Jelly Belly Factory

Erin & Courtney took Carter, Claire, Faith & Hayden to the Jelly Bell Factory today. Poor Kate had to miss because she still isn't feeling well. The kids had a fun time & brought home lots of yummy treats! They brought Kate some special Hello Kitty jelly beans.

Sicky Kate

Kate woke up in the middle of the night & said she wanted to lay in Claire's bed. I put her in there & around 5:30am Claire woke me up & said that Kate had thrown up all over her bed! Oh no!We got them cleaned up & back to bed, but once Kate woke up in the morning she couldn't keep anything down. She threw up at least a dozen times throughout the day. Water & saltine crackers didn't help. She was so pale & she pretty much slept the whole day. She had to miss our Family Home Evening too; so sad!
She threw up a few more times Sunday night, but the last was around 2:30am. On Monday morning she complained of a pain on the right side of her stomach. I was worried that maybe it was her appendix so I made a doctor appointment & brought her in. Dr. Gould didn't think it was appendicitis because when he asked her to jump she was able to 3 times & you wouldn't be able to do that if it was her appendix. They prescribed some Zofran to help with the nausea & gave me a cup to take a urine sample. When we got back to Grandma's house she slept for a few more hours & when she woke up I was able to get a urine sample but she was crying & said it hurt when she went to the bathroom. I brought her back down to see Dr. Gould & he asked us to take the sample to the lab. Poor Kate is just miserable & wants to go home. I have to carry her everywhere because she said it hurt to walk.
Tuesday morning she woke up & felt fine, and wanted to eat everything in sight! I was so happy to have our Kate back.
On Thursday the pediatrician's office called & said that they got the results back from the lab & she has some kind of bacteria infection, so she is on Amoxicillin for 7 days.
What a fun start to our Spring Break!

March FHE

Tom & Marci hosted our monthly Family Home Evening & we celebrated Kimberly & Carter's birthdays too! We enjoyed a delicious dinner, watched a video about Christ & the kids went on an Easter egg hunt. I made a 3 layer strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting & it was delicious!
Carter had a fun time opening his presents.He got a DS game, Lego set, Harry Potter 3-D book & lots of money! He wants to go buy another game with his money.
We were sad that Cory & Kate weren't able to come.

Garth Brooks!!!!!!!

In February, when I heard that Garth Brooks was coming to Sacramento on his World Tour I was so excited! He is such an amazing performer & I knew this might be the last time I would get to see him. I saw him in 1993 and 1997 too. The day the tickets went on sale Kristen & I were both on our computers ready to buy tickets. We were going to get 4 tickets so that Jeff & Cory could come too. The minute they went on sale we both tried to get tickets & it was impossible. The Ticketmaster website was bombarded with so many people that it took at least 30 minutes for it to come back & say there were no tickets for what we were trying to order. We tried for over 2 hours, and even changed the quantity to 2 but still couldn't get them. We were so sad! A little while later I tried to just get 1 ticket & a seat came up! I called Kristen & we both decided to just get one seat, even though we wouldn't be next to each other.
Fast forward to tonight....Kristen & I met up at Rubio's, near Arco, and then drove together into the parking lot. We went to Kristen's seat first and I sat next to her until those ticket holders arrived. My seat was just in the next section over, which was really just about 20 seats away. When I went over to my seat a woman was sitting next to me. I asked if she was with anyone & she said she was alone. I asked if she would want to trade seats with Kristen & she said she would think about it. A few minutes later she turned to me & said "Ok, I'll switch, you should be together." I thanked her & she replied "It's the Christian thing to do." It was so nice of her! So Kristen came over & sat next to me.
The concert was amazing! Garth played all of his old stuff (which I was so happy about!) and only 1 new song. We stood during the entire concert & sang along with him. If I ever get another chance to see him I would be so ecstatic!

A Visit From The Valkos

The Valko Family went to visit Jen's dad in the bay area during their Spring Break & we were lucky enough to be able to visit with them this evening. (Tim was sick, so he stayed back at Jen's dads house.) The kids played really well together, in fact, we didn't really see Carter & Keoni. They were in Carter's bedroom almost the entire time playing Legos. Makena's birthday was yesterday, so we had a little party for her. Naia is just the cutest little thing.
It's always fun to see our favorite BYUH friends!

Carter Turns 10!

Carter turns a decade old!! I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I couldn't be any happier with the young man he is becoming. Carter is loving & helpful and an all around good kid! He started his birthday off with a delicious bacon & maple donut for breakfast, then he went to choir & school. He requested Panda Express for dinner & Leatherbys for dessert. He opened some presents too & was happy with everything he received. He got some money from Great Grandpa Altop, a shirt & Lego set from us, Ninjago DS game from the Algers & a Pokemon DS game from Grandma & Grandpa Wozniak. He's looking forward to another fun birthday celebration on Sunday night with his cousins!
Happy Birthday buddy!!

Kate's Favorite Book

️Kate asked if she could have her own Book of Mormon & she has spent this past week carrying it around all over the house. I will find her sitting on the couch with her bookmark while she "reads". She also asks me often "Mom, please read me one chapter." I hope this will always be her favorite book!

Jump Rope For Heart

This afternoon Carter and Claire participated in the jump rope for heart at school. Kate and I were able to go & help out. First we checked in the kids & gave them their drink coupons. Once they started jumping we were able to be with them to cheer them on & help turn the rope. Luckily this year the fourth & first grades were jumping together so Claire & Carter were able to be on the same team! The kids had a lot of fun together & Kate & I even got to jump. During the years that our school has been participating in Jump Rope for Heart we have raised over $300,000 for the American Heart Association.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The kids woke up this morning & looked to see if the leprechaun had come. In years past the leprechaun had left a trail of gold & footprints that led to new green shirts. This year they didn't find anything. When they went into the kitchen there was a note that led them on a scavenger hunt. They went through the house reading the clues & then were sent to the backyard for more clues. They ended at a chair on the back patio where they found new shirts & some chocolate gold coins!

Carter enjoyed a rainbow fruit parfait for his breakfast & then spent the morning at the dentist having a cavity filled.