Thursday, April 21, 2011

VCUG's are no fun

So Tanner had his 2nd Ultra-sound and VCUG at Primary Children's yesterday. It was much better than last time. I highly recommend sedation if your child ever has to go through with it. Brooklyn also had to have it done once when she was about 2 years old and it was horrible. She wasn't sedated and she screamed the entire time.


It's a terrible test where they give them a catheter and fill up their bladder with dye. Then they take x-rays to watch and see if the dye goes up from the bladder back towards the kidneys. (Which it shouldn't). With Brooklyn, it didn't but with Tanner it does. He has whats called bladder reflux. He basically gets UTI's a lot because of it. Hopefully he'll out grow it soon. I feel so bad when he's up in the middle of the night crying because it hurts to go to the bathroom and he's in there every 30 minutes.

We have a follow up appointment with the Urologist next week to see what plan of action they think we should take. I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Its Swing Baby!!

So I picked up a really great book at the library on a whim. It's called Vixen.





Its a book about flapper's starting out in the speakeasy club life. There are gangsters, high society life, romance (ooh-la-la Marcus), and some serious betrayl. I wasn't sure how it would be, but I'm actually wishing it were August already so I could read the next book Ingenue!


I can't wait to see where it takes Clara, Gloria, and Lorianne. Plus the romance part will be wonderful!! Why couldn't I have grown up during a fashionable time like the 20's or even the 30's and swing?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

and the Oscar goes to...

I decided I don't have enough to do as it is with work, PTA, and 3 church callings. So on Saturday afternoon I planned an Oscar dinner party. Knowing I was the only person who would really care or notice all the trouble I went to, I figured I'd share it you - whom ever you may be that is taking the time to read this.


I had a dinner and each menu item was themed around one of the nominees for best motion picture. I think it turned out very well thanks to some great input from my sister Kelli, sister-in-law Julie, and my good old trusty mom!

First up we had "127 hours" - It was about a hiker who got stuck in the desert/mountain under a rock here in Utah and ended up having to cut off his arm to escape. (based on a true story actually). I had trail mix - I felt it was a staple to every hikers supplies. My cute nephew Jonas even had a severed hand he was going to give me to put inside with it but I ran out of time and couldn't get it before the party.

Next up is "The King's Speech" - This was about King Henry (I think) and how he had to hire a secret speech therapist to help him with his stutter. Sounds like an interesting story - This also won best picture in case you were wondering. I served English scones with Jam and a Tea Pot was the prop.

for "Inception" I had my drinks as props since they weren't actually tasty. We weren't drinking alcohol so I used cherry syrup and oil actually. I went with layers to link in with this movie since they go through layers into peoples dreams. I also served chocolate covered strawberries which were layered in a sense.
The movie "Black Swan" is about a ballerina who is given the part of the White Swan and also the Black swan in Swan Lake. One part is pure and innocent, the other dark and evil... by the end of the movie, she is definitely in the part of the Black Swan. We had Cheesecake drizzled with chocolate and Oreo mud pies for the kids which were black and white.
In "The Fighter" its about an Irish Boxer... I guess I don't really know much more about the story. I guess just the choices he has to make. Any how, we served beer - root beer any ways, since the Irish always seem to be drinking!

For "Toy Story 3" I had Toy Story fruit snacks and PBJ Uncrustables for the kids to eat. It was a hit - if you don't know what this movie is about... you really need to get out more.

Our main course was based around the movie "True Grit". The original was a great western, but I felt this one was just as good. We served pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches .... yum! Note the Cowboy hat and gun for decoration.

The side dish we had was for the movie "Winters Bone" which is by far one of the strangest movies I've heard of. It's also based on a true story about a girl looking for her father whose mixed up with some crazy hill-billy gang. She ends up having to go through some terrible things and I will never see this movie! They end up shooting squirrel and eating in the movie but I didn't really want to do that. Instead I had squirrels as props. We ended up having Debbie's delicious baked beans! They were a hit!
In "The Kids Are All Right" its pretty much about a lesbian couple that have 2 kids that want to meet their "father/sperm donor". Julie gave me this idea to a point - she suggested deviled eggs, since it had to do with eggs/babies. I took it a little farther just to see if anyone would notice.
My proudest moment, also the hardest to think of was "Social Network". This is about how Facebook was started. I made blue Jell-o into the Facebook logo. Yeah!!

We served popcorn and snacks and voted for who we thought would win - we only ended up watching about 30 minutes of the whole show, but it was still a great night! Let me know if you want an invite to next years party!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Mexico



Our trip to Mexico

view from our hotel - it was a really fun hotel. The kids had more fun than the adults I think.

Brooklyn's Birthday
We Celebrated with dinner at a Steak House. Brooklyn still thinks the whole trip was for her birthday.


Family Photo at the Beach
We went to celebrate my Parents 30th wedding anniversary. It was by far the best family trip the Ralls crew has been on.

Tanner on the Zipline
He waited all week to go, and it rained the whole week. We finally just went with the stormy weather. He thought that was the best part of the trip.

Chichen-Itza
This was an amazing once in a life time experience.
Since no one really reads my blog, just ask me if you want to know the details!







Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Cute little Prayer

Last night my sister in law had her baby. We explained to the kids that the baby came earlier than she was supposed to and wasn't quite big enough. We asked Brooklyn to make sure she said a prayer for mom and baby. This is what was included in her prayer:

Bless we have a good night
bless baby li'jah has a good night
bless laura she has a good night
bless baby she has a good night
bless baby and laura they come home safe when they come home
bless baby li'jah will be a good brother
bless the baby she'll be a good sister
bless baby li'jah and baby will be friends....

So so cute! Today... we've been watching Elijah so his mom and dad could be together at the hospital with the new addition. Brooklyn has been little miss mom. She's given him snacks, made sure he didn't go up and down stairs, hugs him when he falls. And every time he does a silly little cute thing, she runs over to me and says, "baby lii'jah did this mom. Isn't he cute!"

I guess she'll be a great mom. With her "boyfriend" Dan from Virginia if she gets a chance!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Shots for Sale!!

Today, while cleaning the house... my kids opened a shop.

Tanner was the sales man, and Brooklyn a customer.

She must not have been very good because while Mike and I went about our cleaning, Tanner started his sales pitch, and slowly got louder and louder.

"SHOT FOR SALE... only 6 cents. Comes with a case for free! Get it with Vitamins for only 12 cents! GET YOUR SHOT AND FREE CASE HERE. Half price on Saturdays!"

I think we have a born salesman on our hands!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Busy Bees

This weekend we did so much! Mike ended up having Monday off work, so we made it a day out! We went to breakfast as a family, went shopping for a wedding gift for Ju-Ju, went to see Percy Jackson the movie (it was OK... pretty scary though for PG rating), then shopping! I'm pretty sure the shopping part was painful for mike. He didn't seem to happy. Then..I headed over to a friends house and cooked freezer meals for the month! It takes a long time to get 24 meals cooked, but it sure will be nice to have dinner ready every night with out thinking about it.

Now I just have to get ready for another busy weekend. We have a magic show for the primary kids on Saturday morning, and then I'm in charge of our Ward Game night Saturday evening. Hopefully at least a few people will show up!

I can't believe we leave to Virginia in only 2 weeks. I haven't lost any weight for the wedding, and I still haven't made up my packing list. This may be the first trip we've gone on that I haven't been packed more than a week in advance. I don't know why, but packing is my favorite think to do. I love getting everything organized for trips.

Oh... by the way... did I mention to everyone that I've decided to be the PTA president next year? I hope it doesn't kill me!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Larry the Cucumber's Cabin

We spent this weekend at my Dad's friends cabin. All the kids call him Larry the Cucumber. We had a great time. We played in the snow, stayed up late playing games, watched movies and visited with family. The guys also tried to kill everyone when they started up the snowmobiles. They hadn't opened the garage enough and the fumes from the motors blew straight into the house. Everyone had to evacuate until the air cleared.

Another great moment was when my sister and I were told to hurry outside to break up a fight between the little boys. We went front to find them both black and blue and Tanner standing over the top of Abe with a shovel. Needless to say, it was nap time after that.

all in all we had a great time. All of the boys, little and big, made a huge ramp in the snow and would try to go down the big hill as fast as they could on the sleds. I don't think anyone was seriously injured, which always means it was a good trip!









Monday, January 11, 2010

Christmas Time

I'm finally posting pictures from Christmas... just a little late, I know! We did have a great month though. We had a chance to go to Temple Square to see the lights. We ended up running in to a bunch of people we knew too. We had brought rice crispy treats and hot chocolate to snack on and the evening ended up being really fun!


We had a great Christmas as well. Delicious Prime Rib dinner at my parents house on Christmas Eve, and yummy Honey Baked Ham on Christmas day at our house with the Koen's family. The kids loved their presents and gifts from everyone. Santa was very
kind as well and some how didn't leave coal for both of our kids. He must really love them!














Pictures


















We went to a park and took a few pictures. I just thought I'd share them. Tanner was very proud to have 2 missing teeth right now and loves to show his smile!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

"Water Tribe"

This is one of our favorite clips at home lately. When the kids are being crazy, we will tell them we've "got our eye" on them, and one of them will whisper "WATER TRIBE". Brooklyn's version is the best. By the way... we LOVE the Avatar. We have to pretend to be benders all the time.

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Uhhh Dad?

Were driving down the road today running errands. Brooklyn and Tanner are pulling the classic brother and sister fighting in the back. They keep saying..

"your crossing the line.. your on my side"
" she's on my side of the car!"
"He touched me again!"

Finally Mike turns around and says, "Can't you two just learn to co-exist peacefully?" to which Tanner replied, "Dad you do know that we don't understand what that means - right?"

Touche Tanner - Touche!

Monday, October 19, 2009

ARRRR!

Yesterday we had a fun evening with Grandpa Ralls. She took the grand kids out to buy a new outfit at the mall. Then we drove down to Orem where we went to a Pirate Pizza place. They all came dressed up in their Pirate attire. The kids menu's were also pirate hats as well. They had a huge arcade area and a play land where the kids had a blast. The restaurant was decorated like a pirate ship and all the people who worked there were in full pirate swag! It was a really fun place and the food was actually pretty good. If your looking for a new fun place to go... I would certainly recommend it. It was well worth the drive!

Home on the Range

We went up to Idaho a couple of weeks ago to visit my Grandpa and let the kids have a chance to see their Great Grandpa and help on his farm. The kids had a great time! They loved seeing the cows and riding the horse. I think Brooklyn liked chasing all the kittens the best. The boys thought that chopping the wood was neat and eat ting cookies. We all ended the day by going to the park and having a picnic with Grandpa and Grandpa and ended the afternoon with family pictures. It was a great trip!

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Let me try it first...

Yesterday I'd had enough of watching Brooklyn pick her nose. Finally after dinner I told her, "If I see that finger in your nose one more time I'm going to get out the wooden spoon and spank you. Do you understand!" She just stared at me calmly for a few seconds and then went back to playing. A few minutes later I saw her walking out of the kitchen and her underwear were around her ankles. I asked her what she was doing. As I looked closer, she had the wooden spoon in hand, she told me, "I'm just going to try it and see if it hurts".
I Guess she figured she really wanted to pick her nose and better see what the spoon was going to feel like since she knew she was going to be spanked with it. Needless to say I had to go hide behind the door because I was laughing so hard.

Monday, September 21, 2009

What really happens in the Boys bathroom

Today I got a call from Tanner's school from the Vice Principal. Of course when I saw "HL Elementary" I was worried. He told me nothing was wrong and tanner hadn't done anything bad, but there had been an "incident". Bracing myself for the worst, I listened.
You'll never believe what he told me. "Tanner and his friend were in the bathroom at the Urinals and I guess his friend decided it would be funny to PEE on him. He's shirt and shorts are all wet and he needs a change of clothes. Do you think you could stop by the school with some?"
OH MY HECK!!! What is wrong with kids! Who would do that! Not only that, but who would not have taught their children that this would absolutely not ever be ok to do? I understand boys are boys, but there must be line some where that's drawn. Tanner said he wasn't mad at his friend, but it did make him feel sad.
These are the days that make you want to keep your babies safe at home in your arms where no one can be mean! I guess we all have to learn it the hard way!

Monday, September 7, 2009

It is a quite week...

This week will be so quite in our home. Mike and Brooklyn flew out to Virginia to be with his family. His Grandma past away this weekend and he really wanted to be with his Mom to help her out. Sadly, Tanner and I had to stay home. Tickets at the last minute are crazy expensive - even WITH buddy passes from our great brother-in-law. Plus... Tanner has an eye doctor appointment on Tuesday at Primary Children's which takes months in advance to schedule, so we couldn't miss it. Now I get the luck of working lots of extra hours too since I have no kids home during the day to play with.
Last night Tanner stayed at his cousins house since I had to work early this morning. The house was so quite and me being the chicken I am, not only triple checked all the doors and windows, but also locked my bathroom and bedroom doors just in case.
Today Tanner and I are going to hit the last Bee's Baseball game and then have the ladies from our neighborhood over for games and snacks. I have a feeling it will mostly be visiting, but since that's my favorite part about our get togethers, I really don't mind. Now I just need to figure out how I'm going to get Tanner to bed early and keep him there while everyones over to our house!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

oh what do you do in the summer time....

I can't believe summer is nearing its end. August is almost hear and Tanner will be starting school in a month. Even though we've been car-less for the last 2 months, we've really done a lot.

Here are a few things....
- Virginia and New York (May counts as summer... right?)
- Fire works and fun for the 4th and 24th of July
- Manti Pagent
- Camping in Ferron
- Swimming at the "beach" in Herriman

and here's what is still to come....
- Papa Mickey visits in August
- Cherry Hills
- Harvest days
- back to school shopping... my favorite!
- Movies in the Park
- Grandma Debbie visits in September

Luckily I now have a car, so hopefully we can add a few more fun things to the list. If you have any good ideas, let me know!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Camping in Ferron


We had so much fun camping in Ferron, Utah. We stayed for 5 days, and yes... we stayed in a tent. I always wonder why I do it, but I guess making memories with your kids is what is important. Everyone had so much fun and got along great. The fishing was terrific and the
Weather was perfect. It was a little hot, but luckily it only rained for about an hour the whole trip. Here are a few pictures of our exciting trip!









Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!!!!

So it has been raining non stop for the last few weeks here in Utah. It has to wait until school is out to damper everyone's fun. Since we aren't able to go swimming outside or play at the park, we decided we better still have fun. Tanner, Brooklyn and I went outside to splash and dance in the MASSIVE rain storm we had this afternoon. We jumped in the HUGE puddles by the road and chased leaves down the streams. We found the biggest worm I have ever seen in my life. Brooklyn decided it was so big that it had to be a snake. She carried it around on stick and kept it safe under an umbrella. When we told her he needed to stay in the garden and she couldn't bring him inside, she started to cry. She said, "But he's my best pet snake!". After a little coaxing, we convinced her that we could come visit him any time if she left him in our garden. By the time we came inside, there LITERALLY was not a dry square inch on either of them. Now were kicked back in our warm dry robes watching "Drake and Josh" and eating marshmallows with hot chocolate. (not in the drink.... just by the handful!) Lets hope the rain stops some time soon. I don't know if I can be stuck inside my house all summer with both my kids and no car to drive anywhere!