Family Outings

This is our first attempt at a photo collage (using Picasa) for Michael. These are some of our favorite recent family outings. (Starting top left going clockwise: Eve's b-day Jan, wild horse and burro reserve Nov, relay for life Oct, flowering bushes at LA temple Mar, Tahachapi train loop Nov, Anna in the famous photo tree at LA temple Mar, more at the reserve Nov, Lydia in the temple tree Mar)

Happy Easter

This was our attempt at Easter pictures--plus a few extras taken back in January.

Family Fun!

When it rains it pours. Usually we're lucky to get one visit from family a year. But this year we scored three and all within a month!

The most recent was from my favorite little brother, his lovely wife, and their handsome and intelligent boys. It was 16 hours full of non-stop fun (minus the part when we were all sleeping.) I wish I had gotten better pictures but this one was good enough to capture the fun!

Thanks for stopping to see us! We love you.

Surgery Saga

Just had to post some more pictures and share the details for those who are interested.

The Day Before
Grandma and Grandpa drove in about 2 in the afternoon. We'd been looking forward to their arrival for weeks. The kids thouroughly enjoyed spending time with them while we waited for Dad to finish his work day and come home for dinner.

On Our Way!

It was really nice to have the whole 2 1/2 hour drive to just focus on Lydia. Thanks again Mom and Dad Shelton for being there so that we could rest assured knowing the younger kids were in good hands!

A Little Pampering

On the way down Lydia and I painted our fingernails. Which we haven't done since the last hospital stay (5 years ago.) Also painted her toenails bright red to celebrate for her special day. Showing off the cute hospital night gown. Feeling a little somber.

Getting cozy.
The sleepy medicine as starting to kick in. She was getting pretty comfortable watching Sesame Street and even got a little dozy. Unfortunately, they came to take her in for surgery a little later than they were expecting and the medicine was starting to wear off. She started getting uptight and we had to listen to her cry for us as they wheeled her down the hall.

Waking Up.
I've heard coming out of anesthesia can feel really strange. She was still completely out when they brought her into the recovery room. After the nurse came in several times and loudly called her name she started to come out of it. She refused to take the juice, cracker, or popcycles that we offered. She was supposed to drink something and keep it down before they released her, but after more than an hour of whimpering and keeping her eyes tightly closed they decided to let her go.

We had to wait around for the doctor to call back to okay some tylenol with codeine to help her be more comfortable for the drive home. Finally we were on our way. I'm sure it was much to the relief of the recovery nurses who had been listening to her cry for almost two hours.

Goodbye surgery center!

Second day after: Saying Goodbye

I had to at least get Lydia out of bed to say goodbye. Even though she wouldn't speak or open her eyes the whole time. I knew she'd be really sad if she woke up and Grandma and Grandpa were already gone.

Big Boy Samuel

Happy Birthday to Sammy!

We were so lucky to have both sets of grandparents to celebrate with us during the past week and a half. Thanks for the really fun presents. The kids are having a grand time playing with them.

From Grandma and Grandpa Beutler

New fire truck from Shelton Grandparents