Mia's Broken Arm

Mia Breaks Her Arm

Last Friday, I was shopping at Target when I got a phone call from Mia's school nurse. Apparently she had fallen from the jungle gym at recess. The nurse didn't seem concerned, but Mia was in pain so she thought I should pick Mia up. I took her home and she was in serious pain. Her arm didn't look swollen, but she couldn't extend it without it killing. Being a Friday afternoon, I knew I better get her to the doctor. I should have gone straight to the urgent care which I now realize is only a $15 co-pay, but I always thought it was really expensive to go there. I went to the pediatrician who thought it could possibly be broken, but couldn't tell from looking at it. Since they didn't have an x-ray machine, they then sent me to an imaging center. I had to hold Mia's arm down for one of the x-rays that was extrmely painful for her. They confirmed she had a fracture in her elbow and since it was after 5pm, I was sent to urgent care to get a splint. So, I basically spent my entire Friday afternoon and evening at the doctor and I was coming down with the flu. Also, I managed to pay a co-pay everywhere I went. Mia survived the weekend with her splint. Matt came home with flowers and candy for her. I think Mia kind of enjoyed all the attention she was got.

Rylee, Devin, Kamryn and Jake came over with a card and some cookies for Mia. Unfortunately, Mia was already asleep when they came by.

Kamryn, Devin, Rylee and Jake

On Monday afternoon, we got in with the orthopedist who confirmed the break and put Mia in her sweet hot pink cast. She only has to wear it for 3 weeks and her hand was left out of the cast so she can still write. The Immigration Group at Matt's law firm were so sweet and sent Mia a cookie boquet. She was so excited to get it and so were the other kids when they got home from school and started eating the cookies.

Mia with her cookie boquet.

Mia was eager to go to school the next day so that her friends could sign her cast, but Mia came down with the flu that the rest of us had and stayed home from school for the next 2 days.

I was supposed to be running the Boston Marathon last weekend, but the race had already filled up when I tried to register a month before the deadline. Then I decided to run the SLC marathon, which was also last weekend, but when I started having hamstring problems, I decided not to run it. I am so glad I didn't run either of them. I would have felt so bad if I had been in Boston or Salt Lake when Mia broke her arm. Also, I ended up getting the worst flu/cold thing that I've had in a long time. There is no possible way I could have run either of the marathons feeling like that. I figure everything worked out for the best. I'll find another marathon to run soon. I'm so glad I was there for Mia. She really needed her mom when she broke her arm.

Pinewood Derby and Blue and Gold Banquet

Pinwood Derby and Blue and Gold Banquet

I'm a little slow getting these on the blog since the Blue and Gold Banquet was in February and the Pinwood Derby was at the beginning of March. For the Blue and Gold Banquet the kids had to make a cake that represented a state. Of course, Chase chose Kentucky. We made green coconut grass, made a white picket fence out of popsicle sticks and put a bunch of plastic horses on top. Here's how it turned out:

Chase won a compass as his prize for most creative cake.

Pinewood Derby

Once again, we scrambled to get Chase's Pinewood Derby car put together. He and Matt started making it just a couple days before the race. It actually turned out pretty well since he got 6th place out of over 30 cars! He ended up winning most of his heats until the very end. My trick to a good car is buying the pre-cut cars at Michaels!

It was quite an elaborate set up for the big race.

Parker and Chase before their heat.

Chase with his sweet silver car!!!

Brayden and Trevor cheered Chase on. Check out Bishop Guttery in the background.

Brayden and Trevor with the girls who happened to TP us later that night!!! It's OK, Brayden and Trevor got them back the next week!

Ice Skating

Ice Skating

We had been wanting to go ice skating at the new rink in Gilbert for a few months now. Thanks to Amy, who planned it, we finally got together with a few other other families and did it. When I was young, I wanted to be Dorothy Hamill, after seeing her in the Olympics. I even took figure skating lessons for a short time and proved that I really didn't have a talent for it, but I have always enjoyed it. My friend, Candy, and I were trying to pass off a merit badge for ice skating for Brayden and Cameron. It was pretty funny trying to figure out what we had to do to pass it off. Does anyone know what it means to do a "shoot the duck" on ice skates? That was something to pass off for the merit badge. We totally guessed on that one!

A couple group shots of some of the kids in our group.

Cameron and Brayden being too cool.

I pretty much had to hold onto Mia's hand the entire time. She was pretty unsteady. She was starting to get the hang of it by the end of the day.

Candy had a similar experience with Jillian. She couldn't let go of her much.

Here I am with CJ, Mia, Devin and Devin's friend.

Kristen with Lexie, Savannah and Avery.

Jake, CJ, Mia and Chase

Jillian and Mia. They actually let go of me and Candy for a short time!

Chase!

Jake, CJ, Chase, Bray, Lexie and Allie.

The Grand Canyon

Our Trip to the Grand Canyon

We thought that since we live in Arizona, our kids needed to see the Grand Canyon. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and Matt hadn't ever been there. So, a couple of weekends ago, we made the 3 1/2 hour trip up there. We spent the night in Flagstaff, AZ, which is beautiful and in the mountains, and then headed about an hour north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. It was 80 degrees back in Phoenix, but at 7000 feet, it was pretty chilly at the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, it was a beautiful, sunny day. It was AMAZING. It was so cool and the kids loved it. Brayden and Chase were very nervous that the twins were going to go over the edge. Most of the rim doesn't have a fence around it, but Matt and I were very careful with Tanner and Riley and they survived. The funny thing is we bumped into Matt and Andrea Cowley and their kids as we were walking around. They live about a half an hour from us in Phoenix, but we hadn't seen them in about 6 months. It was fun to see them. These pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few shots of us on our trip:

With Matt and Andrea Cowley and kids

This was a replica of the first boat that went down the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River.

Tanner and Riley at the hotel

The kids all wanted to hide in these little caves at an Indian store.

Mia, Chase and Bray outside Flagstaff.

The Jonas Brothers 3-D

Jonas Brothers 3-D Movie

Last weekend we went to see the Jonas Brothers 3-D movie on it's opening night. We went with some friends and it was a girls only night! Mia was so excited to go. I will have to admit I actually enjoyed it and found myself singing along with a few of the songs. It's amazing how many Jonas Brothers songs I actually know! I was sitting next to a girl who was so in love with Nick Jonas and she would scream everytime he was on the screen. Everyone pretty much screamed for Nick and Joe, but not so much for Kevin. I'm so pathetic that I actually know their names! It was fun night that ended with treats at Sonic. Once again, we might win the cool mom's of the year award!

The gang in front of the theater.

Mia and Kylie. They were so excited to go, but were pretty mellow compared to the other girls that went with us.

Devin and Rylee-the cool older girls!

Karrin's mom, Karrin, me, Nicole, Melissa, Jamie and Jamie's friend, Julie.

Yep, definitely cool moms of the year!! Especially in those cool 3-D glasses!

The cute girls!

We finished the night with Sonic!