found one in the kitchen. "Inconcievable!" was what I heard. Well, outside the church, while waiting for our cab, Jay reached over and pulled a bug from on top of Andrea's head. He looked at it and said, "termite." I said, "Wait a minute..... Let me see that bug." Sure enough, it wasn't a termite but a louse. I quickly went through her head and didn't see anything else in there so I thought we dodged a bullet. However, after a quick peek at Maggie's head -all I could say was, "Houston, we have a problem." I'm not a lice expert and so I couldn't make an accurate guesstimate on timeline and population but let's just say her head looked liked times square on New Year's Eve. There was a party going on!!! The rest of the day was dedicated to the eradication of lice and their nits. I refuse to drench my children in toxic pesticide so I found a product called licefree which is a nontoxic, homeopathic remedy. We treated heads and picked nits, washed sheets, clothing, towels. Fun, right? Ok. Not really. But, it wasn't terrible. Many hands make light work. And I've become pretty good at spotting and picking out nits so, I'm thinking if Jay's current job doesn't work out, I may be able to support the family with my new found talent. I'm thinking people would pay big bucks for my services!!!

Jogging - an unlikely activity

One of the things I love about the beach is how easy and fun it is to have an active lifestyle.  Life here is all about the outdoors - playing on the beach, walking to the grocery store, etc.  We don't even have a car here because we can get anywhere we need to by foot or by bike. (except for Disneyland - we will take a taxi.) At home in Texas, I am not a jogger.  A few years ago, before baby #4 was born, I actually trained for and completed a sprint triathlon.  It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. It is now checked off the bucket list and I doubt I will ever do it again but - never say never.  With that being said, the last four years my exercise routine has been non-existent except for the last few months of pregnancy #5 when I joined a club so I could swim.  I got up to a mile a day and it was very therapeutic.  However, nothing since then, nope, nada. So, the idea that I would get up early on vacation to go jogging is very unlikely. But that is exactly what I did - and I loved it.  For the past few mornings I have gotten up early and jogged along the boardwalk.  It has been awesome.  The boardwalk is a perfect place to go for a jog.  There is lots to see on the boardwalk - beautiful homes, interesting people, dogs of every breed, people on strange bikes, people on unique skateboards, surf camp, surfers, the ocean, the fisherman, and other people out for an early jog.  You can get lost in sight-seeing and forget you are actually out jogging.  The weather here at the beach is perfect for being active - low 70's and ocean breezes. The first morning my 10 year old went jogging with me.  She kicked my booty.  She dances about 12 hours a week on a competitive dance team and is in amazing shape.  Today I went by myself.  I had a very enjoyable time so the fact that it was very unlikely that I would do it in the first place - I would say it is very likely that I will do it again!

This is Jayme dancing on the beach!

Life's a Beach

I grew up in Orange County in Southern California - close to the beach. The beach has always held a special place in my heart.  When I was in elementary school, we would load up the station wagon and head to the beach almost every weekend.  The whole neighborhood would go.  We would go to the same beach and then all eat at the same Mexican restaurant.  What good times.  My sister and I cannot reminisce about those days without remembering the day we dared her to drink the hot sauce and she did!!! After college, I got married and left California and so did my parents and sister.  I guess they missed the beach as much as I did because about 6 years ago, my parents bought a little beach house in Newport and we spend summer vacations here, together.  We have really enjoyed it. Today was our first full day here.  After getting all settled in, we went on to the sand.  It was a bummer of a day because it was overcast and even rainy today but the kids had fun.  We did a little boogie boarding, playing in the sand and wiffle ball. After dinner, we walked down by the pier and had Gelatos.  I told the kids we were not going to do Gelatos every night! (They are expensive!!)

I love it here so much! The sun, the sand and the surf - need I say more? Well, I could mention grandparents and cousins!! Our days here are filled with fun and laughter - long walks and long talks. Now it is time for our evening movie! Enchanted!

Starting in the middle....

Yesterday, I read an article in a church magazine about the middle - specifically, being in the middle, and it really struck a cord with me. I like things to be neat and orderly but somehow they never are that way. I'm always in the middle of something. Right now I am in the middle of my life, in the middle of raising my 5 wonderful kids, in the middle of the year and even in the middle of a summer vacation. How do you get a feeling of accomplishment if you never see a project from beginning to end? It's like laundry - it will never be all done unless my kids were all walking around naked. (I have one that would prefer it that way....) So, I start this blog in the middle. There is a lot of background info that you don't know and I will have to deal with that one blog at a time. My mother-in-law has a saying, "How do you get 6 elephants in a Volkswagen? 3 in the front and 3 in the back." Things often seem impossible when you are in the middle but, if you just keep on going with a positive outlook you can accomplish the unlikely! Even the impossible! Today I drove myself and my 5 kids from St George, Utah to Newport Beach, California in a small rental car without a radio. Our journey was not without drama but, we worked it out and made it in one piece. We had a great time visiting Jay's family in Utah and now we start the second half of our vacation with my family. And now I shall say, "Good-bye." My kids are in the middle of watching a movie and I think I will join them. It is unlikely that I will write tomorrow - hey, I'm in the middle of a vacation here!

Taking the kids to the beginning - well, sort of.....This is the place Jay and I were married so it's where our marriage started - but not our story. 

My thoughts on Doctors

Yes, sweet baby Carsanne has an ear infection.  How did I know? Well, she was a little off... not really cranky, just sleepy and mellow. She was having a hard time with congestion and after a little saline up the nose, I used a bugger extractor thingy and pulled out enormous amounts of thick green mucus. So I knew she had something brewing but she didn't have a fever so I really was just going with my gut that she needed antibiotics.
When it comes to my kids and their health I have learned - after 16 years and 5 kids - that you have to trust your motherly instincts.  We have had our fair share of illness and medical issues and I have a lot of love and appreciation for the physicians who have helped us out but one experience we had 2 years ago helped me to realize the important role I must play as an advocate for the health of my children. 
Reagan was about 18 months old and a very picky eater.  She was basically living on pediasures at the time. (This is a whole other story....) At this time, she contracted a pretty severe case of diarrhea.  After a few days, I took her to the doctor hoping he had some kind of magic bullet (in this case baby Imodium AD) to help ease her symptoms.  He said that she looked fine and that the virus just needed to run it's course.  He suggested that I stick to the BRAT diet to help ease symptoms.  The BRAT diet being Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Toast - things I knew wouldn't fly but thought I would go home and give it a try.  Sure enough, she wouldn't touch the stuff so she really wasn't eating or drinking anything and still had diarrhea.  After a few more days, I was really worried that she was dehydrated.  She was acting healthy but I knew the limited amounts of liquid that she was drinking and knew she was in for trouble if I didn't turn this around.  It was a Friday afternoon and I took her back in to see her pediatrician.  I told him what was going on and that I was really concerned about her being dehydrated.  At the time of the doctor's visit, Reagan was jumping around and acting like a very healthy and normal 18 month old so I can see why he thought I may have been overreacting.  I was adamant that he give me something to help - at least tell me exactly how much fluid she needs to be taking in to stay healthy.  When I left the office, I doubted in myself.  I felt that I had over exaggerated the problem. So, that night I gave her a pediasure before bed and said to myself that she will be fine in the morning.  She had fallen asleep in my bed that night so I could keep an eye on her and around midnight I heard her making some weird groaning noises. I woke to see what was going on and was horrified to see how large her abdomen had bloated out.  I woke up Jay and told him that something was terribly wrong and that we needed to take her immediately to the hospital.  He didn't share in my anxiety.  "She is sleeping," he said, "wait until morning."  Right after he said that she began to projectile vomit all over the place. It was like a scene from a horror movie.  So, we took her to our children's hospital.  After hearing my story they decided to give her an IV.  Set after set of nurses came in to try and give her an IV - 8 nurses in total.  They couldn't find a vein in her arm or her hand.  A nurse finally addressed us and said, "I put IVs in children all day long.  I don't like to stick them more than once so I'm pretty good at what I do.  I cannot get an IV into your daughter because she is so dehydrated there is no fluid in her veins.  This is a serious situation. We are going to give her some ant nausea medicine and then have you syringe Gatorade into her mouth until there is enough fluid in her system that we can give her IV fluid."  And that is what we did.  We finally got an IV into her and she spent 4 days in the hospital on IV.  FOUR DAYS! She almost died from dehydration her organs had already began to shut down and I knew it but her pediatrician wouldn't listen to me. Twelve hours after leaving his office, I'm being told by a nurse in a hospital that my daughter is in bad shape.  Why didn't he listen to me when I told him how sick she was.  I knew what had been going in and coming out of her body over the last 2 weeks, I knew it wasn't enough.
I never went back to that doctor.  I had really liked him too.  He had helped out with some other serious medical issues that we had dealt with but I could no longer put faith in a doctor that wouldn't put faith in me as a mother.
Valuable lesson learned - as mothers we know our children better than anyone in the world.  We love our children more that anyone in the world.  We our advocates for our children and we need to always listen to our mommy instincts and never feel unqualified or intimidated when it comes to their well-being.
I'll get off my soap box now.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hope your day brings you a wonderful and unlikely surprise!

Here we all are at the resort in Park City, Utah.  We had a great time riding the Alpine slide and roller coaster.  See how happy and healthy we all are!!! 

My First Post :)

Ahhhhhh. My first post. I'm really not sure what I want to say exactly so I will start by describing my purpose and vision for this blog.   My 8 month old daughter is sitting on my lap chewing my computer cord so I'm not sure how far I will get with this post but, here it goes................
The purpose of this blog is to share the enjoyment of being a mom with friends and family. My vision is to make those who visit laugh at life, love those who are in your life, and find inspiration to make your life better.

How I will accomplish this will surely evolve as I learn what in the heck I'm doing but for starters, it will include our story - the good, the bad and the messy.  It will also need to include - Tracisms. (Tracy isms) My kids have named these cute little phrases after me because I am their author.  Sometimes, almost every day, I think one thing but then say something else.  I do not know how it happens, I don't do drugs of any kind - including alcohol and tobacco - I even steer clear of caffeine.  I have a college degree and consider myself of sound mind. I think I just have my mind going in so many different directions that somewhere in my brain the neurons get criss-crossed and out pops the craziest things.  The weirdest part is that I hear what I meant to say so I don't even know that it has come out jumbled up until I see the confused look on my kids or see my husband chuckle.

Well, the baby is starting to fuss. I think she has a messy diaper :(. She is definitely not feeling well. 
I have a doctor's appointment in an hour to see if she has an ear infection so it is time to end my post and get ready to go.  Thanks for stopping by - now go and do something UNLIKELY too!

This picture is taken while we are on our summer vacation.  We spent a week at Park City, Utah with all of Jay's family celebrating his Mom and Dad's 55th wedding anniversary.  Then we went with them to their home in St. George, Utah for a week of more visiting and then on to Newport Beach, California for 2 weeks in the sun with my family. Good times!

So, I'm holding baby Carsanne in the Bjorn and Grandma Nancy and Jayme are talking in the background.