Our Poor Little Dexlie

In the Spring of 2009 Oakley bought a bird with some money she had received from a diabetic trial study on the Dexcom. She named her little bird Dexlie. They told me when we bought Dexlie that they live forever and that we would send Dexlie to college with Oakley. I can't keep anything alive and thought there was absolutely no way he would live that long! Well.....a year ago when Oakley started college I tried to send Dexlie with her, but she wouldn't take him. hahaha! Lately though 10.5 years after we got him, Dexlie has been looking and acting pretty rough. All the way back in August I could tell that he wasn't doing good and we prepared to lose him, saying our goodbyes and everything. But then he made a miraculous recovery and seemed to pull through. Sunday, December 8th when we got home from church though his bar was covered in blood and he had a massive puss pocket type thing on one leg. He looked really rough and my heart broke that he was suffering. We decided it was time to let Dexlie be relieved of this crazy earth life. Dallin and Rhett took care of him with a BB gun (so sad!) and put him in a little box and buried him next to our deck out back. If I went back to 10.5 years ago I'd do it all over again. I have vacuumed up millions of bird seed over the years and cleaned the cage more times than I can count, BUT Dexlie was the perfect pet. He would sometimes sing a little too loud when our house was loud and crazy, but otherwise he was quiet, kept to himself...he actually didn't like us! and he was the perfect pet for pet day at school. He got to go to the school with all 4 kids! I will miss having him here when littles come over. Every little kid that came to my house was fascinated with Dexlie and I love that he held his own and pecked their fingers if they got too close. hahaha! He will be missed! RIP little birdie!

Light the World

Each December for the last few years the church has had a light the world campaign trying to help us reach out and share our light with those around us for the month as we prepare for Christmas. This year it is daily acts of service and they send you a text each day with an idea. On December 2nd the idea was something like "share on social media someone who sets a Christlike example for you." I don't have instagram, but found out that my sweet Rhett had posted about me. It is very rarely that my kids acknowledge anything good about their mama, so I am definitely documenting it. So very sweet of him and made my day, and maybe even my entire year. 😊💓

Christmas Tree 2019

On November 29th the kids and I decided to hurry and put up the Christmas tree. The boys helped me carry all the crap up from the basement and got the ladders ready to help. Dallin wasn't super helpful in that he kept throwing the ornaments at the tree instead of hanging them on the tree. (Rolling my eyes!!) He is also a comedian you can tell from the pictures. His wife beater tank-top, sweats and pushing his gut out. What a crack up! We had a fun night together getting everything out and ready for Christmas. I do still have a random nativity set up INSIDE my kitchen cupboard by the cups and plates because apparently my instructions to the kids were to "put them where we can see them" and Dallin thought we see the inside of that cupboard everyday so it was a great place to set one up. Such a random kid! 😂 We are excited for Christmas to come!

Thanksgiving 2019

We ended up cooking Thanksgiving at our house this year. With Ryan only being 2 days out from surgery he didn't want to have to go anywhere else, and Thanksgiving fell on his and his mom's birthday this year anyway so I had already volunteered to cook dinner here. His sisters were suppose to come, but had last minute change of plans so it was just Stan, Linn and Dale that we fed with our family. Later that afternoon my parents, Shane and Arnica's families stopped by for cake and ice cream to celebrate my dad's 70th Birthday while we were together. All of us kids went in together to buy him a new suit. It looked so good on him. 

And....of course there was some black Friday shopping! Arnica didn't get to go with us this year and since Ryan had just had surgery we only went for a few hours, 9pm-1am, but we had a great time as always! We even let a boy (Rhett) tag along this year! That was a first! :) Such a fun tradition!

Crazy Boys and Their Crazy Sister

Over Thanksgiving break the boys got a little bored and gave into Laiklie's request to do their hair. Poor girl misses her sister! hahaha! She pulled out the itty bitty curling iron and curled the top of Rhett's hair. It actually was super cute and he sported the hairdo for several days over the break. She also pulled out the straightener and flipped Dallin's mullet up in the back, the way a mullet is suppose to flip - Dallin's just doesn't because he has worlds straightest hair! ;) I wish I would have gotten a picture of his too. They actually looked great with their little sisters hair help!

Double Hernia Surgery

Ryan had double hernia surgery on November 26, 2019....just 2 days before Thanksgiving. He was nervous about it because his last surgery his bowels didn't wake-up for 3 days because of the anesthetic.  So, the doctor decided to do this surgery with locals and just put him to sleep without full anesthetic. He also had to do the surgery the old school way with 2, 4" incisions. He didn't dare do it laparoscopically because of mesh Ryan had in his stomach from an abdominal hernia. Everything went well and Ryan came out of surgery just fine. It took us a long time to convince the nurse that his pulse is always as low as high 30's, low 40's so that they would send him home. I finally got him home and in bed around 9 pm. That night at about 2am he woke up needing more meds and to pee. We took our time getting him up and into the bathroom just like the nurse had showed us. After he pee'd he turned around and grabbed onto the bathroom door knob for support. The door started to shake funny so I asked him, "Are you ok?" he said, "I'm dizzy!" Then he dropped! He passed out on me! I was right there and caught him, but 200 pounds of instant dead weight isn't something I'm use to catching. His head fell back and I was trying to slowly lower him to the ground without tearing open either of his incisions and without his head hitting the wall. I was worried about putting my knee right into his stomach next to those incisions too. It was all a very slo-motion kind of thing. Once I got him to the ground it took him forever (minutes.....that felt like forever) to come to. Even after he opened his eyes he didn't respond to me for a long time. He told me afterwards that he could hear me, but couldn't talk. It was so scary and I just kept praying feeling like that is all I could do.  Once I got him awake and talking I knew we now had to figure out how to get him back up off the ground. I told him I was going to go get Dallin, but he was still weak enough I didn't dare leave him even just to run downstairs. So instead we sat there for just a little longer while I came up with a plan. I knew from the way he was sitting that it might be easiest for him to just get on his hands and knees and crawl to the bed and then we could use the bed to help pull him up. It worked!! We got him successfully back into bed. A few hours later when he once again had to use the bathroom the same thing happened, but this time without the passing out. As soon as he finished he got super dizzy/sweaty and started to shake....he immediately grabbed onto the door knob and the back of the toilet for support and put his head down on my shoulder. We rode it out until the dizziness passed and luckily didn't have to deal with passing out again. After that other than just sore and major black bruising he seemed to heal well. We are 2 weeks out from surgery now and the doctor says things look great. He is still taking it very easy and only leaving the house for a few hours each day. We will be glad to have this behind us!  

Oakley

This girl is ALWAYS up for a photo shoot with Rhett. She is absolutely stunning! 😍

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ER Visit

On the afternoon of November 14th I was subbing the Kindergarten at the school when I got a phone call from Ryan saying, "I'm going to need a ride to the ER in about 10 mins!" Luck for me the bell was ringing in about 10 minutes. As soon as the kids were out the door I jumped in my car and headed home. I found Ryan in the laundry room with his pants around his ankles and one boot still on with his head on the counter and he was crying. I knew this was something serious! So I helped him get out of his pants/boot and into some sweats and we headed to the ER. After a CT scan it showed that he had hernias on both sides. One had been pinched off, but in the time it took to get to the ER and wait for a doctor to see him it had eased up and he was no longer in pain. So we went home and called the next morning to schedule a double hernia surgery.

*One quick sidenote on this story....This happened on a Thursday and I had committed to sub for that same kindergarten class through to the next Thursday for a teacher who had also had surgery that morning. I was in a little bit of a secret panic (I didn't want Ryan to know) because I am one of those people that if I say I'm going to do something, I do it! So I prayed like crazy and thanks to a tender mercy of the Lord, Ryan's appointments and surgery all lined up in just a way that allowed me to keep both my subbing commitments for before and after surgery. I'm thankful for the little things in our lives that the Lord is aware of. 

Paityn

Linn got to keep our niece Paityn while her parents were on a cruise and there was one day Linn had a few errands to run so she asked if I would take P to her horse riding lessons. Of course I would! It was fun to get to go watch her. She loves horses and her lessons and I love that I got to share just a few minutes of my time with her that day doing something she loves. We am so blessed to be surrounded by family we love. 

Dallin's 17!!

On November 7, 2019 Dallin turned 17! With him getting older every birthday reminds me of how few we really have left with him in our home. I love this kid! He is my very best helper. He works so hard and does all he is asked. He wants so badly to please Ryan and I and all those around him. He is also hilarious! He has me laughing ALL THE TIME! He is a great kid and we are very proud of him. This year his dad surprised him with a little pistol for his birthday. He was definitely surprised! Such a fun day! I love to see that smile! *Oh, and if you look close, you can see the mullet. :)

Mullets are Cool - I Guess

Dallin INSISTED on growing his hair out and hasn't let me cut it in a good couple months. It is to a point that it looks TERRIBLE when he is blessing the sacrament. During the week he wears a hat so it isn't as noticeable, but on Sundays it is so bad! SOOOO....I finally gave in and told him if I can please cut the top he can have the mullet he has been begging for. These are a few before pictures just so we could document how long it really was. He has the THICKEST hair which makes it even funnier long. I didn't take any after pictures with the mullet, but we are a good 3-4 weeks out and he is still wearing it, so hopefully I can get a picture of it at some point. 

Oh, These Two...

These two are exhausting! They have become best friends this year and truthfully I am so very grateful they have each other. Rhett has dealt with alot of anxiety this fall with cheer and school and there were several times I would call Oakley and beg her to come home for a few hours. He just needed her!! Oakley is going through finals week right now and she keeps showing up at our house....she asks when he will be home and snuggles into his bed while he's at school.  In some weird way they are each others emotional release. They can bring out the joy in life for each other and WHAT A BLESSING!! 

Also.....(so I don't forget and can laugh about it again later) Rhett has been going through a killing phase. He calls it a killing spree. No, he isn't actually killing anything - he doesn't actually have a mean bone in his body...he just tells us all he is killing us. He will walk past us and pretend to kick us or punch us, or even slit our throats and say DEAD! I know this doesn't sound funny....and to everyone else they would think we need to check him into a mental institution....but really he does it in such random ways and it's always so unexpected that he has us all laughing all the time over how DEAD we all are. Every night when he hugs me before he goes to bed he says, "I love you..............to death!" and giggles about it. Such a weird kid, but he keeps us all laughing! 

Autumnfest 2019

On November 2nd the girls had their first competition of the season. We got to take Ellie Watt's with us and had so much fun together. We went down Friday night but didn't dance until Saturday afternoon. The girls stayed up late and slept in and danced their guts out. It was a good competition and the girls did well. The first one of the year is always a little sketchy.....but they did great. Oakley also found a few of her little fan club members (old students!). This sweet little one sat and talked to her for a good 30 mins. Hahaha! So cute, seriously! 

Colton's Senior Pictures

I'm giving Colton his own post! :) Rhett got to take a few pictures one night after Colton's cross country practice real quick for Colton to use on an ad yearbook page. There was a deadline, so we had to squeeze them in. It was COLD and we had to work to try and keep Colton's nose and ears from turning bright red, but we had so many that turned out good. I can't believe how much this boy looks like his daddy did as a teenager. I love it so much! 

Rhett's Photo Business

Rhett has been so blessed lately with people asking him to take pictures. My sweet cousin Kagen and his wife Holly asked him to do their wedding pictures. They met us at the temple at about 9am (it was cold and the sun was a killer!) and did their bride/groom pictures before the wedding. It was so fun to be a part of their special day! I'm so grateful for people willing to take a chance on a self-taught 15 yr old. 

 He got asked to do baptism pictures for a friend's little sister. He had so many from her session that turned out super cute. She was the cutest little girl and so fun to work with. 

 He also got to do a siblings photo shoot with the CUTEST brother and sister combo. They are both the same age (4 yrs) for one month every year! Their poor mom! ;) They were so easy to work with and had the cutest little chubby cheeks ever! 😍

I'm so proud of Rhett and how hard he is working to turn this talent into a business! 

Where has the time gone?

I had our trip back east pop up as a facebook memory the other day from 2 years ago and as I was flipping through the pictures I realized this picture of my boys looks very similar to the family one we had just taken. I pulled them up so I could compare them side-by-side. Can you believe how much these 2 little boys have grown in 2 years?!?! They tower over their dad (Ryan took the high side of the rode in the bottom picture to try to compete, hahaha!) both standing at 6'3" now. They are both almost grown men instead of little boys. I miss my little boys, but I absolutely love seeing who these two are becoming. They are so very different, but more alike then they know. They are worst enemies, and best friends all at the same time. They will fight all day long and then snuggle into bed with each other at night. They never wrestled together when they were little, but now as teenagers are constantly taking each other down! You would think the whole house is coming down sometimes from the noises coming from the basement with these two wrestling each other. Such funny brothers. What a blessing they are in our family!

Pumpkin Painting 2019

We were looking back and we have been doing this every year since Oakley was born. Well.....Linn actually did it every year with her kids when they were little too, so this tradition goes WAY BACK! The kids are getting bigger and do it all by themselves now, which is so nice. Oakley picked and painted the face this year. It turned out cute. And of course JD, Dallin and Rhett had to climb up on it after we were finished. Boys wear me out! :) Good thing they are so fun and even let a couple of the little girls up there with them.