Star struck!

I hate having to choose between my kids' activities, but Saturday was just such a day. Cooper had back-to-back basketball games and, of course, they were running behind. Kaiya and I had tickets to a DU gymnastics meet, so we had to split early and miss Coop's second game. Grr!

Coop had two good games and finally fouled somebody (his uncles are always telling him to make sure and at least have a couple good fouls) and had two good shots, one of which went almost all the way in and came back out. The best part is that both games were good games--close all the way to the finish and though we lost both games, it was only by two points each. After getting blown out the first couple weeks, it was nice to be so competitive. Even better is that it is now getting close enough to baseball season that his coaches are talking about some pre-season tournaments. Bring it on!!

Kaiya's gym had special VIP tickets to the DU meet, which means it included getting to go to the autograph session with Alicia Sacramone who was a member of the 2008 Olympic team in Bejing. Kaiya was so star struck--it was so cute. She almost couldn't speak when it was her turn to get her autograph. They were being super strict about one autograph per person and no photographs. After that, they had a little Q&A session with Alicia and it was cute to hear all the questions the girls asked her.

Kaiya's coaches saved a group of seats right down on the floor and shortly after we sat down, Alicia sat directly in front of us. A couple girls got brave enough to ask to have her picture taken with them, but I was really hesitant. I always worry about being so intrusive. One of my old college teammates was at the meet too, and she grabbed my camera and told Kaiya to go for it. She didn't hesitate and we got a great picture of Kaiya with Alicia. She already knows what frame she wants to use to put it in her room.

Proud of her autograph

Listening to the Q&A session

My star struck girl with Alicia!

I am sure enjoying my kids being old enough to go to events like that and really enjoy them together. I don't think Kaiya moved for two hours. And, DU won the meet, edging out BYU, which was AWESOME! BYU has the same coach that was there when I competed for USU and it just doesn't seem possible that it has been 16 years since I finished my college career. I realized that the girls who were competing on Saturday night were BORN when I was in college. Holy crap! I felt so ancient!!!

The video clip is of a skill on bars Kaiya has been working on for months. It is called a kip and is the hallmark skill on bars because everything else from here on out builds on it. She was pretty pumped.

Runnin' in the Desert

I have decided that running long distances is a little like childbirth. It doesn't seem nearly as bad after the fact as it does while you are in the moment.

This last weekend, my mom, brother, sister-in-law and I flew to Phoenix to run in the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon. My nutty brother decided about half way into our training that he would show us all up and run the full marathon. We had a great weekend and I'm pretty luck to have a husband who not only stayed home and ran the kids all over the place, but was my biggest cheerleader. I had to miss Kaiya's piano recital and two of Cooper's basketball games, which I hated missing.

She did so good!

We flew out late Friday night and got into Scottsdale just before midnight. My mom and stepdad stayed at a hotel while Brandon and Erika and I stayed with my dad at our condo a/k/a "The Pad" in Scottsdale, which is the same place I have spent every spring break with very few exceptions since I was about 9 years old. My dad has been there since the day after Christmas, so I think he was ready for some guests. We spent Saturday checking out the race expo and figuring out where to go on Sunday morning. For dinner, we did some serious carb loading at an Italian restaurant and then went to bed early.

Brandon's race started at 7:40 a.m. and the half didn't start until 8:30, so we got dropped off in shifts thanks to my dad and stepdad. Our hope was that the slow ladies would finish before Brandon so we could cheer him through the finish line. Turned out we finished about the same time because we didn't even cross the START line until 9:00. So many runners!! In fact, there were so many runners that we had a hard time keeping a decent pace at times just because we were trying to navigate around so many people, especially those that decided to stop and walk with no warning right in front of us. We got lots of comments on our matching t-shirts that my mom got us and saw lots of inspirational stories on other people's t-shirts.

The weather was perfect and the course was pretty flat until about mile 10 and then we hit some hills. There were live bands every couple miles and that made it fun. My courageous sister-in-law probably shouldn't have even been running because her poor stomach gave her such grief while she was training. I know I would have quit. She did SO awesome! We didn't set any land speed records, but we never stopped--even at the water stops, we drank on the run. It was a little scary as we neared the finish line seeing someone in full cardiac arrest off the side of the road being attended to by EMTs, but we made it! We hurried over to the full marathon finish line and because my brother is a speed demon, he had just crossed the finish line about the same time we did, so we missed him. :(

After the race, we headed straight to our absolute favorite Mexican food place--Baja Fresh. Then came a long soak in the hot tub, a long shower and a nap. We ate dinner at a fun local spot called AZ 88 and went to the Sugar Bowl for ice cream. Nothing like rewarding ourselves with food. Ha!

So, even though training in the snow and ice was not much fun, it was worth it! What a great weekend!

Friday night greeting

This is gonna be a piece of cake

Picking up our race bibs

Photo op at the expo

Putting our tag in our shoes

6 a.m. on race day--ready to go!

Finished!

Feeling special in our matching shirts

How we're all related . .

The big 1-2

I am having a hard time believing that in one short year, a teenager will be living under our roof. Cooper turned 12 last Thursday and it just doesn't seem possible that it was 12 years ago that our lives forever changed. I can still remember the tiniest of details surrounding his birth and the days and weeks that followed. And, I remember some of his early years really well. It's from about kindergarten to now that it is all kind of a blur.

Everyone told me when we had kids that it goes by fast and I'm not sure you can really understand that until it happens to you. When you are in the moment of a tantrum or an endless potty training day or strapping kids into carseats, it doesn't seem possible that it's all just gone in a flash, but it is!

When I tucked Cooper in bed the night of his birthday, he asked me if I was going to cry. Duh! Of course I am--I do every year on his birthday. He was a little embarrassed by it, but at the same time, he now has a firm understanding of how lucky he is to be alive. He also deals with a little more of the awkwardness that comes with being different than his peers, but he really handles it well. I am so proud of this kid and so glad to be his mom.

On his actual birthday, all Cooper wanted to do was have wings, pizza and football and have his Uncle Brandon come over to watch the BCS title game with us. He got his wish and I must say it was a pretty easy request. It was just too hard to have a party with school starting back up and his basketball schedule, so it made it easy. He loved getting his gifts just like he did when he was 2 and I will admit having him be a little older made for a nice night.

Over the weekend, Doug's parents came to visit and to be a part of Cooper becoming a Deacon. Now that he's 12, it means more responsibilities at church, but it also means he doesn't have to go sing in the primary anymore, which thrilled him. He loved having his grandparents here and they have such a special bond with him. We really just had a very nice, relaxing weekend with them. I'm so mad that I forgot to pull out the camera more often while they were here.

Jan. 14th is the anniversary date of his open-heart surgery and that day is forever etched in my memory as well. I post the picture to remind myself that even when he's being ornery, he is still our miracle kid.

How it all started . . .

At age 3

Sun kissed towhead

As a 2nd grader

Such a baby face

Just wanted a cheesecake this year

One very loud game chair!

Looking so old

Ready to become a deacon

An extra special visit

*Warning - emotional post.* There is my disclaimer.

I get very emotional every year around the time of Cooper's birthday simply because I reflect on how scary he started his life 12 years ago on Jan. 7, 1998. He is so on to me that he asked me today if I had cried yet. Although we are still fighting some minor battles with his cardiac anatomy and pacemaker, I'm not sure I believed 12 years ago that he would be as happy and healthy as he is today. I wanted to believe it, but I think I was afraid to be overly optimistic.

I have Cooper to thank for pushing me into the nursing field as well. As I take care of other cardiac kids now, there is such a sense of giving back and I sometimes feel guilty that I get paid for what I do. And, every once in a while a patient comes along that just grabs my heart and won't let go. Little Matthew is a case in point. With his mom's permission, I get to share his story.

Matthew lives with his family not too far from us and he was like any other active toddler, except that he just couldn't seem to keep up on the growth chart. Despite a huge appetite, the poor kid just couldn't gain weight. He eventually found himself in the failure to thrive clinic for repeat evaluations, calorie counts and repeated weigh-ins. No one could find an underlying cause for his poor growth. At 16 months, he got some sort of flu bug and wound up at urgent care and then back at his pediatrician's office for follow-up. Out of the clear blue, the doc heard a gallop when listening to his heart--almost always indicative of fluid overload in and around the heart.

Off to Children's the family went and after an EKG and echocardiogram, he was diagnosed with Scimitar Syndrome--a very, very rare heart defect in which an unneeded extra vein connects the pulmonary venous circulation and the systemic venous circulation. The extra vein drains into the inferior vena cava instead of into the left atrium of the heart. In other words, two systems that are supposed to run parallel to each other were intertwined. This also resulted in too much pressure to his lungs. And, as if that wasn't enough, he had an aorta that was going the wrong direction and was encircling his trachea, which would have eventually been disasterous. Every calorie this kid was eating was sustaining this crazy circulation pattern in his body.

In mid-November, Matthew had surgery to repair his many defects and the sugery was incredibly successful. Things were moving along nicely and the breathing tube was pulled a couple days later. Unfortunately, he started a downward spiral and eventually was reintubated and the tube was unable to be pulled. He was taken back to the O.R. where a tracheostomy tube was placed creating an artificial airway. After many more weeks in the hospital, my little buddy was able to come home. Doctors are very optimistic that the trach will be able to be removed in the coming months, but until then, he does not leave his house other than for appointments.

I fell in love with this little guy right from the start and quickly signed up to be one of his primary nurses meaning that if I was working, he was all mine. :) His parents are amazing with him, providing so much love and yet keeping some structure and normalcy for him.

Today, the kids and I got to go visit Matthew. After dousing my kids with hand sanitizer, we stayed and played with him for an hour today. We brought puzzles and books and toys and yet the greatest gift we gave him was an hour of our time. He warmed up to the kids so quickly (and recognized me enough to greet me with a hug . . . oh the tears in my eyes!). He is now walking again and doesn't even seem to notice his trach and the ten feet of hoses and cords attached to his neck. He is just the sweetest little boy who seems to know that he is lucky to be alive. I know that sounds weird, but I've had the same types of experiences with Cooper over the years. He has a twinkle in his eye and a smile that melts you instantly.

After we left, the kids were kind of quiet and reflective. Cooper finally told me that the whole experience made his day and the others said they wanted to go back sometime. I'm hoping I can babysit him sometime soon so his parents can take a much needed break together! Stay tuned. :)

Do they get any cuter than this?

Play time!

See if you can read his shirt :)

Happy boy

So playful

My new boyfriend

Our very own New Year's Day Bowl Game--The Toilet Bowl

Well, we rang in 2010 with a bang. Somehow, all of us but Cooper ended up with severe food poisoning. My camera was lost for a few days and it is probably a very good thing. We were a sorry sight!! That said, if you have a weak stomach, do NOT read any further!

We celebrated New Year's Eve with some friends here at the house and then later on at our neighbor's house. Not sure if it was the fondue or the sparkling cider, but within a couple hours 4 of us had a Toilet Bowl competition. It was violent and it was ugly. Kinley gets an award for making it to the bathroom. Poor kid was puking and I just kept saying, "Good girl, sweetheart." She finishes and looks and me and says, "Why on EARTH do you keep saying GOOD GIRL? THIS is NOT good!" I laughed so hard, but if she had seen what Kaiya did to her carpet, she would have understood.

Kaiya started us off launching puke from her loft bed six feet off the ground. Instead of turning inward toward her bedding, she leaned over the railing. I have never seen anything like it in my life. I think she hit all four corners of her room. She nailed the dog in his entirety who then proceeded into the hallway and shook vigorously to dry himself off. Now it's on the walls, doors and hall carpet. I cried. Hard.

Doug and I spent 2 1/2 hrs cleaning carpet until 7 a.m. and then went back to bed only to be awoken by the beast raging in our own stomachs. It did not stop until later that evening. Thanks to some Sprite and Gatorade brought to us by my brother and his wife and our friends (who were thankfully spared of this nightmare), we were finally on the mend the next day. Cooper was AMAZING taking care of all of us in our pathetic states. He made soup, fetched water, cleaned the house, boxed up Christmas decorations and only bragged a few times, strutting around saying, "Stomach of steel, baby!"

My pathetic phone camera picture of the girls who did not move all day

By Saturday night, we were well enough to gather for dinner to say goodbye to Bennett . . . again. We had a nice evening just laying low and having pizza. Cooper talked the family into giving him his birthday gifts a little early, so he had a great night! I suck at goodbyes so there was no stopping my tears. My girls didn't let go very easy and Coop waited until he got the car to have his meltdown. We are already counting the days to go visit Tulsa!!!

A couple of the other pictures I've posted were from the week between Christmas and New Year's. I am so lucky that my best friend's family lives in Denver and that she lives in Logan near Doug's family. They were in town and we got to spend the day with Lori and her girls. We went sledding and Lori humored me and ran alongside me for my last long run before the big Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix next weekend. I had to do 11 miles and she went with me. We talked the entire time and the run just flew by! Thank you, Lori!!!

Kinley and Kylie ready to tear it up!

Our last family gathering for a long time

Showing Uncle B some new tunes

Football and a comfy couch=happiness

Never too old to share some love

Not even tippy toes helps anymore

Uncle B's #1 fans

Sweet matching hats!