a marathon

This week has been crazy.... it has really felt like a marathon week. On Wednesday, we headed to the hospital bright and early. Will had to get his tonsils out. He didn't seem too worried or nervous until they called his name to take him back into his room to get him all prepped.  As soon as they called his name, he broke down. It was so sad.....

Luckily, there are great people who work at the hospital that really helped him to calm down and be distracted. They changed him into his little gown and then they brought out all sorts of really cool toys to distract him. They had a child life specialist come talk to him all about the surgery and what they would do. Then we got to see the dr. the OR nurses, the anesthesiologist, and the nurse anesthetist.  They gave him lots of cool prizes that he got to bring home. A bear from the Dr., a "buddy" doll that he got to draw on, a pillow case, and a brand new blanket. He also got to keep his sleep mask and his blood pressure cuff, plus his cool hospital socks. They also made him a big packet of low key activities that he could do at home while he was resting. They really treated him great.

After he was all ready, they wheeled him away. I started to bawl! He just looked so little and scared and helpless on that big bed. I felt so sad knowing what he was going to wake up to. About 35 minutes later, the dr came in showed me these babies..... (sorry! super gross!)

 Then about 10 minutes later, Will was back in the room with me and Scott. I was NOT prepared for how he would be coming out of anesthesia. It was the saddest thing ever. He was freaking out. He was crying and mad and rolling all over his bed and trying to pull out his IV and had no idea what was going on. I was expecting him to be sleeping and out of it, I was not prepared for the sad and angry little guy. Plus the drugs were making his face itch like crazy so he was clawing at his poor little face. He got himself really good on one cheek. Finally I got in bed with him to hold him on my lap and try to calm him down. Once they gave him some lortab he started to calm down a little bit and wake up a little bit more. After he was calmed down and talking to us, he didn't even remember doing all of that. He just kept saying "I just want to go home."

 At home. All snuggled up to rest with his hospital goods. He was so sweet, I honestly haven't minded one bit taking care of my little guy for the past few days. It has been exhausting and we are all tired but Will is such a sweet kid, even when he's in pain. We've had to wake up in the middle of night (sometimes twice) in order to give his pain meds, so we are all really tired.

My favorite part is that Eli loves to crawl up on the couch and snuggle by Will. We've been playing lots of Wii, watching lots of movies, and eating lots of "soft" stuff..... yogurt, popsicles, etc. The pain medicine and drugs from the hospital made Will sick the first day and a half. He was throwing up and having a hard time. But once we got things a bit more regulated and got a little food in him, he started doing better....

It has also been a "marathon" week because I was also preparing to run my half marathon. I ran it yesterday and am so proud to say I finished and survived to tell about it! :) It was so much fun, I have caught the running bug for sure. Scott was in charge of this half and did an amazing job. We heard so many great compliments about the race, the course, the time management, the volunteers, the food, etc. I am already looking forward to it next year..... even though I can barely walk or move today. I am SORE.

The race starts up AF canyon at Tibble Fork. I got on the bus at 4am and got up the canyon around 4:30. The race started at 6am. It was so pretty, the sun was barely coming up and it was nice and cool for the first half of the race. The first 7 miles are all down the canyon. The felt like a breeze and I was feeling so good. I was running 9 minute miles when I usually run 12-13 minute miles. Well, then after the canyon, I totally hit a wall. It just got harder and harder for the next five miles. By mile 10, my legs felt like lead and my calves were cramping up horribly. I was limp walking for about 2 miles. Then I ran the last mile.

All said and done, it was really fun. It was such a great environment, all these people out to run for a good cause and everyone just motivated to finish. My brother (above) and the Fords (friends from our neighborhood) ran it with us. My brother did awesome, I took an hour longer to run it then he did! If anyone wants to run it with me next year, let me know!!

our slow down summer

So far, the best part of our summer has been that we haven't been too busy. Last Summer, we moved out of my sisters house, into my brothers house, spent a week in Idaho, Colorado, and Idaho again. Then finally we moved into OUR house. So this Summer has been a major slow down for us. Will spends lots of time playing Legos, especially while Eli is asleep napping.

And as a consequence for having Eli nap, he is up at all hours at night! Usually I need the few hours during the day while he naps, so I don't mind snuggling with him until he's tired enough to fall asleep. He is sort of in-between naps these days, so it is great to have the flexibility to nap or not. We have been going to the pool right after lunch and that is nice.

Last week was our last week of swimming lessons with Miss Sheryl. We had a great time and I am so impressed with the progress the boys have made. I love Will in his goggles. He always has to wear them and it cracks me up..... a face only a mother could love!

Eli is so funny, he always tells me "Mom, I'm going to work!" And then he pretends to go out the door. Usually he yells over his shoulder "Love you mom! See you later!" It is pretty cute.

Another nap time adventure. Will got a really cool sheriff's badge from Scott the other day. So he put on all sorts of gear and made us "play" Rango. It was pretty funny.... of course we had to take some pictures with some funny faces. Will's face kills me in the one below.... he is such a mini Scott!

Since we don't have much to do, we spend a lot of time in our PJ's! It is great, and the boys love it. We have really slow mornings and busy afternoons it seems. The boys spend several hours a day wrestling and fighting. Sometimes nicely, sometimes not so nicely. It is pretty funny though, to hear them "fight" and wrestle. Usually Will ends up in tears before Eli, Eli is kind of a brute, but he LOVES to wrestle, so he sometimes doesn't understand when he's gone a little too far.

One thing I love about having boys.... they are worst enemies one moment and best friends the next. No drama! And they are so quick to forgive each other, they are best friends and I love to see how they love each other.

Another picture from the last day of swimming. Will and Miss Sheryl. Great job Will! I'm so happy with all his progress, he is stroking the long way across the pool, stream lining perfectly, back stroking, and was learning to dive by the end of the swimming lessons. Not to mention diving for rings, and has become a champ at holding his breath. Will really enjoys swimming, which makes me so happy! I think he will really love to swim his whole life.... that really makes Grandpa Mortensen happy! ;)

Friday night movie night...... love these boys!

Out to eat with the boys at Blue Lemon: love that place!

The boys really worked hard on their portraits for their dad. They had a lot of fun painting on canvas so Dad can take them to his office. We have a great dad and husband in our family. I feel so lucky and blessed! Scott is so fun and always upbeat and positive. He works hard for our family and plays hard when he comes home at night. We are really looking forward to our week and half vacay with him next week! Love you Scott!

summer time is the best time

We love Summer! It has been SO nice to be on Summer vacation. I have loved waking up every morning and having time to just BE with my kids. No where to hurry off to, nothing urgent that has to be done. It has been great. The past couple of weeks have been good ones. We recovered from our trip to St. George (we all came home with colds) and enjoyed some nice weather and a couple days at the pool.

After St. George Will had his final day of school which was his dance festival. The kindergarten did the chicken dance! It was really cute and so fun to watch.

After the dance festival, as celebration for his true final day of school we went out to lunch. Will's choice: Sonic. Yummmm right? :) Oh the things kids choose. Mostly he wanted to go there just for a drink! We love their slushies. I ordered a Cafe Rio take out and picked it up on the way home. ;) After our yummy lunch, we headed over to the pool. It was a great day for swimming. It was so fun to see our friends there! We love having access to the pool so close!

After a couple hours of swimming, we had our mini violin recital and group lesson. Will played Allegro for the group. He did a fantastic job, I am so proud of his violin accomplishments! We are already growing out of his cute little violin and needing a bigger one!

 One thing we love about living in Utah is the proximity to the mountains. They are beautiful and so easy to enjoy. We went with some friends and had smore's last weekend up the canyon. The boys always love it. They love to climb, find rocks, find branches for the fire, and of course, to eat the smores!

 Most nights, Eli creeps into our room and makes himself a bed on the floor. It is so cute and so annoying at the same time. Although I love when I get up and see him snuggled up on my floor!
I think I will miss it when he is grown up and doesn't do it anymore!

 This past week we had our first week of swimming lessons. The boys are doing GREAT! I am SO proud of them and so excited for them. Mrs. Sheryl, is so incredible. I don't know how she does it, but she makes them swim. Eli loves it (as you can see in the picture). He is so funny, but he is really doing well. Now when we go to our pool, he actually swims, head under the water, kicking his legs, holding his breath type of swimming. I love seeing my boys in the water, it brings back so many good childhood memories! Will is also doing great. Mrs. Sheryl has him jumping off the diving board and stroking to the other side of the pool. I'm amazed at how much he has learned in just a week. This week is our second and final week until next summer!

 This week was full of fun nights! Monday night, my sister surprised me for my birthday (the big 3-0!!). She picked me up and we drove up to Logan to see my other sister and sisters in-law. We hung out, ate dinner, and I had my sister in-law do my nails. It was super fun, a great celebration for my birthday! Then Tuesday was my actual birthday. I was hoping to spend some time at the pool but the wind was crazy, 40 mph wind, so opted to stay inside! When Scott got home from work, we went to dinner and then to a movie. It was super fun. Wednesday night, I was able to see my friends from MN. It was so fun to catch up with everybody and spend time with such good friends. I love that even when we haven't seen each other for so long it is like no time has passed at all.

 I permed my hair! I needed a change, and I didn't want to cut it, so I permed it. It is fun, curly, easy to fix, and a really fun summer hairdo!

 On Thursday, my in-laws drove down and took us out to lunch for my birthday. We went to the Tai House. It was super tasty, we love their wontons!! The boys really loved these praying statues!

 This is my little twinner hair boyfriend. He is my neighbor's little guy and is such a sweetie. She did my perm and this is her little guy. He is so sweet and cute, I loved our similar hair, and who doesn't love baby kisses?!

 Yesterday Will and Scott were playing boxing on the wii. It was cracking me up, so hilarious. Will's face was hysterical I couldn't help to keep snapping pictures. I love when Will plays the wii, he gets so into it that his cheeks and face get all red and he's super hyper about it.

We are enjoying our summer so far and looking forward to the next few months we have to spend together! My only fear is that it will go by too quick and we'll be back in school before I know it!

road trip

Last weekend, we headed south. We met Scott's family in St. George for our Mortensen reunion. It was a blast! We LOVE St. George, always have, always will. It is the perfect little vacation spot. We picked Will up from school and headed out of town. Eli is not the best car traveler, he doesn't like being confined. I guess that is another reason St. George is great for our family, it's not too far away!

 We pulled in at sunset, it was gorgeous. And, who doesn't love palm trees?

 Our first day we spent in the pool. The boys were in heaven and swam all day, even though it was a little chilly! Good thing Aunt Lizzie was so fun and played with them all day. They love Liz and are still talking about how funny she is!

 I got in the water to swim with them to. It was chilly, but we had such a blast! Swimming is the greatest, we love it and I love that my boys love it.

 Popsicles poolside

We did some hiking as well. Will and Eli love being with their cousins no matter what we are doing. The hike was gorgeous. The red rocks are so incredible and I love them!

 A family picture at the tide pools

 Eli loved jumping in the water. Thank heavens for crocs! :)

 The highlight of the hike for the boys was definitely finding and catching tadpoles. They played in this stream for about 45 minutes and loved it. They were doing great until Will accidentally squished one and then he was SO sad. :( He has such a tender little heart.

 Eli tugs at my heart strings like no other. Look at that cute face in his hands. He sits like this alot and it kills me. He's adorable and sweet.... most of the time! ;)

 We took a tour of the Jacob Hamblin home and the Brigham Young home. It was really fun, I love stuff like that and the kids had a great time!

 More swimming!

 The day after we got home was Will's last official day of school. It was the dance festival. The kindergarten did the chicken dance. He did great and looked like the cutest little chicken I've ever seen!

 After school it was back for some fun in the sun at our pool here at our house. We love having the pool! It seriously is the best part about where we live. We had a great afternoon and celebrated being out of school all day long!

 Will also had a little mini-recital for violin as well. He is doing so great at violin, I'm so proud of his progress!

Bring on Summer, we're ready!