Mi Familia

I am grateful for all of our wonderful ancestors and their perseverance to overcome their challenges.

I always get choked up during this song.

We haven't been to big about celebrating Halloween, though I did pull out some fake spiders and our haunted house. After watching Coco many, many times, I thought it would be cool do our own version of Dia de Los Muertos, or day of the dead.

I got out pictures of our ancestors and Jonathan helped me make paper marigolds.

I really like that there is a holiday that focuses on our ancestors and how it helps keep us connected with them. I have found strength as I have learned about my ancestors and how they kept moving forward even though life was incredibly difficult. I think this is going to be a new tradition for us.

Home

I am grateful to have an apartment that feels like a home.

This September we moved and this was the first time we moved without really needing to move. It took awhile for it to feel real, but we kept moving forward because we ultimately did feel like it was right for us. It didn't take long for it to feel like a home. We still had boxes and piles of stuff, but it feels like a home. I can't find a better way to describe it. I loved our last place and still miss it at times, but it never quite felt like home. This past weekend, we spent time assembling more of our furniture and hanging things on the walls and it feels like we've always been here. It is such a wonderful feeling to have.

A Month of Gratitude

I don't know about you, but it feels like November came out of nowhere. As I was sitting in church this afternoon, I realized I hadn't started my annual daily gratitude posts. I am going to correct that right now. I enjoy taking the time to write out something I am grateful each day and seeing the wonderful blessings I have in my life. If you are like me and haven't started, you can join in any time!

First, I am grateful for our wonderful friends. Last Sunday, we visited with some of our old friends for a night of pumpkin carving and games. I cannot remember the last time I carved a pumpkin, but it's safe to say that it has been many, many years. I decided to go all out and do a dia de los muertos skull. Most everyone finished their pumpkins quickly, but I kept hard at work finishing mine. A few hours later, it was done! I love how both of our pumpkins turned out and that we were able to spend the evening with our dear friends.

Second, I am grateful we aren't the only Texans in the family anymore! My cousins moved to the Dallas area and we were able to visit them for the weekend. I haven't seen Steve and Sapna since I was a young teenager. It was so wonderful to spend some real time with them and for Jonathan to meet more of my family. Steve has even been caught saying y'all! His Texification is coming along great!

Third, I am grateful for reminders of my childhood (even if they may cause inconvenience). Any time I am stuck waiting for a train, I am taken back to my years in high school racing the trains to get to school on time. We raced them because they were slow moving and then would stop (still blocking the intersection) and then slowly reverse. Thankfully, the trains I wait for here don't pull those types of shenanigans, but I still get transported back to those days for just a few seconds and I can't help put smile.

Plans

Next month, we will be moving! As much as we love where we live, it's time to get a bit more room. Today I walked to Home Depot to get an idea of plants for our new apartment since we've kept our peace lily alive and we'll have a patio.

Nothing To See

 Bright and early, I had my surgery. I was nervous and excited about it.

It was so reassuring to have Jonathan with me until it was time to wheel me back into the operating room.

It was so hard for me to wake up from the anesthesia, but once again Jonathan was right there with me. He explained that there was no endometriosis anywhere. The doctor used dye and saw that my fallopian tubes were clear. Naturally there are mixed feelings about not finding anything wrong, but it's reassuring to know instead of wonder.

I did a lot of sleeping for the next few days, but I needed to be at an angle to help release all the excess air that was pumped into my abdomen. I'm glad that they warned me that I could experience shoulder pain from the surgery because it certainly came!

Now I'm up and walking around our neighborhood again!

Test Results

We've started getting some more information about all the blood tests. Most everything has been normal. My vitamin D levels are low so I've started taking supplements for that and my prolactin levels are too high. I had a second blood test to verify that my prolactin levels were too high and the result was the same. Thankfully, I looked up what could cause this and a common cause is a non-cancerous tumor on the pituitary gland. So when I got a call from my doctor's office, I was not surprised that I needed to get an MRI of my brain to see if that was the cause. It was a bit overwhelming to think that I might need brain surgery if there was a tumor, but I tried to focus on just figuring out what was going on.

It was a bit overwhelming having an MRI knowing that I had to be perfectly still, but it went well and I'm thankfully not claustrophobic! The results came back that there was no tumor! No additional surgeries for me! I'm still on the schedule for surgery at the end of the week to remove any endometriosis. 

Our Independence Day

We started our day with a nearby neighborhood fourth of July parade with friends from church. My favorite part is the lawn chair brigade. They do a routine with their chairs that is so funny and well done. It is so good!

To beat the heat, we went to the Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown. It was still a bit humid, but it was cooler which was nice.

No one knew the caverns were there until they were building the nearby freeway. They were checking to see if the ground was solid enough to build on and they kept hitting a hole, so they made a large enough hole to lower a guy down to see what was under them. He saw that it was a cave. They still built the freeway over the cave and every so often we could hear the cars above us.

There is an area with a lot of different bones of various animals that got stuck like horses, saber-tooth tigers, and even mammoths.

After the cave, we went into Georgetown and ate at 600 Degree Pizzeria. It was so good and Georgetown is such a cute town. I could definitely see us living there one day!

Before it was too late, we checked in on Woogy.

It was a great day to spend together and celebrate our country! 

Idaho 2019

We had another wonderful time in Idaho with my family! Getting there was a nightmare, but once we were there it was a great trip! We were supposed to fly into Idaho Falls late Saturday night, but there was something wrong at the Denver airport and we couldn't get a straight answer with what the issue was.

Flying past the Circuit of the Americas!

We ended up in a ridiculously long line waited to figure out what could be done because we had zero desire to be stuck in Denver. We changed to a flight that would get us to Jackson Hole because we would get there earlier even adding in the drive than if we waited to go to Idaho Falls. I made sure multiple times that our luggage would be changed to our new flight and I was assured that it would be tagged and moved over.

We had nowhere to go along with a lot of other passengers, so we explored for awhile and then found a secluded, cold place to pretend to sleep for the night. 

This was our spot for the night.

While we struggled to get to Idaho Falls, Chris blessed sweet baby Eli.

I forgot how much snow can still be in the mountains in the summer.

Thankfully, the drive was gorgeous and it finally started feeling like a good trip even though our luggage did not make it to Jackson Hole like we were promised. It was still on the later flight to Idaho Falls...

We had to head back to the airport to get our luggage before we could get up to Island Park with the rest of the family.

The boys got out Apples to Apples and were cracking up as they played.

We finally got to meet sweet little Eli! All the girls wanted to be near him. It was so sweet!

We made everyone watch the Canadian GP.

I finally got my turn with a sleepy Eli!

The first night at the cabin was also my parents 40th wedding anniversary. It was the perfect place to celebrate as a huge family! We got everyone caught up with our plans with our new doctor and everyone was so excited for us.

The next day was a lake day. The water was freezing and for me, the weather was cold so I opted out of the swimming.

Warming up after the icy water.

You can always find Chris in the thick of whatever the activity is. He was the only adult to get into the water and he naturally had to jump in.

Spencer picked all of the "bouwers" he could find and gave them all to Amy. 

Later, he gave one to each of the girls and Aunts.

When the kids and Chris were done swimming, it was time to pull out the old canoe that we used when we were growing up. Once again it was Chris and the kids out on the water.

Eventually, I made my way back into the cabin because I needed more time with Eli.

At every cabin we go to, we have a puzzle going on.

Jonathan and I went out while the kids were getting ready for bed and enjoyed the last of the sunset.

The next day, we rented a real boat and had a great time. Jonathan was in his element out on the water.

Ryan is so photogenic!

Just because it's summer does not mean it's warm!

I'm convinced that Chris is the biggest kid of all!

I have hardly spent time with Spencer compared with the other kids, so I was thrilled any time he wanted to play with me.

Jonathan found this huge book about various military aircraft and he knew he wanted to look through it with Seth in particular. Seth loved drawing pictures of ships and tanks and even designed a double decker tank. The other boys enjoyed looking through it with Jonathan and Seth.

The girls did lots of crafts. Each trip, my mom wants to do crafts and gets all the supplies but it almost never happens. This time the girls did lots of crafts and they loved it!

Jonathan and I took a turn on the ATV around the neighborhood. It was so great! We went through a few puddles and my shoes were so dirty!

More artwork! This time Amy Rosella got in on it.

It was time to pack up and head back to Idaho Falls. This was our first time on the lake in Island Park and it was so nice not having to load up in the cars to go to the water.

The girls ended up dancing on the rain when we got back.

We went up to Heise Hot Springs and it was so much more fun to swim in! I only took a picture of the parking lot as we left because we were having such a a good time.

On the way back, we stopped off at Big Jud's. We split the hamburger between the four of us and it was so good!

Our final big adventure was at the Idaho Falls Zoo. We are a huge crowd wherever we go. This was my first time there and it is a cute zoo. Not to big and not too small.

Grandma and Grandpa wanted a picture with all the kids and they were done! Except for Ry.

Everyone loves Eli!

Chris took us out to a delicious dinner along with Annie's parents and brother and his family. It was an even bigger crowd and it was so fun.

We had to go to Reed's for ice cream and to see all the farm animals.

On the morning before we left Idaho, we met up with Thomas and Morghan. Hannah and Tammy were visiting them while we were in Idaho so we got to see them too!

One more time hanging out with the kids before heading to the airport. It was such a a good time being with (nearly) everyone.

We had another layover in Denver and it tried to butter us up with a rainbow. I still don't like that airport, but we made it home without any delays.