Monday, October 4, 2010

Mantua- General Conference

We spent General Conference weekend at the Mantua Manor (Dan's parent's second home). I took my camera but unfortunately never used it. Luckily, Dan's mom documented things quite well! (Thanks for the pictures, Sibber.) While we were there, we got to see some beautiful Fall leaves, Dan got to go golfing with the boys, McKenna got some good play time with cousins, and each family unit took a turn preparing a meal to share with everyone. Fun stuff! (We sure missed Dan's sisters and their families.)

We also took turns riding in the new Ranger!
(Dan's brother's Sam and Jake, with nephew Andrew and Gpa)
Swimming Saturday afternoon in between sessions.
(Reed, Dan's brother David, and Emma)
Seriously- I love this face!!


Then, when the boys went to their Priesthood session Sat. night, the girls (and kids) got to work making the traditional Nelson Family DONUTS! Dan's Aunt Sue and Grandma Webster also joined us.

Dan's mom- the fry master!
Helpers- Andrew, Emma, Reed and Ailin
Laurie, Aunt Sue, Gma Webster, and me feeding Kenna some delicious SOUP Dan's mom also made!


YUMMM!
The MEN after giving us their report.
Sunday was pretty low key. We took a nice walk in between sessions and packed up and came home in the evening. :) Thanks for the fun times Webster Fam!

***However, this post would NOT be complete without mentioning a little drama that also took place. Our poor little nephew, Andrew (4), had quite the eventful weekend. I'm going to quote from Dan's mom's blog post.

"Before the first session even started, Andrew was helping peel potatoes for breakfast. Next thing ya know, there's blood! I ran him into the bathroom to wash the blood off and it was a gusher! Turns out, he peeled the tip of his finger and half of his nail RIGHT OFF! So... there was the visit #1 to the ER to see if they could re-attach the little bitty piece, which they couldn't. So a lovely bandage was attached to get the blood to stop and the healing to start."
"Then... in between sessions, Andrew was swinging on the swing on his tummy... wasn't holding on or something, and ended up falling off the swing, into the air and into the pit where once stood an underground trampoline... all that is there now is brick! I ran out to see him being pulled out of the pit by his big sister... and I grabbed him in my arms and he just kind of deflated into my arms... saying that his head hurt. I assessed him, no blood, his legs were a little scrapped from being pulled out of the pit, but nothing noticeable accept he was in pain and I thought had the wind knocked out of him. The rest of the afternoon was thankfully, uneventful. We watched the afternoon session, kept Andrew awake, not knowing if he had a concussion... he stayed awake all the rest of the afternoon and evening."

"About Midnight... everyone was settling down to sleep when we hear Andrew coughing... David and Laurie have him wrapped up and said that he'd been throwing up, and they were off to the Hospital in Brigham City... the same one he'd been to, just a few short hours before! NOT AGAIN!! David called me about 1:00am from the hospital and said they did a CT scan on him. He had indeed cracked his skull and had a concussion. BUT thankfully, there was no bleeding or displacement of his skull. The hospital wasn't equipt to handle a four year old. So they were taking him by ambulance to Primary Childrens' hospital in SLC for overnight observation! (By the way, they re-did his earlier finger bandage, because he dipped his injured hand into the pool after retrieving a toy for Reed!) Long enough story, short... He was watched at PCH for several hours to make sure that he could keep food down, and then he'd be released to go home!"
"Andrew was released from the hospital around 1:00 pm with STRICT instructions that he was NOT to ride bikes, scooters, no trampoline, no jumping, no running, NOTHING for 6 BLESSED weeks! That means nothing physical till Thanksgiving... Have you ever had to keep a 4 year old chill for 6 weeks?"
Poor little man! We love you bud!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Lion King!

Have I mentioned I love living by a "big city"? We have such awesome shows stop in Salt Lake City on their tours. How lucky are we?

We were fortunate enough to go see LION KING a week ago with all the grown-ups in Dan's family (minus Jake Winegar and plus Emma and Reed who were grandkids old enough to "handle" sitting through it). It was A-MA-ZING! The scenery, costumes, dancing, singing... everything! A HUGE THANK YOU to Dan's parents for providing this experience for us! (Thanks to my sister for babysitting too. :))

I also have to give credit to DAN for suggesting the idea to his dad. They bought the tickets way back in February and he kept it a secret for 6+ months. What a wonderful surprise!


Rough Start

Today was one of "those days." I'm not looking for sympathy, or even a, "Yeah, just wait. It gets worse." I just wanted to document a little about today so I can look back and laugh at it. Because yes, I'm sure things WILL get worse. I think pregnancy might have exaggerated things in my mind too. :)

8:45- Get McKenna out of bed. She had already been awake for a while but was pleasantly chatting and singing away to herself.
9:00- Start breakfast.
By 10:00 McKenna had done the following things--ON PURPOSE (and most with a SMILE on her face)!!!
  • Dumped out cereal bowl
  • Slammed cupboards X10
  • Colored on the wall (pencil luckily)
  • Grabbed and threw mommies glasses (when I'm trying to discipline her)
  • Stomped on a few DVD cases
...All while I'm trying to clean up breakfast and get ready to go for our morning walk. During that time, she usually just plays nicely by herself and doesn't cause any trouble. In her defense, she's recovering from a cold and maybe wanted more attention than normal, but really? Again, some of you might think, "That's nothin'!" But really, this is one of the first times I've had to deal with her being this naughty, this early in the day, intentionally!

Later, I tried to think of the good things she's done today too. :)
  • Happy at the park
  • Ate a good lunch
  • Took a nice nap
  • After playing with mommy's shoes, she put them away and I asker her to
  • Ate a good dinner
  • Sang her ABCs unprompted (only missing about 6 letters)
  • Answered a question with, "Um, sure!" (using the word "sure" for the first time) :)
That is all. I hope tomorrow morning goes better.
(Saying "cheese!")

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Famous-Part 2

I failed to mention a month ago that I also have a famous husband! Dan was on the RADIO! It was the "Ask A ____" portion of the X96 morning show. They were doing "Ask a Foster Parent." So Dan went to help answer questions on behalf of the Utah Foster Care Foundation.


Circus Parade!

The Greatest Show on Earth came to Salt Lake this week! This is one of the reasons I enjoy living by a big city. McKenna and I went to their opening day parade.
These are all pictures from my cell phone- sorry for the small size.






Kenna has a new obsession with the Jungle Book "ephants." So naturally, this was her favorite part of the parade!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Life Lately

Nothing too significant has happened since Labor Day weekend. So I'm posting some pictures that don't all go together, but they're worth sharing. :)

Labor Day weekend we visited my Condie Grandparents
(my mom's dad and stepmom).
My sister painted McKenna's nails--Green!
Kenna and daddy snuggling before church
I also had my first concert with a new choir I joined, the Lex De Azevedo Millennium Choir. We performed at the state capitol building as part of a Constitution Day celebration. It was a difficult venue to sing in with all the echo in the rotunda, but a very COOL venue none the less!
Can you find me? I'm next to the railing, fourth one down.
My ever supportive husband!
Thanks to my other wonderful family members who came to see the concert as well!

AND, we are still trying to sell our condo.
So we can buy this.
Spread the word! :)

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Red Butte Gardens- Labor Day

Labor Day was a FREE day at Red Butte Gardens AND my parents happened to be in town for the weekend! They said they needed a McKenna "fix" or something like that. I guess I'll oblige (ANY time!). :) The weather was perfect and I'm glad two of my siblings came too. Unfortunately, Dan spent the morning doing homework (his master's program is in full swing now).
As we walked around, it was fun to get some landscaping ideas for our new home. Of course our condo still needs to sell. Come on people- spread the word!
Saying, "Cheese!"
We fed some fishies.
With Grandpa on the stepping stones by the water.

I'm quite sad I didn't get any shots of the Children's Garden since I was spent, ready for lunch, and it was our last stop of the morning. They had fun tunnels, a fountain, sand box, large fake lizards for benches (which McKenna was scared of), and more. What a wonderful morning!