March

In March we used out groupon deals and went to Soldier Hollow. The slopes were a little slushy but it was still really fun. Ryker loved it. The weather was so nice that day we had a picnic at the park. The boys loved the slide but Sophie didn't care for any of them, she is a little more cautious. We went on an Easter Train ride. It was fun, the kids got to see the Easter bunny and the played music on the train and passed out candies. The rest of the month was fun here are some pictures of what went on.

Pain

I try not to complain or to be too negative on my blog but I have been having a rough few weeks and need to vent. For the past 9 years I have been dealing with back pain. I have to herniated discs in my lower back. I don't know what caused them weather it was from cheer leading or bad genes or just bad luck. About 8 years ago I started my journey to find out what was wrong. I had a lot of pain in my lower back. The first doctor I went to did x-rays and the machine where they shoot you full of dye and see what’s going on. Well he didn't find anything wrong with my back. So I went home and dealt with the pain. However the pain got worse so we went to a new doctor he saw that I had two herniated discs. His solution was to do cortisone shots in my back to see if that would help. He took and epidural needle and stuck it in my spine. I could feel so much pressure in my back it was terrible only to find out he was only half way done doing the shot. This was supposed to relieve the pain for a year. It didn't last longer than a month. So I went back and had another one. Still nothing, by this time I had heard things about the cortisone shots and how it is not good for the tissue around the area. I also did some physical therapy. So I went back to dealing with the pain. Right before I got married my parents thought it would be a good idea to see another specialist and see if he recommended anything while I was still on their insurance. Again I described my pain and how it affected my day to day life. I had to do more MRI's and x-rays. Again the doctor said I was too young for surgery and to deal with the pain and do physical therapy. I explained to the doctor I was worried for the day when I had kids and would be in too much pain to pick them up. He just said to watch my weight and deal with it. As the years went on the pain got worse. Now not only was it in my back but in my hip as well as down my leg. Long trips in the car or even just seating on the hard seats during church are killer. I wake up every few hours in the night to switch position because I hurt so much. I have medicine to take for the pain but don't like taking it because I can't sleep after I take it. So in April my mom recommended I go to a place that is specifically for pain care. After much debate I went in. The doctor I met with was really nice and seemed like he wanted to help. After more x-rays and MRI the doctor told me I needed work done on my L5 nerves, so they started with a cortisone injection there. I came back a few weeks later and told them it didn't help. So they did another injection again I felt nothing. So the doctor said to try radio frequency (this is where they send an electrical current down your leg to try and do something to the nerve). Well this wasn't covered by our insurance so it would cost us 160 bucks. I was hesitant to do it because the other procedures didn't work. Well I did it and still didn't get any relief. When I went back a few weeks later the doctor I had been working with had left the practice and I was assigned to a new doctor. After explaining to him how the other treatments didn't work he looked at my file and told me that they were working on the wrong nerve. He said they should have worked on the s1 joint instead. So all the previous pain and money ended up being for nothing. I was very upset but this gave me hope that maybe the new joint would help with the pain. So again I had the treatments done on the s1 joint. I felt no relief and by this time I was really depressed. To know that I would have to deal with this pain every day and to not have it get better. Especially when I got my hopes up that there would be a way to make my days pain free. Well the doctor wanted to try the radio frequency on this joint, again another 160 dollars. However, I was so desperate for pain relief I decided to try it. After a few days I noticed that the pain down my leg wasn't as bad. I was so excited! But the pain in my hip and back were worse. So I went back again. Now the doctor wanted to try doing shots in the SI joint to see if that would help the pain in my hip. (I forgot to mention that during all of this I went back to physical therapy and still wasn't getting any relief) After they did the shot in my hip not only did it not help with the pain but it also made the pain down my leg come back. They did another injection a few weeks later again in my SI joint we are now 8 months into finding something to help, something that was only supposed to take a month to fix and would last years before I felt the pain again. I tried going and doing Decompression but it made it hurt worse and I found out I would have to do over 25 treatments with no help from the insurance. Now I am waiting to go to a specialist to see if he recommends anything different. I have been on his list for 3 months so hopefully it is worth it. I am so sick of being in pain; it is very frustrating and depressing.

1 and a 1/2

My bugs are 18 months! I love them and I love this stag! They are playful and interactive. They are now starting to play together; they will run from one room to another laughing the whole time. Beckett is a tease; he knows what no means but chooses to ignore you when you say it. He is very smart and can speak very well. He knows a lot of words and repeat most of what you tell him. He loves shoes and if he sees his shoes he has to have them on. For a while he had to have one type of shoe on one foot and a different shoe on the other. He has the most determined walk a little guy can have. He has also started to take really small steps when he runs. He likes to play the scare game, where I run to another room and hide and pop out and scare him when he finds me. Sophie is still my drama queen. She likes to play by herself but will also follow her brothers around. She has been carrying he baby doll around too. I love watching her play with the baby. She sits pretty well while I do her hair I just have to go really fast. She got her first real hair cut to even things out. She likes to talk but doesn't say as much as Beckett. If you ask her how old she is she says 3 and holds up 4 fingers. She is getting to be picky with her clothes. I tried to put on a pair of shoes but she didn't want to wear them she wanted another pair, so she cried and refused to walk until I changed them. Sometimes when she laughs it sounds like she is crying. Sophie also likes to color. Here are their stats at 18 months: Beckett Weight: 24 lbs (23%) Length: 32 in (38%) Head: 49 cm (80%) Sophie Weight: 22.44 lbs (21%) Length: 32 in (21%) Head: 48 cm (85%)

I swear I watch my kids

I swear I am a good mom... I watch my kids, they just love to wait until I am in the shower or getting ready. You might remember these first pictures from a previous blog but this is how it started. Ryker got into the Vicks Vapor Rub. He had the whole bottle all over his hair and body, some on Beckett and a little on Sophie.

A few weeks later Ryker got Brad new hair gel and used half of the tube on his hair.

Finally a couple days ago I went downstairs to find all three kids on the kitchen floor pouring/ painting with two bottles of nail polish. Ryker had climbed on the counter opened the bottles. The three of them painted our fruit bowl along with the fruit in the bowl. It was all over the floor, their clothes, hands and faces. I was a little frustrated. Luckily I got most of it off the the floor, their clothes weren't so lucky and Beckett still has pink fingers....

The messy one

The assistant

The ring leader

Christmas and New Year

On Christmas Eve Brad had to work. Luckily, he was able to get off a few hours early so we headed down to my parents. We had snack food galore! Beckett and Sophie were in heaven. After we ate tons of food, Santa's helper left us a big present full of jammies, a movie, and treats. After we all changed into our jammies, we watched a Muppet Christmas Carol (one of my favorite Christmas movies).

Christmas morning, Ryker was so excited to see if Santa brought him some slippers. The kids all got juice drinks and didn't want to open presents after they saw them. Once we convinced them to open a few, they got the hang of it and were really excited to open the rest. Ryker was thrilled Santa brought him slippers!  He hugged them and put them on.  After we opened presents, my parents, Jess, and Karl came over for breakfast. After breakfast, we headed up to Kaysville to visit Brad's family. We were very spoiled with presents, and so were the kids. After a few hours at Brad's parent's house, we drove back to my family for dinner.  We had delicious Prime rib (Brad's favorite) at my parents. We had a wonderful Christmas and are very blessed. It was so fun to watch the kids open presents. I am so grateful for Brad and his hard work and all he does so we could have such a great Christmas. 

On New Years eve we went to my parents. Jess and her family were there as well as Armi and Kelson. We played games and ate snacks while Ryker and Kyler played. I was very surprised Ryker stayed up until 12. We put the twins down because I knew they wouldn't make it. It was a fun night.

Decemeber

On December 14th I picked up Brad from work and we headed up to Temple Square. We met my family at Crown Burger and had some dinner. It was raining/ snowing so we bundled up and walked to Temple Square. I was fun to look at the lights. Beckett kept pointing at the trees and saying "lights."  We didn't stay very long because it was starting to rain more and the twins weren't very happy.

On the 15th it was snowing so Brad decided not to go into work for the morning (it was Saturday). So he took the kids outside to play in the snow. Ryker was so excited to play out in the snow with his new Spiderman hat. Sophie didn't like the cold and cried most of the time. Beckett was just happy to be there.

Later on that night, Brad took me on a date with the Malouf's. We went to dinner at a yummy Italian restaurant. I still dream about the bread and tomatoes! We then headed to Jordan Commons to see The Hobbit. We saw it in 3D on the IMAX which was pretty fun. I love having friends that we can go out with and I love going with my husband.

I don't remember the exact day but I was in the bathroom getting ready and decided to check on the kids (they were too quiet). I found them in their bathroom covered head to toe in Vicks Vapor rub! Ryker had a ton in his hair and all over his body. Beckett had some in his hair too. The whole bottle was gone! It took 3 days and many washes to get all of the grease out of Ryker's hair.

The 21st was Brad's work party. Went and ate dinner and chatted with people from his work. They had a few games and an ugly sweater contest. After eating, we left and headed over to Walmart to finish Christmas shopping. It was fun to get out just the two of us. Cindy and Steve watched the kids while we went.

The 22nd was my family party. We went to Brett and Shauna's house. We all chatted and ate dinner, the food was really yummy. Santa decided to stop by and say hi. Ryker was excited to tell Santa that he wanted Spiderman slippers. They had a cousin gift exchange and all of the kids were excited about their presents. We had to leave right after that because all of our kids were tired and crying.

On the 23rd We went to Cindy and Steve's for Ashtyn's birthday. She received a make up set from my parents and went right to work making Grandpa "beautiful." He was such a good sport he even let her do his nails.

On the 28th we went with the Malouf's to Scheels.  It was fun to walk around and see all of the gear and fishes. Brad, Ryker, Lindsay, and Micheal rode the Ferris Wheel while I watched the kids. We ate at Noodles after. It was a good fun family night.

 Ryker and Brad

 Lindsay and Micheal

 Lily

Here are some random church pictures.

We had a very fun busy few days.