It's coming to Salt Lake!

I just learned this afternoon that Gunther von Hagens Body Worlds 3 is coming to Salt Lake in September and I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! I've wanted to see this exhibit ever since I first heard about it years ago and was planning to fly to a nearby state at some point just to see this exhibit. But now I don't have to because it's coming here! Yipee!

Randomness

We finally planted our garden......and then Little T picked one of our squash plants. (Naughty child!) We've been spending a lot of time working in our yard and it seems like by the time we get it all done the summer we be over. We have so much to do but it's nice to be outside and I enjoy the projects we are working on.

We discovered a Robin's nest in the wall mounting portion of our satelite dish. It has three little blue eggs. The bird comes and goes even after we had climbed up there to see if anything was in the nest and taken pictures. Now we are leaving the nest alone in hopes that the eggs will hatch.

Thank you all who have expressed well wishes and concerns for my Grandpa. He is doing well and has been in and out of the hospital between chemotherapy sessions. He's now in a holding pattern waiting for a bone marrow transplant which should be life changing. We have seen miracles since his diagnosis in April and feel so blessed. He is doing better than anyone expected from a 75-year-old and we are so grateful for it. Because he has no immune system he is not allowed to have real flowers so I made him lilies out of the handprints of his great-grandchildren. I traced the hand of each of my Mom's grandkids on pastel construction paper, wrote their name on the palm, rolled it to resemble a lily and attached a green pipe cleaner for a stem. This was the end result.

Our kids are so silly. One day we discovered Big T asleep in the recliner UPSIDE DOWN! Another time the boys were watching TV together in the recliner (which is rare for them to actually share the same chair without fighting) but even more so Big T had swim goggles on. I can't imagine the TV would be too clear through those!

Preschool Graduation

Big T graduated from Preschool on May 15th. He's very excited about going to Kindergarten. I'm wishing he wouldn't grow up so fast. He did really well in school this year and Brad and I are so proud of him. He is able to write his first and last name, knows his address and phone number, can count to 100, etc. He's also a very creative little fellow. Last night he was playing Indiana Jones with a little Lego man, a wooden toy snake, a brush attachment for the vacuum and a small cardboard box. Oh what it would be to be a child again!

Soccer Season

Well, Spring soccer had come and gone and Tyler loved it. This was his second year and he was much improved. He was on the same team as his friend Parker and his cousin Kaylee so Brad and I had fun visiting with their parents on the sidelines too. This is the second season that Tyler chose jersey #8 and he was excited about that.

Tee-ball here we come.....

Trevor turned 2!

On March 21 Trevor had his second birthday. I would like to post some things about him.

I made a Boston Cream Pie cake - It was fab!

He is fearless. That kid has more bumps and bruises than any toddler I have met. We have caught him going down the stairs on his stomach, face first (we call it stair surfing and no it is not allowed in our home), climbing onto counter-tops to help himself to food, jumping off the fourth step onto the carpeted floor below, running away from us and not looking back, etc, etc.

He is his own little person & a creature of habit. He likes things done the same way every time. If he gets an idea in his head or wants something he will let you know in no uncertain terms. He doesn't say no but rather has a head shake with a distinct "uh-huh" if he doesn't like something or doesn't want to do something.

He is also obsessed with airplanes. In the car, at the soccer field, out our front window, he'll spot any plane, near or far, and say "airplane airplane airplane...." until you acknowledge him. And since we live west of the airport and near airport #2 you can imagine how many times a day we say "yes, Trevor, there is an airplane!". I recently found some old PJ's of Tyler's that have airplanes on them- he loves them.

Trevor likes to dance and sing. He has a song that he sings in the car that goes a little something like this "Ba ba bee, mommy". We don't know what it means but he sings it a lot. He bounces around to music too and especially likes the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs. When he is hungry and wants something to eat he will do a little happy dance in the kitchen while I fix his food. It is very cute.

He loves dogs, or as he calls them "bubbas". His old babysitter had a dog named Bubba so that is what he thinks all dogs are called. Even though we have tried to teach him to say dog he still says Bubba. We had an encounter with a chihuahua the other day too. It was nice weather on a Friday that I didn't work so I decided that Trevor and I should walk over to pick Tyler up from preschool instead of drive. On our way home we were met by a nasty little chihuahua that was barking and growling at us. I tried to ignore it and keep walking but Tyler had climbed half way up me in complete terror and Trevor was going after the dog with arms wide open trying to pet it. The problem was, the dog was biting at my feet and I was afraid it would bite my Trevor. So that wasn't a fun experience but we try to let him be around any friendly dog (or any animal for that matter- he doesn't discriminate- he loves them all!).

Trevor loves bananas. Actually he just loves to eat and will eat anything, at any time, and any place, but bananas are his favorite. It's gotten to the point where I have to hide them, and yesterday when we ran out of bananas, whoa, I thought the world was coming to an end!

Here he is eating a banana along with cousins Taylor & Gavin.

Poor kid has the craziest hair ever! He has four cowlicks! Two in the front and two in the back. The two in the back are on the very top of his head and they go opposite directions so he has a perpetual mohawk. We either have to keep his hair really short or let it be longer and do whatever it wants. Here is a picture of how I found him after a nap one day. He had rubbed his way-too-long hair against the bumper pad so it was all matted and standing straight-up Don King style. It was too funny. He has a great personality. He's a mellow guy most of the time and has been such a joy to have. When I think back to when he was born, and I remember how scared I was when he was born 6 1/2 weeks early, it amazes me how far we have come. He's a wonderful little man and I wish for a brilliant future for him.

We love you Trev-boy!

Heart-breaking News

S. Clair Bankhead

It was two weeks ago that I got a phone call from my Mom, who was in tears, to tell me that her Dad had leukemia. He has always been in great health so this was a real shocker. He was admitted to LDS Hospital and diagnosed with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia (AML)- not a good diagnosis for a 75-year-old. But through much prayer, discussion and thought he decided to go with aggressive treatment to kill the cancer. He has completed his first week of chemo and is on a "break" period for nine days. Once that time is up the next round of chemo will be determined based on how his blood cells responded to the first round of chemo. So really, everything is up in the air. For the time being he remains inpatient at LDS on the Bone Marrow Unit which (in my opinion) is the best place for him although he is feeling the walls closing in. I'm telling you, he is the most active, hardworking person I know. He's a busy-body and just itching to get back to feeding his cows! Eventually though the plan is for him to be at home but receive his chemo infusions at a clinic. Currently he is doing really well. I was there on Thursday when his doctor came in and said he was doing better than expected. (I'm not surprised- he's a trouper!)

These last two weeks have been so hard for me personally because I have felt so much guilt for not taking my kids over to visit more often, I haven't kept better in touch with my grandparents and I haven't had them as involved in my life growing up as I would have liked because of the distance apart we lived. I've always taken for granted the fact that I have all four of my grandparents alive. It's amazing how all the things that were important in my life suddenly came to a halt and he, my grandma and my Mom moved to the top of the list. I am very fortunate to work just minutes from LDS Hospital so that I can visit him every few days during my lunch break. It does my heart good to see him and my grandma (and generally some of my aunts & uncles too!).

Thanks to everyone who has asked about him- I really appreciate your love & concern. Please keep him in your prayers. And if you are able, please donate blood. In the first few days he was admitted it was the RBC's & platelets that saved his life. He continues to get blood products and I feel so thankful to everyone who has donated for helping to save him.

Kangaroo Zoo

We recently went to a place called Kangaroo Zoo with some good friends of ours. It's this large building full of blow-up bounce houses and toys. It's a place both kids and adults can play (although after playing I really felt my age!). Trevor was fearless and climbed everything, Tyler ran from place to place it was hard to keep up with him (hence the picture of a streak). We had a ton of fun and bought a punch pass so we can go back again and again.

After playing we went to Wendy's for lunch then the boys crashed on the way home.
Aren't they cute when they're asleep?!?

Discovery Gateway

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

Back in February we got to go to Discovery Gateway with the whole Newman clan. It was extra fun because Ashley & little Lincoln were here from Texas and we just don't get to see them enough (we missed Mike too but you know, it's busy season for those accountant-types). Anyway, all the cousins were there and it was the opening day of the Sesame Street "The Body" exhibit which was rather exciting for me since I work in organ donation an all. And to top it all off KISN radio station was there giving away prizes and I won a year-long family membership to Discovery Gateway! Awesome! I think Tyler asks me once a week when we are going to go next. In March we got to go with most of the Thacker cousins and that was fun because it was the first time they had been. The kids have so much fun there so if you haven't been, I recommend you make a trip soon.

Pictures: Tyler (construction), Tyler (with macaroni skeleton he made), cousin Katelyn with aunt Andrea, Trevor (with a rooster), Tyler (rock wall), Trevor (in blue egg), counsin Lincoln (in stroller), Trevor (grocery shopping).

Our family has expanded!

We'd like to introduce our newest addition to the family...our fish. We finally broke down and got a pet. Don't get me wrong, I love doggy's but the idea of having another living being to feed and clean-up after wasn't a thrilling idea. But, since Tyler was so afraid of animals we decided that we needed to get some sort of pet and maybe "upgrade" slowly until he overcomes his fears. So we got a fish. A really cute fancy black goldfish with bulgy eyes. Brad and I wanted to name him Darth Vader but Tyler's name won: Blackie. After a couple of weeks we decided to upgrade to a larger tank and add another fish. This one is a fancy orange goldfish that I named Mitzie. We have them in our kitchen so I can make sure that they are OK (Trevor stuck his hand in and tried to grab Blackie one day when I had my back turned) and they have quite the personalities. Mitzie will spend her entire day hiding behind the rocks and underneath the filter until she sees me walk into the kitchen. Once I walk in the kitchen she is front and center waiting for me to feed them. Like most goldfish, feeding time is the highlight of their day.

Santa visit

I know these are a little late but I just found them on the camera phone and thought they were hilarious & had to share.

Good ol' Chuck

Today we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese's. Tyler had a ton of fun running from ride to ride and thankfully most of them were working. He's no longer afraid of the animated characters that do the show and when the dressed up Chuck E came walking around to say "hi" he ran right up to him & gave him a high five. This after going through a car wash today and not being afraid! Wow! My kid is growing up! Anyway, Trevor wasn't too fond of most of the rides but we did manage to get a few pictures.

Darn cellphone camera makes for blurry action shots but oh well, they are cute!

A New Year's Wish

On October 25, 2007 my dear friend Tammy lost her husband Bryce to metastatic melanoma. He lived just 100 days from the time he found out his cancer had returned until the day he died. He fought each and every day to extend his life so that he could be around for his wife and to watch his young daughter grow. While doing this he also fought to spread the word about the danger of sun exposure whether it be from natural sunlight or tanning beds. Tammy documented their battle in their blog www.brycedbrown.com and I encourage each of you to please take the time to read it. Go to the first entry (titled Seven years doesn't mean JACK) and read to present day if you can. It is heart-warming and gut-wrenching all at the same time. Tammy is an incredible writer and an amazing woman. Her mission to spread the word about skin cancer and to kick cancer's butt will be a lifelong job. My wish for each of you is to educate yourselves about the true dangers of sun exposure- even incidental sun exposure like when working in your yard or running errands. Slather your children in sunblock. Never, ever fake bake. For pete's sake white and pasty can be sexy if you let it! By the way, Bryce's cancer was first diagnosed seven years ago. They believe it is from all the time spent in the sun working as a lifeguard during high school. If only we knew then what we know now....

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas full of family parties, work parties and other activities. We went and saw the lights at Thanksgiving Point while riding a trolley which was fun. Tyler loved seeing Christmas lights on the houses throughout the neighborhood but unfortunately we didn't make it to see temple square this year. We had the annual Christmas Eve dinner and program at my Mom's house complete with the kids doing a nativity. The nativity picture has all my nieces and nephews except Avery. Tyler was a wiseman. Trevor and Avery are not in the picture because they are at an age where they would not wear a costume nor would they stay in one place long enough for even a picture! Hailey however was a wonderful baby Jesus and I've included a darling picture of her too. Christmas morning was lots of fun at our house with two kids this year who are able to open their own presents. As usual Santa spent way too much money! We made a large delivery of toys to the D.I. prior to Christmas this year because Brad and I just could not handle more toys in our house. We went to Brad's parents house for Christmas breakfast and gifts and it was wonderful too. Oh, and Brad brought me back out of the dark ages. After having been without a cell phone for about a year he surprised me with one on Christmas. Now that I have one again I just don't know how I ever survived without it!!

Nativity ~ Trevor enjoying the spoon after I made fudge ~ Hailey

"Look Out! Here comes the Spiderman!"

We've had a fun visitor lately. First it was Trevor, then it was Tyler, even the Leap Frog toy got in on the action during the night!!

Well, it's been awhile....

Sorry I haven't posted for several weeks. To be honest I've been a little "down in the dumps" so to speak and haven't felt like doing much of anything. It was hard to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas with all the upheaval in my life but I think I'm starting to come out of it. We did have nice holidays as I sincerely hope each of you did too. Thanks for sticking with me and I'll try to get you up-to-date within the next few days.