Boys will be Boys!

We have church at 2:00pm so there is lots of time for horsing around in the morning.  I have warned the kids, I don't know how many times, NOT to jump from the stairs down to the ground.  This past Sunday, Gavin decided to jump from the fourth step up and he immediately started crying when he hit the floor.  I got right up and ran to him because it was one of those "I'm hurt" cries.  He couldn't stand on his foot so I freaked out thinking he broke it.  Gavin is not really a rough and tumble kinda kid so I was really surprised that he might be our first with a broken bone.  I texted Matt and told him we needed to take Gav in to Urgent Care.  I got Gavin settled in the chair with some ice and let him rest a bit.  I tried having him walk again but he cried saying it hurt.  By the time Matt got home from his meetings, Gavin would put some pressure on it but was curling his foot up and only walking on the outside edge.  I could also already see a small dark purple bruise forming above his big toe.  Off they went to Urgent Care and I took the other four kids to church.

You can the bruise ^^^ above the right big toe

The good news is that it WASN'T broken, just badly bruised.  Matt said that everyone was dying over Gavin's cuteness with his white shirt and tie on, haha!  He got his foot all wrapped up with a prescription to take it easy the next couple days.  When I got home from sacrament meeting to stay with him so Matt could go back, Gavin was telling me all this information that he learned from the doctor, how he had a hematoma and so forth.  What a smarty pants! I gave his teacher a heads up to keep an eye on him at school.  He's already doing better!

Waiting to be checked out

Resting back at home

LeBaron Family Reunion '12

Friday night after Matt got home from work, we loaded up the car and headed up to the cabin in Strawberry for the LeBaron Reunion.  Thankfully, Matt had some brotherly help getting the tent set up in the dark.  The kids stayed up waaaaaaayyyyy too late, but thankfully, they fell asleep quickly.  I wondered how Hayden was going to do in the pack n play and it didn't take very long to find out.  I had her layered with a onesie and a fleece sleeper, but she doesn't stay covered up and *I* was cold if I wasn't under my sleeping bag!  She cried and cried on and off, all night long.  I kept her in my sleeping bag with me which meant that I didn't sleep hardly a wink.  The sun came up way too early and the kids were rarin' and ready to go.

Hayden in her boy jammies

These girls giggled the night away together in this tent and were awake bright and early

The theme of the reunion was "Go Far With Family" with an Olympic twist.  

We participate in some games.  There was a tournament soccer game that everyone rotated through.  A couple kids got slammed in the face with the ball by hard-kicking adults, including Preston.  Poor buddy!  He kept saying, "It was an accident!" while crying his little eyes out.

There was also distance events including javelin (paper airplane), shotput (cotton ball) and discus (paper plate).  The ongoing event was the "marathon."  Each person was given a pedometer to track their steps over the weekend.  The kids just ate this up!

I can't forget creating and cutting of the boards for our last three kiddos!  It was fun to come up with a design that will go on the wall at the cabin, symbolizing each member of the family.

We had the opportunity Frisbee golf any time that afternoon to add to our team/family points.  I am HORRIBLE at frisbee, but Matt's pretty good so he drug me along the course.  And I actually didn't do so bad this time!

We have a picture identical to this, probably 8 or so years ago.
{edited to add the pic from July 2003, 9 years ago}

There was also a bit of crafting going on with the lady-folk.  I made a knotted knit headband for each of my girls. :)  The kids made their annual plate, and I'm especially excited for Hayden's first plate.  We spent most of the rest of the afternoon chatting with people while the kids ran free.  After dinner, we headed home.  The kids were bummed to miss the closing ceremonies and getting the medals they won, but Grandma was sure to bring them home for us.

Grandma brought silly string for all the kids!

 And Hayden enjoying a snack in the "vintage" pink highchair, a picture for posterity's sake

Grandpa LeBaron's health is failing and it's really sad to see him losing awareness of who the people are that love him most.  I make sure to take pictures of him and Grandma any time I get.  I know Hayden and maybe not even Preston will remember the great man he has been, but I'm grateful to be part of such a wonderful, loving family.

Kisses for Grandpa {love}

Other RaNdOmS

One morning, right at the end of August, I got a call from Matt, shortly after his workday should have started.  He calmly told me that he wasn't at work yet, that he had been involved in a car accident, but was ok.  He was rear-ended in one of those chain reaction scenarios, him being the 3rd of 4 cars involved.  I'm so glad that he wasn't seriously injured, but his poor brand new car. :(

Matt has been dying to take the kids to Organ Stop Pizza, so on Labor Day we headed up to Mesa for a little dinnertime fun.  The kids were absolutely mesmerized (after Preston freaked out because it was so loud) and we enjoyed listening to the music while eating mediocre, overpriced pizza.  One of our  requests was actually played - Star Wars!

Brooklyn got stung by scorpion in the house.  She cried and I'm sure it hurt, but it must've just got her barely because by the end of the day, she said it felt fine.  Matt was on an overnight campout with the deacons so *I* had to be Supermom and save all my children from this nasty devil!  I put on my brave face and smashed the scorpion and flushed it down the toilet.  These things give me the heebie-jeebies!

Blake finished the 7th Harry Potter book, which means he read the whole series (4100 pages) in less than 2 months!!  I was afraid he might actually have withdrawals when he finished.  Naturally, we went out for ice cream to celebrate. :)  Blake has now moved on to the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series (15 books, I think?).

Since turning 30, it appears my body is going through a crisis.  I found my first patch of gray hairs and my face is a complete mess of pimples.  Never in my life has it been this bad, not even as a teen!  It's rather embarrassing because I don't even own any face makeup to cover it up.

I love hearing the kids play the piano, especially when they sit down to practice unprompted.

I {love} Preston

2012 SWEye Doctor's Retreat

This year, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Southwestern Eye Center, we headed to San Diego for the weekend!  The whole weekend was completely paid for; hotel, meals, excursions, flights there and back, included!  Since I'm still nursing Hayden, she got to come with us.

Friday morning, we headed to the airport.  I was a little anxious because I don't love flying on airplanes and obviously Hayden had never flown before so I was't sure how she would do.  We were on the same flight as several other SWEye docs.  Hayden was tired and started fussing before we even got on the plane and I was worried the flight would be a nightmare.  I fed her before takeoff but she wasn't going to sleep, that's for sure.  It was hot on the plane, a new place and too much weird noise going on for her to settle down.  Matt was great with her.  I was armed with a few new toys and books but she didn't care about those.  I also bought a toothbrush specifically to bring with us for her to chew on and that kept her occupied for a bit.  Gerber puffs and ice water were our lifesavers.

 

View from the air- brown Arizona

As soon as we got off the plane and got her in the stroller, she zonked out before we even got down to baggage claim.  Miraculously, I transfered her into her carseat in the car and she stayed asleep all the way to the hotel and through the transfer back INTO her stroller at the hotel.  I guess she loved her new posh pink stroller!  She loved being able to finally be down and exploring the hotel room.

Who is that hunk sporting the breastpump over his shoulder? ;)

Hayden checking out the view

She squeezed in another good nap before dinner with our group.  After dinner, we walked down to the Gaslamp District, which was a little bit wild on a Friday night.  I was surprised at how many homeless people we saw begging or sleeping on utility boxes.  It was also VERY warm outside.  Hayden slept nearly the entire 2 hours of our walk and went right down for bed after being fed once we got back to the hotel.

We woke early the next morning to grab some breakfast before heading out on our scheduled trolley tour of San Diego.  Our tour guide pointed out points of interest and we made our way over to Coronado Island where we were dropped off with about an hour to explore and shop.  As a gift from the company, we were each given a $25 gift card to use!  We bought a starfish ornament for ourselves and little turtles made of shells and a shark tooth necklace for each of the kids.

"Oooooh, I like your flower!"-Niam. Dr. Patel's baby

Coronado Island, our hotel in the background (tallest towers)

We got back on the trolley and headed back over the bridge to downtown, learned some historical facts and saw all the cool things there are to explore in San Diego.  We had lunch after the tour then we grabbed some ice cream from Ben & Jerry's.  It was sooooooo hot this day with record-breaking temps!  I think the high was 107, even warmer than back home!  How ironic!  Here I thought we'd be enjoying cooler weather for the weekend on the coast....  We went back to our room and Hayden (and Matt) took a nap in the cool darkness while I got ready for our evening.

We had a dinner harbor cruise arranged for that evening, so we had a sitter come to the hotel room to watch Hayden while we got all dressed up for a night out.  When we got the invitation and it said "cocktail attire," I immediately panicked because I don't really have dressy clothes in my closet.  I shopped away and found a few dresses to choose from, then heels, a necklace, a clutch and Spanx to smooth out the baby bulge I still have going on.  I even curled my hair (still learning).  I will admit that it felt great to get all dressed up -- once in awhile. ;)  We asked a couple barely-dressed college-age girls to take our picture in the hotel lobby and one of them even said I looked really pretty!  I don't know why it meant so much coming from her, but it made me feel good.  It cooled off a lot once we got on the water and we were able to enjoy an evening of mingling and good food.  The traditional anniversary gift for 30 years is pearls, so all the women received a pearl bracelet and the men received a fancy mother of pearl pen.  The whole thing was fabulous!

Us with Melissa & Scott Sellers

My feet HURT by the end of the night!!!

There is always a variety of food offered, many things I've never tried before and I make myself try everything.  I tried halibut (!) and even shrimp (!!!) which I have texture issues with, but I tried it!!

Sunday morning, we got up for breakfast and while Matt socialized with his colleagues, Hayden and I took a nice long walk through Seaport Village and down along the San Diego bay in the cool, foggy air.  Hayden loved people and dog watching as I pushed her in the stroller.  Matt joined us for a bit then we headed back to the hotel to pack up our things.

After we checked out, we went to the Mormon Batallion Historic Site with the Sellers and the Thompsons and took the tour there.  We grabbed a bite to eat at a yummy Mexican restaurant then made our way back to the airport for our flight back home.

 

San Diego wears a girl out!!

I was hopeful that Hayden would do better on the plane this time but once again, she was tired and I tried in vain to get her to sleep.  She was sooooooo close to actually falling asleep, but just couldn't manage.  She was definitely loud and all we could do was apologize and get out of there as soon as we could when the plane landed!

 

So long, San Diego!

We are so lucky that Matt works for such a great company.  Lothaire and Connie Bluth are such thoughtful and genuinely sweet people!  I forgot to mention they even had a gift for Hayden this weekend-  three of their favorite Sandra Boynton board books and a $50 gift card to babyGap.  How did they know I love to shop there? ;)  They really make us feel like family and I'm grateful that we have an opportunity to get away once a year with the people Matt works with.  I love getting to know everyone better.