Only 2 staples...

Saturday. Just a normal day. Hayden's friend had just come over to play. Next thing, shrieking penetrates the quiet. It's coming from Hayden's room. Both John and I are thinking, ok, I guesss we should go see what happened. Not really in any hurry.

We arrive in Hayden's room. He's lying prone on his floor with his left arm holding the side of his head and we hear from his friend that they collided together. Hayden's shrill screaming is much more intense at this close distance. What could possibly be wrong?

"I think I broke my arm!" Hayden cries.

Next, he removes his hand from the side of his head to reveal a bloody palm and a red blur in his hair.

The next few minutes fly very quickly as Hayden seems to have been scooped up and taken to the bathroom without his feet hardly touching the floor. His wound gets cleaned and old towels are stained with what seems to be too much red. It's not real bad, but bad enough.

After a long journey to find an urgent care center that was open, on a Saturday, after 5 pm, we got Hayden fixed up. He received 2 staples in his head. He could have got more but he kept pleading, "Please no more staples, please no more staples..." And they seem to work just fine.

Fortunately, the gash was in his hairline so it won't be very visible, especially when his hair gets long. Like now.

Now, I have to show a couple pictures. They are not too bad, but then I don't get queasy with blood and stuff like that. You have been warned.


First, Hayden is not excited to see what's going to happen.


The gash.


The staples. They will help keep things secure for about 10 days.

At least he waited until he was 8 years old to require equipment or a procedure to keep him together.

His baptism will be memorable as well. How many kids get baptized with staples in their head?

Weekend in New Mexico

We decided to start off our summer vacation by heading out of town. Since the budget was limited we decided to spend it with family. We went to Artesia, New Mexico to see my brother and his family. His little family is growing up so fast that we have to see them before they grow too fast.

With it being Memorial Day weekend, it gave us more time to spend together.

Here's some of the captured moments that were our favorites:

On the way to New Mexico, we passed through eastern Arizona and visited the Gila Valley temple that had been dedicated just the previous Sunday. We weren't able to make it out for the open house, but I'm glad we got the chance to see it all nice and completed.





Once we made it to my brother's place, the kids couldn't wait to play together and we were excited to visit and spend time catching up.

The very next day we got to go to their local park event and the kids played in the water, built a sand castle, checked out a fire engine, and ate snow cones. Good times.

One of my nephews.

Another cutie nephew.

John with my niece.


My brother helping the boys put together a sand castle.

We couldn't miss the opportunity to see the UFO museum in Roswell. It was interesting. We saw quite a few aliens in the vicinity, as well.





We made our way to Ruidoso, up in the mountains to a resort on an Indian reservation and we got to see some dancers and even got a chance to join them. It was warm out on the lawn by the lake, but an enjoyable day nonetheless.





They even had a blow-up slide and bounce house for the kids to play.

We visited Carlsbad Cavern which is truly amazing! And pictures are irrelevant to the size and vastness of it all. If you have an opportunity to go, do it!



We also stayed to watch the bat flight at dusk. There aren't as many bats during this time of year, but there were still plenty to see.


This is the natural entrance to Carlsbad Caverns and the location of the evening bat flight. Instead, we rode an elevator 70 plus stories to visit deep down in the belly of the cavern.

On our way to Carlsbad we stopped at a shooting range to get some practice in. I haven't been shooting in a very long time. My kids have shot a BB gun once, but this was their first time with real bullets.






On our way headed home we stopped at White Sands National Monument. It was very hot, but it was amazing to see white sand dunes go on forever. The kids liked playing in it, except that it was hot.



Overall the vacation was a great success. Too bad it's over so quickly.

What's left of him...

I mentioned several weeks ago that John had begun a new diet. Well, he's on the tail end of it and a noticable change has taken place. It's easier to show in pictures. Check 'em out.





Even after these pictures were taken, he's still lost a couple more pounds. Yay, John.

When chipmunks come to your birthday.

Hayden had a birthday this week. Number 8! We had just a small celebration on his birthday. The funny part was what we caught with the flip video. We had received a helium tank with balloons in a silent auction with some other great birthday stuff, so I filled up a few balloons for his arrival home on his birthday.

Later, the kids wanted to try inhaling the helium to see if it made their voices high-pitched. Of course, John was willing to model for them how it's done.

I do not recommend trying this at all. Learn from us. It makes you loopy.

Enjoy, though. Watch out chipmunks, you're jobs are in jeopardy.

Oh, and listen for my mom encouraging them to "suck it in".

Sidney's debut solo...

A few weeks ago, my daughter sang a short solo to open the 5th grade musical program. She tried out on her own and got the part with little or no encouragement from me. I'm so glad to she did something out of her comfort zone! She is usually very shy and reserved in large groups. I'm so excited for her.

She is the one in front of the mic, with the tie-dye white and blue skirt. You can hear me taking pictures throughout her performance.

It's not the greatest quality. We didn't get the best seat even though we showed up pretty early.

Anyhow, enjoy the drama.



Way to go Sidney, we're so proud of you!

A Lovely Mother's Day

Mother's day is usually very nice, but nothing too fancy. I like simple. I like small and cozy. But this Mother's day was especially lovely, and partly because I wanted to make it special for my mom.

First off, we all got to chat online via Skype with my brother and his family. Even though the connection wasn't great we got a chance to SEE his kids and how much they are growing.



Here we are stooped over the computer trying to talk back and forth.

My mom headed back home for a Sunday nap, while we got ready for her surprise. We set the table with the fancy dishes she got when she was very young (about 16 or 17).



We used fancy glasses and candles at the table, even.



We had note cards at each place setting that told what the menu for the night would be.



Then the kids wanted to make it seem like a restaurant so they made a sign, "Welcome to Cafe de Muhlestein."



And then the fun began. John was such a sport to help plate each course when he could only eat certain things because of his diet. Sure do love him!!

First came the "Spring mix with baby spinach salad." We had our choice of dressing; Ranch or Tuscan House Italian. Oh, how I love a good salad and this one was top notch.



Next, came the main course; Mediterranean Garlic Roasted Chicken with Garden fresh Red and Gold Roasted Potatoes (fresh from our garden), and savory herbs stuffing.


Here's my mom and I getting ready to dig in.



And finally, the piece de resistance; the choices for dessert were Vanilla Strawberry Sorbet Swirl or Strawberry frozen yogurt with Chocolate Chunks. Either choice was placed in an edible bowl made from Vanilla almond bark.



I was in heaven. How can you go wrong with a dessert like that?



I was so excited to get pictures of the food that I didn't get a picture of mom and I together enjoying our Mother's day meal, so we got pictures outside afterwards.


Here's me and my wonderful mother.


Here's me, mom and my two reasons that make this day worth it.


And here's the most wonderful husband and myself. He went right along with my plan and exceeded my expectations of how I wanted the evening to go. Thanks, dear!

Everyone needs a friend like this.

Over 6 years ago, I met a woman who was so easy to talk to. She was thoughtful, caring and we seemed have the same values. She still is all those things, but she doesn't live just a couple streets away anymore. I know that shouldn't put a damper on friendship, but we kinda lost touch after she moved to the other side of town (almost to CA(J.K.)). Well, I found her on Facebook recently and we finally got together for lunch and some serious chat time.

I just love the kind of friends that you can just pick up where you left off. We caught up on kids and husbands, jobs and interests, concerns and hopes. It's just great to know someone that awesome. Man, I really am spoiled!



Thanks Jami, for an incredible time. And almost 5 hours was still not enough!