Not all reverence

Just in case you thought Raymond was all piety due to that last post, here is another recent comment.

We were at Red Mango, and a hip hop/pop version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" a la Destiny's Child came on over the speakers.

Ray: "A sexy way."
Me: "What??"
Ray: "A sexy way of singing Here Comes Santa Claus."

Religion a la Ray

Scott was just decorating the Christmas tree.

Scott: Now I'm going to put these ribbons on the tree.
Raymond: No.
Scott: Yes.
Raymond: Nooo.
Scott: Yes!
Raymond: NO! What do ribbons have to do with Jesus?!?

It's About Time

I know, I know. It has been forever, and we have done so much in the past few months!

I knew yesterday I REALLY had to get things updated when Raymond and I had this exchange.

"Mom, I had a cookie and egg nog at school and now I'm eating this sugary yoghurt."

"Well, Ray, I think you'll be okay because you ate all your lunch, and that was healthly."

"But I had more sugary food than healthy food. What will become of us?"

ANYWAY

What we've missed the past few months:

-2 Week Trip to Santa Rosa (complete with Howarth Park & Beach excursions)
-LOTOJA (Scott did fantastically - and finished 1 minute short of his goal.
There's always next year!) Thanks for helping, mom! (She drove the kids!)
-Fun in Jackson Hole for 3 days after the race. We toured the town, went up
the tram and LOVED the Bar J Chuckwagon BBQ Show. Those cowboys are
some amazing songbirds!
-Boeuf Bourguignon! My mom and I wore pearls while making it.
-Scott to Ray camping, the "hike to the site" kind. Ray loved it, and caught
his first fish!
-Ray starting preschool (He loves it!)
-Halloween! (Ray - T-Rex, Thomas - Dragon, except for that time Ray was
Spiderman and Thomas was Batman.) Thomas said "Trick-or-treat" perfectly!
-A Serious Day of Fun in The Snow!
-A spontaneous car camp where we saw some of the most amazing leaves ever!
That was Thomas' first time camping - won't be the last!

I'm sure there was much more, but I can't remember. And that's just through October!

If you are bored, here are 2 slide shows covering the past 2 months

Never, ever EVER!

For those of you who don't know, we've had an extremely eventful month. Not "fun", eventful, but "holy mess of minor disasters" eventful. It all started in the end of July, when Scott decided to get cozy with the road. While descending Alpine Canyon on his bicycle at approximately 42 mph, he hit a pot hole and flipped over his bike. Miraculously, he landed handlebars took the first impact, then his shoulder and helmet, finally sliding on his hands and rear AWAY from traffic. He also landed by the entrance to the canyon so the guard station had first aid supplies. The bike had a lot of damage, though not the frame, but as he was wearing arm coolers, aside from his fingers and shoulder he didn't even have much "road rash." Hooray!

Then on August 12th, I was using the facilities and let the boys wander for a bit, only to hear Thomas start to really scream. When I arrived in the kitchen, Thomas had stuck his left index finger into a can of mandarin oranges that Raymond got down from an upper shelf of the fridge. The lid was partially attached, and like a finger trap, as he tried to pull it free, the lid cut into the top of his finger. Thus, I was tasked with finding a way to remove the finger from the can. I don't know how much worse I made it in trying to remove it, which I ulitmately did, but by the time it was out, it was cut through to the bone, right at the joint. A few moments of fumbling with bandaids and tape, and I made my first 911 call! The paramedics arrived, wrapped it properly, and told me to take him to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, Thomas was completely calm and behaving normally. What a trooper. After checking his finger, and having x-rays, some time later he was sedated and prepared for sutures. As they were cleaning the wound the supervising doctor observed that they could not see his tendon. As he was already sedated they sewed him up, and then requested the Orthopaedic hand specialists to come. And orthopaedic resident came and said they needed their supervisor. Another hour or so later the supervisor came and said something to the effect of, "It appears he has severed his extensor tendon. I don't know why they didn't call us before they sewed him up because we could have reattached the tendon at that point. Now we'll have to splint it and wait to see if it can repair itself." Well, a week later, off comes the splint, and poot little Thomas' finger tip just flops forward while the rest is straight. The hand trauma doctor says "I don't know why they didn't contact us before the sewed him up." Next morning, Thomas and I arrive at 6:45 am for extensor tendon repair surgery. I tried not to freak out, but couldn't help crying a bit when to took him away (he only complained a little for having been sedated again) for general anesthesia. The procedure went well, and when he woke up, I went into recovery and helped. He was angry as can be and wouldn't calm down until we agreed to take the IV out of his foot.

So, we got home and had a nice relaxing afteroon. He was behaving wonderfully, and everything was fine when we put the boys to bed at night. Until......

At around 1:15 Ray woke up with a serious croupy cough and started screaming and crying that he couldn't breath. We've experience croup plenty of times, but the rapid onset, and his terrified crying sent us to the E.R. They gave him a steriod, and a few hours later we were home.

Thomas started coughing as he woke up. He has croup as well.

So that's the story through today. I think we're going to watch movies all day.

Thomas Says

Thomas to Scott, post ride.

"Oh maaaaan! You're stinky, d'you know that?"

Thomas to Alyssa.

"Mommy, I love you a million."

I forgot the funniest part....

On our way home from Sun Valley, both boys fell asleep in the car. Thomas woke up first (with the craziest pursed-lipped face). About 15 minutes after Thomas woke up, Ray suddenly opened his eyes and shouted, "I won't eat it, I won't eat it! Put the cherry back where it was." It was hilarious, but it didn't end there. Thomas started talking to everyone (probably about T-Rexes), and Ray (he's a grouch waking up) said, "Stop talking to me, Thomas!" Thomas replied, completely dead-pan.

"I. not. talking. to. you."

Time Flies

We've had an enjoyable summer thus far, kicking it off with a great BBQ up Millcreek Canyon with friends. We spent a few afternoons picking gorgeous cherries from Candace's tree.

Thanks to Nelson's recent house purchase, we visited our old haunt, the South Salt Lake Celebration and Fireworks, and had a great evening at Nelson's place. The next morning (the 4th!), we went to Denny's for breakfast, and spent the evening at the North's house. Great food, great company, and (according to Scott), okay fireworks.

The next big even was Thomas's birthday. He had 2 birthday parties! One was at the park with friends during playdate the day before his birthday, where we had pizza and cake (I made a dinosaur cake, as that is what he requested).

On his birthday we went to Kangaroo Zoo, and in the evening had a BBQ up Big Cottonwood Canyon with family. It was a perfect night, and the area was lovely and secluded...except for the visiting bunnies!

We were fortunate to be able to attend a celebration party in honor of Grandpa Kuhni's 90th Birthday. It was great to see everyone, and to enjoy the homemade icecream. Best of all, neither of the boys fell in the pond. Thanks to Aunt Rosemanry & Uncle Russ for hosting.

Then from July 15th-18th, we accompanied Scott to Sun Valley, ID for the Utah Bar Convention. On our way we stopped at the Airforce Museum in Ogden, which was AMAZING!We had a great time in Sun Valley, and I fell in love with Ketchum. We had a great 2 bedroom condo from which we could easily walk into town, or to a bike path with some amazing views. The Convention provided fun activities and food, and the weather was gorgeous.

What's Your Name?

Raymond: (Indistinct shouting from afar)


Alyssa: "What, Raymond?!"


Raymond: "Is your name Thomas?!?"

Family Pictures

We attempted to take some family pictures yesterday (6/28/2009). Here are the ones I've worked on so far.

Vegas, baby.

We just got back from our trip to Las Vegas. It was a whirlwind adventure that included a mega-roadtrip. We drove to Santa Rosa from SLC, staying overnight in Reno. Circus Circus was great fun. The boys loved the Midway, and won something like 10 stuffed animals. We had an amazing sushi dinner there. We arrived in Santa Rosa and the next day Scott and I left for Las Vegas (flying there directly from Santa Rosa was SWEET!). Before leaving we took Thomas to the doctor for some serious croupy coughing. After trying to unsuccessfully bribe the desk clerk at the Excalibur, we ended up paying for an upgraded room, which was completely worth it. The rest of the week consisted of 2 crazy days, and 2 relatively more relaxing days. We went to (big breath), the Bellagio Museum, the Secret Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage, the top of the Eiffel Tower, the Wax Museum, Popovich Animal Show, the NYNY Roller Coaster, the Circus Circus Adventure Dome and on a tour of the interior of the Hoover Dam. We also saw Terminator 4, Land of the Lost, and went to the Blue Man Group and Tournament of Kings. We also squeezed in plenty of pool time and tasty food. We walked A LOT. The only difficulty was that on our first day in Vegas my parents had to take Thomas to the emergency room for his extreme croup. Otherwise I think everyone had a great time. Ray was especially lucky, as Uncle Jeff took him to Howarth Park, Scandia AND the movie Up!


I ate a ton of ice cream. It was great!

Some Fun

Here are pictures from May and June. Some of the fun we have had include a trip to the Zoo with friends, bicycle races (including a weekend trip to Bear Lake for a race), the Renaissance Festival, swimming, bubbles, the park and just general happiness!

Thomas just said....

Thomas brought me a few "spiney" blocks that had been put together. He proceeded to say the following.

"Look. An icecream cone. Ray gave to Grandma."
"Oh no! It broke."
"I fix it."
"It not working! It broke again!"

Remember folks, he's not even 2!

Happy Birthday Little Man

Raymond turned 4 on April 19th. We celebrated with a party on the 18th at Bywater Park, and overall it was a great success. I had been watching the weather every 5 minutes because it had snowed during the week prior to the party. Luckily, the sun cooperated, and it was a lovely day, if a little brisk an windy.

The theme of the party was SPIDERMAN, which Ray chose about 1 minute after last year's party. So in addition Spiderman cake and decorations, we played Spiderman themed games, surrounding the fact that the Green Goblin stole the gift bags.

The BBQ was tasty (thanks Sko), and the cake turned out really well. I made the cake, buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant from scratch, which was a huge accomplishment for me.

Ray was spoiled rotten, of course. We got him a Millennium Falcon (circa 1995 from Ebay) and 6 pounds of legos (Scott stayed up until 3am making an amazing ship and robot), as well as BATMAN and IRONMAN costumes. No Spiderman you say? He already has one.

He was also given an abundance of overwhelming gifts from friends and family. (He loves the Tinker Toys, Mom. So do I, because he made a back massager that really works!!)

Thanks everyone for coming, being so generous, and celebrating the life of our wonderful little boy!



ps - Thanks to Candace for taking pictures, Kelly for bringing a knife, and all the Powers for helping watch the boys so I could "do stuff."

RMR Crit Update

Scott has another two finishes under his belt. A second place, and another first! You can read all about it at: http://www.utahcritseries.com/

Sko's Wild Rides - Utah Criterium Series

After Scott's "success" at Lotoja last year (finished under 11 hours without a team to work with and not knowing what to expect - especially as it was his first year riding after ACL surgery), he has been riding his trainer consistently throughout winter to prepare for this year.

On March 7th, the boys and I met up with Scott at Rocky Mountain Raceway for the first race of the Utah Criterium Series. This is Scott's first year as a "licensed" rider, so he races with the "C flite," (B is better, A is all that). Despite the balmy weather (Thomas was dressed in a sweater, coat, and his snowsuit), it was an very exciting for us (joined by Gary and Kelly, who rode over with Scott).

As the race began I enjoyed listening to Gary, Kelly and Lance observing the race and talking tactics. We had a great view, as they were in the inner track, and the boys shouted "Go Daddy!" every time they went by. The half hour went by quickly and before we knew it, they were in the last lap, and Scott went for it. He stayed ahead and won! It was awesome.

The second week he placed 5th, although the 2 flat tires he had didn't help.

Apparently, fifth was not enough for him, and he won the next two weeks as well.

Of course, we are excessively proud of him, but I know he owes his wins to his teammates from Spin Cycle. If it weren't for Lance, it would not have been possible, and I know he also worked a lot with Alex, Dan, Scott K. and probably a lot of others I just don't know. Whatever else this season brings, we're happy for these successes and are having a great time participating and cheering for the hero of our family! "Go Daddy! Go Daddy!"

Raymond's Big Debut

Lest I forget this event 25 years from now, I must put it here. Last Sunday Raymond had his first opportunity to sing in Church with a group of primary children and their parents. We had all practiced the Sunday before, and that morning, and both times Ray sat on my lap and I whispered the words to him, and I could hear him doing a wonderful job. He can sing on key perfectly and has a great little voice....when he tries. A few times, when the director (go Hyo!) would ask for the children to be loud, he would simply shout, but only once or twice did he do this, and only for a second.

When it was time to sing in church, Ray his little "Sunbeam" friends were situated directing in front of the microphone. The music began and the director told them to, "Sing Loud!." Now, you never know when Raymond will decide to follow direction. He did this time, He began to SHOUT the children's part as loud as his little lungs would allow, right into the microphone. The second verse was supposed to be just the parents, but he kept right on shouting. About two thirds of the way through the song, I was up with the parents, crying with laughter. I couldn't pull it together, but Candace took the initiative to try and move him away from the microphone and encourage him to be quiet. To which he said, also right into the microphone....,"But she told me to be loud!." So we left him alone to SHOUT the rest of the song. I was a little concerned that he was just goofing off, but Scott could see his face and said Ray was really getting into it, and even had his eyes closed.

It may not have been the most reverent of musical numbers, but at least everyone in the congregation was smiling.

Good job, Raymond. Just next time shout on pitch for Mommy, okay?

Swimming and Playdough and Visits, Oh My!

Well, January and February have flown by, full of fun and adventures. As mentioned previously, we had a great visit in Santa Rosa (aside from the post-Superbowl food poisoning incident). A highlight of the trip was the Schultz museum, which had just opened an exhibit commemorating Snoopy and Charlie Brown's role in the Space Program. This was especially great for Raymond who for the past few months has been saying he is going to be an astonaut when he grows up. We also enjoyed the road trip to Oregon to visit Grandma Marge and Grandpa Tony. (This included Grammie, Grandpa Tim, Uncle Jeff, Alyssa, Ray & Thomas in one van.) My mother was gracious enough to put the boys to bed each night so I could stay and play cards with my Grandparents.

The slideshow I'm adding has pictures from all of January and February, including Ray at swimming class (he is loving it and improving greatly), a visit to Park City with Auntie Lynnie, trip highlights from Santa Rosa/Oregon, a visit to Grandpa Gary's house in St. George, and other miscelleneous fun.

Two Awesome Weeks

We had the great fortune to visit Santa Rosa for a few weeks, and I have tons of great pictures and stories, but since I don't have time to write about it all right now, just watch this video.

Dance Party

Over the MLK weekend we went to St. George and stayed at Grandpa Gary & Roberta's (thanks!) Raymond, Thomas and I enjoyed the 60 degree weather, and Scott enjoyed riding the bike he just finished putting together. One evening we were all watching "Ghost Town," and Ray was watching "Legend" in an adjoining room. Toward the end of the movie Scott got my attention and motioned towards Ray's room. The music coming from it did not sound like "Legend." Upon peeking into the room, we discovered Ray had somehow turned off the movie, and turned on the music. He was all by himself dancing his pants off to "Do you think you're better off alone," and it was hilarious. He was jumping up and down from the bed, shaking his hips and waving his arms, just for the fun of it.

That same weekend he also managed to put the original "Batman" movie into the DVD player. This is significant because he told me he had done it, and I didn't believe him because our "Batman" DVD is one of many in our case that has nothing one the face, just text around the center. I thought the DVD must have had the batman logo, but it didn't.

And finally, in case you were wondering, it is official, I am somebody. We went up to Park City during the film festival to visit my aunt who was in town. As we were walking up Main Street, I saw a man staring at me. As we got closer I noticed he was still staring so I smiled. He said, "What's your name?" and as I instinctively started to answer he said, "Because I recognize you." I then realized what was happening and I laughed and said, "I'm not anybody," to which he replied, "Oh, you're somebody." We walked on while my aunt Lynnie (I love you!) said, "She's somebody to me!" That made my day.

A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

We had a wonderful, if very busy, holiday season. We enjoyed spending time our friends the Paxtons (and Mr. Higginson, of course!), and Raymond couldn't get enough Elise. Candace hosted a lovely Christmas Eve party, after which Raymond was especially sweet while looking out his window for signs of Santa Claus. He cried out "Oh! I saw him! I hear sleigh bells!" In the morning, Raymond and Thomas were both overjoyed with their gifts from Santa, and Thomas was adorable since he was excited over every gift he opened, whereas Ray was not as appreciative of the clothing.

We hope that this New Year is a good one for all. Let us all reach out a little more to our neighbors, let our love for each other be a little greater, and have a greater appreciation for all the blessings in our lives.