And on to Spanaway, Seattle, and Spokane

 

After Carson City, we headed over to Redding, CA through Lassen Volcanic National Park and then up Interstate 5 to Ariane's house.  It was such a beautiful drive.  I would love to go there again and spend more time exploring.  

While we were visiting Ariane's family, we all went to the Tacoma Children's museum.  If you're ever in the area, the TCM is definitely worth the trip.  Admission is donation-based, so they accept anything from 25 cents to $25 per person, or more if you want to give it.  This is the best children's museum that we have visited, especially for kids 3-12.

This area was really fun. There were waterfalls, spigots, shower-heads, and more fun stuff for kids to play in the water.  They had aprons to keep the kids (mostly) dry. All the children played for a long time here, but the boys spent an especially long time here. 

 

This giant bird flying ship was really cool.  On top the kids could flap the wings by pedaling,

 They could steer the ship out in front.

 And underneath the ship were some bunks (not pictured) and another steering wheel.  (I swear, give a kid under 6 a steering wheel, and he'll be happy for an hour or more!)

 Kydee really enjoyed building ramps and buildings and then sending balls rolling down the track.

 Elora was happy at every station. Here she is digging in the 'dirt'--recycled tire bits.

 I had a lot of fun with this thing-a-ma-jig. People put scarves in one hole and then can adjust the air flow to make the scarves go flying through the tubes and out various holes.

 Noah liked riding this cute little boat.

 All of the children enjoyed the art room with stencils, stamps, acrylics, and watercolors.

 There was also blocks (check out the castle behind Elias that some kids made),

 and a specimen examination station.

Lots of fun!

(I'll write about Seattle for my next post.)
Update: Here's pics from Ariane's camera taken by me and her.

 

Lake Tahoe

We have gone on a few trips this summer and I am slowly getting around to writing about them.  Dale's family had a reunion at Lake Tahoe (he grew up in Carson City, NV) and we decided that since we were so close (not really, but hey!), we might as well head on up to Ariane's house and visit her family before they move to Texas.  Here's a few pics of us with Dale's side of the family.  We didn't take very many. whoops!  I didn't even get a picture of Lake Tahoe, so I copied and pasted from Google.

Here's the kids at the Carson Rendezvous, jammin' out with the old-timey music people.

All the grandkids together, at last! (Kydee's face is covered, but this was the best photo.)

 We went to this cheesy little tourist town, Virginia City, that had all the old main street buildings still up and running.

 Another happy day in the car.

 

 And this is a picture of the prettiest place on Lake Tahoe.

Writing

     I've decided that I want to write--not just for fun, but someday to actually get paid for it. I secretly (not so secret anymore) want to write non-fiction, mostly about travel, especially about traveling with a family on a (very small) budget. 

     As a child, my family--6 kids, plus mom and dad--took lots of trips.  We went to all 48 contiguous states together and had great fun ordering the visitor's guides to the states we were going to visit each trip, anxiously checking for them to come in the mail, and then using those guides to plan out our adventures.  We crammed into our eight-passenger Astro van, hooked up the tent-trailer, and hit the road.  I can't say that every moment in the van was filled with bliss, but once we resigned ourselves to getting along (since we were going to be stuck together for a very long time) we actually liked being with each other.  We smelled the ocean, ate boiled peanuts, watched the sunset from the Empire State Building, and crawled through caves.  We hiked through the redwoods, watched Old Faithful erupt, and walked across the Golden Gate bridge.  We took turns with the map, figuring how many miles and hours we had gone and how many we had left.  We sang songs and played games to pass the hours in the car.  We learned from experience what humidity felt like, what lobster tasted like, and what alligators looked like. I could probably write a book about all the things we did on our vacations.  

     I want to have those same types of experiences with my children.  I want them to feel waves and sand on a beach, see the staggering heights of skyscrapers, taste foods different from what they're used to, smell flowers and plants they previously hadn't heard of, and understand how people live in other places.  I want them to learn geology, geography, cartography, zoology, botany, history and social studies, as I did, through travel.  

     In my quest for these family travel experiences, I am continuously disappointed with travel guides which do not apply to my situation--broke with four children in tow!  Most travel books' budgets are very different (i.e. much higher) than my family's budget.  We can't stay or eat at most of the suggested locations because of the high cost.  Guides that claim to be for families are, without fail, written by people who have one or at most two children.  Traveling with four children is vastly different than traveling with only one or two.  My feeling is, don't claim to be an expert on traveling with children if you've never been out-numbered!  So, hopefully there are other people who feel the same as me and I can fill my need to write and the market's need for better low-budget family travel guides.

The hardest summer of my life...

As most of you know, about a week after my last post, I had a miscarriage at 14 weeks. It was very difficult and I was finally recovering emotionally when I found out I was pregnant again! I was so excited...until I found out I had a condition called subchorionic hemorrhaging and I lost that pregnancy at 12 weeks. It was devestating. I am finally recovering from both incidents. I still cry about the miscarriages when I think about seeing the ultrasounds of the babies I never got to hold, or when I see a new baby and realize I never got to see mine, or when I remember that the one I lost in April was due next week. Then I cry my eyes out until I have no tears left. But, I'm done hiding. I need to write about my experiences; I'm not sure why. I hope it will help put those sad, painful feelings to bed; but also, I hope that someone out there who is going through the same thing will read this and not feel so alone. (If that's you, I promise you that it's hard and takes a long time, but it gets better. The pain doesn't go away, but it gets duller.)
I have four other children, each with normal pregnancies. I had friends who had had miscarriages, had heard about them, but I had no idea--did not even fathom--how difficult, sad, and painful (emotionally and physically) miscarriages could be. To any of you who I was less than sensitive to during a miscarriage, I truly apologize. I am so sorry that you had to go through something like that.
The hardest thing about miscarriage is that most people have no idea what you've just gone through and that you have to do it pretty much alone. It's a death without a funeral, family gathering, or sympathy flowers and cards. You're mourning but no one knows and no one understands why you act the way you do. It hurts in a deep emotional and psychological pain that is completely unexplainable. The best I can do in describing it is a pain that you can't pinpoint and although it gets better, it doesn't go away. There is no 'take two of these and call me in the morning.' And, to add to the pain, you get to explain what happened every time anyone asks about the 'new little bundle of joy' on its way. Without my faith that everything will be made alright--perfect--in the end (whenever that is!), I don't know how I would cope. Even that faith does not take away the need for mourning, the sleepless nights with a tear-soaked pillow, or the pain in my heart. I just know that someday, I won't feel that way and that someday, I'll get to see my babies.
So, this is the story of my spring and summer.
In late February, we found out that we would be having a baby (or so we thought) in mid-October. We had been trying for a while to get pregnant and were pretty excited. I went to my cousin's wedding on April 9th and was spotting very lightly. I didn't think much of it because I had spotting with previous pregnancies with no troubles. But, on Sunday, I started having cramps and thought I'd better get things checked out, just in case. On Monday morning, I made an appointment for later that afternoon. At the doctor's office, they checked all my vital signs and sent me right over for an ultrasound. I still remember seeing a little baby without a heartbeat on the monitor. The worst part was waiting alone, hoping that I'd seen things incorrectly and that everything was fine, but knowing deep down that things weren't fine. The technician didn't say a word during the sonogram and I had to wait about 10-15 minutes before the doctor came and told me that I'd had a miscarriage. The baby measured small and hadn't been growing normally. I had a D&C the next day. It was so hard to come home and tell the kids that we wouldn't be having a baby after all. They were sad, but they recovered pretty quickly. I did, too. I was sad, but I felt pretty much back-to-normal within a few weeks. I wasn't ready to say for sure that we weren't having any more kids, so I didn't do anything to prevent another pregnancy.
A couple of months passed and then in the first week in July, I found out that I was expecting again! I felt so happy and reassured. We went to Moab with family and friends the next weekend. We went rafting on Saturday and had lots of fun planned for the next few days. Unfortunately, on Sunday morning, I started bleeding heavily and figured I was having another miscarriage. I stayed in bed most of the day crying, but by evening, I was feeling well enough to go on a picnic dinner. Once we got to the mountain, though, I started bleeding profusely and passing huge (apple- to cantaloupe-sized) bloodclots. Dale and I left everyone else on the mountain to go to the ER. I was doing okay; sad, but resigned that I'd had a miscarriage, until they sent me to get a sonogram to make sure all the tissue had passed. In the sonogram, we saw a live, healthy fetus and our hopes went up. Then the doctor told us that it was a miscarriage in progress and that the baby wouldn't last a week, and our hopes went crashing back down. He said to go back to my doctor at home in a week to make sure there was nothing left in my uterus. Well, a week later, I went to my doctor and they saw a live, healthy fetus that had grown and showed no signs of being affected by the bleeding and clots. I was then diagnosed with subchorionic hemmorhaging--a condition where the placenta does not attach completely to the wall of the uterus, which causes bleeding and clotting. The doctor said that most people with SCH bleed their entire pregnancy and usually deliver early, but the baby does fine. She said that there was a chance that I'd lose the baby and that I'd need to be on bedrest until the bleeding stopped or slowed down significantly.
After a week on bedrest, I decided to go to my mother's house so my parents could help take care of my children. I could get up to go to the bathroom, eat, and shower. I wasn't supposed to lift things or have any kind of exercise. After a week at my mom's, I met with my new doctor and liked him a lot. He talked with me and said he didn't think I'd need to be on bedrest, I'd just need to take it easy. He also didn't think he'd need to see me every week, like my previous doctor believed. Then he did an ultrasound. After seeing how many bloodclots I had (so many that they were squishing the baby and he worried how they might affect growth), he decided that I'd need to come in every week and I had to schedule and appointment with radiology for a more in-depth ultrasound. But, the baby was growing well, measured at 12 weeks, moved and kicked a lot, and looked like a real baby, not a sea monkey. I warned my mom that seeing the ultrasound and then losing the baby was much harder than not seeing it (based on my feelings from when I thought I'd had a miscarriage earlier without seeing the baby), but she wanted to see it. She cried on the way out of the hospital with the realization that her grandbaby might not make it. I didn't cry that day. I only cried for a few minutes the next day when I miscarried. Now, I cry just thinking about that day. I want to hold that baby so bad; I want that child in my family; I want to get to know the little one that I loved so much. Why couldn't I have held that baby, just once? Back to that day, I was so hopeful that things were going to be okay. Before that, I was resigned to the idea that I'd probably lose this baby. But when I saw that it was growing well and that it was still hanging in there, I thought that maybe everything was going to turn out fine. The doctor said that I'd need to pass those clots for the baby to have room to grow. My husband and I prayed that I'd be able to pass the clots so that things would be alright. The next morning, my mom went to work and left me with the kids at home. My dad was out of town working and Dale was still in Idaho. I started passing bloodclots around 10:30 am. Then I started having pains that felt a lot like the first stages of labor, but I thought that they were just helping to pass the bloodclots and kept telling myself "you can get through this. It hurst now, but it's helping the baby and you can do this." I didn't realize until I was sitting in the bathroom unable to move or speak for the pain that I was in real labor and that this wasn't going to end the way I hoped. My mom came home about 5 minutes before I delivered that baby into the toilet. It was the worst day of my life. I had to go through labor and delivery all alone and I didn't get a cute little baby in the end. I didn't even cry until I told Dale what happened, and even then it was for maybe a minute. I was just numb and knew that once I started to cry, I wouldn't stop for days. I went into the doctor's office so they could make sure everything had passed. There were still several clots in my uterus and so they started cleaning them out. I think it started as just removing a couple of easy-to-reach clots and moved up to basically a D&C--an unmedicated D&C. It was very painful, but I still didn't cry. I just couldn't. I couldn't feel anything. I went home and went to bed.
The next morning, I had a little bit of a fever, but dismissed it as nothing because it went away and was only 100 degrees. Later that afternoon, my fever came back and I decided I'd better call the doc. He said to come on in to the hospital and get some IV antibiotics and they'd watch me for 12 hours. Well, to make a long story short, I ended up being there for about 40 hours. I had an infection in the lining of my uterus caused from the bleeding. The doctor said that the bloodclots created a highway for bacteria right up to my uterine lining, where they'd thrive. So, I got to sit at the hospital alone and feel sorry for myself because I was all alone and I'd just had a miscarriage. I was not a very happy patient that first day, especially after I found out my stay was being extended and I hope those nurses forgive me for my behavior. It didn't help that I only got about 8 hours of sleep during the entire 40 hours that I was there. (I HATE hospital beds!) I entered the hospital on Saturday afternoon and left on Monday morning. I watched a lot of TV and read two novels the next week and Dale came and got the kids and me the following weekend. Then I got to go home to everyone asking about the pregnancy and how the baby was faring. It was a rough couple of weeks.
With the first miscarriage, Dale didn't go to any of my appointments and hadn't seen the ultrasound pictures of the baby so he didn't really get too affected by it. With the second one, he saw two ultrasounds of the baby and I saw three or four. In so many ways, I wish I would have miscarried that first day the bleeding started before I saw any sonogram. It hurt so much worse with each sonogram that I saw. Dale was really sad with the second lost pregnancy. He said he didn't really understand why I was so sad with the first one until he saw the picture/video of the second one. He said that made it real for him; it made him realize that a little being that we had made died. I feel so bad for him because I made him tell everyone what had happened. I didn't feel like reliving it, but I didn't even think about how he felt. I didn't even stop to think that he was hurting, too. At least I got to stay in my room and cry for a couple of days. He had to go back to work and act like everything was okay, besides having to call friends and family and tell them what happened and field questions about me, the pregnancy, and the baby from coworkers. (They all knew I was on bedrest because he took a couple of days off to help me before I went to my mom's house.)
So, here I am today. Most days I do well and don't even think about my lost little babies. But when I see an ultrasound picture, pregnant woman, or new baby all those feelings come flooding back. At work the other day, I realized that my first pregnancy was due next week. I started bawling! (Luckily, it only lasted for about five minutes.) I've been thinking and crying a lot about those miscarriages this week, but the two or three weeks before that I didn't cry even once. It's getting better over time. I wish that I didn't have to go through what I did, but because of it I have so much sympathy for those who have gone/go through this. Miscarriage is something that is so extremely painful, but everyone talks about it so casually, like it's a normal part of life. I've learned that I need to be so much more sensitive and kind to others because you don't know what they're going through. I'm so thankful for friends who've come forward and told me about their miscarriages because it gave me strength to see that they made it through and so could I. I hope that I can come through this stronger and not broken. Kinder and not jaded. Time can only tell.

Elias

Okay, I admit it--I'm awful at keeping up on this blog. But that's okay, because by now no one reads it anymore! I'm going to keep writing when I can and want to write, but it's for me, not anyone in cyberspace so I don't really care if no one reads it anymore (she tells herself to make herself feel better!). Alright, here I go... Elias has been such fun to get to know. In some ways, he has a very strong personality and likes to be in charge and in other ways, he is a complete follower and will do whatever the 'leader' in the room is doing. He is so funny the way he acts and says things, but he gets really angry if anyone dares to laugh at him. He is ALL boy and loves trucks, motorcyles, big machinery, guns, army men, etc. He learned what a bazooka was from his older brother, (playing army men with him) and so at 18 months, one of his first words was 'bazooka' and he'd walk around with a construction noodle (like a short swim noodle with a stiff middle) on his shoulder making shooting noises. He loves to laugh and finds humor in so many instances that we'd miss otherwise. He has a very real sense of right and wrong and loves to verify that certain things are 'nice' or 'mean' or 'good' or 'bad.' He loves to be with me and do whatever I'm doing, but he's also very good at using his imagination and entertaining himself. He's never really watched movies or TV much and I think because of it, he's better at playing pretend than the other kids. He can sit for hours with random toys making up endless stories. He reminds me of 'Andy' on Toy Story. I can't wait to get to know him better as he grows! I love him SO much and know he'll grow up to be someone great! (kinda like all my kids!)

Scripture Insights

So, I've decided to follow the lead of my friend, Lee Pettijohn, and share the guidance I receive from the scriptures with my cyber-friends.
This year in church we are studying the New Testament. I don't exactly follow the study guide we have (I teach music to the kids during adult Sunday School), but I do read from the New Testament every night before I go to sleep.
The other night, I was reading in Matthew 6 where Jesus is teaching the Apostles to give their lives fully to teaching his gospel and stop worrying about the day-to-day, working part of their lives. "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?"
(Now, I know that this scripture was speaking specifically to the Apostles, who were called to give up their professions, follow Jesus, and preach the gospel full-time, and that not many of us can do the same, but the principle is the same.)
I should note that prior to reading, I had been worrying about my never-ending list of things to do, wondering how I was going to be a good mother my 4 children, and feeling sorry for myself because we still haven't sold our house and I'm still a single-mom 5 days a week. I realized while I was reading this chapter in Matthew that I needed to focus less on how clean my house was and how long my to-do list was, and focus more on the things that matter most! I need to be spending my time and energy teaching and playing with my children, helping them learn the gospel, giving service to others, and learning the gospel for myself. I also realized that Heavenly Father loves ME, that He knows ME, that He will give me what I need. As long as I am doing what I can, I just need to trust that He'll take care of me.
And, that's my little insight for the day!

Elora

I know it's been a long time, but I will do my spotlight on my children, as promised, and Elora is next.
I guess to start off with her, I'll explain what her name means and why we chose to name her Elora. I was reading a baby name book when I was pregnant with her and really liked the name Eleora (I believe it's pronounced El ee oh ra), which is Hebrew for the Lord is my light. I loved the meaning and thought that would be a great reminder to her to where to look for salvation and direction. We decided to drop the second 'e' because we were worried that people would have a hard time pronouncing and spelling her name.
Elora is definitely a light in our family. She loves to perform in front of people and recently told me that she wants to be an actress when she grows up, or maybe even before she grows up! In addition, she's always wanted to be a mother and has a very strong motherly instinct. She loves to help take care of our friends' babies and is the first to volunteer to rock, entertain, or feed any baby in apparent distress. She loves to dance and sing and just got an MP3 player for Christmas, so she is often found both dancing and singing with earphones on. She can have a bit of a pouty side to her and has been known to cry in her room for at least 45 minutes when she doesn't get what she wants. (The crying doesn't change mom or dad's mind, but it must make her feel better, and when she's happy she comes back downstairs, ready to entertain us again!)
She is such a girly-girl! Her favorite color is pink and she loves baby dolls, Barbie dolls, princesses, dress-up, and playing house. She is learning to read and likes to do that, too, as long as it was her idea and not mom's! We look forward to watching her grow into a wonderful woman that can accomplish many things and be a light to others as she follows the light of the Lord!

Dalan

I said that I'd like to write about the good qualities of my children, so I'll just go in birth order, which makes Dalan next.

When I was pregnant with Dalan, I got the feeling that he was very strong-willed and had great potential to be a force for good, but that I would need to teach him the right things and it may be difficult. That premonition has definitely been seen to be true. He is extremely determined and strong-minded. But, I have also seen him forgive others quickly, treat a young child with kindness and gentleness, and he always apologizes sincerely (after he calms down and realizes he hurt someone's feelings).

Dalan has a very quick mind and loves to learn. When Kydee was in kindergarten and learning to read 'word families,' like cat, bat, rat, hat...he caught on faster than she did and he learned to read right along with her. Part of that was because he didn't want Kydee to be able to do something that he couldn't. He was the same way with riding a bike without training wheels. We taught Kydee to ride a two-wheel bicycle and a couple of months later, Dalan was training-wheel-free, too.

Dalan has a very adventurous spirit and loves to try new things, especially if those things involve trying to defy gravity, test the limits of his digestion, or gross his sisters out. Luckily, all of our trips to the emergency room have always ended without stitches, casts, or staples. He has had to have an IV for the time he drank 3/4 of a bottle of children's cold medicine, but he got to watch cartoons for 4 hours while I kept an eye on him in the ER, so I don't think he minded it too much.

Dalan, I love you and know that you have great potential! If you keep learning from your mistakes and follow the good examples around you, I know that you'll be a good influence in the world.

A girl who inspires me...

My daughters love American Girl dolls (http://www.americangirl.com/) and to enter a drawing for one(Felicity--they're discontinuing her!) found at http://www.mommafindings.com/2010/09/toy-news-american-girl-announces-plans.html, I have to blog about a girl I know who inspires me. It was difficult to pick just one, because I have known so many girls and women who inspire me to be more thankful, more graceful, more generous, more joyous, and more caring.
I finally chose to write about my daughter, Kydee. She is a very tenacious thing. When she sets her mind to do something, you can bet that she'll do it. When she was only 3 years old, she was asked to recite a scripture (John 3:16) for the entire church congregation. Other children were also asked to recite scriptures or short little statements about what they'd learned that year in their church classes. They were all told about three weeks ahead of time what their assignments were. Their teachers would be there to help them to tell them what to say. Kydee did not want anyone to help her. She said she wanted to read her part by herself. I reminded her that she couldn't read and that the only way to do it without any help would be to memorize the whole thing. She insisted that we practice every day, a few times a day. She memorized the scripture long before the three weeks were up and even had the right inflection and pace when she recited it! (Remember, this is a 3 year old!)
Later, when she was 8 years old and a Brownie Girl Scout, she wanted to go to Girl Scout camp. It cost several hundred dollars (which I didn't have), so I told her if she could earn half of the money, I'd pay for the other half. She got right to work. She sold over 300 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, she sold several of her toys at a yard sale, and she had a pop stand in our front yard. She earned enough to go to camp, plus she had $20 left over.
Not only is Kydee good at accomplishing her goals, she's also very generous. We pay our children allowance. They get 10 cents/week/age, so Kydee, who's 9 gets 90 cents per week, Dalan gets 70, Elora 50, and Elias 20. It's not much, but it's enough to be able to buy a toy or two a year. We think it gives them good practice for saving, budgeting, etc. Anyway, Kydee is always donating her money to charitable causes. She gives to our church, to her siblings, to homeless people, and to humanitarian aid projects. She often gives 15-20 percent of what she earns and sometimes even gives more, which is extremely generous, especially when you compare her to adult's typical donations. She is always willing to share her candy, books, cake, stickers, etc with her siblings and friends.
One other thing that Kydee is gifted at is being willing to help others. I know I can count on her to help me around the house. She is always helping her brothers and sister, sometimes when they don't want her help! She notices when neighbors are weeding or raking leaves and always gets her work gloves on and goes and helps. I'm so thankful for Kydee and her example of what a great 'American Girl' can be.

That was really fun to write about one of my children. I think I'll do all of them, but not today. I'm tired!

Summer vacation! Beach pics...

Quick update

I don't have time for much of a blog post, but here's some pics of what we've been doing. We shingled the roof (by we, I mean my dad), and made the patio and flower beds. I'm busy being Super-Mom (as you can see by my outfit), and Dalan's been playing baseball. Well, I'm off to work on more projects and to clean my house!

Moab on Memorial Day

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to Moab to help with my mom's cotton candy booth at the Moab Arts Festival and to have some fun playing on the rocks. We all took turns to try climbing. It was fun to see Micah and Kaylee and their kids, and Aunt Lori and Uncle Dan. We wish we could have spent more time there!

PS We wish Micah and Kaylee the best during this difficult time and are praying for Kaylee, the doctors that work on her, and her family! (Kaylee was diagnosed with cervical cancer last week.)