Welcome Home!!!

Hooray!!!! August missed his flight to SLC yesterday and was bumped until this morning. However, he waited standy last night and was able to arrive safetly at midnight! I can't believe it!! I have a husband again...two weeks without a hubby is a LONG time:)

Thanks to everyone for helping me with my kids and giving me a break and feeding us:)

Missed his flight home...

What would this trip be without one more trial? August ended up leaving 1 1/2 hrs late from Paris and missed his connection in Atlanta. He said the airport was having computer malfunctions and the line to get a boarding pass was 3 hours long (Picture to come shortly). Thus, all of the departing flights out of Paris were delayed. Poor guy. Guess he'll catch the next flight. Hopefully. What's one more day?

He's in the air!!!

August made it to Paris last night. He took the train and arrived without problems. He said it was a beautiful sight to arrive and see all of the planes taking off. He also felt better just being out of London. He stayed at a hotel by the airport and his plane left today at 5:30 AM Utah time. His first stop is Atlanta and then on to SLC arriving tonight.

We are currently making preparations...and can't wait!

Paris, France

August is giving up on London. Harman kept telling im to stay...but the only interest they had in mind was saving money. So, August gave them a talking too and they promptly booked him a flight from Paris to the USA on Thursday. He is taking the train on Wednesday down to a hotel for one night stay and then will (cross your fingers) be home Thursday evening (all for a huge price tag).

We will see!

Volcanic Ash Update

I received an email from August this morning. United has cancelled his flight and re-booked for FRIDAY. Again, there is little confidence that the flight will actually take place. He will probably end up waiting just to have it cancelled.

He said that the next flight out of Spain is the 26th. Next Monday. He is seriously considering booking a cruise ship and making his way home from whatever port he arrives in. Who know when the next ship leaves. He will let me know more today.

The news says that frustrations are mounting in Europe. They announced that two F-16's did attempt to fly in the ash cloud at standard altitudes and suffered problems. Not good for all of the airlines that say their "test" flights have had no problems and they want to resume flights (although, they aren't flying at the high enough altitudes). Who do you trust: government officials or corporate CEO's??

Just an FYI, I am cancelling Bellas Bday party on Friday. Please spread the word to family. I will also send out an email. Not much fun to have it without August. Not in the partying mood. Of course, we will make it special for her and do the fun family celebration when August is back...maybe her 1 and 2 year old bday can be at the same time:(

August did enjoy church yesterday. He was hoping someone would invite him to dinner...or something. But alas, no one volunteered. So it was anchovy salad (he HATES fish) for him again from the room service. Yuck.

I will keep everyone updated on his progress. If the English saints crossed the Atlantic...so can August.

August Update

Just so everyone knows...I hate volcanos. August is stuck in London (after being in Austria and London for the last week) due to the volcano. His flight has been cancelled and they don't know when they will re-book. So, your guess is as good as mine as to when he will be home. I keep watching CNN and they are telling me horrible things...last eruption lasted 2 years and flights might not resume for days/weeks.

My kids are distraught. All they are talking about is volcanos blowing up planes. Not right. Bella's bday is next friday and I am not optimistic that he will be home. Kinda of sucks. No. Really sucks. Just wanted to vent/rant. Thanks!

**Update: August is "scheduled" Monday at 3:30 local time to head home...pending clear air. Let's hope that the winds shift and he can come home. However, I really don't want his flight to be the "test" flight to see if all is well. Yikes! Thank goodness for skype! It has been a life saver. So, if you get really bored...give him a call on skype: just remember they are 7 hrs ahead!

I am also doing better. Nothing like a babysitter and a nice dinner (with my Dad) to make me feel better! The "sucking" I previously mentioned has been temporarily subsided...for now.

**Update #2: August's Monday flight has been cancelled.

Merry Christmas...

...oh wait....Easter! Couldn't decide because of the SNOW!!!!!!

Nothing says spring like 2-3 inches of snow.

Under the knife for Bella

Bella's tear ducts have never opened. So, after 11 months of dealing with constantly tearing eyes that cause red sores under eyes and on her cheeks, we decided to have them opened (if you check back at pics of her you will see that she always has wetness under her eyes). The procedure is relatively simple. They shove a big safety-pin like thing down into her eye and poke a hole and then irrigate it with saline.

No big deal right (sarcasm). This also required that she have General Anesthesia (yuck).

So, we arrived at UVRMC 6:30 AM with our princess. She was so excited to be out and about and had NO idea was she was in store for. She was prancing the hallways waving goodbye to all of the nurses leaving to go home after working the night shift.

She got all dressed in her little gown. August couldn't believe that I was taking pictures. He reminded me that it wasn't Disneyland. I begged to differ. It may have not been a fun event, but pictures help to document experiences. And, what would a post/entry be without a picture?

He is definitely not a blogger.

She loved all of the attention.



She seemed so little in the big bed, but so grown up as well.

We had to wait a while, so they let her walk the halls to burn some energy. The nurses loved her. A male nurse carried her away and she was happy to say goodbye! No tears. Just excited to be held by someone willing to do it.

When she woke up from the anesthesia she was cranky! She didn't want to be held, but didn't want to be put down. She just didn't understand what had happened. She finally settled down and we were able to go home. All was well when she was able to eat a cinnamon roll from Mc'D's.

Grandma Debbie was kind enough to come over super early

and watch the boys. Thanks Grandma!

It was such a simple procedure, I can't imagine having to sit and wait while something much more complicated was being done! We are glad Bella is doing good (only a little bloody drainage)
and hope the procedure was a success. If not, we will be back for eye tubes...who knew they had such a thing. Wish her luck!

First Sewing Project

For my first sewing project I took on a task that wasn't all that simple. I had purchased Bella's bedding online, and loved it. All except the dust ruffle. It was straight and not what I had wanted. Of course the one I wanted was $800 and absolutely out of the question. It had a fabulous skirt that was girly and ruffly. So, after reading about re-purposing I had a great idea. This is what I did:

This is the skirt before. It was straight and boring. So, I removed the front skirt and the back skirt...took forever. Then, I sewed them together and used a zig-zag stitch to create a ruffle. Finally, I sewed the ruffled fabric back onto the white platform. AND.......

Voila!
This is the final look! I couldn't be happier. The only thing I spent was $5 for some petticoat support mesh you will see below.

Much better!


For extra support I added a little petticoat mesh underneath .

Here are a few other things I have been working on.

Chandelier in Bella's room. It is vinyl. Surrounded by baby pics. The frames were hanging in the house with ugly birds in them when we bought it. Again, I re-purposed them!

August says that if vinyl starts to make it's way on to other walls he is moving me out of Utah.
But, the chandelier came in a two pack, so....it had to go somewhere. I put the black one in my laundry room. I will post some pics when I finish it!

I bought this sign at the DI. It was $1. It was sooo ugly. It was pea green paint with green ribbon. So, I re-purposed it as well. After a fresh coat of paint and new ribbon
(that I already had) it turned out great!

Family Pics

Because General Conference is this weekend, I let my kids wear their new church clothes (not to mention they had been wearing high-waters for the last month). I tried to snap some cute pics...but wasn't very successful at it. Trying to get all of them to look at the camera at the same time, keep their fingers out of their mouths, keep their eyes open and smile proved to be an impossible task! This is why we pay people to do this!!!!

Are we done yet...

THE SUN IS IN MY EYES.....!!!!!!!

Are we done yet....

I think this one is funny because it shows the boys laughing with the same body language...too cute!

Easter Egg Hunt/Lesson Learned

Last Saturday our neighborhood HOA held an Easter Egg hunt. The kids were REALLY excited to go. So, we loaded up in the car and ran to Fresh Market to get Easter Baskets. We got to the park at 10:05...to find out that the 10AM hunt was over. It lasted a total of 30 seconds and was over before 10 AM (they started early!). You can imagine the tantrums I thought would ensue. Ground rolling, lung puncturing, name calling...you know the upset type. But, to my amazement my boys looked at me like they were going to cry and said, "Oh well" and then they were fine. I couldn't believe it. No tears. No screaming.

Then, a family that lives behind us (a non-LDS family that we have become friendly with) came over and the 8 year old (who is in my Cub Scout Pack) asked if he could give his eggs to my kids. He had noticed that we were late and that my kids didn't get any eggs. I had to hold back tears. My kids were sooo excited and thankful. I couldn't believe that out of the entire neighborhood they were the ones to show an unselfish example...very Christ Like.

We got back in the car and the kids ate the candy. As were driving later that morning, Caleb started thinking out loud about the neighbor kid sharing his eggs. He couldn't believe that he would give his eggs away...he didn't have very many to start with. He told us that that kid made his heart happy (I am guessing he felt the spirit...he is a sensitive kid). Caleb then decided that if he saw kids without eggs next year then he would try and make them happy.

So, we may have missed the hunt, but we all learned a lesson.
So, instead of remembering the Easter Egg Hunt when we see these pictures, we will remember a small act of kindness that taught us many lessons this year.

I don't think any ole' egg we found would have taught us that!