SLC 2012

Kasey will be on-call at work beginning June 14th {our anniversary} through the middle of July... Obviously, we are not too thrilled about this. This means that we won't be able to go anywhere for our anniversary, Mikenna's birthday, 4th of July {my brother will be home (2 hours away) from DC}, and to top it all off - Kasey's 10-year high school reunion in Oregon. Bummer.

On the upside, we were able to get out of town for a few days before our month-long lockdown. We ran the idea by our wonderful friends, the Santiago's {our families have become very close, we both have 3 girls close to the same ages and they live right next to us!} to see if they might want to join us for a few days of fun at Lagoon and the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. Since they did decide to come and a full itinerary, we were unable to visit the many family members we have there... Sorry guys, next time!

We left after the husbands got off work on Thursday evening and arrived at the hotel around 11:30 pm. We got conjoining rooms so we could all hang out before and after our planned activities. Brittney and I weren't tired for some reason so we decided to go try to find a store to buy healthy lunches for Lagoon. Neither one of us wanted to feed our families greasy fair food as a meal. That was quite the adventure - Super Target was closed, we found another market that was closed, the tomtom led us to an alley and said that we had reached walmart {um, no!}, so we had to follow a map on my iPhone which was fun... We had managed to make a huge circle around it, only to find out it was just a quick trip on the interstate at the next exit! We had fun though laughing for the 2 hours it took! Then we had to quietly put everything away in the fridge without waking up our kids and husbands - not easy when you can't stop giggling at every crinkle and crunch as well as eachother. Friday morning, we went down to the continental breakfast only to find out they shut it down at 9... It was 9:15! So we had breakfast together at IHOP, then headed to Lagoon.

Just a few highlights...

This was Adiee getting prepped for the skycoaster. You know, when you pay an extra $30 for them to scare the pants off of you... I was worried about Adiee on this one. She occasionally has a fear of heights, but wanted to do this with her dad.

 She was SO excited! What a wierdo, this ride is absolutely terrifying if you ask me.

 NO fear!

Look at those baby blues! She is such a gorgeous little girl!

 No turning back!

"This must be what a bird sees." Adiee said this to Kasey as they are climbing to the top...

How sweet and innocent is that?!

They LOVED every second of it. Brave girl!

I was very nervous about what her reaction was going to be.

The girls in their coordinating ladybug/polka dot outfits.

So cute!

Isla enjoying her dip n dots :)

Mikenna and I are about to go on the Catapult, another X-treme ride. I really like this one!

She's so excited! Last year she did the swing and Adiee did this one with me.

Loved it!

Sweet Isla riding the helicopters!

Saturday we planned to go to the zoo. We had breakfast and finished getting ready. This day was a little more hectic, then we found out the zoo was about an HOUR away... We took the scenic route and drove through downtown SLC. Of all the times I've been there, I don't think I have ever been downtown. By the time we got there it was already around noon. Zoo parking was ridiculous, so Kasey and I opted to just pay for parking so we didn't have to keep trolling the lot for someone to leave. The weather wasn't as nice this day, an occasional chilly gust of wind really put a damper on the day from the get-go.

Our 3 beautiful babies!

Our 3 little "chick-a-dees" :)

Checking out the seals...

Mikenna played photographer with my phone :) Made me nervous a few times, could you imagine her dropping it in the water or in an animals cage?! That thing was expensive!

This picture was taken right after what was probably the worst moment of my life - Adiee got separated from our group. Kasey, Schnihder, and I all went running in different directons while Brittney stayed with the kids. I was running around looking for her and I physically couldn't scream her name, except once. I couldn't believe that it was happening, it didn't seem real at all. I don't think a minute had passed when I saw Adiee walking towards and talking with a zoo worker, she was calm but started crying when she saw Schnihder and I running towards her in opposite directions. I squeezed her and just started sobbing. I felt like such a horrible mom, and I held her hand while we walked back to where our group was. Kasey had to talk me through a full-blown panic attack - something I have never experienced before. I physically couldn't breathe, it felt like someone was squeezing my throat and I was breathing through an opening no bigger than a pinhead. I remember feeling like I was going to faint because I was crying so hard and fighting to breathe, being just so thankful that she was safe with us, and feeling like I was a terrible mom. Kasey made me feel better by saying that I wasn't a bad mom, this is something that happens sometimes {although, it's not supposed to happen to me...}, that Adiee knowing to calmly look for a person in uniform and to ask for help was just confirmation that she has good parents. But it's 2 days later and I'm still feeling very emotional about the whole ordeal.

It didn't take long for Adiee to recover, can you see the excitement over the giraffe? :)

I love this picture, and holy cow does Mikenna look grown up or what?!

Sweet girls!

We had lunch, shopped in the gift shop {Mikenna got an elephant mood necklace, and some slime with a tiger in it. Adiee picked a frog whose eyes pop out when you squeeze it and a glass frog sculpture. Isla picked a beautiful pink crystal sea horse necklace and a pen with charms on it.} and we called it a day by 3 pm. So we basically paid $60 for 3 hours of freezing our tushes off, and a scary experience I won't ever forget. After we left, we went shopping, to dinner, then went swimming at the hotel.

Look at that face!

 Having a great time!

Easy does it :) What a sweetie pie!

Sunday we took off around noon, Kasey had to get back to town so he could take on-call while Mike left on a business trip... Even when we aren't on-call, our weekends aren't always our own. We're still trying to get used to that. If you're visiting just this post, I posted 2 others earlier {one this morning, and one last night. Just FYI if you wanted to read those as well ;-)} Thanks for reading!

End of May

End of the 2011-2012 school year has come and gone, and with it came many events in the Brown household. The girls' field day was on May 30th. It was VERY windy and a bit chillier than what the forecast said but it didn't deter them from doing their best, and Kasey was able to take off from work early so he could cheer our girls on!

 Game Face! Ha ;)

 She won that round! Woohoo!

 Adiee and her partner took first in the three-legged race as well! So proud!

 Just bouncing between wins!

Working hard for her team during the relay race! Go Adiee!!

I packed up our picnic basket and we had lunch in Adiee's classroom before it was time to head to Mikenna's field day festivities.

 She is a QUICK little thing!!

Just bouncing around...

May 31st was Mikenna and Adiee's last day of school. I'm having a bit of a hard time accepting the fact that Adiee is done with kindergarten. It doesn't seem possible. She has changed and grown so much over the past year. And the fact that Mikenna is going into 3rd grade? Yikes!

Our girls on their last day of school.

I don't think I mentioned this before, but my mom bought Adiee a frog cage for her birthday. I wasn't too thrilled about another living thing that I was going to have to feed and clean, but of course Adiee opened it up and I HAD to order the stinkin' tadpole. He arrived in the mail the last week in April with a note saying his birthday was March 23, 2012. Well I thought he was a goner after the first day because he seemed to shrivel up and even went belly up a few times. I figured I waited too long to feed it even though I followed the directions perfectly. Oh, the guilt! But he proved to be a survivor.

He went from a tadpole to a full-fledged frog over a month's time. I have to admit it was pretty interesting to watch. Adiee named him "Tad", we fed him his "froggy flakes" everyday, and I cleaned that darn cage every single Saturday complete with dechlorination drops and bottled drinking water.

We noticed that he had grown skeleton-like legs the weekend of May 19th, they had filled out and he had sprouted arms by the weekend of May 26th and all of a sudden he was a complete froggy by May 29th. Well, Adiee had arranged to bring Tad into her class to show and tell him on the last day of school but sadly he died the afternoon before. I have no clue as to why, but it was heartbreaking. Adiee got her doctor kit out and wanted to "fix" him but when I explained that it wouldn't work, she took out the latex gloves and picked him up so we could bury him. All of the girls were absolutely devastated. It ripped my heart out to see Adiee's reaction when Kasey and I had to tell her Tad went to heaven. Kasey built a fire in the firepit and we invited the girls' best friends over for smores to help ease their minds. I made a quick memorial page to print out for Adiee to take to school since we couldn't bring Tad in. I went with her to make sure that she wasn't too sad after talking about it, but before she got to say anything I heard a couple of her classmates whispering - I was shocked to hear that they thought they heard that Adiee's DAD died, not TAD... Whoa!! Needless to say we had to put an end to that ASAP!

May 31st was also the girls' last soccer game. Both Mikenna and Adiee got soccer medals for their team efforts after their last game and were super excited!

Adiee starting the game!

She's guarding her goal. Thatta Girl! :)

So that was our May in a nutshell.

Dead Bird

I posted this on facebook on Monday, but some of you may not have seen it. Last Sunday, I went to wash Mikenna's coat and the contents of her pockets were HORRIFYING! First, I pulled a pair of bunched up mittens out of her pocket and I get sandblasted in the face (not the first time, you would think I would learn, right? Maybe someday! haha)

Second, in the midst of a collection of normal kid stuff like bouncy balls and erasers, I pull out part of a DEAD BIRD!!! ICK! The chain of events following are kind of a blur, but I plunged my hand into her pocket without any reservation and pulled out part of a bird that had been long gone. As I held it in my hand, I yelled, "Kasey! There's a DEAD bird in Mikenna's pocket!!" I felt frozen in disbelief, staring at my palm; Kasey got up from the couch, coming into the playroom to take the carcass out of my hand. He was laughing hysterically at my reaction, and taking the bird out of my hand, he said (when he calmed down and he could breathe again - which was only a second before laughing at me again), "Yep, sure enough. It's just the wings though." He threw the wings in the garbage and started emptying out the rest of her pockets...

Third - Kasey started emptying the last little tidbits out of her pocket because I was a little gun-shy to say the least (can ya blame me?!?) but he pulled out one of those sticky hands (without the hand) that was black/brown from lint, dirt, and whatnot - and at first glance I thought it was a worm because it was "moving" and I just lost it. Screamed, then followed by actual sobs because I was so so so GROSSED out! Over-reacting? Maybe, but I don't care it was so nasty and I was not expecting it. All I wanted was for Mikenna to have a clean coat! After I pulled myself together, and sort of laughed along with Kasey he thought it would be funny to taunt me a little with the sticky hand before it landed in the trash. He said my reaction to the whole ordeal probably would have won an America's Funniest Videos grand prize if only he had caught it on tape... It's a good thing he didn't! Embarrassing! Haha ;)

When Mikenna woke up the next morning, I wanted her to sweat a little after what she put me through the night before. So I said, "Mikenna, I washed your jacket last night." Expecting her to freak out a little considering what she had in her pockets, she just said, "Thanks Mom." 'Thanks Mom', are you kidding me?!? So I said, "I emptied out your pockets so I could wash it." Again, a nonchalant "oh". I finally said, "Mikenna, you had a DEAD BIRD in your pocket! Why did you touch that let alone pick it up and take it home!?!" She looked just as grossed out as I was, and told me she thought it was just a big feather. "Um, no Mikenna, it was the bird's WINGS!" I was actually very relieved to know that she didn't do it on purpose, but I took that opportunity to tell her again that we don't touch dead things, not only is it disgusting, but they can carry diseases, etc... I think I will exercise more caution when emptying pockets for laundry, or better yet, make them all do their own!! I am scarred for life! Ew, Ew, EW! haha :)

Good Grief...

Well looks like this year is going out with a bang... Missed my husband's family reunion and tonight Isla split her head open and Adiee lost tooth #2!!

Since Kasey couldn't get away from work, I was going to go without him, but everyone's plans changed last minute. I don't really feel comfortable driving all by myself across 2 snowy mountain passes in of all places, Jackson Hole which has had record-breaking amounts of snow recently to get to the lodge in Idaho, so the girls and I were going to ride down with Kasey's brother. It would have been really nice to see everyone not to mention the girls would have had a blast, but it just wouldn't have been the same without him. Plus I would have REALLY missed him! I know, ridiculous right?! Haha :)

And tonight, Isla found and picked up a guinea pig poop and I yelled "Gross! Put that down!" (So I could pick it up and throw it away). So she dropped it, and said "YUCK!" with such gusto that she swung herself around, losing her balance and smacked the back of her head on the coffee table... Split her head right open! Ouch!

About an hour after the whole Isla thing happened, Adiee came into the living room and told Kasey to pull her tooth. Her second one, and in the same month as the first! Geez! At least he was here to see and do it this time - especially since it wasn't as wiggly this time. I don't know if I would have been able to do it! Haha :-) Tomorrow morning she will be delighted to put the new piggy bank she got for Christmas to good use!

Please excuse her horribly chapped lips... The dry, cold weather has taken it's toll, and her awful habit of licking them definitely does not help the matter!

Gallbladders, Who Needs 'Em?

So, I had a pretty rotten week! I started feeling sick Sunday night, went to the emergency room on Wednesday night, was admitted with gallbladder disease with a side of jaundice, had surgery Thursday, and was able to go home Friday night... Ugh! I have always been really healthy, so this was quite a shock!



Shortly after the girls went to bed on Halloween night, Kasey and I were watching TV before we went to bed and I fell asleep on the couch. He woke me up so that we could go to bed, I got up and all of a sudden I had sharp stomach pains. I felt like I was going to throw up and minutes later my back started to hurt horribly! Kasey tried to help me by popping my back, but it didn't help - not one bit! I tried really hard to fall back asleep, but after tossing and turning for quite a while, I got out of bed so I didn't keep Kasey up since he had to work in the morning. I wanted to throw-up so bad, even though I absolutely hate it, just so that I could feel better! A couple hours later, it finally happened and I didn't feel ANY different! I had no idea what to do. So after brushing my teeth, I got a heating pad and my pillow and layed down restlessly on the couch. It was awful.

Monday morning, Kasey got up to go to work and saw that I was still awake and in tears. I got up to get Mikenna ready for school, but he had called Mike and told him he was going to stay home to take care of me (awww... :-) he is so sweet) I told him I could handle it, but he insisted. So I took a hot bath while he got her ready, packed her lunch, and took her to school; the only thing I had to do is do her hair (and that's because I insisted! haha) Kasey was really worried because the pain hadn't let up ALL day, I have to admit that I was a little scared myself but I toughed through it and got a little bit of sleep that night.



Tuesday, I felt a little better so I thought I was getting better - maybe the stomach flu or something. I still had a constant dull pain in my stomach and back. I got more sleep that night than the last two and when I woke up Wednesday morning I thought I was definitely getting better because I felt pretty normal but still had a few twinges of that pain here and there. It was noon and I was skyping with my sister and I had to cut it short because all of a sudden the pain was back full-force and I was absolutely miserable. I was hurting so bad, and I put up with it until about 9 before I finally gave into the torturous pain and Kasey's "begging" to go to the doctor before I drove myself to the emergency room. It literally felt like I was in labor again...



I felt a little silly walking in because the pain seemed to subside a little again, but I decided to just go anyway. They took blood and started an IV because I was pretty dehydrated - getting the IV in was quite the ordeal, they poked and wiggled the needle around in both hands and finally got one in on the third try in the middle of my left forearm (not a very fun procedure to begin with, 3 times?! Ouch!) I layed there in the ER for 3 hours before the doctor came in and said that he wanted to ADMIT me! He said that he was worried about my labs because it looked like I had gallbladder disease caused by gallstones that were blocking the common bile duct and it was poisoning my liver and they were going to have to take it out. I didn't have an infection which was pretty much the only thing going for me, and the doctor was surprised because the risk of it happening increases substantially 6 hours after the onset of symptoms and I was going on 3 days. I was halfway expecting (or maybe hoping...) them to tell me to go home and quit being a baby, but SURGERY?!

Here I am - scared... exhausted... in a new hospital... in a new town... all by myself... and I was going to have surgery in the morning... with a surgeon I had never met... 4 incisions... organ removal... in a tiny little town... and so on... Have I made my point? I was TERRIFIED! I called Kasey, my mom, and texted Kasey's mom (she told me to text her as soon as I knew anything). I couldn't sleep hardly at all, and neither could Kasey; we talked on the phone until about 3:30 in the morning. After that, my brother called and talked to him for about an hour. I fell asleep due to pure exhaustion and was awoke by another needle. Anyway, Thursday Kasey and the girls came to see me and my mom cancelled all of her appointments to drive down to help us out with the kiddos which was so nice. I had an ultrasound, 10 hours worth of phone conversations, turned yellow from jaundice, and had my 2 1/2-hour surgery at about 3 in the afternoon. I briefly saw the girlies afterwards and my mom took them home while Kasey stayed in the hospital with me, but I was pretty out of it until about 9 or so. More bloodwork, painkillers, bandage removal, and finally I was able to go home at about 7 in the evening on Friday.



What a week, huh? My AST and ALT (liver enzymes) levels at 6:30 in the morning on Thursday were 700 when normal is 30-40!! There were some more elevated numbers, but that one was the one that really stood out. I learned that I had 2 gallstones the size of marbles and about a half a dozen smaller ones that I have probably had for quite some time but they just decided to act up, my gallbladder was inflamed so they had to make a larger incision to get it out, I have a blood vessel that is in a unique place (that they weren't expecting to be there, and made surgery a little tricky... Yikes.) and I saw a picture of it, and my liver enzyme levels were at 400 when they said I could go home. Still very high, but going down. Follow-up appointment in 2 weeks. Ugh!