"Trigger Thumb"

Say whaaaat?
You heard me, trigger thumb.                                              

As some of you know Spence has had this weird thumb thing for the last year or so where it kind-of pops out of place (like someone who is 'double-jointed', which btw the doc told me isn't really a true thing). Anyhow, it's happened before and we've always been able to pop it back in place. GA-ROSS! Although this time I couldn't, and he couldn't, and it's been like this for awhile, and it is really freaky-deeky. So, we went to the doctor and he has to see the specialist for hand surgery! Crazy, right?! Guess he must have been practicing texting in the womb or something. Kind-of bummed out but it could be worse.

*This isn't Spencer's hand, but it looks just like this.

A Weekend of Celebrations

Well, we had ourselves a wonderful white Christmas! Even with the blizzard we were able to have all three of our planned celebrations (yes, you heard me, three) and as expected the boys enjoyed their showering of gifts and their visit from Santa. Let me take this opportunity to personally thank Santa for bringing Spencer his Buzz Light Year wings ~ he is sooooo happy! When we were going to the Grandparents house on Christmas Day Spencer said "Can I fly them to Papa's house...my Buzz Light Year wings?" - and he was serious! Isn't that adorable?! And yes, Mason was also happy with his gifts :) Here is a schmattering of photos from our holiday:

Spencer on Christmas Eve

"Ready for blast-off"

That's right - when you get a scooter in December

 (at least where we are) you need to ride it in the house

Mason has never seen the movie Toy Story...

but his older brother has and apparently that is all it takes

to make something 'cool'. Hence, two of his favorite gifts:

his very own Buzz and Woody

Time to 'rock out'

With two little ones on Christmas Eve  -

this is as close as you are going to get to a 'family photo'

"To Infinity and Beyond!"

Oh, and let's not forget to see

 these special wings from the back...

Spence and his first candycane ever

We also celebrated another important birthday in our house: Micah's! Yeah, he's another year older (but not sure if another year wiser...hahaha :) Spencer decided Micah needed to wear this lei as the guest of honor during the festivities. We had a fun celebration that included a dance party (of course) and OLF (Oreo Lemon Freeze).

We had a wonderful holiday week and hope you all did too!

A White Christmas

Ask and you shall receive, right? Well I guess so! I was just saying the other day how it would be nice to have a 'White Christmas' this year and we definitely will! It's been snowing all day and we should have at least 6" or so by tomorrow morning. Hopefully it won't snow too much so we can still get everywhere we need to be!  *Merry Christmas everyone!*

A Beautiful Drag

Winter is definitely here...there is no avoiding it now. And for those of you that haven't experienced a cold winter (and no my Phoenix friends, I am not talking about the harsh days of 60 degrees) here is the lowdown.

The downsides:
- Chapped lips, dry skin and static!
- You have to 'bundle up'...adding 20 layers of clothes just to keep warm. And let's be honest, when does this ever make you look or feel better about yourself? (Children are exempt from this).
- The kids or the dog go outside and track slushy, wet snow in everywhere!
- You are always cold no matter what you do.

The upsides:
- The snowfall can be very beautiful
- Kids (and adults) enjoy playing in the snow, sledding, and making snowmen
- Hot Chocolate is considered a necessity
- The winter helps you appreciate living in a place where you get to experience 4 seasons

Oh, and little kids do actually look pretty adorable wearing snowpants and mittens and hats....case in point:

*StoryBook Island's Christmas Lights*

Northpole ~ Attention: Santa

This is of utmost importance...Spencer has written his very first letter to Santa Claus. I assisted with some of the 'letters' but the drawing of course was all him. He wants two very specific things for Christmas, Buzz LightYear 'wings' and Buzz LightYear jammies.

So attention Santa Claus and elves: in case this letter doesn't reach you we thought we'd put it online. We're sure that in 2009 you are online regularly and are checking our blog for updates on whether the boys have been naughty or nice. To recap the last year: both of the boys have been wonderful.

Please note, Mason has not yet 'written' his letter but he'll work on it. I told him I'd let you know he would like anything his big brother is getting plus a monkey or two (stuffed will do). Thanks so much Santa. Merry Christmas!

Micah laughs every time...

he sees this photo. Let me break it down for you.

*He thinks it is funny that Mason is standing on the couch (cause he's not supposed to)

*He thinks it is funny because Mase has a 'sweet outfit' on (by the way, now that he has worn his snowboots he wants to wear those constantly...and for the record, the rainboots are easier to get on his chubby feet)

*He thinks it is funny that Spencer is wearing the strainer on his head (which Mason drags out of the kitchen every chance he gets)

*And last but not least, he thinks it is funny that Mason is hitting his brother in the head while they are both laughing.

So I thought I would share the photo with you and maybe you will get a chuckle out of it too:)

Trimming the Tree(s)

We have a total of four Christmas trees in our house...what, too much? Overboard? I don't think so. The boys each have a tiny one in their rooms and we have a fakey (you know, the artificial type) on our enclosed front porch...just lights, no decos and then our real one in our living room. And just for the record, I don't know how all of you that have artificial trees do it! This was the first year I've ever dealt with one and getting it all 'fluffed up' was exhausting! I suppose you get a system after a couple of years in...let's hope so or this one is history.

When we were talking about getting our real one I thought it would be quite the adventure to go into the hills (with a permit of course) and cut one down....but Micah wasn't too thrilled about that, so perhaps when the boys are older. So off to the store we went to find the perfect tree. After about 10 minutes we found the right one and when we got back outside it was like a blizzard had come without any warning - it was crazy!

When it came time for us to put the decorations up I suggested maybe I should put the majority of them up while the boys were sleeping, leaving just a few to do as a family. (I had already done the lights). But Micah insisted it would be fine and we should all do it together. Cut to 'trimming the tree'....it lasted about, oh I'd say 10 minutes, 15 minutes tops. Mason wanted to put the ornaments on but he also wanted to take them off. Let's just say there was a lot of screaming and crying going on by the littlest Odahlen and a time-out here and there. But needless to say, we got all of our ornaments on the tree and Micah and the boys put the star on top! Now, if the tree can just make it to December 25th.....

St. Nicholas Day

When we were little girls my mom decided to start a new tradition for me and my sister and have an annual St. Nicholas Day Tea Party. St. Nicholas Day is December 6th and it was always a great way to kick off the holidays. We would each invite our friends over for an afterschool, kid only (girl only) holiday party. Most times we would decorate gingerbread and sugar cookies, one year we made bird feeders and our last year we decorated gingerbread houses. Of course, part of the tradition of St. Nick is that he always leaves something special in your shoes.

Over the years we have continued to celebrate St. Nick's Day (although sans the tea party) and my friends and I have always reminisced about the childhood parties. So this year I decided to hold our "First Annual, Second Generation St. Nicholas Day Celebration." Two of my besties (Beth and Jen) both live here and attended the original parties as little girls. The crazy thing is that now that we are grown and have our own children - we all have boys!

With my mom's help we held our St. Nick's party on Sunday. Beth and Jen came with their little boys and my sister and nephew also attended. The boys ranged in age from 5 months to 13 years. Each of the boys decorated a gingerbread house and frosted some cookies, they had snacks and social time. And of course, St. Nick left them something in their shoes. We all laughed a little bit about the differences between the old girly tea parties and the first ever boys only party - we had mini pizzas instead of eggnog cake and we had wrestling as a main event.

Oh, and 25 years ago the Rapid City Journal did a feature story on the St. Nick's party - drumroll please...they decided to do a story on the party this year too! They are doing stories all month long about the holidays, traditions, etc. and decided this would be a good topic to feature! The story will run in about a week and a half - I will be sure to include it on our blog and a link if the story is posted online. Isn't that cool?! What a great keepsake it will be for all of our little boys.

Wish all of you with little ones (including the little girls) lived closer to take part in this celebration. But it really is so much fun perhaps you should start it in your family!

Mason had that little tiny birdhouse

to decorate on the tray..isn't it cute?

Jen helping Spencer

Eli working away

The finished houses

Mason stopping for a snack

Spencer and the best gingerbread house ever!

(Notice how much candy is loaded

at the foot of the door...yes, that was intentional).

Smackdown!

A good portion of our visit with the newly designated North Dakota Odahlen's included wrestlemania. Mason even got involved a few times, but mostly it was Spencer vs. Conor or both of them vs. Isaac. Sooo funny!

Thankful

Thanksgiving is definitely a time to reflect on all of the things we have to be thankful for - and we have many. Of course all of the 'usual' things come to mind, but this year we are especially thankful for all of the love and support we have received over the past year. With most of our family and many of our close friends spread out all over the support has been amazing...via phone calls, visits, letters (shout out to you K-dog) and positive vibes and prayers.

The thing we are most thankful for is our two beautiful, healthy, smart and funny boys! They are awesome - we love you Mason and Spencer!

Thankfully we were able to give thanks on our Thanksgiving with family - including Beth, Isaac and Conor! Spence and I decided to make something a little nontraditional for the day - mashed potato cupcakes. No Gramcracker, not actual mashed potatoes...just cupcakes that looked like mashed potatoes.

Yummmm

Pilgrim or pirate?

Our two greatest gifts

Oh how he grows

Mason is changing so much. He wants to do everything Spencer does (of course) and is saying loads of new words (bark, block, Mase, squirrel, buzz light year...the list goes on and on). I was looking at recent photos and was taken aback..."Oh my gosh! He changed that much in 2 weeks?" Literally, 14 days! What?! Maybe it's a subtle change to ya'll, but to us it's crazy! Judge for yourself.

2 weeks ago

Yesterday

We're standing our ground

You wouldn't believe how often people comment that our boys have long hair - "Oh look, his mom likes his hair to be long," or "someone needs a haircut" (hello, he just got a haircut yesterday!). But our boys have curls...and when their hair is all curly, it's actually not that long...I like to think of it as 'shaggy.' But I guess compared to some boys their hair is long.

You also wouldn't believe how often people think Mason is a girl...which I don't get because he is clearly dressed in little boy clothes, but we'll say it's because of his eyes or eyelashes or something. However, when we were having a playdate last week some random lady referred to Spencer as a girl! Excuse me?

Then I reflected on this photo and thought...is it time to cut their hair really short? Uh, no. We're fine with our boys being long-haired little dudes - and they wouldn't have it any other way (trust me, I asked just to make sure). So people can refer to them as hippies, rockers, skaters, and even at times little girls...but we are standing our ground - for now, we are leaving their hair "shaggy" - so get used to it world.

He shall be sleepy no more

Many of you have asked for an update about Micah's sleeping, so here it is. As you know, it's been about two months since our visit to the Sleep Center and what a difference! He has gotten drowsy maybe two or three times since our return but compared to before it's amazing! He has not fallen asleep once during dinner or conversation or anything! I know that seems minor to a lot of people, but actually having to deal with that was no fun!

Many people have commented on how much peppier (is that even a word) he seems...i.e. his boss. And he's been told he looks younger! Which he generally doesn't like because he doesn't want to look young (I know ladies, we can't relate to this but he's weird like that!). But in this case he'll take the compliment!

The one negative thing to report is that there was a problem with the memory in his CPAP machine so the Sleep Center couldn't pull any hard data from his memory card, but it's all been fixed now...so that should give us some more information in the upcoming weeks.

Again, thank you for all of your love and support! Sleep doesn't seem like that big of deal, in the big scheme of things...until you or a loved one is not getting ANY. "Normal" sleep - just one more thing to be thankful for this year :)

Diabetics Unite! (and those that love 'em)

"As many as 3 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood that strikes suddenly, lasts a lifetime and carries the constant threat of deadly complications...JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research..." (JDRF website)

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Please do what you can to raise awareness about Diabetes and help educate those around you. Here is a link to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)...click on the link and you can get tons of information - including information about when/where a walkathon may be in your area....go ahead, I know you want to!

http://www.jdrf.org/

Trick-or-Treat!

The boys were able to go trick-or-treating twice this week. The first time was at Baby Bookworms (at the library) - they were able to dress up and get candy from the different desks (a great 'practice' run).

Tonight we took them around our neighborhood with their friends Kain, Eli and Finley. Last year one of the neighborhood houses had a cool pirate theme...the kids walked the plank to get candy from the owners dressed as pirates. But THIS year they decided to freak everyone out and dress up as CLOWNS!!! None of the boys would go up to that house and Spence is still talking about how scary it was (and he doesn't even know that I don't like clowns or how freaked out I was).

Micah had the night off and was able to go with us - the boys got a ton of candy and had a great time. We had two little birds....a penguin (I'm sure you can't guess who wanted to be that) and a peacock. Photo time!

Halloween day

Our peacock

Our penguin

Anxiously awaiting trick-0r-treating

"Not a whole bit"

We've been a little under the weather at our house the past few days. Today I thought I'd check in with Spencer to see how he was feeling.

Me: "Are you feeling better today Spence....at least a little bit?"

Spence: "A little bit, but not a whole bit."

Well, there you have it. Here's to hoping we are the 'whole bit' better soon.

Octoberfest

Some fall photos....

Like father, like son

Mason wants to wear

these boots CONSTANTLY

Can you see me now....how about now?

Leaves!

Tremendous Two's

So we often hear about the "terrible two's"....but for us it was the "tremendous two's". Seriously, Spencer was such a good two-year-old (which we now are being told we need to watch out for the terrible three's?).

Staying true to our birthday traditions we had to do a birthday video - he's changed soooo much in one year! Get ready for a year in review....

And he's 3!

Spencer is officially 3 years old! We had his birthday bash last weekend and it was awesome! We had a penguin theme which Spence was super excited about (p.s. finding penguin party items in October is not so easy!)

We had penguin appetizers, penguin cupcakes, ice cream cake and even had a snowball fight during the party. On his actual birthday Micah and I took him on a date - a trip to the movies (it was his first time at the movie theater). That was a lot of fun too although there aren't really any good little kid movies out right now...go figure!

Here are some photos from the party - wish you all could've been here!

Penguin cupcakes

Cream Cheese penguins

Spence getting ready to party down

Snowballs!

Ice cream cake....mmmm!

Spence did this pose and said

'Mom, take my picture!'...so I did and here it is.

Sno-way!

So, today is October 10th. In South Dakota one would assume that means we are in the Fall season. When we moved back here one of the perks was experiencing the FOUR seasons. As you may recall last Spring we had 3 blizzards in a row - so much for our spring. Summer was great...no complaints there. However, now that we are into 'Fall' we are experiencing winter-like conditions! Puh-leez. Enough with this already. It has snowed three times this week and we've had windchill temps of zero degrees. So apparently we left Arizona where we had two seasons - 'winter' and summer for the two seasons here - winter and summer. Ugh!

On a positive note we have a little one about to turn 3. He will be having his big birthday bash tomorrow. Wish all you out-of-towners were here to attend, but pictures will have to do. Yes, I said pictures - we have a camera again!

Got mice?

As you know Spencer loves to 'cook.' Recently when we were deciding what to make Spencer decided on these - and knowing how much his Grandma hates rodents wanted to deliver them directly to her! They are kinda cute though, aren't they?

Wind wind go away!

So how is that Chicago is the windy city? Because I'm pretty sure they made a mistake - THIS is the windy city. Seriously, it is really windy, really often. But today it is crazy windy (like 50 mph winds). You heard me. And I don't like it, not one bit.

Anyhow, I realize we have not posted any updates, news, photos, etc in a few weeks. We will soon, I promise. Just busy getting ready for an almost 3 year old birthday!

We're ba-ack!

Okay, so here is the lowdown. We went to Colorado for a few days - main reason, so Micah could have a sleep study. We'll get to that in a minute. But first, we stayed at a hotel with a pool and a slide that the boys loved. Everytime we went down the slide Spence would yell "Geranimo!". We also went to the Denver Zoo - it was awesome! For those of you that don't know, Spencer loves penguins - and we got to see the penguin feeding which was super exciting. Mason loves all animals but calls most of them 'dogs'.

Okay, so onto the big news. Micah had a sleep study - actually a few of them. And we found out some very interesting and very important information. To make a long story short he DOES have some sleeping disorders - one being sleep apnea. The neurologist told us even with this disorder they would have expected Micah to be getting about 20% deep sleep - aka the restorative sleep where his body would 'recharge.' The freaky thing? Micah was getting ZERO restortative sleep. That's right....ZERO! Zilch! Zip!

So the first night on his sleeping machine he got 3%. I realize that doesn't sound like much, but compared to zero, it's alot. And it should continue to get better and better. Although they can't tell us exactly how long this has been going on, their estimate is at least the last two years....two years that he has been functioning on no deep sleep. Seriously? Yes, seriously. Can any of you even imagine what that would be like? For those moms out there....it's like when your baby was a newborn and waking every hour....but for TWO YEARS STRAIGHT!

The facility was amazing and so was the staff. The doctor spent an hour and a half with us and was very kind and informative. He has an entire plan in place (A, B and C).

For the first time in a LONG time we are VERY HOPEFUL!!! We left Colorado feeling very good and are confident now that we have a diagnosis we can move forward in treating this problem. Finally! I will keep you posted on how things progress. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in this. Things are looking up!

He's getting verrry sleepy....

Micah that is. Well, he's been getting very sleepy (as most of you know) for over a year now. We are so fed up with it - well, we have been for a long time but not having health insurance sure puts a damper on doing anything about it.

Anyhow, we have some wonderful people in our lives (you know who you are) that are going to help us fund a sleep study. I found a place that will do it for the Medicare rate...of course, it's out of state! Trust me, I looked into PLENTY of options and the fact that this facility cares about people that don't have insurance is ah-maze-ing. (It was going to be 2 to 3 times the cost in our own city).

So this weekend we will be visiting the sleep center. They actually asked me if I would be staying with Micah...uh, no thanks. I don't need to hear "the reason you aren't sleeping well is because your partner hogs the bed." This, we already know! I will be with the boys at the hotel...by myself...overnight...that should be fun! I am guessing I won't be getting any sleep either!

Just wanted to keep you all 'in the loop.' Please keep us in your thoughts/prayers/positive vibes to the universe, etc. We are really hoping this brings some answers and some solutions.

As they say, when we know, you'll know. I'll fill you in upon our return.

Lucky girl!

My boys are awesome - all 3 of them. My birthday was great! I woke up to Spencer singing 'Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Mason' - but, close enough! Then I had breakfast in bed (which is always a nice surprise) and a day full o' fun.

We went to Bear Country for the first time this summer (a "park" that you can drive through and see all kinds of wild animals - including bears). The boys LOVED it. At one point Spencer said "Look, a bear - I cannot believe it!" And Mason was shrieking every time he saw an animal. Then we went out to lunch, had naps (yes, all of us!) and a good dinner topped with dessert.

Thank you Micah and boys for the wonderful day - I am so lucky! And thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes...Afton and Huxley win 'Best vocal performance'!

Another action packed weekend...

We don't like to sit around on the weekends I guess. Last weekend we were super busy! Friday night we went to the Central States Fair for our daily (almost) Cream Puff. (Only for that week of course. For those of you that don't know, my mom is known as "The Cream Puff Lady" 'round these parts). Anyhow, we also took Spencer down to the rides (Mason is still too little so he observed). Spence LOVED them! We also visited the 'fair animals' about 10 times last week: the petting zoo (Kavita insert jealousy here), the horses, the cows, the rabbits, the chickens, etc.

Saturday we went to none other than Reptile Gardens! I think that makes 5 times this summer. Hey, you go once and you get a free season pass...and really, what's better than free? And every time is different...this time we actually got to pet Fluffy...a baby alligator! Then it was back to the Fair for our final farewell.

Sunday we went to the park to play, go on a walk and feed ducks. Mason opted to eat his bread instead of giving it to the ducks. There were a couple of close calls where I thought some of the hissing ducks were going to take his bread right out of his hand! I was on guard though.

Are you exhausted yet? Well, we were. But we had another good weekend. What does next weekend have in store? You'll have to wait and read....

Camping trip dos

Last weekend we went camping for the second time this summer - wish we could go more often but it hasn't worked out. Anyhow, it was so much fun!

We went fishing again...and Spencer caught 7 fish! He didn't break his initial record of 8, but still, 7 is pretty awesome. Last time we went Mason couldn't walk yet so this was a whole new experience - for him and us. He was obsessed with fishing...and when I say obsessed, I mean obsessed. He had to touch every fish and would screech super loud when it was being reeled in. He doesn't have his own fishing pole yet (not a mistake we will make again) so he had to take turns holding Micah's and Spencer's.

It got pretty windy and a storm started to pass through in the night so Milo had to sleep in the tent with us - just a reminder for us that next year we will definitely need a bigger tent. (Or a camper, but we'll settle for a bigger tent).

Still no new camera, so no new photos. I realize the blog is much more blah without them so we'll try to remedy that situation soon.

Comical

I've said it before and I'm saying it again - our boys are sooo funny! They literally keep us laughing everyday....and this last year we've so needed it. They are such blessings. But I digress...I thought I would share some of the funny things they say and do with ya'll.

Spencer:

"Shaaark!" (instead of Charge!)
" 'Sup D Money Masey?"
"Wee-ha!"
Sometimes he really gets into his dance moves and dances super fast - arms flailing and all. (Auntie D. - remind you of anything?)

Mason:

His is more the sound he makes so I may need to capture it to video to give the full effect. He says "maaaa" for mom. But imagine a sheep saying "baaaa" and put the letter M at the beginning - EXACTLY the same sound!

He also has a signature wrestling move - we call it the 'Masey Mash'. He free falls right onto you with his arms up in the air like he is jumping out of a plane. Sometimes it comes very unexpected too.

I could go on and on, but I'll just say I reserve the right to add to this list at any time for your reading pleasure. Boys are so much fun!

State and National

Parks that is.

Last weekend was busy for us. Saturday we went to Custer State Park (for the second time this summer). But this time we saw WAY more animals! We saw bighorn sheep, pronghorn, prairie dogs, and more bison than we have ever seen...all trips combined! The boys were very excited about all of the animals but especially loved the "Buffale-whale" (Spencer's word for buffalo). We had a great picnic lunch and enjoyed watching the boys play in the wilderness.

Sunday we went to the Badlands. This was one of the free weekends to visit National Parks so we thought we'd take advantage of it - again, another great experience. We looked and looked for the fox and the black-footed ferrets that are supposed to be everywhere, but we didn't see any. Nor did we see any of the rattlesnakes that many a sign warned us about (this was probably a good thing). More bighorn sheep and prairie dogs though:)

We have had a really good time playing tourist this summer and feel the season closing in on us...be sure to enjoy these last days - they're almost gone!

Badlands National Park

What else?

So, most of you know we lost our camera last week. Well, let me tell you - that was just the beginning of it. Then we needed a new battery for the VW, a few days later we had to replace some belts in it (okay, we knew this would need to be done but still). Then our vacuum needed something replaced and to top it off, Tuesday we got some stupid computer virus and had to take our computer to the "geeks" to get it fixed. Isn't stuff supposed to happen in 3's, because by my calculations this is 5!

Please, send any positive thoughts and positive energy you can our way....WE NEED IT!!

ODAHLEN RULES!

Mini-Reunion Update: Minus Photos

So, we just returned from our first family vacation - and it was AWESOME! We went to Utah for an Odahlen-mini-family-reunion. Why mini? Well, 2 of the 7 siblings and Gramcracker & Grandpa were unable to attend. But, we did have all of the grandchildren together for the first time in years! (all 8 1/2 of them...Aunt Mimi is adding another Odahlen baby in October). The grandkids range in age from 5 months to 10 years.

Onto the update...we had such a great time. The boys were so well behaved in the 12-hour drive to and from Utah. The funny thing was that we left at 10:30 pm to head to Utah and woke the boys up...figuring, yeah, we'll drive overnight while they sleep. Apparently the boys had worked out other plans. They were up until after 2 am!

While in Utah we spent time at an old farm, went to a beautiful canyon to make s'mores, had a BBQ complete with a talent show, went to the zoo, and took a zillion photos. And of course we all agreed to share our photos with each other post-reunion. So here are some of our photos from the trip:

oh, wait. Here is where I insert the part about us LOSING OUR CAMERA!!! What? Yes, you heard me. Luckily for us I backed up all the photos pre-reunion so we are really only missing the 50 or so photos we took during our vacation. And lucky for us everyone else was taking pictures too (don't forget...you all promised to share).

Not lucky for us....we know we had it on our way back from Utah and think it somehow got dropped out of the car at our very.....last.....stop! And now some person "found" a camera with a memory card and the adapter and the case. Somehow I don't think "Finders Keepers" should apply when there are family photos and photos of little babies involved! (Insert sympathy here).

However, we will not let that spoil the wonderful time we had with our family. Our boys loved playing with their cousins and seeing all of their aunts and uncles and we loved catching up with everyone. We can't wait 'til next time and we hope that everyone will be able to make it. Odahlen Reunion 2011!

The "Faces"

So before we take a break from our staycation and go on our vacation to the "mini-reunion" (yeah!!!) we thought we would visit Mt. Rushmore. Or the "faces" as Spencer calls them. I am sure we will have plenty to post upon our return from Utah - uh, photos from the 12 hour ride across Wyoming?! Sweet. No really, we will have some fun photos and stories upon our return. Until then, enjoy Mt. Rushmore. And no, I did not photoshop the monument into the photo, although I think it kind of looks like I did:) And what's up with that man to the right of us? (Don't pretend like you didn't notice him).

Thanks for letting me know

Spencer and Mason were playing in Spencer's room yesterday. I went in to put some laundry away. They were giggling and laughing...having a good ol' time. I looked over and saw Mason had something in his mouth (unfortunately nothing new).

Me: "Spencer, what does Mason have in his mouth?"

Spencer: "A choking hazard."

Whaaat? Actually, it wasn't. But still, thanks for letting me know.

Double Rainbow

I just had to share this amazing photo with you. A friend of ours took this photo 2 days after Daniel and Hunter's accident. This is the where the accident occurred - and if you look to the left of the photo you will see a double rainbow.

Do you have goose bumps yet? It's so amazing.

Flowbee

Hey everyone...remember the flowbee? Here's a refresher if you don't: http://www.flowbee.com/

Spencer has a bug vacuum...it's awesome. Here is a photo reference. http://www.summittoy.com/am_cms_media/BackyardSafari_BugVacuum.jpg

Okay, so now that we're all up to speed. Today Spencer went up to Mason and put the bug vacuum up to his head and turned it on...it started sucking up Mason's hair just like the flowbee would! It was freakin' hillarious. Really, it was that funny. Oh, I wish I could've gotten it on video, but the visual will have to do.
My boys are too funny. Too funny!

Jenny

Have I told you how amazing my friend Jenny is? She is. She is so strong and brave and...she's just amazing. I attended the service today for her husband and son. There was a lot of support there for her and her family. Everyone that gathered was able to reflect on some really great memories and even though today is one of the saddest days of my life there was a silver lining. I could go on and on reflecting on stories from "back in the day" and how surreal this all seems, but I won't. Instead I will post a link to our local newspaper. http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/07/23/news/local/doc4a6750fa403d1373589264.txt

I promise my next post will be something lighter. Hmm, I'm thinking about something funny that happened this morning - until next time....

It's a sad day

Just returned from another long day at the hospital. Hunter died today. It's unimaginable how my friend could lose her husband and her son at the same time. Please pray for my friend Jenny, her oldest son Kain (10 years old) and their family. Their lives have been forever changed by this tragedy.

Hug your loved ones

I just came home from the hospital. One of my very good friends from elementary school and high school recently moved back to Rapid City with her husband and their two boys - luckily we reconnected in the past few months. Today there was a terrible motorcycle accident in which her husband was killed and her youngest son Hunter (who is 8 years old) is in ICU fighting for his life. It still seems surreal that this has happened - it's almost impossible to wrap my brain around. You always hear of things like this happening but never expect it to be someone you know. Please pray for my friend and her family - especially for little Hunter. And please hug your loved ones and remind them how much you love them.

THE Master Gardener

This last Sunday my mom and Art were featured on the local Garden Walk. Approx 500 people came through their yard that day - 500!.

Some of you know they had a beautiful yard already...we had our wedding reception there 5 years ago. It's hard to believe, but it is a million times more amazing now. They have worked themselves to death (my mom actually refers to herself as a 'yardslave' sometimes - and it's no joke). They have worked endlessly to create the wonderful space they now have. They just had their pond rebuilt and have been adding plants, flowers, and trees everywhere. Not to mention retaining walls, adding rock, planting seed, etc.

My mom has such a unique talent for this...she has such a great eye and vision. It truly is amazing. I think she missed her calling in life...I think she was meant to be a landscape artist. Well, regardless, she is now. She is such an inspiration...spending time in her yard definitely makes you want to go home and do something with your own outdoor space.

We are so proud of them and happy that they have this wonderful "sanctuary" to spend time in...and we get to enjoy it too! Once the boys get to Grandma's and get in the backyard it is impossible to get them out...they usually have to be bribed by 'treats.' I don't have photos of the entire yard (I should take some to post) but I will include some I took of the pond and some other areas. Congratulations mom and Art on having the best yard in town!

The "new" pond

Who else could make the side of a garage look so beautiful?!

More of the pond

Fish!

One of the waterfalls

Steps up to and around the pond

A sitting area down by the 'secret garden'

Bridges to another seating area