Be sure to scroll down!

Be sure to scroll down, as I have added a few new things this week. This is one picture I couldn't leave off the blog. Josh got a camera for his birthday in January. It isn't a very good one because we weren't sure how he would treat it. It has been a lot of fun to get some of his pictures even if the quality isn't what our camera is. Josh was playing with Joe and asked him to make a funny face--and this is what he did. We sure love our little boys and love those laugh-worthy moments that go along with them!

Cousin Camp & Kissing Snakes

I'm late on telling about Cousin Camp, which happened 3 weeks ago, but it was noteworthy so I'll tell now. Each year Grandma Lila has a Cousin Camp where all the kids and moms get together for activities, movies and sleepovers. The dad's are always welcome and usually come around meal time (except for Keith this year, who was at Youth Conference). We started out with lunch at Remember the Main Park, and my kids couldn't wait to go to that "you know, the main park!" We are still trying to help them learn that we don't just remember the main park, it IS Remember the Main Park. After all the fun at the park, we had dinner and a movie in Grandma's back yard. Joe didn't sleep all day, and wasn't about to when the movie began at 11 pm. The other boys fell asleep, so I hauled them all home instead of sleeping over, as this pregnant mom was sleeping in her own bed that night! Which I was glad to do since our party 

Joe never crashes until all is quiet and dark. 

The next day we started with breakfast at Grandma Nena's, which I was suppose to help cook, but couldn't wake little boys up in time (so sorry, still). That day we had activities and a Carnival where every family did a booth and the kids went around with tickets to play each booth. I don't know what all of them were as I was at my own the whole time, but I know the boys had a great time going around, particularly Joe at Grandma Nena's bean bag toss and Aunt Connie's duck pond! It was great because all the kids had fun, no matter the age. 

The craft that Josh and Matt really got excited about was the bead snakes. I'm posting Josh's pictures that he took with his camera. I finally loaded them on the computer and laughed at what I saw and heard about them. Josh told me "The snakes are doing what you and Dad do sometimes, kissing."

We had a lot of fun at Cousin Camp, including the downtime for a nap the 2nd day. At the end, Josh was very sad and emotional, as he gets at the end of every family get-together. He always makes teary-eyed comments about wishing people didn't have to go home or that we could do those activities everyday. I'm so glad he enjoys spending time with all his cousins. 

Pictures with Spencer & Gabby

Our sweet new sister-in-law, Gabby who is from Ecuador, hasn't seen much of Vernal and the surrounding parts. So we hope to take her a few places while they live here for the summer. Our first trip was to the Red Canyon Overlook area. It has been a while since we have gone ourselves, and we were reminded why it is one of our favorite spots. The boys always have a great time looking for "wild animals" such as chipmunks and lizards. 

We found that there are perks to taking Spencer and Gabby with us. They help take pictures, something we don't do much of anymore since we are usually chasing little boys. So we were excited to have pictures from the trip (thanks, Spence). Keith was able to take a few of the crazy cliff pictures for Spencer, which was fun for the guys. Gabby and I couldn't watch while they were doing those. We also really liked the chipmunk pictures Spencer was able to catch. We look forward to taking them to some of our other favorite spots--even if we can't take credit for many of the pictures!

Red Canyon Trip on the 24th

Ganglion Cysts and Pinworms?

I took Josh and Matt to the doctor yesterday and received interesting news. Josh has a Ganglion Cyst on his wrist that has probably developed from writing in school and playing the computer. You can click on the link above (hopefully it will work) for more information about that. The good thing is that it could burst on its own and it doesn't have major health risks associated with it. However, finding out that surgery is probably the solution was quite the blow for our little 6 year old. He was brave enough to ask the doctor all the questions he had, and the doctor was kind enough to answer and give him a hug. One major concern was "How will they put my skin back?" The doctor explained that they will only make an incision and then stitch it up. Matt told Josh that stitches don't hurt, and he didn't even cry when he got them. Josh was also comforted to know that he would have painkillers in case he had pain afterward. The doctor also told Josh, in a kind and joking voice, that his problems weren't nearly as bad as his brother's. 

We were also able to talk to the doctor about Matt. I hadn't seen the doctor since we found out the results of the Cystic Fibrosis test were negative. We've been monitoring his bum problem with little success. I'm finding out how often his bum really pops out--Matt has been good to share that information with me. The doctor said this is a problem that is usually discovered much earlier. I explained that he's been potty trained since he was 2 and only wants my help for wiping. The doctor was a bit surprised at Matt's independence and I told him the only reason I think I found the problem in the first place was because Joe had hit him in the head with a ball as he was ready for me to take care of the wiping--as a result he was crying and not in control. I'm glad we found the problem at all, since poor little Matt had no idea it was a problem. 

Now we proceed by increasing the Miralax he takes and to soften up his diet. We also get to watch for Pinworms that could be causing the problem. If the problem persists, we will need to do surgery to have things "tucked up" to keep them from popping, or should I say, pooping out. 

On a good note--Matt continues to breathe fairly well. We have him on a regimen that greatly reduces the number of breathing treatments we have to give him, as well as the benefit of a happier little boy. And we sure enjoy that happy little Matt! His little giggle can get out of control sometimes, but its so fun that it is hard to tell him to settle down. 

We are so grateful for our little boys and our hearts break for them as they face some of the issues they do at these young ages. Each challenge Josh faces helps him be a little more brave and prepares him for the future.  Oh, and little Matt is about as tough as they come. It proves to be a blessing as he faces everything that comes his way and we watch him plug through with that inner and outer strength he has. 

SLIP & SLIDE

We bought a Slip & Slide the other day for some summer fun. We tried it out for our Family Home Evening activity on Monday. Josh was too cold and scared of getting hurt to really get into it, Matt had a great time, and well...you can see from Joe's face that he preferred to just watch. I pulled it out for them to play on last night and they all had fun. Josh keeps getting taller and taller and must be having height issues, because he still has a hard time diving onto the slide.