Crazy Days

I am sorry that it has been so long since I wrote in here. Hopefully most of the crazy days are past us (besides Christmas). In less than a month's time we have had a lot go on in our household. Tanner got spacers put in his mouth, then the next week he had 3 teeth taken out, the next week he got 2 staples in his head from getting hit on the head with a stick that had the head of a nail sticking out of it, then he got 3 more teeth taken out of his mouth last Thursday. That is all he needs done with his mouth until March. The tooth fairy is now poor:) David found out that his liver enzyme # is very high so he has been going to the doctor for that. He saw a gastro specialist the other day who told him that he has a fatty liver, but he is not sure why. So, he goes to get a liver biopsy in January to try to get more details. I had a breast exam done a couple of weeks ago because I have been getting some pains in my right breast. The doctor could not find anything, but he wants me to get a mammogram to be on the safe side. So, I go for a mammogram tomorrow afternoon. I SO look forward to it....NOT! My best friend is going with me for encouragement. I also had a birthday during all of these crazy times. I am now officially 35. It was harder for me this time....I think because I know that I am now halfway to 40. Oh well....what can I do about it? This week I go to get a mammogram, dental cleaning and my annual. What an exciting week it will be! I do look forward to getting this week over because of all of that but also because Tanner will be starting his Christmas break and I love getting to spend that extra time with him.....even though I am usually ready for him to go back to school:) I know that all of you other mom's with kids in school understand what I am saying. I also wanted to say that my brother-in-law and his family moved here a few weeks ago. It has been nice having them here. The girls love playing together and the boys get a long most of the time. And I know that David loves being able to be closer to them. Well.....I guess I will get off of here for now.

Making the Grade

Hello! I just wanted to write for a minute before I go to bed. We started Tanner with a tutor a couple of weeks ago. It is with a first grade teacher. We got him a tutor because 2nd grade has just been a real big adjustment for him. He has had some difficulty on tests. He seems to be doing better, but still brings home an occasional F. For 5 week grades he had all A's and B's. Next week is report cards and I am almost scared to see it. I track it online and when I looked yesterday he was borderline to a D in one area and borderline to a C in another. I know that I shouldn't but I sometimes feel like a failure to him. We butt heads so much with homework that it ends up being a nightmare for both of us most of the time. Anyways....I will keep everyone updated on the situation.

Same Old, Same Old

Well, I figured it was time to try to catch up on my blog. I need to quit being such a slacker :) It's not like I have anything else to do during the day than to get on the computer:) Anyways....things are going good here. We have had such nice weather lately. I love the cooler mornings. They get me excited about Fall. Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons because of the cooler weather. Plus Fall has the leaves changing...which is always pretty. However, they are much prettier on the other side of the state than they are here :( I watched Anna today. Poor Frances ended up with Anna's stomach bug. Nick stayed home to take her to the doctor. She had to get an iv since she was borderline to dehydration. We had fun playing all day! I dressed the girls up almost like twins. They are so cute together! I will have to finish tomorrow.

Staying Put

Well, as some of you know we had been considering moving back to our other home (NW AR). David's old boss that is now over there wanted to make a spot for him. He would've had to have stayed here for 3 days of the week but we were willing to do that if it got us back over there. We have both wanted to get back closer to all of our parents. Well, he met with his boss last Friday and he said that he spoke with David's old boss's boss ( I know confusing, right)....anyways he told David the amount that he would start at over there and it would be a major paycut for us. David's boss offered him a pay raise to stay here so that is what we are going to do. I am fine with it, I was just a little disappointed because I wanted to be close to family again. We have our own family here (wonderful friends) that is also very supportive and helpful. I will just have to make more trips home:) Anyways, that is where we are on that decision. Tanner was very happy of course because he did not want to leave friends.

Back to School

Well, school is back in session. We have survived the first 2 weeks......barely. Here is how my first week of Tanner being back in school went. The first day he cried before we had to leave. He cried because he did not want to go. The 2nd day his throat hurt. The 3rd day he wanted to stay home and sleep. The 4th and 5th days were not as bad. He does not have a lot of enthusiasm for school right now. So...we officially made that a part of his allowance right now. He has to have a positive attitude about going or he loses out on money. That has helped some too. He does like his teacher and he is doing great so far with everything else about it. I know it will get better. He starts back to Cubscouts and bowling next week so I think that will help to. Just cross your fingers for me.

Some Beach, Some Where

This is my continuation of the last post. We took lots of nightly walks along the beach. It was so nice with the water splashing over your feet and the moon reflecting off of the water. One night there was a huge crane type bird right at the edge of the water. He stayed there while we walked right past him. It was cool! One night we also went to eat at a place called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. We had to wait 1 1/2 hours for a table, but it was really good and it had a great atmosphere. We did not want to leave Florida. I also have to add that the trip was both of the kids first time on a place. Tanner loved the takeoff. He just thought that it was out of this world. Serena did very well for being so small and for having to stay on our laps. She only wanted down a few times. Overall, it was a great trip! Wish I were there! :( :(

Moonlight Walks on the Beach

Well, it has been awhile since I wrote on here. We took our trip to Florida from August 6th-16th. We spent 3 nights in Orlando. We spent a day of that at Disney World and another day of it at SeaWorld. Both were a lot of fun! The kids loved it and we all had a good time. I was kind of disappointed at Disney World because we didn't see many characters. Last time David and I went we saw characters out walking around everywhere. We stuck around till night and watched the parade. That was pretty cool! Tanner loved petting the stingrays at Sea World. It is such a neat feeling to touch something that you normally wouldn't want to touch. I hope that makes sense. Shamu was also a big hit with the kids. We didn't get wet though. That Saturday we took our time driving along the beach in St. Petersburg trying to see if we could find the cute little place that we stayed at the year after we got married. We ended up getting a 2 bedroom place at Coral Shores Resort. By the time we left our trip we pretty much determined that we think that was the place we originally stayed years ago. We ended up being only 2 miles down the road from the condo that my sister, nieces and mom and step dad were renting. My brother Tom also came up from Oklahoma for a few days. My sister and nieces were there from Sweden and my mom and stepdad were there from Siloam Springs (AR). We spent lots of time visiting with family and also lots of time on the beach. Tanner loved the beach. Serena was not sure about the water but she liked playing in the sand. I have to tell my little story. Her and I were sitting in about 3 inches of water separate from the main water area. It's where the tide had done its job and left just a little stream area. Anyways....her and I were sitting in that little water for a long time. I was scooping my hands way down in the sand and would turn it over and wait for the water to stop being murky so I could see if there were any good little shells. Finally, David and Tanner came up to us and were standing there talking to us. I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I asked David "What was that?" Well......it was a little stingray that had just passed within about 6" of my leg (Serena was in my lap). I was scooting backwards on my bottom trying to get us both up. I about freaked to say the least. We followed it along that little stream of water. I borrowed a big bucket from some other people. I got it scooped up in the bucket and put it back into the ocean. Wasn't I nice? The other highlight of our trip was when we went to Ft. DeSoto Park located between St. Petersburg and Tampa. We took a ferry ride to Egmont Key Island. They drop you off and come pick you up later. I got to see the outside of a lighthouse (Yeah!!!). As you walk inland you see big tortoises walking along (way cool!). We had just started searching along the beach for shells and had not been doing it for more than 5 minutes and Tanner saw something wash up. It was a great big shark tooth. I took it to ASU today and had a professor in the Science Dept look at it. He said it was from a Megladon and said it is about 100,000 years old. Pretty cool! We had a blast out there! Way worth the money!!!! I also got to go to Sarasota and spend time with family there and got to see an aunt and uncle from Clearwater. I will continue this tomorrow.....