Dad's eye

My dad had a scare this week.  He told us that he had been seeing a shadow out of the left side of his left eye for a few days.  He said he felt like it was not big deal but that he thought he might get it checked.  My mom immediately got concerned and called the opthamologist to get him in for an appointment.  He said he wanted to see him as soon as possible so dad was put on the schedule for the next day.  Dad had to cancel a few hours of his own patients to be able to see the eye doctor but then assumed he would be going back to work so from 10:00 on he had a full day of patients scheduled.  It turned out he wasn't able to go back to work that day.  The opthamologist told him that he had a torn retina that was already 60% detached.  If he would have waited even a few more days it could have detached into the nerve and caused permanent blindness in that eye.  They scheduled an emergency surgery that day to repair the retina.  We were all shocked because dad made it seem like it was no big deal.  So when he called and told us the news we all gathered at the hospital before the surgery and had a family prayer.  I think dad was pretty nervous because his sight is so important to his profession.  Turns out the surgery is pretty straighforward and has a very high success rate if it is caught early enough.  So the doctors were very confident going in that in a couple weeks his sight would be back to normal. 

The surgery did go well and he was home that night recovering.  He has to wear this cool eye patch for a couple days but then is able to go back to work.  We are so glad that all went well and hope he has a speedy recovery!

Growing

I am constantly amazed at how fast kids grow up.  It seems like just yesterday I had Rease and now, just 5 short years later, Baby Keen is here and growing like a weed.  Josh snapped these pictures of Keen with Rhen and Liev and it is amazing how big Keen is already.  True, he started out big, but he hasn't stopped growing since the minute he was born.  At 2 months old, he is just as sweet and chubby as can be.  

Stats from Dr. Erikson:

Weight 14.33 lbs.  - 94%

Height 23.54 in - 68%

Head 16.6 in - 92%

BYU Football

We have season tickets to the BYU Football games and we love going!  One night we had a couple extra tickets and Josh was out of town, so I took the girls with me.  Rhen rode down with me a little bit early and Rease rode with Papa.  Rhen and I went to the tailgate party by the stadium before and had a fun time getting into the spirit. 

 Rhen got a bunch of free stuff at the tailgate party and was super excited about her pom pom to cheer on the team.

 My favorite part - watching the band come in.  Rhen had fun listening to them play their songs to us.

 It was a chilly night so of course we had to have hot chocolate.

 Us girls enjoying the game!

Having Fun

My kids are good at making believe.  The girls are constantly using random items from the house and making them into whatever they choose.  Liev thought that the princess stool from the bathroom would make a good boat.  He played with this all afternoon.  

Imaginations at work in our house!

First Smiles

I caught these pictures on my camera phone of Keen's first smiles.  I just happened to be taking a picture of him and he smiled at me!

 Josh and I both commented on Keen's big mouth when he was first born.  Now that he's smiling, that big mouth makes for a great big grin!

Gardner Village

I try and take one trip to Gardner Village with the kids during Halloween because all the witches are out and it's super cute.  We went one night when everything was about to close but we still had fun taking pictures and checking out all the witches. 

Halloween Bunco

For our bunco group in October we had a "Witch's Night."  It was at Gayle's house and she always hosts a fun halloween party.  We have a great group and have been playing once a month now for almost 4 years.  Such a fun girls night out!



Rease's Artwork

Rease loves to color, draw or do any sort of artwork.  She says she's going to be an illustrator when she grows up.  I raided her art supply box and found a few pictures she's drawn lately.  Enjoy!

Deer Valley

After Josh and I spent the weekend at Stein Eriksen in Deer Valley, we decided we wanted to take the kids back.  So we booked a room for the following weekend and packed up again for a few days in the mountains.  The weather was perfect and the trees were in full color for us. 

We spent most of the day outside hiking and enjoying the great fall day.  Josh had Liev in the backpack and Liev was super stoked to be tied to dad all day. 

Overlooking the valley.  Beautiful view!

This mountain behind us was amazing with color. 

We hiked up one of the ski slopes.  What a beautiful picture with the colorful trees on both sides.

We found a shady spot and settled down for a picnic.

Josh pulled out the hammocks and the kids had fun playing around.

Once again - the colors up there were amazing!

The girls thought this little teeny tree was, "so super cute!"

This looks like a painting.  Who knew that so many colors could be on one mountain at the same time?

The girls found walking sticks.  I love Rhen's stick - not really much help with walking, but whatever. 

Even though Liev didn't do much walking, he wanted one of his own too.

We hiked on a mountain bike trail and Josh taught the kids to stay on the "high side" when the bikes came up behind us.  The girls loved looking out for bikes and yelling "high side" to warn us to get off the trail.  Rease also found a wrench in the weeds and kept it tucked away safely in the back of her pants just in case. 

The view from the top of the ski slope.

We took the kids on the Alpine Slide and they had a blast!  We had to take turns since the babies couldn't ride so Josh took Rease and I had Rhen with me.  The girls thought that was the funnest thing they'd ever done. 

Waiting for dinner Josh spent some time with Baby Keen. 

Looking good baby boy!

We also spent time in the pool and hot tub, watched movies, ate lots of treats and mostly just loved hanging out together as a family.  We got up Sunday morning and went to church at one of the Park City wards before we headed home.  He had a wonderful fall getaway together!

Painted

Yes at first glance it may look like Liev got beat up. 

 But if you looks closer you'll realize that he just got into his sisters markers instead. 

 Although Liev thinks it's funny, mommy does not. 

Oak Hollow Fun Run

Rease had a fun run at school and parents and siblings were invited to run it with them if they wanted.  So I loaded the kids into the stroller and we ran with her.  It was a mile run around the neighborhood and believe me, I felt every bit of that mile!  But we had fun and loved doing it with her.  Her friend Lacee who lives just down the street caught up with us and ran with the girls to the finish line.  I've been trying to teach my kids about the importance of being healthy by eating right and also keeping active.  While we were running, Rhen kept saying, "mommy we are getting so healthy!" 

So here's to being healthy!

Wally the Worm

Our kids love creatures.  Thanks to their dad they are not afraid of bugs, worms, snakes, spiders, etc.  One Sunday afternoon they found a friend - Wally the Worm.

 Rhen was the first one to pick it up. 

 Then big sister Rease had a turn.

 Buddy boy was a little apprehensive at first.  He didn't quite know what to do once he actually had it in his hand.

 But figured out that he just had to have fun with his new friend.

After they were done playing with Wally, they found him a nice home in the dirt and left him in peace.  Not sure he survived much longer after they had their time with him.  Sorry little guy!

All wrapped up

We went to visit Papa Beutler at work one night (he works at Costco.)  While we were chatting, Rhen got herself all wrapped up in the bungee cord next to one of the aisles.  

 Don't mind her outfit of stripes, polka dots and canvas shoes - oh and her shirt is on inside out.  She dressed herself.  

Anniversary #8

Josh and I celebrated our 8th anniversary this year - where has the time gone?  Life has definitely been busy lately but we were able to take some time and celebrate just the two of us.  A friend of mine got us a room at Stein Eriksen in Deer Valley so we left the kids (yes all 4 kids!) with my sis and headed to Park City for the weekend.  The weather was perfect and the fall colors were in full bloom.

Deer Valley is beautiful and Stein Eriksen was amazing.  Not only did we get a great room but we also got massages at the spa while we were there.  It was a perfect start to our weekend.   

 

We tried a new restaurant on Main Street.  The food was okay, but we had fun eating outside and just chatting with each other.

We went up to ride the Alpine Slide but got there just as it was closing.  Instead we got some ice cream and walked around for a bit. 

  The next morning on our way back home, we drove around for a bit and couldn't get enough of the beautiful colors that were all around us.  Our anniversary usually falls on a week when fall is at its best - we love having an excuse to get away and enjoy the outdoors before the cold sets in.

Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband!  Don't know what I'd do without this man in my life!