First Days of School 2016-2017

School seemed to start to soon this year. It was really early (August 11th) and I just wasn't quite ready. Cami started 7th grade which is the oldest grade at the intermediate school. She's excited to be involved in student government and choir this year.

Taryn is starting 5th grade. 4th grade was pretty rough for a lot of reasons but she has a hand picked great teacher from Norway and she is psyched! She is doing lighthouse team (student government) again this year.

Jocelyn is starting 1st grade with an awesome teacher as well. She will be sorely missed now that she will be gone all day...(although she will be totally happy and is looking forward to homework)

Creed is starting his 4 year old preschool class at the busy beehive preschool. He feels like such a big boy and he certainly is such a cute boy. And I don't know what I'm going to do with myself for 2 hours three times a week without a buddy to keep me company...

Space Camp, Cousins, Museums Oh My!

Since we were heading up to Salt Lake to take Jocelyn to Primary Children's we made a vacation out of the trip. Cami and Taryn hit space camp with their cousins who are close to their ages while Jocelyn, Brent, and I headed to primary children's for tests. It was a looooong day without a lot of answers for Jocelyn but the older kids had a great time at space camp. They went to a school where a staged NASA type camp. Each kiddo had a job like controller etc. Creed played with his cousin and Aunt Michele. The next day we hit two dollar Tuesday at the museum of natural curiosity/exploratorium place and it was super fun. After lunch because it was soooo cheap we hit the dinosaur museum also. It was really fun to take pictures of Jocelyn and Creed there since we have so many of Cami and Taryn in that exact place. We used to go there every trip when Grandma Weight had a family pass but Jocelyn and Creed never got the chance until now.The kids spent hours exploring and playing. Creed and Jocelyn played so hard they both fell asleep in the car on the way home. 

The next day Cami and Brent went with the older cousins to the temple while the youngers and I checked out Lehi Roller Mills. They make the best muffin mix ever and it was just fun to go explore there. We also hung out at a park for a short time. That afternoon we went to the water park in Salt Lake. The kids all played hard. Creed was ready for any slide while Jocelyn took it easy in the kid slide area with her cousin. Cami and Taryn again disappeared with cousins and played hard the whole time.

Thursday we did a little back to school shopping at the mall in Salt Lake where there is an H&M (per Taryn's request) although she discovered a love for Macy's too. She is such a funny kid. For lunch we were able to meet up with some friends from Michigan that we hadn't seen for probably 10 years. It was so fun to catch up and eat sushi and be amazed at how big each other's kids were.

We also just spent time in Heber at Papa's. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows in the fire pit. We went bowling.We spent one day in Provo Canyon hiking and picnicking and relaxing. We even made it to the top of a water slide.

Overall it was a great trip with a lot of fun despite so unfun moments too....It was definitely a memory maker.

The kids all made a hunger games themed dino clock....It was creative and great!

Not all fun and games...

Even though we did have a great summer it wasn't all fun and games. At the end of June we noticed Jocelyn would favor a certain side or limp sometimes. She would also complain of pain in certain joints but not enough that she would stop swimming or playing. 

About the beginning of July she was waking up in the middle of the night crying from the pain and her joints were visibly swollen. When she did our 4th of July Ninja course she hopped through the whole thing....wanting to participate but unwilling to weight bare on her ankle which was swollen and painful. 

So I took her to the pediatrician and she had to have some labs drawn...which all came back negative. So they shoulder shrugged and said if it is still bad in a week let us know...which it was and we consulted more doctors....and more labs were drawn and the swelling was transient...first her ankle hurt then it was normal but her knee was swollen and hurt...then her hip then her neck then her chest then her ankle again...and around and around it went.

 After a month we were sent up to Primary Children's Hospital to consult with their Rheumatology clinic...Again EVERY lab (and they checked a billion things) came back normal....and for a few weeks she did ok. 

But then school started and she couldn't walk or move and I was carrying her to her classroom  (because she REALLY wanted to go to school) and she would roll around on a rolling chair and I would carry her home. One day was particularly horrible and her teacher who was keeping close watch on her called me to come get her because she was crying and stuck (she couldn't get up or down or move). 

So more consulting...it didn't present autoimmune but it was responding like an autoimmune type arthritis....And they perscribed some stronger medicine and now she is ok most of the time...But she still has times when she hurts and it is sad enough to break the most sturdy heart. But through it all she has been a trooper and has never milked the situation. She wants to do what everyone else is and so most of the time she does but she might need piggy back rides during hikes. Can't even say how much we love this girl.

The view from Primary Children's is amazing! 

Hopping along to her appointment....

 Thumbs up for a good hospital cafeteria....

One of Creed's favorite jobs...

Owning a house again with a yard to take care of has been really good for our kids. It's teaching them how to work. Cami and Taryn have to mow and sometimes they have to remow....which means they don't always love it. Creed does always love it. His favorite part of yard maintainence is the blower. He is a master blower even though the blower is like the same size as him. It is really fun to watch.

Taryn's awesome daddy daughter date weekend...

 When we were up north over father's day brent noticed some jobs he wanted to do for his dad. He thought he would just go up one weekend and bust them out but on second thought he decided to bring a helper. Taryn worked hard with Brent all day rebuilding his dad's wishing well/sprinkler valve hider thing. After all that hard work Brent decided to take Taryn to Salt Lake to go shopping (her love language is definitely gift giving so it was the perfect place to bond with her). He even bought her some tinted lip gloss...They hung out at the mall and ate yummy food (Taryn loves trying new food and is kind of a foodie-which Brent loves). They also toured the Tabernacle and Conference Center. Papa also took Brent and Taryn out to a Brazilian Food Restruant to say thank you and she hasn't stopped talking about the HUGE AMAZING chocolate cake. She definitely had a great date weekend and remembered that her Dad loves her.

Grand Canyon Adventure

The Ferguson cousins love a great adventure. Sometimes we are lucky enough to tag along. At the end of their visit we all decided to spend a day at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We drove and rocked out, picniced, hiked, and just enjoyed seeing something so awesome. We were amazed at the pine trees and elevation. We were expecting desert not beautiful forests. Anyway, it was a great day trip and again I was thankful that I live where I live, so close to so many cool places. The day finished with Cafe Rio dinner which is always the right end to a perfect day.