Update

Make that 4 kids with the flu.

The Flu (not for the queasy)

What's worse than a sick kid throwing up all night long? Two kids throwing up all night long with a sick baby on top of it. Last night Zach came in about 1:45am having just been sick. So I went to clean up him and his bed (and the wall and the carpet and anything within a few feet). While I was pulling his sheets off I hear Savannah getting sick in the next room. Of course she freaks out and hers hits a much wider diameter. So I get them both cleaned up and clothes changed, etc. I'm starting the washer and it begins all over again. So I clean them both up again and pull off the second pair of sheets, blankets, pajamas, etc. and take them to the family room. I laid blankets and towels all over and made little beds. They each got a nice big bowl next to them. As I'm in the middle of this Connor wakes up screaming. I wake Dallin up and he takes care of Connor's diaper, who is having the "Big D" as my friend Kristi calls it. We finally get Connor calm and back to sleep and Dallin heads back to bed. I finish starting the first of 4 large loads of laundry (all soiled within 30 minutes). I run back to the family room in time to help Savannah. I lay on the couch and help the two of them take turns with their bowls about every 15 minutes until about 5:00am. We finally sleep for an hour until Connor wakes up. He made it through the night without throwing up (he started throwing up Monday night...and has been doing so ever since), so I give him 4 oz. of formula...which he promptly throws up all over one of the floor blankets (load #5). I wake up Jacob to get ready and take to school and then drive to Walgreens where I stock up on Pedialyte, Gatorade, 7-UP, and apple juice. Savannah and Zach try to convince me they want yogurt for breakfast (bright blue Trix yogurt). Yah right. They get 7-UP and 2 ritz crackers each. We've watched cartoons all morning and luckily it all seems to be on hold...for now.

The end of the trip...Friday - Sunday

On Friday we had family pictures with the Strongs at the temple. I actually got a decent shot of all the grandkids...all 13 of them! Afterwards we went back and had a barbeque for Daniel's birthday (Dallin's brother). I got to go to a movie with most of the girls in the afternoon...we saw Enchanted. Saturday morning we left Maricopa around 10:30am and got to El Paso, TX around 5:30pm, where we stayed the night. It was snowing as we got there, which was really fun for all of us. The kids had fun going to Applebee's and it was their first time sleeping in a hotel (that they can remember). The only problem was that we didn't have a pack'n'play, so Connor was rolling all around and trying to crawl off his blanket all through the night. The next morning we loaded up and set off about 8:30am (TX time). We drove through snow for about 5 hours. We let the kids out to play in it once and they loved it. But then pretty much everything in a car was splattered with mud from their shoes. Oh well...how often do they get to play in the snow? We got home about 6:30pm. It was nice to be home again. Dallin had Monday and Tuesday off work so I was able to do laundry and wash the car and stuff. He also went and did all the grocery shopping. Connor's been pretty sick the last couple of days. He was supposed to have his 9-month well-child visit on Tuesday but it turned into a sick visit after he threw up all night and couldn't keep anything down. He's better today but still really tired and fussy. The only good thing is that he just wants to be cuddled, which I love to do. Overall it was a fun trip and we loved seeing family and friends. But it sure is nice to be home!

Thanksgiving Day

We had Thanksgiving with the Strongs this year. Including the babies there was 27 of us. But we all fit with the new addition on the Strongs' home. After dinner (lunch) the kids got to make oreo turkeys and open up the "Great Turkey." The Great Turkey is a tradition started by Aunt Melinda 2 or 3 years ago and the kids get so excited. There is a surprised all wrapped up in crepe paper that resembles a turkey. This year it was play-doh and they had a blast. After that we went to my Aunt Marilee's to see my mom's side of the family. Savannah had fun playing with all the little girls there. It was nice to see everyone.

Thanksgiving Eve

Wednesday we stayed at the LeSueur's for the day (we slept there every night but drove into Mesa most days). In the morning my dad took Jacob, Zach & Savannah over to the train station and watched them very up close. Savannah said it was too scary, but they had fun. My Aunt Marilee came over and brought her daughter Shae over to play. The kids had a great time jumping in Grandpa's bouncy house. My best friend Alisha Shumway came over and spent the afternoon and evening also. It was so fun to see her and Savannah became pretty attached also. For dinner (which was my family's Thanksgiving) my brother Steven and his wife Sarah were there. I also got to see our friend Eun-Sook Yi from Korea. She is an old family friend and is living in the U.S. for 18 months with her son, Tae-Wan. I hadn't seen her in over 10 years, so it was a nice reunion.

Our trip Saturday - Tuesday...

Our trip to Arizona started out at 4:00am (AZ time) on Sat., Nov. 17. The kids were very excited and of course would not go back to sleep. Connor took a couple of little 30-min. cat naps and Savannah took one...that was it the ENTIRE trip! Connor also threw up twice, which resulted in me having to dig to the very bottom of the suitcases for clothes. But overall the kids did great on the 15-hour drive. We didn't have one fight (miraculously) and the "Are we there yet?" didn't start until about 5:30pm. Thank heavens for portable DVD players...one of the best investments we've ever made.

We arrived in Tucson about 7:00pm and stayed
at our friends' house, the Robinsons. The kids had a blast playing with their friends, even for just a short time. On Sunday we drove past our old house and visited our old neighbors. We went to Sacrament Meeting in our old ward and got to see lots of friends. Then we drove to my parent's house in Maricopa. We had dinner with my family. Connor got to meet lots of people on this trip, as the only family he'd met were his grandparents...and that was quite a while ago.




On Monday we spent the day at the Strongs. All of Dallin's family was together for this week except Jeremy (a brother-in -law). The kids loved playing with all 9 of their cousins and creating lots of chaos. On Tuesday Aunt Melinda brought her bracelet stuff over and let the girls all make bracelets. Savannah and I made one to match her Christmas dress. She loved doing girly stuff.





On Tuesday afternoon Carrie, Melinda, and I took our kids to the park. They got sand in their clothes, hair and shoes and had a great time.











The boys spent the week turning anything they could find into weapons with their cousins. They also enjoyed digging in any dirt they could find. Needless to say...they had a great time. On Tuesday my dad also took Jacob and Zach to Jungle Jim's...but I don't have pics of that.

Colds and getting ready for our trip!

We've had colds at our house the last couple of weeks. Connor's had it the worst. He was waking up constantly through the night, but that's been better the last 2 or 3 nights. Luckily he's getting better before the trip. A few nights ago I woke up to Savannah whimpering outside my door "Runny nose...runny nose!" She had tried to get a kleenex off the box on the counter but just made lots of little shreds all over the place. Connor's new favorite teething thing is the couch. Sometimes I'll go sit down and feel a nice patch of wet slobber under my knees. He gets so offended every time I make him stop...either offended or he just laughs at me.
Well we're so excited to see family and friends this next week! I can't believe it's already been almost a year since we moved here. Time flies when you're having fun and watching kids grow. I won't be posting again probably until after we get back. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Helping with quintuplets

On Saturday I got to do something very fun...I went to help with quintuplets! Their parents are LDS and live in the next town over. Dallin actually knew the mom at Kino Jr. High (her name was Rachelle Curtis for any of Dallin's sisters). But she went to Mt. View. Anyhow, the babies are 3 months old now and so, so cute. My cousin Elise LeSueur was staying with us on Friday and Saturday and she came along with me. I had a great time and hope I can do it again. I put a link to their blog...it's the Wilkinson Family.